Hermana Schmidt: Hermana Schmidt Week 66 Letter 12/28/15

From: Nicole Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net]
Sent: 12/28/2015 11:55 AM
Subject: Christmas Miracles (And Fails)

Hola a todos!

Happy birthdays to my MISSIONARY COUSINS Lexi and Elijah!! Woot woot! Schmidt missionary power!

So this week we saw a huge miracle with the familia sosa! Last monday during our FHE with them, Erek, the husband, said, ´´Look hermanas, I don´t want to get baptized right now. I´m not ready. I´ll keep learning, and going to church, and supporting my wife, and when I feel ready I will get baptized.´´ Well I was totally shocked because he had passed his interview and seemed so set, and my eyes started welling up with tears. I felt heart broken that so clearly opposition had nailed him so hard that he was backing out of one of the best decisions of his life. Sadly, I didn´t really say all that I was thinking and feeling in the moment.

But the next day we felt strongly to call him, and when we did we told him everything we were feeling. The bar next door was BLASTING music during the call so even inside the house, with the windows and doors shut, we could barely hear him. We found a ´´more quiet´´ spot in the house and we asked him if he could say a prayer over the phone to know if he should get baptized right now. So in our house, and him in his house, we all kneeled down and over the phone he said a prayer. It was SO powerful and then after that the spirit hit me so hard and was like, ´´have him visualize his baptism´´ so I did an visualizing exercise with him and afterwards he said, ´´You´re right. This is my time. I´m getting baptized.´´ We both burst into tears we were so happy. It taught us more on what missionary work REALLY is. It´s all out of love and guided by the spirit, that is FOR SURE. It was serene.

But, on Friday the wife’s grandpa Eli, passed away so they had to go out of town for the weekend but we will be having their baptism promptly.

On Christmas Eve we were going home from the mission christmas activity with the assistants and our zone leaders and some other sisters and on the way the car broke down!! So we did the normal thing to do, wait for help, and take pictures. It was a christmas eve adventure I will never forget. We got home really late, but hey, at least there was a good reason.. and now some good pictures?

Christmas was AMAZING! Talking to my family was just the best. And as much as they say it, I do not believe I have an accent. ;) My family is the best and cutest family there is, that´s for sure. Couldn´t be more grateful for them.

So just a thought for the new year through my studies and thinking. I think there is something divine about setting goals and making plans, and accomplishing them. I think the greatest plan ever made was before this life, that is, the plan of salvation, or the plan of happiness. I think God is our number one example of setting a hard plan or goal in order to achieve something amazing, and actually doing it. What if our Heavenly Father had said, two years before Christ was born, ´´you know what? This whole trying to inspire my children to make good choices and seeing them fall so much is getting really hard, maybe I should just forget this plan.´´ How would life be?? I think when we set new years goals and plans, we are becoming more like our Heavenly Father, and even more so when we actually do them! I think he can really help us, and he wants to help us. He wants us to have dreams, and goals, and plans. He loves us.

And I´ve learned that every year is part of our plan of salvation, so how will we take this year in the scheme of our lives and take advantage of this time to become the best people we possibly can through the atonement??

I also want to share a short story on gratitude as we think about each of our circumstances, abilities, and talents. Yesterday our first counselor shared this story:

There was a poor man, who spent most of his time making any sort of income to survive. He always thought ´´I´m just so poor and have nothing´´. One day a wise buyer walked up and said, ´´You think you´re poor? I can help you out.´´ And the poor man said, ´O.k.! I´ll do anything!´´ The man then said, ´´I will give you $10,000 for your arm´´ and the poor man said, ´´of course not!´´ to which the wise man replied, ´´Really?? Hm... How about $30,000 for both of your arms??´´ and the poor man said, ´´No! I can´t live without both of my arms.´´ The wise man said, ´´Okay $20,000 for your leg.´´ And he said, ´´No I don´t want to live without a leg!´´ And he said, ´´$400,000 for both legs??´´ And the poor man said, ´´No!´´ The wise man said, ´´How about $1,000,000 for both of your legs and both of your arms??´´ And the poor man said, ´´No I will not give you my body parts. I can´t live without them, and they are precious! ´´ To which the wise buyer then said, ´´Look how fortunate you are, and you never realized it.´´

This year, I really want to be more grateful for what I have. I really want to think of all of the wonderful blessings the Lord has given to me, and less about what I might be ´´lacking.´´ I think gratitude leads to happiness. I know the Lord has given us everything, and every day we wake up and have an opportunity to make a bowl of cereal, or make an egg, or leave to work, or leave to school, or even leave to preach the gospel, we should be grateful. Because in that moment, he is giving us everything. He always gives much more than we deserve, and he only asks us our hearts and to follow him, willingly and happily.

I´m just so happy to be a missionary. And for all the wonderful blessings the Lord has given me. He truly is so good.

Hurrah for Israel!

-Hermana Schmidt