I hope you all a had a great Thanksgiving :) I had a pretty good one. Went to a families home and ate really good food (they even had panipopo) Then they let us decorate the Christmas tree! This family is so awesome their whole house is covered in Christmas lights and decorations. I'm excited to see these houses with snow and Christmas lights. It's funny because everyone tells me, it's not Christmas without snow and cold weather...I tell them that it's not Christmas without the beach, but I guess this year it will. It's supposed to snow today or tomorrow, but I've gotten to the point that i'll believe it when I see it, because they have been telling us this for a week. Anyway.. thats the weather...

This week I really gained a testimony of how the Lord puts us through trials and puts us in situations so that we can grow. We truly receive no witness until after the trial of our faith. At the beginning of this transfer I had a hard time. This week we got a new investigator (who is going to be a challenge), we met two people who said that they would like us to return to their home and they said that they would hear what we have to say. And there is this girl who has been coming to church who isn't baptized, but she just started coming because she wanted to see what it was like and she wants us to start teaching her. We are also teaching a little girl whose family is less active, and her mom really opened up to us about her concerns. The Lord blesses us when we work hard and try our hardest to continue to have our His spirit with us.

Last night we taught the Plan of Salvation to a man who just had a problem with it. His wife is suffering from brain cancer and they said that they wanted to learn about Heaven so we taught him. And he had a hard time accepting it. It would be a great story if I could tell you that everything worked out just fine, but it didn't. It was frustrating because he wasn't accepting it (which happens), but was more frustrating is that we just could not figure what to say to help him understand and to help him feel the spirit. At the end of the lesson a priesthood holder was coming over to give his wife a blessing, then this brother gave him a blessing and it was in spanish because this man is from mexico and he didn't want to be taught by the spanish elders. He wanted to be taught in english. Anyway..A blessing was given and even though I didn't understand the blessing I knew that whatever mistakes we made in the lesson and any contention that was felt in the lesson was fixed and resolved. Does he believe in what were teaching him...not yet. But I know that if he reads the Book of Mormon and truly prays about it and tries to live the gospel everything will be revealed unto him. 

I'm grateful to be here and I know that I am supposed to be here. I love the Lord and I know that this is His Church and His gospel and that we are all imperfect, but through the Atonement we can be made perfect. I know that He has set up a plan for us to return to Him.

I love you all! Thank you for your support and your prayers!

Love,

Sister Swain

(pictures-9 year old baptism, Kauai local from Hanapepe license plate, dinner for my new 'green' companion)