March 7th

Family,

I have been given permission and was encouraged to write this letter to all of you. This is to let everyone know that I have been invited by the Mission Presidency to extend my mission for an extra transfer (5 weeks) from my original date, which was on May 22nd. Being a Spanish Missionary, my original date of release technically falls closer to my 2 year mark on June 5th. But since that date from when I left the MTC to my two-year service falls in between transfers, they have given me the decision to choose whether or not I wanted to extend. So with this being said, I have thought and prayed heavily on this matter and decided to extend my service to the Lord. My release will now be on June 29th. 

As I mentioned, I prayed a lot on this matter and took all things into consideration. It was a difficult decision because I understand that travel plans were already made and I know how excited (esp. Karen) is to have me come home. This may also affect the potential job offer that Dad had planned for me. I do know though that my mission has given me so much growth and so many blessings that it would also be difficult for me not to take up this offer. I will be finishing my mission at the same time as President Packard and his family. This is a sprint for all of us to the end.  

Please email me back as soon as possible with any comments or other things that I should be aware of. I will continue to keep everyone updated to figure out the alternative plans to all this. But until then, keep going! 

I love you all.