Three baptisms!!!

Hello to all, and to all a "hello"!

I promise that I wasn't writing at 2 AM last week. It might be because of the photos, but who knows. Así es Ecuador. I am doing fairly well this day. I went and finally got an eye exam and bought glasses, which will be ready Wednesday, so in a couple of days I'll be able to see again! Huzzah! This week we had three baptisms! It was very wonderful, and I'd love to send photos (because I have a few to send), but this computer doesn't want to read my SD card. Oh well. So we had three baptisms, but we didn't have any investigators come to church this week, which was kind of our fault I'd say. We didn't do our part to go by them or call them, and we should have planned ahead because we knew that our baptisms were going to be on Sunday morning. So, we shall learn from this and we shall do all that's possible this week to help our investigators attend church.

Congratulations to Elizabeth and her play! I'm sure that she did wonderfully and that she is an incredible actress. I can't wait to be able to see her in real life.

Also, congratulations to Jeffrey for being able to graduate with three years of credit from Seminary! That's pretty darn incredible. That will really serve you when you're on your mission Jeffrey. Just don't forget to continually study the Scriptures, because if you don't try to keep that knowledge, you'll loose it quick.

I've been really affected by the hardness of some of our investigators hearts these weeks. Well, they're kind of investigators. Anyway, during one lesson we watched a video called "Treasure in Heaven: The Story of John Tanner", which affects anyone who is able to feel the Spirit. We were watching it with a member family, but the husband of one of the daughters is very Catholic. When we asked him if he had any comment on the video, he said no, but in such a way that made it very clear that he did not want and would not talk to us while were there. I was left horribly saddened and fairly incredulous, because that movie makes me cry almost every time. Next we had an experience with a family that is Evangelist. We taught two lessons that were very powerful and in which you could see that the family felt that our words were true, but in the end they just didn't accept anything, and made it very clear that they would only receive us because they don't believe that they should turn away any type of missionary. Then, last night, we had another lesson in which the husband is very, very Catholic. He believes very much in the Virgin Mary and in the Child King Jesus, and he is basically imposing his religion on his family. We had taught his wife and his daughter twice before and they accepted a baptismal date de uno (at once), but this third time the wife had decided that because her husband was so Catholic that she couldn't be baptized any time soon. We taught him, and again it was a incredibly powerful lesson, but again we received the same answer as the Evangelist family. Those lessons made me so incredibly sad. We have all of the truth, and I know that only through the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ can anyone return to his Father in Heaven, and these people are so set in their ways that they won't accept the truth even when the Holy Ghost testifies to them. It frustrates me a little bit, especially when the whole reason that I'm here is to help people receive the same blessings that I have received and have the promise of receiving. Sigh. I guess all I can do is keep on trying and being patient with them. Not everyone is a "golden" investigator.

Well, not much time left. I hope that all is well with everyone. Oh, as you'll see, I figured out how to put on pictures, so enjoy! I love all of you very much, and I hope that you will all do your best to come closer to the Lord and learn His ways. I love you! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Here in Santa Ana

Hey guys!

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

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

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

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

Grumpy Elder

Nah.... just goofy Elder!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adventure awaits!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Don't lose sight of the Light of the World

Hello one and all!!

And this day finds me very well, and I hope the same can be said of all of you! Today we haven't really done anything at all, which is okay! We went grocery shopping, to the offices to pick up pouch (hey, I got some! And from some dear friends that I haven't heard from in a while, too!!), and...that's about it. Yay, a day to relax! Those are always nice, and all too infrequent in the mission. So yep, that's how today's gone.

Well, the truth, this week, and the past couple of weeks, have been rather difficult for me. I've really kinda felt like I haven't been living up to my missionary purpose, but now I have nowhere to go but up, so I'm at a good place in my life. :) General Conference really helped. I especially loved the Priesthood session, which really made me want to truly magnify the Priesthood which I hold and to bless the people that I have been sent to bless. All of the sessions were fantastic, and I got to watch almost all of them in English! I didn't get to see the first session in English, and half of the 4th session was in Spanish because too many people came for us North Americans to be able to watch it in English, but that's okay. What really affected me the most was during the prayer at the end of the first session. I felt such great gratitude for being able to feel the Holy Ghost in my life now. For such a long time I was so far away from being able to feel His presence in my life, but not I can feel the Holy Ghost and enjoy receiving testimonies of the truth with frequency. It is such an incredible feeling, and I was was so grateful that I definitely cried. I may have also cried during most of the hymns, which were all so amazing, gorgeous, and spiritual. At the end of every day, I remember walking back out into the world and thinking, "Dang. I don't like the world so much." The Spirit and feeling His presence is just so refreshing and uplifting, and to walk from one spiritually-enriched environment to a spiritually-deprived environment was almost depressing. But I'm going to do my best to make that ratio a little bit smaller and to bring a bit more of the Spirit to those who are deprived of Him.

Every week I think of something cultural that I want to share, and then I forget it...oh wait! I remembered it! It's a dish here that is served on every street corner and every restaurant, and everywhere in between. It's called cuero, which, being translated literally means "leather". What the dish is isn't too terribly far from it's translation. It's pig skin that has been boiled and cooked, and it's served with many, many things, though usually in a soup or cebiche. I personally am not a fan of it, and basically any other missionary isn't really a fan, but Ecuadorians seem to love it. So now you know.

Basillica

Well, now I must be going. Darn, 30 minutes goes by way too fast, but así es. I love you all, and I am so very grateful to know all of you and to be supported by all of you. I hope that this Easter weekend all of you can remember why it is that we celebrate Easter. I testify that Christ broke the bonds of death and was resurrected so that each and every one of us could also receive this great gift of immortality and the opportunity to gain eternal life. I know that if it were not for Christ's Resurrection, we would never be able to return to the presence of God, and our bodies and spirits would be eternally separated, to never again be joined. But now, because Christ was "the firstfruits of those that slept", we can all become like our Heavenly Father and our Saviour and live with our families eternally. For this we celebrate Easter, and while the chocolate and such is tasty, let us not lose sight of the Light of the World in this time. I love you, and have a wonderful time until next week!

It's all about perspective!

That is one tired Elder!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

General Conference is a marvellous gift!

Hello my wonderful peoples!

I don't have a lot of time today (or any of the other P-days for the rest of my mission it would appear) because there's a new rule that we can only be on the internet for 30 minutes on P-days, and I still have to write to President in that time too. So here go my fingers, flying across the keyboard!

So today we went to the Basilica, a very large Catholic cathedral here in Quito. It was really cool and fairly large, and very, very cold inside, which was weird considering that it's not a particularly cold day or anything. It must be the stone structure or something. It made me feel incredibly adventuresome, and I desperately wanted to go and look at the catacombs (I know it has to have some!) but of course all of the lower levers are locked up. Oh well, someday my Indiana Jones fantasies will be made realities. I took a whole bunch of pictures too, but due to time restrictions I won't be able to download them until the next week. It was a nice tour in all, and I'm glad to have been able to go.

After the Basilica, we went to a capilla to celebrate the birthdays of some missionaries, we played Uno, Signs, Judges and Robbers, and Ninja Destruction (all the missionary games that we knew), and ate pizza. Fun was had by all.

I don't seem to have a lot of time left in the mission. I mean, I still have the greater part of a year left, but that time is rapidly passing by. It's crazy. I also want to work harder than ever right now, but it seems like there are so many things that I can do better that it's hard to know where to start. I'm trying to find things that I can do to become even more like Christ, and I'm really really way excited for the upcoming General Conference. I just know that I'll find something in one of the messages that will help me know what I can do right now to become more like Christ and to represent Him even better.

Hey, happy early birthday to Robby and Michelle!! I hope you have wonderful birthdays that are full of love, happiness, and all things wonderful!! And how lucky are you two to have your birthdays fall on General Conference weekend!! Woooo!! Not everyone gets to have prophets and apostles give their revelations to the world on his birthday. Yay!!

Everyone should watch General Conference!! Who doesn't want to hear prophets and apostles, who have been called of God to represent Him and His Son in the earth, speak to us and impart upon us the things that should be most important for the next six months?? We live in a wonderful time! God speaks to His servants now! We don't have to wander about lost, relying on our own knowledge to try to understand the will of God. We can receive this knowledge directly from His earthly mouthpieces, and we can progress spiritually! What a wonderful opportunity that we have! See lds.org for more information on how you can witness this marvellous event for yourselves!

Well, I have to go now. I love all of you, and I am so very glad for all that you all have done for me by way of supporting me, whether they be by prayers or by packages, by loving thoughts or loving notes, I'm grateful for them all and you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

I know it's true...

Hey there y'all!

Well, this day has been a bit meh. I have a rather sore throat, a building headache, and we weren't able to do the activity that we wanted to do (go to a museum) because the museum was closed. How am I supposed to feed my cultural side when the museums are closed on Mondays? but hey, apart from that I'm doing fine. :)


What's the difference between a zone leader and any other missionary? Not a lot really. I just have more "office work" to do, such as write more reports and send in numbers and say why the missionaries didn't do something, etc. Other than that there really isn't a difference. I'm still a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and invite people to come unto Him. I think that one of the most valuable pieces of knowledge that I've learned by being a zone leader is that I'm not different than any other missionary. I don't have a different purpose or anything, I just have to write more emails, give special training sessions every once in a while, go to more meetings, and keep people in line. But I'm liking it.


Family vacation! Dang! I hope you guys have a tonne of fun in San Diego! And, Madre and Dad, I am rather incredibly jealous of you being able to go to the San Diego Temple. They're always announcing temple trips in the wards/branches, you guys get to go to one of the most beautiful temples (not that there's an ugly temple, I just really like the San Diego one), and I have to wait another 10-11 months to go to the temple. You lucky ducks. [We just discovered that the San Diego Temple is going to be closed for maintenance while we are there, so we are not so lucky ducks as he thought.]


So, before I get on to the more spiritual message, I just thought I'd let you all know that I'm still "me", and being me comes with a range of desires involving motorized vehicles, though now, en vez de wanting a super fast sports car or something, I'm really, really craving a motorcycle. A Triumph Daytona or a Harley '48, to be precise. If only I hailed from a climate where 4-wheel-drive wasn't semi-necessary. Oh well, thus is life.


Okay, so lately I've been studying a lot more about the Book of Mormon and trying to put more emphasis on its use in lessons. And why is that? Because the Book of Mormon is so so so important to all of us. That bolded all means every person in the world, member and non-member alike. And why is it so important? Because if the Book of Mormon is true, and I, along with millions of others, testify that it is, then Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith truly restored the only Church that Jesus Christ had ever formed, and that church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that Church is lead by a modern day prophet named Thomas S. Monson. If the Book of Mormon is true, that there is only one path that leads to the prescence of God and not multiple, as so many believe. The Book of Mormon either is true or it is not true. It can't be partly true or mostly true. It either came from God and is, as the prophet Joseph Smith testified, "the most correct of any book on earth". Those who come to know that the Book of Mormon is true will also know that "Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah" (Book of Mormon, Introduction). The most important part of knowing that the Book of Mormon is true is the knowledge that one will receive that the Lord Jesus truly is the Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer. I have come to know who Jesus Christ is not through reading the Bible or attending church, but through reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. I know that Christ has provided me with the means to be cleansed of all of my sins, and I have the hope of being able to be part of an eternal family, because I have read the Book of Mormon and I know that it is true. I know, without one shadow of a doubt, that the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is true. And that knowledge has helped me to know that we are guided by a prophet, called of God to guide us to eternal life. I know this, and I know that all of you can come to know this, and that this knowledge will lead you to more happiness and joy in this life and the one to come than any other knowledge that one can accumulate here on earth. I would exhort all of you to not settle for simply "good" in life, but to strive to achieve the "best". I would exhort you all to do your part and put to test the challenge that the Book of Mormon puts forth: "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Book of Mormon, Introduction).

[To request your own free copy of the Book of Mormon, click here. Or ask me (madre), I'll get you one.]

Well, I think that's all that I have for this week. I am so grateful for all of you and what you have all done to support me. Please keep doing your best to grow closer to you Heavenly Father, for in doing such you will find more happiness than anything the world has to offer. I love you! Have a wonderful week!


Love,
Elder Schomburg

Miracle Monday

Hey howdy hey!

I am doing fairly well on this wonderful day in Quito. Wait, did I say Quito? Well, that's not a typo, because here I am in the zone Santa Ana as the junior companion! "What?!?" you say as you read junior companion in Quito. Well, I'm the junior companion because I'm the new zone leader in Santa Ana, and my companion, Elder Rodriguez, has more time than I do, so he's the senior zone leader, and I'm the junior zone leader. So that's a bit different. Last Tuesday I received the call that the next day I would be coming here to Santa Ana as a zone leader, and I almost fell off my shoes. It really came as quite a shock, and it was a bit frustrating too because now I won't know until April what happened with all of our investigators in Riobamba. But así is the mission. I just gotta go where the Lord tells me to go and do what He tells me to do. So, until further notice, I'll just keep doing the Lord's work here in Quito.

So, what do I want to say today? I'm not quite sure. Well, maybe I'll talk a bit about enduring to the end. That seems to be the hardest thing for me to do. There are so many things to do and they all have to be done all the time, and frankly it's hard to do those things all the time. Also, one has to persevere in his decision to leave behind past things. All of these things really start adding up, and it gets pretty difficult. The world can be so tempting sometimes, and as a missionary with higher standards to follow even the "regular" things are super tempting. TV, magazines, books, etc., they're all super tempting. Waking up on time can sometimes be difficult, too. It's always just the little things, but I know that by doing the little things one is bound to be blessed by the Lord. But Satan also knows that it's easier to get someone to stop doing the little things than to get him to do the big, wrong things (I'm pretty sure C.S. Lewis wrote a book about that called the Screwtape Letters). It's just so hard to stay firm, and the results of not staying firm scare me to death. But that's why in the Gospel of Jesus Christ it's not just baptism, receiving of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. First comes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement, then comes repentance. Part of enduring to the end includes constantly having faith in the Lord and in His atonement, and when one messes up then he can repent by exercising his faith in Christ. I am so incredibly grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Without the atonement, none of us could ever repent. We could try and try and try, but it would never work. It would have no use. But because of the atonement, each and every one of us has the grand opportunity to admit our wrongness and the need to change our life and to really change our life and put it more in line with the will of the Father. We can forsake all of our sins and eventually return to the presence of God. We can endure to the end, having the hope that any mistake can and will be forgiven if we repent. So is enduring to the end impossible? Far from it. It's perfectly possible, and we must only rely on the Lord and have faith in His atonement in order to endure.

Less spiritual thought: The phrase of the day is, "Can you slouch down in the chair more? You're too tall." - The barber. That's something that I can never forget here; I'm a big guy. I'm reminded by it several times in a day, and it always amuses me. I guess I like being big.

Jeffrey, you hang in there! You know what is right, you know the truth, and don't ever be afraid to share it. Remember D&C 24:12; "And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men." You shall be given strength as is not known among men to stand firm in your testimony and help bring others unto Christ, even before your mission. You're as much as a missionary as I am, and this promise is just as much for you as it is for me. You're doing an amazing job, and I am incredibly proud of who you are and who you are becoming. Keep on keeping on!!

I was a bit sad to hear that Bijou had to be put down, but I know it was for the best. Dang, me being on a mission seems to be bad luck for our pets. I'll miss Bijou, but I'm sure he's doing much better now that he's not suffering anymore.  [Bijou was my 12 1/2 year old toy poodle who had developed diabetes and kidney failure - I had to make the decision to put him to sleep last week.]

Well, I think that's all that I have for right now. Oh hey, I got a bit (read: a lot) of pouch! Thank you so very much to everyone who has written me! I really am extraordinarily grateful for each and every letter that you all send me. Please keep on sending, and I'll keep on doing my best to respond. Well, have a wonderful day and week everyone! I love you all so incredibly much! Keep on doing your best to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you don't know exactly what it is, you can refer to earlier in this letter or you can contact a local representative of Jesus Christ (i.e. Elder or Sister from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), though I'd recommend the latter. If you ever have questions, send them to one of my family members and my mom will do her best to transfer them to me. Or you can just write me. One of those two. Okay, I love you! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

Miracle Month...

HAI GUYS!!

So why am I so excited? Because we had 9 people come to Church yesterday! It was wonderful and so amazing! It was a miracle indeed, and I'll be recounting the story, don't you worry. And I am doing very well today. We got to watch "Tangled" again, which is definitely one of my favorite movies, and I didn't get that trunky this time! Yep, that's good. Also, the Hermanas made a caramel-corn type popcorn, and it was delicious. All in all it was a rather enjoyable day.

Okay, so, miracle time. This month has been deemed miracle month by President Ghent. The miracle is that this month every companionship will baptize at least two people. It doesn't seem like it would be a miracle, but it really is because it's never happened before. Also, there's a norm in the mission that we should do our best to show our investigators the chapel before Sunday. Well, we recently found a family of 6 (the kids only) and they have a baptismal date. We showed them the chapel on Saturday, and half of them told us that they wouldn't be able to go to church Sunday, which made us really sad. We were fasting at the time, but we were still disappointed because it looked like their baptismal date would fall through. Well, Sunday rolled around and they weren't there for the sacrament, but after that....THEY CAME!! I was so darn excited and grateful. It really was a miracle, because all of them came! So we now have 9 people with baptismal dates, because another part family (grandma, her daughter, and the granddaughter) also has a baptismal date. Woooooo!! Seriously, I couldn't be much more excited.

Also, like I had said, this is the month of miracles, and miracles require faith. I'm so excited for this month because it will be a time when my faith will grow like it has never grown before. I will have to really realize that all that I am doing is only because the Lord allows it to happen. I will really have to step aside and tell the Lord, "Okay Lord. This is Thy work. Use me as Thou will so that Thy purposes may come to pass." I know that I will end this month with more faith than I even know what to do with. I am so excited for that. When I heard what the miracle would be and that it would require works with faith, I felt something blossom in my chest, and I know that even in that moment my faith increased a ton. "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!"

Congratulations Elizabeth in your role in the play! That's so awesome! I know that you'll do wonderfully in your part. You guys gotta film the play for me! I wanna see it when I get back. Also, keep on working on Aaron's Camp Jeffrey! I'm so proud of you for who you've become in the time that I've been away. Also, you're not so much becoming like me as that you're really finding your own testimony and have come to a point at which you are not afraid to let people know what you know. That's something necessary to be a missionary. Keep up the good work! Madre mía! Keep working hard, and keep praying for help, and the Lord will give it to you. You most assuredly know that already, but I just thought that I'd recalcar that. The Lord will help you in all things, even the temporal things, so don't be afraid to ask!

Also, is it Robby or Dad that does the talking in the sleep? And I'm sure we've all wished that we could have a dragon head at one time or another. [It's Robby - he was shouting, "I have a dragon head" the other night in his sleep.] 

I sent off a packet of letters today, so many of you shall be receiving letters in the coming weeks. Thank you all for your support, and those that I didn't write to will be written to in the...future. I was going to say near future, and in the eternal perspective it is definitely the near future, but I can't very well say when that future will be.

Well, for now I don't think I have much more to say. I'm very grateful for all of your support, and for your prayers especially. I hope all of you have a wonderful week, and that you don't forget to search for the heavenly treasures first. The things of the world will only last for a time, and then they'll all go away. The things of heaven are eternal, and will bless you in all that you do. If you don't believe me, put my words to the test. Focus on God and on His Son, and you will see the difference in your life. I love you, and I wish you all the best until next week! ¡Chao!

Love,
Elder Schomburg

p.s. Oh, by the way, the picture of the wall is a mural that I found here that I have yet to make any sense of. I figured it was a nightclub when I first saw it, but it's a mechanic's shop. Can you guys make sense of it?