Frozen showers and Skype calls

Well today..... amazingly.... is hot!!!! As of right now the skies are clear and out laundry has a chance of maybe getting dry for once! That would be nice not to wear wet clothes and wet shoes for once:) I had to give that elders jacket back, so I'm glad that it is starting to get warm again:)

Although the weather is warm.... the bucket showers are still... not warm. I imagine that the showers that we take here in Ballesteros, feel something close to what falling off of the titanic would feel..... but every single day!

We finally saw some progression in the area this week. We were a little tired of not having anyone progress or come to church, so we decided to bag everyone and contact all of our referrals.... the standard for new investigators in one week is 8.... we might have gotten 29. It worked a little, we had 3 investigators at church!!!!

The other sisters have been having a lot of success on their side of the area and have been having a lot of baptisms.... I think that I have sung more musical numbers here in the last two weeks than I have in my entire life!!! But as long as it is for a baptism, I guess that it is okay.

We had to check the elders apartments this week..... the apartment wasn't bad.... but man the travel was a pain in the butt! It took us six hours to check on the apartment!!! We are so poor now!!! I can't imagine back when it was Sister Woahn and Sister Tauti checking all of cagayan! Yikles! That is a lot of travel! They are great examples to me!!!

So..... I GOT TO SKYPE WITH MY FAMILY THIS LAST WEEK! It was really great but really stressful! I was supposed to skype with them at 1 pm.... we had district meeting an hour away until 12..... then we went and checked some other elders apartment, then we waited for a jeepney.... and waited.... and waited....FINALLY it came. Got to the Ballesteros Junction and got in a tryce. OF COURSE we had to be the FIRST inside of the tryce.... they wait until they have 8 to leave. more waiting...... after 45 minutes.... finally left. SLOWEST TRYCE EVER!!!!!!!! we were barely moving. I was thinking "can I get out and walk please? It will be faster."

Finally got to town and got to Skype with my family:) It was the greatest part of Christmas:) Last skype of the mission:)

Christmas here was something a little different.... seeing as how it was pouring rain and we still went out finding:) But our meals..... were plentiful. Every house that we taught at felt that they needed to feed us..... ugh!!! I was soooooooo full! I've never eaten so much in my entire life! We had 5 lunches and 3 dinners! I thought that I was going to puke!!!!! we ate: Spaghetti, Pancit, vegetables, fish, rice, graham cake, noodles.... and so so much more when we got home, we all looked at each other and just said.... would it be okay with everyone if we didn't cook dinner tonight? needless to say.... it was fine with everyone.

Everyone thinks that Sister Shrack and I are twins.... we are both white.... I guess that basically qualifies us.

The branch missionaries threw us a Christmas party! It was really great and we had a lot of fun!.... Another Musically number.

Love you all! Love Sister Schultz!

That moment when:

-I stopped worrying about not having tissue at the public restroom because I was busy worrying about how I had to go to the bathroom.... on the floor!

-You wear wet clothes everyday because they wont dry in the freezing cold wet weather.

-You dump a bucket of ice water on your head and scream.

-When you are walking into the kitchen, see a cockroach run across the table, but still continue doing what you were doing.
-You realize that it's not actually normal to walk across a river on a small branch to get to your appointment on the other side.

Merry Christmas

This week has been really great! As you all know, I was transferred to a new area. I really really miss Paoay. But I am excited to have the opportunity to be serving her in Ballesteros. Especially with Sister Gadiano as my companion:) She is the greatest! It is complete black and white change from the last companion:) Although the  companion is super great.... the apartment could definitely use some serious TLC. I've been scrubbing the walls since I got here, and I still can't tell what color they are really supposed to be.

We have one investigator here that is really ready for baptisms, Sister Sheryl. She is so great and she really wants to be baptized, she just cant see the relation between coming to church and being baptized... it's kind of an important part of the whole process.

OH!!! Here in Cagayan.... they call it America..... Why? You might ask.... It is FREEZING COLD HERE! It's always pouring rain and everything is frozen! How did this happen!?!?! I thought that I was in the Philippines! My feet are always soaked and wet and covered in mud. I finally stole one of the jackets that an Elder was wearing yesterday until I can buy one for myself. Poor Elder.... But at least I'm warm:) No packages for Christmas:( That's sad:( but at least!.... Sister Shrack is going to make no bake cookies.... I'm okay with that.

Everyone here thinks that Sister Shrack and I are twins.... not surprising since we both have red hair and white skin.... but still....

This week.... I want to watch Christmas in Connecticut.... I would say that that is mission appropriate.... I would watch it at a baptism:)

The Quotes that I always quote for Christmas all come from the Grinch who Stole Christmas. If you haven't seen it... repent. "Merry Christhmas Martha Mae" "The fires of love." Thith looks like a precious family air loom.... woopsy!"

Things that have become normal to me in the Philippines:

-Riding Side saddle on the back of a motorcycle

-Showering with a bucket

-Flushing with a bucket

-washing laundry... In a bucket.

-Cooking everything in a wok

-Going out to teach people with wet hair

-Men peeing.... anywhere and everywhere

-Wearing flip flops inside the house

-Sweeping everyday and still never getting the floor clean.

I had to think really hard about those things because they are so normal to me.

I hope that you all have a very wonderful Christmas!!! I will see you all for St. Patrick's Day!

Transfers, transfers

This week: Well!!! Where do I start!! I will start at Christmas Conference! It was amazing! I had sooo much fun! Man there were people there from all over the mission... as in the whole mission was there! That was the first time that the whole mission has been in one place since I have been on my mission. When we first got to the shindig, we had a really nice devotional! I was hoping that we were going to watch the Grinch who stole Christmas.... it didn't happen:( Sad day. But the devotional was really great. Afterwards we went and played sports!!! yes!! Oh yeah! I forgot!!! I hung out with Sister Tauti all through the conference:) Then when se played sports I hung out with Sister Woahn and Sister Lainhart. She is also from Idaho and she is way awesome. At night we had a really nice dinner and then we did skits and dances. Our zone was the BEST! Best in lahat.... or best in all:)

Then this week Shidel came to church!! Man!! I LOVE SHIDEL!!! She really has come to be like my sister while I have been here in Paoay! I Just love all of the people here so much! I am going to miss them all! That Is right I got transferred. I will be going to y new area tomorrow in Ballesteros. Sister Tauti served there and she loved it. I know it will be great, I just will miss Paoay so much!!!! But this transfer will make the next 3 months go by really fast.... that's right. I come home in 3 months. That's so soon! My dad got my travel information this week! I am pretty excited! My family is getting excited and I think that that makes me more excited than I am:) My new companion will be.... I forgot haha I was trying not to cry. That's what girls do when they get transferred:)

I read a really great article in the ensign this morning so I will share my knowledge with you all now:) well it was four different stories and they all were talking about how they had a plan A in their life. They were going to get married after their mission. Or get a job. Graduate from school, or study abroad or something. Anyway, in all four of these stories, their "plan A" fell through and they had to resort to their "plan B" in the end their Plan B ended up being better than they ever could have thought that their Plan A could have turned out. The quote at the end of the article said, "Sometimes when our Plan B is God's Plan A put into reality." ooooo chills:) I like that:) Enjoy!

This week I taught Sister Crook how to eat a fish. with her hands. She likes it now!!! I'll miss that Sister for sure when I leave!

Have a merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep on keepin' on

well this week there isn't that much to report. I feel like I am being obedient but Satan is just dragging me down. Why is success so hard to find and then so hard to hold onto? This week two of my RC's decided that they don't want to come back to church:( One of them moved to Manila and the other one runs from us whenever we come to teach her:( My heart breaks a little.

Studies are really good. It seems like no matter where I decide to study, the Nest thing I pick up always relates to what I was just studying. Gotta love the way that the Lord works sometimes:)... or don't, but either way you are going to have to endure it, so you might as well just learn to love it!

Not much else to report on this week. We had AN AMAZING MOVIE NIGHT AT TH ECHURCH THOUGH! we had ten investigators come! Success! We watched 17 miracles.... but then the next day at church we only had 3 investigators come.... and only one of them had come to movie night the night before:(..... but! I love the two new investigators that we have! They are older and they actually live in Canada they are just visiting their family here, but they are soooo funny! I love them so much! I hope they get baptized! Oh I hope I hope!

16 down... 3 to go.

Missions are hard

This week was really eventful? If by eventful I mean that nothing really happened, than I would be about right. We worked a ton and we have really been focusing on being exactly obedient and doing everything that we are supposed to, but we just aren't seeing a lot of progression in the area. Missions are hard. Even now, there are so many trial and troubles that always find their way in no matter how long you have been in the mission field. Time seems to creep by slowly until you realize that you have been teaching investigators that you love for months now and they haven't progressed.
Christmas is coming up soon, Another snowless Christmas, washing clothes by hand in a squatting position for hours and instead of roasting chestnuts on an open fire, it's actually your skin melting in the blistering heat. But despite all of the trials and heartaches, I am soo happy that I am where I am. I finally hit that point in my mission where you stop wanting to go home and you start dreading it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still DANG excited to see my family, but I don't want to leave this place. My home away from home. I truly love the people here and if I didn't have to b with the same person 24/7 all day everyday, I probably wouldn't mind staying here. But having companions that you don't pick yourself?.... I'll trade it in any day. Preparation for life.

Today marks 100 days left in the Philippines.