fish!

Hey Family!!

 

I hope y'all are having a great summer break and making the most of the last couple weeks you have.  I can't believe that school is starting again so soon and time just keeps racing on!  School starts next week here!  Andrew and Emily both get to be seniors this year...it's so crazy!! 

 

This week has been a super good week!  On Saturday we had a ward activity for pioneer day but it was raining the whole day so not very many people came out.  Seriously when it rains here it pours, and I mean pours.  It was fun with everyone that did come though.  We just had a picnic up at a little park but it was awesome because they have these ponds with fish that you can catch and release so all the kids were doing that and guess what? I caught a fish!!  I should've taken a picture but my camera was in the car so I didn't get the chance to.  Haha the best part was when we first went over to the pond, I was asking Aiden if he caught any fish and he said  he caught a couple so he threw in his fishing pole, then I did mine, and Sister Andrade did hers and at the same time we all caught a fish.  It was a pretty exciting moment.  :)  We got to eat lots of food at the picnic and then we also had a water balloon fight and played uno.  Man I love the ward here so much! 

 

Weddin, her niece, and me.

 

I'd have to say a sweet miracle from this week was helping the Wleh's move.  They're the family with six girls and she's a single mom and the girls are all the cutest (I've told y'all about them before)!  We usually stop by to see their family at least once a week but we hadn't been able to this week.  Then Saturday morning at the bishops storehouse we asked Tracy if she was bringing her girls to the ward activity later in the day and she said probably not because they have to be moved out by monday so we decided to go help them.  We didn't even know they were moving!  We helped out a little before the activity and they already had everything moved but in their moms bedroom everything was still there.  And Tracy was gone the whole time we were there so with Erica and Janice we were able to carry the mattress and dressers down the street to their new house, plus the elders came and helped with the big things.  Seeing Tracy's reaction when she found almost everything in her room moved was the best!  She was so grateful.  :)  haha they were trying to convince Erica to call us earlier to come help but they didn't.  Seriously their family is the best family ever, it's a party everytime we got over and they all love each other so much.  I hope my family can be like that one day! 

 

Something I learned from the Book of Mormon this week was in Alma 59.  Moroni was talking about the cities and how it was easier to maintain them rather than having to take them back from the Lamanites.  As it says, "knowing that it was easier to keep the city from falling into the hands of the Lamanites than to retake it from them."(v.9)  "Therefore he retained all his force to maintain those places which he had recovered." (v.10)  It relates to the less active people that we've been working with.  In the "baptize, retain, and regain worthy converts" part of our mission vision I think it's just like Moroni said, it's easier to retain the members of the church than to regain them.  So it's our responsibility to retain the members.  That's exactly what we've been trying to do lately.  At church we're noticing who doesn't show up and we're trying to visit them throughout the week so that they don't eventually become less active.  Imagine it this way if you so please, you have a bucket of water half full and an empty bucket.  It's so much easier and quicker to fill the bucket when it's half way than when it's empty.  The less active or semi active members are the half full bucket and the less active that haven't come to church in a couple years are the empty buckets.  It's not impossible to fiill either one of the buckets, but in order to help out our ward we have to create more full buckets so the full buckets can help all the empty buckets.     

 

Hey Mom and Dad, I wanted to ask y'all to send your own conversion stories.  With lots of members we've been visiting I always love hearing how they joined the church and when their testimony really came to them.  And I was thinking, and I've never heard either of yours.  Also Dad and Andrew y'all should send either your favorite story from your mission or one of the craziest ones! 

 

I'll write to y'all next tuesday!  You guys better write me next week you little stinkers.  ;)

 

Love Always,

 

Sister Schmutz