June 15

Mom,

I am doing great! Things are going very well for me here in Grants. This past week was a really good week with great missionary work that was accomplished as always. Lunch after the block sounds great. Bombay House sounds good to me. 

Church was really great yesterday! Jacinta made it to church and she is going to be baptized this Saturday, so we are very excited. Austin doesn't have a new date yet, but we will be setting one this week. He is currently living with his girlfriend and they are going to get married on the 27th so that'll be pretty awesome too! Depending on when his baptism is in July or August I might try to drive down here and see it if it works with my summer schedule and work and whatever else is going on. 

Unfortunately, Miranda and Gary didn't make it to church yesterday. They are really funny kids and we'll be seeing them again tomorrow so that should go well. 

Thanks for letting me know about Susanna Stone Lloyd! I can't wait to learn more about my family history and figure out what's all back there and who I'm related to and learn of their stories. I'm glad Stake Conference went well, I love being able to listen to good speakers.

This past week we were able to meet with Jacinta and her two daughters came with her and her younger son who is 15-years-old joined us for a lesson for the first time! It was a great lesson and we were able to talk about the importance of unity and about how sometimes in the trials of life we try to go through them on our own and we don't make it through so well, but as we rely on our family, the church, and especially the Lord, we have the strength to make it through all things! Just as it says in D&C 38:27 - " I say unto you, beone ; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." I feel like that is one of the big lessons I have learned on my mission, the importance of unity. I have seen the power that comes from unity in a companionship, in a district or zone, and especially from unity with our Father in Heaven. In my mission, when I have been united with my companion and with the Lord miracles truly happen and things run so much more smoothly and I have never felt the Spirit stronger. I will hopefully be able to take this into my life and apply it within my marriage and family, any church callings I have, and everywhere else I can find it applies!

I love you all!

Elder Schaelling

June 8

1) How has your day been?

2) Did you get a dinner invite today? 

3) Did you tell people that it's your birthday today? 

4) Did your Dunford Donuts arrive?

5) Were they in good condition?

6) Who came to church today?  So sorry that Jacinta and Austin didn't make it last week causing their baptism dates to be postponed.  I pray they're still on track. 

7) Have you been able to meet with Jacinta's friend or the Tongan lady you mentioned  last week?

8) How was Meet the Mormons Night?

9) Did Janet from Arkansas come to Meet the Mormons Night?

--------------------

Mom,

1) My day was pretty good! There were a lot of investigators and less active members we have been teaching who showed up, 6 investigators and 13 less active members! I got to bare my testimony in sacrament meeting for the last time as a missionary and it felt great. I bore my testimony on the power of selflessness. I mentioned a relief society president in Blanding who said "Whenever life seems unfulfilled or discouraging, find someone around you who needs a hand and help them out." I know that as I have felt that way, whenever I have looked around me and tried to touch someone's life that day it has made it better and helped me see the hand of the Lord in my life. Whether it's been my companion, an investigator, an active or less active member, or someone I don't even know, I have always found joy as I've focused on the opportunities the Lord has given me to help his children. 

2) I got to eat dinner at the Merayo's home (the Bishop's) and Sister Merayo is a great cook! We had a roast and she makes really good rolls and some pasta salad with a peach drink. 

3) Not really. 

4) Yes, they did. 

5) They still look good, I didn't get them until today because when they came Friday we weren't at home to sign for the package and when we went to the post office on Saturday we got there at 12:15 and the desk was already closed. It was a perfect birthday package! Thank you so much, I can't think of anything else I could have wanted other than organic cereal, healthy snack bars that I'm not allergic to, blue corn chips, and Dunford Donuts. I think I have developed an allergy to soy also, because whenever I eat anything that has soy as a primary ingredient (like protein bars, etc) I have an allergic reaction. But if soy is a smaller ingredient then I'm fine. I'm planning on doing more research on what the deal with allergies is when I get home. 

6) Jacinta and Austin both made it, along with Thomas and two new investigators, Miranda and Gary! They are just young kids being raised by their grandparents who were very active for a long time down in their branch on the Zuni reservation and then out in Albuquerque but they just haven't come much since they've been here in Grants but they found us and said they want to come back to church and have their grandkids baptized. 

7) We met with Jacinta's friend, Velvet, last Monday and she said she still wants to learn more and get into the church and whatnot but right now she's dealing with a divorce so she is pretty busy and out of town often dealing with that. But her sister works with a lady who's son is a on a mission and we're going to start teaching Velvet at their house once Velvets life settles down a little bit. 

8) It was a lot of fun! There was probably about 90 people there and around 10 non-members and Kendal Cash who owns a barbecue restaurant here and is the Elders Quorum President brought nachos and popcorn and candy and it was pretty fun. 

9) Unfortunately, no. 

Our ward is going on the trek this week and it's a pretty big trek with 5 stakes from the area going up to southwest Colorado and it sounds like a lot of fun. When I was talking about it with Sister Merayo she mentioned how she loves learning about the pioneers and I mentioned that we have some pioneer ancestry. Who are the people that we are related to? I had a feeling like I had heard you or Grandma mention we are related to Suzanna Stone. Are we? Anyone else from the handcart companies? Also, when is our stake doing its next trek? If they are doing one this summer after I get home and it works out with whatever my schedule is and they could use some volunteers to just help out with running things, I would love to go. I don't think I thought about the pioneers and revered them as much as I should have when I went as a 14-year-old, haha.

Glad to hear that Nate and Natalie are pretty close to actually sealing the deal! Sounds like a great birthday celebration. What is the iPad Air? I haven't heard of it. I think my mind might be blown with some of the new technology that has come out. I just saw someone with one of those watches that is connected to their smart phone.

I'm glad you had a wonderful birthday and where is that World's Best Corndog place? I might have to try that out when I get home!

I love you all! 

Elder Schaelling 

June 1

Mom,

Yes, I did hear on Saturday that Elder Perry passed away. Like you said, I was pretty surprised to hear that! He seemed very lively at conference. I wonder how long it will take to announce a new apostle. I'm not to familiar with this process too much, because the only one I remember very well is Elder Andersen and I still didn't pay extremely close attention to the whole proceedings. He was an amazing man! Good talk this past conference on the family.

Unfortunately, Jacinta didn't make it to church yesterday and we're not sure why. We'll be seeing her tonight and we're going to have to move her baptism from this weekend, but we are still confident that she'll make it to baptism. She's a pretty amazing person. Austin didn't make it either. Hopefully we'll be able to get them all back on track! We did have a pretty cool experience though, on Saturday night. We went out to a less active couple's home and they have a lady temporarily living with them who just moved to Grants from Arkansas but the place she is going to rent isn't ready yet so she is living with them. We went to their house and just about a minute or two after we get there and talk to them all, Janet, the non-member, asks, "Could you tell me about the Mormon Church?" And we sure did! She had a bunch of questions for us and it was a lot of fun haha. She's a really nice lady. Has a good southern accent. And she said she would come to the Meet the Mormons activity!

Good to hear that Jonathan is doing pretty well. I'll be excited to see him again when I get back home! Do you have bishop's email? I'd like to shoot him an email to ask him if there's any specific topic he'd like me to speak on.

Yes, the dictaphone is a great gift that will help me over the next month and I've already put it to use! That's cool that Steve and Joan are speaking with me, haha. Thanks for checking with Kristi. 

I love you all!

Elder Schaelling 

May 26

Mom,

Seems like you have had a lot going on this past week! I'm glad you survived it.

Jacinta is doing great, she is going to be baptized on June 6th and confirmed on June 7th (#holla)! One of several miracles that I need to tell you all about is Jacinta bringing a friend of hers to our lesson last Thursday. She had a friend, named Velvet, who had just moved back from Farmington to Grants earlier that day and she asked her if she wanted to come to Bible study with her that evening, and she agreed. When we heard (about 10 minutes before the lesson) that her friend was coming we were planning on teaching the law of chastity and we were thinking, "Should we teach about chastity still since it'll be her first time meeting with missionaries or should we do something else?" and we just decided to go with chastity and eternal families anyways. So, we did that and she loved it! Haha. She came to the next lesson on Saturday and we taught tithing and fast offerings and she told us about how she feels like now that she's meeting with us she now believes that God is really listening to and answering her prayers! So we invited her to be baptized on July 4th, and she accepted.

In addition, we invited Austin to be baptized on June 20th (we'll see if he makes the date, he has to quit smoking so it might not be that day) and he accepted! Also, we went to go teach him last Saturday and he was talking to his friend Cody who has been thinking about and looking for religion who is 17-years-old and invited him to come to our lesson and so we taught them the plan of salvation and he also invited the invitation to be baptized on July 4th!

My last big miracle to report from this past week is that a really nice Tongan lady named Leah showed up to church Sunday morning. We got talking to her in Gospel Principles, because the relief society president talked to her after sacrament and took her to that class, and she is a non-member. She told us that she was visiting some family in St. George and attended a Polynesian ward there and she has been living here in Grants for a while and she has been praying to God and telling him that she's not sure where her life is supposed to go but that she had faith that he would take her in the right direction. She then took a test to get into a nursing program in Gallup and she had just found out on Saturday that she got accepted and felt like she should join us at church! She sounds pretty amazing.

1) Great! 

2) June 5th, so we'll be celebrating your birthday that way down here haha. I hope you have a great time with whatever you end up doing up there! 

3) Nope, transfers happened on the 19th. 

4) He's doing great! We're having a good time together. 

5) Nope. As a matter of fact, don't send me stuff. Tell the rest of the family that too. Like I said, it would be easier if we just chose some day after I get home to celebrate my birthday or whatever so that way I don't get any packages with stuff that I just have to figure out how to fit into my suitcase for the plane ride home. If people want to send me something for my birthday, just a letter or a card would be greatly appreciated. 

That's so awesome that the temple open house worked out so well! Keep up the good work. Even if she doesn't join the church, you've done your part. Just like in The Power of Everyday Missionaries, he said a lot of the people whom he has had the missionaries teach in his home or invited to do things have not joined the church, but each time his personal testimony and the testimony of his family has grown and he has become better friends with those whom he has invited.

I hope that Nick does okay! I'll keep him and their family in my prayers.

I guess I'll actually see Idaho Falls and their house and/or cottage for the first time when we go up for President Batt's mission report because I've never been up there before. (I'm sure I went there when I was younger or something, but I can't remember anything about it.)

I hope you had a great Memorial Day! We didn't do anything too unique. The college was closed so we couldn't email yesterday.

I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Schaelling

May 26

Mom,

Seems like you have had a lot going on this past week! I'm glad you survived it.

Jacinta is doing great, she is going to be baptized on June 6th and confirmed on June 7th (#holla)! One of several miracles that I need to tell you all about is Jacinta bringing a friend of hers to our lesson last Thursday. She had a friend, named Velvet, who had just moved back from Farmington to Grants earlier that day and she asked her if she wanted to come to Bible study with her that evening, and she agreed. When we heard (about 10 minutes before the lesson) that her friend was coming we were planning on teaching the law of chastity and we were thinking, "Should we teach about chastity still since it'll be her first time meeting with missionaries or should we do something else?" and we just decided to go with chastity and eternal families anyways. So, we did that and she loved it! Haha. She came to the next lesson on Saturday and we taught tithing and fast offerings and she told us about how she feels like now that she's meeting with us she now believes that God is really listening to and answering her prayers! So we invited her to be baptized on July 4th, and she accepted.

In addition, we invited Austin to be baptized on June 20th (we'll see if he makes the date, he has to quit smoking so it might not be that day) and he accepted! Also, we went to go teach him last Saturday and he was talking to his friend Cody who has been thinking about and looking for religion who is 17-years-old and invited him to come to our lesson and so we taught them the plan of salvation and he also invited the invitation to be baptized on July 4th!

My last big miracle to report from this past week is that a really nice Tongan lady named Leah showed up to church Sunday morning. We got talking to her in Gospel Principles, because the relief society president talked to her after sacrament and took her to that class, and she is a non-member. She told us that she was visiting some family in St. George and attended a Polynesian ward there and she has been living here in Grants for a while and she has been praying to God and telling him that she's not sure where her life is supposed to go but that she had faith that he would take her in the right direction. She then took a test to get into a nursing program in Gallup and she had just found out on Saturday that she got accepted and felt like she should join us at church! She sounds pretty amazing.

1) Great! 

2) June 5th, so we'll be celebrating your birthday that way down here haha. I hope you have a great time with whatever you end up doing up there! 

3) Nope, transfers happened on the 19th. 

4) He's doing great! We're having a good time together. 

5) Nope. As a matter of fact, don't send me stuff. Tell the rest of the family that too. Like I said, it would be easier if we just chose some day after I get home to celebrate my birthday or whatever so that way I don't get any packages with stuff that I just have to figure out how to fit into my suitcase for the plane ride home. If people want to send me something for my birthday, just a letter or a card would be greatly appreciated. 

6) I don't think so. 

7) Okay, I started registering for classes two weeks ago and a lot of the good time slots for classes are already full which is unfortunate. I'm just hoping the Lord will provide that when I get home I will be able to get a decent schedule worked in or be able to talk to specific professors and get add codes or something for their class. I'm not really sure what else I can do while I'm on my mission. 

8) Nope. 

9) On one hand I would like everyone to keep the Sabbath holy and attend all the meetings but I'm just not sure how many people will be attending who live not close to Layton where that would make it difficult for them or more time consuming then they can manage. I also personally would like to attend Sunday School and Priesthood if possible, but I'm sure it would be logistically difficult to get that all worked out. What do you guys think? 

10) No, I'm pretty okay with anything.

That's so awesome that the temple open house worked out so well! Keep up the good work. Even if she doesn't join the church, you've done your part. Just like in The Power of Everyday Missionaries, he said a lot of the people whom he has had the missionaries teach in his home or invited to do things have not joined the church, but each time his personal testimony and the testimony of his family has grown and he has become better friends with those whom he has invited.

I hope that Nick does okay! I'll keep him and their family in my prayers.

I guess I'll actually see Idaho Falls and their house and/or cottage for the first time when we go up for President Batt's mission report because I've never been up there before. (I'm sure I went there when I was younger or something, but I can't remember anything about it.)

I hope you had a great Memorial Day! We didn't do anything too unique. The college was closed so we couldn't email yesterday.

I love you all! 

May 18

Mom,

I'm glad you got my Mother's Day letter! Thank goodness for scripture markers haha.

We have gotten some pretty weak rain down here the past few days, it was overcast and kind of gloomy for a few days but the rain was really just a continuous sprinkle, not a real rain.

Good to hear that everyone enjoyed Star Wars! As much as I love Star Wars, I really haven't watched them in a long time so it would be nice to watch them again with you in preparation for Episode 7. It was pretty shocking to me when I heard that the new one wasn't coming out in May because that is the month that all the other six ones came out in! But it's okay that they broke tradition because now I'll be home for it. There are gospel principles within the Star Wars saga. I've heard from my companions about how much of the gospel is in Lord of the Rings, but I never got into those movies so maybe I'll have to try again when I get home.

Sounds interesting! Yeah, Envision Utah would be related to public policy. Public policy is basically law writing and policy making. So if one worked in a public policy research organization, he or she would presumably research things in their specialty, whether that be healthcare policy or transportation policy, etc. Yeah, I'm still interested but I have no idea what will really happen.

Jacinta is doing great! She came to church yesterday with her two daughters and when we asked her how she has been enjoying church she said, "I love it. I feel great afterwards. I think I need it more like two or three times a week rather than just the once!" Haha. We have a new investigator named Austin who is the boyfriend of Jeremey's step-daughter. He has come to church with the family the past three weeks, but always leaves after sacrament so we are trying to get him to stay. (That is the biggest problem, people always leave after sacrament so we are trying so hard to get people to stay!) He's an awesome investigator though, he lost his belief in God due to some bad experiences with his family, but feels the need for something in his life and he is about 18 years old or so and is really interested in learning more, we taught him 4 times this past week! It's so cool because whenever we ask him,  "When can we come back to see you?" he says, "What time are you free tomorrow?" or something rather than waiting until the next week so he has a strong desire to learn!

Another cool experience was when we took out a recent convert with us to a lesson. We took Bob (the RC) to see Bennie (the investigator) because they are both older and retired and we taught Bennie about the Plan of Salvation and Bob was so powerful at the end when he invited Bennie to church on Sunday! He said, "Bennie, I want you to come to church with us this Sunday because it is really just a wonderful place and the spirituality of this church is something that I have never found or seen before! I will be waiting for you at the door and if you come it would be such a pleasure to have you sit by me. The people there at the LDS Church here in Grants are really unlike any other I've met, they are some of the most wonderful and godly people I have ever run into!" Bob is so amazing at how bold he is. He made me think of a verse in Romans, chapter 1 verse 16: " For I am not ashamed of the gospel ofChrist: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" I could see that Bob was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ in his invitation. Unfortunately, Bennie didn't come to church yesterday. But Bob succeeded, because he was willing to invite! And I can promise that Bob felt the Spirit in his life because he was willing to invite, just like it talks about in The Power of Everyday Missionaries. We succeed when we invite, regardless of the outcome.

Good job at all your awesome fellowshipping with Carola! Keep it up, mom! You're a rock star!

Did you get a J-Dawg while at BYU?

Sounds like a lot of missionary stuff going on in the homeward, that's always good to hear!

Yes, I got the package. Thank you!

I love you all!

Elder Schaelling

May 11

Mom,

It was great to be able to Skype with you all and to have the whole family in the mix! It is pretty amazing how well it can work to Skype and everything.

I can't remember if I said, but we had the appointment with Bud and Alicea with Bud's brother Clayton and his wife, Tannis, at Clayton and Tannis's home and it was really nice! We had dinner and then taught about the Restoration and Alicea had a lot of questions! She doesn't have much of a background in religion at all, she grew up with general belief in God but never learned much of anything about Christ because she never went to church and whatnot. She's pretty awesome though, she and Bud came to church again yesterday! We are waiting for their wedding for their baptism so it probably wont be until July, and similar deal with Albert and Vanessa since they need to get married. Missionary work would be a lot easier if people just got married haha. And I already told you guys about Jacinta yesterday on Skype.

That's so cool that you gave out that book to everyone! And that's great that Aimee is doing well with the piano. And it's okay that it didn't work out with us older kids, at least we can have learned the lesson and remember that for our kids to learn an instrument that we need to set them up with someone outside of the home.

Congrats to Nate and Natalie on the wedding anniversary! Same to Jackie with her birthday, that peanut butter and chocolate ice cream sounds really good.

Teaching is a difficult thing to do, but as you learn how to teach well it really makes a big difference within the church and I would imagine within the family. The most difficult and most important thing to do as a teacher is to engage the learner, just as the new Come Follow Me curriculum for the youth has done. That's what I hope I will be able to learn even more about as I hopefully work at the MTC, how to put the students in the driver seat as seek learning by study and also by faith.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Elder Schaelling