Nov. 14th, 2012

Hey family! Sorry i am writing late this week, we got permission to write today because monday we were in MACHU PICCHU!!!!!  Definitely the coolest place i have ever been. There is such a different feeling there, its obvious why the incas considered it a sacred place, i have never seen anything like it. It was sooo awesome!!!! We left sunday night.. 5 hours from here to cusco, then at 2 am monday morning we left from cusco to valle sagrado, got on the train and got to maccu picchu at like, i dont know, 7 ish? no sleep. and then we left the same day in the afternoon, went back to cusco, then back to quillabamba at 4 am. No sleep at all. It rocked. 

What else happened this week? I have changed my mind again about dogs. before the mission, i wanted one. then i didnt want one after one bit me in cusco... but i have had a change of heart. We were sitting in our room planning, and i see out of the corner of my eye, something black run across the floor. Yep. a huge rat. It ran into the other sisters room. so, my comp and the other sister were on chairs, and hna choc and i had brooms and were looking for it. But we couldnt get to it, so we talked to the land lord, and he came and looked, and called for Lassy. Lassy is a German Shepard where we live, and I love her! Anyway, Lassy came in, they shut the door to the room, there were some sounds coming from the room, my companion was screaming in the background while we were trying to give the numbers to the District leader and Zone leaders, and then Lassy got it. So now i want a German Shepard.

That is soooo awesome Destins investigator is getting baptized!!!! there is not a feeling that is better in the whole world. We have some good investigators right now... we had a cool experience the other day too! We went to visit our investigator Miranda, and her friend was there with her. We asked if we could share a message with them, and they accepted. We were not sure if we should share something more basic because it was the first time we were going to teach Kati, the friend, but we decided to go on with the plan to teach word of wisdom to the two of them. We shared the message, and it turns out that she has issues with her health and it was exactly what she needed to hear. Then she told us she dreamed the night before that she was with her son, Miranda, and an angel, and that she woke up with a really good feeling. She told her mom what she dreamed and her mom told her that she should not be surprised if she had a spiritual experience that day, and that God had a message for her. And then we found her!!!! How cool. She does have a kid, and her boyfriend is studying in cusco, but it doesnt matter. It was a really cool experience, and she came to church on sunday!!! I am just hoping her boyfriend will come back soon so that they can get married. 

over all, life is good, i am trying not to be so stressed out all the time, because it doesnt help anyone. I loved hearing about Dad in indiana! Super Jealous. i want to go visit when i get back. and eat Mary lous. and Dog and suds. and Arnies pizza. mmmmmm. 
Mom, i love the pictures! So david and amber moved in with you? how come so soon? dont they have another month before rach and chris get back? Share a room with bastion eh? send me a picture of him!!!!!! I am okay with that, I am sure he is super cute. Welp, i love you all. I love this gospel so much, and i love teaching people about who Christ is and seeing lives change. I just wish people wouldnt complicate things so much! if they would just read their scriptures, pray and come to church, they could actually progress!!!! Its soooo simple, and yet so difficult for people to actually do. but i realize i need to do a better job at not being a robot and focus more on teaching people according to their needs, or just being a friend. anyway, i love you all! The church is true, the book is blue. I would love to hear from Kenzie, she wrote me but i lost her address! Tell her to write me again so i can write her back - look her up on facebook! I keep thinking about her, and have dreams about her too! Tell her to write me. 

Romanette! fui a machu picchu! fue super chevere! Nunca he visto un lugar asi en todo mi vida! Puede creer que tengo casi un año? Que raro, no! Hace un año usted me recogio en el aeropuerto en cusco! El tiempo pasa rapido mi amiga. no lo puedo creer. Le quiero mucho, siga siendo una luz para su familia, y dando todo de si. Ciou

Hermana Swartz

Nov. 5th, 2012

Hey family. 
I dont mind hearing about how the elections go, i think its interesting, but it seems like destins not the biggest fan haha. just let me know who wins. i LOVE all the pictures you all have sent!!! mom, you win. your costume is the best costume i have ever seen. i love it. I would like to know who failed to take a picture of dad being grapes? and of david and amber and the stranger who is their son, because nobody sends me pictures of him! throw an apple in there and you could have been fruit of the loom ahahahahaha. oh my lanta. so funny. and i love that picture you took of me dad, how did you get that of me? i would like to point out that i am holding the bow and arrow correctly. 
The work here is... progressing? ish. We have some investigators, but they each have something stopping them from progressing. The other sisters who we live with literally have people come up to them and are like, "baptize me. tomorrow." what? who does that happen to? it happens to the sisters we share sector with like, every week. not sure how, but they are doing something right. But we are happy for them, we just have to keep working hard and have to figure out how to overcome the challenges, the road blocks that are stopping all the people we are teaching. 
We had an activity, there wasnt exactly a ton of support from the branch. but the good news was that people showed up, we did a reenactment of the dream of lehi and the iron rod, it was cool. lots of work, and most of the references we took by force hahaha, and are under aged and their parents are all catholic, and want nothing to do with us. but hey, you got to start somewhere. My companion was struggling a bit, had her bags packed and was ready to go home, but changed her mind this week and decided to stay so that was good. Its been interesting here in quillabamba, i am learning more about perserverence and really have to question myself why is it that nobody is progessing? what are we doing wrong? Why am i so tired? the truth is that its hard, but we will figure it out. I remember that rachel told me that if i needed to learn one thing, its how not to quit when things get hard, and she was right. That is something i have always struggled with, but i am grateful for this time of trial because if i have ever had to stick it out, its now. and the best part is i dont even want to quit, i just want to figure out how to be better. 
Welp, thats all the time i have for now. i love you all so so so much! thank you for sending all the awesome pictures, i am so blessed to have such a cool family.

Con amor, Hermana Swartz.

Oct. 29, 2012

Hey family!

Thank you so much for your emails! Also I got a letter from Meaghan Reese, she is awesome. Welp, this week has been good. We have found some really awesome new investigors! its really exciting, because they dont have anything holding them back!!! i love it. 4 of our investigors came to church, we just now have teach them and help a few of them get permission, and the rest, just keep em warm.

Beder said a prayer the other day and in his prayer thanked me and my companion for helping him, and for filling the hole is heart he didnt know he had. Beder is sooooo awesome. Just pray that his mom will allow him to be baptized. we are teaching her and really trying to show her that baptism is a good thing for her son.

I dont have too much to tell about this week, we just keep moving forward, keep pushing even when things are difficult. I am so grateful for the gospel and for the oportunity i have had to share the message with people who accept it. i love watching lives change, and its so hard knowing how the gospel could help someone, and they dont put their part. you have to live the principles before you can get a testimony of them. you have to show that faith before you can recieve the reward. if you never show faith, and never live the principles of the gospel, how can you know if its good? If there is food in front of you, you have to taste it before you decide if its good or not. Thats whats so hard for me is when people just arent willing to try, to see what could happen to their lives. But the people that do, makes it all worth it.

 

I love hearing about halloween!!! i love this season. They dont celebrate halloween here, they know what it is, but dont really get into it. Halloween is definitely more fun in the states. Next year, we{ll all go to witches fest. and it will be awesome. I dont know if you know. mom and dad, please send pictures of your costumes, and of david and amber, and my nephew who i dont know. and of the whole fam. granparents, cousins, tias, tios, you know. The whole brady bunch.

 

Anyway, i love you all tons and tons!!!! i miss you, but i know i am exactly where i need to be at this time, so thats a good feeling.

 

Mila y romi! ustedes tienen que traducir mis cartas jajaja. basicamente, todo esta bien aca en quillabamba. Romi, todo lo que yo le dije es verdad, lo que yo deje para usted en su recuerdo. para que sepa. todavia le extrana y espero que un dia me pueda visitar. Usted tambien Mila, con su familia!!! les queiro un monton.

 

Con amor, Hermana Swartz.

It's been too long!

Hi Mary's friends and family who read her blog! This is Rachel. While in England I had very little access to a computer so I got behind...here's her latest email! I'm hoping to catch up soon. :) Enjoy. 

Hey family! mom... holy cow. My mouth is watering from the pictures of your cakes!!!! so good! Hey when i get home, I want some of that and probably cofee cake. that would be a good plan i feel like. And all your grandchildren are blonde with blue eyes! How weird, but they are all so big and adorable!!! Have i really been gone that long? 
Daddy, i am super glad your classes are going well, keep working hard and youll do great. Do you feel like your perspective has changed since you were in the university before? I bet its more fun now. < love you daddy. 
Rach!!! Thanks for you letter. so do you guys even work, or do you just take trips and play all the time? I dont even remember what its like to sleep, so make sure and take some naps for me while you are on the beach, yeah? Also, Chris, i understand. putting in contacts is a traumatic experience. 
David, its good to hear from you so often. Keep working hard, love you tons.
Destin, Its about 34 degrees celcius here, not sure what it is in faregnheit either, and i dont remember how to spell that either lol. But its cookin here, not as much as puerto, but its still hot. Hope all is well in Russia. <love you little brother. 
Let me know when tiff gets home. I know its coming up here. 
Welp, Here in peru things are good, Andres and <omar got baptized saturday!!! so that was awesome! We are stoked about that. They are so awesome! We are teaching some really cool people right now, its awesome. Its so interesting because when we are so tired and we keep going, thats when the lord has blessed us the most. I feel like i have changed so much since i first came on the mission, and yet, i am still me. :) Its just interesting.   I love you guys tons and tons. I hope everything is going well there in utah. If there is snow, send me a picture! i havent seen snow in so long.... maybe if i look at a picture of it, it will be like a little bit of ac here in quillabamba. 

here are the pictures of my shoes. They are pretty much hashed, both pairs. not sure if they can send me a replacement, or what, but let me know what they say! Thanks! 

Hermana Swartz

 Mary's shoes after 1 year of Peru! Thank Heavens for a warrantee! 

Letter #36 from Mary

Happy birthday daddy!!!!

Hey daddy, can you forward this to mom and rachel? Its good to hear from
you all! I am here in quillabamba still, we tecnically have no progressing
investigators at this time, however we have a few that are almost
considered progressing lol. I have never worked so hard and seen so little
results. Its even harder watching other missionaries work less and reep
more benefits. You cant help  but wonder... am i doing everything right,
everything possible to help our investigators, and the Lord is testing me,
or am doing something wrong and need to change? I dont know to be honest.
But, I am so grateful to my heavenly for the people i have met. Veder is
really our investigator with the most progression. its amazing how the
jovenes... the youth of the branch have just taken him under their wing. It
makes all the difference. He goes to early morning seminary, he likes to go
to the church to play the piano, he is giving references, we just have to
get him to really commit! and also, get ahold of his dad, who doesnt have
his phone and went to work in the jungle for a while... so thats also
difficult. Also, all the catholic schools have this thing called desfile on
sundays and its required. but we are doing the best we can. man its been a
rough change. Grateful, i know i am learning a lesson i have never had to
learn. There is so much that has happened, and i have been so humbled, and
i have a feeling its not going to stop until i have been humbled to the
dust. And thats a good thing... but man, sometimes you wonder how much more
you can take. How much more can I possibly be stretched without breaking? I
love what destin said,"You wont die." also, i know that was your phrase
mom whenever things got rough. And its true, i wont die, And i am happy,
because i know i have been sooooo blessed. beyond what i could even
deserve. There is a season for everything.

Rach- i had a funny dream, i dreamed that i was with you guys and you were
all packing up to go to england, and i saw that you packed my blanket to
give to boston and maddie!!! i ripped it out from under boston, and even
though he started to cry, i just said to him, no! Hermana swartz´s blanket.
hahahaha. it was very similar to joey on friends when he rips hugsey away
from emma... strange dream lol.

DAddy, i hope your birthday rocked. i promise next year i´ll make you a
mean chocolate cake. I thought about you all day that day! 54, wow.
impressive. I love the pictures you sent, they are awesome. i just want you
to know, you are the best father i could have ever asked for. you have
always given everything you could to us, and you gave me a good example of
how a husband should treat his wife and daughters. I will not settle for
anything less than flowers every 3 to six months hahaha. Thank you daddy, i
love you sooo much, and i am sooo blessed to be your daughter.

Welp i think thats all for now. Just keep praying for our investigators,
they really need it. we need them to recieve answers to their prayers. I
love you all!!!!

Hermana Swartz

letter #35 from Mary

Mom, and daddy, thanks for your letters this week. Its not been the easiest transfer for me, but i love reading your letters. they help a ton!!! oh if you ever decide to send a package in the near future... i dont have mascara, and its SUPER expensive in quillabamba. also, mod bod shirts at some point would be welcomed. but if not, i will survive, and even still be happy. .)
Hey family!!! Wow, its been an interesting week. Conference was sooo great! all our mouths dropped with the news of the age change. They announced the 18 year old thing here a few months ago, so the big news was more the 19 year old rule. wow, my mouth dropped, and stayed there for like, 5 minutes. i couldnt believe it, oh how i wanted to serve when i was 19!!! We are the last generation on the mission before recieving the new revelation, so pretty much we are the last of the un prepared hahaha. after us, begins the newbies who are more prepared. lol. but it will be awesome. i think its brilliant. plus, i know that this is the time and the place for me.
Wow, thank thank thank you mom for telling me about jill! nobody has given me any details!!! i am so happy for her, she is all married now and what not. VACAN. and yay for the ring ceremony in june!!! yeah it has to be after the 27th. because i leave peru the 26th, but its like a day or two just to get back. man, good for her. And rach is going to do the pics, eh? thats awesome. RAchel does a good job. 
THis week, i was soooo tired. there are 4 of us who live together, and so when one gets sick, everyone gets sick. we all got a bad cold, and were so exhausted, i have never been so tired in my life. We all 4 share the same bedroom and everything. one morning, my comp asked me if i slept okay. i said, "yeah, i was out like a rock" she said, "really?" and then told me i was contacting in my sleep in spanish, and committing people to baptism, and then stood up to the window and was looking at my arms, and then got back in bed, and fell asleep with my arms straight up. how strange hahahaha. i was definitly not awake for any of that. so cool. 
<our investigators... mas o menos. they all are like 16 or 17 and need permision to get baptized but we cant find their parents. The only one who is 19 years old went on a trip to valle sagrado for the weekend so that was a bummer. we just cant figure out how to get them to progress!!! its sooooo frustrating! but we keep working. i guess i cant always be the one to reep, i have to sew as well and learn patience. But we keep working and praying, and hopefully we are touching hearts and preparing them so that soon they can accept the gospel. The more i study this gospel, the more clear it becomes and i love it more and more everyday. its soooo LOGICAL. it just makes sense. anyone who says otherwise is mistaken, and clearly has not studied it well.

Welp, time to go. love you all! tune in monday for next weeks report.

Letter #34 from Mary

Hey family! 

This month has been a rough one. not one baptism!!! everybody has their problems that prevent them from baptism. but i know that i have been obedient and done all i could to serve and teach others. i have testified of my christ, and am learning patience. ... i thought i was a patient person, but its becoming clear to me i am not. was i a patient person before the mission? because i always thought i was a down to earth patient, loving, person. My reputation on the mission is a little different hahahahahaha. What was i like before? that is a real question that i would like an answer to fyi. :) 

I was attacked by a chicken while i was giving a prayer yesterday. so that was cool. the couple only speaks quechua, so they didnt understand much, but we are going to bring someone who speaks quechua. Also our investigator came to church, Veder!!! he is 14 and sings a plays guitar, he played in the talent show on friday. yesteday we had a lesson and he showed up 2 hours early to play the piano in the church. he doesnt play by the way, he decided he wanted to learn, and sat down, and learned a third of the song a poor wayfairing man of grief!!!! incredible. i lack patience to do that. after about 30 seconds, i am done. but i would like to learn one day.  
What else, i sang his hands for the talent show, so that was fun. most latinos are tone deaf, so its not as scary to sing infront of them. hahaha. Um... kassie is home from what i know, she had health problems and had to go home. Tiff gets home in january i thing. crazy. time sure goes by quick. I want some pictures of london, and of my nefew bastian!!!! send pictures, and i{ll try to send some recent pictures next week, the ones i sent werent exactly recent, or ill wait until after i come back from machu piccu. .. anyway, love you all. the mission rocks. best thing i have ever done. 


Hermana Swartz.

Letter #33 from Mary

Hey family! another week has gone by in quillabamba. Holy cow the people are super different from the people in Puerto. I definitely did not appreciate how easy it was to get in doors. Here, the people are just not quite as friendly, but the members are great!!! We are working really hard to get to know the members better so they will give us more references. 

its so funny, as soon as i feel like im doing something well, i lack something else and have to go back and change that. Before, i was forgetting to repent myself and not just teach the atonement, if not apply it. today i realized, i am repenting, but i shouldnt focus too much on numbers, and need to teach with patience and love and pray to love the new people i am teaching. I just get so frustrated when I think i am teaching something well, and they just dont get it! i feel like its so simple, i just want to ask, what dont you get? why arent you getting this!? its SO SIMPLE!!! But i suppose it wouldnt be so simple if its the first time you hear it, or if you have had years of catholicism pounded into you.  one thing at a time i guess.  to quote jaffar, patience eiago, patience. 

I am headed with my companion to cusco again this week to go sing, but this time, my companion is coming with me!!!! i am super excited, she is going to sing in the choir. This time we are singing for the stake intiraimy, which is the stake that the mission president, President calderon is in, so its supposed to be huge! little bit nervous, but it will be great im sure. 

quick proseliting story. so we were looking for antiguos investigadores, and we knocked a door, and a little girl answered and said she didnt live there. i asked when she would be back, and the little girl said she didnt know, and shut the door in my face. now, normally i would just walk away, but for some reason, this irritated me. what did we do to her to have her treat us so poorly?  i turned to companion, and said, i am going to knock again, that was rude of her. so i knock again, with a little more force. we hear the mom yelling, who is at the door! what do they want!? she sounds ticked. my pride took off running, and left me stranded on the porch of a ticked off peruvian woman, alone. as i realized what i had done, and start thinking what i am going to say when she answers, right? So she answers, and we put on our best feliz cumpleanos faces, even though we were a little scared. so she looks mad at first, but then sees the badge of power and authority, and her face completely changes! she looks at me and says, do you know clara and hugo in cusco? they are members of your church... they are my cousins. I was still surprised by the change of... feeling? i dont know how to say what i want to say in english dang it, but you know what i mean. bbut in that moment i realize i know the whole family! hugo and clara helped us out a ton in cusco!!!! and we have plans to visit them this week when we are there!!! it was such a blessing because we almost never double knock a door after rejection, but i am soooo glad we did because she invited us to come back and teach her mom, and her son. she doesnt live with her boyfriend, so we{ll see what happens. but it was a blessing from the lord. what are the chances that i would know her cousins in cusco, cusco is big! and that the first words out of her mouth would be asking if i knew them! how cool???!!

Welp fam, the church is true. the book is blue. 

Letter #32 from Mary

i am in quillabamba again! i love it, hermana lepez is my companion. She is 33 years old, but she is great. she is from Argentina. I still dont know the area or inv. very well, but we had two couples come to church yesterday that have to get married. Soooooo much work, but if thats what god wants, thats what we'll do. Also, cool experience. Hermana lepez and i were talking to a man who's son is the second councelor in the rama, and we were talking to him and started on the book of mormon, and at the end, we taught him how to pray. after, his son with tears in his eyes said in 10 years of listening to missionaries on and off, he has never heard his father offer a prayer, and thanked us. Thats why i am here, thats why i am serving. i love love that heavenly father is blessing me so much to help others change their lives. its such  a blessing to watch others change, and watch them discover a happiness they have never known.

 

i got some excellent letters from a lot of people, thank you so so so much for your letters. it costs so much to respond, so i will try but if i dont write back its becuase i am broke, not because i dont love and appreciate the letters. i heard kass is headed home this week, try to find her and talk to her. Also, brittany anderson is home. i hope they write me! I want pictures of jill and her new husband. Girl best be writing me soon!!!! welp, i have to go.

Letter #31 From Mary

Hey family!

 Well, I just got back from Quillabamba yesterday. The concert went really well, but the song his hands... got slaughtered which was so sad because it should be the best song in the program. so we decided to take the choir out, and make it into a solo or a duo piece. i think it will go much better. Quillabamba is sooo pretty, but i was so sick. I flew to cusco, then the asistents, myself and elder ryan, and president and his wife drove out to quillabamba, 5 hour drive. it was really fun, but i got super sick. its a dirt road on the side of a mountain that is super curvy. As your coming down, it looks like land before time. soooo awesome. The bathrooms were they typical peruvian bathroom on the side of the road... a hole in the ground with a tarp for privacy... special.

I know there is a blog.. this part i dont really want on the blog for everybody, but its whats happening. In the rama, They named me the unofficial relief society president because i kept asking for one... i dont know how many times we have asked for a president, and they keep telling us... una se va a nacer... wow. thats like saying you blew up a library and a dictionary was born. so finally my comp and i organized the visiting teaching companionships, we are also organizing a better plan misional working with 5 families for the branch mtc, and also trying to work with 5 less active families from the relief society and 5 less actives from the quorom of elders... and on top of it, traveling, and still have to get 2 or three baptisms a month, and get all the key indicators. How is this all possible you ask? Well to be honest i am not sure it is, because we are falling short. a rama means branch fyi. but I am pretty sure i am going to have a change because i have been here 6 months, and thats normally the longest people have in an area. Its a long time. i dont know if you know.

thanks for the letters!!!!! i got a few already!!! wow. Letters help sooooo much to boost el animo... i dont remember how to say that in english, but its true. Welp, love you all soooo much! the mission is the best thing that has ever happened to me. i have never been so tired, the black circles under my eyes are impressive hahaa. i love it. I also heard that president wilkinsen got called to be a mission president in costa rica!!!! oh my gosh how cool!!!! Welp, gotta run. love you all.

 

Hermana swartz

 

ROMI!!!! lo que me dijiste... que chevere!!! tienes que hablar con el, no con el chico de lima... el chico de tu barrio. podria ser vacan. ¿Como te va tu llamamiento?¿Todavia estresante? Bueno yo se que para mujeres jovenes, no hay mejor persona de ti, mi mamita para ser presidenta. Oye! que tal tu familia!!! queiro saber de tu hermana, se va a casar??? ¿que tal tu sobrinito?!!! Y tus padres? no me has dicho nada de ellos!! ¿Que te pasa, eh?!!

 Te quiero muchoooo!!!! --- Hermana Swartz