Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hey, so a member of my branch said that he found Rachel on Facebook and gave her pictures. At least... I think that's what he said... anyway, just wanted to check on that and see if you guys got them. Also! I found out that dearelders are free for the Russia Samara Mission, or at least they should be... so if you want to save money, just send me a dearelder instead! It's not like I really care though, I'm here to be a missionary, not to get letters... but seriously... send letters. haha!
So this Stephanie lady! When she was a young wife with a good son, good husband, and a good life, her husband left the country for work and after a few months of not hearing from him, the government sent her back an earn (spellcheck?) saying it was her husbands ashes. Apparently the government didn't like something he did or knew so they got rid of him. She doesn't believe it was really his ashes, but Vsyo Ravno (nonetheless) her husband was gone. Then later, her son got beat to the point of being permanently brain damaged for the rest of his life and never recovered physically either. She doesn't receive any sort of money from the government because she's not Russian. Finally, she found this church and really liked it, but when she was walking home from a branch activity these guys broke her arm and her hip and told her never to go to our church again. She hasn't been able to come to church anymore because now her health is too poor! She has a crazy tough life... And a lot of people here have lives just like hers.
There's one lady, Larisa, I don't know much about her but apparently her mother killed her father, or maybe it was her brother who killed her mother... anyways, her family is all dead now and her life is really hard... People here are so scarred and battered. They have been chewed up and spit out time and time again. It reminds me of a talk I read in the MTC by Boyd K. Packer, Touch of the Master's Hand. You should read it. There was a poem at the end I really felt applied to the people of Russia more than it may to other people. If there was anything I could do for these people, it would be to help them remember who they really are. That they are worth more than the 30 rubles of material their bodies are made up of, but rather the infinite value of their own magnificence. If they could only see who they could be when touched by the master's hand, this people, the people of Russia could have exponentially better lives! They wouldn't even have to change much. Just their perspective! Everything else would follow naturally!
Russian fun fact: Graffiti is rampant! it's insane... All these little russian Gangs running around tagging their "English" Gang Names on stuff like "TickleMustaЯd" or the "Dragon Stabbers!" seriously... it's worse than the Cedar Hills Jads. haha! Actually there are a lot of really good taggings though. There is some true talent, too bad it's wasted.
I have to go bye!!
Love elder sdfjldasf
Elder Swartz
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Letter #9 From Russia
Baiu Baiu Baiu Bai (beginning of a Russian lullaby.)
That's terrily tohear about Sister Montrose! I'm so glad that She's doing a bit better! I'll pray for her! I wonder if Tessa was there when it happened and had to use any of her First Responder training. It would certainly be a good thing she had taken that class if she was there. They have had so many trials as a family. And still they are always so strong and so happy! When I imagine any of them, they are always smiling!! It's so sad to hear about so many sad things happening to such an incredible family! I'll talk to Heavenly Father about that tonight to see if I can pull a few strings for them. We're kind of on good terms right now. Haha!
So This week has been my favorite so far on the mission. My companions are incredible! I really could go on forever about them! Both of them are SO obedient! I love it! They are incredible planners, very spiritual, very nice, and really fun! Elder Anderson is a great cook too! We all wake up at 6:00 in the morning everyday! I love it! I tried doing that with Elder Benham and all it did was get him mad at me for even mentioning it... haha! I'm seriously the worst missionary of the three of us. I have so much to learn from both of them! I love them both so much! I'm not going to blame my trainer for how I have turned out as a missionary so far... but... I feel like I'm going to make leaps and bounds now that I have some good examples of what I always knew a missionary could be... haha!
So Russia is doing well, she is getting colder lately, but not too bad. Only about 10 degrees or so. It still hasn't snowed yet... sad. I'm excited for it... ish... but that also means I'll have to whip out my winter boots. Hastle. oh well. Stylin. (Stalin?) haha! ... Sorry, my mind just kind of went on a strange tangent... I've been wearing my beautiful fur coat and I got my hands on a good scarf too! I'm loving it! This is what russia should feel like!
So on friday, my companions and I were going around knocking on doors and this babooshka invited us into her backyard. She took us into this shed and surprised us with a birthday party! haha! It was the funniest thing! She then told us that it was actually for her 1 year old grandson, but it certainly threw us off for a second... They were practically trying to shove the vodka down our throats. They just couldn't fathom us not drinking vodka at a party. Finally they forced us to drink this really good juice. They made us eat all this food and then shoved us out the door before we could really talk to them about our message. Before we left, the lady said "I'm going to tell everyone that God sent three American boys to this party!" It was probably the funniest thing since [something really funny]! For reals. It was good because just before that, we got dominated by this guy who used to be a way active member, even got his mom baptised, but is now wrapped up in so much anti mormon stuff it was disgusting. At first, everything seemed fine, but as we continued talking, it became apparent that the spirit was absent more and more. In fact, there was a very different spirit in his home as well. We couldn't do anything to prove him wrong. What was worse was that he is a lawyer and he knows more about the gospel than I do. It was definitely not my favorite thing... He knew fluent English, so it made it even harder in the fact that we just wanted to argue with him. We didn't of course, but the temptation was strong.
I'm so grateful for this gospel! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve! I love you all so much! I pray for you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz.
PS: I finally found out how I can send letters home and stuff, so I'll try to do that soon!
That's terrily tohear about Sister Montrose! I'm so glad that She's doing a bit better! I'll pray for her! I wonder if Tessa was there when it happened and had to use any of her First Responder training. It would certainly be a good thing she had taken that class if she was there. They have had so many trials as a family. And still they are always so strong and so happy! When I imagine any of them, they are always smiling!! It's so sad to hear about so many sad things happening to such an incredible family! I'll talk to Heavenly Father about that tonight to see if I can pull a few strings for them. We're kind of on good terms right now. Haha!
So This week has been my favorite so far on the mission. My companions are incredible! I really could go on forever about them! Both of them are SO obedient! I love it! They are incredible planners, very spiritual, very nice, and really fun! Elder Anderson is a great cook too! We all wake up at 6:00 in the morning everyday! I love it! I tried doing that with Elder Benham and all it did was get him mad at me for even mentioning it... haha! I'm seriously the worst missionary of the three of us. I have so much to learn from both of them! I love them both so much! I'm not going to blame my trainer for how I have turned out as a missionary so far... but... I feel like I'm going to make leaps and bounds now that I have some good examples of what I always knew a missionary could be... haha!
So Russia is doing well, she is getting colder lately, but not too bad. Only about 10 degrees or so. It still hasn't snowed yet... sad. I'm excited for it... ish... but that also means I'll have to whip out my winter boots. Hastle. oh well. Stylin. (Stalin?) haha! ... Sorry, my mind just kind of went on a strange tangent... I've been wearing my beautiful fur coat and I got my hands on a good scarf too! I'm loving it! This is what russia should feel like!
So on friday, my companions and I were going around knocking on doors and this babooshka invited us into her backyard. She took us into this shed and surprised us with a birthday party! haha! It was the funniest thing! She then told us that it was actually for her 1 year old grandson, but it certainly threw us off for a second... They were practically trying to shove the vodka down our throats. They just couldn't fathom us not drinking vodka at a party. Finally they forced us to drink this really good juice. They made us eat all this food and then shoved us out the door before we could really talk to them about our message. Before we left, the lady said "I'm going to tell everyone that God sent three American boys to this party!" It was probably the funniest thing since [something really funny]! For reals. It was good because just before that, we got dominated by this guy who used to be a way active member, even got his mom baptised, but is now wrapped up in so much anti mormon stuff it was disgusting. At first, everything seemed fine, but as we continued talking, it became apparent that the spirit was absent more and more. In fact, there was a very different spirit in his home as well. We couldn't do anything to prove him wrong. What was worse was that he is a lawyer and he knows more about the gospel than I do. It was definitely not my favorite thing... He knew fluent English, so it made it even harder in the fact that we just wanted to argue with him. We didn't of course, but the temptation was strong.
I'm so grateful for this gospel! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve! I love you all so much! I pray for you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz.
PS: I finally found out how I can send letters home and stuff, so I'll try to do that soon!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Letter #8 From Russia
Baiu Baiu Baiu Bai (beginning of a Russian lullaby.)
That's terrily tohear about Sister Montrose! I'm so glad that She's doing a bit better! I'll pray for her! I wonder if Tessa was there when it happened and had to use any of her First Responder training. It would certainly be a good thing she had taken that class if she was there. They have had so many trials as a family. And still they are always so strong and so happy! When I imagine any of them, they are always smiling!! It's so sad to hear about so many sad things happening to such an incredible family! I'll talk to Heavenly Father about that tonight to see if I can pull a few strings for them. We're kind of on good terms right now. Haha!
So This week has been my favorite so far on the mission. My companions are incredible! I really could go on forever about them! Both of them are SO obedient! I love it! They are incredible planners, very spiritual, very nice, and really fun! Elder Anderson is a great cook too! We all wake up at 6:00 in the morning everyday! I love it! I tried doing that with Elder Benham and all it did was get him mad at me for even mentioning it... haha! I'm seriously the worst missionary of the three of us. I have so much to learn from both of them! I love them both so much! I'm not going to blame my trainer for how I have turned out as a missionary so far... but... I feel like I'm going to make leaps and bounds now that I have some good examples of what I always knew a missionary could be... haha!
So Russia is doing well, she is getting colder lately, but not too bad. Only about 10 degrees or so. It still hasn't snowed yet... sad. I'm excited for it... ish... but that also means I'll have to whip out my winter boots. Hastle. oh well. Stylin. (Stalin?) haha! ... Sorry, my mind just kind of went on a strange tangent... I've been wearing my beautiful fur coat and I got my hands on a good scarf too! I'm loving it! This is what russia should feel like!
So on friday, my companions and I were going around knocking on doors and this babooshka invited us into her backyard. She took us into this shed and surprised us with a birthday party! haha! It was the funniest thing! She then told us that it was actually for her 1 year old grandson, but it certainly threw us off for a second... They were practically trying to shove the vodka down our throats. They just couldn't fathom us not drinking vodka at a party. Finally they forced us to drink this really good juice. They made us eat all this food and then shoved us out the door before we could really talk to them about our message. Before we left, the lady said "I'm going to tell everyone that God sent three American boys to this party!" It was probably the funniest thing since [something really funny]! For reals. It was good because just before that, we got dominated by this guy who used to be a way active member, even got his mom baptised, but is now wrapped up in so much anti mormon stuff it was disgusting. At first, everything seemed fine, but as we continued talking, it became apparent that the spirit was absent more and more. In fact, there was a very different spirit in his home as well. We couldn't do anything to prove him wrong. What was worse was that he is a lawyer and he knows more about the gospel than I do. It was definitely not my favorite thing... He knew fluent English, so it made it even harder in the fact that we just wanted to argue with him. We didn't of course, but the temptation was strong.
I'm so grateful for this gospel! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve! I love you all so much! I pray for you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz.
PS: I finally found out how I can send letters home and stuff, so I'll try to do that soon!
That's terrily tohear about Sister Montrose! I'm so glad that She's doing a bit better! I'll pray for her! I wonder if Tessa was there when it happened and had to use any of her First Responder training. It would certainly be a good thing she had taken that class if she was there. They have had so many trials as a family. And still they are always so strong and so happy! When I imagine any of them, they are always smiling!! It's so sad to hear about so many sad things happening to such an incredible family! I'll talk to Heavenly Father about that tonight to see if I can pull a few strings for them. We're kind of on good terms right now. Haha!
So This week has been my favorite so far on the mission. My companions are incredible! I really could go on forever about them! Both of them are SO obedient! I love it! They are incredible planners, very spiritual, very nice, and really fun! Elder Anderson is a great cook too! We all wake up at 6:00 in the morning everyday! I love it! I tried doing that with Elder Benham and all it did was get him mad at me for even mentioning it... haha! I'm seriously the worst missionary of the three of us. I have so much to learn from both of them! I love them both so much! I'm not going to blame my trainer for how I have turned out as a missionary so far... but... I feel like I'm going to make leaps and bounds now that I have some good examples of what I always knew a missionary could be... haha!
So Russia is doing well, she is getting colder lately, but not too bad. Only about 10 degrees or so. It still hasn't snowed yet... sad. I'm excited for it... ish... but that also means I'll have to whip out my winter boots. Hastle. oh well. Stylin. (Stalin?) haha! ... Sorry, my mind just kind of went on a strange tangent... I've been wearing my beautiful fur coat and I got my hands on a good scarf too! I'm loving it! This is what russia should feel like!
So on friday, my companions and I were going around knocking on doors and this babooshka invited us into her backyard. She took us into this shed and surprised us with a birthday party! haha! It was the funniest thing! She then told us that it was actually for her 1 year old grandson, but it certainly threw us off for a second... They were practically trying to shove the vodka down our throats. They just couldn't fathom us not drinking vodka at a party. Finally they forced us to drink this really good juice. They made us eat all this food and then shoved us out the door before we could really talk to them about our message. Before we left, the lady said "I'm going to tell everyone that God sent three American boys to this party!" It was probably the funniest thing since [something really funny]! For reals. It was good because just before that, we got dominated by this guy who used to be a way active member, even got his mom baptised, but is now wrapped up in so much anti mormon stuff it was disgusting. At first, everything seemed fine, but as we continued talking, it became apparent that the spirit was absent more and more. In fact, there was a very different spirit in his home as well. We couldn't do anything to prove him wrong. What was worse was that he is a lawyer and he knows more about the gospel than I do. It was definitely not my favorite thing... He knew fluent English, so it made it even harder in the fact that we just wanted to argue with him. We didn't of course, but the temptation was strong.
I'm so grateful for this gospel! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve! I love you all so much! I pray for you all!!
Love, Elder Swartz.
PS: I finally found out how I can send letters home and stuff, so I'll try to do that soon!
Letter from Russia #7
Hey hey hey!
Whoa boy... this week has been tough... but good. First: Muslims are tough to convert... their religion is so similar to ours that all of our little explanations about why we need the book of Mormon or prophets and stuff apply to the Koran! haha! Not only that, but they have no faith in Jesus Christ, so there's nothing to build off of there... it's tough. You really just have to bring everything down to the spirit testifying to them of the truth of your message. With my Russian abilities thus far, I can't do anything else to explain. But I know that I have the power of the Lord on my side.
God does not love eloquence, He loves His children.
Also: An elevator broke down while my companion and I were in it. He got all mad, but I stayed cheerful and somehow he cheered up as well. It actually became funny... Finally, after probably 20 minutes, this guy came and got us out. We talked to him as he was on top of the elevator prying the door open with his crow bar and by the end, he said he'd come to church! haha! We couldn't get his number or anything though, so we'll see how that turns out.
So I was reading Mosiah 21: 14 and I felt like it totally described my pleadings with the Lord about my companion. I was scared that verse 15 was going to apply to me as well, but the Lord answered my prayers. My companion got transferred. He's not even in my zone anymore... I feel bad for praying so hard for that very thing to happen, because he did so much work here and now he has to leave it all behind. As happy as I am, I certainly understand him being sad to leave. But honestly it is good that it is happening. It got to the point where I was giving in everytime he was disobedient for the sake of not starting an argument. I feel so bad for wasting that time, for it was not mine to waste, but I really didn't know what to do anymore. However, just the other day during my language study, I came across a quote from a Russian book "Doctor Zhivago" by Pasternak that says
"The root of all evil to come was the loss of confidence in the value of one's own opinion. People imagined that it was out of date to follow their own moral sense, that they must all sing in chorus, and live other people's notions."
I decided at that time that, new companion or not, this upcoming transfer, I would rather please the Lord than get along with my companion. I will obviously try to do both, but I will not give in the fight to be obedient when my companion will not be. It's a hard thing when you're the new one, you're companion is the District Leader, and you have to be the one to say no or that we should be doing something else, especially when you know he will get mad at you. It sounds so easy to do (It always did to me at least), but I know from experience that it can seem impossible when it is actually happening. Luckily, I'm starting fresh with new companions, and I won't feel so uncomfortable if I establish it at the beginning. It's definitely harder to get out of the groove when you are already in it instead of staying out of it in the first place.
I'm getting put with the new district leader for Penza and one other Elder as well. Yeah, I'm in a tripanionship. I've never met Elder Glad, I will later today though. But I'm already good friends with Elder Anderson because we were in the same district before. I'm so excited. I really don't know what to expect, but I'm praying that I wll have the right set of attributes to get along with both of them well. Both of them were in the military before the mission, so I'm excited about that... haha!
Hey, well I have to go! I love you all and I love getting your letters! I promise I'll write back! It just takes forever to respond!
Love, Elder Swartz!
Whoa boy... this week has been tough... but good. First: Muslims are tough to convert... their religion is so similar to ours that all of our little explanations about why we need the book of Mormon or prophets and stuff apply to the Koran! haha! Not only that, but they have no faith in Jesus Christ, so there's nothing to build off of there... it's tough. You really just have to bring everything down to the spirit testifying to them of the truth of your message. With my Russian abilities thus far, I can't do anything else to explain. But I know that I have the power of the Lord on my side.
God does not love eloquence, He loves His children.
Also: An elevator broke down while my companion and I were in it. He got all mad, but I stayed cheerful and somehow he cheered up as well. It actually became funny... Finally, after probably 20 minutes, this guy came and got us out. We talked to him as he was on top of the elevator prying the door open with his crow bar and by the end, he said he'd come to church! haha! We couldn't get his number or anything though, so we'll see how that turns out.
So I was reading Mosiah 21: 14 and I felt like it totally described my pleadings with the Lord about my companion. I was scared that verse 15 was going to apply to me as well, but the Lord answered my prayers. My companion got transferred. He's not even in my zone anymore... I feel bad for praying so hard for that very thing to happen, because he did so much work here and now he has to leave it all behind. As happy as I am, I certainly understand him being sad to leave. But honestly it is good that it is happening. It got to the point where I was giving in everytime he was disobedient for the sake of not starting an argument. I feel so bad for wasting that time, for it was not mine to waste, but I really didn't know what to do anymore. However, just the other day during my language study, I came across a quote from a Russian book "Doctor Zhivago" by Pasternak that says
"The root of all evil to come was the loss of confidence in the value of one's own opinion. People imagined that it was out of date to follow their own moral sense, that they must all sing in chorus, and live other people's notions."
I decided at that time that, new companion or not, this upcoming transfer, I would rather please the Lord than get along with my companion. I will obviously try to do both, but I will not give in the fight to be obedient when my companion will not be. It's a hard thing when you're the new one, you're companion is the District Leader, and you have to be the one to say no or that we should be doing something else, especially when you know he will get mad at you. It sounds so easy to do (It always did to me at least), but I know from experience that it can seem impossible when it is actually happening. Luckily, I'm starting fresh with new companions, and I won't feel so uncomfortable if I establish it at the beginning. It's definitely harder to get out of the groove when you are already in it instead of staying out of it in the first place.
I'm getting put with the new district leader for Penza and one other Elder as well. Yeah, I'm in a tripanionship. I've never met Elder Glad, I will later today though. But I'm already good friends with Elder Anderson because we were in the same district before. I'm so excited. I really don't know what to expect, but I'm praying that I wll have the right set of attributes to get along with both of them well. Both of them were in the military before the mission, so I'm excited about that... haha!
Hey, well I have to go! I love you all and I love getting your letters! I promise I'll write back! It just takes forever to respond!
Love, Elder Swartz!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Letter #6 from Russia
Hey Family!
I love writing you guys! It is such a release!! Mom, I almost laughed out loud at your story about your phone going off during Janice Perry's talk! haha! I definitely understand that! I didn't have an embarrassing moment, but it happens all the time where the spirit prompts me to do something, but because I'm the new companion, I'm too afraid to say it and then it turns out that we should have done it. It's happened like, three times already. I need to have less pride and worry more about what the Lord wants me to do rather than what I think other people want me to do.
I'm sorry about not sending the emails to Dad or Rachel! I mean to, but I'm always in a rush and totally forget!
So this week, I took a train to Samara on monday and stayed there until friday. My companion had to leave the country to get his Visa renewed. He got to go to Kiev and go to the temple. I probably won't be able to go until next year. Temple trips are usually only in the summer. But at least I get to go at all. Before the temple was built, I would have not been able to. While he was there, I was on splits with the Zone leaders or other Greenies. It was really fun! We had pancakes every meal... haha!
After my companion came back though, we got in another argument. But this time, I couldn't take it anymore. I blew up at him after trying my hardest not to. I think it's the only time I've actaully gotten into a big argument with someone that wasn't my sibling. But we were able to work a lot of things out. things have been better since then, but I'm still praying everyday to get transferred. I know the Lord is having me learn a lesson, but I really hope that I've learned it and I get a new one... I just really want a companion that I feel comfortable around. We are just soo incredibly different. Our thought processes simply do not match up and it is so difficult to understand each other.
Russia is great though. I love the people. I love the members! I love the mission president! I love seeing Sarah Palin looking out from her backyard! I love it all!
To answer your questions: I have all my winter stuff other than boots. Luckily, it hasn't snowed yet, and I'm hoping to get a good pair of boots today. I don't know if we can chew gum. I've never been a gum chewer, so it's not an issue for me. I'd imagine not though. Yes, everything is refrigerated! I was so grateful for that!! All of the dairy products are really good over here! I really have ZERO complaints about the food!
Russian fun fact of the week: Hmmm... well the wild dogs aren't so wild here. in fact, they're really sweet and calm. I love seeing the wild dogs running around in their little gangs! It's adorable! You can usually pet them, although I don't just to be safe. The cats are great here to. They are so adorable. They just have so many diseases navyerna that I try to avoid petting them to much.
Our investigators here are great, but it is so difficult for them to actually progress enough to get baptized! They like meeting with us, but when you set a baptismal date, it always falls through. I wish I could do more, but without any skills in the language it's sort of difficult. As effective as sitting there radiating with the spirit is, it hasn't gotten my investigators to baptism just quite yet. I think being able to speak with them would help...
I love you all! And I'm grateful for your prayers! I can feel them strengthening me and I know that God is helping me everyday. Satan is pushing at me more and more, but I know that I have more than him in the end and that as I am backed up to the wall of my faith, it will stand. I didn't spend my life building it up for it to fall down here on my mission.
I love you all!
Elder Swartz!
I love writing you guys! It is such a release!! Mom, I almost laughed out loud at your story about your phone going off during Janice Perry's talk! haha! I definitely understand that! I didn't have an embarrassing moment, but it happens all the time where the spirit prompts me to do something, but because I'm the new companion, I'm too afraid to say it and then it turns out that we should have done it. It's happened like, three times already. I need to have less pride and worry more about what the Lord wants me to do rather than what I think other people want me to do.
I'm sorry about not sending the emails to Dad or Rachel! I mean to, but I'm always in a rush and totally forget!
So this week, I took a train to Samara on monday and stayed there until friday. My companion had to leave the country to get his Visa renewed. He got to go to Kiev and go to the temple. I probably won't be able to go until next year. Temple trips are usually only in the summer. But at least I get to go at all. Before the temple was built, I would have not been able to. While he was there, I was on splits with the Zone leaders or other Greenies. It was really fun! We had pancakes every meal... haha!
After my companion came back though, we got in another argument. But this time, I couldn't take it anymore. I blew up at him after trying my hardest not to. I think it's the only time I've actaully gotten into a big argument with someone that wasn't my sibling. But we were able to work a lot of things out. things have been better since then, but I'm still praying everyday to get transferred. I know the Lord is having me learn a lesson, but I really hope that I've learned it and I get a new one... I just really want a companion that I feel comfortable around. We are just soo incredibly different. Our thought processes simply do not match up and it is so difficult to understand each other.
Russia is great though. I love the people. I love the members! I love the mission president! I love seeing Sarah Palin looking out from her backyard! I love it all!
To answer your questions: I have all my winter stuff other than boots. Luckily, it hasn't snowed yet, and I'm hoping to get a good pair of boots today. I don't know if we can chew gum. I've never been a gum chewer, so it's not an issue for me. I'd imagine not though. Yes, everything is refrigerated! I was so grateful for that!! All of the dairy products are really good over here! I really have ZERO complaints about the food!
Russian fun fact of the week: Hmmm... well the wild dogs aren't so wild here. in fact, they're really sweet and calm. I love seeing the wild dogs running around in their little gangs! It's adorable! You can usually pet them, although I don't just to be safe. The cats are great here to. They are so adorable. They just have so many diseases navyerna that I try to avoid petting them to much.
Our investigators here are great, but it is so difficult for them to actually progress enough to get baptized! They like meeting with us, but when you set a baptismal date, it always falls through. I wish I could do more, but without any skills in the language it's sort of difficult. As effective as sitting there radiating with the spirit is, it hasn't gotten my investigators to baptism just quite yet. I think being able to speak with them would help...
I love you all! And I'm grateful for your prayers! I can feel them strengthening me and I know that God is helping me everyday. Satan is pushing at me more and more, but I know that I have more than him in the end and that as I am backed up to the wall of my faith, it will stand. I didn't spend my life building it up for it to fall down here on my mission.
I love you all!
Elder Swartz!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Letter #5 from Russia
Heeeeyyy!!
So this week has been a good one. But before I get started I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! (A few days ago...) This is great! Even if I forget your birthday, I have a while to remember before I write you! haha! Just kidding! I remembered on the day of. I even wrote it down in my journal as proof and so that I would remember to mention it in the email home!
Please underline your questions every time! It helps! To answer your questions:
1) My companion is from St. George.
2) I'm not even using my own bedding, they already had stuff here... haha! In fact I'm not even using any blankets, it gets so hot in our apartment! You can't adjust the heating here, so you either have heat or you don't. They turned the heating on and boy is it hot! It is meant to keep things warm in like, -40 F, so right now, when it is 35 F, it's like an oven.
3) We watched Conference in the branch building on a computer.
4) I made two withdrawals because... I don't remember. There is a limit on how much you can take at one time. That's probably why.
Mary better go on a mish. Just kidding. She can get married. But seriously. Go on a mission. But you can get married if you want. After your mission. No, do what's right... mission.
Also, I should tell you, if a russian guy tries to add any of you as a friend on facebook, it's probably Valyery Belonoshkin. He's wonderful and he has pictures to give you. So family, check your facebooks!
So Russian fact of the week: Milk comes in bags. It makes perfect sense. Also, people here are so superstitious! We saw these two women freak out about a black cat crossing in front of them. We pet it and they were so confused why we would do that! haha!
So we have this investigator, Faina. She is so great. She randomly started singing opera for us in the middle of our lesson. She's really good. We're going to try to get her to help some members here because NO ONE CAN SING IN RUSSIA! it's terrible. I love it. Well, Faina can sing... but other than her... no one. She's so sweet to. She was saying that there were a lot of things that she did not like about our members, (she's very proper and a lot of our members are very poor and... well... not very proper.) and she wasn't sure what was so different about us and different churches. So we asked her why she kept coming and she started crying as she said she came because two young men cared about who she was and bothered to call her every night simply to see how she was doing. it was very sweet and at that moment I realized that we really can make a difference. Even if all I got on my mission was that one experience, the knowledge that just one old woman benefited from our kindness and felt loved, than my mission was a success.
But obviously I want baptisms.
I had a dream that I saw patrick at a restaurant. It was funny.
We ran into this guy who knew English very well and lived in America for a while (When that happens, it is the best day ever.) and we actually got to talk to him!! not just bulldoze him with the gospel because we didn't know what he was saying! It was really funny because as we were talking to him, he said he had a friend from Colorado and he randomly just started talking about these "mormons" (here, we call ourselves the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so he didn't know that we were in fact "Mormon") Apparently the mormon church was founded in the 1700's by some immigrant from Europe. We tried asking if it was Brigham young or Joseph Smith, but he kept saying it was someone else. He then said that The Mormons were very much like free masons and that they "hardly relate to Christians". It was really funny. We wanted to correct his knowledge, but he suddenly had to go. I wonder if he figured it out by reading the pamphlets we gave him that used the word mormon quite liberally...
Well, I have to go! Pray for me please! I pray for everyone back home everyday! I hope everything is going well! I love you all!
Elder,
Love Swartz. (haha! I thought it was funny.)
So this week has been a good one. But before I get started I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! (A few days ago...) This is great! Even if I forget your birthday, I have a while to remember before I write you! haha! Just kidding! I remembered on the day of. I even wrote it down in my journal as proof and so that I would remember to mention it in the email home!
Please underline your questions every time! It helps! To answer your questions:
1) My companion is from St. George.
2) I'm not even using my own bedding, they already had stuff here... haha! In fact I'm not even using any blankets, it gets so hot in our apartment! You can't adjust the heating here, so you either have heat or you don't. They turned the heating on and boy is it hot! It is meant to keep things warm in like, -40 F, so right now, when it is 35 F, it's like an oven.
3) We watched Conference in the branch building on a computer.
4) I made two withdrawals because... I don't remember. There is a limit on how much you can take at one time. That's probably why.
Mary better go on a mish. Just kidding. She can get married. But seriously. Go on a mission. But you can get married if you want. After your mission. No, do what's right... mission.
Also, I should tell you, if a russian guy tries to add any of you as a friend on facebook, it's probably Valyery Belonoshkin. He's wonderful and he has pictures to give you. So family, check your facebooks!
So Russian fact of the week: Milk comes in bags. It makes perfect sense. Also, people here are so superstitious! We saw these two women freak out about a black cat crossing in front of them. We pet it and they were so confused why we would do that! haha!
So we have this investigator, Faina. She is so great. She randomly started singing opera for us in the middle of our lesson. She's really good. We're going to try to get her to help some members here because NO ONE CAN SING IN RUSSIA! it's terrible. I love it. Well, Faina can sing... but other than her... no one. She's so sweet to. She was saying that there were a lot of things that she did not like about our members, (she's very proper and a lot of our members are very poor and... well... not very proper.) and she wasn't sure what was so different about us and different churches. So we asked her why she kept coming and she started crying as she said she came because two young men cared about who she was and bothered to call her every night simply to see how she was doing. it was very sweet and at that moment I realized that we really can make a difference. Even if all I got on my mission was that one experience, the knowledge that just one old woman benefited from our kindness and felt loved, than my mission was a success.
But obviously I want baptisms.
I had a dream that I saw patrick at a restaurant. It was funny.
We ran into this guy who knew English very well and lived in America for a while (When that happens, it is the best day ever.) and we actually got to talk to him!! not just bulldoze him with the gospel because we didn't know what he was saying! It was really funny because as we were talking to him, he said he had a friend from Colorado and he randomly just started talking about these "mormons" (here, we call ourselves the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so he didn't know that we were in fact "Mormon") Apparently the mormon church was founded in the 1700's by some immigrant from Europe. We tried asking if it was Brigham young or Joseph Smith, but he kept saying it was someone else. He then said that The Mormons were very much like free masons and that they "hardly relate to Christians". It was really funny. We wanted to correct his knowledge, but he suddenly had to go. I wonder if he figured it out by reading the pamphlets we gave him that used the word mormon quite liberally...
Well, I have to go! Pray for me please! I pray for everyone back home everyday! I hope everything is going well! I love you all!
Elder,
Love Swartz. (haha! I thought it was funny.)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Letter #4 (we'll post #3 later)
Hellooooo My family!
So I have good news for you guys and bad news for me! haha! I got homesick for a second this morning! I had a dream that I was with our family last night and when I woke up, I wasn't feeling well. I might have actually just not been feeling well, but I figure that's the closest thing I've felt to homesickness. haha!
Dad! I'm sorry I didn't email you with everyone else! I had about one second left when I sent the message last week and I forgot to add you and rachel! Make sure Rachel is getting these too! I also want to say that I was going to write some really good things about my companion, but I ran out of time! haha! I don't mean to be a complainer! He is a great trainer and an excellent person in general! He just needs to work on his patience! I need to work on so many things as well. We talked it all over last night and he said he didn't even realize he was doing those things. Hopefully it will get better! Other than that though, the work is great, the city is great, the member's are great! Oh, so there is a sister in my district from Alpine, Lisa Callister. She graduated two years before me.
Okay, to answer your questions: I'm on foot, or on bus, or on marshootka (Minivan thing that is faster than a bus, ask Matt or Kristi about it if you want to know more) and rarely taxi. There's only two elder's in my apartment. It's a really nice apartment, but the other elders in our district have probably the nicest apartment in the mission! it's sooo nice! It has not snowed yet, but it has gotten quite cold. I have a coat now, so that's good. I got gloves to, but I got scammed... haha! I thought I was getting a good deal, bargaining like a devil, but I lost about fifty bucks between the gloves and the coat because we didn't have a member with us to help us. I learned my lesson! We are having a member help with getting boots and everything else! I may need more money... haha! I'll try not to get scammed again...
Russian fact of the week: Women here love to die their hair purple! Especially older women! All over the place, they just have purple hair. it doesn't even seem strange to me anymore to see it. Also, everyone here calls me Forest Gump. All the members think I look just like Tom Hanks... haha! And Aleskei Gladkov, one of my favorite people in the world, told me that my ears stick out too much and that if he were my father, he would have paid for plastic surgery to get them pulled in! haha! He said he did that for his son and it was only 650 US dollars! what a deal! Maybe I'll do that when I get home! haha! I may have already told you that in an earlier email, but I can't remember, so you get it again!
Mother, did you remember to mail that stuff for my loan deferment or something? it was supposed to be sent oct 1st, so if you haven't done that, please do it soon and don't forget to do it next year either!
So conference was good! We watched it this last weekend in english! Thankfully! I don't know if other missionaries got to, so it was definitely a blessing! Randall K Bennett Spoke! you know, The guy who almost drowned but the life guard saved him? that was our old mission president a year ago! I heard he was a nazi, but turned the mission around and made it the highest baptizing mission in all of the eastern European missions. Also, I don't know if you had the opportunity to see the Women's session of general conference, but my favorite talk was in that one! It was from Uchtdorf and it was about the Forget Me Not flower. I loved it so much. I really got a lot from it. I was expecting a golden ticket (golden companion) when coming out here, but when I got an ordinary chocolate bar, I became frustrated. I need to do better at enjoying what I have.
So one last thing, so lately it has been really hard finding new investigators because of the weather. They don't want to talk to us in the cold or in the rain. But the other day, the Lord blessed us with 10 new investigators in one day. That's probably like, normal in Brazil or somethin, but for Russia, that's not a typical occurance. I was very grateful for the Lord for that! We'll se how they progress! I still haven't seen a baptism yet, but We are so close! Hopefully by the end of the month, Anya (Anastasia) will be baptized. I found her by the way. haha!
Okay, I have to go! I love you all so much! I really do miss everyone! Family, friends! But I love it here in Russia! I know I'm supposed to be here! I'm so excited for Mary to be a missionary in Peru! To quote elder Holland, I'm happy to say that "in this family, we serve missions."
With love, Elder Destin Swartz!
So I have good news for you guys and bad news for me! haha! I got homesick for a second this morning! I had a dream that I was with our family last night and when I woke up, I wasn't feeling well. I might have actually just not been feeling well, but I figure that's the closest thing I've felt to homesickness. haha!
Dad! I'm sorry I didn't email you with everyone else! I had about one second left when I sent the message last week and I forgot to add you and rachel! Make sure Rachel is getting these too! I also want to say that I was going to write some really good things about my companion, but I ran out of time! haha! I don't mean to be a complainer! He is a great trainer and an excellent person in general! He just needs to work on his patience! I need to work on so many things as well. We talked it all over last night and he said he didn't even realize he was doing those things. Hopefully it will get better! Other than that though, the work is great, the city is great, the member's are great! Oh, so there is a sister in my district from Alpine, Lisa Callister. She graduated two years before me.
Okay, to answer your questions: I'm on foot, or on bus, or on marshootka (Minivan thing that is faster than a bus, ask Matt or Kristi about it if you want to know more) and rarely taxi. There's only two elder's in my apartment. It's a really nice apartment, but the other elders in our district have probably the nicest apartment in the mission! it's sooo nice! It has not snowed yet, but it has gotten quite cold. I have a coat now, so that's good. I got gloves to, but I got scammed... haha! I thought I was getting a good deal, bargaining like a devil, but I lost about fifty bucks between the gloves and the coat because we didn't have a member with us to help us. I learned my lesson! We are having a member help with getting boots and everything else! I may need more money... haha! I'll try not to get scammed again...
Russian fact of the week: Women here love to die their hair purple! Especially older women! All over the place, they just have purple hair. it doesn't even seem strange to me anymore to see it. Also, everyone here calls me Forest Gump. All the members think I look just like Tom Hanks... haha! And Aleskei Gladkov, one of my favorite people in the world, told me that my ears stick out too much and that if he were my father, he would have paid for plastic surgery to get them pulled in! haha! He said he did that for his son and it was only 650 US dollars! what a deal! Maybe I'll do that when I get home! haha! I may have already told you that in an earlier email, but I can't remember, so you get it again!
Mother, did you remember to mail that stuff for my loan deferment or something? it was supposed to be sent oct 1st, so if you haven't done that, please do it soon and don't forget to do it next year either!
So conference was good! We watched it this last weekend in english! Thankfully! I don't know if other missionaries got to, so it was definitely a blessing! Randall K Bennett Spoke! you know, The guy who almost drowned but the life guard saved him? that was our old mission president a year ago! I heard he was a nazi, but turned the mission around and made it the highest baptizing mission in all of the eastern European missions. Also, I don't know if you had the opportunity to see the Women's session of general conference, but my favorite talk was in that one! It was from Uchtdorf and it was about the Forget Me Not flower. I loved it so much. I really got a lot from it. I was expecting a golden ticket (golden companion) when coming out here, but when I got an ordinary chocolate bar, I became frustrated. I need to do better at enjoying what I have.
So one last thing, so lately it has been really hard finding new investigators because of the weather. They don't want to talk to us in the cold or in the rain. But the other day, the Lord blessed us with 10 new investigators in one day. That's probably like, normal in Brazil or somethin, but for Russia, that's not a typical occurance. I was very grateful for the Lord for that! We'll se how they progress! I still haven't seen a baptism yet, but We are so close! Hopefully by the end of the month, Anya (Anastasia) will be baptized. I found her by the way. haha!
Okay, I have to go! I love you all so much! I really do miss everyone! Family, friends! But I love it here in Russia! I know I'm supposed to be here! I'm so excited for Mary to be a missionary in Peru! To quote elder Holland, I'm happy to say that "in this family, we serve missions."
With love, Elder Destin Swartz!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)