March 31, 2014

Hello! 

How is it going family? I hope you all have a great day today! How is everyone doing? It's crazy how the time FLIES on a mission, cool! 

Well to start out, ok...

So last week I told you Buena Park, well! I got to go back to Buena Park this week! I love that area so much, it's like my home! I LOVE IT! 

I went back because Hmo Luna chose to get baptized and he asked me to baptize him! I was SO happy! So, so happy when Hma Luna called me and told me. I heard the phone ring and saw the number and recognized it who it was right away! Got their number memorized! Haha, I anwered and Hma Luna screamed and said, "Elder Schooff, Mi Hijo Adaptado!!" haha it was so funny! That means my adopted son, she told me Hmo or Brother Luna was going to be baptized on Saturday. I love that family so so much! They truly are like a second family to me, and just to think how much of a blessing it is to talk with them and in a different language! So cool! She told me that he was going to be baptized (this was last week). Well Tuesday rolls around and she calls me and says, "Elder Schooff sorry but the baptism has been canceled, it's postoned for 2 weeks." We talked for a bit and then said I will figure out if I can go. I was soooo sad and I don't  think I have ever prayed harder for anyone else! Well Saturday rolls around and then in the morning I get a call from them, I answer wondering why she is calling, it was the coolest thing ever, we talked for a bit and then I asked why she was calling and she said "Porque HOY yo los voy a ver," which means, because today I'll see you guys! I freaked out and she told me that baptism was back on!

So Elder Creasy and I went back and got to see the whole ward and baptize Hmo Luna, it was pure joy! I had a blast.

I was so blessed to go down there. 

I can't wait for General Conference, I implore all of you to pay Extra Attention this time, how blessed are we to have a prophet talk to us! 

This week is also transfers, and...I'm staying!! and I have a new companion coming in named Elder Beyer, he seems pretty cool! Young in the mission I think which is cool! I'm excited! 

Well family I love you so much! Have a great week!
Elder Schooff

March 24, 2014 HOLA!

Que onda familia! 

Bueno, pues vamos a celebrar! 

This week was awesome, so much success and fun.

 

This week I got that Book of Mormon I was asking for, YES! I love it so much, thank you family! Right now, I am studying every page so intensely! My study topic is "attributes of a man of God," and man I am finding so much stuff, I am truly trying to take the example of these prophets and men and try to be like them so I can be the best person I can be, the Lord has blessed me and I don't think I have ever been happier...ever! I love my mission and when you think you are the closet to God you can be, you just get closer! Sick! 

This week I went on exchanges with Elder Kulhman. Let me just say that this was the Elder that picked me up from the airport basically on my first day and now I will be seeing him to the airport next week. Gnarly, he goes home! But he is super good, I learned a lot on how to just work HARD. We had a lot of success, he is a good example of enduring to the end to me! Giving it his 100 percent! Cool! 

Also, we had THREE BAPTISMS this week!!! It was awesome! Again, formers that we picked back up at the beginning of the transfer. Nathalie and Grecia are twins and their mom Gloria all got baptized! They are so awesome and I love their family so much! It was so cool to see all of them enter into the waters of baptism. At the beginning the father didn't want to talk to us, but at the baptism he felt something and now he really really wants to talk to us! He said, "My daughters and wife took the first step and I want to follow their good example!" Sick!! that's what every missionary wants to hear! I love my mission! 

Also, I have some awesome awesome news!!! But I cant tell y'all till next week! But it involves Buena Park! Sick!! That's all I'm going to say! 

This week in all, was just awesome!

Transfers are coming up this week and I don't think much will happen but who knows?? Only God.

I just want to tell you I love y'all! And I love my mission, I love the best language ever, Spanish, I love the best mission ever, Long Beach and I love my life! Thank you all for all that you do! I feel y'alls love so much! 

I know this church is true, it becomes more real and more real every day! 

I love y'all! And I love Alma 5:62, read it! 

Elder Schooff

March 17, 2014 Paparazzi!

Hello family! 

This week was truly a life-changing and testimony-growing experience for me and wow did we do a lot! 

Let's start out,

This week I went on exchanges a lot!  I got to be with Elder creasy my hijo! It was fun, we had a really good exchange, he expressed to me that he really wanted to just find a super solid investigator! So we prayed a pleaded with the Lord that someone will hear our message! Well that night we found them: the coolest person ever who saw the Book of Mormon a long time ago in her grandpa's house and has always wondered where is was from, and she is soo excited to read! 

I also went on exchanges with another elder, Elder Peterson, he is a boss elder! Literally I loved to learn from him! It was fun and I brought him to my area! So cool, we had a mission changing experience

we were outside and contacting walking to our next appointment and we saw a guy sitting down looking pretty bummed. So we talked to him and actually taught him the whole first lesson, and would you believe it...his name was Joseph. You could literally see that he NEEDED this gospel, he looked like he was searching for something and this was it! His whole figure changed as we were talking to him, but something happened...

I grew a strong testimony of chapter 8 of 1 Nephi or also, the Tree of Life vision. I saw it from a first person view...

As it says in verse 11, Lehi partook. I have partaken of the gospel and it's pure joy and love and awesomeness, and just as Lehi desired I want to share the gospel too! I beckoned this Joseph to partake.

As you go along in the chapter it talks about how people fought through mists of darkness to get there clinging on to the Iron Rod! 

At first that was Joseph, he wanted this so bad! You could see it! It was his one chance to grab on and follow the right path and find joy! 

But as it says in verse 25...the people were ashamed...and in 26-28 it talks about the great and spacious building and they pointed and laughed, all because people felt joy, it wasn't the "cool" thing to do...

Right as we were about to end this awesome powerful lesson, Joseph's aunt comes up and his cousins and start laughing and pointing at him and us, taking pictures. And truly mocking... it was the saddest thing I have ever seen. 

Then as you go on in the chapter the people fall away, and never come back...they lost their opportunity of eternal joy! All because of pressure and mocking! 

It happened all right before my eyes, literally the people and things of this world mocked us and a man who wanted to find truth.

It was so hard to see! So hard, like I didn't care that some random person mocked me and Elder Peterson! I already have the gospel, I know already what true joy feels like! No one can take that away! I already know! 

...but Joseph didn't and I have never wanted to plead with some one and tell them just for 5 seconds forget everything else and remember the feeling you have when you partake of the gospel! It was so hard to see him have it and turn away from it! 

Like Lehi says in verse 37, he pleaded with his sons to take partake and be faithful! I learned so much from this experience. That truly every one of us is a son or daughter of God! And we need to know! 

I learned so much! 

Well yeah, I dunno I just love my mission! So so so much! I have learned so much and I know this work is true...it brings everlasting love and happiness! I love my mission and I love all of y'all! 

I pray that all of you still take part of the gospel and NEVER let go! It only brings sadness! 

I love you family! 
Elder schooff

March 10, 2014

Well hello family!! 

Oh ok well let's start out! 

This week was gnarly! So gnarly, like I can't explain it how awesome it was. 

We had a lot of fun but it was a little different, we woke up on Tuesday and were like super itchy, so that was weird and it kept happening all morning, then onto Wednesday and we looked at our legs and they were COVERED in bites, like imagine mosquito bites up the wazoo on your legs, probably like a good 150 of them all over our legs. So we called the nurse to see what's up, she told us to get down and see her ASAP! So we went to the office and she gave us this cream because we thought it was poison ivy, so we tried that until Thursday. But on Friday morning it was still spreading up our legs, the bites. So we called again! She told us to come to the office again and show her, after being there for a bit and talking and showing our legs to the whole office staff we came to the conclusion that it was either bed bugs or flees...yeah! What the?? So they gave us this gnarly spray grenade thing to bomb our apartment and we had to stay out of the house for a whole day. And now we are all better! Ha it was gnarly! 

   

Spiritual side, our recent convert Bryan is the best, he LOVES to come out with us and has the strongest testimony and now wants to serve a mission too. It's so cool, when he speaks he truly does know that his decision to be baptized was the best thing ever for him, we have seen such a change in him! He is simply the best! 

   

Well it's been a super cool week, and as a district we have been doing so good! We have been truly focusing on 100 percent obedience! Like to a tee! Down to the ways we sit and even text our members, just everything. The whole zone has been pushing for it! And I LOVE IT! I have a super strong testimony it is so important! The spirit is not with us when we aren't doing what the Lord wants us to do, we will not receive the needed blessings even if just one things is off. It's so important. I think of Christ: Christ chose to come and do to the Father's will, in the pre-mortal life, he signed up in a way, just like how we signed up to be missionaries and signed up saying we will be 100 obedient to the rules of the mission. Then Christ came here and did just that, and as He says in Luke 22; 42, "Never the less, THY WILL BE DONE." Christ knew that sometimes it's hard, He asked for the cup to be passed because it was hard, but still...he did what the Father wanted, because it's how we do it; God's way, not ours. Same with us, when it gets hard, we have to remember we signed up for it! Go all the way, 100%. We are here to do the will of the Father, not our own will. I have a strong testimony of going all the way until the will of the Father is done, and I can look back on my mission and pray to Heavenly Father at the end and truly tell Him, that yes...I did his will, I tried the very best I could. 

I hope you all can apply that to your lives, remember we are here for a reason. All of us and we need to do what the Lord wants us to do, it is the way to happiness. 

I love you all and I'll talk to you soon! 

Elder Schooff

March 3, 2014

Hi y'all! 

Well this week was just stupendous! I loved every single moment, and it was cool! 

Well, let's do this,  

This week on Tuesday we had leadership training and it was awesome, we talked all about how we are going to "change the dynamics" of our mission and it's going to be sweet! I am so pumped, we are really just focusing on changing our minds to WANT to do everything new and fun, truly see the value in every rule in the mission and stuff like that! I am way excited to see what President will have us do for trainings! 

After that on Wednesday I went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders and they are awesome! My Zone Leaders are the best, Elder Kuhlman is one and the other is Elder Wahlen. Elder Kuhlman is the elder that picked me up for the office my first day as a missionary and now here he is my ZL and me as his DL haha cool! I love that guy, I'm so blessed to serve with him again, Elder Wahlen is a boss elder too, I learned so much from him and we had SO much success together! It was a powerful day we had together! 

We had an awesome District meeting this week and it was super powerful, we talked about church tours and the importance and doctrine behind coming to church, as an investigator, they can't progress unless they come to church! So for that, we talked about the sacrament! Dad, you could not have sent that letter at a better time about the meaning of the sacrament. I shared it with my district and it was so spiritual! Thanks Paps! 

Thursday it started to POOR RAIN! Like it was straight from the sea, so so so much rain and I LOVED it! It has only rained 4 times in my mission and nothing like this! So cool! We had fun running and biking around in it, we got some cool pics. So I'll send those too! 

Well over all this week has been good, we had tons of lessons and tons of success, over all it was one of those building weeks to see your fruits in another week to come, it was great! 

I hope y'all have a great week and I really do feel all y'all's prayers, thanks for everything!

 

Elder Schooff