Patience, patience, patience...

Hey howdy hey!

Well, I was doing fairly good today, but Elder Fernelius is making me cranky currently. I'm trying to make the decision to not be cranky, but I need to decide harder or something. Blah.

Happy news! So, we actually had an investigator come to church this weekend! It was marvelous! His name is Segundo, and one of his greatest desires is that his son can be a missionary like us, his wife is a member, and he had a dream in which Christ told him, "Come to me" (right after we had taught him that our purpose as missionaries is to invite people to come to Christ), so we're pretty darn positive that he'll be getting baptized. Yay!!! Excitement! And he came to church in a suit and everything, just like he'd been attending all his life. It was a sweet mercy from the Lord, that's for sure (him coming to church, not him wearing a suit). I am grateful that Heavenly Father hears prayers.

Thursday was a pretty busy day for us. We had a special training session with President Ghent, and then afterwards we went to lunch at a restaurant called Rey del Burrito, and they make fairly tasty burritos (los de Madre are a lot better). They have a burrito there called el Rey de burritos, and it's a burrito about 2 feet long or so. And, as you guessed, I ate it. It was tasty, but it wasn't as filling as I hoped it would be. Later that night I finally broke into the half pound Reese's cups, and them are some darn tasty things. You have to cut them and eat them kinda like you would a pie, and I'm still working on finishing the second one. And that is how I celebrated my one year mark! The tradition is that at the year mark you burn a shirt, but I decided that I wasn't much one for traditions, so I didn't burn a shirt. That's okay though. At a year and a half I'm sure I'll have something that needs to be burned, so I'll do so then.

So, our companionship has been going fine for awhile. I haven't had to work much with Elder Fernelius because he usually goes on divisions with a member and spends the whole day away, so that's worked out well. However, there have been days when I've had to work with him, and while he is getting much less prideful, he's still got some and he still is trying to sell the Gospel. That's really what upsets me most. Gah, okay, before I just completely go off on him I'm going to say something good about him. He does like to work. Rather, he loves to work, which is a really good characteristic to have, especially as a missionary. Also, he can talk to absolutely anybody, which is another good thing. And he is capable of changing, which is best of all. Okay, and my hijo is pretty cool, and I like him for the most part. However, pride is also rearing its ugly head in my hijo, and it's a type of pride that I don't deal well with. It's the "I know more than you so I'm better" type of pride, and that's starting to get at me. I need to pray harder for more love and more patience. Patience, patience, patience. That's what I need most right now I think. And love. Enough love to correct my companions, but to do so in a way that isn't always a machete and that will actually edify them instead of just beating them into the ground. Also, I need to be humble enough to understand when I can't always get what I wa-ant (how many of you now have the song playing in your head?). Sigh. Things will all work out though. Either I'll be able to work a good influence on my companions and they'll change a little bit, or I'll wait for another 4 weeks and get new companions. All will be well, and I'll learn something in the process.

Oh, mail-wise. I did receive some more letters recently, but I still have yet to hear anything about packages. I'll probably call the secretaries today to see if there's anything. I did get the Thanksgiving letter that my siblings sent, and it made me feel all warm and happy and joyful inside. It was a wonderful card, and I'm sorry for not expressing my gratitude for it earlier. Oh, and in one of the letters that I got I received a fabulous bigote [moustache]. It shall be worn. I sent two letters out today (and Madre, I sent the form to renew my drivers license because I noticed that it expires in about a month), so be looking for those at some time. Okay, now, how many packages should I be expecting to have from Christmastime? I received one from Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Ted, one from Grandma, one from mi familia, and one from the Read family. Are there more that I should be expecting right now? I just want to have an idea of what to expect, and I'll be able to see if any have somehow been lost. Thank you to all who have sent me anything! I really do love you all (even those who don't send me anything, I love you too)!

To answer a question from the Mister Jeffrey, I don't usually cook much for dinner. I honestly don't have time to do so. If I'm hungry and walking along and see a panadería [bakery], I'll grab a few pieces of bread and something to drink. Sometimes if we get done with planning and everything early, I'll whip up something real quick (noodles, hamburgers, etc.). The problem is just time. We're allowed an hour of dinner according to the Missionary Handbook, but in this mission there isn't time. The night is when everybody is home, so those hours are precious. But don't worry, I make sure to have a nice hearty breakfast and lunch is always big, and there's a panadería on every corner, so that works out well.

So, I have an even firmer testimony that God answers prayers, though it's not always in the way that you want. I talked to President Ghent this week to find out his thoughts about that big decision that I made a while ago because apart from Elder Mendoza, all of my other leaders and companions have said that they haven't noticed me being distracted by this person, so I have been a bit confused about the decision that I made. Well, President Ghent also said that he didn't see anything wrong with me changing that decision and just having all go back to normal, and I was feeling really excited about that possibility. You see, I feel that since I made the decision I've been more distracted, so I was wondering if it was the correct decision. Anyway, I decided that I should pray again to get the go-ahead from Heavenly Father and...it's a no-go. Against all of my hopes and wishes, it's still not in Heavenly Father's plan that I should write to this person, so I must simply submit myself to his will. It's rough, I can tell you that much, but I know that it will be for the good of all involved. On a note that will seem fairly unrelated, but will be understood, the bigote does give me hope. There's a lesson to be learned, and I shall learn it, dangit!

Well, I believe that's all that I have for now. I am grateful for this opportunity which I have to serve the Lord, and I am grateful that I have this time to grow into the man whom God wishes that I be. I love all of you, and I am grateful for your support. Until next time! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

A new week begins...

Hello one and all!

Guess what?? We had a baptism this weekend! Huzzah!!!! I was so happy to finally have a baptism that was one of my investigators. I went for two changes before that happened. That is way, way too much time, but that has changed! The streak has been broken, and I don't intend on setting a longer one ever. Agustín was baptized Sunday morning, and then confirmed in church directly afterwards. It was really very nice, and I'm so glad that he made that decision.

Oh hey! We found a family that I'm really really excited about! They're Sandra and Gabriela (Gabriela is Sandra's nine-year-old daughter). Gabriela is so cool. The first lesson we had with them I felt impressed to give them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and that night Gabriela read some of it and prayed about it, and when we came back she told us that she knew the Book of Mormon is true. She said she sleeps with it, and she absolutely loves it. Also, she's always really ridiculously excited when we pass by. Her mom told us that she's been looking for something to fill the emptiness that she's felt in her life, and that she feels that the message that we share is doing the job. They both have baptismal dates for the 11th of February, and I am super super super excited about that. Huzzah! New family! Oh, and the really cool thing is that this is the first family that I've found with my new son!

My new son isn't a gringo! But he still looks like a gringo. His name is Elder Miranda and he's from Santiago, Chile. He's actually a bit older than I am, but not too much. OH! And he looks exactly like the main villan from James Bond: Casino Royal. When I first saw him I immediately liked him just because he looked like that guy, but now I like him because he's a good guy. He's a bit strange at times, but aren't we all? Also, being from Chile gives him a different accent and a different vocabulary too, so sometimes it's hard to understand him, but that's okay, because I have no shame at all in asking, "What? I didn't understand." And he doesn't seem to mind too much when he has to repeat himself, which is good. He's a really smart guy too, and he has a lot of experiences to share with the investigators. All in all I really am super excited to be training again. The only difficulty that seems to be presenting itself is that he speaks Spanish, so sometimes I forget that I still need to teach him, but then he does something and I say to myself, "Oh yes, that's right, I'm training him," and the training continues. I'm so glad to be a dad again. OH! And I'm also a grandpa too! Yep, Elder Papworth, my first son, is training this change! How crazy is that! I'm starting to feel old, but at the same time I keep seeing just how much I have to learn still.

Speaking of being old, happy birthday (again) to Elizabeth, who is now officially 16! Crazy!

Also, on the old track, I complete one year this Thursday. How amazing is that? I'm halfway through my mission. It's all downhill from here, and the time is sure to absolutely fly by. I've always heard that the second year is faster than the first, but let's put that to the test, shall we? Hey!! That means that I'll be able to see all of you in a year! WHOA. And I'll especially get to see you, you, you, you, you, you, and you (which you is whom?)! Huzzah! I am looking forward to that, but don't be deceived, because I'm not trunky at all. Nope. There's too much work to be done to be trunky.

Huzzah for mi Madre! 81 pounds have melted away, and she's doing great! That's so amazing! Incredible really. I'm hardly going to recognize her when I see her again. Good job Madre!

Also, I always knew that Robby was (literally) too smart for school. He's always been fairly brilliant, and he definitely deserves to be taught to his level of intelligence. Home school may be a rather good idea for him. I guess we'll see. ....I just read that paragraph again and it says that Robby's in third grade. I think that's a typo. It's gotta be a typo. My little brother can't be in third grade. I still remember fairly clearly third grade! Aaaaaahhh!! The weirdest thing about the mission is that the world back home doesn't stop. There could be some of you in my friend group that are all engaged and stuff! Weird.

Well, my time is running out, so I'll start signing off now. I love all of you, and I'm so grateful for all that you do for me, especially for the prayers. I definitely need the prayers, and I know that they work.

Hopefully I'll hear from more of you guys in pouch this week (last week I only got one letter, but it was almost a month old; darn the holiday season and backing up my mail!). I heard that I have packages in the offices, but I have to pay to get them out, and the package rumour may be just that, and there might be nothing. We will see though. I love you! Have a wonderful week, and always endure to the end, no matter what's happening in your life; it will all be for your good (Doctrine and Covenants 122). Until next week! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Changes and lessons to learn...

Hello there!

Well, that wasn't the most creative salutation, but I'm not in the most creative of moods right now. One could say that I'm actually feeling rather stressed right now, and of course I'll be telling you why.

So last night we got the information about the changes (of companions: turns out 6 weeks have already passed by since I was named district leader...weird), and the changes were exactly what I expected: a complete surprise that no one could have seen coming. Well, Elder Sotomayor has gone on to a new life in Esmeraldas, and I'm still here in Riobamba, but I'm back together with an old companion of mine, one who was also in my district in a different sector, and neither of us are very excited about that, though I'm doing my best and trying my darndest to be excited. I'm companions with Elder Fernelius again! And he hasn't really changed from the last time that you heard about him! I'm also sorry to say that I haven't done much to establish a good relationship. For these past weeks Elder Fenelius has felt that I don't show him any love and that I'm always macheteing him, and I do agree with him. My first experience with him in Santo Domingo left less than desireable feelings towards him in me, and I believe that that has reflected in the way that I've lead him. Anyway, he told the zone leaders that he has no respect towards me at all, and that even in the nightly check-in phone calls that he played a game to see how short he could make the call. It made me really sad when I heard that I hadn't shown him the love that he's needed, but now I have the perfect opportunity to show him that love. The only problem is...he has not changed since I first met him. So this change will be difficult for that reason. But that's not all!

I'm training again also! Yep, you heard right, I'm about to have my third son, and he'll be born into a trio this Wednesday! I'm excited about that for sure. Somehow I've been deemed responsible enough by the Lord to be in charge of starting off another one of His missionaries. And I'm still district leader. Oh, and Elder Fernelius' old sector is being absorbed by our sector, so we also have to try to take care of all of the investigators that he had and all of mine. I am going to have a very full schedule these next 6 weeks. We're all rather confused as to why this is all happening (the zone leaders had told President Ghent that they thought it would be better for Elder Fernelius and Elder Rodriguez to stay together to work out some problems that they had with obedience, but that didn't happen), but we do know one thing: the Lord's ways are not our ways, the Lord's thoughts are not our thoughts, and He works in mysterious ways. I know that the Lord has called me to this responsibility because He knows that I'm ready to take on such a responsibility, and that I will learn a ton of things from this change. I'm just going to have to really learn and apply Chapter 6 from Preach My Gospel; Christlike Attributes. But I believe very firmly in and try to live 1 Nephi 3:7, and I will go and do what the Lord commands.

And it sounds like the Schomburg children in the States will be taking on more responsibility as well. Yay for jobs! Good job Jeffrey! I'm rather excited for you as well, and I'm sure that you shall do your job with enthusiasm and Jeffrey-like pizzaz! Yay! And yay for being called to help in the leadership of Aaron's Camp! That's pretty darn amazing, and you will learn so much as you are called to lead and be stretched more. You will become so much stronger, and you will grow even closer to your God and your Saviour as you do so. I have faith in you! You can do it!

And, because I won't be online tomorrow, nor any other day until next Monday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH!!!!! The sweet 16! That's ridiculous. My little sister isn't 16. That's not allowed I don't think. Nor is it allowed that she can now date. Nope, I won't have it. But I guess I can't really stop it, and if it's her choice, and Madre, Dad, and even the Bishop think she's ready, then I guess it's her time. ....I feel old now.

So, in response to the question if I've gotten any packages or letters lately, I would be lying if I said I hadn't, because this Friday I got the Schomburg Family Christmas Card! But apart from that, nada. I'm still waiting for the several packages that I was told were on the way, but it seems as if I need to be more patient with pouch too. Entonces, I shall keep waiting and hoping.

I don't really have too terribly much more to say for this week. We have a baptism this week! That's pretty cool because he was an "eternal" investigator, or rather, an investigator that liked to listen and everything, and liked more to hang out with the missionaries, and had been visited by tons of missionaries, and appeared like he would never take that step of faith, but now he is going to get baptized this Saturday, so yay! Sometimes I wonder for how long missionaries should visit an investigator until they have to call it quits. For example, some people could receive a million lessons and never come to the decision to be baptized. Others are able to come to that decision and be baptized in two weeks. I know that there are people out there that have been prepared to listen to the Gospel and receive it and make the necessary covenants, and that we're supposed to be focusing on finding those people, but some people do just need a bit more time. So, the question is, how long is too long to contine with an investigator that doesn't come to church or fulfill some compromises before one calls it quits? I just don't know. It's something in which we need to put our will in harmony with that of the Father, and then we will receive the answer. That's how it works for everything really, so we much always be humble enough that we can recognize and fulfill the Father's will.

Well, I believe it is now time for me to go, so I shall do just that. I love you all, and I am grateful for all of your prayers on my behalf and on the behalf of all of our investigators. I hope to hear from as many as you as possible this week and in the weeks to come! Keep striving to find out what is the Father's will and to do so, and you will be blessed with eternal life when all is said and done. I love you! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Tradition...

'ello chaps!

This day finds me very well, happy, and, as always, with a message! Woo! But first, I should tell you about something that I forgot to tell you the last week! It's an Ecuadorian tradition that's kinda cool, and I know how it got started (well, I'm 96% sure I know how it got started if it's as old as Elder Sotomayor tells me it is). Okay, anyway, there's a New Year's tradition here that's called the Burning of the Old Years (I kinda made part of that up because I only know that what they burn are called año viejos (old years)). The people make or buy what are basically piñatas that represent the old year that has passed, and at midnight (well, really, anytime during that day) on the 1st of January they burn the año viejos. Elder Sotomayor said that in Guayaquil they sometimes make año viejos 9 meters tall, and whole neighborhoods gather to party around and burn the año viejo. It's kinda cool, and it's a bit symbolic too. So, where do I think this tradition came from? Well, we know that the native inhabitants of the Americas are all descendents of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites in turn have roots with the Jews (before Nephi and his brothers Lemuel and Laman split into two groups, they lived in Jerusalem and practiced Judaism[I have no idea how to spell that word]). Well, the Jews practiced burning sacrifices to atone for their sins, and on the first of the year they also burned a sacrifice. Well, we know that through many years of apostasy and false traditions, the commandments and the correct way to perform sacrifices was lost completely. All in all, I believe that we can assume with reasonable certainty that the tradition of burning año viejos dates back to the times of the Lamanites. So there.

And on to another topic: GOOOOOO BRONCOS!!

Yesterday was a bit difficult for me. We didn't have any investigators come to church again, and the one that we were able to pass by to see wasn't there. Throughout most of church I was really sad. I was irritated with my companion, I was mad at myself, and I basically felt like a failure. Also, we were three lessons and 4 contacts (people contacted in the day) short of the goals that we had set as a zone. I was feeling really down, and I had no desires to meet those goals at all. We went home for a few minutes before lunch, and I knew that I absolutely had to pray, and so I did. It was a simple prayer in which I asked for strength and for comfort, and at the end of the prayer I felt much better. Well, as the day progressed, my desires to complete our goals came back with full force, and we went crazy trying to get those lessons in (specifically they were lessons with active members, and for some reason almost none of the members were at home yesterday). By the end of the night, we had met those goals that we put; we had had 7 lessons to active members in the week and we had contacted 80 people. It was such a good feeling to be able to complete those goals. I learned that it's really not that hard to talk with people (I still have problems with just walking up to people in the street and just talking to them), and that the members need help just like everyone else. Overall it was a very spiritual experience, and we're going to be able to meet our goals again this week. Wooo!!

But surprise! That's not the theme that I actually wanted to talk about this week. Something that I've really learned this week is patience. Through the course of my mission, but more specifically in these past few weeks, I've learned that I'm not the most patient person in the world. I thought for a long time that I was patient, but I'm not really so much (an example is how badly I want my own family. Man! It's hard to be patient for that, especially when I see absurdly couply couples or babies that are just shy of being impossibly cute.). Patience really is a Christ-like attribute that we all need to develop more. Something that really caught my attention is that patience isn't just waiting for something to happen. It's also working diligently to obtain that something, all the while trusting in God and that if it's His will that sooner or later you will obtain that something. Patience requires a lot of faith in God. A lot. Patience requires a lot of humility, too. We have to be willing to accept that God has a plan for us. God has things that He wants us to do, and He will bless us according to our service to Him. Those blessings are promises backed by the most powerful Being in the universe. They are promises that will be carried out. That's what we have to have faith in. Many times we don't see the fruits of our labors for a very long time, sometimes even years. Some promises will not be fulfilled in our mortal life period, but they will be fulfilled. God's promises are eternal, not temporal. We just have to have the faith to say, "Okay Father, I'm going to do thy will, and I will do it for as long as thou asketh me to do it." Patience requires a positive outlook. We cannot be patient while at the same time pining and whining for what we want. If we truly believe that the Lord will bless us, we'll be able to go about our work with a constant smile. We'll be able to support whatever difficulties come across our way because we know that there is something better in store, and in the eternal aspect, we'll get that something very soon. I love Doctrine and Covenants 24:8 for this thought. We're going to have afflictions, and we're going to have a lot of them. BUT Christ will always be with us to help us support those afflictions if it is that we try our hardest to endure. We can be patient because Christ was and is patient. We can be patient because Christ and the Father will always be there to help us if we are willing to put in the effort. I really need to learn to be patient with myself, too. We all should. We cannot expect ourselves to be able to repent and become perfect instantly. We can't expect Christ-like attributes to come to us overnight. We need to learn to patiently endure the hardships that will come on the road to becoming like Christ. And the real kicker of it all is that to learn patience we have to wait. Patience does not come overnight, nor in the blink of an eye. It comes little by little, but when it comes we will be stronger than ever. I know that having patience will bless us greatly, and will help us to be better tools in the Master's hands.

Okay, for more news: did you know that Reese's cups come in half-pound sizes???? I didn't either until Wednesday! But now I do, thanks to the wonderful Read family! SNAP! Basically all that I have to eat in the house now is chocolate, but that's okay. Chocolate's good for you, right? Thank you so much!

Well, I now have to go. I love all of you very much, and I'm very grateful for all that all of you have done for me. Thank you to all that have written me and all that will write to me. I love you!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Happy New Year!!!

Howdies to all!!

Happy New Year!! I hope that everyone had a wonderful (and safe) New Year's Eve and Day. Also, I hope that all is going well with any New Year's resolutions that have been made. Yay for new years!

I'm writing so late today because we're getting used to the part of Riobamba that we're now living in and we couldn't find a cyber for a bit. But hey, here I am! We moved into our new apartment this morning, and it is a wonderful apartment. It has three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and it's brand new. We got it at a really good price too, so Elder Sotomayor and I are happy about it. It'll take getting used to, but that'll happen fairly quickly.

Elder Sotomayor and I are getting along just fine. The language barrier is coming down brick by brick, but it's coming down. We have some investigators right now that we were really excited for, but this Sunday nobody came to church (none of our investigators), so all of their baptismal dates fell. That really made us sad because during the week they had all been excited about coming to church, and one even said that she'd come because it's a tradition of her's to go to church the first of every year. But, nobody showed up, even though we called and tried to remind as many people as possible. It's a bit rough getting people to go to church on Sunday, but I know that if we just work a little bit harder that they'll come.

One thing that I need to work on more (and it'll sound weird that I have to work on this) is trusting in God more. I've realized that I've had the attitude of "I can do this" for a long time, but I forgot some words in that statement: "with Heavenly Father's help." Many times we live life in such a way that we don't allow God to work. We might be reading the scriptures every day, saying our prayers, and going to church, but if we don't line our will up with God's will, we cannot help Him in His work. He has a lot of work to do, and He needs as many instruments as possible to do so. We can be His instruments, but we have to step aside and let Him take control of us. I'm realizing now that if I want to see more success here, then I need to be a lot more humble and I need to be the Craftsman tool in the hands of the Master Mechanic. I can do it, with a lot of His help. Any and all prayers for our investigators or me are more than welcome.

Yay driver's licenses!! That's pretty darn cool Jeffrey. I remember that I was way excited to get my driver's license, and when I took the test I got marked off points for not looking around enough. I don't know how the evaluator could tell though, because I was wearing sunglasses. Oh well, I got it! Good luck Jeffrey! You got this!

This Sunday, apart from not having any investigators, was pretty cool. In Sacrament Meeting we hardly had any members (EVERYBODY and their brothers travel on 1 January), so I was asked to help pass the sacrament. It was a really neat experience. Usually I help save people through making a baptismal covenant, but this time I was helping save people by helping them renew that covenant. I could really feel the Spirit, and I was very grateful for that opportunity. Also, at the last minute (well, before Sacrament Meeting started, but still last minute), I was asked to give the closing talk. I talked about obedience (1. because it's what I gave a lesson on in the district meeting that week and it was still fresh in my mind and 2. because we could all be more obedient), and I think it went really well. Several people came up to me afterwards and thanked me for my talk, so I think it was pretty good for being all improvised. It really is so important for all of us to be obedient. We could say that being obedient is the only commandment which we really have. All the rest of the commandments are built on the foundation of obedience. In fact, obedience is the first law of heaven. Without obedience, we cannot be saved to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. Without obedience, we could not have even had the opportunity to return to Father's presence. Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient to the Father, and because of such He atoned for all of us and conquered physical death, giving all of us the opportunity to be free from sin and to live again and receive a judgement. Without obedience, Satan's plan would have won out over God's plan in the pre-mortal existence, and we would never have had any of the opportunities that we now enjoy. Obedience to commandments keeps us safe and keeps us free; free from the bonds of addiction, free from guilt, free from feelings of regret and sorrow, free from sadness. Obedience to the commandments and to the covenants that we have made with Father brings us salvation. As it says in Doctrine and Covenants 82:8-10, the Lord is obligated to bless us when we keep His commandments, but when we are disobedient He has no promise with us. He is obligated to save us if we follow Him and live His gospel, but is under no such obligation if we do not fulfill our part. It's a new year! Let us all strive to be more obedient to the will of the Father. Let us especially be obedient to the commandment to repent when we fall short of living all of the commandments. I testify that obedience to the commandments will bring us neverending joy, blessings in this life, and eternal life after death (Mosiah 2:41). I know that obedience is the only way to truly find happiness in this life and to live without worry or fear. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, I must now go attend to other matters, like saving the world and such. I love you all, and I am so grateful for all of you. I hope all of you enjoy your week, and that all of you who have gone or will be going back to school this week (Cougars?) have an exitoso year and accomplish all that is needed. I love you! Oh! I sent a letter package the 26th and I have two more letters to send next week, so keep yer eyes peeled! Have a wonderful time!  (Scroll down for Christmas photos)

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Merry Christmas from Riobamba 2011

Missionaries love new socks!

Oh the agony!!!

(Magazines are not included in the approved missionary library)

Cool hat!

Burping volcano!