‘Tisn’t the season

HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!

Everyone says that holidays are the best when you’re on a mission. I am here to tell you that they lied.

Tuesday morning Sis Taylor and I got to go to St Michael’s and help with taking people through the food pantry. It was a really cool experience and it felt good to help people that couldn’t really help themselves. They have all the food set up in a room on shelves and people are allowed to take one item per shelf. The lady that is in charge of it is amazing and she was in the paper a few days later because of the food pantry. There was a picture of her and they copied word for word what she said when she was talking about the food pantry. It was really awesome because she gave a huge shout-out to our church because the sister missionaries in our ward have helped her so much! We also got to shelve books at the library on Wednesday. We also got to dust someone’s house that day so it was a week full of service!

Thursday was an interesting day. As I said before, holidays aren’t really the best days to be on a mission. Hopefully Christmas will be different, but Thanksgiving was hard! Everyone is with their families and no one wants missionaries to knock on their door while they’re making dinner. Thankfully we had weekly planning so that took up most of the morning and some of the afternoon. We then went to a member’s house at 2:30 and ate some of their feast. It reminded me of “A Bug’s Life” when the ants are talking about the grasshoppers and they say “They come, they eat, they leave!” We definitely felt like grasshoppers after that, because they wouldn’t let us help with dishes or anything else, so we just ate their food and left. Oh well, they’ll get blessings for feeding the missionaries!

We then tried to go see a few people in the ward, but we got rejected, so we went to Diana’s house and begged her to let us in. We were there until dinner watching her and Fallgatter make pie. It was quite entertaining and no one was murdered, although there were a few close calls. We then had Thanksgiving at a member’s daughter’s house. We again felt like grasshoppers because they wouldn’t let us help clean up either. It was a great day, but I developed an eye twitch that lasted for a few days from the stress of finding somewhere to be. It’s hard when you want to be a good missionary, but you aren’t sure how.

We did exchanges on Friday this week with the 1st ward sisters. Sis Taylor went out with Sis Gillespie and I got to go out with Sis Parcell. It was a lot of fun. We drove around to some less active members’ homes and some people on the ward list who no one knew anything about, and tried to find stuff out about them. We went to about 12 houses and only 2 or 3 people even answered their doors. Our dinner appointment also cancelled, so we had to find somewhere to eat, which ended up being Charley’s Philly Cheesesteaks. By the end of the night Sis Parcell and I were so done and so tired. The solution was obvious: laugh hysterically until you cry. And we did just that. We just started laughing about missionary life and we could not stop. The other sisters thought we were crazy when we got back to the apartment and were laughing so hard tears were coming out of our eyes. It was a good night.

Saturday I got a huge headache so we extended exchanges and Sis Gillespie and I stayed in and napped while Sis Taylor and Sis Parcell went out. I started feeling better around dinner, and then our dinner appointment canceled on us again. Sis Taylor and I actually had a great time making our own dinner (pasta, corn, garlic bread, soda, and cookies). It was pretty entertaining because we had to boil our pasta with bottled water since the lady next door was getting her shower fixed so the water was turned off. We felt very accomplished when everything worked out!

Well, now I have to go shopping and get me some food. Stayed tuned for the awesome stuff that’s going to happen this week!

Ciao
Sister Schroeder

Photos…

Diana and Fallgatter making pie:

The face that describes our day:

Sis Taylor and me:

More pie making:

Sis Parcell and me:

Our exchange picture:

Our amazing dinner:

A selfie with our dinner (not sure why my eyes are closed):

“Thou shalt cry, and [the Lord] shall say, here I am”

This week was….yeah.

So Tuesday morning Sis Sandorf and I drove down to Bakersfield and I dropped her off and then picked up my new companion Sis Taylor! It was really hard to say goodbye to Sis Sandorf cause I love her so much and we were together 24/7 for 6 weeks so it was hard to imagine being a missionary without her. I know that God’s in control though and she’s doing amazing things in her new area so that made it easier.

Wednesday was an interesting day that I’m not going to get into. It was just hard to adjust to being the one in charge and having to train someone completely new. It’s sufficient to say that Sis Gillespie (the STL in my area) is amazing and helped me feel better about everything. I know God knows what He’s doing, but sometimes I wish He’d let me know too!

Thursday was planning day, which is always a long day, but it went pretty well for my first time being in charge of planning. We still have some stuff we’ll have to work out in daily planning, but so far so good. It would be easier if the people we’re teaching would keep their appointments and answer our texts and the door when we knock (we can hear them inside and see them peeking out the windows-super sleuths they are not).

We’ve mostly been doing a lot of tracting and seeing members so I don’t have a whole lot to report this week. We were at Diana’s a few days ago and we got to hear stories of when the Elders used to live with their family years and years ago and they were pretty entertaining. She also told us about the time that her and her husband were doing a carnival game thing and they had to beat each other with pillows to make them fall off a log. She said she didn’t know how close to boiling point she was until she had that pillow in her hand and her husband right in front of her. Note to self: pillow fights in marriage might be a good thing.

Well, this week is a new week (wise words, I know) so you’ll get to hear all about my and Sis Taylor’s exciting missionary adventures.

Ciao
Sister Schroeder

Photos:

Sis Sandorf looking adorable in her Care Bear onesie:

Our second to last picture together:

Our last selfie together (silent tear):

The loving note Sis Sandorf left me:

Me and Sis Taylor, my mission child:

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

This week was a crazy weird hard stressful week. I don’t really remember what happened earlier in the week because of what happened later, but I’ll do my best.

It feels like not much has happened this week because all of the people we have lessons with have been canceling on us. That usually happens at least a few times a week, but it feels like we haven’t taught anyone in forever because we only taught a couple times all week. Thankfully we filled our time with good stuff and we never didn’t know what to do. It’s mind-boggling sometimes how blessed missionaries are.

We had cleaning checks on Tuesday (they happen once every 2 transfers) and I think we did well. We just talked to them for the 5 minutes it took them to look over our apartment and silently judge us on a clipboard. We asked Sister Rosser the next day how we did (her and her husband are the people that are in charge of the missionary apartments in Ridgecrest and they’re in my and Sis Sandorf’s ward) and she said she was very impressed with everyone. I was impressed how she distracted us enough that she didn’t have to answer the question. Sneaky sneaky.

We went to the Family History Center Tuesday night so that I would know how to do it (I’ve only done it once or twice before) and Jason was there– he’s the guy who was just baptized that’s moving into our ward next week. He is awesome and Sis Sandorf was so excited that she finally got to meet him (all the sisters had except her). The 1st sisters are passing him off to us tomorrow to teach him recent convert lessons and I’m really excited!

Friday was tamale day! Larry fed all of the missionaries in the Ridgecrest zone (there are 10 of us) homemade tamales. He didn’t make them, he just knows a girl. It was awesome! He wanted to thank the 6 of us who helped him clean out his garage, but he ended up feeding all of us cause he’s just so cool. We told him he was the coolest kid on the block and he just laughed.

On Saturday we had a baptism!! Jason was baptized into 1st ward, but he’s moving into our ward next week so we’ll get to teach him the recent convert lessons (people who join the church get taught all the lessons before and after they’re baptized). He is so strong in the gospel already so he’ll probably be teaching us instead of the other way around. Tim and Sis Rosser gave the prayers (they wanted people from our ward there so that Jason knew a few people) and we had a great time waiting for the baptism to start (the person baptizing was 20 minutes late). It’s so exciting to have baptisms and we’ll get another one in a few weeks!

Mostly this week has been us trying to get lessons with people and then tracting when they don’t work out. I hope next week is better and more productive, but it will probably be a little bit of a struggle week.

In order to understand what I’m about to tell you, you need to have some mission background info. When you first get into the mission field, you have to do something called “12 week” (it just means you have to be trained for 12 weeks) so the first and/or second companion that you get is also your trainer. The trainer is the one who shows the newbie how to be a missionary. You have a companion each transfer (sometimes you have them for multiple transfers) and transfers last 6 weeks. The third piece of info you need to know is what an STL is. An STL is a “Sister Training Leader” and it means that 1 or 2 sisters look out for the other ones in their zones and possibly surrounding zones (it depends on how many sisters there are in an area). They are the ones who set up and go on exchanges with other sisters. Got it?

So Saturday we got transfer calls aaaaannnnnnnddddddd……..Sis Sandorf is leaving! We knew something big was happening when we saw after dinner that we had a missed call from President and a text that said “call me”. We called right away (when President says call, you call) and he didn’t answer but texted that he’d call us back in a few minutes. He did and the first thing he said was “Sister Sandorf, I want you to know that you have done an amazing job serving in Ridgecrest” and right then we knew she was leaving. He then told her that the Lord wanted her in Bakersfield as an STL. As soon as we hung up, we started to cry and Sis Sandorf started to freak out (which wasn’t great since she was driving). We tried to hold in the tears until we got to the apartment, but we weren’t very successful. It’s crazy how much you come to love your companion in such a short amount of time. I am going to miss her SO much! She’s my mission mom and my trainer and my missionary inspiration. I know I can do it without her, but I don’t really want to. The Lord knows what we need though so I know He’ll take care of me.

And the news is not done! Not only is Sis Sandorf leaving, but I am training! If you were paying attention to the background info, you’re looking at the words “12 weeks” and your brain is trying to calculate how long I’ve been out. I’ll help you out and let you know that I’ve only been out for 6 weeks. I get to train myself and someone completely brand new! We got back to the apartment to cry over Sis Sandorf’s news when the phone rang again. It was the APs (assistants to the President) and they said that President wants me to train. I didn’t breathe quite right for about 10 minutes after that phone call. It’s scary and exciting and I have no idea what’s going to happen, but like I said before, the Lord will take care of me and help me do what He’s asked. In 1 Nephi 3:7 it says that “the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” I know that the Book of Mormon is God’s word so I know that He will prepare a way for me to do what He’s asked. I’ll let you all know if I survive this first week of transfers in my next email.

Ciao
Sister Schroeder

My adorable almost ex-companion:

A blurry picture of an amazing sunset (we were in the car when I took it):

One of our last companion selfies:

A sign in front of St Michael’s church (this picture is a little overdue):

What a cutie!

Sis Sandorf and I at the playground (It’s new and really fun– we put a timer on and she went down the slide and I went down the ladder and we had to jump over a wall):

Our slide entrance selfie:

The super sketchy van by our apartment:

Yep, it was an ice cream truck:

We were aghast that anyone would buy ice cream from this guy (Sis Sandorf might just be sneezing, I’m not quite sure)

I LIVE! Sis Sandorf and I did not die this week, which is great news for our futures. We have a few lingering random coughs and snot that comes out of no where, but we feel fine.

Halloween did not feel like Halloween at all. We had to be in our apartments by 6 to plan for the next week and Halloween is a holiday that is mostly celebrated at night. Sis Sandorf did wear her care bear onesie for 10 min during planning, but she started to roast so she took it off. Sadly, I haven’t gotten a picture of her in her onesie yet, but I hope to send one soon. She is just so cute! The word we came up with to describe your companion as a cutie is “computie”. We tell each other we’re cute all the time because we are the cutest. We did face masks after planning and I could not stop laughing, which caused her to laugh. We just looked so amazing.

We went and saw Sis Sturgeon this week (who is just the cutest, sweetest lady I’ve ever met) and while we were there, their dog Buddy bit Sis Sandorf. Her words in her journal were “he just jumped up and freaking bit me”. It was so random because we stood up and walked toward the door and Buddy did just jump up and bite her (he’s less then a foot tall so he had to jump to reach her hand). His teeth scraped along her finger and the wound isn’t bad, but it bled so much. Sis Sturgeon was really worried because he had never done anything like that before and she didn’t want Sis Sandorf to get an infection. She called the people who were feeding us dinner (the Judds) and asked Sis Judd, who is a nurse, to look at it and make sure it was fine. Sis Sturgeon is such a sweetheart!

We had to plan on Thursday too because we spent 2 of our 3 hours of planning laying in bed and talking (we’re trying to be better, I promise!) so that took up our whole morning. Thursday was also the day of 3 ice creams. Amy (our ward mission leader’s wife) is pregnant and they found out that it was a girl that morning, so Sis Sandorf had the brilliant idea of getting a strawberry flavor swirl cone from the drive thru dairy and giving it to her (it would still mostly taste like vanilla, but it would be pink!)

Unfortunately, we didn’t think about how it would start to melt as we drove to her house so by the time we got there it had dripped on me and the pink was droopy and ugly looking. Fortunately, she wasn’t home so we got another one later (this time it was night so it didn’t melt as fast) and the second one looked cute and she loved it. Sis Sandorf told me to eat the first one, and being the good, obedient junior companion that I am, I dutifully ate it. We then drove to Baskin Robbins to have ice cream with Diana Pearson (my second cone of the day). It was kinda sad cause Sis Sandorf and I always get a scoop in a cup with a cone on top and the kid that gave us the ice cream said her cone (a sugar cone) looked like a party hat and my cone (a cake cone) looked like a lamp shade. I felt very partyless and cried a silent tear as I ate my 2nd ice cream serving of the day. The 3rd ice cream serving was at dinner for dessert. It was a great experience that I never want to repeat (the ice cream wasn’t lovin’ me back).

I’m running out of time to write so I’ll tell you all the highlights of the next few days. We have someone with a date to be baptized! We found this girl, who’s 10 yrs old, through a less active member. Her name is Maddy and she is so excited about the gospel and being baptized. She is adorable and I love being around her. We also picked up 2 new investigators in a cool way this week. We were early for a lesson so we decided to go knock on the door across the street and a guy in his 20s answered it and I started asking him about his family and what they mean to him and what it would mean to him if he could be with them forever. He was super interested and wanted to learn more so we set up a time to come back. The amazing part was, I felt myself asking these questions, but I never thought them, they just fell out of my mouth. The words I was saying were not my own; I was just the mouthpiece. It was really cool to see how I can be an instrument in the Lord’s hands.

This last story is a little sad, so prepare some tissues if you love animals. We were driving home Friday night and we passed a white bag in the street and Sis Sandorf said “I think that was a dead cat”. She seemed really concerned about it so we flipped 2 U-turns to drive by it again and sure enough, it was a dead cat. We pulled over and got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk wondering what we should do. We called the 1st sisters, but they didn’t pick up so we texted the zone leaders and asked what we should do. Their first response was “did you kill the cat?” We were slightly offended by that, but then we remembered that the Bishop elders hit a dog the week before, so it wasn’t an unreasonable question.

We ended up calling Diana (she LOVES animals and would know who to call) and she informed the people that needed to know. Sis Sandorf and I then got out of our car, put on gloves, and proceeded to move the cat’s body out of the street. I was literally in the middle of the road and we didn’t want anyone else to hit it so we put it by the sidewalk. That might’ve been a mistake though, cause we were told it was going to be taken care of and it was still there when we drove by yesterday. Now we’re just seeing how long it takes before someone comes and removes the carcass.

With that uplifting story, I bid you now adieu.

Ciao
Sister Schroeder

Pictures:

Sis Sandorf and I smiling while wearing face masks (a truly terrifying thing):

A picture that Cece McFarlane colored for me:

Flowers we hand picked for someone who was sick (yes, we had permission to pick them):

A kid in a fat suit we saw on Halloween:

Another picture of us in face masks:

A picture of the dead cat (because we’re horrible people):

A selfie of us being sad and Sis Sandorf looking like a man because of the dead cat (again horrible people):

Sis Sandorf and I looking adorable on a very windy day:

Sis Sandorf checking to see if I’m smiling (there were several pictures taken before where I was not):