The latest message from the Elder.......
Buenas Dias Familia!
I can't beleive that i only have a week left! The time is going TOO fast. It's scary, but I am WAY excited! I feel like I have grown so much in such a short amount of time! I still have a ton to learn and I need to stay focused on this last week so the momentum can carry over to when I land in Chile! Yes I get to call you from the airport! I'm not sure how I am going to go about doing that, but I plan on calling the home phone, right? I don't have my travel plans yet but I will probably get them later today so I'll give you more information about that in next week's email. It's so weird that I'm getting ready to leave. I honestly do feel like I just got here, but apparently that's what the whole mission is like.
This week I had the opportunity to meet my Mission President and, OH MY GOSH, he and his wife are AMAZING. We only met for about an hour but I already feel like I've known them for a long time and I feel like we are going to be able to mesh really well! We met with them last Saturday for about an hour and a half and they shared with us their backstory and shared a few scriptures and had a question and answer session. It was very uplifting and very comfortable. I know that I am in this mission for a reason and that he is my president for a reason and I am so excited to serve. I know that president Wright and his wife are going to play a major role in my mission experience and I am so blessed to have them. I am SO looking forward to building my relationship with them. OH, and there are like 25 missionaries in the MTC right now going to my mission! I had no idea there were that many!
This week's devotional was super special. Elder L. Tom Perry gave is this really cool presentation of all of these statistics about the Church and members, and our programs, and how great of an influence that the church is on society. It was a really different devotional, but it was super cool. I think that you'll have the opprotunity to see the same presentation in the near future. OH, and like 8 apostles were on the stand with him when he gave the presentation! Sadly, we didn't have the opportunity to hear from any of them, but they were there, which was pretty dang cool.
Having the new missionaries as roomates has been way fun! Their names are Elder Bryce and Elder van Neck, they're both from Arizona and they're a tornado of positive energy and are eager to learn and serve. They have already grown so much and it has only been one week! Their fresh excitement about the MTC has definitely rubbed off on Elder Matthews and I, which has been a definite plus. They have a lot of questions and Elder Matthews and I try to help them out the best we can. It's been a ton of fun helping them learn to to pray, and testify, and speak. I'm loving it!
I'm grown a lot closer to both of my teachers this week, Hmo Brown and Hmo McAllister are studs, and I'm getting to know thwem both better on a more personal level which has been a ton of fun. Hmo McAllister led this really cool activity yesterday about how we can better study our patriarchal blessings and I felt like I was opened to a whole new world of blessings from my patriarchal blessing that I hadn't noticed before. It was really edifying. I have 3 pages left in my reading of the Book of Mormon, so I'm probably going to finish it right after I finish my letters. I've learned SO much from reading it through completely. Yesterday I read through Ether 12, definitely one of my favorite chapters in the book. I learned a ton. Last night I had a one-on-one coaching session with Hmo. Brown and we talked about my growth since I've been here. We talked about my strenghths and my struggles as a missionary and it was super helpful. Hmo Brown is one of my best friends here at the MTC, so we're going to try to keep in touch after I leave. That man is a superb teacher and example and a major factor in why I've had such a great MTC experience.
I wish you all the best with everything that you are doing. I love hearing from you and I love getting your notes and packages. I love all the support that you have given me. I can feel the love and strength, and it is so helpful. I know that this is the true Gospel, it has blessed my life in so many ways and I am just now starting to understand them. I am thankful for all of the amazing examples that Heavenly Father has blessed me with, and I am thankful for the Perfect example, Christ, and his undying love for me. I am thankful for the opprotunity that I have to share the message oft his Gospel that has blessed my life so much to the people of Chile. I can't put into words how excited I am to get out there and share Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness with the world so they can feel the same blessings that I have in my life. Yo se que el Libro de Mormon es la palabra de Dios. Yo se que eso libro es la clave de nuestro religion. Yo se que mediante la evengelio de Cristo, podemos volver a Dios dispues de este vida. estoy tan agradecido por las muchas bendiciones que Dios da me diariamente. Amo mi familia mucho. Estoy muy agradecido por sus amor. Estoy entusiasmado a escucho de ustedes en la proxima semana. Hasta luego!
Les amo!
Elder Schwartz
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