Interesting Experiences

wow! Kumusta na Kayo?

 Learning the language is speeding up super fast for me right now. It just seems to speed up week after week! I can carry a conversation relatively well with people and I am working on my OYM skills in Tagalog. The people here are so friendly, they are also super shy. The good thing is, because I am an American, all I have to do is get out a sentence or something that the average american wouldn't know... cause when they find out that I know Tagalog, they get super excited! They say something like "Grabi! Kaya siyang magtagalog!" then the door is open (it means basically "wow! he can do-tagalog" doesn't make much sense in English).... haha. I am so excited to learn this language!

One bummer thing this week is that my companion is super sick. Like way way sick. They think he has dengue (not sure how to spell that). But they don't know for sure yet. We might go to the doctor today. We gave him a priesthood blessing and he seems to be doing better now.

So I have got some good stories that are from last week when I couldn't email.  We were talking to an  investigator and she was washing some clothes by the river that she lives next to. (she does that for a living). While we are talking to her, she stands up and walks into the river. She then squats down and continues talking to us. So we finish talking to her and we leave. As we leave I ask Elder Avila "Umihi ba siya sa ilog?" (was she peeing in the river?).... haha. We both agree that she was peeing while talking to us.  Don't worry, she had clothes on. Next. This one happened this week. A bakla (gay guy) was sitting next to me in a Jitney (Jeepney). And he scooted up way to close to me than he needed to. Usually the jeeps are cram packed but this one wasn't. So he was scooting up closer and tighter to me with each bump or jostle of the jeep... then he starts leaning over sort of (I think he was trying to smell me).. and he starts shaking/rubbing his leg on mine. oh my.... I was about to tell him "Huwag kang gumawa yun!" (don't do that!). It is like a command in Tagalog. Thankfully, our stop came and I got off that jeep real quick. hahaha. Gay people here are way bold to Americans. phew, crazy story.

I am learning so much here and I absolutely love to be a missionary.

So about our investigators, WE HAVE A BAPTISM ON SEPTEMBER 7TH! Wooooo! There we will have 4 people being baptized, three of them are ours. "Sister R" just passed her interview yesterday! She doesn't know if she can get work off on Saturday for the baptism though. We have fasted about it and have been praying hard. She has strong faith so I know she will be able to find a way or be provided a way.  We are super excited for that opportunity.  Nothing else has really been happening with our investigators the past two weeks. We are working on updating our teaching pool so we can have some more successful work in the following weeks.

Loving the mission and loving the Gospel. It can truly change lives.

Elder Schroeder

Elder Schroeder and Elder Stephens 

at a combined Zone Conference on Palawan.

Two great missionaries from Escondido/San Marcos 

serving in the same area, they look happy!!

Pamilya!

Monday August 19, 2013
Pamilya!
Love you guys so much! I am pretty sure our zone conference is going to be together at Marval chapel. I am way excited to see Elder Stephens too! It will be weird to see someone I know from back at home in the Philippines... weird.

Every day really is an adventure. So much fun here, I never have a day where I don't see something interesting. For example, a huge truck tipped over in the mud right next to our apartment, then the next day a guy got his leg cut off mid thigh in a construction accident another 30ft down the road. I am pretty sure he is alive, not sure. Someone told us the story next to the pool of dried up blood, but I didn't really understand it fully cause they aren't gospel words. I don't know if they totally grasp the concept of "dangerous." Oh well.

It is such a blessing to be able to serve here in the Philippines. I love it so much and I love to work all day, every day. It is tiring, but I have found that I have a lot more energy than most. I am working hard at staying in shape and I think that is really helping me stay energized. There are still days where I feel like just falling asleep, but I just get up and go to work. You sure do find out a lot about yourself when you serve a mission. I am learning more about myself than I every have before. My Tagalog is terrible in the morning for example. I think my brain just takes a while to really get cookin' in the morning.

I write well? my font or what? haha, anyways.... I have one experience that I would like to share that Elder Avila and I had this week. We have this amazing investigator "C.D." his dad did not support him investigating the Church. So we had arranged an appointment with the family because the father was frustrated that we kept visiting his house. So the fathers goal for the meeting was, as he told us "to keep us from returning." But their son is extremely interested in the Gospel. So we met with them on Friday. We had been praying for divine help and that we would know what to say to this family. We spoke with them about their concerns. The spirit was really with us and we were given power and authority from God. We were able to teach them the Restoration, they are now very supportive of their son investigating the Church, and they are now investigators! It is so amazing to see how the hand of the Lord is actively involved in this work and that without the Spirit's help... we would have lost an incredible investigator. Instead, with the help or the Lord and the Spirit, we are now teaching the whole family. It is amazing the miracles you can see if the Lord is on your side.

I am loving this work and really learning how much we actually need to depend on the Spirit as we teach. It reminds me of the scripture, Doctrine and Covenants 42:14, "if ye receive not the spirit, ye shall not teach." Divine assistance is absolutely necessary if this work is to go forward with any relative success.

It was such an amazing experience and such a testimony builder. I really really love this work. I wish I was better at Tagalog so I could be a better missionary, but it is really driving me to learn and grow in the language quickly. I feel that every week I I am speeding up at learning the language, it is definitely encouraging, but I still have a LOT to learn.

On another note, we found this plant called "Katakataka" which means 'amazing' or 'miracle' or 'surprise' in English. I am sending a leaf of it home with instructions. Apparently, you can plant it anywhere and it will grow. So be looking for that. I don't know when I will be able to send it though because or how mailing from the island through the church works.... Anyways, saw a sign that said "bawal umihi dito" the other day, see if you can translate it. People don't follow the instructions on the sign anyways... just to let you know.

Well, that's it for the week. Thanks for all the words of encouragement! I really love you guys so much and I miss you a lot. But I am here, away from my family, for two years so that other families can be together forever.

Mahal ko ang pamilya ko!

(I love my family!)

Elder Schroeder

P.S. The mosquito's here aren't bad. I think I am actually a natural mosquito repellent. I only get bit maybe once or twice a week. Others are not so lucky.... hahaha. oh, that reminds me, a sister here got dengue last week. She is doing much better now though. I am all healthy and good though :)

Connor sent a letter in the mail written over several days and I will share a portion with you. He is having some really incredible experiences and I love hearing from him. I appreciate that he is so thoughtful and loving the people that he serves. Robin
July 9-15, 2013
Hey Family,
It sure takes a long time for a letter to get around the world! It's weird to think that I will be here for almost another 2 years! Just the thought of leaving makes me sad already. The one thing I really do miss is toilet paper. Some places have it like restaurants and things, but our apartment doesn't. I am probably going to get some. It's just so much easier.
Oh well, I am embracing the culture and I already feel part Filipino at heart. I love the food here! Although, I do miss some regular American things (like cereal, nobody eats cereal here) Elder Avila loves to have hot chocolate in the mornings and at night and he always makes me some, so frying hot- but its the rainy season so its not to bad.
Last night, I almost fell on my face in the mud. There is mud everywhere. Thick, heavy, sticky clay mud, that gets everywhere. When it starts to rain it makes droplets of mud that fly up onto your pants. So the complete lower half and part of the shirt gets speckled with mud. It's a lot of fun though and a very good experience. It really makes me think of how great we have it in America. Almost nobody owns cars, last night we were eating at a members house and they asked about what my parents do for work. I told them, then they wanted to know what it was like in America. The people here have very little (stuff) in comparison to Americans but they have a great life and love all they have! I wish they had more opportunity here. It is amazing how much they love each other and care for one another.
One funny thing that wherever I go, there is always someone looking at me and smiling. They all yell "Hi" or "whats your name?" because that's all the English they know. They are amazed to see a white guy like me! The kids absolutely love to just come up and touch me, they always take my hand and put it to their forehead (sign of respect). Usually, it is only done to a "Nanay"(old woman) or someone who is in a position of authority.
I already know more Tagalog from these past 7ish weeks than I do in Spanish, after taking 2 years in school. Its amazing what one can accomplish with the help of the Lord and hard work.
One thing is the older Filipino's think if your hair gets wet from the rain you will get sick, It's 90 degrees! I am not going to get sick if it's that hot out (unless I get heat stoke) Also, if you go to bed with a full stomach, then you are in danger of having a heart attack.
Last night we ate at a members house and we ate so much food! We had chicken neck, pork, fried chicken, and something I don't know what it was, I ate it anyway. We also had something called Lechon. Everyone ate it like candy! It was cooked pig skin(from the head) It isn't to bad... if you like eating leather and you don't mind the fat sticking to your teeth, and the hairs scratching your tongue. It really isn't to bad though, good tasting. It was cool, they cut it right off the pigs head. They liked that I ate everything and that I'm "good with rice". I was able to try sticky rice, which is good! I need to learn how to make it!
I can understand so much more Tagalog in the last two days. I can follow almost any conversation for the most part. Speaking is more difficult. I am so excited to get the language down. I have noticed the style of speaking is a lot different than ours. That makes it hard to translate and sound normal. Although what I say makes sense to them, but it also sounds weird to them...
On p-day on the 15th of July, Elder Avila and I bought a cake for a family because it was their little girls birthday. So we go to take it there and I am holding it in a bag so they can't see it. All of their kids are huddled around me trying to see what's in the bag. So I am hiding it as we go inside their little house. I take the cake out of the bag and you should have seen the look on their faces! They probably have not had cake in a really, really long time (maybe not even at all). They fed us some noodles and juice, and we ate cake with them. It will be an experience I will never forget, 175 peso for a priceless experience! (that's under $4) It was also sad because the little girl was sick, we were able to give her a blessing, she woke up and had the party with us (still a little grumpy though) but she enjoyed it and we all had lots of fun together.

My companion is great! No toliet paper... not so great.

Love you all!

Ingat kayo palagi! 

Elder Schroeder

Island Life on Palawan

Monday August 12, 2013
Hey Family!

We can get anything we need here on the island (at least where I am at) cause we are close to the city. If you send the package regular mail, the Philippines mail service only charges a flat tax of 50-80 pesos. So the taxes aren't bad on it. Don't worry about that. But if you were to send dhl or some other carrier it could be like 1000+ or even higher, depending on the contents. So just send regular and you will be good to go.

Shoot, I don't know about the dansko shoes. I think the ones I got are 42. 43 should be perfect for him. the problem is that I left those in Manila for when I get transferred back there. So I don't have them with me right now. dang. sorry. Those shoes really do work well though. I have seen the same thing here that kyle has with those shoes. They last forever! so... I don't know what to tell you. I think 43 will fit. That's all I know. sorry.

Ahhh, I love the stake beach parties. Grape stompers huh? I do remember that, it was pretty fun, that sure is a lot of grapes. You know the reason why you guys have so much extra fruit this year? Cause kyle and I plant seeds every day. bam.

I really do enjoy the island while I hike through the jungle and across rivers to appointments. We hike through the jungle and through mud and gunk and flooded places every day which is a lot of fun and makes me feel like I am hiking in the mountains. This week we actually climbed a mountain where a members rambutan tree is at and got some referrals from him. The island is way a lot of fun and we get to experience a lot.

About our investigators. AY! BASTA! (ahhh! enough).... our teaching pool is dried up. All but two or three of our investigators are stagnant, and we are going to have to drop them. We really need to work on finding, Elder Avila is a typical shy Filipino and I can't speak Tagalog. But we had exchanges this week and I know what to do. I exchanged with Elder Belnap (zone leader and Elder Avilas trainer) and he gave me some ideas. So I will apply that this week and we will step forward with faith. Elder Belnap also told me that I can understand Tagalog really really well for someone as fresh as me... but that I need to work on speaking it. Actually, Halos lahat naiintindihan ako. (I understand almost all) especially if it is about the gospel. I am getting better at everyday language too.

Anyways... About our progressing investigators, "R" is going to be baptized Sept 7th, because she is always working. She could have been baptized 2 weeks ago but she can't get a Saturday off to be baptized. So that's what we are working on. It is super hard to get people to go to church here, so so hard. Our church attendance is up and down all the time.

Lots of filipinos love to smoke, like a chimney as dad would say... they really do though. So many word of wisdom problems.

It is so hard to think in English sometimes, weird. I am surrounded by Tagalog all day, every day and I have only been here for 2 and a half months. Well, I am having fun and all is well here.

Love,
Elder Schroeder

P.S. If you could look into transferring to BYU Provo for me, I would like some info on that. I have been thinking about doing that but I am not sure yet. It would be best to transfer before I get home so I get in before the surge of returning missionaries. I don't know if I want to yet though. So we will see, that would be great though. Love you mama!


1. part of the jungle we walk through to an appointment



2. crossing a river to get to an appointment



3. one of our investigators crossing a river on a water buffalo.

Service

July 29, 2013
Hey Family!

Wow seems like you have been up to a lot! Haha... Idaho can be pretty amazing! I have seen a cockroach the size of my hand, and a spider the same size it's  pretty crazy. The living conditions are nice. It is weird getting used to sleeping in a hammock and without any walls to our apartment, except where we shower. Its just like a little bamboo bungalow, with a roof and suspended from the ground. Its pretty awesome though. I cant believe I never told you about the place we live! Hahah. 

This last week we got to do some service out in the middle of the jungle (we had to cross two rivers and walk about a mile and a half into the jungle to get there). It was a tree planting project/party. There were about 1500 people there or more. Right in the middle of the jungle partying. We hiked up into the forest and planted a bunch of little trees. Then they had a bunch of native Filipino performances and cultural dances, which was way awesome. One funny thing that happened was that the news crew came to the event because it was so big. Sister Larsen and I were the only white people there. So the news crew kept zooming in on us. They even tried to interview Sister Larsen, but that would be against the rules... so we didn't let them. haha. funny though. 

This week was tough with all our investigators but we have two that are doing really well. 

My Tagalog is progressing well. I still have a lot of work and It is hard to understand everyday conversations. But I feel I am really starting to learn it quicker and I am understanding more individual words and structures in conversation. I am really working hard at it and it is coming. Just a couple more months now! I cant believe I have almost been out in the field for one month now! 

Ingat kayo palagi! Mahal kayo ko! 

Elder Schroeder

P.S. I was messing with you about the hammock and bungalow deal... heheh mom. We live in an apartment. It is very nice. Small but nice. here are come pictures.

                                                                          Planting a tree
                                                              

                                         Service

                                                       Our Kitchen

August 5, 2013

Hey Family!

Wow! glad the house is standing... here are some things I keep forgetting to email you. First off. MY camera is working. I figured it out. And if you send a package ever.. put some Tylenol in it. It needs to be Tylenol though, it cannot be a blood thinner. I have ibuprofen already so  I don't  need that.  If i were to get dengue fever  (not sure how to spell it) I am not allowed to take a blood thinner because dengue thins your blood already.  Its because, it is really hard to get medications here. You can only buy 1 pill at a time... once a day. So it is almost impossible, so that's that. 

How did you find out about the underground river? it turns out that the district went there about a month before I got here and it was organized by the mission president because the zone did well that month. It is unlikely that I will be going... but it is possible. Tell dad that he needs to get better. He can do it though. (kay niya dyan) 

This week has been great! I have really taken off in learning Tagalog. I could really understand a lot more this past week and speak relatively well. I am really working hard at it an really trying to be obedient so the Lord can help me. I have so much to learn it is amazing! I love to learn it and it isn't as frustrating now that I can understand more... I can give a pretty rough lesson on almost any gospel principle... it is just really rough and rather short... speaking gospel terms is much easier than other more regular everyday language. So I am trying to work on that so I can hold a conversation better. The zone leaders told me on Friday that I will most likely train after this 12 week program is finished.. and I will probably be the district leader... I dont think I will and the thought of that is daunting. But I know I could do it with the Lords help.

This week I have really gained a testimony of the phrase in Doctrine and Covenants 4 "eye single to the glory of God." There are so many stories in the Book of Mormon where this phrase is emphasized. For example the story of the people of King Zeniff, Noah and Limhi. (beginning of Mosiah). You can see how when we are at the point where we praise the glory of God in all we do, we are a righteous people and we prosper. And when we dont... like King Benjamin said in Mosiah Chapter 7 (I think) that we will be put into bondage. (whether that be bondage to sin or bondage to a government).... Obedience brings blessings  (D&C 130:20-22) BAM. That's it right there. (sorry, I don't have my scriptures with me.... I think these are the right references). Obedience in this life, where we must walk by faith rather than sight, is key. It is the only way we can succeed through the Atonement. 

My testimony has been growing so much and I am seeing many blessings manifesting themselves as I try my best to be obedient. I love the Gospel and the feeling of peace the spirit brings. I can see my teaching, my knowledge and my Tagalog suffer when I am not obedient and do not have the spirit with me. I have a greater testimony now of  D&C 42:14. "If ye receive not the spirit, ye shall not teach." What a great blessing it is to be a missionary who is called of God, and has the restored priesthood authority of God. The restoration truly is a great blessing in our lives, I love it and I always find myself reflecting on it, even when I miss home and all the recklessness there. The Gospel is the greatest blessing we have and as we go forth with an eye single to the glory of God, we will strive to be obedient, obtain blessings, and have a desire to preach the Gospel (Mosiah 28:3 and Luke 22:32). It is great to feel this strongly about the Gospel and to receive witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit. I can truly testify that the Spirit can dwell in your heart and bring peace to your mind. To all those who doubt, persevere and go forth with faith. If the spirit hasn't told you yet, its because your faith is being tried. We are on this earth to walk by faith through our trials. You can only receive a witness after a trial of your faith  (Ether 12:6)

I love you all so much and I thank you for teaching me the gospel in my youth. If I didn't  have that knowledge, I would truly be lost. You have been awesome parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents and you have taught me so much. I love you all. Go forward with faith. The Lord will bless.

Ingat kayo palagi!

Elder Schroeder

Learning a lot!

FYI - from his last week email, I told Connor to watch out for crocodile's when he crossed rivers and he replied, "haha. worlds largest crocodile was found in the Philippines by the way."
He also said, "The fruit (Rambutan) is like candy"

Technology is amazing and such a blessing for communicating with our missionaries!! Tonight we took a Sunday evening walk on the beach @ sunset in Carlsbad. We sent a collage of pictures to him on my phone while we were there on the beach. It was so cool that he opened the email exactly 24 minutes after we took the pics. Not to many years ago we would have had to develop them and put them in the mail, taking weeks to reach him.

Monday July 15, 2013
Hey Family!

You look great Mama! Here is a picture of me eating dinner with a great family, in their Bamboo hut over a swamp

Your Tagalog is right, but sounds funny in Tagalog ( I think ). But I understand them. I would use nanay and tatay for mom and dad. Ama and ina are too formal, haha.

That is awesome that Pablo is following the blog. He really should be jealous because Palawan is gorgeous. I will be sure to take lots of pictures.... which reminds me. I think the battery for my camera is dead. Like dead dead. I think it is because I packed the converter to use as the charger. And it says on the battery to only use the approved charger... dang. We are going to see if they have the charger here in an electronics store... if not, you might have to send it. I will let you know next p-day. Dang :(. Anyways.

Here are some good stories. In PEC ( Priesthood Executive Council) meeting with the ward, I said, "we have many referrals" instead of "we need many referrals" Haha. so after I finished talking, it didn't make much sense. We got a good laugh out of that. Also, a lady breast fed right in front of us (just like kyle).... which was awkward, right in the middle of a lesson. There is a family we have been teaching for a while, I love them so much! They are working on their marriage paperwork so that they can be baptized! Their lives have changed so much from when we started teaching them. The husband got a hair cut, removed all his piercings, and their family is so much more happy! We had dinner at their house the other night. They asked their 4 year old daughter what my name was, and she called me "kuya." Which means "big brother." Such a great feeling. Except we still had to try to get her to call me Elder...

My companion is the district leader for our district. I have really been able to help him a lot, he isn't very good with English and he hates paperwork. So, I have been helping him with that. Our district meeting tomorrow, I will help him out and we will be teaching together. He is a great teacher and loves to work. We are such a great companionship and we are each helping each other learn our languages. I teach him English, and he teaches me Tagalog.

Tagalog is coming along great by the way! Learning so so much. I make mistakes, but it happens, and I will fix them. So much fun to be in the Philippines. I will talk to Pablo in Tagalog when I get back! haha. Excited. Love you guys!

Ingat po! (take care)
Elder Schroeder

First baptism he attended, the Sister missionaries taught these people.

Mabuhay mula sa Paridiso

Monday July 8, 2013
Mabuhay mula sa Paridiso (Greetings from Paradise!)

Yep, I am on "paradise."  President Stucki sent me to Palawan to be trained.  I got to the mission home, interviewed, got orientated, and got sent straight to Palawan that afternoon. Pres Stucki told me that the Lord sends those he trusts to Palawan. I am in the Santa Monica area. Being training by Elder Avila!! He is such a great Elder and loves to work hard. He actually just finished his 12 week training program so we are both newish. He speaks Tagalog 24/7 and I can understand it about 95% of the time... But answering back is much harder.  I really am learning a lot of Tagalog. It is such a blessing to be here on Palawan. Our area is HUGE! We walk and walk and walk all day long, so as of right now, I will not come back fat.

You can tell Uncle Rick by the way that the orientation took place in the first Chapel ever built in the Philippines (I'm sure he has been there). It is surrounded by skyscrapers now. If you send packages, send them regular mail, because the import tax will be deducted from my money here. It will take a little longer, but the tariff is only 50 pisos instead of 1000+. 

My first meal in my apartment was spam and rice with some sauce called Mang Thomas. :) yum yum yum I really am starting to LOVE rice. It is actually very good. E. Avila likes that I am "good with rice." There is NO toilet paper here... just a little rigged up squirter thing. Which is fun. (sort of refreshing even). 

So here is the good stuff.

Before my first appointment, we had to cross a river to get there. Then we taught the first lesson to a referral named "L". I invited him to be baptized in Tagalog.... and he said YES! wow! first lesson.

I was able to bear my testimony in Tagalog in the Santa Monica Branch this Sunday and I did really well! It was so great see all the Filipinos congratulate me even though I am sure, I said things wrong. All of the members would come up to me and ask me what number area this was for me. (this is all in Tagalog).  I would tell them it's my first area. They were all so surprised by how well I speak Tagalog. Then I said, thank you and had no idea what else to say.... haha. I have had that happen to me about 10-15 times already. It makes me feel blessed, but I still can't speak very well. I have a lot to learn. Another story. We taught a recent convert named "R". She wasn't able to go to church because the fare to get there was too much. We recommended she save some money each day so that she could save up to go, because she really does enjoy church and was sad she couldn't go. Then when we left we found a pair of vice grips just sitting in the dirt. We gave it to her and told her to sell it (200 to 500 pisos). That's weeks and weeks of church. I hope she follows our advice! 

Boy this past week has been amazing! I taught so many lessons and met so many people. Found out that Elder Stephens is the Zone leader of the Nara Zone! Way to go Elder Stephens!! I'm sure I will see him some time. Well that's about it. I will see if I can get some pictures sent. It is great to know how everything is going. Say congrats to Sidney, Casey and Joy for me! I'm excited for them. Good luck with the 6th grade! Have fun in Ramona! Sad about the HHR :( Love you guys! I love Palawan and the Philippines!

Ingat po Palagi!  
Elder Schroeder

P.S. I ate some fruit called rambutan, look it up.

Looks happy even doing his laundry:)

Rambutan fruit (found pictures online)

Tip: Google Palawan images. It's beautiful there! I agree with Connor,  looks like paradise...
 I hope you are enjoying the updates:)
Robin

Mabuhay!

Mabuhay and Philippines! (kind of like "go Philippines!/ greetings")

It is great to know that you enjoy my emails. I have been able to learn so much here about being a leader and a missionary. Using the spirit in teaching a preparation is such a key thing. Without the spirit, there is no way that we can teach effectively as missionaries (or even find the people we are looking for). Which reminds me. Proselyting Wednesday! It is so so incredibly hard to find people here in the Philippines, especially in the squatter areas. The houses are just make shift concrete blocks and sheet metal. The alleyways, to get to houses are like my shoulder width or smaller. There are no addresses anywhere and there are street named that are about as definable as an invisible pen. It makes it impossible to find anyone in the city because the squatters are always moving or out of town. People come here to work and just move into a vacant house. Anyways, I was able to be a group leader for our proselyting activity. Elder Maile and I were with an Elder Latu ( a zone leader who had been out for a year that day). He taught us so much about how to be a successful missionary with our companions and with the work. One great experience was with Elder Maile this week. He had been feeling really sick the past couple days before proselyting, but he prayed for strength. He was given strength at the very hour he needed it and has felt much better since. It is amazing to see the Lord's hand actively involved in the work. We really worked hard to find someone to teach on Wednesday during our proselyting activity, but we couldn't find anyone. Elder Latu was really disappointed that we weren't able to find anyone to teach, but Elder Maile and I cheered him up. Then he taught us a lot on how to be a more successful missionary during our activity review. Some of the things he shared were: Our afflictions will be but a small moment, the Lord will give us what we need when we need it, to trust the Lord with the language, to use the gifts that you have been given, and to have fun within the boundaries prescribed. He also emphasized companionship unity and to be a decisive missionary. I found a lot of scriptures on what he said, but I don't remember all of them, and I don't have my scriptures with me. But is is great to see how what he taught us connects directly to the scriptures. Ive got to go now. But for Dad, I saw about 8-10 old super beetles on a road we walked on today, which made me think of him. Haha, best of luck with the VW. Have fun on Catalina! I pray for you guys every night! Next time I email you I will be out in the field!!! So excited!

Mahal,
Elder Schroeder

p.s. I will send the email I sent to Kyle to you guys, cause there is some good stuff in that too.  I learned this crazy one word yesterday. "nakakapagpabagabag" - it means "what is bothering you?

Here is the letter to his brother in The West Indies Mission:

Mabuhay and Philippines ang Trinidad! (Kind of like a greeting/go Philippines and Trinidad!)
It really sounds like you are learning a lot about following the Spirit in your teaching. I have really been trying to incorporate that into my teaching and preparation. I have found that, since I am trying to express my feelings in a language I barely even know, it is really really difficult to focus on the spirit or to even feel it. Though, I have been getting a lot more comfortable with the language and I am not afraid to mess up (cause I know it will happen regardless). So I am doing a lot better at focusing on the Spirit in my lessons. I can definitely feel the Spirit directing me in everything I do here. I have found that I am much more in tune to the spirit than a lot of Elders and sisters that are here right now. I feel the spirit so strong as I pray and ponder about my investigators (even though they are all role plays). Just yesterday, as we were praying before a planning session I felt the Spirit so strongly telling me what it was that we needed to teach a sister to commit her to a baptismal date. And it happened! We taught with the POWER and AUTHORITY of God and she committed to a date. It is so exciting to feel the Spirit testify while you are teaching. I cannot wait for that experience in the field with a real investigator. I know it will help me so much when I get out into the field on WEDNESDAY!!!!! I will not know the language well at all... but ANYONE can feel the language of the SPIRIT. So excited! I am nervous for the language but I know it will come eventually. My testimony has grown so much here and I have been a light to those around me. I love everyone here and I really work hard to help them know that. All the other district leaders come to me for advice when they are having a hard time in their district. The other day, a district leader asked if I could come into his district and give them a "motivational talk" to them... That sure surprised me. Instead of doing this for him, I shared with him a few scriptures that I felt (and the spirit felt) would help him motivate his district. It is great to be able to share leadership roles with others around me and is very humbling at times. Cause at home, I could almost always think of a solution, but a mission is much different. I am learning how to be a leader and a missionary in ways I never have though of. A mission is a humbling experience and I know there is so much to learn. I can't wait to grow and come closer to the Savior and His teachings. I love you so much Kyle! For your example and your love for the work. This truly is a divine work directed by the Lord.
Ingat po ka palagi!
Elder Schroeder