¡Hola a todos!
      I hope that everyone has had a great week and have found
opportunities in your everyday lives to share the gospel with your
friends. His week has been wonderful for us and I have learned much on
how I can be a better disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. It's the
week now before Carolina and Cesar's baptism and they are firm in
their decision. We had our stake conference and zone conference with
he mission president, President Dayton, and his wife. It made for a
week with a lot of traveling and very little time in our area. I
received many cards,from the primary children, that were like little
rays of sunshine in my week.
    Santander is becoming colder and is starting to rain more often. I
can't believe fall is already here! Time is flying by so fast.
Carolina and Cesar are surprised at how fast time is flying by as
well. They took us to a pueblo to get ice cream after a medical
appointment that my companion had. They had been talking to us about
how amazing this ice cream was and that we just had to try it. They
were right, the ice cream was super good! I loved looking out the
window at the landscape as we drove there. It's so green here and
there are hills and mountains everywhere with cows and sheep roaming
in the valleys. I am so stinkin' blessed to be here.
     On Friday for our reading of the Book of Mormon, as a ward, it
ended up being the four of us missionaries, the bishop, Carolina, and
four other men who come to every activity but are all just a little
crazy. The discussion on the Book of Mormon was somewhat controlled,
but at one time, the oldest of the four somewhat crazy men started
talking and wouldn't stop to take breath. His face started to turn
purple and he finally had to stop. The poor man ended up in he
hospital the next day because of his asthma.
    On Saturday, we and the adult session of stake conference and
three of our investigators came, as well as two of he crazy men.
During the talk before the intermediate hymn we started to here
someone snoring loudly. We turned to look to see who it was and
unsurprisingly it was one of those men, but the talk ended and we all
stood up to sing the hymn and the man woke up from the deep sleep in
which he had been.
     On Sunday we went to stake conference in Bilbao with Carolina.
She got to meet President and Hermana Dayton and later, in a talk
given by President Dayton, Carolina was mentioned as was who had
really come to the knowledge of he truthfulness of the gospel and made
the decision to be baptized the following week. He gave his talk on
the 17 points of what the true church of Jesus Christ should have.
Carolina had tears in her eyes at the end of his talk. Her heart was
filled with gratitude for the decision that she had made to join the
true church of Jesus Christ.
      We had to stay in Bilbao for the zone conference that we would
be having the next day. We met up with the missionaries from our
district after the conference and started walking towards the bus
stop. While walking, one of the members yelled. All of us stopped to
try and understand what they were saying. She yelled again and said
"run!" The bus was already there. And then all at once we started
running to the bus stop. Some of us, like me, had suitcases and
carried them down the stairs. At one point my suitcase started to
wobble and went sideways and ran into a pole nearby. We made it to the
bus stop just in time to be able to get on. I'm sure the bus driver
and the members had a good laugh and the scene of eight missionaries
running to catch a bus.
       In zone conference we learned a little about how we think as
human beings and how it can affect who we become. I liked a quote
shared that said, "our thoughts, more than our circumstances, affect
the course of our lives." In Mosiah 4:30 when King Benjamin is talking
to his people, we read, "But this much I can tell you, that if ye do
not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your
deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith
of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the
end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and
perish not." I know that as we think more positively about ourselves,
and of others, and of the circumstances that we are in, we will be
happier and have a more brightness of hope that God is always there to
help us and always is helping us. We just need eyes that see, ears
that hear, and a heart that feels the blessings of God in our everyday
lives.

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week.

Hermana Schmidt
xoxoxoxo 😄

Hi everyone!

   Everything is going very well here in Santander. We are doing all that we can to help others come unto Christ and have fun as we do so. We have set baptismal dates for our investigators and have many other investigators who are so prepared but don't feel so right now. We know that as we give our all and as we are obedient that God is helping us all along the way.

 To make things fun this week, with Carolina and Cesar, we started
our fast after we had a flan eating contest. Basically the flan comes
in little pudding cups and keeps its form when you pour it out. Each
of us, on the count of three and without using our hands, had to eat
the flan in one slurp if possible. César and my companion were able to
do it, but me and Carolina had difficulties. Carolina lost and had to
walk around the house acting like a turkey.

    This week my testimony has been strengthened on the power of pure testimonies. Carolina and Cesar wanted to drive us to an appointment that we had in a little town about 20 minutes away. We asked if they would also like to help us with our visit, and they accepted the invitation. As we were in the visit, we explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Carolina and César bore powerful testimonies of it to our investigator. It helped our other investigator to see two people, who are still not members, to share such strong testimonies of the gospel and how it has blessed their lives and their desire to be baptized and make covenants with God.  What a miracle to have all these people in our life! César and Carolina will be baptized on the 20th of this month. What a wonderful day it will be!

     I went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leader, Sister Een, this week and learned a lot on about how I can become a more devoted missionary and be an instrument in the Lord's hands. We also had fun. Our apartment building has a door next to the elevator that leads to the basement, but there is not light so it just looks like a spooky dark whole leading to nowhere. Sister Een wanted so badly to go down, and if you know me you know that I do not do well with spooky things and scare myself. Well, she wanted to go so badly that I sad okay, but followed behind her. We used the light from our iPad, but couldn't see much. I had the desire to run back up the stairs, but knew I shouldn't leave my companion. It turned out that the cleaning supplies were what were stored down below. Nothing scary! 

      We also had a zone conference this week and I loved what I learned.  We were taught about the importance of prayer. If we really think about it, how amazing is it that we have the opportunity everyday to talk with the God and yet sometimes we repeat prayers or we hurry through a prayer because we are in a rush. I loved the testimonies that wee shared and I have put in to practice in my life to really talk with our Heavenly Father knowing that he is really there listening. I know that Heavenly Father knows us personally and he wants to hear from us and to help us. I have felt closer to God as I have prayed with real intent and used the Atonement in my life to do better each day.

       We had 5 investigators come to church. One of them was César. It was his first time being able to come and it was such a happy day for us. César fasted with us so that his boss's heart would be softened and he would let César have Sunday's off so that he could come to church every week. I know that God hears and answers our prayers and sees our efforts, and know that all things are possible with faith in Christ.

       In Mormon chapter 9 it says:

19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
       

         I hope that you are all able to see the tender mercies and miracles in your everyday lives. Love you all!

Hermana Schmidt

Hey everyone!

      This week has been another week full of many wonderful experiences as well as sad ones. I will tell you sad the news first seeing as it pertains to our investigator, Edinson, who was going to be baptized on Saturday, but sadly did not reach his baptismal goal. On Tuesday, we went on splits because Hermana Rica was not feeling well. The member I was with was so great and stayed with me all day. We went to go visit Edinson and it was good because he knew the member whom I was with, but he seemed sad. I started to ask how he was doing, and he told me that he did not feel prepared to be baptized on Saturday. He said that he felt he needed to learn more, and even though the member, that was with me, and I tried to understand how he felt and help him feel that he really was prepared, he did not change his mind. We set up another visit with him on Thursday, but when Thursday came, he was not able to meet with us because of work. It was sad for us to see this, and maybe there is something that I could have done better to have helped Edinson, but we are not giving up on him. We will keep teaching him, and I know  that as he reads in the Book of Mormon and prays, he will be able to feel of he spirit testify of the truth and he will have a change of heart and feel prepared.

   Moving onto a lighter subject. My companion and I went to go visit a recent convert and his wife who is a member. He ended up not being there, but we stayed and visited with his wife for a little while. When we sat down on the couch, my companion yelped as she looked over to where the bird cage was. I looked over as well and saw that the poor bird was dead. The member hadn't even realized it. The poor bird probably died of loneliness. My companion got up and picked up the bird to really see if it was dead or not. It was dead. ¡Adiós pajarito! 

     My companion was also very sick and unfortunately we had to go to the hospital. We arrived in he emergency room at 3:45 and didn't get out until 9:15. The nurse had pushed the bed, that companion was laying on, into a hallway where we waited for two hours. My companion started to become hungry and wanted me to go buy a sandwich from the vending machine. So, I snuck out of the hallway and into the waiting room, quickly bought a tuna sandwich, and snuck back into the hallway with the sandwich smuggled into my purse. We had a pretty fun time as we were in the hospital.

      We had eight of our investigators come to church on Sunday. That was awesome. Two are from Africa and speak English, so I had to interpret the whole three hours of church. That was interesting because it was he first time I had ever done so. I need some practice, but the two of them really liked church and want to come again! 

     I love he fact that Heavenly Father is always watching over his children and that he knows each one of us personally and wants what is best for us. I know that he lives, and that he has created a perfect plan for us so that we can progress and become like him and receive all the blessings he has for us. I know that Christ is central in his plan and that it is through the Atonement of Christ that we are made clean. I know that as we apply the atonement into our daily lives, we will find more joy and peace in this life and in throughout eternity.

   I love you so much!

Hermana Schmidt

     

Hola a todos!

  On preparation day last week, we received a text from Carolina saying that her husband, Cesar, had felt a strong desire to read the Book of Mormon and wanted to know if we could come to their house during the week and read with them. I felt impressed that we should go to their house that day even though it was only 4:30 and we still had more time to rest. My companion and I decided that we were not doing anything important and said to Carolina that we would be at their house by 6pm. When we arrived, Cesar explained how he had been praying a lot and felt impressed to read in Moroni. He didn't know why Moroni, and really didn't even know who Moroni was, but he felt a strong impression that he needed to start reading from there, and so that is exactly what we did. We stopped at chapter 6 and we left feeling very good. 

  Friday came and we visited Cesar and Carolina to read from where we had left off. Cesar began talking with us and said that he knew he wanted to be baptized, but it wouldn't be until December because of some doubts that he wanted to resolve. When he said that we were heart broken because we knew that we wouldn't be there to see the baptism of this beautiful family who we knew were prepared. We began to read in Moroni 7, and the spirit that was there was the strongest that I have ever felt during my time in the mission. The doubts that Cesar had were all answered and he began to share with us his testimony and said that he would be baptized that day if he could. My companion and I looked at each other and knew what we needed to say. We told them that we had been praying for them and had felt that they would be prepared to be baptized on the 20th of September. Cesar looked to see what day it would be then looked at us and said, "Yes, I will be baptized on that day." Carolina jumped up out of her seat and ran to gave Cesar a hug and a kiss. Our eyes were filled with tears and our hearts full of joy as we left their house that night, and what a joyful experience it was when Cesar asked the Second Counselor, who has become a great friend, to baptize him. 

    God really does hear and answer our prayers. I know that the Book of Mormon was written for us and that the spirit testifies to us of the truth. I know that through the Book of Mormon we can receive answers to our prayers. 

      On Sunday a member from California was visiting to do a concert with some friends that he has here. He brought one of his friends, who lives in one of the pueblos we visit, and during the last hour his friend played an instrument called "rabél." It looks kinda of like a viola, but with only three strings and you play it like a cello. It is a traditional instrument here and sounds like Celtic music. I loved it so much. I will send you the video of her playing next week. I am going to learn that instrument I have decided. :) 

       Life is good. Love you all!

            

         Hermana Schmidt

¡Buenos Días!
       Well you would think that, after eight months of being on a
mission, putting my name tag on would be a habit. But, there was a day
this week that we had a day full of visits and would not be able to
return to the apartment until 10 at night, and as we were heading to
our first visit we had to go down in an elevator full of people. While
in the elevator I saw the name tag of my companion and reached to see
if I had mine on. My companion saw my face as I realized I had left
the apartment without wearing my name tag and began to laugh. The
whole day I went without it and tried to resist the temptation of
reaching for where my name tag should have been. Our investigators had
a good laugh too.
      My companion was sick this week again, and for three days we
were stuck in piso. As she slept I studied. Everyone here seems to be
talking about the prophesies that are found in Revelation and are
worried about the end of the world. That stuff has never worried me
before. I have always known that if we do our best everyday and repent
of our downfalls that we do not need to worry, but during this time
that my companion was sick I decided to read and study Revelation and
it was really interesting.
   Carolina and Cesar, our investigator family, are doing really well.
We keep having Family Home Evenings with them and the ward members.
Their little girl, Joanet, has started humming the hymns as we sing
and every time after we say a prayer  she always claps. Cesar had a
dream that he was a missionary with us and that we were in Peru
teaching the gospel to his father. They know that this is true and are
doing there best so that they can be baptized within the next month.
  One day we were passing by some less active members with a young
women helping us. As we passed by an apartment building this young
woman said that she had visited a woman there before with the other
sister missionaries before us. We decided that if the less active was
not home we would go pass by this investigator, and that's exactly
what happened. The less active wasn't home and as we were headed
towards the apartment of the investigator we saw a man with a bouquet
of flowers and was bringing them to this woman we were going to visit.
He let us in and we waited until he came back down the elevator from
dropping off the flowers and then went to visit the woman. She was
very kind and said that she still wanted to learn more. That was a
miracle how it all worked out.
    We have had many lessons this week where we felt like we needed to
read the Book of Mormon with our investigators and it has been amazing
to see how our investigators are learning to apply the principles that
they learn into their life. I am also amazed at the spirit that we
have felt as we have read with our friends. I am so grateful that we
have the Book of Mormon in our days. I know that it is true and that
as we read it we can receive answers to our prayers and feel peace in
our lives.
  I hope you all have an amazing week and that you see the blessings
of God in your life. I love you all.
   Hermana Schmidt

  Hello Everybody,

 There are a lot of fun things that happened this week. One day we were going to a ward activity and our investigator family was driving us there is in their car. The husband seemed really happy, and told us that the night before that he had gone into his room by himself to pray to God to know if what we were teaching him was true and if it was the right path for him and his family. He then said,"I received my answer, and I know that it is true." This family has such a great desire, and are going to be baptised within the month. Next year they want to go to the temple and be sealed together for eternity. The husband had to go to work, so he dropped us off and left. After the activity, we decided we wanted to have some churros and hot chocolate because it had been raining and we were cold. So, with the wife, Carolina, we went in the bus to go look for a churro store. The one that we wanted to go to was closed, and we were a little lost getting there. We then ran to a different churro restaurant to get there before that one closed as well. After all the running we weren´t so cold but still wanted to have churros if we had worked so hard to get them. At the restaurant there was some crazy guy and the police were trying to get him out of there. We just wanted churros though, and finally were able to get them with 10 minutes to spare.

   I was going to give a talk in church, and had my talk prepared and everything, but at the last minute the Bishop changed the schedule and I didn´t have to speak. I´m not going to lie, I was a bit relieved. I had been studying prayer, and that has actually helped a lot in the lessons that we have had this week, so I am grateful that I had studied it even though I didn´t get to share it with the ward. At church we had our three investigators with a baptismal date come. In the gospel principles class we talked about repentance and Carolina participated and really applied the lesson into her life. She has a little girl that has a lot of character and like a normal child, she doesn´t listen. One time the little girl burnt herself on the stove and afterwards ran to her mom more humble and her mom helped her to heal her burnt hand. Carolina applied this to repentance. Sometimes we as children of our Heavenly Father don´t listen to the commandments that God has given us and get burnt, but as we humbly come before our Heavenly Father in prayer and ask for forgiveness He is there to help us heal.

    Today we are going to hang out with our investigators. It´s the birthday of Orlando and so we will be going to eat with him and the missionaries. Carolina and Cesar want us to come over and have brownies and icecream with the Elders as well. The amazing thing is how untied we have become as a ward and as missionaries of this ward. We are all friends here to support one another and help them to come unto Christ. 

    I hope you all have a great week and remember those of your friends who have partaken of the fruit of the Gospel, but right now have fallen away. Please help them to feel of that joy that they have once felt. I love you all.

Hermana Schmidt

Hola everyone!
   This week we did a lot of traveling to different meetings and
lessons. As I travelled to Bilbao, I saw a lot of beautiful country
side and old Spanish houses with red roofs. The flowers here are
amazing with their vibrant coloring and the way they hang over the old
Spanish walls. I'm so lucky to be here.
  We went to "La Magdalena" last week for preparation day and saw sea
lions, penguins and other other animals as well as the castle of
Magdalena. We went with some youth from our ward and played capture
the flag and other games with them. The youth here love to spend time
with the missionaries, and since their are only four missionaries in
Santander we spend most of our preparation days going to the fun sites
that the members know about and can take us there. I love our small
ward and the members here.
    We had our Mini MTC last night and talked about sharing the gospel
with our friends. To finish, we had a little testimony meeting and I
started. I remember how nervous I used to be to share my testimony in
front of an audience, but, as I saw the nervous faces of the youth, I
thought to myself that sharing my testimony is really not that hard to
do. It's what I know to be true. We share our testimonies everyday as
missionaries and by doing so I have felt my testimony grow. All of the
youth shared their testimonies even though they were nervous, and the
testimonies that they have are powerful.
   On Fridays we have a Family Home Evening with the ward where we
read from the Book of Mormon and have a game and refreshments. This
past Friday was the first time that it was going to be outside at the
park. My companion and I were going with our investigator, Carolina,
in the bus and it started to rain. We were almost to the park when the
Elders told us that we would be having the activity in the church. So
we got off at the next bus stop to change buses and go back to the
church. We were there for about 30 minutes before the bus finally
came. Our investigator has a little girl that is almost 2 and she did
not like the long wait. We finally got o. The bus, but it took us all
around Santander for about another 50 minutes. We weren't able to go
to the activity in the end, and we were all exhausted, including the
little girl who had finally fallen asleep in here stroller. We went
and got hot chocolate instead. It turned out really good though
because our investigator asked us some really good questions and we
talked a lot about families and because the power of God has been
restored we can be with our families for eternity. When she came to
church on Sunday we had more lessons about the families and she
participated and after church we invited her to be baptized. She wants
to be with her family for eternity. She and her husband are absolutely
amazing.
   There are many miracles happening everyday here. I hope that you
all are seeing the blessings in your life. Love you all.

Hermana Schmidt