The one where I get ratted out. (Snitches get stitches)

Okay Famarama,

I have been emailing you for the past 2 weeks and I've gotten all your letters of concern. If you receive this email REPLY to it so I know you're getting them. I also sent it to JMack in case you don't get and J, if you do get this one reply to it so I know these emails are not going into the great abyss. Business items first: As far as finances go, I don't have permission to check my Wells Fargo account so you can just transfer my return loans into my Alliant account and that goes straight into my mish fund. I was told by a devoted blog follower (Lizzy King, haha small world but she was working the Easter Pageant! You don't know her btw) that my blog hasn't been updated since the MTC *CoughASHcoughcoughcough* haha I know she's busy but maybe give her a kind reminder;). Ma, you're Easter Basket/Package ROCKED. SO LEGIT. Holy cow, you little Stacy and Clinton you! Everyone was obsessed with those shoes you sent and the shirts are perfect for the heat! And well, you should know I'm obsessed with the dress. Never have clothes been a concern until I came on a mission where you have to look sharp 16/7. I know that was a big sacrifice for you and I really do love you and appreciate you for that=]. Faja, please add ann.vom.lehn@mylds.net, rachel.muccullough@mylds.net, and julia.reintjes@mylds.net to the email list porfi.

Well I hope you all had a miserable Passover and Easter without me, there's no amount of matzo that can fill the emptiness you find in your hearts. Oh and dearest Father of mine, that April Fool's letter was quite the piece of work. Haha, I was going to share it with Hna Falcon, but she would def not understand your dry NY humor. She doesn't understand who "Batman" is either when you sign your name with the Batsign haha. The other day we were on chat and we were chatting with this 15 year old hoodlum from the Georgia Ghet-to and I realized I am bilingual- American English and Ghetto English because I had to translate what this kid was saying to Hna Falcon.

The Easter Pageant has come and gone. Shoot, I am tired. It's not even a physical tired, it's a spiritual/emotional drainage and hallelujah today is PDay so I can recoup. But fam, the best thing happened over these past 2 weeks. I finally feel like a real missionary=]. You know me, when I'm passionate about something I obsess with whatever it is and rock it out. But over the first month of my mission, I felt like such a fraud, like I was just wearing the nametag and the skirt and doing the missionary routine, but I didn't feel like my heart was in it. And that ticked me off. Fo realz. But, I've found a small bit of footing, don't worry I still don't have a blessed clue as to what I'm doing (probably never will, but that's coo), but I have been praying way hard to have a change of heart, to be the obsessive person I am in regards to this mission and famfam, it so happened! I woke up one morning, I would say the Monday before the Easter Pageant and I was just laser-focused on my investigators and their needs and I was just in it to win it. I thought about the people in my area and I didn't get distracted with daydreams and it's been like that ever since. FINALLY. But I had to work at it, and that was just something I didn't realize I needed to work at- feeling and being the missionary I wanted to be. But now I know, and done and done. I would have you know fam, that I looked like a First Lady for the past 2 weeks as well, my poor hair is fried beyond unbelief, but I dazzled those 76,000 plus people who came. We saw tons of miracles, but the coolest ones were that we were able to give 5 Farsi copies of the Book of Mormon to the head of all Muslim charities and his family, a man from Iran, and some other Persian guy; we gave away all 3 of our copies of the German Book of Mormon; I taught 2 Jewish-Christians(yeah, they were real gems...); and a ton of our branch's families brought their nonmember family to the Pastorela and they loved it and hopefully we can start teaching them soon. It was bomb and bomb in a nutshell.

Even better than the Pageant was that Julio got baptized on Saturday!!!!!! The whole week leading up to it was freakin' dramatic. He had his baptismal interview on Tuesday(have I explained that before? basically just a bunch of questions making sure they understand the church doctrine and believe it and are willing to keep commandments) and he came to the interview smelling like straight up cigarro. Hna Falcon and I went into the break room at the VC and were like "He's gonna fail his interview and we're going to have to push back his date." He gets out of his interview like 45 mins later and he passed. WHAT THE...? After Julio left we asked the Elder who interview him if he had smelled Julio (I was going to ask if he was on crack, but luckily Hna Falcon is senior compa) and he said yes but he felt good in passing him and julio had said he wasn't smoking. So we asked President Ellsworth and he said Julio was good to go, so we shut up and prayed that Julio would get his act together if he had a problem before his baptism. We actually had a handful of people show up which was a miracle in intself(the branch wants 37 baptisms for the year and they don't show up to them...cool) but Julio showed up 15 mins late, NBD. But it was awesome, he was so nervous! Which was weird cause this is the same Julio who knows everything, but it just shows how the gospel humbles and changes people for the better and he felt the Spirit tan intenso and afterwards Santiago came up to him and was like "I was baptized too" and I died because he's so presh and it was bomb.

If you want to be hardcore, you got to live hardcore, and this mish is way hardcore fam;)

Les quiero!
Hna Schwartz

Love is a battlefield

Schwartz Clan,

Business first: is the gov on crack? I'm flattered they think I'm trying to launder from them, but alas taxes were taken out of everyone one of my paychecks so you shouldn't have to be paying anything, or I'm getting robbed and that's injustice and if I could I would fight for my rights! MAAA, SEND ME CLOTHES!!!! So I thought I had gotten enough light clothes, but I was in lala land. I've been fine so far, but I'm going to hate myself soon. Ma, there are missionary guidelines you have to follow and you can find them on lds.org under missionary stuff (ask JMack to help you out if you get lost). Do not, I repeat, DO NOT send me leopard, zebra, giraffe, or any kind of animal print. I am not going to be a Cheetah Girl here on the mish mish. Oh and let J know that Shade shirts are too short-sleeve for my mish. Yes Ma, I've been eating fine. I got some flax seed granola which is rockin my world, but I keep it light for breakfast and lunch because at night we get FED. Ohhhhh especially Familia Moran. And is the email not working for you? If not, just reply back to these ones I'm sending you. But still send it to the VC because I literally live 10 steps away so it's about the same amount of time anyways, plus I'm living in a member's guest house which is luxury up the wazzoo, so I would prefer not to be in an apartment. How are my cousins doing? Roscoe's bday is coming up soon isn't it? Give me an update on them and tell my sober brother to email me or write me. The cousins can email me too because they're family, fyi.

So fam, I may have freaked Hna Falcon out a little bit this week. So I've been thinking about how I could be more sustainable here on the mish, cause it's hard to be super environmentally friendly, but I have come up with some solutions. Candlelight showers. Call me crazy, but they are so bomb! I light some candles to save electricity but the perk is that it's super calming and a nice start to the morning. Hna Falcon comes downstairs to darkness which is weird, but saving the environment one candle at a time right? Haha another funny thing. You know how there's that mexican stereotype about Chihuahas? Not a stereotype, it's real. Almost every family we've met or gone to their home has a chihuaha, no joke and I just laugh.

It was a good week fam. I say that with full sincerity. I actually felt like a real missionary this week, which was refreshing. The night of the dress rehearsal for the Pastorela (the Easter Pageant here), we had to go to a dinner appointment with Hna Felix, who is 6 months preggers and gets offended if we don't show up at her house for food, so we couldn't cancel but Hna Falcon is one of the leaders for the VC so she had to do trainings for the Pastorela and so she put me and Hna Larson (love her, we were in the MTC together) together to go to the dinner appointment. And besides the fact we were an hour late (we haven't been on time for a single lesson/dinner etc, and the hispanics don't care because they're never on time either) it was a really awesome experience for me. I got us there without getting lost, I felt like myself when chatting and I gave the lesson and it was good to know that I can actually do this. I don't do it as well as Hna Falcon, but that's why we're compas so I can soak it in while I'm with her.

Pastorela-rama=]. Holy schniekies it's increible. It's a play about the life of Jesus Christ and it is hardcore. They use real babies, donkeys, sheep, shetland ponies, people, fire, water, etc. And the effects are sick. It's a cross between Fiddler on the Roof and the 10 Commandments, minus my bff Charleton Heston (dude, would be SO TIGHT if he was still alive and in it). I'm basically obsessed with it, and have seen it every night, including both Spanish nights. Oh and who did I run into to my surprise? Elder Mack! He looked so presh with his matching tie and pocket square haha. We took some Mexican family photos and I got to meet his comp, and ugh so great=]. But get this, so our branch goes to English classes and the English class teacher bought chicken for his whole class and saved seats right in front and Santiago got to go and hang out with everyone and feel more a part of the ward and he loveeeddd the pageant and cried. He is so precious, my word. And then Miguel and Glenda also came the last Spanish night with their grandson and they got great seats up front and live and loooooved it too. and Sheila and Rene came and liked it! (They're this couple, she's so into the church and ready to get baptized but Rene is still on the fence, so we were happy they came) and Blanca and her hijas came! (she is golden, loves the church and the family and everything we believe in and knows that it's going to help her family, her husband's in jail in CO right now so she works a ton) and they loved it too. Ugh the Pastorela so bomb!!!!! Sis Andersen and I have already mastered the angels' dance/movements so we're going to come back after the mish and be angels. But they have these guys dressed up as Roman soldiers walking around and I swear I see Christian Heather's hubby everynight, cause their hair is long and he just looks like Christian...but it's not I checked.

As for General Conference (it's those videos that mom plays every sunday with the old guys on them who talk about church stuff), Santiago attended all the sessions=]. And the first session when President Monson came out, we said "Santiago, that's the prophet!" and he was SO EXCITED and I was super joyous because he was just so excited to see the prophet! Bless my heart. Sometimes I forget how truly awesome it is that we have a prophet, alive here on the planet, to help guide us and seeing Santiago's expression just was so presh. And Miguel also came to a session and he enjoyed it as well. We haven't seen Julio in a while so hopefully we catch him tonight. Haha it was funny after the Saturday morning session, I got this craving for Brookwood Grill's croissants so I hope you went there as tradition says Ma. As for the talks, I listened to it in Spanish, so maybe understood 50%, but I'm pretty sure I understood what was necessary and it doesn't really matter because my investigators received the answers they needed.

Famfam, this mission is a battlefield of love, kid you not. Last night I was on the phone with a bipolar/alcoholic/suicidal man who was thinking about pulling the trigger on the phone. There are people out there in the world who feel alone, who feel hopeless, who don't think that they are worthwhile. I talk to them everyday. But the beautiful thing that I love about the gospel is that I get to tell people every day that they have great potential, that they can become the people they are meant to be by relying on their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, that they aren't alone but they have a Father in Heaven who loves them even when they don't love themselves. The gospel brings hope and it brings light to those who are in dark places, I know because I've lived it and it's only brought me peace and joy. You gotta fight for people, because every person is worthwhile and important.

Love ya, peace out.

Hna Schwartz

Wherein a child crawls away in fear from Hna Schwartz

Fam-fam,

I have met my match. Hna. Falcon and I were talking with some other missionaries and do you know what they told us? The secret to hispanics' hearts is not through carne asada, or bailes, or todo eso. It's through their children. Yeah...we all know how much I love those things. So, I have been trying my very best not to say anything disdainful out loud, but to keep my thoughts to myself. What do I say when Hna Gastelum allows her children to run up and down the pews to their father who sits on the pulpit every Sunday? "Hna Gastelum, your children are so active!" I think this is the one time I'm allowed to lie on my mission, cause goodness knows I need the members to love me. The worst is when we're at lessons with investigators and their children come up and try playing with me. I don't know how to play with kids. Super awkward. I end up just collecting a pile of toys and Play-Dough in my lap while Hna Falcon teaches the parents. This is why I never babysat in my youth. Oh, but the absolute best is when parents drag their 6-7 kids to the VC and expect me to teach a lesson to their "rambunctious" wee ones. Why do people think it's okay to let their children run around and climb on statues of Jesus? Fo real? The best was I was with this one family, and after I played this Christus presentation (people listen for 90 secs to the words of Jesus Christ and look at this marble statue of Him) I asked this little girl what she liked that Jesus said (oh, and I have no clue how to talk to children either btws) and the little girl's eyes get huge in fear and she starts crawling away from me! Literally, I kid you not and we all felt super awkward and her mom said she never acts like that. Yep, leave it to Schwartz to scare a child after listening to the words of Jesus Christ. Bless my soul.

The VC has been an interesting experience, to say the least. In the past week, I have come to face the one thing I knew I was just going to fail at. And that's talking to Anti-Mormons. Hi, my name is Sister Schwartz and no, I don't know what Brigham Young did in 1842. Hi, I actually have no clue what the "correct" Egyptian-Arabic-Hebrew translation of the word Jesus Christ is. No, there is no factual ro specific reason the Church didn't allow blacks to have the priesthood, we believe in modern-day prophecy and it was revelation. How do I prove who a prophet is? ETC. fam. ETC. For me, I personally don't get riled up or upset or anything because let's be honest, I know what I know. Nothing these people say to me is goign to shake the spiritual experiences I've had which have testified of things I know to be true. And the thing is, is that I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they are wasting their cell phone minutes (because they call multiple times a week), I feel sorry they are wasting their time, I'm sure there are better things they could be doing with their life than calling the mormon.org hotline and spending hours trying to convince people of a faith that the faith they believe in is incorrect. I hope they figure out their lives or at least start spending their time doing something worthwhile. Besides anti's, the VC brings a lot of interesting individuals. I feel like Dad when he stands in the line at Target and the person in front of us literally tells him their entire life story. I get that multiple times a day. I don't know why, but people just feel the need to confess everything or tell me how they feel impressed to give me certain prophecy for me in the future. But, I love them all, and I'm here to help people, and so if they need a listening ear, then by all means, mine are open. But the thing I love most about the VC (besides that Easter Pageant is coming up this week and I have no idea the craycray that's gonna go on there) is that I honestly feel the presence of Vovo everyday. Literally everyday I walk onto the Mesa Temple grounds I can feel Vovo's presence and I know she's here with me. I feel her and I feel the love she has for the people here and that helps me to love all who walk through our VC doors. She's like my third companion;).

Speaking of Vovo! So major miracle happened last week. We got a call that a man in the Indian Reservation (there's one like 10-15 mins away from where we live, the Pima) was super interested and excited to hear more about the gospel and wanted to meet with missionaries. So we made plans to go up to the Res and meet him when we got a call from this woman on the VC phones that she was bringing this guy from the res to the VC to hear the Joseph Smith movie in Spanish and Hna Falcon asked if it was the same guy who had wanted to meet with us and she said yes! Random! But awesome, so he and his wife came to the VC and we had such bomb spiritual experiences with them. His name is Miguel and he only speaks Spanish, but his wife is Glenda (the Native American) and only speaks English and they've been married for over 30 years and they love each other. It's super presh. But Miguel is so wonderful, so happy and so in-tune with the Spirit and so in love with Glenda and his family and they just want to be together forever and anyhoo I'm obsessed. So we've been teaching them up in their home in the res (which is bomb, btw, super tranquil) and when I entered their home for the first time, my immediate thoughts were, "This is like Vovo's home." She has all of her native Pima stuff everywhere and she's super presh and her home just reminds me of Vovo everytime I enter it, there's a special spirit there for sure. And they love having us over and they want to get sealed in the temple so that they can be together forever and Miguel is on his way to baptism and ugh, LOVE love love them. he said I had a gringa accent and I love him for that honesty.

Alright, the highlight of our week was Santiago's baptism=] He got baptized this past Saturday and it was a dramatic affair. Friday he had his baptismal interview (where basically our missionary zone leader asks him if he's willing to keep all the commandments and if he's repented of things and is willing to take upon him the name of Jesus Christ and be a member in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). We thought he was going to be golden, because Santiago is the most humble man I've ever met. He has SUCH amazing faith, it's unreal. But he was in the interview for an hour, and we were worried and then the missionary zone leader told us that he needed to be interviewed by President Ellsworth for somethings. So Santiago had been in prison like 2 years ago for multiple DUI's but he got out on good behavior early, btu in the 5 months while he was there he read the entire Bible and decided he was going to change his life and that's how he found Jesus Christ and got his testimony in him. So Pres Ellsworth had to ask him about things that happened in prison or something, but he made it out perfecto and the baptism was on! However, throughout the entire day all of our members in the branch started backing out on their responsibilities for his baptism! People who were going to give talks, conduct the meeting, perform the actual baptismal ordinance, everyone could'nt make it. But no worries 10 mins after it was supposed to start a good amount of people showed up and Miguel and Glenda did too, and he was baptized (haha 3 times, because he wasn't completely immersed in the water because the water level was too low,woops) and we had refreshments and then Sunday he was confirmed as a member and given the gift of the Holy Ghost and he wore his jeans with a lo0ng sleeve whtie shirt and tie and it was so presh=] LOVE HIM he is such pure gold, holy mackeral.

Pictures to come hopefully in the next email, but time has flown, I think we're all caught up. Love ya, peace and blessings.

Hna Schwartz

Echale Ganas, or Get Crunk

A direct quote from Sister Beckstrand (in charge of VC) at our Sister's meeting. Did I almost die laughing, check. It was the whole scene, she comes up from her seat to the pulpit and with the cheeriest smile and tone of voice a first lady could have, she perkily declared that will be our motto for the next 2 weeks. Bless her.

Fam-fam,

I've literally got no time to write you. Blasted because I literally have a novel to tell. Anyhoo, I sent pics from the MTC, but got an email saying they may not have gone through so double check with me on that. In case you're confused about mailing me my address is 6265 N 82nd st, scottsdale, az, 85250, but if you just hate me then that's cool too;). Haha no really don't sweat it, I just forgot if I gave it to you or not not because I'm starved for letters.

Let's get down and dirty with my investigators (those sweet souls we're teaching). Julio. How do I even begin to explain who Julio is. He is probably in his 50s, lives alone, has been baptized in 7 different churches, has the wisdom of a crazy sage, and talks at literally 8000MPH. Oh, and he basically tries to teach us every lesson, because he really does know a ton. He's just a bit difficult, but love him to pieces. Bless his soul. So, Julio came to church on Sunday and he looked snazzy, suit and tie, looked remarkable. Had a great time, the ward loved him and he enjoyed himself. We were thrilled because we've been trying to get Julio to come to church for 8 years basically. Haha, alright so our past couple of lessons with him have been super great, he's let us teach him and he's been super receptive to everything. Then there was last night. Oh my word, what happened to this day I have no clue. We were teaching about the Plan of Salvation, basically the plan that tells where we came from, purpose of our life here on earth, and where we go when we die. NBD. Oh wait, yes it was a big deal because we began telling Julio about where we go when we die and he said we were wrong. And then he went into this story about how he almost died for 7 months cause he fell 17 floors or something and he was in Heaven for a period of time and then I completely had no clue what happened the rest of the lesson. Literally was lost, had no clue what was going on. But what I did know was that it got intense. He began directing his comments at Hna Falcon and I was wondering if he was attacking her, but Hna Hernandez (lady in our ward, gold, comes with us to all his lessons) wasn't butting in so I didn't do much cause I figured it was okay and then he pointed to me, but was talking about me to them (cause he knows I don't understand him sometimes) and saying how I didn't have the Spirit or something like that, not totally sure. Then Hna Falcon says something and looks at me to say something, and I just am so completely lost at this point I just stopped and looked at Julio in the eye and basically told him, I don't know what's gone on here, but what I do know is that what we are teaching you, what we are saying is true. And I am no scriptorian, I don't have all the answers, I'm learning just like you, but what I do know is that this is true because I've felt it. Because the Holy Ghost has testified to me that it is true and that's sufficient for me. Julio got quiet and I was like "Crap, what did I just say?" and Hna Falcon took over and we finished up the lesson. When we left Hna Hernandez and Hna Falcon were goin cray cray and lookin at me and saying something like they felt the spirit on their backs, and we had great help and I actually have no clue what else they said, but I let it be because when I said I didn't understand about half of what happened, they were both relieved and were glad I didn't hear the crazy things Julio had said. Coocoo I suppose. Anyhoo, I felt awful! Here is my pobre compa and she looks like she's being attacked and I literally don't know what to do and I have no words to say anything and I'm basically useless. I've felt like that the past week, solely her driver to get her from place to place so she can bear bomb testimony and be her straight up legit self. Which, the first week I was okay with, but I didn't come on a mission to be a chauffeur. But I don't have the knowledge or the ability right now to do much else except bear testimony, which she's heard probably 8000 times. So I apologized to her this morning about that and then she got all teary eyed on me and started bearing testimony about how my testimony calmed Julio and he said it brought him peace (sometimes I wonder if we're in the same lesson) and jazz and how she said he can see the light of Christ in my eyes and that I complement her perfectly. I think she's on crack. But, if she thinks I'm helping her out, then by all means I'll keep on doin what I do.

Wow, I literally have to go right now. Argghhhh, there is literally 10,000 other things I wanted to tell you, maybe I'll have a chance to write you guys a letter or something. But know by far that that has basically been the miracle of the week. Julio going from wanting to marry me(?? he pointed at me and said casarse which means marrying our 2nd visit and Hna Falcon and Hernandez laughed and said I'm a missionary?? not totally sure what was going on but I just smile and laugh like a pro) to telling me I don't have the Spirit, to apparently bringing him peace??? I don't know, all I know is I love Julio for him and all his craycray.

Arggghhh I'm super upset!!! Because there were some other funny things I was going to share but I have to write to sweet Baby president Ellsworth, maybe I should'nt call him that. Anyhoo, peace and love, it makes the world go 'round.

Echale ganas!
Hna Schwartz

This is going to be a monster email to make up for what I didn't have time to include last week. Fasten your seatbelts, this ride is for 5 1'2'' ft. and up.

Update

Familia,

HOLY SCHNIEKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with AZ. Literally. Obsessed. Holy mackeral where do I begin because it's literally been a year since we last spoke (I'm obviously exaggerating, but not really). Okay, my compa is Hna Falcon and she is from Mexico City =]. Oh yeah, the only time I speak English is when I'm in the VC. Life rocks. Okay, my first impression of the Mesa AZ VC haha I thought it was like the Jurassic Park (only desert) section of Universal Studios, the temple looked like one of the buildings you go into to ride a roller coaster. I swear I'm living on a movie set or something. The desert is too perfectly laid out and I dunno haha, but it's legit beautiful. I'm already obsessed with it. Oh and my first night I ate something, none of the native sisters knew what it was either, but it rocked my world, and had homemade horchata and I'm obsessed with Spanish people. Legit. It's so nice to finally greet people by kissing them on the cheek and not have them think you're some psycho...white people. Haha I probably need a Spanish name, because everyone sees my name and their eyes get big and can never pronounce it, which slays me.

Okay, so Heavenly Father is quite the jokester. He obviously wants to teach me certain things, like patience. Heaven bless my soul I need that. 25% of the time I have no idea what Hna Falcon has said to me and I stare blankly at her, and she just stares back at me until she realizes I'm retarded. Perfect. Oh, fun story. First day, Pres. Ellsworth tells me that I am going to be driving. This is apparently a rare privilege because the senior companion or the trainer, aka Hna Falcon, always drive but she's from Mexico and doesn't have a license. So lo and behold I inherited the sacred privilege of driving and the 2 senior couples were grilling me on my past driving record and said that I was not allowed to have a lead foot yada yada yada. Parents, I have never driven the speed limit in my entire life except for right now. It's not too difficult being the speed limit is usually 35 MPH and I have no idea where I'm going all the time. Haha, I told Hna Falcon I suck with directions and she said she does too. So imagine us as a pair driving around, she telling me directions, in Spanish hahahahahahahaha. Ohhh man, grace of God that we get to any of our appointments on time because derecho and derecha sound the same when spoken at 100 mph. But I am quickly learning Spanish=]. Let's hope so at least. What's also a kick is that everytime we go to an appointment I literally cannot understand a blessed word that is being spoken. And the reason for that is because these people literally speak at 100 mph. I kid you not. My poor ears have not been properly trained, but they will get there and I will one day be able to contribute to the lessons in a useful way haha. No but Hna Falcon is literally my hero. She is humble, diligent, obedient, she's just hard-working and is kind and follows the Spirit, she's basically a perfect missionary and everyone tells me how blessed I am to have her as my compa. And it's true. I'm gonna learn a ton from this sweet angel.

I learned an hour ago, from Hna Falcon, that I am not allowed to wear a ponytail for the rest of my mission (unless I'm on a bike). I had to clarify in both languages just to make sure I heard her correctly. And it's because I'm a VC sister. Heavenly Father obviously knows how little I care about my appearance and is taking special precautions to make sure I look professional and presentable on this sweet mission of mine. But family, I am a-okay with it, because I LOVE the VC. Holy cow the spirit there is like a brick wall. We proselyte half the day and do a 3 hour shift at the VC for the other part of the day and it makes my day every time. I love giving tours and meeting people and helping strengthen them in whatever they need in their lives. And I was a bit iffy on phones at first (we take calls from Mormon.org too apparently) because I felt like a solicitor, but a baby miracle happened 2 days ago. Actually a lot of miracles happened this week, but I'll relate 2. Okay, so I had 5 mins left on the phones and this guy from Minnesota calls in and just says "I want a BOM" and I was like great give me your address and i hung up. Yeah I am so dumb. And I realized I was an idiot so I called him back and got his name and then we chatted for like 5 mins about him and his interest in the BOM yada yada and he was like "You sound like a really nice person" and i said "you do too, bless your soul" and he laughed and i asked him if he wanted to talk with me when he received his book of mormon and we could just chat about the BOM and what he's reading and I could help clarify jazz for him and he so wanted to and I was like BOMB because now I have a phone investigator, and that's bomb=] OH guess who was my first visitor here at the VC? Sister Ernst=] NBD. anyhoo, I am out of time, but I committed Santiago to baptism and he accepted and came to church yesterday and he's golden and super humble and loves the BOM and I love him and I don't even know who he is cause I've met him like twice, but who cares right?

Basically, the field is bomb, the mission is joyous, I have NO clue what I'm doing which I love (strange enough) and the gospel is true=].

That's about it for this week fam-fam, love ya mucho cuidanse! Hna Schwartz (or shwars as properly pronounced in spanish;) )