Here in Santa Ana

Hey guys!

Hey, it's been 6 weeks since I first came here to Santa Ana. And you know how I know that? Because today was changes! No worries, I'm still here in Santa Ana, but Elder Rodriguez no longer is. I'm now with Elder Vega from Mexico. He's really young in the mission, but he became zone leader in his third change, so I assume he's a pretty good missionary. (It's about his 6th change now I believe, btw.) I'm now the senior zone leader, but that doesn't really mean much. We both do the exact same things and share all the same responsibilities, so there wasn't really a change, except that I have about twice as much experience as he does. So...yeah!

I'm glad to hear that a good Easter was had by the family back home. Easter here was a bit disappointing, to tell you the truth. The talks in Church were assigned last minute (one brother literally didn't know that he was going to be called to give a talk until they announced it), so they were a bit lacking, but that happens every now and again.

Something mi madre wrote me really had an impact on me: "Be patient with yourself and know that He will be patient with you, too." I have definitely been feeling like I haven't made Father very proud as of late, but I need to be patient with myself because Father will be patient with me as long as I'm trying my best to do what He would have me do. He knows, and so do many others, that I'm imperfect, and in truth very far from perfection. He knows that I won't reach perfection in this life, but that it will take eons to reach perfection. But He is patient with me and loves me through all of my struggles and through all of my shortcomings. He will always give me help if I'm worthy of it, and He will always be there to comfort me when I fail and fall. But I gotta keep doing my part, and hopefully my part will be good enough. I'm reminded of the words of a very intelligent fish: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"

Oh, before I forget, and thanks to my planner and past-me for reminding me, but Madre! It's perfectly fine to send me photos through email. Also, I didn't get glasses today because I have been running from the south to the north and back of Quito leaving and picking up companions, so the next week Imma get glasses, 'cause I'm tired of being blind. Grr.

Grumpy Elder

Nah.... just goofy Elder!

Surprisingly, I don't have a lot to say today. Oh wait...maybe I do. Let's see. The other night we were teaching a member/less-active/non-member family, and we watched the movie "Treasure in Heaven: The Story of John Tanner", which is a movie that will affect anyone who can feel the Spirit. Well, sadly, there are some people who are so closed and so hard-hearted that they cannot feel the Spirit that well. The spouse of the less-active daughter in the family is one of those more hard-hearted people. We watched the movie, and we asked if he had any comment at all, and he basically told us that we shouldn't even try to talk to him. Later we invited his less-active wife to attend Church, and he immediately said, "I don't think that'll be possible. We're Catholic." First, only he is Catholic, and second, I really get bugged when people make decisions for other people that are as important as their personal salvation. He just didn't even want to feel the Spirit. That made me so terribly sad. I haven't really seen anyone as hard-hearted as him, and I felt so sad that he didn't even have a desire to know anything. I just hope that at some day his heart will soften and he'll be more receptive to the Spirit.

And to those of you who don't/haven't close(ed) yourself off completely, congratulations! You have sufficient humility to learn, even if it is only a small bit. Alma, a prophet of the Americas who lived during the writing of the Book of Mormon, said:

26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than ^adesire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a ^aseed. Now, if ye give place, that a ^bseed may be planted in your ^cheart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your ^dunbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to ^eenlighten my ^funderstanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me."  Alma 32:26-28

If anyone is at least willing to try that "seed", and to nourish little by little, it will grow and will bear fruit. If you will, receive that seed, and nourish it so that you might come unto Christ.

Well, I'm almost out of time. I love all of you so very much. I'm so grateful and glad that I know you and for all of the support that you have shown me. I hope that this week is wonderful for you. Chao!

Adventure awaits!

Love,
Elder Schomburg