It's a Little Chile Down Here...But Kinda Warm in Brazil: Goodbye, Elder Sercovich! Welcome, Elder Guerrero!

Goodbye, Elder Sercovich!

Welcome, Elder Guerrero!

Dear Mom, Dad, and Everyone,

Thank you so much for the email and all the photos -- I love seeing all your smiling faces, and our hill looks so nice when it's green!

It's good to hear that you are all keeping busy -- I think we all are -- Phil in Utah, Andre in Brazil, you guys in California, and me here in Chile. Yes, I did get to see Elder Doll yesterday. It is always SO COOL seeing them -- we ran into each other at the Temple, at Elder Sercovich´s farewell. Here in the Santiago East misison they do that -- we have a little gathiering for all of the departing missionaries at the temple so everyone (members in the area) can say their final goodbyes -- that's a big bonus of being in a small mission. SO, this last Sunday was Elder Sercovich´s turn -- it was a kind of sad experience, but happy at the same time. I got to see a few people from Chiloe, my last sector, so that made me really happy.

This past week has been really busy with a bunch of things that Elder Sercovih had to get prepared for his departure. We taught some good lessons, but the preparation stuff really took up the majority of the time. It was hard saying goodbye to Serki -- he was a really, really good companion -- I learned a lot from that guy. BUT, I GOT MY NEW COMPANION TODAY! His name is Elder Guerrero, and he is from Mexico, and I am super stoked to be his companion. He has eight months in the mission, and he is awesome! We have only been together for a few hours so far, but I know that we are going to be a good companionship. There is lots of work to be done here, so we are excited for that. The cool experience of the week was on Saturday -- Elder Sercovich and I were walking down the street and within five minutes we got stopped by two different less active member families, and theys asked us to come and visit them. We will be visiting one of them tonight, and one later in the week, but it was just a cool little experience that helped me to understand that if we are obedient and do what the Lord asks us to do, He will put us where we need to be, when we need to be there. That's exactly what happened Saturday afternoon.

Sorry thas this is a short email...I am running out of time, and I still need to send you all a few photos. I just want to end this by telling you all that I love you, and that I know that Heavenly Father loves you too. He knows us perfectly, and that ultimately, what He wants for us, is that we are happy, truly happy. Thank you so much for your love and support. Have a great week!

with love,

Elder Schwartz

Few more pics...