Manuel got baptised!!​!!! - Email from April 15, 2013

Well, after a month of super amazing lessons, and really just
wondering what was holding him back...Manuel Anton got baptised!!! It
was a super amazing feeling to see him enter into the waters of
baptism as his neighbor baptised him! The most amazing thing was how
excited Santiago was to baptise his friend. Really, there`s nothing
sweeter than seeing how the missionary work can bless the lives of
everyone involved.

The week was full of suprises. Really, Elder Chinchay and I are
working super hard to help the Zone get better. This week, we had 3
baptisms in the Zone! Really, it`s been hard work to get there...we
have been struggling for a while as a Zone. However, Elder Chinchay
and I have to decided that we need to be more obedient. Honestly, I
take the three baptisms as a sign that this is the way to go. However,
we`re having some problems...some elders simply don`t have the desire
to be 100 percent obedient. That`s hard for us, but even harder for
their companions! We`ve been talking with the District Leaders, but
they`re having a super rough time with their own
companions...hopefully we can get it worked out!

At this time in my mission, as I think about all the experiences that
I`ve had...I`ve got to say that it has not been easy. I only have six
more months...six more months to improve and become the best
missionary I can possibly be. I was watching the PME videos that we
have for training this last week, and thinking about how I can apply
these things. I really feel like there`s a lot I can do. I felt the
spirit witnessing to me that I have changed a lot, but I feel that I
have a lot more changes to make! I`ve set goals again, and hope to be
able to follow through with them.

Part of these feelings have come from being with a companion that is
finishing his two years. Part of that is a challenge because it does
make me think a bit about what it will be like when I get home! I have
to fight those thoughts away. However, Elder Chinchay has worked hard
until the end. We have one more week to go, and then he`ll be boarding
the plane! I have confidence that he will work until the end. We have
some great investigators, some of which have baptismal dates for the
28th! I really hope that they`ll follow through with that, because
they`re a great couple that have four children as well!

I hope that you all know that I love you. Sorry this email has to be
short...we`re running like crazy right now! We had a Zone Activity
today to go buy pottery and we ended up spending WAY too much time
there in Chulucanas...we weren`t able to clean our room :/ Also, we
have a work visit with the Assistants right now! Hopefully all goes
well with my friend Elder Iribar!

Love you all!!!

Elder Schofield

Conferenci​a General!!! What a weekend... - email from April 8, 2013

Well, I hope that all of you, like me, were able to see Conference! It
truly is an amazing blessing to be halfway around the world and be
able to see Salt Lake City, with it`s amazing gardens and cloudy sky.
Even more amazing is being able to see a modern day, living prophet of
God. Do we even know how big of a blessing it is to have a prophet of
God today?? I am so grateful for him and for all of the general
authorities.

Conference really taught me a lot. I always go into conference with
very deep, personal questions and God ALWAYS answers me. This
conference I had two talks that literally answered my questions
DIRECTLY. It really made me feel that I am a son of God and that He
really is looking out for me. I hope that you all had a similar
experience.

This week was really interesting, and VERY busy. We had Zone
Conference, our meeting with Stake President, Interviews with
President Rowley, and General Conference! With all of that going on,
it was pretty hard to really have a lot of time to go out tracting or
anything. However, we were able to have some great moments together,
Elder Chinchay and I.

On Tuesday in Zone council, we talked about `Going back to the
basics.` It made me think a lot about how I was when I began my
mission...young! I had so much energy it was almost too much! I wanted
to talk to everyone all at once, and tell them about this message. I
also had a very strong desire to be 100 percent obedient. My studies
were super sacred to me because I knew that I had to learn so much in
order to help people and be able to touch their hearts with this
message.

We talked a lot about that, and I really feel like now is the time.
Now is the time to go back to the basics and really make these last 6
months the best in my entire mission. I have more responsabilities
now. I really truly have an effect in the 18 elders and sisters in my
zone. They look up to me in a lot of ways and I need to be humble
enough to acknowledge my faults and change.

I thank God every day for blessing me with humility. I really don`t
say that to boast, but I have felt that here in my mission. Leadership
positions don`t make me feel proud, they just mean more opportunities
to serve. My time doesn`t mean anything to me either, a new missionary
can teach just as well or better than me. I believe that humility is a
key to success. It`s a key to progression. If someone can be humble
and recognize that with God`s help we can overcome our weaknesses,
they will go very far in life.

I am going to become better. I remember that a couple friends
commented earlier in my mission that I had changed drastically. Well,
it`s true! The first couple of months were a huge life changer for me.
Now, the last couple of months will become that. I am going to give it
my all.

Well, that was one of the things we talked about in Zone Council...the
other was missionary work with members!!! Can I just say...we ALL have
the responsability! Just recently I realized that I haven`t been doing
the best job in helping members do missionary work. President is
really pushing that now, and we are as well in our zone. If our ward
isn`t strong, then investigators won`t want to come to church!
However, a strong ward will be able to have a huge effect in the
neighborhood. There is a spirit present with every single member, and
the nonmembers can feel that. We just have to help them open up their
mouths and really start helping other people.

This week we have seen some great progress in investigators. Manuel is
pretty much completely ready for his baptism! He should be baptised
this Saturday, and a member will be doing the ordinance! I`m super
excited for him. He was sick this weekend, so he could only go to one
of the general conference sessions, but he seemed to like it.

We had another investigator go to the Priesthood session! I was a bit
worried because it was a ton of deep doctrine...but it turned out
great! I think that liked it, and I hope that he continues to
progress. We were teaching him about a month ago, but he had to go to
his farm about an hour or two away. Now he`s back, and I`m pretty sure
we`re going to be able to teach him and his parents. We`ll see what
happens!

Well, I hope that you all know that I love you! Take care of
yourselves! Six more months! Hard to believe it`s that close...

Don`t use that as an excuse to not write. ;) I miss mail! :( Haha,
it`s funny how much a real letter can mean...I promise to be better
about sending letters to missionaries after the mission. :)

Love you all!!
Elder Schofield

Men and Women. Why can`t they just all get along? - Email from April 1, 2013

So this week was super great here in Tacala City! We have been working really hard to help our investigators to progress towards baptism. I don`t know if I mentioned it before or not, but we have changed a bit here in the mission! We are now contacting ALL of our investigators every day! That means a lot of work, but at the same time things have become a lot more personal with them. I feel like I am really able to help some of them out.

So my title this week is about men and women. After living in a house full of girls...I think that I may be a bit baised, but I wanted to tell you all about some of the things I have seen this week and how blessed we are to have the knowledge that we do. The prophets and apostles have always talked about the seperate roles of men and women and how they should work together to create happy families.

So first I want to tell you about Rosa and Waldemir.

Rosa works all day every day cutting and styling hair. She has two days off a week, Wednesday and Sunday. Waldemir, her husband, works six days a week and hardly ever is at home. He normally gets home at about 10 every night, so basically their relationship is phonecalls and text messaging. Not really the best way to have a great relationship.

This week we have seen with them that their marriage is in danger of ending. Waldemir has a drinking problem. Every week he comes home from work just to drink. Rosa is really upset with that, just like any other would be. However, she has lost hope and refuses to help him. He has told us a few times that he wants to change...but Rosa claims that he`s just playing us. He just tells us what we want to hear.

What I have learned from this couple is how vitally important it is to have the same goals as a couple. They both want to help their three kids and think that working to death is sufficient, however, their marriage is practically lost because of that decision. The other thing that I have learned is how important it is to put MARRIAGE FIRST and KIDS SECOND. I was thinking about it the other day: Mom, Dad, you`ve almost gotten to the point when all of the kids are out of the house. Now what? You have each other. Imagine to yourselves that in all this time you hardly ever talked to each other. Would you want to be in the same room all day together? No. One day, all the kids will be gone. They`ll have their own families to provide for. We may work very hard to help them form their own families and have that opportunity, but in the end, our relationship with our spouse is the most important thing. You have kids to form a family, and to learn and grow together.

My next experience is with Carlos and Carmen. Carlos is your VERY TYPICAL male chouvenist pig. I honestly couldn`t stand to be in the same room with him for very long...but we`ve now taught them three times. In their family, they have 3 young boys that are super roudy and very poorly disciplined. Carlos blames that on his wife, saying that it is her responsability. He also has `hired` his niece to take care of the kids, but he, along with his wife, treats her like a slave. `Clean this up. Wash the dishes. Bathe the kids. Help them with their homework. Make the elders some lemonaide.` Honestly, I think he ordered her around the entire half hour that we were there.

What suprises me the most with Carlos is that he thinks that it`s ok. He thinks that he can continue to live this way and that he will have the happy family that he wants.

Well, he`s wrong.

I want to bear my testimony that God has a plan for families. It`s simple. It`s consice. You can find it in `The Family: A Proclamation to the World.` For those of you who have not read that document, I invite you to. I know that that is the ONLY way we can be happy.

We can`t work all day. We can`t not talk to our spouses. We can`t treat people horribly and expect them to serve us how we please. A family must be centered on Christ in order to succeed. A family must learn to love, forgive, and to have faith with each other.

Well...I`m sorry that my email is so...weird! I think my grammer is pretty much gone so it`s hard for me to communicate my ideas...however, I hope you all know that I am grateful for parents that follow the council of the prophets.

As for all of you who choose not to follow that council...here`s my answer!!! Haha, I took this pic today in the market. Basically just know that if I hear about any husband that`s mistreating his wife, I just mights show up on his doorstep with this...LOOK OUT!!! ;)

Love you all!!

Elder Schofield

 

 

An Instrument in the Lord`s Hands... Email from March 25, 2013

This past week I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be an
Instrument in God`s hands. That phrase has always stood out to me in
the scriptures. As President Monson shares his personal experiences of
how he has been able to answer the prayers of other people through his
personal actions, I can`t help but think about the few times I have
been able to do the same think. I can`t think of anything more
gratifying, more beautiful, and more spiritually uplifting than
knowing or feeling that you have been able to answer another`s
prayers.

This last week, I feel like I was able to do that.

It all started with an activity that we`re going to have here in the
ward. We have to visit a big list of Less Actives to invite them to
come. We ran into a young woman who is 25 years old. Her name is
Roxanna and she has an 8 year old girl named Amy and is pregnant with
her second child. When we knocked her door, she immediately let us in.
Obviously, she was a VERY active young woman after she was baptised.
She even went to seminary and remembers a lot of what she learned.
However, she`s distanced herself from the church now.

As we shared a bit with her about faith and repentance, she talked
about the challenge it is for her to come back. She mentioned that
every time she`s pregnant, God has sent another pair of missionaries
to her door. She has also recently had dreams about God inviting her
to come back to church. Obviously, God is working hard to help her
come back.

As I listened to her experiences and feelings, I just knew that God
had sent me to visit her. As we talked about coming back to church, I
felt the spirit whisper to me the mind of our Lord. Why would He send
missionaries at these key moments? Why would he want Roxanna to come
back to church when she is pregnant? The spirit told me so clearly:
God has given her these two children. They are not hers, they are His
children. He wants them to have a successful life where they can learn
to live the principles of the gospel and be protected by the
ordinances of the restored gospel of Christ.

I began to tell Roxanna this very thing, and I could see something in
her face...I think it was a feeling of recognition. She knows it`s
true. She knows that NOW is the time to come back. I explained to her
what could happen. Her little 8 year old is going to church on her own
right now. However, what will happen in 4 years when her mother tells
her to go to church? Amy will probably just look at her mom and say,
but mom, you don`t go to church. Why can`t I just say my prayers and
read the scriptures here at home? If you don`t go, why do I have to?

I think I got to her heart when I said those words...it`s amazing how
the impressions from the Holy Ghost can help you so much.

The other experience I had this week was with two elders in our
district, Elder Vargas and Elder Sierra. Elder Vargas is from Mexico
and is a truly amazing elder. I am learning a ton from him! He`s also
our district leader. Elder Sierra has had a very tough mission. He
came to the mission a bit immature. He just wasn`t very ready. He`s
changed a TON, but still has problems with his companions and on
Friday they had another fight, and Elder Vargas just called us up.

When we stepped into their apartment, I could just feel a huge wall
of...nothing. The absence of the spirit was just SO OBVIOUS. I felt
just a lot of darkness there. I sat down with Elder Sierra, who had
still not changed out of his underwear, and began trying to talk to
him. Elder Chinchay took Elder Vargas outside so that we could talk
alone for a minute.

As we had this tiny little interview, I prayed so hard that God would
give me the words that Elder Sierra needed to continue on and have
success in the mission. I honestly don`t remember half of what I said.
All I know is that I talked about having the spirit be the senior
companion. He needs to lead Elder Sierra. Elder Vargas may have the
assignment of Senior Companion, but he doesn`t lead the companionship,
the spirit does. I told Elder Sierra that he needs to make that become
his focus. Instead of thinking that Elder Vargas just wants to do it
`his way`, he should search for the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

I`m not sure what it was, but after our conversation, Elder Sierra was
willing to continue with their weekly planning session. He got up and
began changing. As for today, they seem to be doing ok. I wouldn`t say
that everything is 100 percent better. It`s obvious that they still
aren`t the best of friends...but they continue on. I feel that the
spirit was somehow able to communicate something through me to help
this Elder who was confused, lost, and simply discouraged.

There truly is nothing more amazing than to know that God has been
able to work through you. The spirit is the best gift in the world. I
would give anything away to just know that my Heavenly Father is
pleased with what I am doing, and the Holy Ghost is what tells me
that. The fire that I feel within my chest carries me throughout the
day.

Honestly, I`m tired. My body is tired. My mind is tired. However, I
feel the spirit is always pushing me on. I hope that I can always
continue to have His spirit to be with me, as I work to fulfill the
most simple of my covenants, that of baptism.

I love you all! I hope that you all can search for the guidance of the
Holy Ghost. One thing I am learning is that we must be humble. If we
choose not to follow ONE prompting, then He will go away until we
follow that prompting. If something is coming to your mind over and
over again and you don`t do it, how can you possibly expect the spirit
to help guide you in a time of need? Who knows? Maybe He was trying to
help you before the fact, but you chose to not do His will, and
because of that you`re in this difficult situation.

God will never cause us to be sad. He always leads us towards His
kingdom. He always gives us happiness and peace.

Love you all! Sorry I couldn`t send pictures this week...I`ll try to
get on it next time!! Mom, if you have to do the ward newsletter, you
can use some of my old pics too!

Elder Schofield

One day in Tacalà city... email from March 18, 2013

So my mom has asked for a `one day` description...we`ll see how it goes!

So Friday, the 15th of March, I got up at exactly 6:30 AM to the sound of our cellphone. It`s kinda funny because the ringtone we have as our alarm is the ringtone that EVERYONE has here. Kinda like in the movie theatres in the states where they have those adds.

After saying our companionship and personal prayers, it`s time for excersizing! To be honest...I don`t always do them. I usually end up doing 20 or 30 pushups, some squats, and call it good. My belly is showing it too...however on Friday I got a bit more into it, doing about 40 pushups before getting breakfast, cereal and milk-my favorite!!

After eating quickly, I shave quick and jump in the shower. Haha, we don`t have a showerhead here because there is hardly any water pressure. It`s like showering with a hose, which was pretty interesting the first couple of days!

At 8 AM we have an hour of personal study. I remember that on Friday I read some conference talks that were super sweet!! I learned about the priesthood and how some people take it for granted. I thought about a few of our investigators that simply don`t understand what the priesthood is and how amazing it is that God has called a prophet in our days! Friday was a great day for me in my studies because I was also led to a scripture in Mosiah where it talks about Ammon and how an entire pueblo wanted to be baptized! However, Ammon did not feel worthy, so they had to wait!!! I couldn`t imagine that...an entire pueblo wants to be baptized and I`m not worthy to do that...obviously we need to value our priesthood authority more.

At 9, we have companionship study. Normally we talk about our investigators and make lesson plans for them. Today we talked about Rosa Robledo, who has a baptismal date for April 7th with her husband! She doesn`t seem to comprehend the importance of the Book of Mormon so we focused on that in our lesson plan.

At 10, we had weekly planning! For me, that`s always a key in the week. At times, it makes me feel bad because we don`t have a lot of investigators to plan for, but it always helps. Right now we`re focusing on daily contacts, so I was with the huge whiteboard (blessing of being ZLs) while my companion took notes. It was a good weekly planning session where we got a lot done.

At about 1:30 we went to lunch! Our pensionista had the food ready, it was rice, beans, and chicken. A VERY peruvian plate. :) We had to eat quickly, only talking with the other elders there for about 5 minutes before catching a Taxi to the center of town! There, we ran to the post office to mail a letter that I`ve held on to for...who knows how long...and then took our our Zone Fund, about 100 bucks. We then caught another taxi to the office!

In the office, we had to carry a stove, table, fridge, microwave, eating utinsils, pans, pamphlets, and Books of Mormon! It was quite the challenge getting all of that to fit in these tiny taxis, but we did it before zooming over to the sister`s apartment in a super rich area of Piura.

By this time, it was 3! Normally we`re knocking doors by that time but we had the priviledge of helping Hermana Panoso and Hermana Maldonado move their new kitchen into their tiny apartment. We had to take out a huge ropero, and ended up breaking a plant in the process!!! (Oops...sorry!!!) However, we were able to do that all super quick and headed back to our area.

By the time we got back to Tacalà, it was 4! I was pretty tired too. We ran to Juan and Nelda, and had a pretty good lesson with them. They`re SUPER catholic, but we are teaching slowly about the prophets. Hopefuly the spirit will step in there and help them understand a bit better!

After Juan and Nelda, we visited Rosa Robledo, who has a baptismal date! We didn`t end up being able to use our lesson plan because she talked so much!!! I could hardly get a word in, but that`s ok. :) She`s super great! We finished teaching about the grades of glory and she understood well. We then had to RUN out, because we were late for our baptism!!!

This week we had the baptism of our Ward MIssion Leader`s niece! We knew nothing about her before Monday night! However, we were able to go over the lessons with her super quick before her baptism. She was ready. Layna has attended church a lot, and her cousins have also taught her a ton. At the baptismal service, her uncle, Hermano Joel Flores, baptised her. It was a great service, and I felt the spirit strong with her. She even bore her testimony! A little 8 year old girl! It was cool.

After the baptism, we visited a Recent Convert and tried to encourage her to sign up for Seminary. She`s 14 years old and the only member in her family. Unfortunately, she`s kinda heading down a bad road, so we want to get her more involved with the youth! Hopefully seminary will help with that.

At about 7, we had another lesson with Cesar Espinoza. He`s super smart and came to church this last sunday! The problem is that he has to head to his farm every week, and normally only comes home for the weekend! However it`s raining so much there right now that we got the chance to teach him.

After arriving in his home, Cesar told us to sit down and we began talking. However, he got a phone call and went into the other room and left us there for about 15 minutes...talk about awkward!!! I started wondering if it was even worth it. I was super tired and really just wanted to go. However, something told me to just wait, and I`m glad I did!

This lesson was AWESOME! Elder Chinchay and I have been working a lot on have unity in our companionship and I think we did a great job in this lesson. We listened a lot more than talking. We talked about the Restoration. He even read the pamphlet!!! It`s funny how small things make us so happy. :) But it`s so important to read!!! He said that he knew it was true because it just made perfect sense!! We testified that it was true and talked about the importance of receiving an answer from God. We then gave him a Book of Mormon and challenged him to be baptised. He accepted, but said he would have to think it over before accepting a date. That`s fine by me! I have a feeling that he could be converted and bring his four children too, all of them very intelligent men that can hold the priesthood!!! Jackpot!

At about 8:30, we got back to our room. We had our 30 minute planning session where we talked about the many lessons we had planned for Saturday and the super awesome investigators we have. After that, it was time to eat!

Honestly, I`m getting super lazy in the eating part. I`m eating. But not very healthily! It`s tuff because sometimes we get back at 930, and at 10 we begin cooking, and we have to be in bed at 1030! However, on Friday I`m pretty sure I had two hamburgers and a powerade. :) Delicious!!

At 1030, we said our prayers and went to bed.

And that, my friends, is one of my better days this past week. :) Lots of work! Lots of things to do and really not a lot of time to do it in! However, I am so happy. :) The best part is just being able to feel the spirit work through me. In the lessons the spirit tells me when to be happy, when to be sad, and I simply love it!

I hope all is well at home! Have a great week!!!

Love,

Elder Schofield

 

Dallon's Christmas PJ's - we also sent some for his companion!

Huge Changes . . . and another one bites the dust! - email from March 11, 2013

So! This week may have seen the biggest change of my entire mission! I know I`ve said that like three times in the mission...but it`s true! President Rowley continues to receive revelation concerning the work here, and we continue making big changes in order to do God`s will. This week we saw a huge change in the Key Indicators that we report.

So, for those of you who may not know, we normally report Baptisms, Confirmations, Investigators with Baptismal dates, Attendance, Lessons with Members, Other Lessons, Progressing Investigators, Refrences Received and Contacted, New Investigators, and Less Active Lessons.

That`s a lot. Now look at what President has changed! As of last Tuesday, we only report: Baptisms, Confirmations, Investigators with Baptismal Dates, Attendance, Lessons with Members, New Investigators, and Less Actives.

That`s actually a HUGE change for us!!! That means that we can go out tracting, knock on a door, teach a lesson, and we don`t even report that to President! It`s really going to be huge for the mission. It makes us all just super devoted to working with members, something that Piura really needs right now, to work with members.

The other change we`re putting into effect is making daily contacts with investigators. Every single day, we`re contacting them in some way, be it a phone call, a short visit, a lesson, a member that drops by, or whatever it is! Before, we could set up two appointments a week with investigators! Now, we see or hear from them every day! It`s also a VERY big change in the mission, but something that will help us tremendously.

I know that President Rowley received this revelation from God. In just this week, our sacrament meeting attendance DOUBLED in the zone! DOUBLED! We went from 12 to 24! Also, Elder Chinchay and I were able to see true miracles.

One of our investigators, Manuel, has been making a ton of progress. From the first lesson we knew that he was a golden. We challenged him to be baptised and he accepted a baptismal date for the 24th. However, this week something big happened. If it hadn`t been for working with members and contacting him daily, I`m sure that he would have been lost.

He has been so excited about the church that on Facebook he put his religious status as Mormon, before even being baptised! That`s really good, but also opened up the huge can of worms of anti mormon propaganda. After reading a bunch of lies about the church, he was super confused. However, we had set up that a member was going to visit him that very day. When Santiago got there, Manuel was able to tell him about his doubts and everything. Santiago talked to him for a bit and later sent him some talks from President Hinckley. It was truly a lifesaver, and Manuel has kept going super excited and learning a ton.

I know that God really is helping our investigators to progress. Seriously, I have seen it so many times, and I know that by making daily contacts we`ll be able to see a lot more people progress and be baptised.

I also had the priviledge of seeing a missionary go home after completing two years in his mission. It was actually kinda sad for me because I know that that time is coming quickly...going home can`t be easy, even though it`s also a very exciting time! Elder Altamirano kept working until the end, which I was very impressed by.

So...today were changes! However, I will be staying here in Tacala! I also will have the honor of killing Elder Chinchay! That means that I get to see another Elder finish his mission here! I just hope he doesn`t get too trunky and that I don`t either. I guess that`s part of the mission, constantly trying to focus in and really take advantage of every moment.

Sorry that this email really confusing. I`m having a hard time focusing! So many things to do and think about. Haha, I guess that`s part of being a Zone Leader too...so many things!!!

Well, I hope that all is well with you! Take care of yourselves!!

Love,

Elder Schofield

The week that just flew by - email from March 5, 2013

Is it already Monday? Honestly, this week has gone by so fast I don´t even know what has happened. A lot of mixed emotions going on right now, and I don´t even know where to begin this letter! So much has happened, yet at the same time...not a lot! Haha, I guess that´s what happens when I never really have a chance to look back on what´s happened during the day or week...hmmm...how long has it been since I wrote in my journal...(don´t tell mom!)

This week has been a learning experience for me. Elder Iribar, Assistent to the President, told us this week that we needed to make a change in the mission: Having daily contact with EVERY investigator we have. When I heard him say that over the phone, I knew it was right because that´s what it says in PMG, but I also knew that it would be a big challenge.

This week we have worked hard to have contact with our investigators every day. That has meant that we have been running between appointments trying to catch our investigators. However, I can say that it is helping.

This last week we have had MULTIPLE investigators reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. :) It´s truly the first time in my mission that I have had so many investigators that are truly making progress in that way. Many of them are noticing a big difference too, and have even told us that they don´t know why, but they have a lot of desire to come to church! This Sunday we had 3 people there, so we still need to help them come, but I still feel like this is a great change.

One of our investigators, Rosa, has accepted a baptismal date for the 24th of this month! I´m confident that she will follow through with that. About 3 months ago, her mother and niece were baptised. She´s seen a huge change in them and wants that change for her family. She accepted the baptismal date with more confidence than I´ve ever seen in the mission! We´re also teaching her husband and daughter, and have a lot of hopes for them! Rosa and Waldemir, her husband, came to church this Sunday! Haha, it was kind of funny because they got there just as the deacons finished passing the bread...and they forgot to close one of the doors, right in the front! So, Rosa and Waldemir came in, in front of everyone, in the middle of the Sacrament! It was kind of awkward...but I was glad to see them there. :) Waldemir was super impressed and told us that he will be there next Sunday as well.

We also had a huge blessing this week with a reference from a member! Santiago Calle is 16 years old, but has helped us out a lot! This week he told us he has a friend that wants to go to church! On Saturday we had a lesson with him that just went AMAZING! We taught about prophets, the priesthood, the church of Jesus Christ, and baptism! He understood it ALL! He even understood Apostasy, which is SUPER hard to help people understand here! I was very excited. Then he came on Sunday and had the opportunity to witness a baptism! He was joking a bit about falling back into the water in his own baptism...but at least he´s thinking about being baptised!

The other amazing thing this week was my first baptismal interview. :) I was a tiny bit nervous but honestly, I felt prepared. It´s not that huge of a thing. I knew the spirit would be there.

The one weird thing is being in a room alone with a 17 year old girl...it was always in my mind that my companion and some other guy needed to come in the room with me, like the rules are outside of baptismal interviews, but it was fine. :) Jenny was SUPER ready for her baptism. When she came in, I just asked her how she felt about everything. She said she was nervous, which is normal, but super excited. I asked her about her testimony of the Book of Mormon and that was the key...she had gotten an answer. :) She even made a comment about how the catholic church doesn´t have the Book of Mormon, and that´s something that it was lacking. Halelujah! I, like Jenny, could NEVER go to another church because I have simply fallen in love with the Book of Mormon...I don´t know how any member of our church could possibly begin going to another church because of that...

Which brings up another topic! Aparrently a story has gotten out about a Mormon who became a Jehovah´s Witness here. The JW´s are going around passing out their monthly newsletter with this story in there and so we´ve gotten quite a few questions, even from members. Honestly...it makes me sad, but I know one thing: this man did NOT put Moroni´s promise to the test, and if he did he is rejecting the answer he got from God. I want to bear my testimony that NO ONE can read and pray about the Book of Mormon without receiving an answer, that is if they do it with faith. I also want to bear my testimony that any member of the church that chooses to follow away is NOT reading the Book of Mormon on a daily basis. Here in Peru, some members get defensive when we tell them to read the Book of Mormon every day instead of just the Bible. Listen: the Bible is NOT PERFECT. There are errors. However, I bear witness that the Book of Mormon is pure doctrine from Christ, and will never lead us astray. Anyone within the sound of my voice can put it to the test. Read for 10 minutes every day, and you will notice a big difference in your life. Read for 30 minutes a day looking for personal revelation and you will find that God is directing your every step.

I know that this is true. 1 hour is simply not enough time for me to study the scriptures personally...how could I have possibly gone through middle school and high school without putting as much time into it??

Well...I hope you all know that I love you! I´ll try to get some pics in now...Love you tons!!!

Love,

Elder Schofield

El misionero mas alto de la Misión Perú Piura. ;)

 

The picture with Elder Uceda!!! I´m kinda tall here....don´t ya think?