Friday, July 25, 2014

MTC, Temple, Devotionals

Kamusta!

I can't believe its been five weeks. Like time seriously is flying and I'm not sure how I feel about it. This week went by especially fast! Like when you aren't thinking about Pday everyday it comes a lot faster. We went to the temple this morning and I just love the temple! You feel the spirit so strong there. 

This week has been awesome! So I was struggling so hard with language so I asked for a blessing. Oh my goodness. It was such a powerful blessing. I asked Elder Christensen who is very quiet like he reminds me of the Chinese girl from Pitch Perfect. Yeah crazy quiet. But wow the power he had in his voice was incredible! I could truly feel God there in the room speaking through Elder Christensen. After that blessing it just made all my fears go away and I finally felt like I was starting to get the language pretty well and I was just starting to get some confidence! It was a wicked sweet feeling. So of course because I was starting to get all confident in my self God had to remind that this is all Him, we had a skype lesson with a real life Bacolod Filipino! I couldn't understand like anything she said. My confidence went right out the window with after that lesson. But it really made me realize I need to put all faith and trust into Him!! Super humbling. So get this! I found this scripture after our awful skype lesson, D&C 100:5-6, it was so comforting to me! It talks about how the Lord will fill my mouth just when I need it! How cool huh!!


Our Tuesday devotional was so amazing! Elder Ellis from the Seventy and his family came and talked to us. It was like the most spiritual devo so far for me!! It got me so pumped to just do better in everything! Cause before the devo I was just always like I don't wanna do this and I don't wanna do that. So all nine of his children served missions and they all either went to Brazil or France and then theres one in South Korea right now but all they did was share their testimonies and they were so powerful! This is His time that we're on and it is only 18 months! I've gotta give it all I got. It like seriously made me so spiritually pumped!! I felt like I was going to explode. 

I love this work so much and its so hard but its all worth it!! Thank you everyone for all the prayers! I can feel them in my life everyday!  I grow so much everyday and I have so much fun too! I love being a missionary! 

Sister Swaggin Schimbeck

Friday, July 18, 2014

Maayong hapon tanan!

Pasensya for not sending a email out last week! I ran out of time. So I'm probably gonna have a lot to say today! Well if I can remember it all. I read other missionaries group emails and I'm just like how do they remember all that!

These past two weeks have been amazing! I have learned and grown so much! The days get better as they go on too(: I can feel myself converting more and more everyday its like the most amazing experience ever! Learning this language is still like mega hard. I swear it the minions language on despicable me! Like it really sounds like it! Haha. So I was getting down on myself really bad and I just kept wondering why I couldn't just be going to an English speaking mission. And I just kept thinking that all during class when we're in language study and let me tell you, you aren't going to get anywhere with that thinking. I'm learning a different language to humble myself and to really learn to depend on the Lord and to exercise my faith and I'm so grateful I finally realized it! 

Okay so the MTC is like way fun! Being a missionary is the greatest thing ever! I haven't ever laughed this much in my life! We have an Elder who has chronic hiccups. Its hilarious because they sound like pig squeals haha its great! And we have an Elder who looks like Dave Franco, yeah its very distracting. My Companion is the bomb.com  she is making me a better missionary and person everyday! You really do make the best of friends here!

The days are so long, but then the weeks go by fast. Like I can't believe my MTC stay is already half way over! Its nuts. But I can't wait to get to the Philippines! My teacher tells us the best stories that get us so pumped! Like I can't wait to be there and just eat some fruit whenever I want. It will be glorious. 

Neil L Anderson came and gave a devotional.
HES THE FIRST GENERAL AUTHORITIES GUY IVE EVER SEEN IN REAL LIFE so I was fangirling just a little bit. The power you felt when he walked into the room was unbelieveable. He talked on recognizing the spirit which at the time was just what I needed to learn about! Every devotional we've had felt like its just for me, its so wonderful! He also talked about how we as missionaries have angels around helping us with language and everything and that we just the most comforting thing to me! So for those of you who know me, I don't like to sing hymns nor do I sing well. But I sing along loud and proud to every hymn we sing here and we sing a lot. Like at devotionals we have about three or for prelude hymns, then a opening hymn and then a inbetween hymn and then a closing hymn. Which usually would bug but I love it! Hymns invite the spirit so well! 

We had the opportunity to clean the temple last Friday. It was so cool! Sister Pattillo and I got to clean the chandlers. To clean them you have to take each crystal out piece by piece and then clean them piece by piece and then put them back piece by piece. We did two chandlers in three hours. It took so much patience and care and time. And at first they didn't really look like they even needed to be cleaned but then after they sparkled and were so beautiful you could definitely see a difference. It totally reminded my of mission work!! 

I was reading and I found the coolest verse and I just wanted to share it with you all. 2 Cor. 4:18, it just talks about the temporal stuff and how it doesn't even matter! We just need to keep the eternal perspective in mind cause that is what matters! So cool. I love this work and I'm so grateful I get to be a tool in the Lords hands helping people come unto Christ. I know with strong faith in Christ we can have to power to do anything! I love you all! k bye.

Sista Schimbeck(: 

Friday, July 4, 2014

Hiligaynon WHAT? Happy 4th of July!

Kamusta ko everyone!

So this week was pretty awesome! I love the mtc! It the hardest thing I've ever done and a lot harder than I ever thought it was going to be! But it is also the most awesome thing I have every done. I love being a missionary so much! So the language is very hard. We are teaching an "investigator" and it is crazy! She speaks in Hiligaynon the whole time. Out first lesson I could not understand one thing she said to me. I was so discouraged. But I was also very humbled too.

Story time! So the Wednesday I got here I guess I lost a bag. And it had my temple recommend and drivers license and debit card and all that kinda stuff in. Yeah, I was so scared. I looked everywhere and could not find. I prayed everyday that it would show up. But it didn't so I talked to my branch president he said to just call my parents to tell you I lost it and to cancel my card. I knew I would loose if I heard their voice and had to give them bad news so I said a prayer as me and Sister Pattillo were walking to the main desk to call and I felt like everything was going to be alright right after my prayer and it was so surprising to me.
So I asked the front desk for the phone and they asked me for me name and I said Sister Schimbeck, obviously and they were like oh we have something for you sister and they came back with my missing bag! I asked who found it so I could thank them and they said they have no idea who found it, it was just there. My testimony in prayer grew so much right then! I know he listens to and answers all our prayers! Yeah.

Well I'm out of time so I just love being a missionary and all the memories I'm making here!

Sister Schimbeck