1/24/2011

Last District Meeting Before Transfers (Elder Garner, Me, Elder Wilkinson)

Elder Pereira, Me, Elder Franco

Saying Bye to Cintia and Leandro. This is the Super Elect lady that is going to be baptized on Feb. 5th.

Hey!
So on Wednesday I was Transferred! I'm now in Sorocaba. I'm serving in the Sorocaba Stake, which is the same stake that Salto de Pirapora is part of (I was serving in Salto like 4 months ago) But there is a shortage of missionaries here in our mission so there are a couple of companionships that are taking care of two wards at the same time... and me and my new companion, Elder da Silva, are one of them! So our chapel is the stake center and there are two wards that meet there. Cerrado and Jardim Simus. Cerrado is huge! It takes almost 2 hours to walk from one side of the area to the other. And Jd. Simus isn't that big, thankfully! But its super super hectic working in two areas at the same time. Because its such a long walk from our house in Cerrado, to Jd. Simus, we are living in both areas. So our day is basically like this. We work in Cerrado one day and we sleep there, then the next day we study in the morning then walk to Jd. Simus and work there for the day and sleep there. Then the next day we study then walk to Cerrado to work there. Its really really exhausting living in two places at the same time. I had to buy another toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, deodorant, and stuff like that. Its been a really tiring couple of days. And not to mention church on Sunday! What a mess! haha We had to go to double the meeting on Sunday, and let me tell you, its exhausting setting through two sacrament meetings in a row! Oh and did I mention that at the last minute the person that was supposed to speak with the high counsel member canceled. So I had the opportunity to give a talk :) But it want really well, it was a great way for everyone in the ward get to know me really fast!

My companion is pretty cool! He is from Fortaleza. He has the same time as me on the mission. We were in the CTM together. Its pretty cool, cause I remember doing a practice with him in the CTM, when I had no idea what I was doing, but now we are companions.

Sorocaba is SOOOOO HOT! I think I might die here! It wouldn't be so bad if AC existed here!

Anyways that's about it for now!
Love you!
Elder Schoen

1/17/2011

Hey!

Ok so today this computer isn´t letting me download the pictures that I took to send them... so no pictures this week... sorry!

Tonight we will get the phone call about transfers. Me and my companion are hoping that we will get to stay together, but next week i'll let you know what happened.

Today for Pday we went to BurgerKing!

So remember that blessing/miracle that happened last week? ...Her name is Cinita. She is the lady that her husband was an inactive member, and now he is going to church again and she wants to be baptized! Ya, this week we taught her a couple times and brought some families with us from the ward so that they could make friendships. It was really really cool. Then last night a newly-wed couple offered to have a FHE at their house for our investigators. It is so cool how excited she is, and the ward is for her to be baptized!

So I found out yesterday that my dad has a facebook! haha This guy named Nathan (who is a less active member that we helped re-activate that just turned in his mission papers) said that he found my dad on facebook and started talking to him. He said my dad invited him over for dinner, which he thought was funny because he only lives like 5000 miles away! haha I just thought it was funny to find out that my parents are technilogically updated now, using facebook and all! haha

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on.

Lots of Love!
Elder Schoen

OK so it ended up working, This was us a Burger King Today

1/10/2011

Just thought everyone would like to see an UNedited email from JD.  I think he will need to take English as a second language when he gets back to BYU.

So me and my companion decided to play a prank on one of the Elders that lives with us. He spent all morning looking for his name tag, then we pulled it out of the freezer when he wasnt looking and put it on the table. Then he asked for like the 20th time "Have you seen my name tag" I was like "I dont know, did you look it the kitchen". His reaction was so funny!!!



Elder Da Rosa melting the block of ice!

Finally was able to get it out of the ice!

These are the Elders I live with in our Kitchen. So yesterday was Elder Wilkinsons birthday. (He is the one next to me, he is from Texas) So me and my companion threw a suprise birthday party for him and made a mint chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and brownies! He was really really happy!

Playing ping pong on our way smaller tha regulation size table!

This week we combined the two districts to have a breakfast and district meeting at our house to help the Elders be more excited! It worked well. It was a very spiritual experience, and everyone loved it!

Me and My companion after ping pong.

Hey Everyone!

Well this week there are lots of pictures! This week was so good! At our meeting we had with the missionaries in our Zone we talked about spiritual experiences, and everyone took turns bearing testimony and telling stories of mericles and spiritual experiences that happend to them on the mission. It made everyone was excited, and then On Saturday till Sunday we did a fast as a Zone for more spiritual experiences... Well me and my companion had a mericle happen!

So things in this area a kinda really hard. Its been over 2 months now since we´ve had someone that has accepted a basptismal date and since we´ve had an investigator at church. So this week we found a man that moved here from a different part of the city that was being taught by the missionaries a long time ago. So we met with him and he said that he wanted to be batized and he would do all that was necissary to prepare himself! Sweet huh!? But the catch is that he is kinda crazy. Like maybe is a little slow mentally from all the drugs he did in the past. So we were kinda skeptical if he would actually go to church like he promissed. But Sunday morning at 9:00 he was there, and took notes in sunday school and asked questions and made comments. It was so awesome! So I thought that we had recieved our mericle that we were fasting for. But just wait... It gets better! ... So when sacrement meeting ended (sacrament meeting is last here in our ward) The Elders Quorem President came up to us and said "Elder come here, I want you to meet someone" (The golden words that every Elder loves to hear) Then he introduced us to a man and his wife. He has been inactive for the past 10 years and decided to come back to church. His wife isnt a member and wants to be baptized! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So this tuesday night we are going to go teach her! Im so excited! After so many weeks of effort and no results, the Lord let us have a mericle! Im so excited for these two people, and I hope that we can keep having success.

Thanks for all the prayers and letters from everyone!
Love
Elder Schoen

1/3/2011

Hey!

Well its offically 2011! Yes! I'm coming home this year!

Christmas and New Years were really good here in Santana. We were able to eat dinner both nights in the homes of members! We ate like kings!!! I think I'm still full from our New Years Day lunch!

Not much new happened, but I will try and send some pictures that will do all the explaining!
Much Love,
Elder Schoen

Christmas Eve

 

A shot of our Area

The same place as Picture 1, but at night

Christmas Day

Me and Elder Galvão with a sweet view

New Years Eve, The little girls name is Sofie. She is soooo cute!!

We finished our Puzzle we got for Christmas. (We did it in only 2 P-days)

12/25/2010

We want to thank everyone who is following JD's blog!!!

We talked to Elder Schoen for quite a while on Christmas Day.  He expressed feelings of being "trunky", which means he is looking forward to coming home.  He assured us that he LOVES Brazil and LOVES what he is doing, it's just that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

He shared the follow-up story to their trip to the "favela".  First of all the public transportation system runs 24 hours a day there.  So they got done later than they should have that night and hurried to the bus stop.  As they waited and waited they noticed the traffic becoming less and less.  The bus was late which was weird, they are very efficient.  An hour went by and still no bus.  A passer-by told them there was a riot up the street and the mop had set a bus on fire in the middle of the street.  That explained the lack of traffic and no bus.  So they hurried to the next street over to catch a different bus home.  Soon they were on the bus headed toward home.  Then they realized the bus they were on was headed in the direction of the riot.  So the bus wound up in the line of backed up traffic for a very long time.  They eventually made it home safe and sound just very tired.

We were able to talk to him about what is going on with the family, extended family, and life in America in general.  He asked about President Obama, the media in Brazil is reporting that he has received death treats and is a terrible president.  He is looking forward to going back to school at BYU.  He talked about how much he has grown to love being on a schedule.  For anyone who knows JD that is a 180 from his normal.  He has always been a "free spirit" who felt trapped by an agenda.  He talked about wanting to have class everyday so that he could stay on task with his homework - so not JD.  So I guess the mission has been good for a lot of reasons.

He did not get his Christmas box from us on time.  But I have confirmed that it was delivered on 12/30.  So he will get it on 1/5/2011 when he goes to Zone Conference. 

We have been so blessed by his service.  It is comforting to know he is where he should be and that he is learning things about life that it takes some people a life time to figure out.  He is a wonderful son and we are so incredibly proud of him.  We are grateful for all the love and support he has been shown by everyone.

Love to all - Kaelene Schoen

ps - He loves letters!!!!