Elder Jason Schauers serving in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission: Week 2 in the MTC

Hey everyone,

It’s been a really good week, I’m starting to get into the routine of things. My district is awesome, we have become a family. So too keep you up to date on our investigators. We only get four meetings with each of them. I learned so much from teaching Grace and Brice. On our last lesson with Brice, we were able to commit him to baptism (which was AWESOME)! So we are two for two right now, but who is keeping track ha-ha!! We got a new investigator named Jose, he is super cool and has some really deep questions. So that’s tough, but we feel that he wants to take the next step towards baptism.

Something that everyone in my district is pumped up about is that we are going to do something called the Tower Challenge tomorrow morning. It’s when you eat this giant tower of cereal as a district. Everyone is getting excited about it and finding different tactics to succeed at it. I will send a picture next week of how much cereal we have to eat, and we have 12 people in the district. So keep us in your prayers to be able to accomplish this goal ha-ha.

Oh yeah I almost forgot, I brought my YOYO with me to the MTC. It’s been great. I’ve been trying to learn new tricks so if you get bored, go ahead and email me some tricks I can learn. That would be much appreciated. I named the YOYO "Lassie" because my companions told me to walk the dog with my yoyo. So since then, Lassie has become our district pet. Yes I understand that it’s weird, but the MTC will make you go crazy, so we have to find things to laugh about.

Ok bringing it back to a serious note, last night we had a devotional from Bonnie L. Oscarson. It was really good. She talked about how we don’t want to finish our mission with regrets. So don’t hold back, don’t slack off, cuz one day you will look back and be sad about the effort that you put into your mission. So that really stuck out to me and how I want to work as hard as I can so I don’t have any regrets. There is a picture in one of the MTC buildings with two missionaries kneeling at the bed side and you see their shoes, and how torn up they are because of the hard work they put in. That’s my goal.

So I’ve been studying Alma, which is awesome cuz there are a bunch of wars and Alma is a stud. I just really like it cuz God blesses those who obeys His commandments. He gives strength to those who listen and has faith in Jesus Christ. That’s how a mission kind of is, if you have faith, study, work, obey all his commandments with exactness then everything will work out and you will have success. It doesn't mean that it won’t be hard, but you will have the strength to get through the hard times cuz you rely on the Lord. I have seen this in my life so far here in the MTC. Another thing that I enjoy doing during my studies is I’m able to watch Book of Mormon stories videos. Which it explains the Book of Mormon from beginning to end. But it simplifies it and focuses on the main points from each story. It’s animated and it’s made for little kids, but I think it’s great to help me understand the stories a little bit better so I can teach them better.

For all of my friends that are going in to the MTC soon, just know you eat a ton of food. I have gained 2 pounds last time I checked. One person in my district gained 10 pounds, he eats for like three people every time we go into the cafeteria. Also bring something like a toy that will keep you entertained at night. The devotionals are the best part, and then also sing in the choir. It’s really fun, the conductor is hilarious and super talented. You get to eat dinner earlier and the songs come out super well. We just sang "Josephs First Prayer" I’ve learned that the music invites the spirit way more than any other way. Also when you sing hymns, look for what the lyrics mean and how they tell such a wonderfully well thought out story. That’s what I enjoy the most because I miss music a lot.

Well I’m getting of now, I love and miss all of you, thanks for all the support to my family and I as we are all making this transition in life. Here’s a picture that one of my companions took, but it is terrible quality.

Love,

The Real Elder Schauers

P.S. yes Brandon this refers to you.