Week 25: Peace ~ January 11, 2016

Well my first full week in a different area. It was so weird not to know my way around again, but I feel like I am learning much faster this time. It took me almost two full transfers to know my way around my last area and after a week I know (more or less) the neighborhood were we live and the one where the majority of our investigators live.  

I think I forgot to write about my new companion. Her name is Hermana Barzola. She's from Argentina and so she is the first person I've met here who has a notable accent (apart from the other missionaries from the US).  She's 19 and she just finished her first 2 transfers, so combined we have less than 9 months in the mission field. It feels a little bit like when you were a little kid and you looked up and couldn't see your parents.  It's a little empowered and also pretty nerve wracking.  But she has a great attitude and a lot of love for the work so I'm sure everything else will work out.  

The area here is really different from my last area. Primarily because there are no hills here! I feel like I could walk for days! Also the other companionship in our ward are 2 missionaries from the US and they're always speaking English. It is the oddest thing. 4 months of no English and now almost daily.  I'm not going to lie, I don't love it.  But I don't really speak English to them and so they're starting to speak more Spanish. 

This area has it's own unique challenges. One is that we have to find a cheaper house. Our apartment where we live now costs almost 1000 pesos more than the mission limit and the problem is that almost all the "safe" neighborhoods are really expensive, but I have faith that the Lord will provide something for us. 

Also the last few missionaries here have not been very good at following up with their investigators and so there are more than 50 teaching records in our apartment of "investigators" but many haven't been visited in quite some time so we're going to try and visit them all to see who might really be interested.  

We had 2 invistigators at church this Sunday! One is named Jessica and she is living with her boyfriend who is a less active member of the church.  We're working with them so they can get married and she can get baptized.  The other is named Mari and she... well she's a little odd but very excited about the church..  She's an older lady (60's) and she lives alone. Hopefully things keep going well with her.  

Well my spiritual thought for the week come from "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter"   Chapter 2 “My Peace I Give unto You”.  It is so easy to worry here. Worry about my family and friends at home, what I'm going to do with my life, our investigators, my companion, the way I teach, the way I talk to people in the street, the fact that I still hardly speak the language, and a million other things.  But I loved this lesson from President Hunter. There will always be a million and one things to worry about, but we'll be alright as long as we know in whom we have trusted.
“… in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I love you!

Hermana Schmidt

December 24 & 25 Photos

Week 24: Judgment Day 2016 ~ January 4, 2016

Hola!

Well we had transfers this week and now I'm in Aguascalientes!  After 4 months in Zacatecas the time has come for me to learn a new area. I was sad to leave my previous ward in Zacatecas and am nervous to have to learn a whole new place, but I'm excited to get to meet new people and keep expanding my horizons.

  
My last week in Zacatecas was pretty great. Still very hard because... well it's Zacatecas and it was also new years, but there were a lot of miracles.  The first was when we we were teaching a couple that are members of the church.  The husband has been a member for more than 30 years but was inactive for almost all of that. The wife got baptized a little over a year ago and is honestly one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever met. Many times during our lesson with this family I wonder why she ever married him.  They started dating when they were older and got married the day before the hermana was baptized.  Although she is very sweet he is... very critical.  I don't think I've ever heard him say a nice thing about anyone other than himself.  It was very hard for us to visit this family and listen to the unkind things this hermano said to his sweet wife.  Tuesday we went to share a message with them and we were teaching one thing and suddenly we started talking about charity and about how it has to be reflected, not only in our actions, but also in our thoughts and our words.  I honestly don't think this hermano heard a single word that we said, but at the end of the lesson the hermana had tears in her eyes and told us that the lesson was an answer to her prayers.  I've never had someone tell me that something I did was an answer to their prayers and it was so special to feel like I was fulfilling my purpose as an instrument in the hands of the Lord. 

After that we went to a lesson with a family of investigators. We were in the living room talking with the son of the family when his sister and the dad came out with a cake and they were singing and there was presents. The whole nine yards! It was so sweet that they remember my birthday and wanted to celebrate with me.  

New Years Eve and New Years day were a little slow because there was almost no one in the streets and we could only visit members.  If I thought Christmas day was a hard day for missionary work it was only because I'd never been a missionary on New Years Day. Most of the people celebrated until the very early morning and so they we're asleep until well into the afternoon.  

Sunday, not one of our investigators came to church, but it was still a very special day.  First because there were more people there than have been the whole time I've been in that ward. Almost 100 people.  There were a lot of people who have a lot of time outside the church and it was exciting to see them there.  The other thing that happened is on Saturday, the elders talked to someone in the street and invited him to church.  The elders gave us his number because he lives in our area, and guess what! HE CAME TO CHURCH! Never had even one lesson with the missionaries and he came to church. Not only that but he got up and bore his testimony! Well.. More explained why he came to church. He doesn't really have a testimony to share but it was still and awesome thing.  And because there is someone who is genuinely interested, of course I was transferred to another area and won't be able to teach him.  But that's OK.  I just have to start looking for people who are as prepared as he is here in my new area.  

This week I was ready in Gospel Principles about Judgment Day, and I really like something that it said there.  It says "In reality, every day is a day of judgment. We speak, think, and act according to celestial, terrestrial, or telestial law. Our faith in Jesus Christ, as shown by our daily actions, determines which kingdom we will inherit." I love that! It really makes you think about the choices that you're making and which type of law they follow.  

Well I love you all! Have a great year!! 

Hermana Schmidt

Week 23: I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22! ~ December 28, 2015

Haha. Just kidding. I feel no different now that I'm 22. We were going to throw me a callejoneada (which is a birthday party that is traditional to Zacatecas. There is a band and a donkey with barrells of any drinkable liquid and they walk/dance through the streets of downtown.) but it turns out that renting a donkey is rather expensive and we also are not allowed to throw parties as missionaries. Haha. 

Well Christmas is a pretty boring time to be a missionary. No one wants us to visit them so we have a lot of activities. Which is sort of fun and sort of crummy because it makes you feel like you're not fulfilling your purpose. But that's ok.  We still had a good week and a good Christmas.  I made a lot of tamales. Tamales are the traditional Christmas fare here in Zacatecas so we helped a lot of people make tamales for there Christmas parties and now we have a fridge full.  

No one came to church again. Maybe I'll just stop writing that no one came to church and you all can just assume that unless I say that someone came, nobody came. But almost no one in the ward was there either. Everyone went traveling for the holidays.  But as always, new week, new start.  

Keep praying for me and for Zacatecas! Love you!

Hermana Schmidt

Week 21: Una Casa del Senor ~ December 14, 2015

Hola!

This week was super terrible numbers wise again.  Turns out December is a terrible month for missionary work here, because everyone is super busy with holiday stuff.  But it's all good because we're still working hard. And the miracles are coming, I'm sure of it. Maybe it will be for the next missionaries in this area but they're coming. 

The awesome part about this week is that we got to see the dedication of the new temple in Tijuana!! It was especially awesome because we don't have a temple here in our mission so that is as close to the temple as I'm going to get in this next year or so.  President Uchtdorf y Elder Oaks were at the dedication and it was awesome to hear them, and the new temple presidency speak. I hope you all appreciate and take advantage of the plethora of temples there.  

Well I love you all and I appreciate your prayers and your support.  

Until next week. 

Hermana Schmidt

Week 20 (I think): Hope ~ December 7, 2015

Well family and friends,

This was one of those weeks that is better forgotten.  We knocked doors all day every day and had only 18 lessons in the whole week. (usually we have at least 25 if not more like 30) No one came to church and so there is no one with a baptismal date and no one progressing.  It was rough. 

But all is not lost! We have a lot of appointments set up for this week and with a new week comes new faith.

This morning I was studying about hope.  Preach my gospel says that hope is believe that God will keep his promises. When we have hope we do all that He asks of us because we know that he is going to keep his promises.  Maybe we couldn't see it this last week but I know that if we keep working hard, God will keep his promises and there will be miracles.  We just can't lose hope.  

Maybe right now you feel like God has forgotten you. But don't lose hope! Keep doing your part and you can rest assured that God ALWAYS keeps his promises.

Have a great week! 

Los amo!

Hermana Schmidt

Week 22: FELIZ NAVIDAD! Ha nacido un Salvador! ~ December 21, 2015

Seasons greetings! (Haha. that is something they don't say here. Probably because almost everyone is christian.)

There was problem with myldsmail on Monday so we couldn't email, but never fear because you'll still get to here about how everything here is the same. Haha.

I can't believe that it's almost Christmas. Yesterday was 5 months since I left for the MTC and I remember saying with my companion "By Christmas we'll be speaking Spanish and everything will be awesome. And we'll have almost 4 months in the mission" But it seemed so far away. And now BOOM! it's Christmas. I found out that the people here love Christmas music in English (well music in English in general, but Christmas music is better because it doesn't swear) so I still get to hear a lot of Christmas music.  

As for the climate, apparently I am not the only person from the US who was under the impression that it is always warm in Mexico. Let me tell you, it is not. Right now, I would say it's colder here than it was last winter in Utah. Part of the problem is that the houses here are made of cement and so they turn into freezers, basically because the cement traps the cold and radiates it into the house. So although I am sure that with all the snow there it is colder in Utah, at least there's central heating. But we walk a lot and so we manage to keep warm.

This last week we had a posada in the church.  It's basically just a christmas party.  One of our investigators came with her 4 children. Her name is Guadalupe and her kids are 7, 6, 5 and 2.  They are the sweetest little angels although a little naughty sometimes. She is very poor.  One of the days when we visited her, her 2 year old was playing with a piece of wood wrapped in a blanket like it was her doll. The good news is that we have received a lot of support from the ward. Some of the hermanas donated dolls for her girls and clothes for her son, he is the 6 year old. And they're collecting more stuff to take to her for Christmas.  But the posada was so fun! There were more investigators there than members! (I'm not sure if that says more about the ward or the investigators) There were more than 30 investigators there between the 3 companionships in the ward.  I honestly think the missionaries enjoyed it more than anyone because we've never seen so many investigators in one place.  And it was definitely the highlight of the week because none of our investigators came to church.  

We talked a lot this week about how important the Book of Mormon is in order to help people know that the church is true.  We talked about how it starts with our own testimonies.  In Preach My Gospel it says that we as missionaries (or members) should regually... I can't think of a good word in english... test? try? apply? something like that the promise found in Moroni 10:3-5.  We should read the Book of Mormon and then pray and ask God again (it doesn't matter how many times we've already done it) if the Book of Mormon is true.  I thought about how I always thought it was more of a one and done thing, but really we always have to be studying and confirming what we learn, what we think we know, with our Heavenly Father. That's how we keep our testimonies strong.  

Well I hope all have a very merry Christmas. I don't know if you've seen the videos that the church made for this Christmas but they're very good. A neat reminder of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. https://www.mormon.org/christmas

Much love,

Hermana Schmidt