Hey everyone!
It's been quite the week. I don't
really know how to describe it. They keep us super busy here. Every day
is so long. It's weird that I've been here a week. Like, partly it seems
like it went by really fast, but it also feels like we've been here for
a lot longer than that. You do so much and grow so much in such a short
time. It's amazing. I think it really speaks to how much the Lord helps
His servants I mean, we are just not enough on our own. Seriously, I
can't do this on my own. There's just no way. But because He has called
us, and we have been ordained by His power and authority, and He has
promised that He will make us sufficient for our calling, He will not
let us fail. I have grown so much as a person and as a missionary in the
past week, and I know it hasn't been by my own strength. I've felt the
Spirit work through me, and I've felt how much I've grown, and honestly
it's kind of weird, but also awesome.
I'm pretty sure I'm rambling and I really don't feel like proofreading so y'all are just gonna have to deal with it. Sorry.
The
food here is really good, although we're all pretty sure it gives you
gas. I haven't been drinking the OJ (at least four or five different
people told me not to drink the OJ...) but there's something else going
on in this food. I hope I don't get fat before I leave... Haha
My
companion's name is Elder Park. He's from Nampa, Idaho, he's like 5
foot 2, he's super buff, he's half Korean, and I love him. He's awesome.
We seemed pretty different on the surface, at least to me, but I'm
starting to see that we have a lot in common under the surface, or at
least that we work really well together. And I love my district. There's
me and Elder Park, two other Elders, and 6 Sisters. We all get along
really great together and really like each other. A bunch of us sing,
too. The last couple days me and Elder Park and two of the sisters have
been hanging out in our classroom in between other stuff (even though
finding time in between other stuff is super rare here) and singing
hymns as a quartet.
The other district in our
zone that got here the week before us was awesome too, I really liked
them. They've all left now though. Most of them left for North Carolina
super early on Monday morning (like 3:30 am) but two of them, Elder McGirt and Sister Beckwith, took the frontrunner to the Ogden mission at like 4 am this morning.
Because
the rest of his district left early, Elder McGirt was companions with
me and Elder Park yesterday. Before I tell you about yesterday though,
I've gotta tell you about Elder McGirt. (If I even can... He's just..
Elder McGirt. There's not really any way to describe him in words)
Elder
McGirt is from North Carolina. He's got this big thick North Carolina
accent, he's possibly the hairiest person I've ever seen (except maybe
one of my uncles, but it's seriously pretty close and I'm not actually
sure who's hairier, which is saying something, believe me), he's a bona
fide redneck hick, not too fond of personal hygiene, quite fond of the
bodily functions (except around the Sisters. He's very respectful of the
Sisters; he at least warns them to "don' comover here fora minit"), his
grammar and analogies and the way he talks is super amusing, he doesn't
care what anyone thinks about him, he's super politically incorrect
(and I love it), he made me laugh harder yesterday than any other day on
my mission (last night, one of my favorite moments - there were way too
many to tell you, this is seriously just one of so many, and there's
not really any way to adequately describe it, you just had to be there -
he was asking us what sorts of things we look for in a girl, and he was
like "Elder Park, whad'da you lak in a girl?," or something like that,
and then immediately afterwards "do you prefer like uh particular race?"
then a pause, then "I mean I'm not a racis'" and then couldn't figure
out why everyone in the room was peeing themselves laughing), he has
this bizzare (and usually off-color) sense of humor, and he speaks by
the Spirit like nobody I've ever met in my life (except President
Warner).
I went into yesterday praying to love
him and expecting to be helping him and being nice to him (I felt like
the elders in his last district could be kind of mean though they didn't
mean to be). By bedtime though, I realized that the Lord sent him to us
to help us. The Lord seriously has a sense of humor.
Pretty
much all day, but especially in the evening when we taught one of our
"TRC" investigators, Elder Park and I were really not feeling the
Spirit. After the lesson we felt frustrated and down, and that the
lesson was a failure, and we just weren't feeling the Spirit. And we
went back to our classroom for district study, and Elder McGirt being
Elder McGirt, he suggested (decided) that all the elders would give each
of the sisters a blessing, so we could bond. To be honest... I was a
little bit annoyed and wasn't super enthusiastic about it. But by the
end... We were all feeling the Spirit. It was so cool. Especially Elder
Park. At the end Elder McGirt asked him and I to give him a blessing of
health, and asked Park to seal it and pronounce the blessings. And Elder
Park, this tough little half-Asian ball of muscle and manhood, was
crying a bit by the end. He said it was so powerful. He was really not
feeling it before, and he was really feeling it afterward. The
Spirit really powerfully gave him the words to say and he pronounced
some pretty cool blessings. And then after that during scripture study,
Elder McGirt had the most amazing insights about the scriptures, and
made some (a lot... he's pretty talkative) comments that were exactly
what I needed to hear. The Spirit really spoke through him. He is very
close to the Spirit. He told us how Elder Park and I were not failures,
that we'd come in there and done exactly as the Lord wanted us to do.
We fulfilled our purpose. And he said so many other amazing things. It
was one of the most powerful nights of my mission so far, if not the
most.
And then we got back to the room and he
was back to cracking dirty jokes / poop jokes and making no sense and
telling weird stories and being a stereotypical hick and just being
himself.
No matter how much we think we know,
or how great or experienced we think we are, or how hard we try to
succeed by our own strength and ability... It's the ones that are humble
and meek that the Lord uses most powerfully. I got here, and I felt
like I was pretty okay, because I know a lot of stuff and I'm good at
explaining things and I think I have good insights and all that... And I
was failing, I was slipping and falling. And then here comes hairy,
smelly, hickish, weird old Elder McGirt from North Carolina. I thought I
was going to help him. But he ended up helping us. The Lord uses the
weak things of the world to confound the wise and thrash the nations. He
sends Elder McGirts to save the prideful souls like me from ourselves.
Elder McGirt, going by first impressions, is not at all what you would
expect a representative of Jesus Christ to be like. But really, he's the
best representative of Christ I've met so far at the MTC.
All
of us have been called to do the Lord's work, full-time missionaries or
not. And no matter how hard we try, or how great and capable we think
we are, we simply cannot do the Lord's work by our own strength. We must
humble ourselves, and be meek and teachable, and embrace the Grace of
Christ. We must let go of ourselves and embrace His work. We must lose
ourselves in the service of others. It is only then that we really
become powerful servants of Christ. It is only then that He can really
powerfully work through us.
I think we can all
learn from the Elder McGirts in our lives. Let us seek to be humble. And
let us also not permit ourselves to judge others. Look for the good in
everyone; it may surprise you how much you will find.
Once
again, I apologize for the long ramble. Also - pictures will have to
wait for another day, we can't get our cameras to work with the MTC
computers, but Elder Park thinks he has a memory card reader so we might
try to slip in a computer lab sometime this week and send a few
pictures.
Also also - if you sent me a letter
or an email, thank you!! I read it and loved it and really appreciated
it. I apologize for not answering. You really don't get much time for
emailing here, or for anything at all besides class and stuff. But it
doesn't mean I don't love you, and I'll answer as soon as I can.
I love you all. :)
Love,
Elder Swindler
P.S. Julia: congratulations!!! that's awesome!! :D (my mom told me in a dear elder haha)
