Letter #30 January 24th

Hello to my most favorite people in the world!

Did you all know that I love you more than ANYTHING! I am sure glad I get to live with you all forever! I just think I have the coolest family ever. Thanks for your love and support. I truly do feel it everyday and hope you know how much I love you and how grateful I am for you and your examples to me! So this week was A LOT better! :) EVERYTHING is better.

So this week, On Monday my new companion came and I was excited. Her name is Sister Lena Ponomaranko. She is 31 and is a sweetheart. She is so young and full of energy. Although I am pushing her to walk faster and farther than she is used too. she tells me she wants to kill me or that I will kill her by the end of the day. We made it a goal to be better at planning our time so I don't make her run as much and I also had to make it a goal to feed her because I forget to! OOPS! I just get so in to the work I forget to eat or just don't allow myself to because we just don't have enough time. Bad news so We are working on that. Because of this I have lost some weight. but I am going to probably gain it back because I have to remember to feed her and then myself too.

She is pretty fluent in English and really wants to talk in English all the time so I have stomped thinking in Ukrainian. We have made it a goal to speak more to each other in Ukrainian, So I can learn better. My language abilities are still so bad it just funny. I really should be better than I am by now. I really want to be more active in my learning. Lets be honest though you all know me I have never been good at studying or anything like that so I am trying to change bad habits. Maybe when I get home I will be a better student and actually study and get good grades. I sure hope so!

Our investigators..... We don't have a lot which is so sad. And the ones we have aren't as golden as we wish they were. They are silver so they are valuable and worth still working with but I just wish I was a better teacher so that they would just jump at the opportunity to be baptised! I struggle with talking to people on the street because I get nervous and I make excuses like we don't have enough time or it is hard to talk to people on the metro because it's loud, or we are only on the metro for one stop and then off so I don't want to start talking and not have time to finish or get there number. Ha even righting them down I think they are great excuses.... but still I should just OPEN MY MOUTH! I truly love the people here and the ones that DO talk to me are way cool. I am even happier when I talk to more people it makes me laugh an smile.... so why don't I talk to people.... Not sure! LAME. Okay I will talk to more people! We have an investigator named Natalia she is about 50 and is great but thinks highly of herself and it's very humble. I hope she can be a little humbler and be baptised. We have a CUTE couple Youlya and Andre. She is 19 and he is 22 they and SO shy and cute. They are the best we have so far. She has come to church 2 and he 1 time. They keep commitments and like the BoM but have prayed to know if it is true and have not received an answer. I don't know if they have and don't realize it or how to help them get an answer. Then Miroclava she is ADORABLE She is the one that reminds me of Heather. She is prego and smiles and loves live and her husband so much! She is a light! I want her to be baptised. She is reading the BoM and thinks it is from God but won't come to church because the traditions of her family. She thinks if she just "tries" it it is turning her back on her church. So if she comes it is that she will never go back to her own church. Which is good and bad but how do we get her to church? She said if she finished the BoM and knows it's true and feels that she is supposed to come to church or even join or church then of course she will do it, but how do we help her have that happen? There are others but those are the main ones. Pray for them to be ready for baptism! :)

Oh missionary work... It's so great and so hard. I truly love it but I still don't know how to do it. Or at least I don't know how to do it good or do them the bet possible way I can. I am learning and growing a lot but not fast enough. I only have 10 months left! YIKES! How am I supposed to do everything I need to do and Learn everything I need to learn and help everyone I am supposed to with such little time!? Oiii! I am just worried that I am going to get the the end and not have become the person Heavenly Father intended for me to become. I am still a mean person. I love my companion so much but Geez sometimes it is hard. The poor girl I just need to have more patience I get stressed and then I am mean and not as loving as I should be. Its a TERRIBLE characteristic flaw that I have. I just wish it would vanish. I want to be nice and loving but I am not there yet! I want people to know and feel the love I have for them even though I don't show and sometimes choose not to show it. Man I am so LAME!

Just like the mission and everyday... I am out of time wish I could have said more. Well family I sure do love and appriciate you.

Sister Schmidt

Letter #29 January 17th

Family! Well This is short because Dad got on a chatted with me! That made me so happy! Then right after Sister Larsen was on and said hi and so we chatted too! And still are right now! So This week was a lot better than the week before! Or numbers are still not as good so that is a bummer but we had a great Zone Meeting where President got me all fired up for the work again! It was super sweet! Zone meetings are incredible! They make me realize how much I am not doing and how much better of a missionary I wt to be. Although, I found myself last night saying “ Well next week we will have better numbers “ But that's what I said last week! I really hope that I don't find myself saying that On the Last week of my mission when I don't have any more “next weeks” to come!

I get a new companion tonight. She speaks some English but I want to speak as much Ukrainian as possible. I am starting to think it Ukrainian! Which means I speak faster but then I still have English in my head so random English comes out in the middle of my sentences. It's WEIRD!

Things are great here in Kiev! I got a huge compliment from the Stake President. In an interview with my companion for her temple recommend he told her That she has a great companion and he likes me a lot! How amazing is that. I wanted to cry He is such a great man! Well I love you all, I love Kiev and the mission's and everything! I can't wait to read everything everyone sent me! Tell them I love them all so much and am so Happy to hear from them!

With Love from Ukraine

Sister schmidt

Letter #28 January 10th

So the news you have all been waiting for... just kidding you probably forgot. I have a new companion. She is a mini missionary from Kiev. Her name is sister antoch. I met her last week at the temple she is a return missionary she just got home a week ago. She doesn't speak any English and has forgotten Ukrainian. It's sweet I am learning so much from her but it is SO HARD. We can barley communicate in my broken Ukrainian. I am pretty sure each missionary goes though a time in their mission when they had a really hard time and everything seems to go wrong and no matter how hard they tried it was just a struggle. I think I am going through that right now. The good thing is with every story it always turns out okay and it's fine in the end. So I know that this will be the same way. I was on the verge of a total break down all Yesterday and then at the end I just lost it for a 5 second period and then I sucked it up and was okay. So that's the truth. I am learning and growning a ton right now. I hope it doesn't seem like I am totally down I am fine now I promise. But it was a bummer. I feel like i am dropping the ball here in Center. We went from 21 lessons a week and within three weeks we had 9!!! OUCH! But the best thing it we can only go up from here! Ha ha that's the best part about being at the lowest point.... you can only go up! YAHOO!

So Center is Totally different now! Our Zone Leader is now AP and the DL is training a elder from Peru that doesn't know English but knows Russian Fluently he is 26 and is a doctor. then there is my comp who doesn't speak English. So everything we do is now in Russian (not Ukrainian) So once again I am going to be learning Russian a lot better! I think I might come back either knowing three languages or just not knowing any because I am the three so jumbled up in my head! ha ha ha crazy! ha haha Oii! Oh and it is also crazy because she can only serve with me for a little over a week and then I get another Mini. Ha ha So I Will have had 5 comps by the end of this transfer! ha ha I still don't know Ukrainian. My poor comp has so much patience with me. Bless her heart! I am so grateful for her. She is a sweetie. We are going to make lots of good Russian food today! So hopefully I will be able to write a bit to you too!

Highlight of the week was sister B and I decided we wanted to talk to EVERYONE@ It was cool. We have stand ups at transfers. President says stand up if you have talked to 10+ people the last three days and then 20+ 30+ by this point there is only us and one other sisters comp standing then 40+ then they sat down 50+, 60+and finally we say that we have talked and invited 64 people to meet with us and hear our message. It was super cool that the two newbie comp blew everyone out of the water. Come to think of it..... that's why this week is so dang hard. I totally needed to be humbled! ha ha Heavenly Father is funny! But that makes sense! Well This is a super lame e-mail! I am sorry! I promise everyhting is GREAT! I truly am leaning and growing so much! "Don't worry about a thing, Everythings is gunna be all right" I think that is how the song goes!

Love you all so much! I love this work and Ukriane!

sister schmidt

Letter #27 January 3

Can you believe it's a New Year! What a great opportunity to change your life make new commitments and rededicate yourself to the person you want to be! That's what I am doing! I am so excited this is going to be the best year of my life. I am so excited for everything that is ahead of me! I am so happy. Want to know something crazy. This week the office told me my departure date. I will be coming home December 7th. Weird huh! I come home this year!

Well this week I said good bye to sister Larsen. i didn't think it would be hard but I found myself all pouty the next day because I already missed her. She is an awesome girl. I had fun with her. This week has been fun though. Sister B and I have been doing weel covering both of our areas. It was crazy at first but all has gone well so far. We totalled with 5 new investigators. Which is extremely good for normal! I was happy. I realized I really am understanding both languages and I am growing so much. I really am loving it! I can't wiat to see what is happening at transfer meeting on Thursday. I think I will have a mini. for a while we thought Sister B and I would be together over all 4 areas at the same time!

Well I know how you can find me! First go to LDSmail.org then go to tools and then maps. Then you can put in kiev ukraine and then it will show the meeting house and that is where I am all the time! then you can see it and then I actually don't know me address so pretty much I will have to get that to you soon. Well New Years was good we watched fiddler ont he roof and ate junk food with our district at the church. I am sorry this is so lkame but I have no time now! I love you all! Thanks for everything! Well Love you all! I am surving in Ukraine! My ukrainian is better and better everyday! :)

Sister Schmidt

Letter #26 December 27th

Hi Family!

So was that crazy or what!? I talked to you all on the phone! I am not going to lie I was scared that it might have been harder than it was. But It was exciting and fun and then great to continue doing the work!

Wow! I have no time! And I didn;t even read all your e-mails yet. I just printed them and will read them soon. I need good reading material because this week we are not allowed to leave the apartment from 4 PM December 31st and all day the 1st and then till noon the 2nd. Everyone here parties too hard and we are not allowed to be on the streets. So hopefully I will be able to send you some letters!

Did I tell you what is happening soon! I am TERRIFIED!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to be with sister Besieger. She is a 2nd Transfer Russian and I am a 3rd transfer Ukrainian. Ha and we will be manning our 4 areas together till transfers in two weeks! Talk about scary. I have only been in center for 4 weeks. HA AHHHHH! So yeah then I will hopefully have a mini missionary or something. Yes so! That's my new thing happening! I am so nervous! I am so sorry this is so lame and nothing but I am such a happy little missionary! I love you all so much and I love that we were all able to talk on the phone! Dad Your bruises are nuts! I am glad you are alive and fine! Dad I eat well and I live and a good apartment! my living conditions are great! I am sorry I never have time to explain! I will next e-mail. Pull up a metro picture of the metro in Kiev I live on the blue line between palat ukraine and and respobliconskiy stadium. Ask marina! She has been to my apartment!

Well love you!!!!!!

Sister schmidt

Letter #25 December 20th

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!! Sad news I have already been out six months!!!!!!!! Where did that tiome go! I only have a year left! WEIRD! Rememer the picture of us wanting to put a tree up... we did it! We are all ready for Christmas! Presents under the tree lights up music going and stockings hung. can you say HO HO HO! I love this time of year!

So it''s Christmas time and it snow a little everyday. It's not terribly cold which is nice and I am in the warmest area of the mission I think. Because we ride metros with a million people and we are all smashed next to each other getting warm. Ukrainians don't really have personal bubbles like Americans do which can be good and bad I guess.

So this week We went to the temple!!!! I LOVe the temple. I made it a goal to go once a week after I get home and when I first get home I am going to do all the ordinances in a row from start to finish in one day! Won't that be so cool! You all can do it with out me now and then do it when I get home with me. while we were in the temple we saw everyone we know. It was really cool for sister Larsen because all her really close couples in he ward that she knows was there and they were all so excited to see her. It was amazing to see how peoples faces just light up when they saw her. I loved it. They take such good care of her and you can tell they truly love her. I want to create relationships with the members her like that. It's just difficult now because I don't understand them. I want to understand everything they say to me so I can truly be happy for them or sad for them but I just don't know what they say to me. It's a bummer sometimes.

But good news is that I am starting to understand Russian. and I LOVE it when people speak Ukrainian to me. I feel so much smarter because I really understand Ukrainian now. It still kicks my bum everyday but not as bad as normal. It hard when my comp speaks all the time so everyone speaks Russian back. I hope that this next transfer I get a mini missionary (native volunteer) so that I can really improve my language abilities. That would be so cool and SO hard. But i think I am ready for that challenge. Oh and sister Larsen leaves the 30th and the transfer doesn't end till the 4th so I will be with Sister Besieger who has only been out for two transfers. and speaks Russian! Ha ha we are going to get really lost I think! and really confused because we don't understand anyone! Wish us luck and pray hard because I have to step up to the plate and senior comp for a week and I don't know how to be a missionary yet! just kidding. I hope this doesn't sound down at all! Because Ia m not down at all!!! I am so happy right now! I just love being a missionary I love being push by the Lord to do hard things and I love that he helps me do everything I am supposed to do. I love the phrase (switched around) When much is required much is given. I know this is so true for me! The Lord is there helping me do everything and I know that in these next three weeks I am being pushed hard and i will be able to do everything he wants me to do so that I can do the things that are required of me!

I love being a missionary I am so grateful for my calling and this work. I love this time of year so that we can really focus on what matters! I can't wait to hear from you this week

Sister Schmidt