February 22, 2015

February 22, 2015
Well, we had a pretty good week, though again it was a little slow. I think that's just the nature of our area right now. We keep trying, though. We have been trying to follow up with all of the potential investigators that we have found through our efforts, and that has been helpful. There were a couple of super cold days, as well as a day when about 7 or 8 inches of snow fell, so that slowed us down a little bit, but we found some opportunities to help people, and that was good. One lady said we were an answer to her prayers, which is always good to hear. On one of the really cold days, we took some time to bake cookies and delivered them to some people, which I think made a good impression on them. We had exchanges with our zone leaders Wednesday, which is usually a good experience. It is fun to talk to a different person and to learn some new things. T. is still doing well, but please keep him in your prayers, as well as R. and his family who are experiencing a lot of health problems. It sounds like you all had a good week, which I'm always glad to hear. I hope this week's a good one, too. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schow

February 16, 2015

February 16, 2015
It was another unexciting week, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We did have a few good visits with people and we feel like T. is making progress. His mom is very involved in his conversion process and while she doesn't want to join the Church herself at this point, she is very supportive of him being baptized. She says that the more she learns about the Church, the better she feels about it all. As I might have mentioned before, President Daines has given us a little bit of time each week to spend on family history, so it has been really neat to be able to read a lot of stories about my ancestors and see where they all come from. On Wednesday, we went on exchanges, so I was with Elder Pippert up in the Piqua ward. It was pretty fun to spend a day up there and we found a few people willing to have the missionaries come back. We had to take our car to get fixed later in the week because the wiper fluid wouldn't work. It just turned out that a hose was pinched off, so they fixed it easily. It's been very cold the last few days, which has required some adapting, but we keep trying. 

 

One other thing that we've been doing lately that has been neat is reading the Book of Mormon as a mission between early February and April 20th and highlighting either references to Christ or the the Gospel of Christ. I've been doing the first one, and it is really neat to see how often Christ is talked about- multiple times on almost every page. It has helped me concentrate as I read. 

Well, I hope you all have a good week and that things keep going well.

Love!

Elder Schow

February 9th 2015

February 9, 2014
It was a pretty good week. We were able to put in a lot of good work finding, which isn't bearing fruit yet. At least we know we tried hard, though. We had a zone conference on Wednesday and for a few hours on Friday with our zone and the other zone in our stake. There was a lot of good information and we set some goals to report back on. The whole thing focused a lot on finding and trying different approaches in contacting people. That is something we have been working on. Large mission meetings are usually pretty enjoyable and it is fun to interact with some of the missionaries that I don't see too often. We managed to have a couple of good lessons this week. T. is making a lot of progress and is working on praying and thinking of a baptismal date. We are starting to review the lessons with D. and W. and hoping that it will make a difference for them, so that is good. We are trying to teach R., but he has been pretty sick. Hopefully he will feel up to a lesson this week. It is often amazing to me how hard and wearing this work can be. It never really seems to get easier. However, there are times that make it all worth it. I feel like I have learned so much and I hope I am making a difference to people. Ohio is a pretty great place. 

I'm glad to hear that things are going okay for everyone at home. I hope the doctors are able to continue helping Naomi. I've been trying to keep her and everyone else in the family with health problems in my prayers. 

Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and a happy Valentine's Day. 

Love,

Elder Schow   

Feb. 2, 2015

February 2, 2015
The winter has been pretty spotty here, so I'm not sure what difference six more weeks will make, but having things warmer would be nice. It sounds from your messages like everything is going pretty well for everyone, which is always good to hear. This week was a little slow in terms of results in our work, but we worked hard, and that is the most important thing, I suppose. We've really been striving to make our plans effective and to find through a variety of methods. We've also been trying to meet a lot of the less-active members in our area that we haven't met before. I got some sort of stomach bug  Thursday, which wasn't too fun. I spent most of the day resting, then we worked Friday, and I felt much better by the time that Saturday rolled around. It really wasn't a very exciting week, but it was a learning experience, so that's good. I wish I had more to write, but I can't think of anything :) sorry. I love you all, though, and I hope you have a good week!

Love,

Elder Schow

January 26, 2015

Jaunary 26, 2015

Well, Wednesday was an interesting day. We had fun playing some games with the ward mission leader and a few other people, then transfer calls came. Elder Orton got transferred. Later that evening, President Daines called and told me I was training. They didn't tell me on the regular day since I went to the training meeting just a few months ago. It was a big surprise. We got to the transfer meeting safely, despite the fact that Elder Orton's bike fell off the rack on the freeway. It was miraculously dragged along by a strap and when we pulled over, the only damage was a big scrape on the seat and some scuffing on the hand grip. Eventually we got to the meeting. My new companion is Elder Davis, from Mount Pleasant, Utah. He seems like a good missionary, though he is pretty quiet. It is always a rough couple of days starting training because the new missionary doesn't know the area or anyone in it and the trainer has to make most of the plans, but it has turned out okay so far. The baptism on Saturday went well. The only hiccup was that the water was cold. B and B.J. were pretty excited, though. The confirmations went well yesterday, too. Another neat thing happened yesterday.One of the recent converts in the ward, D. P., was receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and asked me to be the one to do it. I have never done that before, so it was a really neat experience. Now we are trying to find new people to work with. I'm not sure if I've mentioned R. before, but most of his family are members and he is excited to work towards baptism. I hope that works out. I hope you all had a good week. I always appreciate the email. I would really appreciate some paper letters, too, especially in the next few weeks. I love you all so much. I can't believe how fast a mission goes or how difficult it is, but I know I am growing a lot and I am grateful for that. Have a good one!

Love,

Elder Schow

January 20, 2014

January 20, 2015

Well, it was a pretty great week.We had a lot of good contacts and some very positive lessons. B. and B.J. are now working towards being baptized Saturday, which is pretty great. We are excited and hope everything works out there. We had a couple of exchanges this week, which is always interesting. I got to work with one of the Elders from the district here in our area, and also got to go work with Elder Nelson in the zone leaders' area. Exchanges are a lot of fun because you can talk with the other missionary about so many things in the mission. The younger man we've started teaching, T., came to church Sunday and really enjoyed it. We are having our first official lesson with his family tonight. We also get to formally start teaching a man named R. this week, whose family are mostly members. We are excited with how well things are going. 

Leadership calls were yesterday, but we didn't get one. President did call us, but he meant to call the Sisters. Seeing President's name on the phone is always an interesting experience. Anyway, nothing new on that front. Transfer calls are tomorrow, so we will see what happens. I am not sure what to expect, but I'm guessing I will stay in this area at least one more transfer.

I'm glad the redecorating and anniversary party went well. That is really neat that so many people came. 

I love you all and hope you have another good week!

Love,

Elder Schow

Jan 12, 2014

January 12, 2014

This was really a good week. After I emailed you all last week, we went bowling with our zone, which was a lot of fun. Then, we and the zone leaders went with a couple of members to tour a cave called Ohio Caverns. It was really big and super cool. I got a lot of great pictures, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to send therm today. They kind of look more cool than the cave did in person :) We have had some good plans this week and have been blessed with some good appointments. Tuesday was very snowy, so we basically spent the whole day shoveling and had a lot of positive contacts with people. It was neat. I went on exchanges with the Elders in the Piqua ward on Wednesday, so I was up working in the city of Troy. That was pretty interesting. It is always a neat experience to work with different Elders in different places. Interviews with President and Sister Daines were on Thursday, which was good. I feel like my interview went well. We were given counsel in the meeting to really try to follow the planning guidelines in Preach My Gospel, and we have bee trying to apply that throughout the rest of the week. It has actually made our work go more smoothly and be more enjoyable. We had a couple of breakthroughs with part-member families this week. One lady, whose sister is a member, and her son are going to start learning about the Church and reading the Book of Mormon, which is a super big step for them. Their extended family is very prejudiced, so it will be interesting, but hopefully everything works out. B. a B.J. were still sick, but we plan to see them soon. D. came to church on Sunday for the first time since I've been here, which was a really good step. It is pretty amazing what can happen if we just keep trying with these people and do our best to be diligent. There can be miracles. Well, I hope you all have a good week. I'll see if I can get those pictures sent. There are a lot! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Schow