Pictures dated 27 February 2023

Letter dated 27 February 2023

Dear Yall, This week was good. It was very long and I am currently very tired but it was good. Monday We had good meeting after Pday where we met as a zone and talked about missionary work and how to be effective. We also did a little late night service at dinner that night by helping a new family move a heavy dresser into their apartment. It is always a good opportunity to serve. Tuesday So recently we have had a lot of strange people reach out to us rather than us (the typically strange people), reaching out to others so it has been nice feeling popular. Unfortunatley we aren't too sure how willing to progress any of them are so we will keep having hour long text chats per day with them. Fun stuff! One of friends who we thought had been avoiding us actually turned out to be very sick. We had a good conversation with her about staying strong through difficult times and she was interested in getting a copy of the Book of Mormon. She has decided to read it and we are hoping she will come to our Book of Mormon study this week. We also had a good lesson with Sawyer this week. She is excited for her baptism and it's been fun to get to know her! Wednesday We met with our friend Justin who has been meeting with missionaries for a while now. He's awesome and it was great to meet and encourage him in his endeavors he has been pursuing. We played capture the flag later that night and I got tackled by a youth. When I say I got tackled, I should say I was standing and someone ran into me and I had a solid 100 pounds on the kid so he crumbled to the ground. I'm glad I'm finally one of the big kids now. Also, he was fine, just a little discombobulated. Thursday After we had dinner with this one family they showed us their moon garden. They lived in Hong Kong for 12 years and have a very intricate garden in their back yard with a whole assortment of asian flowers and trees. It was very beautiful lit by moonlight. I am not sure why it's called a moon garden but it was cool nonetheless. We didn't have anything else interesting happen since we weekly planned that day. Friday For district council we had a huge emphasis on faith and how to teach the priniciple of faith to others. It was a powerful experience especially when we tried an exercise I thought of ealier that week. Before we practiced teaching I asked that each of us pray individually for faith and for anything in order to teach and testify. The Spirit was palpable in the room and it was a humbling experience to see the plans I had made paid off so well. I am glad I get to serve the Lord. I went on exchanges that same day with Elder Homer in the Winder Ward. When I started my mission I went on many exchanges to Winder and it was fun coming back to the same area after so many months. We met with a many people and it was cool to see the timing of everything. We were at this one home right when someone fell down and we lifted the person back up and they were able to go the hospital safely. We met with some recentlly baptized friends, some friends close to baptism, an older gentleman related to Ezra Taft Benson, and this awesome family who live in a 110 year old home which reminded very much of my home in Idaho! Saturday We burned down a ton of wood for a member in the ward which was very hot. serving is a one of my favorite things we do.We later went to a family's home and I apparently look identical to the father's childhood best friend named Rusty. If anyone finds a 50 year old version of me nicknamed Rusty, that might be him! Sunday My talk, powells, Mykhailo I gave a talk about increasing faith and it was great to be able to share something with this ward. A Sister later thanked me for what I had said and I was greatly moved by this. It was also fun to see many people come to church that day. After church our Russian friend Mykailo missed the meeting but wanted to meet still at the church. We came by again and waited. When we called to reconfirm he was still coming he said he was working so we rescheduled for that night at 7:30 at the church. Once again, he did not come. We called once again at 8 and he said he was on his way. By 8:30 he still was not there and not getting back to us. Just another day in the life of a missionary. We also had dinner with the Powell family who own a local dance, music, and theatre studio (due to the fact that their jobs are centered around everything I did in Highschool I feel obliged to include them in the update). They are a sweet couple and they want us to meet with and talk to one of their neighbors who needs a blessing. Hopefully everything works out! I hope life is good for everyone else. I am pretty tired from everything so I'll probably take a nap soon. I also have zone conference tomorrow and I'm going to the temple the week after this one. Let me know if anyone needs a name to go through the prayer roll/ if I need to be praying for anyone. God bless! Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

Pictures dated 20 February 2023

Letter dated 20 February 2023

Dear y'all, This week was a lot to handle but it is over now so that makes me glad. Time to do it all over again! Tuesday I had to say goodbye to Elder Scott and Elder Clancy which was hard but I am currently with Elder Ray. He is from Ephraim Utah and he has been introducing me everyone in the area. We went from the mission home to my new area of Braselton and we had a few visits with some less actives and some friends. At one point we stopped by our new friend George who was very enthusiastic to talk to us about Valentine's day (Happy Valentine's day by the way! <3). He was very adamant that we should all respect the Holiday by keeping the law of chastity and so we talked about the importance of this commandment. It was the first time I ever street contacted someone and first taught them about the Law of Chastity so that was fun! We also met with our friend Sawyer who is super excited to be baptized soon! Please pray for her and her family, nothing bad has happened yet but it seems like everytime someone begins progressing towards baptism something terrible happens right before so please keep them in your prayers. Wednesday We had the opportunity to give a local sister a blessing in the hospital which was very sweet to be part of. We also had a Book of Mormon study that night with 8 missionaries and 3 members which was pretty lowkey but fun nonetheless. Thursday I had a looooong meeting as a district leader on zoom. It was a good meeting and President Harris gave us district leaders a lot of very good advice but I was very worn out by the end of it. We also had an amazing lesson with our friend Roy. He was very receptive to the Plan of Salvation, particularly surrounding the idea of people in the Spirit World being able to accept the gospel regardless of nationality, experience, or predispostions. Friday I lead my first district council which was very fun! My district is great and they seemed to enjoy the trainings I prepared. I taught about the importance of the first two points in the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson and how to use personal revelation. Afterward we weekly planned which was a huge slog, but we finished. That is the greatest acomplishment we can have on the mission. Saturday We had a crazy lesson on the street with a drunk guy and a highschooler. It was wild since the drunk guy kept on asking weird questions and the highschooler (not of our faith) began defending our beliefs from our drunken friend. By the end of the conversation they both requested a copy of the Book of Mormon and it was pretty funny to think back to later. We also had a good visit with a less active member and it was powerful to feel the Spirit with her. Sunday We had a good church service and I got to meet the ward which was pretty exhilerating. One of our friends who speaks very little English, becasue he is from Russia, was planning to come to church with us but was 4 hours late so we had this confusing thread of phone calls of trying to meet up with him, him not wanting us to meet at his home, him wanting to meet at our home, but we finally settled on meeting at the Chik-Fil-A parking lot since it is empty on Sundays. He then proceded to not show up. Fun stuff. Afterwards we went to dinner and gave a sweet blessing to the father who really needed it. All in all it was a good week but I am currently exhausted from everything moving around and getting used to this transition. Have a good one yall, be safe! Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

Pictures dated 13 February 2023

Letter dated 13 February 2023

Dear y'all, This week was insane! I almost died, I met some amazing people, and now I got some crazy transfer news! Tuesday We met with our friends Jill and Milton and they are amazing! We met them back when we were doing service outside for 6 hours and they were super receptive to the message of the restoration and we will be meeting with them again tomorrow! I also woke up with some back pain but after stretching it out and icing it has gotten better. Wednesday We had some good visits. Thursday We had a fun district council and had a good conversation with one of our recent converts about his experience inthe temple and what he could talk about since he was preparing for his talk on Sunday. It was fun to talk to him about it and he has such a beautiful testimony! Friday When we went out proselyting this day we at one point we stopped a man named Bill while he was walking his dog. He told us he was busy walking the street but to stop him later. After talking to a member at her door step we realized Bill already left and the only way to stop him was to talk to him in our car by passing him. Elder Clancy said that it was too weird but as we approached him I was prompted to lower my window. He wasn't interested but he was a good man of faith. About 30 seconds later we saw a car get hit in front of us on a 50 mile an hour road which then hit 2 other cars right when we were about to turn into the road. We immediately surveyed what happened to see if anyone was hurt and of the four cars not a single person was visibly injured. We realized that if I hadn't been prompted to talk to Bill we would have been more than likely hit but we also would have been t-boned due to how we would have been turning. It was a moment of mercy and grace to realize that no one was killed and that we were protected because we decided to preach the gospel. It was a little terrifying but it made me realize I need to live righteously every day. Because that I have had a renewed perspective on how to live and continue because I want to live with absolutely zero regrets. I love all of you. Saturday It was a llooooooooonnggg day Sunday We had a great lesson with our friend Marne. Pray for him. He needs strength and peace for both himself and his family. Then we had transfers calls. Surprisingly I will be leaving after serving for only six weeks in Butler Creek and going to Braselton in the Winder Stake! I am a little sad since I was only here for a little bit of time and I loved the area and my companions. I will be a district leader for the first time and it should be a lot of fun. I love this area though. It was one of my favorites. Keep strong, I only have 3 months left and I will see you soon. God bless! Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

Pictures dated 6 February 2023

Letter dated 6 February 2023

Dear y'all, Keep praying for our friends, they need a little extra support! They are going through some difficult times with totalled cars and severe trials going on. Tuesday It was a little crazy with having to pick up groceries, talking to our mission president, and tracting a little bit but it was still very positive! We had dinner with the patriarch which was very spiritually uplifting! Wednesday I went on exchanges to the KSU campus which was a ton of fun! It was interesting to talk to people my age because they were very open and willing to talk about their life story and it was so easy to approach them. It was a fun change of pace. We also helped out the young men and will be doing a missionary fireside with them later in the month! Thursday We moved another bed! This time it wasn't nearly as heavy which was a relief. Friday We weekly planned on time which is always an accomplishment. This will be the last week of the transfer so I am pretty excited to keep moving along. Saturday We gave a blessing to a sister nearby who needed some closure. She is facing the end of her days and it was incredible to help her as well as he mother. They seemed uplifted and energetic after we ministered to them. I felt the spirit very strongly that day and it helped me to continue in strength. Sunday Both Kya and Adrienne had last minute emergencies that kept them from church but that isn't super new for me. We had knocked on a lot of doors throughout the entire week but I don't know if it was because we were fasting or what but it seemed that everyone we talked to was very willing to talk but just about weird and really out there strange doctrine. It lead to some good conversations so I'm not complaining It was a good week. I just made some killer fried chicken for my entire zone. It turned out so good. I love cooking for people, its so fun and it fills me with joy every time! Have a good one yall, Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler