In early 1941, Schmidt was invited to help to care for refugees at the Gurs internment camp but after working there for six months, she contracted typhoid and had to leave. The following year, she was assigned to the parish of Sète. In 1949, at the invitation of the parishioners, she was ordained on 20 October by the regional president in a service conducted by Pastor Westphal. She continued to serve the parish until 1958 when she requested a transfer to Algeria. Encouraged by André Chatoney, head of the church's Algeria Region, she had chosen Algeria not only to help with suffering and confusion there but because there was a real need for a pastor in Blida-Médéa. When she arrived, she did her utmost to build bridges between the local Muslims and the French colonialists, although she felt she was living in a European ghetto. In particular, she arranged courses in reading, sewing and child care for young Muslim women. But she was equally concerned at the plight of the French women in the area who were experiencing a growing feeling of insecurity.