Joseph's Thanksgiving, 2011 letter!

[Dear family and friends,

We hope that this letter finds everyone enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We are enjoying Thanksgiving with our Michigan family -- we are grateful for our wonderful families and friends.

We are thankful for the opportunity to have our Joseph on a mission for the past 23 months in the Czech Republic. We have definitely missed him but we have loved hearing about his experiences. Thank you for sharing these experiences with us!

Send me any messages that you have for Joseph and I will forward them to him. He LOVES hearing from you.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Joseph's editor - BWS]

Dearest, beloved family,

A lot has happened in the past week and a half. Last Wednesday I went to Prague for a conference, which turned out to be rather nice and helpful and then yesterday we returned to Prague for a Zone conference. It really was a wonderful conference for all of us. President Irwin gave a wonderful lesson on the doctrine of Christ as found in the thirty first chapter of second Nephi. [Here is a link for anyone who wants to read this chapter: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/31?lang=eng] We had a zone discussion during the course of that and we were all very edified. President Irwin especially focused on how our missionary purpose, which is the doctrine of Christ, should drive everything that we do here as missionaries and that we should be constantly thinking about it during our day. Our Zone Leaders (one of which is Elder Ingalls) also helped us learn more about preparation for lessons and how we are to strive to prepare in personal study, come together in companionship study, and then teach so that the people we teach can grow well in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had a wonderful day, and saw the first little bit of snow here in Jihlava. Maybe it can hold off for another month, but I am not holding my breath.

We are teaching three people right now about whom I am really excited. Sister K, Brother P and Sister E. Sister K has been doing excellently. We have been meeting with her for about two months now, but since she is taking care of her aged mother, has been unable to make it to church on Sunday. However, she has finally been able to arrange to have someone come and watch her mother on Sunday morning and she will be there with us in a couple days. We have been teaching much about baptism and it is so amazing to see her excitement for baptism and for all the things that we teach about. Brother P is about our age and is also preparing for baptism. His only concern is though that he works on Sunday and cannot come to church (he recognized this problem though and told us about it right away). We have been working with him as to how we can ask the Father in faith and that he will really prepare a way for us to follow his commandments. Meeting with him is just amazing and I love seeing all the progress that he is making. Sister E is still trying to find her answer, but she really does have real intent. It has been somewhat of a challenge to answer all of her questions, but it is wonderful to know that we have done all that we can and that the next step relies on her. She is just so close, that Elder Story and I just get so excited planning for those lessons, but we must be patient and wait also for her.

Elder Story is great. We are working very hard together, but we also have a ton of fun together when we are contacting and especially at home. I am so grateful that I can be serving with him at this time.

Thanksgiving should be great today. The Pages, the Senior couple here in Jihlava, are cooking us a Thanksgiving meal and we are very excited for this. [We are so appreciative of these wonderful senior couple missionaries!]

Love you all,

Elder Schindler

ps-I would send pictures, but I do not have any new ones. I may in the next couple weeks though, so I might be sending some through soon. [We hope so!]

Joseph's letter dated 14Nov2011

[Dear family and friends,

I hope you are all doing well. We are already into the middle of November! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I hope that St. Martin's Day has been good to you. (See reference in Joseph's note below.)

Send me any response that you have for Joseph and I will forward it to him. He LOVES hearing from you!

Sincerely, Joseph's editor - BWS]

Dear Family,

So first of all my next Preparation Day will be on Thursday the 24th, so do not expect a note from me next Monday.

This last week we have had a lot of fun. My new companion is hillarious. Elder Story is from Orem, UT and is a fun, happy, great missionary. We have had a lot of fun together and I think that this transfer together will be a blast.

We actually had a very interesting first few days together. Wednesday was transfer day and then we had district meeting on Thursday. Friday was normal, but then on Saturday we went up to Hradec Kralové for a conference with the Elders in our zone, including the Elders in Třebíč, with whom we traveled. Unfortunately, we missed our train back to Jihlava by five minutes and so instead of returning at six thirty, we got back at nine thirty and then we broke our key in the lock to our apartment building. Luckily, we were able to get the broken key out of the lock after playing around with it, but we then had to fit four elders into our small apartment, since the Třebíč Elders could not get back home for another two hours. Then we all went together to Brno for a district conference and then back. Needless to say, I spent much more time in a train than I ever wanted to and am not looking forward to going to Prague this Wednesday, or next Wednesday for that matter.

Sunday was nice though. One of our investigators came to church with us by train. There were a lot of people in the building, but I think it was enjoyed. President Irwin shared a story about his childhood when a group of older kids threw him over a three foot high wall into a pile of horse manure. Then, since he was already "in it", he started throwing the manure at his tormentors. He then reminded all of the members that they are also "in it", refering to the gospel and that they should spread it around as much as they can. We all had a good laugh, and members here were highly encouraged to share the gospel with there families. There was also a story of dillegence of a man for who many years cared for a wasteland, carefully planing and caring for trees for many days and years. Then the trees eventually grew into a large forest and benefited thousands of people. It was a good story about quiet, persistent diligence.

We are doing well here also. I am happy and while it is cold, we still do not have to deal with snow, although we just had Saint Martin's Day, which is supposed to annouce the coming of snow, or rather, permitting the weather that it can snow now.

I love you all and good luck at home. I am sorry that Christopher will waste away before I return [he didn't earn enough food points in his game as a coyote], but try to keep him going as best you can. Andrew, I know that the end of marching band season has left a giant hole in your heart, but be of good courage: it will come around next year again. Daniel have fun recovering from your tooth yanking [Daniel will have his wisdom teeth taken out on November 18 - the day after his birthday!]. I remember watching a lot of Bob Ross when I had my teeth extracted. Weston, could luck working on your goals, and Nicholas, you are super.

Love,

Joseph

Joseph's letter dated 9Nov2011

[Dear family and friends, here is the letter that we received from Joseph this morning. He loves hearing from you. If you want to send him a note, simply respond to this email -- and I will send it along to him. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! At this season of thanks, we, as a family, are certainly thankful for the many blessings that we enjoy - including wonderful family and friends. I wish all of you a season of happiness, peace and prosperity at this time! Sincerely, Joseph's editor - BWS]

Dearest Family,

The last ten days worked out rather well for us here in Jihlava. We worked rather hard this week and unfortunately had to say goodbye to some people. Brother I is returning to the Ukraine and so we will not be able to meet anymore, but we had a wonderful last meeting. He is still searching for his answer, but I really think that he is close to finding that. We are referring him to the missionaries in the Ukraine and we hope that they will be able to connect and begin meeting with him. We also had a final meeting with an investigator from the seventh day, who we have met with a couple times. The spirit was definitely strong in the meeting and so it was difficult for us when she declined our invitations to continue meeting. However, the work continues on and after a good night's sleep I felt much better.

We are teaching some other great people. One, Sister E, has been learning more and more about the Book of Mormon and about how she can gain a desire to believe. She is curious about the gospel and wants to understand Christ and what we have to teach, but it is the first time that I have really taught someone for more than just a couple meetings who, for now, is just really curious. It always seems that before the lessons about the power of the restoration and the Book of Mormon that the Spirit would have already taken over, or that their curiosity was satisfied. It has been a great experience to think on her needs and how we can help prepare her to receive the restored gospel. We read in Alma 32 this last meeting about how the word is like a seed that we plant in our hearts, but then we need to care for it and give it all of the attention that we can make sure it grows so that we may taste of the fruit and know if it is good. After the lesson we all had felt the spirit and were very happy with the lesson. I think that a real desire to know is starting to overtake her curiosity.

Oh, by the way, I am staying in Jihlava. I sent Elder Weaver off to Brno this morning and Elder Story is my new companion. He is in the same group as Elder Heath, so he has been here in the country for about four months. I, of course, do not know him very well yet, but I likely get to know him in the next few weeks.

I love you all and wish you the best in the next few days. Daniel, that is so great that you are the best Daughter of the American Revolution at Western. [Daniel was chosen to represent his school for the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award - which award was issued to Daniel's father - 33 years ago.] Too bad they did not have any actual daughters to represent them, but still, congratulations. Weston, I ate at McDonald's the other day. Thank you for keeping the roots of McD strong back in the States. Andrew, please write me so that I can say something clever as a response to you. Chris, good luck surviving the winter [Christopher recently played a game where he was a coyote trying to get enough food for the Winter -- and he wasn't able to gather enough food to survive] and Nicholas, enjoy your new seat [Nicholas, the best-behaved boy in his class, was assigned to sit in a new seat].

I love you all,

Elder Schindler

Joseph's letter dated 31Oct2011 - Halloween!

[Dear family and friends, I hope that all of you are doing well. I hope that you have had a good October -- and are ready for a GREAT November! I know that some of you have experienced snow already. Fortunately, our snow is waiting. I am hoping that all of you are happy, healthy and well.

Respond to this email with any notes you have for Joseph. He LOVES hearing from you!

Sincerely, Joseph's editor - BWS]

Dearest Family,

This week has flown by rather quickly. We saw some amazing blessings, and everything just seems mushed together. This upcoming week is the last of the the transfer, so my next pday [preparation day] will be on Wednesday the ninth. Looking forward to hearing from you.

So this week.

We were finally able to set up with and connect with a referral whom we have been pursuing for about two months now. His name is Brother M and he is a truck driver and so is often gone. However, he had time this last week and so we met with him on Friday. It turned out that ever since meeting the branch president in Olomouc, and receiving a book of Mormon, he has been reading it every morning before going to work. It was so amazing to see such a humble man who is trying to understand why he is here and who God is. He absolutely loved learning about the Gospel and told us that that is exactly what he wants to do when he meets with us. It was such an amazing testimony builder is so many ways, in seeing this humble seeker of truth, the misisonary work of members and in the converting power of the Book of Mormon.

Also we are meeting with a young woman named Sister E, and while at first it was hard for me to gauge her level of interest and reason for interest, this last meeting we had with her was amazing. We were teaching about prayer and she asked the question, "how can I know if an answer I receive is from me or from God?" It was such a sincere question and after turning to Moroni 10:3-5, and answering it, I notice a definite strenghtening of the presence of the spirit in our lesson. [Here is a link to that scripture! http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng] That question was so sincere that I was able to recogize that this investigator really did want to know how to find truth.

We have been working so hard here in Jihlava that it is difficult to realize that the transfer is just about up. We still have one week left, but I know that this week will go by even faster. I am praying for the help I need to keep working hard right until the end and so far I have seen such prayers answered in magnificent ways.

Our new branch mission leader, Jarda K. is just on fire. He is so excited to work with the missionaries and see less active members come back to church that it is just strengthening to be around him. I think that thanks to his help we are going to see some really amazing blessing in our area and in this city in terms of working with members.

Well, I have to run, but I love you all,

love,
Elder Schindler

A new friend!

Companion study

By the city wall