We made it to Panama!

My brother Tanner and I will be living here for the majority of the summer as Self-Reliance Interns for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We couldn't be more excited for various reasons namely: 

- WE MISS LATIN AMERICA! Both of us have a profound love for this place, its people, the beautiful Spanish language, and especially the yogurt. 

-Panama is HERMOSO! This country is paradise, when our plane was in descent minutes from landing, we looked out the airplanes window and were amazed to see the landmark canal with views on one end of the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific on the other side! 

-We both have strong testimonies the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its power to bring about self-reliance. In Doctrine and Covenants 104 the Lord states that "the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare;" and "it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine." We will be facilitating this program and working to help the church's initiatives flourish in the country. We've already met our boss of sorts, Rixela Landero, an awesome sister here who has great goals and who will be traveling with and assisting. 

-The PEOPLE! Walking down the street, it's not uncommon to stop and talk to anyone and everyone. When we walked into a church building, we were immediately greeted by many members and felt so at home. La familia is at the center Panamanian culture. Our familia's about to get much larger!

We cannot wait to post updates of our adventures periodically (hopefully) we will do our best! 

We miss you all in the U.S. but couldn't be more happy here in this beautiful place! 

Matt