Getting closer to Christmas

Well there have been some great things happen this week. I have received some great stuff in the mail, we got into our new homeshare, we have a new car, and we are having a lot of fun! The people we are staying with are the Putmans, they are so nice and are like second parents, brother putman is mr thrifty just like our dad and sister putman is undefinably, i couldnt explain her to you if i tried, she has so much energy and is so funny, she always keeps me on my toes and makes us feel so welcome, she is always doing nice little things for us. THe work is going pretty well we are starting to get more things going. Elder Browning is an awesome companion and we get along great. I hope you are all getting ready for christmas, ill be sending a card out here in the next week or so, if you never get it i didnt forget you on purpose dont get offended jsut ask my mom for a copy, or maybe ill jsut have them post it to the blog i dont know but hopefully i have enough stamps haha anyways just getting used to old norco, horse capital of the usa, if you have never heard of it look it up, its quite the place. Love you all

Elder schallenberger

ok some new changes

So Im getting transfered to Jurupa its northwest or riverside im excited. Ill be training which is exciting ive only been out 4 and a half months though i dont even know what im doing haha but im excited. THanksgiving was fun there was so much food! like meal after meal after meal. we are pretty lucky. Sorry this email is short but ill be sending a christmas letter out to everyone, if you dont get it by dec 20th ask shonda and maybe i didnt send it to you, she'll have copies haha but i have to go and pack and stuff. Ill get a good email out with the first week with my new comp straight from the MTC. Love ya'll Thanks for the support.
Elder Schallenberger

HELLOOOO

Ok so this week has been one of the most spiritual weeks of my mission. Elder Kenneth Johnson from the qorum of the 70 came and gave a mission tour and he is the coolest guy ever! I think he has the scriptures memorized! It was very humbling to listen to him. Four missionaries had the opportunity to bear their testimonies and two to give 5 min talks. I was able to be picked as one of the people to bear testimony! haha so i was like crap i need to get a testimony first! haha just kidding but it was neverwracking going in front of half the mission and having him there when i know he can see inside of me pretty much but no i just put faith in the holy ghost and bore witness of the simple truths i know. It was awesome. He spoke in april 08 conference i think so look him up he is a very powerful speaker and so funny! I love Elder Scott we get a long so great and are so close. He and I love teaching the gospel and we have had a ton of opportunities to do so. We are definetly looking for ways to be better missionaries. One thing Elder Johnson said was People dont need information they need revelation and thats so ture. Its all fine and dandy but if we havent knelt and got a confirmation then its not truth to us technically. I look forward to reviewing my notes. He quoted over 100 scriptures at least in being there and was a walking talking quote book. He quoted Carlas E Asay (elder Asays gpa) "memorization to the brain is like exercise for the body" im going to work on that a lot. We have a ton of places to eat for thanksgiving so I consider myself very lucky.
Love you all! thanks for the support!
Elder SChallenberger

O hey I didn't see you there, how's it going?

Ok so this week flew by! We're teaching a lot though which is good. We are having fun too. Hemet has become a second home i hope i stay one more transfer cause we're so close to getting a couple people from dropping some unhealthy habits!!!! But hmmm i dont have to many funny stories. My tire gets punctured 1-2 times a day haha so thats unfortunate but i have a good repair kit and just keep fixing it. I carry all the stuuf in my new bag i got. The bag is sweet too! its perfect in everyway, blus it had built in speakers that i can plug my portable cd playr into! haha so thats a bonus. i got it for $10 at grocery outlet. nothing like bumpin so Mo tab. We are now in a three some sort of and are covering 2 wards because an elder from VAlle Vista ward went home so now we have a car every once in a while! the elder is going between us and the span ams for the next two weeks till transfers. So we will be extra busy. Its basically like everything doubled.... except time. o sorry span ams means spanish missionaries, we have all this lingo that i dont realize. anyways thanksgiving is coming up so im excited for that. Also this weekend Elder Kenneth Johnson from the 1st Qorum of the seventy is coming to tour the mission and to speak at multi zones and is also having a fireside. I am very excited for this! I love you all

Thanks for all the great support, it helps so much.

Elder SChallenberger

four months! time flyes

K so the work is going really well. We are reallly having some great success. Elder SCott and I are having a lot of fun working together and are great friends. We had exchanges for a day this lst week and i went with Elder Arthur into spanish land. LIke two people the whole time spoke english so it was definetly a treat for me, always trying to figure out what was going on. We ran into one family and they were wheeling around a man that looked dead, his arms and legs were down to the bone and he was extremely weak, they asked us to give him his last rights and so we said we could give him a blessing and they told us to come back the next day at eleven so i didnt go but Elder Arthur and his companion Elder Mcdonald went the next day and in this experience is where the lesson lies. They showed up twenty minutes late (11:20) and the man had already passed away, he had died 15 min before they showed up, if they would have been on time they would have been they to give him a blessing and to share a message with all the family in there instead they showed up to see the man lying there with no life in him. Super sad. It goes to show you why you need to be on time for appointments, the precious time we have here in life, the quality to know that we do live after this life and will see our family again and the fact that when the lord needs something to be done he puts his servants in the right places at the right times to give comfort to those who stand in comfort and to help those in need of it. Later that day we ran into the brothers of christ headquarters. They are missionaries for life always walking around in all white with no purse or script and they always are going and spreading the love. THey follow a man named Lightning Amen and for them he is Jesus Christ, to explain this he is Jesus's spirit reincarnated into Lightnings body. So we went and shared our message and they shared theirs and we had diner with them. So we had the opportunity to break bread with his disciples it was definetly the experience of a lifetime. They sang their hyms and prayers for us and we just had a cool experience sharing our faith, we didnt get to meet Lightning himself his back was hurting but it was something most missionaries here really want to say they have done and im pretty sure we're the only ones to have broke bread with them. But yeah we have had a lot of luck tracting and have been able to talk to a lot of people. We are just continuing to grow spiritually. Im getting close to finishing Jesus the CHrist and the message and the expounding upon the basic things that Ive read before bring so much more understanding about Jesus and the symbolism and just everything that ive never realized even though ive read it before. I would extend a comitment to all of you to read it! I love you all, the support i get is so tremendous! I have the best family/ friends.

i added some pictures, Me eating "Elote" a guy goes around and sells them. Its corn on the cob on a stick with mayonaise and parmasian cheese, its so good. My USA basketball coat which was 25 cents at a yard sale and me and Elder Scott :)

Last Two Weeks

OK so there has been a lot that has happened and I chose to write everyone instead of my family first
When i was in my last week with Evans we had some really great lessons and we did a ton of service it seems as though thats what his last week was meant to be full of here. We also had a lot of great meals cause everyone wanted to feed him before he left.

I got a new companion named Elder Burton, he was really a good missionary. As you get a new companion you definetly have to show right away that you are a missionary that wants to work so you can set the bar where it needs to be. So We headed out in the morning to go tracting and were biking along, believe me i dont want ot tell this story but I think that you will have a lot of enjoyement out of it. We started biking and my chain was acting all funny and it wasn't turning right so i was looking down at the chain to find out what the problem was and WHAM hit a parked car.... yes i hit a parked car, it flipped me over the front but i was on my feet so quick that i dont even remember bei ng on the ground. What a great first impression. So I felt so dumb but i scuffed the back of the bumber so i left my info on a "finding faith in Christ Card", i still havent received a call yet, so now everytime we get a call that we dont know who it is I'm like o crap its the car I hit haha. But we saw a guy on the corner of the street right after that and talked to him and we had been looking for him for a week or so but didnt know who he was so that was a huge blessing. They say the biggest blessings come after the biggest trials, so i had to pay the price to get somebody who we wanted to teach haha but no it wasnt that big of a deal. He saw the whole thing he said and had already told a couple of his friends by the time we got to his house.

But I learned a lot the first day with being with Elder Burton about talking to EVERYONE. I had no idead how many people I had passed up before. We were talking and teaching so many people.

But later in the day we were in a lesson and it was going well and I got a call from one of the AP's which usually means bad news, so i answered and they wanted to talk to Elder Burton so i figured someone in his family died and come to find out he got Emergency transfered so I only had him as a comp for a day! haha so now im with Elder Scott. He's from Delta, UT and played football against Dalton in State and likes wakeboarding so we get a long great.

We are doing work. Talking about the blessings earlier we have ahad a lot of blessings tracting this past week. One lady we were talking to was telling us everything we liked to hear. She said that she was lookin at tons of churches but had never found one that felt right and we talked and gave her a lesson on her doorstep and she basically wouldnt believe anything we said and said she wants to read for herself to know for herself which is what we as missionaries want because we dont want people to believe us, we want them to pray for themselves and get their own confirmation through the spirit that its true.

We also picked up two other new investigators but yesterday we were knocking doors and an old lady opened the door and she siad hey ive been wanting to talk to you boys i want a Book of Mormorn, I've been studying with the jehovah's Witnesess and don't agree with their teachings, i was gonna go to church but i didnt know what time so we told her the time and she asked what to wear so shes coming on sunday and we're going back this week which is exciting. We have such a great ward that is focused on missionary work and we're getting our ward 20 going better. I love it out here. We lost today in softball but i wasn't feeling the best anyways so its all good.

In 1st Cor 9:24 it basically talks about the man running the "race" and when we were reading that the other day it made me think of sort of a sprint where there is only so many people who place, but it reminded me of King Benjamins addres in Mosiah chapter 4 i think verse 27 where it says something to the effect of it is not requisite that a man should run faster then he has strength and the way king benjamin talks about it he reminds of more of a marathon. We're in that marathon of life, and as justine knows everyone that runs in a marathon gets a medal (i hope she got one) which makes more since in the race of life, everybody that coninues to repent and endure to the end with patience will get the prize and that brings me to the last scripture of the day, i was reading in Hebrews 12 verses 1 and two it talks about christ how he is the author and finisher of the race, he's the guy handing out the waters, cheering us on, helping us train, helping us be prepared, so on and so forth, he was the author AND the finisher, when we die he'll be there and say "Elder Schallenberger I got you covered, you had some times where you got off the course, where you slowed down where you sped up where you helped other run and kicked others down, but you always came to me and asked me for forgiveness and guidance and because of that faith and diligence I got you covered for the times you messed up cause I am the savior and redeemer of all mankind" or maybe he'll say something to that effect haha but it puts it in perspective i think and we want to put ourself in a situation that when we get to that day that we will be able to stand blameless. The work is great, I love Hemet, I love being a missionary and am greatful for all your support. Look for opportunities to help others.

Love ya,

Elder SChallenberger

One Week Till Transfers

We had a baptism this week for Robert White, it went really well and was really spirtual. Sis Miller was so hapy to see him baptised and was grinning from ear to ear. Also We had a productive week doin work in Hemet CA. I love it here the weather has been so amazing lately. I enjoy all the support i get from everyone. I love getting pictures in the mail just throwing that out there. Like love it! The ward has been so great and is continuing to just be so nice to us. Sis Greaves wore her montana outfit in honor of me it was sweet and funny and thoughtful. Made me feel at home. O man where do I begin. We saw that motorcycle tbone a van this week when Elder Jensen and I were running and we were the first ones on the scen When we got to it he was unconscience i thought he was dead making all those girgling sounds but he snapped back into it and we were able to get him to stay still till the medics etc. were ablwe to show up. It shows us how precious life is really! Also a bishop down here died which is a testimony of that same fact. We are so lucky for the blessings in our life. We were able to contact a lot of new people and teach a lot of lessons and give a couple blessongs. We have a week before transfers and I'll be getting a new comp for sure. Hopefully i stay here in Hemet for 2 more transfers so that I can make it past christmas here! NOt trying to be selfish i just love it here. I hav ebeen very spirtually uplifted with people I have got to talk to and through my personal studies. I have been waking up earlier to get more time to study.

Hmmm Ill send some pics that i got of here in Hemet, the baptism, and any other ones we have. I think we have one or two funny ones to send but i try not to take many funny ones cause my call is so sacred ya know? THe priesthood is so sacred and that stuff isn't necesarilly (spelling) stuff i need to do as a missionary, but you'll enjoy this hopefully. I have made an added effort to make these ones to everyone better but im falling short again i think. My piano skills are improving i played prelude at the baptism and was a witness. A member here baptised him which was good. Our church has been infested haha we have an old building and the other elders caught a scorpion in the primary room, their were mice in the chapel and the baptismal font was full of cockroaches and black widows. We need to find a better pest control haha. The mouse was the funniest though. Anyways Thats about all i got. I love ya'll.

Elder Schallenberger

Alrighty Then

Hey everyone this week went well mainly because we had general conference this week! Its always so good to hear what the prophet and the apostles and everyone have to tell us and teach us. I am very greatful for the opportunity I had to see all the sessions. Brian came to two of them which was really cool too. One of the families the Herterichs brought us a big meal and we ate it at the church between sessions and it was really fun. Elder Jensen says hi. Ok Elder Holland layed the smack down in his talk it was so good! all of the talks were good! I think its true how we really need to make our lives more open to receiving promptings of the spirit and to work on those christ like attributes (dwain has heared this twice) There are two fruits of the spirtit it is here to inspire and give us power. I know that there are decisions that we aren't able to make by ourselves and we need to strive to go to god and rely on the spirit to help us thorough whatever there is. There were a lot of great stories at conference, what i noticed or i just have always known is every person tells a story and then realates it to a principle. We can look at our lives and really see how much each experience can be a growth experience. Every time Elder Bednar speaks he really lets me feel the spirit. His talk on being more diligent and concerned at home hit me pretty good. Expressing love and showing it is something i can always work on but i am so grateful to have grown up in a home that i knew my parents loved each other and more importantly loved me. Im grateful that they showed by example and let me know that they have testimonies of what they have. He talked about how we bear testimonies but dont always live it and thats another powerful thought for me to think about. And last about being consistent. Thats what im striving to do now. Always be consistent! He told the story of his family having family home evening and how it was chaos a lot of the time and how his kids probably wont remeber what they taught at all but they will always remember that they as a family were consistent! Boom thats big time and so true how consistent are we with the decisions we make. how consistent are we when coming to treating others the right way. And how consistent are we with our beliefs and values? It was an eye opener for me. Im just so greatful for conference twice a year and the opportunity we have to hear these inspired men. On the way home from conference i saw a sweet yard sale. (saturday conference) and they had keyboards for sale 2 for twenty, i bought both for 13 ha so now i have two keyboards but it has helped a lot to play at home and the hymns are coming really easy now. Also it has a mode that lights up the keys and teaches you how to play. So ill have quite the repritor (spelling?) to play for you when i get home. The harmonica isnt really progressing and guitar is the same as when i left. The weather has been fifty in the mornings which i love but is a little chily! haha make sure to put your coats on in rexburg and mt! We sell cows this week correct? or wait know the 22nd? When? Im greatful to be here in Hemet and for the ward that we have. THey are the best for fellowshipping the new people and for feeding us! Anyways so good to be out here. Thanks for the support!

Elder schallenberger

ps the pics are me in softball today and also me 5 min after i woke up this morning to go get groceries. I took it by our beautiful landscaping iin front of our house ha and im wearing the tie justine and d got me. thats why i took the pic :)

Why Hello

Hey everyone thanks for all the support! THings are really picking up a lot of people are really progressing and changing their lives! Robert is getting baptised on the eleventh and Vincent a child of record got baptised by Elder Evans and i was a witness on this last saturday. Uwe received the priesthood on sunday and i dont know eerything is just doing so well. I love it here! The weather is hopefully going to cool down soon. Today we KILLED the old guys in softball it was a lot of fun and the the AP's and OA's came down and we played ball which was good. I couldn't be happier out here it seems like time just flies by! I hope everything is going well. We picked up some new people to teach and i found out two of my best friends down at dixie are Elder Jensen and Elder Asay's best friends too so its pretty crazy how small of a world it is. A lady at dinners sister lived in hamilton till she died, the name wasn't familiar though. Sorry this is short but ive just continued to work hard and have fun! I have really realized there is a plan for all of us. In the book of Jarom I think it says something to the effect of "What more do i have to write about if my fathers have talked about the Plan of Salvation" and it really is true, THere is a plan for all of us to be together forever and the plan has been around since before we were here on the earth! Its just so sweet. I have a great testimony of prayer and i know as we really wrestle with the lord like Alma talks about and pray to express are thnakfulness or gratitude or pray for forgiveness or really just express the desires of our hearts that we really will receive answers. I know This is God's work and his glory to bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man and I know the work will continue to go forth. Your in my prayers. Love yall.

Elder Schallenberger

Another Week in the Work

In the Pictures- Jason with his little buddy Kevin and Jason in front of the Helment Stock Farm

Hey another good week we had stake conference and it was really good they had a lot of good speakers. We were able to get some new people to teach this week and one of them is really progressing. Robert is going to be baptised this month as well so thats good. This week we have seen a lot of crazy things and im jsut so grateful for the life i was able to have before my mission we are all so blessed. I have been able to progress a lot thus far with my knowledge of the scriptures and ive been focusing on some christ like attributes that i could focus on to become a better person so thats been pretty good. I feel ungrateful because i dont have a good lesson or a good story to tell but this week has just been hectic and i cant think of anything that really is just standing out. Ive been able to help a lot of people out and see a lot of change. I am so grateful for the mail i get and for all the support i have. There is nothing better than getting mail seriously! Anyways i love yall

Elder Schalenberger

Hey sorry yesterday was labor day aka no where to email. So Inow have no time to email but will give you some facts. Im staying in Hemet. I think i will till after christmas but dont know. I got to new roomates both named Elder Jensen. They replaced and Elder Jensen. Ive lived with every Elder Jensen! Uwe got confirmed. It was amazing and so spiritual. Im losing my hair. Im going to look like Rob. We are working hard and got another man that wants to be baptised. John Aun the chinese guy had basically disapeared for four weeks and then randomly showed up to church on sunday so cool! We keep running into people and they buy us food. Its a huge blessing. The weather has been hott but its nice. We went into 2 extra innings with the old guys, since it was labor day they had al their ringers which means we usually lose by 30. But we instead lost by two on a bad call so it was a good mental win. Even though it doesn't count inless the scoreboard shows it. I ran home on a triple to tie it up to go into extras. Our ward is awesome and very supportive. Hmmm thats whats new. The wedding reception looked sweet im sending my present for them today. Thanks for the letters i got this week ill send replys next monday. Because of transfers they held our mail from last wednesday till friday so all things i may get i wont get till saturday. Also because i sent some stuff out without stamps i wont get that back till them so those will be like two weeks later than when i sent them haha I hope all is well. Just trying to be obediant and diligent love yall

Elder Schallenberger

Week 5

HEy everyone it sounds like Lindseys wedding was an extreme success. I was able to be at the temple the same time you all were so thats cool. My carboard cutout was so cool! Like wow amazing. Cleat and Ida I did get your package i was going to write you last week and then had no stamps, i got some today though :) We had another baptism this week. Uwe Vogt. He's german and has lived here 5 yrs. He is a computer programmer and hes so funny. Im sure hed talk to you if you add him on facebook but idk.He has pics of me hed probably send you. Hes very talkitive and knows a lot. He has became a very good friend over this transfer. He always is calling to make sure we're ok and makes sure we have food. We had a foest firwe here this week and for a couple days it was pretty bad. Kind of like MT in 2000 but we got through it. It has been really hot too. We were talking to a guy on the street and then it sounded like someone stabbed a tire because the air was flowing out and we thought it was a car or something and then i looked and it was my bike! It was so hot that it popped ha and then the next day it happened to Elder Evans. Only thing was that we had to walk which is not as fun because you dont get a breeze. Hmmm we see miracles everyday but I dont have any really good stories. Im just continuing to work hard. We had president interviews and it went well. Pres and Sister Reeves are so loving and our just really the best mission presidents. We are lucky to be one of the highest baptising missions and we have a lot of people who are religious. Im so greatful everytime i receive mail it makes the day good no matter what happened. Im lucky to have so many people who support me out here. I was supposed to give a talk sunday and it was going to be on examples because really I have been shaped by everyone i have met in some way shape or form. I didnt because we had seven speakers ha so the missionaries didnt speak but we will be speaking soon im sure. Anyways keep up the good work, remember who you are, and I am doing fine. The ward takes care o us.

Elder Schallenberger

Elder Schallenberger Report

Hey this week flew by! WE had our firsdt baptism this transfer though it went really well. Sara Edwards was her name. She is so nice and just was so happy at her baptism. It was awesome. I love the spirit that she has and she is going to make the best member. I was able to be a witness and was excited for that opportunity. Next SUnday we have Uwe's and you can tell that he is super excited to get baptised as well. He can not wait to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead. When he first came to California he tried to go to the temple because he had went to temples for all different denominations all over the world and when they wouldnt let him in he was so confused so he cant wait to go and do baptisms for not only his ancestors but just to see the beauty of the temple. We've been working hard and I've been trying to be more and more obediant. We've picked up some more people and so it is lucky to have people to teach. But Im sorry that Its short. All I have is we work hard and see the lords blessings in our life. O one of the elders broke his foot that lives with us so we have to go on splits more which slows the work down but still its going well. I love everyone and hope to hear from you soon.

Elder Schallenberger

Another Great Week

OK so THis week has been full of miracles and fun. Ill kind of go here and there so sorry in advance. But as for missionary stuff and for miracle experiences there has been quite a few happen. We were tracting and knocked on this old chinese man, john aun,'s house. HE had us in and hes like mr miago, he has the old cars and everything. HE said he was single and alone and that he doesnt go to bars, or hang out with the women, he said he was single like the son jesus christ ha but no then he siad something that touched me, he said, "I pray to the lord, to send me good people, to send people who are good, and then you knocked on my door, you are good people, you are sent form god" It was cool and we were aable to teach him> Another experience is we were knocking and this old guy talked and talked to us and we always ask if there is anything we can do to help them out and he said if you come across any furniture that no body wants then i would appreciate it and he showed us his house and all he had was a blanket to sleep on and a pillow and a bicycle so that was really humbleing so we are gonna find him some, One day we went on exchanges and so i was senior comp with the other elder for a day so i led the way to our appointments, except they were all people i had never met so i didnt know the street so i was always taking the "Scenic Route" to the places haha but the one place we were headed we both knew what way to go and i turned the opposite way and knew i was goning the wrong way but i didnt turn around and i was thinking, "Elder, turn around, what are you doing?" and even the other elder was like hey what are you doing and we went for a couple blocks down a man flagged us down and said, "I had been looking for you guys all week, i want to come to church and be taught" Kind of cool to realize that we are put into cool situations if we are obediant. ANd to realize that the lord directs us even when we dont know it.

THere is one little black kid, kelvin who we see everday cause he lives next to people we see all the time, he always runs to me and says, Booger! Booger! Booger! haha and we have a little handshake we do and stuff and then i always talk to him, hes four. But i think hes cool and stuff and then his mom was talking to the people we go see and she sida that he talks about me all day and wont shut up about booger this booger that. It made me feel pretty cool. HE always has the coolest little braids. Like a little bitty iverson haha.

We have some tongan families that always feed us. THey had a baby blessing this week so everyone was at their house for dinner. Holy cow ive never seen so much food. THey get offended if you dont eat two plates, which is equivelent to ike four plates back home. ANd the food is amazing. So much fish and pork and chicken and beef and a lot of weird stuff ive never seen before. THey cook banana like potatoes and they kind of taste like and have the same consistency as potatoes, they also have like watermelon coconut juice stuff and idk a ton of stuff. Before the meal the host, which was the dad of the baby that was blessde talks and welcomes everybody, recognizes visitors and elders, and then gives like a spiritual thought kind of, it was cool to see how they did it and he talked about their history a little bit and the pride thwey have in their heritage, hes huge he looks just like those pictures of the stripling warriors and you can see that those were his fathers. Then they had the eldest grandpa pray and even though i couldnt understand a word he said cause he speaks native tongue the spirit was way strong, the prayer i kid you not was like ten minutes, it was insane, you could only think about all the things that he said he was greatful for. ITs kind of intimitating to be there. THey have all the guys in there family there who play at like Oregon, BYU, Utah, USC, Oregon State, and tons of big school and just everyone there are huge football guys. THey also have been teaching me the ukalelee and some of their native songs are pretty sweet. Im running out of time though i love yall and its always good to hear from you.

Love
Elder SChallenberger

One Month Done

Hey everyone Im having a blast. The weather is what I asked for, its sweet. Im starting to know the area better and people in the ward and its starting to feel more normal. This week nothing really exciting has happened, we are teaching about 20 lessons a week i wish it could be double that, we have a lot of time that we are tracking and such which is the most unproductive thing. After we baptise the two people we have we wont really have anyone to teach thats progressing. Which is ok we just want people to have testimonies of christ and come closer to him. Ill send some pics from the mtc and such so this letter is going to be short im sorry. but no everything is going good i like it a lot, me and my comp get hes from twin falls get along and biking around all day couldnt be anymore fun, i like it a lot cause you can talk to people. Plus it burns off all the fod we are getting fed. Cindy i think that answers your questions :). Thanks for all the support you show me everyone I am so luck to have you behind me. I read the book of Ether the other day and the examples of faith are so amazing so this is some things that I've come to realize about faith.
Faith isn't a feeling, its a decision
Faith is confidence
Faith comes from experience
If we want to build our faith we need to:
Bear our testimonies
Record our spiritual experiences so we dont forget them
Pray
Read to have more knowledge to stand behind your beliefs
These are just a couple of the steps that we can do to have stronger faith. Faith that brought the lamanites to believe, faith that brought nephi to get the sword of nephi, faith the twelve apostles had, faith like samuel the lamanite, and my new favorite faith like the brother of jared (in ether). At the end of Ether he's the last one standing, all alone, and i dont have my scriptures with me but he says something like whether I die with pain or am translated it matterith not as long as i end up in the kindom of god. Isnt that the attitude we need to have, to have so much faith and to repet and be comfortable that it doens't matter what happens to us in this life, as long as we end up with our father in heaven again. Idk its pretty sweet. Anyways love you all.

Elder Schallenberger

I almost forgot thanks so much for the cards from Ryanne, Kila, Mom, Raegan, Megan, Travis and Malissa. They were sweet. Also form Linny and Jess and Cindy and the Coates. Its so good to hear from all of you.
Elder Schallenberger

- Sorry the pics are in the wrong order. Some are from the MTC others are from the mission.

Here are some photo's Cindy Willy sent me of Jason. They were taken the night before he left for the MTC.

First Week of First Transfer

So much to say, but I guess I'll go chronilogically, So as you know I ran into Coach Olsen at the airport and he gave me the hooked up with half a dozen krispy kremes and some food and let me use his phone to call, it was sweet and he gave me the low down on the sports world but anyway I loved the airport because everyone stares at you wherever you walk its way funny, The flight was good I was next to a sweet old lady, i thought she died half way through the ride when she was sleeping and was just about to check her breathing but saw her take a breath in finally. I got a good nap in. I woke up as we approached Ontario and It wasnt what i thought. There seemed to be tons of lakes but the with the smog you could only see a mile... not cool. There was a lot more mountains than i thought there would be as well.

Then we met the Mission President and his family and the AP's and they took us to the mission office where we met the sweet old ladies that work there, had orientations, driving tests, and Tons of subway which was a refreshing thing after the MTC. Then we headed to the Mission home and had a get to know each other with sister reeves while we met with President Reeves one by one, then we were put into the room with our potential trainers, it was insane, its like the bachelor or one of those shoes because you look around and wonder which one is going to be your "daddy" in the mission. They had all of us new missionaries (I think 14 of us) bear our testimonies and then they just tell you who your with. Mine was Elder Evans from Twin Falls, Hes a big loving guy who is funny and will be a good trainer I like him a lot and we get along pretty well. After we met we had a big dinner that was so Amazing. Sister Reeves can cook! After that we loaded up and went to our areas. We got to Hemet around ten at night so i didnt see a lot of stuff but there are some groves all around the outskirts and tons of palm trees everywhere.

That next morning I had to go get a bike (mom thats what that charge is on the credit card, you can take the money from my checking i didn't know if it went over so I thought it would be better to be safe then sorry.) Its sweet. John its a Giant I forgot what type its all blaco with white and silver, front suspension, disk brakes, its pretty smooth and a really good bike. After that we visited some people and rode around. The weather is pretty hot but i really like it.

Just so I can compare Hemet to something we can relate to. Where we mainly are is a lot like Dolittle in Vegas. Its pretty sweet a lot of hoods and a lot of crazy. But the outskirts of our area are really rich nice houses so we have a good mix. The second day we went on a media referall and the person wasnt home but there was this little kid named Keenan he was hilarious. He asked to see my hair under my helmet so i took it off and he said "dang you must be broke" haha then he said "its ok Im broke too" hes five yrs old. He tried to hustle us for everything we had, our watches, our pens, he would leave us alone till we gave him something so Elder Evans gave him a pass a long card ha but then he said he needed a pen to write his name. We finally got away from him though.

The next day we were going to help someone move and and we pulled up next to their house there was a pimped out old van. With Music notes on the side, spinners, a stripper pole inside and tvs, it was cool plus there was a huge decal on the top that said "Big Daddy". There was a big guy sitting in the yard in front of it. O and the two elders I live with plus Elder Evans are not very good at confronting people so of course I came out and starting hyping it up and was like dang nice ride and went up and spun the spinners and starting talking to him and their jaws all just dropped and he was so hilarious. HE said he was a barry manilow impersinator so i had him sing a couple songs and he went off about all these topics, he was hilarious and was literally on the ground laughing while the other elders were trying to hold it back because they didnt want to get killed but people like when you laugh at their stories. IT was fun.

That day my tire Popped which was unfortunate and tracking has been the worst. I always have faith but we get shut down for hours at a time. But we are lucky to have people to teach. We have two baptisms coming up on August 23rd and the 30th. One is Oover From Germany he's the man. He's in his 50's and he's loaded but lives in this ghetoo house. He takes us to all these fancy restaurants and he just wants to be baptized so bad. The other is Sara shes 17 and is part of a nonmember family, shes nice as well. The other Crazy we see all the time is a guy I like to call 10-4. Because he always talks like hes on a walkie talkie haha one night we were riding home and heard him singing and playing the guitar, so the next day I asked him when I was going to come over and jam and hes having us over for carne asada soemtime and we'll give him a lesson and ill play some church songs.

But no I like it here. Are ward is sweet. We have this old building with these huge valted ceilings and a sweet backdrop of rock its sweet and we have some poenesians which is cool and a great young mens and relief society. One of the guys in the ward is loaded he owns this whole hill and has zebras and all sorts of exotic animals. Ive seen ostriges as well. ITs funny. There is a recent convert family the Sibles and Keith has only been baptised for 4 months, hes a qward missionary and hes just doin work hes an awesome missionary and he just is an awesome friend and member. This week the Pungs are having a greeny dinner for us. Meaning every thing that we eat is green ill let you know how it goes. I love everyone and miss you kind of at times ha jk but no it will go by fast, ive almost been out a month.

Elder Schallenberger

MTC Almost Over

Hey everyone time here at the MTC is winding down. I fly out this coming tuesday the twenty eighth at eleven thirty from SLC and land in anaheim i think. So Im pretty sure i get to call you real quick around elevenish so be ready like that whole morning to receive a call. Im not 100% I get to though but im pretty sure i get to. Thanks for the letters and dear elders it just brightens my day when i receive anything :) But this week has been good. I apologize mom we could have done family names but by the time you would have got my letter saying to send names we would have already been through the temple. We went today. But I was able to do the endowment for John. Temple food is the best! THe breakfasts are so good. I am the zone leader now but its basically just a title. Not to big of a deal i just give tours to the new elders and have to go to a bunch of meetings. Im just enjoying the P-day today and doin laundry at the moment. Im kind of in the whole swing of things right now and so everyday seems the same and nothing really to exciting or out of the ordinary happens. I have already met a couple elders who will be great friends for life.

Did Britt get my letter? I havent heard from him and didnt know if he got it or not. Also How is Kizz doing down in Florida? How is MT is there a new zip line yet? I realize how lucky I am to be from Hamilton!

Elder Groberg spoke last night. He is the guy that the Movie "The OTher Side of Heaven" was made after. It was really good. Um I think im actually gaining weight which is cool Ive been playing a lot of basketball and lots of calf raises and pull ups ha.

Its incredible how much you ae blessed with rememberence of scriptures and quotes and memorizing on your mission. I have had so much knowledge thrown at me and have been able to retain most of it.

Mom today i had to get a shot for Hep A and B. SO when you see on the card the i spent ninety three bucks thats what its for. Do i need to get a form or receipt so we can write it off? Im gonna send this message right now hopefully you get it and can let me know in fifteen min. If not just write me so i know what to do.

Ok i sent that just in case i could get a hold of mom in time to find out about the shot. But everything is going good I'm excited to head out to Riverside and be out in the field. THe MTC is great but it will be good when I can leave. We are lucky to have one of the directors in the MTC as our teacher becasue he wants to get a feel for the class setting and hes the man. He is going to be a big dog some day in the seventy or even possibly an apostle. He is only forty five but seems like and Patriarch Wright in Knowledge. Hes super humble and been the best example here for me. We also have a fun little teacher named Sister Warner who is like sister at times.

Shonda find any good deals on houses? John anything new besides work? Mom recouperating without me? How was girls camp? Does everyone still come and swim? Do i still exist in peoples memory back home? Fil me in with the details. Talk to you tuesday hopefully. Love ya. Bye

First Week Doneski

Hey everyone its my first opportunity to email you. The MTC is a wonderful place. There is so much going on. The first five days absolutely were the worst! They were so long but now that that is over it has been way good. I had the oportunity to go to the temple today with my district and it was so cool. The provo temple is so beautiful and the breakfast in the temple is amazing!! I had biscuits in gravy. We only get a half an hour to email so i apologize upfront for the fact that this letter is going to be so spread out and so random.

Ok we'll start from the first day. My companion is From Texas, just outside of Dallas, from the country. He's awesome, such a good companion and so motivated to work. We are definetly different but through our goals, prayers, and the ultimate goal of spreading christs love for us we work well together. I was called to be district leader of the distrtict and we have four sisters, from sounth africa, wyoming, and two from utah, and then my best friends here which are the elders in my district. First off, probably the person i relate to best and have the most fun with, Elder Rich. He's from Casper Wyoming and reminds me of a mixture between Alex Martin and cousin AJ. Haha that makes no sense but he likes motorcycles played football and idk he's cool. One of the elders in our district had a rough time adapting to the new missionary way he had basically been in tears and finally just broke down the second night. So I had the opportunity to annoint and Elder Rich gave him a blessing, with the district standing in and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong and that really brought the district together, we are extremely close. The next is elder buck, and his name sums him up nicely haha hes the one that got the blessing and he doesn't think he has an accent but he sounds like the typical hick like hes not he's from sandy but he talks really slow and i have a good impersination which none of you will have the opportunity to hear ha but he;s twenty four and has been a tow truck driver since high school, its the family business and hes just the man. He's really just a big teddy bear. Next is Elder Leemaster, from orem, he's staying in the RC which i'll explain later but he's your typical kid from utah who knows a lot and idk he's cool we get along great. Elder Danish s from Guyana. Only JD knows where that is i think, well maybe cleat to but he's the man, a convert four years ago. Family didn't want him to come but he's here.

ok thats enough of that. Happy birthday yesterday shonda i hope you like yur present. I hope you were able to have a lot of fun. Thanks for sending that letter you did beat lindsey but she got me a letter that day so it could go wither way :) I hope you and john are able to have fun without me, and if john gets bored he could restore that bel air :) i skipped a couple steps fyi john. But you dont have to anyways I love yu both.

Lindsey was right abuot the district, its a reality show they show us of real missionaries but its way funny. And good> But muy favorite thing here besides the food which is kind of getting old is the RC department. So you know when you see those commercials for the church or get a pass along and call the number to get free stuff? You call us missionaries at the mtc! So its way sweet because we get experience meeting new people who are real people and get to teach them. It's changed from when lindsey was here. Before it was like a telemarketing job but now we can teach anything answer questions and there have been tons of babtisms/referalls from the service! Its so fun. 90 percent of the people are sourthern ladies who "are callin to get their free bible cause you cant get much stuff for free these days especially a bible" haha they are so funny i got to talk to a lady named Queee last night from chicago and she said a prayer for me that was like a rap its so funny. Its like a get to serve in that type of area without being in that type of area. Ok my timer says five min left so i better wrap things up. I have loved the Mtc and the spirit here is so strong. I have been tyring to focus on different characteristics that he had and apply them to my life. I would encourage the same because it makes your life so much happier. Especially the people around yu happier. Lindsey I dont need a backpack i got one here thats sweet. I wrote you a letter today that will give yuo a couple peples names that i need. Thanks for yuor support. Rob thanks for the note as well i mentioned you in that letter. Dwain and justine ill write you today you guys are in my prayers and i love you both so much. Aunt Kerry thanks so much for the cookies. They were gone so quick but they were what i needed. SO GOOD!!! and thanks for all the support your family shows to me. Britt i'll write you today as well thanks for the wonderful letter. Willey's i sent those pics and stuff yesterday i was supposed to give you before i left and thanks for the wonderful letter. I hope i didn't forget anyone cause i miss everyone. O gosh mom and dad I love you i got your letters just today but i have thirty seconds and if i sont press send you wont get this. A letter will leave for you today. I love you all.

MTC Elder Schallenberger Has Arrived!

Jason is officially in Provo at the MTC. He was one of 250 missionary's that were being dropped off that day. Upon arrival he was greeted by two elders, each took one bag, he grabbed his informational packet and was off to become Elder Jason Schallenberger. Stay tune for what will hopefully be weekly updates from our elder.