Happy Halloween y’all!!!
Today is a great day.. It is Halloween, it is Pday, and it’s my 14 month mark. Dang, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long at all.. crazy! I can definitely tell that my normal worldly vocabulary and spelling (not to mention maths haha) have gone so far out of my brain it’s ridiculous…. but all is well for my spiritual/church vocab is most excellent haha
Anywho… so this week has been fabulous! It ended with a shock.. but we’ll get to that in a bit. On Monday it was the 2 year anniversary of my Grandpa Dave’s death.. so what did we do to honor his memory?? Go for a bike ride of course!!! <3 I miss him and his passion for cycling.. but I am SOO grateful for the beautiful message of the Plan of Salvation that assures me that no matter what, I will see him again and that families truly can be together when sealed in the Holy Temple of the Lord, which is just what my family has will have done for my Grandpa. And this testimony has only been strengthened and solidified as I’ve served my mission! So eternally grateful!Also this week we were following up with some less-active members on our branch list and we stopped and asked these boys who were playing rugby outside if they knew the family we were looking for (mostly just to start up a conversation with them..), they said they did and then we just started chatting about footy, and church and stuff. Then this not much older bloke comes up and so we asked what his name was.. He was a little high strung, and immediately started asking “why?? why do yous wanna know?? huh?!? yous are the undercover coppers eh!! boys, let’s go! don’t talk to the undercover coppers!” and then he ran off glaring at us over his shoulder… haha man and here we were thinking that a dress with a name tag that says “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints” is a great cover we came up with.. too bad he blew it for us.. oh well I suppose we’d look better as sister missionaries anyways… Australians eh.. haha
We did have an incredible miracle though!!! His name is Paul 🙂 We received word that he had requested a Book of Mormon online at www.mormon.org (visit this website to learn more about what I do here on my mission!) and so we found his address and took him a Book of Mormon. When we got there we realized that there had been a glitch in the system at some point along the way and it had taken 5 weeks for his name and address to get to us from the time he requested it.. but man, he was SO excited to get the book! I wish every member and investigator could have the joy that he did in receiving the Book of Mormon! So we are so excited to begin meeting with him and to see the light of the gospel illuminate his life! 🙂
Well that about sums up this week.. now for the shocking ending… the Elders have officially left the area mid transfer… so we, along with the stalwart Boogaards, are all by our lonesomes.. and all the area’s work has fallen on our shoulders for the rest of the transfer or more. Yikes.. pray for Bathurst y’all! But because they were leaving, it gave us a great excuse to make a yummy (looking, as I unfortunately could not partake.. haha) black forest chocolate cherry cake! haha they loved it I believe(: well that’s my life here in the land of Zion-.. oh I mean Australia.. I hope all is well with y’all and that life is better than ever! Email me and tell me about it!!
Love always,
Sister Swan
Australia Sydney South Mission
Pics: Bike ride, “kitchen kitty” lol onesies are life, elders and cake! and look, I found Roxy’s twin.. his name is Lucky, and I bawled my eyes out when I saw him for the first time.. I miss my baby girl! 🐕❤
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