Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

I don’t know if you’ve read my email yet, but I have to tell you about Brooke. So our investigators are a mix of members and non-members, but we don’t know who is what. We make assumptions, of course, and Sis Jackman and I thought we had a pretty good idea of who was a member. We know that Chelle is (we saw her garment lines), we’re pretty sure Wan-Yu is but honestly she could be either, we think Margaret is not, and we think Brooke is not. That all changed when we saw Brooke at the temple today!

We decided to do initiatories and as we’re walking down the line, we see Brooke. I’m pretty sure it broke my brain. My first thought was “do they know she’s here?” then my brain caught up and I realized she must be a member. Her face when she saw us was so funny and she goes “I thought your P-day was Saturday!” We aren’t supposed to know if our investigators are members or not so she made us promise not to tell the boys (she’s also being taught by Elders Toone, Winder, and Bell). We went and sat down and we were whispering about her being a member and being so sure and questioning everything we knew about our other investigators when she came over to us. She said since her cover was blown, she could tell us: she doesn’t have an accent, she doesn’t live in Texas, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, she doesn’t live with her sister-in-law, and she wasn’t dressed up this morning to go to Temple Square. She told us everything was a lie and she actually served a mission in Germany and was going to BYU for nursing. I think the part about her not having an accent was what blew my mind the most because her accent was spot-on and she never slipped up once. I’m still reeling 5 hours later. It was cool though, because she told us that we did a really great job and she really felt our love for her. She said we teach with great power and will be awesome in Bakersfield. We only taught her 3 lessons, but I’m gonna miss her.

I’m not sure what else to tell you guys, it’s mostly in the mass email. We are having a movie night tonight as sisters because Meet the Mormons is on Gospel Library. We’re gonna put all the blankets and pillows on the floor and get snacks. We don’t have class tonight so we don’t feel guilty at all for taking a little bit of a break to hang out together. I got really sad the other day thinking about how I’ll have to leave them. They also aren’t going to BYU so it’ll be hard to see them again.

Also, have you guys seen or talked to Hannah recently? I’m really upset because she hasn’t emailed me at all since I’ve been gone. I honestly think it’s because she thinks I left her behind for Sis Jackman because before I left she asked me if I was going to get a new best friend, obviously I told her no, but she seemed really insecure. Alex also wrote in her email that I should email her so that “she knows I want her”. I don’t know if she’s said anything to you, but I’m really really frustrated. I think that’s the stupidest excuse in the world and I was crying in the shower the other day because I was so angry and upset that she hasn’t even said hi. I know I should probably email her, but I honestly don’t want to. I’m afraid if I do I’ll just yell at her for being dumb cause I don’t want to be nice and sweet right now. So if you see her, tell her to email me! I don’t have time for friend drama right now!

I love you both and miss you lots!

Sister Schroeder

This is my last P-day at the MTC!!!

I leave for Bakersfield California on Monday… at 3:30 in the morning… on two 40-minute flights with a 2-hour layover in between. I think whoever made the flight plans just wanted to mess with us.  When we got the email with the details of our flight plan we were like “are you kidding me?!” We leave the MTC at 3:30 and our flight from Salt Lake to Phoenix leaves at 7 and our flight from Phoenix to Bakersfield leaves at 10. If they put us straight to work when we get there, all will not be well. It will be me, Sis Jackman, Sis Allan, Sis Woodland, and Elder Toone who fly to Bakersfield. The rest of the elders in our district don’t leave until Wednesday morning, when they’ll fly to San José. Sis Jackman said that it works out well because all the sisters are flying together and all the elders are flying together. Elder Toone was not amused.

Sunday went better this week. It felt more like the Millennium than eternity, so progress is being made. A nap really makes a world of difference! My and Sis Jackman’s lesson went well and we didn’t have to talk in church! I failed to mention last week that every Sunday we have a devotional and a video. The devotionals are ok (Tuesdays are when they bring out the big guns) but the videos I’ve seen so far are awesome! Last week we watched “Characters of Christ” by David A. Bednar (which you can supposedly only see at the MTC) and he said exactly what I needed to hear. At the beginning of his talk he talks about some of the problems or worries we might have and then says, “So what? It’s not about you!” He just said it like it is, and it was a good reminder that I’m here to do the work of the Lord, not the work of Kyra. Every time Sis Jackman or I complain we tell each other “it’s not about you!” and have a good laugh then focus on the work.

Back to this Sunday, we watched a devotional given by Jeffrey R Holland (who I love!) called “Open Your Mouth”. The first half of his talk he focused on how we as missionaries should be our first converts to the gospel, and we should never be the same person after our mission as we were before because it’s supposed to change us. He then spent the rest of his talk saying that as long as we open our mouths and talk to people, the Lord will do the rest. If we don’t talk to people, we can’t convert them. What hit me really hard is when he said he didn’t care if we’re nervous about talking to people (I felt like he was pointing right to me); we just need to do it. Evil wins if good people do nothing. I can’t wait for this Sunday’s video!

Monday was full of laughter, probably more than it should’ve been. We were walking back from class and Sis Jackman was opening some of the many many letters she gets, and she totally let the door slam on some sisters walking behind us. She got angry at some elders for doing it to us a few days ago, so I gave her lots of grief for it (after I was done laughing, of course).

The best though was when we and our sista friends were hanging out in the room after dinner and Sis Jackman told me to get in my top bunk bed because she wanted to try something. I suspected what she wanted to try, but I laid down anyways. Sure enough, she started to push my mattress up and down with her feet, asking me if I could feel anything. I decided to mess with her so I asked what I was supposed to be feeling. She started to push harder asking me again if I really didn’t feel anything. I started laughing because she really didn’t believe that I felt anything. Our sista friends also started laughing at this point because they could see my body going up and down at least half a foot as I denied knowing what Sis Jackman was doing. She eventually caught on when the three of us couldn’t breathe for laughing. We also had a good laugh that night when Sis Allan fell on her bed saying she couldn’t wait to go to bed because “sleep is death without the commitment”. It’s hard to believe that I only have 3 days left with these awesome girls.

On Tuesday we started teaching one of the two new investigators we got on Monday (this week we taught 4 total). Her name is Margaret and she was really fun. She’s an older lady and had some really good genuine questions about the gospel and how to change her life. We only got to teach her twice, but I loved meeting with her. Sadly I didn’t think about getting a picture with her so she’s the only investigator I don’t have a picture with. We continued to teach Chelle and Wan-Yu this week, which I was happy about. Our investigators are the best! Sis Jackman, the weirdo that she is, spent our study time with the strings of her sweatpants tied to the bed. I told her that if there was a fire she would be toast. She told me I’d be right behind her because I would probably be laughing too hard to walk. We said dying together would really show our dedication to being companions. The devotional Tuesday night was with Mark A. Bragg of the Seventy. He gave a talk last General Conference, if you want a taste of what he’s like.

The new missionaries came in on Wednesday and our district got to be hosts! Taking the girls to their rooms and then to class wasn’t super exciting, but it was awesome to see so many missionaries join the ranks. There were over 500 young men and women! By dinner time, I was kinda wishing we could’ve left that day because there were so many people in the cafeteria!

Thursday was really busy because we taught all 4 of our investigators and each lesson is around 45 minutes. We had to rush through our meals so that we could plan, teach, and go to class. By the end of the day we were exhausted and laid in our beds wondering why we chose to do this. We shook it off fairly quickly with a dose of “it’s not about you!” and some Book of Mormon reading. I’m reading in the book of Alma and I admire both Captain Moroni and Amalickiah, but in very different ways. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, go read Alma 43-47!

I’m writing this today instead of Saturday (my normal P-day) because this weekend is General Conference! I’m so excited! I love hearing from the leaders of the church and I’ve heard that their talks are especially powerful when you’re a missionary. The only bummer is that I can’t watch it in my PJs while eating food as per usual. We have to be dressed and in the auditorium (no snacks allowed). Sis Jackman said she’ll probably sneak some food in because “if we ain’t snackin, we nappin”.

Ciao!
Sister Schroeder

Photos:

The flags at the MTC (they’re rotated everyday):

Some cool hanging Earth thing:

Us with Brooke (our investigator with a sweet Texas accent) – not sure why I look a little drugged, but it was 8 in the morning:

Us with Chelle (her head isn’t really that big compared to her body, it’s just the picture):

Us and Wan-Yu (I think I’ll miss her the most out of our investigators) – Sis Jackman’s dressed like a hobo cause it’s P-day:

The contraband Chick-fil-a Wan-Yu brought us:

Sis Jackman, me, Sis Allan, Sis Woodland, Elder Harrison, and Elder Holland. Out of 4 pictures we took, this is the one where everyone looked best (except for me). The hang lose sign is cause we’re going to California and Elder Holland just always looks like that in pictures.

Sis Woodland taking a selfie with a just waking Sis Jackman:

Our district at the temple (what did I tell you about Elder Holland):

I forgot to tell you that I got called down to the immunization office on Friday! Sis Jackman, sis woodland, and I all got notices and none of us wanted to get shots. Thankfully none of us had to get any. They just wanted to check my record because the computers were acting weird so it looked as though I hadn’t done anything. Same with sis Jackman, although for her they wanted to give her the flu shot but she refused. Sis Woodland fainted the last time she got immunizations so she told them she wouldn’t get the flu shot and they out her down as exempt. It all worked out and our selfie in the mass email is our “immunization office survival” picture!

Hi mommy!

“I do what he does, just slower.”

Obviously it’s from Captain America:Winter Soldier! Sam, aka Falcon, says it to Fury. Yes I got your package and I loved it. The only thing was that you sent me a skirt instead of my other comfy pants. But thanks! I loved the food and my sista friends had a good laugh about
almost everything being organic. Their moms are into organic and essential oils too so it wasn’t a mean laugh.

No, I did not bludgeon an elder! It was someone else. I don’t know when dad sends you the big email I write, but if you want it directly I can send it to you. Everything I write you about connects to that so it would be helpful if you read it first!

If you get a chance you should contact Jen Washburn because Amanda is here on her mission! I saw her a few times and we’ve talked but I’m not sure if she recognizes me.

I really wish you could meet my comp! I know I’ve said it before but she’s the best! I’m 100% positive that she was heaven sent to me. She totally reminds me of McKenna Thorup. My favorite thing she’s said this week was when we were talking about how she was burping so much on Friday and I said I was glad it was coming out the top end. Her reply was “yeah, you probably wouldn’t like me that much if my butt-hole was on fire all the time.” I laugh so hard every time I think about it! She’s a little edgy, her words not mine, but she’s also really spiritual. And she’s not really that edgy now, but looking at picture from before and hearing stories she was before. It makes me have hope for some of the girls I’ve thought were edgy growing up. It also made me realize I shouldn’t judge girls that dress immodestly or
use a little more colorful language because they totally can change! She’s now on a mission to save souls! I love you and miss you lots! Send me pictures when you buy new furniture and finish organizing.

Sister Schroeder

Hi daddy!

I’m glad your trip with uncle Thom was fun and you didn’t get buried in snow. That is a definite possibility right now in Provo. I feel so dumb because I didn’t even think about weather in late September in Utah, I was just worried about have clothes for sunny California. So far it’s only rained, but if it starts to snow I’ll be in trouble!

We got our travel plans to Bakersfield yesterday and the suck! We leave on October 2 at 3:30 in the morning! At 7 we fly to Phoenix first, which is about 40 minutes, and then wait for 2 hours before flying 40 minutes to Bakersfield. We’re going to be so tired and I’ll
be emotionally distraught when I leave sister Jackman so I really really hope they don’t want us to be there that early so that we can go out and teach. If I have to go teach I’ll probably have a mental breakdown 3 weeks into my mission! I miss you and love you.

Sister Schroeder

Hey all!

I have been at the MTC for a week and a half now, but it feels like I’ve been through my whole mission twice! I’m having a great time, there’s just so much to do. We’re busy all day from 6:15 until 10:30. You’d think I’d be sleeping really well, but weird dreams make that hard. I dream about the MTC and missionary work almost every night. There’s no escape!

Sometimes, it funny to tell people that we go to church for 3 hours because it seems like such a long time to people who don’t go. Well, Sunday in the MTC is long even to lifetime members. I now know what eternity feels like. Church meetings last for about 12 hours, spread throughout the day. We get 40-minute breaks for lunch and dinner, but that’s it. Church starts at 8:30 and doesn’t really end until 9. They also randomly select people to give talks in each zone so you have to prepare a talk during the week and almost go into cardiac arrest when the branch president gets up to start church. I’m going to be really bummed if I have to speak in church this week because Sister Jackman and I have to teach the sisters in our zone this week. I’m glad tomorrow’s the last church Sunday I have left in the MTC (next week is general conference).

Monday was cool because we got to go out and get investigators through “street contacts”. These are volunteers, members and non-members, who come to the MTC and act as investigators and so we had to go set up appointments with 2 of them. Sister Jackman and I are teaching 2 girls that go to BYU: Chelle and Wan-Yu. Chelle is majoring in athletic training and Wan-Yu, who’s from Thailand, is here learning English. They’re both super fun to teach and we love them a lot.

I didn’t say much about the Elders in my last email because I didn’t know them that well, but this week we started to do stuff together and now we’re friends! Elder Winder and Elder Bell are my and Sister Jackman’s favorite companionship because they’re just so funny! (they’re now a threesome with Elder Toone– more on that later) Elder Toone is hard to swallow sometimes because he is a little condescending, but I still like him. Elder Harrison and Elder Holland (like the apostle! But he has assured us he is not related– when you see the picture it becomes pretty obvious) are quieter, but still funny. Elder Holland is the district leader and takes his calling very seriously. The other elders have some fun stories about him. We have great elders. It’s mostly thanks to Sister Jackman because she started to ask them questions and get them to open up. We still look super awkward in the picture, though, because sisters and elders aren’t supposed to touch each other except for handshakes so there are gaps between us. Sister Jackman has a bit of a problem with that: she poked Elder Bell’s cheek with her finger!!! She is quite scandalous and will probably have corrupted me by the time we get to Bakersfield.

As we were sitting in our room Monday night, writing in journals and getting ready for bed, the fire alarm started to go off in our building. All of the sisters had to evacuate immediately. Thankfully there wasn’t an actual fire, so everyone was safe and our stuff wasn’t burnt to a crisp. I did feel bad because some of the girls were in the shower when the alarm went off so they were outside at 10 at night in nothing but a bathrobe or a towel. One girl only had her left shoe! I am quite thankful I wasn’t one of those girls.

Tuesday was a little sad because one of the elders from my district, Elder Ellis, got sent home. During our first gym time, Friday night, Elder Toone accidentally knocked him down during basketball and he got a serious concussion. The elders said he didn’t speak for 5 minutes afterward and could only remember Elder Toone. He got a pretty bad concussion when he was younger so this one was definitely worrisome. He and Elder Toone were in their room for 3 days because he had to sleep. We saw him at lunch on Monday and he did not look good. When he went off to get food we asked Elder Toone how he was and he told us they were sending him home. His short-term memory and some of his long-term memory was gone and he was stuttering. When we said his name it took him almost 15 seconds to react. Hopefully he’ll heal quickly and be back at the MTC and headed to Bakersfield in no time.

Tuesday night at the MTC is devotional night and guess who was here? Elder Quentin L Cook! We were breathing the same air as an apostle, which is the bomb! It was a bit of an adventure getting to the devotional. We had heard rumors that Elder Cook was coming and so all the missionaries lined up at the door 30 minutes early in order to get seats. We (me, Sis Jackman, and the elders) weren’t too worried because there are lots of seats in the gym. However, we weren’t informed that the choir, about 80% of the missionaries, were all sitting on the bleachers so there actually wasn’t a ton of room. We got up to the door and the security guy made Elder Toone take his bag back to his room (Elder Bell went with him) and then the ushers told me, Sis Jackman, and Elder Winder that there were no more seats (Sis Allan and Sis Woodland– lovingly nicknamed “sista friends” were in the choir). As we were walking to the overflow, we ran into Elder Harrison and Elder Holland. When we got to the overflow area, there were only about 15 missionaries and then several older couple missionaries. Elder Holland said he felt like we were the 5 virgins who didn’t have enough oil! Elder Winder was slightly frantic because his companions, Elders Toone and Bell, had no idea where we were (he was also alone for a little bit with 2 sisters, which is a violation of page 33 in the white handbook). We were only there for a few minutes when an official-looking guy came over and told us to “get up and go over by the wall”. He led us out of the building and since none of us knew what was happening, we started to guess. Elder Harrison’s theory was that we were being taken to a classroom to learn the importance of being on time to meetings. It was pretty awesome because he took us back to the gym and led us to exactly 5 seats near the front of the room, directly behind Elder Toone and Elder Bell, who had gotten in. Both Elder and Sister Cook’s talks were great and made me excited to be a missionary. If you want to know what they talked about you can probably look it up on lds.org!

On Wednesday we taught Chelle and Wan-Yu, and both lessons went ok. We’re still learning so the first lesson was rough, but our other lessons with them went better and better each time. Our teachers told us that if we focused our message on Jesus Christ we would more easily bring the Spirit and everything would flow better. We did that, and lo and behold it worked! Now I just need to remember to do that when I’m in the field!

Thursday wasn’t super eventful. We mostly just went to class and Sis Jackman and I taught more lessons to Wan-Yu and Chelle. Our experiences at the MTC are fairly different from other missionaries because we are part of a pilot program. Most missionaries have 1 set gym time and 3 hours of class morning and evening. We have 3 different gym times we can choose from each day and only 1.5 hours of class required morning and afternoon. We also get to choose what we want to learn in class and when to have our lessons with our investigators. I feel slightly drunk with power when I talk to other missionaries about their strict schedules.

Friday was a really fun day. I don’t have many details to talk about, we just laughed a lot. Sis Jackman is just so funny and keeps me in stitches! I am going to be devastated when I have to say good-bye to her in Bakersfield in a week and a half. We finished lessons, class, and dinner by 5 and didn’t have gym time until 7:30 so Sis Jackman and I thought it would do us a lot of good to get our Sunday lesson out of the way. We were supposed to talk on the Creation, the Fall, and agency, which we’ve been talking about all week, so we didn’t think it would take long. We did not count on our sista friends being in the room with us. Those 2.5 hours turned into us talking about New York, cheesy 80s church videos, and the “unknowable” gospel questions like: is Cain still on the earth, if God used to be like us aren’t there an infinite number of Gods, did God give Adam and Eve two conflicting commandments, and how come the early people on the earth lived for so long. Sis Jackman’s answer to the last one was there was less pollution. She lost it for about 5 minutes after that. After we went to the gym we walked around our enclosure (there is a gate fencing us into the MTC) and looked at Christmas lights they put in the trees. It was a peaceful way to end the day.

I know my email was long today; there was just so much that happened! To give you a sneak peak into next week’s email– we get to be hosts for the new missionaries on Wednesday! I’ll leave off on a spiritual note by telling you all to go to this link and watch a super awesome video that brought the Spirit into our lessons.

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

An awkward picture of me and my cousin Jake… and all our companions (page 33 people!):

Sis Jackman and I in our study area on the roof:

The diagram we used in our lessons, courtesy of Sis Jackman:

Our blurry after-workout walk in the rain:

My favorite mural in our building:

Me and my sista friends:

The tree of life:

Us sista friends at the tree of life after our workout:

Sis Jackman and me at the tree of life:

Dad actually emailed me like 2 sentences saying that he’ll be out of
service but he’ll email me more when he gets back. I’m not sure what
kind of snacks I want. Maybe send some granola bars and crackers or
gold fish. Fruit sounds good, but you can’t really mail that. Surprise
me ?

I want more of my Harry Potter socks for exercise. I think there are
the Hufflepuff, Slytheryn, and always socks left and maybe throw in
one more pair. They’re in the big bin. If you can find my black
athletic shorts they would be nice to have too, but I’m not sure where
they needed up. I thought I set them aside but couldn’t find them when
I was packing so don’t worry about it too much.

Sister Jackman is my companion and as I’ve said before she’s super
awesome. It’s pretty funny because everything that’s gone wrong has
been with her, like her iPad didn’t work right at first and she had to
try like 3 computers before it would let her log in and she couldn’t
get her picture to upload to her email. And then today we did laundry
and she found a washcloth that wasn’t hers in the washer and the. we
just got back to fold it and put it away and she found a pair of men’s
garment bottoms in her bag. She pulled them out to show me and said “I
know for sure these aren’t mine!” I totally lost it and just started
laughing(I’m even laughing as I write this). She’s just like “why
me?!” She doesn’t really know what to do with them, because you can’t
just walk around as a sister missionary carrying men’s garments, so
she’s just going to leave them in her laundry bag until next P-day and
drop them off in the laundry room. She was upset cause she’s never
even kissed a boy, yet she took home a boy’s garments. She’s is just
too fun!

It’s funny because we’ll talk about something and realize that we were
thinking the exact same thing. There’s an elder in our district who
bugs me a little cause he’s pretty condescending and talks to us like
he knows more and so he gets on my nerves when he talks(I’m trying to
change that) and sister Jackman and I were talking about him today and
she feels the same way! I think we’re really good for each other and
we get along great, which has really made being here easier.

I miss you and love you!

Hello parental guardians,

How’s life at home? Do you miss me a lot yet?

I’m trying not to be hurt that you guys haven’t sent me any emails or packages or letters yet. Sister Jackman got 3 letters and a package and tons of emails and that was just on day 2! I guess we can see who’s family loves who more.

I’m not sure what else to say, since it’s only been 3 days since I left. I said most of it in the mass email to everyone. I’ve seen Jake 4 times since I got here, but we haven’t taken a picture yet. I only remember as soon as he’s out of sight and it’s almost impossible to find someone here if you’re looking for them. There are so many missionaries!

The food isn’t the best, but it’s really nice that I don’t have to think about what I have to make for meals. We eat early though(7:30, 11:30, and 4:30) so I get really hungry in between meals. My stomach is usually growling by the time I go to bed. If you want to send me some snacky stuff it would be much appreciated. The snacks here are pretty much cheez-its or cookies and I’ve been feeling kinda sick since I got here so those wouldn’t be the best snacks.

There are a few things that would be awesome if you could send me. I want some more socks because I didn’t think ahead that 6 days of exercise would require 6 pairs of socks, since we only do laundry on P-Day. I would also love to have a few more lounge pants because so far I have to sleep, exercise, and lounge in 1 pair of shorts. I want the lounge pants that you and I got, the multi-colored ones, that I think are in the biggest bin and the grey pants that I think are in one of the smaller bins or the little one that was in my room. If you could find them it would be mucho appreciated.

It was kinda weird when we got to the MTC because they put bight orange stickers on our name tags so everyone knew that we were brand new to the MTC so everyone welcomed us. It was fun at first, but by the end of the day we were so ready to take those stickers off. Sister Woodland made me laugh because she called them our “dork dots”. Sister Allen is a little strange(she reminds me of Cassandra Kenworthy), but all of the girls in my district are awesome. We’re been having a great time together so far. I really love Sister Jackman and hope that we run into each other when we’re out in Bakersfield.

If you have questions and stuff I can email until 6:30 tonight. We got iPads to use at the MTC and we can do email on them any time on P-Day.

Lots of love,
Sis Schroeder

Greetings from the MTC!

I’m finally here! I want to thank everyone who sent me an email today. Each one felt like a hug from home as I opened them up.

I’ve been in the MTC for 3 days now and so far I’m doing pretty well. The tears only lasted for 5 minutes after I got on the plane and I was feeling good by the time I landed. I feel a little bad for the guy who had to sit next to the crying girl. I’m pretty sure he moved as far away from me as possible in those tiny airplane seats. There was a brief moment of “what have I done?!” while I was laying in bed in the dark that night, but it didn’t last long. I know this is where I’m supposed to be.

When I first got here, a new missionary host sister helped me get checked in and to my room. She was really nice, but didn’t tell me anything about what was going on, so I was really unprepared when I got to class. It worked out, though, so no harm no foul. I met Sister Allen and Sister Woodland when I first got to class. Sister Allen is from Oklahoma and Sister Woodland is from Utah. As I was talking to Sister Woodland, I learned that she knows Elizabeth Moore (one of the girls I grew up with) because they were in dance together at UVU. What a small world!

Sister Allen and Sister Woodland are companions, and Sister Jackman, who I met in class a little later, and I are companions. All 4 of us are going to the California Bakersfield mission speaking English. I met the Elders in my district in class too, but we haven’t done a whole lot with them yet. We sisters would love to hang out together and be friends, but the elders keep taking off and leaving us behind. Maybe we’ll get there after we’ve been here a few more days (it has only been 3).

We’ve mostly been in class, learning about our purpose as missionaries and how to effectively teach investigators. We’ve taught one lesson to an investigator so far (our teacher, who I met through my roommate Kendall last year, acting as “Hanna”) and it went ok. I get really nervous teaching people, but Sister Jackman is really confident so she’s good for me. I wish I could describe to you how awesome she is, but I the words just fall so flat on paper. She’s funny and smart and excited about serving, but not annoyingly so. We get along really well and I’m so grateful that she’s my companion.

Yesterday we had some prep time for today and since it didn’t take us long to get ready, we spent an hour sitting on the bed looking at pictures and telling stories. I’ve never connected with someone in 3 days like I have with Sister Jackman. The gospel really does bring people together and bring them closer to God. Everyday so far Sister Jackman has asked me “Do you want to hear this awesome scripture I found today?” She gets me so excited to be a missionary in Bakersfield!

This morning was the first time we got to escape from the MTC! Our district had temple time, so we went and did initiatories and then Sister Jackman and I took some pictures. The picture of me standing with the temple behind me is a cool one because that was the exact spot where I got the answer to go on a mission. I’m kind of tiny in the picture, but I’m pointing to my name tag to show that I did it!

This first week was an adjustment, but I’m starting to feel more confident and sure of what I’m doing. I love that I’ll get to eat, sleep, and breathe the gospel for the next 18 months!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

I made it to the MTC! Brandon’s appointment went over so I was about 15 minutes late and didn’t get lunch, but I’m all in one piece. The flight and drive were uneventful, which is a good thing. After this I’m going to my first class, so we’ll see what happens. My host didn’t tell me that I’d be going to class so I don’t have any of my stuff, including my water and snacks. I guess I’m starting my adventure early. I love you both and will email you all about the MTC once I experience it a little bit. I’m not sure when my P-day is so my next email will be a surprise!

Ciao,
Sister Your favorite daughter