“Nice banana shirt!”

“She likes to wear it on fast Sundays and it’s not appreciated.”

(Elder Tinnoco’s comment on Sis Williamson’s shirt, and Sis Flitton’s response)

Nothing much has happened this week. Well, lots has happened this week but nothing really to write about. We’ve been out pounding the streets talking to people about Jesus. No one has yelled at us so that’s fantastic! Sis Ottley is awesome and is helping me enjoy being a missionary more.

We had a return appointment that actually happened this week and it was the most exciting thing ever! A lot of our people have been canceling on us (sad day) but although it was brief, we got to talk with Faith. We gave her another copy of the Book of Mormon because she said her mom took hers so that she could read it. And now her mom wants us to come talk to her as well! Sis Ottley and I were so happy we got Jamba Juice to celebrate.

We were able to do crafts with Sis McCarty (a less active member) this week, and she had the World Series on. Sis Ottley is a HUGE Dodgers fan so it was fun to see her reactions when she heard the score. She said that the Dodgers need to get themselves together and realize that they suck so that they can win the next 2 games. Everybody has the games on here so she’s been able to keep up with what’s been going on pretty well. She makes me laugh!

We did pumpkin carving with the sisters on Monday and it was so fun! Sis Ottley scooped out the guts and I separated the seeds, which she then cooked into little treats of deliciousness. We called the pumpkin our baby, but now he looks like a sad old man. Carved pumpkins don’t last long in Bakersfield. We need to take him to the dumpster, but he’s become a fly hotel so we’re scared to touch him. I said we should just set him on fire, but Sis Ottley didn’t think that was the best idea for some reason. We’re going hiking today so I’ll let you know how amazing it was to breathe and see green.

We had zone conference on Tuesday and it was awesome, as always. One of my favorite things President Layton talked about was a quote by President Nelson. He says, “When we comprehend His [Christ’s] voluntary Atonement, any sense of sacrifice on our own part becomes completely overshadowed by a profound sense of gratitude for the privilege of serving Him.” It made me realize that if I truly understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ, any sacrifice I am asked to make will be easy.

Another quote I love is, “Let us here resolve that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” It takes faith to sacrifice and if we aren’t willing to sacrifice, do we really have faith? Giving up 18 months of my life to talk to random strangers about religion used to seem like a huge sacrifice. I love books, movies, music, and spending time with my family and I don’t love walking around in 100+ heat talking to random strangers, especially about religion. Actually that’s how I used to feel. I can’t say I love walking around in 100+ heat talking to random strangers about religion because 1) it isn’t 100+ heat anymore and 2) I don’t, but I know why I’m doing it now. I’ve know all along in my head, but it’s hitting my heart more. I still love books, movies, music, and spending time with my family but giving them up doesn’t seem like that big of a sacrofice anymore. I can sum how I feel now in yet another quote, this time from President Monson. He said, “The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved to the God I loved even more.”

That’s all I have for this week. Have a spooky Halloween!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Sis Ottley’s Pooh Bear drawing (he’s kinda skinny so we decided this was we before he ate all the honey)

Sis Ottley corn rowed my hair and put it all in tiny braids

And then we took it out (Pres said he liked it)

What cuties!

Our old man pumpkin (and that was a couple days ago…)

He was a Cyclops pumpkin

We made sure to sign our pumpkin

All the pumpkins (the one on the right is the Tree of Life vision complete with iron rod and great and spacious building-see 1 Nephi 8)

Artists hard at work (Sis Flitton representing Cali in the back)

“I cut off its tail… and it’s still moving!”

I got my second baby this week! Her name is Sis Ottley and she is awesome. She came pre-trained from the MTC so it feels like she been out longer than a week. We went out and found 6 new people this week! And taught 2 impromptu lessons on the spot. It’s been awesome!

Yesterday we were able to take the sacrament for the first time since September! You really don’t realize you miss things until they’re gone. People were surprised to see Sis Ottley because they didn’t know there was a transfer. That’s what happens when you don’t have church for 2 weeks! There was a line from a General Conference talk that I liked. We talked about it in Relief Society. It was, “We need the Holy Spirit as our guide in calm waters so His voice will be unmistakable to us in the fiercest storm.”

Sorry this email is really short. Not much else happened this week. We have a lot planned for next week though so stay tuned!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Our first comp selfie!

Our pumpkin baby

Yes, we buckled it in

Dramatic nametag photos

Sis Ottley makes me breakfast cause she’s the best

A lizard got into our apartment on the first day so Sis Ottley caught him (and accidentally chopped his tail off)

This week we got transfer calls! Sis Stockdale is leaving me and going down to Agua Dulce, which is a little town south of Palmdale. I am going to be staying in the Laurel Glen ward for the 4th transfer in a row and will be training! We were joking with Moises (a member) and said that we got told to leave in a meeting. He said “Wow, prayers really are answered!” but he likes to joke around with us so he promised he wasn’t serious about the prayer thing. He’s really sad to see Sis Stockdale go, but I think he’s also excited to meet the new sister. I’ll find out who my trainee is tomorrow morning after the training meeting.

There have been some changes to how training is done since I last trained and I’m interested to see how. We potentially are going to be on bike again, but I haven’t heard anything so far. Apparently they are going to take away 19 cars over the next 2 transfers and because we have one of the smallest areas, it makes sense that we would get booted out. But our STLs and Zone Leaders haven’t heard anything, and I don’t want to ask and potentially remind the office that they are going to take away our car, so I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best when I show up tomorrow. I really wouldn’t mind being on a bike again (especially since it won’t be the temperature of the sun here) but it’s definitely more convenient to be in a car.

Not a whole lot happened this week. We went out and talked to people a lot and someone wants us to come back! Her name is Samantha and she’s into photography. She was interested in reading the Book of Mormon so that’s awesome! We have a lesson with her this week and another lesson with Rayvon. Both are potential YSA age, but we’ll see what happens.

We had Stake Conference this week and it was really good! We had a guest speaker come and he was really funny and engaging. When he got up to speak he said he had planned something, but felt like he should talk about something else. He spent most of his time talking about President Russell M Nelson and how he really is the prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He met President Nelson both before he was the prophet, and after he became the prophet, and he said there was a noticeable difference. When he shook the prophet’s hand, he felt a rush of power sweep over him that caused him to freeze where he was standing as tears blinded him. President Eyring shook his hand next and guided him away from the prophet so other people could shake his hand too. He then talked about something Wendy Nelson (President Nelson’s wife) said as well about the change she has seen in her husband. I’m not sure why he felt it was so important to talk about President Nelson, but it was really cool and reaffirmed my testimony that President Nelson is the prophet of God.

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Someone was trying to be like the LA temple:

I told Sis Stockdale she should go knock doors in that dress:

A description of my life:

“As the mother of 10 children I can tell you…”

General Conference was this weekend! That’s where the leaders of the church talk to us for two days. It’s 8 hours in all, and once a year it’s an extra 1.5 hours for men in the spring and women in the fall. So I got almost 10 hours of God’s words and it was awesome! The subject line quote is from our prophet, President Nelson, when he was talking to the women. He told as story about how he was so excited while giving a talk in Africa one day that that’s what he said. The audience didn’t notice because the translator corrected his mistake, but he said his wife certainly did. I love President Nelson! He is so full of love and energy and power. I know that he’s the prophet of God, chosen to lead the church at this time. I also know that his counselors and the 12 apostles were chosen by God and they have the keys to speak for Him. I love them all so much and I’m so grateful for their loving guidance in these crazy days.

Last Monday we got to do an escape room! Some ladies from another ward came and set it up for us. The theme was family history and they dressed up for the part and everything. It was a lot of fun and my group finished with 30 seconds left! It was intense.

The rest of the week was just regular missionary work. We had a lesson with the guy we picked up (from the other missionaries) and it was awesome! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and asked him what he thought the purpose of us being on earth is. He said he would have to think about it more because he’s never thought about it before. Good thing we’re able to help him find that answer! It’s a little sad though because we learned that he’s 26, which means we have to pass him off to the YSA sisters. As long as he’s being taught it’s good, I’m just a little sad we won’t be teaching him. We also might have to pass of the other person we’re teaching to YSA. I’m praying just a little that she’ll be 31 so we get to keep her. We’ll find out in our lesson with her on Wednesday!

That’s all I have for this week. I’m off to play Catch Phrase and then do some shopping!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

District picture (Sis Stockdale thinks it looks like a total prom pic and I have to agree a little)

A few shots of what the escape room looked like:

We escaped!

A beautiful sunset (the smog is good for one thing)

Gluten free German pancakes before General Conference:

How missionaries prank each other:

Bringing our apartment to the church so we’re comfy for those 8 hours:

We made shepherd’s pie for lunch at the church:

And then had a picnic with the other sisters (I had just taken a bite of food)

Lunch with Moises and the sisters:

My adorable comp heart attacked my desk:

“We’ll just pray for the muffins to not have gluten in them”

My comp is allergic to gluten and this was the Elders’ answer to having all-inclusive treats at district council (a Friday morning missionary meeting).

This week we found a new person who wants to learn more! We have a lesson with him on Wednesday and I’m really excited! He works at Blaze Pizza and gave us a coupon for a buy one get one pizza, which makes him doubly awesome. I’ll let y’all know next week how the lesson goes.

We had a tri-ward activity this week that we’ve been planning for a month. Sis Williams came up with the idea and then the 8 missionaries in the 3 wards pitched in to help. Our ward did the most: basically did all of the set up and tear down. I was really proud to be in Laurel Glen that day. Our ward is awesome! We had a potluck dinner and then there were some live musical performances, after which we showed two segments from Meet the Mormons. It was fun, but a little stressful so I’m kinda glad it’s behind us. There are plenty of activities coming up in the next few months that will keep us busy!

In other exciting news, General Conference is this weekend! That’s when the whole church spends 8-10 hours listening to the living Prophet and Apostles. It’s really cool to hear what God wants us to hear in these days. The Lord still speaks to His people and guides them with modern day revelation. I’m excited to see what He wants to teach us at this time. I hope y’all get a chance to tune into lds.org and listen!

Ciao,
Sister Schroeder

Heart attacking the sisters’ door:

Heart attacking a member’s door:

Sis Stockdale’s recent convert and his friend came to visit from Kern Valley:

We had an emergency and had to get dressed in less than a minute and we ended up matching #compunity

Uplifting the sisters with our presence:

Our tri-ward activity (food on the tables, stage under the lights, and screen on the right)

Our matching fall shirts (it’s getting cooler!)