Gringo in da house!

Hello!!! And how good it is to say hello to you!

This day finds me wearing my handy-dandy raincoat because, well, it's raining. Also, this day finds me with a new companion! His name is Elder......Tuckett! A gringo! He's my first gringo companion in a long time (since Riobamba, but even then that didn't count much). He recently was made a zone leader, so I get to teach him all that he needs to know about being a zone leader. He seems like a pretty good guy, and I'm very excited for this change. All of the sectors in the zone had a change, so there are now 6 new missionaries in the zone. Elder Miranda is going to be training, so I'm going to be a grandpa again! Oh, and one of my "grandsons" is training, so I'm now a great-grandpa. I'm getting so old. (That reminds me: 4 months.)

This week was very nice. We had two baptisms and four confirmations! Woo! Gaya Piñán and Cristian Gamboy finally came to Church again and were able to get confirmed, and the Almache family was married, baptized, and confirmed this week. Woo! We need to find a lot more people though because we're running out of people to teach. We can do it though! With a lot of divine help, we can do anything.

We had a pretty cool spiritual experience this week. While we were teaching the Reinoso family their son came out of his bedroom. He was incredibly drunk and I didn't think that him listening to us would amount to anything at all. Anyway, he sat down next to me, listened for a bit, and then went back to his room. I thought he was leaving for good, but he just went to turn off the music. He came and sat back down next to me, and after listening for a bit more asked us for some advice. It turns out that the lesson we were teaching his parents was the Word of Wisdom, so we decided to teach him about it too. We just told him what it was in simple terms (that we shouldn't partake of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, tea, and coffee), and then I felt prompted to tell him that if he really wanted to start changing his life, then he needed to start right now by throwing out any alcohol that he still had. The son got up, went to his room, came back with his alcohol, opened the door, and chucked the bottle out. That was the first time I had ever seen that. It was wonderful. Then we had to end the lesson because we had to go to the baptismal service of the Almache family, and the whole family, including the son, decided to come down as well. While in the baptismal service, the son asked what was necessary to be baptized and said that he wants to prepare to get baptized. It was a really spiritual experience. Some might say that it was just because he was drunk, but I know that he truly wants to change his life. We're going to be passing by more frequently with them, especially to help the son lay off the alcohol and everything that's destroying his life right now. Stay tuned to see how this story ends (or begins?).

Go Jeffrey and Madre for being missionaries! Woo! Just remember Alma 32 and that perhaps you are planting those seeds. Keep on keeping on! And yay for feeding missionaries! I'm sure that they were appreciative of that. I know I definitely would be. Food is one of a missionary's best friends.

I was going to send a letter packet today, but I don't think we'll have the time to do so. Sometimes I really don't like change days because all one does is wait. And then call and hear that you have to wait more. And then after you've waited all day long you can go and spend 2 hours doing everything that you need to do. But luckily this only happens once every 6 weeks.

Oh, little culture tid-bit. Instead of having a lot of really big grocery stores here, there are little corner stores on every corner (and frequently between the corners, too). They don't sell everything that a grocery store sells, but they sell snacks, eggs, milk, vegetables, and the basic necessities for Ecuadorian life. I'm going to miss those when I get back. No longer will I be able to walk down to the corner to buy a couple of eggs for breakfast, nor to buy a soda or anything like that. If I want something, I'll have to get dressed, get in a car, go to the grocery store and buy it there, which is way too much hassle. Sigh. Oh well. I guess I'll have to get used to American life again, but not for another 4 months.

Well, I love you all very much. I hope that you've already started preparing for GENERAL CONFERENCE!! WOOOO!! (That's basically become my Super Bowl.) I know that if someone prepares to receive revelation, then they will receive it. I love you and wish you all the best. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Schomburg

Do you know the Doctrine of Christ?

Hey everybody!

How is everyone doing today? I'm doing fairly well. We went to a barbeque today and ate a lot, so that was pretty cool. We've had a pretty relaxed day, but I need more relaxing. I am so tired right now. So very tired. Hopefully this won't continue throughout the week.

Last week was kind of rough for me. I felt completely burned out. I had almost no desire to work and was kind of just going through the motions. But the worst part is that I really wanted to want to work, but it didn't work out until the very end of the week, and even then it didn't work as well as I would have wanted it to work. It was really quite frustrating. Also, my lack of wanting to work reflected in the success we had this week. We only found one family and they're not progressing. Not much happened this week, so that was fairly disappointing. I just really hope that I have a better week. I know that I'm still human and every once in a while I'll subcumb (sp??) to the weakness of being human, but man does it not feel good. Someday I'll be stronger I know. I'll just have to be patient and keep working to the best of my abilities and rely on Heavenly Father when the best of me isn't good enough.

Sorry for the recent lack of pictures, but the internet café that we've been using isn't very good at reading memory cards nor anything that has memory. I'll keep trying though, and perhaps one of these days you can see all of the photos that I've been taking.

Something that I am definitely looking forward to (in some distant, future day) is good ol' American cooking (for example, Mom's baked penne with meatballs). You guys don't even know how good you have it. It's very true that there are some Ecuadorian dishes that are delicious (my favourites are morocho with empanadas, llapingaucho/potato tortillas with caucara, and shrimp ceviche), but there just isn't anything that beats good ol' American cooking. The only problem is the following: I can't hardly eat American food anymore. Remember how way back when I used to be able to eat spaghetti by the pounds? Now a little plate completely fills me up. I could eat rice forever and ever and ever, but anything that is like what I used to be able to eat I can't eat very much of now. It's a tad frustrating, but I'm sure that with practice I'll be able to get back into the swing of things.

Congratulations Elizabeth for getting a principle part in the musical!! That's awesome! Someone has to film it so that I can watch it when I get back. I'm sure that you'll do an amazing job Elizabeth.

Jeffrey, I'm horribly, terribly, ridiculously excited for you to get your mission call. I suppose that you might wonder where I think you're going to go, and to that I have to say....Germany or Ecuador, one of the two. But we will see when we see. Maybe they'll send you to Accra, Ghana! Wooo!

Robby, you hang in there! I hope you get better soon! I hope you're having fun in school and are learning a whole bunch. Keep on keeping on buddy!

I have 30 minutes left and I don't quite know what to say...

Oh, inspiration, but let's see how much of it I can write in less than 30 minutes (still have to write to President).

Something that we've really been focusing on a lot in the mission lately is the doctrine of Christ. I want you all to take a couple of moments to think to yourself and see if you can come up with a concrete definition of what is the doctrine of Christ. Okay, who was able to do so? Well, if you weren't able to do so (or even if you were able to do so), I'd like to take a little bit of time to explain exactly what is the doctrine of Christ, and to do so, let's go to the Book of Mormon.

In 3 Nephi chapter 27, Jesus Christ explains to everyone exactly what is His doctrine and His gospel. Let's read verses 13-22, breaking it down part by part.

13 Behold I have given unto you my Gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
 14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
 15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

 Okay, let's analyze this part. What is the principal part of Christ's doctrine? That Christ was sent to fulfill the Father's will, which was to atone for our sins. Christ has paid the price for all of us and asks that we come to Him in order to accept His Atonement in our lives. Now, how is it that we can come to Him? Let's keep reading.

 16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
 17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.
 18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

These verses teach us two principles and one of the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. First mentioned here is that we must repent of all of our sins. We must abandon all evil. We must repent completely, and in order to repent completely one must enter into the baptismal covenant. By being baptized, by one who holds the priesthood of God and by immersion, one promises to keep Christ's commandments, remember Him always, and take upon him Christ's name. These scriptures promise us that if we do these things and then endure to the end, we will be "filled": filled with joy, happiness, peace, and also the Holy Ghost. Not only will we be filled, but we will be held guiltless at the last day. What a wonderful promise. Let us keep reading.

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
 20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

Just in case you hadn't figured out what exactly is the gospel of Jesus Christ, He tells us what it is in very clear terms: faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. That is the gospel and doctrine of Christ. In order to be made pure through the atoning blood of Christ, we must have faith in Him, we must repent, we must be baptized by a priesthood holder, being immersed in water for the remission of sins, we must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, just like the apostles of old taught, and we must endure to the very end. Anyone who says that they have received Christ in their lives but who hasn't done one of these things in reality has yet to receive Christ in his life, because Christ Himself has said here what it is that we must do to accept Him as our Saviour and Redeemer. It's so clear! And that's not all. To end, let's read the last two verses.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
 22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Jesus didn't set up His Church just so that we could gather and worship Heavenly Father. Jesus didn't set up His Church just because it was a good thing to do. He established His Church so that we could know exactly what His gospel is and so that we could put that gospel into practice. My fellow Latter-day Saints, we don't attend church services every Sunday just because it's a commandment. We attend church so that we can apply the doctrine and gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, in order that we might be made spotless through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. We have to live the gospel in order to receive a remission of our sins. That is why Christ established His Church. Now, what happens to those who not only attend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but also put the gospel into practice? "Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day." In a word: exaltation. But you have to live the gospel and not only attend church services. I absolutely love this part of the Scriptures and I know that the gospel can change lives if we allow it to do so.

Well, that's all that I have for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and that they can receive the strength that they need to conquer the temptations of the world. I love you all very much!

Love,
Elder Andrew Schomburg

Did you Think to Pray?

Hello all of my lovelies!!

So a cool thing happened, but I don't quite know what to do with it: we have an hour to write again! That means that you (madre) can write me more (if it is that you have more to write) and I can also write more. However, I don't quite know what it is that I'm going to be writing. I'm sure more silliness will jump in there now and probably more spiritual thoughts as well. So just a bit more of the regular.

Today we got to play soccer and volleyball, which was pretty fun. My body seems to have changed a bit because I didn't use to get sunburned at all. Well, after 19 months under dress pants, my legs have lost all ability to resist the sun and are now a nice shade of crimson. They are quite lovely indeed.

Things are going well with me. This morning I woke up feeling quite silly. I proceeded to narrate all of my morning activities out loud. I don't know if my companion heard me much, but if he did I'm sure that he thought I had finally lost it, and it's most possible that I have. Anyway, I am doing very well. Heavenly Father definitely helps me a lot in my life. When I lack diligence, He shows me people who are much much much less than diligent, which makes me want to be as diligent as I can. When I feel like it's hard to be obedient, He shows me people that are less than obedient, and I can immediately see the blessings of being obedient, so I try even harder. When I feel trunky, Heavenly Father shows me missionaries who are "dying" in the mission and have allowed themselves to die, and that makes me want to go out fighting, running through the finish line. ["Dying" as in not giving the mission their all - getting bored and/or lazy.]  Heavenly Father is a very wonderful Person, and I am so very grateful that He is my Father.

We had Stake Conference this weekend, and this time we got to see it! It was very wonderful. President Ghent and President Grover (the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple president) gave talks that were very good, but I liked most a talk by one of the stake president's counselors. He talked about the importance of prayer and helped me realize that my prayers are sometimes lacking. I say many prayers during the day, but I think they are a bit lacking. It's hard to ask for and give thanks for everything that I want/need to in a prayer because there are just so many things that I need/want/am grateful for in this life. I can do better though and I want to do better. Prayer truly is something infinitely important in life. Prayer isn't something we should do just to do it, but rather is a way to establish a personal relationship with Heavenly Father. He has commanded us to pray to Him, but that doesn't mean that we can do it without feeling anything. He wants us to tell all that is troubling us so that He can strengthen us. He wants us to ask Him what we want so that He can bless us for our righteous desires. If we just need to cry to someone, He's always there listening. There isn't one prayer that escapes Him. It's truly something amazing that we have this wonderful opportunity to communicate with God, our Heavenly Father, in any time, any place, and for however long we want to communicate with Him. I'm going to be trying to be better in my prayers now because I do have a testimony of prayer's effectiveness. I came to know that the Book of Mormon and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are true because of prayer. I have received answers to all of my biggest dilemmas through prayer. I have received comfort in trying moments because I have prayed. I know that anyone can have a very spiritual experience praying, even those who are very unfamiliar with prayer. If you're unfamiliar with how to pray, here are a couple of tips.


1) Prayer is not a memorized list of words nor anything like that. Prayer is a communication with a perfect parent, so you can feel free to say anything you want.
2) To start, you should direct yourself to whom you are speaking, in this case Heavenly Father.
3) Give thanks for...anything! If you're thankful that you have a family, tell Him that. If you're thankful that Mom made spaghetti for dinner, tell Him! He has given us everything, so you can thank Him for everything.
4) Ask for anything and everything (righteous thing) that your heart desires. If you really need to figure out what is the best path for you to take in life, ask Him that. Be sure to ask for specific things. For example, if you want to know in which subject to major and want to major in electrical engineering, ask Him if that's the major in which you should major. Specific questions or desires will bring specific answers and blessings.
5) Be sure to say your prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ", as Jesus Himself told us that we should do. At the end when all is said, say "Amen."


I know that if someone prays with a sincere heart, real intent, and with faith in Christ, even if that faith is because of someone else's faith, you will receive answers and will feel that God truly exists, that He is your Heavenly Father, and that He loves you very much. I would invite everyone to say a prayer from the heart today and have a spiritual experience.

We're still trying to get Cristian Gamboy and the Piñan family confirmed, but Cristian is only 9 and his mom has turned less than supportive (even though she didn't have any problems with him attending Church for 4 consecutive years before). The Piñan family is ready to get confirmed and now understand the importance of receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We're trying to find new people and get some people married so that they can be baptized, and all is well with them. We will find new people, and those who have baptismal dates right now will be baptized. I have faith! Now I'll go and show it by my actions.

Well, I must be off now. I love all of you very much and am very appreciative of your support. I'm sorry if I haven't shown you all how appreciative I am, but I truly am very appreciative. Thank you all for all that you do. I hope that you will do your best to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. I know that as you do, you will experience that change in your life that you've been looking for and will find true happiness, happiness that fills every part of you. I love you! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Such joy and excitement!

Hellooooo!!

My brother's going on a mission!! Wooo!! That's so very exciting! Wow! That's so cool. :D I can't wait to find out where he goes. [Jeffrey has submitted his mission papers and is awaiting his official mission call.]

Elder Schomburg 2  (Jeffrey)

One of the sweetest experiences that I've had in my mission so far happened yesterday. Diego Tigre blessed the Sacrament. That family is so amazing. I truly have never seen anyone take hold of the gospel like they've done. They don't just learn as much as they can, but they put it all into practice. They've attained a conversion so strong that it's showing in other aspects of their lives as well; they're losing weight and their house plants are flourishing. Work companions are asking why they're so happy, family members are wanting to learn more about the Church...everything is going better for them. It's so amazing what Heavenly Father and His Son have done for that family. I know with a surety the truthfulness of Alma 13:24; "For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory." That family I am positive was prepared by angels to receive us and Christ's gospel. There is no other explanation for why they allowed the Atonement to work in them in such a profound way. It's incredible. I'll definitely be coming back to Ecuador to visit them someday.

I loved the message my mom sent me about the LDS volunteers filling the sandbags and doing so much work in such a short amount of time. That's pretty incredible. Good work to all who participated! I know that through acts of service we can show that we truly are disciples of Christ and we can help spread the gospel as well. Way to go!

This week was a bit rough on us because of yesterday, when we only had one investigator attend Church and one investigator dropped us. It was a bit rough, but I'm trying to keep my faith and head high. I know that all I have to do is work as hard as I can and Heavenly Father will do the rest. But the hard part is enduring. I'll just try to live a favorite motto of President Monson: "Do your duty, that is best. Leave unto the Lord the rest." That also has to do with the other goal that I have of focusing more on right now than on after the mission (again a tip of advice from my madre). That's also hard, seeing as I only have 5 months left, but I know that I can do it. I should probably pray for help to do so, now that I think of it...and so I shall!!

Well, it's time for me to go. I love all of you very much. I know that this work is true, that this Church is true, and that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Redeemer. I know that the Atonement of Christ is infinite and eternal, and that in order to apply His atoning blood to our lives we must live His gospel. Have a wonderful week, and don't forget that I still have 5 months left! That's 5 months to receive all the pouch that you have the means to send! Haha I love you! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg