Hello!

 

It sounds like all is going well back home! I am very happy to hear that! I miss the piano so much. There is just a crappy broken keyboard here. I probably won't be very good when I get back, so I hope you don't get upset with me. I do miss it though, and I look forward to playing a real piano when I get back and improving that talent.

 

This week flew by so fast!! This had to have been one of the fastest weeks on the mission. Elder Lavering and I worked really hard this week and we were able to crank out 31 lessons! We have this 12 week program that we do because I am still training Elder Lavering and that program adds another hour to studies which means an hour less in the field teaching and all that. So, at the end of the week, when we did numbers, we were both super stoked to see all that we were able to accomplish! We are always teaching over here and I love it so much. We are finally getting to the point where I was in Yaoundé. All of the new investigators we have come from members so we don't have to contact anymore. That is how it should be because then those investigators will have friends in the church right away.

 

So I called Alex, our investigator, and told him that we would be meeting with him at 4:00 on a certain day and he promised that he would be there on time. Well, we were at the church until 4:30 and he had not yet come. I was pretty upset because he just doesn't get it... he doesn't care. So we left the church and as we were walking we saw him there on the side of the road with his moto. His clutch had broken so his moto was useless. I was upset and I showed him no sympathy. I went up to him and let him know that he was wasting our time and the Lords time and I told him that it is interesting that every time he decides to waste our time and not follow through with his commitments he gets into an accident or he gets into a big problem. I looked at him and said, "You can't play like that Alex." and then we walked away. I know that some of you are probably thinking "well he was late because his moto broke." and the answer to that is no. He was late because he always wants to work and take one more passenger.  So once he finally got close to the church his moto broke. He never learns his lesson and we will probably drop him this week. Can you tell he has gotten on my nerves this week?

 

Mmmmm...

My bed at the apartment is infested with termites. I have sprayed that bed with bug spray everyday but it just doesn't seem to be working. I kill tons of them but there seem to be thousands of them in my bed. It gets annoying when I am sitting there on my bed and then all of the sudden a few of them start crawling over my head and face. I would jump up and smack them (which probably looks ridiculous because I was basically slapping my face like a mad man) and then I looked at my bed and there would be a whole line of them coming from the wood. I would take my shirt off and whip it a few times then kill all of them that fell onto the floor. I miss home sometimes.

 

Children in our Primary

On Sunday, we had a primary program in Sacrament meeting and it was AWESOME!! The kids were up there reciting Articles of Faith and singing with all their strength. I love the Primaries here in Africa. There was one guy who has been a member for a very long time who would get up and take pictures and clap and everything. He was quickly reminded though of where he was. It made me laugh.

 

Beach at Limbe

Elder Lavering and myself at Limbe

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to Limbe and it was great! We went to the Botanical Gardens over there and it was as humid as heck and we were all sweating like crazy. I got some sweet pictures though. We then went and saw this wildlife center where they had tons of gorillas and monkeys. Gorillas are so big! One would climb to the top of a telephone pole thing and jump off the top and pound his chest really fast and really hard and it sounded like that cupping noise you can make when you clap hands with someone. It was so cool! When we got there our tour guide was finishing up a tour with a bunch of JW's... It's funny that we were the very next group for him to give a tour to.

 

We got transfer info on Saturday and I am sure you are all anxiously waiting to see where I have been transferred to or if I have even been transferred at all. I have been transferred and on Friday at 1:30 in the afternoon I will be flying off to CONGO!!! I am so stoked!! I have been waiting for this moment since March 4th, 2011!! I can't wait to actually be IN Congo. My new companion will be Elder Davis. He is a missionary that is from Elder Thibaults generation. I will actually be in the same apartment as Elder Thibault! I am pretty bummed though, to be leaving Elder Lavering. I love that kid. We have worked so hard and we have done so much over here. He is such a hard worker and has helped me out so much. I love training because I feel like I learn just as much, if not more, just by working with the trainee. So it will be difficult leaving, but I am looking forward to being in Congo. I will be going to the area where there is actually a church building! I'm going to Mpaka. So there is the big news! I will be flying out with Elder Spens and Elder Addington.

 

I want to finish with a neat experience that I had with one of our less active members. I am going to copy down what I wrote in my journal that night. It was an incredible experience.

October 10th, 2012

 

We were able to go and meet with frère Evina today and we had such an incredible experience together. Our goal in going there was to find out what his biggest trial was at the moment and to help him so that he could have the strength and desire to overcome it. So, as we were sitting there we asked him that question and we sat there for a little bit waiting for him to answer but in the end he said, "I don't know... I have so many trials. I have no clue which one is my hardest."

 

So, at this point I'm thinking, "Crud... what do we do now? We have nothing to work with." But I forgot the key component when teaching a lesson the Lord's way - the Spirit. For me personally, the Spirit works with me by placing thoughts in my head... thoughts that, at the time, seem to come from no where. Throughout my mission, I have learned to recognize special enlightenment like this.

 

As I was sitting there thinking about what we could do, a certain word "conveniently" popped into my head... and that word was 'faith.' So I acted and told Evina, "Okay we are going to read in Ether. Go to Ether 12." I was thinking of going and reading verse 6 because that is a powerful verse on faith and right before I told him to read verse 6 a certain number "conveniently" popped into my head... and that number was 27. So instead, I told him to read verse 27. As he read that verse, the Lord placed in my head almost word for word what I needed to explain to Evina. And so I did.

 

After Evina finished reading that verse I began to tell him what the Lord wanted me to tell him. I said, "Now, Evina I think that a problem, or trial, that you have is that you think you can only do the little things and that you can't do the big things. You want to do the big things but you feel like you would never be able to."

 

I then went on to incorporate verse 27 with what I was telling him and then I asked him to read that same verse again, which he did, but much more slowly... trying to find the significance. And he found it! He then looked up at me and said, "I understand... I understand now." He continued, "Who told you to tell that to me? That is EXACTLY what my problem is...my biggest trial! I suffer that in almost ever aspect of my life. When you asked me that question earlier, I knew what the answer was, but I didn't want to say..." He was silent for a few moments and then he softly said, "it's like you can see into my life."

 

Elder Lavering is awesome!  He is doing a service while we wait for Evina.

 

I love you all so much and I hope that you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Schmid

 

 

 Bonaberi with a recent convert named Gregoire

Gorgeous sunset

Marius and his family. He is a returned missionary and I am so
grateful that he is here in this branch. I don't know what this branch
would do without him.

Oscar and I. You should remember Oscar from a crazy story a month ago.

Our DMB Samuel and his family. His daughter has beautiful eyes.

The only way to our investigators house. Not as deep as Ngangue though...