Miraculous conversion and baptism for Magela.

Magela

Machete

Hey everyone its Elder Swensen!!!! Things are going so good! My love for this gospel has grown so much this 

past week! This week we were able to Baptize MAGELA HECHAVARRRRRIA! Oh man she is so rad! Elder 

Ward and I were able to meet her a while back for the first time! It was definitely a touching story when we first 

met her, we were on a fire exchange with the sisters and the last house we knocked was Magela! I remember 

when she opened the door just balling! I felt God's love for her and she knew exactly why we were there! I 

could feel the presence of the savior right next to Elder Ward and I!!! It was amazing what we spoke! It was 

pure doctorine and that invitation to be baptized! Oh man that day was amazing! Miracles!!!!! she was so elect! 

WE have two more baptisms lined up for this sunday! I'll keep you posted! I baptized Magela the other day in 

spanish and man she came right out of the water so flawlessly! Everyone this is what it's all about!!! No greater 

feeling in the world! I love all of you!!! Thanks for all your prayers! Stay sweet sweeties hahaha

Love Elder SWENSEN

"The Graveyard" is the area the locals call the projects Smith and his companion are working in.

Hey wazzzup PEEPS this week has been so wonderful! Miracles upon miracles! We have had so much fun! We have been throwing down on people in the graveyard!! PEEWEE also known as (5) came to church with us the other day! He has super high desires to be baptized this weekend! He also has a super gnarly tattoo of a bull skull on his forehead, its super scary! He looks like Antwan Dixon hahaha! He is super chill though! He really enjoyed church and he can't wait to come back to be baptized! Also I was able to baptize our boy William Palma from Venezuela! He is a super awesome guy, and is a really good artist! He wants to do baptisms for the dead for his brother and his father! He is really progressing!! After I baptized him I was like "This is what its all about" He gave me a big hug and said "THANK YOU BROTHER" Wow it was amazing, the spirit was so strong! His spanish is awesome as well he speaks spanish with a german accent because he is half german! It sounds super cool! 175 baptisms is our goal! We need to hit it by the end of this month, because our mission president is leaving! Lately were finding a lot of cool people and having lots of success! LETS GO! and make it happen! I also got the infamous posterity tie from Elder Mendy cause I got wet yesterday! I love all you guys for all of your support! Keep me pumped up! I also want to thank my Uncle Mike C. For sending his inspirational letter and package! He is so BOSS! I Love my Mom, my DAD, Sophie, Soladay, and Swenjamin Franklin//// God has blessed me with such a wonderful Family! I love all you guys so much! Girls keep staying sweet! 

MUCH LOVE

ELDER SMITH CHAD SWENSEN AKA CALIFORNIA

Hey everyone!!!! Its your boi Elder Swensen! This past week has been really rad!!! I love my area so much!!! This past week we got a lot of new investigators and 2 of my favorites is Mario and his wife!! Mario is around 20 years old and had a gnarly story to tell us about when he got shot 5 times and turned his life around after getting out of jail! While he was talking to me and Elder Anthony he basically told us that he needed to settle down and come unto Christ even more! He has a son thats 8 and a daughter thats 2!! They are both so awesome! For the first time I took the lead on the Restoration and just let go!!! It was so fun to throwdown with Elder Anthony! We taught it flawlessly and they really liked is a lot! They really enjoyed the First vison and the spirit was so sincere with us it was awesome! They are both excited about reading the Book of Mormon and Baptism! I love these guys so much! Rena our recent convert finally gave me a nickname/// Elder SWENSEN= California// Elder Mendenhall= Sugar shane shorty! She is so crazy but awesome! Our boy Willy is in a wheel chair because of some gang activity, he was also shot several times and lived! Hes dope though he always plays sicky music as we walk by// Especially RKelly- remix to ignition// its great though because he always turns it down when we need to pray with him and invite the spirit! Mike and his family are still doing great he got antied by his wife because the book of mormon is not the bible! But then we threw down on her and saved those baptisms because the power of the lord was with us!! Were hoping that they will be prepared to be interviewd this week so they can get baptized on Mothers day!! Overall just throwing down everyday! JT our new investigator is in this picture with me// we taught him about making righteous decisions and brought up the song "check yourself, before you wreck yourself" and he really enjoyed it! Hes making righteous decisons everyday! Girls keep staying sweet!

 Much Love Elder Swensen

"I met Lil Wayne the other day, and he wasn't too hyped on us"

Meeting the mission President and his wife

Hey whats up its Elder Swensen!!!! Im in Florida and I like it, my area is so hood! I mean HOOD its so dope though! We came here to throw down! Elder Mendenhall is my companion and he is from LA and he surfs! the first time I met him he gave me a planner with a picture of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith and on the back it has Ford  ripping! Its so tight! I love my companion already he is so boss at teaching! The past week we have been teaching a lot of families that are Black! And thats what I wanted!! Ive been speaking a lot of spanish though its a good mix, but mostly black! We have been teaching the Thompson family and they are so chill! Michael, and his family want to baptized on the 11th of may and they have a family of 7! Its time to throwdown! Im so excited to baptize, I cant wait for that wonderful feeling! JT and Rena are recent converts and they just got back from prison, its so tight to be teaching them, their place is so hood but they have the sweetest little girl she is so sweet! They grew up in the struggle with her mom being a complete crack head and smoking weed everyday! I love teaching those guys already! And I love that they love hiphop music and rap! I met Lilwayne the other day and he wasnt to hyped on us, he had some sicky grills though! The dogs here are so gnarly we peg them with rocks if they get to close! We had Elder Cook come to our mission and speak  with us, he is truly called of God. And after he talked I was watching him sing "I beleive in Christ" and I knew for a fact that this church is true!!!!!!! The spirit testified to me that this is Christ's church! And its time to be bold and throw down! So things are going good here and My companion and I teach with such unity and boldness and the spirit its awesome! I havent seen the ocean yet but I know that its there! Just know that I mean business in the hood and Im keeping it real with my companion and have been working really hard proselyting and studying and have learned so much!

"MAKE THE EARTH TREMBLE"

Love Elder Swensen

New Florida Temple Just Built 44,000 people attended the Open House

Apostle Elder Quentin L Cook taught and trained them last week 

My spanish has become super good

This week has been really fun and busy! We have been working really hard here and our teaching in spanish has become super good! I have been thinking about Michelle a lot and the past few days have been really hard, I shared my testimony to everyone in testimony meeting on Sunday about Michelle and that everyone can live with their families eternally after this life! I basically explained how much my family matters to me and how much I love them! I talked about how wonderful Aunt Michelle was to all of us and how much joy she had in her life! I then I said that it always make me mad when someone says "What if this church is not true" and I said with power from god, This church is true!!!! And I love this gospel so much and I would die for it, but more I want to live for it!!! Michelle was such a wonderful example in our lives, she had so much faith and I hope that Doug and the Girls are comforted by the spirit!! They are going to do wonderful things in the near future! Elder Bednar gave an awesome devotional the other day and he put this scripture in his talk and its in D&C 68.4 and it says "And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the lord, shall be the voice of the lord, and the power of God unto Salvation" I hope everything is going well! I love you guys so much! Update me on how things are going

Love

Elder Swensen

It has been a wonderful week so far! Ive been really working hard and have had some wonderful experiences! A couple of days a go we taught some real families from a ward nearby the MTC! First my companions and I taught the Bishop and the wife of the bishop, and we basically talked about her brothers that went inactive in the church and how hard it is for their family to see this happening in there life right now! I asked her if she had been married in the temple and she said yes! And then I was like well you and your husband have made the best decision you can do! I said to her that she would be able to see her brothers in the life to come even though they don't have the gospel in their lives right now! After that we taught a family of 5, they were so awesome! Even though I don't remember all their names, I remember that there names were really refined and so pretty! As we were talking to the mother she also said that her brother went inactive and she didn´t know why! she started crying and breaking down, I also asked her if she had been married in the temple and she said yes! So I got really stoked and told her that she would be able to see her brother in the life to come! after we had taught her I asked her if we could pray about her brother Serio, and she said yes! Ive never prayed so hard in my life, I prayed that he would come back to church, and feel the prompting of the holy ghost to live the true and living gospel once again! Wow that prayer was so powerful! And she was so greatful that I offered to pray about her brother! There was a devotional given by Elder Holland the other night and he said to "Speak With Thunder" and I definitely did. My love for this gospel has grown so much already, its time to make our words effective! Holland said that we were in the middle of the latterdays and the Hastening of the work is powerful! I have a strong testimony about the atonement and the love that our savior has for us! I know that Joseph Smith was a true oracle of God, and President Thomas S. Monson leads the only true and living church on this earth today!

 I´m about my Father´s business,

Love Elder Swensen

Things are still going good at the MTC! its been a lot of hardwork and a lot of studying! The food here goes right through you hahaha you seriously get wrecked after every meal! We spend more time in the restroom than studying hahaha! Its getting so much easier to teach in spanish, I love it! the other day I was talking to President Pratt right before a devotional and he told me that I was doing awesome in my work and he said just to keep focused on the work, he grabbed my shoulder and he told me that anything can happen when you teach by the spirit! He is such an awesome and the most spiritual guy I ever met, when he touched my shoulder it felt like the savior was helping me it was awesome! All the native teachers here are so sick, they are so helpful and a lot of them are really funny! Hermano Garza showed us this video about this kid that had struggled with drinking, and when the kid said that he was from Mexico Hermano Garzas right arm and finger pointed straight up!! hahaha it was so funny, he has so much pride for Mexico! Im starting to have Mexico pride here too! I love it here! I have been really focused and obedient to the work and it has been really paying off! I have heard some wonderful testimonies from my district they are so awesome, and they keep making my testimony stronger.Daniel L. Johnson president over the 70 in 2006 gave us an awesome devotional about the atonement and how it applies to our lives in every sense, he was very direct with us and Ive never been so spiritually sound before! one of the quotes that he said was " it wasn't the nails that held him on the cross, it was his love for us that held him" Wow! that is so powerful! things are becoming more clear and my testimony is growing so much! I want to come to Mexico when I get back! it would be so sick to surf here! 

 District 10 C//10 si