Oct. 24- The Vineyard of the Lord

Dear Family,

It was another amazing and great week!! We keep seeing progress and amazing things in our area and our Branch. Our investigadores are progressing so well and the recent converts, too!

We started the week with divisiones with Hermana Morales and Hermana Rees! It is always fun to see my Bear River Buddy;) We had a good time with them and learned a lot about inviting investigators to be baptized. 

Hermana Laura Rees is really learning so fast and I am so proud of her! I wonder what I was like when I had her time in the mission, and I hope that I felt the need as strongly as she does to serve with all of my heart, might, mind and strength. I learn so much from the sisters everytime we go on divisions. 

We also had divisiones later with Hermana Olivares and Hermana Martinez this week, they are fun:) They are from Veracruz and Mexico City. They each have about 10 months in the mission and it is fun to see how missionary perspective grows and changes and matures with time:) 

We had an amazing baptismal service of Hermana Guadalupe Martinez Hernandez. She is honestly one of the most converted investigators I have ever had the privilege of teaching. She has passed through so many things and stayed so strong. In the time that we have been teaching her, her mom was diagnosed with cancer and moved in with Guadalupe so she could take care of her 24/7, Guadalupe fell down and broke her wrist, and she had to overcome an addiction to coffee. There are about a thousand other things that have happened in her life but she has overcome them all and trusted completely and fully in God. She is more diligent and devoted than many people I have met in my life, and I hope to be like her one day. As she came up from the steps of the baptismal font after completing her ordinance her first words were ''I need my family to feel this, too.'' I know she will be the key to bringing many into the fold of God.

I am so grateful for the privilege and blessing of being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a representative of Jesus Christ. I know this church is true. I know that He is my Savior and Redeemer. I know God hears and answers our prayers. I know that He is there.

Today I have completed 16 months in the Vineyard of the Lord, but I feel like I am still just starting to understand the importance of it all. Truly, sweet is the work and white is the harvest. God just needs us to give Him our ALL to truly see His hand.

I love you all and I pray that you can feel the same way I feel and the way Guadalupe feels- we can feel the spirit every single day. We can feel the profound truthfulness of the gospel every time we say a humble prayer and ponder. Dont let it become routine- show God your gratitude by helping others feel that love as well. 

I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Love, Hermana Swallow

Oct. 17- Amazing Week!

Part One

Dear Family,

It was a good week! Eduardo got baptized!! I will tell you more about it later on:)

We went on a few divisions this week, its always fun to learn and be with the sisters. This is us with Hermana Smith and Bautista, they are in our zone and pretty constant missionaries:) 

Then we went on divisions with some sisters who work all the way in Cuernavaca, Hermana Cardona y Hermana Mendez. It was the first time I had the chance to work with them, and they are awesome! Hermana Cardona is from Mexico and Hermana Mendez from Peru!

Today we went as a Zone to Xochicalco, the place with all the pyramids:) It was awesome! I hadnt gone there for like a year, but I remembered where everything is;) It was Hermana Dent's first time, so she had a lot of fun. We had a cool experience finding a couple there visiting from California. They are in the foto, too. We were talking with them about their lives and we helped them find the right bus to take them to their hotel:) They agreed to listen to the missionaries in California, so we will be sending their address to that mission. I love being a missionary, the Lord knows where to send us and what we need to do! 

Part Two

Eduardo's baptism was a truly amazing experience. He was so ready to make his first covenant with God. When he came in and saw the tank full of water he teared and started to cry. After his baptism he shared his testimony with everyone present (nearly the entire ward) and it was powerful. He is now on his way to full conversion:) 

We had a pretty funny experience with his child, though, the little one in Eduard's hands. Lalito (the little child) didn't want to be held by anyone but his dad in the baptism, so when Eduardo had to get up to go down into the font, Lalito FLIPPED OUT. Screaming and wailing and gnashing of teeth. I couldn't hold him or anything because I am a missionary so i was just praying and praying that he would calm down so Eduardo would have a special experience. WELL the niño just KEPT screaming and Eduardos mom just held onto him while standing in front of the glass window of the font to watch her son get baptism. That's why what happened had a front-row view for everyone. President Solis started saying the baptismal prayer ignoring Lalito's screaming and right when Eduardo was being brought down under the water Lalito PUKED all over the front of the room, right in front of the glass, almost into the baptismal water, haha. Eduardo came up out of the water, his act of faith now complete, and Lalito puked again while the Grama started running out of the room. I couldn't believe it, haha. The members sprang into action to get it all cleaned up, but it was gross, haha. The best part, though, is that Eduardo didn't even hear Lalito screaming. He had no idea of what had happen until after the baptismal service:) The spirit just covered his hearing so he could have a special experience:) 

​I know that God listens to our prayers and that He is in even the smallest of details, He knows His children and He knows our needs:) I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you!

Love, Hermana Swallow

More picts of the week

Oct. 10- Zoofari Adventures!

Dear Family,

Well, it was a wonderful week! Hermana Dent and I are seeing so many blessings and awesome things happen for us here in Alpuyeca, we are loving our time here! We have a baptism this week, our investigator Eduardo (the one who has one eye) was able to overcome many habits and find strength through the atonement of Christ and is ready to enter into the waters of baptism:) Pray mucho for him.

This week we had this one day of adventure looking for this one colonia we had never seen or heard of but had a reference in. We walked for quite some time before we found civilization again but were blessed with finding a super chosen new investigator Maria who was practically just waiting for us to come walking up, she is now working towards a baptism as well:) On the way looking for her we passed lots of what seemed like wilderness and I took another 'look for the iguana' pic :) 

All the way walking and looking for this funny colonia I was tripping all over the place, I even almost fell into this baby ravine, but Hermana Dent caught me- that is companionship love;) (it is bigger in person)

After all that walking when we finally came to Hermana Orfa's house to eat she just let us lay down in front of the fan for a bit, haha. #suchaprincess #lookatthattan

Orfa's daughter Michelle (one of my best 7 year old friends ever) took a funny picture of us eating. I have no table manners anymore, I just eat everything with my hands, haha. This is one of my favorite meals ever: small friend chicken tacos with chipotle caldo. 

Something weird has been going on in the colonia where we live lately, it is part of Catholic traditions. Where we live/work is a very small pueblo and it has alot of weird traditions. I told you a little bit about it a few weeks ago- they have been getting together in large groups of people and they carry around a large Virgin Guadalupe statue and candles and flowers and leave flower petals behind while walking through the streets. There are kids that dress up like animals and weird beasts with masks that dance to a flute song while walking.. it is a sight to see but always scares me a bit when we hear the music and then accidentally have to walk on the same street they are on, haha. I am going to attach a video i took, too. 

This is us with Hermana Sak, She is so cool! Her name is actually Sak-nicte which is mayan for white flower:) She just graduated college and I am so sad because she just got her first job and now she wont be able to accompany us for visits every week. 

This is one of THE COOLEST investigators I have ever had the privilege of teaching. His name is Ricardo and he is truly a prepared and chosen son of God. We found him by accident looking for a direction- at first he thought he 'knew everything' and didn't need what we had to teach him but when he listened to the first lesson he realized there was a lot more God had in store for him:) We see him almost everyday because he wants to learn everything so fast- we met him 2 and a half weeks ago but he has already went to almost all the sessions of general conference, takes notes while he reads his scriptures, fasted with us yesterday for Fast Sunday, and loves to serve and help all the members of the ward. We are going to ask permission so he can be baptized next week:) 

So... today! We went on the coolest adventure I have ever been on in the mission so far! There are some members, Ana and Nestor, who always spoil us and love to do visits with us. They invited us to go with them to a zoo-fari today and it was honestly SO COOL! There are parts where you just walk among the animals and they eat the food from your bowl- even giraffes! I took about a thousand pictures, I hope you enjoy (Tommy- I will take you here when we come back;)) I feel like it was way cooler than the US zoos that have too many rules and 'safety precautions' ;) 

I wasnt scared about the animals- they all act just like goats, but Hermana Dent was pretty hilarious trying to feed them, haha. 

They are Ana and Nestor:) That animal eye-balling them from behind literally followed us for a half an hour, haha. 

I have no idea what these are called but they were just these like giant guinea pig things that were laying all over the place, haha. 

Nestor was in-love with this baby donkey in the exhibit by the buffaloes, haha. 

This monkey took the food right from my hands and held my fingers:)

So, that was cool:) I am a happy camper here. I love serving God's children and I am grateful for every second I have to serve Him. I hope you all have a wonderful week!