To grandmother’s apartment I’ve gone
Well, I’m here. Bakersfield California. Where the smog comes sweeping through the air. Sis Taylor and I could literally see the layer of smog over Bakersfield when we came driving down from Ridgecrest. My first thought was “I’m going to be breathing that air”. But I haven’t died yet so maybe I’ll be ok.
It was really sad to say good-bye to everyone in Ridgecrest. I love the members and investigators we had there. I’m especially going to miss my child, but I know she’ll do awesome with her new companion. I’m hoping that if I wish that for her it will happen to me. Sis Evans is… a missionary. She is super serious and doesn’t really laugh at all. It’s taken me a little while to get used to her, since we spend a lot of time in super awkward silence, but I know if I pray hard the Lord with help me love her.
Just kidding! I LOVE Sis Evans! She is so much fun and absolutely hilarious and we’ve already clicked. I don’t even know how to describe her, but I’m sure you’ll get to know her a little better over my next few emails. We’re pretty much the same person except she’s an extrovert and I’m an introvert. It’s kinda weird because she knows everyone in Ridgecrest because she served there, so she always knows who I’m talking about. So about the subject line, Sis Evans is my mission “grandma”. She trained Sis Sandorf (my mom), who trained me (me), and I trained Sis Taylor (my child). We tell everyone that she’s my grandma and they all look really confused so we have to explain. It’s fun here in Bakes and I love the Berkshire ward! There are so many funny members. I haven’t laughed as hard as I have this week in a long time.
One of the best moments from this week was when Sis Evans got pepper spray in her eye. It was on Tuesday (my first night here) and she threatened to spray a member (he was a teenager being a brat) so she whipped out her pepper spray. She didn’t spray it, but she accidentally touched the hole. She had sprayed it before to see if it worked so there was some residue left on the opening and then she accidentally touched her eye. She couldn’t open it for like 10 minutes and I was laughing so hard. The members were laughing really hard too, but I don’t think Sis Evans was. She laughs about it now, though, so it’s all good.
Now some spiritual stuff. We have a family that’s getting baptized in a few weeks! It’s a mom (Stephanie) and her two kids, Diego (9) and Persephone (12). They are so cute and I love them so much already! We also picked up a new investigator named Kayla this week. She is super awesome. We had a lesson with her this week and Sis Evans played a song for her called “To the Dreamers” that pretty much described her life and then talked about what an amazing feeling it is to be a believer and how once you feel it, you’ll never forget it. I felt the Spirit so strong and I almost started crying (music affects my emotions easily). It was a really amazing experience.
Well, that’s all I can think of right now. We’re going to Cafe Rio for lunch today and I’m so excited! I didn’t realize how much Ridgecrest doesn’t have until I re-entered civilization. The missionary life is awesome!
Ciao,
Sister Schroeder
Photos…
Pic with Bishop (and he took his eye out for me!)
Our picture with Cotton (apparently it’s a thing):
Diana and Fallgatter (and Nick):
Me and Sis Taylor:
Us and the church:
Pic with Michelle:
Me and the Sturgeons:
Me and Sis Applequist:
Me and Ina (she has a baptism date!)
The McFarlanes (CeCe cried when she heard I was leaving and it made me feel so special):
The McFarlanes made us Chick-Fil-A lemonade!
My last comp pic with Sis Taylor:
Our missionary family (Sis Evans, Sis Sandorf, me, Sis Taylor):
My first comp pic with Sis Evans!
