Letter dated 14Apr2014

Dear Family and Friends: It was so great to be able to continue teaching Mahmoud and Zohreh this week and then for Mahmoud to be baptized on Saturday! Seeing how readily and strongly Mahmoud has received a testimony of the gospel and church has really strengthened my testimony that the Lord is involved in this work. Saturday and Sunday were so great, that we could baptize and confirm him. We are hopeful that Zohreh will follow him soon; she really loved the baptism and is also a wonderful person! They are planning on making three meals for different families to come over to their house in the next couple weeks! This is in response to having received dinners from different families in the branch, and it's amazing to be a missionary because we just get caught up in the middle of all these meals :D At the same time that the work is going so well in Eskilstuna (and there are so many other positive aspects that I have not been able to mention), I am so sad to know that Grandpa passed away last night. I love him so much and will miss him so much for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for how closely I knew him. One of my favorite memories of him was when he took me fishing in Valley Creek, even though we had seen a bear by the cabin the week before, we went on a day-long trip (grandpa is probably the only person I would have felt safe with traveling through bear-infested areas for a day with lots of trout). We got to the starting point, and he gave me the lesson of how important patience is for both fishing and life. To demonstrate that casts are usually unsuccessful, he cast the line. And on the first cast a trout caught on! It was super funny and we laughed about it the rest of the day. That was a really great day, and he also taught me about constellations (there were no clouds out) and how to do a cowboy woot. He was such a great man, and I know that he is so happy right now. He would always read the Book of Mormon daily (for an incredibly boring amount of time, I remember thinking when I was 9), and it's great to hear that that's what he was doing yesterday as well. I found this scripture today in Job, and think that it is really wonderful: 25 For I aknow that my bredeemer liveth, and that che shalldstand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this abody, yet in my bflesh shall I csee God. Just like Job, Grandpa never forgot that his Redeemer lives, and I am so thankful for grandpa's faithful example. I love you all, and pray that all is well with each of you. Love, -- Äldste Daniel Schindler