New Area: Moravia 2

Well mom, I made it to the big city. My new area is Moravia 2. I am In Toyopan which is the northeastern part of downtown San Jose. It’s pure downtown city and super sweet. My new comp is Elder Cabrera. He is from El Salvador and he came into the country on the same day I did. He was serving in Limon and the day I went on divisions in Limon I was with him. So I already know him and he’s pretty sweet. We were both e changed and put here to open the area.

It’s extremely hard. Neither of us knows anyone nor knows our way around at all. On Wednesday morning we went early to San Jose and went to President Galvez’ house to eat breakfast. President just said “Elder Graham meet your new companion, Elder Cabrera. You’re going to open an area.” Then he took us and dropped us off in our area and I cannot explain how hard it has been to do. Our ward is part of another area so there are 4 missionaries in our ward. We live in a house with 2 more pairs of missionaries. There are 6 in the house.

This week has been so crazy. We have spent the whole time wandering around contacting people, trying to find where members live, and getting lost. It’s the most confusing place. It’s not like downtown Portland where it’s just squares. All the roads go in the most retarded patterns and have fatty fatty hills.

The lady that cooks for us is our bishop’s wife and she takes culinary classes. The food that she makes is actually amazing. The food that Hermana Pacita made was good but it was just normal house food. She makes us gourmet restaurant food. The ward is huge; there were 100 people at church Sunday.

All the families here are so amazing. I love them all already.

I’ve heard that our area is super dangerous. One of the elders in my house got robbed at gunpoint last week. No one walks around with anything. They have a cheap set of scriptures; they don’t even carry around their regular ones because they will get stolen. Yesterday we were standing waiting for the bus and these 2 guys came out of a bar with a huge mug and a bottle of crown royal and 3 guys in black suits came and followed them and in the middle of a super busy street a guy in the suits started pushing him and then hit him one time sooo good in the face. He was DOWN, bloody all over his face and he got up and started cussing at the guys in the suits and the guys in the suits took the mug and crown royal that he stole and the guys started completely beating the guy, kicking him and punching him on the ground. Then they just dipped back to the bar.. in mid day in the middle of a busy street. And everyone stood around like it was nothing. Crazy.

I feel like I’m in a completely different country. There’s a taco bell in my area. We have hot water in our apartment, and no one here even has to dump cockroaches out of their shoes anymore. It’s a different world. But there’s a super sweet little market place here and I wish I was here before Christmas because you guys would have gotten the greatest stuff from it.

Saying goodbye in la Rita was tough. I got to go say goodbye to Hermana Pacita back in Cariari my last day too.

Are you still the choir director? How has that been going? And teaching the class? What exactly do you teach in the class? Whenever we feel comfortable in life the Lord will throw us into something twice as hard. I was getting pretty comfortable in my old area with everything. I thought I was pretty tight. Then the Lord said, “you think you’re pretty tight? Go open an area in the city.” I don’t think I’m tight anymore.

The whole culture is so different in the city. People actually work. Not everyone is willing to talk to you. There is actually a ward with people filling callings, not 2 faithful members doing everything.

And now that I’m in the city I can go pick up my mail every p day. So you can send me mail and I should get it sooner! I still haven’t got those birthday letters or Tracey’s package..And my companion was about to buy an iPod nano for what is almost 500 dollars. So I sold him mine. So if Nick can find a super super cheap ipod on craigslist it would be great to receive :)

It’s SOOOOOOOOOOOO COLD!! I can’t explain to you how cold it is here! I thought that in all of Costa Rica it was hot but we’re in the mountains and its freezing!!

Ok well I gotta head out. But I love you and keep being a great family!

pura vida
Elder Graham