Happy birthday Lindsey

Lindsey the big 24 congrats, its weird to think little linny grew up but i hope everything is going well! Shonda i dont want you to feel left out happy half birthday on the 14th! Now that Justine is in the family i figured we can start celebratinbg half birthdays for everyone not just her! We have had a bunch of blessings this week! We have had a great balance of teaching and of tracting. I cannot be more greatful for the understanding that I have received from continuing to study from the scriptures. There really is so much we can learn on our own if we just study! This week was transfers so its interesting to see where all your buddies are going. Browning and I are staying here and are excited cause we will both be able to see the work that has been progressing so well! I couldnt be more greatful for this opportunity to grow and to meet the people i have met. Im sorry this is short but Im so beat. I need to go home and take a nap. Plus i used all my time telling Rob good ideas for his class haha well I love you all. I have the best family and friends known to man. Dont let anyone tell you any different. Like seriously what did I do to get such great people in my life? Anyways i love you all.

Elder Schallenberger

ps im excited to hear about Britts CALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

happy new year

well everyone it has been a pretty good week. We have had the lords hand in our lives so much. We have been tracting a good amount and teaching as much as we can find time. But tracting used to be such a waste of time and such a burden because we didnt reap any fruits from it right away but this week we were so blessed. We talk to around 160 people a week tracting and we have just been getting return apointments after return apointments! Like one out of five houses and i know thats it not because im a persuasive talker or because i say some great thing its because the spirit is working on the people we come in contact with everyday and its completley and totally due to the fact that we are being obediant and we are striving to be worthy of the spirit. But its a new year crazy! and this week (the 8th) i turn six months man has time flown by! It seems like the weeks go by like days. (of course the days go by like weeks ha) We are so close to seeing some great miracles happen i can feel it. This week is the last week of transfers so that should be exciting to see if either me or browning leaves or who goes just everything. We have an awesome zone that gets along and supports each other so well. I cant remember if last week i talked about the training the zone leaders had or not but they talked about getting rid of the one or more things that hod us back from being the best we can be and then we dug them in the earth and so thats my challenge to all of you. Whats holding you back from reaching your goals? Whats holding you back from setting goals? what is holding you back from having the spirit with you? what can make you truly happier? Bury it! Not only cause its the new year but becasue it truly will give you pure happiness. not temporal happiness. Maybe thats why I have been blessed idk for sure but what i do know is that the lord will bless us if we have righteous desires, if we put our desires and align them with gods we will feel and experience true happiness!!!! I think people that i come in contact with dont realize how happy i truly am. Its so sad that people dont know how to find this great happiness. But yeah new years was good we pretty much just had a normal day of work except form 6-9 at night we played ball. But its so fun to see peoples new goals. Mamma P (sis putman, the lady we live with) Said that we have been an insiration so she started walking today and Im so glad we have this tradition of new years resolutions! This week was Elder Brownings senior week and it was fun to see him planning what we should do and setting up all of the stuff. I learned alot of ways that i can be a more effective senior comp and leader. We missed a couple return apointments this week which was really sad. One couple was waiting for a half an hour and then left and left a note and so I learned the hard way of keeping an apointment. There were things that hindered us getting there but that is one of my new priorities i never want to leave anyone waiting again. I felt like such an idiot!! BUt this week i have been doing a lot of study about the bible, I mean i read the new testament a month or so ago and read Jesus the christ so a lot of things have been learned about christs life and so i realized i didnt know lot of the history. Like how many times it had been translated and a lot of the parts that are missing. Like i knew the apocrapha(spelling) was missing which some is deemed inspired and some not but as for the new testament i had no idea that there was stuff missins. Like the epistle to the laodiceans or even other epitsles to the ephesians and more! You can only think of the council that those great apostles had for the church and for the people! Thats why im so greatful we have both the Bible and the Book of Moromon to bring to us two testamonies of the truth of christ. Of the truth of our salvation and the things that are going to come to pass. Well I love you all the thing just said im running ouit of time.I am greatful for the support i get fromk you!

Love Elder schallenberger

o and this week we had a super clean day, talk about finally having everything in order it was sweet!

CHRISTMAS LOVE

Well it was fun to talk to the fam on christmas, i guess we'll be doing it again before you know it! It was weird to hear everyones voice but it sounds like pretty much everything is the same as you guys have been portraying it in the letters and emails. Christmas was good but it was way different than any other one Ive had for sure. We were able to see some families that we have been teaching and were able to have a big get together which was really fun. THere was a talent show and every companionship had to do something and so ours did a rendition on the guitar of some primary songs it was pretty fun. This transfer has been going by so quick! IT seems like yesterday i was in Hemet and the day before i was in the MTC and the day before that i was in Hamilton, Time flys when your having fun and time definetly flies when your doing this geat work. WE are starting to have more luck and are starting to reach a lot of goals which is always exciting. I was so blessed to have so much support from everyone you guys are always hooking me up, i have enough treats to last for like 5 yrs of food storage haha. O and dont worry about getting me a snuggie for my birthday, Our ward missionary leader's wife got me one! So the one-e is fine :) O and if you guys didnt know my birthday is on the 28th of january, remember im the kid that was born on superbowl sunday! haha i just thought id throw that out there if you want to build me a cake or something or maybe even send a card! WE have been able to have so much luck lately teaching and finding. I notice the holy ghost influencing me more in my life and letting me know where i need to be and what i need to say etc. I constantly realize that gods plan is bigger than our plan and i guess you can say ive had to be humbled a couple times to realize that. The Lord is willing to give us so much if we will just ask in faith and live a life that merits the worthiness required to receive such blessings. We had a training from both of our zone leaders that really changed my outlook on life it made me want to be a better person. They had us say a prayer and then write on a piece of paper what was holding us back from completely having the sprit to be with us and so we did and then put them in a ziploc and we went outside and dug a hole and threw them into it and buried them but like the anti-nephi-lehi's. It was such a good way to give up those things and realize where a scrub like me could improve. The whole meeting was jsut awesome. We also had president interviews and that is one of the best parts of the mission my mission president is so knowledgable and so loving and I always leave there spiritually uplifted. Well the blessings that i have received have been tremdous! and we all can be worthy to receive answers to our prayers. I know that as we ask in faith we can acccomplish whatever might be in the way. Love!

Elder schallenberger

christmas time is here bringing lots of cheer

Well this week was interesting for sure. We're getting so much work done with a car but its definetly hard with christmas time coming. We we able to get some gift cards for a present so we used that money to get presents for two families and another guy so that has been very rewarding to see them actually get a christmas. We also helped out with a toy drive that provieded like 1500 kids with toys so that was hard but well worth it. It doesn't feel like christmas with the sun shining and everything but the houses are sure decorated. THe other day I saw santa getting pulled down the street on is sled by two horses dressed up as reindeers, as if horses dont already have it tough enough pulling the goods for all the little kids, now they have to be humiliated posing as reindeer. Must be in Norco "Horse Town USA" Its pretty fun people pass by every minute or so riding their horses around.Today a member took us golfing up at indian hills golf course for pday. It was really fun, i had never been golfing before, I got par on one hole (it wasnt a par three) so i was pretty excited, we had really good clubs so it was fun. THe course is really beautiful and on top on the city which is cool. We have been knocking doors a ton and that has been very interesting. We have just been so blesssed because of our obediance and its sweet to see how much his hand is in our lives!The people we live with are amazing. Sister Putman always is doing something nice, washing clothes, making food, leaving snacks, maing us tang and putting it in our fridge i mean the list goes on we are so lucky to live with them. Our car got egged the other day, kind of a bummer but overall funny, i mean we are such mean people as missionaries ya know. It reminded me of when my car got covered back in high school. Good times. Well I gtg hope that you all have a merry christmas, hopefully ill get my letter sent of this week haha i have it printed out. Remeber the true meaning of christmas. Love you all!

Elder schallenberger