Hermana Schmidt's Week 9 Letter 11/24/14

Ugh, she’s sick, well was sick! And she couldn’t send any photos :( I asked her what amebas were and she said there it means some type of parasite and that I shouldn’t be nervous because tons of missionaries get it and it’s from vegetables usually so I guess I should be glad she is eating veggies.  Also, she mentioned in a separate email to me that she is the only person in her zone that doesn’t get hand written letters (she got a few in the CCM so thanks to her friend Leda and Aunt Rebekah and the Abbotts).  We are just all creatures of technology in my family so I am going to try to get better at that.  If you would like to send her a handwritten note or card or picture or anything, it is just a regular U.S. Postage stamp to Miami (a contracted company that pouches it all to the DR) and her address is: 

Sister Nicole Renee Schmidt

Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission

SDQ 4102

2250 NW 114 Ave. Unit 1A

Miami, FL  33172

I can’t wait to read next week’s email, I am sure it can only get better after this week, poor girl. Bunney

From: Nicole Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net]
Sent: 11/24/2014 12:33 PM
Subject: The Trials In Life Shape Us

Hola family and friends!!

So, this week was full of trials. However, it was also full of miracles, blessings, and lessons learned. 

First of all, last monday I was sick to my stomach with pain, and so we took the night off. I woke up on Tuesday in even more pain, so we called the doctor to figure out what to do and he told me rest and tylenol. I didn´t sleep that night because of the pain so we went to a lab on Wednesday and did a lot of tests. The pain just got worse, and so the mission doctor thought, It could be amebas (that´s the spanish word and idk the english one) so he gave me medicine for that and i´ve been getting better!! Not perfect, but SO much petter and the pain isn´t constant like before, so it probably was Amebas and we can finally work!! 

Second, I got a bad eye infection on top of all of that. 

Third, our area has been really struggling and not progressing. All of our baptismal dates fell through. I guess it was good to be sick because we didn´t have a ton of appointments, but it´s been hard trying to pick up the missionary spirit of the ward and help investigators keep committments. But I know Heavenly Father will help us, we are here for a reason and that might just be to get this ward back into the spirit of missionary work. 

We didn´t really get to go out this week because of that, so that was rough but!! I have the best comp. in the whole world!! She was so good at helping me feel better every second. 

However, I did learn something I needed to learn. 

God loves us. Like.... really loves us. Before my mission I thought, hey if my trial isn´t big enough I can just deal with it on my own, I don´t need to ask God for help. But this has shown me that God wants to help us, with the big and small trials. In every moment. He filled my heart with joy so many discouraging moments this week! I think I had my most hard moment of my whole life this week, with the bishop thing, missing my family, and being in pain... it was a HARD moment. A moment I thought I should just give up. But, then I prayed. My heart swelled with joy and comfort that God has a plan for me, and that plan wasn´t sending me here to quit! It wasn´t calling me to fail. He called me here to be an instrument, and if that means I gotta go through some rainstorms to shape me into the servant he needs than so be it. I will go through the hurricane because I know my Heavenly Father will be there for me. He IS our loving Heavenly Father. He IS always, ALWAYS there for me. I´m just so grateful I could feel that so strongly this week I felt like I could just burst into fireworks! What an amazing feeling and special experience. 

Yes, I am grateful to be feeling so much better. But even more i´m so grateful to have my testimony strengthened because of these trials this past week. Trials are opportunities to grow if we trust in Heavenly Father. 

Hermana Jenkins shared a story this week about a donkey falling into a hole. He fell into this big ditch and the farmer thought he was going to die, so he started shoveling dirt over him for a grave. But the donkey instead shook off the dirt, and used it to step up higher and higher until it climbed out. Sometimes we need some dirt in our lives to grow, change, and step up a little higher. 

I know God lives. I know he is good. This is his work. I will go where he needs me, change how he needs me, and do what he asks me. And that will make all of the difference. I know it. 

Hurrah for Israel!!

Hermana Schmidt