Dear Mom,

 

Let me quickly answer your questions. Asthma is still a little problem but it hasn'’t been as bad. I got a new pillow but I have been to lazy to beat out my bed. Maybe I'’ll find time to do that this week.  As for writing every week,… I love it. I have found a love for writing. I have a love/hate relationship with my journal. I am so grateful that I have put so much time and effort into it, but, that’'s the thing,… it takes so much time! At the end of my mission I will have easily invested at least 700 hours into my journal. I am almost done with my fifth one. I am stretching it so that I can finish the last page on my last day. Time is definitely going faster and faster. Especially when I look at how many days I have left. I have made it a goal though, since the beginning of my mission, to stay focused. I think President Jameson has trusted me with this responsibility to train again because he knows that I won’t get trunky and make things difficult for someone who still has a lot of time. He has only completed 10.27% of his mission while I have completed 92.7%. One of the hardest moments of my mission was when my trainer and his generation all went home a year ago. We were all there at the couples apartment sharing in the excitement of what laid in store for them… and then they were gone… and I still was staring down 14 months. I don'’t want Elder Johnston to experience that when I leave because, for him, he will still have a little under 20 months. That’'s a random tangent for ya. So there you go,… I think I got your questions.

 

This week was a great one. Elder Johnston and I were blessed with a lot of opportunities to teach, so that makes me happy. I love to teach and share my testimony. This past week I have been really providing Elder Johnston with a lot of opportunities to teach. He may not like the method that I use. I will teach for a little bit and get us rolling and then I will stop and look at him and say nothing more. Sometimes I catch him off guard and just smile. Ahh! You gotta love being a new missionary. I had some awesome day dreams when I first got out here to Africa… because I had absolutely NO CLUE what was being said. Elder Johnston has been awesome.  It stretches him and makes him pay attention, or at least try to. His french is great. It was great when he got out here. It has only been a month but I have seen a lot of improvement. He is an awesome missionary and will do great things for the people in this mission. One of the things that I love most about him is his desire to really teach an individual,… not just a lesson. That is the key to Preach My Gospel,… teaching by the spirit. The title “Preach My Gospel” is from a scripture in D&C 50, but I feel like they left out the most important part! It continues, “by the Spirit.” When we do weekly planning we have had some neat opportunities in planning for certain individuals and Elder Johnston has led a lot of those planning ideas. I am grateful to be working with him. I feel like the trainer learns more than the trainee sometimes during those first 12 weeks.

 

Here is something funny. We teach a couple that is trying to get married so they can get baptized, but they are basically already members of the Church. They are there every Sunday and René, the guy, got up yesterday and bore his testimony in Sacrament meeting and it was an awesome testimony. Well his girl, Carine, LOVES to feed their child whose name is Prince. The normal American child would already be on bottles but here in Africa it seems like they keep them close to their bosom as long as possible. Well the other day little Prince was crying and René basically said, “well I tried making him shut up! Here you go!” and he handed him over to Carine. Carine, in her innocent, little loving voice started chanting, while bouncing crying Prince on her knee, “"Bébé Prince ne pleure plus! Maman est là, elle va te donner téter!" ” Her french wasn'’t perfect but her idea was most definitely established. I'’ll let you translate that on google. Every single time we are at their house she feeds Prince. Sometimes she is sitting right next to you on the tiny couch. There are generally five of us so things are already tight and squished. So things could get a little awkward. Especially when Prince is done and Carine just wants to sit there and talk to you and not worry about covering up until five minutes later. Don’'t worry, after one week in Africa I learned to make perfect eye contact with people. Oh Africa…!

 

I was able to go on splits with Elder Addington this week and it was so much fun. For those of you who don'’t remember, Elder Addington was my companion in the MTC. It is neat seeing how much he has changed. At the beginning of his mission he was very quiet and to himself. Now he is very outgoing and funny and it is so easy to strike up a conversation with him. He is super intelligent and is an incredible teacher. People love to learn from him. It is easy for him to… make things so simple to understand. The mission has done amazing things for him.

 

So, this next week will pretty much be a p-week. We have p-day today, we will work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday we will go to Douala for zone conference and we'll be there until Saturday, and then on Sunday we will be skyping our families! And then it will be p-day again! Craziness. I am so stoked to go down to Douala and see the Jamesons, the Gaileys, and the missionaries down there. Zone conference will be awesome. I have some packages and mail waiting for me down there, as well, that I am looking forward to getting :) President Jameson picked up my mail and stuff that arrived in Congo after I left and will be bringing it to Douala with him, so I will have it all in just a few days! I can'’t wait! I have definitely been spoiled my whole mission. I am so grateful for the letters and packages that have been sent my way. Some of the happiest moments on my mission have been reading letters written by people who love me. It means so much.

 

Well, that about sums things up for this week. I’m glad everyone is doing well over there! Remember Mom, the counsel that the Lord gave to Joseph Smith! Don’t run faster than you have strength. You'’re an angel and do so much for the family but don'’t push yourself to exhaustion and sickness. That is the genius of the family…, we all work together. I love you and I hope you have a great week! I can’'t wait to see and hear you on Sunday!!! Happy Mother's Day in advance! Like I said, you’re an angel!

 

Love,

Elder Schmid