January 27, 2014

Hello family! 

This week has been BOMB! 

Let's start it out, ok. So just FYI yes, it is now one year since I started my mission, weird and I do not like to talk about it..it's going by too fast!  

This week on Tuesday we got a call from someone freaking out on the phone yelling at us, telling us his friend was in a coma and that he need elders there ASAP at the hospital to give a blessing, so we went. As you all know, I do not like hospitals. So I was scared, but the Lord helped me. We got there and it was in the ICU and super sad, the man we gave a blessing to was said to probably be in a coma for a LONG time and it didn't look to good for him, it was a sad thing to see. But we gave him a blessing, Elder Brock gave the coolest and one of the most powerful blessings I have heard in a long time. It was sad, because as we were giving a blessing, the people around us (nurses and doctors) just did their thing, it's like they didn't even think about a God or if there is a God. But this experience gave me a testimony that the priesthood is real an like Elder Holland says we need to be ready to use it in all places and times. We got the news that he woke up from the coma last night. 

This week we also went to the Anaheim mission office cause my companion had a doctors appointment there. So that was cool, Caden you'll be there soon. haha!

Also, last night, we had dinner at our ward mission leader's house, and we arrives a tad early like 10 minutes, we get out of the car and there was a woman whose arm was broken and she ran up to us and asked for our help. We tried and came to the conclusion that the car was 100% wrecked on the inside. Our ward mission leader offered that she eat with us! She accepted and while at dinner trying to figure out what she would do, she told us that she was praying like never before in her car right before it broke that she would find "help." Then we park and her car breaks, she expressed that she wants to find truth and her friends all have their own churches but don't know which one to go to! It was so cool! My WML took her home and the missionaries in LA area getting ahold of her! The Lord is awesome! 

This week I have realized I need to purify myself, to be more in tune with the spirit in all things, like it says in Helaman 3:35 and in DC 50:29, those are the definitions of purification. It's when the Lord trusts us to give us what we need and want. To pray and fast and to have true joy! I love it, I love my mission! 

We had a bomb District Meeting this last week all about asking for referrals! I called two sisters in our District who were struggling with finding more people to teach so I called them the Monday before DM to share with us a miracle story of a referral that they are going to receive before DM. They were super nervous because they didn't want to fail, but I told them that if your desires are righteous and you trust in the Lord...EXPECT to get a referral. Plead with the Lord for help! 

Well Wednesday night rolled through the night before DM and they texted me saying they had a awesome miracle and couldn't wait to share their story! It was a super cool miracle and the Lord provided for them! Now they have a baptism next week! haha, cool! 

The Lord is awesome! I love my mission and I love the world and my family and all! We are having so much success right now in this area, it is so fun white washing! The Lord has blessed us! I love this! 

Well family! I love you all! Have a good week, I go to the temple next Tuesday so pday is changed to next Tuesday next week! Bye! 

Elder Schooff

January 20, 2014

Hello family!

This has been a wonderful week here in the wonderful state of California. We had a lot of fun with some cool stories to tell. YES! Well first off, is there a fire going on in California? Because we woke up on Thursday and the sky was filled with smoke, you couldn't even see the sky, and it was raining ashes. There was a full layer of ashes on our car. So gnarly.

This week was super cool, President Tew is truly the most inspirational man alive (right after you dad of course!!) haha But no joke we can just feel his love for us all the time.

This week Pres Tew called all the Spanish elders to the office one morning, so we all had a sweet meeting with him (all 70 or so of us) and we just had a huge language study with him, he taught us so much Spanish. He truly has the gift of tongues and it's cool to hear him speak. At the end he just really told us to LOVE our language of Spanish and how wonderful it is to learn not just that but a whole different culture, but even more so many different cultures because in CA there are sooo many different types of people here and we can have a multi-country mission if we choose so. The culture is something I have come to LOVE to learn on my mission! I love all the people I serve so much. I truly love my mission.

This week was super busy, tons of meetings and I went on exchanges a lot too, I was out of my area for a lot of the time, it's so weird I'm not used to that! But it's good to go help others in their areas too.

On Saturday night and all of Sunday was stake conference, it was AWESOME! So cool! And what's even more gnarly is that I had to translate it all...haha so cool! Friday night rolls around and Hmo Reyes calls me and asks if we could have some missionaries willing to translate the conference for the members who can't speak English. We are in an English stake with only one Spanish ward, and the presidency is all white and English. It's kind of weird but funny how it worked out because Elder Ziegner (my old companion in Cyprus) and I translated! It was fun, and we are both the oldest missionaries in the ward. So weird, I haven't even been out for too long and still I am one of the oldest! Haha cool! In the whole zone I'm the 2nd oldest - this mission is young!

But it was fun to translate, it's cool to be back here in Cerritos and actually SEE my progress, I can compare it to when I was here before and see that I really have improved!

This week was awesome! I love my mission so much and I know that the work I am doing it true, go talk to your friends about it! I love you all and see y'all later!

Elder Schooff

January 13, 2014

HOLA FAMILIA!

Hello you all wonderful people! How are all of y'all doing? This week has been good and tons of success happened. Man I just have learned to love my mission so much more every single day. So cool!

This week started out with leadership training, and the focus was on finding more. It was so powerful and the spirit was super strong, like no joke. The Lord is preparing his children, He wants to do everything he can to make sure we learn about Him, without taking away their God giveb right of agency. Why would He not put someone in our path every day to find? The Lord loves us all, so of course there will be someone to put in front of us every day, but it's our job to be in tune with the Spirit. And to listen to it, to find those people and to talk to EVERYONE! So we did that, we pleaded with the Lord so we could help Him bring people closer to Him and every single day since we have found someone new to teach. So cool, I have a powerful testimony that the Lord does love all of His children.

I went on splits this week with the ZLs and it was great I really learned what I can do better to really love and serve and help my district. It's been super good and I'm super pumped to get the exchanges going!

So we had a pretty cool miracle happen this week! So as y'all know my last area in Buena Park was like my home, and the member who drove me to my new area, Hmo Sepulveda was like the coolest guy ever! Well when he did drive us over here he actually told us that some of his non member family lives over in my new area. He told us somehow he will get us the address, we didn't think anything of it. But yeah, well when we first got here we went through all the potentials and just started to pass by them. We went by one and she told us we could go by later in the week (that's called a pretty weak set lesson) but we are whitewashing so it was better than nothing, so we go by the day we are supposed to and she wasn't there, but guess who was...her neighbor with the door wide open, and standing inside was Hmp Sepulveda and his family! It was a SHOCK! haha No joke, seeing an old member in my old area in my new one. We all said hi and then he told his family that they NEED to talk to us, they all were interested and THEY asked US if we could come back! So we will go by this week! How cool is that, the Lord really does want all His children to come unto Him! Cool! l LOVE my mission!

Well I hope all of you are really letting your spiritual experiences change you in life, they will only make you happier!

I love you all family! Until again.

Elder Schooff.

PS, Today is my one year until I go home mark, weird...haha!

January 6, 2014

Hello, Family! 

How are all of y'all l doing. Also, i don't know where I say y'all from. I'm from Colorado, why do I say y'all? Why have I always said y'all? Maybe it's my Virginia amigos or the friends I had in college (thanks Wyatt).

Haha anyways, whats up y'all? This week has been a blast with some tons of new info! So check it, I am back in CERRITOS! And wow I LOVE this area, I totally see why the Lord has put me here again, as y'all know we are white washing the area. And it's super cool! At first it was hard, but I love it and the Lord has totally blessed us!  

We came into the area, with literally 0 investigators and 0 progressing and 0 coming to church. The area to say the least was...dead. But that did not discourage us, actually it made us want to work super hard. And we did just that! We have a pretty weak area book and that's what kind of makes it fun too, it really is like we are opening the area again! The Lord truly showed His mercy with us.

At the beginning of the week I was to say the least a little overwhelmed. I was pleading with the Lord for help. To have our hearts a little more open to the Spirit and to find someone in the area that needs our help, I knew that as we did our part the Lord would provide. He did just that. I love my mission. We had many miracles happen

Before I share this miracle story, a little background info. My 2nd transfer of my mission I was in Cerritos. We always were working in this trailer park with a bunch of potentials. One day that transfer there were some kids skating outside and we asked them if we could use there skateboard and if I did a kick flip they would listen to our message. I did and then they really liked our message, one kid had a TON of potential but I never got his name. He really loved the church, and wanted to come with us. But as luck has it, I got transferred out and then my other companion went home, so the kid was "lost" and no one knew about him. I remember when I was in Cyprus whenever we saw kids skating I would always think of the kid in the trailer park, and how I wish I could contact him. I knew he had tons of potential. Well.....Wednesday morning the first full day in the area white washing, we are looking through the area book and we see a record of someone that was found about a month ago named Jose. It was basically the most updated thing we had in the area book so we decided to go by. As we went by we were nervous and knew we had to make a good impression. Well guess what, as I walk up to the door I see a skateboard on the patio and we knock and the kid who walks out of the door (Jose) is the kid that was in the trailer park, y he instantly recognized me! We started to talk and it turns out the missionaries contacted him in the street about a month ago and he showed them a video he took of me doing the little trick on the skateboard to them y he said he really wanted to talk to us. He has the strongest testimony of the Gospel and Joseph Smith. 

This was such a testimony to me knowing that the Lord does keep watch over the people in the world and that he does love us all, Jose has a desire to learn more and the Lord will always follow through on His promises if they are worthy and desirous to learn more of Him. I am so excited to learn and to teach him more. So cool! 

Another cool miracle. We were at the office Thursday morning because my comp had and interview with President. While I was there we got a phone call from a man who lives in Huntington Beach, and he told us; "Elders, I called this number like 4 months ago to give some referrals to the other elders, I really felt like I need to call again and check up on if the elders have contacted them." We explained our situation how we are both new in the area and we don't think they were ever contacted, so he gave us all the info to three referrals again and now one of them is an investigator! He said he was cleaning his garage out that morning and found a piece of paper with our number and didn't know who the number was for, just felt like he really needed to call it!" How cool it that? The Lord truly does provide! I love my mission! Our new focus in the mission is to focus on prayer and to lean on nothing else but prayer to use it all the time! 

I have had so much fun this last week, and I love this area, I am so blessed to be here again and to see all the members that have helped me so much in my life and the beginning of my mission! 

I know this gospel is true! I am so grateful for all of y'all out there that are supporting me, and I love this time here! 

Have a great week! I encourage all of you to use the power of prayer, test your faith and ask God what you need! Love y'all! 

Elder Schooff