Hermana Schmidt: Hermana Schmidt Week 74 Letter 02/22/16

From: Nicole Schmidt [mailto:nicole.schmidt@myldsmail.net]
Sent: 02/22/2016 12:13 PM
Subject: It's a great day to be a missionary!

Hola a todos! :)

Happy birthdays to my aunts Elizabth and Sue. I hope it's great!! :)

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY (NOT SO BABY) SISTER JESSI WHO IS TURNING 15!!! :)

So this week was like... a week full of un-expectantes! It was a little bit crazy, and a whole lot of going up to Santo Domingo but it was amazing!

We had a lot of meetings up in the capital this week and I just love all of our meetings. They are seriously so spiritual and have taught me so much more on a how to be a christ-like leader. I love it!

I had the opportunity to do an exchange with some STLs in the capital as well. President gave me permission to go into my old area and see a couple of people I helped there. It was amazing and SUCH a boost and tender mercy. I really liked the common theme of the day which was ''Finish with honor''. I thought a lot about that, and I know what everyone was meaning but I couldn't stop thinking, ''I should finish every single day with honor, not just my mission.'' So that is my new focus. Finish everyday with honor!

While in that exchange the sister told me she was struggling with her companion and some of her responsibilities as STL (names withheld). I started just asking her a lot of questions to understand and see if she had any ideas herself to resolve them. She said, ''We should organize our study room as a service for her. I bet that would help our stress.'' So we spent a good while organizing EVERYTHING. It was a big project but it was SO cool. The best ideas really do come from the people we are helping themselves. I felt really strongly that the Lord was pleased with this result and act of love. It was really wonderful. So grateful!

We finally found Nayua and she said, ''I miss coming to church. When I go, I just know that it's true. I can see it in everyone's faces. It's different than any other church, and I just know it's true.'' She just needs rides to church so the ward is stepping in there to help her with that.

Okay so Sabrina is just golden but has completely disappeared this week!! Which was really discouraging but we aren't giving up. We have faith that God's timing is the best timing and whether she gets baptized on Sunday or another date, it won't matter. We are just here to make progress to that point. :)

Today we were going to go to some cool caves but we got there and found out it's not open mondays and we were bummed so we took a bus ride back home but on the way we contacted a lady on the bus and she was so excited to hear about ''For the strength of youth'' (i'm currently carrying around one and studying it while I can) pamplet. And was so excited about eternal families. She accepted to take the missionary lessons from the elders so we will give them her info. Everything happens for a reason!

Okay so 2 funny stories for you:

We were in our Ward Correlation meeting with our ward mission leader and every thing was fine and normal and my companion takes a drink of water and then suddenly squeals and freaks out and I was like, 'WHAT!?!'' And a lizard flies off her shoulder!! I have to say I think what most shocked me wasn't the suddenness of the squeal, or even the lizard, it was the fact that my companion kept her water in her mouth and still managed to scream! haha. That does not happen every day, and it will be a moment I will not forget.

The second funny story was that we contacted an old woman in her house and she let us in and just started crying, telling us about all of her pains and trials. My heart just broke for her and I wanted to serve her to make her feel better, and I thought back to another experience I had, had in another area of rubbing lotion into the hands and feet of an old lady to make her happy. Well we started rubbing lotion into her hands... and she stretched out her arms wide while we were doing it and starting yelling and praying at the same time ''Thank you Lord for sending these teenagers to heal me! I know they have the power and heal me lord, heal me, heal me!!'' ... she thought we were doing a healing ritual.... so awkwardly we immediately stopped and I said, ''Sister, i'm sorry, we don't heal people. But there are men in our church who can give healing blessings.'' She didn't understand and to this day I think she thinks we gave her a healing ritual blessing... oh boy. I tried to explain... haha.

Other than that the work is rolling and new people who are accepting baptismal dates are just coming out of the woodworks. It's so wonderful and it truly is a great day to be a missionary!! :)

I love you all and remember to finish every day with honor.

Hurrah for Israel!! :)

-Hermana Schmidt