April 27

Mom,

Things are still going great here in Mount Taylor Ward! That's so awesome that Aimee won the election! I'm proud of her, I'm sure she'll have a lot of fun and learn a lot in that position.

That's great that Nate and Natalie found a place to live finally, I hope it all works out well too!

That's awesome that Jackie is the Young Women's President! I'm sure she'll do a fantastic job in that calling. What callings has she held thus far in her life? Has she worked with the young women much before? I've enjoyed working with the youth whenever I have the opportunity to as a missionary, because the youth are so willing and have so many opportunities to do missionary work. 

Great news with all the mission calls and homecomings! New mission calls are always exciting. And yes, I can still remember plenty of Navajo to do my testimony in my homecoming talk. I have been losing it a little bit since I've not been speaking it too much here in Grants, only like once ever 2-3 weeks (it hurts my heart sometimes, I miss the Navajo people a lot). In Blanding I still got to use it a decent amount, but obviously not as much as I did on the reservation. There are a lot of people who either were raised speaking Navajo in Blanding or learned it on their mission. But I'll have no problem in my homecoming talk because I'll be prepared. Sometimes it's hard to converse in Navajo now if it's just regular conversation, but the times when I have been able to testify to people or pray in Navajo either here in Grants or on exchanges in other areas the words that I need always come back. 

Jacinta is awesome. We also have some updates on Albert and Vanessa. We took the Bishop's wife, Sister Merayo, with us to go see them this past week and Albert has been facing some pressure from his family to not join the church and to not accept the Book of Mormon and so he's pretty confused right now, but Vanessa has the testimony of a giant! She defends the church and the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith to everyone she knows who says anything bad about it! She's been having a hard time coming to church just because she's been a little anxious about it but Sister Merayo gave her a big hug and told her she'd be saving the whole bench for her and her family and Vanessa came with her four kids and even brought her cousin and she was commenting in Gospel Principles! Albert had to work so he wasn't able to make it. Tonight we'll be teaching Albert and Vanessa at the Merayo's home so it should be pretty awesome. 

Love, 

Elder Schaelling 

April 20

My questions for Matt:

1) How are you and Elder Van Meter doing?

2) How is Jacinta doing?  That's amazing how The Lord truly guided you to her!

3) How are your other investigators doing?

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1) We are doing great! Our personalities mesh well and we both have the goal to be exactly obedient and work very hard while also having tons of fun. It's nice to be with someone who understands how to keep that balance well. 

2) Jacinta is doing great, she came to church yesterday with her two daughters and it seems like they really enjoyed it! We'll be teaching her tomorrow night again so we'll get more feedback from her then. She's such an awesome person and I think it makes all the difference in the world the fact that she is being taught in a members home and was introduced to the gospel by Brother Emery and Sister Cash. I think her seeing their excitement for the gospel is really helping her have a stronger desire to live these things herself, as it would any investigator/less active. Obviously us missionaries are very excited about the gospel but you would expect someone to be that way who has devoted two years of their life to doing nothing but preaching the gospel, but I think when someone sees a person who is just like them so excited and have such a strong testimony it just brings it to life! 

3) Our other investigators are doing pretty well! Jeremy Sears will be baptized May 9th and so we're really excited about that! He was already being taught when I got here but it's finally really going to happen! Unfortunately, Jeremy and Jacinta were the only ones who made it to church this Sunday. We have a lot of other awesome investigators but we are just hoping to see them keep the commitment to come to church. Member involvement is really increasing and I think that's going to make a huge difference in investigator's progress. 

 

That's crazy that everyone is coming home! I guess I'm the tail end of the group of homecomings the next few months then, am I? Or are there others who will be coming home after me? 

I'm so jealous of Jackie and Trevor and them living in SLC. SLC is such an awesome place! We had dinner with a member family last week who used to live in SLC because the husband was going to the U and we were just talking about how awesome of a city it is. 

Hopefully everything goes well with Natalie and Nate and their family finding a place to settle down! 

Good luck to Quin with his mission, 5 missionaries is a lot and a big legacy to live up to I guess! Haha, he'll do a great job though. 

Good luck to Aimee with her elections also! 

I LOVE THE LOWER LIGHTS! That's one thing I definitely want to do when I get home, is find one of their concerts so I can go see them live. The music is amazing and so spiritual. I know that Ryan Shupe is part of the group too! Maybe if I brush up on one of my instruments I can play with them on the side... Haha, just kidding. 

I love the gospel and I love the mission. Right now in the Mt. Taylor ward member involvement is really picking up and things are so awesome. Members make ALL the difference in the world when it comes to the work of salvation! We made a family home evening outline for members to use and we are going to have a Meet the Mormons ward social on May 15th where we are going to invite non members to the church to watch the movie and then at the end we are going to have them Meet the Mormons in Mt. Taylor ward and probably have a person or a couple share their conversion story and then hand out Book of Mormons with testimonies of members of the ward to people who want them! It should be really awesome, we brought it up in ward council yesterday and everyone jumped on it so I'm excited! 

Here's the general outline for the FHE
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Discuss and make plans as a family how you can participate in the work of salvation! (Preach My Gospel pgs. 160-162)

·         Pray and follow the spirit – Alma 6:6

·         Give service – Mosiah 2:17-19

·         Develop friendships – Helaman 6:3

·         Open your mouth to share the restored gospel – D&C 100:5-8

·         Invite others to do things to increase their faith in Christ – Moroni 7:13

Go to hasteningthework.lds.org and watch a video on families participating in the work of salvation

 

Love, 

Elder Schaelling 

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 

April 6

Mom,

Yes, as always, conference was AMAZING. I definitely felt like one of the main themes this conference was marriage, family, and the home being centered on the gospel. Last go around one of the main themes (especially of the Sunday Morning Session) was follow the prophet. It's so cool to see how even though people aren't assigned topics directly, their talks always go along with each other in such great unity! I'm sure they discuss things that are on their mind together and are aware of the things others will be talking about, but it's still awesome to see how it all comes together. I too was pretty surprised and a little let down that we only got to hear from President Monson twice! Also that he spoke at the beginning of the Sunday Morning session rather than the end was peculiar. When he began the session I wasn't sure if I should be listening to his talk for announcements or listening for a talk so I just put it on my flashdrive so we can listen to it again on our drive to Farmington today. Of the talks that stuck out to me most, one that I really loved and felt like I and everyone else needed in the world was Elder Anderson's talk on God's Hand being in our life. I had recently read that scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that he quoted, " And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath   kindled , save those who confess not his hand in all things, andobey not his commandments" (59:21) because I am going through D&C right now. It is so important to see and search for God's Hand in our life and to believe that it is there. That is a lesson I learned at the beginning of the mission and it is never bad to have a reminder of it. It was cool to just see him talk about the miracles in the preparations for the newly announced temples to be built and everything! I too liked Elder Renlund's talk and when he used the example of the missionary and his companion: "You know, the two of you don't look all that different compared to me." Hahaha, isn't that so true. Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, and President Uchtdorf are always the ones I look forward to the most and same here, they didn't disappoint. President Uchtdorf has mastered learning how to rebuke the saints in the most kind of ways and his talks are always so personable. I just always feel like he really understands and can empathize with how your "average Mormon" feels and the struggles they face as they try their best to choose the right. We ate Easter dinner with the Hine family, he is in the stake presidency and she is the stake young women president and they are super cool. This next weekend is actually stake conference for us! In regards to President Monson, I had the same thoughts last fall as well. He looked pretty worn out during the Priesthood session but with much more vigor Sunday morning. I've thought of the meaning of that in regards to the difference of audiences. When President Monson is speaking to the Priesthood, he is talking to wearied Priesthood holders throughout the world and is showing that he too carries the burden and feels tired or worn out at times, nevertheless he presses on diligently serving the Lord. However, when he speaks during the Sunday Morning session, he is addressing the world and stands in majesty and power as the one and only living prophet of God! 

Unfortunately, Thomas did not join us. But another investigator, Vanessa, came with three of her kids and her niece! Her husband, Albert, was working so he couldn't join us. They are on baptismal date also for May 16th, so we'll keep working with them! They are pretty awesome. 

Elder Hozman is getting transferred to Redmesa, Colorado, and I will be training a new missionary straight from the MTC so we are going to Farmington today.

That's awesome that you saw Austin! I'll have to check out all that stuff when I go home. 

I love you all and am so grateful for the leaders of the church! They are wonderful people and I do know from the bottom of my heart that they are the chosen servants of the Lord and that their words " are true and faithful , and theprophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled" and that 
"whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants , it is the same ." (D&C 1:37-38)

Love,

Elder Schaelling

March 30

My questions for Matt:

1) How are you doing? 
2) How are all of your investigators doing? 
3) Where will you watch General Conference? 
4) Have you received a dinner invitation for Easter Sunday? 
5) Have you been able to visit any of the nearby sites on a P-day? 
6) About how many members are in your ward there? 
7) How far away is your Stake Center? 
8) Are you getting used to the larger community and driving on an interstate? 

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Mom,

1) I am doing pretty well! I was sick a bit last week but I am feeling a lot better today. 

2) Doing well. We were able to see Thomas again yesterday and he is doing awesome, he's on baptismal date for May 16th! He has been reading the Book of Mormon and already has an answer that it is true! It's pretty amazing, he told us that he already feels like this is the right thing for him to do so he's going to come watch conference with us this Sunday. He went to a place to go get lunch and they have free books there and when he went to the bookshelf the first book he saw there was The Book of Mormon and took that as a sign from God (it was a hardback copy of an older edition). It had been marked up by a member (in preparation to give to someone) and the portions of the book that were marked up were things that he had been praying for answers to (there was Nephi's Psalm in 2 Nephi 4, Alma 32, 3 Nephi 11, and Moroni 10 all marked up with explanations written out on the side of the page)! When we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon (the paperback ones we usually give out) he asked if we could get him a hardback and we said we would look for one haha, but God provided! 

3) At the church building most likely. We might watch a session or two at a less active family's house or an investigators house if they don't want to join us at the church and we want to give them some extra "encouragement" to watch it, haha. 

4) I think so. I'd have to check the dinner calendar when I go home, I can't remember. 

5) We went to the top of Mt. Taylor last p-day and we met a less active guy who said he'll take us out pretty much any p-day because he's always off and likes to do stuff like that anyways, so that's awesome! 

6) Probably about 200-220 active members, but I think there's like 600-800 on the roll, but I'm not positive. 

7) It is in Gallup which is about 60 miles to the west 

8) Yeah, I'm getting used to it haha.

The General Women's Meeting sounds pretty awesome! I have been to Hatch's Chocolates a few times, it's pretty good. I got the hot chocolate and a truffle or something. That's awesome that she mentioned the sister from Chinle! I'll have to look up her talk one it gets published online, hopefully by next week or something. I doubt she's related to President Yazzie, Yazzie is a common last name like Smith or Johnson. The big last names here are Yazzie, Begay, and Benally. those names are common throughout the whole reservation, but there are other names that are more area specific. Like in Steamboat there was Tahy, Pete, Bitsoie, and in Bluff there was Maryboy, Bigboy, Yanito, Redhorse, Lameman, etc. 

I actually haven't seen the new Easter video yet, we hopefully will be able to watch it today at an investigator's home or something. It should be really awesome! He Is the Gift from Christmas time was awesome. 

I'm glad you are reading the everyday missionary book!

I LOVE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. That is why I am preaching the gospel for two years, because I don't want the sacrifice of His Atonement to be in vain by not letting every single person to know of His true gospel that has been restored to this earth. I've never served around other Christian denominations much because I was on the reservation for so long, but we've been running into a fair amount of anti-Mormons here in Grants and it's only strengthened my testimony of this Gospel, because how people believe we are cleansed and receive salvation is pretty confusing and doesn't fit together as perfectly and beautifully as the doctrine of Christ taught throughout the standard works. 

Love, 

Elder Schaelling 

March 23

Mom,

It's not looking too much like spring yet, and I'm not sure what to expect here! In Steamboat spring was pretty spectacular with the desert flowers, cacti, and weeds blossoming with all sorts of colors, from reds and yellows to blues and purples. But in Grants there is less vegetation because we are in a city in the desert.

I didn't buy a blender. If there's one on Amazon for not too much you can send it here and if I like it I'll take it home, otherwise I'll leave it here at the end of my mission. Yeah, really all I will probably use it for regularly is to make fruit smoothies and whatnot.

Albert is doing pretty well, haven't had any contact with Bridgette and Daniel. We were able to meet with John on Wednesday and gave him a priesthood blessing and he talked about how that was one of the strongest times he has ever felt the Spirit and how he could feel it throughout his whole body! It made me think of the verse in D&C 84:20 "Therefore, in the ordinances [of the Priesthood], the power of godliness is manifest." John's a great guy and we have Stake Conference the week after General Conference so his baptism will probably wait until all that is taken care of so we're looking at April 18th.

I got an email from BYU saying that I can start registering for classes this Thursday, so hopefully I'll sign up for some classes next Monday.

That's too bad that the home didn't work out for Natalie and Nate! Hopefully they'll have a home of their own to take the newborn to. That's what I've been telling people that ask about my family when I mention that I have three nephews and a niece, that I have another one on the way and we're seeing who comes first -- me or the baby!

Well. It sounds like Asher will probably take a while to warm up to me haha. However, I am up for the challenge! Hopefully at least by the time I get home he's totally cool with you and the family so that way I'm not just another scary stranger or something.

I'm glad Aimee is enjoying choir!

Park City sounds great! I have been thinking that I hope to be able to take more advantage of all the wonders of the state of Utah more after I return home now that I've turned a little more country and a little less city from my mission, so I'll be excited to explore some of the cool stuff Park City area has to offer! Sounds good. If it's just me, you, dad, and Aimee I might think about going back to the mission or maybe something else. I'm not sure. I want to make it back to the mission relatively soon (probably by the end of the year) but I might just end up doing that on a long weekend or fall break or something and just take a road trip down here since it's not very far.

I love you all! This past week we had interviews with President Batt and he asked us to come prepared with our favorite scripture. I have too many that I love to pick one, but one that has been on my mind regularly over the past 7 or 8 months has been D&C 25:10 - " And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world , and seek for the things of a better ." It's just such a powerful scripture to me. I do know that as we come to lay aside worldly distractions and seek for the things of God and of the Spirit, we can find ultimate happiness. That is the thing that I am most grateful for regarding my mission experience, is that it helped me "purge the world" out of my soul, you might say. I hope I can continue to "live in the spirit" after I get home, as Paul discusses in Galatians 5:25. Another cool insight I had this week as I was studying the Doctrine of Christ in 2 Nephi 31, I noticed how Nephi describes enduring to the end in verse 20 -

" Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope , and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end,behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life ."

Really it's just faith, hope, and charity plus studying the words of the Prophets, both modern and ancient. Pretty awesome to see how the prophets teach the same principles everywhere! Paul taught faith, hope, and charity in 1 Corinthians 13. Mormon teaches it in Moroni 7.

Keep enduring to the end!

Love,

Elder Schaelling

March 16

Mom,

Yes, the home is great!

Elder Hozman. He is from Colombia, his parents currently live in Peru because his dad works for the Church and they move around occasionally. He lived in Utah for about a year or two before his mission and learned English then so his English is really good, he just has an accent. We are doing very well together! It's interesting to be with a more fresh missionary. It helps me realize how much I've learned and changed on my mission. He's a great guy, we get along well and are enjoying our missionary service!

Bridgette is in her 40s or 50s and her dad is sick and is likely going to pass away soon and he is in his 70s. So she doesn't need her dad's permission legally, she just wants to respect her father and whatnot. We met with Daniel again and his main hold up right now is that he doesn't really understand the priesthood and the apostasy so we'll have to go over that some more. It's kind of crazy to come to the city for the last little bit of my mission because I kind of feel like I'm starting all over again. Things are just so different from the rez as far as how to work with the ward (as in it's not a branch... hahaha) and just how to best teach investigators and stuff. Sometimes I feel just as lost as I did as a new missionary here, but it's good because it's keeping me on my toes and helping me grow! Albert is doing awesome, he made it to church yesterday! He's such a good guy and has a lot of gospel knowledge. He made some pretty awesome comments during gospel principles and listens to or reads general conference talks all the time at home. 

Awesome! I'm glad those boxes arrived safely. (Brother Collin Warner, who grew up in Layton and currently lives in Blanding, delivered a few boxes for Matt last Saturday.) His work took him and his family to Blanding because he works with the uranium mill there. They haven't been there too long, just like three years I think? They are a really cool family. Yeah, I'll be happy to go through all my junk in my bedroom and declutter it. I think I've gotten better at throwing away unnecessary stuff as a missionary, so hopefully that'll bless me when I get home. 

Geographically speaking in regards to the literal boundaries of the ward, this is probably the largest area I've been in. But we don't really leave Grants or Milan very often, so as far as mileage traveled daily this is definitely not the biggest. Bluff was probably the biggest in terms of daily miles, with Steamboat in second place. Population-wise, it is definitely the largest area I've served in. 

Yeah, the mail is sent to our house and it is checked daily. 

Yes, the members feed us plenty. 

Have an awesome time at conference! I AM SO EXCITED FOR CONFERENCE 

Love, 

Elder Schaelling