Sad inbox

It's just Alison here today. No email from Hermana Scheu this week. I'm just as sad you. BUT I got a letter in the mail today which was even better!!! I thought since we didn't get an email update, I'd give you a few tid-bits from the letter I got.

As we heard in her last email, our little Yo-Yo decided to cut her hair so here's a before and after picture of our favorite little missionary. She's the cutest!

Some quote she sent me:

"We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper places or drop out of our lives."

"Therefore, you dare not live for the moment, rather you must live for the eternities."

"Too often we think that the word sacrifice refers to something hard for us to do. In certain situations this may be true, but mostly it refers to living day-to-day as a true disciple of Christ."

As always she said how much she's loving Spain and loving being a missionary. She misses everyone and misses her country music haha. Hopefully next week we'll get an update!

Besos!

-Alison

Late Night Bad Ideas....

Ehem. So, I love being a missionary. Obviously. But sometimes it´s really hard. And by really hard I mean every single day is an emotional roller coaster of ups and downs and twists and turns and unexpected free falling. Who knew I could go through so much in one day and still have the strength to wake up the next day and do it all over again? 

Well, turns out God knew. And with that knowledge I continue on with a smile and brave face. I love this work and every day along with the ups and downs and twists and turns I free fall even more in love with my home here in Spain. 

Two quotes that carried me through this week: 

1) "Trials may come and we may not understand everything that happens to us or around us. But if we humbly and quietly trust in the Lord He will give us strength and guidance in every challenge we face. When our only desire is to please Him, we will be blessed with deep inner peace.¨

2) "To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning. To produce fruit, your trust must be more powerful that your confidence in your own personal feelings and experiences. As you trust in Him, He will always help you.¨

So, as you can probably tell, I am learning a ton. And loving every second. 

Set spiritual things aside and let´s talk about late night bad ideas...

Last night after planning I looked over at my companion and asked her if she wanted to cut my hair? What convinced me that was a good idea? I have no clue, but once the words were out of my mouth I couldn´t take them back. Of course both companions jumped at the idea of a little entertainment and 5 minutes later my hair was 4 inches shorter...Oops. Sorry mom.

Other than a little less hair and a lot more lessons learned the hard way, all is well. This missionary of yours is continuing on as happy as can be and only missing you and Taylor Swift a little bit ;)

Love you all! 

Until next week, 

Love Hermana Scheu 

p.s. I brought my camera, but forgot the adapter usb thing! Pictures next week, hopefully! #dontholdyourbreath

Friends in High Places

Dearest Loved Ones,

Two things:

Number one (and most important): We have a new friend living with us. He is yet to be named (probably never will be) and he´s not exactly welcome in our home.

So here´s the story. The other night at about 3am I wake up to a really loud/obnoxious grinding noise. It was pitch black and I couldn´t see a thing. At first, I thought someone was in our apartment and trying to get into our room. There was more banging and scratching and for about 90 seconds I was froze stiff. I honestly cant remember feeling so scared and so helpless. 

Anywho, when I finally came to my senses I whispered to Hermana Norton to see if she was awake. Well, clearly she was. So I grabbed my flashlight (thanks mom) and right when I turned it on we looked up and saw one of our lights dangling from the ceiling. And from the small hole where the light SHOULD have been were two little eyes staring back at us.

Well, as you might have guessed we screamed and didn´t quite know what to do with ourselves. We came to the conclusion that we needed to go back to sleep devise a plan in the morning when we could think more clearly. Obviously, we couldn´t sleep in our room that night so we had a sleepover on the living room floor.

So our new friend is a giant (probably 20 pounds) rat. And I am being a little dramatic, but lets be honest, things like this are SO much worse when two girls live by theirselves so far from home. We found out that the loud noises were coming from the rat eating through our electricity...I have no idea why it was so loud, but it was and some how that dang rat is still alive and as active as ever..and we now we have no lights. Greeaatt. Oh, the life of a missionary is crazy. Love it.

Second Thing:

We have a new companion!!!!! She is honestly a gift from the Spanish Heavens and a complete answer to my prayers.

President called us a couple days ago and told us that some sisters had emergency transfers and that we had to make room for three! So, now we are in a trio and it´s the best. Hermana Pilliza is from Spain and she is actually waiting for her visa (she only has 3 weeks in the field) to go to her mission in Argentina! We only get to have her until the 28th, but I am so happy that she is here. She´s an angel and a really good missionary. She´s a natural at teaching and such a light. I´ll try to send pictures next week!

All is well. We are sooo busy and I am sooo thankful. We have a lot of work in our ward. We are definitely working hard and I´m learning a ton. Never been more tired in my life, but it´s so worth it. The Lord is blessing us with miracles EVERYDAY and we are doing our best to follow His guide. We´ve been having a lot of success and I am understanding more and more how much He is in charge. He definitely knows what He´s doing.

We had a wonderful baptism again this weekend! I don't have my camera today, but pictures to come. This Saturday we have another baptism service! His name is Jorge and he is from Spain!!!! My first Spanard! Oh, I love this work. These people here are incredible.

Alright, I have to run. I love you all so much! I´m learning a ton. Thank you for all your prayers and love. The church is true!

XOXO,

Hermana Scheu

p.s. Family Home Evening: If you haven´t watched ¨The Testaments¨ you need to. It´s sooo good! 

Missionary's Fastest Email Update

Hello all,

Welp, today we went to a theme park on the outskirts of Madrid. It was awesome aka we have theee coolest mission president ever. Also, this means that I have about 5 minutes to do emails. Bare with me here.  

First off, I just need to give a huge shout out to my amazing friends (and family). Last week we had a zone meeting and I had letters and packages!! Hi. I love you all SO MUCH. I can´t even explain how much every single one of those letters meant to me. Every single person touched my heart and these letters could not have come at a better moment. I even got one from an investigator from Utah that we had been teaching and I bawled all the way through his letter. The church is so true. There is no way that these kinds of changes can come into someones life if it wasn´t. 

 I can't wait to write everyone back, but it might take me awhile! Just know that I am extremely grateful and know that I am thinking of you all. Next Monday I will be writing my little heart out <3

I just LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. This week was great. This week I felt like I got a piece (more like the whole thing) of humble pie thrown in my face. Wow. I learned SO much this week through trial and error haha It was awesome. I am still trying to figure out how to do this whole mission thing on my own with a brand new companion...let´s just say the Lord has been very patient with me. I am getting really good at learning from my mistakes and praying for help. 

So much love heading your way! Missionary work is incredible. We´ve had some of the most beautiful experiences. I can´t wait to tell you all about them when I come home. 

Love you all. Miss your faces. Since when is Allie May old enough to have an email account? Have a great week!!! 

Besitos, 

Hermana Scheu