It’s been almost a year and a half since we welcomed Alex back from his mission to Peru. And today we had the same opportunity to welcome Kyra back from California, as she finished her mission in Bakersfield.
We piled into the van and headed to the airport. In the parking lot we found one of those luggage carts, so we decided to hijack it. I pushed Zaque about halfway to the terminal (of the half-mile walk we did from long-term parking) and then he took a turn pushing me.
Then we positioned ourselves in the terminal where the trains empty, since that’s the closest we could get to the gate. While waiting, Zaque and I noticed a big bronze statue of some aviator dude. His shoes were very shiny, and I figured it was because countless people rub his shoes for good luck. We figured it wouldn’t hurt to get a little of the luck for ourselves.
A short while later, there she was!
Not surprisingly, there were hugs and laughing and tears. Laralee got a hug that seemed like it lasted forever, while the rest of us stood around awkwardly waiting for our turns. Then again, moms probably miss their missionaries more than others.
We posed by some DIA construction sign, together again for the first time in over three and a half years.
After a stop for lunch, we came back home to a big banner:
And that’s all she wrote! Eighteen months of service, hard work, and tremendous sacrifice, in the record books. I’m so proud of Kyra and her decision to serve a mission. And I’m so glad to have her back!
“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people that they might have everlasting life.” -3 Nephi 5:13
This is it. My last email as a missionary. It doesn’t feel real that I will be back in Colorado in 2 days. Wow, time really does fly! I’m sad to leave California and everything that it means to me, but I’m excited to see my family and take a nap.
Not much happened this week that I want to write about, so instead I’m going to seize this opportunity to bear my testimony. I have grown so much spiritually while I’ve been on my mission. Before I came out, I believed in God and Jesus Christ and felt like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true, but I didn’t do a whole lot about it. I would pray and go to church and read the scriptures just to check it off the list. I was becoming spiritually apathetic, but I cared enough to want to do something about it. So on a mission I went.
Now I KNOW that God and Jesus Christ are real and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s church restored to the earth. I’ve learned how important praying is, and how much closer it brings us to God. I’ve learned that the scriptures have power, and church is not just something to suffer through. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and he translated The Book of Mormon through the power of God. I know that President Russell M Nelson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth today and he receives revelation from Him to lead us. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven. Because of Jesus Christ we can be forgiven of every mistake we have made. We can find peace in hard times because He knows everything we go through and He knows how to help us. Because of Him, death is not the end and we will all be resurrected and have perfect bodies one day. I love my Savior and am so grateful for him. I’m so grateful I had this opportunity to give up 17 months and one week of my life to Him. My mission has been so hard, but so worth it.
Well folks, thank you so much for all the love you’ve sent me and prayers you’ve said for me. If you’ve gotten anything out of my emails I hope it’s that I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and missions can be fun. I will see you all soon!
Ciao, Sister Schroeder
Valentine’s Day selfie:
Seeing Sister Flitton at the departing missionary temple trip (we decided we’ll be temporary comps tomorrow before we go home)
A pretty rainbow we saw:
Saying goodbye to one of my favorite members:
One of the people we’re teaching who’s from Syria made us baklava:
A member we said goodbye to has lightsabers!
I slammed my toe into my suitcase… twice (it looks worse in person)
“Now the question is… do I pee on the confetti or do I flush the confetti and then pee?”
This week was exciting because it was Sister Hart’s birthday on Saturday!! I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to plan something fun with the elders. That’s not an easy feat when you have to be within sight and sound of your companion 24/7. I awkwardly wrote out a note explaining what I wanted their help with and then sneaked it to them when she turned around for a second. Then they had to send cryptic texts that I would understand, but she would not. And the day before her birthday, there was a miscommunication so I spent 30 minutes mouthing things to the elders while they mouthed things back over her head. It wasn’t very successful because none of us can read lips so we ended up writing on sticky notes and making something up to throw Sister Hart off.
I’m super impressed that we managed to pull it off without her getting suspicious and guessing what was going on. I left the door unlocked in the morning when we left, and they came in and decorated it while we were gone. However, when we came back they hadn’t finished yet so we found them hiding on our balcony. They sung happy birthday with us and ate cake. I was so happy because they did a lot more than I expected. I thought they would hang a few streamers and write “Happy Birthday” on a piece of paper and put it on the wall, but they did a lot more than that. I’ve included pictures. The quote above came from Sister Hart when she needed to go to the bathroom, but the elders had had some fun in there and decided to put confetti and a balloon in the toilet. Then the STLs took us out for ice cream. Sister Hart said she had a great birthday so I count that as a success!
Not a whole lot else happened this week. We’ve been walking around a lot trying to find people that want to hear our message, but no dice most days. We do have a return appointment with someone on Friday though that we’re super stoked about! We had to stop teaching one of our people on Saturday and that made me sad.
I get frustrated when people say they don’t believe in The Book of Mormon when they haven’t read it. The only way to know if it is the word of God is to read from it and pray about it. That’s what I had to do. I’ve read the Book of Mormon multiple times and have prayed if it is true multiple times. I’ve never had an angel appear to me and no voice has ever said “Kyra it’s true”. I’ve simply felt the Spirit touch my heart. I’ve felt peace come into my life and hope come into my heart whenever I open its pages.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the events that happened in the Book of Mormon really did happen to real people. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Joseph Smith was led by God to find and translate the Book of Mormon. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that any problem in anyone’s life can be solved through the Book of Mormon. There is power that comes from reading it that I’ve barely began to discover. I love the Book of Mormon with all my heart and am so grateful that I have it and the gospel in my life. My mission has made it possible for me to discover that, and help others discover it as well.
There’s a song I love that says, “today is the day I will open my mouth. I will shout from the rooftops, the truth will come out and I’ll share in my soul with the words that I speak the love that has made me this way. Today is the day I proclaim what I believe”. That’s exactly how I feel about what I believe. This last week of my mission I am going to proclaim to everyone what I believe, because I want everyone to feel what I have felt.
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
We went to IHOP for lunch and I made them sing to her (she was so embarrassed!)
What a cute birthday girl!
Her reaction to seeing what the elders did:
Us cleaning up the confetti that was all over the floor (the vacuum just chopped it up so we had to sweep the carpet)
The elders left their sunglasses in the apartment so we had to take a picture of course:
The cutest sisters in the Caster at lunch:
Awkward zone photo:
The elders’ decorating job:
It has been so rainy in the Caster the past week! It’ll rain for a while, then the sun will come out for about an hour and then it’ll go back to raining. It’s the weirdest rain I’ve ever seen. Sister Hart and I had to take a picture, of course.
On Tuesday we had exchanges with the Palmdale STLs and I got to be with Sister Jackman! I haven’t been her comp since the MTC so it was tons of fun to be with her more than a year later. We’ve both changed a lot in good ways, but we’re still homies. I love her so much and appreciate all she does for me. We laughed and cried and contacted people. It was very good for my soul.
We had a funny moment on Saturday this week. We ordered a pizza, but then got a phone call from a member in distress so we went to go help her. Problem: our pizza was supposed to be there in about 15 minutes. So we called the elders and they drove over to our apartment and waited for the pizza guy. It was a little crazy for a minute, but the pizza was delivered safely so all was well. We have such awesome elders in our zone!
The only other thing that happened this week was we saw a lady named Ana. She speaks mostly Arabic and only a little English. She can really feel the Spirit when she talks to missionaries, so we’re just waiting for a pamphlet and a Book of Mormon in Arabic. It’s been interesting to talk to her thus far, because she doesn’t really understand what we’ve said, so we’ll see how interested she is in our message when she actually knows what we’re talking about.
I hope y’all had a good Groundhog Day and have a fantastic week!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
We acted out a Book of Mormon story and it was so much fun!
Comp selfie in the rain:
The elders did our dishes when they grabbed our pizza for us!
I was overcome with stress one day and sat by the door like that for a minute… but it’s all good now
“I thought we were gone for sure!”
Some of the elders got chased a mile by a huge dog this week and they told us all about it. I was laughing so hard! I wish I could’ve seen it, but I hope it never happens to us.
We started off this week on a very good note called Olive Garden. Shout out to my awesome parents for giving me a gift card so we could enjoy unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks. The only sad part about our trip to Olive Garden was that we went 2.5 hours before dinner. So we stuffed ourselves there and at dinner. I haven’t eaten that much in a while so it was a little rough the rest of the night. My stomach has definitely shrunk on the mission and I can’t put away as much food as I used to. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
We did a lot of service this week. There’s a lady in our ward who’s trying to organize her house more, so we went over last week and we’re going again this week. We’ve spent a few hours there and it doesn’t look like we’ve made a dent. Her house needs a lot of help. And then we did dishes at someone’s house, and Sister Hart was a champ and she washed while I dried. The kitchen looked 100% better when we left over 2 hours later. It taught me an important lesson: if your dishes take over 2 hours to do, you have a problem. It felt good to serve some people though, because we haven’t done service in a very long time.
The most exciting thing that happened this week was finding two new people to teach! That hasn’t happened in a very long time either. One of them lived in Damascus and speaks mostly Arabic, and a little bit of English. We have to talk very slowly and very simply, but she wants to learn more about the gospel so we’re going to make it work. The other lady lost contact with the missionaries a few years ago so it’s a miracle we found her again. Her last name is Miracles so I think that’s a sign.
That’s all for this week folks! Have a fantastic week and remember that everything happens for a reason. That’s a lesson I’m learning a lot out here.
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
One of our eggs froze in the fridge and Sister Hart was the lucky one who tried to crack it:
We took pictures by a Joshua tree because that’s a stereotypical thing for missionaries to do in this mission:
We got Cold Stone for Sister Hart’s 4-month mark:
She’s the cutest!
“Y’all are beautiful”
I have never been complimented more in my life than I have on a mission. Random people say I’m beautiful or that my hair looks good or that my dress is pretty. I’m kinda gonna miss that when I get home.
This week it rained a lot. People thought we were crazy because we were walking around in the rain, but it’s part of the job so it has to be done. The roads were covered in water because the ‘Caster isn’t built for rain, but we didn’t hydroplane so that was good.
We had zone conference this week and it was good, as usual. It was my last zone conference so I had to go up and bear my testimony in front of everyone. I was still getting over being sick, so my voice was super low. I don’t know if anyone could hear me, but God could and that’s what matters. We talked a lot about how to become better teachers. It was a good reminder about how important it is to teach to people’s needs. The gospel of Jesus Christ can help us in any aspect of our life and anything we go through, and we need to show people that. If it’s not personal, people don’t care.
We had a really cool experience with a member this week. Remember the lady we saw in the psych ward? Well she’s been trying to come back to church, so we’ve been meeting with her. Last Sunday she got lost on her way to church, and ended up at a Baptist church down the street. She ended up staying there, and then told us that she wants to start going to that church. I was upset because I love her so much and I didn’t want to stop meeting with her. I talked with her on the phone for almost 15 minutes, and I told her to pray and read the scriptures and we’d talk to her on Sunday. When we talked to her on Sunday, she said that the more she prayed, the more she felt like she needed to continue going to our church. The power of prayer is real! She was praying to know what to do, and I was praying that she would understand how much she needs the Church and the Church needs her. Heavenly Father really does care about what happens in our lives.
That’s all I have for this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
Sister Hart and I found an apartment complex that looked like a hotel:
A member made a sushi cake for dinner:
We went outside and saw the eclipse yesterday:
A member made us homemade pizza! I have literally been waiting 16 months to have homemade pizza…
“I travel so much… sometimes I have to ask people where I am!”
President Ballard came to our mission!! For those of you who don’t know, President Ballard is one of the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which means he is one of Jesus Christ’s Apostles here on the earth. He’s a super cute old man and really funny. We took a picture with him and then all of us got to shake his hand. I wanted to ask him what lotion he uses because his hand was so soft, but that didn’t really seem like the moment to ask. He talked to us for less than an hour, but it was really powerful. He has amazing faith and I hope I’ll be able to have that kind of faith someday. The main focus of what he talked about was to be more spiritually aggressive. What we have to say is really important and we should act like it is. He said he doesn’t want anyone to come up to him in the spirit world and ask him why he didn’t share the truth with them when he saw them. I’ll admit I have walked past people and not tried to share our message. It seemed awkward, or they were too busy, or they were kind of far away. There was always some excuse. But what we share is bigger than any of that. Nothing is more important than eternal life, which is what we’re offering. These last few weeks that I have, I’m going to work on boldly testifying of the truth. I know what I know and no one can change that, so why should I fear? I know that President Ballard truly is a representative of Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church upon the earth that has the power and authority of God. I’m grateful to be a member and a missionary.
There’s nothing much else to report. I’ve been sick this week so we’ve been inside a lot. I got less than an hour of sleep Saturday night, so I was a little out of it on Sunday, but I drove to Bakes and back and nobody died so that’s good. Hopefully it’ll clear up soon because it’s no fun to be sick as a missionary. My new companion is super cute and I’m excited to work with her!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
We roped a bull last Monday:
Ate papusas for lunch:
Our last comp selfie:
My cute new comp Sis Hart on a hoverboard (those things are harder to ride than they look)
“It’s fast Sunday and the guy downstairs ordered pizza…”
Elder Simpson was not very happy with his neighbors yesterday.
Well, here I am again with only a few minutes to write an email. Today has been extra crazy because transfers are tomorrow. I’m really sad because Sister Mounteer is leaving and going to Bakersfield to be an STL and finish training someone. I’m really excited for her because she will do AMAZING, but I’m sad to lose her. I’m getting Sister Hart, who came out with Sister Ottley. I’m “greenie breaking” her (I’m her companion right out of training) and I’m also her second companion, which can be a little scary. I have to show her that missionary work can be done different ways (she only knows how to work like her trainer) without her thinking I’m an apostate or weird missionary. I’m actually really excited for this transfer!
Nothing crazy happened this week. We did find someone to teach this week though, which was awesome! We knocked on her door trying to find her son who had talked to missionaries before. We asked for him, but he didn’t really want to talk at the moment so we talked to her and offered her a Book of Mormon. She said she would love one because she used to have one but it was stolen. We testified of the power The Book of Mormon brings and she said “I know. I’ve read it.” It was cool to know that she felt the same power I do every time I open The Book of Mormon. It’s crazy what a difference reading The Book of Mormon makes in my day. If I’m ever having a bad day or feeling lousy, it probably means I haven’t read my scriptures that day. Some days are hard even when I do read, but without fail bad days and failure to read are connected. It’s not about what’s on the page, it’s about the Spirit that comes with that act of faith.
That’s all I have time for. I hope you have a great week and enjoy school starting again!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
We ate at Panara and the soup was AMAZING! (We also wore our slacks and we totally looked like important CEOs having a lunch meeting)
The first tie I skinnied (the elders ask us a lot)
We did face masks and it looked like my skin was peeling off
Me and my cute comp
“God made all the perfect people bald.”
…
“I don’t remember Jesus being bald.”
The kind of conversations we have with some of our members are hilarious! John is bald and thinks it’s the best thing ever, but Renee knows just how to shut him down.
Greetings from the ‘Caster! I hope y’all had an AMAZING Christmas because I sure did. I got to talk to my family, open wonderful gifts from wonderful people, and eat until I couldn’t walk. It was a good day.
I really reflected this Christmas on my Savior and everything He has done for me. I am so grateful to know about the gospel and know that I have a Savior who loves me unconditionally. Sis Mounteer and I read the American version of the Christmas story in the Book of Mormon and my favorite line (taken from 3 Nephi 1) is Christ saying to Nephi, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer… on the morrow come I into the world”. I love that because I relate it back to my own life. Whenever I feel like I can’t handle something, or like I have no hope, I can hear His voice in my head saying, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer, for I came into the world.” The message we share as missionaries is one of hope and happiness and light. Christ came so that darkness could be overcome and everlasting joy could be possible. Because He came to us we can go to Him. I strive everyday to live in a way that will let me return to live with Him. I am so excited to see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again and know that I am home.
I have only a few minutes to finish this email, so I’m going to speed through some stuff. We went on exchanges this week, which was a lot of fun because we were with Sis Jackman and Sis Sandorf who are both my previous companions. I was with Sis Sandorf which was really cool because she is going home this week, so it was our last hoorah. The last time we were companions was over a year ago. Crazy! We also had to be inside early on Christmas Eve, so Sis Mounteer and I built the Los Angeles temple out of graham crackers and it looks legendary. We’re going to figure out how to frame it.
That’s all folks! Have a Happy New Year!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
The STLs run 2 miles a day and the look on my face is exactly how I feel about it:
We found a bullet hole in the church:
Christmas breakfast with some members… and the elders:
My presents from the amazing people in my life:
Our beautiful temple:
Elder Vance: “I lost 15 pounds!”
Sister Mounteer: “Well I found it!”
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!! I’m so excited for Christmas tomorrow! We get to talk to our families and we’ll be going out to breakfast and eating lamb for lunch. It should be a party!
This week we went caroling on the Blvd as a zone. We sounded kinda good, but mostly bad. It was a lot of fun, though, and we handed out some candy canes and Light the World cards to those who stopped to listen. We went twice, but the second time, not many people were there so we didn’t sing as long. We have such an awesome zone! We’re all really supportive of each other, which is a big help in missionary work. We all go through the same things and we all have the same goal. It’s nice to have friends who understand the good and bad, and are there for you through all of it.
We also went to a wedding this week. We helped set up the day before and then we helped serve cheesecake at the actual wedding. It was for someone I knew in the YSA ward, and Rachel and Keely were there! It was fun to see them again. It was a good wedding, but it’s weird to be at a wedding when you’re a missionary.
That’s all I have for this week. Have a Merry Christmas!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
Our beautiful piano display:
Artistic shot on the Blvd:
Zone pic:
Comp pic:
There was a guy dressed like Spider-Man on the Blvd so of course the elders had to take a picture with him:
