Monday, August 19, 2013

La Reina!


Snail Mail address for Elder Nate Schwartz is:

Elder Nathaniel Schwartz
Chile Santiago EAST Mission
Cristobal Colón 6824
Las Condes, Casilla 27.144
Santiago, Región Metropolitana
CHILE

Email address for him is:

nathaniel.schwartz@myldsmail.net

Send him a note if you get a chance.....

Here is his email home for the week.......

Buenas tardes from La Reina!

Wow, it sounds like it was a busy week for the Schwartz Family back at home, which is what I love to hear.  Send everyone my love and congratulations!  Hopefully, you made it home safely from the airport in SLC, Pops! (I did -- just a long delay.) 

Well, I am writing this letter a little late, so its not going to be a long one.  Elder Sandoval and I have lots of places to go, and people to share blessings with.  WELL.  This week was fantastic.  Its so weird having to start all over again, in the sense of getting to know a new companion, a new area, a new calling, new chapel, new investigators, new ward members, but it's part of the mission, and even though it's weird, I love it.  Firstly, let me tell you guys about my new best friend, Elder Sandoval, who is 20, and from a city about 2 hours south of Mexico City.  Sadly, he only has about 2 months left in the mission, and the guy is a FIREBALL.  He's a stud -- he's a mexican version of Hercules.  Seriously though, I have learned SO MUCH from him in a really short period of time.  He is an amazing teacher, and he does a really really good job at taking complex things and explaining them so they are easy to understand.  I'm really excited for these next several weeks that we are going to be spending together, because we get along super well -- we just kinda clicked.  

Like I said in my last email, this sector is really different in comparison with Chiloè.  La Reina is a really, really nice part of Santiago.  I am in an upper class part of the city now, so its been a really strange adjustment.  There are a lot more cars here, fancy restaurants, malls, and all that jazz.  But even though my surroundings are so different than they were two weeks ago, what I LOVE is that when I walked into the chapel yesterday, the warm homey feeling within the chapel walls was the SAME feeling as Chiloè or Gerònimo or back home.  I felt so comfortable there, even though it was only my first day.  I had the opportunity to introduce myself to the ward.  There are lots of great people here, and the ward is definitely clued in to the importance of missionary work.  Elder Sandoval and I spend a little bit more time walking than I did in Chiloè, but the work is still moving at a great pace -- there are lots of recent converts here, as the past missionaries did an amazing job.  Oh, fun fact, and I am not sure if I included this in my last email, but Elder Sandoval was also in Chiloè before I got there, so we have that in common and we have taught a lot of the same people and know all of the ward members down there, so thats been a really cool thing for us to talk and bond about.  

Fun/Cool spiritual experience of the week:  Elder Sandoval and I met this guy from Haiti and we taught him last night.  He has been here in Chile for 2 years, but he is still kind of struggling with the language.  He ended the lesson with a prayer in French and it was SO COOL, even though I could only understand like five words.  You could still tell that it was a prayer from the heart, and could still feel the Spirit, so that was really cool. 

Anyways, I love you all so much.  Sorry that I don't have any photos from this week, and that the email was so short.  I promise you photos for next week!  This church IS true.  God is our Heavenly Father, and He does love us and He wants to bless us, but its our choice if we want those blessings or not through the decisions that we make.

Much love, until next week,
Elder Schwartz!

Picture posted on facebook from family in Chile.....


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