These past few posts have really brought home to me the reason I must have cried so hard when Dallon(Elder Schofield) left. We sent our son, our boy out on a mission. Somewhere in the back of my heart and mind I knew that boy would not be coming home. Over the past month especially that has been confirmed to both Cory and I. A boy will not be coming home. A man will return. It is amazing to see how much growth and progress Dallon has already been blessed with. His perspective on life and the importance of eternal life and testimony is phenominal. Each day he takes a step closer to the Lord. Eaach day he seems to grow in humility and compassion. We are so pleased to be coming to know this new man in our lives. We are truly grateful for the blessing of having a son serving the Lord full time. We are appreciative of his ability to learn, grow and adapt.
This week has been completely amazing for me!!! I can`t even tell you how happy I am to be a missionary. The work is just so exciting right now! I don`t know why, but with this little change, I feel full of energy and really ready to go to work.
So mom, I haven`t received the package yet, I`m sure it`s in the mail somewhere. :) And don`t worry about the name, they said they could still get them if they had Elder Swasy`s name on them. No worries!
My new companion is Elder Ramirez! As you can probably tell by the photo, he is not very tall. Actually I think he`s one of the shortest missionaries in our mission! Of course, I`m the tallest! Kind of crazy...but he is really a great missionary. When we had our changes, of course I was worried I`d get someone who doesn`t follow the rules or who I couldn`t get along with, but President Chipman really comforted me during the meeting. Among his remarks before telling us the changes he talked about how he had had to make a bunch of last minute changes due to sick elders and a few that went home. He said he had finished the changes that very morning, and prayed to Heavenly Father to make sure he got it right. He said he could hear a voice saying that the changes were right. This is how it was supposed to be! Boy, am I grateful for revelation and great leaders!!
Another kind of crazy thing...Elder Foutz stopped by on Tuesday! I met his parents! They seemed super nice, and they even took down our home phone number and said they were going to try to call you guys. That would be pretty cool if they did! Also, he was going to try to pick up a DVD of photos and drop it by the house when he goes up to Utah. He`s got Dad`s cell, so hopefully it works out there too.
So as far as this week goes...it really was amazing. We`ve definitely worked in a different manner than Elder Turcios, and I`m liking it. With Elder Turcios we worked to get a second lesson, and tried to really focus on the investigators we had instead of just honing in on like two or three and looking to find a ton more. Right now, we`re just searching searching searching! We have four investigators we`re really trying to help, but really more like three. Instead of wasting time with people that aren`t super interested, we bear our testimonies and look for people ready to receive us. I`ve noticed a big difference in the way I feel too. I`m searching for their interest, and really trying to react with the spirit, amazing things have happened too!
First really cool experience happened with our mission leader! He actually went out with us last week, and we had a great experience. He took us to one of his friends, and when we knocked on her door she let us in without question. We taught her the first lesson about the restoration, and she just broke down and started crying. She said just before we knocked on her door she had been praying for someone to come. She said she knew we were sent by God and really just accepted everything. Tatiana, that`s her name, really is ready, we just need to get her married (of course they just live together) and set a baptismal date!
The other miracle happened on Saturday. A lot of our appointments fell through, and I was leading in the door knocking because Elder Ramirez doesn`t know the area super well. I felt just a slight impression that we should go to this random hill with these big houses. Normally, they don`t let us in, and usually the rich people are working almost all day. Anyway, we went! We got rejected four times before coming to the last red brick house. We knocked and no one seemed to be home. For some reason we waited longer than usual, and then Edy came around the corner and saw us. Her husband, Pedro, followed and we began talking. They let us inside.
During the lesson, I felt the spirit really strong. Just a calm reassurance that we were supposed to be there. They didn`t really say anything, but were really interested in what we had to say. The lesson just seemed to go really well! Towards the end of the lesson we asked them what they thought, and they kind of just looked at each other and told us that they felt we were sent at exactly the right time. They said they had just barely been having some struggles, and that they were looking for something that could help them out, and then there we were on their doorstep. Pedro is a lawyer, so he`s obviously very busy. He looked at us in wonder and just asked why we had chosen to knock their door, because no one comes up their hill. I told him the truth, I just felt the need to do it, so I did! He said he believed God had sent us.
It was such a great lesson!! Pedro is super intelligent, and so is his wife. They have a 13 year old boy and a 3 year old girl that we weren`t able to meet, but you can tell their family is super close knit. On the outside, you may even think they were mormon! However, something is going on underneath. We also went back Sunday afternoon. When we got their, you could tell they had been waiting anxiously. They were really excited and let us in and we began discussing the Book of Mormon.
The spirit just seemed to enter so quickly during that lesson. I asked them if they had been able to pray as a family about Joseph Smith like we had asked them too, and they looked at each other again, and then began explaining how as they had prayed, they felt this joy just enter into their hearts, something they had never felt before. They were trying to describe how powerful of a feeling it was, but they just couldn`t! They said that their 13 year old had felt it too. They didn`t recognize it as an answer, but they said since we had come into their home, they had felt this spirit, and just have felt...happy.
Of course I was completely excited about this, and we bore our testimonies that that was the Holy Ghost they were feeling. They accepted that. Another kind of random thing happened...we talked a bit about baptism, and they accepted a baptismal date. Both Elder Ramirez and I thought we should leave 2 Nefi 31 because it talks about baptism. However, when Pedro asked us where he should begin reading, 2 Nefi 31 flew from my mind, and I couldn`t think of anything better than starting from the beginning. It was a weird kind of impression, but I followed it! Elder Ramirez told me later the exact same thoughts went through his mind. We`ll see what happens!
I`m just really excited with this family! We set a baptismal date for the 18th of this month. We`re hoping that comes true, because Pedro works a ton, and his wife Edy is going to have obstacles with her family. They`re both catholics, and even asked if they could attend the catholic church in addition to our church after they`re baptized. Of course, nothing says we can`t, so we told them yes. However, I think their minds will change when they come to church. We have another appointment this friday with them. I really hope they read the Book of Mormon and continue praying. Heavenly Father definitely prepared them for us, and it was incredible to be there.
I`m really looking forward for this next week. We`re going to work hard. Our goals are high, which is definitely good.
I love you all so much! Oh, hey, if someone can give a shoutout to Ryan Hatch, tell him good luck this week entering the MTC!! That`s really awesome that he`s going Spanish speaking! Also...David Archuletta is coming to Peru??? What mission?? That would be weird to be his companion...especially since we made a music video to his song...
Anyway...love ya all!!
Elder Schofield
So mom, I haven`t received the package yet, I`m sure it`s in the mail somewhere. :) And don`t worry about the name, they said they could still get them if they had Elder Swasy`s name on them. No worries!
My new companion is Elder Ramirez! As you can probably tell by the photo, he is not very tall. Actually I think he`s one of the shortest missionaries in our mission! Of course, I`m the tallest! Kind of crazy...but he is really a great missionary. When we had our changes, of course I was worried I`d get someone who doesn`t follow the rules or who I couldn`t get along with, but President Chipman really comforted me during the meeting. Among his remarks before telling us the changes he talked about how he had had to make a bunch of last minute changes due to sick elders and a few that went home. He said he had finished the changes that very morning, and prayed to Heavenly Father to make sure he got it right. He said he could hear a voice saying that the changes were right. This is how it was supposed to be! Boy, am I grateful for revelation and great leaders!!
Another kind of crazy thing...Elder Foutz stopped by on Tuesday! I met his parents! They seemed super nice, and they even took down our home phone number and said they were going to try to call you guys. That would be pretty cool if they did! Also, he was going to try to pick up a DVD of photos and drop it by the house when he goes up to Utah. He`s got Dad`s cell, so hopefully it works out there too.
So as far as this week goes...it really was amazing. We`ve definitely worked in a different manner than Elder Turcios, and I`m liking it. With Elder Turcios we worked to get a second lesson, and tried to really focus on the investigators we had instead of just honing in on like two or three and looking to find a ton more. Right now, we`re just searching searching searching! We have four investigators we`re really trying to help, but really more like three. Instead of wasting time with people that aren`t super interested, we bear our testimonies and look for people ready to receive us. I`ve noticed a big difference in the way I feel too. I`m searching for their interest, and really trying to react with the spirit, amazing things have happened too!
First really cool experience happened with our mission leader! He actually went out with us last week, and we had a great experience. He took us to one of his friends, and when we knocked on her door she let us in without question. We taught her the first lesson about the restoration, and she just broke down and started crying. She said just before we knocked on her door she had been praying for someone to come. She said she knew we were sent by God and really just accepted everything. Tatiana, that`s her name, really is ready, we just need to get her married (of course they just live together) and set a baptismal date!
The other miracle happened on Saturday. A lot of our appointments fell through, and I was leading in the door knocking because Elder Ramirez doesn`t know the area super well. I felt just a slight impression that we should go to this random hill with these big houses. Normally, they don`t let us in, and usually the rich people are working almost all day. Anyway, we went! We got rejected four times before coming to the last red brick house. We knocked and no one seemed to be home. For some reason we waited longer than usual, and then Edy came around the corner and saw us. Her husband, Pedro, followed and we began talking. They let us inside.
During the lesson, I felt the spirit really strong. Just a calm reassurance that we were supposed to be there. They didn`t really say anything, but were really interested in what we had to say. The lesson just seemed to go really well! Towards the end of the lesson we asked them what they thought, and they kind of just looked at each other and told us that they felt we were sent at exactly the right time. They said they had just barely been having some struggles, and that they were looking for something that could help them out, and then there we were on their doorstep. Pedro is a lawyer, so he`s obviously very busy. He looked at us in wonder and just asked why we had chosen to knock their door, because no one comes up their hill. I told him the truth, I just felt the need to do it, so I did! He said he believed God had sent us.
It was such a great lesson!! Pedro is super intelligent, and so is his wife. They have a 13 year old boy and a 3 year old girl that we weren`t able to meet, but you can tell their family is super close knit. On the outside, you may even think they were mormon! However, something is going on underneath. We also went back Sunday afternoon. When we got their, you could tell they had been waiting anxiously. They were really excited and let us in and we began discussing the Book of Mormon.
The spirit just seemed to enter so quickly during that lesson. I asked them if they had been able to pray as a family about Joseph Smith like we had asked them too, and they looked at each other again, and then began explaining how as they had prayed, they felt this joy just enter into their hearts, something they had never felt before. They were trying to describe how powerful of a feeling it was, but they just couldn`t! They said that their 13 year old had felt it too. They didn`t recognize it as an answer, but they said since we had come into their home, they had felt this spirit, and just have felt...happy.
Of course I was completely excited about this, and we bore our testimonies that that was the Holy Ghost they were feeling. They accepted that. Another kind of random thing happened...we talked a bit about baptism, and they accepted a baptismal date. Both Elder Ramirez and I thought we should leave 2 Nefi 31 because it talks about baptism. However, when Pedro asked us where he should begin reading, 2 Nefi 31 flew from my mind, and I couldn`t think of anything better than starting from the beginning. It was a weird kind of impression, but I followed it! Elder Ramirez told me later the exact same thoughts went through his mind. We`ll see what happens!
I`m just really excited with this family! We set a baptismal date for the 18th of this month. We`re hoping that comes true, because Pedro works a ton, and his wife Edy is going to have obstacles with her family. They`re both catholics, and even asked if they could attend the catholic church in addition to our church after they`re baptized. Of course, nothing says we can`t, so we told them yes. However, I think their minds will change when they come to church. We have another appointment this friday with them. I really hope they read the Book of Mormon and continue praying. Heavenly Father definitely prepared them for us, and it was incredible to be there.
I`m really looking forward for this next week. We`re going to work hard. Our goals are high, which is definitely good.
I love you all so much! Oh, hey, if someone can give a shoutout to Ryan Hatch, tell him good luck this week entering the MTC!! That`s really awesome that he`s going Spanish speaking! Also...David Archuletta is coming to Peru??? What mission?? That would be weird to be his companion...especially since we made a music video to his song...
Anyway...love ya all!!
Elder Schofield
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