Pictures dated 27 March 2023

Letter dated 27Mar2023

Dear yall, *Inhale* *Exhale* Its been a long time since I've been home. I am going into my last transfer of my mission. Elder Ray is heading over to Woodstock and I will be getting Elder Miner tomorrow. It's weird to say I'm almost done and I don't want to say good bye. I have loved my mission. Here's my week. Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Hager who is my zone leader. Since I'm his district leader both of us were in charge of one another so it was like being your boss's boss! As we went around his area (Fort Yargo) we just were able to teach and testify to people but unfortunately we were stuck in two houses for the majority of the day. In one we basically just had a bashing session with this one lady who's pentecostal as her anti-mormon care taker. She went on this strange diatribe about the 12 tribes of Israel and trying to explain it accurately her and her not understanding/getting angry or just kind of confused about the whole situation was how it started of but we explained it clearly and she was able to accept that the 12 tribes were scattered just like the Bible says! Afterward we had this very long conversation with an inactive brothere in the Fort yargo area. He will not be named. He got baptized I want to say about 20 years ago but the only reason he got baptized was because his wife was healed by the missionaries and he couldn't deny it so he just got baptized without believing anything about the church. He was a very funny and a very charismatic guy but once he started talking politics and said a few somewhat racist comments we decided we'd better get going so we continued on with our day. After waiting around for a while for people to come to English class we eventually just decided we would post something on Facebook! As a mission we've been trying to implement Facebook a little bit more and the zone leaders have been making Facebook posts. I am a district leader but starting tomorrow I'm going to be doing some Facebook work. It was fun though to be able to work on it with Elder Hager. we made a kind of silly advertisement for service where we were selling a free sudan which was actually just a bunch of missionaries on Facebook marketplace but in any case it is ended up going well and it was pretty fun. We also contacted this guy who spoke Spanish and was a really good opportunity for me to finally speak my assigned language! I have another Spanish story later as well. Wednesday After exchanging back we just kind of went on some more visits for the day and then we got this awesome call from this amazing brother in the Ward named Brother Parrot. Brother Parrot is an older gentleman who converted to the church a long time ago and it was awesome to be able to have a really good conversation with him. He wanted to take us around all of our visits on Thursday so we happily agreed and it was just an awesome miracle that we were able to see that day. I began coughing that day but I didn't really think very much of it so we just kind of went along with our day. That night we played some ultimate Frisbee and some kickball and it was a lot of fun. I don't usually play sports but it was a lot of fun just to have a fun time with the youth and just kind of take it a little bit easy. Thursday We were expecting to teach 3 of our friends with Brother Parrot but instead we taught none of our friends with him. That was OK though because we still were able to go on some visits and he definitely gave us some Cracker Barrel which was amazing! After visits with him he ended up getting us back to our house so that we could move on to a service project which actually fell through :(. Afterward we went to our friend Roy's house and roy is awesome. He was very eager to receive us and have a gospel discussion with us. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and I'm really hoping that he can be able to progress some more. We are going to be doing some service with him soon so hopefully we can introduce him to some of the members of the ward. The member family that was planning on feeding us that night had to cancel dinner but then they offered for us to come to their son's baseball game and they would give us concession food! It was a fun experience and I must say I don't usually watch baseball but this time it was a lot of fun and it was also good because there were a lot of members there that we are able to talk to. Sadly no one who was not a member was interested in talking to us so nothing much has changed :D Friday Then on Friday I woke up and I started coughing blood.That has never happened to me before and I was a little bit worried so I got in contact with our mission medical coordinator and I ended up going to the clinic later that day. But what that meant was before I went to the there I still had to go to district council and lead it. I was a little apprehensive at first but decided I would just go ahead and continue with it anyway. Even though I was ill and not feeling great and my throat was hurting immensely it went really well. We talked about enduring to the end and the importance of getting past our difficulties and it was especially poignant because I was getting past my own difficulties and my own endurance of the end and so I think the point was made quite well. I did go to the clinic that day and I tested negative for the flu, covid, and strep throat fortunately! Due to some specific symptoms I had though they did test me for tuberculosis and they gave me a lot of medication to be on for the time being. I think I will be OK and I received a blessing. Tuberculosis is very hard to get in the United States but I could still use the prayers and some more some support. I don't want to go home early. Saturday That day we visited a person who had been taught in the Commerce ward which is where I started my mission but had moved down to Braselton! I never did meet her but it was still fun to be able to connect with her and a few of the missionaries that she did know who I was companions with. Her name is Wendy Weiss if anyone is wanting to pray for her she could just use some more support in her life. After that we went to do service and although I wasn't feeling very good I could still move a couple of limbs and branches. All around it went pretty well and I stopped coughing up blood that day. Earlier in the week when I was on exchanges with elder Hager, Elder Ray was on exchanges with Elder Esplin and they actually ran into this one lady who was interested, but Elder Ray doesn't speak Spanish and she only speaks a little English. Elder Ray didn't want to go to the lesson because he didn't want to just sit there for the entire lesson so he decided he would ask if we could go on exchanges with the other Elders in our apartment one of whom really wants to learn Spanish. I was able to go with him and go over the lesson but we also street contacted several people who also spoke Spanish crazily enough and it was awesome! It felt like I was a trainer leading my greenie threw his 1st couple of Spanish contacts at his 1st Spanish lesson and it was a lot of fun. I don't get to speak Spanish very often and I'm not very good at it but The Spirit that we felt was so powerful and it stuck itself deep within my heart. I love that I can express myself to those who really need it and in a way I haven't been able to before. All in all she was interested, her brother is a member, and I am very hopeful that she'll be able to progress! Sunday We had a less active member who we've been working with for a while actually come to church! She doesn't know a lot about it and has some very interesting beliefs but we were really excited to see her at church! She wants to come more often and we're actually planning on having her come to our Book of Mormon study this Wednesday so that's really exciting. There was a lady in the ward who had signed up to feed us dinner but we did not have her phone number and she was not home on that day that she was supposed to feed us so we checked up on her. She is doing well and was out of town and forgot about dinner but it was a funny little goose chase of us trying to make sure that she was doing okay Last night before we got our transfer calls we had another call with our friend Paul. I've loved being able to teach him and to help him come closer back to the Savior and to where he was before. His faith and his willingness to come back as a prodigal son of sorts has been absolutely amazing and I've been absolutely wowed by his testimony, his belief, and his willingness to change and to come back. I'm so glad I've been able to meet with him, he's a wonderful brother. All in all I'm doing well, I'm excited for this new transfer and everything that comes along with it and I'm just looking forward to being happy and finishing strong! I've loved my mission and I love God so much. May He be with you! Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

Pictures dated 20Mar2023

Letter dated 20Mar2023

Dear yall, Crazy week this week, here we go! Tuesday We were able to meet with a member who has been inactive for the last year named Loretta Lamberg. Her son is actually in the hospital at the time, his name is Mike and if anyone can pray for him please do! Afterward we visited with our friend Ursula who has not met with the missionaries for a long time because of a difficult family situation. We were able to visit with her share a few messages from the Book of Mormon and we are currently sending her a scripture every day! She seems to be doing well with all of those things going on. That evening we went to institute and unfortunately were the only young singular adults there. We did however meet with the members who teach it which are in our ward and it was a good meeting. Afterward we dropped off some muffins to Sawyer who is going to be baptized soon! Please pray for her and her mom Kelly as they prepare for this special time! Wednesday We were able to teach our recent convert named Aubrey a new member lesson and that was really positive! She is about 10 years old and for that night for young mens and young womens as well as activity days, we did a pinewood derby! Aubrey actually invited one of her friends which was really awesome to see and Elder Ray and I made a Book of Mormon Pinewood derby car. Everyone really loved it and surprisingly we did not get last place! Thursday We did a lot of service this day starting with the Henderson family and then we moved woodchips for Sister Kennedy. I love being able to do service and to help others when they need it. It's always a hilight of my week. Afterward we visited with the Coopers. The Coopers in recent years have had their children not come to church and fall away from the gospel. We shared a message with them and they needed it at that time and we are actually going to be teaching their daughter who has not been to church in a very long time period we are excited to see her and her children progress in the gospel. After all of this service we were feeling pretty grimy and explained to the members that were feeding us (the lynns) that we would need to change at their house instead of beforehand to which they offered us the shower in their bathroom. We were a little apprehensive but then we saw that they had a very fancy shower and they were very eager to show it off to us so both Elder Ray and I had a very wonderful experience and I will say it was nice to feel refreshed! They were very charitable, shared a lot of music, and fun memories with us. It was amazing to be able to meet with them and see their kindness and allowing us to use the bathroom! You were going to meet with our friend Mykhailo that night but after waiting an hour and a home at his home he texted us and said that he did not see us even though we were parked right in front of his house and went to home depot instead. We're not sure what the disconnect was there but we are hoping for this next week! Friday We had a good district council and we focused on the gift of the Holy Ghost and each training was focused on feeling, using, and having the Spirit with us constantly. Everyone was also 30 minutes late so we had to condence it quite a lot but it seemed to go well even still. Afterwards we had dinner with the Fifes who gave us bacon wrapped chicken which I must say was delectable. We were also invited to a birthday party that night surprisingly and it was fun to be able to show up and make Lindsay Duces birthday special and it was just a lot of fun! Saturday We were able to meet with our friend Vania after a couple of weeks of trying to get in contact with her and she's going through a lot. If anyone can pray for her she would greatly appreciate that. We were also able to spread some mulch with! That night we had an Elders quorum activity where we played pool and we actually had one of our friends Paul there at the activity! Everyone loved to talk to him and most of them didn't even realize that he wasn't a member and it was just an overall great experience for us to be there and to see him get fellowship. Sunday For Ward council this week we met with the Sunday school president who is the father are the Bishop's wife in my last ward. It was fun to talk to him about their family and to check in with his grandson who I was expecting to see when he came home from his mission. We were talking about the Easter program at one point and he threw me under the bus and said "Elder Schindler can sing, my daughter told me that!" and so I will most likely perform a musical member on Easter. I'll send the link to anyone who would like that. Afterward we had the sacrament. It had been two weeks since I had partaken of it because of Stake conference and let me tell you, it was sensational. I love being able to renew both the covenant of baptism and the covenants that we make in the temple. The sacrament and partaking the bread and the water is such a wonderful experience. If you haven't been to church in a long time please go. The Lord wants you there and He wants you to be strengthened in His power and His might. We later went back to sister Loretta Lamberg's home and were able to meet with her , her cousin who's not a member, and her mother who's not a member. We shared a good message about the tree of life and they really enjoyed it and they are planning to come to church this next Sunday! It's wonderful to see everything moving in our area. All in all it was good week, I've got to get going, I don't have much time left of my Preparation Day. God be with you, I love you all! Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

Pictures dated 13Mar2023

Letter dated 13Mar2023

Dear y'all, It was wack. Mainly because it was good but also because of crazy things always happening. Here we go! Monday Joel Birthday One of the young men in the ward named Joel had his birthday party that day and he invited us! It was super fun, we got to give him a lego set, and he really enjoyed it. It was also fun because his grandparents were on a zoom call with us and one of his grandfathers is a mission president in Peru so that was really cool! They are also related to this one family in the Chestatee ward that I served in and it was super fun to see them again on the zoom call! Tuesday We went to the temple for the last time on my mission and it was wonderful! One of my favorite things is that there is always a focus in the temple and in the church about the atonement of Jesus Christ and it is so wonderful too re express that and to understand it in greater context, especially as we focus on our covenants that we've made with God. I love Christ's atonement and I love this message! We also had a great message that night with Sawyer and we talked about the story of the tree of life from 1 Nephi! She really enjoyed it and we had a fun object lesson where you take a Book of Mormon, representing the iron rod since the iron rod is the word of God, and you smash a can over your hand while you're holding onto it. The smashing of the can represents mists of darkness and other things that come at us in our lives but when you hold on to the iron rod it actually protects you and keeps you from harm. Do not try this at home especially if you are younger, ask your parents for permission and parents don't give permission to your children! Wednesday We had a special devotional with Elder Mckay of the seventy that morning and he's also the church historian! He talked to us a lot about baptism and the covenant that we have therein and it was just very powerful to learn and to grow from someone who is so knowledgeable and so willing to testify of the savior. After the devotional elder Ray and I had interviews along with the rest of our district! It was wonderful to meet with President Harris and to talk some things over on what the district needed but I think above all it was just really good to be able to ask him for help and be edified by him. Towards the end of our evening after everyone else canceled (by the way everyone canceled this week ;-) ), we did an activity with the young men and they made paper airplanes! I made a very bad paper airplane though so that was fun.After contemplating my despair upon losing the paper airplane competition, I remembered that McDonald's has a wonderful thing that they offer in the month of March surrounding Saint Patrick's day called the shamrock shake! We had gone previously to a McDonald's to check out if they had it or not and they did not so we went back to check and nothing yet again… little did I know this issue would persist throughout the eons of eternity. We then went to two more McDonald's in the area and once again absolutely nothing. I had to purchase a shamrock shake all three times and all three times the cashier told me that they were out of stock and so I had to get my refund and it was a very depressing moment where the sun seemed a little bit darker than it truly was. (It wasn't actually that depressing lol) Thursday Then we went on exchanges with my man Elder Miller and they went very well! We visited a lot of people and just made our rounds around the area and it was so fun to shown him around. At 1 point we were tracking sneaker head in we're about to leave but then I felt a prompting that we needed not one last house and looked at this greyhound a couple of blocks down. I decided to knock it and there was no answer. After a minute or 2 of going to the next house the door opened and a man from inside told us to come in I did not recognize him but we came in. Then he put on a mask and I recognized him because he was actually a member that we had didn't have the record of! We shared a really fun message with him and it was awesome to be able to see that he needed that message at that time and that the Lord guided us there. I had never been to his house but it was good to figure out where he was! It's funny how the Lord works sometimes. After that we were in the pits of despair (figuratively) and we looked to our left and there stood the first McDonald's that had not had shamrock shakes for a total of two weeks at this point. I expressed to Elder Miller the great sadness that had befallen me about this shamrock shake predicament, then he looked to me and said, "Elder, I think it might be back. Let's give it one last shot." I said OK. Elder Miller has red hair and I don't think he's Irish but I'm just going to say that he is because with his luck and with the power of Ireland behind me they somehow were no longer out of stock and he got me a shamrock shake *applause in the background*. After those shenanigans we then made it to a lesson with Mykhailo the Ukrainian guy! We have a member in the ward who speaks very good Russian and so we were able to have them connect and had a lesson with Mykhailo. Unfortunately I do not have the gift of tongues to such a degree that I can understand Russian but Mykhailo was very intrigued and very interested in what little English we could give him about the Book of Mormon and we are going to be meeting again with him this week! Unfortunately he was very late to his lesson which should have started around 8 o'clock and he made it there by 8:45 and so we were in his lesson till about 9:40 but it's OK cause being a missionary is good and sleep is great but it isn't always needed. Friday We had a fun district council and part of that was I was given to the idea of a training about difficult questions and teaching situations.What it became was a training about how to defuse bashers as well as people with legitimate and serious concerns and I think it went really well. Everyone was very edified and I did it in such a way where we could trouble shoot and talk to one another about it and I think it was a success! We also talked about weekly planning, the importance of baptism, and all around I think it was really fun. I related baptism to feeling warmth after a very cold day and I was very much reminded of Tetonia Idaho since it's a very different climate over here in Northern Georgia. Unfortunately immediately after district council I was given a call about my flight plans. It was hard to realize that I'm going be going home soon but I'm excited to see you guys. I just need to keep from getting trunky! That night we had a really good conversation with our friend Paul. It was filled with the spirit and we were glad to be able to meet with him via phone call since he lives about an hour and a 1/2 away. He has such a powerful testimony and is such a loving person. I really hope that he continues to progress towards being baptized, it was amazing. Saturday We went on visits with our ward mission leader Brother Elison which was super fun! Unfortunately no one was actually home and no one was available so instead of teaching one lesson with him we tried to teach about 5 lessons that all fell through but it's OK, it happens sometimes.😁 We then had enough time to head over to La Vaquita which is a flea market and it has a bunch of different random crazy things. I had been there when I served in the Commerce ward and we didn't know that it was in the Brasleton area, but now that I'm a Brasleton Elder I can go legally now! Before that I also went to Burger King to grab a shake and there was a friend from Commerce that I had taught previously! I got her reconnected with the missionaries and she wants to return and to read more the book of mormon. She has read up to Ether! That night we were expecting a friend to be at the adult session for Stake conference and unfortunately he did not come, but Elder Craig from the area seventy gave a wonderful talk about being spiritually healed by the savior. He also talked about how Jesus Christ can consecrate and make us more whole than we currently are and it was just something that I really needed. I have been struggling with faith, not that I have been without it, I just need more of it to do the work and seek and expect miracles. It was exactly what I needed! I also got to see members from the Commerce ward which is where I began my mission. It was fun to catch up on old times. Sunday At stake conference we had a lot of very good talks, one of which was President Harris's final goodbye for any Stake Conference. It was sad to see after having him at every Stak Conference I've been too so far but it happens and hes going to do great just like how I'm gonna do great hopefully. Elder Craig also spoke and it was good to see him again! All throughout the week our friend John had not gotten back to us but on Sunday he finally reached back! Turns out he was just on a short vacation and forgot to bring his phone so it was just kind of fun to reunite with him. He read the Book of Mormon all during his vacation and it was just awesome to hear from him and to talk to him. We talked to him outside in this little grove of trees and he dubbed it the "sacred magic mormon Grove" which was kinda funny to hear. We'll teach him that we're members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but for right now "sacred magic mormon Grove" will do. Last night I had Sunday night calls with the district and everyone seems to be doing well! It has been hard getting our friends to progress this past month but I think we have made a lot of progress from where we were to begin with. If you guys could just pray for the Fort Yargo district I think we could all use it just in helping people come closer to Jesus Christ. Anyways, I've got to get going. I've been writing this letter for far too long and I hope everyone is doing well! I'll write next week and God be with you. I really do love and miss you all. Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler

PIctures dated 6 March 2023

Letter dated 6 March 2023

Dear yall, This week was great! Check it out! Monday We had some amazing member messages and called it a night after P day. It was fun. Tuesday We had zone conference and we got to meet with our mission president. We talked a lot about the doctrine of Jesus Christ and helping our friends come closer to it. It was very uplifting and I really needed it. It was also amazing because I got to see some of my previous companions and talk to them. The ones there were Elder Batista, Elder Elmer, and Elder Scott as well as some of my favorite previous district members. They're fantastic. They have become some of my greatest friends and I've been so lucky to be able to have great companions all throughout my mission and even right now I love my companion alot! That evening we gave a blessing to a lady in our ward and then had an amazing lesson with Sawyer and she is super excited to be baptized. We read over the tree of life with her and her mom. That's one of my favorite experience in the Book of Mormon and it was just really fun to be able to explain to her and then watch the video of it with her. Wednesday We had some good lessons and we actually met with our friend Justin and he really enjoyed reading through the sermon on the mount with us. We also had KFC for lunch because it sounded good and we had KFC for dinner because our member family wanted to take us out since it was the mom's birthday. Lots of chicken but fortunately I can never say no to deep fried chicken goodness! Our ward is currently doing a pinewood Derby for the youth and so for that evening we were making pinewood derby cars. It was super fun because Sawyer was there and then we also got to make our own cars. Elder Ray is going to be making a Book of Mormon car and I'll show you pictures of it next week when it's finished. Thursday We had to weekly plan since we were going to do an exchange on Friday. Because of that we were weekly planning and no one was really interested. Then we had an amazing miracle! There's a gentleman named Patrick who is from Brazil and has been studying in the United States as of late. Because of that it's been a really hard transition culturally as well as job wise for him and he's just been going through a lot. His family has been needing a lot of support and a lot of help and he knew he needed to come to a church so that'swhy he reach out to us. Now Patrick doesn't speak very much English because he speaks Portuguese, y no falo Portugués (I don't speak Portuguese). Back when I served in Paper Mill I talked with a lot of Brazilians who didn't speak very much English and so I would usually just speak Spanish since its easier for them to understand. This required me to have the gift of tongues in all these circumstances and there was a tender moment when I was talking to him that I realized I knew exactly what he was saying, I knew exactly what he needed, and I knew how to respond in my broken Portuguese that I've learned. It was awesome. He did better after we talked with him and he should be attending the Portuguese branch from here on out. Friday On Friday I had a good district council and everything seemed to go well. We talked about repentance and the importance of declaring it to everyone that we see by helping them come closer to Jesus Christ. On Friday I had a good district council and everything seemed to go well. We talked about repentance and the importance of declaring it to everyone that we see by inviting them to follow Jesus Christ. After district council I went on exchanges with one of the Elders in the district named Elder Esplin. We actually started our missions together which is cool. It went super well and we had a good day. We taught a lot of people, met with a few members, and it was overall pretty awesome. That evening we met with someone that we've been helping out named Paul just work towards baptism. We had a really good conversation and bore our testimonies to him. It was awesome. Saturday Saturday was awesome! In the morning we did some service for one of the more recent move-in families in the ward and they're awesome. Their names are the Madsens and they're just really willing to meet with us and to help out their neighbor. The Powells from last week that I talked about are their daughter and son in law so that was cool to make that connection. After we met with the Madsens we then went to Chick-fil-A and met with our friend Mykhailo the Russian guy. He did not stand us up! He actually came and we had this awesome interaction with him where we taught him about eternal families and our message as a church. This was all over Google Translate, which was a huuuuge blessing! He told us that he would want to come to church but he does have a position in his current Russian church so we'll talk to him a little bit more about that and we have a member who actually speaks Russian that we're hoping to get into our lessons with him. After we met with mikhailo we were able to teach our friend John. John is a great person, he's gone through a lot of hard things in his life, and he's just really needing the gospel. We went to his home and talked to him for about 2 hours about the plan of salvation. At the beginning of the lesson he said and I quote" y'know Elders, I love the Book of Mormon. it's so beautiful and this is really an amazing book I love everything about it. I don't know if it's true though and I don't know if I'll ever be a mormon but I love this book." By the end of the lesson we were all choked up and it was a very tender moment and then he said "Elders I think I'm a mormon I'm coming to church tomorrow." And he came. It was so cool so I'll talk about that on Sunday. Sunday Yesterday at church John was able to make it and it was fascinating. Part way through he looked over to Paul who's come every Sunday since I've been here and asked "am I allowed to go up there?" Paul said "sure thing just take one of the Elders." I went up with John up to the pulpit and waited our turn. He was nervous so I tried to encourage him and told told him to bear his testimony from the heart. It was very sincere. He talked about his difficulties going through the military and many difficult experiences he has been through, but then he looked at me and Elder Ray and said, "these dudes are awesome, they helped me through everything and I they are just the best!" He talked on for a little bit longer and everyone loved listening to him. It was awesome to see you and everyone went up to greet him and he wants to be baptized. He has to work past a few different commandments and it'll take a little bit more time than he may like but he is very excited and we are very excited for him. It was awesome to see. After traveling to a bunch of different meetings and different dinners that we were invited to we finished off the day and had a lesson with our friend Christine on zoom. The Lawrenceville Elders are currently working with her but she's moving up to Braselton and so we were able to introduce her to one of the members of a relief society on the call. She is excited to be baptized someday and we are here to help her out so we are looking forward to being able to assist and help her in anything that she needs! It was a really good day. And yeah, it's been phenomenal. I can't really say that I deserved much of anything that happened this week but it was really good and I'm glad the Lord is willing to bless me. I'm going to the temple tomorrow and I've heard from everyone that the new temple session is spectacular and I'm just really excited to be able to go again. I love being able to connect to God so closely and deeply in the temple. I love you all, have a good one and be safe! I've gotten 9 weeks left. Sincerely, Elder Nicholas Nephi William Schindler.