February 24, 2014

Hello y'all! 

Well I hope your week was all fun and dandy, I had a blast here! It was a long and great week! Like a really awesome time with TONS packed in and tons of miracles. 

To start out...I'm in my new area. Rio Hondo, it's awesome and tons of potential to be amazing! I mean...we had a baptism yesterday! haha Yup that's right it was so sweet! A miracle from God! 

This area hasn't had a Baptism in a while and E Cuello and I (my new companion) really wanted to change that. He has been out for 2 transfers. We got on our knees and pleaded with the Lord and we knew that God is expecting us to have success together. So we are going to! 

Well, we went straight to the area book, the area book...well let's just say needed some work! So we went to the formers and picked out one that have been taught everything but for some reason didn't get baptized! We saw Bryan's paper. His sister was baptized and Mom but after they were baptized in October the missionaries stopped teaching Bryan because at the moment he didn't want to get baptized. We well we went over on Tuesday and asked if he would have a lesson with us, so we got to know him a little bit and it was all good. But we decided to ask if he would have a lesson with is IN the Church building Thursday. He said yes. So Thursday comes and we meet him there and we bring an awesome member so fellowship him, it was perfect! We had the lesson IN the chapel and it was super powerful and we just asked him what HE wants of God, and he just flooded out with his needs. We addressed them all and asked if he would get baptized on March 2nd. He said yes to baptism but no to the 2nd...he asked us if he could be baptized this Sunday (yesterday)!! So cool! We arranged everything and he was baptized yesterday! It was a powerful baptism! So cool! The ward did great to support him! 

I have a strong testimony on Area Books, they are the reason why missionary work is still flowing! I know The Lord never forgets about the people that choose to listen to his message! So cool! 

I am happy here in this new area, I'm super sad also to leave my old area right after Katia was baptized but I heard she is doing great, she got the spirit yesterday and she even invited her friend to church...she is going to serve a mission! haha So cool! I LOVE MY MISSION! 

This week has been a big one for me and I feel that this transfer is going to change me a lot, for the better. I have been studying the Christ Like Attributes a lot! And I have made it my goal to BE LIKE CHRIST, in the way I do everything. To the way I speak, sit, listen, smile and even text on the phone. I've really tried so hard this week to be the best me! And I have felt to the spirit so strong, were the littlest things just make me so happy! I feel my burdens being lifted! I love it so much. 

I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! 

Elder Schooff

Byan is this week

Katia is my convert last week

February 17, 2014

Hello family! How are y'all doing today?? Good to hear! Well, let's start out.

This week was so, so, so awesome. Remember our investigator Katia, well...she isn't an investigator anymore...she is a recent convert! Yup, that's right. She got baptized yesterday! Truly one of the coolest baptisms ever. The whole ward was just a huge help! So cool! She was so ready and she told us that she has never felt the spirit so strong, she just started to cry. So cool! I am so happy for her, she is one of the strongest members and converts I have ever met! Well, we worked really hard with her and she is such an awesome example to her family, they soon will follow in her footsteps...

So I guess the whitewash in the area was a success! We have tons of investigators and tons of success coming up!

BUT! Guess what....transfers are this Tuesday...and, and, and!!! I'm....GOING! Haha I know right! They put me here to start and then to whitewash it, we had success and I guess that's all I am needed here for! I'm super happy for this next transfers, like SO SO happy! I'm going to Whittier West Zone, I'll be the DL there and have a pretty big District, I'm back up training an Elder too. So that will be cool. But oh man am I so pumped! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Cerritos, but here and Buena Park are the only places I know so I am looking forward to a new area! Sick!

It's been super fun having a trio with two areas and two languages and just yeah its been sooo fun! It's kept me going! I love it! I love the whole zone I am in, but it'll be cool to go up to Whittier because all the elders that I know are up there. And my little hijo Elder Creasey is too! He is in my district!

But yeah, so yesterday was awesome with the baptism and everything, but also...one year ago to the day, I was told in the MTC to write a letter to myself and open it one year later. Saying where I am and also of what I want to be in one year. Well it's been one year and man does time fly! So cool to read like myself one year ago, I have changed so, so, so much! Only for the better, my biggest fear a year ago was  Spanish and also to not be so sarcastic hahaha, and well both aren't an issue anymore! So cool! So I wrote another letter for next year too!

Well in all I am so, so, so happy right now. I love my mission and I am losing myself in the work!

I love y'all so much and I will let you know what happens next week! Love y'all!

Elder Schooff

February 10, 2014

Hello family! 

This week has been full of excitement, but it's great, and I loved every moment! 

Well, this week was so fun, as y'all know it's been fun with the trio that we are in, and the members are helping us a lot, basically every night we have either a Spanish or an English member with us so we can split up and work in both the areas at the same time. So basically for the night time one of us has a member as a companion! And it's super fun! Like sooooo fun, the members are just the best. 

We had a good week just getting into it again, and the missionary work has NOT stopped! It's only been progressing, the Lord has provided! 

This week at zone meeting I gave a cool training on Church Tours and how that will make our investigators become Progressing Investigators! It was cool and everyone basically had one!

Well we had one with our Investigator Katia! She is so cool and has the strongest testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet! So we asked her if before Sunday she would like to see the church and get to be there privately! She said yes! 

Well the day of the Tour comes, and it was set for 1pm, and at about 130 she still wasn't there so we gave her a call, and she said she was parked on the side of the road with car problems, so we decided to go and help her, we went there and some miracle happened and we fixed the car...i have no idea how! (nice try adversary! Ha) haha so she followed us to the church! 

We do the whole church tour and show her the font and all the rooms and she loved it all! So much, so then we show her the chapel last, and we go in and talk about how it's a dedicated room for the power to receive revelation, we asked her what type of revelation she would want to receive from God, she said, "When I should get baptized'!! it was soo powerful, so we all knelt down and prayed, she said the prayer and she just started to cry. She said that her whole life going to her church with her mom she never got the same feelings, she said that being in that chapel was a way "she never felt before" and she knew God was answering her prayer, so we gave her some time to pray personally and by the end of it she told us she want to get baptized this next Sunday the 16th, how cool! Man I love my mission and the Spirit! So powerful! I know the church building really is a set apart building! It's so powerful to just sit in the chapel alone! 

We still have to teach her a lot and get her ready but with faith and her determination it will happen! 

This whole week has been awesome! And I loved it all, transfers are this week and it should be good, I have literally no idea what will happen, but come what may and love it! 

I love my mission and all my family so much, someone asked me the other day if it was hard to leave home and now that I think of it..no. haha I ONLY have 1 year left...like that's so sad! I love you all and I can't wait to see y'all again, don't get me wrong! I really just has a true deep love for my mission and the people I serve, I love Spanish and I LOVE the culture. I went to a white ward last week and it was hard honestly! I have gotten so used to Spanish everything! haha Oh well I love you all so much! I love this gospel! 

Elder Schooff

February 3, 2014

OK! 

Get ready for a gnarly email, literally one of the most insane weeks of my entire life. That involves hospitals, cars on fire, trees falling on people and members of my ward...well passing away, new companions and new wards and yeah...just get ready. It's been a gnarly week. 

Let's start out, this week on Tuesday, I was with Elder Brock and both of our Zone leaders Elder George y Elder Benson were very sick. One more than the other, I was supposed to go on splits with them on Tuesday in the night time, but they had to cancel because they were so sick, Wednesday morning comes and one is still super sick, George.

 

I stay with him for the morning while the other elders go to the office to pick up the mail and do zone leaders stuff. And when they get back it all gets worse. Elder George was having a super rough time and couldn't even stand, he was throwing up and was very light headed and was non coherent. So we called the mission nurse, she told us to go to a walk-in medical. We go and Elder George throws up in the car, we get there and they tell us to get to the ER as fast as we can...So we do. We get there and it's a 3 HOUR wait! Like what the hay now??? It's an ER, and it was still getting worse, we go into the bathroom and give him a blessing and about 1 hour into the ER, it's getting worse until a nurse sees that and she rushes to go get more doctors, the rush him into the hospital and get an IV in him ASAP! So he is in, but the hospital was overflowing with patients and he was in a bed in the hall, at this time it's about 10pm, and our mission President is on his way. He gets there and tells Elder Brock and I to leave and Elder Benson to stay, he stayed there the whole night, the next day (the 30th, my year mark) was Zone meeting. So I had to go with our other DL, and run Zone meeting while Elder Benson and Brock were at the hospital. We all took shifts at the hospital with him while the other two left and got stuff done. Well Friday comes and he still is in the same condition so his parents fly out, and now they are his companions. Just this morning he was transferred up to UCLA medical to see what it is, for a while they thought it was bacterial meningitis so we all had to wear protective suits and masks and in a room that was basically closed off. But they ruled that out and now it's unknown what he has, that's why he is going to UCLA. BUT we saw him last night and he is doing SOOO good! Like he can now talk  again and crack jokes and stuff he is just super tired and weak. The whole mission had prayed for him and he is doing great.

So now, I am in a trio. Yes with two Spanish elders and 1 English, we cover both wards and both areas, and we have two cars :) So 2 areas, 2 languages, 3 elders, 2 apartments, 2 wards and tons of fun! Haha, But it's different! But good, the Lord had already blessed us too much! We all are so happy and getting better and better everyday! 

Oh yeah, the car on fire, when the sisters had their baptism this week, one of the cars was like blowing up and on fire! And was gnarly so I got to break a fire extinguisher glass and rush out and use it! I felt SOOO cool! haha, So then fire guys came and took care of it! 

Also, one of the best members in the whole ward was killed this week, it is very sad and the whole ward is sad. The funeral will be held soon, but we love and miss him. How grateful I am for the Plan of Salvation! 

This morning we went to the temple, it was well needed! But man do I love that place to much!
Well all, this is going to be so fun, this week should be interesting, I went to a English ward and I haven't been for over a year! And...it's different than Spanish, I'm used to Spanish members! haha.

Well I love y'all and I'll talk to y'all later! 

Elder Schooff