7/9/2012

Dear Family,

Wow, I loved seeing all of the pictures! The reunion looked like it was a blast! It is really neat to see all of the pictures and the different things that there were to do there. I still need to ride a bull... It was on my bucket list to participate in Running of the Bulls but they no longer do that so now I need a substitute of some sort. Paige is really growing up, holy cow. James is looking like he's getting a lot of sun. Mom and dad, you both look great!

I am really liking Rotterdam a lot. It is a whole different situation here than in Apeldoorn. There are a lot of foreigners and very diverse.  We are keeping very busy with the work and have three wonderful people preparing for baptism in two weeks. Please keep Appiah, Lea and Tanya in your prayers!  They are such cool people.  The ward is excellent and I'm slowly getting to know them better.

The new mission President and his wife are wonderful! Definitely keepers. You could tell right off the bat that they are perfect for the job. I love them already! They are from Utah, somewhere in the southern area. He was a civil engineer and his wife, a teacher. I'm excited to get to know them better.

This last week here in Rotterdam, we were pretty booked. I love finding people to teach but much more, I love teaching and seeing the progression and growth in people. It was a great week to teach. The weather was also wonderful which meant we had a great time finding people as well!   Lea and Tanya are making wonderful progress! They are super excited for baptism and they are very good about keeping all of their commitments to read, pray and come to church. Sister Appiah is a Saint! She walks quite a bit to get to church but she comes right on time every week! She is such a wonderful lady and makes the best Ghanian food!

We have been very blessed to have the opportunities here that we have.  I thank God everyday for his kindness. Something that I really focused on this week was becoming a fully consecrated missionary and giving EVERYTHING up to the Lord. Thinking about home  or humming music that isn't so inviting to the spirit. I'm so past that! I just want to give everything I have to the Lord. Even the little things that might poke at the Spirit. We only have so much time, all that other stuff can come later but this time set apart at the age of 20, I won't ever get that back. I feel like I have worked super hard in leaving things behind but now I'm making that extra push. My mission is sacred to me. All the people that I have met, all the people that we have worked with, are such a big part of my life now.  I want to be a fully committed servant of the Lord. I look back and think about what it was like before. I thought I knew what a mission would be like, haha. Oh my goodness, it means so much more to me than I ever imagined anything could. What a blessing it is to be out here.

It was wonderful hearing from you.

Have a great week! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Schulte