17 Months Down!

Hello Everyone,

This is the last week of the transfer!  TIME KEEPS FLYING AND IT WON'T STOP! 

We had a lesson this week with an investigator named Uriah and he seemed interested and open but then we had a lesson and he wasn't so much. Thankfully we had a member with us. He is nice but he doesn't really want to know.... that is what we are guessing. The lesson was on the Restoration and he asked crazy questions and we had no idea what to say! The spirit was not there and we felt abandoned. But we evaluated the lesson after and we think that Uriah is not ready. If he was ready then the spirit would put things into our minds but nothing came up. It was discouraging and thankfully he said that we can meet again. 

So..... we definitely had a FEAST on Thanksgiving. We had a dinner appointment at 1 and then we played basketball with the stake president and his family at 2 at the stake center. It was so nice to play basketball again. They have four daughters and I love them all. The youngest is an 8th grader. I had to tone it down a bit and not play like I did in high school. I wanted to keep playing! We then had another appointment at 3 and another one at 5. We had a lot of food but we did pace ourselves. I now like pumpkin pie and pecan pie. My tongue is developing! haha :) I still don't like tomatoes! 

Thanksgiving with the Bloomfield Family!

On Friday we went to the temple and a lady named Sister Ferguson took us four sisters and we went together! It was so nice to be in the temple! That is one thing that I am excited about coming home for ~ I can go to the temple every week! I want to be an ordinance worker. I did the work for a lady from Normandie, France. She was born in 1541 and her name is Anna per de Moulin. It was awesome! This was my last time going to the temple on my mission! I want to go when I get home when I am still a missionary. It might not happen but I would love to be a missionary still in my temple!

November 25, 2016 

A few weeks ago our Ward Mission Leader and his family bought me boots for the winter! They have good tread on the bottom so I won't slip! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks so pretty outside! I am actually happy to live in the snow! 

One of our investigators, Brother Leonard, is going through a hard time. He and his wife who is in LA are getting a divorce and he is now homeless. If you could keep him in your prayers that would be awesome!!!! Our lesson with Therman was changed to Sunday and we taught him the Restoration. He is from North Carolina and he started to meet with the missionaries because a lady that comes to his work a lot invited him to come to church and he agreed. He is a man of his word which is nice because when we says he will do something he will do it! I love it when people are true to their word. We taught the Restoration and he understood it and we are helping him believe it. He works two jobs everyday and he said that he won't have time to read the Book of Mormon. In response we said then pray about what we shared with you and ask if it is true and he said that he can do that! We have FHE with Ryan tonight with a family in the ward. We are excited!!!!!!!!!!!! Transfers happen next week so you will all know where I will be for the last 6 weeks of my mission. 

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

Sister Schmidt

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Everyone!

This week was very fun! I had two exchanges with two wonderful sisters! I went on exchanges with Sister Hsiao who is from Taiwan and with Sister Paget! This exchange was the 4th exchange with Sister Paget! We have served around each other for 7 and a half months. I love her!!!!!! She came out with me in July! 

On Friday we had a church tour with Ryan, our 13 year old boy investigator. It was not a reverent church tour. Let's just put it that way. He was all over the place and was being crazy. He does have ADHD but in church he sits still...... he can choose to be quiet but that night he didn't want to. But we did find out that he doesn't really understand why we are baptized. He just wants to be baptized to get baptized for his family. That is a righteous desire but there is more to it that just that. So we are going to teach him about baptism with more details. I am excited! 

I am going to the temple on the 25th of November! When everyone else is doing Black Friday shopping I will be in the house of the Lord drawing closer to him! It will be Light Friday to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning Sister Andruski and I decorated our apartment for Christmas and it looks gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It feels like home!

Decorating our Moscow apartment ~ 2016
"Don't mind the beds, we were doing our laundry!"

Five families are feeding us on Thanksgiving! We missionaries know how to have a feast! haha :) I will for sure be stuffed!! Have fun with all of the family!!!!!!!!! 🦃🦃🦃🦃

This week we also taught a less active lady and she expressed to us that she is having a hard time with her daughter and we read 1 Nephi 6-7 and she received revelation as to what she needs to do. Once we finished the chapter where she got her answer her home teachers came in and shared a message with her as well and they, not knowing her situation, told her the same thing the scriptures told her!!!!!!!! Heavenly Father is aware of every single child of His. He loves us and wants us to know that we are loved and cherished and appreciated! We are not alone in this world and we never will be! 

Ryan, Isabeau and Mike Fielder all came to church on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We asked Mike if we could call him in the morning and keep calling until he answers..... he shouldn't have given us permission ~ we called him 8 times in a row until he called us back. He came and we did everything we could to get him there and the Lord did the rest! 

I don't remember if I said this last time but the new stake president is our old Bishop and we are still waiting to get a new one. 

We have a new investigator and his name is Therman. We have an appointment with him next Saturday and we are excited! He is from North Carolina! Pray for him! 

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

Sister Schmidt

A Crazy Good Week!

Hello Everyone,

It was a Crazy good week!!!!!!!!! We had stake reports and that was fun. I have come to realize that I like meetings.  I don't know why, I just do. You find yourself on your mission... haha :) I don't know if you remember me sending pictures of a Llama farm full of alpacas and a few Llamas. So the Elders decided to not help anymore and we are the only missionaries helping this old lady take care of her animals. We did the hay and water. I am not good at telling stories so I am going to just say that we have to carry bails of hay up hills and the rubber boots I was wearing had a tear in them and Suvia, the old lady, put a garbage bag in it to keep the mud and water from getting to my sock and foot. I was physically exhausted and I wanted to pass out but the only thing keeping me from doing so was that my pillow would be mud, poop, and pee.... that did not sound appealing.

Since it gets dark here at 4pm we are teaching the members at 8 and 8:30. We are teaching them the missionary lessons and it is helping us practice teaching. It is also strengthening the members and strengthening me as well. It is a win win situation. I love the Restoration. You should invite the Elders to the house in the late evening and have them share with you the Restoration. It will lift up your spirits. I promise you that as a missionary, since I have permission to do that. haha :) We have a new investigator!!!!!! Her name is Gail Krauss and her son is a member and we have a lesson with her this week on Friday at 1. Pray for us!!!!!!!!!! She is so sweet and we are not sure about her level of commitment but we will see on Friday.

Stake Conference was this weekend and we got a new stake presidency!!!!!! Guess who the new stake president is? Obviously you don't know so I will just tell you! It is our Bishop in the Quail Run ward! He is no longer Bishop Cook but President Cook! The stake president loves Sister Andruski and I!!!!!!!!!! He is going to do such a wonderful job! We had two general authorities come, Elder Keetch and Elder Call. Something that Elder Keetch shared with everyone was a poem called "Be ye therefore perfect" by Michelle Hamdee. I am not sure if that is her first name... A line that I love from it is "In my flaws I act as proxy." I love as a missionary, I am a representative of Jesus Christ and He is perfect and I am NOT. But I am stepping in for Him to help the people in Moscow. I love it! It can also go for a lot of different things. One of the many themes at conference was service and I love this quote he mentioned as well "If you don't like your lot in life, build a service station on it." That statement is so true. When we serve others we are happier and I have a strong testimony of that from being on my mission. When we focus on others we don't get caught up in our problems and they eventually resolve themselves. We find our self instead. The gospel is simple and it is supposed to be. God does want it to be complicated because He wants us all to return to live with Him after this life. I love being a missionary! Also another thing that I took was I am going to pray and ask Heavenly Father how He sees me. I encourage all of you to do the same and you will be thrown back by how much YOUR Heavenly Father loves you and what He sees in you!

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

Sister Schmidt

Missionary Leadership Council

Hello Everyone!

This week went by really fast as usual! Last pday was Halloween and we stayed with members and wrote letters. It was not very exciting but it was a pday. On Tuesday I went to MLC (missionary leadership council) from 9-3 in Spokane. It was amazing to be trained by President Dymock and to be united with the other mission leaders. I love being a missionary and I love wearing Christ's name on my shoulder! It always draws people's eyes and I love it! In the beginning of my mission I was always so nervous because people kept staring and now I don't even care. 

It doesn't even phase me that eyes are on me. haha :) 

Missionary Leadership Council

During MLC we talked about our purpose as missionaries and it was based off the Mission President's training by Elder Rasband of the 12. It was so motivating! Something that was talked about was that people on the other side are praying for us to find their family and to teach them the gospel! I loved that because it reminded me of an experience I had with a lady named Sister Davis when I was at the temple in Sacramento before I left for Spokane! (She told me that she knew people who have passed on are helping missionaries to find their families here!)  

After that 6 hour meeting I had a "spiritual headache" and it lasted until the next day. On the road trip up the zone leaders and STL from Lewiston picked us up and we drove to Spokane together. We had a lot of fun laughing with each other. On the way back we were less excited and more mellow and we shared why we came on a mission and some of the zone leaders started talking about marriage and how they are "marriage hungry" and this made me feel uncomfortable because I am the closest one to "die" out of all of the missionaries in the van. When I mean "die" I mean go home. It was wonderful to hear how other missionaries decided to come on a mission. 

As a STL in Moscow, I had my first exchange with Sister Sonenstahl. And knowing me, I didn't take a picture.... I am really bad at taking pictures at the moment. I have gotten better on my mission but I have a lot to improve on. I need to learn from you BrieAnn. The exchange went well. We didn't die and we are still breathing. Sister Sonenstahl has been out for three months and she is amazing! We talked a lot and we met a lot of people! I love the sisters in Moscow! 

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

Sister Schmidt