James letter 12-26-11

I'm glad you enjoyed your phone call. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was really nice to be able to talk to the family. I guess next time I'll look forward to it a little more.

The temple trip sounds like a good idea, hopefully mom will want to go and you two can have fun together. Thats a good way to spend the rest of your break.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has never heard of a "third priesthood" I think they may have overheard something else, and then just made it into that by themselves. Who knows.

Well, I am with the Fanno Creek ward for at least six more weeks, hopefully more, but we'll see. I'm glad to be able to stay here. This ward is really great. It reminds me of our ward back home, how everyone is friendly, and knows and cares about one another. There is definetely more less-active members here, but that is to be expected. Tell everyone Thanks for the Christmas wishes, and that I love them.

James letter 12-19-11

Ok so the final word on the calls. I am going to call from our Ward Mission Leaders house at 1pm, that would make it 2pm there right? We are an hour behind, so I think thats right. If its not, I can hang up and call back later.

I'm glad mom likes the nativety. I thought it would be cool to send her something that would make her know I still love her and am thinking about her. That was the most unique one they had, so I picked it up along with several pictures of Christ to add to my "Wall".

So Judgement, huh? Pretty crazy stuff. Sunday night we had a "high priest" discussion about all sorts of doctrine. It's a "high priest" discussion because its super deep doctrine, and no one really knows what they are talking about. We talked about agency, and God knowing everything we are going to do, and how the two relate. If he knows exactly where we are going to end up, then it seems like we are just being pulled along, and our agency doesn't really matter.

Elder Matsumura also mention there being a "third priesthood", which I had never heard in my life, and he didn't have any references for it. He just said that its a priesthood that Christ has that we don't.

Friday we left our mission. We drove to Vancouver, Washington to see a concert. It was the Portland Ensign Choir, and we had free tickets, and were encouraged to go by our President. So even though we should never leave the mission, he encouraged us to leave the mission. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, thats about all of the noteworthy things that have happened this week. Talk to you sunday. Love you.

Elder Schultz

James letter 12-12-11

First off, did you get the pictures? I send a bunch, but this email seems to not like them sometimes, and you didn't say anything about it so I was just wondering.

I'm glad to hear that Paul is doing well, and his family are adjusting. That is a scary thing to deal with, but I know you are taking care of them. Did you get a new hometeaching companion, or are you by yourself?

This week has been very slow. Monday we played risk for like five hours. I won every time we played starting with 3 people, but have yet to win with 4. I'm not sure why that is, but everyone seems to hate me when we play with 4. We went and walked around some stores in the mall, and we found a clearance rack of ties that were only three dollars, so I got a couple. Nice three dollar ties is a deal to good to pass up.

Wednesday we had three appoinments set up with potential investigators, and all of them fell through. It's not very fun when few people care, and the rest shame them into not inviting us in. Its sad to see that they have the truth so close, but can't seem to grasp it.

Thursday I got sick, which is quite possibly the worst thing that can happen on the mission. We had to stay inside for 2 days and do nothing while I got better. Thursday I mostly slept, but friday I was feeling better so we played risk with the other elders that were also sick. It made a bad day bearable.

Sunday we had a Stake Christmas Concert, where the stake choir, and the ward choirs performed a special Christmas program. It was really good, and was a great way to finish the week.

Ok so here's the deal for Christmas phone calls. Make sure you talk to mom about this because I'm sure she'll murder you if you don't. We are not allowed to call home anymore....

I'm just kidding. Please don't hate me for that, but I wanted to spice up the email.

Our ward is combining with another ward for sacrament on Christmas day. The meeting will be at 11:30. I will be calling from our ward mission leaders house sometime either before of after that. Your church is at 11, right? I'm thinking I could call maybe around 1 or so. Let me know what time will work best for you, and we will make arrangements accordingly. I need to know by next week though, so decide on a time between 1-4, because that will work best for us.

I think thats it for now. I love you guys.

Elder Schultz.

James letter 12-5-11

Oh man it seems like all the exciting stuff happens when I leave. Nothing like that is happening up here, although, in the unlikely case that it snows it will shut down everything, and start mass panic. People here don't know how to drive in the first place, and if you introduce snow it is a dangerous mix.

You'll have to tell Greenwoods that I'm praying for them. That scary to hear about that kind of thing, but I know they will be taken care of. Make sure you let them know that you care for, and are there for them.

You know whats exciting. We have two full weeks(almost three) of dinners. Something about Christmas I think, it guilt trips them into feeding us or something, but hey, I won't complain.

So I did remember Mom's birthday, but as I can only write on Mondays she'll have to accept a late birthday wish. On the bright side though, I bought her a nativity today. I'll send it out, and she can have a Christmas/Birthday present from me. It's a sweet one.

So, something I learned this week: There are three main ways that Heavenly Father answers our personal prayers. The examples for which are found in the Book of Ether. Chapther 2:19 states the questions that were asked. 1.-There's no light. 2.-We can't steer. 3.-We can't breathe. Here's how the Lord answered. Verse 20-Here's what you need to do. Verse 24-Trust me, I will take care of you and get you there. Verse 23-What do you want me to do?

We are told that we need to "study it out in [our] mind"-D&C 9:8(Answer to question 1), but there are two other ways that answers come. "I will tell you in your mind and in your heart."-D&C 8:2(answer to question 3). But sometimes the answer is simply Don't worry about it I will take care of you.(answer to question 2)

This is important to know because if we know how the Lord answers, then we can know what to listen for, and we can recognize the answers when they come.

I'm glad Tyson is doing well. I hope to hear from him soon.

Love you guys.

James letter 11-28-11

This week has been super slow, but Thanksgiving was truly amazing. We had three dinners. Yes thats right, three. I ate so much I thought I was going to explode. Between dinners 1 & 2 is when Bro Wilhoit decided to call you. It was a little wierd, and I'm not totally sure it was allowed, but we played with LEGO's afterward so it was ok.

We put up lights on the home of a less active member as a service project. I felt kind of bad because the clips kept breaking and the side is not on very well. We are going back this week though so hopefully we will be able to fix it. We also put up lights in our appartment. Talk about sweet. We are getting a tree today to from members.

I was thinking of having you send out my nativity. You know the one in my bedroom that says faith. It's on the TV center, and the box for it is behind the right closet door next to the bookshelf.

I got three packages and two letters this wednesday. I was pretty excited. The other elders were jealous, but I shared some of the goodies so they were fine with it. It's wierd to think that there is less than a month till Christmas. It's an interesting thing being out here for it instead of back home, but the ward is sweet and the other elders are fun, so I think we can make something work.

Funny story of the week- we were tracting an appartment complex and we knocked on this one door( it was the first on that didn't have several dogs barking at us), and we heard a woman say "it's the mormons." A few seconds later came the reply from a man "tell them you'r in the shower." The woman replied through the door "I'm in the shower." We started laughing so hard as we walked away. Some people just don't seem to have any common sense.

Elder Fannin is sick now, so these next few days may be pretty slow as well, I hope he gets feeling better soon, but we'll see. Thats all for this week. Love you guys.

James letter 11-21-11

I'm glad you saw fit in your infinite wisdom to let me know how your cribbage game is going. I'm sure I really needed to know. Anyways...

This week I'm going to share with you a few stories. We have been doing TONS of tracting as we have no one to teach and I have seen the most bizarre things. So heres the scoop.

#1. Some people try really hard to avoid you. We were tracting a street in our area and this guy was in his front room watching TV. He was us coming through the window and he ran out side and jumped in his car. He backed out of his driveway into the street, waited for us to walk past his house, and then he pulled back in, and went inside. We laughed at that for a while, and then decided that if he put that much effort into avoiding us we should just leave him alone. I'm thinking now though that we should have gone back and said, "Hey we see you just got home."

#2 Now tell mom not to freak out about this, but we had a dog sicked on us. We knocked on a door and the dog started barking like crazy. No one was coming to the door, but we knew that if anyone was there they knew someone was at the door. So we knocked again, and the barking continued, then it got really soft until we couldn't hear it. It slowly got louder and louder until we realized that it was outside and coming at us from the side of the house. It ran at me barking its head off. I looked down at it and started laughing. It was one of those little ankle-biters, and I'm pretty sure I could have done more damage to it that it ever could have done to me. We looked at it for a while, and then we left. Some people just don't like us...

#3 The coolest door we've ever knocked. We were out tracting, again, and we came across this door with a gong outside. Next to the gong was a wooden sign that read, "We are home or we are gone to find the truth please ring the gong" We weren't sure about it at first, but we did ring the gong. It was sweet. I didn't have my camera though, so we are going to go back and take a picture sometime.

I hope you guys will be alright during the holidays. It may be tough for you without me there to keep things interesting. On the bright side though I do get to call home for Christmas. So you have something to look forward to.

I think I'm going to write Tyson a letter. I think that will do him good, just to know that he still has me for a friend and I'm thinking about him. I looked up his address on lds.org. Oh and I got a card from Hulets this week. You'll have to tell them thank you, because It may take me a while to write to them. Things here are going along slow and steady, hopefully we will be able to pick them up soon. I love you guys. Talk to you next week.

Elder Schultz

James letter 11-14-11

Well I have made it through my first transfer in the Oregon Portland Mission. It has been one crazy six weeks out here. The people in Oregon are...weird. And thats putting it mildly. Also do you know what today marks? This day, the 14th of November marks my 2 month mark. I have been out for two months, and it seems like I left forever ago. Time flies, but seems to drag on as well. At least I enjoy it.

I have been accumulating more ties since I've been here. You may say I'm obsessed, or sick, but there is only one way for us to express personality with our clothes, and that is through our ties, so I will continue to collect. I'm thinking a good Christmas gift would be another tie-rack and more ties.

Its great to see how the Lord works in everything we do out here. I have recently been studying my patriachal blessing, and I came across the part that said I will have great faith. Later in the week I read in Alma 58:10-11 that great faith comes through prayer. It was incredible to see that the Lord is teaching me how to acheive the promised blessings.

Elder Tingey in our district is being transferred today. He was a really great guy and I will miss him a lot. But, on the other hand his companion Elder Manwill will be training a new missionary, so I won't be the youngest one out here anymore.

I've been thinking a lot on agency this week. That is the one thing that truly is the deciding factor in teaching out here. We can be the best teachers on the earth, speak by the Spirit and prove these things are true, but if the investigator doesn't want to know, they won't. Agency is the most pivitol part of everything we do. It is involved in everything. It's no wonder it is always called God's greatest gift to man.

An Elder this week posed a question to me: in Alma 5:40 it says whatsoever is good is from God, and whatsoever is bad is from the Devil. So if we have bad thoughts they are from Satan, and if we have good thoughts they are from God. Where are our own thoughts? The answer is simple. And you've probably guessed that it comes down to agency. They present us with the option, and we, even if it is subconsiously, use our agency to make the choice. Were it not so we would be completely helpless and unable to change ourselves to follow God.

I'm excited to hear about Adam and Alic. You'll have to keep me informed, or better yet tell them to write me. It gets awful depressing up here when you don't get mail for two weeks. I'm glad to hear that they are both progessing towards their missions. I really hope Tyson will be able to go, It would help him so much, and he really deserves this opportunity. I hope they can figure something out.

That scripture from Bro Thorpe is one that he has shared with me before, and its true. We have so much in our lives. So many reasons to have joy, why not accept it into our lives and let the joy that comes from living this gospel truly infuse us with power. When something brings you joy you want it more and more, you never want to lose it. So it is with this gospel, if we truly make it a part of us it will bring us joy and we will never want to lose it.

I hope you guys are doing well. I think about you from time to time, usually on Sundays when we aren't very busy. I love you so much and I look forward to the time when I can bring you up here and introduce you to all the great people in this area. The Lord is with me, and with all of us. Listen closely and hear his voice.

Sacrifice

Taught a Sunday School lesson today about sacrifice. The Spirit was very much in evidence as I spoke about the blood sacrifices of ancient days and how the Sacrament replaced that series of ordinances with the inclusion of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We spoke of how President Benson's father was called on a mission and how the family had to sacrifice to make that happen. We shared what we knew about farming and how every family member had that responsibility. We then remembered President Kimball's instruction from October or April of 1974 that every worthy young man should serve a mission. I remember how the draft had just ended and that made this work possible. I then recounted to them how I ran in college and after deciding to serve the Lord on my mission that my personal time dropped a full 3 seconds in a 2 lap race. I remember that feeling as if it was yesterday. The Lord approved my choice. I knew I would win that morning that I woke up. It was the most humbling feeling I had experienced to that point in my life. After the race I remember one of my friends who was not a member, but who had been working out with me the entire season ask me if I really intended to go. How could I not? The Lord had verified that I had made the right choice. Even when we are imperfect, the Lord loves us and will speak to us in his still small voice if we have the courage to listen and act with faith believing that he will be there. I know that he will be.

James letter 11-07-11

This last week was not the best. Monday was a waste of time. We had P-day until five, and then we had to spend the rest of the night inside because of Halloween. No costumes, no haunting, no fun. Sunday night a member gave us two bags of candy, which we were not able to give out, so this last week I ate almost three pounds worth of candy by myself. It is sickening to think about.

The work is grinding to a halt. Our golden investigator is not so golden. He won't come to church, and he keeps wanting the deep doctrine before the basics. He's looking so far past the mark that he's missing the truth thats in front of him. Our second solid investigator has also not been to church, and we have been unable to contact her all week. Things with her are not looking good. Our third investigator that is so close, is still stuck on the desire. If she would ask with the intent to know she would be there. It would help if she would come to church. The last two lessons with her have been short and powerful. The Spirit was there so much it was almost palpable. I know she felt it. Its sad to see them get so close and not go anywhere. We are still working really hard, and we did get one investigator to come to church yesterday, we will talk with her today, hopefully she will start progressing.

We have done a lot of tracting this week, as our investigator pool is shrinking. People are not very pleasant sometimes, although Sunday morning we did leave a family with a Book of Mormon. That was probably the most exciting thing that happened all week. Its hard when nothing seems to be working, but I know that as long as we're trying our best thats all that matters. We will give our hearts soley to the work, and the rest will fall into place. As we trust in the Lord, and he tests our faith, he will reward us with success.

The Book of Mormon is amazing. It changes lives. I have seen it work. Dive into it. Read it everyday.

It's crazy that you mentioned that video about the lightning and the blessing, I had just watched that on Thursday. Wierd. It's cool to see the power that each of us can have if we just believe in two things: the Lord, and ourselves. As always put the Lord first. Believe that He is. Believe that He can do all things. Moroni 7:33. But it is also important to believe in ourselves, for if we have no confidence in ourselves, the Lord's creation, how can we expect to have confidence in the Lord? We can do marvelous things with the Lord, but only if we believe we can. Have faith, and the rest will come.

Hopefully my next email will bring better news of the work. Theres always ups and downs and right now we just happen to be in a down. we won't be there for long if we can do anything about it. I love you both.

Elder Schultz

James letter 10-31-11

This week in Tigard....

We invented a new sport called Cup-Ball. It is an epic cross between lacross and ultimate frisbee. It is a intense game of athleticism and skill played using a cup, and a rubber band ball. It makes P-day sweet.

Tuesday we taught a lesson with an investigator and we invited her to be baptized. She said she wasn't sure if she was ready for that kind of commitment, but that she would pray about it. She didn't come to church yesterday.

Wednesday we taught our rock-solid investigator. He already has a testimony, and we gave him a baptismal date of November 19th. He didn't make it to church yesterday though, so we'll have to push that back.

Thursday we had a doorstep lesson with one of our investigators that is so close, but so far. She won't pray with intent, because she is content with life. We shared a short powerful message about our purpose and that its up to her. It hit her hard.

Our baptism investigator had his baptismal interview as well. He passed, and said he had the intention of serving a mission.

Friday we did our weekly service. My companion got a new suit, and we made ties from the lining of his old one, using duck tape. They are sweet, we are wearing them today for Halloween. We call them Franken-ties.

Saturday our investigator was baptized. We spent two and a half hours filling the font. The baptism went well, but the brother who baptized went in after we shut the curtain and drained the font. It wouldn't have been a problem except the other elders had a baptism an hour after ours got over. We turned the font on, said a frantic prayer, and began filling a 10 gallon bucket and water pitchers from the kitchen with hot water from the showers, and sinks in the bathroom. We filled the font in 45 minutes.

Sunday he was confirmed. The brother that did it came up as we were gathering around him and whispered in a nervous tone "I've never done this before". I just kept thinking "Neither have I." We pulled out the white handbook and got it done. We also gave talks in Sacrament meeting, which was interesting because they gave us a topic that wasn't in our lessons, so we had almost no study time. We gave a 15 minute talk with only 10 minutes of preparation.

Thats the jist of what happened this week. I tried to put up pictures but the computer won't work here so I'll have to try somewhere else. Love you.

Elder Schultz

Millennium

I always wondered what it would be like during the millennium. I had the impression that it would be much as it is now with spirits coming to get bodies and learning how to use them. Going to school, learning, growing except the wicked would all be gone.

I also wondered how the wicked would burn without the rest of us being burned with them. I was reading in Alma yesterday and they talked about Zeezrom burning up with a fever after he was kicked out of the land of Ammonihah. I believe this is how they will burn. Their own conscience will burn them from within.

James letter 10-24-11

So I'll start off by saying that prayers are answered. We were told in our mission conference that we need to set baptism goals four weeks out, and then work towards attaining our goals. So we set our goal, and then have been praying that we could accomplish it. We have five new investigators.

One of them is one of those pearls. He carves wood and stone into really beautiful things. he told us his story, and we could both just feel the Spirit so strong. He was about to kill himself, and he prayed to God to help him, and then he picked up a rock and started to carve, and has been doing that ever since; it is truly a gift from God. Lately he has been praying to find guidance, and then a week after that we knocked on his door. He had been thinking a lot about JOHN 10:16, and the people in America. So when we gave him the Book of Mormon he was way excited about reading it. We saw him on Saturday and taught him the Plan of Salvation. He was so excited to hear that things that he thought about were in line with God's word. Things like the fact that God wants to save everyone. It was an amazing lesson. When he said the prayer at the end he told God that he knew that what we were teaching him were true, and he just wanted to make sure. This guy already knows, and we have only taught him once! He has accepted a soft baptismal invitation, and we will get a firm date soon. God has definetly led us to him, because he is ready for this Gospel.

Another investigator, we have been teaching for a few weeks now, she is so close. I know she has felt the Spirit, but its up to her now to make that step and ask God. If she would do that she would recognize the fact that she knows this is right. I hope that she will ask, but I'm not sure if she will. It makes me sad to think that she is so close, and yet so far.

We have also been teaching a 19 year old. She has a three year old son, and has gone through hard times. She works a lot, but has been really open and receptive to our message thus far. I hope to see her progress in the near future.

Another is being baptized this Saturday, the 29th. We have taught him all of the lessons, and based on the Spirit we felt when we talked to him about his repentance, he really wants this, and has been willing to change. He has truly repented. I look forward to see him progress in this Gospel.

My companion and I are still getting along great. I love this guy. He is always finding something to laugh at, even when something kind of stinks. We invented a new game called cup ball. It is sort of a mix between lacross and ultimate frisbee, without all the hitting. We are going to play it today for P-day.

I really feel that I am growing myself everytime I teach someone, or truly study the scriptures. It helps to have a purpose in your study, so I would encourage you to always try to find something to learn from what you read, because it is there. Don't just read to read, really ponder the message the scriptures contain, and you will find that you enjoy them more and more.

Also I think that my prayers and improving immensly. I really am praying for specific things, and people, and it helps me to recognize the answers. When you ask specific questions, you get specific answers.

I got my new bike, its pretty sweet. I'll put up some pictures next time as I forgot my camera today. Also I'll put up a picture of our costumes for the ward party on friday. We were secret service agents. we have sunglasses and earphones and everything. it was sweet, we got a lot of compliments. Also I got my first letter this week. So that was awesome.

Thats about all for now. I'll write again next week. Keep me in your prayers and remember: Mosiah 2:17.

James letter 10-17-11

This week in the wonderful world of Oregon....

There were blue skies everyday but two, it was a pleasant and surprising change from what it was last week. This place really is beautiful when you have a blue sky to accompany the green.

I have big news. Last thursday we taught Austin. I don't remember if I told you about him or not, but he is a 14 year old we have been teaching. He has been a little flakey, but we taught a lesson on the commandments and the sabbath, and he has been to church the last two weeks. Thursday when we taught him we had a really great lesson about the gospel, and the things we need to do in in. For more references see article of faith 4. At the end of the lesson I invited him to be baptized and, wait for it, he said yes! It was so cool. That friday we took him to a baptisimal service so he could see what baptism was and we could answer questions. He is really excited about it. He keeps telling everyone that he is going to be baptized on the 29th. I told President Morby, and he said that is was amazing to see me get a baptism after two weeks, and that he knows some who have been almost a year without one. I know its not about the number, but its comforting to know that something we are doing is right.

I have been seriously studying the Book of Mormon. I have been writing down thoughts, and ways to apply the scriptures to myself, my companion, and my investigators. It has been incredible to see just how much there really is in the scriptures that you can apply to yourself. I would encourage you to do the same with your scripture study. There is always something we can get out of the scriptures, even if its just reasons to obey the Lord. Write down spiritual impressions. If you do you will get more and more, because the Lord knows you are listening.

Saturday we went on a blitz with the spanish elders. That is when you each take a different companion and tract an entire place. We did an entire appartment complex, and after knocking on at least ten doors that smelled of marijuana we got five potential investigators. So I would consider that a success. We also gave away three Book of Mormons that day.

I'm glad you are giving out my address. I havn't had any mail since I left. It's been kind of depressing. The work is good. The scriptures are awesome. And remember: Faith is believing that something will bless you even if you don't know how.

The commandments are given for a reason, they will always benifit us. Even if we can't see past the mark we can always be sure that the Lord will look after us. I love you guys. I love this work. And above all I love the Lord.

James letter 10-10-11

So this week in Oregon:

It rained......and rained.....and rained some more.

IT has rained almost everyday since I've been here. Tuesday we spent two hours tracting in the rain, and I got thoroughly soaked, especially because I didn't have fenders on the bike( which I had never seen until I got here, but I see why they are important.) Two hours in the rain and we only met one person that seemed interested, and we havn't been able to get ahold of him since, so who knows.

Wednesday we taught a less-active family who has an eight year old daughter. The oldest daughter was 16 and asked for a blessing at the end of the lesson. I was chosen to bless. I felt a little overwhelmed, but calm at the same time. We saw them at church on Sunday, and she said she was feeling much better. Friday is when I broke my bike. I'll start by prefacing the situation. The ground is always wet. Always. So we were riding our bikes to our weekly service and we were on a paved trail. Right as I was going over a bridge my bike decided it didn't like me and turned sideways and slid out from under me. It was quite exciting. The downside to this moment was it completely broke my pedal, which is essential for a bike to have. I'll buy the cheapest working bike I can find so you don't need to worry about that.

Saturday we walked everywhere, which wasn't too bad because the sun actually came out for the first, and last, time since I've been here. We walked to the Library so I could email you( I had permission to email you not on P-day). On our way we were talking to everyone we saw. Just before we got to the library there was this scraggily bearded man that sort of looked like a homeless person smoking a pipe. I didn't really want to talk with him, but we tried anyway. He walked away from us before we could say anything. When we came out of the library we saw him again and were able to start a conversation. He is an Irish-Catholic and is in the process of starting up a church in Portland. We talked to him for a while about God and how he talks to us. He said he prays all the time and has a really good relationship with Him. I asked him if he would be interested in learning more about our church and he said yes very excitedly. I pulled a Book of Mormon out of my backpack and gave it to him. He took it, and said that he would read it. We also asked him to pray about it before and after, and he said that he never reads a book without praying before, so thats a good sign. I hope we will be able to teach him. It just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover.

Yesterday was my first sunday in the ward, and so the bishop asked me to stand and introduce myself. It was no problem, because I had planned on doing that anyway. The members here are really nice, and they feed us almost every meal. I think I may be putting on weight. Which is kind of sad, but my companion wants me to help him get into shape, so we are going to start running every morning.

Elder Fannin is a really cool guy. I have been learning a lot from him. He only has four months left, and its a good possibility that I will kill him off. The mission president and his wife are great people. They are both so warm and caring. We stopped by the Portland temple to take pictures. It really is a beautiful temple. We are able to go through every three months, so it will be a while before I can actually go through. I hope you guys are doing great.

Did you give my address to the ward? Because I need to get a letter so that I have something with my address on it so I can get a library card. Right now I have to get a visitors pass everytime, and it take a while. Also I'd love to hear from somebody during the week. I find that now that I have a little more free time I have more time to think about home, and it's kind of sad when no one writes.

Love always,

Elder Schultz

James letter 10-3-11

So it's happened. I'm am now in Portland, Oregon. Well, actually I am in a place called Tigard, which is near Tualatin. It is so beautiful here. There is so much green everywhere. It was raining when we arrived and for about an hour or so afterward. It smells like pine sap and rain. I like it.

The two investigators at the MTC were real members playing the part, but if I told you that it wouldn't have been as cool. I am going to miss them though, even though they were just acting.

My trainer's name is Elder Fannin. He seems like a pretty cool guy, but then again I have only been here for five hours so I don't really know him that well. It is so weird being seperated from my MTC companions, roommates and friends. I hope I will see some of them again. There were seventeen on us on the plane to Portland. It was like an invading army.

President Morby is a really cool guy. He and his wife are both really nice. The best thing about him though is he looks like the Emperor in Star Wars. Tell dad to watch #3 and see. I can finally listen to music again too. What a relief, I was going insane. The music in the van on the way out of the airport was literally music to my ears.

P-day is monday here, so my writing will come then. Also we have an hour, so I will be able to write more. Thats all now. I'll write more about my experiences here when I actually have some. I love you. I know this Church is true, and that this is where I'm supposed to be.

I'm loving it out here. I'm so glad I came. I have been out three weeks on wednesday. What a miracle it is to have made it this far. And I have to say going to the airport, and escaping the compound was the best thing to happen so far. That and the consumption of real food. Next weeks email will be better, as I will actually have some experiences out here.

Conference was great. Elder Hollands talk in Priesthood session was one of my favorites. His and President Monsons in the same session. I took almost twelve pages of notes altogether. Sitting on the hard bleacher chairs in the MTC wasn't fun at all, but watching conference was. Sunday we had a devotional and Chad Lewis came and spoke. It was a really great way to end my experience at the MTC. I loved it there. It's kind of weird being in the real world again. My district family is all split up, but on the bright side I can once again listen to music. Thats all for now. Love you always.

-James.

James letter 9/27/11

Elder Jensen and I got two of our investigators to agree to be baptised, or rather the Spirit did. The first was a guy named Randy, he can't look you in the eye, but he is really easy to talk to and really receptive to the message. The second was a guy named Mike; I was so excited when he said yes because the first two lessons with him we weren't able to get anywhere, but the Spirit works in marvelous ways.

We had a lesson( I think it was thursday, but I'm not sure because the days are all running together) on followuing the Spirit. It was so powerful. We had to not think about solving their concern, but rather just listen to the promptings and let it go where it would when I was playing the part of the investigator I used Curtis as my identity. And the other elder said something that I'm sure would have been the exact right thing to say to him. It was such a testament to me that the Spirit really is there and that it does help us if we just take the time to listen.

Tuesday mornings we have gone to the Provo temple, it is a great was to start our P-day. Last tuesday for our devotional Elder Russel M Nelson came and spoke to us about the Book of Mormon. We all got a copy of the ensign, and there is so much good stuff in it. If you havn't gotten a chance to read it yet, make sure you do. Its all about the Book of Mormon, and its just great.

I got my debit card, and I'll wait for the pin. Hopefully it comes soon.

I leave for Oregon on the 3rd at 5am. We have 17 other missionaries headed to the same place so it should be a fun flight. Maybe we can teach the other passengers. I'll try to check my email someother time this week, but I can't promise anything. I'm not sure when P-day will be once I'm in the field so I can't say for sure when you'll hear from me next. Hope you guys are doing well. Love you lots.

Letter from James

So I've gotten letters from you and mom, but do to the time limit I will just write one to both of you until I have time to write an actual letter. First, thanks for the cookies, my companions and I loved them. The MTC is great. It is way easier than I thought it was going to be. There is a lot of class and studying, but its not too bad. My companion is elder Jensen, he's from Idaho. He ok. It's a big shock having to be with someone 24/7 but I'm adjusting. The other elders in my room are elders Taft, and Armstrong from Idaho and North Carolina. They are cool. We joke a lot and share stories, but we know when we need to focus. The food is alright. We had pie the first night, and I was exited until I ate it. It was not that great. It make me really miss mom's. I'm sorry to say that I havn't really missed you guys that much. It's not that I don't love you, its just we are so busy all the time that I don't have time to think about home. I hope you guys are doing good. Tell the neighbors and everybody that I am doing fine and enjoying the MTC.

We have already taught two investigators, and have an appointment with another tomorrow. The first lesson we taught didn't go so well, but the last two have been good. The first was with a guy named Victor, he was the one we bombed the lesson, but the second time we got him to pray and commit the read the Book of Mormon. The other investigator was a man named Randy, he has lazy eyes, and it kinda creeps me out, but our lesson with him went great. We commited him to pray and read as well.

We have a devotional tomorrow, and it's highly probably that one of the general authorities will be coming to speak to us. We'll see. I got a new tie as well. I'll send a picture when my memory card is full. In my district everyone is going to Oregon, Portland except for two, elders Covey and Turney, they are going to Adelaide Australia. The others in my district are: elders Hatch and Mortinson, Taft and Armstrong, Me and Jensen, and the three sisters Allred, Peart, and Young. Sister Young is from New Zealand, and she has an awesome accent, but its like shes from the past. They don't have DVR they just barely got the iPhone and HDTV. Its crazy. SAhe is an awesome person though. Its easy to make fun of her because she doesn't get that her countries sayings sound really funny here.

I was wondering the status of my debit card. Is it on its way? Also I need Julie's email address so I can talk to her too. For now just tell her I love her and will write when I can. I love you guys. P-day is on Tuesday so that may be the only time I get to write home. I'm still a little sick, but I think its getting better. Tell Tyson that I'm thinking about him and I hope he is well. You guys are all in my prayers.

We got to go to the temple this morning. It was such a great time to relax and feel the Spirit, which, by the way, is like a never-ending blanket on this place. It's really awesome. I hope I can learn all I can and continue to improve. I can't wait to get to Portland. I'll write you guys again next week. Maybe before, we'll see. Don't worry about me. I'm doing fine. The Lord is with me and I can do whatever it is that He calls me to. 1 Nephi 3:7.

-Love your son,

Elder Schultz.

Missionary Sadness

We dropped James off at the MTC today. It should have been the happiest moment ever, but the other boy from the ward who was leaving at the same time as James and who also had his farewell on Sunday with James came over with his Dad and told us he had decided not to go. It burst our bubble. The world was great and we were happy for both young men. We had spent the summer preparing James and now I am filled with sadness for the young man who did not go. We have said our prayers for him and I hope he will stay active in the church. I feel sadness for his parents too. We have spent the summer discussing and comparing plans and preparations. We attended the Temple with them, I taught him the temple preparation lesson, Oh, the pain I feel for a young man who is not even mine. Please pray for him that he will find the courage to serve the Lord.

Bad Teacher Myth

What is a bad teacher? It seems to be one I do not agree with. After 30 years as a teacher, I have found a few "bad teachers". They were teacher haters, student haters, alcoholics, or just having a rough time in life because of divorce, death or some other personal tragedy. In every case, they lasted less than 2 years and in most cases only one. They weed themselves out or are dismissed as soon as their problem affects students. So why are we stripping the teaching profession of its security? We want to discourage future teachers from entering the profession. This will ensure we get the worst possible candidates and keep them at the bottom of society where they will stop making noise and allow politicians to do whatever they want whenever they want with us and with our children.

For those of you who read this and are expecting a more spiritual message, its hard to post spiritual when I feel like a target stuck full of arrows.

Will it be there for your children?

I keep asking myself if public education will be there for my grandkids? As I see lawmakers move to privatize it and give us all tax breaks/voucher or whatever they want to call it, I want to know where will it stop? I see us moving to a system of haves and have nots. Even with all of its flaws, we have the best system of mass education the world has ever known. When we compare our kids in poverty with kids in poverty in every country around the world, we win. When we compare our privileged with the rest of the world, we win. Yet lawmakers want to destroy years of collaboration in guise of saving money or removing all of the bad teachers the 'union' forces them to keep. I can't help but draw a parallel to the Book of Mormon when people had because of their ability to gain an education.

3 Nephi 6:12

12 And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.

Are we headed to a generation of ranks?

First week finished.

First week of school finished. Average room temperature, 90. Need more fans. Need more water. Could use a new position, but I only have 5 years till I can retirement. Can I make it or will the District get so mean that I won't be able to tolerate their idiocy.

Sorry folks, this is not very uplifting. Thank goodness for the Temple. This is where I go to relieve the stress of the world. I would go tonight, but I have no energy left and Diane is just as exhausted as I am after her first week teaching 6th grade. I will suggest we go tomorrow.

Visiting Temlples

So, this summer we've been to all the Temples in Utah except two and we'll get to them in the next couple of weeks before James leaves on his mission. It never gets old. It doesn't matter what is going on around you, when you are done, you feel wonderful and relaxed. Like yesterday. I was given what to say to James before he leaves. It is so wonderful to have the Lord whisper to you what he wants you to tell others.

Summer fun

I feel like I have been on a roller-coaster ride. For anyone who doesn't know, James got his mission call to Oregon, Portland mission. His farewell is Sept 11 at 11:00 am.

My work decided they would disrespect us and sent a sign or you're fired letter to a contract that strips teachers of all basic protections.

We went on a vacation and visited 3 temples, Manti, Montecello, and Vernal. We also visited 4 corners, Hovenweelp, Mesa Verda, Strawberry, and Flaming Gorge.