Not funny

Hi family,

I guess I´ll start with answering a few of mom´s most pressing questions:

     Dear Hermana Scheu,

     How do you like your new ward ? 

     Area? 

     Companion ? 

     Hope you are doing well.

Dear Mom and other loved ones,

Things are SOOOO good. Yup, I really like my new ward. It´s a bit smaller than my last one and it has a ton of people that speak English. We live in the very center of Madrid and really close to downtown, so that makes sense. It throws me off though. I don´t know how to have a normal conversation in English. My first week home will be great.

My area is HUGE. It takes us quite a bit of time to get to lessons and we spend a lot of time in the Metro. It gives us opportunities to contact, but less time to teach formal lessons. It´s all good though, we´re making it work. We have lots of fancy restaurants and a TON of stores. Which does nothing for us poor sister missionaries. However, guess what we discovered the other day?! Theee most delicious mexican burrito place. It´s a spanish Chilpotle and I am in love. The food is delicious. The people are great. And the interior decorator loves Pinterest. I´m sure of it. I´ve already eaten there 3 times. It´s a problem.

Moving on.

Hermana Heims. Yes, my companion is amazing. Of course. I always love my companion, but I am so grateful to be with someone I already knew before. For the past few transfers her companion and I were both sister training leaders in our zone so Hermana Heims and my companion were with eachother at least 2 a week. We all just became really good friends. It´s been quite convenient actually. I only have to worry about getting to know a new area :)

Anyway, Hermana Heims litterally rocks. We are both really easy going and it´s so easy to just focus on the work and not sweat the small stuff. The only problem with her, though, is that we laugh WAY TOO MUCH together. Don´t get me wrong, laughing is definitely necessary and needed in this work, but we actually have a legitimate problem. There have already been 3 serious ocasions when I´ve had to lean over, close my eyes, and offer a sincere prayer to keep me from not laughing at the most inappropriate times. We´ve made some goals and we are working on it. I´ll keep you updated. 

So, I´m happy. It has definitely been an adjustment (I barely got unpacked today) and I miss my old area a lotttt, but all is well. It´s just so nice to know that I don´t have to be in charge. I am exactly where the Lord needs me to be and I dont have to worry about the big decisions. I just do what I am asked and try my best. This work is amazing. I never want my time here to end. There is absolutely nothing that compares.

I´ll share a little piece of what I get to experience on a daily basis.

My very first night here in Barrio 5 Hermana Heims and I contacted a young family from Columbia. We introduced ourselves as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and began an easy conversation. Ten minutes later we were invited to share more and we set up an appointment for later that week.

Thursday night came and we were greeted at the door by this young mother and her sweet little girl and the most beautiful little boy I have ever seen. No joke. She invited us in and we started chatting while we waited for her husband to get home from work.  After a good ten minutes it looked like the husband was going to be late so we decided to start with a prayer and jump into the lesson.

The lesson began and the second we started testifying the most beautiful spirit filled the room. This young mother opened up to us and wept as we taught the Plan of Salvation and focused on the Atonement. We promised that she could be with her family forever and the emptiness inside her could be filled as she made steps towards repentance. We invited her to be baptized and finished by promising her that Heavenly Father´s plan is perfect.

I wish I could explain more of what happened during those short 45 minutes, but there are no words. It´s impossible to explain how fufilling this work is. I have never felt so complete and so content. Lessons like these make alll the hard times worth it a hundred times over. As Hermana Heims and I made our way home that night we couldn´t stop smiling. Then, right before we got home that night we received a text message "cordially" inviting us over for dinner the following afternoon. The next day we went and ate the most delicious Spanish meal ever and taught the whole family. The little girl prayed at the end and the husband was excited to have us over again later this week.

When I say things are good, I mean really good. I love my job! Paid in blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope you all had a wonderful day! I am thankful for the most amazing friends and family and all of your love.

Thought for the week:

"We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them the bad habits. They can repent from transgressions. We must develop the capacity to see men not as they are at present, but as they can become." 

-President Monson

Love you ALL. Make good decisions.

Love,

Hermana Scheu