Transfers...

Hello Family! 

I am having a great time serving here in Palawan! We had a hard time finding computers today so I am going to have to make this quick. 

Yes, meeting in a different church building was just for general conference and district conference.

This was a pretty good week. Not totally normal... but I don't think I have actually had a totally normal week since being a zone leader out here. Elder Burgos transfered early to receive the training he needed as the new assistant to president. So I was in a threesome with Elder Wake and Panugao until yesterday. Then I got Elder Eteaki becuase his companion is going home. So that is who I am with right now. He is a big Tongan guy. I tried to lift him up the other day and I could only get him about an inch of the ground. That's how big he is. He has a scholarship to play for Oregon State when he gets back home. I get a new companion on Wednesday, Elder Sorronda is his name. He was a district leader last transfer. I will be training him to be a Zone Leader. That is all I know about him really. 

We didn't have any investigators at church this week, which is a bummer. But we had a lot of less actives come today. I guess I am good at helping people come back to the fold. We will definitely have some investigators come this next week. I am excited! We are teaching a lot of really nice people. 

So here is my spiritual insight for the week. 

This comes from President Ostler. I have been trying to work on being less prideful. I told President in my last interview with him that this was one thing I was working on. This is a great quote he gave me to understand pride better. 

"The first trait of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power...[but really] great men... have a curious feeling that... greatness is not in them but through them... and they see something divine in every other man... and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful." - John Ruskin

To be humble does not mean that we have to give up the power that we have. We can still exercise the power we have been given. The key part is that this power has been endowed upon us and is the gift of God. Mercy is one of the greatest attributes of a truly humble person... For example, after cooking dinner, do we say to ourselves or others, "I cooked dinner, I don't have to do the dishes now." OR in other words... " I am so good because I cooked the food. Someone else should have to do the dishes now." The example is not perfect, but it helps us to see how we can have pride in even the most simple of things. I invite you all to see the pride you have, identify it, and try to improve yourselves, whatever it may be.

Thank you for all the emails! I love you all!

Elder Schroeder