Episode 18: Death Sparkles

 Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

 

I'm so sorry to say that I am outta time! Here is the summary for this week!

-it's raining ash! It's surprisingly sparkly. thus, we decided to name them death sparkles. The sky looks like we're in a zombie apocalypse! (See the pictures below... they're not edited!) #thefirenationattacked

-Sometimes I just wanna baptize the nations but no one will pick up their phone and it drives me nuts! Soooooo sister Shirts made me a meme. (Also below) but it's all good because we are now getting trained to use Facebook! I feel very very blessed! 

-we taught had an absolutely amazing lesson with one of our friends! He is one of the smartest people I know and a real deep thinker. It's wonderful because every time we teach him a gospel principle he either asks a question or relates back to a principle he knows about science or a life experience. I aspire to be like that! The God works through patterns. He is the ultimate scientist, philosopher, and parent. How happy I am that He made a plan for us!

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

-Sister Schramm

"That's even better. Or just as better."-Sister Shirts

"You need to punch Satan in the face. Oh wait he doesn't have a face. That's too bad for him."-Sister Schramm

Elder Roseland: *asked what his favorite animal is* "I would say hippos, but those are mad dangerous…"

"do what I point not what I say"-Sister Shirts

 

 

 

 

Episode 17: He likes long walks on the beach

 

Hola mis amigos y mi familia! 

The mountain is on fire and we've been evacuated! 

Just kidding just kidding! We are totally fine. That was just clickbait. We're still chillin in our lovely Upland apartment. It is however, very smokey and very hot here! There are fires close by and we're definitely feeling the effects of it. It's also been around 110 degrees every day... tengo mucho calor! 

This week was awesome!  (or last two weeks... haha sorry I didn't write last time! Pday be like that sometimes) We had some cool service opportunities. We helped sort a BUNCH of dead pine branches to be ready for some chipping and shredding. That made me feel right at home and I loved it! Getting dirty is probably one of the best feelings on a mission (next to the Spirit of course ;)). We also helped package envelopes for a homeless shelter's fall fundraiser. Even though our effort was pretty small in comparison to what their other volunteers do, we still felt the Spirit of service. Nothing cheers up a soul quite like that. :) go check out the Just Serve app if you want to find some services opportunities in your community. 10/10 would reccomend!

We have been writing a bunch of letters and making cookies for people in our ward. We know that qaurentine can be pretty lonely and we just wanted to make sure that everyone is remembered:). 

This week we saw many miracles! We were able to meet with one of our very busy friends. That had been difficult to do over the past few weeks because of his schedule. Leading up to that appointment, we prayed specifically that he would be able to meet with us, and he was able to keep his appointment! It was a wondeful lesson where we read from the Book of Mormon about baptism. Sister Shirts extended the baptismal invitation, and that was her first time doing it! He said he wasn't ready, but that he wanted to learn more. He is genuinely seeking truth and is asking great questions. I am excited to continue to see his growth. I love when people ask questions! It's awesome (James 1:5)

For the past few weeks we have been trying to figure out a way to help another friend call into Sunday School on Zoom. Technology is sometimes a struggle for him, especially with his cerebral palsy. This week we were able to help him call in and he really enjoyed the experience! We are so grateful to the Lord for that tender mercy! To a great extent, missionary work is accomplished through small miracles. I know that you can have small miracles in your life because I have seen them in mine!

And finally, for the story behind the subject line of today's email: one of our friends texted us this past weekend and asked us what we were doing on Monday... we haven't been able to meet with this friend in a good while, so we were very excited and thought that this might be our opportunity to meet again! We said we were pretty open, and then he invited us to go to the beach. HARD PASS. I encourage you to look at the screenshots below for the full conversation :)

Sorry for the poor grammar and rushed letter! I love you all bunches! Eat your vegetables!

Love,

-Sister Schramm 

 

 

Episode 16: A diabetic albino Tongan

 

Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

Oh my goodness I love Upland! The people here are absolutely lovely and sister Shirts is a doll! She's so willing to do good and work hard, which is the essence of greatness. I went from almost the far West end of the mission to almost the far East, and it only took about 20 minutes! Corona has definitely helped with bad traffic! ;)

Before I got transferred, we decided to go get Korean frozen yogurt with fish shaped waffle cones! Sounds bizarre, but it is so good! Ube is now one of my favorite flavors and I would reccomend, 10/10 (tastes like captain crunch!)

Speaking of food, I think the members in Upland are determined to give me diabetes 😅 There is so much food here haha! It's a little insane. They  are very missionary oriented, which I love a bunch. They share the gospel with those they know because they know it brings happiness and they simply want others to feel that. I appreciate their example and I want to be more like that when I get home :)

I love the sisters in my apartment! One is from Tonga and I LOVE HER! She gave us tshirts from Tonga and I am SO proud of my shirt haha! I've been adopted as an albino Tongan and I love it!

We had to start almost from scratch this week because I'm new and sister Shirts is still in training! It's been quite a bit of work, and I've felt very stretched and inadequate. We had a training for trainers and trainees and president and sister Hall told us that the best thing we could do was help our companions feel God's love. Having obedience issues? If you know God loves you and you love Him you'll be motivated to try better. Self confidence issues? Know how God feels about you and you'll have courage. Can't get along with someone? Know how God sees them and you'll be able to love them. It works! 

When I was feeling very inadequate this week I prayed a bunch and asked God: "what lack I yet?" I was expecting a reprimand and a list of things to do better. Instead, I got the impression to read my patriarchal blessing. This blessing is special to me because it is a blessing that we receive once in our life, and it is recorded. It tells us about oursleves and what God would have us know. My blessing is very sacred to me. As I read it, I was reminded of my strengths, talents, and potential. I felt very loved. That love inspired me better than any chastisement would have ;) I'm so glad Heavenly Father is patient with me! 

I know He loves each of you and wants the best for you. I love you each and appreciate you very much. Sorry for the short scatterbrained email!

Onward Christian Soldiers!

Love,

-Sister Schramm

 

 

 

 

Episode 15: Transfers!

 Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

So I took about an hour this morning and wrote a good, detailed email and my crazy phone deleted it! I'm going to have to keep things short, so sorry! As said in the Princess Bride, "There is too much, let me sum up!"

-We had some fabulous exchanges! I was with Hermana Gooden and learned so much! We were talking about our goals for this next transfer and things we wished we had known. At one point she said something like "I had one transfer I regret, but I wouldn't take it back because of the lessons I learned." At first that seemed sorta contradictory, so I decided to study repentance and the atonement to make sense of it. Here's what I learned: when we make a bad choice, we get regret and shame/sorrow. Regret motivates us to not make that decision again (preventative) and sorrow motivates us to correct our behavior (correctitive). When we repent with the help of the Savior, we can remove sorrow because we know that He can truly correct the effects of our behavior and truly make things right. We get to keep our regret so we won't make that bad decision again, and sorrow is turned into a lesson learned about ourselves. The atonement of Jesus Christ repurposes. Christ is not ashamed of those who try (Hebrews 2:11)

-Saturday we did some very very fun service! We helped move some boxes and other things out of the basement of this beautiful home built in the 1920s! It was very bomb-diggitty. We got to wear jeans, get dirty, and serve. Basically the best! I didn't realize how much I missed having a Saturday project to work on. Maybe my parents were on to something after all? 

-Okay, here's the very crazy news! Saturday afternoon we got our transfer calls and were told that sister Sintz and I were both staying in East Pasadena and there would be nothing new. Okay 👍 buuuut that night we got a call from president Hall at about 10:20 and he asked for an emergency switch! Sister Sintz will be staying in East Pasadena and I will be going to Upland! What?! I'll be finishing the training of Sister Shirts, so this will be her second transfer! I'm just barely ending my training, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about this, but I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (But I'm still a little shook haha 😅)

So there you have it folks! Saying goodbye was very sad and I just love so many people here! I'm also going to miss Sister Sintz a bunch :'(. I love that lady very much and I have learned many important lessons from her. She has taught me about having fun, studying hard, standing up for the truth, repentance, recognizing the spirit, having confidence, and never settling. She's not perfect, but I know that she will always do the right thing when it comes down to it. I'm grateful for how fearless she is. I trust and respect her immensely and am can't wait to go shooting with her when we get home ;)

Last quote from Elder Ucthdorf that seems pretty relevant for this week: "There seems to be something inside of us that resists endings. Why is this? Because we are made of the stuff of eternity. We are eternal beings, children of the Almighty God, whose name is Endless and who promises eternal blessings without number. Endings are not our destiny."

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

-Sister Schramm

"Come on Elder. Sister Schramm took that much and didn't complain, and she has one arm!" -Elder Greenhalgh 

"How dare you make me feel emotions!" -Rachel

"Who's leaving? Sister Schramm. The one who has my favorite teachings."-Samba

"You said that like how a pimp would say that."-Hermana Marquez

 

 

 

Episode 13-14 Surgery Part one and 2

 Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

First off, thank you for your emails, prayers, and support. I miss and love you all! I will answer emails as fast as I can with my funny hand. :)

Speaking of funny hand, I got surgery! (Hopefully you already knew that haha). To make a long story short, I had a ganglion cyst on my right hand. It was low key cutting off circulation. No bueno. After lots of logistical struggles, I was able to get surgery July 31st! Anyone who knows me knows that I DO NOT like doctors. Nothing causes me stress quite like needles and knives. Honestly, it was very intimidating to go on in to surgery by myself. I had to rely on God very, very much. The nurses were having a hard time getting the IV in and were describing the struggle to me as they went along... no thank you😅. I was praying and asking God for help. Right after that, the nurse started asking me about what I did as a missionary and we got to chat about her belief in God. It was great :) She said "sometimes when I can't find something, like your veins, I pray to Saint Anthony and he helps me find them." Right then, she got the IV in!  I know that God listens to the prayers of all of His children. I love that the gospel was something that could bring us together. 

Anywho, I'm getting better! I just barely got the stitches out less than an hour ago, and even made myself look at my hand before. I'm gonna overcome my doctor fear ;) I learned that, as a right handed person, I love my right hand! This was definitely a forced opportunity to learn patience haha!

The rest of this week was great, with lots of ups and downs. Our friend Joel is progressing well, but Satan is sure throwing a lot at him! Between car accidents, health issues, and family, he's put up with a lot. He is a great example to me because he acknowledges his trials while still saying:  "the Lord will provide a way." He will. I know He will. It reminds me of Ether 12:6 "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I would write more, but my hand is incompetent. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

-Sister Schramm 

 

 

Episode 12: Weed in the Park, doctors, Japan, Bikes

 

Hola mis amigos y mi familia!

So first off, I'm so so sorry I didn't write last week!!! I spent a good deal of time catching  up on individual emails and ran out of time for this big party. My apologies fam. I love you all. To make up for it you're going to get this get this very scatterbrained email (scatter-brained? Ugh hyphens):

So last Sunday we went to the park for a lesson and the people we were teaching didn't show 😞 . As we were about to turn back around home this older gent said "hey! Are you Mormons?" To which we said "that's a name we're known by!" and then he started to tell us about how he studied a bunch of religions and found "the secret of the universe in a TED talk" and how he could "control his body with his spirit behind his mind with cosmologic physics."🤷🏼‍♀️ He would randomly say Bible references and we would look them up and read them and he would smile oddly and nod his head and ask if we got the hidden meaning. At one point when I was reading, one word (one!) was not how he remembered it and he claims that we're weren't using the KJV because it wasn't "Shakespearean" enough. This pal was very confusing. Turns out his name is Weed. Kids,  don't do Weed in the park. You'll walk away very confused. 

The rest of the week has not been as confusing as Weed 😅 My new favorite discovery is this Japanese version of the dollar store called Daiso. Friends, I love random Japanese stuff! It's low key an obsession. LOVE IT. Guess what Daiso is filled with? Cheap Japanese stuff. It's amazing. 10/10 would reccomend. Definitely spent too much time and money in there. I love that my mission has lots Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican stores. It's amazing!

Pioneer day was this week! Woot woot! I forgot for a moment that California doesn't celebrate the best holiday ever, which was kinda sad... Thankfully, I live with a bunch of Utah girls who know what's up and we made German pancakes and went out to eat and had our own little celebration! It was awesome! I am so thankful for my ancestors. I owe much to those who came before me. They are our ministering angels. 

Fun news: we're now part time biking! It's a party. We gonna be ripped. 💪Saturday we biked 30 miles! We sore. That was partly because we had a lot of lessons, which be bueno! But it was also partly because we wanted to go eat out annnnnd we got lost a little. We good though! There's also lots of fun discoveries on bikes like boxes of of free grapefruit and dead peacocks.

In other fun news, I have surgery on the Friday! I had to get a Covid test today and will be quarantined from now until then. We gotta stay in our room and do the missionary thang. It's a good thing Sister Sintz and I are pals! 😉 I also had fun blood work. Woot! Anyone who knows me well knows that I haaaaastttteeee going to the doctor... or medical things.... Not a fan. But I did it!! Please be proud of me. 😉

Um also guess what? I've been out for two months. 2 months! 1/9 of the mish. 11.11% done. Wow. The biggest miracle of my mission so far (of which there have been many!) is the help I've been given with homesickness. I have felt literal strength and comfort. There are so many tender mercies and miracles. I testify that Christ knows us on the most personal, intimate, and perfect level. He knows us and loves is in a way we can't even comprehend. You are loved and known. 

Love you! Your emails and prayers are appreciated. Thank you for being wonderful people!

God bless! Hurrah for Israel!

-Sister Schramm 💕

Quotes of the week:

"Hello Elders!"-random fam at Walmart 

"This is why we have a following distance."-Sister Sintz, after I ran into her on my bike

"As your Zone Leaders, we are proud. As bad people, we are sad."-ZLs

 

 

 

Episode 10: Reality Check Followed by Squash

 *important notes before we begin:

1)Friends, I LOVE SQAUSH. Sqaush is a pal. Squash makes my day. Specifically squash of the spaghetti variety. It's easy fun and tastes like pasta without all the carbs.

2)Also, friends, I DO NOT like being told I did something wrong. I don't like feeling inadequate. I don't like flaws. Not a fan. Not my gig.

*now for this week:

This week was the start of transfers. (We work in 6 week rotations called transfers) To make a long story short, sister Sintz and I were told our performance did not meet expectations last transfer... given the facts presented in note 2), I was not feeling too happy. Pretty down on myself. But honestly, I needed the reprimand. We changed our attitude and prayed for forgiveness. And shocker, we were blessed with many teaching opportunities! It was really a world of difference. Friends, when we repent, God blesses us. True doctrine. Also, I've learned that being told you're doing something wrong is not the end of the world. No one died. (My pride did, but honestly it needed to die anyway). Take feedback friends and run with it!

Second story! The past few days have been over 100 and we have no AC. It's been a sweaty struggle and spirits have not been high ;) I didn't feel too peachy for the past couple of days and was in a funk. Today we went shopping and I just really wanted some spaghetti squash. I haven't been able to find some in several weeks. Guess what I found today? Spaghetti squash. Yep. That's all I needed. I can be a happy camper now. 

Guys, Christ knows what means the most to us. He knows when we're down and He knows what will give us a pick me up. It can honestly be something as random as spaghetti squash. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures. It's Alma 7:11 in the Book of Mormon... it talks about how Christ knows how to help us in our struggles: "...and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." He knows how to help you because He went through everything you've gone through. He knows what it means to be you.

Anyways, so so so sorry for the short email! I love you all millions and I truly appreciate your emails, prayers, and general support. I can't comprehend how I know so many wonderful people. 

Love,

-Sister Schramm

Quotes of the week: "I think Sister Sintz is Holier, but I like Sister Schramm more."-Samba

"Sintz and Schramm. That's like a band"

"Or a law firm"- rando couple at the Mexican Restaurant

"You are valid,  you are relatable,  you are better than the elders... you are my spirit animals."-Rachel 

"We got around today. Like mono."-Sis. Sintz

PS try Hong Kong style egg waffles. It will improve your life 100% 

That's all folks. :)