transfer number 4

Hey Family!

 

So it sounds like y'all think I'm being transfered tomorrow, and here's the big news...I get another 6 glorious weeks here in Baton Rouge!!!  Plus I get to stay with Sister Andrade as well!  We're both stoked and ready to make the most of this upcoming transfer.  I'm super happy to be staying here because there's so much work to do and there's so many people we need to help.  And man I absolutely love it here.  Dad I just have to say that it's crazy that the longest you stayed in an area was for five months or so.  Last night at dinner we were all talking about the longest we've been in a single area and the average was around seven months.  Haha and Elder Franke served in the same area for fourteen months.  It mostly depends on your mission president, but I think President Wall usually likes to keep us there for a couple months at least.  Oh yeah, and Elder Franke is going home tomorrow and I give him y'alls address and phone number and he said he's gonna go see y'all.  It's gonna be weird without him here because he came to BR the day that I got here and now that he's leaving I'll be the one here that's been here the longest.  Everyone's leaving but me..haha but I love the people here so it's all good.  You'll have to tell him I say hi when he calls or comes to see y'all.  He's an awesome missionary.

Anyways a sweet miracle from this past week was a media referral.  Basically if you get onto mormon.org you can type in your address and info and missionaries will come visit you.  So we got one two weeks ago or so for a girl named Valarie and we decided to just stop by because she didn't answer our calls.  Turns out her son Jonathan is a member in our ward currently serving his mission in Vegas.  Everyone always talks about him and how good of a missionary he is so it was sweet to be able to meet his mom.  Jonathan is the only member in his family and we've met his cousins before but they're anti.  We met her for the first time last monday and she's a super sweet lady.  We just talked to her a little about how you receive mission calls and what Jonathan's doing everyday.  And boy you could just feel the love that she has for her son and how much she misses him.  While we were sitting there talking there was just this overwhelming feeling of love that Heavenly Father has for her and how important she is.  She's had a crazy life and she's just super sweet.  It's awesome because we asked her if she ever went to church with Jonathan and she said she didn't.  But she said she'd ask for work off so she could come in two weeks.  It's an awesome experience because we have to teach her from a different approach because she wasn't the one that actually put in her info online.  Haha I'm guessing it was Jonathan because she said he keeps asking if any missionaries have stopped by.  So basically she's not real interested in learning more...but she is open to listening.  So our plan is to just take everything real slow and start at the basics and just be her friend.  Plus what's even better is whenever she's cancelled she always let us know and always reschedules.  That means a ton because even members cancel and don't tell us.  Aw man I see so much potential in her!  With Jonathan serving his mission I think it's softened her heart so much and nows the time for her.  If you haven't read the talk from President Monson during last preisthood session of conference you should.  I hope and pray that Valarie will be like that experience, it would be a sweet miracle!

 

Thank y'all so much for the packages and letters.  Seriously I feel so spoiled for this past birthday.  Maybe I should be away from home for every birthday in the future.  :) but really thank you so much I love everything you sent.  My two favorites are the blue shirt from Sarah and the brown and cream skirt.  Thank you!!  And Emily that sticker and card you made are sweet.  Dude I hope you're taking graphics again next year because you're awesome at it.  I put the sticker on my journal to help motivate me to write more often...so hopefully it will help!  Haha and I think I'll be good on clothes for the rest of my mission.  Thank you so much! 

 

Sarah I hope you had a great birthday as well.  Sounds like some fun times going to the sand dunes and what not.  The zone leaders and prarieville sisters came over Saturday morning with breakfast for us which was super sweet of them.  Then the rest of the day was pretty normal just visiting lots of people and doing the Lord's work.  We had dinner at a members home and everyone sung to me.  And then we went over with the office elders and zone leaders to the Olsen's (the office couple) to sing happy birthday because it was also Elder Olsen's birthday.  And then the office elders and zone leaders surprised me with a poster card with candy for my birthday.  A super sweet day none the less.  Oh and the Banks made me a cake that we ate on Sunday.   :)

 

Elder Franke, Foremaster, Ageda, and Jessop.

It's been raining here a lot so it's actually not too hot out lately which is nice.  Geez and the rain here is crazy.  We were at the Banks on Sunday and it just started pouring outside.  The thunder and lightning here is crazy loud as well.  Haha so when we were leaving Tae said she'd walk us out to the car under her umbrella but the whole front yard was a giant puddle and we were drenched but it was all good. Haha I love the rain!  I can't wait until August and September when hurricane season is really here and will rain a ton more.

Sister Banks, Tae, and Beatrice.

Something sweet I read this week from the Book of Mormon was in Alma where Ammon and Aaron went about being good old missionaries.  Seriously those two are the perfect missionaries and such good examples with perfectly inspired questions, ideas, testimony, and commitments.  Something I loved was in chapter 20 verse 29 when Ammon just found his brothers from prison, it saying, "And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords.  And they also had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings."  Some days I feel like no one is progressing and everything we do fails.  But when you look at the brothers of Ammon they were imprisoned and beat for trying to share the gospel.  When you see that, all you can help but think is we've got it pretty good.  And it's true, we are blessed to be able to share the gospel right now at this time.

 

I hope y'all have a nice last week of june!  Time just keeps on flying by. I love y'all so much and thank you for all you do for me!  Oh yeah and President Wall did call about Annie, he apologized for putting it off for so long.   

 

Love Always, Sister Schmutz