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?