Snowy West Spokane

Hey everyone!

This week has definitely been a white one. It snowed here last Monday night and all day Tuesday. The roads are a bit icy but Sister Griffith lived in Colorado for 9 years and those years included high school. She is a pro driver in this weather!

A view of the snow from Monica's apartment!

OH and before I forget, 

Lydia Bjornn is getting married tomorrow to another member of the YSA branch.  She and Jordan, her fiance, are going to work toward the temple and they plan on being sealed to each other in about a year. She wants me to be there and I let her know that I am leaving the mission on January 16th.  So I am so excited for them!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I could give her a hug. I miss her a ton! 

So I will start with Monday ~

We had p~day and we had a fun time playing with the other missionaries in the zone. One of the elders here was in my last zone and he came up here with me. His name is Elder Gingles and he is my district leader.  Some other elders got him an elf hat that had jingle bells on it and they gave it to him to wear and he did. It was hilarious! OH and apparently there is an Elder Joy in our mission and people keep saying that they wish that Elder Gingles and Elder Joy were together during the holidays. Then after p~day we went out to see people and we went to a less active and her name is Sister Martinez. She let us in and we had a nice talk about Mormon messages and God's love. Before we left she wanted to give us a Christmas present. (Remember this is my first encounter with her and she is already giving me a Christmas present.) She gives us a cute story called "The Christmas Spider" and she gave us a spider that she made out of glass beads. At first I was a little bit creeped out by the spider but I got over it and took it. The story is about how tinsel came to be.  I took a picture of the spider which is hanging on our small Christmas tree at our apartment. 

Tuesday ~

We had Zone Conference in North Spokane from 9-4 and it was FANTASTIC! I love Zone Conferences. We talked about how to handle conflict in companionships and how to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ better and how to build on our faith and how to strengthen it. We also talked about the #ASaviorIsBorn Initiative and we watched the video before it was released to the public but it now is so I encourage all of you who are reading my email to watch this 2 minute video about kids testifying of Jesus Christ. The link is christmas.mormon.org and it is ~ A Savior Is Born. I always get chills going down my back when I watch it. I know that Jesus Christ came to earth and because of Him I can be better than I once was and I can be forgiven. I know He is the Savior of the World. He is my Savior and I encourage you all to find out for yourself that He is your Savior as well. We had an appointment with an investigator and it was a good lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She just doesn't understand why we need the Book of Mormon and when we explain it to her it doesn't make sense to her.  A member we had dinner with gave us a small Christmas tree!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Tree ~West Spokane Area

Wednesday ~

Today was very busy. We went to go and see a recent convert and we shared with her the Restoration and it went really well. I just love teaching the Restoration. There is so much to it. I love the Restoration movie. It is only 20 minutes long but it is PHENOMENAL. I encourage all of you to watch it even if you have already. It has increased my testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. Then we went and did service for Cleone's Closest. It is a thrift store and all of the proceeds go to a women's shelter that have suffered from domestic violence. The women who are in charge of it are amazing and very sweet. Our ward is doing service for them by making quilts for the women and making stockings as well. Service just warms your heart and it is a bonus since I now live in the snow. haha :-) Then we went to go and see a less active. He owns a ranch that is 700 acres! It is gorgeous. We are planning on doing service for him sometime...  Then Dalaina Dalton, the little girl who got baptized on Saturday had her interview and then we had a lesson with an investigator named David. We talked to him about the Gospel as well and it went smoothly. I asked him why do we need to get baptized and he said to be cleansed. I then said why did Jesus get baptized then? That made him think and I read 2 Nephi 31:5 and it talks about how Christ did it to fulfill all righteousness. He is an example to us and we need to be baptized to love with our Heavenly Father again in the celestial kingdom.  He has been reading his Book of Mormon!! YAY!!!

Thursday ~

Thanksgiving!  We had dinner at the Stanfield's and it was very fulfilling!!

Friday ~

We had a lesson with one of our investigators and we talked about ..... the gospel of Jesus Christ! How did you know!? haha :) She said that she would be baptized when she knows this church is true. She likes the idea of having a clean slate and having the Holy Ghost with you as a constant companion. (She was baptized in another church when she was younger and she doesn't understand why, when she didn't do anything that she needed to be cleansed from.) So this makes sense to her and we are glad that she can see why for herself. 

Saturday ~

Sorry the other days were short not a lot happened but I am running out of time and I want to get to the whole week. Today was Dalaina Dalton's baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She looked so pretty in white. I will send you a picture. Sister Griffith and I bore our testimony's and we sang "Silent Night" because it is Sister Dalton's favorite song. The spirit was so strong at the baptism and a lot of people came to support Dalaina and to welcome her into our ward family.  

!!Dalaina Dalton's Baptism!!

Sunday ~

Dalaina received the gift of the Holy Ghost today at church. It was a very spiritual experience. We also saw another investigator named Greg Jensen and we talked to him about.......... why should I even say, you already know, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He accepted all of it and he asked us when can he be baptized. He is on date for the 9th of January. We talked to him about the Word of Wisdom and he is more than okay to give up all of those things. That appointment went better than we thought. We have a church tour with him and his girlfriend who is less active today. They also are coming to our Ward Christmas Party this Friday. So I am excited that he can meet people in the ward.  The Lord's hand is in this work. I am just lucky enough to help Him. 

I love you all and pray for you. Happy Holidays! Toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

November 23

Hello Family,

I got to Spokane on Tuesday and we were stuck at the stake center for almost 4 hours because it was not safe to drive in the wind. The wind here was like hurricane winds. Let me tell you skirts and hurricane winds don't go well together. There was a lot of walking where I was having my legs together to hold my skirt down. Unfortunately, it didn't always work. 

SO this week, Washington was under a State of Emergency. So that was fun! My apartment was out of power for 2 1/2 days and we were instructed by President Dymock that we (the whole Spokane area) were to move in with members that have power. So we were calling around and we called the Relief Society President and asked if she knew a family that we could stay with and she said that we could come to her house and that we were an answer to her prayer. She told us that she was praying to know who she could invite to stay at her house until they receive power back and then we called! God answers prayers. So we stayed with them for 2 days and it was a blast! Their four little kids are adorable and their oldest, Kylene loves Sister Griffith and I. She is the little girl between Sister Griffith and I in the picture that Sister McCune sent to you. Their little boy, Andon, who is 4 loves me. He kept following me around and he kept telling me jokes that didn't make sense.  I only laughed because he laughed and his laugh is contagious.  

I love being in a family ward but it is a hard transition from a singles branch especially when that is all I know. I feel like a new missionary again. But oh well, the Lord knows that I need to be here right now at this time with Sister Griffith. Do you have any tips for me to adjust to a family ward?   It is hard to teach a family with little kids and to stay on topic and to stay focused and to keep them entertained. I am just lost.   (We apparently live in the ghetto and it is kind of dangerous I hear.)   So this will be interesting. 

My new companion is awesome. She is still learning like me. She is a hyper redhead.  Sometimes I can't keep up with her. We are similar and then we are different. We get along so that is all that matters.We are almost the exact person but then we are also complete polar opposites.  She is the youngest of 10 kids and she is from Salem, Oregon. Her family died of laughter when she read her call because it is sooo close to home.

On Sunday I went on the U.S. Air Force Base and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I thought it was awesome. It is like its own world. No one would have to leave the base if they didn't want to. Before I could go in, they had to do a background check on me and they looked at me like I was a criminal. It was pretty intense but it was out of this world at the same time. I love the base. I love military people, so I am excited to be here. 

So my area is huge. It is very rural and I am still having hard time figuring out where the heck I am all the time and I want to know where I am going. So I think this week I am going to become the designated driver so I can figure out my way around. Loomis is less rural and more beautiful.  I am liking it here though. 

The members are very welcoming and Sister Griffith said that the bishop was kind of mean to the sister missionaries, but from what I have seen he is really nice to us. He might just like me. haha.  

I just had my first dinner in Spokane in the dark. At least I had a flashlight. It was fun and memorable.  

Lydia Bjornn who I helped reactivate, is engaged. I was unable to say goodbye to her because she was in Seattle and the boy, Jordan Richter, who is her roommate, proposed to her. I thought she didn't like him, but apparently not! SO I am having to get details out of her. I emailed her to find out. He is a less active member but I think he is coming back since we kept coming over to see Lydia. So I was blown away when Sister Lovell told me that. 

My companion loves to take pictures and I am hoping that she sends them to me soon so I can send them to you. I am being fed tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. I left two scheduled meals in Lewiston and I am only getting one here. :-( Oh well, I am grateful that someone wants us to come over. 

It is going to be snowing here tomorrow. I am going to die. I don't do snow and the roads get icy here as well. YAY, black ice. I almost slipped on some the other day. It was hidden by something.  So thankfully I didn't slip.

Something cool is that an Elder that was in my last district is my new district leader here. We left at the same time and came here. So I have one familiar face. 

On Sunday a speaker didn't show up so the Bishop asked three people to bear their testimony and I knew that one of them was going to be me because I am the fresh meat. I was right. I apparently did a good job. The ward is huge and I have a lot of names to remember. A lot different from a branch. 

Oh something cool is that we have a baptism this week!  Her name is Dalaina Dalton and she is 10 years old. We are super excited and she is as well. We taught some people this week and we have some investigators. One is Phillis. She is from Germany and she is awesome. She has been through a lot and she loves having us over. We went over the Restoration and she believes it and she says that she will give the Book of Mormon a try.  Another one is Stephanie. She is 33 and she will be moving to Montana really soon. We shared with her the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness and she agreed with all of it. She recommitted to read the Book of Mormon and to come to church.  We also ran into some deaf people and Sister Griffith and I know sign language. We got permission from President Dymock that we can study sign language during the week. We are super excited and I am excited that I am no longer going to lose my signing skills. 

There are 20 missionaries in my zone and half are elders and the other half are obviously sisters. So this is really different from my last zone. So many elders that I am friends with are leaving this transfer and I am so sad. You know how sentimental I can get. But such is life. 

I love you all and miss you all!!  Toodaloo.

Sister Schmidt

Extra update

She was transferred this week up to Spokane.  She got there just in time for quite a wind storm which knocked out their electricity for a few days.  A sweet family, in the Sunset Ward which she will be serving in, took them in for a couple of days and sent us a photo letting us know she is warm and dry.  (They went back to their apartment yesterday.)

I've updated the address blog post (http://sistermonicaschmidt.blogspot.com/2015/07/monicas-addresses.html)  with her new address, and it was in this week's email post. 

and there is a really neat new photo on September 14th's email post found here:

September 14th

Moving Day!

Hello Everyone,

So I am..................... LEAVING!  I am being transferred to West Spokane. I am going to be in the Sunset ward. I love sunsets!  :-)  I am nervous but excited at the same time. I am really sad to say goodbye to the members here. I love Lewiston even though is smells bad because of the paper mill. I am going to miss my zone. I am so close with all of them it is ridiculous. I am going to have to get close with other missionaries all over again. 

My new address is ~ 

2808 S. Assembly Rd. #82  

Spokane, WA 99224

So ya, I am excited!   My new companion is Sister Griffith. She has been out for 3 months, just finished training and she is tall, wears glasses, and she is a red head. Dad would approve. haha!  She apparently is super fun and enthusiastic about missionary work! I will be about 30 minutes away from mission headquarters.  I thought I would break down and cry once I heard that I would be transferred, but I didn't!  (I did shed a few tears but I wasn't balling or having trouble breathing, which I guess is always good... haha!) I am going to miss my area here. I love the people and the area and the missionaries here. It is going to be hard to say goodbye. Thank goodness for technology! I am so glad that I can stay in touch with them.

I don't really know how I am going to get up to Spokane tomorrow because no one down here just drives to Spokane on a whim, unfortunately! It is going to be hard to be in an area for Thanksgiving and Christmas where I don't know any of the members like I do here. Why does change have to be the most constant thing in this world?!?!/  Well, besides the gospel of course!  :-)   Just totally thought of the song," Should I stay or should I go."  I am going!  I will miss Sister Lovell.  We got along so well and I wish we could have been together for more than one transfer. But the Lord knows where I need to be and when I need to be there. I just need to trust Him because He always knows best. I am supposed to be in West Spokane for a reason and I can't wait to find out that reason. I am going to miss being in a singles ward, well in my case a branch. I have become so close to the members here and apparently I am too comfortable because God has decided that I need to grow. I am glad that he doesn't give us too much all at once because I can't stretch that much. I AM NOT ELASTA GIRL! (The Incredible's)  Heavenly Father knows me and I am glad.

Well on the bright side I might have my first white Christmas!!!!!!!!! That will be pretty cool. Oh and before I forget one of our investigators is "on date" to be baptized for December 12th!  Her name is Brie and she is the one who is confused about her sexuality. It is awesome to see that she is willing to make changes in her life to come closer to God. The area is picking up which was a foreshadowing that I was going to leave. Lewiston will always be a place in my heart!

I am happy that you are enjoying your kitchen Mom. I have given in ~ send me pictures when it is ALL done!  No more, no less! 

Love you and miss you! Toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

Mo's 1st Mission Christmas Tree

Lewiston, ID

Loving Lewiston

Happy November to Everyone!

Dad and Mom, I am so happy that the kitchen is almost done and that you were able to have a real home cooked meal!

My companion and I are running everyday in the morning. We wake up at 6:20 and we go running at 6:30 and we run for about 20-25 minutes so we have time to cool down and stretch after. So that is progress.

We had exchanges Friday and Saturday and I was with the STL (sister trainer leader), Sister Rencher, and she is super intense. She brags about not crying and how she is super confident. It was a struggle to be with her for a whole day but I took a bullet for her companion. I am proud to say that I have cried a lot on my mission. It shows that I am strong and not weak. I used to say that I didn't like my emotions and how easy I cried, but now I am really proud about it. I don't know if you remember Dominic, who I taught in the MTC, but he told me that he loves my emotions and that I should not apologize for them. I am no longer apologizing for my emotions. I just let them go. I often joke about it and say, "I am leaking!"  It always gets a couple of laughs.

Oh, so I get along with the Elders except for one ~ but that is because he signed a pact to hate sister missionaries ~ but that is besides the point. So I get along with the Elders and Sister Rencher, the STL, asked me if I am keeping the sister/elder relationships appropriate. I was taken back??  I treat them like brothers but not in the same way, if you know what I mean. So I explained that to her and I hope she understands now. For pday last week, I beat all the elders at knock out and the version they played was war. I won and they were impressed.  (I am so humble it is ridiculous!) haha :-)  It felt good to shoot a basketball again.

Last FHE we played sukiyaki kickball! It was so much fun. I played and I had to take off my shoes because when I kicked the ball my shoe flung across the court.... It was an adventure doing it in a skirt. You'd be surprised by what I have done in a skirt so far on my mission. It is kind of ridiculous, but that is me. 

So nothing really happened this week. OH on Wednesday we had dinner with a family that has two boys that are attending the YSA Branch. There was some interesting mission stories shared and we were dying of laughter at the dinner table. I like pumpkin pie but it has to be firm and NOT like jello formed. I have had Arabic food multiple times now from international students from Saudi Arabia. It was delicious!!!

We don't have any solid investigators right now, but we scheduled to have a church tour with Brie for Tuesday. We are excited and hope it goes well. We found some new potential investigators and are hoping that they have been prepared to receive the gospel. It is just sad when people say they are not interested and we haven't even said anything. Some people have come up to us and have tried to save us by telling us that we are manipulated and brain washed. How can we be brain washed when we have asked Heavenly Father if this church is true? On Saturday I prayed that I would get something out of church the next day. (We can always get something but we need to be prepared.) God answers prayers! I wrote a few quotes down. A return missionary said in his talk, "Humility accomplishes more than ability." I thought that was very profound and I love that. It is SO true. Then in Sunday School a scripture popped out at me ~ 2 Timothy 4:7 ~ "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  I love that scripture because it is a good introspection scripture. It helps me want to be a good missionary everyday. Then two quotes stood out to me in Relief Society. One is, "The Lord will bless more fully the man who works for what he prays for,  than He will the man who only prays." The other one is, "You will never wish or dream yourself into heaven. You must pay the price in toil, in sacrifice, and righteous living." Both of these quotes are from President Ezra Taft Benson. I love them. Just think about it for a second, if you want to be patient God is not going to give you the attribute of patience. You are going to have to work for it. He is going to give you challenges where you are going to have to be patient. We learn things from trials and challenges, so obviously Heavenly Father is going to give us hard things to learn to be patient. I just think that is cool.

I really don't want to be transferred. I have become attached to this area and the people in it. Transfer calls are this Sunday and I am nervous!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to be here for another transfer and this next transfer has both Thanksgiving in it and Christmas. I want to be around people that I know and care for for the holidays. But I will go where God needs me to go, but I want Him to need me here.

Thank you for the last package. I loved everything, especially the Giants cups!!! I love them!!!! I have already used them a bunch!!!!

Love you all and miss you all!!! toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

Sister's Rencher, Andruski,
Lovell, and Schmidt
Splits ~ Lewiston Zone

4 Months Out !!!!

Hello to everyone back home!

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I left home!  It has gone by fast, but then it hasn't. When I think about all that I have done it makes sense that I have been out 4 months but then I think about it more and I am speechless by how fast it has gone by.  Anyway, this week was good. The branch president's wife, Sister Roberts said that we can do our laundry at her house instead of going to the laundry mat. Sister Lovell and I were so excited for that. We carved pumpkins and had fun doing that.  On Wednesday we went to the Spokane Temple and it was so righteous! haha:) I got to do the work for a lady named Mary Monica Corcoran. How cool is that!?!? Monica is not a common name, and I was lucky enough to have been given her name to do in the temple. Then we went out to eat and we went to the mission office and we then ate at Sweeto Burrito before we left Spokane Valley to go back to Lewiston. Lydia Bjornn is doing FANTASTIC! She is coming back! :-) She is taking the steps she needs to come fully back into the church. She does not want me to leave. She wants me to stay here for my whole mission. (I don't know if I could do that.) I am excited for her and her desire to do what is right. I can relate to her and it is awesome to see the light radiate in her eyes!!

President Dymock writes a mission wide email to all of us missionaries every week. This is the email from this week. I thought it was amazing and I got goosebumps up and down my body.

“I Had No Real Purpose in Life”

We were with Elder Richard G. Maynes of the Presidency of the Seventy this week. He told this story to teach us about how the Lord prepared people. He met a recent convert not long ago in New York City who was living the high life. She had everything she could every want - a great husband, high rise apartment living, memberships to a tennis club, a golf club and more. One day as she was getting ready for work, she turned on the news to learn that one of the Twin towers had been hit by an airplane. Her husband worked there. She called and he answered and said he was in the other tower. She was so relieved. Shortly after she said good-bye, she saw the other plane hit the second tower. Her husband was killed. She said she realized I had no real purpose in life. For the first time, she needed to know if there really was a God. She began searching and attended many churches. Finally one day, she walked into an LDS chapel and met the missionaries. She said she felt at home. Three weeks later she was baptized. She has since had the baptismal work done for her husband and later their sealing. Elder Maynes asked us what response would the missionaries have received the day before the accident. Not interested. What about two weeks later? That is why we need to always be asking people and not be discouraged if they are not ready - yet. When they are ready, they will respond. It is our work to follow the Spirit and be led to those who are ready and searching. This lady found the missionaries and is so grateful for the gospel in her life.

SLY (Sure Love You), President Dymock

I help give purpose to people's lives and I am grateful for this opportunity to do it 24/7. I love this gospel. It is Christ's church on the earth and I am glad to be baptized into it. We had a lesson with Isaac Lueck this week. We showed him how he can read the Book of Mormon on his phone and or listen to it since he walks to work because he doesn't have a car. He is super pumped to read the Book of Mormon and I can't wait for him to find out that it is true for himself. I know it is true because I have read it and prayed to Heavenly Father and asked if it is true. I am a missionary and I am loving it! 

Love you all and miss you all! toodaloo!

Sister Schmidt

Deer on the dining table??

Sister Lovell carving her pumpkin!

Halloween 2015!

Monica carving!