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

Letter #30 from Mary

Hey family! life is great. Thanks for your emails! Destin is such a better person than i am. I would like a package for christmas haha, I would love music, classical... piano and cello if possible. Also, I would also like to know how much is on my account? i have to withdraw some money because I am going to Quillabamba this week to sing. 

Welp, there is not too much to report this week, just working hard. Well, okay I was a little frustrated this week because we the people that were progressing, arent progressing and it looks like we are going to have to drop the majority of them and focus on the new people. This for me is one of the hardest parts, are they not progressing because i didnt do my part, or because they are choosing not to accept it? There is so much that goes into a baptism. its not just teach, invite, baptize. its a whole equation that if one thing is off, you have to go back over your work, figure out where you went wrong, and redo it. and thats not even including free will! you throw some free will in there, and its a whole different ball game. The question is, how am I personally, am i personally on track? are we on track as a companionship? are we being obedient? are we teaching well together? Do we love and serve eachother? Do we apply the atonement daily in our lives? Do I teach what people need and not just lessons? Do i work the whole week to get numbers so the leaders dont burn us, or am i really working because i want to help the people with the things that they need? Do i study the scriptures because i should, or do i seach with diligence? Do I pray because i am supposed to, or do i pray with hunger, and real intent? When i teach, do i teach to check off a lesson, or i teach what they need with love? So many questions!!!! so much room to improve. 

The good news is, every sunday, the congregation is filled with people we have brought to the church, and people we have helped bring back. There is soooo much joy in seeing the difference in their lives, and seeing families live the gospel. Alma knew what he was talking about when he said that he strived everyday to bring others to the knoweledge to the gospel because it brought him joy. Word. Well i love you all so so so much, i hope you are all doing well! send me letters, even if its just through Dear elder! its FREE dang it. I hit six months and its like somebody put a cork in my fountain of letters. I  was abandoned after only 6 months. lame. 

And all this I leave with you,

 with all my love. 

Hermana Swartz.

Letter #29 from Mary

Hey family! wow there is so muchg to say and no time. for christmas, I would love music. mo-tab, and classical. and candy, please. 

On Wednesday I got on a 13 hour bus ride to PUNO!!! I am still in puno, but i go back to puerto today. i came for the concerts,,, we had a concert in juliaca on friday, bellavista saturday, and puno central last night. we were on tv for puno on thursday morning and sang on tv! Then sunday, in the morning hrna martinez and i went to los uros... those are the floating islands on lake titikaka to go sing for the members! the church is made out of reeds too, it was amazing. We went just the two of us with the 2nd councelor of the mission. Also, i wasnt there for it saturday, but my two converts got baptized! I was sad i couldnt be there for it, but the most important thing is that they got baptized, and i am beyond happy about that. 

I have been so blessed, and i dont feel i deserve any of it. The people treat us like celebrities or something, and we were signing autographs for an hour, but to be honest i almost said last night i dont want to do this anymore. its hard, its stressful, and half the time i sing well, the other half i make mistakes. plus i never have been one to love the spot light that much, so much pressure. I am still going to finish out all the concerts, but its hard. there is so much going on in my area that i am missing. But i know that that in the long run, the concert helps gets tons and tons of references, so thats makes it worth it. If the lord wants me to sing, thats what i'll do. 

rach, send pictures of england! i cant believe you are going! also, i want pictures of my of my niece and nephews! love you all, i'll send pics of puno!!!!!

Hermana San Francisco!! Wow, me encantan sus fotos! Se acuerda de hermana creek? ella es mi companera! loca, todavia estamos en puerto trabajando duro. tuvimos dos bautismos sabado, pero, ahorita estoy en puno visitando para cantar! es muy chevere. Come un heladito extra en la playa para mi!!! Oiga, que paso con sus citas con los chicos! cuenteme porfa!!!!  quiero saber que esta pasando alli pue! le quiero mucho, cuenteme cuenteme! 

Letter #28 from Mary

Hey daddy, that sounds like fun camping with david and chris. i sure miss cool weather, its so hot here all the time. i am going on 6 months here in puerto! my companion and i are doing really well. I love her so so much! We only speak in spanish, and are working hard. 

Here is the update. the peruvian postal service is on strike in lima... we can still recieve letters, but we cant send anything out! The worst part is i went to another service, and paid a bunch of money to send it out a few weeks ago to the us, and when we went back, they told us that their company doesnt send mail internationally. yep, so that means the cheif that told me he could just pocketed my money. awesome. sorry family and friends for not writing you all, i have tried, but it just backfired. BUT PLEASE STILL SEND ME LETTERS!! we can recieve just fine, just cant send. 

Things that have happened this week. in church, rosa and frank came! frank is a member less active, and rosa is his girlfriend who we are teaching, they live together and have a child. They both stood up and bore their testimony of the gospel with tears in their eyes-. it was truly a miracle to see. the whole branch was in tears. It was also so awesome to see almost all of the people i have taught and that have been baptized be in church yesterday... there were at least 10, and 3 investigators who have all accepted baptismal dates. Also, Vilma and her son werent there, but they are getting baptized too. Vilma had such a hard heart before and she has truly had such a change of heart. She is in puno this week, but is going to attend there!!! and be baptized at the end of this month. 

Also there is this little girl who we love, her name is angela. I have never seen a child with a bigger desire to go to church. everyday, when we walk by her, she chases us down and says, hermanitas!!! we are going to go to church on sunday!!! she is 3. yesterday, her mom didnt go to church, and when we passed by her, she ran to us, and said ¨are you going to take me to church? its sunday!? she had been waiting all week for us to pick her up. we forgot. church had already passed, but we figured we could invite her to see the church, but her mom said she didnt have time. Angela burst into tears. it broke our hearts. its so sad to see when the children have a desire to be righteous..and the  parents do nothing about it. ugh its frustrating. so sad. 

Wow it  sounds like so much has happened this week... I am so glad rachel went to help the sister with all those trials, how hard!!! if there is one thing i have learned, its that nothing is impossible, just difficult. if the lord gives us trials, its because its for our good. even though we dont understand them sometimes. i realize that i am saying this and here i am happy and blessed on a mission, but i still know them to true, and i will take that knowledge with me through out my life, and apply it whenever i have to ask, Why is this so hard? Anyway, i love you all. please write me, its been weeks since i have had even a letter. but my comp gets tons! love you! 

Burboa, y Villanueva! Uds estan en sus casas!!! espero que todo les vaya bien, y que siempre recuerden las cosas que han aprendido de la mision! voy a enviar las fotos que tengo a ustedes. ciou!

Hermana swartz.

Letter #27 from Mary

Daddy, can you forward this to everyone please??? Thanks pops. I loved
your email haha with the 15 year olds... some times i feel the same way
with investigators, only instead of drinking redbull, theyre drinking hard
liquor. so fun. Mom, sounds like a blast in canada!!! oh my lanta, so fun.
sometimes a getaway with friends is exactly what we need. Hey did you guys
get my package, i sent a package with some music... I reallly hope you got
it! 

Rachel, i would love more of the physician formula concelear. the make up
is not so great here. I love love love hearing about my adorable nefews and
neice... i had a dream that you are going to have another baby in february,
just a heads up on that. that would be way cool if you guys go to london
for a few months!!! cool oportunity!!!

Destin, wow. Russia is tough, but fascinating. My key indicators are
normally contacts, 50 ish, with member 15, 12, 10 10, 12 new, less active
and converts 10. ish. Its a little tough with the members sometimes, but
the whole mission is now really focusing on getting the members to
participate in the ward and branch mtc. they have to get contacts, and give
away books of mormon, and at the end they graduate, but it teaches the
members how to share the gospel so we can work on a bigger scale! i am
soooo excited.

Yesterday we had district conference, we sang a special number and then
president called me up to sing a duet with him hahahaha oh man, so we sang
on the spot... it was really special ahaha. But i feel so grateful for all
of the blessings i have recieved and i can not imagen my life with out this
mission. I have truly been so blessed with incredible opportunities, its
incredible. my panion has a transfer, and i am staying here in the jungle.
i wont get to finish training her. President told me he is putting hermana
creek as my companion. She is an american sister that is struggling with
the language, and hasnt had much help from her companions. pres has never
put two american sisters together before... and we are from the same group,
we were together in the mtc! so that will be interseting, but i am really
sad to not be with hermana ayala. she is so christ like and really has
tought me so much about how to serve. i love her so so much. oh well, such
is the mission.

oh daddy you asked about how are my investigators... this month has been a
little rough. but we have three baptisms scheduled for the 28th. we have
been working really hard with isabel, she is around 60 yrs old and feels
she is too old to get baptized and feels embarrassed. we are really working
to help her feel that age does not matter to christ. Tambien we have 2
kids, 9 and eleven and they come from part member families. and want to be
baptized. so thats good. anyway, please pray for isaabel to have the
courage and the kids to have the support from their families to be
baptized.