Let’s Get Digital

We got smartphones this week!! We had to go to the church Tuesday morning to set them all up(which took about 45 minutes for most people) and then we got them on Wednesday at zone conference. We’ll everyone except me. On Tuesday it took 3 hours and 5 people to get my phone set up and then it turned out it wasn’t actually set up. So everyone got their new smartphones….and I got a loaner phone….on Friday. President said “I know this is like Christmas” and my thought was “a super lame Christmas!” I’ll be getting my new actual phone this week though so it’s all good! It’s really weird being on Facebook as a missionary cause I can see the outside world but I can’t be in the outside world. I’m allowed to talk to family and friends about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that’s it. I’m good with it though cause the whole reason I’m on a mission is to teach people about Jesus Christ and bring them closer to Him.

I’m going to skip the rest of the week and go right to the end cause that was the most exciting part! WE HAD A BAPTISM!!! Actually it was 3 baptisms cause a family was baptized! Stephanie and her daughter Persephone(12) and her son Diego(9). They are the best! It was such a cool experience. Seeing  someone be baptized makes all the hard times as a missionary worth it. Persa was smiling so big when she came out and she said she felt really happy. You could see the light that came into their eyes and it was just amazing! The Spirit was super strong and it reaffirmed my testimony of the gospel and how true it is. Jesus Christ really can and does change lives.

Well, that was my week. Short email today cause I’m typing on my loaner phone and my fingers are tired. Also We’re going to the mall today(party music) and it’s already 11 so we need to get going. I just want to add that my companion is AWESOME! I love her so much. She is tons of fun and really spiritual and is already one of my best friends. Also she just cut a mole off my face and if that isn’t true love I don’t know what is!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Photos…

Lots of selfies of Sis Evans and I:

  

The baptism!

Making cookies with our RECENT CONVERTS!!

Desserts, Death, and Driving

This week’s email is going to be short. It was kind of a tiring week and the keyboard I’m typing on is dumb so I have to push really hard and my fingers are already tired 2 sentences in. Apparently I need to do more finger exercises to strengthen them.

We have a family that’s going to be baptized on Saturday!!!! They had their interviews this week and they’re getting so excited. Stephanie said she was going to start telling people and announce it on Facebook. I’m so proud of her and her kids. I love them so much!

On Valentines Day we got to go out to dinner with a single lady in the ward. She took us to a fancy steak place (the steak was AMAZING!) and we got to ride there in her Tesla. If you know anyone with a Tesla, have them give you a ride. She hit the accelerator and you can literally feel your head being pushed back into the seat you’re going so fast. It was awesome and Sis Evans and I decided that all the missionaries should start getting Teslas. Sometimes we’ll hit the gas in our car and pretend we’re in a Tesla. But it’s just not the same.

We also went to a cemetery this week. We’re having trouble finding people to teach and one of the finding ideas is “put your name on lists at hospitals or funeral homes as clergy who will talk to people in crisis” so we decided to try it. We went in and asked if we could put our names on a clergy list and the lady told us to write our names down. While Sis Evans was writing our names down she saw that the lady was filling out death certificates so she whispered “are those death certificates?” The lady looked at her like she was mentally unstable. I don’t think she put our names down for clergy to help people in crisis.

Sis Evans and I decided this week that we were going to eat better so that we could be healthier. We went a whole day without sugar! Then we had a rough day so we needed some ice cream. And then the next day we went to town and had ice cream and chocolate and chocolate pie and candy and cheese cake. Eating healthy officially down the drain. We had a good run though.

Well that’s the scoop. We’re getting smartphones this week so look forward to hearing about that next week!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Photos…

My mission’s namesake:

Diego in his new Cub Scout gear:

My adorable companion at the cemetery:

Me and the cemetery:

Sis Evans with her Valentines Day balloon (yes she did hit me with it):

Picture in the car:

Sis Evans is adorkable:

Up to our eyeballs in love:

Selfie by the window:

Sis Schroeder pose selfie by the window:

Me in Captain Jack’s hat (one member is a serious Pirates fan):

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!

I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go

Not too much happened this week. And by that I mean so much happened I can’t remember much, but I do remember the fun and spiritual things and that’s what counts, right?

Saturday was the most eventful day that we had this week, so that’s what I’m going to write about cause I’m short on time. We had to get a tire changed in the morning and we just sat and waited while they did what they did and the show “Swamp People” was on and it made Sis Taylor and I sad because they kept shooting alligators and killing them. Sometimes I’m glad that I don’t watch TV. Then we went and talked with our new investigator (party dance!) and then went over to Lugo’s for lunch. We used to go and eat with Larry at Lugo’s every Saturday so we decided to do it one last time in memory of him (he is now living by his daughter in Elk Grove and isn’t coming back to Ridgecrest). We were in kind of a slump because transfer calls were happening that night and both of us were nervous because we thought I would be transferred out of Ridgecrest, but we weren’t sure (the mystery of transfer calls is SO stressful!). We decided to text the 1st sisters and see if they had any ideas of fun missionary things to do and they ended up joining us at Lugo’s and suggesting we go draw with chalk.

We went to an area in our ward where we weren’t allowed to tract and drew the Plan of Salvation on the sidewalk with some questions of the soul and our phone number. For those of you who don’t know what the Plan of Salvation is, you can always talk to a member or the missionaries! The questions of the soul we wrote were “Is there life after death?”, “Does God know me?”, and “What is the purpose of life?” Hopefully someone will call us to learn more and we won’t be arrested (we’re not sure if it was totally legal for us to draw in Heritage Village cause it’s a private community) so we’ll see what happens. The elders promised to post our bail if that happens so we’re covered! It was so much fun to do and I felt like a little kid again. One guy asked us what we were drawing as he went by and all 4 of us just looked at him for a second, not knowing what to say. Here were four missionaries kneeling on the ground with pieces of chalk in their hands and all over their clothes. Finally Sis Crowley spoke up and just said “there is one guy who always has a plan” and walked away. Missionary work is weird!

We finally got transfer calls at 9:30 at night and……………………… Sis Taylor is staying in Ridgecrest and getting Sis Denver. Sis Crowley is also staying as an STL, but Sis Gillespie is leaving to Bakes with me. I’m going to be in the Berkshire ward in South Bakes. With Sis Evans. Now that might not mean much to you, but it’s significant to me. I was trained by Sis Sandorf, and Sis Sandorf was trained by Sis Evans. Sis Evans used to be in Ridgecrest and everyone in the ward loves her. I’ve met her once and she’s got a lot of energy and she’s really funny so I’m excited! I’m sad to leave my child though. I love Sis Taylor. She makes me laugh and she’s a great missionary. We’ll see each other again, though, so it’ll be ok.

Whew, that was a lot for just one day! I’ve mostly just been packing and saying good-bye Sunday and Monday. I’ve already said good-bye to the bishop and I got to see him take his eye out. It was kinda weird, but kinda cool at the same time. I also said bye to Diana and Fallgatter and I’m really going to miss them. They make me laugh every time we’re over there. Now Sis Taylor and I are off to say bye to everyone else and to finish packing all my stuff (I’m not sure how it’s all going to fit yet…). I’ll let you know how life is in Bakersfield next week!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Photos:

Our chalk drawings:

Soul question:

The artists:

I was very proud of this part I did:

Pictures of our district… don’t even ask about the last one cause I have no explanation: