Helloooooo!!
It's hard to come up with different salutations every time, but Imma give my all!
Okay, before I forget (and I don't wanna forget because it's really important), I will be calling at 3:00 PM my time on the 24th of December. Okay, there we go. Yeeaaaaah, 5 days no más!! I may or may not be excited.
Huzzah for spreading happiness and joy and the Christmas spirit!! That's so amazing! I am so glad that you have chosen to serve others and help others in this time when people can feel way, way, way down. But just a simple act of kindness can give them the best Christmas ever. Way to go!! You guys get a whole bunch of brownie points (which are of course redeemable for brownies, but only in a year-ish)!
Also, my dad also gets all of the brownie points that weren't used for the family, because he treated my mom to an amazing time at the Broadmoor. He definitely wins, and he's definitely become an example of how a husband and father should be. "Yay dad!" (That's actually a very short quote from a movie, and if anyone can guess it, email their answers to my mom [or comment on my blog] and when I get back the winner will get...something. Exito!)
It's a bit disappointing that the missionaries may not be visiting you guys (mi familia) for Christmas, but I'm sure that they will still be well taken-care-of. Maybe next year missionaries will be able to visit you! That'd be really cool. Or maybe they can visit for New Year's (before they have to be in the house, of course, which for us is 4 o'clock [the same for Christmas Eve, and on Christmas we have to be in the house by 6 {I sure am using a bunch of parenthetical asides here}]). Either way, I'm sure they'll be able to visit you again at some time, even if it's not Christmastime.
Okay, so something I just want to put stress on: in this season, it is so incredibly important to reach out to everyone! Everybody is a child of God, and everybody is a spiritual sibling with everyone else. I know there are many people who are feeling incredibly downtrodden this year. What if you are the one (and the only one) who could make that person's Christmas marvellous? What if that person with the sad look on his face only needs a cheerful "Hello" or "Merry Christmas!" to help him remember how blessed he really is? What if passing by to have a quick visit to share a loving thought with the struggling family down the street could save a marriage? We could even say that the simple act of having a cheerful conversation with someone could save a life. Now, many might think that is far-fetched and won't happen, but I'm here to tell you that God still works miracles, and through the small things He will bring miracles to pass. What if you are somebody's miracle this Christmas? As children of God (and especially for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have made a covenant with God to reach out to others [Mosiah 18:8-10]), there is a need and a duty to love everyone more, and the need is even greater in this season. Please, everyone, do what you can, even if it's not much, to make someone's Christmas the best ever. You'll find that in turn your Christmas will turn out to be one of the best. Everyone should read the December issue of the Ensign, because it is amazing.
Well, I don't have a lot more for this week...wait a second, yes I do! One of the "perks" of being a district leader and having hermana [sister] missionaries in the district is that you get a higher chance of being able to baptize their investigators (seeing as when you do the baptismal interview you have to ask who they want to baptize them). I have now interviewed three people (all were investigators of the hermanas), and I have also baptized all of the people that I have interviewed. That's a bit strange I think, but I was very honored to be able to perform such a vital ordinance for three more children of God. It was a very good experience, and the Spirit was definitely evident in the room.
Okay, now I don't actually have anything else to say apart from my closing remarks. I love you all! You are all so wonderful, and I am thankful for having been able to get to know all of you and share a part in all of your lives (even if it was something small or it's only from reading this blog). I hope you all have the absolute best Christmas of all time, and that you can feel God's love for you more than ever. I love you, and I'll talk to you in one week's time!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
It's the holiday season!
Hello to all!
I just got done with a game of Monopoly in which I lost fairly quickly. It turns out that Missionary Monopoly is a lot faster than any other Monopoly that I've played, and I believe because of that I lost so quickly. Or maybe I'm just not very good. One of the two.
So, life has been fairly good for me lately. Busy, but good. Being a district leader is definitely a lot of responsibility, but it brings a lot of blessings as well. My first baptismal interview went rather well I thought. She had to have a brief interview with the President in addition to mine, but she is good to go for baptism...just as soon as she decides that she wants to do it this year and not after the 6th of January. The interview was very good though. It took a bit, but I was trying to be thorough. It was a very spiritual experience for me though, mainly because I had almost no idea what to do and had to completely rely on the Spirit to guide me. I was way nervous going into the interview, but I came out of it full of confidence. I just had to trust in the Lord and He guided me through the whole thing. I have two more to do tomorrow, but they should be easier because they're a lot younger (15 and 11). Also, there are a ton of things you have to keep in order and a ton of things that end up bugging you (such as when your missionaries don't call at night or when they're 45 minutes late to a zone conference). Also, one of the missionaries in my district used to be my companion; I wonder if you recall Elder Ferneluis? Well, I'm also learning patience and how to be more loving. But all is well, and so far there haven't been any problems.
Elder Sotomayor and I are getting along well. It's a bit difficult to form a really close relationship with him because he has an accent that is extremely difficult for me to understand and so I can't understand him a lot, but I'm doing my best. There is certainly something more to learn from this. We're trying to find investigators, and I'm sure that as we keep trying we'll find the chosen ones. I sure hope so.
I really wish that I could watch the Schomburg Family Trio belting it out on youtube, but I can't. Oh well, I shall see it someday. I'm very glad that the ward Christmas party was a good one and successful. That is always a wonderful thing.
Yay Christmas preparations!! That's so exciting! I'm also very excited for Christmas this year, and I think it's because I'm focusing more on the reason for the season. I was writing some Christmas letters today and in them I of course shared some testimony about the Saviour Jesus Christ. It is so wonderful to be celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Redeemer, and the Son of God. He saved us! He redeemed us! He created all that we see! He was born! That's so amazing! I am incredibly grateful for all that He has done for me, and I will never be able to express my gratitude towards Him. He has done so much for me...He has given me the life that I have now and everything that is in it. I love Him so much, and I plan on doing my absolute best here and throughout life to show Him that love.
Okay, to answer the question about the Christmas phone call: I'll write and say for sure what I'll be doing next Monday, but right now it looks like I'll be calling Saturday the 24th instead of the 25th (the 25th being Sunday and all). That's my plan for right this second, but I will finalize it with the time and everything next Monday in my email. And if I do end up calling on Sunday, I'll let you all know. It can only be 40 minutes, just so you know, and I can only talk to family. I'd love to talk to all of you, but that would be against the rules, and I like to be obedient. I love you all though! President Ghent has approved the use of Skype for talking with families, but I kinda thought that maybe I wouldn't go that route. I don't want to get too trunky after the call. Also, attending church on Christmas is absolutely crucial! Well, only if you plan on remembering the Saviour on the day celebrating His birth. I know that it will be a meeting unlike any other. After all, how many times does Christmas fall on the holiest day of the week? Not many, so make the most of it by being obedient and going to church! It will be amazing: trust me on it.
Yay for helping out the needy! Yay for service! Yay for magnifying the Christmas spirit! Even just preparing to do so, as my family is doing, is getting them all excited. Just think of how happy you'll be once you're actually able to bring to pass your plans! I'm so happy and proud of you all. Keep on building that Christmas spirit and you will be blessed like crazy.
So the apartment that we currently live in is rather small and in need of some renovation, and the Geldmachers (the mission...money people persons [their calling is actually very fitting: in German, Geldmacher means money maker]) asked us to find a new apartment, so we'll be doing so hopefully shortly. We have an appointment at 5:30 with a person who just recently put some apartments on the market, so we'll see how that goes.
The membership here is mas ó menos [more or less]. They recently got a new branch presidency and attendance fluctuates between 50 and 100. The members are all really good and there are quite a few young men that can accompany us...now to just get them motivated to do so! I like the branch a lot though. I'm definitely happy to be here in Riobamba.
I got a package the other day! It was so good to get pouch! Pouch seems to have slowed down quite a bit in the past months, so anything I get now is absolutely relished. And thank you to my most beloved photographer [Jen Duval at duvaldigital.com - she's the best] for sending me such a wonderful package! When I told the missionaries here who the package was from, they all just kinda looked at me weird. I guess missionaries don't receive packages from their family photographers very often. I am appreciative of whatever anyone wants to send my way. And I'd love to send more pictures to all of you (speaking of photography and such), but my camera is very much out of service, so unless I find a way to get a new camera, the pictures will be few and far between. [Elder Schomburg will be getting anew camera for Christmas.] I love you all!
Well, I guess that's about all that I have for today. Nothing really spiritually uplifting I know, but sometimes you just need to take time to respond to stuff that's happening. I hope everyone is doing splendiforically today and continue to do so throughout the rest of the year ('cause it's almost over!). I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
I just got done with a game of Monopoly in which I lost fairly quickly. It turns out that Missionary Monopoly is a lot faster than any other Monopoly that I've played, and I believe because of that I lost so quickly. Or maybe I'm just not very good. One of the two.
So, life has been fairly good for me lately. Busy, but good. Being a district leader is definitely a lot of responsibility, but it brings a lot of blessings as well. My first baptismal interview went rather well I thought. She had to have a brief interview with the President in addition to mine, but she is good to go for baptism...just as soon as she decides that she wants to do it this year and not after the 6th of January. The interview was very good though. It took a bit, but I was trying to be thorough. It was a very spiritual experience for me though, mainly because I had almost no idea what to do and had to completely rely on the Spirit to guide me. I was way nervous going into the interview, but I came out of it full of confidence. I just had to trust in the Lord and He guided me through the whole thing. I have two more to do tomorrow, but they should be easier because they're a lot younger (15 and 11). Also, there are a ton of things you have to keep in order and a ton of things that end up bugging you (such as when your missionaries don't call at night or when they're 45 minutes late to a zone conference). Also, one of the missionaries in my district used to be my companion; I wonder if you recall Elder Ferneluis? Well, I'm also learning patience and how to be more loving. But all is well, and so far there haven't been any problems.
Elder Sotomayor and I are getting along well. It's a bit difficult to form a really close relationship with him because he has an accent that is extremely difficult for me to understand and so I can't understand him a lot, but I'm doing my best. There is certainly something more to learn from this. We're trying to find investigators, and I'm sure that as we keep trying we'll find the chosen ones. I sure hope so.
I really wish that I could watch the Schomburg Family Trio belting it out on youtube, but I can't. Oh well, I shall see it someday. I'm very glad that the ward Christmas party was a good one and successful. That is always a wonderful thing.
Yay Christmas preparations!! That's so exciting! I'm also very excited for Christmas this year, and I think it's because I'm focusing more on the reason for the season. I was writing some Christmas letters today and in them I of course shared some testimony about the Saviour Jesus Christ. It is so wonderful to be celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Redeemer, and the Son of God. He saved us! He redeemed us! He created all that we see! He was born! That's so amazing! I am incredibly grateful for all that He has done for me, and I will never be able to express my gratitude towards Him. He has done so much for me...He has given me the life that I have now and everything that is in it. I love Him so much, and I plan on doing my absolute best here and throughout life to show Him that love.
Okay, to answer the question about the Christmas phone call: I'll write and say for sure what I'll be doing next Monday, but right now it looks like I'll be calling Saturday the 24th instead of the 25th (the 25th being Sunday and all). That's my plan for right this second, but I will finalize it with the time and everything next Monday in my email. And if I do end up calling on Sunday, I'll let you all know. It can only be 40 minutes, just so you know, and I can only talk to family. I'd love to talk to all of you, but that would be against the rules, and I like to be obedient. I love you all though! President Ghent has approved the use of Skype for talking with families, but I kinda thought that maybe I wouldn't go that route. I don't want to get too trunky after the call. Also, attending church on Christmas is absolutely crucial! Well, only if you plan on remembering the Saviour on the day celebrating His birth. I know that it will be a meeting unlike any other. After all, how many times does Christmas fall on the holiest day of the week? Not many, so make the most of it by being obedient and going to church! It will be amazing: trust me on it.
Yay for helping out the needy! Yay for service! Yay for magnifying the Christmas spirit! Even just preparing to do so, as my family is doing, is getting them all excited. Just think of how happy you'll be once you're actually able to bring to pass your plans! I'm so happy and proud of you all. Keep on building that Christmas spirit and you will be blessed like crazy.
So the apartment that we currently live in is rather small and in need of some renovation, and the Geldmachers (the mission...money people persons [their calling is actually very fitting: in German, Geldmacher means money maker]) asked us to find a new apartment, so we'll be doing so hopefully shortly. We have an appointment at 5:30 with a person who just recently put some apartments on the market, so we'll see how that goes.
The membership here is mas ó menos [more or less]. They recently got a new branch presidency and attendance fluctuates between 50 and 100. The members are all really good and there are quite a few young men that can accompany us...now to just get them motivated to do so! I like the branch a lot though. I'm definitely happy to be here in Riobamba.
I got a package the other day! It was so good to get pouch! Pouch seems to have slowed down quite a bit in the past months, so anything I get now is absolutely relished. And thank you to my most beloved photographer [Jen Duval at duvaldigital.com - she's the best] for sending me such a wonderful package! When I told the missionaries here who the package was from, they all just kinda looked at me weird. I guess missionaries don't receive packages from their family photographers very often. I am appreciative of whatever anyone wants to send my way. And I'd love to send more pictures to all of you (speaking of photography and such), but my camera is very much out of service, so unless I find a way to get a new camera, the pictures will be few and far between. [Elder Schomburg will be getting anew camera for Christmas.] I love you all!
Well, I guess that's about all that I have for today. Nothing really spiritually uplifting I know, but sometimes you just need to take time to respond to stuff that's happening. I hope everyone is doing splendiforically today and continue to do so throughout the rest of the year ('cause it's almost over!). I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Welcome to Riobamba!
Well hello there everyone!
So I understand that it's snowing in Monument today...it's not snowing here, so I'm jealous of you from Monument. But that's okay, because it's currently not raining in Riobamba, which is nice because it has rained every single day since I got here. But thus is winter in Ecuador. Oh, more weather related news! On Saturday we were walking to a service project (I was with Elder Rodriguez at the time), and I noticed that something was falling from the sky. I pointed it out to Elder Rodriguez, and he told me that it was ash. Ash? But from what? Why, from the volcanoes of course! Yep, there is a volcano rather nearby that is rather active and has been for 12 years now. My first night here it erupted (it was mild, as in there was just a bit of lava coming down the sides, no explosions or anything), and then it spouted ash Saturday. Welcome to Riobamba! Also, ash doesn't feel so good when it gets in your eyes, but thus is life.
So, remember how last week I said I was trying to do away with striving to become a leader instead of striving to be a representative of Christ (or something like that)? Well, today was the real day for cambios (changes [last week I was changed a week early]), and I was made district leader. I'm still in quite a bit of shock actually. Elder Sotomayor called our former district leader this morning to find out the cambios, and when he told me that I was the new district leader my insides did a few flips, sunk out of my shoes and then leaped back up, and they're still doing acrobatics actually, though they've calmed down considerably. But wow. Also, the responsibility of a district leader is a lot more than even being a trainer. I'm now in charge of 8 missionaries (myself included). I get to teach them in the weekly district meeting, I get to do baptismal interviews for their investigators (my first one is Wednesday), I get to go to more leader's meetings, I have to plan what the district will be doing throughout the week, I am the one that's called at night now (the missionaries have to call and give a report of their day and stuff), and I have to pass on that information to the zone leaders...I'm now responsible for all kinds of things. Believe me, there will be much praying to be had.
Anyway, to other things! I saw the Christmas Devotional last night by the First Presidency, and it was amazing. Seeing Salt Lake and all of the Christmas lights may have made me miss home a little bit, and hearing it in Spanish wasn't as good as hearing it in English would have been, but I did receive a little bit of revelation, which was pretty cool. While President Uchtdorf was talking, a thought came to my mind: "How can I make Christmas more spiritual than materialistic?" I was kinda thinking of the future (as in with my own family) when I thought of that, but I decided that there's no need to wait till later to start having more spiritual Christmases. A little bit later during the devotional, I got my answer from President Monson. I decided that the best way to make Christmas more spiritual and more focused on the actual reason for celebrating the day than materialistic is to serve others. Service is a principle that Christ always taught. He was always serving others, and He completed the biggest service project of all when He took upon Himself our sins and died for us. If we can all do more service this year in the days leading up to Christmas, then we will all have the most wonderful Christmas of our lives, I'm convinced of it. But there's a catch; we can't serve just to say that we've served someone else, or else the good feelings won't accompany the service. Rather, we need to serve because we want to serve. And why should we want to serve others? What have they ever done for us? Well, that second part doesn't matter really. We should want to serve others because we are all brothers and sisters. We should love everyone and want the best for them. Just think of the happiness that you want this Christmas. What if you did your best to bring that happiness to someone else? How incredibly grateful would that person be? Now, I want you to think back to any moment in which you served someone selflessly, even if it was a very small service. How did you feel? You probably felt pretty good, especially if the person at least said "thank you." Now think if you tried your best to make someone feel happy. How happy would you feel to see the look of gratefulness and joy on the face of the person that you're helping? I know that if we can all put aside our own self interests and help others as much as possible, our joy will become complete. We will have a Christmas that is unforgettable. I challenge all of you to go out and serve others. Serve from now until Christmas, and see what kind of a Christmas you have. It's nigh on impossible to have a bad Christmas if we're trying our hardest and our best to love as much as possible. Your attitude during the service will determine how happy you are, so remember to always keep a good attitude about things. Also, write to me about your service experiences! I want to hear how you feel and what you do and how the other people end up feeling! I'm sure that this experience will be incredible for all that have the courage to test it out.
[These are the Christmas lights on Temple Square in Salt Lake City that Elder Schomburg referred to - it's absolutely gorgeous!]
So, there are two more events that I'd like to share. First has to do with the Devil trying to bring me down. So, we were walking to lunch on Friday when I saw some graffiti. Graffiti is not unusual at all, and it seems that most of the graffiti is of people declaring their love for someone else (nothing says "I love you" quite like graffiti). Anyway, I saw this graffiti, and it said "Mishell y Andrés" in a big ol' heart. Now, if you were in an English-speaking country, that graffiti would have said "Michelle and Andrew", and would have still been in a big ol' heart. I just found it rather amusing that Satan is trying hard enough to distract me from my mission that he's now resorted to graffiti. I just kinda laughed and kept walking. Now, the second story is not about graffiti, but rather is about fireworks. So, Saturday night we had just finished our prayers and heard some fireworks go off. Fireworks aren't unusual; every night someone lights of a firework somewhere. However, this night was special because someone had bought a whole bunch of fireworks and gave us a rather nice show. When I say fireworks I'm not talking about firecrackers and smoke bombs and sparklers and whatnot, I'm talking about ones that you actually shoot up into the air and ooh and awww over. Anyway, we had a nice 10 minute show of fireworks that night. Welcome to Ecuador!
Well, I think that's about all that I have for today. I love you all very much, and I am very grateful for all that you do for me. Thank you for your prayers of support, and thank you for remembering me. Have a lovely week! I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
So I understand that it's snowing in Monument today...it's not snowing here, so I'm jealous of you from Monument. But that's okay, because it's currently not raining in Riobamba, which is nice because it has rained every single day since I got here. But thus is winter in Ecuador. Oh, more weather related news! On Saturday we were walking to a service project (I was with Elder Rodriguez at the time), and I noticed that something was falling from the sky. I pointed it out to Elder Rodriguez, and he told me that it was ash. Ash? But from what? Why, from the volcanoes of course! Yep, there is a volcano rather nearby that is rather active and has been for 12 years now. My first night here it erupted (it was mild, as in there was just a bit of lava coming down the sides, no explosions or anything), and then it spouted ash Saturday. Welcome to Riobamba! Also, ash doesn't feel so good when it gets in your eyes, but thus is life.
So, remember how last week I said I was trying to do away with striving to become a leader instead of striving to be a representative of Christ (or something like that)? Well, today was the real day for cambios (changes [last week I was changed a week early]), and I was made district leader. I'm still in quite a bit of shock actually. Elder Sotomayor called our former district leader this morning to find out the cambios, and when he told me that I was the new district leader my insides did a few flips, sunk out of my shoes and then leaped back up, and they're still doing acrobatics actually, though they've calmed down considerably. But wow. Also, the responsibility of a district leader is a lot more than even being a trainer. I'm now in charge of 8 missionaries (myself included). I get to teach them in the weekly district meeting, I get to do baptismal interviews for their investigators (my first one is Wednesday), I get to go to more leader's meetings, I have to plan what the district will be doing throughout the week, I am the one that's called at night now (the missionaries have to call and give a report of their day and stuff), and I have to pass on that information to the zone leaders...I'm now responsible for all kinds of things. Believe me, there will be much praying to be had.
Anyway, to other things! I saw the Christmas Devotional last night by the First Presidency, and it was amazing. Seeing Salt Lake and all of the Christmas lights may have made me miss home a little bit, and hearing it in Spanish wasn't as good as hearing it in English would have been, but I did receive a little bit of revelation, which was pretty cool. While President Uchtdorf was talking, a thought came to my mind: "How can I make Christmas more spiritual than materialistic?" I was kinda thinking of the future (as in with my own family) when I thought of that, but I decided that there's no need to wait till later to start having more spiritual Christmases. A little bit later during the devotional, I got my answer from President Monson. I decided that the best way to make Christmas more spiritual and more focused on the actual reason for celebrating the day than materialistic is to serve others. Service is a principle that Christ always taught. He was always serving others, and He completed the biggest service project of all when He took upon Himself our sins and died for us. If we can all do more service this year in the days leading up to Christmas, then we will all have the most wonderful Christmas of our lives, I'm convinced of it. But there's a catch; we can't serve just to say that we've served someone else, or else the good feelings won't accompany the service. Rather, we need to serve because we want to serve. And why should we want to serve others? What have they ever done for us? Well, that second part doesn't matter really. We should want to serve others because we are all brothers and sisters. We should love everyone and want the best for them. Just think of the happiness that you want this Christmas. What if you did your best to bring that happiness to someone else? How incredibly grateful would that person be? Now, I want you to think back to any moment in which you served someone selflessly, even if it was a very small service. How did you feel? You probably felt pretty good, especially if the person at least said "thank you." Now think if you tried your best to make someone feel happy. How happy would you feel to see the look of gratefulness and joy on the face of the person that you're helping? I know that if we can all put aside our own self interests and help others as much as possible, our joy will become complete. We will have a Christmas that is unforgettable. I challenge all of you to go out and serve others. Serve from now until Christmas, and see what kind of a Christmas you have. It's nigh on impossible to have a bad Christmas if we're trying our hardest and our best to love as much as possible. Your attitude during the service will determine how happy you are, so remember to always keep a good attitude about things. Also, write to me about your service experiences! I want to hear how you feel and what you do and how the other people end up feeling! I'm sure that this experience will be incredible for all that have the courage to test it out.
So, there are two more events that I'd like to share. First has to do with the Devil trying to bring me down. So, we were walking to lunch on Friday when I saw some graffiti. Graffiti is not unusual at all, and it seems that most of the graffiti is of people declaring their love for someone else (nothing says "I love you" quite like graffiti). Anyway, I saw this graffiti, and it said "Mishell y Andrés" in a big ol' heart. Now, if you were in an English-speaking country, that graffiti would have said "Michelle and Andrew", and would have still been in a big ol' heart. I just found it rather amusing that Satan is trying hard enough to distract me from my mission that he's now resorted to graffiti. I just kinda laughed and kept walking. Now, the second story is not about graffiti, but rather is about fireworks. So, Saturday night we had just finished our prayers and heard some fireworks go off. Fireworks aren't unusual; every night someone lights of a firework somewhere. However, this night was special because someone had bought a whole bunch of fireworks and gave us a rather nice show. When I say fireworks I'm not talking about firecrackers and smoke bombs and sparklers and whatnot, I'm talking about ones that you actually shoot up into the air and ooh and awww over. Anyway, we had a nice 10 minute show of fireworks that night. Welcome to Ecuador!
Well, I think that's about all that I have for today. I love you all very much, and I am very grateful for all that you do for me. Thank you for your prayers of support, and thank you for remembering me. Have a lovely week! I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Monday, November 28, 2011
Riobamba!
Hello there to all of you!
So, how does this day find me? Well, it doesn't find me in Quito, that's for sure. I am in my new home now, the wonderful city of Riobamba! I'm now in the zone farthest south in the Ecuador Quito mission, and I'm thinking it's going to be a good change. I'm excited to be here, though the weather is less than desirable (chilly and drizzly), but thus is winter in the Ecuadorian sierra. My new companion is Elder Sotomayor, and it turns out that he actually has a brother in the mission who is about to go home. When I heard that I was getting changed and would be companions with Elder Sotomayor I was a confused because I'm still senior companion, but when an elder who is about to go home is put as junior companion, it's usually because he needs to be refocused, and Elder Sotomayor (the older) is a really good missionary, so that confused me. But I'm actually with his little brother, who only has 5 months as a missionary. He's from Guayaquil, and he talks like it. It's gonna be a bit difficult for me to get back into the hang of having a Latino companion, but it'll be very good. I'm no longer training, I'm just senior companion, but it will be good for me. I think I had been a bit too focused on trying to become a leader (district or zone) and let that get in the way, and then when that didn't happen, things just started going badly for me, but like I said last week, I've recognized the need to repent of my ways, and I am doing so now. Yay!
I heard that I had a package waiting for me last night, but then I got changed, so it's going to be awhile before I get any pouch I'm thinking. I used to be able to go straight to the offices to pick up anything, but now I'm a good 4-5 hours away from the offices, so that's a little less than practical. I am glad that my contacts were found though! Too bad they're in Guayaquil...I'm rather confused as to how they got there, but that's fine. I can see well enough right now to get by, and my vision may be improving slightly (my eyes get a workout now). And thank you all for sending packages! I don't know what they contain yet, but thank you for sending them! You all are amazing, and I love you!
Like my mother said in her email to me, I did indeed have something on my mind to share, but I forgot what it was...darn. Hmmm...well, yesterday I got to give another talk in church! It was interesting because I went up to tell the first counselor about an announcement that we had to make, and then he asked me if I could give a talk that day because the sister who was going to give the talk didn't come to church that day. Well, I was a bit surprised, but I accepted and ended up giving a fairly decent talk (I hope) on the Atonement. Every time I...that's what I was going to share! It's not about the Atonement, but I'll share it too, right after I finish this sentence. Anyway, every time that I study the Atonement I am more and more grateful for what my Saviour decided to do for me. He accepted the call to perform the Atonement even before the world was created, and then he decided to follow through with His decision here on earth. He didn't have to perform the Atonement; he has his free will, and he could have chosen to not atone for us. Instead, he continued with what his Father had asked him to do, and through his perfect obedience he has provided all of us with the opportunity to be saved in the celestial kingdom. This sacrifice is not free for us though. He requires that we work hard all of our life, that we too suffer for him, and that we live his Gospel in every moment of our lives. If we don't accept to do so, we reject his atoning sacrifice for us and do not receive the opportunity to receive an inheritance in the celestial kingdom. We do not get to live with God again if we do not live Christ's Gospel. It's just that simple. I know that Christ really did atone for all of our sins, and that through him, and only him, we have the opportunity to receive all that the Father has.
Now, for what I was going to share. I've realized something that has happened recently with me. Every time that I even see the name Jesus Christ my heart gives a little leap of joy. I am so grateful for him and I am so in awe by what he has done. I really have grown so much closer to him in these 10 months, and I know that if I serve him even more and with a more willing heart that I will grow even closer to him and will receive even more blessings from him. It's an amazing thing, and I wish that everyone could feel as I do. I know that everyone can, but you have to make some sacrifices and be willing to put in 100%, not 95%. The path that Christ expects us to walk is not easy. It wasn't easy for him, so how could we ever expect the path to be easy? It's not easy, but if you're willing to receive the celestial kingdom and all that the Father has, you must also be willing to do whatever that takes. It is well worth it though, no matter what it costs in this life. I testify that the blessings of the celestial kingdom, the highest of all the kingdoms and the kingdom of God, are real and are available to all of us if we but choose to receive them and then act on that decision.
(For Jeffrey: Exodus 20:12, Moses 6:54, and 2 Nephi 2:27; you are free to make your own choices and to decide who you want to be.)
Well, I have to write to the president now, so I'll be going. I love you all and I'm very grateful for all that you have given me. Have a wonderful week! ¡Chao!
[Elder Schomburg has asked that I put a link to this talk on his blog... I hope you will take the time to read and ponder it. Gifts by President Thomas S. Monson - such a wonderful reminder at this time of year.]
Love,
Elder Schomburg
So, how does this day find me? Well, it doesn't find me in Quito, that's for sure. I am in my new home now, the wonderful city of Riobamba! I'm now in the zone farthest south in the Ecuador Quito mission, and I'm thinking it's going to be a good change. I'm excited to be here, though the weather is less than desirable (chilly and drizzly), but thus is winter in the Ecuadorian sierra. My new companion is Elder Sotomayor, and it turns out that he actually has a brother in the mission who is about to go home. When I heard that I was getting changed and would be companions with Elder Sotomayor I was a confused because I'm still senior companion, but when an elder who is about to go home is put as junior companion, it's usually because he needs to be refocused, and Elder Sotomayor (the older) is a really good missionary, so that confused me. But I'm actually with his little brother, who only has 5 months as a missionary. He's from Guayaquil, and he talks like it. It's gonna be a bit difficult for me to get back into the hang of having a Latino companion, but it'll be very good. I'm no longer training, I'm just senior companion, but it will be good for me. I think I had been a bit too focused on trying to become a leader (district or zone) and let that get in the way, and then when that didn't happen, things just started going badly for me, but like I said last week, I've recognized the need to repent of my ways, and I am doing so now. Yay!
I heard that I had a package waiting for me last night, but then I got changed, so it's going to be awhile before I get any pouch I'm thinking. I used to be able to go straight to the offices to pick up anything, but now I'm a good 4-5 hours away from the offices, so that's a little less than practical. I am glad that my contacts were found though! Too bad they're in Guayaquil...I'm rather confused as to how they got there, but that's fine. I can see well enough right now to get by, and my vision may be improving slightly (my eyes get a workout now). And thank you all for sending packages! I don't know what they contain yet, but thank you for sending them! You all are amazing, and I love you!
Like my mother said in her email to me, I did indeed have something on my mind to share, but I forgot what it was...darn. Hmmm...well, yesterday I got to give another talk in church! It was interesting because I went up to tell the first counselor about an announcement that we had to make, and then he asked me if I could give a talk that day because the sister who was going to give the talk didn't come to church that day. Well, I was a bit surprised, but I accepted and ended up giving a fairly decent talk (I hope) on the Atonement. Every time I...that's what I was going to share! It's not about the Atonement, but I'll share it too, right after I finish this sentence. Anyway, every time that I study the Atonement I am more and more grateful for what my Saviour decided to do for me. He accepted the call to perform the Atonement even before the world was created, and then he decided to follow through with His decision here on earth. He didn't have to perform the Atonement; he has his free will, and he could have chosen to not atone for us. Instead, he continued with what his Father had asked him to do, and through his perfect obedience he has provided all of us with the opportunity to be saved in the celestial kingdom. This sacrifice is not free for us though. He requires that we work hard all of our life, that we too suffer for him, and that we live his Gospel in every moment of our lives. If we don't accept to do so, we reject his atoning sacrifice for us and do not receive the opportunity to receive an inheritance in the celestial kingdom. We do not get to live with God again if we do not live Christ's Gospel. It's just that simple. I know that Christ really did atone for all of our sins, and that through him, and only him, we have the opportunity to receive all that the Father has.
Now, for what I was going to share. I've realized something that has happened recently with me. Every time that I even see the name Jesus Christ my heart gives a little leap of joy. I am so grateful for him and I am so in awe by what he has done. I really have grown so much closer to him in these 10 months, and I know that if I serve him even more and with a more willing heart that I will grow even closer to him and will receive even more blessings from him. It's an amazing thing, and I wish that everyone could feel as I do. I know that everyone can, but you have to make some sacrifices and be willing to put in 100%, not 95%. The path that Christ expects us to walk is not easy. It wasn't easy for him, so how could we ever expect the path to be easy? It's not easy, but if you're willing to receive the celestial kingdom and all that the Father has, you must also be willing to do whatever that takes. It is well worth it though, no matter what it costs in this life. I testify that the blessings of the celestial kingdom, the highest of all the kingdoms and the kingdom of God, are real and are available to all of us if we but choose to receive them and then act on that decision.
(For Jeffrey: Exodus 20:12, Moses 6:54, and 2 Nephi 2:27; you are free to make your own choices and to decide who you want to be.)
Well, I have to write to the president now, so I'll be going. I love you all and I'm very grateful for all that you have given me. Have a wonderful week! ¡Chao!
[Elder Schomburg has asked that I put a link to this talk on his blog... I hope you will take the time to read and ponder it. Gifts by President Thomas S. Monson - such a wonderful reminder at this time of year.]
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Endure to the End
Hello to all y'all!
This day has been very good so far, and I am doing very, very well right now. Today started off pretty well and has just been a really good day. We started off by studying (like good missionaries!) and then we went to the office, and I was surprised to find that I had a package for me! My package from Grandma arrived, and though I haven't opened it, the green sticker made me rather excited to open it. (I haven't really recieved anything else from anybody else for a couple of weeks now, but when I do I'll let you know.) However, right now I have no interest in eating anything at all, and that's because right after we went to the offices we went to a restaurant called the Toronto Buffet. It's an all you can eat buffet here, and as the name implies it is Canadian based. Now, you all might be wondering what on earth is a Canadian-based buffet, and I would love to tell you, but...I'm still not sure. It was a buffet just like any other buffet you would find in the States. A little smaller (i.e. not as big of a variety of food), but basically the same. It was good though. I definitely got my money's worth, and that's because I prepared for this. Yep, I ate a big dinner last night, and then this morning my breakfast was three pieces of toast and 1.5 litres of juice. And all of my preparation worked, because I ate a lot. I probably won't eat until Thursday, when we'll have another very large feast. Some of the members from the stake invited all of the missionaries in the zone Calderón to visit their house on Thursday for a Thanksgiving feast, and they've asked that we don't eat anything that day, so you know it's going to be a good dinner. I'm rather looking forward to it.
I'm very glad to hear that everything is going well with the Schomburg family and the branches thereof. Congratulations Elizabeth on the musical and your solo in Young Women's! I'm sure that you did a fantastic job, and I'll make sure to catch all of your shows when I get back.
I'm also glad to hear that Sacrament Meeting was very good this week. I'm very glad to hear that Grandma enjoyed herself, and Grandma, don't worry, I know the Book of Mormon comes in larger print, and I know that Madre is right on top of that. Also, part of what Brother Carlson shared reminded me of a talk that I just read by Elder Wirthlin. It was his last talk in General Conference before he died, and it's entitled "Come What May and Love It", and it's a wonderful talk. I would recommend it to everyone (http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/come-what-may-and-love-it?lang=eng&query=come+may+love <-- What is that, a link to that very talk? How fortunate!). [Not seeing his own blog while in the mission field, Elder Schomburg has no idea that Madre is always including links to talks and information for his readers, so he thinks he really hit on something special here. :) haha]
Well, now that all the fun stuff is out of the way, I'll talk about my week a little bit. Work-wise this was the worst week that I have had in all of my mission. We only taught two lessons this week to investigators. A lot of that was due to meetings, a lot was due to illness, and a lot was also due to our investigators not showing up to their appointments. Needless to say, I am slightly ashamed of the week that we had. I know I need to work harder now, and I will do so. That's part of why I'm happy today though. I have realized that I need to repent, and I am excited for that. We can do so well this week, and through diligent work the Lord will bless us. The trick is that we have to work absolutely as hard as is possible. It doesn't matter if we have to stay out till 9:30 PM every night and risk all of the robbers in Comité, we will have more lessons this week, we will help God's children progress towards eternal life, and we will magnify our callings. It will be ridiculously hard and will require me to change some things in my life (one of which is definitely going to be difficult), but it's necessary and it's more than possible. We will do it.
Oh, yesterday was pretty good though. I had been really sick on Saturday, so much so that after our mini zone conference I had to go back to the house for the rest of the day to rest, but Sunday I woke up feeling much better, which was very good because I was supposed to give a talk that day. I don't know why, but I think giving talks makes anyone nervous, because I felt a bit nervous before I stood up there. My talk this Sunday was about enduring to the end. I was only given seven minutes, but I think it was a fairly good talk. Enduring to the end is such a crucial step in our lives. Sure, there a many things that we need to do before we get to the "enduring to the end" part, but once we have performed all of the necessary ordinances, there's even more to do. Enduring isn't something that's passive. Enduring doesn't mean just not doing bad things for all of your life. It means being an active part in the salvation of everyone that you meet (yes, even you are a missionary!). It means magnifying that to which you have been called. It means doing absolutely everything possible to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach us that anyone who does not endure to the end cannot receive their inheritance in the kingdom of God. There is so much involved in enduring, and though it might be hard, it is necessary and possible. Even Jesus had to endure to the end of His life. If we cannot endure this life, we do not deserve to receive all that God has for us. God's great plan is that we might become like He is, and if we can't handle just being a human, how could we ever handle being like Him? I've not really said anything that I said in my talk, this is all just now coming to me, but I promise I had a pretty good talk too!
Well, I must be going now. I love all of you, and I'm very glad that all is going well for all of you. Thank you for your support, and thank you for taking the time to write to me. I really do thrive on your letters. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and don't forget to take some time to think and to give thanks this Thursday and not just eat a whole bunch. I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
This day has been very good so far, and I am doing very, very well right now. Today started off pretty well and has just been a really good day. We started off by studying (like good missionaries!) and then we went to the office, and I was surprised to find that I had a package for me! My package from Grandma arrived, and though I haven't opened it, the green sticker made me rather excited to open it. (I haven't really recieved anything else from anybody else for a couple of weeks now, but when I do I'll let you know.) However, right now I have no interest in eating anything at all, and that's because right after we went to the offices we went to a restaurant called the Toronto Buffet. It's an all you can eat buffet here, and as the name implies it is Canadian based. Now, you all might be wondering what on earth is a Canadian-based buffet, and I would love to tell you, but...I'm still not sure. It was a buffet just like any other buffet you would find in the States. A little smaller (i.e. not as big of a variety of food), but basically the same. It was good though. I definitely got my money's worth, and that's because I prepared for this. Yep, I ate a big dinner last night, and then this morning my breakfast was three pieces of toast and 1.5 litres of juice. And all of my preparation worked, because I ate a lot. I probably won't eat until Thursday, when we'll have another very large feast. Some of the members from the stake invited all of the missionaries in the zone Calderón to visit their house on Thursday for a Thanksgiving feast, and they've asked that we don't eat anything that day, so you know it's going to be a good dinner. I'm rather looking forward to it.
I'm very glad to hear that everything is going well with the Schomburg family and the branches thereof. Congratulations Elizabeth on the musical and your solo in Young Women's! I'm sure that you did a fantastic job, and I'll make sure to catch all of your shows when I get back.
I'm also glad to hear that Sacrament Meeting was very good this week. I'm very glad to hear that Grandma enjoyed herself, and Grandma, don't worry, I know the Book of Mormon comes in larger print, and I know that Madre is right on top of that. Also, part of what Brother Carlson shared reminded me of a talk that I just read by Elder Wirthlin. It was his last talk in General Conference before he died, and it's entitled "Come What May and Love It", and it's a wonderful talk. I would recommend it to everyone (http://lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/come-what-may-and-love-it?lang=eng&query=come+may+love <-- What is that, a link to that very talk? How fortunate!). [Not seeing his own blog while in the mission field, Elder Schomburg has no idea that Madre is always including links to talks and information for his readers, so he thinks he really hit on something special here. :) haha]
Well, now that all the fun stuff is out of the way, I'll talk about my week a little bit. Work-wise this was the worst week that I have had in all of my mission. We only taught two lessons this week to investigators. A lot of that was due to meetings, a lot was due to illness, and a lot was also due to our investigators not showing up to their appointments. Needless to say, I am slightly ashamed of the week that we had. I know I need to work harder now, and I will do so. That's part of why I'm happy today though. I have realized that I need to repent, and I am excited for that. We can do so well this week, and through diligent work the Lord will bless us. The trick is that we have to work absolutely as hard as is possible. It doesn't matter if we have to stay out till 9:30 PM every night and risk all of the robbers in Comité, we will have more lessons this week, we will help God's children progress towards eternal life, and we will magnify our callings. It will be ridiculously hard and will require me to change some things in my life (one of which is definitely going to be difficult), but it's necessary and it's more than possible. We will do it.
Oh, yesterday was pretty good though. I had been really sick on Saturday, so much so that after our mini zone conference I had to go back to the house for the rest of the day to rest, but Sunday I woke up feeling much better, which was very good because I was supposed to give a talk that day. I don't know why, but I think giving talks makes anyone nervous, because I felt a bit nervous before I stood up there. My talk this Sunday was about enduring to the end. I was only given seven minutes, but I think it was a fairly good talk. Enduring to the end is such a crucial step in our lives. Sure, there a many things that we need to do before we get to the "enduring to the end" part, but once we have performed all of the necessary ordinances, there's even more to do. Enduring isn't something that's passive. Enduring doesn't mean just not doing bad things for all of your life. It means being an active part in the salvation of everyone that you meet (yes, even you are a missionary!). It means magnifying that to which you have been called. It means doing absolutely everything possible to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures teach us that anyone who does not endure to the end cannot receive their inheritance in the kingdom of God. There is so much involved in enduring, and though it might be hard, it is necessary and possible. Even Jesus had to endure to the end of His life. If we cannot endure this life, we do not deserve to receive all that God has for us. God's great plan is that we might become like He is, and if we can't handle just being a human, how could we ever handle being like Him? I've not really said anything that I said in my talk, this is all just now coming to me, but I promise I had a pretty good talk too!
Well, I must be going now. I love all of you, and I'm very glad that all is going well for all of you. Thank you for your support, and thank you for taking the time to write to me. I really do thrive on your letters. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and don't forget to take some time to think and to give thanks this Thursday and not just eat a whole bunch. I love you!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Monday, November 14, 2011
Every Member a Missionary
Hello there my fine fellow people!
I decided that my greeting needed to be a little different, and now it is indeed.
I am doing rather well today. Today has been very relaxing, which is a nice change. We went to the offices, went to two malls, walked through a park, and wrote letters. Also, Elder Pande treated me to Subway (yep, real Subway), so that was very enjoyable. I also bought an amazingly incredible shirt, which accompanies this email. In case you can't tell, it's Yoda (yes, the same one from Star Wars) wearing purple sunglasses and with headphones around his neck, and to the bottom right it says "Ecuador". Yep, it's just about the coolest shirt that I currently own, but I found out something very useful today; Ecuadorian "large" is a U.S. "medium". Even though it's a tad snug and the sleeves are just a tad too short, it's still one of my favorite shirts ever.
We haven't had any run-ins with robbers lately, but on Saturday it was because we can run. It's fairly probable that in the next change (December 3ish I believe) all of the North Americans will be taken out of Comité because of the rising threat level. That's a bit too bad, but that just means we have to do all that is possible to make sure we have baptisms before then. Also, when Elder Pande heard about my first robbing experience he also suggested that we give the robber a folleto [brochure] the next time about the Word of Wisdom (most thieves here are drunks or drug addicts), but since then he has yet to put that into practice. When it comes down to it, running is a much simpler way to do things.
Elder Pande is doing very well. Well, now he is. This past week he got to experience Ecuador's welcome for all North Americans, meaning that he spent the better part of 3 days in the bathroom. All is well now though (go Gatorade!), and he's even more determined to work hard this week. He's a very good companion. He still has difficulty with the language, but I do too, so I just smile and correct him, and then he thanks me for correcting him. He's really a very good missionary. He has a strange sense of humor, and he's done some rather...well, he calls them "awesome" things, though I'd call them "borderline insane", but he's a good Elder. He's basically an extreme sports junkie, and he likes to do the things that people tell him can't/shouldn't be done. Either way, I'm glad to be his companion.
Talking about missionary work, Elder Pande and I recently initiated something among the congregation here. Since we need to use the members more, we handed out a paper yesterday that was titled "Every Member a Missionary" that is to help us get references from the members here. After they give us the reference, we'll set up an appointment with the reference and with the member together. Hopefully it has a lot of success, and I believe that it will. The only thing that we really need is the support of the members. If the members don't support us, we cannot do our job well. Sure, we can do our job, we can knock doors all day long and we can maybe find 5 out of 75 people that are ready to hear the Gospel, but it's not very effective that way. When a member helps us with a reference, then we don't have to search for someone to be a friend to the investigator, we'll have better luck getting an investigator to church, and the investigator will be more likely to want to hear more about the Gospel and take that crucial step of entering the waters of baptism. Members really don't know how important they are to the missionary effort. For all of you members out there, we need your help! Also, if you don't think that being a member means that you're a missionary, I would like you to read this scripture:
On to other topics, yay Dad! Thank you for being such a wonderful help to Madre while she has been recovering. I know that she appreciates it tremendously.
Well, I don't think I have much more to share today. I sent out a letter packet today, so some letters should arrive to some of you in roughly 2 weeks. Also, the mail system is hating me this month because even the letters that I've gotten are about a month old, which is unusual. That's okay though, I'm sure that you all still love me and are still writing. :) I have not received any packages of any kind for a bit (referring to those of you who told me that you had sent packages), but that is okay. I'll just build up my ability to be patient.
I love all of you very very much. I am so glad to be part of your family/be friends with you. I cannot wait to see you again...rather, I can wait exactly 14.5 months, and then I don't think I'll be able to wait anymore. I love you, and keep on reading the Scriptures! We've been given them for a reason! And if you have yet to start reading the Book of Mormon, I would ask you to at least test it out and pray about it. I love you, and have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
I decided that my greeting needed to be a little different, and now it is indeed.
I am doing rather well today. Today has been very relaxing, which is a nice change. We went to the offices, went to two malls, walked through a park, and wrote letters. Also, Elder Pande treated me to Subway (yep, real Subway), so that was very enjoyable. I also bought an amazingly incredible shirt, which accompanies this email. In case you can't tell, it's Yoda (yes, the same one from Star Wars) wearing purple sunglasses and with headphones around his neck, and to the bottom right it says "Ecuador". Yep, it's just about the coolest shirt that I currently own, but I found out something very useful today; Ecuadorian "large" is a U.S. "medium". Even though it's a tad snug and the sleeves are just a tad too short, it's still one of my favorite shirts ever.
We haven't had any run-ins with robbers lately, but on Saturday it was because we can run. It's fairly probable that in the next change (December 3ish I believe) all of the North Americans will be taken out of Comité because of the rising threat level. That's a bit too bad, but that just means we have to do all that is possible to make sure we have baptisms before then. Also, when Elder Pande heard about my first robbing experience he also suggested that we give the robber a folleto [brochure] the next time about the Word of Wisdom (most thieves here are drunks or drug addicts), but since then he has yet to put that into practice. When it comes down to it, running is a much simpler way to do things.
Elder Pande is doing very well. Well, now he is. This past week he got to experience Ecuador's welcome for all North Americans, meaning that he spent the better part of 3 days in the bathroom. All is well now though (go Gatorade!), and he's even more determined to work hard this week. He's a very good companion. He still has difficulty with the language, but I do too, so I just smile and correct him, and then he thanks me for correcting him. He's really a very good missionary. He has a strange sense of humor, and he's done some rather...well, he calls them "awesome" things, though I'd call them "borderline insane", but he's a good Elder. He's basically an extreme sports junkie, and he likes to do the things that people tell him can't/shouldn't be done. Either way, I'm glad to be his companion.
Talking about missionary work, Elder Pande and I recently initiated something among the congregation here. Since we need to use the members more, we handed out a paper yesterday that was titled "Every Member a Missionary" that is to help us get references from the members here. After they give us the reference, we'll set up an appointment with the reference and with the member together. Hopefully it has a lot of success, and I believe that it will. The only thing that we really need is the support of the members. If the members don't support us, we cannot do our job well. Sure, we can do our job, we can knock doors all day long and we can maybe find 5 out of 75 people that are ready to hear the Gospel, but it's not very effective that way. When a member helps us with a reference, then we don't have to search for someone to be a friend to the investigator, we'll have better luck getting an investigator to church, and the investigator will be more likely to want to hear more about the Gospel and take that crucial step of entering the waters of baptism. Members really don't know how important they are to the missionary effort. For all of you members out there, we need your help! Also, if you don't think that being a member means that you're a missionary, I would like you to read this scripture:
"And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms— That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you. Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. Therefore, they are left without excuse, and their sins are upon their own heads." D&C 88:77-82As members it is your duty and a commandment unto you that you "warn [your] neighbor" and to "teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom." There's a reason that within the church we call people "brother" and "sister"; we are all spiritual brothers and sisters. Do you not want the best for your your siblings? Do you not want them to experience unending joy and happiness with their families and with you? I am positive that all of you want the best for your family. Therefore, go forth and spread the good news of the Gospel! Help your brothers and sisters receive eternal life! Share what you know, and declare the truthfulness of this Gospel with the voice of a trumpet! The Lord has commanded it; therefore, it is possible to lift up your voice.
On to other topics, yay Dad! Thank you for being such a wonderful help to Madre while she has been recovering. I know that she appreciates it tremendously.
Well, I don't think I have much more to share today. I sent out a letter packet today, so some letters should arrive to some of you in roughly 2 weeks. Also, the mail system is hating me this month because even the letters that I've gotten are about a month old, which is unusual. That's okay though, I'm sure that you all still love me and are still writing. :) I have not received any packages of any kind for a bit (referring to those of you who told me that you had sent packages), but that is okay. I'll just build up my ability to be patient.
I love all of you very very much. I am so glad to be part of your family/be friends with you. I cannot wait to see you again...rather, I can wait exactly 14.5 months, and then I don't think I'll be able to wait anymore. I love you, and keep on reading the Scriptures! We've been given them for a reason! And if you have yet to start reading the Book of Mormon, I would ask you to at least test it out and pray about it. I love you, and have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Monday, November 7, 2011
No time to write...
Hello! *pantpant*
So I have 8 minutes to write. Woo! I don't have a lot to report this week. This past week was kinda crazy and frustrating. We were kinda robbed again (he didn't get anything from me, but he got $5 from my companion), so we've had to be in the house by 8 every night. I think that's been lifted now, but we're still going to be careful. I have to write up a description of the guy and everything and send it to a private investigator (seeing as it was the same guy that robbed us, only without a knife this time, and it was basically on main street). Hopefully things will calm down. This week was also a week of parties and vacations in Ecuador, so proselyting was difficult. Almost nobody was home, and when we tried to contact we didn't really meet anyone promising. We did have 5 investigators come to church, but they weren't the ones with baptismal dates, so now we have no one with a baptismal date. It's a bit frustrating, but I know that if we just keep working hard and if we talk with everybody we will find those prepared ones and we will see success. We haven't been able to meet with that family from last week because they were traveling, but this week will be better, and we'll put a date with them for the 26 of November.
I was very glad to hear that my mother's surgery was a success, and that she is recouperating now. I know that all of your prayers helped her to come through okay. Thank you for all the prayers that were said on her behalf.
Oh, stuff to send! Okay, well, if you were so inclined to send things, I could really use new socks (size 15). A green tie would be nice (that's about the only color I currently don't have), I love Reese's and peanut butter....I can't really think of much else. Oh! Music is always appreciated, though it can't have romantic or distracting lyrics, it can't have a rythym or beat that takes away from the Spirit...if it says BYU (as in it's from Brigham Young University) or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir it's pretty much okay. Umm, qué mas... That's about all that I can think of currently. I'll let you know latter if there's anything else. [If you want to e-mail me and let me know if you're sending him a green tie or socks, I can let others know so he doesn't end up with 20 of each. :)]
I love you all, and I'm so glad for everything that you have done for me. Keep following Christ, and you will receive blessings. It's a promise. I love you! ¡Chao!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
So I have 8 minutes to write. Woo! I don't have a lot to report this week. This past week was kinda crazy and frustrating. We were kinda robbed again (he didn't get anything from me, but he got $5 from my companion), so we've had to be in the house by 8 every night. I think that's been lifted now, but we're still going to be careful. I have to write up a description of the guy and everything and send it to a private investigator (seeing as it was the same guy that robbed us, only without a knife this time, and it was basically on main street). Hopefully things will calm down. This week was also a week of parties and vacations in Ecuador, so proselyting was difficult. Almost nobody was home, and when we tried to contact we didn't really meet anyone promising. We did have 5 investigators come to church, but they weren't the ones with baptismal dates, so now we have no one with a baptismal date. It's a bit frustrating, but I know that if we just keep working hard and if we talk with everybody we will find those prepared ones and we will see success. We haven't been able to meet with that family from last week because they were traveling, but this week will be better, and we'll put a date with them for the 26 of November.
I was very glad to hear that my mother's surgery was a success, and that she is recouperating now. I know that all of your prayers helped her to come through okay. Thank you for all the prayers that were said on her behalf.
Oh, stuff to send! Okay, well, if you were so inclined to send things, I could really use new socks (size 15). A green tie would be nice (that's about the only color I currently don't have), I love Reese's and peanut butter....I can't really think of much else. Oh! Music is always appreciated, though it can't have romantic or distracting lyrics, it can't have a rythym or beat that takes away from the Spirit...if it says BYU (as in it's from Brigham Young University) or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir it's pretty much okay. Umm, qué mas... That's about all that I can think of currently. I'll let you know latter if there's anything else. [If you want to e-mail me and let me know if you're sending him a green tie or socks, I can let others know so he doesn't end up with 20 of each. :)]
I love you all, and I'm so glad for everything that you have done for me. Keep following Christ, and you will receive blessings. It's a promise. I love you! ¡Chao!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)