SO hey there everyone!
I
am sorry I haven't been able to email very much this past couple of
weeks. It has really sucked to not have the time to do it because there
is so much to talk about. Literally everything has changed so I will do
my best at cutting to the chase and talk about the things that are
probably most interesting. First, a
lot of y'all have asked about the weather and the landscape. So the
weather here in Manaus does differ day to day..."hot"...."very
hot"....or "I'M GOING TO FREAKING DIE ITS SO HOT!!!!!!!" haha But its
basically true. When it rains, the cloud cover gives us a little cool
down and a little breeze, but this time of year we don't have a lot of
rain, I hear after October they get rain almost everyday! But it still
rains this time of year too, just not as much. We have a lot of forest
around the city. There are a lot of houses around us though, because we
are kind of in the city. But our area is pretty big and the farther out
parts have less houses and more rain forest! We have a lot of hills but
no mountains. But often times these hills feel like mountains when
climbing them all day. Literally, we have sooooo many freaking hills!
Its pretty annoying if we don't plan well and have to go back and forth
and up and down hills all day. But sometimes it just has
to be that way.
So
now a little about my situation now after 1 week from transfers. When I
arrived here in this area, I was sure I would stick with my comp for
another transfer because if he left this would mean I would have only
had 2 weeks in this area and still not speak the language very well. But
when we got the call Sunday night (they always happen Sunday afternoon
or evening) they told me that I would stay here and be Senior Companion
AND receive another companionship into our area...and our house! Okay,
so I was a little wrong with my guess...and when I got my companion I
found out he only has 1 transfer left in his mission! At
which point I questioned my mission president´s decision even more! I
was so not ready for this! But somehow my Heavenly Father thought
otherwise.
SO
now I have a new companion Elder F, from West Jordan, Utah (23 months
into mission) And in the other companionship I have Elder G, from
Snowflake, Arizona ( 15 months into the mission) and his companion Elder
G, from São Paulo, Brazil (15 months also...and also speaks English). I
have 1 word to describe them all....INSANE! Literally. I know the Lord
wanted me to learn patience this transfer...and I"m learning quickly.
These Elders are really immature, especially in the house. But it's
when we are in the houses of members and they are fighting over the
serving spoon to serve themselves first, talking about every girl they
pass by, and speak about them in English as they pass by them and think
it's really funny cause they don't understand, and poke each other or
try to make the others laugh during prayers at the members houses too.
Things like that are what bug me most. I can just ignore it when its in
our house but it's really embarrassing in public with members. At first
they didn´t like me a whole lot...because I was a party pooper, not fun,
a robot,...but its simply because I had a mission that taught me to be
exactly obedient...here you can ask any missionary and they will say
there aren't really any rules here. I know missionaries do things here
in this mission that are enough to have them sent home in my other
mission. Its stupid things too! Its not just my other mission policies
they brake here, its straight out of the white
handbook for missionaries! So this is why they were so frustrated with
me, because I was trying to be obedient and not be lazy. Well needless
to say, I prayed a lot this last week, and studied a lot! It wasn't
until this past Friday that I got an answer that has helped me start to
work with this trial. I was praying and studying for about 20 minutes
and then Elder G came out and talked to me, he was simply the spokesman
for them and pretty much laid it out that I have been frustrating them
because I didn´t talk that much and was "a robot". But as I explained
how I had been feeling about leaving my mission to here everything is
different. He could understand because he served in New York for 3 or 4
transfers before he came here. But he began to explain that this mission
is relaxed but at the same time we are to baptize every week! I don't
get it! We get way more baptisms here but we teach less. My companion in
almost 2 years has taught the plan of
salvation 5 times! ONLY 5 times! They pretty much teach the first
lesson...baptism....if they want to be baptized they teach the
commandments really fast...or if they don't want to be baptized, they
don't visit them anymore. This is what has happened from the actions of
President K (Previous Mission President who left in July).
My opinion of him is not really high. He made it so important to his
missionaries that they need to baptize that that's all they talk to
people about! Literally the first thing Elder G did when he met someone
at an activity at our chapel was say, "Hey, are you baptized in this
church?" Before he even asked their name, and if they weren't a member
he would ask do you want to go to the kingdom of heaven? Then you need
to be baptized. That's what we do. We help people get baptized!"
Sometimes they throw in, "if you don't you will go to Hell." also.
Pretty loving
right?!
But luckily, we have an amazing President, President Castro (New mission president as of July),
who is set on fixing this problem. We had a zone conference with him
this last week and he really laid down the law. He spoke very boldly to
us about when we don't teach all the lessons or they aren't worthy and
we still baptize them, it is Apostasy against the church, and the
condemnation will be upon them. He said, if we don't baptize every week,
it doesn't matter! What matters is if we are helping them prepare to be
worthy and ready for baptism. This is still a fast- paced mission and
baptisms happen quickly, but I know this is what I needed.
But
I kind of got off track. After I talked with Elder G I prayed again,
and I found an answer in D&C that helped me know that I need to let
my old mission go. I learned a lot and I will apply a lot to what I need
to do here. but this is a different mission and I need to learn from my
companion specifically. I need to be happy. Heavenly Father wants me to
be happy! So I have been really trying and I have been happy. My comp
is way more cool with me and they don't have problems with me. And now
my goal isn't to be focused on all the rules but to be focused on do I
have the
spirit! I have found this to be exactly what I needed! I know my
Heavenly Father is there for me!
This is all I have time for today.! I love you all so much!
Elder Swalberg
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