That time we found some deaf people

I'm emailing a day late! And I know what you are all thinking, Elder Schoemig is apostate. I promise thats not true! We went to the temple today so P-day got thrown off and I forgot to tell. #sorrymom #repentanceispositive

So this week! We had a good week, honestly at this point we are just trying to keep all of our investigators in contact with us, because they all go off and do random things and never tell us and then we lose them for like 3 weeks until we find them again. But this week was alright and we are going to do better! Also we found like 4 deaf people in Olympia because FAITH IS FIRE. and also Brother Peck fasted with us so that helped too! 

Remember last week I told about the couple who we have to wave our arms in their windows to get their attention? Yeah, we had a repeat! We did it for probably 15 minutes before we decided to leave. We went to our back ups for about half an hour and then I felt like we should go back and we did and nothing had changed, we were still just waving our arms for like 10 minutes and as we are walking away, they walked up! Thats what I'm talking about!!!! SUPER EXCITING!!!

Anywho, I also have to apologize to my mom again because I have no pictures again this week, sorry... #repentanceisstillpositive....??? Sorry mom, I'll do better! 

General Conference is this weekend and I am stoked! So excited to hear the words of our prophets and apostles as they teach us with the Spirit this weekend! 

Love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Schoemig

Brand new car! - 3/19/18

1- I got sad that Sheila was dying

2- We are ready to drop our sick new album

3- Some sisters saw us taking pictures and wanted to take a thug picture with us..so there it is

That time I didn't know what to put here

So, first of all, the first few sections of Doctrine and Covenants in ASL are on lds.org! Go look! We are so excited!!!!!!!! 

Next thing, Elder Bird and I killed Sheila, our red 2015 Corolla. not a car accident this time, we just drove her to 53,000 miles and they gave us a Silver 2018 Corolla that had 17 miles on it when we first picked her up, and we promptly named her Sister Lightson, because we figured out that she's only going to last 18 months at the rate we drive her at, therefore she's a sister missionary car. So that's pretty cool. See our pictures we took.

Another thing, we had some awesome miracles this week!!!! We had 4 lessons with a lady named Randi that is pretty cool! But last night she told our member that she is no longer interested and she gave him the Book of Mormon he had given her. So we are working with her and trying to help her see how important this is! We don't even know why she doesn't want to anymore, she just said something she feels inside makes it so she can't keep learning. 

then we have some gesture investigators Dhan and Bee, from Bhutan so they know no ASL and we just gesture with them and its been going really well! Last night we tried to stop by but every one of their blinds were shut (which means we can't contact them because they have no doorbell, no phone, no nothing) so we were bummed and went to our backups, and then while we were doing that I felt like we should go visit a member and as we drove back their blinds were open! So we stopped and went to their apartment and we saw Bee but she was working on something and wasn't looking around. So I imagine the people driving by looked at us just waving our arms and doing everything we could to get her attention, and thought that mormons were super weird but oh well! And at that time a family walked out of the building and the dad walks straight up to us (he is hearing) and talks with us, he accepts a card and to have missionaries go back and everything, and he says that he knows a deaf person! He said he will talk to them about talking with us! So we have his phone number and address and everything so we are super excited!

THATS WHAT I LIKE TO SEE! Miracles are out there! Faith is FIRE!

Love you all!

-Elder Schoemig

1) Gum wall at Pike's Place

2) You can't really see it, but it says Starbucks, this is the first Starbucks in the world, its at Pike's Place

3) Zone Pic, sorry my face is covered....my bad

4) The sky this morning...yeet

That time

This week was good, we went to work, had some lessons, also had 2 exchanges this week, 1 with the Zone Leaders and one with ASL N, I went back with Elder Camillo Gois, thats whats up.

So anywho, there's a member in Lake Forest Park named Doug, hes old and a little weird but I got to meet him and he predicted my future, it was pretty funny. 

With ASL N, Elder Camillo Gois and I got to teach Brady again, to be honest I miss having a deaf companion especially in an ASL area, but Elder Bird and I have been listening to music real loud so we'll see

Elder Bird and I had some good lessons this week. sorry everything gets all weird when you go on exchanges that often so I don't even remember some stuff, but last Monday we found a new investigator, and then yesterday we showed up for our appointment and the Book of Mormon was on their porch with a note telling us they are not interested so that was a bummer..but this week was just AWESOME! I love being on a mission and meeting people everyday. Every DAY!! we meet people all the time that are just searching for the truth and it is amazing to have the truth and be able to share it by talking with everyone.

Something I noticed when I first got here was kind of a ASL culture of they aren't deaf I don't need to talk with them, and that has changed, life gets so much better when we talk with everyone that we see, and then the Lord blesses us in turn, Elder Bird and I call the mission office with so many referrals, and then we get blessed with people that want to learn and are DEAF! So it is awesome!

I love my mission, oh also I'm staying ASL South.

Jesus is the Christ! He loves us and He wants us to be happy! Just do you best and it'll all be good!

Love ya!

-Elder Schoemig

Mom's note: He shared with us an experience he had with an investigator in the email and wanted to share it with you all. 

So we had an awesome experience with a member and investigators yesterday that I wanted to share. We had an awesome lesson yesterday with our investigator Randi, she lives with her husband who always refuses our invitations to join our lessons. and one of our members lives with them. So to explain the situation our member has really bad eyesight, really awful, so we go and help him read his scriptures. Also, he was born in Mexico so his English comprehension is bad anyway, and his Spanish is bad as well. But we go help him and he and Randi told us this story at the lesson with Randi, about when he asked for her help to read the Book of Mormon, and she didn't want to, but he asked some more and she refused some more, and he just said "Please, help me read so I can feel close with God" and then she said she felt the Spirit push her or pull her towards the Book of Mormon. So she started reading it and signing it for our member and she told us that she felt the Spirit behind her supporting her. She told us she had never experienced anything like it before and she was able to sign the Book of Mormon for our member which is a tough thing for deaf people, their English isn't very good generally. And then I asked our member Jorge if he knew the Book of Mormon was true, he said yes, and I asked him How? And his reply was so amazing, this man has been through so much for the church, we converted in Arizona and when he moved here he didn't know where it was, so he became less active for about 30 years I think, but he knew it was true. Yesterday he told me that his family rejected him when he converted, this man, who can't even read the Book of Mormon on his own just looked at me in the eye and with just emotion in his face told me "I feel it,"  it was just amazing to be a part of, the Spirit was so strong and we are going back tonightto teach more! It was just one of those moments as a missionary that are just amazing to be apart of.

When I was with ASL North Elder Camillo Gois and I got to go teach Brady, an investigator that we've had for like 4 years or something, he just needs to quit smoking, but when I was leaving ASL N we decided to have him teach us the lessons back to us, so on exchanges I was so happy to see him again, but he shows us the story of Alma the Younger and the angel, and then the story of the Brother of Jared forgetting to pray for 4 years. And looks at us and says "I'm like those two, I rejected God before, and I forget to pray a lot" it was a really tender moment I was happy to be there.

Getting better with sending pictures - 3/5/18

Pictures

1) Action shot of Elder Bird accounting and me just sitting there like a weirdo

2) Wanna know who God the Father is? Read these scriptures, and more..

3) Elder Bird and I had a lot of cereal and very little time for dinner, so we mixed them all together

4) A really awesome member didn't come to church for a while and finally gave Elder Camillo Gois and I the Christmas presents she made for us!

That time all of my pens died

This week has been crazy, I have had the biggest struggle with my pens! and I'm being serious here! We were in this Catholic Community Service place talking with this guy about interpreting for deaf people that come in (which we are now doing so that is awesome!). And my pen dies as I'm writing our phone number down, so the guy gives me another pen, that doesn't work, and another one, and the Elder Bird gives me his and that also doesn't work! Finally we used a pencil. But every day when we are planning all my pens stop working as well! This morning i planned using 4 different pens because they all died! I think maybe I am writing the wrong way? Is that a thing? I don't know but my writing with pens has just not worked!

Anywho, on to the real stuff this week. We had zone conference, that was fire. Good trainings, it was all about us getting smartphones next month! So it was way good, we watched videos from Elder Bednar and a member of the 70 training some missionaries and discussed it. It was really good! Also Sister Schofield gave a sweet training about how God loves us enough to push us and make us better, it was soooo awesome! and the President Schofield followed up with a training on God as a Loving Heavenly Father who is seperate from his Son, Jesus Christ, it was amazing. He told us to be bold in proclaiming the truth about God. He said "Many people enjoy talking about God with you, but they are talking about a different God" so he told us to tell people whats what when it comes to our Heavenly Father.

Second, our zone had a goal this week of 30 new investigators, meaning each area needs to get 3. as of 8pm last night Elder Bird and I had 1. So we used our video phone to contact some people and in the last hour of the week we found 3 new investigators! It was sweet!!!! Super pumped!!!!

This is the Lords work and He loves us more than we can even understand! 2 Corinthians 1:2-3 says:  Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;"

Amen! God loves us and wants to bless us! We just need to show our faith through obedience to His commandments and that's when everything starts flowing!!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Schoemig