Dear All -
This is not only the introductory email from Panama, it is also a chance to see if I have correct emails all the way around. Feel free to let me know if you would rather not receive my emails, or if there is a different address which you would prefer I use.
We got to Panama with a minimum of problems a week and a half ago. Of course, we discovered once we got here that we had no food in the apartment, so the first order of business was to get some staples laid in. I got ice cream, milk, and chocolate chips, and thought I was doing fine, but Delkys seemed to feel that was not enough. Going shopping is a little more cumbersome than we are used to since we don't have a car. Uber has been getting a lot of business from us. We may yet end up getting a car.
We are living in an apartment on the temple property here in Panama City. To get to the temple is just a few more steps than it was from where I parked my car at the Denver temple, so it is very nice. Although we have attended the temple as patrons and have volunteered in the baptistry, for some reason we are not able to start as ordinance workers until the formal start date of our mission, which is 25 June. So we have one more week of taking care of other things before we fully start. The schedule that the temple president has laid out for us includes working Tuesday through Saturday at least part of each day, but there is also free time every day at some point. It will be a lot of work, but we are looking forward to it immensely.
We have gone to visit Delkys' family several times. When we go there we typically catch an Uber down to Albrook Mall, which is a big mall close by us here, and there we catch the light rail out to San Miguelito, then we walk the last half mile to her mother's house. Again, a little more cumbersome than we are used to, but not too bad. Her mother just turned 96, but is doing quite well.
Panama is in its rainy season, so we are getting rain almost every day. Sometimes the rain comes down so hard that it looks like fog. People comment on how cool it is after the rain, but I assure you that "cool" is a relative term. I am hoping I will get acclimated to the heat, but living in air conditioning as we do I may never acclimate.
This is the view out our window. There is a cemetary, which is nice and peaceful except that some of the Chinese funerals involve fire crackers. Other than that it is very quiet. There is jungle most of the way around the temple and the cemetary. It is tempting to wander into the temple and see what it's like, but so far I haven't done it. Yes, I have insect repellant.
Incidentally, the church building is also just across the parking lot from us, so we can walk to church in just a couple of minutes.
After all that there is not a lot to tell you about our daily activities. We are thrilled to be here, and anxious to get started with our assignment, and in the meantime enjoying reading scriptures and other books, and getting our apartment to look like home.
Love,
Elder and Sister Reading
AKA
John and Delkys
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