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