SEPTEMBER 6, 2016---MORE MIRACLES, THE HAND OF THE LORD, GIVING WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT, SERVICE-LOVE AND SACRIFICE

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

*Note from the editor:  I want to apologize for the extra shading on Dietrich's letter today. I was not sure how to convert it when I copied it over.  I'm only an amateur in a professional world.  Please forgive my ignorance.   

Drinking some water out of a bag.
Thanks, mom, for the color changing straws.
The thing behind me is our sink for the house.

MORE MIRACLES
This week was pretty great.   There were some awesome miracles happening.  Oh, yeah, we just got assigned to help an awesome family, so that's a blessing.  We are working hard and had a miracle happen this week that was a little more miraculous than the norm that we see as missionaries.

THE HAND OF THE LORD

Here is an excerpt from letter I wrote to Presidente Markham-

We were visiting a familiy that recently left the retention and we were singing a hymn and the esposa (wife) started to cough and stuff. But it got more serious and she couldnt breathe.  It was a little scary, to be honest.  I didn't want her to die right there and all. We gave her a blessing immediately.   When we said, "Amen" she took one last wheezing gasp and then started to breathe normally again. Then she talked and everything and was okay. 

This is one way I saw the hand del Senor (the Lord) in our hands. That, like Jefferey R. Holland says, we always need to be ready and worthy to give blessings.  We were able to help out this faithful hermana (sister). Truly a miracle and a blessing.  My faith of the priesthood grew a lot that day. And so did the importance to always be ready to act. 

We have an hermana (sister) that was a referencia (reference) that we are going to baptize this week and she is super prepared.  The Lord is really blessing us, right now, and I'm grateful for that. We need to keep working though and find more people who are ready to make changes in their life. 

Multi Zonas in the coast, try to find me.  Shout out to "Where's Waldo?" ha ha

GIVING WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT

We have changes again this next week, ha ha.  Time flies here when you forget yourself and go to work.   The food is great.  I want to try a bunch of cool fruits they have here but we'll see what happens.   The people here are so nice, maybe they won't except a message and stuff but if I aksed for water or food, for example, they would give it to us without a second thought. 

SERVICE, LOVE AND SACRIFICE

I'm learning a lot about service here and sacrifice and love right now. I read if we want to have the same feelings on the mission, at home, we need to serve widows, orphans, the poor, etc.  Yeah, almost a year, ha ha.  It goes by fast. 

Love you all soooo muuchhh be safe ya'll!

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

AUGUST 30, 2016---CUPCAKES AND POWERADE, FUNNY STORIES, FAMILY OF 5, BLESSINGS, P.S.

AUGUST 30, 2016

CUPCAKES AND POWERADE

So a miracle happened.  I received the package (a birthday package from home) the day of my birthday, cuz we had a multi-zone conference.  Packages usually come a lot later, ha, so thanks for that!  I don't feel any different, now that I am 19.  I bought some little hostess cupcake things and a Powerade to celebrate my birthday, at like 10 that night, ha ha. 

FUNNY STORIES

So a recent convert told us a story.  She found out her unmarried daughter was going to have a baby, so she gave her spanking with a paddle.  Then, her daughter's boyfriend came over and he was, like, begging the convert not to spank her daughter, but then the convert gave a spanking, with the paddle, to the boyfriend, too!  Ha ha!  Then the daughter and her boyfriend got married, like, within less then a couple of days, ha ha.  Funny stories here, man. 

FAMILY OF 5

We married and baptized a family of 5 this week and it was awesome!   We were only missing one of the sons and then we will have baptized the whole family!!!  I will send the photos.  

BLESSINGS

It's funny.  When we are most suffering is when the most blessings come, I think. So being sick and other stuff like that is almost, like, a blessing to me, ha ha, even though it stinks, ha ha.  Love you all so much!!!!

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

P.S.
Can you give me quick updates on the rankings of the college football teams?  Ha ha!

AUGUST 9, 2016---OUR PLAN, FEELING BLESSED, I ALMOST ATE MY AGENDA

AUGUST 9, 2016

I know you were all wondering how we drink water...

OUR PLAN

This week was great and we are working hard.  We are working with the barrio (town) to rent a bus to help bring people to church in one of our areas because the bus charges more on Sundays and this area doesn't have as much money. Right now, we have the blessing of a member who has a truck that we use to bring people. The only catch is that we have to bring a lot of people every Sunday and that's just our plan.   We are going to focus a lot on this area and baptize people converted to this gospel. 

FEELING BLESSED

Funny thing is we went to visit some investigators and the daughter, who was 6 years old, was washing her clothes on like a little flat thing with ridges. I just thought how blessed we are in our home to have washers and dryers that work and we have water everyday.  Where as, here, some people won't have water for like 3 or 4 days. 

I ALMOST ATE MY AGENDA

One night we were planning and unfortunately I kind of halfway dozed off as we were thinking and a thought of food came into my mind and I went to take a bite and like I almost ate my agenda when I came fully awake and realized what I was doing!!!  Ha ha ha!  Sometimes you really get burnt out in the mission from working hard, ha ha. 

Love you all so much!  Sounds like the familia is great!

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

So here's a cute little picture me and my companion in Antigua.

AUGUST 23, 2016---PRAYING FOR MIRACLES, CURB STOMPED THE BEE, GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS

AUGUST 23, 2016

PRAYING FOR MIRACLES

We had one baptism, but I don't have any batteries for my camera, so, no picture.  But, we are planning on a lot more baptisms this Sunday.  We are praying for a marriage and a family to be baptized. 

CURB STOMPED THE BEE

I am learning every day.  During a lesson, this bee tried attacking me and I finally smacked it away.  Unfortunately, it went into the hair of the man we were teaching.  He was trying to pull it out and he finally did and then, I just curb stomped the bee real quick. 

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS

Also, I lost 3 shirts and my LDM (Libro de Mormon) packed inside of a cool little case. But, I found the case like 2 days ago.  Fortunately, a guy, at a tienda (store) by our house, gave it to me today and found my 3 shirts!  Blessing! Ha ha.  I was praying that I could get them back and I did.  God answers prayers, even if they don't seem like things that are the most important. 

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

AUGUST 16, 2016---FUN, BACKPACKS, HAULING IT!

AUGUST 16, 2016

Reunion de Distrito (District Meeting)

FUN

So, yesterday we helped some people clean some ducks that had been butchered.  So, that was fun.  Shout out to Slaughter House (the band). 

BACKPACKS
Funny thing is we had a lesson with a family.  During the lesson their little 3 year-old boy was crying and the family threatened that we, the missionaries, would take him with us in our backpacks, ha ha ha.  IDK if that kid is going to have a great relation with the missionaries in the future, ha ha ha.  JK. 

HAULING IT!
It has rained everyday this week!  This area, where we are at, is like a 20 minute bus ride to our appointments.  We tried catching the Ultimate Bus to our appointment, but he just shook his finger at us and drove off!  So, we had to walk the whole thing.   But, we did it in like 15 minutes!  We were hauling it!  Ha ha!  We are working hard and we have a lot of people that are progressing.

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

AUGUST 3, 2016---SHORT AND SWEET

AUGUST 3, 2016

SHORT AND SWEET
So I ended up staying here in Jacarandas with Elder Solano for another change which I'm glad cuz this area is huge, ha. This week we saw a lot of miracles and blessings and we are working hard.  I gave a talk the last week too, ha ha.  We went to Antigua again.  I got to see some buddies from the mission, ha. 

We were walking and some drunk dude like tried to grab my arm or touch me and I totally foot-balled him, ha ha.  I got skinny and was like, "Nope!"  Ha ha.  Got to love the lessons in football.

Love you all so much!!! 

Les Amo

Elder Sweat

JULY 26, 2016---SETTING HIGH GOALS, I'M A LITTLE TALL HERE, REAL MESSENGERS OF JESUS CHRIST

JULY 26, 2016

SETTING HIGH GOALS
This week was great.  Like I said, our area is huge.  We found more than one place that we hear that people have never talked to or seen missionaries, so that's kind of cool.  We are kind of opening areas, ha. We are setting high goals and we are going to complete them.  We had 53 lessons this week.  We confirmed and baptized someone. 

I'M A LITTLE TALL HERE
Elder Solano was telling a women about baptism and he said Elder Sweat here can baptize you and she was just like, "Who?  He's really big!"  Ha ha.  So, I'm  a little tall here, ha. 

REAL MESSENGERS OF JESUS CHRIST
So we started visiting a family and they told us that before we started to visit them, they had heard strange things in their house, a bunch.  But once we started visiting and teaching them, that it all has stopped.   They said that they know we are real messengers of Jesus Christ.  That was a testimony builder to me of the power of the priesthood and how the gospel can bless us. 

Love you all so much!!

Les Amo 

Elder Sweat