09/28/09**

hey Everyone this week has been fantastic me and my companion get along really well and always have things to talk about, I think its funny cause sometimes he thinks I am like this professional with missionary work he is always like you have been a zone leader and done this and that and I think its cool cause he just wants to learn. this week we have kind of been under the weather if you will with this wicked head cold thing and we had to stay in for two days, then we couldn’t take it and fixed some rendezvous with a couple families thinking that we where a little bit better but turns out the two families didn’t come to church cause they where sick.... I think maybe there is a connection oops. other than that it was my companions birthday and I made him this pretty cool cake thing and decorated it I probably already wrote this in your other letter but oh well. he loved it, I love making people happy it’s a great feeling I just tried to make his birthday a big deal and everyone followed along some members even made this cake thing and they did this surprise birthday song for him
> what else oh Sunday we went to the church like normal and where greeting everyone and asking about their week and all of a sudden the branch president came up with this smile on his face... you know the one where they come towards you and you know that the`re going to give you a calling well it was one of those but he said Elder can you give a talk today? I said cest mon pleasure. and then I took the task given to me said a quick prayer and then I made this talk up I titled it ask and ye shall receive but in french and talked about Joseph smith and how he posed so many questions and then looked to the words of the prophets and prayed and then he got his answer... long story short I told them that they need to make questions now and go to General Conference to get their response to those questions, I closed and sat down the branch president looked at me and smiled and pointed at his paper while talking to his counselor and then he got up and pretty much re enforced what I had talked about to all the members it was great! I felt like when a prophet or an apostles is on a tour with a member from the 70 and tells them to give a talk out of the blue and they just do it. well I love you all and I do encourage you to reflect this week of questions that you have had and go to conference with the faith that you will receive an answer. Have a fantastic week!!!:)

09/14/09 Email

Family,
This week has been pretty good, it was stake conference and since it was being held at our building, it was our responsibility to put out all the chairs; that took forever.

Well transfers where this week and it looks like I am being moved back into Switzerland to a Ville called Martigny; it’s really close to a place called Sion or in English ZION ha ha. It should be pretty fun.

I will no longer be a zone leader, hopefully I can find things to do with all the time I will have ha ha. It should be a really good experience.

I am not really excited to leave Nancy because I have seen so many miracles here, and I really love the people in the ward, they are great people, and their hearts are in the right place.

Oh mom and dad you can still go to that address I gave you to meet that French family they have a DVD waiting for you just to pick it up. I think you will like it; we made it just for you! If you need the address let me know, I will try to get it to send it to you.

I need your prayers this next week because I need a lot of help from the Lord because I know that I can’t do this work alone. Thanks so much for you love and I will send you my address as soon as I can. I love you so much

Elder Schmidt

09/07/09**

hey dad things are going a lot better here in Nancy we have had a little bit more time to do some teaching. We have so much going on I feel like I need to become a professional planner to fit it all in and you must realize that the french people feel as though you are forgetting them if you don’t see them often or call them to let them know what is going on. so lets just say we have been doing a lot of calls. lets see we have a lot going on I will start with Lydie we still haven’t invited her to be baptized we are trying to find a spare moment so we can have a great lesson with her to do it I must thank you for teaching me how to fill in holes in walls cause I have done that a lot lately for service it should turn out good so we are praying that we can fix a rendezvous with her so we can lance the invitation. then we have jessy he spoke with a member last week and said the first time they gave me the invitation I wasn’t serious but know I feel like it is true so we are going to re invite him today even though its preparation day ( sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven) and believe me we need them. then we where given a reference of this African family from a member in Metz and we took this family on a tour of the chapel and explained sacrament the system of the church and them we ended with having the family in the baptismal font and we invited them to be baptized they accepted and accepted to come to church the next day, they came and they loved it. then we where called up by a less active man that wants his daughter and son to be baptized so we are going to see him this week and then on the way to church I spoke with the bus driver turns out he is less active and he said he has been speaking with his 9yr old daughter about baptism so we are going to have to see how that goes. we also received 2 references from church headquarters and also a visitor from Texas gave us the address of his aunt he is a recent convert of three yrs. oh and by some miracle one of our existing amies got the permission from her mother to come to stake conference that’s a huge step! so long story short the lord is pouring out blessings on us the missionaries and the members of Nancy, the transfers are next week I hope that I have the opportunity to stay one more transfer! I would love that. well I love you thanks for writing me. Love Elder Schmidt