James letter 12-31-12

As for the numbers, this week was not as impressive as last week, but I feel that we accomplished a lot, and I don't feel bad about the lack of numbers. Monday and Tuesday were days spent in the company of a couple of the families in our ward. We were able to share in their Christmas traditions, and celebrate the birth of our Savior. Both families were great, and I am very thankful that they would open their homes to us as we are away from ours. Calling home on Tuesday was a special experience. I was so happy to be able to talk to you guys, especially Emily and Eric, who I haven't seen in a very long time.

 

Wednesday we were able to start teaching. We met with the Williams in the morning, and were able to talk to them about the scriptures, and the blessings that come from study and prayer. We were also able to meet with Josh. We met him a couple weeks ago while tracting, and he was interested in learning more. We went over the Restoration, and he asked a lot of questions. He asked about the Word of Wisdom, and we talked about that with him as well. He told us that he always had backaches, and once he stopped drinking coffee, the backaches went away. I thought it funny how he had seen the blessings of abstainance already. He said he started drinking coffee again, but would try to cut back. We also had a lesson with Dirk. We went over the Restoration again, and really focused on the prophets, and the priesthood. He told us that he hadn't prayed about the Book of Mormon yet, but that he would do so this week. He has kept all of his commitments so far, so I am sure that he will keep this one. He will be baptized soon.

Thursday we had all of our set lessons cancel. We did have a cool experience though. We were walking to see some potentials, and we met a man, who was using a flashlight to look for something on the ground. We asked if we could help. He first said no, but we helped anyway, he was looking for his glasses. Elder Lott asked him if he had prayed. He said no. I said a prayer quietly to myself, and immedietly after I found his glasses. He was very thankful, and we were able to walk with him for a while, and teach him about God. He doesn't have a faith in God, and thinks that because of the way the world is that God makes a lot of mistakes, and gets too much credit. It was a lesson on agency. Our chouces affect others, and God, no matter how bad our choices are, will not stop us from making the choice. It was a concept he did not understand, nor want to, but one that I appreciate.

Friday we found T Graham again. He is a homeless person that has come to Church before, and we've talked with a couple times. We found him, and talked with him again, and after telling him that we were speaking in the Branch on Sunday he agreed to come to Church. He did, and stayed for all three hours. We also met with G Smith that night. He has just been released from prison, and he found God in there, and was taking a bible study class from the missionaries there as well. He felt the most comfortable with us, and sees how it can help him change his life. I am looking forward to meeting with him, and I am sure that he will also be baptized. He is still on parole, and may have to wait, but it will happen. Unfortunatly he wasn't at Church.

Saturday we met with Ken and Angela. Ken is getting baptized on January 12 at 6pm. We went over the baptismal interview with him, and made sure that he didn't have any questions about what we have taught. He didn't. Our only concern with him is his reading and prayer. He will do both every week, but not every day. We talked about the importance of daily study and prayer. He wasn't at Church this week though. We also had dinner with Sam Roberts that night. He is a recent convert, and he is really intelligent. His understanding is amazing. We had a very good conversation with him about prayer. He is working on family history, and he already has over 50 names to take to the temple. He is going there for baptisms for the dead on January 18.

Sunday all of our lessons cancelled again. We were able to have a lot of nonmembers at Church though, besides people we are currently teaching there were two others that came with friends in the Branch, and one that came in the Ward. It was a really good day at Church as well. The 5th Sunday discussion was about same-gender attraction. We went over the Church's new website mormonsandgays.org. It was an interesting discussion. There was a member from the Branch who is openly gay, but an active member who spoke. He used to be fully practising, he had a partner, but the missonaries found him seven years ago, and he quite living that lifestyle. He still has those feelings, but he no longer acts on them. He has a temple reccomend now, and helps others to change as well.

 

Thats about all for this week. I have been a little less  motivated this week than I should be. I talked with Elder Lott about it last night, and he is going to help me work harder. He is such an example to me in his desire to work. I love serving with him. He is a great missonary. I am looking froward to see how transfers go next Monday, hopefully we will be with each other for one more.  

Love Elder Schultz

James letter 12-24-12

This last week was the busiest week of my mission. We taught 26 total lessons, and were able to do a lot of good. We were greatly blessed in our work this week.

Monday started out on a bit of a bad note. We had one of our lessons cancel on us, but we were able to reschedule for later on in the week. We were able to go downtown though, and teach Bianca, and Manoa. We taught them the Gospel, and she was able to explain repentance perfectly to us. We asked her about baptism, and she said that she had already been baptized, but as a child, and she felt that since baptism is a promise with God, one should be able to make the promise, and as a child you aren't aware of anything. She said she wasn't ready for it now, but that she has been thinking about it a lot. Manoa is out of town for the next two weeks, but we hope that we will be able to meet with her. She didn't come to Church on Sunday.

Tuesday we had a great District Meeting, we talked about baptism. In our role-play I used 3 Nephi 11 to show the need for the preisthood, and baptism by immersion. There is nothing so simple and straightforward as the Saviors own declaration that this is the way. After lunch we were able to teach Dirk. We taught the Gospel, and he really liked it. He had gotten on mormon.org, and loved it, he asked lots of questions. He was willing to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson we asked if we could bring someone else, and he agreed to that as well. We have an appointment set up for Wednesday evening. We did some tracting, and then rushed over to the Visitor's Center to meet a referral from the sisters there. His name is B J. He has been taught all of the lessons, and been going to the VC for since last year. They tried referring him before, but something happened and they lost contact. He is really sensative to the Spirit, and he wants it more in his life. He wants to be baptized. We got his information, shared a quick lesson with the sisters, and then had to leave for another appointment. He called in the middle of the lesson, and left a message asking to meet. We called back with no answer, we tried to meet him, but he didn't show up. We haven't been able to get ahold of him since. We finished the evening teaching David and Melissa how to liken scriptures to themselves.

Wednesday we tried to have an appointment with Brandon. We did some tracting, were able to set up a couple return appointments, and then we taught the Myers family. It was a great lesson, we taught them the Plan of Salvation, and we had really good participation in the lesson. They are still commited to baptism on the 12th of January, but they didn't come to Church again this week, so we are going to have to push that back. I'm not sure why they didn't come, they had transportaion and everything. That night we were able to have another lesson with Ted. He is still struggling on who/what God is. He read the entire book of Alma, but he still hasn't been praying. It will be slow moving with him, unless he starts to pray. We also met with Clancy that night, and were able to talk about repentance. He has a very good understanding, and he knows he needs to. He knows it feels good, and he is going to start now.

Thursday we met with E M, and her children, we talked about the true meaning of Christmas, and about prayer. Something cool that was said was: If you look at the word Christmas, and then you seperate it into Christ, and mas. You have the spanish word for more, and Christ. If you were to conjugate the sentence The meaning of Christmas would be, More Christ. I liked that. We also met with the L that night, and taught them the Gospel as well. The son has been reading, and they have all been praying. They came to Church again this week.

Friday we spent most of our time downtown trying to find people that President N asked us to stop by. We were able to meet with one of them, she was an active member, but she is alone, and needed the company for a little bit. We met with Bishop S that night, and were able to talk with him about the work in the ward. He was impressed on how busy we had been, and on how clean our apartment was. The note that was left by the A said that it was the cleanest they have seen that apartment in the year and a half they have been apartment inspectors. We also met with Howard that night, and he opened up a lot. He talked with us about some of his life experiences, and hobbies that he has. It was probably the best lesson I've had with him. He came to Church this week as well.

Saturday I was on exchange in the Summerlake ward. It was neat to be back in Tigard. We had a slow day, with mostly tracting. Elder Lott and Elder Palmer though taught a lot. They met with Jeff and Sarah, Ken McMichael, Ronnie, and they taught a few people on the street in downtown. I really enjoyed the exchange, it was fun to spend time with Elder Ackerman, and see how I could improve.

Sunday we got another referral at Church in Market Street. He was being taught by the Columbia zone leaders, and moved into our area. He also wants to be baptized. We have a lesson with him this Friday at 7. He is on parole as well, and he was just released from prison for theft, so he may not be able to be baptized for a while, but he is fine with waiting as long as it takes. We met with David and Melissa again, and gave David a blessing. We read with them Alma 24, and talked about burying our weapons of war. We also met with Nathan Vega in Market. He is a less active member, and he has a friend Chris, that is semi mentally handicapped, but Nathan has been reading to them. We are going to meet with them Saturday at the Church building. We also saw Jeff and Sarah again. Jeff is trying to quit smoking marijuana, and is going through withdrawls. He said he can't quit if she doesn't. We focused our lesson more on her, and we talked with her about burying her weapons of war as well. We talked about doing it now, not waiting for our enemies to come, but do it before you risk sinning again. She started to cry, and felt that she couldn't do it. We shared Ether 12:27, and talked about how God gave her this weakness so she could turn to Him, and be made strong. We told her how much we loved her, and we gave both of them blessings. Him to overcome the sick feelings, and to be able to quit, and her for comfort, and strength to quit. I promised her that if she would pray everyday, that God could take away her desire to smoke. It was a powerful lesson. I found out last week that she liked Swedish fish, so I took the bag of them as a present for her, and gave it to her, she loved it, and I was glad that it could help cheer her up. Thanks for sending those, they helped a lot.

 

Its been fun opening a present every morning. I had the strongest desire to open them all at once, and then not tell you that I did that, but I have held out strong, and done one a day. I have really enjoyed the music and the lights, the ties were great, and the food appreciated. Thanks for everything you guys do. I'll talk to you tomorrow. You better have questions for me, because I'm not a talker. I would like to sype, but that is against mission rules, sorry dad.

I am excited for Christmas, and the chance to spend with members celebrating the birth of Christ. This is a special holiday, and I'm glad to spend it as a servant to Him. Christmas to me is a message of hope.

Love Elder Schultz

James letter 12-17-12

This week was great. Its weird to think that it is already week 4 of this transfer. Time is going by so fast, it seems like we hardly have time to do anything sometimes because we are so busy. Monday put us off to a great start. We ended our P-day a little early so we could meet with a part member family in the Raleigh Hills ward. The lesson went great. They have three young daughters, two of them qualify for baptism, one as a convert, and one as a child of record. The boyfriend is also not a member. We taught about the restoration, and did it simply so that the children could understand. We repeated the pattern of prophets and apostasy several times to help them understand that God works by patterns, and then when the time came for the restoration we asked them what the next step in the pattern was, and they told us what would happen next. When we talked about the Book of Mormon the boyfriend bore his testimony on how it can help you in your life, and he isn't even a member yet. We were able to set a baptismal date with them for January 12. They didn't make it to Church yesterday though, which was disappointing. We are meeting with them again today. 
Tuesday we were able to meet with the new senior couple, and pass on to them a few of the people that we have a hard time working with. They were able to get appoinments set with a couple of them. It is great to have someone that can help us teach some of the single sisters that we couldn't see by ourselves. The branch has welcomed them right away, and they are making a nice addition to the small branch family. Also that night we were able to teach the L family. They are starting to come back to Church, and it was a great time to be able to get to know them and share with them a message about prayer and scripture study. They were really fun, and we are going to start meeting with them as well. 
Wednesday we were able to see D. He is progressing well. At first he wouldn't read more than a couple pages from the pamphlet, but during the lessons he asked a ton of good questions. As we met with him he told us that he had gone on mormon.org, and it had been able to answer more of his questions. He really liked the website, and when we left we were able to leave him with a Book of Mormon, and a chapter to read. It was a big step for him, and I am excited to see what happens next.  That night we were also able to meet with a disillusioned member. He is disabled, and feels discriminated against. He wants to come back to Church, but not it Raleigh Hills, he is not a fan of the bishop. He told us that he got permission to go to West Hills ward, but that the bishop won't call him back, or give him home teachers. He hasn't been able to get any answers about this from anyone, so he asked us to help. I'm not sure what to do. If he is on the records then he should be visited, and then assigned home teachers, which he says hasn't happened. We were also able to see Ted on Wednesday. We asked him if he believed in God. He isn't sure. He has had a lot of experiences with psychodellic drugs, and "seeing spirits", and doesn't know what real with those experiences anymore. We talked to him about faith, prayer, and scriptures. He hasn't been reading, but we were able to show him how that is the only way to get a testimony of the Book of Mormon is to read it. We went over Moroni's promise, and Alma 32, talking about planting the word in our heart, and Reading, pondering, and then prayer. he understood that he has to do his part to find out. We also met with C. We read through a section in the D&C where he was in his personal reading, and helped to apply it to his life. He is so close, but isn't taking the final step necassary. 
Thursday we had a great day of tracting. In two hours we were able to teach three lessons, and we have one appointment set for this week, and one solid potential to follow up with. The first one was a woman named T. She had a rabbit, and the first little bit we just talked with her about her rabbit, and then were able to share our message. She hasn't had great experiences with churches before, but said that she always starts thinking about it more this time of year. The second was a man named Josh. He has a lot of Mormon friends, and has studied other religions, but doesn't know much about ours. He was open to learning, and accepted a Book of Mormon. We have an appoinment set for this Wednesday. That night we were able to meet with J, we are trying to get him to understand the importance of finding out for himself. He has come a long way, but is not moving very fast. I do believe that he will be baptized though, even if it is a little later on. 
Friday we had a lesson with R. He fed us lunch, and we talked with him about the Word of Wisdom. He has had struggles with that, but he is making good steps. He has come to Church the last two weeks, and he came to the branch FHE, and Christmas Party, as well as the stake choir concert.  We were also able to meet with D and M. She has been sick, and we gave her a blessing. We were able to find out that D isn't sure about what we are teaching, and that we need a bigger focus on prayer for him. She hasn't been doing much to motivate or help him, and we need to help her as well, but she is harder to understand. Wish us luck in resolving her concerns.
Saturday was a very special day. I was able to go back and see S G get baptized into the Rock Creek ward. It was so neat to be able to see them again, and to be there for her as she finally made that step. She is so much happier now, and her husband is too. Both of them have a different aura about them. They were so happy that I was able to make it. I have grown so close to them, and I look forward to coming back in a year to go through the temple with them. We saw K that day, he is doing great, and is excited about his parole ending, because that means he can get baptized. We saw M and B too, the first time that we have met with them since I have been there. B is solid. As we were talking with them she mentioned how she didn't think any of this was good or true at first, and she said " now I believe it, I believe Joseph Smith, and I believe the Book of Mormon." I pointed out the her that from what she just said she had a testimony. She said she didn't, but now we know where she is, and we can help her discover what she knows. We also met with J and S. J is really coming a long way. He is praying regularly, and he has started to read on his own. We are still working on getting both of them to CHurch, but their foundation is slowly being built.
Sunday was great. It was a little slower, and gave us a chance to breath. We were able to go to the stake choir concert, and support our ward and the branch. We sat with S and his parents, who are not members, and R was able to make it as well. As I was leaving I saw the bishops daughter from the Fanno Creek ward, and was able to say hi. She was excited to see me, and said they missed me a lot. I have a lot of great memories from their. It was a great place to be during Christmas last year. After the concert we met with a less active family in Raleigh Hills. They "aren't doing the LDS thing anymore". We got to kow them, and without being forceful taught them about prayer, and invited them to do so as a family. The wife and kids were much more receptive than the husband. 
THis week looks to be just as good. I am so thankful for the blessings that we have had in the work here. We have plenty of people to teach, and we are both getting along great. Elder Lott is such a sincere individual, he loves the people,and the work, and I am sure that as soon as he realizes that he doesn't have to worry about how elequent or smart he is to teach that he will do great things. He has taught me a lot about being humble. 
Love Elder Schultz 

James letter 12-10-12

This was a busy week. We hardly had any time to catch our breath. We had the car this week, and we were able to put it to good use. Monday we started out with two other lessons. We taught AD, the guy that lent me his phone when Elder Lott was lost. He wasn't interested in immediate visits, and lessons, but I have a feeling that we will see him again. Just before we met with him, he got the job that he had been looking for. He said it was because he talked to me, I believe that. He helped a servant of the Lord, and the Lord helped him. Right after talking with AD we were able to teach an elderly gentleman who wondered what we were doing. He was going to see the Book of Mormon play, and wondered if thats what we did. We taught him some basics, and invited him to come and see. He declined, but accepted a pass along card.

Tuesday we were able to teach two less active members, one in each ward. Ronnie, in Market Street was very honest with us about his trials, we went over the plan of salvation. We also met with him on Thursday, and talked about prayer. We asked him what he wanted us to teach him, and he told us that for the next lesson he wanted to go over the Word of Wisdom. He came to church on Sunday, and signed up to feed us lunch on Friday. That night we were also able to meet with Howard. He is complacent with his life, and how things are going, and I'm not sure what to do to help him. There are several scriptures on avoiding idleness, but I'm not sure if that approach would be benificial for him. We will continue to pray about it. That night we were also able to talk with a man who had just experienced a death in the family. We told him he would see his grandmother again, and were able to bear our testimonies of family, and God's plan. He was a firm Catholic, but he respected us, and recognized that we were doing good, and about God's work.

Wednesday was very busy. We had lessons with an old, almost deaf man, who is the father of a member in the world, and also we taught her husband, and his friend. We taught an agnostic man, also a partmember family, who loves and respects the Church, but doesn't believe in God, because he believes in science. In my mind science is how God works, and proves that He's there more that that He's not. He was nice, but not interested. We had a lesson with David. He is doing well. He wants to be baptized, but can't until he and his girlfriend are married, or one of them moves out. Due to finances the latter can't happen. They are planning a wedding in June, so their family can attend, and he wants to get baptized right after. It is sad to see them wait that long, but I think that maybe thats how it needs to happen. We will continue teaching them, and increase their testimonies, and they will be ready when it happens. We also met with Clancy, and lessactive member. We talked with him about his time in the Army, and about prayer. He said that he knows prayers work, and that while he was in Iraq he, and others who weren't religous could feel something watching over them. He teared up in the lesson. He is very close to coming back.

Thusday we met with Dirk. We tracted into him last week, and were able to set up an appointment. We taught the plan of salvation. He asked lots of questions, and wehn we invited him to pray at the end of the lesson, he did. That night we tried to have a lesson in downtown with a referral that we had gotten. The lesson had been set up by the member, but it didn't go through.

Friday went by fast. We didn't get out of zone conference until 5:00, and then were late to dinner, because we had to drop off another companionship at their house. That evening we were able to meet with a less active family. They moved in in June, and havn't come, they were really neat, and their kids love us. We taught them about faith. The kids were excited to come to church, but we didn't see them on Sunday.

Saturday we were able to contact a referral we had received Friday. He said that he didn't want us over, and he just wanted a bible. We didn't have one with us, and he told us not to worry about it, he thought we would mail it. After that we were able to meet with a less active member, Savannah. She told us that sometimes she just gets sick of church. She knows she feels better, and her week goes better when she goes, but she doesn't want to go. We were also able to meet with Ken. He has a date for January 12, and he is ready and excited for that day. He said he "knows the Book of Mormon is true as much as he knows the Bible is true." We were also able to meet with Jeff and Sarah. They are a partmember couple, and they have been praying together everyday, and said that they noticed a big difference. She prayed about finding a job, and then she got one, and they said it has brought them closer together. They were able to make it to Church Sunday, a though they came a little late. Also as we were walking to an appointment we saw a parade os Santas. There were probably 100 of them, and they were all going into either Marys Club, or another of the various bars on Broadway St. Marys Club is an adult dancer club, and Elder Lott and I thought it not a good idea for Santa to set such a bad example for kids. A lot of the Santas had megaphones, and were yelling at each other. One of them riding a bicycle almost ran us over. It was ridiculous. Also that day we saw a VW van decorated with bronze monkeys on the top. It was blaring music, and the driver had a monkey puppet on his hand, and was singing along with the music. It was wierd.

Sunday we were able to meet with our newly called branch mission leader, and talk about the work. We were also able to meet with a lessactive member named Nathan. Nathan sees and talks to spirits, and doesn't like coming to Church, because there are always so many of them. The place they live in isn't a very good place, and it wasn't very conducive to the Spirit. We are going to try and teach them at the Church building.

 

I have been thinking this week about the gift of Christ to each of us, and what we could give back to Christ that he doesn't already have, and the one thing that I came up with is yourself. You are the only thing that Christ doesn't have, and can't get. You have been given the ability to choose, and because that won't be taken away he can't make you follow Him, or obey His commandments. You have to give your will to Him. You have to come to Him. You have to follow Him. He can't make you do it, you have to do it yourself. So this year let us give the only gift we can to Christ. Let us give ourselves. Let us turn our will over to His, and become a servant and a disciple. As we do so we will find the true meaning of Christmas, and we will truly follow Christs example by saying "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

 

Love

Elder Schultz

James letter 12-4-12

Well we sure did hit the ground running this week. Lots of things were able to happen, and we had a very successful week.

Monday started us off on a good note. We were able to have dinner with the Raleigh Hills bishop, and to meet with a part member family in the branch named Jeff and Sarah. Sarah is the member. We were able to talk with him about prayer. He related to us an experience that he had where he had lost something, and searched everywhere for it with no success, and then he prayed. After he prayed he was able to find it it the first place he looked. We were able to show him that by that experience that he knows prayer is real, and that it works. This was a big step for him.

Tuesday we had our first district meeting. We talked about the importance of sacrament meeting. Elder Rowley said it well. "If someone made you a Thanksgiving feast would you deny it? No. You would partake gladly. Heavenly Father prepares a spiritual Thanksgiving feast every Sunday at Church. By not going to Church you are rejecting his personally made spiritual feast." That night we were able to have dinner with another member of the bishopric and we talked with them about changes of heart that led us to where were are today, and how, through the Spirit change is possible for everyone. I shared with them my personal conversion story, and bore my testimony that God is real, and He loves us. Later that night we were able to meet with a less active member, we also discussed prayer with him. We read through Enos 1. He "knows" all of the answers, but they haven't gotten into his heart. We were also met with the managers of our apartment complex, who are also members. They urged us to clean our apartment. It was pretty bad when I got here, but it looks much better now. We spent our Pday this week cleaning.

Wednesday we spent the morning tracting. We were able to get into someones home, and to share with them a little about the Book of MOrmon, and the restoration. We left him with a pamphlet, and we have his phone number, and are going to give him a call this week. That evening we met with an investigator in RH named Ted. We taught him aboout the Plan of Salvation. He liked it a lot. He was able to make it to church on Sunday, and he enjoyed that as well. After our lesson with Ted we met with another less active member named Clancy. He knows he needs to come back, but he is struggling to overcome his now habits. We were able to teach him what we had learned from a talk by Neal A Maxwell. The talk was entitled Lessons from Laman and Lemuel. It talked about how the problem with them was that they didn't understand the dealing of the Lord. We talked about the importance of reading, studying the scriptures to help us understand.

Thursday we had a lesson with a interesting man named Stephen. He is a classic Oregon hippie. He doesn't like the government, authority, or violence. It was hard to teach him about the priesthood, because of that. The lesson went ok, but it could have gone better. He called us later that week, and told us he was going to be busy, and we didn't need to stop by anymore. That night we met with a recent convert/part member family. We are teaching the husband now, and hoping to unite that family in the Gospel. We went over the Gospel of JEsus Christ, and the member we had with us in the lesson extended a soft baptismal commitment, which was accepted. From what I've heard he has come a long way, and I hope that we will be able to help him through the rest of the way.

Friday we spent most of the way in downtown. WE didn't have the car this week, so we biked. It was beautiful weather all day. We were able to teach a lesson on the street to a woman named mary. She was very nice, and we are going to try and set up an appoinment this week to meet with her. We were also able to meet with two less active members from the branch. The first member is planning to invite two of her friends to meet with us. It is neat to see her doing missionary work. For the second lesson we were able to have a recent convert join us as an active member. HE was baptized a month ago, and I was amazed at his understanding. He has already read the Book of Mormon, and is to section 60 in D&C. He remembers what he has read and learned, and is able to explain them simply.  He recieved the aaronic priesthood on Sunday. That night we met with brother Keine, our WML.

Saturday was an interesting day. We startted the day with service with the ward. We were helping to remove leaves from some of the older sisters in the ward. There were a lot of people that came. I was amazed at the amount of people the came. After that we had a lesson with a less active family, we taught them the Gospel, and were able to help them see how different pieces of it have helped them in their lives. We also took a part member family to the visitors center. THe nonmember has a baptismal date for January 12, and he was very excited about it. He and his wife both lived the visitors center, and the sisters did a great job of showing him the importance of baptism, and the temple.  That evening things got a little interesting. We were going out making some visits, and we took a turn down a dead end. Elder Lott stopped to put on his gloves, and I rode down to the end and turned around. He turned as well and we left. I rode down to the next street,and then realized that he was not behind me. I imediatly stopped, and waited. He didn't come. I was worried that something had happened to him, but I didn't want to leave in case he had just rode past, and was coming back. I decided that since he had the phone, I would use someone elses, and call him. I was outside of the Safeway in our area for about 30 minutes trying to get someone to let me use their phone. Finally someone did. After I found out where he was, and told him I would meet him there I thanked the man. I told him to have a good Christmas, and he didn't think he would because he was broke. I told him things would work out for him, and I knew they would because he had helped me, and I had full confidence that God would now help him. He told me he needed a job, and I told him about the employment center. As I left he told me that he would call. He did on Sunday and we set up an appointment for Monday afternoon. We met with him then, and he had gotten a job. He knew that it was because he talked to me. We taught him about our church, and invited him to attend sacrament on sunday. He told us that he would call again. It turns our that the reason we got separated in the first place was as I turned right Elder Lott saw another biker going the opposite direction, and he thought is was me. He was surprised at how fast I got over there, and he hurried to catch up with me. He was surprised also when he was having a hard time keeping up, and the biker wasn't looking back. He stopped and eventually called the district leader, the zone leaders, the assistants, and then you. No one answered of course. He finally decided to go home, and stay with members in the complex, and that was were he was when I got back with him. It was an interesting way to find someone to teach, and I hope it never happens again.

Sunday was great. I enjoyed my time in the nenw wards. The members are very friendly, and welcoming. Ted, and David came to church in RH, as well as Jocylyn in the branch.

I am finding that this is going to be a tough companionship, not because we don't get along, because we get along great, but because he is so fresh out, and sometimes it seems like he doesn't know anything. Its hard to teach someone how to be a missionary, especially when you aren't entirely sure "how" you do it. I know what I do, but teaching that to someone else is difficult. I am looking forward to this as a growing experience.

Love

Edler Schultz

James letter 11-28-12

I got transferred! I didn't move very far, but this new area should be full of interesting stories, Hopefully soon I'll have some to tell. My new area is in the Raleigh Hills ward/Market Street branch. My area covers downtoen Portland, and it is a very strange place. So, sorry that this letter took so long to get to you. We went to do our emails yesterday, but the libraries computers were down, so we were unable to do so. Before I give you an accouting of my last weeks work in Rock Creek/Springville let me just tell you how excited I am to be serving here in downtown. I am going to have some really neat experiences, but I can also tell that some trials are coming as well.

Monday we were able to do some service with a less-active member in Springville. We helped her get out her Christmas decorations. She fed us lunch, and we were able to talk with her about her family, and her past experiences. That night we stopped by B and C. B's sister, who is a Wicken, and has always been a little hostile told us that she read a chapter  in the Book of Mormon that Elder D left her a year ago, and now she wants to be baptized, and have her daughter blessed. We thought she was joking, but it turns our that she's serious. C started reading on his own too, and had already made it to 1 Nephi 8. The rest of the family had started reading the Book of Mormon together, and B has a goal of finishing it by the end of the year. I'm not sure what cause the dramatic change in their family, but it was really neat. to see. It was definitly a miracle.

Tuesday morning we were finally able to meet with J S again, and we taught her the plan of salvation. She agreed with everything that was taught, and especially liked the part about the resurrection. She had her toe amputated recently, and liked the idea of having it back. Due to medical complications thought she is confined to her house until further notice. She is also not allowed to get into water. She told us that she is healing quickly though, and she hopes to be able to come to church and be baptized soon. 

Later that night we met with S and B. She is going to be baptized as soon as she finishes the Book of Mormon. Yes, we told her to read a little faster. She is already ready for it, but finishing the book is a deal that she made with her less-active husband. After the lesson we said goodbye and took pictures because I had a feeling that I would be transferred, and wanted to say goodbye before they left for California to spend Christmas with her family. Oh, and she told us that she would be going to church while whe was out of town, and would also be taking her nonmember sister and her two daughters. She is already starting on her own missionary work.

Wednesday we had another lesson with B and C. A, the sister wasn't there, but we watched the restoration dvd with them. And we talked with C about a baptismal date, and commited him to pray about one. We talked with him on Sunday after church, and set a date for December 22.

Thursday we had a great Thanksgiving. We were able to play in both of our ward's Turkey Bowls, and we had investigators, and less-actives come to both. We spent the day with members sharing in their feasts, and feeling the spirit of thanksgiving.

 Saturday we were tracting when we got the call that Elder C would be training. We had just taught a great lesson on the doorstep when the call came. She had gone to a catholic high school, but doesn't really have any particular belief about God. The father of her child was a mormon, and she thought that it made sense that God would send an aditional witness to go along with the Bible, and that you could pray and find out more for yourself. We set up with her to come back this coming Saturday. That night we also saw the E(B and C), to say goodbye to them.

Sunday was a great time. We were able to teach our priests quorum about the importance of the Book of Mormon in missionary work, and practiced with them what they might say when giving a copy of the book to a friend. After church we spent the evening visiting with the members and saying goodbye to them. They were sad to hear about my parting, but were excited for my future experiences, and told me to visit them again. These wards have been so great. I will treasure the memories of my time here.

My time with Elder C has been great, and I am excited for him to train a new missionary. He will do such a great job. He helped me a lot to become a better missionary, to be obedient, and to be open with others. Even though we didn't see any baptisms together, I feel that my time with him has been the most successful on my mission. We worked hard and were obedient each day. I am finally able to see what a difference that is. I am glad to say that I have continued the habits I gained with him, and am still rising in the morning for excercise at 6:15.

Elder L and I have started off at a pretty good pace. I am learning the area, and should be able to navigate around soon. We taught our first lesson together Monday night to someone in the Market Street branch. We talked about prayer, and by the end we were able to help him realize that through his experiences he had gained a testimony of prayer for himself. It was a great time, and interesting to be in downtown after dark. Elder L is a little nervous about being without Elder La, and about driving(he did go the wrong way down a one way street(Portland is full of those), so I guess he has good reason to be nervouse), but I can see the love he has for the people, and he too will be able to grow a lot. He seems so unconfident, and unsure about his knowledge. I hope that I can help him to realize how good of a missionary he can be.

Love Elder Schultz

 

I did get the package from mom. And if you send anything else make sure that it is to the mission office, because I don't know the address to my new place. The mission office address is:

 

1400 NW Compton DR STE 250

Beaverton, OR 97006

James letter 11-19-12

This last week was an interesting one. I am happy to report that I haven't had any more flats since last Tuesday. The week was cold, the weekend was wet, and today is windy.

Last Tuesday as we walked up to our a members house for dinner, we found him outside talking to his neighbor in the next apartment over. He was able to introduce us to her, and as we went inside for dinner we said we would see her later, to which she replied, "you definetly will." I take that as a good sign. Our member told us that she has been wanting her son to have God in his life, and he has been able to share mormon.org with her. We left him a commitment to follow up on his invitation, and also to leave her another: to meet with us in his home. he accepted.

Wednesday's District Meeting served to strengthen my testimony that God answers prayers. Recently I have been struggling with my prayers, and feeling that they aren't doing much good. I have been trying to search for a way to improve them, and for the training and practice Elder I trained on Prayer. He gave us a talk by Elder Joseph B Worthlin entitled "Improving your Prayers". It was a great talk, that discussed the attitude you have before, during, and after prayer. What you should pray for, how you should pray, it also outlined a few steps to take while praying. It was a great thing to see that an inspired leader could receive the revelation needed to help me, and be an answer to my prayers.

After our District Meeting we were able to meet with a less-active member. This was the first time we have met with him, so the first part of the visit was getting to know him as an individual, so that we could know how to help him. He has a unique situation, that is almost entirely foreign to me. He is homosexual. He doesn't act on his attractions, but that is who he is. He told us how much he wants a family, but that he doesn't feel that he could ever have one, because he wouldn't be 100% commited, or attracted to any wife he could have. He is without hope, and feels that God doesn't love him. We were able to invite him to pray, which he did, but he still feels the same. He did invite us back though, and we also met with him on Saturday night.

That day we were also able to go over a Stop Smoking lesson with T D. The way the program works is it helps to change your habits so that it turns off the desire to smoke. It also helps clear the nicotine out of your system in about a week, so that by following all of the steps exactly for seven days you will be done smoking. The lesson went really well, and we were excited to see it work. We stopped by her on Thursday and she had not started the program, we revieved it with her, and helped her to start part of it. Saturday we got a call from her saying that she couldn't do it, and she couldn't be baptized. We met with her that day as well, and helped to build her confidence back up. She has tried and failed at so many things in her life that she is afraid to do it agian. She doesn't want to blow her only chance. We told her that we would continue to help her, and that the thing that she could do to progress the most is to read the Book of Mormon and pray. We are going to start back at the beginning with her, and take it slow.

Also on Wednesday night we met with another new less-active member. She has started coming back to church on her own, and welcomed us into her home gladly. We shared our first message on the Atonement. She was willing to have us return for another visit, and we will hopefully be able to do that this week.

Thursday started off with some service for a single sister in the ward. She has back problems, and is unable to to manual work. We helped her to prune the plants in her backyard. She delivered us a plate of cookies Saturday night in thanks. We also had a lesson with G that day. We talked with him about the Gospel, and what it means to him. We are still working on getting him back to the temple. We also found out that he has not yet recieved a patriarchal blessing, and we told the bishop Sunday, and will be working on getting him one of those as well. That evening we went home for dinner, I was not hungry, so I took a nap, and I woke up at 8:30 sick. It was an unpleasant evening, and the next morning wasn't much better. I said a prayer, asking to bless me with health enough to work hard that day. As we were going out, Elder C asked me if I was sure. I told him that if I was to pray that I would be well enough to work, and then not try and work that it would show a lack of faith. We went out, and I was fine that day, and the rest of the week.

Friday we were able to meet again with J. Again his wife was unable to join us, but we shared with him the Gospel, and after the lesson he fed us lunch; homemade chicken noodle-Phillipines style. it was great, and helped with my health.

Saturday we met with B and C. We taught the 10 commandments. All of the family participated, we were also able to introduce one of our ward missionaries who shares a similar interest in a card game called Magic. He is going to play with them during the week, to help them have more contact with the church. He was also able to go by Sunday morning and remind them of church. They were able to make it because of that. He is going to do the same every week. Its easy for him because her lives in the next building over in their complex.

Sunday was a great and busy day. We didn't have to bike all day. We started the day at 8 going to meetings before church, we sat through our two wards, then got a ride to lunch with a member family. After lunch we had our sacrament meeting at the retirement center, after which we went to an Interfaith dinner to help usher. We finished the night at coordination for Springville.

Springville ward had their Primary program this week, the theme was choosing the right. Here is one especially funny thought. "I want to be a good football player so I can CHOOSE to throw the ball instead of running it so we can win!" I love hearing the special insights of the litttle ones. They are so pure and innocent, and full of love. It is always a joy to watch.  The Interfaith dinner was a neat experience as well. There were about 20 different faiths each gather together to share how they give thanks and worship God. It was great to see all of the different perspectives on religion. Several member families from my last ward were there, and I was able to say hi.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this week, and well as to finding out what is going to happen at the upsoming transfer. It seems like just yesterday the transfer started. Time has gone by so fast. Hopefully I have a little more time in this area, but if not I have definetliy enjoyed my stay, and am looking forward to what the future holds. My time with Elder C has been great. He is a terrific missionary, and will do great things on his mission.

Love,

Elder Schultz

James letter 11-13-12

I'm not even sure where to start on this past week. We had another successful week, but to be quite honest I didn't have a very good time for a lot of it. This week I had four flat tires, all of which put me in a bit of a bad mood. I think that is one of my weaknesses, I am easily frustrated, and when in such a state I easily forget what I should be doing, and the Spirit leaves.

Anyways, on Monday we were able to go to a part-member family with members from the same apartment complex. Although the lesson didn't go through the members were able to establish a friendship. They invited them over for a dinner, and to go hunting with them. It was neat to see our member reaching out to help us in our work. We had dinner with another part-member family that night, the dinner was good, but we weren't able to have a lesson afterwards.

Tuesday we had our Zone Meeting. We talked about using members. I have come to realize that we don't fully utalize members like we should. We should have more experiences like we had on Monday, where our members become friends with our investigators. Instead we just use them to get into a home when we need another male. Too often that is the attitude we take. Also we should take a few minutes before to tell them why we wanted them specifically to be there, what we are teaching, and what we want them to do. As we  work more with members they will start to truly care about the investigators like we do, and they will want to see them progress as we do. They will also become more excited about doing their own missionary work, so they can be involved in the work even more. Members are a resource that are overlooked, or underutalized. We are going to focus on improving there. That night we were also able to see TD. We read through Alma 36, and had a wonderful talk about repentance. We also shared with her the importance of scripture study everyday, and frequent prayer. She again made mention of her desire to be baptized, but she is still not ready to do so. We are still working on getting her to quite smoking. Pray for us, and her.

Wednesday started with some tracting, and a lesson with a less-active member. He has a non-member wife, but we have been unable to teach her as yet. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and what it means to have an eternal family. The spirit was there, and he was able to come to church Sunday with his son. We did some more tracting after lunch, followed by another visit with a less-active member. We talked with her about repentance also, I fell it was a message I needed to hear a little too. That night on our way to the EQ presidency meeting I got my first flat. I ran about a half mile from the road on the trail to Brother H house, so we could make it on time, we were late, but they hadn't started, so we were sort of on time. We got a ride home afterwards, and I fixed my tire.

Thursday we were able to do some service for the Relief Society, in helping them set up for their Gratitude Dinner. We had a lesson with B and C. We taught them about the Word of Wisdom, Chris has shown a lot of improvement recently. We saw him on Sunday, and he told us that it had been two days since he had smoked. That night, as were heading home after a visit with members we get to our bikes to discover that I have another flat tire. We got a ride home again, and I fixed another hole.

Friday we were able to help a non-member move. He was living in the Rock Creek Retirement Center, and we met him after one of our lessons there a couple weeks ago. He didn't pack, so the move went slow, but we got it done, and he is now in his new home. That night we stopped by some of the "unknown" members in the Springville ward, and we were able to see several of them. We have an appointment with one of them on Wednesday.

Saturday we had another move, this one with a less-active member, they moved to the next ward over to Orenco, the missionaries there helped move them in. We were able to meet with a part-member family that afternoon, and we talked with them about the Atonement. That is something that brings the Spirit no matter what. We were also able to contact a referral we had recieved from mormon.org earlier that week. We gave him the Bible he wanted, as well as a Book of Mormon, we taught him about prophets, and what the Book of Mormon is. He didn't seem super interested, but he said he would call us if he had any questions. We tracted around his apartment before we left.

Sunday was a great day. As I partook of the Sacrament I really felt renewed, and forgiven. It was a beautiful feeling. That night we were able to meet with a couple active member families, and set up an appoinment with J S, her health has been poor, but she is feeling better, and wants to have us back. We finished the night with our coordination meeting.

Monday, the library was closed, so we couldn't email. We got together as a district, with some members and ivestigators and played football in the wet, muddy field. If you didn't have cleats you were slidding all over the place. It was a lot of fun. When we got home I had another flat. We had to get picked up for dinner, because I wasn't able to fix it in time. We walked to our other planned people afterwards, and the night seemed to go by slow.

This morning when we were heading in for lunch I got another flat, and we had to take an extra 30 minutes to walk home.

Apart from the flats though it has been a fairly good week. We are working hard, and being obedient, and blessings are coming, even if they are masked by flat tires.

Love Elder Schultz

 

James letter 11-5-12

This week was an interesting week. We were short on lessons, but we were busy everyday, and we were able to see a lot of people that we haven't been able to for a while. While we weren't able to teach some of them we were able to converse with them, and let them know that we care. Sometimes that is the most important thing that we can do.

Tuesday we had the opportunity to attend the Trunk or Treat for Springville ward. It was a great time, and opportunity for missionary work. For the past month or so as we've gone to dinners we taught the members about missionary work, and invited them to invite their friends to this activity. It provided a great opportunity to expose them to the Church, help them to feel the Spirit, and have a good time without feeling pressured. Several of the part-member families were able to attend, as well as less-active members. And, in answer to our challenge we had a great number of non-members in attendance. We had the chance to have a lesson afterwards with C and B. Brother A, the Young Mens president was able to attend the lesson. We taught the Gospel. C opened up a lot. He told us that he was not going to get baptized, because he was not ready for it. He said that he needed to quit doing several things, which he wasn't ready to do. His statement struck me as very intelligent for someone of his age. He understands what a big thing baptism is, and he doesn't want to rush into it unprepared.

Halloween this week provided an interesting environment for missionary work. We had our district meeting in the morning, afterwards we were able to teach two lessons and make several visits before heading inside for the night. We watched the John Tanner Story with a less-active member, and he was amazed at the dedication and sacrifice shown in that story. The Spirit was there. That evening we were able to spend with the members we live with.  We wern't able to dress up and be outside, but because I knew we were going to be home for the rest of the night, I went upstairs and put on Emily's black, green, yellow tie, as well as my orange and black tie, and was a "house divided". In case you don't understand that would be a Oregon Ducks fan, and an Oregon Beavers fan. The A liked it. We spent the night playing games, and having fun. Sister Alberts told us that she wanted both of us to stay for Christmas. I love living in their home, they are so willing to serve us and help us out. We do as much as we can to return the favor.

Thursday was a great day, we were able to teach several less-active members. We shared lessons on the Sacrament, and the cleansing power it brings. We taught about repentance, and the wonderful feelings that come from true repentance. We shared about the miracle to Christ's life and Atonement, how we are able to overcome our weaknesses through Him, and return to live in our Father's presence.

Friday I was able to go on an exchange with Elder I in his area. He has been ill, so I spent the morning studying the scriptures, while he rested. I was able to read about repentance, prayer, working with ward leaders, and teaching those without a Christian background. I learned a lot during my studies. After lunch he felt well enough to go out, and so we did. We tracted for most of the day, and were able to give out a couple Book of Mormons, and find a few potential investigators. That night we went to Brother J of the High Council, and he gave us two families for us to see in the Springville ward. One is a less-active family, the other is a non-member one.

Saturday we had the great opportunity to assist with an Eagle Scout Project. He was collecting supplies for babies. We spent the morning going through the neighborhoods collecting the donations. It was a great time, and it reminded me a lot of my Eagle Project, and the great times I had and the things I learned in scouting. That evening we were finally able to meet with T D. We had to move her baptismal date, as she is still smoking, she hasn't been able to make it to Church, and she hasn't been reading. It is sad to see her not progressing as well as she should. We are hoping to be able to get a lot more member help, and help her to stop smoking and gain a testimony.

This Sunday was Stake Conference, it was a broadcast from Salt Lake, and Elder Quintin L Cook, and Elder Adrian Ochoa both talked about missionary work. They spoke about preparing the youth to serve, and about serving ourselves to fulfil the call of the prophets of "every member a missionary". Elder Ochoa said "You can do hard things", which reminded me of our mission culture. He also gave three things to help us: 1.Know and trust the Lord, 2.Choose the right, no matter what,3.Never give up. He promised us that as we did those things that the Lord would support us, and we would be able to make a difference. A member of the presidency of the seventy spoke about remembering, which really struck me as well. Remembering helps us to become more Christlike, protect us, and help us qualify for eternal life. We need to remember who we are, what we are doing, why we are doing it, where we are going, and how we are going to do it, and get there. Sister Dibb spoke as well, and talked about making sure it is "real" some things don't last, or aren't really "real", and we need to make sure that what we do is "real"

Thats a good summary of the week. It was a good week, we were busy, and even though we didn't teach as many lessons I feel that we had a successful week.

Love Elder Schultz

 

James letter 10-29-12

There is a lot of things that I could tell you about this week. It has been a great week, we were busy the whole time, and had great success. Last P-day we gathered as a district and carved pumpkins. I carved an outline of the portland temple. I was going to put an outline of oregon portland mission, but lacked the skills, or tools necassary. We have it on our porch the represent who we are. I like how when we light the candle inside that there is a light coming from the temple. It is a wonderful thing.

This week has gone by so fast. This week we were able to meet with T D three times. We taught her the Gospel, read through 2 Nephi 31, and taught the Word of Wisdom. Our visit on Thursday with her was a little disappointing. She told us that she had a pack of cigarettes left, and that she was going to smoke the rest of them, and then be done. It was the I'll get in as much as I can, and then stop. That kind of attitude makes it next to impossible to quit. You can't "fill your cantene" so to speak, and expect to not be thirsty. If you give in to temptation once, it is easier to do the next time. We went over on Saturday and taught the Word of Wisdom, and told her that if she still plans on being baptized on the 3rd that she would have to quit now. We are going to have to move her date, but we are going to have her move towards that until the end, and then move it, so that she can keep the sense of urgency. She wants to be baptized so bad, but she is not quite ready.

 

Wednesday we were able to go out with Bishop R to a lesson with J S.  She was in the hospital for an infection in a recently amputated toe.  We taught a great first lesson, helped her realize that she had felt the Spirit before, and how to recognize it now. We were able to set a date with her that night for November 24, and she asked bishop to baptize her. We saw her again that friday, she told us that she had read the Book of Mormon for two hours the past couple days. She is out of the hospital now and we should be able to meet with her on Wednesday or Thursday.

We had a great lesson with H B, and less active member. We talked about repentance, and the strength that comes from the atonement. The Spirit was there so strong. We talked to him about what he could be, about the great missionary that he would be. We helped him to see his potential, and he seemed to want to be there. He commited to come to church. I wish I could say that he did, but he did not. We will see him on Thursday.

Saturday we were able to go to the Visitors Center with S and B G, and his parents, who are active members. It was a great time, full of the Spirit. We were able to talk about the great blessings of the temple, including the possibility of an eternal family. There has been a change in B over the past few weeks, and I believe that soon he will realize that he does indeed have a testimony. S is ready to be baptized, and he is almost there as well. Last night we got a call, and were asked to come over and give his father a blessing, and B was asked to stand in on the blessing, and he did so. It was a great thing to see. Such a small and simple act will make a big difference for him. I'm excited to see them continue to progress. While we were there we walked around the temple. As we looked up at the spire with the angel Moroni we saw the coolest thing. the light shining up on Moroni cast a silhouette of him onto the cloud. It was like the bat signal, but it was Moroni. It was so cool.

This week looks to be another great week. Elder C and myself are still doing great. We are having so much fun together. We are busy, working hard, and being obedient. It is great.

As I've been writing this letter I've been listening to the talks from this last general conference. Right now I am listening to Elder Hollands talk "the great commandment" It is such a great talk, and a good reminder that the most important thing for us to do is to Love Him. If we are to do that then we will keep any commandment that we are given and we will share the Gospel with everyone. Once we love Him, we cannot ever go back to what we were doing. We have to become who He wants us to be, and to be converted by having charity, and loving Him. The Spirit is great, and I love being able to feel its power and influence.

Our new bishop in springville is Bishop E, he was the elders quorum president. He will be a great bishop, and I look forward to working with him as long as I am here, which is hopefully a while more. I hope to be here for Christmas, but we'll see.

 

 

Love you,

Elder Schultz

James letter 10-22-12

This was a great start to a new transfer. There seemed to have been a lot of sickness going around, and we weren't able to meet with a few people, but those who we were able to teach this week are taking great strides. This Tuesday we were finally able to get C G and B J to mutual. It was the first time that they have attended in Springville ward. They have gone previously in Rock Creek, but have not been since they moved. They also came to church on Sunday, which actually surprised me a little, because they have been "going to come" for several months, and havn't. It was such a joy to see them.

Wednesday we had a great district meeting, we learned about recieving revelation. Elder C and myself gave a spiritual thought. We read from the Bible Dictionary that it is impossible to be saved without revelation. Without it, we cannot know what God expects of us, why we are here in this life, where we are going, or how to get there. Life would truly be a meaningless glob of chaos if revelation were not there to provide an anchor to us. Whats neat is that no matter how the world changes, the principles of revelation do not. We can always learn from God, and His standards don't ever change. God does speak with us, and provide a way back to Him.

T D is still doing super well, and is still moving towards her baptism on the 3rd. We met with her twice this week, although the second lesson was cut short due to a bit of a family emergency. She got a cold as well, and was unable to come to church this weekend, but she has been reading and praying, and still wants to be baptized.

 

I have a few great stories from tracting this week. The first one came on Thursday, we were tracting, and we met a guy that goes by the name of "Matter". He said that he goes by that because he cannot be created or destroyed. He also had several religous books including: the Qoran, the Bible, the Jehovahs Witnesses"What does the bible really teach, and their translation of the Bible. as well as a Book of Mormon, and other literature. We had an interesting conversation with him, we had one of our priests with us, Michael Cook, who is preparing for a mission. "Matter", who was obviously cracked out on drugs, rambled on about conspiracy theories, a ring that Solomon had to control demons, and a staff as well, which he used to force the demons to build his temple. He asked us if we were voting, we said no, because we don't know anything about the election. He reply was this, "I don't know anything either, but I'm voting because its my right to vote. I'm voting for Obama, cause I voted for him last time. Its cause some problems, but I'm going to stick to it." That is whats wrong with our country...He also said that he always thought of us as God's "go to guys" He  comes to us when he needs More Men, get it? He also called Michael the archangel, and told him not to pull out his sword, and not to cut anybody, because the worlds not over yet.He was crazy...

 

Then on Saturday, we had a guy try and prove us wrong, because the Bible says that its complete, and all you need, and you can't ever become god. He had heard some misconstrued things, and believes that its church doctrine. HE wouldn't believe that it wasn't. Later that day though is the really cool story. We knocked into a lady, and she wasn't interested, but she saw my backpack, and said, :oh, Columbia, my sister works there, do you want some passes to the employee store?" she then gave us some passes. So I have been needing a few things now that the rain is back, one is shoe covers, as my feet get soaked, the rest of my body is dry, but all the rain goes in the top of my shoe and I end the day with a puddle. ALso I need some waterproof gloves, because my hands are so cold all the time. It shouldn't be very much, but if you could get a little extra money in my account that would be great. THe passes are good until 12/31/12.

We had the opportunity to have the sacrament at the retirement center again yesterday, we have a member from the ward that has been called to oversee that, and the services yesterday went by really well. The spirit was great, and as we left we had the opportunity to do some service for one of the residents. It was a great chance to plant some seeds.

We had another miracle this week. Last night we got a call from a woman named J S. She said that she wants to take the lessons, and join the church. Her mom is an existing member in the ward already, and she has been talking with the bishop for some time. We have an appointment set for this week, and bishop R is coming with us. It will probably be his last visit as a bishop, because we got word yesterday that he is being released, and we will have a new bishop next week.  I am sad to see him go.

Elder C and myself are still doing great. We make fun of each other all the time, keep the mood joyful and loving. When its raining outside, and the day is tough, we are always able to find something to laugh about and lighten our moods.

I had really good studies this week. On wednesday I studied out of chapter 10 in PMG on repentance and addiction  recovery, and I started to read through, and I found that I read the first sentence, and the rest of my study was devoted to a study on humility, as it was one of the steps listed for repentance. I realized that the reason you fall back into bad habits is because as you repent you rely too much on what you can do. You think that you can overcome the addiction with sheer willpower. I have seen this many times in my own life, and as I studied I realized, that in order for me to truly repent and change my behaviors permanently I had to trust in him, and be humble. As I have worked to apply that into my life I have already seen a difference. The temptations are fewer, and easier to deal with, and I have confidence that WE can really do it. Not I, because I have failed, but WE. With Christ I can do it. I love the scripture of Ether 12:27. I am also reminded of Moroni 7:33 "And Christ hath said if ye shall have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me" How can we have faith unless we live by His teachings. He teaches us to be humble. It is expedient unto Him for me to overcome the world, just as He has. It is a beautiful thing to know that he really is there to help you.

Love Elder Schultz 

James letter 10-15-2012

What a great end to the transfer! This has been one of my favorite transfers thus far on my mission, not only are we teaching a bunch, but we are being obedient, and we are loving each other and the work. Elder C is such an awesome guy. During this past week or so I have been letting him take the lead during some of the lessons. He has really stepped up to the plate, and he does such a great job at teaching. He is heartfelt, and simple in his explainations. When he bears testimony, you know that he knows. It is great to be able to see, and to try and learn a little more from him. 

So you know that saying, "use it or lose it"? Well that saying is true. Yesterday during our fast and testimony meeting we had the privledge of bearing our testimonies. As I spoke I again felt the confirming witness of the Spirit that what I was saying was true. I found myself stopping to listen to the words that I were speaking, and they took on a new meaning. I don't remember what I said, but I do remember what I felt, and it was a feeling that I would like to have more often. I know what I can do to have it more, and my goal for this transfer is to do it. I've written down a few steps to help me. 

One of those steps is study. Someone in one of our wards yesterday said something about the study of scriptures, and how it should be more than just reading, and how we need to dig in their and feast! He recommended that as we read we ask ourselves the question "what does this have to do with me? Why did the prophet decide to include this?" As we look for the deeper meaning, we will start to find them. As we figure out why it is important to our life, it will become easier to apply because it has relevance. Study is one of those things that kind of goes up and down with me, sometimes it is more fruitful that others.

The work here is still going great. We can still see the Lord's hand directing the work her, especially in the Rock Creek ward. T D, our micacle, is progressing well. She has already cut her smoking in half, and is working hard to get off completely. We should see her on Tuesday. Our ward mission leader, however, didn't want to put her on the progress record Saturday night. He didn't feel that she was to the point of investigating yet, even though we had taught four lessons and set a baptismal date. When she came to church yesterday I think he changed his mind. I don't think he fully understands what the progress record is, he won't include less-active members on there, and he has a hard time taking people off when we are done working with them. 

S is still doing great, and her less-active husband is progressing as well. He has been helping us to direct, and teach the lessons, and helping his wife to understand. After the lesson we were talking with him, and he said that what we were doing was great, and that he felt that he was getting in the way of her baptism. He finally said what we have believed from the beginning. I think he is starting to see the Lord bless him, and he puts forth his effort, and he sees her desires to follow Christ, and knows that she doesn't want to do this without him. We are going to try and get him to baptize her when he is ready. That would be a special moment for them. 

Friday I had a great exchange with Elder B(he is from Japan) We had a fun day tracting, and biking in the first real rain of the winter. By the time we got home the rain had soaked through my waterproof shoes, my waterproof backpack, my gloves, and almost penetrated my waterproof jacket. It was a crazy day, it rained hard all day long. Oh, the joys of being in Oregon, on a bike, during winter. 
 
I haven't been able to write A yet, but I am planning on doing that this week. I'm glad that you are enjoying Astro-Camp mom, that was one of my favorite fieldtrips when I was in school, I'm glad that you have the opportunity to make it a great experience for those who are going there now. I am confident that things will work out sooner or later, the Lord always takes care of his own. There are several promises made in the Doctrine and Covenants that also promise blessings for the service of loved ones. As I serve out here, you will be blessed. God does not lie.
 
It was neat this week to see some of the members who have been waiting to go now have the opportunity to leave now. One girl was worried about it now, because it was real now. She said that she wasn't sure if she could do it, because she doesn't know everything. We may not know everything, but we know that God lives, and that the Gospel is true, and thats enough. As we trust Him, he will help us, and fulfil the promise that we "will not be confounded before men". We don't have to know all of the details, or be an expert in doctrine. All you need is a testimony, and to be converted enough to share it, then you can be one of the "weak and the simple" that God has called to share His word. I hope we will all be able to be a missionary no matter what circumstance we may be in. 
 
Love Elder Schultz
Also I am looking forward to another transfer with Elder C, he is such a great missionary, I love working with him.

James Letter 10-8-2012

Well, the only way that I can really describe this past week is that it was a "good, bad week". We had a lot of lessons cancell, but we were busy all week long, and we still saw miracles. I would like to share one miracle from this week.

Thursday started like any normal Thursday, we did our weekly planning, we had lunch. Looking on our totals for the week we were behind what we normally are, but we were confident that we could still reach the same standard that we had set for ourselves. We had a lesson set for 2:30 that afternoon, and we took one of the prospective elders with us to the lesson(he has been waiting to turn 19, now he doesn't have to...). We walked up to the door, and there was a note that said she was unable to make it, and wanted to reschedule. We let out a sigh at another cancelled lesson(probably our 7th one that week), but we decided that we would go tracting on that street.

As is common for tracting we knocked on doors for almost an hour with no success. There were a few people that we were able to talk too, but they weren't interested in the message we shared. The very last door we knocked on the lady answered the door, said that her sons were sleeping, but that she wanted to listen, and she invited us upstairs. We were able to go in, because we had our soon-to-be elder with us. She told us about herself, and her life. She had grown up mostly on the streets. She had been a drug addict for a long time, but had been clean and sober for the last two or three years. She had been praying the night before, and she wanted to join a church, and be baptized.

We shared with her the message of the restoration of the Gospel. So many of the things that she said when talking about her beliefs beforehand tied in perfectly to our message. She recognized that her Catholic baptism was incorrect, and she wanted to do it right, and gain direction in her life. We told her about the chance we had to hear from our current prophet and hear his words. She committed to joining us for a session of conference on Sunday.

We picked her up just before the afternoon session on Sunday. She loved conference, and we were able to introduce her to a few members in the ward, including our ward mission leader. After conference we went over what she thought about it. She had loved the messages of repentance and forgiveness, and how to be converted. She mentioned that she just needed commitment in her life, and we extended a baptismal date to her for November 3rd. She accepted.

We are going to see her on Tuesday this week. She does smoke, but she seems truly commited to bettering her life, and this is the way that she can do that, and gain control of her life. She is looking forward to coming to Church next week and getting a new family there. It was a miracle. We were able to answer her prayers. We had a lesson cancell yes, but without that we wouldn't have gone tracting, and who knows if we ever would have found her, and we wouldn't have been able to get her to conference. I am truly grateful for the hand of the Lord in our work. We are truly blessed in this area.

Friday we were able to attend the temple, one of my favorite things. It was truly one of the most interesting visits though, and Elder Crockett forgot his temple recommend. Thankfully we were able to get in contact with you over the phone, so that we could still go through. I took my patriarchal blessing with me, and was able to read and ponder that while I was in the Celestial Room. It was a marvelous time to reflect.

General Conference this week was truly incredible. I would share with you some of the impressions and notes that I took, but to share all of them I would need more that an hour. Here are a few things that have stuck in my mind though.

There is a difference between a testimony, and a conversion, and it is true. We can know the Gospel, we can know the commandments, and the expectations that our Heavenly Father has for us and not be converted. Conversion is a lasting devotion to our Heavenly Father. We must do what Jacob counsels, and "...be wise...". Wisdom is applied knowledge, or in other words, wisdom is conversion. We have to use the testimony that we have, and live by it. Only then can we become converted.

This week is looking good. We have many lessons set, and hopefully they will all go through. If not, I trust we will still have success. These last 5 weeks have been incredible, and I have truly loved serving with Elder Crockett thus far. If one of us is to be transferred I will look back on this time together with no regrets.

Love Elder Schultz

James letter 10-1-2012

This week we saw more great success. I know that the hand of the Lord is here helping us as we improve the work in this area and ourselves by our diligent efforts to accomplish some good. This week we were able to see the desires of some people change towards doing what the Lord wants them to do. We have one part-member family, and the mother knows that she needs to come back. She is committed for another week, but the next time we have church she is committed to come. Its great to see her as she realizes what is important, and that she wants that for herself and her family.

We were able to find another part-member family while tracting in our neighborhood on Thusday. She told us that she didn't come to church because of how busy she was, and it was easier not to go, but she mentioned how her and her husband had been talking about it, and he is warming up to the idea of joining. We hope to see the potential there take root and bring us success.

Zone Conference on Friday was teriffic. I was able to learn a lot of new things to help myself, and others. I recieved revelation on what real intent means, and how to help others understand it, and apply it to their lives. Just before dinner that day we tracted into a Muslim girl. She is here for school, and she told us that she was Muslim, because in her home of Iran you are Muslim, or you are dead. She hated that. She didn't want it forced on her, and she was amazed that we were just inviting her to learn for herself. We don't have anything set up yet, but she did say that she would try and come to church.

 

Yesterday was great. The 5th Sunday lessons in both wards were enlightening. In Rock Creek they talked about home and visiting teaching. Bishop spoke, and he related an impression that came to him in the temple.

"When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden into the lone and dreary world our Heavenly Father was sad, because he couldn't be with them anymore. He couldn't go unto them, and give them the help they needed. So what did he do? He sent home teachers. They went to Adam and Eve, and found out their situation, then the went back to God to report; we do that in prayer. God told them what to do next to help Adam and Eve banish evil from their lives. They helped Adam recieve the priesthood, they helped him follow Christ, including going to the temple to receive the ordinances of salvation. That is the purpose of home teachers, to do what God himself would do if he were here in person. Home teachers are to help us get rid of evil in our lives, and help us follow Christ by pointing us to the temple. They are to turn to God in prayer, telling him of the situation, and then he will tell them what to do."

In Springville we talked about the For Strength of Youth, we went over some of the topics in the new pamphlet, and how they apply to us and our children, and how we can make them a part of our lives, to insure that the standards are being kept.

As for myself this had been an interesting week, full of highs and lows. There were a lot of great spiritual experiences for which I am truly grateful, but it seems that whenever you climb a peak you fall off a cliff on the other side. So it was this week for me. I had great experiences, and then at the same time I questioned and doubted, and lost faith. I really struggle with believing in what I am doing, which doesn't make sense to me, because I feel joy in doing it. Last night I read over my patriarchal blessing, it had been a while since I have read it, and it really helped me a lot. It told me what to seek after, and the gifts that I would be given. I my studies this morning I read over some of the topics mentioned in my blessing, so that I could attain them. I feel like I have a long way to go, but at the same time I was able to see the blessings and promises that had already been fulfilled. It was another testimony builder for me. I hope that I can continue to go up, and to progress, because I do find joy in this work, even if I sometimes don't find joy in my life. If I make this work my life maybe that can change.

 

 I am looking forward to this weekend. we have our temple trip on Friday, followed by General Conference, it is going to be great!

Love Elder Schultz

James 9-24-2012

This week was great. We were able to teach 20 lessons again this week, and we acheived the mission standard for finding with 21 hours. We are being tremendously blessed in the work here.

So a few cool experiences from this week. Wednesday we did some tracting in Springville ward, only a few hours, but with great results. The first person we talked to was a less-active member that we were asked to find by our bishop, we couldn't set up a time to return, but she seemed open to the thought of us coming back. A few doors later we were able to set up a return appointment with a young woman who wanted to learn more, but wanted her parents home as well. A few doors after that we were able to share a lesson on the Book of Mormon, the purpose of it, what it is, and how we can know for sure. We testified of its truthfulness, but sadly he was not interested in it. We saw him again a few days later, and he waved at us. A few doors down we were also able to share a lesson on the Book of Mormon with a young woman named Aaliyah, she was grateful for our time, and wanted us to return. We gave her the Book of Mormon with a commitment to read and pray, and set up a return visit for this week. A short time later we were able to teach another lesson on the Book of Mormon, we left her with a Book of Mormon, gave her a commitment to read and pray, and set up a return appoinment. In two hours time we taught three lessons tracting, and had three return appoinments. They are all African-American, and in high school. We asked the young men and young women if anyone knew them. We have a couple of people that know them and are willing to join us in the lessons. This week should be a good week.

Also on thursday we went out on a blitz with our ward missionaries in Rock Creek. We were able to contact several potential investigators, and confirm some moveouts, as well as find some new part-member families. We came back that night with several return appoinments with people that we hadn't known about before. We have two appoinments this Tuesday with people that we met while on the blitz.

Friday we had a great dinner/lesson with S and B G. We taught the Gospel, before we started S asked B what thought he would give as a missionary. He replied with I usually made it up. I gave him my scriptures and he shared with us a scripture from Psalms that talked about how walking in the ways of the Lord is THE ONLY WAY the live in the presence of the father. THe thought went perfectly with our lesson. B helped us to teach S so that she would understand. THe Spirit was there way strong. I fully believe that S is progressing towards baptism, but I feel that B being unsure of his testimony is holdin her back. Hopefully we will be able to help her overcome that and help him to know as she comes to know. They came to church again this week as well, but unfortunately we won't be able to meet with them this week.

Saturday we had a less-active member who we had seen previously and who wasn't interested called us and say that he knew that God was there, and that he wanted to come to CHurch, but was nervous about it. We met him at the church and gave him a tour, he told us about what had happened to him. He had really been humbled recently, and there was something different about him. He said he hadn't been to CHurch in 25 years, but he wanted to come back. We helped to reassure him, and shared with him about prayer. The one bad thing though is that he didn't come on SUnday.

Rock Creek ward had their primary program on Sunday. IT was so great to see all of the little kids and their excitement for the church and the gospel. I love watching the primary, they are so full of life and happiness.