Hello Everybody!

How was everybody's week? Ours was well...pretty awesome! It could not have gotten any better. Last Tuesday I received a phone call from the Zone Leaders telling me that we were to switch District Meeting to Friday and weekly plan on Thursday because President Jones was coming to district meeting to do interviews. So the next day I needed to call President for something and he asked what time the temple has sessions and told me to figure it out so that we could all go together. So I made sure I figured it out and we all got to go to the Temple with President and Sister Jones after District Meeting. It was a wonderful day!

Then on Saturday we had Keosha's baptism!!!!!!!! I get really excited about every baptism but for some reason I was especially excited for her to get baptized. I think part of it had to do because a lot of people were kind of doubting if she would go through with it because of her whole situation with her family. But these past couple of weeks she has really stood up and had her mind set on doing it and didn't listen to her family. It was a wonderful baptism service! The Spirit was so strong there; we didn't want to leave! She is extremely shy and does not like being in front of people at all! Like, she hates being in front of people. So there were not very many people at the baptism and we got permission to do the confirmation that same day. So she was happy about that! It has been pretty awesome to see the gospel change her life. The elders had met with her two times before I got here and things did not go very good. So I have been through the whole conversion with her and have truly seen her life change. She is so happy all the time! The scripture that was the turning point with her was Mosiah 2:41, and it is now one of my most favorite scriptures. I told Elder Moncur that if I were to leave Blanding now it would be ok with me because I witnessed Keosha get baptized.

Sean Murphy is getting baptized this Saturday! He is another one that I am really excited about! It is pretty amazing how the Spirit works and how everything has changed with him and his family. When the Spirit hits someones heart and they choose a path there is no stopping them. He gave up smoking and coffee like it was nothing. Two things that he has been doing for most of his life. We also have a baptism for a girl named Lucreshia Smith. She is eight years old. We are teaching her mom and her. Her mom said I think I was baptised and so we had the ward look up records and after a month they finally found them. So she is a child of record. We told bishop about how he is suppose to do child of records interviews and he was real cautious because he didn't think she was ready and didn't even want to do the interview, but the ward mission leader eventually talked him into it. They came out of the interview and he said she knows more then anybody I have ever interviewed. We met with her a couple of times to review and she literally asked why are we doing this I already know. It was pretty good. So we have that baptism on Wednesday night.

Well It is hard to believe that this is week six of the transfer. It has absolutely flown by. I don't really want to leave Blanding, but this past week I have really had this feeling like I am going to then the first thing President asked me in my interview is if Elder Moncur knew the area. So I don't know what that means but we will find out on Saturday.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! I know I am going to! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schmidt

Keosha's Baptism

Yaateeh every body!

Well we had another really good week here in Blanding and it looks like this week will be amazing too! We have a baptism coming up this week. Keosha Benally is getting baptized!! I am soo excited! When we started working with her she had no real belief in Jesus Christ or God. It is amazing what the Spirit can do! I just look back and see the difference in her life and how she has changed, and it is another testimony to me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does bless lives. It has been kind of difficult because her family is really abusive and non-supportive. Her family lives down on the Res in Montezuma Creek but she lives up here with some members. Her family has really held her back but when we finally set a date with her she made up her mind and stuck to it. It was really surprising to me how it all worked out. So it will be a wonderful week! It always is, especially when you have a baptism.

Well I got all of your pictures! Thank you very much! Dad I haven't received your letter but should probably get it today, so thank you! It is crazy to think how much all of those little ones are going to change in the next year (did a just say a year, where did the last year go to). It sounds like Ryan and Austin are pretty excited about their new puppy. That must be fun.

Its hard to believe that it is week 5 of the transfer. It seems like we just went down to Farmington to pick up Elder Moncur. The time seems to go by faster and faster. It does not seem like I have been out for 11 months. I forgot how long I had been out, and then I realized and i really freaked me out. I have waited 19 years for this opportunity and now it will be over before I know it. I hope that I can look back with no regrets.

Last P-day a member took us out to natural bridges then to goosnecks national park and then to monument valley. So these are some pictures of those. It sounds like a plan to me to plan a trip to go to Monument Valley after I get back. It is really beautiful there! They are actually building a new chapel down there. The Mexican Hat chapel will be closing and they are moving it there. It sounds like it is going to be a really good move. It is coming along pretty good, they were roofing it last week.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! I know I am! (mosiah 2: 22-24) I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schmidt

 

Happy New Year!!!

Hello everyone!

Well I hope you all had a good New Year. Ours was pretty good we slept right through it. We didn't get to stay up late or do anything. Rachael did get baptized on Saturday! So that was a wonderful way to start the New Year, but other then that the day was really slow. We had a really hard time getting in with people. Saturdays are usually pretty slow but it seemed even more so that way this Saturday. Everybody either had company over or was sleeping so they could stay up or were getting ready to go out somewhere. So we ended up just going to some members after we had dinner. Rachaels baptism was amazing thought. There was so many people there! We had to hold it in the chapel instead of the Relief Society room because their were so many people. It seemed like it was almost a sacrament meeting; there were so many people there. Keosha, one of our investigators was there. We have been trying to get her to a baptism for a while because we felt that it would really help her, but she is scared of being in large groups of people and in front of people. So it wasn't the greatest thing for her. I have never met anybody that is so afraid of people before. So we had to go talk to her about it and how whoever she wants to be there will be there. She is getting baptized on the 14 and she still has her mind set on that which is awesome! We have a few baptism's coming up this month which we are really excited about. It should be a white month here in Blanding. Between the other elders and us we have 14 dates for this month. It sounds like some of theirs will fall through but we should still have an awesome month! We are looking forward to it.

So did everybody enjoy their Christmas break? Now its time to get back to the real world. We are looking forward to it. These past couple of weeks have been kind of slower in regards to the work, but everybody is getting home now. Things should be getting back to normal which will be really good. We had some really good lessons with some of our investigators just before the break then they all left for the Holidays and we haven't been able to meet with them for a couple of weeks. So we are looking forward to getting the teaching pool going again.

Where did the last 11 months go to?? I can't believe that I have been out for that long! The time flies by. I hope I am living up to the Lord's expectations. This next year is going to fly by!

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all! Be safe and Be smart!

Love,

Elder Schmidt

Enjoyed talking to you on Christmas! I don't have anything to say so here you go! These are pictures from Monument Valley last P-Day! HOpe you enjoy!

Hello Everybody!

What a surprise!! I was not expecting to read about the first niece coming into the world this week! That is awesome! I am glad to hear that everything is good and Ash and Rachel are both doing good! That is a pretty neat Christmas present, she came a little early.

Well my new companions name is Elder Moncur, and he is from Lovell Wyoming which is kind of by Yellowstone. I love him; he is really awesome. He has a twin brother that is still in the MTC, he is going to Monterrey Mexico He is so humble and willing to learn. We had a pretty awesome first week together. When we got back from Farmington on Tuesday we went straight to work. We had appointment all that night, and we had some really good appointments. We met with Keosha and talked about baptism. We have to be careful with her because the missionaries before were really pushy with her and she felt uncomfortable. So we were talking about baptism, and she said that she sees herself getting baptised because it makes her happy when we come over and she comes from a pretty bad family situation so she likes being happy. As we were talking Mosiah 2:41 came to my mind. So i shared it and talked about working towards a baptism date. And when that happened she started crying and I though something bad had happened, but we talked with her friend that was there later and she told us how she just felt the spirit so strong and when we read the scripture she just new it was true. She knows it is true we are just having a hard time because her family is what is holding her back. They think she is becoming to white and just really give her a hard time. But we were excited to hear that and it gave us some ides on what to teach her. We also set a baptism date with Sean Murphy this week. He is really progressing on quiting smoking so we set a date for the 21 of January. We found some really awesome new investigators this week as well. One lady her name is Wahnonah has been going to church for the past three weeks and has been reading from the Book of Mormon every day. She couldn't be anymore prepared. The Lord is truly blessing us here in Blanding. We are working really hard and are seeing the blessings of our efforts.

This week we have our Christmas Zone Conference in Farmington. It will be on Thursday. It should be pretty fun. It will be four zones getting together. So that will be about half of the mission so that will be pretty cool. We are doing a white elephant gift exchange, so I need to find something ugly for that. So by the sounds of things I'm not sure if it's going to be more of a party or a zone conference. Either way it should be pretty fun!

Oh, I almost forgot. Calling next week....Plan on around one o'clock. So that will be two here. So I hope that works if it doesn't get a letter in the mail and let me know a better time. We have sacrament at 9 and 11. Well I look forward to getting to talk to everybody! I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all! Merry Christmas! May we all remember the true meaning of the season. We put together a little Christmas message last week to share with people. I can't wait till Sunday!!:) Talk to you soon!!!!!!!!!

Love,

Elder Schmidt

Elder Moncur, Elder Sharp and Elder Schmidt

 Elder Schmidt with Elder Moncur and their Christmas Tree 2011!!!

Good morning everybody!

Well it is hard to believe the transfer is already over again. It seems like I just got here to Blanding and now I have been here for just about three months. I will be getting to stay for another six weeks at least as well. I am getting a new companion. I don't know what his name is. I will find out tomorrow; he will be coming off the plane. I got a call from President Jones on Saturday telling me that the Lord has called me to be District Leader and to train. So since the Lord has called me to these positions I am relying on him to help me because I fell inadequate. Elder Nelson is going to Chinle, that is near Window Rock. So he liked that I was able to tell him a little about the area. This will be his first time getting transferred and I think that he was a little nervous. We did good together here in Blanding, we were able to touch many peoples lives. It is kind of a bummer because we have a couple of baptisms coming up this transfer. One that we are really excited about is Rachaels. She should have been baptised a long time ago but over Christmas they will be having a bunch of family in town so she is getting baptised on December 31!

I am glad that you got those pictures mom. We had our lesson yesterday and said good bye then we received a text from them asking if we could come back. Sister Arthur wanted to get pictures before Elder Nelson left, so we went back and she wanted to email them to you. SO I guess i got your email address right. They are a really good family. It was actually pretty cool because when we went back they were getting ready to ordain their son Chris to the office of Elder and give him the Melchizedek Priesthood. So we were able to stand in on that; which was really cool because that was a first for me. It has been fun to get to know families and make a difference in their lives. Sometimes I don't even realize that we are making a difference.

That is pretty awesome that DO is playing in the state championship game! It has been a long time waiting. That would be fun to go down there and watch. It sounds like most of the town might be. I have to say I loved growing up in Loomis. It has/is a wonderful place. Sometimes I think we take all of the little things for granted. Like being able to raise our family/ grow up in such a wonderful area. I have been blessed with many wonderful church leaders, coaches, friends and the best family I could ever ask for!! When people ask me how many siblings I have and I tell them 5 sisters I get quite a few different reactions. But, I wouldn't have had it any other way!! I have been blessed with amazing sister's who I love dearly and it makes me so happy to see them making the right decisions in life. I have been blessed with the best parents a boy could ask for! I love you so much Mom and Dad! You are everything to me!

Well I better get going! I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all!

this time I can say it for real: Talk to you soon! :)

Love,

Elder Schmidt

Christopher's ordination

 Elder Nelson, Rachael and Elder Schmidt

 Elder Nelson and Elder Schmidt

 

 

Week 6!

Hello my wonderful Family!!

I don't know what it is but i guess at the beginning of every month is when it gets cold around here. We had a really nice November then December 1st the snow came. We were in Durango for zone conference and when we went in the sun was out and it was a nice day; then when we came out it was cloudy and snowing. It snowed all the way home so it really slowed us down so we were late for our splits. It sure has been cold too. This morning when we woke up to go play basketball at 5:30 it was 10 degrees out side. Then when we came to email we had a flat tire so we had to change that when it was like 20 degrees. I guess you could say it was fun. It is good to get the moisture we need it because we have not had very much yet.

So we did have our baptism down on the rez. Adrianna Bedoni was baptised on Saturday. So we went down on Sunday to confirm her and the stake president showed up there. The chances of that happening were slim the one and only time that we have gone to church there he was there so it was good to have him stand in as well. I left my camera in the truck so I will email you pictures next week. But, we were really excited to get her baptised. I talked to President about getting a set of Elders to cover Montezuma Creek and Bluff and he told us to find a place to live so we could do it. So we are excited about that because their is a lot of work to be done down there and neither of us can get down there as often as we would like.

Our Zone Conference was really good! It is kind of a bummer because it takes a over a day out of our week for it because we had to leave Wednesday night then we didn't get back until late Thursday night. But, I always love hearing the training that we need and what President has prepared for us. We talked about the kingdom's of glory, and how we reach the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. It was really good. I always love listening to President, after all he was a General Authority. So it is always good.

Well it's hard to believe that transfers are already here. This last week absolutely flew by along with the rest of this transfer. We are pretty sure that one of us is leaving. President Jones doesn't normally keep companionship's together more then two transfers. So I hope I stay! There are some people that we are working with that are really progressing and I don't feel like my work here is done. But if the Lord needs me else where then I will faithfully go, but i really hope I stay.

Well I hope you all have a wonderful week! It was so good to get to hear everybody from Thanksgiving! I will talk to you soon! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schmidt