I have one word... 'MERICA 7-3-2017
8:00 PM
¡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
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.
Louisville
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