September 12, 2012

Wow sounds like everybody is busy out there in good ole Utah! I always love to hear how everybodys doin and I can imagine how much fun everyone is having. Almost as much fun as me! I'mma start with today and tell you about the epic morning we had.

5:30 AM Eastern Time: Wake up, groggily rise from my bed. My knees hit the floor as I give a quick prayer of thanks to the Lord for wakin me up and ask for the Spirit to be with me. Saunter down the stairs and hop in the shower. Put my clothes on, brush my teeth and I'm ready to go.

6:08 AM Eastern Time: Push down on the bike pedal as we set out on our quest. The rythym of pedaling and my breathing go hand in hand, a soft sound amongst many in early morning DC. A right on K Street, a left on Second, down Constitution and onto the Mall. The early flow of pre-dawn light gives a soft touch to the stone behemoths that align the National Mall.

6:30 AM Eastern Time: This is it, a moment I've been waiting for my whole mission. We lock up the bikes and take off at a slight jog, up the white stone staircase, my back to the reflecting pool decorated with ducks, until I lay my eyes upon a man quite literally larger than life. I felt the chills go up and down me as I lay eyes upon Abraham Lincoln. I turned around and sat down and prepared my self for the glorious display that was to come.

6:47 AM Eastern Time: The glorious disply begins. The sun decides it's time to peek his sleepy up over the horizon and give the city his light. I sat there beholding the grandeur of the scene, the Lincoln Memorial to my back and the rest of the Mall before my eyes. It felt peaceful, it felt holy. I am a missionary of Jesus Christ, and I am in Washington DC.

Cool right?! It could be a book, haha no just kidding. But seriously, this morning was amazing. We also visited the Vietnam War Memorial and the WWII Memorial, and my buddy Elder Bates described it best, "I feel a lot of the same feelings here as I do in the temple." God has dedicated those memorials because of the holiness of the cause those men and women fought and died for. A cause of freedom that inspired Captain Moroni to write the Title of Liberty, and the Founding Fathers to write the Declaration and Constitution. It was an unbelievable experience.

The work is going great; got A on date for October 13th! He's a stud and we're lookin forward to workin more with him. K is going well, we had to push the baptism back again but we are optimistic still. Our senior missionarys are now here and it turns out Elder W grew up with them in Riverside! Super cool and I'm pumped to have them around.

Love you all, and take care of each other! To the Edge, Elder Schoemig