So I just realized that since coming here to Australia, I’ve added a lot of people to the list that I send this email to.. and some of y’all probably have no idea about my whole mission story and why I’m on Chapter (week) 22 of my little mission book I like to call “A Tale of Two Missions” 🙂 So I thought I’d recap a bit in this week’s chapter! Bear with me if you’ve heard/read this a million times haha…
Ok, so I was officially called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 6 July, 2015 (I think?) when I opened my mission call to labor in the Mighty Texas Dallas Mission! I was called to serve there for a period of two transfers (or 3 months). During which time I would receive a NEW mission call to go and serve in a NEW mission! 🙂 So on 31 August, 2015 I reported straight to the mission field in Dallas and I prepared to serve with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength(: after arriving, I was soon assigned to head to the wonderful land of Wylie, Texas! (shout out to my homies in the old Wylie 2nd and 3rd Wards!! love y’all! <3) While serving there we saw many mighty miracles happen in the name of the Lord!
And after about a month and a half of awesome times in Wylie, I received word that my NEW mission call was on it’s way. And so on 6 October, 2015 (I think? lol) I opened my new mission call to serve in the great Australia Sydney South Mission! Woohoo! I started then preparing to report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on 16 December, 2015 (that one I’m positive about haha) and start my “second” mission over here in Aussie Land! And so I worked hard and loved every last minute of serving in the mighty TDM and then flew over to Utah to spend 2 weeks at the MTC before flying for 21 hours to get here to the ASSM!
So here I am now serving in the Capitol of Australia, Canberra, I’m 5 months into my mission and absolutely loving being a servant of the Lord! It definitely has it’s super hard days, nothing holy is ever easy (Hard=Holy!!), but the miracles and the good days make it all worth it and more! <3 So that is why my book is titled “A Tale Of Two Missions” and I wouldn’t have my mission experience happen ANY other way! The Lord works in mysterious ways sometimes and I never expected my mission to happen the way it has. But through it all I definitely have gained a huge testimony of how God is so mindful of us each individually and has a divine plan for all of us! The places I’ve served at the times I did allowed me to meet AMAZING people which I otherwise would never have met, I have grown so much in the Lord and have dedicated my life and witness to His divine work of salvation! I love this gospel and I love being a missionary and helping others to realize the great love that God our Heavenly Father and His son, our Saviour Jesus Christ has for them(: and witnessing miracles everyday there’s nothing else like it!
ANNNDDDDD speaking of miracles.. LACHLAN GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND!! Wow.. it seriously made like my whole life… what an incredible experience! His faith and pure testimony was astonishing! I cried like a baby (but what’s new(; haha..) when he was baptized and when he was confirmed yesterday in sacrament meeting! I’m so grateful that we could be a part of his special day! At the baptism all the missionaries from our district got up and sang a song that is special to our mission and to the Polynesian culture that is all around us haha, it’s Hymn #295 “O Love That Glorifies The Son” but the tune is different and SOOO pretty(: it was fun!
We also got to teach Lachlan again this week before he was baptized and, literally, every time we teach him, I just come away SO amazed at his faith and his love for the gospel! He’s 22 and already talking about going on a mission next year!! AHHH <3 I’m so excited for him! The complete 180 turn that he has come around since running into the elders at a bus depot a month ago; where he was just planning to pick a random bus and just see where it took him because he had nothing left for him here.. he has come so far in just a short month, he quit smoking and drinking in just 2 weeks! It’s just such a miracle and it’s all thanks to the Gospel of Jesus Christ y’all!
2ND MIRACLE OF THE WEEK! There’s a part member family that we’ve been working with lately and the husband Matt is not a member but the whole family including Matt have been super active (more active than a lot of members haha) in the Ward and for some reason he just hasn’t gotten baptized. And so for like a month we’ve just itching to be like “MATT!! WHY THE HECK AREN’T YOU BAPTIZED?!?!” but for some reason the time just wasn’t ever right so we never even approached the subject with him.. BUT without us even inviting him, he came to Lachy’s baptism on Saturday and loved it! and then yesterday in our missionary gospel principles class, we were teaching the lesson on Covenants (or two-way promises that we make with God. i.e. the covenant of Baptism) and so throughout the whole lesson we focused on the blessings of covenants especially baptism, seeing as both Lochy and Matt were in there(: and by the end of it, both Sister Stott and I had the overwhelming impression that we HAD to talk to Matt and invite him to be baptized right then! so.. WE DID(: we told him we just had the impression to come ask him, and oh my heck! what a miracle!! he said that he’s been thinking about that a lot over the weekend especially with Lochy’s baptism the day before and how he just has one question and once he has his answer he’s ready to be baptized. AND he wants to be baptized soon so that he can be the one to baptize his son Edmond when he turns 8 in July! He told us that we couldn’t of timed the question any better, because had we snatched the opportunity to pressure him the whole time we’ve been teaching them over the past month, he wasn’t ready and he would of said no. but this weekend beacause of Lochy’s baptism and because we had been patient and followed the spirit, he was ready and now, God willing, he will be baptized in a couple weeks! LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT Y’ALL(: God knows when and how things need to happen and He will guide you by the voice of His Holy spirit(:
Man… I could go on and on with the miracles we’ve seen here in Canberra… but I’m sure you’re sick of me by now haha x) but one last thing, we went on exchanges twice this week! The first one I stayed in Woden with Sister Tu’uaga and lead the area for a day(: it went great and I learned a lot and my confidence for the area grew heaps! We taught Ana, our investigator from Italy and her sister Rosa(: We also did service for Ana and painted her window sills(: it was fun! the second exchange I went with our flat mate Sister Teahe to her area of Tuggernong. It was great! We taught a lesson to a non-member named Susy (hehe, we’re kindred spirits) and a lesson to a former investigator named Wendi. Both lessons were amazing and super inspired! I can see such miracles happening in the future with both these women(:
Well I believe that wraps up this weeks’ chapter! Here are some pics from the baptism and from our week! (Might have to attach them to another email sorry haha) We went to the Australian National Museum too! super cool building!
​Love y’all heaps,
Sister Swan
​PS Transfers are next week!! I’m 90% sure both Sister Stott and I are staying here in Woden though.. but it’ll be weird because next transfer is a 10 week transfer!!! wow!! it’s because they’re officially changing the time in the MTC back to 3 weeks for native speakers.​
PPS I made mom’s vinegar cake this week for a birthday party for a member named Michael and for Lochy’s baptism! It was awesome!! 🙂 everyone loved it haha.. btw did y’all know peanut butter is an American stereotype? haha I didn’t.. but yeah only American’s like peanut butter here… Aussie PB is a sad sad story… :/ haha but luckily S. Stott had some hoarded away for the icing haha and I also made mum’s banana bread for the baptism! haha I think it was too sweet/foreign for Aussies to handle lol oh well, more for us! 😉