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

Another Week Fly's By

June 14, 2010

Hey everyone man has it been a good week. The work in the area is progressing well. Sorry if the mail has been returned there was a mix up but now if you send it to the grand ave address I will receive it! and if you havent sent me a letter you can pretend that you sent it and it got returned and sent it in a different envelope. This being on bike has been killer, I havent been able to burn as many calories lately and people have been pounding the food down us! At least I've been able to finally put on a couple pounds. I included a picture to let you guys see how im progressing. Dwain told me he's feeling better than he has for 2 years i cant quite agree but i feel good. We had just some solid lessons this week, Some great new people we have met and been able to start teaching. We have been able to build our teaching pool consistently. Elder Van Horn and I have had a lot of fun and the ward is great. We have had tons of experiences where we just happen to be in the right place or something falls through and so we decide to go see someone close and it happens to be someone who is desperatly in need of us to be there. I has been cool to see how the Lord has directed our lives so much lately and how maybe even though the main plan falls through but the backup plan id what was really intentended. I have been so blessed and grown so much. I have another pic of out garden we planted on the side of our house, Keep tuned for next week when i get the pic of what it looks like now, (4 weeks later) its pretty fun, even though elder jensen does most of the work. Also next week we will look into the life of me and will give you a tour of the apartment, the elders, and the area im in. Hope to hear from you all, send some pics my way!

Love you all

Elder Schallenberger