10/30/2017 – Sister Schroeder's Mission Blog

And should we die before our journey’s through…happy day?

Sickness is running rampant through the sister missionaries!

Early this week, Sis Sandorf started the dying cycle and passed it on to Sis Gillespie and then to me. Sis Sandorf and I played hooky after church yesterday and napped and watched “Legacy”. I think it was good for both of us so I don’t even feel guilty.

Last P-day was a teensy bit stressful because we had to share 2 cars between 3 companionships. The zone leaders went up to Bishop to do exchanges, and they usually give the 4th Ward elders rides to their appointment, but since sisters can’t give elders rides, they had to have a car of their own. It was mostly stressful because Sis Sandorf and I felt like if we did what we wanted, we would be inconveniencing the 1st Ward sisters because we were sharing their car (the elders took ours). It worked out fine but it was not the relaxing day off we were hoping for. We did get our naps though!

On Tuesday we did exchanges with the 1st sisters again and I was with Sis Parcell this time. We talked to some of their investigators and tracted a little bit. We didn’t get much done because their area is in the boonies so the houses are really spaced out. We had to hike through the desert to go from house to house. I totally felt like a pioneer.

I got to meet one of their investigators (who’s going to be in our ward in a few weeks!) and he is really cool. His name is Jason and he used to be a Baptist minister before he decided to become LDS. When I met him the sisters had only taught him one lesson, but it felt like I was talking to a member. He completely accepts the gospel and believes that it’s true. He’s getting baptized on November 11. His baptism will probably be the first one I get to see and I’m so excited!

On Wednesday Sis Sandorf was feeling pretty bad so we laid in bed listening to conference talks until 11, which is when we go shelve books at the library for service. We were going to do service in the afternoon with all the other missionaries, but that plan fell through so we sat in front of the 1st sisters’ apartment for a little bit before going and helping Larry clean out his garage.

We met with one of our investigators in the evening (his name is Joe) and I asked him to be baptized and he said… no. He wants to be baptized someday, but he wants to read the whole Book of Mormon first. He’s been having missionaries teach him on and off for about 20 years, so progress is being made! He’s a man of few words, but Sis Sandorf and I are pretty sure he likes us (apparently he hasn’t liked other missionaries in the past).

Not much happened Thursday either, because we did weekly planning and that always takes hours upon hours. We had a lesson with Larry at 4 and then went out to dinner with him. After dinner we handed out Trunk-or-Treat invitations to everyone we could think of, including 2 random girls on the street who probably thought we were crazy. It must’ve worked though, because we had so many people come to the party Friday night! (including a random guy we met that day while talking to our investigator Inabeth)

Having so many people at the party was great, but also stressful. Sis Sandorf and I were asked to judge the pumpkin-carving contest, so we spent most of our time doing that because people kept coming in late and bringing more pumpkins. We only got to say a quick “hi” to people we knew in between stuffing our faces and crushing childrens’ dreams (we made a kid cry because he didn’t win). I hope the members were making everyone feel welcome.

We did have an awesome experience after the party though. One of our investigators, Dana, came to the party and brought her mom, but no one really said hi to them (except Larry) so they left early before the Trunk-or-Treat part. We wanted to check up on her and see why she left, but we didn’t want to be creepy and stalkerish. We drove out of the church parking lot and then decided to pray about what we could do for her, so we parked on the street right behind the church and prayed. Right after the prayer Sis Sandorf said “if only there was something we could bring her” and I heard myself say “her crock-pot!” She had brought soup, but because she left early she forgot to grab it. We got out of our car and literally ran back into the church and lo and behold, there was her crock-pot! We said the biggest thank-you prayer ever.

Saturday was when Sis Gillespie was burning up with a fever, so I went out with Sis Parcell to some of their appointments while Sis Sandorf stayed and tended her. I don’t remember most of what happened because my throat started to slowly get more and more sore throughout the day, and I was thinking about how I was going to die like Sis Sandorf. I didn’t sleep very well that night and only got about 2 hours in. Being sick isn’t very fun, but being sick on a mission is the worst because you have stuff you have to get done that day so there isn’t really time to rest up. It was lucky because the only lesson we had planned canceled on us, so we could afford to take the day off. Hopefully I will get better quickly and I won’t spread my germs to anyone else in the district. That is not the kind of legacy we want to be starting.

Well, I have to get going because we’re about to go carve pumpkins as a district. And by that I mean everyone else is going to carve pumpkins and I’m going to pass out in a corner somewhere since I’m dying just a little.

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Pictures:

The awesome door Sis Parcell and I came across while tracting (We left a Jesus pass along card and Sis Parcell made a joke about Him being the “Sun” of God– we laughed for a good 5 minutes):

Sis Sandorf and I on our way to the not-service project: