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