Transfered!

December 13, 2010

So I'm getting transferred, off to Murrietta, CA! Los Alamos and singles branch. Should be interesting, the area is probably the most sought after area at the moment so i feel pretty lucky to go there but im going to miss the area im in right now! I love them so much and its jsut a good place to be, but thats part of being a missionary i guess, i lot of goodbyes but i didnt get to say goodbye to everyone i wanted to. Ill be in a quadpanionship, because the two elders that are there now are going home in two weeks and then it will be me ad Elder Blackett! I dont know him all i know is he is from UT. I have no idea how the phone call thing will work on christmas ill have a member down there call shonda and get it all arranged! I will be living 1 hour and seven minutes from san diego so thats pretty cool, probably the closest ill get to LIndsey's mission!

We had a weird week, we had a steller week too, it was good but went nothing like the way it was planned, lots of people being taught but not the ones we planned on. Keith James got a job which is exciting. We were able to go to an awesome baptism this week for some girls that live in our area but are getting baptised in the bordering ward, Etzel di done of them and I gave the closing prayer haha

The best part of the week was definetly going to the temple. Ue Vogt from Hemet went through for his first time and I was able to go down there with Elder Etzel and Elder Parrot! It was amazing, THe Bocks took us which are great friends and on the way home we got in-n-out, so good! Elder Etzel is the funniest guy ever he jsut goes and sits down and starts talking to people, he was talking to this guy who was walking to Detroit for like 20 minutes and so we said a prayer with him and then he bought some homeless guy a hamburger hes jsut non stop service!

I have mixed feeling about going because i was so attached to the area but the area Im going to has had like 30 people join the church in the last month! So i will go from tracting all the time to teaching non stop! plus Elder Ngwaka one of my buddies that went home already i guess i should say Zach is playing college ball at MSJC and he lives in the ward im going to go serve in so thats pretty cool. This christmas will be good though i fell, it got up to ninety the other day, i know dad is probably super jealous! Id just like to publicly thank my two beautiful parents! They are the coolest people! Both of them are just amazing!

But I have to go! Ill let you know how murrietta treats me the first week, we have 6 elders, four beds, one bedroom :) Because Elder WHimpey has his weights in the other bedroom, at least thats what i hear! haha love you all happy holidays!

Elder schallenberger

ps I will be sending a christmas card picture thing to my mom to give to people in MT to save postage! so if you want one contact her, she should be getting them in the next month! IM going to put happy holidays so it can come late! that way it will include my birthday! Janurary 28th!

:)

--

Elder Schallenberger

two pics one at the temple an one we took at a mexican restaurant!

Christmas Spirit is Here

December 6, 2010

Ok here it goes this week was full of huge blessings! Elder RIch one of my other best friends out here and I were tracting and we found a letter on the ground, he asked if we should go and give it to the person, i didnt want to get a federal offeense so i suggested hiding it going and telling them and then telling them where we hid it haha so we looked around and saw nowhere but then we found a place and so we went back to the truck, as we were walking we talked to some people, one guiy who i had talked to 5 months before and to make a digression shorter I forgot we hid the letter and that was our plan of action at that point haha so we went on to see some people and then we were driving and Rich pointed and said thats the street! so we remembered and we went ot the address, as we knocked on the door the kids said Elders!!! which mostly only people who know us say that, so we gave the story of how we found it and so one of the kids ran to get it and I asked the lady if she knew missionaries because the kids called us that and she said she had been inactive in the church for about 20 some yrs, the spirit overwhelmed me at that point and bore witness to me that we weren't there by accident, that we were on the Lords errand, so we talked to her and emotions were flowing as we talked about her life, I eventually told her that it wasn't a coincidence that we were at her door and that the check she would have lost was her child support check! She teared up as she realized that the lord had sent us to talk to her, her kids were amazing, they said mom please! Please Let us go to church, we love it so much, the one boy said mom i want to be baptised haha, it was sureal to see the spirit work on her, she was truly touche and she said she would think of it, she said that she was glad we weren't overbearing and were understanding. I told her we would be there for a couple weeks and she said she'd call, but it was one of those experiences you couldn't pay enough for to have happen it again, i think Elder Rich sumed it up best, as we were walking back to the car he said, "Did that seriously just happen?" It was awesome and it made me feel the love that the the savior has for her and all of her children, that day was good! We found five people on that street that all wanted to learn more! so Etzel and I went back, one is an older grandma age lady Ann, She's 100 proof Dego she always says, 100 percent italian and she is the best! she is the funniest gal from chicago which is where etzel is from and she has already listened all the way through 2nd nephi in the book of mormon, she said she wants to be baptised if she comes to know if the Book of Mormon is true.Also one girl Bethany she said we could come back so one night we didnt have anything to do and we went to see her but it was 7:30 and since shes in high school we had doubts to knocking because it could come off weird you know what that looks like two 20 yr olds knocking on her door, so we said a prayer and got the go by the Lord! haha so we knocked on her door and her sister anwered whos around 20 and the next blessiong happened, We ahd the best lesson ever with her, the spirit was super strong, jsut talkign about the Book of Mormon and really coming to make changes in our lives, we are going to see her tomorrow! Etzel talks about how it was the most spiritual experience he's ever had on the door step and i cant say its not for me as well. There has been distinct experiences everyday that have jsut blown our minds but those two were the most prevelant, we had President Interviews,a zone meeting, and ZLC aned MCM so this week was full of jsut good stuff, the zone had 8 baptisms this week a lto of peopel are really making great sacrafices to know this wonderful message, i hope everyone is recovering from the holiday feasts! Love you all!

Schally

also this week check out the dally schally and then click on videos fromt he same user, we're having a member put on our video from when Etzel and I sang at the ward christmas party.

O i didnt even recognize in this email Asay, he is gone and ll the women in the ward are sad because their cute elder is gone, Him and i sang at church on sunday and everyone loved it, it was sureal seeing him go home but hes doing well. in the class they said , "how can we have charity like our elders, look at them! have you ever seem such love and companionship unity in a companionship? II have no doubt Asay would sacrafice his life for schally!" hah it was kind of weird to hear that but it was pretty cool too because people saw the admiration we had for each other, i miss you ace but i know your in a good place right now.

Schally

hey

November 22, 2010

hey this week flew by we had a ton of rain and its chilly now, snow in the mountains! which are quite aways away! we are on elder asay's last week so we're making it the best week. This time of year is just so fun, holiday season is jsut the best time of the year because peoples hearts are softened, i liked Britts email on gratitude i wasn't even thinking about that when i thought about turkey day i was jsut thinking about appointments and dinner etc, but how greatful i am for the gospel in my life, for the opportunity i have to be a missionary! Seriously i have the best work in the world, i will never get laid off hopefully, the pay is prettty good (spiritually) and I have the best hours anyone could ask for, no matter what goes on at work i know the next day will be a new day. I dont see a lot of the clientel consistently, not that thats a good thing, and I just love it so much! I have the good health, i get to read the sriptures everday, I am so blessed, the lord literrally provides every day of my life, i dont have a lot of time but ill upload some pics, you probably like those more anyways! Im grateful for all of you and your righteous desires! have a good thanksgiving week!

the pics are:

i got that painting from the sisters i have always loved it so now it hangs in my room, southern baptism i call it

and one i took with bishop Tjaden and his wife, asay got one with them since they were leaving so i figured i would too!

--

Elder Schallenberger

Three more weeks for Asay

November 8, 2010

hey everyone ok well this week was good i know this Will be short though. We have dinner at six and we have to go drop off the other elders in their area! I don't know if you all know the saga with Lindsey's emails to me from her mission but i printed them all off and am almost done with her mission and she talks about how much she loves yogurt and granola so last pday i did that and I am converted as well, i really like it its way good! so thanks linds, this week we got a call from a lady in Menifee that had a friend who just got out of a very hard relationship and needed help moving etc. so we went to the place, it turned out to be just outside of our area but we gave her a blessing and the spirit was amazing she has been so scattered brained and the spirit was flowing in comfort towards her, we were in tears because of the comfort that the lord had given her through the blessing! In James when it talks about how if there is any sick or afflicted among you to call the elders of the Church and to have them lay their hands on you and call down a blessing from on high it brings me great comfort that blessings and the blessings of the priesthood exist today and that man can work miracles in the name of Christ. It is one of the greatest blessings in my life and i am grateful it is one of the many truths that were restored! so we helped her move the next day with the elders from her ward we helped her a ton with service and we also on last pday helped the Malone's for 5 hours or so and then helped them throughout the week to finish their remodel of their house before their son got married, it felt like we did more service this last week than anything which is way good but the best is to be with people reading the scriptures and coming to know the gospel of Jesus Christ clearer. Asay only has a couple weeks left but hes not dying off he's still working hard which is good! we are excited for this week we have a bunch of great lessons and have a big training meeting this week so we'll have some elders from different parts of the mission staying with us so we'll have a different companion for a day or so so that's always fun! This is the best part of my life I love it here in riverside so much. I didn't even tell you the reason i have to keep it short is we were headed to come email and then we got to this road and there was a line of literally hundreds of cop cars with their lights on with a chopper over the top and with a van in the middle so we automatically think either the president or some really really legit criminal is in their so me took an alternate route and were going to follow them to see what was going on we took this really random way and we thought we lost them and then i took a turn and boom we were right there, turns out a cop got shot to death last night in a gun fight with a guy from a hit and run and it was like a cop funeral procession... so we had less time to email, but it was pretty exciting! i love you all!

Elder Schallenberger

Happy Halloween

November, 1, 2010

well this week was jsut and average hard working week, not a lot of super intersting things happened, except elder asay got bit by a dog at the trunk or treat at the church, haha it was pretty funny it seems like so much crap has happened to him since ive been with him, i always have someone that is pretty accident proned around me it seems, Britt couldnt be here so elder asay is his replacemnet, i guess Dwain could have been here too since it was a dog biting someone! he kept it cool buit it was a pretty deep one, I chose to be the good friend and point and laugh! Halloween was... interesting for us because there are a lot of jsut weird people, we had to go in early so we weren't out to much that night. We just had transfers but nothing changed in our apartment. We got some of my best friends here close in the bordering zones so ill be seeing them on Pday's including cousin Jolley! I dont have any crazy stories but I truly am so happy to be a missionary, Service is jsut the best, we are going to finish our pday today by helping the Malones remodel their house, they have a dealine super soon so we're going to go over there for 4 hours or so, also mom, Sister Palmer wrote you on facebook on mine, she is not mamm P that is Laurie from Jurupa, also i think sister carr called, is she related to us, i think she is through the harts! anyways have a good week! love you all! SERIOUSY I REALLY DO!

--
Elder Schallenberger

The Dally Schally

Oct 25, 2010

I forgot to mention something.... Our apartment made a remix to a song last pday you can check it out if you want to, so look it up The Dally Schally on YouTube it is legit. Send it to your friends hahah (if you want)

(Below is the video)

Keith's Baptism

Oct 25, 2010

Well the crowning event for the week was Keiths baptism. It went not quite according to plan a some unplanned outbursts and 4 tries but hes baptised and he is super happy. In Alma chapter 5 it talks about how when you have truly become converted and been reborn spiritually you have his countenance and i saw that in Keith on sunday evening it was prettty cool. I was able to give a talk it went good i hope and we had a stake conferernce as well before that, it was good president reeves and sister reeves spoke i love them so much they are just the best, their son jsut got married and a daughter is going on her mission to paris! Its pretty cool! Lots of blessings this week and lots of moisture! We have had the best hours tracting we have talked to so many peopel and a lot of new people we are teaching! I love it out here so much! Mom happy birthday this weekend and D and John I hope you got your cards for your birthdays this past week! Have a good weeek my family and friends I love you all!

ill send another email forwarded from elder asay about the week with some pics too!

--

Elder Schallenberger

Forward from Elder Asay

Hey everyone,

*Well this week was good. I'm super tired today so this email is going to be short.

Keith James was baptized yesterday, and it was the most rememberable baptism I will ever have. Or I think it is safe to say that it is the most rememeberable baptism in church history. First of all we had a recent convert Tarik Lacour baptize Keith James. Both Tarik and Keith are black. So this is the first time two black people have been in a font together haha, black people in a font is pretty common in Africa but not here. But that was the first cool thing. Next when Keith stepped into the font, he forgot that we had to say a prayer before he was able to get baptized. He got into the font and just started falling backwards ahahah, luckily Tarik caught him before he went into the water. so we got everything all straightened out, and Tarik said the prayer and baptized Keith. But Keiths' head didn't go under, so we had to do it again, and again, and again, and again. He had to be baptized like 5 times because body parts were just flinging up into the air.

So the baptism is good, since it was Stake Conference yesterday, we confirmed Kieth right after the baptism. Usually it would happen in Sacrament Meeting the following week, but we decided to go for it right after the baptism. We are all in the circle confirming him a member. Right when Tarik was done saying "And I say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost," Keith just went off and started saying a prayer. And this is all happening while everyone is still in the circle. And to preface the story a little. Keith is from Inglewood, CA he is 53. But it was handled very well, after he said his little prayer, Tarik went on with the blessing. It was the funniest thing that has happened to me on my mission.

Keiths' baptism was the first baptism that the Orangecrest Ward has seen in 1 year. We thought that we would get a lot more support from the ward but, after the service Schally and I were kind of glad that the ward didn't see it. But Keith and his family are Southern Baptist, we I don't think it sounded uncanny to them.

love, Egan

some more2!

Oct 18, 2010

um i cant remember which ones i chose me with some pears, me workin on the ab thing in the morning :/, um maybe and two of the funny pictures of asay but there aren't a ton of times these events happen, hes pretty serious most of the time haha but i thought id show the other side of him!

Some More!

Oct 18, 2010

The one is us coming out of the library haha thats my favorite pic we've taken, the others are on P-Day at the skate park. We have an Elder, his name is Etzel and he is allowed to skate because its a good way for him to talk to people because they respect him so much hes way good. One is him jumping me on the pyramid, im in the blue and then us laying on the half pipe watching him shread it!

more pics

Oct 18, 2010

me with my bug lips face and asay :)

pics galore

Oct 18, 2010

one of our famous crock pot concocktions, me walking and asay with the palm from that took his fingers skin causing the huge gash, he has his little finger thing on and asay sweet present!!

mo pics

Oct 18, 2010

the zone or part of it, me on a custom bike, (bikes are big here) and Tariq and I

Rainy

Oct 18, 2010

this week has been really weird cool and rainy! kind of a cool change. Keith is getting baptised this saturday we are super excited and we just had a good solid week this week. Lots of exchanges and lots of fun as wel. We had a zone breakfast at president plochers house which was way fun and then we had funeral i got Hailee Turner to sing at it for some friends I have down here shonda thats Mallori's little sister I actually was on an exchange so i didnt go but i guess it went rally well. Also we celebrated Asay's B-day which went well, the big 21! haha nothing new i guess 24 is the bug age for mormons because the only new thing we can do is rent cars! haha I love you all and am having so much fun and am loving serving people!

love yall

schally

I Forgot

there is a huge tennesee titans fan in the ward and he said that marc mariani is having some great minutes for them thats crazy i didnt realize he did anything after the griz, i heard his kick return set it up for the the beat chondas cowboys thats cool. lov eyou

week three with asay

Oct 12, 2010

So this week was solid a lot of things done we went on an an exchange with some missionaries one day and another day we did service for a family, trimming palm trees, i was up the sawing and then to get them in the trash bin we had to cut the frons into smaller pieces, the have sharp shark teeth type pokeys on the side and i was sawing one of them and asay was holding it and it caught the saw blade and cut a huge 1inch long gash into his finger, blood everywhere, haha i was like i told you you should have wore gloves, he was angry more cause of our stupidity and the pain but we got a band aid on it, we had such a solid day planned with a bunch of appointments for it wasn't till ten hours later that we went to urgent care and they finally slapped some super glue and bandages and a metal splint thing, he has to wear it for ten days haha "happy birthday elder asay" wasn't the right phrase i don't think, but we met with a new guy Fransisco who we met one day when we were going to see Keith, they are next door neighbors, he is so cool and so searching right now, he already had a book of Mormon and is go in to read it to find questions for us haha we walked out of the appointment and the street was blocked of by cop cars, our car being on the street, a next door neighbor was going to commit suicide in his house and there were cops hidden at various places all over the neighborhood and a lady cop talking on the loud speaker trying to talk the guy out of it, so we sat on the curb and watched and talked to all the neighbors about what was going on and the gospel of Jesus Christ! one of them gave us water and another grape soda and were set to go. Finally a guy we like to call the closer showed up in his cop polo and one gun on a new cop bike, said a couple things to the guy pulled out his gun and then they went in apprehended the guy and took him off in the EMT, it was pretty interesting for sure. We had a good week though lots of lessons and finding, trying to be better each day. I'm having a lot of fun out here and we are getting a lot done, i traded my little crock pot for a big one so we have been making some pretty solid lunches! its chrome and big so all four of us can eat out of it, its pretty cheap we all itch in on the ingredients, right now there is like a beef stew type of meal in it! Asay bought a huge London broiler steak to cook up for his twenty first birthday on Friday that should be fun!

--

Elder Schallenberger

schally and ace

Oct 4, 2010

hey family elder asay will be forwarding his thoughts on the week and minute now i have a headache and i dont want you to think we had a downer week just because im not as exciting at this point in time haha conference was sweet and being able to work throughout the week was rewarding we had some great finding this week. hopefully he'll talk about it im so grateful for the family and the friends that write and support me even though im getting progressively worse at that part of my misison! i told you id get you some of the great pics we've taken but i cant find my card reader so ill send some old ones that are saved to a flash drive!

actually ill send this one off and then the other one too sorry mom this might not work on your email i think it has too many pics the pics are from when asay and i were somps for two weeks almost a year a go to the day

--

Elder Schallenberger

hey this is elder asays email on how are week went i got a killer headache out of nowhere so i had him do the email for both of us.

Hey everyone,

Well this email is going to be a lil' different than my usual. Elder Schallenberger isn't really feelin' too inclined to write an email, so I will be fusing his email and my email into one.. It should be legit.

The weather has been off the chain this past week. Monday through Wednesday it was no joke 115+ It rocked my socks, i was pretty content with the 85 degree weather that we have been having for the past 2 weeks or so, but somebody left the oven open, and we just got baked. (not to confuse baked with getting high from drugs) Then near the end of the week it dropped down to the 60's and rained. It was weird. But the cool weather was definitely a nice break. Kind of a funny story, My (asay) shoes are so worn down that there is a huge hole in the bottom of my shoes about the size of a large 50 cent piece, that goes directly to my sock. Every time it rains, both my feet get soaked within seconds of the contacts of moisture. haha

But on a more serious note, Schally and I had a very successful week finding. We tracted for a couple hours each day. And door after door was just slamming in our face. But nice thing was, we didn't let that discourage us, we kept out heads high and continued to work in the 115 degree sun. During the week we were able to find a family of 4 and a family of 6! Both families are very interested. The family of 4, we just knocked on their door, and we automatically brought up Jesus Christ and following his example through keeping the commandments, and through being baptized. The family concern was... "We all want to be baptized together." So we said we'll be holding a baptismal service on October 21. Will you prepare yourself and your family to be baptized on that day? We'll come over and show you ways in which you can prepare. They said..... Yes!!! It was super legit. So please pray that these investigators will follow through with their commitment to prepare for baptism.

Conference was amazing. My favorite speaker were:

Elder Holland

Elder Ballard

President Monson

Elder Ering

Elder Packer

There was one more but i forgot my planner and it had the list of talks and key points that i liked. I thought that the main focus point was following the prophet council. I thought that is was amazing how much they stressed that. The words of living Prophets are more vital and important to us, compared to the ancient prophets. I have even got into the rut of just studying the standard works, but every month we get the Ensign, we have so many resources that we skim over. I promised myself during conference that I would always study and follow the Prophets council no matter how bogus it was, or how much i didn't like it. I know that if I do that, i will always be kept out of spiritual harm. They also really stressed how real the Devil was. It blows my mind that some people have the false notion that there is no Devil. Whenever I hear that i just want to slap someone upside the head, and tell them to wake up. I loved conference, it was my last one on the mission. It is so weird to be experiencing these "lasts" in the mission. But overall the week was incredible. I love you all and thank you all for you support and love.

love, Elder Asay and Elder Schallenberger.

(i elder asay wrote the entire email FYI)

Woah!

September 27, 2010

This week just started, o dang it its over, it has flown by! we had such an amazing week, im still just trying to stay awake im so tired from just bustin tail this week, every single night when we were planning we would just say where did the day go, how did all of that just happen? We had the opportunity to be at the RCC campus for tuesday and wednesday and we had a booth for the institute on campus but it had a sign that said what is the book of mormon and why should you read it and i felt like dan jones on the soap box telling every person we talked to about the love of the savior and why they should be a part of the institute and read the Book of Mormon. It was sweet we talked to so many people and we just we swamped, we also roasted hot dogs which brought people in to talk! it was so much fun, we also had a quorum of the seventy come elder Ringwood and he had a lot of important info that helped me receive greater revelation on what it is I'm supposed to be doing as a missionary, he asked at the start and he sayed why are you here today? a bunch of missionaries sayed to teach about Christ or because they have always wanted to serve a misson etc but i stood up and told him I'm here to receive insight on how to receive inspiration and revelation, he asked to hear more and i sayed Ive been looking forward to you coming and i am expecting for great council on how to be a better missionary and I know that you will say something today that will help me, I also am looking for tips on things to say etc and i went on on things i wanted to hear, so he asked how did i prepare for the meeting, i sayed i read the assigned reading and i prayed, he said did you pray for me, i said no haha he asked if i prayed for myself and I sayed yes, he asked other ways i prepared and i couldnt think of any, i felt kind of stupid and then i sayed, i got a haircut and i dry cleaned my suit and i put a good part in my hair took extra time to shine my shoes but i told him i didnt now if that was what he was looking for and i learned a valuable lesson from that experience, he picked on me from time to time throughout the meeting asking my opinion and stuff but i learned that preparation is everything when it comes to learning and teaching by the spirit, he recognized that the thing i had done had prepared me but he talked about how at all meetings, church, baptisms, anything we need to show up early, we need to prepare our minds to learn and that in any class or meeting we can learn if we have prepared ourselves to hear the message, he sayed he could talk about kitchen sinks the whole time if he wanted and if we prepared then the spirit would still teach us the things we needed to know! I will prepare myself from now on, i guess that's why dad is always early everywhere haha. He just helped me so much to realize the little things are important and that charity is a necessary attribute that i need to strive to have.

We tracted and taught a lot,, i was able to do a baptismal interview for a girl that got baptised on sunday and both the interview and the baptism were very spiritual. She had the same birthday as me! her name was Jesse! It felt like everyday just flew by, we were at lunch and then we were at dinner and then we were sleeping in the no time it felt, it almost was ridiculous. Church was really good Elder Asay had a really good testimony and we were able to give the primary children the church tour it was so funny. I love the ward im serving in now and Im lucky to be serving with my best friend in the mission. It makes it so nice to have a teacher that is at the same level ok maybe a higher level haha we had two lessons in particular that were two of the most spiritual lessons ive had in months, just addressing concerns and discerning through the spirit. We are so compatible as companions that it makes things nice, Elder Asays birthday is on the 15th of october. Im excited for general conference and for the opportunity we have to hear from those great leaders of the church. prepare yourselves this week to hear the promptings that the spirit has for you during conference I love you all!

Elder schallenberger

I have some sweet pics for you next week!

last week and the best news!

September 20, 2010

Hey so to get the biggest news off my chest my best friend in the mission elder asay has only ten weeks left and I was afraid i wouldnt see him again but guess what! they went back to two zone leaders in the mission and hes my new companion! o my goodness we are going to tear it up we love each other so much our comp unity is off the charts plus we have so much faith together! Its still not even real even though i look to my right and hes there! spaeking of looking around hte guy at the library waved me over and pulled up his shirt to show me his tattoo, kind of random haha but it was a huge CTR on his left shoulder and the T is a sword, asay doesnt think he goes to the church i think he does but either way super funny! we are just on cloud nine! Man it doens't even feel like this is real. I love Asay so much and he is the apitamy of a solid missionary. I am fully confident that the Lord put us together, so we could work hard and just have a bang up time together. The direcet quote from president Reeves was I usually dont like to put best firends together because they wont' work." But the Lord has spoken to me and said that "You two need to be together, and that you two will work hard and see amazing success together."The next 10 weeks are going to be the best 10 weeks of my mission.... That is how much i love this kid.-- anyways this last wek was good keith moved his baptism date back to the 21st of oct but its better that that should happen, elder rice's diabetes was acting up so we had some dificulties with that, our zone is stacked this transfer we have so many solid missionaries! Im sorry i jsut talked aout the future and not what went down this week but thats only where my eyes are set at this time! I LOVE YOU ALL! I APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT! PRAY AND DONT TAKE THE SCRIPTURES FOR GRANTED!

love

Elder Schallenberger

another week just flies by

September 13, 2010

Some pics of some unplanned service we helped a guy put in a wood floor that was pretty fun! This week was crazy we had so many lessons but it was all with people on the street jsut teaching we had so much fun, the weather was amazing it cooled down so much for a couple days! we're moving Keiths baptism back a couple weeks he's not ready and we would never want to have him baptised without him being prepared to take upon him the name of christ and follow him! i really just have so much to say that it seems as though im not saying anything at all. WE have been so blessed with appointmnets and people to see, we have had great miracles of people being humbled and compelled to take a better path in life, we have jsut got to talk with some really really cool well-grounded people! transfers will be coming up here in a week i think im staying its a toss up whether or not rice is staying so we'll just have to wait and see we have a qorum of the sevnty coming to talk elder ringwood! so that pretty sweet its on the 22nd and we get to go to the temple on friday! so some cool things to look forward to! love you all!

Week five Diligence

September 7, 2010

This week was packed with meetings and stuff that took away from my efforts in my own ward but i have grown a lot and have had great experiences following the spirit! Tuesday we had a leadership training meeting and it was powerful we went out for lunch and just went tracting and the success was tremendous of people just truly wanting to know more! that night we had a solid dinner with a Samoan family Ive never been so stuffed in my life! Wednesday we had Zone leader council i got to see elder Asay Tue and wed. so that was cool, i got to see all my other mission buddies too (all the ones that are for sure coming to MT for my homecoming) which was good because some of them are going home soon! you know what i was going to just give details day to day but i don't think ill do that ill share just a coupe of stories. We have been able to teach a lot more and just have had some amazing opportunities while teaching!

Chet Trupp has been coming to church for a couple years but his family is Jewish so they go to their church. they are both very supportive of each other (his wife and him) and we are over there quite a bit. Rebecca Trupp their daughter. Their family is pretty much one of my favorites. They are the ones who were in MT and called you mom, the ones that wanted to stop but didn't have time. Well a month ago Rebecca was in a tragic car accident where many people died. Out of the ones living she was in the worst shape, when we first heard news we didn't think she was going to make it. she got a priesthood blessing right before they flew her over to Reno and i think she got one at the hospital too. But everyday was truly a miracle. her recovery has been nothing short of amazing. she has literally defied all odds in her recovery and now is at home going to school and recovering. Well her family came to church on Sunday to thank everyone for their support and prayers etc. During testimony meeting she got up and bore her testimony of the power of God and the reason for her still being alive and man was it so powerful! It was awesome, a lot of people were crying because the spirits influence was touching their hearts> i have been nothing short of grateful for the opportunity I've had to watch this happen and to see her attitude and the testimony builder its been for me and for her family. Its amazing, so that was a highlight for sure. When i got hit by the car she made me cookies haha so i had to return the favor, i looked in my cabinet it being Sunday and i had a brownie mix and some craisans haha so i made her Brownie cupcakes with craisans on top i hope she liked them if not its the thought that counts. Keith moved his baptismal date back a week to the 19th so that's exciting too. Everything is going well I just want to go out and work so ill let you all go. Have a good week. thanks for the letters and support.

--

Elder Schallenberger

Hey

sorry super busy week and super busy Pday, only have a couple of minutes but I got to sing for the priamry on sumday, I played the sons of helamen song on my uke and i think they liked it, in return they sang i hope they call me on a mission, woah! that was the best thing of the week for sure, we have a pretty solid primary and a super solid primary music lady haha Keith is on date to be baptised in two weeks which is exciting, this week is almost everything in a week, Training meeting, exchanges with the assistants, Zone Leader Council, President interviews, and a zone meeting so pretty much this week every day before 3 i will be in meeting of some sort! I would rather be teaching but everyone has their obligations i guess. We had dinner at the Mckells and sister mckell gave me a carton or i guess thats not the right word a container of raspberries, so good! made me think of home and how many good things mom makes with those! i love ya'll! keep it up.

ps its so cool everytime i look at a mormon times there is a pic of either Nicole Sheahan or Stacey Duce! It makes me feel cool i know them!

--
Elder Schallenberger

Another week bites the dust

Ok first off the pics are me and my buddy Jason on a little train they have that goes around there house (i may have sent that one before) then the picture from back in the day of Kerry "Coates" i was talking about that this lady in my ward had. Then Elder Rice and I, you cant see but i had a little lizard on my hand, those things are everywhere! and then Uwe and I. He took me out to lunch this week it was so good. We went to this thai place and if you didnt know before Uwe always treatd us missionaries so well, so he said that we could order anything we want so we both got some chicken (imagine that me ordering chicken haha jk) so to our surprise when it comes out its not just like a wing or a breast it a whole chicken, took up a quarter of the table! so we had leftovers which was good but i was just thinking how in the heck am I going to eat all this chicken! Uwe was able to get his Melchizedek priesthood this week which was exciting! He got baptised back when I was in Hemet if you dont recall. Its pretty cool to see him now, he's the gospel principles teacher in Perris and he is teaching this whole entire month! Pretty cool. Also this week i was able to go on some exchanges. I went with one of my best friends Elder Ellis. He's a Spanish missionary and that night i got there we planned and then i had him work on my Spanish prayers so i can pray at the lessons. Because teaching is just not happening yet is espanol haha so we worked on it and then i worked on it in the morning and we were off. We were teaching and testifying ok let me change that Ellis was teaching and testifying like crazy in Spanish and i would put in my two cents but pretty much i jsut sat there and tried to stay awake because my mind is so idyll when he teaches. So he was teaching this guy on his porch, we were sitting on the lawn teaching him and he jsut had a powerful lesson and he looks over to me and asks if I'll say the prayer haha all I can say up to this point is Dear Heavenly father we thank thee for this day, and i say back to him in espanol? and he says yeah, just follow the spirit and closes his eyes and bows his head, so im like crap what am i going to say! so i bow my head and pray internally for the gift of tongues or remembrance or anything and i started to pray and it came out to what i knew how to say and then my mind jsut went blank. So Ellis whispered something but he was about 6 ft away and being outside i couldn't hear him and i just started saying what i thought he was saying but had no idea and then when i closed he said i said the prayer perfectly, I still think he was jsut saying that to boost my ego but he said i did and i honestly couldn't make out what he was saying so if Elder Ellis is telling the truth then I was able to gain a lot of help from my heavenly father and it made me go home and study enough to where i can say a pretty good but basic prayer in Spanish. (jkust trying to be more like Elder Farley) I was able this week to do two baptismal interviews and man do i love to do that, its so cool to hear their conversion stories and to be able to be just a small part of the big picture. These people were so on fire and ready to be cleansed through being baptised, it was cool. We are still working on getting the forty day fast in the ward and a new class going on wednesday nights so thats exciting too. Well I love ya'll

hey

August 16, 2010

Hey it was a pretty good week this week we tracted quite a bit but we found some great people who want us to come back. We were going to do a forty day fast for missinary work, but it got shut down in ward council and is a no go now, we'll still fast as a ward but not over a course of time with people on specific days. This week we were able to help the robinson's move a family, it was fun to get to know them, they raised their children in lolo and knew the sangsters and rechts and some other people too. They are a senior couple and its so fun to have them, jsut cool people. Today for P-day we went to fairmont park to go craw dad fishing, the water was ridiculously gross, we ended up walking by the "river" and were on an underpass of the highway where some homeless people stay and there were 20 in bass just swimming around in these little puddles of water, pretty crazy but way gross, we had to leave early right as they found a huge hole full of them. so we missed out on the real action. We had a lesson in church and it talked about covenants and how important they are and have been since the beginning of time. How the Lord's people are covenant people and how the abrahamic covenant works, it was cool. Keith was going to move and so we were going to send the missionaries over to plamona but now he's staying so we're pretty happy about that. We have been able to get things going over here but they are still slower than i would like. Uwe is getting the melchezidek priesthood soon, the guy that got baptised in Hemet i was happy to hear that! he is coming along great and loves being able to serve in the church so much, ALbert is still thinking about going on a mission im pretty sure and thats all the update ive gotten from and people that were baptised while ive been here. Sorry i am drawing blanks on the past week but I know that something great happened, if i think of it before i have ot leave ill let you know!

Love you all

Elder schallenberger

HEllo form Orangecrest

August 9, 2010

So I just picked up my bike today, its in such good shape t looks so nice! plus the people gave me a gift card to a nice italian place! how sweet is that! I look at that as a blessing, im back to normal now! feeling good and working out hard trying to look a little more like D! THis one is kind of to everyone (usually i write my siblings personally and mom) so Lindsey Im excited for you and Rob and your new move, it sounds so perfect for you! Also Im excited to hear that shonda and everyone gets to go to the concerts at the fair and that Mom and Dad are doing well. I was at a house last night and I talked to a guy named Lanny Green. He played basketball with grandpa dwain and uncle durell! He new Grandman Lil the most and said she was sure a good looking girl back in the day! haha for sure! grandma his mom was Orpha Hart. Do you know her? was he talking about the right lillian? how many can there be? hwe said that he was able to build the darby church when he was in high school and he just told me story after story. I got pictures of his daughter scrap book it has pics of Kerry "coates" back in the day! classic pics! SHe wanted me to ask so please mom will you ask bro coates what he said at her grandpa's funeral? His name was something hart i think bob or dale or something. She remembered him and he said a classic line of how guys shouldnt complain about how the bread tastes inless they want their wives to complian about how their husbands kneeded it haha or something, she said that has always stuck with her and she wanted to know how exactly went! It was extremely rewarding talking to him about i. This week was crazy I got called to be a zone leader here so i had some meetings and stuff but we're are having great success. We are starting a forty day fast here with a family a day like aunt kerry! ill let you know how it goes! love you all!

elder schallenberger

THis week was a wreck!

August 2, 2010

Ok so this week was pretty good. A little slower than anticipated but so good at the same time! We were asked to dedicate a grave at the Veterans Cemetary which is about 1000 acres, the biggest veterans cemetary in the US land mass wise not buried wise. So 1.5 million people will be buried there when its full. So we show up and they have us go to a meeting station where everyone meets. We meet the family and I dont know if they were members of our church or not but I was asked to do the dedication and so I'm asking who they wanted to have speak or pray and stuff and they siad we thought you two were going to do it all, we want you to do it. So relying on the spirit and improv we ran the service for the family. After we were there a car comes and leads us to one of the many pavillions in the cemetary, so confusing. Thats not where the body is buried just where the service is performed! so they had the casket carried from the hearse to the pavillion and then they had the presentation of the flag and the taps and then Elder Rice gave the opening prayer and it was on. We asked if any of the members of the family wanted to say something so a daughter said some things and then I asked if anyone else wanted to say anything and a grandson got up (probably the me of his family) and had a top ten things He would remember about his grandpa. Everyone was crying and he said, number one, what the hell was his name? and everyone started laughing i guess he had a bunch of nicknames but it just took me by surprise haha and he went on it was pretty cool . I was thinking about what i would say about my two powerful grandpas if i remembered anything and man I got choked up. I have the coolest ancestry and heritage. So then I got up and gave a little sermon on Mosiah 4, how we cant always comprehend why things happen and that pain is inevitable but misery is a choice. I felt Heavenly Father was able to give some of those people hope and was greatful for his help. Since the pavillion wasnt by where the body was to be buried we had a closing prayer and then only I and the hearse guy were able to go to where the body was being buried and I was able to dedicate the grave for Elwood. What an honor. I was standing around the grave with the hearse guy, the director, and two mexican workers that were digging the grave and it was pretty sweet im not going to lie. I wish the family could have been there too but thats the rule!

Ok so heres where the wreck part of the week comes in! We went over are miles on our car. (yes Britt we have cars in our mission) and so we were on bike for a week and I was in the lead on Van Buren heading to an appointment. I was biking against traffic on the bike lane heading east and a Lincoln Navigator pointing North wanting to turn right didnt see me and totally hit me on the bike, it happened really really fast and before i knew it i was picking up my bike and trying to ride like nothing happened but my back tire was connected to my bike to well. I got hit pretty hard i think but it could have been worse. My left leg was super super sore but i took an ice bath and that seemed to help. I have two bruises on my legs and my elbow is cut up. My back is sore too but overall I am so blessed, it could have been worse. The guy felt so bad, hes paying for my bike to get fixed, its not realluy in working shape it wont shift now and the tire is wobbly, he said if i needed any medical stuff to call him but i think ill be cool. Pass along cards were all over the road. He told his wife to back up the car and the bumper was bent so far back that it was rubbing on the tires and so his sons came out and pulled it back so that she could back it up. I think the Navigator got it worse than the bike or me! so dont worry mom im alright but just be thankful for all the blessings your son is receiving. I look back and it could have been way worse. Moral of the story. Dont go over your miles on your car! haha

We are receiving great blessings from the Lords hands. So lucky to be a missionay when the times are like they are, we have so much support and I am grateful for all the support i get from everyone of you. Letters, financially, prayers, everything, my family and friends are making sacrifices so that I can be having the best two years of my life! Is that even fair? Not really but Im very grateful for it!

I LOVE YOU ALL

hello

July 26, 2010

Hey everyone it was a good week. we were able to teach a lot more this week instead of finding but we still tracted for probably 13 hours. it was a little cooler this week, we were able to go with keith to another baptism this sunday and it was really cool, i ran into some family of some good friends from an old ward so thats cool. i am nearing the end of this transfer which is jsut crazy! why do things keep flying past faster? We were able to have a big conference on some new things that will be changing and the mission is stoked, it put a fire under everyones butt for sure! Im starting to feel the urgency of only having a year or so and am wishing that things could slow down. one of the elders im pretty close with is coming back after his mission and playing bball here in the mission so it would be crazy to be serving where he's living in the future because i havent served their yet. It seems like a lot of my good friends out here are starting to wind down in their time. There was a lot of cooler days this week i dont think it got above 100 which is nice, my comp and I are turning things around down here for sure and its so awesome to see the changes the Lord is able to make in our lives and the people around us. I was reading in Alma 50 when moroni is making preperations for war in verses 1-4 i think and how he didnt just stop with the mounds around the citym or the timbers, or pickets, but he built towers and upon the towers he built security to not get hit my the arrows or the stones, what kind of preperations and security are we putting in our lives, what kind of protection do we personally have? Im grateful for the security I have in the gospel and with my friends and family, so many people dont even have that i mean seriously how big of a bummer is that? Make preperations to secure your families and yourselves, spiritually, and physically and emotionally. I love ya'll and am doin fine!

Thanks for the letters of support.

Hey july where did you go??

July 19, 2010

i thought it was start of july and the month is already flying by before my eyes, we are halway into the transfer. We had a guy named keith james that came to church, he stopped us on the street and asked what church we went to and where it was at and we gave him our info and didnt think much of it, he's trying to get a job and we figured thats what he really wanted not the church necessarily, but he called us the night before and needed a ride so he showed up and liked it. HE didnt have dress shoes though so i hooked him up with mine, i had a couple pairs and after seeing how britts mission is i can afford to be more charitable, so i rocked the rest of church with my socks on and nobody noticed haha i had black socks on. He really appreciated it and he felt the love we have for him i feel. He really enjoyed high councilman sunday!!! maybe those sundays aren't as boring as we think! he kept saying how powerful they spoke. So we'll meet with him this week and start teaching him. He's in his 50's and i really like him. Dave is one of our investigators but he is basically a member, he comes every week, watches BYU tv and stands up for our church its pretty cool. His wife was baptised a year ago and they are taking the temple prep classes together. We had dinner there on saturday (hopefully Britt doesn't read this) haha we had this like 5 course meal she just loads us up and there are always tons of things and the best food we always like looking at the calendar and seeing their names, but hes been really stressed so we were able to give him a blessing of comfort and man was that sweet! We also on sunday got to go down to redlands and give one of our families we've been teaching's son a blessing. He got really sick and had blockage in his kidney i think, he's eight or nine and it was so cool to see the faith that he had that he would be healed, the childrens hospitals are the saddest but the biggest faith promoting, its a seventh day adventist hosptial loma linda, really popular hospital in the county and they had a cool painting of doctors operating on a kid and christ was in the middle pointing with his right hand and resting his left hand on the doctor's shoulder, i thought it was pretty sweet. I loved that opportunity! then we went and gave a blessing today to a lady who is having a baby anyday, her family was there and it was cool to see what that was like. I have never been in the delivery area before and you could see how much her husband was anticipating the birth, what a great blessing you sisters have to bring heavenly fathers children into this world, what a calling and responsibility! great blessings this week for sure, i am continuing to work hard and trying to be a better missionary. Keep me in your prayer as you are in mine, I love this work. Also Uwe (the guy that got baptised in hemet) is coming up to take us to breakfast, it will be good to see him. Love you all!

ONE YEAR

July 12, 2010

Well this week was trying for sure, not a lot of new exciting things just outting our shoulder to the wheel and pushing along! I turned a year, but i feel the same haha We had a good sunday elder rice spoke and it was just a good meeting. President and sister reeves had family in town so that was cool. I think everyone left california, we're having a tough time talking to too many people. Not a lot at home or out cause its getting warm, not as warm as st george of course! our ward mission leader was just there he said next time he goes up hes going to take dwain to the shooting range haha, it was good though, we have had a lot of fun this week despite the set backs. I was able to have some really meaningful studies, i read the book of job and what trials and persectutions yet he didnt murmur, im going to try and do that. I like one verse i think it said something to the effect of wise men dont always make the right decision, We are still human and cant be perfect, somewhere in the ch 28- 30 range he talked about kind of the man he was, how he was the eyes for the blind, the feet for the lame, so on and so forth and it hit me that charity really is that christ-like characteristic that we need to enter into the kindom of God. How many times in the new testament does it talk about if ye dont have charity you are worthless! Jesus often rebuked people by saying ye hypocrites, that was his favorite way of calling people out! Some of us donate time, some of us donate money, but are we truly charitble? THe wisdom in charity is neverending and forever rewarding, i missed basketball because we helped a lady jump her car and then helped her later as she called and said it turned of in the middle of the intersection. Did i want to do it, no :( did i yes :) did I learn to respect the aspect of charity i think i did and it is an attribute i will continue to try and learn. I love this work and love you all

elder schallenberger

Happy 4th of July

July 6, 2010

Well this week was a change actually, this ward is a lot different than any other ward ive serving in, a lot nicer area, but the ward is awesome. Just some solid families. THe work is good we have a couple good people that are looking into the church but the work in theis area is really slow so we have been bustin tails to get out there and find people to teach. We found five people this week and I love some of them so much. Elder Rice is cool and we get along, compliment each other nicely for sure! The fourth of July really got me thinking of how greatful I am to live in this country where we can freely do the things that we want. I decided to read the prophecies of the promised land that Nephi gave on sunday jsut to remember the promises we have and the signs of the times. Pretty much all of the prophecies in Nephi and even Mormom are true already or have came to pass. Especially in California. I have no doubt that is was meant to be that the founding fathers were truly led by the spirit when they decided to break off and come to this great nation. I cant remeber where i read it but it was a quote from Christopher columbus that said something to the effect of that people would always doubt his journey and make fun of his aspirations but he couldn't deny what had been revealed to him through the Holy Ghost! Im not the biggest history buff or saying those people didnt have flaws but this nation is truly the promised land whether or not the signs of the times show it or not. We had a couple cool experiences, we were going to meet some families from the ward that we didnt know that hadnt been coming to church for a while and we put an address in the gps and it took us to the entire wrong palce, it was so weird, so we pulled up to this house and it was the wrong munber and street, so we go to put the address in the gps again and then i had the thought, Heavenly Fathers GPS wants us to go to this house haha so we parked and knocked and sure enough we taught a lady on her doorstep for an hour who had so many questions, she was in town for only a day more visiting so we'll probably never know how that one works out but it was stilll a way cool experience. We have been so blessed and we just try and open our eyes to see what the real plan is and what Heavenly Father really wants for us. I love it out here, its such an awesome experience to be a missionary. I love you all!

Orange Crest here we come!!!

So we had transferrs and I'm headeing over to the bordering area (Riverside). I'll be in car now and I think I'm in the presidents ward, I think its kind of a nicer area but really Im just going off of what people are saying here. I'm so bumed to leave though. We had gotten a teaching pool of so many people and were just coming along with some people, finally connecting but I have no doubt that Elder Ulu Ave is supposed to be here and that Elder Rice and I are supposed to be in Orange Crest in Riverside. This week was good we were able to have just the most solid lessons with some people and were able to have contacted some people. My spanish was getting a lot better the last couple months just basic stuff and i feel my new area wont be using it quite as much. We had something that doesnt normally happen today, we received a referral for someone to teach while we were driving over here to email. We were cruising along with our windows down and a lady yelled are you missionaries and we said yes and while we were driving side by side talking about someone she thought we should see she gave us all the info haha thats always nice.

June 28, 2010

Elder Jensen will be training so he's pretty excited and Elder Asay is the new zone leader in Corona so thats the update on them also Elder Arther is going to be in corona so three of the four will be close to each other. I have been really impressed in my personal studies with the doctrine that was taught from Jesus and his father in Heaven. It seems as though a lot of the people we talk to out here are Christian and believe in the doctrine of the trinity, So i made it my goal as i read the new testament to see what the scripture says either way. I think I'm in Matthew ch. 9 and already Jesus has taught so much doctrine on the subject. He says my father in heaven or your father, which is in heaven like 3-5 times a chapter. Obviously the Book of Mormon is fun to read and ful of the spirit but read the new testament if you havent in a while and see what you guys think about the doctrine thats taught i looked up and i have 30 seconds. But I love the scriptures and i love you all

elder schallenberger

Elder Van Horn and I and me playing a quick game of horse shoes

June 22, 2010

the house and the zone!

June 22, 2010

The Roosters (Alarm Clock)

The Weights

The Corn

The Casa

Last week of the transfer

June 22, 1010

Holy cow what a cool experience for Elder Farley over in Honduras, he is going to love it down there in Honduras!!!!! THats so cool about his experience, those first weeks of the mission were so powerful, so testimony strengthening! My week was good, we picked up five of the most solid people we're teaching right now. We have been so blessed with people to teach and we have been able to get so many referrals from people lately its crazy! We have been doing a consistent amount of tracting but have beeb able to get some really good lessons in a s well. It is so fun to be out here in california, With the lakers winning everyone has been in a good mood! haha we had to email today because the yesterday the computers were down but i think it was also so we could tell you a couple biking stories that we had this week, We were biking as usual, Van HOrn in the front wasting me and me following behind, well i stopped to talk to a guy on the road and teach him real quick and Van Horn never saw me stop and by the time i looked up I had no idea where he was at and we didnt have a set place we were going we were just headed to go contact some people on the streets, so i started biking up etiwanda and i got to an intersection on 58th and Etiwanda and we either go straight at that intersection of right it seems so i started biking straight still alone which is a weird feeling on your mission and i biked and the spirit said turn around and go on 58th street so i did and i started biking still looking back often in case he was coming bike that way and about a mile later i saw him in the distance busting back to find me, he had had the same experience to look back and was led to where i was at, we were teaching a family on the importance of the gift of the holy ghost that we receive after being baptised by that priesthood authority (Acts 8 and Acts 19) for instance and we talked about how that Holy ghost led us to each other and the spirit was so strong. But the best bike story for the week was this last evening i was right next to Van Horn and i grabbed his backpack to pull on and then it would shoot me forward to gain speed, well whiloe i did that Van horn chose to grab my left handlebar and with the sudden shoot of speed and his gorilla grip on my handlebars it yanked my front wheel directly perpendicular to the bike frame and sent me and me bike head over heels under him, making him run me over and flipped him head over hills. A ridiculous situation and we were both on the ground kind of like "did that just happen?" haha so i thought it was really funny and he did too after a while, the stupid stuff that happens when you dont just do what your supposed to. But yeah transfers is this coming week so ill find out whether or not im going or staying, I hope i stay one more with the work that is going on here and the people we ahve to teach. I love you all and hope you can continue to become better each and every day.

Love Elder Schallenberger

;)

June 14, 2010