¡Hola Familia!

First off, happy birthday Grandpa Steve! I love you so much and I hope you get your cake and eat it too! Pues hola hola todos, yo espero que todos tuvieran una buena semana. So we're going to Kentucky Kingdom again today so we don't have a ton of time to write emails, so sorry everyone if you don't get an email from me today! 

The past few days have been great and we have seen a lot of amazing things happening here. We had a lesson with Miguel 1 this past week. He's one of the recent converts/less actives we've been working with and the lesson was incredible. We've been stumped on what to do for him, he really struggles living the word of wisdom and doesn't feel worthy to go to church. He's been coming to church lately but hasn't done much to change, he has the desire but just doesn't believe he can. We were planning for his lesson and we asked Heavenly Father what in the world we should teach him and the spirit told us very clearly what he needed. So we had a review of the Plan of Salvation and when we talked about our purpose in this life we did a virtual temple tour with him. As we shared the pictures of the temple and taught about family history the spirit that filled the room was incredible. At the end of the temple tour it was silent and finally Miguel talked and said, "Hermanas, I have to go there." I can't explain how powerful that moment was, my heart was so full of love and gratitude. He's since called the bishop and he's working with the bishop to be able to go to the temple. 

Sister Goodspeed's party was rocking. We hung up a birthday banner when we got there, put on some party hats, blew up some balloons and then woke her up. She really wasn't feeling well but got the biggest smile on her face when she saw her room all decorated. Whenever a nurse came into her room she was so excited to show them her birthday banner. Her favorite part I think was playing don't let the balloon touch the ground. She used to be a volley ball player and she had fun showing us some of her tricks. She's the cutest thing ever. Her health is declining each day but she had a Happy 84th birthday. 

Mary Beth is making great progress. She read all of 2 Nephi in less than a week and she's taking some awesome notes to go with it. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and throughout the whole lesson she was opening up to 2 Nephi to share some scriptures that applied. It was awesome, it was like she was teaching us! She's meeting with the bishop and it's incredible to watch her faith grow each day. 

One of our new investigators is Catalina and she is awesome! She is the sweetest and most humble person you will ever meet. She doesn't have much but she offers us all she has each time we go over. In our last lesson she made sure we had some corn on the cob and she put the spiciest chile on the corn. Hermana Corona handled it like a Latina and my lips were en fuego! But of course she got me some water because she's the sweetest lady ever and I think she could tell I was dying a little. She's been making some good progress as well. She has 6 kids but they've all been super busy so we've only been able to teach her. She got to know us super well last time and what we believe and she loved it. She said it was something she wanted for her whole family and made sure to schedule us in when her whole family would be home! I'm super excited to be working with this family. 

Lexington was another day of success, as always. We went tracting and we found our new friend Jose. He's an older guy but so sweet. We had a lesson with him on his front porch and he smiled the whole entire lesson and just said, "Gracias" over and over again. We extended a baptismal invitation to him and he said, "Si, porqué no?" The spirit was definitely present in the lesson and Jose is preparing to be baptized in September. 

We tracted some more, had some greats conversations, and a couple other short lessons. Right as we were about to leave we saw a Hispanic family pull up to their house in their car. We ran over to talk to them and they had all gone inside by the time we got there except for Angel. He's about our age and we started talking to him and asked him what he believes. He told us he's not really sure if there's a God and that right now he doesn't really believe He's there. We read Alma 30:44 with him: "all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." We then showed him the Mormon Message "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" and after the video we bore testimony and we told him he is a son of God. You should've seen his face, I think it was his first time in his life ever being told of his divine worth. And you could see it in his face at that moment that he felt the Spirit tell him it was true. 

So every Saturday night the Spanish branch plays fútbol for a little family home evening and this week we finally got to go! And guess what... We had two investigators there! Vicente and Angel both came and they both had a blast! They told us they'll be coming every Saturday from here on out. We had a party and let me tell you, I worked everyone there. I would've made Cristiano Ronaldo look bad. And I bet if they would've given me one more try I would've made a goal haha. 

Vicente's doing well and he even came to church yesterday! We asked him what he thought, he said it was boring, but we'll get him there haha(: he always calls us first to have lessons and he's made some good friends in the branch! 

I continued to study the Isaiah chapters this week and I am so grateful for the studies I have had and the spirit that has enlightened me. It's so amazing to read about prophesies that we're fulfilled in Isaiah's time but will be fulfilled in our time as well. And of course I love the institute manual that makes it that much easier to understand. I found another quote that I love by Bruce R. McConkie who said, "We see evil forces everywhere uniting to destroy the family, to ridicule morality and decency, to glorify all that is lewd and base. … Satan reigns in the hearts of men; it is the great day of his power. But amid it all, the work of the Lord rolls on. … Amid it all, there are revelations and visions and prophecies. There are gifts and signs and miracles. There is a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God." I can't even tell you how many times a day I hear somebody tell me that God doesn't exist because of all the bad that there is in the world, but I am so grateful to be a representative of Jesus Christ and to have the opportunity to tell people that there is a God. That "amid it all" there is good in the world because we have a Savior. That God is real and he hasn't ceased to be a God of miracles and that we can have true happiness and peace in this life. I love to share my favorite Anne Frank quote with people when they tell me how crappy the world is, "Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." 

Well I love you all so very much. Thanks for all the love and support and for being the best family I could've ever asked for. I hope y'all have the happiest week because life is too short to be anything else. 

Con amor,

Hermana Swapp

PS: "And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared." -Ether 12:32

 Sister Goodspeed's birthday party.

 Sister Endemann

 District pic featuring the ZLs and STLs.

 Elder Haws came back to visit!

¡Hola Y'all!

Wow tengo mucho que quiero decir sobre la semana pasada. So first off we switched our P-day to today so we could go to the temple and it was incredible, I'm so grateful we were able to go. But that means we had an extra long week so lucky for you all you get an extra long letter(: 

This week was incredible and so much has happened! So we'll start off with Chrystian. We were teaching a guy named Jorge, he was super solid and even had a baptismal date and then one day he just disappeared. Seriously, we still haven't seen him or heard from him. We went to his house one day and left a note on his door. Well a couple days later we get a call from Chrystian and he said he had gotten a note on his door and he was just giving us a call. We told him we were looking for Jorge but if he was interested in learning we would love to teach him, so we set up an appointment with Chrystian. 

We went over for our appointment with Chrystian and we started teaching him the Restoration and as we started talking about prophets he told us he'd already been baptized, so we asked him in what church and he said ours. So we asked for his full name and we looked him up on the records and sure enough there he was. But get this, all of his information is wrong. He had since moved and changed his phone number so the Spanish branch has had no way to get in contact with him. He was baptized two years ago and he told us that he told the Hermanas he just wasn't ready but they told him he was so he got baptized, well shortly after he went inactive. He doesn't have much of a testimony in the church and has a lot of doubts. So we finished teaching him the Restoration and at the end Hermana Corona bore her testimony on faith and I bore my testimony on Joseph Smith and Chrystian said, "Wow, I had all these questions I was going to ask you and you both answered them before I could ask them. It's like you know what I'm thinking, this makes me believe that what you're sharing has to be true. You two explain this so differently from what I remember but it feels good." It was an incredible lesson, the spirit was so powerful and it was definitely the spirit teaching the lesson, not us. We've kept in contact with Chrystian throughout the week and we've even had a couple lessons over Facebook. He's making great progress. He's reading in the Book of Mormon and was even going to come to church but got called into work. It's incredible how the Lord led us to Chrystian through Jorge. 

Also, we've been working with Mary Beth. She was a member of our church but was excommunicated quite a while ago, she called us one day and told us she's ready to come back. We've been working with the bishop and her and she is doing great. About two years ago she went to the Mormon Battalion in San Diego, CA and had a pretty spiritual experience and then a couple months ago she had a loved one pass away and had the same spiritual experience and she decided it's time to come back. We met with her a couple times last week and she even came to church! She is incredible and I am so proud of her. 

Lorenzo... that guy. We made him a baptismal calendar to help him stay on track for his baptism and we brought it to his lesson and his face showed pure fear haha. He told us he didn't want to get baptized on August 26 and that he needed more time but we explained to him that if he did everything on his calendar he would feel ready and want to be baptized and he gave us an okay! We had good contact with him throughout the week but when Sunday came he said he wasn't going to church so we went over to his house and knocked and knocked until he answered the door and when he saw us he said, "Hermanas, I'm not going to church and I'm not getting baptized." After talking for a minute and sharing some scriptures he got a big smile and said, "okay Hermanas, I'm coming." And with a huge sigh he came to church. But he left after the first hour and kept saying, "Me siento mal Hermanas." And we haven't heard from him since, we've been calling and calling so hopefully we can get in contact with him soon and find out what's going on.

Elizabeth just made me and Hermana Corona want to cry. She's the one that her husband and son were baptized recently and she just won't commit. We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her and the spirit is always so strong with that movie and after the movie she expressed some of her doubts and concerns. So we reviewed the Plan of Salvation and some other things and the spirit was so strong, you could not deny it. And she told us she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet but that other churches are true too. So she's just not understanding. It was such a powerful lesson and the spirit was able to answer all of her questions but she still denied that she had felt anything. We just want her family to be together forever. 

Sister Goodspeed is not doing good. Every time we visit her she's worse than the time before, it breaks my heart. It's her birthday tomorrow and we're going to throw her the greatest birthday party an 84 year old has ever had. 

Guadalupe was making great progress. We had a few lessons with her and then I offended her. I did a good job at that all last week. She kept saying she didn't need the Book of Mormon and she only needed the Bible and that the Book of Mormon's stories don't line up with the Bible and that it just couldn't possibly be true. So I said it as nicely as I could and I felt like I said it out of love but I just told her she wasn't understanding and that the Book of Mormon is a completely different book and not another version of the Bible and she got real offended and kinda went off... so we haven't seen her since. I felt bad, I didn't mean to make her mad. Hopefully we'll be able to mend the relationship. 

So one night we decided to go visit Araceli and I am so grateful that we did. We got there and she was having a pretty hard day, her cousin had just passed away. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation and it was a pretty special experience. There's nothing better than being able to teach someone about the Plan of Salvation and seeing the peace that it brings to them. Araceli was still pretty sad when we left but she was smiling when we told her about the Spirit World and the Celestial Kingdom. 

Saturday night we went out looking for new people to teach and we found a group of Hispanics outside and they were pretty drunk and they had a nice fresh 24 pack of Coronas waiting for them. So Hermana Corona and I had a quick Word of Wisdom lesson with them by dumping out all their beers for them. I think they got a kick out of Hermana Corona dumping out the Coronas. But they had fun (even though I'm pretty sure they don't remember it) and they've even called us since to learn more. 

We found a couple investigators in Lexington named Moises and Vicente. And I'm not going to lie I didn't think they were very solid and I didn't think we'd ever see them again but we've already had two other lessons with each of them. And Vicente is preparing to be baptized. We seriously saw so many miracles this week and Heavenly Father put so many people in our paths. 

So the mission has a new push of finding one new investigator every day and we've been able to have some success with it but I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed. We have investigators in three different towns and I have felt like we haven't been able to give them the attention they need. We're working with 25 investigators and 10 less actives/recent converts and they're all so spread out. I was praying on Monday and telling Heavenly Father I was feeling overwhelmed and the scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 came to mind "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." I know the push for one new investigator a day came from God and I know He was telling me He would prepare a way. 

Yesterday the Lord prepared a way. We found all of our investigators on Facebook and we were able to get in contact with every single one and even have a few lessons over messenger (video calls). We had 9 lessons yesterday and we were literally teaching lessons from 11:00 until 9:00 and found three new investigators. We were able to teach our investigators in Lexington, Frankfort, and Versailles without leaving Versailles. I am so grateful for the technology we have been blessed with and being able to see the Lord hasten his work. 

A couple fun facts for you: 1. Hermana Corona and I both hate fish but we both want to like it super bad so we have a family in the ward and each week they're feeding us fish to help us acquire some taste. I ate a whole tilapia fish by myself people. 2. This week for service we got to help Sister Hatchett catch her chickens. I'm not going to lie, it's harder than I thought. I felt a little like Rocky Balboa, but we had a ton of fun. 

Last little thought for y'all. I was reading in the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi and I read in 2 Nephi 2:11, "And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." And Henry B. Eyring said, "This is describing a day when the Savior will come, a day we all look for and want our students to prepare for. This scripture says that in that day, all of us who thought we were special and wonderful will seem smaller, and the Lord will be exalted. We will see better who He is, how much we love Him, and how humble we should be. … I understood why Isaiah told me it would be helpful to foresee the day when the Lord would be exalted and to know how much I depend upon Him. We need Him, and the faith we have in Him makes us see Him as great and exalted and ourselves as small and dependent." I cannot wait for the day when the Savior comes again. I know He truly lives and that everything I have accomplished is because of Him. I love Him so very much. 

I love you all and I hope you have the greatest week! Be happy because life is too short to be anything else. 

Con amor,

Hermana Swapp

PS: "And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." -Mark 14:36 

 We had exchanges and Hermana Wilkinson came to Versailles with me! We had so much fun!

 Selfie with a chicken

 Missionaries and chickens for service

 Mary Beth has a collie, she reminds me of Jasper!

Temple Day

¡Hola Folks!

Hace calor. This week I wasn't even a missionary... just kidding I was but it didn't really feel like it. Hermana Corona's Christlike attribute she was working on this week was patience and let me tell you, we were blessed with many opportunities to exercise patience. I guess it was the attribute Heavenly Father wanted me to work on this week too. But it's pretty amazing as I reflect on this past week because it's very evident that Heavenly Father was in control of it all and blessed us with many little miracles throughout the week. 

So I didn't even feel like a missionary this week because of our 2013 Chevy Cruze. That car has been a blessing and a burden in our lives. We've been having some problems with our brakes and with like a tension belt or something like that - we all know I know nothing about cars (and don't worry mom, we are safe!). So we took it into the dealership on Tuesday and we waited in the waiting room. We had originally planned to be at the dealership for an hour but we brought our study stuff just in case it took two. Well the guy working on our car didn't communicate with us but he thankfully was calling our vehicle coordinator and working things out with him. While we waited in the waiting room we did our hour of language study, and then we contacted all of our investigators, and then we did companion study, and then we cleaned out our entire area book and then at that point we had been in the waiting room for three and a half hours. Well we ended up spending six and a half hours at the dealership and at the end of that time the guy came out and said he was going to keep our car over night... 

We picked our car up Wednesday afternoon and then two days later as we were driving we started hearing the same noise that the dealership was supposed to fix. And then our brakes started smoking. So we decided to drive to the church and we got to the church and there happened to be a few members there and two of them were mechanics. Tender Mercy #1. They came out to look at the car and they were pretty upset, they told us the dealership took advantage of us and didn't even fix the problem. So we took the car back to the dealership and we've been car-less for the past few days. And also, Hermana Corona's back tire on her bike popped (and we all know I know nothing about bikes too) so we've been walking lots! 

Well since we didn't have a car like none of our investigators got visited in Lexington or Frankfort, that was super hard. Luz and her sons moved back to Mexico today and we called Maribel to check on her yesterday and her husband answered and he dropped us. He kept telling us there was nothing more than the Bible and he didn't want us to come around anymore. My heart broke, I couldn't believe how sad it made me. She knows it's true and we asked him if that's what Maribel wanted too but I don't think he really cared what she wanted. Araceli was too busy to meet with us this week and Elizabeth kept telling us she's still not sure if she really believes what we teach. It was like one heart break after the other. 

But it's not until "after the trial of faith" that we can receive a witness. And Heavenly Father did bless us with that witness and he gave us so many blessings. Saturday was like our first full day of actual work without any car problems or anything and we got work done. We left the house as soon as studies were done and we didn't get home until 8:30 that night for dinner. We talked to everyone, walked everywhere we could, and got a little sunburnt. It was almost like a day in Disneyland!

We were walking down a street and Hermana Corona said, "Hey, I'm pretty sure a former lives here and her name just popped in my head." So we went and knocked on her door and she was home! We had a lesson with her and she was super open and receptive and invited us back. Tender Mercy #2. 

Then we walked to an apartment complex to do some tracting and right when we got there we found Guadalupe outside. We started talking to her and she invited us in (I think she felt bad for us because she could tell we were hot and sweaty haha!). But we had an amazing lesson with her! You can always tell how strong the spirit is by how well I speak Spanish. When the spirit is there Spanish is so easy but when it's absent, it's like I can't remember a word. But the spirit was so strong and we were able to communicate everything God needed us to. She was super receptive as well and we were able to establish a good relationship. Tender Mercy #3, 4, and 5. 

We talked to a ton of other people and as we were about to start walking home we decided to stop by another former's house. We were looking for Alicia, she wasn't home but her husband was. He came out and took the time to talk with us. We shared the Mormon Message "A Book of Mormon Story" and he really liked it. We talked for a little while and he invited us to come back when his whole family would be home. Tender Mercy #6. 

After church yesterday we stopped by Lorenzo's and he was home! We asked him if he still wanted to learn and he told us he wanted to be baptized! We set some expectations for him and told him all he needed to do to get baptized and with a big smile he agreed to it all. He even said he had already stopped smoking and drinking a few days ago so he could be baptized! Tender Mercy #7. 

So yesterday we had an hour left of the night and all of our plans had fallen through. We weren't sure what to do and so we asked God and Sister Goodspeed's name came to mind. So we decided to go visit Sister Goodspeed (she's the one in the nursing home that had a bad seizure a couple weeks ago). We got there and it broke my heart, I'd never seen her like that. She was all curled up and couldn't even get herself to sit up. She looked over at us and she had a huge bump and bruise on her head. She was not doing well. She had taken a pretty hard fall earlier that morning. We asked her if she needed a priesthood blessing and she said yes so we called some members over. She just had no energy and she even said, "I know this is horrible of me to say but I just want to" and she never finished her sentence but she was crying and she had me crying too. She's really not doing well, but she was able to get a priesthood blessing and it was a miracle in itself to be able to feel of God's love for her in that moment. She's excited though, I think she told us ten times last night that she has a birthday coming up. I can't even begin to explain how grateful I am we checked on her last night. Tender Mercy #8. 

Also, we had interviews with President and Sister Hughes this week. They're incredible and I love them so much. It was so fun to get to know them. It was weird though, it was my first interview that I was asked what my plans for home were... I can't believe how fast time is going out here. When President Hughes found out I'd been on my mission for 16 months he said, "Wow, you're almost done. How has your mission been?" It surprised me how emotional I got (poor President Hughes) but all I could manage to say is, "I am so grateful." 

I love my mission so much and I am so grateful for it. I will never ever be able to thank Heavenly Father enough for all that He has given me. I will never be able to thank Him enough for the past week we had. He blessed us so much and I know he'll continue to do so. I'm so grateful for my mission and the mighty miracle it already is in my life. Deciding to serve a mission was by far the best decision I have ever made. 

I love you all so much and I hope you know how much Heavenly Father loves you as well! I hope you have the greatest week this week and be happy. Because life is too short to be anything else. 

Con amor,

Hermana Swapp

PS: "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." -D&C 64:33

 We were starving at the car dealership so we SOS'd the Elders and they brought us some Wendy's! Tender Mercy #9!

 We had an awesome visit with Digna (she's a less active here).

 Our gourmet meal!

 Good times and tan lines (or burn lines).

¡Hola Todos! 

Yo espero que todos tuvieran una buena semana. This last week was great here in the GKLM! We spent our 4th of July in Frankfort and it was a great day! We started off the celebration by eating chick fil a for lunch and then talking to everyone about the gospel we could because #FreedomofReligion. We went to the Elder's apartment because they were moving apartments so we helped them for a little bit. Then we went around to all of our investigators and we were able to get in with Luz and her son Iran and we had a great lesson with hem. They hadn't been praying so we had a lesson about prayer and the spirit was super strong. And Luz said her first prayer with us, it was awesome. I always love hearing people pray for their first time, it's always so sincere. They're making great progress but they head to Mexico in a week. 

We went to a member's house in Versailles for the evening - The White's. We had so much fun. We had a yummy BBQ, did all the pop its and sparklers in the world, and watched fireworks. It was a great 4th. 

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference and we were able to meet our new mission president and his wife, President and Sister Hughes. They are both incredible and I feel so blessed to have them. We have interviews with them this week so we'll get to know them even better. You're right dad, it is completely different but it's a good different. 

So the mission started a new push to find one new investigator every single day and so Wednesday night we prayed to know where to find our new investigator. Dan St. came to my mind and Hermana Corona said, "I don't know. I keep thinking Macey Ave. but I don't feel like we need to go there." So we drove to Dan St. found a random apartment complex and there was nobody outside. So we picked a door to knock on while we were still in the car, closed our eyes to say a prayer, and when we opened our eyes after the prayer there was a Latino man knocking on the door we had picked. So we ran to him and started talking to him. His name is Jorge and we taught him about the Book of Mormon and he accepted a copy and asked for us to come back to share more. As we were setting up his next appointment he told us he lives on Macey Ave. It was a pretty cool experience. 

So every Thursday we go over to help a lady in our ward. She had Leukemia but is in remission now but just doesn't have the strength or energy to do everything she needs to. She has a little rabbit farm and kills them to eat them... so Versailles has given me my first experience with eating rabbit! This week she was going to kill the Rabbits but thankfully we got out of killing them. She killed them and I got to paint one of her rooms in her house. (Hopefully Stevie White reads these, if not, someone tell him I still refuse to kill animals). 

We also visit Sister Goodspeed every week. She lives in a rest home but she just had a seizure and was in the hospital for a week. So we went to visit her for a little bit. Her memory is slipping but other than that she seems to be doing good. She was super bored so Hermana Corona and I entertained her by having races on her wheelchairs. It was good to see her laugh.

We had a lesson with Araceli this week and her daughter Fernanda joined us and it was so good! We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I am so grateful for the spirit. We shared the Bible video of Christ being baptized and that is my favorite video in Spanish, it is so powerful and I know they could feel it too. After the lesson we asked Fernanda if she wanted to be baptized and with the biggest smile on her face she gave us the biggest nod. And then we asked Araceli if it was something she still wanted. It was so sad though because she told us no. She believes in one baptism and she believes she already had that one baptism and she told Fernanda she already had that one baptism and doesn't need another one. So we dropped Araceli's bap date but she still wants us to keep coming by and teaching her. So hopefully we can help her understand the importance of authority. 

Maribel and Delver are still being stubborn. Well Delver is. We stopped by Maribel's on Wednesday and she still hadn't read the Book of Mormon but she was too busy to have a lesson then. So we encouraged her to read it. We stopped by on Saturday and her son Joshua was outside and he was pretty excited to see us so we were able to get in with Maribel pretty easily. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with Maribel, Delver was working so he wasn't there. The spirit was super strong and we know that Maribel knows it's true. We have a really good relationship with her and she told us to come back the next day when her esposo was home. Well the next day came and he cancelled it. Oh Delver... he'll come around. 

I just wanna give a quick S/O to Elizabeth for taking us around everywhere in Lexington. You're the best and I love you. 

So Saturday we had a ward BBQ at a park and I was going around meeting all of the members and getting to know them better and I noticed one lady in the back of the pavilion. So I started talking to her and she wasn't part of the BBQ she was just some random person. So we started talking about the gospel and she told me she would like a Book of Mormon. Well I only had a Spanish copy on me so I went and got the Elders and they talked to her and gave her a copy. I think I was eating my food a little bit later when I made eye contact with the woman (her name is Olanda) and she waved me over. When I got over there I could see she was holding a Restoration Pamphlet and she said, "This is the most interesting little book I have ever read. I think it's true." She had read the whole pamphlet. So we started talking about it and the Book of Mormon and she really enjoyed it. As we were talking she broke down crying and told me all of the trials she was going through and then she said, "Before I came to this park I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father I needed help and that I was going to give up. Then I came here and I met you all. You're an answer to my prayer." It was such an amazing experience and another witness to me of just how aware Heavenly Father is. 

Sunday was good. The Frankfort ward just got split up so it's a lot smaller and they're having a hard time getting all the callings filled. Sacrament meeting started and the Bishop got up and said, "One of the blessings of this gospel is having the opportunity to serve last minute. So our first two speakers will be Elder Pedersen and Hermana Swapp." We had no idea we were speaking. We found out when everyone else did so that was fun, I got up there and introduced myself and bore a long testimony haha! 

Then right after sacrament meeting a Sunday school teacher came up to us and said he needed help with his class. So we went in there and helped out with the first part of the lesson and then we were able to teach Young Women's the third hour. It was a busy Sunday but I was very grateful for it. It gave me many opportunities to bear my testimony.

Also, one last exciting story of the week. Last night Hermana Corona and I were doing some tracting and we saw a big group of Hispanic men outside so we went and talked to them. I think they all had one too many cervezas to drink and one of them came up to me to shake my hand and proposed to me right there. I nicely declined and told him when he wasn't borracho to say a prayer to Heavenly Father. As we walked away he came following and yelled, "I'll pray that you come back to me." And our walk turned into a run haha! 

This past week was great and I really do stand all amazed each week as I see more and more miracles happening. I am so grateful that we have such a loving Heavenly Father who knows and cares for each one of His children. I am so grateful for the knowledge we have of His happy plan and for the opportunity to represent His Son Jesus Christ. I know He lives. 

I love you all so very much and I hope you have a happy week. Because life is too short to be anything else. 

Con amor,

Hermana Swapp

PS: "And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." -D&C 84:88

The 4th of July!

 Part of the MTC group - Sister Acker and Sister Endemann

Zone Conference

 Joshua - Maribel's son. His hobbies include playing angry birds, eating spicy taki's and giving us lots of hugs.

 Our day in Lexington with Elizabeth

¡Hola Familia!

Wow estoy bien agradecida por mi misión. I have one word... 'MERICA.
Happy 'Merica Day tomorrow, I hope y'all have tons of fun. I expect a
video of Hunter dancing behind a firework and a picture of everyone in
their 'Merica shirts! I got mine all ready (thanks mom)! And Happy
Birthday Grandma Carol. I love you so very much and I will light an
extra firework in honor of you tomorrow!(;

We had another great week this week and got a lot done. We went to
Lexington on Tuesday and let me tell you, that place is the promised
land. Every time we go there we find so many people to teach.  It was
cool though we were going to an appointment but felt prompted to knock
on this random door and so we did and we met Jorge. He told us he was
busy and going to work so we just pulled out the iPad and showed him
the Mormon Message "A Book of Mormon Story." And he loved it! He told
us to hold on for a second and he walked back inside his house and
when he came back he had a Libro De Mormón! We talked for a bit about
the Book of Mormon and then we said a prayer together during the
prayer Hermana Corona and I both felt a strong prompting to invite him
to be baptized and so we did and he was super excited about it, so he
is preparing to be baptized!

We're teaching a lady named Luz right now (she lives in Frankfort) and
we stopped by her house this week and she was there with her two sons.
We had a great lesson with the three of them. All three of them
accepted a baptismal date and were super excited about it. They've
been reading the Book of Mormon this week and we got a message on
Facebook yesterday for them asking us to come over right then because
they wanted to learn more. Unfortunately we were in Lexington and we
couldn't but we set up another appointment. They are awesome and I'm
super excited to keep learning with them, the only bad part is they
head back to Mexico for good in a couple weeks.

Maribel and Delver - we found Delver our first week in Lexington. Well
we went over there on Saturday to see if he was home and he wasn't but
his esposa Maribel was. Maribel let us in and we had one of the best
first lessons I've had on my mission. She was so open and she even
said, "I've never been baptized in any church before." And to hear
that from a Latina is like music to the ears. She accepted a baptism
date and asked us to come back the next day.

We went over Sunday and both she and Delver were there. We retaught
the restoration so Delver could be caught up and it was the most
frustrating lesson ever. I was so sad. The whole time Delver was just
saying "there can't be anything more than the Bible, I don't believe
it." And we weren't even talking about the Book of Mormon people, we
were talking about prophets! So we kept going and the spirit was
definitely present in many parts of the lesson and it would seem like
Delver was changing his mind but then he would go off about the Bible
again. So we got to the part about Joseph Smith and the spirit was so
strong. Everyone was silent for like a solid minute. And then Delver
says, "Nope I don't believe it because it's not in the Bible." I was
so sad but then Maribel spoke up and she said, "I definitely believe
it. I can feel it. There's been many times in my life where I have
felt the presence of God very closely so if he can make me feel that
then he definitely can appear to a prophet." I was so grateful for her
comment. The lesson ended on a positive note but Delver was still
being stubborn, but he invited us back! I've been praying all week
that he will soften his heart.

We are also teaching a woman named Araceli, she's preparing to be
baptized the end of July. She is definitely facing every trial she
could right now and it is so sad to hear about, but she has so much
faith and is pushing through it all. We read the Book of Mormon with
her this week and you could definitely tell she felt so much more
peaceful after reading it. I am so grateful for that book and the
power it has.

So there's this cute old lady in our ward named Sister Grubb. She had
a stroke recently and was living with her son. Well her son was very
abusive to her and kicked her out so she recently just moved into an
apartment on her own. We go over there quite a bit to help her. One
day we went over and we tried to set a schedule with her for when we
would come over, but she started panicking because I think she thought
we were trying to get her back in to a nursing home. We got her to
calm down but I could still tell she was feeling uneasy though and
really anxious. I prayed and I prayed to know what I could do to help
her feel calm and to trust us and as clear as day I heard the words:
"Get to know her."

So I asked her what her favorite thing to do was and she said to read.
We started talking about reading and she asked me what my favorite
book was so I told her The Hiding Place and she got all excited
because it was one of her favorite books too. So then I asked her what
she liked to do growing up and you'll never believe what she said. Her
exact words, "I liked to golf. I played golf all through high school
and even won the championship each year." Sister Grubb is a golfer! I
asked her what her tournament low was and she said 74. She laughed
when I told her she would've worked me if we ever competed. We kept
talking and Hermana Corona was dying because we are like the same
person. She told me how she paints landscapes too, loves to play the
piano, and her favorite music is country. We talked forever and we
answered every single question the same, it was so much fun. Sister
Grubb is my new best friend and my favorite part of the day.

We start our day every day by going to Sister Grubb's and we make her
bed, wash her dishes, make sure she has some food, and then whatever
else she needs. Then we always leave her with a spiritual thought. It
was so cute yesterday we were sharing the spiritual thought and I
don't remember what I said but Sister Grubb got a smile on her face
and said, "We are so much alike. I think you were my sister and we
just got sent to different mothers." And I think she is right.

We went to the Spanish Branch yesterday and it was so much fun. It was
my first ward council ever in Spanish and they all thought I was
Hispanic, it made me so happy! I was grateful we went on fast and
testimony meeting because I got to share my testimony in Spanish at
church for the first time on my mission. I love the people so much and
I love the language.

I hope y'all have a great week this week! I love you so very much and
I am so grateful for all the love and support. Have fun celebrating
the 4th and be happy, because life is too short to be anything else.

Con amor,
Hermana Swapp

PS: "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and
put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye
do this, he will, according to his own will and pleasure, deliver you
out of bondage." -Mosiah 7:33

How many soda walls can you find in a week? 

Sister Grubb right before this picture she told me that when we get to Heaven

 and when she has a good body again we're going to play some golf (: 

And a super cute selfie of Corona and me.