Week of August 31

Hi There,

The move was an experience I guess you could say. We live right next to the college campus which is nice since that is our main fish pool.  We talked with Greg Petersen yesterday and he has just been extremely busy with work and school. He is an EMT and then he is also going to nursing school. He is taking 20 CREDITS!!!! He is crazy but yet I am excited because that will be me in the future!!!! :) We have yet to get ahold of Amanda so we don't know what the problem is.... We still call her. 

But something really exciting happened. On Sunday during Branch Counsel, President Roberts informed us that an investigator named Brittany Harrison emailed him to find out when church started on Sunday. We met with her before sacrament meeting and we made an appointment with her for Tuesday. But before I get to Tuesday I cannot forget about MONDAY! Since I am in the YSA I get the blessing of having FHE on Mondays and last Monday we played extreme spoons! Our goal is to double the baptisms, so in every prayer before companionship study we pray for 2x baptisms, unity, and charity.  

Back to Tuesday! We met with Brittany and she is from Kuna, Idaho.  She moved up here last week for school. Her family are less active members and they don't want her to be baptized, so while she was down there she was never able to meet with the missionaries. But her best friend is LDS and he is on his mission in Paraguay.  But anyways his family is basically her family and she has been going to church for a long time and she is reading the Book of Mormon and she has the gospel principles to go with it as well.  She is golden. She just absorbed the Restoration message. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes!!! YAY! We asked her when we could meet with her again and she said can we meet tomorrow (Wednesday) and we were ecstatic. So we met with her on Wednesday and we taught her the Plan of Salvation and she absorbed it all up as well. She is a sponge for the gospel. I love it! We invited her again to be baptized and she said yes and we set a date!!! Guess when?!? You will never guess so I will just tell you! Her baptismal date is September 5th!!!!!! This week!!!! And she is wanting to be baptized in her home town since she just moved up here and she knows no one and all her friends and family are down in southern Idaho.  So we were thrown back on what to do... So we called the assistant's and they had no idea.... so they told us to call President Dymock and we did and he had to call Salt Lake to figure out the proper procedure.  She is able to be baptized down there and confirmed. We are going to call the bishop down there to set up the program for her baptism!! This is so exciting.!!!!  Man I can't keep my legs still!!!! they keep bouncing up and down!!! Anyway, we have met with her everyday and we having been teaching her the lessons and she has never questioned if the Book of Mormon is true, she just knows! I know the feeling because I was the same way! On Saturday, the Lewiston 1st Elders had a baptism and we invited Brittany to come and she was excited because she has never been to a baptism before. Now she has a better idea of what to expect. I am sad that I will not be able to go to her baptism but I am glad and over joyed that she has made the decision to be baptized. She is a golden investigator and she already has been living the standards of the church. 

Also on Tuesday we met with Pypre Nakano. We shared with her the Restoration and she loved it. We gave her a Restoration pamphlet and we gave her a Book of Mormon. We invited her to come to church and she was able to until early Sunday morning when she was called early to work. I despise work.... 

But this week has been AMAZING!!!!!!! The air quality has improved a tremendous amount. We can actually see the blue sky now. It has rained a little. But we are glad to have had it and we are praying for more! 

Oh I have big news!!! On September 12th-13th we have stake conference, and guess who is coming. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve is coming. On Sunday morning at 8am he will be meeting with all the missionaries! I am so excited to meet him and to hear his counsel and to receive guidance.  

Our apartment was messy when we came to it. I am excited to clean it today. I am just like Mom. I want a clean space. My apartment is on the corner of 7th st. and 11th ave. It is green.  Something interesting is that 7 out of the 18 missionaries in our zone are doing their 12 week  ~  meaning that they are either in their first or second transfer.  

Oh ya something crazy happened on Saturday!!!! A MASSIVE and I mean a MASSVIE wind storm came through Lewiston and Clarkston. Humongous trees were falling down everywhere. We were in a lesson when it first hit and the apartment shook. I was sitting down on the ground and I moved. I almost fell over. It was strong. I joked around with Sister Winsor that hopefully our car is where we parked it! haha. There were tree limbs everywhere, roads were blocked because tress fell over. Hot August nights was happening and a tree fell on a car.... so sad. But also trees fell on people but thankfully no one died. I think the only thing that happened was someone broke their nose. I just imagine someone coming up to the person with a broken nose and asking what happened. They would expect something like someone hit me while playing a sport or I ran into a wall. Instead they will get the response as, "A tree fell on me." I couldn't help but laugh.  Everything it seems is happening here in Lewiston. It has been a productive week as well as a hectic and crazy week.  

Love to you all and miss you bunches! Toodaloo!!!!

Sister Schmidt

A new Week

Hello there,

Yesterday we found out that the valley where I am living has the worst air quality in the whole United States. It is extremely smoky and hot. NOT what I call paradise. 

(Moon was red because of all the fires and smoke)

Well yesterday was transfer calls and I am staying here in Lewiston as well as my companion, Sister Winsor. Unfortunately, we are switching apartments because there are changes. The Lewiston 1st and 3rd wards had one companionship of Elders but now they are going to each have their own.  So instead of having 16 missionaries here, there is going to be 18 and the only sisters are Sister Winsor and I. 

My new address is:

1029 7th St. 

Lewiston, ID 83501

It is close to the college campus and school started today. So we are going to be at the campus a lot! I don't like going up to people. I need to get over it but it is really hard! 

We got an investigator through Craig's List! I thought you guys would laugh at that! A member was looking on Craig's List for a dog and he found one that belonged to our new investigator. He went to get the dog and the member, Brother Dralo, brought his family along.  Greg Peterson, the investigator, noticed how happy the family was. He asked Brother Dralo how does he have such a good life? Brother Dralo testified of the Book of Mormon and how through the Book of Mormon he is the person he is today. Greg immediately asked how do I get a Book of Mormon and Brother Dralo told him that he would send missionaries over and wala! We come in! Greg is an EMT so he is super busy with the fires. But we went over the same day we got the referral and we taught him about the Restoration and we gave him a Book of Mormon!  He said that he will read it and  we can come back. We have yet to get in contact because he is so busy! But we will prevail! 

The self referral, Amanda Pehan, never got back to us so we don't know what to do?  We call her and text her but no response.   

Alma 8 is an amazing chapter and I relate to it A LOT! 

I am so glad to be on a mission!   At times I feel like I am inadequate but I keep telling myself that those thoughts are not from God.  Heavenly Father has called me here for a reason and he knows my weaknesses and my strengths. He knows that this area will turn my weaknesses into strengths and my strengths with be needed here to help people come unto Christ.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way for us to get back to our Heavenly Father and it is so simple. Why is it so simple? Because our Heavenly Father wants us to come back home to him! People say Mormons have so many rules and restrictions. God has given us commandments because He loves us. We need to follow these to come back to Him. But we will also be happy in this life and in the next because we have followed the commandments given to us by God. In my growing up years I have taken the Gospel for granted. It helps people become better people.  It makes them happy and gives them a purpose. Because of the Gospel I know who I am. I am a daughter of God. Heavenly Father is the father of my spirit as He is for everyone who has ever been on the earth, who is, and who will be. The gospel gives me purpose to my life. I am not here to just go through hard things and to live my life until I die. I am here to experience life, to have trials, to learn and grow because this earth life is when we are preparing to meet God. Even though life is hard and difficult the Gospel helps you have a better perspective on life. It gives you peace and strength. I know this church is true and I want others to have this gospel in their lives because I know what it can do for people. It changes people for the better and it has changed me and it is constantly changing me. Everyday I am becoming a better person. I am here to invite others to come unto Christ. I am here to help sons and daughters of God return home to their Heavenly Father. God has entrusted me to help his lost sons and daughters come back to him. I have been called to this mission for a reason and I am looking forward to that reason.  Love you all and miss you!

Sister Schmidt

News from Mo

Hello there,

It is pretty smoky here in Lewiston. The local people are telling Sister Winsor and I that the major fire in Kamiah is the biggest in the nation and it has been very difficult for the firefighters to contain. But we are praying for them everyday! 

This last p-day we played missionary basketball and it was SO much fun playing again! I miss it tremendously!

I don't know if you remember Lydia Bjornn, but she is the less active who we have been meeting with. We met with her at the Stake Center on Tuesday and had a lesson on the Restoration and she said she felt the spirit. We committed her to come to church on Sunday and she showed up!!!  Sister Winsor and I taught the lesson in Relief Society on "The Elders of the Church" meaning the senior citizens. I really liked teaching this lesson because it helped me to know what I want to do with my own family. 

On Thursday I had my first Zone Conference! The assistants came down from Spokane the night before with the transfer van and we left the next morning to go up to Moscow. The conference was from 9-4 and after we drove back to Lewiston, Sister Winsor and I had dinner with the assistants and the zone leaders. We had Wendy's and I bet you know what I got!  Yep you guessed right, I had a number 6! It was delicious! 

After dinner we had 3 appointments and they ALL fell through. I was having a hard time with it. I know I should not be discouraged about it but I am feeling like Alma when he was leaving Ammonihah. The people were not wanting to listen to him but an angel appeared to him and told him to rejoice because of his faith in keeping the commandments of God.  But a tender mercy came to us! Some sisters called us with a referral. Her name is Amanda Pehan and she is 21 years old. She is a Church headquarters referral and you want to know something fantastic... she referred herself! Yay! Someone who actually wants to talk to us! We are meeting her Tuesday and we are super excited to see her! 

This is the last week of my first transfer ~ it is amazing how fast time goes by.  I hope all is well at home! 

Love you all! Toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

This week!

Hello Everyone,

Something hilarious that was on a billboard down here said, "The fact that jellyfish have survived 650 million years without a brain gives hope to many people." I just about died at the steering wheel. That is a knee slapper! 

If I remember correctly, dad asked me if the paper mill is still here and it is. The air down here smells.... 

Sorry my emails are all over the place. random things just pop in my mind. 

So yesterday I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting about my favorite chapter in the Preach My Gospel and I have yet to have one, but I decided to talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went well apparently... 

Oh and another thing I want to tell you is 2 weeks ago for P-Day the whole zone got together and we played ultimate Frisbee but it was extremely windy and the Frisbee kept being blown away so we decided to play with a rugby ball instead and that was fun! We played for 2 hours. I was glad to get outside and workout and run. It even started raining on us which made it even better! 

My district leader left yesterday to go home 2 weeks early for school. His name is Elder Moh and he is hilarious. The picture that I will send you is Elder Moh (right) and Elder Joseph (left). Last week on Tuesday we had MLC (Missionary Leadership Counsel) and my companion is the Sister Training Leader so I had to go to another area and be with a few other sisters for 3/4 of Tuesday. 

Apparently there is going to be a blood moon soon ~ so can you find out when it is going to happen and tell me please? I really want to know. 

This week was a little bit more difficult but I made it. I can't believe that I have been out for over a month. I have 2 weeks left of this transfer. Now that is weird. Time flies by fast when you are having fun. With Pypre ~ she canceled on us Tuesday but it was good because we got back home late because of MLC (MLC happens in Spokane). It was the Lord's hand that made her cancel because it is better for her to cancel than us. But she is out of town bringing her sister from Utah to Lewiston for a doctors appointment and then back to Utah. She told us that she will text us and reschedule.

Tyson who was at Cedar's Inn did move and is now living with his parents which is a much better environment. Everyone who lives in Lewiston tells me that anyone who lives at Cedar's Inn does everything bad that you can imagine. 

We were supposed to meet with Isaac on Saturday but he didn't' show up and then he called to reschedule and we planned to see him Sunday but he didn't show up again. I don't know what to do.  At times it is very frustrating. But everyone has agency. Another person we are teaching is Shilo Johnson.  We taught her the Restoration and she kept making jokes to chase the spirit away and she kept eating candy. I didn't know what to do. I felt that I was doing a horrible job at teaching the Restoration. So it was a very difficult lesson for me and it didn't really help with my insecurities about being a new missionary. But I hope this Thursday when we teach her again that it will be way better. 

Did you know that Disney started in Lewiston.........? WOW!  Something actually happened in Lewiston. 

Something cool that happened was with Zone training.  I was with Elder Fallon (who is like Bryan Baker) and we were role playing street contacting with pamphlets.  He was the missionary and I was the investigator. At the end we said good-bye and he said "Bye Penny."  I told him after, that my mom's name is Penny and he said, "I was inspired." I thought it was hilarious. 

Enjoy the photos!  Toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

And some pictures…I don't know what they are about exactly, but still fun! 

This week from Sister Schmidt

The weather here has been pretty hot. When Sister Winsor and I park the car and say a prayer before we go knock on someone's door we are hesitant to get out because we have the AC on and we don't want to go outside in the blistering heat. But oh well, such is life. Oh and since it has been so warm and sunny I am starting to develop a tan line from my watch. I am still deciding if I want to keep it there to see how bad it can get, but then I realize that when I get a tan line it won't go away for awhile. So I immediately thought hmmm, better not!
Something funny that I have been wanting to tell you but I keep forgetting to is that it seems that half of the men in Lewiston go shirtless everywhere. I am not even kidding! One experience I had earlier this transfer  ~  we went to a less active members home and there were about 4 guys.  Sister Winsor has never met Josh, the less active, and when we got out of the car we saw an old man in a wheelchair and he had no shirt on and we could not tell if he had pants on... luckily he did! I about had a panic attack. But it turns out he is the grandfather of Josh and his name is Roy. Roy is awesome but he has no interest in the church... YET!  

So it seems like everyone here is a Seahawks fan and I just cringe. Everytime I see the number 12 or see a Seahawk flag I think of CJ when he said they are the Seachickens. But I don't think I would get into people's homes if I said that, but I am thinking it.  Many people tell me that they will not hold it against me or they are from California. But I am going to take pride in being from California, because I love California! It is one of the things on my list of things that I want to share. 

Every week my companion and I do service. We do service at St. Joseph's Hospital Warehouse where we sticker medical items and I get so giddy because I am looking at medical supplies. It makes me even more excited to be a nurse! We do that on Wednesday's for two glorious hours. Then on Friday's we go to the Food Bank where we make food boxes for the community. It is mainly homeless people who come in and I love working there. I get to meet so many people and they are all so sweet. 

Another thing that Lewiston has a lot of is cats. They are everywhere. Becca would have a blast. But the number one thing that Clarkston and Lewiston both have is stars. It seems that every other house has a star decoration. I don't get it.  But one day Sister Winsor and I decided to count how many stars we would see in 90 minutes. We saw 50 stars total on 3 streets. That is crazy! 

While I was in the MTC I was in pain because I had blisters all over my heels. Ya I have some pretty nasty scars. But they look cool. I also spoke my last Sunday at the MTC. They ask you during sacrament meeting so you don't know if you are talking or not until you are about to speak. I had a feeling I was going to be asked, a that feeling was correct. I talked about having faith in Christ and trusting in Christ. 

Mom when you said that you were doing yard work I was jealous. I miss mowing the lawn! I see people doing it and I want to stop the car and get out and ask if I can do it. But I haven't...YET!  My zone is awesome. Oh and I decided to count how many prayers I will say on my mission. I am close to 300 and that is only just from one month. Wow, I can't believe it has only been one month. Time goes by fast when you are having fun. 

Nothing happened with Walaa. He just had questions. But we have 2 new investigators!!! YAY!!! They are both girls which is nice because we can go inside.  Their names are Piper and Shilo. I am excited. Isaac is doing good. We had a lesson with him Saturday and he called us during our  dinner hour. I never got ready so fast for anything in my entire life.
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