December 31, 2012

 

 

Dear Mom,

 

Wow, I can't even begin to tell you how incredible that skype call was. Yeah, the connection was pretty bad but nothing will ever beat being able to see your faces and hear your voices in real time. Yes, I knew that I was making Bronson laugh! I think that was one of my highlights of the call. It's still weird to think that I will have another brother when I get home. I can't wait to actually meet him though. You all looked soo good! I am always blown away by how much Dallin is changing... especially his voice. I hope I didn't offend him when I laughed!

 

Guess what, I am still sick. Just like you it has all moved to the chest. What really blows is that I left all my medicine in Douala because I didn't have enough weight in my suitcases and I thought that that would be okay because normally there are a bunch of medication stuff left from other missionaries, but when I got here there was absolutely nothing. Slowly but surely I'm getting better. I just have a stupid cough right now and there is crud in my lungs but it's getting out. I just played basketball and I felt pretty weak but I was shooting well!

 

I'm glad to hear that Dallin had a good birthday. When I get home he will be driving in a month. Yikes... I'll have the truck right? I miss a good sound system. I wish you could all experience a typical taxi ride over here in Congo.

 

This past week was a little rough because I was a little sick... we stayed home one day because I had gnarly sinus headaches. I never had those before my mission but now it seems like I get them once every month or two. They take me out. I can't think, write, or focus on anything. We have been working with a lot of inactive members and we are slowly finding success. When President Jameson was here last he told us to be bold and direct when we teach the commandments and I love to be bold so we have been really hitting the importance of the sabbath day and making them realize that what they are doing is not guiding them to eternal life with their Heavenly Father. I love being straight forward with people and telling them how it is. It helps now that I don't have to think now when I speak french, it just comes out. That's a blessing and a trial :)

 

We have two people that will hopefully be getting baptized Saturday, Jean Joseph and Bonace. Jean Joseph is the father of a recent convert and he is awesome. He loves to read the scriptures and we can just tell that he is converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jean Joesph is a big fellow with a nice round belly. I got a picture with him and I'll send it home here soon. Bonace is a young man who just turned 19. He is all smiles whenever we see him and he is always with the choir at the church singing. Sometimes it interferes with our lessons that we want to teach him but we feel that it is better that he is with his friends in the branch building those relationships that will help him stay in the church when we go. We have been teaching Bonace since mine arrival here Congo so it will be nice to finally see him enter the waters of baptism.

 

We have been talking a lot with our DMB about the importance of coordonnées (referrals). We can go out and search for people and find tons and tons of people but we want the people we teach to come from members of the church. We want there to be an immediate connection between them and the branch. There is so much more success when there is already a friend in the church. Scherton, our DMB, has really taken his responsibilities seriously and is doing a great job by getting the branch missionaries to get us coordonnées. We have a lot of people now that we are trying to contact so that we can start teaching them. I love this work so much!

 

I am loving my life so much. I am so blessed to be over here in Congo right now preaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. What is most amazing about missionary work is seeing people apply the taught principles in their lives and then seeing their lives change. They then recognize those changes and realize that this fruit is a good fruit. It is also difficult sometimes when people receive those life changing teachings and even witness firsthand the reality of our message and then they reject it. I think that's why I love working with inactives so much. I love working with people who have known and have felt the truthfulness of our message and have taken upon them the name of Christ but then have been blinded by the world. I just love missionary work... these past 18 months have changed my life so much and I am so grateful that I still have 6 months left. I miss you all, but just know that I am loving every second of what I am doing. The Church IS true.

 

Je t'aime!

Elder Schmid