Destin's Most recent Letter!

*Hi friends and family of Destin! This is his sister. While in England I didn't have easy access to a computer so I got out of the habit of posting, but I'm hoping to get caught up. In the mean time here is Elder Swartz's letter from this week!*


Hey family!

Sorry about writing late, I got the flu and have been in bed for seriously the past 40 hours. I'm doing better now, but still pretty drained. 

Rachel, man your life must be better than you ever thought it would be! haha! Going to all these awesome places, amazing family, good health! I can't even imagine that here in Russia... haha! It almost seems wrong that someone's life could be that great. The only people here that live like that got their money dishonestly. Hey! What's your address, I've been wanting to send a letter to you for a while now, but I haven't been able to... get that to me please!

Mary, your stitches looked awesome!! Battle scar! Your boots are destroyed! ha ha! It's probably from all the hikes/waterfalls/mountains/caves//floating islands of titicaca/ancient ruins of machu pichu you've been exploring. If you were to just calm it down a bit and do normal missionary work like me, maybe your clothes would last a bit longer. haha! Don't worry, I'm just jealous. My culture activity was probably way more exciting anyway... we went to an opera! nosebleed section, way off to the left so you couldn't see half the stage, and there was no hope in understanding it... not even the natives fully understood what was going on... pretty awesome... haha! we left half way through. haha!

Tiffany wrote me this week! She says hi to you Mary specifically and then hi to the rest of the fam! She says she got an extension till the 21st of Feb. Seems like she's doing well. This past week has been fun, and pretty crazy. We've just been working hard this week, but it seems like nothing is really moving too fast. Lorenzo Snow's mission in Italy was pretty similar, but it also says that later, there were tons of people that were baptized because of his influence there, who knows if he even knew about the amount of good he did there. I'm sure I'm having my effect, but it doesn't make it any easier! ha! 

Dad! I'm glad everything is difficult for you! haha! That's how it should be! In fact, it's a blessing to have to work so hard in such a new way right now! It will help you stretch and expand your abilities! Mom, sounds like your life is going well too! sounds like you're having a fun time in life right now. Life must be different without kids around all the time. It seems like you've all started hanging out with other friends now. I wonder how it will be when we get back. Speaking of which, I don't want any trunky comments coming from you as my return date gets closer. I've noticed that the main cause of trunkiness in a missionary are typically his parents. 

Well... that's about it for this week! I love you all!

Love, Elder Swartz!

PS: Congratulations Brittany Fishback!!!  You're married!!!! I hope this doesn't mean that we can't hang out when I get back!! haha! A girl in my mission said that she knows Cameron, she says that they were in the same math class at USU. Small world.

Letter #50 from Russia!

Hey Everyone!

First off, thanks for the package!! I was so happy! my teeth have gotten so bad here, (yellow, nothing worse, don't worry!) I can't even imagine that in America, there's water that is not only clean to drink, but regulated in such a way to help keep your teeth from being ugly!!! That's crazy! I have completely forgotten what it's like there, but from the way people talk about it, you'd think it was Heaven. 

 

It was fun to hear from all of you! Dad, congrats on fulfilling 54!   Happy Birthday!!!

It's really interesting, at the beginning of my mission, it didn't bug me being in a room with a whole bunch of kids yelling while playing computer games as I was writing home... but now I can hardly concentrate. The only words they know are... well... I won't repeat them. haha. 

Rachel! Sounds like you're having bundles of fun! Mom, sounds like you are too! Dad, it also seems that way! Mary, things will get better, trust me. Now, I may not be in the right place to tell you that, you know, since I get tons of baptisms and stuff. I know I probably couldn't possibly understand what it's like, so don't get mad when I say this, but... you won't die. ;)  David, It's nice to hear from you so often. haha.

 Honestly, reading your emails, I feel like we were a lot richer than I realized before I came to Russia. Is that true, or do I just have a different standard now? So this week, I was able to see Elder Stoddard, who is in Penza working with Stas, and he gave me this wonderful picture that his wife drew of us. It's super funny because she's an artist and an awesome lady. It's is a little comic about how we randomly showed up in their lives and changed everything. Like angels. There was a note by stas on the back to us and it was so adorable! haha! He even said a prayer in the note. He's so funny!  Rachel, I feel like I'm trying to compete with you. You always send stories of Boston being funnny and cute, and I'm here saying how funny my investigators are. Seriously though, they are like you little kids sometimes. 

This week I also had an interesting experience. I was sitting up front with a driver, coming back from Samara and I decided to talk with him of course. We talked and laughed and made friends, and I turned it over to the gospel. He said he didn't think God helped him or even cared because He didn't do anything about his son who died two years earlier. I testified a bit about how God did care. I asked him if he thought he would see his son again and I was surprised by his response. Tears began rolling down his cheeks and he said he didn't know. Russian men NEVER cry in public, unless they are tipsy. I talked with him more and just put my arm around him as he drove through the darkness of the woods around us. It was so interesting because suddenly, I didn't see him as the large, fifty year old, Russian driver anymore, but as a chilld, who was confused. Who didn't understand. who was scared. Who wanted comfort. I can't describe the love I feel for that man, even though I don't know if I will ever see him again. I gave him a book of Mormon, but that was it. It was a very strange experience, and I can't fully describe how I felt. But it was way cool, us not even knowing each other, but being able to to trust each other... I don't know it was just cool.

Welp, got to go. Loves!! 

Letter #49 from Russia

Wow, family.

Way to spoil the big news. We haven't watched conference here in Russia yet. we watch it this weekend... haha! Just kidding, I already knew! however, many missionaries don't know yet... well... know they probably know because they have all gotten emails about it! haha! That's CRAZY!!! I'm expecting  truck load of dear elders in like... three weeks all from random girls who are getting their calls... soooo weird!!! Sooooo awesome!!! I don't think the Russian missions will grow that much because we are already pushings the limits for how many missionaries we can have here, at least in our mission. the government only allows so many.  I also thought of Hunter, and some of my friends that were sophomores when I was a senior... crazy. But super exciting!

Chelsi! I get your letters! You must not be getting mine or something...!

Thanks for Tiffs address! Finally! haha! Also! I want to find out who the heck Heather married. Heather as in perri's daughter, my second cousin! I've been dying to know my whole mission who she married! He served here and I want to know who he was! 

So it was great hearing from Rachel about England! Right now things are not to different, but just watch, things will be getting more and more dicey as you live there. haha! It was the same here. kind of... maybe... in a different way. 

Hey so I was in Samara this past week and I was able to talk to Elder Stoddard, my old comp who is still in penza. He said that Stas is getting baptized!! He went all crazy for a bit because of his wife leaving him, but he came to church after a month or so and a member, baba katya took him aside and prayed with him and after she looked him in the eye and said "your wife is coming back." the next day his wife came back. Stas swears baba katya is a prophetess... haha! His wife came to an activity and then came to church and loved it, cried and really made good friends with a member and they talked about how the principles of the gospel can save their family. The branch loves them and their 4 year old daughter. They came to more activities and came to church again. Stas is counting down for the twentieth to get baptised. he is so excited! Man I love him! I just wish I could be there in penza with him! oh well, Im loving where I am and I know that the lord has people here I need to help him prepare. 

Well. I've got to go! I love you all! 

Elder Swartz!

Letter #48 from Russia

Hello again!

 

So it was great hearing about all of your weeks! Sounds like a crazy time with Rachel and Chris going to England... but that willbe an awesome experience for them! Are they going back to the places where he served? that would be interesting. 

 

HEY! I STILL HAVEN'T GOT TIFFANY'S ADDRESS!!!!!!!! I'm not writing home next week if I don't get it. ... okay,maybe I will still write, but I'm serious! I want her address. Right now! Get up and just check what it is! 

 

Mom: thanks for sending that for me! I haven't got any mail for the past seven or eight weeks, Ulyanovsk is out in the boonies... but I should be getting mail today, so we'll see. 

 

This week has been a rough one. this cycle has been a good one, but it got tough near the end. Nothing compared to what I've had earlier, but the Lord had really been blessing us for a while and we really felt like we were going to have a baptism work out for us, but they all just fell through. We still have some hope, but I got transferred to Novokuibizhevck, so I'm not going to be seeing any of them get baptised if they make that decision... Man. Missions are hard... haha! Hey! Matt Porter gets home this month!!! That freaked meout thinking about that! I feel like it was just yesterday that he was leaving! It seems so weird that one day that will be me! I can't even imagine that! My companion for that past six weeks has only three cycles left on his mission, and it was obvious where his thoughts were. I refuse to be like that.

 

hmmm... I don't really think anything happened this week that I wanted to share... and if I did, i forgot to bring my planner from last cycle where I would have written it... hmmm... oh well.  This cycle I'm whitewashing with an Elder Christiansen. Haven't met him yet, but he'll probably be here soon.

 

Well... that's about it! I love you all! The gospel is true!

 

Ct. Skvortz!

Letter #47 from Russia

Hey fam!

So this week has been really good. My companion is great. Really hard
working, but he's starting to catch the trunky bug... uh oh. haha!
Hopefully it doesn't get worse and I'll get transferred from him before it
gets too bad... haha! I love him though! I love my area. Ulianovsk is an
awesome city! I'm really enjoying the teaching pool that we have. We are
teaching a little baptist family who are wonderful, but I'm not sure if
they'll accept the Book of Mormon. Obviously I'm hoping they do, but they
have to read it first, and I think that will be tough. haha! We are
teaching a lady named Anya and she loves us and thinks we are angels, but
she has a hard time getting to church because of work. She has a pretty
terrible job at a meat stand, a dilapidated old shack... she works all day
to feed her kids, which she doesn't get along with anyway. She had a huge
business that did really well but it collapsed and her life fell apart. Her
husband died around that time as well... man. I feel like everyone who
lives here in Russia could be the main character for a Dostoevski novel.
However! We found a girl named Abigail and she is from Gahna (ghana?),
southern Africa! She is sooo cool and she holds a bible study group every
friday night in her dorm room. She's lived here for four years and she
feels like she is the only one around her who actually lives what they
believe. She always goes and knocks on peoples doors in her building
inviting them to the bible study group and always calling people to wake
them up for church because she knows it's important. She is probably the
the funniest person I've met in Russia. She reminds me of kevin sooo much
too! We taught her the first lesson and the spirit was way strong! It was
so refreshing because she just accepted everything and was even quoting
scriptures from the bible that supported about how God calls prophets and
how she has always felt like there should be prophets today. She said she
knew who we were right when she saw us because she has a "Mowmon" friend
back at home (she has an exotic African accent when she speaks Russian).
When we gave her the book of Mormon to read she was way exited that there
was more of the words of christ that she could read and was totally going
to pray if it was true. She also said she was going to invite her friends
to come and talk with us too. Man, she's too cool! She's super sarcastic
and always laughing and smiling. I wonder if this is what America is like...
This week, we were setting up sacrament, a little later than usual, and we
realized we had no bread because Ramil was sick and he was always the one
who brings it, and so we ran around the prehod... uh... church building...
branch! that's the word I was looking for! We ran around the branch looking
for bread or even really anything to use for the sacrament. Finally we
found some cookies covered with melted chocolate and sprinkles on them...
so we used those. My companion and I were really nervous about that because
we had an investigator at church who used to be a missionary for his other
church and we were worried that he would be offended that we used that kind
of a thing for the sacrament, but in the end there was no problem... haha!
Right now I'm in a city called Toliatti because my companion is going to
Lithuania to get his Visa renewed. So fun to always leave your area... not.

K, well. I got to go! I love you all!

Bye!!

Elder Skvortz!

PS: You still didn't send me Tiffany's address.

Letter #46 from Russia

Hello family!! So I really had a fun time this past week! We just had zone conference and exchanges so that was fun. Also, apparently a new girl in the mission is way good friends with Matt Porter. Her name is Heather Young and she's pretty much a boss missionary. So weird that He is pretty much home already! Soon it's all down hill and we'll be home before we know it! terrible!! I have so much I need to learn and achieve! Two years is not enough!! I got several letters from my old FHE sisters this past week, so I want to say thanks for those!! You guys are awesome! I don't really have any interesting news for this week or anything... I got a tazer pulled on me by this guy. He didn't touch me or anything, He said he uses it to drop cultists... I wanted to punch him in the throat, but I held back.... I don't like it when people threaten me with tazers. So pretty much... I'm done for today. I love you! Elder Skvortz!

Letter #45 from Russia

Hey, I don't have a ton of time, but I wanted to say that this week has been a good one. I feel like as soon as I moved areas, the Lord just blessed me a ton. Seriosuly, I've only been called a cultist once the enitre week. It's been really nice! I don't really understand what happened though, because I'm not doing anything different, but people here just want to meet with us. My companion says that this has happened to him his whole mission, even less than usual lately, so he was confused why I was so excited about it all. People will jst call us and say they want to meet, or I can just call someone and set up a meeting, and for one, they answer... which was rare in Penza. Second, they are down to meet AT A SPECIFIC TIME, which like... never happened in Penza. People were so capricious there. I'm super excited about this new area, it will be a good change. I loved Penza, it will always hold a place in my heart, but I was getting stale there and I'm really happy to be in a fresh situation. We had a lot of good meetings with really good people who sincerely want to know about the gospel, not because we're Americans either, they are just interested in changing their lives. How cool is that! My companion is a great elder with lots of success on his mission, really nice guy, but a lot of negative comments... so I'll have to talk to him about that... I'm in a city where we are the only missionaries, so we're completely alone. We have district meeting over the phone... yeah... all the other missionaries gather at a senior couples apartment and get fed awesome food while we sit at home and listen to them all have a blast... oh well, I'm fine with it... haha!

 

I really love you all! I have to go though!

 

Elder Skvortz!