Dear family!
I LOVE MY LIFE! I just love being a missionary. Sys Werjefelt is
super awesome. I love her already. Some one asked me if my Swedish has
gotten better in this first week.. To answer.. I have definitely
already learned some very important new words. Toot :prutta, Burp :
rap, Growling stomach: curra (they actually say purring stomach).. :)
I thought you guys all might get a laugh out of that.
So I collected my wonderful new companion on wednesday in
stockholm. I had to say good bye to Sys Vistaunet. I was sad to leave
her. But I will get to see her soon. And then it was back to
Kristianstad with Sys Werjefelt. This week has been a whirlwind
adventure. As a trainer President said that we should try and have a
good scheduled week for our new missionary. Well the first day out
Sys Werj and I were running from each lesson. I don't think she was
expecting missionary work to be such a good work out. It is
interesting because you get to a persons house all out of breath and
you sit down and have a great lesson for an hour and then up and out
the door you go and running to the bus. You sit for an hour and then
run and then sit for another hour and then run. It is a good thing I
like running :)
We were walking out of a lesson that first day and we finally got
to walk to the bus instead of run. We got to the bus stop and sys Werj
looked at me and said "we haven't talked to anyone yet..." I smiled
and said ok! How about those two girls. There were two girls walking
up to join us at the bus stop. (side note.. sys Werj makes funny awkward sounds) She got this funny
look on her face and made one of those funny sounds. So we get on the
bus and end up talking to them and they sit next to us. We got to talk
to them the whole way back and told them about our purpose and asked
them if they would want a Book of Mormon. One of the girls
practically jumped out of her seat "Yes!" As we walked away sys Werj
and I had big smiles on our faces. That was our favorite moment of the
day. That is probably one of my favorite parts of being a
missionary... getting to talk to random strangers and tell them about
our message.
Some more cool facts about sys Werj. She is 19 and is from
stockholm. The reason she is on a short term mission is because she
has had the chance to do some member missionary work. In the past
year three of her friends have joined the church. That first night as
I got to know her better.. it was amazing to hear about the
experiences she has had with these three friends of hers. She told me
about this change that she saw occur in her friends lives and how much
joy it brought her. I have an amazing companion and I am so excited
to learn from her.
We had some sad things happen this week but also some very exciting
things happen. Two of our strong investigators wont be meeting with
us any more. It is really sad when one of these friends chooses not to
learn more even after they have had so many great experiences. You
really do love them and care for them and want the best in their lives
and you have so much hope for them. I hope we will be able to meet
with them again. But! With the sad there was some good.
We met with the cutest Vietnamese girl. I had been keeping in
contact with her throughout the week and she had texted back that she
reads from the BOM every day and loves it! I was getting so excited
to meet her. So we sat down on saturday and she told us that she has
been talking to a priest from back in Vietnam and he says that this
book is not true and it is not worth her time.. etc. etc. My heart
dropped. What do we do! But I thought we best start with a prayer
before we can go forward. So we said a prayer and then began talking
again. We had planned on teaching her about the plan of life but sys
W and both felt like we needed to start with the Restoration. This
girl is just amazing! At the end of the lesson she said "I trust this
man alot.. but I have read this book and I believe it is true. I am
going to keep reading it." She is prepared. Often times when we
teach people they dont quite get the message that we are teaching. But
she got it. We had a member with us, a 15 year old young woman. As
we walked out of the lesson she said that was her favorite lesson
because it was so cool to see how she really understood our message
and see it click and her accept it. I am excited to continue teaching
her!
We have another amazing man that we are teaching. His name is
Ondrej (andre) and he doesnt speak any English or Swedish. His
daughter became a member last year. The missionaries started teaching
him a few months ago and his response was.. no i don't want to get
baptized. Well they stopped focusing on him and started teaching his
son more. But they gave Ondrej a book of Mormon and asked him to read
it and he said he would. Well it is now about 4 months later. He is
in Heleman now and he wants to get baptized now. It is amazing to see
the change that has occurred in this man. He is so sensitive to the
spirit and he loves coming to church even though he doesn't understand
much. Most of all he loves the Book of Mormon. This change in him is
all due to this book. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon. The
family even had some problems this week with other relatives. The
relatives called and said "what are you doing joining this church and
why do you go to this church and read this book. its not the
bible..etc etc." The member daughter became all upset and was so
worried and began to wonder if she had made the right choice. Ondrej
stepped in to help and said "This church is TRUE. This book is TRUE.
we are going to this church!"
Of course I got all of that from them translating. But it was
exciting.
This is all I have time for today. I want you all to know that much
much more has happened this week. The Lord has big plans for this
branch and he has guided us to people who need us. I am so grateful
for prayer and that we can get answers. I get answers everyday to my
prayers. I know you can as well.
Thank you for your letters as well!
LOVE SYS schneiber II
Monday, September 24, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sept. 17: Faith to move mountains with the whispering of the spirit
Dearest Family and Friends!
This week we had a baptism! Ingrid was baptized! Roland has to wait for papers to come back because he was a member before. It was a beautiful baptismal service. We were sooo busy that day, I don't know how it all was accomplished. I was worried as we arrived to the chapel 30 mins before hand. We hadn't called any members to remind them to come. 5 mins before there was still almost no one there. We also had some last min problems with the program and other things. But I said a prayer and just felt at peace that everything would go well. As I walked back into the baptismal room there were tons of members just getting seated. We got the programs handed out. The service started and we even had some visitors.. their first time at our church. The most amazing thing to me was that Syster V and I had a musical number. We sang "A child's prayer". We had been practicing for only one day.. and we really were not that good. As we opened our mouths and began to sing.. I had to look quickly up and check were I was. It sounded really good.. I thought.. maybe its just the acoustics. But.. it wasn't.. It just sounded really good. I think I received some heavenly help. Many of the members came up to us and the visitors and said that they felt something really special as we sang. wow.
I also had a really interesting experience this week. Before my mission I found myself in conversations sometimes discussing the different types of "mormons".. I have often heard conversations on "utah mormons" and about judgemental mormons.. etc. Well I was in a group conversation where this topic was brought up.. I have been a part of these a lot of times and participated. But something very interesting happened as I sat and listened. I just felt an uneasy feeling.. It didn't feel uplifting.. and felt very negative to me. I just wanted to leave the conversation or change the subject. I couldn't quite pin what it was that was bothering me. Then I realized it. Being a missionary.. I never really talk about the different levels of members.. if they are bad or if they are judgmental or about the members in UT vs the members outside of UT. I really focus on helping all just want to be better and love one another. I focus on the main doctrinal points of Faith, Repentance, Obedience, and enduring to the end. As Syster V and I walked away from the conversation I asked her how she felt. She felt the exact same way. I don't think I really noticed that by me talking about not good things of other members was gossiping.. or just not really good. But having the chance to be separated from those kinds of discussions.. when I was put back into it.. i noticed right away a different feeling.
I don't know if you really understood that. But the moral of the story is. What are you talking about? Is it uplifting? is it positive? is it kind? The spirit will leave if not. And if you are sensitive you can feel him leaving.
Lastly, there is a goal in the branch from the branch president to have 12 baptisms throughout this year. So far we have had five. I would like to help the branch reach this goal of 12. But through my past 12 months as a missionary.. one would say it would be very very very impossible. We need 7 more people to be baptized in less then 4 months.
We had stake conference this sunday and as Sys V was teaching our friend Lu.. she said "Come to the meeting with a question." I thought.. We are always telling people to do things.. i should do it to. So I had a question... is it possible to have 7 people be baptized? is it the Lords will? I had forgotten about the question during the meeting and then as a woman was speaking I suddenly had the thought.. "remember your question!".. so I quickly looked down at my paper and reminded myself that I was searching for an answer to my question. And then I realized what the woman was talking about. Her talk was directly focused on having faith that through the lord all things are possible. "Lord, I believe, help me my unbelief". I felt a warmth lighten me and felt that was a part of my answer.
I still feel worried and unsure. It seems quite daunting and very unlikely. I dont want to put my hope and try and get all the members hope into something that is not likely to happen.. or maybe isnt the lords will. But I think I am trying to find within me more faith to grasp hold. To believe that.. if the Lord wants to.. 7 people is no problem. I shall go forward with faith. Remember the Lord can move mountains.
I love you all. Sys V is going home. I will be sad to see her go. She is so fun and uplifting and amazing. But I will be having Syster Werjefelt from Stockholm. She is a swede! So it will be an exciting 4ish months to come!
Love Syster Schneiber
This week we had a baptism! Ingrid was baptized! Roland has to wait for papers to come back because he was a member before. It was a beautiful baptismal service. We were sooo busy that day, I don't know how it all was accomplished. I was worried as we arrived to the chapel 30 mins before hand. We hadn't called any members to remind them to come. 5 mins before there was still almost no one there. We also had some last min problems with the program and other things. But I said a prayer and just felt at peace that everything would go well. As I walked back into the baptismal room there were tons of members just getting seated. We got the programs handed out. The service started and we even had some visitors.. their first time at our church. The most amazing thing to me was that Syster V and I had a musical number. We sang "A child's prayer". We had been practicing for only one day.. and we really were not that good. As we opened our mouths and began to sing.. I had to look quickly up and check were I was. It sounded really good.. I thought.. maybe its just the acoustics. But.. it wasn't.. It just sounded really good. I think I received some heavenly help. Many of the members came up to us and the visitors and said that they felt something really special as we sang. wow.
I also had a really interesting experience this week. Before my mission I found myself in conversations sometimes discussing the different types of "mormons".. I have often heard conversations on "utah mormons" and about judgemental mormons.. etc. Well I was in a group conversation where this topic was brought up.. I have been a part of these a lot of times and participated. But something very interesting happened as I sat and listened. I just felt an uneasy feeling.. It didn't feel uplifting.. and felt very negative to me. I just wanted to leave the conversation or change the subject. I couldn't quite pin what it was that was bothering me. Then I realized it. Being a missionary.. I never really talk about the different levels of members.. if they are bad or if they are judgmental or about the members in UT vs the members outside of UT. I really focus on helping all just want to be better and love one another. I focus on the main doctrinal points of Faith, Repentance, Obedience, and enduring to the end. As Syster V and I walked away from the conversation I asked her how she felt. She felt the exact same way. I don't think I really noticed that by me talking about not good things of other members was gossiping.. or just not really good. But having the chance to be separated from those kinds of discussions.. when I was put back into it.. i noticed right away a different feeling.
I don't know if you really understood that. But the moral of the story is. What are you talking about? Is it uplifting? is it positive? is it kind? The spirit will leave if not. And if you are sensitive you can feel him leaving.
Lastly, there is a goal in the branch from the branch president to have 12 baptisms throughout this year. So far we have had five. I would like to help the branch reach this goal of 12. But through my past 12 months as a missionary.. one would say it would be very very very impossible. We need 7 more people to be baptized in less then 4 months.
We had stake conference this sunday and as Sys V was teaching our friend Lu.. she said "Come to the meeting with a question." I thought.. We are always telling people to do things.. i should do it to. So I had a question... is it possible to have 7 people be baptized? is it the Lords will? I had forgotten about the question during the meeting and then as a woman was speaking I suddenly had the thought.. "remember your question!".. so I quickly looked down at my paper and reminded myself that I was searching for an answer to my question. And then I realized what the woman was talking about. Her talk was directly focused on having faith that through the lord all things are possible. "Lord, I believe, help me my unbelief". I felt a warmth lighten me and felt that was a part of my answer.
I still feel worried and unsure. It seems quite daunting and very unlikely. I dont want to put my hope and try and get all the members hope into something that is not likely to happen.. or maybe isnt the lords will. But I think I am trying to find within me more faith to grasp hold. To believe that.. if the Lord wants to.. 7 people is no problem. I shall go forward with faith. Remember the Lord can move mountains.
I love you all. Sys V is going home. I will be sad to see her go. She is so fun and uplifting and amazing. But I will be having Syster Werjefelt from Stockholm. She is a swede! So it will be an exciting 4ish months to come!
Love Syster Schneiber
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Sep. 10: One Hour as a Missionary
Dear Family!!
I love being a missionary! WOWWW! Today I just want to tell you about some amazing people I know here in Krisitanstad. As missionaries we keep track of how many lessons we teach and how many new people want to learn from us (investigators) and etc. Well this week has had the highest numbers of my whole mission. We are RUNNING all day long! So I don't even know where to start about telling you about all these amazing things that happen on an hourly basis.
But here are some of the people that I am teaching...
Pablo! He has lived here in sweden for over 20 years. He is about 32. He is so humble and he comes from Chile!--He came to family home evening with us on monday to a member family's house. He even went to their house for dinner before family home evening. He asked the dad what a testimony was and how do you know you have one. When people ask questions like that.. it means they are searching. :) We spent the whole lesson answering his question.
We taught him later on in the week. We had Sandra Cabellero with us. She is a convert herself. Also from Chile. She was so powerful to have in the lesson with us. We started off by talking about his question about what a testimony is. 1. Do you believe in God: he said yes. 2. Do you believe in Christ: He said yes. 3. We asked him about the Book of Mormon and if he knew it was the word of god. He said yes. Then we asked him WHY do you think God gave us the Book of Mormon? He said.. so that people can know which church is the true church. YES!!!! Then we asked about Joseph Smith and if he believes this is the only true church upon the earth. He said Yes, I believe. WAHOO!! I couldn't stop from gleaming. Pablo has been praying sincerely to Heavenly Father. And he has been getting answers. It was such a powerful experience to hear him bear his own growing testimony.
Ingrid & Roland! Roland was baptized when he was 8 but then his family left the church and wrote his name out too. Syster V and the missionary before me found them in the supermarket.. or rather roland found them. Ingrid is his "sambo" (live together but not married). We have been teaching them and they want to get baptized this friday.
Welll!!!! Before they could get baptized they needed to follow gods commandments and get married. and guess what. Yesterday we took them down to Malmö and THEY GOT MARRIED!!! The small ceremony went wonderful! They were both sooo happy! and they are excited for their baptism this friday. We taught them about tithing on Saturday. We had already taught Roland by himself about tithing but he wasn't really sure if he could pay tithing till next year. So we came in and testified to Roland that the Lord would provide for them if they paid their tithing. After we testified and taught... we extended the commitment again. "Roland will you pay tithing after you are baptized?" I wasn't sure what he would say. He paused.. Then looked back at us. "Yes. I will move back from school and commute to school. We will have to stop paying for this and that. We will have to quit the lottery..."
At first I thought he said.. I will have to quit school. And it hit me. We are asking people to change a WHOLE lot. Wow. I felt a little nervous for a moment.. wait! Should I be asking you to change to so much.. and now we are not just talking about coming to church any more.. we are talking about people's money and Rolands education.
But then a peace and power came over me. The promised blessings from paying tithing are real. This gospel is real. Their lives are going to change. But they are going to change into the best lives they could possibly have. It was a small moment I will never forget from my mission. To see a man take such step of faith and be so humble.
This message is true. We are about the Lords work.
Brian-- a member who had written himself out a few years back found the elders in Malmö and told them he wanted to come back to church. He is in our area. We met with him on saturday and the first thing he said was.. "I know this church is true.." and he came to church on sunday. He was beaming. He traveled two hours to get to church. WOW.
Hang--We met this Vietnamese girl on the train last week and when we told her about the Book of Mormon she asked if she could have two copies. We met with her this week. We met in her nail salong and pulled out the Book of Mormon and told her a little about it. Then we asked her about how she knows god exists. We spent the rest of the lesson listening to her tell us her conversion story of how she knows that there is a God and that he answers her prayers. It was a beautiful experience to see how God can touch the lives of so many of his children all over the world. She told us about how her mother died when she was young. She became hardened towards God and chose not to believe in him. And then her sister got sick. As she turned inwards she found herself praying to God and found peace there and she became humbled once again. She hasnt stopped believing since and is still seeking to have him more in her life. We are excited to teach her more.
WAIT! I have to tell you about one more fantabulous experience!! On tuesday night we helped out with a primary activity! The activity was "An hour as a missionary". This was all organized by our amazing members. The primary kids were split up into companions and were given someone to visit. They were to share a scripture and share their testimony and invite them to church. They visited a less active family, Pablo!, a family that are not members and not even our investigators, and a part member family. Syster V and I went on splits and we got to go with one of the groups. It was amazing! This ward knows how to do member missionary work! I was so impressed.. and if I have to be the primary president one day.. I will try and do this same activity!
I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! You get to meet the most amazing people, help them have a better life, and end up changing your own life. All because God exists.
I LOVE YOU ALL.
Alma 36:20, 24
Syster Schneiber II
I love being a missionary! WOWWW! Today I just want to tell you about some amazing people I know here in Krisitanstad. As missionaries we keep track of how many lessons we teach and how many new people want to learn from us (investigators) and etc. Well this week has had the highest numbers of my whole mission. We are RUNNING all day long! So I don't even know where to start about telling you about all these amazing things that happen on an hourly basis.
But here are some of the people that I am teaching...
Pablo! He has lived here in sweden for over 20 years. He is about 32. He is so humble and he comes from Chile!--He came to family home evening with us on monday to a member family's house. He even went to their house for dinner before family home evening. He asked the dad what a testimony was and how do you know you have one. When people ask questions like that.. it means they are searching. :) We spent the whole lesson answering his question.
We taught him later on in the week. We had Sandra Cabellero with us. She is a convert herself. Also from Chile. She was so powerful to have in the lesson with us. We started off by talking about his question about what a testimony is. 1. Do you believe in God: he said yes. 2. Do you believe in Christ: He said yes. 3. We asked him about the Book of Mormon and if he knew it was the word of god. He said yes. Then we asked him WHY do you think God gave us the Book of Mormon? He said.. so that people can know which church is the true church. YES!!!! Then we asked about Joseph Smith and if he believes this is the only true church upon the earth. He said Yes, I believe. WAHOO!! I couldn't stop from gleaming. Pablo has been praying sincerely to Heavenly Father. And he has been getting answers. It was such a powerful experience to hear him bear his own growing testimony.
Ingrid & Roland! Roland was baptized when he was 8 but then his family left the church and wrote his name out too. Syster V and the missionary before me found them in the supermarket.. or rather roland found them. Ingrid is his "sambo" (live together but not married). We have been teaching them and they want to get baptized this friday.
Welll!!!! Before they could get baptized they needed to follow gods commandments and get married. and guess what. Yesterday we took them down to Malmö and THEY GOT MARRIED!!! The small ceremony went wonderful! They were both sooo happy! and they are excited for their baptism this friday. We taught them about tithing on Saturday. We had already taught Roland by himself about tithing but he wasn't really sure if he could pay tithing till next year. So we came in and testified to Roland that the Lord would provide for them if they paid their tithing. After we testified and taught... we extended the commitment again. "Roland will you pay tithing after you are baptized?" I wasn't sure what he would say. He paused.. Then looked back at us. "Yes. I will move back from school and commute to school. We will have to stop paying for this and that. We will have to quit the lottery..."
At first I thought he said.. I will have to quit school. And it hit me. We are asking people to change a WHOLE lot. Wow. I felt a little nervous for a moment.. wait! Should I be asking you to change to so much.. and now we are not just talking about coming to church any more.. we are talking about people's money and Rolands education.
But then a peace and power came over me. The promised blessings from paying tithing are real. This gospel is real. Their lives are going to change. But they are going to change into the best lives they could possibly have. It was a small moment I will never forget from my mission. To see a man take such step of faith and be so humble.
This message is true. We are about the Lords work.
Brian-- a member who had written himself out a few years back found the elders in Malmö and told them he wanted to come back to church. He is in our area. We met with him on saturday and the first thing he said was.. "I know this church is true.." and he came to church on sunday. He was beaming. He traveled two hours to get to church. WOW.
Hang--We met this Vietnamese girl on the train last week and when we told her about the Book of Mormon she asked if she could have two copies. We met with her this week. We met in her nail salong and pulled out the Book of Mormon and told her a little about it. Then we asked her about how she knows god exists. We spent the rest of the lesson listening to her tell us her conversion story of how she knows that there is a God and that he answers her prayers. It was a beautiful experience to see how God can touch the lives of so many of his children all over the world. She told us about how her mother died when she was young. She became hardened towards God and chose not to believe in him. And then her sister got sick. As she turned inwards she found herself praying to God and found peace there and she became humbled once again. She hasnt stopped believing since and is still seeking to have him more in her life. We are excited to teach her more.
WAIT! I have to tell you about one more fantabulous experience!! On tuesday night we helped out with a primary activity! The activity was "An hour as a missionary". This was all organized by our amazing members. The primary kids were split up into companions and were given someone to visit. They were to share a scripture and share their testimony and invite them to church. They visited a less active family, Pablo!, a family that are not members and not even our investigators, and a part member family. Syster V and I went on splits and we got to go with one of the groups. It was amazing! This ward knows how to do member missionary work! I was so impressed.. and if I have to be the primary president one day.. I will try and do this same activity!
I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! You get to meet the most amazing people, help them have a better life, and end up changing your own life. All because God exists.
I LOVE YOU ALL.
Alma 36:20, 24
Syster Schneiber II
 |
| 1. My district! Eating swedish pancakes thanks to the missionary couple the Dunns. (Swedish Pancakes are crepes) |
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| 2. Me and my missionary companions from the primary activity! (Daniel and Saga) |
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| 3/4. Me & Sys V taking a moment to enjoy life :) |
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| 5. Roland and Ingrid's wedding! |
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Sept. 3: Exact Obedience
WOW! Being a missionary is amazing!
As missionaries.. we have some extra rules. One of them is not being alone with a man.. That includes getting rides in a car. It is for our protection.. but sometimes it can be a little hard to follow. But! With each of these rules that we keep God has promised that we will be blessed. I have decided to end my last 4 months as a missionary with a goal to be exactly obedient.
With every goal comes a test...
We had a dinner set up with a member family that live about 20 mins away by bus with our investigator/friend Pablo. Pablo's sister would be coming too so he offered a ride and we accepted. It was about an hour before and I felt that.. no.. the sister wont be able to come.. we are going to need to take the bus. I looked at my watch. There was only one bus we could take. The next one didn't leave for another hour and then it would be too late. We had about 10 mins before the bus left. I checked the phone to see if Pablo had called to say that his sister couldnt come.. but I didnt see any call. So we headed to put our bikes in our apt and use the bathroom before Pablo came. As we walked into the apt I looked at the phone again and saw that Pablo had actually called us! I quickly called him back. Yup. My suspicions were right.. the sister wouldn't be coming. I told sys V.
By now we had about 3 mins before the bus left. We looked at each other and ran out the door. Down the elevator. Over across the street. Two streets over. Running to the closest bus stop to our apt. The bus would be leaving from the central station and we weren't positive if the bus would come by this bus stop.. it could take another route. But we thought we had to try.
I kept thinking as we ran. Heavenly Father.. if you want us to be obedient.. you are going to have to help us keep these rules.. Help the bus to come! I couldn't help but think we look ridiculous...and I started laughing as we were running. (it is hard to laugh and run at the same time :) I thought "I cant believe we are running to try and catch a bus that might not even come to this bus stop when we have a ride scheduled... only as a missionary!"
We slow down as we see the train stop in sight. There was a girl waiting outside the bus stop. Ahead we can see a bus coming. We sprint again.
Well.. Of course. It was the exact bus we needed. It was 5 mins late too. This was a very big miracle for me. I really really wanted to keep this rule and I don't know what we would have done if we missed it. I have full confidence that there is a God who cares about what I care about. This isn't even where the miracle ends. After we got out there.. we only had two choices stay at their house for three hours until the next bus comes or take the next one in 45 mins. We ate dinner and gave a message in less then 45 mins and made the bus.
ps. as a missionary.. i have never had a dinner and teach in so little time. And we didn't even feel rushed! I'm pretty sure God stopped the time for us :)
WELL! Other amazing things happened this week too.
We gave a combined Relief Society, Priesthood, Young Men and Young Woman lesson yesterday in church. It was about being a member missionary. It went GREAT! As we got up to speak I didn't feel nervous at all and had no problems with doing it all in Swedish. It wasn't until after we were done and we sat down that I realized.. i just gave a big lesson to a whole bunch of adults.. for 40 mins.. in Swedish.. and it went really well. I think an even bigger miracle for me was that we were able to have time to prepare for the fireside and that we were able to come up with something to teach about. I have full confidence also that I wouldn't be able to do what I do each day without Heavenly Father's help. Things just work out too perfectly. God's timing is the best. We have been planning for over 6 lessons everyday in less the one hour and the lessons are exactly what each person needs.
If you aren't going with God's timing .. you should get on it! Because it is great!
I also got to use my piano skills this week! Please said a big THANK YOU to Irene Lysenko.. because I got to be the choir pianist on Thursday. It truly was a miracle :) We had our lesson with Ingrid before choir. She is just learning how to pray and she feels like she can never remember what to say when she is in the middle of prayers. So we have been helping her know what to pray. But this time as we asked her to say the closing prayer.. she said "thank you for this time we could be together.. and please bless syster schneiber that she can play the piano."
I'm pretty sure it was Ingrid's prayer that did the trick! It was by no means good.. I gave the first few starting notes playing only the right hand.. and then would come in at certain parts. But I think it helped a lot. :)
Note to all future missionaries.. Learn to play the piano. I will be repenting and learning more when I come back home :)
We also had the most amazing and best zone conference ever this week. A general authority came, Elder Kearon from England. I LOVE being a member of this church. I know it is the only true Church upon the earth. This was reaffirmed to me as I sat listening to the conference. This gospel really does fill me up with so much joy. The last part of the conference was question and answer. I didn't ask a question.. but the three questions I had in my mind were asked by other missionaries and I received answers to prayers that I have been having for the past 6 months.
I wish I had more time. But! not to worry! I'll write you next week
Love you all!
Syster Schneiber II
As missionaries.. we have some extra rules. One of them is not being alone with a man.. That includes getting rides in a car. It is for our protection.. but sometimes it can be a little hard to follow. But! With each of these rules that we keep God has promised that we will be blessed. I have decided to end my last 4 months as a missionary with a goal to be exactly obedient.
With every goal comes a test...
We had a dinner set up with a member family that live about 20 mins away by bus with our investigator/friend Pablo. Pablo's sister would be coming too so he offered a ride and we accepted. It was about an hour before and I felt that.. no.. the sister wont be able to come.. we are going to need to take the bus. I looked at my watch. There was only one bus we could take. The next one didn't leave for another hour and then it would be too late. We had about 10 mins before the bus left. I checked the phone to see if Pablo had called to say that his sister couldnt come.. but I didnt see any call. So we headed to put our bikes in our apt and use the bathroom before Pablo came. As we walked into the apt I looked at the phone again and saw that Pablo had actually called us! I quickly called him back. Yup. My suspicions were right.. the sister wouldn't be coming. I told sys V.
By now we had about 3 mins before the bus left. We looked at each other and ran out the door. Down the elevator. Over across the street. Two streets over. Running to the closest bus stop to our apt. The bus would be leaving from the central station and we weren't positive if the bus would come by this bus stop.. it could take another route. But we thought we had to try.
I kept thinking as we ran. Heavenly Father.. if you want us to be obedient.. you are going to have to help us keep these rules.. Help the bus to come! I couldn't help but think we look ridiculous...and I started laughing as we were running. (it is hard to laugh and run at the same time :) I thought "I cant believe we are running to try and catch a bus that might not even come to this bus stop when we have a ride scheduled... only as a missionary!"
We slow down as we see the train stop in sight. There was a girl waiting outside the bus stop. Ahead we can see a bus coming. We sprint again.
Well.. Of course. It was the exact bus we needed. It was 5 mins late too. This was a very big miracle for me. I really really wanted to keep this rule and I don't know what we would have done if we missed it. I have full confidence that there is a God who cares about what I care about. This isn't even where the miracle ends. After we got out there.. we only had two choices stay at their house for three hours until the next bus comes or take the next one in 45 mins. We ate dinner and gave a message in less then 45 mins and made the bus.
ps. as a missionary.. i have never had a dinner and teach in so little time. And we didn't even feel rushed! I'm pretty sure God stopped the time for us :)
WELL! Other amazing things happened this week too.
We gave a combined Relief Society, Priesthood, Young Men and Young Woman lesson yesterday in church. It was about being a member missionary. It went GREAT! As we got up to speak I didn't feel nervous at all and had no problems with doing it all in Swedish. It wasn't until after we were done and we sat down that I realized.. i just gave a big lesson to a whole bunch of adults.. for 40 mins.. in Swedish.. and it went really well. I think an even bigger miracle for me was that we were able to have time to prepare for the fireside and that we were able to come up with something to teach about. I have full confidence also that I wouldn't be able to do what I do each day without Heavenly Father's help. Things just work out too perfectly. God's timing is the best. We have been planning for over 6 lessons everyday in less the one hour and the lessons are exactly what each person needs.
If you aren't going with God's timing .. you should get on it! Because it is great!
I also got to use my piano skills this week! Please said a big THANK YOU to Irene Lysenko.. because I got to be the choir pianist on Thursday. It truly was a miracle :) We had our lesson with Ingrid before choir. She is just learning how to pray and she feels like she can never remember what to say when she is in the middle of prayers. So we have been helping her know what to pray. But this time as we asked her to say the closing prayer.. she said "thank you for this time we could be together.. and please bless syster schneiber that she can play the piano."
I'm pretty sure it was Ingrid's prayer that did the trick! It was by no means good.. I gave the first few starting notes playing only the right hand.. and then would come in at certain parts. But I think it helped a lot. :)
Note to all future missionaries.. Learn to play the piano. I will be repenting and learning more when I come back home :)
We also had the most amazing and best zone conference ever this week. A general authority came, Elder Kearon from England. I LOVE being a member of this church. I know it is the only true Church upon the earth. This was reaffirmed to me as I sat listening to the conference. This gospel really does fill me up with so much joy. The last part of the conference was question and answer. I didn't ask a question.. but the three questions I had in my mind were asked by other missionaries and I received answers to prayers that I have been having for the past 6 months.
I wish I had more time. But! not to worry! I'll write you next week
Love you all!
Syster Schneiber II
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Aug 27: In Skona We Teach!
Dear Family!
This week has been CRAZY! Syster V and I had a hard time deciding
what to write because there was sooo much to write about. So what ever
you get to read today... know there were a lot more miracles that
happened.
Last Monday Sys V and I speeded throughout our cleaning and
writing letters... we didn’t even go shopping for food this week
because the Oremalm couple took us on an excursion to the south. Our
area goes all the way down to the bottom of Sweden... So we took a road
trip to some of their favorite places. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! One of my
favorite places that we went was called Ale's Stenar. It is like The
Stonehenge in England but smaller. We drove along the coast and ate
some underbar food. Brother Oremalm (Hans) reminds me a lot of Bro
Manning. He is always trying to pull a little prank or say a joke. I
love him!
Last night we had dinner at their house. 10 mins before we came
he set up a string attached to the curtain and ran it around the couch
along the wall to the other sofa. When we went into the room for our
spiritual thought he sat down in the sofa and picked up the end of the
string without us noticing. He all the sudden started looking out the
windows and said something about a wind. We turn to look out the
window... and suddenly we see the curtain moving. Haha He tried to make
it seem like there was a ghost in the house.
After our little road trip with the Oremalms we have been running
ever since. I think this week I had the highest number of teaches ever
on my mission. We were non-stop on the go. I am very grateful to have
to opportunity to teach so much because I have really been working on
trying to have the spirit more while I teach.
Each morning after we have woken up, worked out, eaten breakfast,
gotten ready, and studied for an hour--we have an our of companionship
study where we try and plan for all of these lessons. It is not easy
to know what each person needs and how you can best help them go
forward in their lives. It is just amazing to me that we can come up
with so many lesson plans each day.
On Thursday we did our usual planning for all the lessons we
would have that day and then headed out the door to our district
meeting. Thursdays lesson was about prayer taught by our District
Leader Äldste Larimaa from Finland. Sys V and I both felt uplifted
and headed back to our area to teach our first lesson with Lu (Chinese
new convert). We had planned something for Lu but when we got in and
sat down Syster V threw it out and just started teaching about Prayer.
I followed. Lu was trying to sell her apt and she had a deadline and
things were getting pretty stressful for her. We asked her if she had
prayed for help. She said yes. Then we asked her if she thought
Heavenly Father would answer her. Her response was "maybe...". Well we
stopped her right there and while following the spirit we taught her
about Heavenly Father and his love for Lu and how he will always
answer our prayers...
We left her house with a peace that filled each of us. There really
is a God who loves us and can help us. We went back on Saturday to
see how things went and to help her clean out her apt. She opened the
door and said "Guess what! I sold my apt!" With a beaming smile she
told us about this random person who had called her last minute and he
offered her more money then she had expected and it all went through
perfectly. You could see this growth in Lu as she grew a little bit
more in her understanding of God and how he really did love her.
I also had to give a talk this week for church about the Book of
Mormon and Missionary work. Seeing as we were so busy this week.... I
could have been a little bit worried about writing this talk. But I
have grown to know that Heavenly Father will help me accomplish the
things I need to in the time allotted. And even with that knowledge
that it will still be ok... it still is so amazing every time I am done.
I was able to find the perfect scriptures I wanted to use, come up
with a few stories to share, and decide my conclusion. Back home this
could have taken me two weeks with 30 mins each day. Now I can do that
with less then two hours on Saturday and Sunday morning. Not to
mention this is also in Swedish :) As I got up to speak I prayed for
energy and strength that I would be able to speak from my heart and
not have everyone fall asleep while talking. :)
And I didn’t see anyone fall asleep!
Lastly, we have been really trying to contact people and invite
them to learn more along the way... but we have been running around so
much that it is hard to take a moment and contact someone. But we were
headed back on a train from a lesson in a neighboring town. There was
a man sitting across from us with a baby stroller with two kids. Just
last week I had tried to start talking to this man and woman across
the seat from me... Swedes are not very talkative... so I usually have to
ask a lot of questions to get the conversation going... well this man...
after a few questions stopped and said, "Why are you asking us so many
questions!".... Ugg....
sometimes experiences like this come back to me right
before I get up the nerves to talk to someone... and I get scared. But
I took a deep breath and with a prayer in my heart started talking to
these little kids and the dad. Before long we had brought up our
message about families and asked him to learn more. To my AMAZEMENT ...
with out pulling any teeth... he said yah sure... here is my number...
here is my address... WHAT! And this wasn't just a nice Spanish guy we
were talking to. He was a Swede! So we set up an apt to visit him and
his family the next day. Sys V and I floated away with bright smiles
on our faces.
Unfortunately his wife doesn’t want two strangers coming over
to their house... so we are praying that we can find some other way to
meet them.
Well! Life is wonderful and I love being here with Syster V. It is
a little weird that she is going home so soon. But I’m glad I'm not
leaving yet. I still have a few more things to learn and want to
experience a few more miracles.
I LOVE YOU ALL!
Syster Schneiber II
This week has been CRAZY! Syster V and I had a hard time deciding
what to write because there was sooo much to write about. So what ever
you get to read today... know there were a lot more miracles that
happened.
Last Monday Sys V and I speeded throughout our cleaning and
writing letters... we didn’t even go shopping for food this week
because the Oremalm couple took us on an excursion to the south. Our
area goes all the way down to the bottom of Sweden... So we took a road
trip to some of their favorite places. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! One of my
favorite places that we went was called Ale's Stenar. It is like The
Stonehenge in England but smaller. We drove along the coast and ate
some underbar food. Brother Oremalm (Hans) reminds me a lot of Bro
Manning. He is always trying to pull a little prank or say a joke. I
love him!
Last night we had dinner at their house. 10 mins before we came
he set up a string attached to the curtain and ran it around the couch
along the wall to the other sofa. When we went into the room for our
spiritual thought he sat down in the sofa and picked up the end of the
string without us noticing. He all the sudden started looking out the
windows and said something about a wind. We turn to look out the
window... and suddenly we see the curtain moving. Haha He tried to make
it seem like there was a ghost in the house.
After our little road trip with the Oremalms we have been running
ever since. I think this week I had the highest number of teaches ever
on my mission. We were non-stop on the go. I am very grateful to have
to opportunity to teach so much because I have really been working on
trying to have the spirit more while I teach.
Each morning after we have woken up, worked out, eaten breakfast,
gotten ready, and studied for an hour--we have an our of companionship
study where we try and plan for all of these lessons. It is not easy
to know what each person needs and how you can best help them go
forward in their lives. It is just amazing to me that we can come up
with so many lesson plans each day.
On Thursday we did our usual planning for all the lessons we
would have that day and then headed out the door to our district
meeting. Thursdays lesson was about prayer taught by our District
Leader Äldste Larimaa from Finland. Sys V and I both felt uplifted
and headed back to our area to teach our first lesson with Lu (Chinese
new convert). We had planned something for Lu but when we got in and
sat down Syster V threw it out and just started teaching about Prayer.
I followed. Lu was trying to sell her apt and she had a deadline and
things were getting pretty stressful for her. We asked her if she had
prayed for help. She said yes. Then we asked her if she thought
Heavenly Father would answer her. Her response was "maybe...". Well we
stopped her right there and while following the spirit we taught her
about Heavenly Father and his love for Lu and how he will always
answer our prayers...
We left her house with a peace that filled each of us. There really
is a God who loves us and can help us. We went back on Saturday to
see how things went and to help her clean out her apt. She opened the
door and said "Guess what! I sold my apt!" With a beaming smile she
told us about this random person who had called her last minute and he
offered her more money then she had expected and it all went through
perfectly. You could see this growth in Lu as she grew a little bit
more in her understanding of God and how he really did love her.
I also had to give a talk this week for church about the Book of
Mormon and Missionary work. Seeing as we were so busy this week.... I
could have been a little bit worried about writing this talk. But I
have grown to know that Heavenly Father will help me accomplish the
things I need to in the time allotted. And even with that knowledge
that it will still be ok... it still is so amazing every time I am done.
I was able to find the perfect scriptures I wanted to use, come up
with a few stories to share, and decide my conclusion. Back home this
could have taken me two weeks with 30 mins each day. Now I can do that
with less then two hours on Saturday and Sunday morning. Not to
mention this is also in Swedish :) As I got up to speak I prayed for
energy and strength that I would be able to speak from my heart and
not have everyone fall asleep while talking. :)
And I didn’t see anyone fall asleep!
Lastly, we have been really trying to contact people and invite
them to learn more along the way... but we have been running around so
much that it is hard to take a moment and contact someone. But we were
headed back on a train from a lesson in a neighboring town. There was
a man sitting across from us with a baby stroller with two kids. Just
last week I had tried to start talking to this man and woman across
the seat from me... Swedes are not very talkative... so I usually have to
ask a lot of questions to get the conversation going... well this man...
after a few questions stopped and said, "Why are you asking us so many
questions!".... Ugg....
sometimes experiences like this come back to me right
before I get up the nerves to talk to someone... and I get scared. But
I took a deep breath and with a prayer in my heart started talking to
these little kids and the dad. Before long we had brought up our
message about families and asked him to learn more. To my AMAZEMENT ...
with out pulling any teeth... he said yah sure... here is my number...
here is my address... WHAT! And this wasn't just a nice Spanish guy we
were talking to. He was a Swede! So we set up an apt to visit him and
his family the next day. Sys V and I floated away with bright smiles
on our faces.
Unfortunately his wife doesn’t want two strangers coming over
to their house... so we are praying that we can find some other way to
meet them.
Well! Life is wonderful and I love being here with Syster V. It is
a little weird that she is going home so soon. But I’m glad I'm not
leaving yet. I still have a few more things to learn and want to
experience a few more miracles.
I LOVE YOU ALL!
Syster Schneiber II
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