Happy Monday!
It's been a great week! Weird, but great! I got a letter in the mail from the mission informing me of my release date... It was super weird. FYI, it will be August 20th.
My companion and I sang a duet in church yesterday... It was scary. It was the hymn "O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown" to the tune of "If You Could Hie to Kolob." We sang the first verse together, the second verse was just me, the third was just my companion, and the last was both of us. I've never sang by myself in front of big crowds like that ever before! We were both so nervous. We were doing everything we could to clear our throats that morning and the night before. It went well though. The last verse was the best because we were done being stressed about our solos. Haha But people kept telling us that they couldn't even tell that was our first time, we looked like pros. I think that was definitely the Spirit helping them see that. Hahaha
But it was a really cool experience that strengthened my testimony a lot! I had been praying that we could deliver the song, and no matter what, that the spirit would be there, because I've learned that if the spirit is there, then what comes out of our mouth doesn't matter. And I know that the spirit was definitely there while we were singing. It reminded me of when I gave my farewell talk. I was so so nervous! I had never ever given a 15 minute talk before and was so scared! But I prepared, and the whole morning, I had been praying that I could deliver my talk and say the things that needed to be heard. And that my nervousness wouldn't show too much. It was the first time that I had given a talk without stuttering or my muscles uncontrollably twitching and I was actually able to speak up and out, whereas, before I had just always read my talks and mumbled it out to get it over with as fast as I could. I've definitely learned through these experiences and sooo many others that the Lord will help us with anything, even speaking, but we have to ask for the help first.
We also wore matching outfits! Haha So here's the story. We were at a members house last week for dinner, right after we were asked to sing, and they were watching "Cheetah Girls" before we got there. So we were joking around and saying we should sing the song from that that goes, "We are sisters, we stick together," when we sing. Haha so the mom was like, "Oh my goodness, if you don't sing that song, you MUST at least wear cheetah print or something, and we'll be the only ones that know what you actually wanted to sing." So
Not only did we wear cheetah print, but we also coordinated colors. :)
We had interviews with president this week and it was so nice. He helped me a lot with figuring out what to do after my mission. He also basically told me that I was getting transferred this time around, which happens to be next Tuesday... He said it's not set in stone, but I'm pretty sure it is and he's just saying that. I don't know where I'm going, but since next Monday is a holiday, I will have to email on Tuesday, and by then I'll be in my new area. So I'll inform you then! :)
I went on exchanges this week with our STL (sister training leader) and her companion. I went down to their area with her companion and she came here with my companion. It was so good! We both learned a lot! One of the things that impressed me was how easily Sister Voyles (the sister I was with) made it look to contact people without any materials. Contacting is definitely NOT my strong point, as you can imagine, but every time I see it done like the way I saw this sister do it, it gives me confidence. Then I go to actually do it... and the confidence leaves when I get shut down... It's a vicious cycle. The area I'm in right now is sooo hard on missionaries trying to street contact! Nobody is interested, if there even is anyone out on the streets to talk to. We'll go a whole night contacting about 30 people and only really share the gospel with like 3 people... Everybody else just passes by and doesn't even acknowledge you. It's rough. That's why we have to rely on the members to give us referrals to find people to teach.
Which, we just started this week with really laying it heavy on the members that we need their help and can't do it by ourselves. We've gotten more referrals this week than ever since I've been in this area! We got 2 referrals! Haha unfortunately, neither of them were interested, but statistics show that 1 out of 3 referrals are interested, so our next referral will be golden! *crossing our fingers*
Well, that's how my week has been pretty much. This is my last full week in this area. :(
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Swapp
January 21st
Wow! What a crazy and amazing week!! This past week has seriously been one of the best so far in my entire mission!
So my companion and I decided we were going to have more meaningful contacts, which is what we struggled with a lot. It's scary to talk to people. Even for missionaries! So, we decided to go contacting in parks, because people aren't rushing usually. So our first night, Tuesday, we went to a park right before dinner and we ran into a guy named Rafi. We only had about 5 minutes till dinner and were actually debating on whether or not we had time to go talk to him. I'm glad we decided to! Because he was not having a very good day. :( We talked to him for a little bit and we shared Matthew 11: 28-30 with him and gave him a Book of Mormon and got his information and prayed with him. He told us that he knows we were a sign from God telling him that He is still there and appreciated us coming and talking to him.
A few nights later, same situation, only a few minutes left till dinner, we saw a girl sitting on a table eating food and debated again whether we had time to talk to her. We do and it turns out she's been looking for a church. We gave her a Book of Mormon and gave her our info and prayed with her.
These experiences have taught me so much about how Heavenly Father tries our faith and loyalty. It seems like it's always in the last 5 minutes before we have to go that he places someone that is prepared. It's taught me to be diligent and just go and talk to them no matter how much time you have left!
We also picked up a new investigator who is soooo prepared!! Some awesome members brought him to church a couple weeks ago and we met him and gave him a Book of Mormon after our Sunday School lesson on the Plan of Salvation. We got a call from the members that brought him (the guy is the wife's cousin) and they told us that he had read some of the Book of Mormon and was going to church with them the next day and wanted a lesson from us when we came for dinner Sunday night (they had signed up to feed us). Well, the funny part is, is that we were planning on cancelling on them because we had planned to go to the temple with Rhanya, our recent convert, and wouldn't have time to make it for dinner. But we promised the member that we would have missionaries there to teach him and that we would figure something out. Well, it turns out that Rhanya woke up with a fever Sunday morning, so she cancelled our temple trip. Which we were super sad about, but it meant that we could go and teach Matt that night! So we get to dinner and after we eat, we start teaching him the restoration. It was such a good lesson! The Spirit was sooooo strong! And he had so many good questions. We also had another member family come over and the husband was a convert to the church as well, so we had him share how he came to know the Book of Mormon was true and it was so powerful and perfect!
This week, also, we exceeded our goal for lessons! WHich NEVER haas happened since I've been in Pleasanton! Our weekly goal is 20, and we had 24 by the end of the week! The Lord is just hastening His work so much in the Pleasanton area! We are finally starting to see the fruits of our labors and it is so great! Just in time for me to leave too...
The last bit of news I have is..... I got transferred and am now in a new area! It's going to be a lot of fun. We cover 3 family wards (I thought 2 was bad...) and I'm in a tri-panionship! And I'm the only one in our trio that's from America!!! Hahaha The sister that's been in the area the longest is Sister Tuala. She's from Samoa. She's been out 1 transfer longer than I have. The other sister is Sister Li. She's from Hong Kong. They are both so wonderful! Because Sister Li speaks Chinese, we have a Chinese investigator and we just came from a lesson with her. It was amazing! The church is true even in other languages!! Hahaha It was really interesting though because the investigator can understand english, she just learns better in her native tongue, which makes sense. So Sister Li would talk with her about who knows what (well the gospel, obviously) and then she would turn to one of us and say, "Sister Swapp, do you want to explain how Adam and Eve's decision to partake of the fruit affects us?" And I would explain, then she would go back into speaking Chinese and turn to one of us again, "Sister Tuala, do you want to talk about what the spirit world is?" Haha it was really interesting. But, I know I am going to love it here! I already sort of know the area. 2 of the wards we cover are wards that I covered when I was in the YSA branch. So I know all the ward member's YSA aged kids!! Hahaha I'm really excited though. A little overwhelmed maybe... but I know that I have so many wonderful things to learn and grow from in this area, otherwise the Lord wouldn't put me here.
I love you all so much! And I hope you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Swapp
January 27th
Hello!
This week has been so great! I love it here! It's a little crazy with the 3 wards, but I think I'm getting it down. I think I had a harder time getting 2 wards down when I was in Pleasanton. It's amazing how the Lord strengthens your ability to serve in a certain area. Both of my companions will be leaving soon and I think that has something to do with it. Sister Li will be going back to Temple Square in April, she's a temple square sister on her outbound assignment right now. And Sister Tuala will be getting transferred at the end of this transfer most likely, she's been here ever since they opened this area 7 months ago. So I really am relying on the Lord to help me learn everything I can from them before they leave.
It's been so fun though! Usually you think a trio would be really hard, but things are so great in this trio! We all get along so well! And we teach really well together too. It's the best trio ever. We're always laughing together too, which is important. :)
So we set a baptismal date this week! My very first full day here, we met with a Vietnamese woman named Amy. She's been so prepared! She found the church on her won and came to church one Sunday, but the sisters (this was before I came) weren't there because they were attending the other 2 wards we cover, so a member fellowshipped her, got her number and gave it to the sisters. The sisters then called her and set up a time to meet with her. When I met her, it was only their second meeting with her and we taught her the restoration. It was perfect! We had a member there and she had some really good questions. So, I have a box that I keep my scriptures in and I have pictures from the ensign all over it and so when we were talking about Christ's earthly ministry, the member grabbed my scripture case and showed her the picture of Jesus Christ being baptized by John the Baptist and it opened up a huge discussion about baptism. That's when I knew we were going to be inviting her to be baptized sometime throughout the lesson. Well, we went on and after we had finished teaching about the Book of Mormon, I invited her to pray about it. She said yes and I said, "As you pray and come to know that this is true for yourself, will you prepared yourself to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone that holds the authority of God?" She said, "Yes!" without skipping a beat! She kind of said it in a "duh I'll be baptized" kind of way. Haha The Spirit was so strong! She's so amazing!
I have fallen in love with the people here! They are all so amazing and sweet! I love all of the people I've met. My heart is just bursting with love for them!
Also this week, I started a gratitude journal. It's been really fun to write every night about a couple things I'm grateful for. I don't have enough time to write about every single thing I'm grateful for in one night, so I decided to do a couple things each night. I love writing down the things I'm grateful for and why I'm grateful for them because I end up recognizing why I really am thankful for the things I have. Sometimes even deeper than I thought. It's amazing. The Lord has given me so many blessings! I'm excited to fill up this journal with them!
Well, that's my week for you! It's been amazing!
Here's my new address for those of you wondering...
46703 Crawford St. #20
Fremont, CA 94539
Love you all,
Sister Swapp
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