Mi Companera

 My goodness... has it been that long?  I guess the proof is in the picture taken at 6 a.m. without any primping.

Well... maybe it is just that these young missionaries got old... er!

Kara was a companion I did not want.  I actually prayed frequently that I would not be paired with her.

She terrified me.  I'm not sure why, but she caused me to shake in my knickers.

And then the inevitable happened... she became my companion the last month of her mission.  She actually extended her mission to be my companion.
You would think I would be flattered.
Not so much!
Still terrified.
And the first week cemented my fear.
She rode a bike like a maniac.  A strong, in shape maniac.  Up and down the steep hills in the Dominican Republic.  I wanted to scream.  My body was not used to such treatment.  She was undeterred to slow down.
In fact, she relished being in front of me.  Because... if she was, she could clip my front tire and if it was just right, my bike would go out of control and down I would go.

And she would laugh with that laugh I grew to love  Mainly because it meant she was happy.  Truly happy.  Something I really didn't know or feel.

She would pray that I wouldn't sleep at night until I figured out how to be happy and to know that my Heavenly Father loved me.

I would lie there exhausted, yearning for sleep and I would hear her giggling from her bed, which only added to my frustration.
How could she be so heartless, I would ask myself.
I soon learned how big her heart really was and how much she wanted me to be happy.  Truly happy.

Once I learned what I needed to learn and learned to love her, I could sleep again and shortly thereafter she left.
Leaving me a better missionary.
Leaving me a with a lasting friendship.

Thanks Kara for stopping by on your way home from Utah.  It totally made my day, week, and year.
Love you.