Monday, April 8, 2013

april

Hey Family!!
 
First off, Happy Birthday to Andrew and Annie this week!  I hope it's a good one for y'all and know that I'm thinking of you both.  Be sure to give Annie a hug for me okay.  Enjoy some cake or something and have fun!


 
To say the least this week has been a great one.  Here's a couple miracles just to start off with:
 
numero uno: we taught 21 lessons this week!!  Our mission goal is to teach at least 20 lessons everyweek and for the past couple weeks we've been teaching maybe around 10 or so.  But we just planned a head this week and went without a few meals and were able to fit tons of lessons in.  Seriously it's the best feeling reaching a goal you're working so hard toward.  We ate with our stake president, President Riggs on Saturday as well and he talked alot about teaching more lessons and how we all need to work harder.  And then President Wall also mentioned it yesterday right after conference.  Pretty sweet.  :)  we have a goal to teach 20 lessons every week for the rest of the transfer as well.
 
numero dos:  Sister Anderson.  Inbetween sessions of conference on Saturday we were trying to visit some less actives in our ward that lived in the area.  Either no one was home or we couldn't find their home (with no GPS it's difficult because the streets here will randomly cut in half by another street and continue going without us even knowing...anyways it's confusing).  We were about to give up finding this one home when we miraculously found it.  She was home and we got talking with her and what not.  Turns out she hasn't been to church in a while and yeah but right before we came over she was praying and then knocked on her door.  We were an answer to her prayers and she was an answer to ours.  She even came to conference the next morning as well!  And she's got a sweet strong testimony.
 
numero tres:  I ALMOST hit someone while driving...don't worry though, I didn't.  :)  It's a long story but we were picking up the LSU Sisters at the institute building on campus and we were late for an appointment.  There was a runner and I was turning right and literally didn't see him.  So I kinda started pulling out when all of a sudden he was infront of the car.  No worries though, I stopped and all was well.  Well, except for the fact that he was super pissed and came around to hit the window and yell at me.  I think his face will forever be engraved in my memory...but I just drove away.  Sister LaPorte and I just laugh about it because here we are going around saving souls and yet almost took one out in the meantime.  Also the LSU Sisters probably think we're crazy.  Oh the things you experience while serving a mission.
 
 
I love seeing all the pictures of you guys back home and all over.  The temple looks so pretty down there.  It's crazy over here, so many members don't even know there's a temple in Baton Rouge.  But seriously the temple is so important...we need to get them all there!  I bet Arizona was nice and warm for you guys.  The weather here is kinda like Utah.  One morning it will be super cold and then burning hot in the afternoon.  By the end of the transfer though it should be real hot outside.  
 
Dad thanks for sending the package with music and whatnot, hopefully I'll get it today and if not I'll get it by tomorrow for sure.  Y'all can still send letters and packages to my apartment because I'll be here for at least another five weeks.  Oh and while I'm mentioning it did ya get my letter to Sarah about the GPS?  We currently don't have one and we're going old school with a map but a GPS would be so helpful at the moment.  So if you're cool with it can ya please send it asap.  We would appreciate it so much!!  And as for pictures go feel free to send a little picture book or just plain regular pictures.  Either one would be great.  :) 
 
 
Emily how was school in the new building today?  It's so weird to think that Olympus is in a completely new building now and it's giant.  What else did y'all do in Arizona over spring break?  Did you guys do anything fun for easter?  School starts in just a couple short weeks for you Sarah!  Are you getting excited to move back to Rexburg...I miss that place. Andrew, you lucky duck getting to back to France in a couple weeks.  I miss you all so much but there's no place I'd rather be than right here right now.  I love Sister LaPorte and all the people we get to serve with in our ward so much.   
 
 
Okay and here's some of the pictures within the past weeks.  Sorry they're so late and most of them are from last tuesday at the swamp tour.  Enjoy!
 
 
Oh hey and I have a challenge for y'all.  Our stake has some goals for this year and I think it would be sweet if y'all worked on it as well.  Here's the list:
 
-daily personal and family scripture study
-daily personal and family prayer
-weekly family home evening
-monthly temple attendance
-missionary discussion taught in your home this year
-strive for physical and spiritual self-reliance
-make the sabbath day holy
 
I promise that as you do these little things to strengthen your own testimony it will bless you all in your daily life.  It's taking the time out of the little things we do that don't really matter and replacing them with something meaningful and worthwhile.  My favorite talk from conference was President Monsons because really that's what a mission is all about, obedience.  We were talking after and it really hit me, obedience isn't just not doing what you aren't supposed to.  Obedience is doing what you know you're supposed to be doing.  So like in personal study you aren't being obedient when you take the time out to study your scriptures unless you are actually pondering and learning, not just falling asleep and reading something here and there.  It's just something cool to think about...what do you need to be doing that you know you aren't?  All these people say that Christ just wants them living a good life, but really that's not enough.  There's specific things he has asked us to do that we need to do in order to return to live with Heavenly Father again.  
 
 
The gospel is so amazing and true!!  There's also another goal I have for y'all before the end of this year.  As missionaries if we're tracting to find people we're failing at our job.  The members role is to help invite others to listen to the message the missionaries can share.  And really the only way we can teach investigators is through referrals.  So here's your challenge...invite someone over for dinner while the missionaries are there and talk about the gospel.  I promise it's not as scary as you think it is.  And think of it this way, after you die would you rather have someone come up to you saying sorry they wouldn't listen or asking why you didn't share the message about the restored gospel to them when you were right there.  Become everyday missionaries!
 
I love y'all so much.  Let me know if there's anything I can do for ya!
 
Love Always,  Sister Schmutz

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Transfers!

Hey Family!!
 
First off I want to apologize for not hearing from me yesterday.  I just barely found out this past weekend, but the week of transfers we have p-day on tuesdays because on monday we find out if we're being transfered or not.  So be aware of that for next transfers ahead.  So here's the news....I'm staying in Baton Rouge with Sister LaPorte!  Haha I know, real shocker but we kinda already knew we were gonna stay.  Plus I'm super glad we're staying because I love it here along with all the people here.  Imagine staying in one city your whole mission...I'd be okay with that.  :) 
 
I hope y'all had a great Easter this past sunday.  Lots of members invited us over for lunch and dinner so we were busy eating all day, it was great.  But really I felt right at home so it's all good.  There was a crazy storm on easter too and the power was out for a couple hours.  It was pretty sick.  I wonder if that's what it will be like during hurricane season.  Oh my and thank you for the packages!  Three packages in one week while on my mission.  Definitely a new record...there was so much candy I never even want to look at it again.  But it was all delicious so thank you much!  Also, Sarah is the oil already consecrated? 
 
Since it's easter time and all I figured I'd share some scriptures with y'all about Christ and the Atonement that I've learned to love.  One of the greatest things I've learned is how Christ easily forgave everyone no matter what they did.  It's truly an amazing attribute because it's hard to forgive others, but he did it with such ease.  Beginning in 1 Nephi 19:9 "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it.  Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men."  After all these things the people did to him, he still suffered the atonement for them and forgave them.  And then the amazing thing is in Luke 23:34 "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."  The people hated him and yet he stood up for them.  Christ continually does so much for us that often times we don't can't even begin to comprehend or understand.  It's wonderful.  And then here's one of my all time favorite lines in the scriptures, Mosiah 2:34 "ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are" Sister Calderwood had it written on the wall and I always read it wondering what exactly it's trying to say.  It didn't hit me until after how important it is.  It's so true how we have to give everything we have and are to Heavenly Father and the gospel because it's through our sacrifices that we show him we love him as well.  Just something cool to think about.   
 
I was planning on sending home some pictures today except I forgot the cord...so be looking forward to some next week.  Probably the most exciting part of the week was today.  This morning we got to go on a swamp tour/walk thing.  It's actually right next to the temple and I believe it's called the Bluebonnet Swamp so you can check it out online.  To say the least it felt like we were back in the sacred grove except it was a swamp version.  Imagine lots of water, snakes, turtles, and trees.  Man I love everything down here though.  It's crazy how fast the forrests grow down here.  Oh yeah I forgot to mention, there's these flowers down here and you can eat them!  They taste like a bitter apple, it's interesting.   
 
This week we got to focus on tons of less active members which was great.  The hardest thing down here is actually getting everyone to come to church.  They know they should be at church and they say they want to come, but when Sunday comes around they're never there.  It's just a work in progress though. 
 
Here's some miracles from this week:
 
numero uno: Alexis.  She's a young women that's been attending church basically her whole life except she's never been baptized.  We've been trying to contact her for weeks but no such luck.  On Saturday I randomly called her to invite her to the yw broadcast and she finally answered and came!  We talked with her after and she wants us to teach her so she can get baptized!  Seriously it's a miracle.  :)
 
numero dos:  We aren't being transferred!! 
 
numero tres:  We got to meet with lots of people this week that we've been trying to meet with for weeks.  Also life is good.  :) 
 
Sorry time is so short, we're super busy.  And I wrote Sister Calderwood way too long of an email before you guys....so that's why I'll attach it right now, just so you guys don't feel so left out of what's going on here in good old Lousiana.  I think about you always and pray that everything is going well.  Enjoy Arizona for me this week...we've been getting plenty of sunshine here.  :) 
 
I love you all so much and thank you for all y'all do for me.  You're the greatest family out there!!
 
Love Always,  Sister Schmutz
 
p.s. Dad could you send me my family fan?  It's the genealogy page that's a big looking fan. 
 
p.p.s. Sarah I'm super behind on writing letters and we've still gotta go shopping so I'll try writing as many letters as I can today.  Also thank you for visiting Sister Calderwood.  Isn't she just the best?  In a couple months you'll have to go see Sister LaPorte as well.   
 
The chalk festival looked epic, I loved your guys pictures.  Feel free to send more pictures that are printed out so I can show them to others. 
 
Ahh I gotta go.  Love you guys!!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Crawfish!


Hey Family!
 
It's been a crazy busy week but so awesome.  First of all, you guys definitely need to go find Sister Calderwood on temple square.  The saying that you never know how much you'll miss something or someone until it's gone is so true.  I miss her so unbelievably much and wish she could be back here...but it's all good.  She'll be up at BYU-I after she gets home and I plan on visiting her in Alaska!  So please go find her for me and tell her how much I love her and miss her.  All the sister missionaries on temple square know each other so when you go just ask one of them if they know where she is and if you can't find her I'll mention something in an email to her next week.  Take some twix too and tell her it's a little gift from me because they were her favorite.  Seriously she's the best and give her a hug for me.  Oh and mom her name is Wendy Calderwood.  She served down in Hoama for two transfers before serving with me and I believe she has two transfers left.  Louisiana definitely isn't the same without her here.  
 
Anyways, my new companion is Sister (Elise) LaPorte!  She's also a temple square missionary and she's been out nine months.  She's from California and she's one of the nicest person I've ever met.  Seriously she's great too.  It was hard leaving Sister Calderwood but Sister LaPorte easily makes up for the missing piece in my heart.  Transfers are next wednesday so I'm hoping President will keep us together, and hopefully for the next two transfers because that's all the time she gets here.  I have a feeling we'll be together this coming transfer but we shall see.    
 
The beginning of this week was very busy because we were trying to see all the people Sister Calderwood wanted to see before she left.  It was sad because she didn't want to go back to Temple Square and we didn't want her to leave either.  But guess what?  We got to go to the temple on Tuesday!!!  During district meeting we mentioned how it would be awesome to go to the temple as a district before Sister Calderwood left because both our wards temple nights were that night.  Our district leader ended up calling President Wall but he never answered but we ended up just going anyways.  No one else in our district could come though so it was just Sister Calderwood, Elder Bawden, Elder Johnson, and I.  Aw man though I love that temple.  Definitely the perfect way to end the day. 
 
Wednesday morning we drove to President Walls home and they drove Sister Calderwood to the airport and I was in a trio with Sister Jones and Bowen for the rest of the day until we picked up Sister LaPorte at the airport.  Haha I'm sure she wasn't expecting only us to be there but President was in interviews for the day so we got to pick her up.  And then the rest of the week we've just been getting back to work.  
 
There's so many lonely women in our ward that feel like they don't have friends so we're gonna create a weekly activity for all the ladies in Relief Society where we can get together and do something.  I think it's gonna be awesome because there's so much work to do.  So any cheap ideas you have would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Here's just a couple of the miracles that have occured this week: 
 
numero uno:  Dezarae Graves, she's a less active member but wants to turn her life around and come back to church.  Somehow she contacted the missionaries which referred her to some other sisters who referred her to us.  And boy she's amazing.  She's been a member basically her whole life but was baptized without really knowing anything.  She wants to feel the spirit again so we're gonna teach her all the lessons and help her understand everything!!
 
numero dos:  Jaylen was baptized!!  Elder Burch and Franke have been teaching her and we were able to attend her baptism on friday.  She's an awesome girl with such a strong testimony.  Haha apparently it takes four hours to fill up the font and no one turned it on then so we had to dump pots of water from the sink into the font.  She also had to be baptized five times because she couldn't get under the water all the way.  But all is well and she was cool with it all. 
 
numero tres:  Miraculously we haven't gotten too lost.  Also we've been listening to the same CD on repeat for the last week!  It's a miracle we aren't sick of the music yet.  Fifteen songs all day everyday, it's pure joy.  So if yall aren't too busy some CD's would be greatly appreciated.  Sister Calderwood had all the CD's so currently we have none.  The Elders put tons of music on my USB except it plays half of one song and then skips and won't play anymore.  But please only send CD's if they're good ones.  I won't listen to any of the real churchy ones if ya know what I mean.  No offense Andrew, but your music was all pretty lame.
 
Oh yeah, I ate crawfish for the first time this week!!  It looks nasty because it's this little fish thing.  But you break off its tail and eat the meat.  All the spices cooked on it make it delicious.  The only problem is there's barely any meat.  But it's almost crawfish season so I'm pretty excited!!  
 
Sarah and Emily I wrote you both letters last monday except I didn't actually get around to the mailbox until friday so yeah, your letters are on their way!  Sarah you signed up for piano, what is the world coming to?  Haha just kidding, it will be great.  It's bad down here because everyone expects the sister missionaries to play the piano and I'm always just like...yeah I can play but I can't sight read...awkward.  Could you please send me Mary Beth, Samantha, and Julia's addresses?  I guess I could just email them except I personally like receiving letters anyways.  Tell everyone back home that I say hi and I love them.   
 
I'm glad yall enjoyed the pictures.  :)  I'll try to take some more this week and send them to ya.  Send me some too!
 
Mom some more clothes would be nice.  I've noticed that most of them I have to wear something under anyways because they come too low in the front.  So if you have any time find higher necklines or you could just send me some regular shirts and then send those two black and white shirts from my closet here.  Sarah should know which ones I'm talking about.   
 
I received Big Grandma's letter this past week which was so nice.  Haha it was very random but I'll write her back soon.  We're running late today because we had to clean up the apartment this morning so if I don't write her today I definitely will next monday.  Let her know that I love her and I'm praying for her and grandpa. 
 
I love hearing from yall and hope everything is going good with work and school.  With the upcoming easter holliday remember the true meaning of it and also share your testimony with someone!!  I love yall so much and look up to your examples.  Give any a hug for me and tell the ward I say hi! 
 
Love Always, Sister Schmutz
 
p.s. go see Sister Calderwood please!!  and tell me about it.  :)