Week 62 - A 5K Fun Run

  I was surprised when my phone lit up last Saturday morning to see a photo that had been sent from someone in CA of Elder Schaff and his companion at a 5K race. Very random and unexpected, but fun. I love it when people text me photos of Hayden, it always brings a smile to my face. This week wasn't very eventful, but sometimes, those are the best kind of weeks. This week, the first part of the blog is from an email he wrote to his Dad, and the last half is from an email he wrote to me (Mom).

 

Elder Schaff and Elder Noyes participate in a 5K race

  "Yes, we did run a 5K in that very attire we are pictured in. Elder Noyes told me he was going to burn out and would have to walk eventually, and he stayed true to his word, but it was okay. We accomplished our purpose there, which was to have a positive presence for missionaries in the community. We had some funny moments, like when a member and her friend passed us and she said: "and these guys are from my church, they're trying to..." and then she was out of earshot. But we were a topic of conversation I guess. When we walked, several kids made it their goal to have their parents speed up, so they could pass the missionaries, or the "fancy dressed guys."

  Thanks for sharing your take on motivation. I'm striving harder to make each week an opportunity to grow. I'm seeking to fill them with more purpose. They go by so quickly now being in the office. Like this week, I finished off a few things on my to-do-list, and all I had left was this master spreadsheet for supplies missionaries can order. I've spent the majority of the week repairing the formulas on that and putting it back in order. I'll finish it on Monday. I got so close. I had finished the sum formulas a while back, so I've done a lot of formulas that pull it from other sheets, such as:  =Fresno!B201, =Hanford!E59, or ='Fresno West'!C49. A bit tedious but I found that copying the formula and pasting it into the other cells and then changing them, broke up the existing merge cells the sheet had--which long story short, was more work in the end. Nonetheless it's a spreadsheet that goes from AM to 227 9 sheets (times) over, so I've done you proud I think.   (An XD face just couldn't fit there, despite my general disinterest in these emojis...)

   To be honest, I'm still trying to see how I'm growing from this position. Obviously, management experience and the whole desk job thing, but the missionary work we do in our area is largely with the members and it's hard for us to see what effect we have on them. Life is good, but at times it feels like it's not consecrated...I wonder if that's the nature of my assignment right now or just my perspective. I feel more like a spiritually-in-tune member and less like a missionary. It's interesting and certainly different. So that's my mind for today.

I'm always glad to hear from you and talk with you Dad!"

  "More and more Mountain View feels like a Utah Ward, small boundaries, lots of kids, few baptisms. (Because everyone's friend lives outside the boundaries!) It's okay though, the members are so loving, there isn't much to complain about. Actually, much would be the wrong word, there isn't anything to complain about!

  I've emailed Dad and Sydney accounts of my week. I've been relating that it's been rather repetitive, which has given me lots of room to think. I've been making a greater push to delve into the scriptures with what extra time I find myself with. Unlike last week, with all the different things happening, this week I really just hammered away at a spreadsheet that we are planning to use to make ordering supplies easier for the zones. I told Sydney I think I spent like 20 hours on it combined this week, I'll need one more day to finish it.

  I brought my camera today, but the computers don't read it without a SD card reader. If you happened to have cleaned the old one of the virus, I could use it. If not, not a big deal. (I used Elder B's before.)

  There's really not much more to tell, and I'm running out of time. Ask dad about the 5K, since I described it to him.

  Since I'm sure you'd like to know, Elder N and I are doing great. I think the biggest difficulty we might have in our companionship is if Elder N or I accidentally choke to death--when I tell him jokes, if it's a really good one, he'll just die laughing. It's like playing games with Schaff's at 11:30 pm. He'll often short himself of breath and do the silent wheeze thing, which at that point is such intense laughter, I start laughing too. We get along well and have optimized our schedule to meet the needs of the area and incorporate all of our studies. Life is peaceful and well.

Love you Mom!"

--Elder Schaff

Week 61 - "What Do You Live For?"

  Alright, so let's get to it. This week marks 14 months for Elder Schaff in the mission field. He finally has a photo to share from Kevin's baptism and more details about his new companionship. This time he responded to a lot of my questions and subjects that I wrote to him about, and then he started to write more for the blog, but I am going to share some of both parts of his email. Oh, and he made me cry, when I looked up the Mormon Channel video clip that he mentions. My own father was an accomplished pianist and loved his piano, he aged just like the woman in the video and also used oxygen before he died. The parallel was a little too close to home for me. Then last year, I inherited his beloved piano, and enjoy sitting and playing it, just as he used to. Each person in the video plays the same melody on the piano. Today I printed out the sheet music of that song and started to sight read it. I wasn't expecting all of that to unfold, from reading Hayden's weekly email, but I have been on a roller coaster of emotions. Take the time to enjoy the video and the songs, I put links in below.

Elder Schaff with Kevin, Elder Derbidge and Elder Lopez in Selma

Hi Mom,

  Some church media made me think of you. There's a video on Mormon Channel called "A Piano's Purpose." I can't remember if I shared that with you already or not, I really like it though. A departing missionary that liked the piano melody asked me to find it, and I found a link to it, but afterwards he left the sheet music behind. I've taken a few cracks at it. I'm not much for two-handed coordination, but I played some of it. It's called "See the Potential" you may like the melody.

A Piano's Purpose Video Link

See the Potential Sheet Music Link

  Also, just in general for the family, there is a song in the 2017 Mutual Theme Album called "What Family Means to Me," I think it's an accurate description of the good things about families. Check them out!

What Family Means to Me Video Link

  My new companion and I are doing great right now. I think I mentioned it last week that Elder N is from Florida, and is capable of a true southerner's accent. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera to email this week, but last Saturday we made homemade fried chicken and mac and cheese. I took a video of everything we had when it was done, similar to the video we got from Elder Nielsen back in Selma, because it was the easiest way to cover everything quickly. Anyway, that was a fun thing to do. We cook a lot now.

  Elder N likes music and likes to sing, has a good sense of humor, and has a very motivated drive to do what is right and required of him. He is older than most missionaries, as his papers got lost in the shuffle for a few months while he was waiting to get called. He is determined to make his mission count and has an energized and happy spirit. He also laughs hysterically to many jokes that I have made, and sometimes he has laughed so hard that I can't help but laugh. Even thinking about it makes me smile!

  I was writing Dad a bit, but I'd like to ask you as well, what do you live for? I'm amazed at how quickly life passes by me while I serve here in the Mission Office. I've almost been with Elder N for two weeks. Where does the time go? I've been in the office for 2 months starting today. Didn't I just arrive? Every area I enter seems to make time whiz by more and more quickly.

  But I was also telling Dad how I'm led to the conclusion that a life focused on the Plan of Salvation is a happy one, regardless of how fast it goes or whatever else is accomplished.

Ever asked, why am I here? where did I come from? is there anything after I die? The Plan of Salvation answers these questions

  This week was also transfer week, and church travel lined up the departing missionaries to leave on the same day that new missionaries came in, which was a bit hectic. I was distributing numbers at transfer hub again, which are used for the missionaries to park their cars in order. I don't know if I've ever really described "transfer hub." There's a Stake Center right next to the Temple, and the two parking lots merge into one big parking lot. All the cars line up on the road next to this, and are brought into the parking lot 8 at a time. These groups of 8 usually work just right to have all of the missionaries move their things to their new assignments and be on their way, and then another group comes. While I was distributing numbers, Elder N checked on car registrations and things like that. As always, we also got to see first-hand that it takes Sister Missionaries about 3 times as long to say good-bye as it does Elders! It's an interesting phenomenon.

  The new infantry units arrived....wait, I mean new missionaries. There were 22 of them, again! It's a lot. So I gave my speech to them about email and preparation day, baptismal records and checked if they have ID that will expire before they go home. That's only a 6-7 minute process, but x22 it took about 4 hours. Crazy!

  The new missionaries were paired with their trainers on Thursday. We have the trainers line up in groups of 2-6 to meet their trainees, once President announces it. Then they run to their trainee and give them a hug and sit down. Usually. This round a few of the new missionaries got picked up and carried a distance, one even all the way to his seat, others bear-hugged, but most striking was one that got tackled. This impact unfortunately broke the new missionary's glasses, so I pray for that companionship!

  Work in Mountain View area has slowed down a bit. We haven't seen as many people recently. But with transfers, we got a new District and Zone Leader, and we hear that plans have been made for them to try and find some people in our area. We'll see if it has any effect! It's hard to preach the gospel in affluent places.

  I do want to share though that my testimony continues to grow. I have been blessed frequently to see the parallels that the Book of Mormon has with modern life, and I find myself receiving constant revelation and guidance as to what I should do next or where I can improve as I read each page and draw conclusions. It's not a wonder that God's voice, reaching us through His prophet today, has warned us to read daily and feast from its pages. It brings much needed peace. I am grateful to see that whatever our pursuits in life may be, there is purpose and joy in living the Gospel. Nothing can go too wrong, for long, if we will follow Christ.

--Elder Schaff 

       

Week 60 - New Companion

  Elder Schaff seems to be doing well in Fresno, new missionaries are arriving this week and he is getting a new companion. One thing you can expect on a mission is change!

  "Well, a lot has changed this last week. I'm sorry that I haven't written much about Elder B, or explained with greater detail all that is happening here. Some changes are being made with companionships. The changes are that we were put into a Tri-panionship, gaining a new companion of Elder Noyes. Elder B revealed to me Monday night that he would be preparing to return home. He has had to make some changes with medication and has been advised to return home for further medical care. He has decided to do that, and has been out for 22 months already. So that is what is happening. Elder B will be departing this Wednesday. He has been training Elder N in the vehicle coordinator responsibilities. The mission will go on.

  We're already back to transfers, 21 new missionaries are coming in, and one visa-waiter as well. President Mackay said that we'll end up with about 60% of the mission involved in training efforts. That's crazy! A new generation of missionaries is arriving.

  That's the lowdown for now. We made a make-shift Shepherd's Pie, and it was surprisingly delicious. After our attempt with brownies, we had no idea how this was going to go. I also have a picture of Elder N that I took 30 minutes ago. He has good energy and likes to laugh, I think it will help me make a good shift.

  As for your questions, the young man who was baptized is 17. His family consists of just he and his mother. They live together, and Elder D and I actually met her first, and then Kevin. She is interested in being baptized as well, but wants to take a bit more time than her son, because she has already been a member of 3 other churches and wants it to be true for sure or just wrong, so she can move on. Now that he has made his way, hopefully his mom will be more inclined as well.

  I'm running out of time here, but my date for release is still listed as August 17th, 2018, exactly 2 years from when I entered the MTC. It may get changed though, because Elder D calculated transfers out on a calendar and it would be 2 weeks into a transfer, so I may depart a bit earlier, but I won't make those prospects. President is thinking about having office missionaries serve for a staple of 6 months. (That will be a rough transition!) So I'll be out of the loop when the end is nigh. That's my report.

  I love you too mom! Thanks for everything you've done, did and do!"

--Elder Schaff

Week 59 - Selma Baptism

  This past weekend was General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We all had the opportunity to listen to the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday and Sunday and there was an additional priesthood session on Saturday evening. With all of this going on, plus the fact that Saturday was preparation day for Hayden, he just managed to type a quick email between conference sessions. I think more details will come next week, and all of the photos, I hope!

  "Hi everyone,

  Ha! I'm laughing--I brought my camera in, but I didn't take new pictures this week, despite having things to share. I never have my camera on me in these situations....except for the Elders from Puerto Rico though, other Elders have the pictures, so I better get on with the story!

  In the Mission Office we received notification that because Puerto Rico was practically wiped out by not one, but two hurricanes, all the missionaries serving there would be sent to continental U.S. Spanish speaking missions. After dividing them up I guess, we ended up with 3. We picked these faithful Elders up Wednesday night and they shared with us the stories and blessings from the Lord's hand involved in these events. They didn't get the opportunity to pack anything, nor retrieve anything, so they only brought what they took to the safety shelter, which wasn't much (especially since at that time they were unaware that they would be leaving Puerto Rico.)

  To be short in writing, here are some of the miracles: They got 8 companionship's of Elders to the Mission Office with just 3 cars with a 4 hour notice of evacuation; an Elder preserved the records of his family history that he had, uncertain of why he needed to bring that to the shelter but acting on a prompting; all the trees were falling one direction, and an especially large one near the church would have crushed the building right down the middle, but it fell to the right instead; the food rations the missionaries had brought to the office lasted the whole mission a week and a half when they thought they would run out by day 7. Modern 5,000? Also, in 45 minutes of proselyting time between the first hurricane and the additional warning to flee the next hurricane, they placed 7 Book of Mormons. That was good to hear.

  Our dinner with a member last night had a dog that looked a bit like our dog Charlie, so I took a picture with him. Elder Biggs has it. Hopefully Charlie won't feel betrayed!

  Most shockingly, I got a call Tuesday afternoon in the mission office from Elder Derbidge and Elder Lopez (who are now companions, (yes the Elder Lopez from Selma, since there are 4) They said that Kevin was getting baptized! Further, Kevin asked for me to baptize him! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and those Elders' preparation day is not today, but it happened. He also received a waterside confirmation, with General Conference taking place this weekend.

  Now I have enjoyed the first session of conference, and am frantically hustling to fit in email time as well as lunch. So I'll have to take off, but I'll try to provide some pictures next week. We had Elders buy us Taco Bell with their cards.

Saturday preparation days right?".....

--Elder Schaff