Hey pamilya,

I forgot to tell all of you about transfers last week. Elder Taylor got transferred which is a bummer because I really liked working with him. We got along really good and we both like Mexican food so we made a few delicious meals. We had a good run together but all good companionships must come to an end. Elder Taylor had been in this area for nine months so it was about time for him to leave.

My new companion is Elder Lanticse, who is Filipino and from what I've seen, a really good, hard worker. This is his first transfer as a zone leader so I'm training him. But there isn't much to that other than sending in reports, conducting meetings, and taking care of the sister missionaries. The "take care of sister missionaries" is definitely the hardest part of being a zone leader.

The sisters called me up a few days ago because the needed a box of Ang Aklat Ni Mormons (Books of Mormon) delivered to their church building. These sisters are a bit below average height so there is no way they can carry these boxes. A box has 32 Books of Mormon in it so it's got a bit of weight to it; the Tagalog Books of Mormon are a lot bigger than the English ones. I like to serve others, so we woke up a little early Saturday morning to take the box to their church building; the jeepneys don't get super close to their church, so I had to carry it a long way. I'm not sure the total distance, but I must of carried it nearly a mile. They used the Books of Mormon for an activity to get the ward to help in missionary work. When the activity was over, they had only given out like seven Books of Mormon and made me carry the rest back to their apartment. I felt like I was working for UPS or something.

In other news, it's kind of starting to hit me how fast September is coming. I got my "trunky letter" and turned it in the other day which basically is the information the office needs to get your plane ticket home. Then today, I got an email saying I have an appointment in a couple of weeks for my "going home X-ray." I really don't know what happened to the time; it doesn't feel like I've been out almost two years... Well on that happy note, I love you all and thank you for your letters and prayers.

Love, Elder Smith