April 13

Mom,

So it's official, eh? That's pretty crazy. Yeah, I was planning on flying home not driving home or anything, I feel like that final flight from the mission home and meeting the family at the airport is a must do to have proper closure to missionary service. Haha, so your priority is picking up me? I was wondering what would happen if Natalie did go into labor as my plane was coming in. I was expecting to find a sticky-note on the luggage carousel that says, "Elder Schaelling, take bus 550 to the University of Utah Hospital and meet us there in room 316." Even if it does work out that way, it'd be a great story I could tell for the rest of my life. 

Yeah, I have changed a lot but I think when I go home I will realize that many things have not changed about me. There are a few constants in my personality, and clothing is one of them. I have been relatively less picky in my mission but I'm sure I'll be right back up to my old standards of clothing and food when I go home. When you mail the stuff if you could mail me a copy of The Power of Everyday Missionaries that'd be great. I'd just love to be able to show it to members and encourage them to read it here, because Elder Van Meter and I are really trying to help the members here work with us to find those who have been prepared by the Lord. Yeah, I was re-called as a district leader and to train for my last two transfers. It's been fun so far! I got a little used to having less responsibility last transfer though, and it did feel kind of nice haha. But I'm excited to be able to work with the elders here in the district on exchanges and hopefully really be able to build up some new and young leadership in the mission. 

Sister Parks (a nice sister from Albuquerque who sent Tammy a photo of Matt and his companion at Stake Conference in Gallup, NM) said that her husband is part of the Facilities Management group so they had come out for stake conference just to check on the building as well, but you are right that Albuquerque is out of our stake and mission. It sounds like you already have some of the background of Elder Van Meter from his mom so I don't have to tell you too much more about him haha. 

(Insert from Tammy:  Elder Van Meter's mom connected with me via the photo text from Sister Parks.  She said that they are from Berryville, VA, Elder Van Meter is their youngest child but first to serve a mission and that she is so relieved that he has a good first companion.  I must agree with her on that last part!  She's very happy to have her son serving a mission because she said, "If not for the missionaries that taught me, I never would have had the blessings of the Gospel in my life.")

Things are going really well with us and I'm excited to be his companion! Young missionaries like him are fun because they still have that "ideal missionary" in their mind from the MTC and have a desire to work really hard, be exactly obedient, and change the world so we'll go do a lot of great work together! 

Sounds like a great Easter program! That's awesome that Amy was there. (A high school friend of Matt's named Amy played the violin in our ward's Easter Program last Sunday.)

I'm glad Dad survived his exam. (Mike took his Medical Board exams, a full day of no fun, on April 8.)

Story for this week is about a new investigator that we found via a referral from our ward mission leader valiantly fulfilling his calling. He and another member of the ward work with a lady named Jacinta at the hospital and he told us about her but wasn't sure where she lived and he told us to look in the Area Book to find her address because the missionaries in the past had taught her once or twice a while ago, but we couldn't find a record of her from those missionaries. So we went to go contact a less active member and across the street from his trailer was a teenage boy and his sister in a yard with a dog that ran to us to play with us so we decided to go ask the boy if his parents were home and he said that his mom would be home in a minute. Just at that time, his mom pulled around the corner and parked in front of her house and we talked to her for a minute and we asked if we could come by and she said sure and we asked her name and she said, "Jacinta." And I was like, "No way! Do you work with Brother Emery and Sister Cash?" And she said she did! So we contacted her on accident haha. Well, I should say by the grace of God and the hand of the Lord. We taught her on Thursday with Bob, a recent convert of about two months and he bore a POWERFUL testimony of the reality of the truth of the gospel and the church and she committed to come to church next week (because yesterday was stake conference and she is on call so she can't go too far from the hospital) and we have a lesson tonight at the Cash's home with Jacinta lined up and we're going to teach her the Restoration! She accepted a baptismal invitation the last lesson so tonight we will be planning on setting a baptismal date with her and should be great! 

I LOVE YOU ALL! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE! 

Love, 

Elder Schaelling