Wonderful Week

Dearest Family,

This week was such an awesome week! And I think that i'm finally getting acclimated to the weather. Yay! Also, we had dinner with this Filipino family, who totally bought balut and wanted us to try it as a joke. I did not. Thankfully. But it was really funny watching the son eat it, because the Dad said that if he ate it, he would give him 10 dollars. He ate it.

Also this week, we went to scripture study at the retirement community and a woman came up to me and asked if was related to the Swain's on Kaua'i, I told her yes. Then she asked if you know Billy Swain and I said yes, thats my Dad, then she asked if I knew Dora Swain and I told her ya, thats my grandmother. This woman and her and her husband served on Kaua'i in the Hanalei branch. And Puna danced at her Farewell dinner! So I took a picture with her. It is so crazy! The people I meet.

Why was it an awesome week?

Well... First off we had a baptism :) And Greg has a testimony and he has so much support from his family and his friends. His family was at his baptism, then sacrament meeting and his priesthood ordination. And they are so happy for him, even though their not members. The spirit was so strong in every meeting. Nobody could deny what they felt and the things that the spirit witnessed to each person individually. Then an investigator whom we haven't seen in 4 weeks showed up at church yesterday. And she is trying her hardest to keep to her commitments! And she said that she still wants to be baptized. She may have moved out of our mission, but I don't care, I just want her to live the best life she can and I know that she'll be able to do that through the gospel.

Then we had a general authority come and give a "follow up" meeting to the worldwide broadcast, "hastening the work." It was Elder Dusnip of the seventy, and he was fantastic! The meeting was all about getting members and missionaries to work together. This is the same work and we need to stop treating it like it's different. The missionaries sacred responsibility is to teach and the members sacred responsibility is to find. So please find the missionaries someone to teach! Soon we will be doing away with tracting and will be relying on the help of the members. Today in my personal study as I was reading 3 Nephi chapter 18, I realized that Christ is talking about member missionaries! 18:22-23 (read it) We need to pray for those who are not there with us at church. The Lord is hasten' His work and He said that he would do it in His time. Well we have a prophet of God asking us again to be member missionaries.

More Word

I think that something that I really learned this week is to not doubt. There are many whom I have come into contact while on my mission and we teach them and they feel the spirit and things are really good! Then... something happens and we don't see them for weeks. But I have a wonderful companion who continues to pray for them. And this week I have seen 3 former investigators return and say that they want to continue to be taught. Never give up on anyone! We never know how the Lord is going to work in their  lives. Theres another scripture in 3 Nephi that one of the Ward mission leaders keeps bringing up and I wanna say that it's chapter 18:32, but it says to continue to minister unto all men.

Another thing that just hit me was how much our Savior loves us and how much he loves us when we have faith in Him, His plan and commandments and we keep those commandments. When Christ visits the americas He sees the faith of the nephites and He weeps because He is so happy and He blesses them, then when He returns, He sees that they are praying and He prays for them. Our Savior loves us. Remember that scripture in doctrine in covenants that says, "Where there are 2 or 3 of you gathered in my name...there I am in the midst of you." When the nephites were praying in the name of Christ, there he was in the midst of them. When we are doing the Lords work, there He is.

I love you all! Thank you for the suport and prayers!

-Sister Swain