It's a Little Chile Down Here...But Kinda Warm in Brazil: Elder Sercovich...From Peru

Good Bye, Elder Sandoval

Welcome, Elder Sercovich

Dear Family,

What an eventful week! And thank you so much for the pictures! It is great to hear/see that the family is doing so well. Wow! You guys sure do know how to keep busy! And wow! Time is going by so fast! I can’t believe that the Dolls are already home, and that Phil is finishing up his time at Americorp! And Thanksgiving is in two weeks! Do you guys have any big plans?

To answer some of your questions, my missionary service will be ending on April 21^st. I think it would be best for you guys to come on the really early on the 20th or maybe even the 19th, to be able to attend church on Sunday morning in my ward (which will probably be Tobalaba, where I am at now). But we can work out all of the details from there, or over Skype in December.

As for my week -- Super good! Elder Sercovich and I hit it off super well! I know that we have only been together for a week, but I feel like we have known each other for much longer than that. It’s pretty cool. Lets see, lets see...... He is from Peru, my 3rd Peruvian companion in the mission, which is great because they know how to work hard. He is an only child, and he is 26 years old. His father passed away when he was only four. He has an amazing testimony. He goes home in January. His last name is Sercovich, because his great-grandfather moved to Peru from Serbia.

Elder Sercovich and I spent a lot of time this week working with people from the ward list, and we have had a lot of success with that. We are putting our main focus in finding new investigators. We have been spending a lot of time in the street talking to lots and lots of people. We have been spending some more time with the ward leaders as well, which has been fun. Mercedez is doing well; really well actually. This past week we started teaching her boyfriend Walter, and they are both progressing really well. They are seriously SO COOL! They just need to get married! That’s kind of a common problem down here in Chile....well its a problem in the whole world nowadays. We were able to visit Claudio briefly this week, he is doing okay... really busy with work though....

Elder Sercovich and I taught our monthly zone class on Wednesday, and it went really well. There were lots of changes in the zone last week, so we are basically working with a brand new zone, but they are all really great missionaries. Elder Bushman (Todd’s cousin) and Hna. Volkert (from Uncle James ward) stayed in the zone though. which I was happy about. The class went really well. The president of the mission is making it really clear that it’s not just a class but more of a council, so we all shared ideas and set goals together, and Elder Sercovich and I facilitated the conversation. It’s a three hour class but it went by really fast, and I was actually kind of bummed when the time ran out.

I get to see Elder Bonkemeyer (BYU roommate) and Elder Holland tomorrow! I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you how it goes!

Dad, I loved how you ended your email with your testimony, especially about the Book of Mormon. I am almost done with Alma. I’ve been trying to read 4 chapters a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I am seriously learning SO MUCH – It’s unbelievable how much one can learn in just an hour a day of study. I feel the same way as you described. I really cannot picture my life now without the Book of Mormon in it, and I don’t want to. I know that Heavenly Father gave us these tools because he loves us and wants us back with him. I am so thankful for this knowledge that I have received through putting my faith into action, by reading, by studying, by reflecting, by praying. I am thankful for the time that I have to help these people here in Chile, and I am thankful for all of your support. Keep up the good work. I love you all and can’t wait to hear from you again next week!

With much love,

Elder Schwartz

P.S. We had lunch with the Relief Society president this week (she is the one who I make the cinnamon roll cake with and she LOVED IT, and now she is basically famous for it). It’s like her favorite thing to make now, and she made us a batch for dessert!