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:

Larry and his trunk that we decorated for the Trunk or Treat (and my shadow):

Service at Larry’s:

My cute companion:

The “candid” picture Sis Sandorf took of me:

Sis Sandorf and I in quarantine at the McFarlanes:

Amy and Tim McFarlane looking cute and in love (this picture was taken right before she bit him):

Sis Sandorf and I dying Saturday night:

Helaman 13:14

Thank you so much for the package!! I loved it and was so happy to get my blanket! Sis Sandorf was so excited that she got Silly Putty and has been playing with it all the time so good call on that. I’m going to put the picture of Sis Sandorf and I on the fridge. I sent a reply email to Dad, but I wanted to make sure that you record picking up Alex!!! I was getting all teary eyed last night when I was talking to Sis Sandorf about him coming home so I really want to be there through video.

You guys should send me more pictures of stuff and of you. I love getting pictures, but Alex is pretty much the only one who sends me pics of what’s going on in her life. I’m so jealous of the new couches and want pictures of the track lighting cause I have no idea what that looks like. I also just want to see your pretty faces!

Can you send me Emily Mc’s email? She hasn’t written to me yet and I want to ask what’s up.

We got some sad news today. Transfers were supposed to happen the day after Christmas, but they moved them up a week. It’s so dumb because Sis Sandorf will most likely leave (we’re not sure if she’ll move this transfer or not– we’re praying for not) but it’s super unlikely that she’ll stay in an area for 5 transfers in a row. That means I could be moved somewhere else too. I will either be with a new companion that I don’t know or new members in a new area that I don’t know. It makes me want to cry and ask what the heck president is thinking! If he doesn’t want us to transfer the day after Christmas then extend them a week! I know I shouldn’t go against my leader, but it’s just frustrating because it’s hard enough being away from our families on Christmas so it’ll be extra hard for missionaries to be away from anyone they really know on Christmas. I know God will take care of it I just wanted to get that off my chest right now.

I wish you guys were on you emails right now cause we’re allowed to do the little chat thingy and email text, but you guys aren’t here right now. I think we’ll be emailing around 12 next week (today was weird because we’re having to share 2 cars between 3 companionships) so you should look and see if I send anything. I miss you guys and want to talk to you! I love you both lots!

Your favorite sister missionary

Delight in fatness

This week started off on a great note known as food. Every Sunday we have to meet with the Ward Mission Leader, Tim, after church and I’m very hungry after 3 hours of church, so Tim started to bring us snacks. We have decided to make after-church snacks a tradition and he became one of my favorite people that day.

Last week you got to hear (technically see) all about our trip to the Pinnacles on Monday so I won’t retell it. It was a lot of fun and us sisters only almost died once. It threw off the rest of the day though, because Sis Sandorf and I were really tired afterward. We got some ice cream with Diana Pearson (who is one of our mission grandmas) then went to dinner and had a game night. The game night was totally kosher because we played with the McFarlanes and a less active recent convert. We played a card game and Amy (Sis McFarlane) and Anish (the less-active recent convert, LARC) got really competitive with each other. Tim (Bro McFarlane) told us that it happens a lot with them. It reminds me of 2 other people in my life I’ve played games with…

Most of Tuesday was zone conference. President and Sister Layton came over to Ridgecrest and the elders from Bishop came down and we met from 9-3 (interviews with President went from 9-10). There was some good stuff said, and President was really excited about his Brother of Jared object lesson (he had a light that he shined on 16 clear stones) and he told us to plan like the Brother of Jared (see Ether 2:22-3:6). After zone conference we went and picked back up a family and started teaching them again. After dinner we went and talked to a lady that we “tracted into” last week (tracting is where we walk around and knock on doors– the quotation marks are because she was actually a referral from a member who works with her, but she doesn’t know that). Sis Sandorf told the young women this week that being a missionary is basically being licensed to stalk people and it’s true.

We got to be part of a miracle on Wednesday, which was so awesome! On Tuesday we heard about a member’s dog who got really sick. We had ice cream with her that night and learned that the dog couldn’t even hold herself up: she was so sick and the doctor didn’t know what was wrong with her. There was a very high chance that her liver was failing, which would mean they would have to put her down. They were all really upset (especially Sis Hamlin) because Duchess (the dog) is only 2.5 years old. She told us that she would call us on Wednesday and tell us what the doctor said. We were all praying really hard that Duchess would be alright. That family has been through a lot and Sis Hamlin does so much and works so hard. She called us Wednesday night and, lo and behold, Duchess had a weird pancreatic disease and is going to pull through! Sis Hamlin just has to stay by her side forever (St Bernards get really attached to their owners and will make themselves sick if they get left alone too long so that’s what Duchess did). It was really cool to get to see that happen!

On Wednesday morning we got to teach a new investigator and it was awesome! Her name is Susan and she is already super spiritual and has a really firm belief in God and she agreed with everything we said because “it makes sense”. She said she needed peace in her life when we first tracted into her last week and she can see that she started to get that after she talked to us. The gospel really does bring peace into people’s lives and it was great that she recognized that! It was a little sketchy when we first met her though, because when she opened the door Sis Sandorf said “Hi we’re the sister missionaries and we felt inspired to be in the area to share a message about Jesus Christ” and Susan said “I bet you did, come on in.” The way she said it either meant we were about to have an awesome lesson with someone really prepared, or we were going to die. Thankfully our bodies were not discovered later this week. The only sad part is that she’s in the process of moving (she honestly might’ve already moved cause we haven’t been able to get a hold of her), but it’s in the Lord’s hands so he’ll take care of it.

Thursday wasn’t very exciting. Sis Sandorf and I went to the young women activity because some of them said they were going to bring their friends (that didn’t happen) so we wanted to be there to casually meet them as people and not missionaries. We played a game called Loaded Question and one of the questions we had to answer was “who in the room has a quality you want– name the person and quality”. I didn’t put this, cause I wasn’t sure how it would be received, but I thought about putting “Sierra-black”. I thought it was so funny and when I talked I talked to her and her twin afterwards I told them I thought about putting that down (which I thought they would find funny) it was just super awkward. Apparently we don’t quite have the same sense of humor. But we talked about Marvel movies, especially Civil War, and they’re huge fans of Captain America so I had redeemed myself by the time we left. *fist pump*

We had lunch with Larry on Friday and later that day he texted us to thank us (cause he’s a cutie) and he said “thanks for lunch and help with nemesis phone”. He has an iPhone but cause he’s old and can’t see very well at all he hates it, so when we see him we try to fix whatever new problem he’s having. He says that some day he is going to run over it to get his revenge. We then went and made cookies with Ginger Rosser (who our car is named after) so give out to investigators. It totally worked because we brought some to a LARC family and picked up 3 new people to teach. At dinner that night the Morans took us to some neighbors that had just moved in down the street to deliver brownies. I wish more of the members would introduce us to people. I think they don’t understand that we can be people too and not just missionaries (we can talk to people without giving them a Book of Mormon or asking them to be baptized in the first sentence).

Sunday Tim brought us snacks again (he is definitely my favorite person between 12 and 1 on Sundays) and we got to teach a lesson at 3. The people we are teaching having a tiny dog named Cupcake that I can hold in one hand and she is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! We had dinner with the bishop and his family and their neighbor. They call their neighbor Grandma Tammy and she is super cool. She told us that when she was younger she would play in the woods behind her house and sometimes her and her sisters would find baby bear cubs and try to get as close as possible. This, of course, would make momma bear angry so they would climb up a skinny tree (the best way to get away from a bear because they can’t grab it to climb it) and the bear would shake the tree and they would pretend they were in the rodeo. Now that is someone I want to hear more stories from!

I have to put a little blurb in here about Sis Sandorf because she is amazing and makes me laugh. She said she has gained a lot of weight on her mission so she doesn’t fit into her skirts very well. This week she decided to wear them to show herself that she needs to do something in order to fit into them again. The only problem was she had to unzip/unbutton them when she sat down so that she didn’t cut off circulation to the bottom half of her body. We’re going to go clothes shopping today so that she can find a few skirts that fit her. We decided we’re both going to be better about our eating habits. She also makes me laugh whenever we pass people in our car. She’ll look at people that are walking or the person across from us at 4 way stops (which is a really big thing in Ridgecrest) and say “do you need the gospel? That’s a stupid question…everybody needs the gospel!” Now she says the question and I say the answer. We’re so cute together (something we tell each other constantly)!

That’s it for this week! Sis Sandorf and I scheduled in naps today and I am so excited!! Missionary work is hard work, but it is so worth it! “I am convinced missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience.” -Elder Holland

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

PHOTOS

Sis Sandorf and I dressed for the cold weather (61 degrees):

Me opening my package:

Sis Sandorf and I with the bishop’s kids:

Our after-church snack with Tim:

No rest for the righteous

Life has been pretty normal here…for a missionary!

On Monday we got to have 2 dinners! We got fed at 5 like we usually do and it was Fallgatter’s birthday on Sunday so we had dinner with him and Diana at The Golden Dragon. We had so much leftover Chinese food (he insisted we take it all) and we eventually threw most of it out yesterday. We also gave him birthday cards, which he loved. I’ll try to get a picture with them soon so you can see what he looks like (I’m still pretty new so I feel weird asking people for pictures) but if you picture Geppetto from Pinocchio you basically already know what he looks like.

Tuesday we did exchanges. Exchanges are when we switch companions with the sisters in 1st ward and go do missionary work in their area all day. Sis Sandorf went with Sis Parcell and I went with Sis Gillespie. We had a pretty good day. We tracted all afternoon (which is when we go and knock on doors) and we talked to some interesting people. The first door we knocked on was the home of 2 older ladies (a mom and her daughter) and it turned out that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. We were there for almost 2 hours and didn’t do much talking at all. Both Sis Gillespie and I are pretty quiet so we weren’t really sure how to leave gracefully. It was interesting to hear what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, but it actually grew my faith in the church and what I believe. The conversation ended when the daughter (who’s 60) gave us a pamphlet about angels and told us that we should read it. We said we would take it if she took a pamphlet from us, but she refused and said that because she believes that they are the true church she wouldn’t read it. I told her we believe the same about our church and handed back her pamphlet. I didn’t think it was that bold, but Sis Gillespie told me later that it was pretty bold and I guess it was. I hope they didn’t think I was rude because I really didn’t mean to be!

Wednesday morning we went and helped a recent convert read and answer his mail cause he can’t read it. His name is Larry and he’s 84. Sis Sandorf described him perfectly using the words “he’s like a happy troll!” We go out to lunch with him sometimes (he eats at the same restaurant every day) and Sis Sandorf and I are his lock screen picture. We are also under “the girls” in his contacts! He makes me laugh because he’s pretty sassy. He told us on Sunday that we should go find food because we were being “ornery”.

Wednesday night was had a super awkward dinner with one of the members. We just didn’t know what to say to her and she didn’t know what to say to us. Thankfully she invited her daughter and so she did most of the talking telling us about her grandkids. We were at a restaurant and Sis Sandorf thought our server was cute, so of course I’ve been giving her lots of grief about it.

Nothing super crazy happened the rest of the week. We planned a lot on Thursday (which is so exhausting, even though we’re just sitting at home wrapped in blankets, because we basically have to plan out our lives for the next week). We visited the Sturgeons Thursday morning and learned that Sis Sturgeon is 4’9″. I tease Sis Sandorf (who’s 5’1″) that if she wants to feel tall we should go visit them.

On Friday we had district meeting and then went out to lunch with the 1st sisters. We went to the same restaurant from Wednesday night and they gave us our meals on the house! We think it was because an LDS family owns the restaurant and we’re all missionaries (I did throw out the possibility that it might’ve been because the server, the same one, thought Sis Sandorf was cute– oh, if looks could kill). We helped with a car wash at St Michael’s to raise money for the food pantry. We got to hold signs on a street corner for a little bit and then we helped wash cars. The bishop and his kids showed up to help out as well (and no, I haven’t asked him to take out his eye yet– that was the dinner topic of Sunday night dinner though).

Sunday was a little exciting. We were tracting after church, and right before we were leaving for dinner we got a call that Bro Baker (someone in the ward who is in an assisted living place) was dying and they wanted priesthood holders there right away to give him a blessing. We panicked a little because we didn’t know who to call and the Bishop wasn’t answering his phone so we finally called Bro McFarlane (the ward mission leader– we fold his family’s laundry Sunday nights for service and both him and his wife are awesome) and told him everything and he contacted someone to go over with him. Funny enough, the guy he took with him was our dinner and his wife wasn’t home, so he told us to finish dinner and then left us alone in his house. It was funny when his wife got home because she saw us and said, “thanks so much for making dinner… where’s David?” She served as a missionary in this area a little over a year ago though, so she gets that stuff happens.

We also had a great time at the McFarlanes as we folded their laundry because we got to hear their love story, which was overly complicated and dramatic. Amy also dumped a water bottle on me (I guess it’s newbie tradition in their house). I will get her back some day, I just have to be cautious about it because she’s pregnant (which she thinks makes her invincible– she will so see how wrong she is).

We haven’t really gotten any new investigators yet (silent tear), but we are really trying. We’re also pretty sure that the Herrera family low-key hates us because we keep stopping by, but as Sis Jackman told me in the MTC “you don’t drop the Lord’s children!” We still love them and want to help them so we’ll see what happens.

I still love my companion because she is just awesome and adorable. This week she told me how to make a food baby seem like a real baby (you know, just in case we need to use that someday) and she told a great pee story. Apparently she went to a baseball game for a field trip in 6th grade and drank too much Dr Pepper so she had to pee so bad on the way back (they took the train which didn’t have a bathroom). She said she just knew it was coming so she dumped her Dr Pepper on herself and then peed her pants– that way it would just look like all the wetness was from the spill. It was quite genious I have to say. I’ll try to get a video of her sometime the next week so you can all see how adorable and funny she is.

I think that’s it for this week! There is so much going on that this email is just a part of what has happened! Being a missionary is hard work, but so worth it!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Photos:

A taco place in downtown Ridgecrest:

The Pinnacles (our district trip today-apparently several movie scenes are filmed here):

Sis Sandorf not knowing how to look cool climbing through the hole (her words, not mine):

Her second attempt at coolness:

Elders Wasden and Warrett acting out “Titanic”:

The Sisters (Parcell, Sandorf, and Gillespie) not knowing how to pose majestically:

Our Sister selfie:

Wasden and Warrett being daredevils:

Sis Sandorf being a cutie:

More Pinnacles:

Sis Parcell and Sandorf looking cool on top of our castle rock:

Me looking cool(?) on top of our castle rock:

Sis Sandorf acting as the crocodile (dirt?) hunter:

Sis Parcell and I chillin’ on a rock:

Elder Pixton being a dork (it’s the Rameumptom!):

Dust, dirt, and discipleship

I made it to California in one piece!

Our flight left at 7 AM, but we had to be checking out of the MTC at 3:30 AM. It was funny (and a little sad) because we accidentally locked Sis Woodland out of the room. Sis Jackman and I went to the bathroom and when we got back, the lights were off and we thought everyone was in bed so we shut and locked the door. The alarm went off at 2:45 and a few minutes later we heard a knock on our door. Sis Jackman opened it up and Sis Woodland was standing there. Sis Jackman was like “what are you doing? Get in here girl!” Apparently she had gone into the hallway to write in her journal cause she didn’t want to disturb us by keeping the light on and she didn’t bring her key and was scared to knock and wake us up. Her adventure started before we even left the building!

The flights were uneventful (Salt Lake to Phoenix to Bakersfield) and the mission president and his wife, President and Sister Layton, met us at the airport. They’re really cool people and President listens to the spirit so well. In my interview with him he just sat and stared at me for 30 seconds before he started talking, and I was a little worried. My new companion says that he has lots of pauses when he talks because he really listens to the Spirit and wants to say exactly what he should. I haven’t been in the mission long, but he seems like a really good mission president (and his house is awesome too!)

We got assigned companions and areas on Tuesday and I was sad to see Sis Jackman go. I’m really gonna miss her and I hope I’ll see her during transfers and stuff. It was cool when I got my new companion though, because as soon as President said her name, it felt like Sis Jackman wasn’t my companion and she was. I didn’t feel the need to follow Sis Jackman everywhere anymore. It felt like we are now friends, not companions. My new companion’s name is Sis Sandorf (we get to be the quadruple S) and she is awesome! She’s different then Sis Jackman, but we get along really well and I already love her. She is such a cutie!

I guess I should tell you all where I am, cause I’m not in Bakersfield. I am in a town called Ridgecrest, which is about 2 hours east-ish of Bakersfield. It’s the weird zone of the misson (there are 7 total zones) because our zone is also our district. A district is 3 or more companionships and a zone is made up of multiple districts. Our zone area is really big, but not a lot of people live up north in our area where Bishop is. There are only 5 companionships in our whole zone. It’s pretty fun though, because our zone/district is close to each other since there are so few of us. We’re actually going to go play Phase 10 as a district activity today.

This week was a lot of me meeting people and teaching a few lessons. I’m just going to list people and write a short thing about them cause I don’t know how to transition well from person to person.

-Bishop Washburn: I met him in the first couple days of being here. He’s really cool and apparently he only has one eye, so Sis Sandorf wants me to ask him to take his fake one out so I can see, but it’s seems a little weird to ask someone to take out their eye so I’ll wait until I know him a little better before I ask.

-Sis Applequist: I’ve seen her a few times since I got here. She is an older lady who is a recent convert and she’s pretty fun. I’ll probably be talking about her more because the bishop has asked us to visit her often.

-Brother and Sister Sturgeon: They are an older couple who are adorable. Bro Sturgeon pretended to know my dad when I first met him, and I was so excited and already making mental notes to tell my dad I’d met him. Then he started laughing and Sis Sturgeon rolled her eyes at him so I caught on. Apparently he does that to people. Sis Sturgeon comes up to my chin and she was wearing 3-4 inch heels when I met her, so she is a tiny lady. She is super sweet and made me feel right at home.

-Diana Pearson: Sis Sandorf told me on the drive up to Ridgecrest that she is like our grandma and she totally is. She is also an older lady (I feel surrounded by old people up here) and she is really fun and sassy. You’ll probably hear lots about her too because she is just so fun to visit.

-David Fallgatter: He is one of our investigators and Diana’s “friend”. You’ll probably hear lots about him too cause he’s over at her house a lot and we’re teaching him. He’s really funny and made me feel really welcome here.

-The Williams family: I haven’t done much with them (it’s a woman, Michelle, and her twin daughters, Cheyenne and Sierra) but they are just tons of fun. Within 5 minutes of me meeting them I was told that they are the least black family they know because they don’t eat traditional black people foods (greens, sweet potato pie, etc) I hope we spend more time with them cause they’re great.

-The Herrera family: We found them on Thursday and are now teaching them! It’s kinda confusing cause the people that live there are: the mom Laura, the daughter Maya (16), the daughter Alissa (11ish), the son Ryan, the other son something, the cousin Ashley (who’s pregnant), Ashley’s boyfriend Kalil, and their daughter Hazel (adorable!). Their schedule is crazy so we’ve been trying to find a time to meet with them all together. Maya seems the most interested out of the kids, but it’s kinda early to tell cause we’ve only stopped by 3 times and actually taught once. There will definitely be more about them in coming emails.

That’s pretty much it for this week. I’m just going to end with a plug for people to send me stuff to put on my walls (pictures, painting, quotes)! As you can see in the pictures, our walls are completely bare and it makes me kinda sad. I want some stuff to put up to make it homey. I love it here and I want it to stay that way!

My address:
824 Capehart Apt C
Ridgecrest CA 93555

Ciao!
Sister Schroeder

Photos:

Last picture with sista friends:

Last picture with Sis Jackman:

The view from our kitchen window – pretty much how all of Ridgecrest looks:

Our front room/living room:

Our kitchen:

My adorable comp Sis Sandorf:

Our car (with AC!):

Sandorf and me on our first P-Day: