¡Hola Family and Friends!
Hola Family and Friends
  This week has been so amazing. My companion and I have worked hard
and everynight we come home exhausted, but so happy. The Lord has been
putting us in the rightplace at the right time. We've taught 70
lessons this week. We've contacted a lot of people on the street and
prayed with a lot of people on the street. I love that I get to serve
everyday. Whether it be comforting someone with a hug and words of
encouragment, or finding people who are really looking for the true
Church of Jesus Christ, or helping a member family from the U.S. use
our phone to call their friends to pick them up, I love that I can
help them.
   Dia de Sant Jordi was this week. The guys give the girls a rose and
the girls give the guys a book. The streets were full of roses, and we
gave out quite a few copies of the Book of Mormon. A little girl from
our ward made roses out of clay and a popsicle stick for us. I love
the members in our ward.
  My companion and I have the goal to only use the stairs and to not
use the elevators because we don't like the weight that we are gaining
from eating the delicious food at the members house. One day we went
to a members house who lives on the 14th floor. I was dying by the
time we got to the top.
  We've met some pretty amazing people as we've contacted and talked
with people on the metro. One was a man from Korea who has been living
in Spain for 20 years and he invited us to go to a Korean restaurant
with him. My companion is super excited to eat Korean this week. We
are going to teach him the Gospel. Can you imagine, we might have a
Korean baptized here in Spain. How cool! We also met a young couple
who work at subway. My companion mentioned how she loved the cookies
at subway, and the guy ended up having some cookies with him and
offered us each one. Woo-hoo! I love talking to the people on the
metro. You never know who you are going to meet.
   We had a lesson with a new investigator of ours from the Dominican
Republic who has two daughters ages 9 and 7. Her name is Fiori and she
is so prepared! At the very beginning of the lesson her 9 year old
daughter asked if it was obligatory to be baptized. When we said
prayer with them they were so happy to pray. I love them so much. The
mom and 9 year old daughter have a baptismal date for the 16th of May.
I think that they are going to make it. :)
   The Releif Society President has a cello and has offered it to me
to use while I am here in Barcelona. She needs to buy the A string
this week, but then she is going to give to me to use! So excited to
be able to play cello again!
   I love the things that I am learning here on my mission. The Gospel
of Jesus Christ is fantastic and so simple. I love that we have a
Father in Heaven who loves us, and has given us families!
   Love you all!!
Hermana Schmidt

Hey everyone!

   In my area in Barcelona we are pretty much just starting from scratch. All the investigators that we did have have stopped answering our phone calls and are never home. Sad? yes. But this week Hermana Lee and I found many new investigators to teach. We are filling up our pool of investigators again and hoping that at least a few will accept the message that we have and want to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, and eventually go to the temple!

  A girl from our ward just came home from her mission, and is helping us a lot in our work. She was talking to us about how the younger generation were really prepared to receive this message. I don´t contact that many young adults, but I remembered what she said and as we walked past a building, a young man walked out. I hadn´t intended to talk to him, but one minute I was walking with my companion, and the next second I was turned around talking with the young man. Apparently he had been going to the church building every Thursday night to play soccer. We explained a little bit about our religion, and how the same church that Christ established, when he was on the earth, was restored. Then I asked him if he would like to know for himself if Christ really had restored His church. He thought for a minute then said "yeah I woud actually like to know."  We are going to visit with him on Thursday, and he actually gave us his correct phone number. We called him yesterday and he answered. 

   My companion is super good at just talking with everyone. We literally can´t go 5 steps without talking with someone. I don´t know where she finds all this energy to do it. My trainer called me a contacting machine, but I don´t think she knows Hermana Lee. The two of us have found 16 new investigators just this first week being together and have set 4 baptismal dates. We actually have set three of those baptismal dates in the street with people that we have met for the first time. Yeah, my companion is fearless, and lets people know our purpose right away. She is awesome!

  In ward council I actually spoke because I was the missionary with more time in my area. All of the members looked at me in shock like they couldn´t believe what they were hearing. Then the 1st counselor in the bishopric said "Wow, Hermana Schmidt, you can actually talk really good!" I think they are learning to see that I´m actually able to do missionary work and that I´m not just a shy girl. You can´t really be shy on the mission. I have to talk to people all the time! It´s exhausting but totally worth it.

   Now that it is summer we walk more instead of taking the metro. It´s so much better. My companion and I also made a goal to not use the escalators or the elavator, and one day we had lunch with a member who lived on the very top floor of her apartment building. I just about died by the time we finally got to the top. Maybe this will help us a little though because the members love to give us a TON of food!

Have to go! Love you all!

 

Hermana Schmidt

No longer a trainee.

Hi Family and Friends!

 

 So I´m staying in Barcelona, but I´m no longer in the 12 week training process. My Italian trainer has left me to go to Badelona, which is really close to here, and I now I have a Korean companion named Hermana Lee. She is super awesome and I think that we are going to have a lot of amazing adventures together.

   So we had a lot of visits with the members this week which was super great, and we´ve started to receive some referrals from them! One family is super amazing, and whenever we go to their house we do practicas with them of how they can show the Book of Mormon to their friends and invite their friends to church. They have a daughter who is 15 and she showed us some dresses that she had bought from H&M that were only 15 euros and MODEST!!! The next day, during lunch we decided to go and buy that dress. We both bought green, and wore it on Sunday, and Laura, the 15 year old, did as well. Her parents and her thought it was the best thing ever.

    I shared my testimony in sacrament meeting! That was scary, but I did it and afterwards people came up to me and were telling me how good my spanish has gotten. It´s not that great, but I´m glad that they can see my progress. The members of my ward are amazing, and since yesterday was the last day that Hermana Dorgia could see them, we had a ton of eating visits. All of the members were taking pictures with us, and we just had fun goofing around, sharing a spiritual message with them, it helped me a lot to gain a better relationship with the members. I´m excited for these next 6 weeks here in Barcelona!

   One of the members gave us a little mirror with our last names inscribed on the back, but she spelt our names wrong and instead put Hermana Dogia and Hermana Schmidle. It was so funny whenever she realized the mistake, but I love it!

   We again had a lot of visits planned this week, but a lot of them cancelled on us, but that is what it is like here. We contact a lot and meet a LOT of strange people, but also some pretty amazing people. We are hoping to start building up other parts of our areas and find better ways of working with the members.

   Oh, another thing that I´ve noticed about Spain is that the women here are always linking their arms with each other or hold hands to comfort their friends. I´ve held more hands here, to comfort the members and our investigators, than I think I have in my entire life. I love it though.

 

Sorry that this letter is so short!  Until next week!!!

 

Hermana Schmidt

¡Hola Familia y mis Amigos!

     Well Dad, I know you thought you were making me jealous by telling me about the bbq you had, but this week we had two barbecues so I wasn´t too jealous even though yours are way better. The first bbq I went to was whenever I was on exchanges. Lucky me! They did have blood sausage but I was too scared to try it. It probably tasted super good as well. They members are super funny. Whenever we were leaving they clapped for us...maybe they were happy that we were leaving? 

   Also, whenever I was on exchanges, I stopped an old man in the street, and to make a long story short, we talked for about 30 minutes and during that time he talked about how he had had cancer and had a scar from the surgery. He then ended up showing us his scar by unbuttoning his shirt and untucking his undershirt to show us the scar on his belly. Then, as we were saying bye he kissed both of my companion´s cheeks and when he went to do that to me I was prepared and awkwardly stuck out my hand to shake his like a good missionary. My poor companion was in shock still haha. 

   On our preparation day last week we went over to a less active members house to celebrate her birthday with her. She is a bit crazy, but we love her and are trying to help her. No one, but us visited her on her birthday. How sad! We made banana bread though and decorated her house with all kinds of decorations. She recently has been diagnosed with a lot of medical issues and can no longer eat surgary things, so all of her snacks she gives to us. She is from Texas so she had syrup and we were super excited for it!!! This morning for pday we made pancakes and had syrup as we watched the last session of general conference with our district and the other district for study time. Almost like home!

    The second barbecue was today. Our church building is really cool and is three stories tall. On the top floor there is an area outside where you can have parties. The food was super good and it was so fun to talk with our ward members. 

     I loved General conferece and there was an obvious theme this time. The FAMILIES!!! I love my family! There was something else that I liked though when they were talking about how we should be in awe of those small and wonderful things of the gospel. One of the sisters in my apartment is a super good example of this. She thinks it´s the coolest thing that we have bodies. Something simple, but whenever we think of the plan that our Father has for us, it is really awesome that we have bodies. I think that whenever we think of those simple things of the gospel and are in awe we learn to appreciate life, our family, and our potential as children of God. How amazing is the plan that God has for us. 

    Easter in Spain is a week long thing, and the last couple of days almost no one is working. There is no Easter egg hunt, but there is tons of chocolate. 

    I love this time of year when we remember what our Saviour did for us. I know that He overcame physical and spiritual death, and that like him we can be resurrected and live with and be like our Father in Heaven. I love my Saviour.

Love you all!

Hermana Schmidt

¡Hola Mi Familia y Amigos!

    This week was so great! I was pretty clumsy sometimes, but all is well! One day we were a bit late in getting home after a coordination meeting and had to run home. As we got off the metro I started running up the escalators, but was not very graceful and fell.  Now I have a mark on my shin that looks like a snake bit me. We don´t have to wear tights now either so I don´t have anything to cover it up. Oh well. My companion thought it was hilarious because she had fallen right before me and I had laughed at her. There is no mercy in our companionship. We have so much fun together. 

     We have been starting to do roleplays with the ward members whenever we visit them, so that they can see how easy it is to explain the gospel. We also do a lot of contacting with the members and they have really been a great blessing for us to have. One night we were in a rush to get to our other visit and so we left running as the member we had with us stayed and visited a little while longer with our investigator. How cool! We have to do a lot of running in this mission. Can you imagine what it would be like to see four girls running to a bus on Sundays in skirts? That´s a normal accurance here in Barcelona. 

     Our district meetings are interesting. This week our district leader was teaching about following the prophet and as we were singing that song, he came in the room dressed up as Moses. It was so funny. Our district is becoming a lot more united which is so awesome!

     On Friday I was with the other new Hermana and we were doing contacting in the street and knocking doors when out of nowhere a man walked up to us asking if we needed directions. He was a weird looking man with a beard and mustache, but we took it as an opportunity to share our message. He told us his name was Michael but to call him Mike Wasowsky, and after we had prayed with him and gotten his contact information, he mooned walked away from us. 

    We have one investigator with a baptismal date on the 18th of April. We had met her in the street after having talked with a lot of people who were not interested at all. She asked a funny question about having to wear a skirt to church because she doesn´t have one. I was surprised that that was her only question that she had for us.She is doing great and the members are really becoming her friends.

    Another person we met in the street, we are teaching her as well and she has said that she received an answer to her pray and has been listening to the book of Mormon on her phone, and she is now giving up going on vacation so that she can come watch conference with us. I really hope that she comes!

    Oh, so dad´s cinnamon rolls are amazing and everyone keeps asking if I can make them some. The Elders especially love them. I made them today and the Elders were super pumped.

   We had a lot of meetings this week and I have learned a lot of how I can help to improve my area that I am in. 

I love the gospel!

Hermana Schmidt

¡Hola Familia!

    Well this week I think that almost all of our appointments we had cancelled on us. That was a bummer, but we kept ourselves busy anyway by sharing the Gospel with those in the street, knocking more doors, and serving. My companion is amazing about serving. She will see a person in need and not hesitate to help them. I´m learning a lot from her example. We found a beautiful family as we were knocking doors. This is the second that we have found and I hope that this week we will actually have the opportunity to teach them. The family that we found this week was from Bolivia. The little boy was 5 who answered the door. He was SO cute! The mom was super friendly and said we could come back and visit her. We will see how it goes. The hard thing about missionary work is to see none of your investigators progressing. I don´t think so much that it is the long days in the rain, or the hot and humid days. It´s when all of those people that you know and love aren´t taking the necessary steps in order to return to live with their Heavenly Father again. 

    We were in a visit with an investigator who just got married, and she is amazing and says that she wants God to be in the center of her relationship with her husband. We asked if she had been praying, and she said no. We testified that prayer isn´t just words, but that God really is there listening to us and wanting to hear from us and to help us. How are we supposed to have God in our lives if we are not praying and talking with him. We testify about prayer all of the time with the people in the street, and my own testimony about prayer has grown. I know that God answers our prayers, and that he really does listen to us. He wants to help us, and as we align our will with His, we will see our prayers answered. 

  I´m so excited for General Conference! How amazing is it that we get to listen to a prophet of God who receives revelation to guide this church so that we all may know the way to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. We have invitations printed out for the General Conference and have been testifying, with everyone, about the restoration and how we have a prophet today. We have a lot of invitations to give away, and I hope that many people come to hear the word of a prophet and apostles called of God. 

   An elderly lady wants Hermana Dorgia and I to dye her hair. I hope that goes well. This lady is super sweet and although she critiques the way I cut cheese, I love her. She has such an amazing testimony.

   A girl in our ward got her mission call to Argentina. It was so much fun to be able to experience that with her. I love the members that we have in our ward. This girl is always helping us with our visits, but she is also so great with the ward members. She serves the widows, and knows everyone in the ward and talks with them all, and is always serving them and spending time with them. She is an amazing member missionary. 

   I know that Christ suffered and died for our sins so that we could be forgiven. I also know that He lives, and like him we can live again. He overcame spiritual and physical death so that we could have eternal life. All we need to do is use our agency to follow His perfect example. I love my Saviour. I know that God is our Loving Heavenly Father, and that we can live with Him and our Families for eternity.

Love you all!

Hermana Schmidt