Peace, Love, and Portugal: I'm Living a Dream!

Sometimes, all of your very wildest and extremest wishes really do actually come true.

Today my friends, was transfer day. Just to give you all the inside scoop, transfers usually happen like this... At any time between 7 and 9:30ish pm, we get a call from some sort of leader figure (I´ve gotten it from Zone Leaders, District Leaders, Assistants to President, and President´s wife herself) and they tell us who is going, where, and what time to be on some sort of bus/train/plane the next morning. Then, we all freak out and call everyone we know and then run home and start packing our bags frantically until about anywhere from 1-3am. Then, the next morning....we´re off! It´s also usually a crazy adventure because the planning isn´t always well done...

But anyway...last night we were at Família Albino´s house awaiting the call. Our District Leader calls. *drumroll* "You´re both staying." WHAT!!!!!!! *lotsofscreaming* "And you´re going to be Sister Training Leaders." *morescreaming* "...of Mem Martins (area in our zone), Cacém (other area in our zone), and...Madeira (island paradise that belongs to Portugal but is actually closer to Africa)." *morescreamingthaneverbeforeinmylife*

I GET TO STAY IN OEIRAS ONE MORE TRANSFER WOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SISTER HIRSCHI ISN´T LEAVING ME!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GET TO DO DIVISIONS AGAIN AND GO TO MADEIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heavenly Father is so loving and merciful and wonderful and I just love Him SO MUCH. Do you realize what just happened?!?!?! The quite literal IDEAL situation that I ever could have wished up. We had literally talked about that yesterday morning, this exact thing happening and IT DID. Even better news! They just added two more sisters to our area!!!! So now our area won´t be so big and it´s going to be an even bigger party in our house! Yippee!!!!!

Graça's baptism

Anyway, about the week. Graça got baptized yesterday!!! Man was that an adventure...she is still recovering from breast cancer while still taking care of her two daughters. They´re super great and like 40 something years old, but they have a child learning level so she still has to help them a lot. She has nobody to help her but a mountain of faith.

Sometimes on the mission I go a little crazy trying to take care of everybody, which is, in fact, literally impossible. As we were driving with a member after picking up Graça to go to church I was panicking a little, thinking about all the people we forgot to call or pass by or who knows what. Then, the Spirit just wrapped me up quite suddenly like in a big blanket and Heavenly Father told me that it was okay, because we took care of Graça and we´re trying. We took care of that one child of His and that meant something. He reminded me that that is how Christ works, one by one. So we took care of the one.

Turns out the heater on the baptismal font water is broken...so our faithful members waited on FAST Sunday of all days after church with us, the men running around boiling water on the stove trying to fix it. They are such champs. It all turned out really well, with lots of happy tears on my part and Graça´s and Sister Hirschi´s.

I don´t have much time for any more updates, but those are the most important. The Lord loves us one by one and He let me stay here and get everything I could have ever dreamed up. I don´t know why I deserve it, but I´m grateful!!!!

The pictures I´m sending are from this amazing drive we took with this American family from the ward. We went up to a place called Sintra that has AMAZING palaces and a castle and beach and everything good in life, it was INCREDIBLE. Portugal is the best mission ever!!!

LOVE YOU ALL.

Com saudades,

Sister Swasey

P.S. Happy Late 4th of July! We celebrated too, don´t worry!!!

P.P.S. The other pics are from when I suprised Sister Hirschi with a cake and a happy random day card at the zone conference. Too funny!