How are things going? I'm doing really well. Last week was a great week! Monday was normal. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I got to go to Jacksonville for a leadership meeting. It was wonderful! I learned so much. It was great being with all the other leaders and being able to get training and guidance directly from President Barry. He is a really wonderful man. Sister Barry is great too. I stayed in Jacksonville for all three days. While I was gone Elder Morris went and worked with another Elder in a different area.It wasn't only great to get the training we did, but also to see another area for a few days. My temporary companion was Elder Huntsman. He used to be my Zone Leader, but now he's training too. He's a really great missionary. I learned a lot from him too. It was a pretty amazing three days. The Spirit was really intense during the meetings. On Tuesday the meeting started at 9am and ended at 4pm. Then for Wednesday and Thursday we had to be there at 8am and it went to 4pm. We had a few short breaks. They were long days. There was, and still is, so much information to process. I also get to teach the things I learned to Elder Morris. We've already started going over a lot of it, and I'm happy to say he's learning quickly. When we got back to our area we picked up right where we left off.
As far as investigators go, Misa is still incredible. We set a for sure baptism date of December 4th. We were originally going to have it on the 20th of this month, but we all felt that it would be better for her to move it to the 4th. She is really excited and so am I. She is making a lot of progress. I'm hoping she'll ask Elder Morris to baptize her. It would be so great for him. It would make me so happy, and I know it would be special to him too. Helping people get baptized is always really great, but being the person who performs the actual ordinance is very special. Either way I know it will be wonderful, especially for Misa.
Well, it finally happened. I crashed on my bike. I was turning and my back tire hit a small patch of sand. Next thing I know my bike was falling over and it was sliding down the road while I was almost standing on top of it. Luckily I was okay. More importantly my bike is fine! I was really worried that something might have happened to it. Pretty much everything was fine...except my left shoe. When I fell most of my weight was on my left foot and my toe ended up dragging along the road. So, the toe of my left shoe is just about destroyed. I was able to lather on the shoe polish and get it looking decent, but it still has two big tears along the front. Today I'm going to try to figure out a way to fix it. The tears don't go all the way through so I think I'll try sanding them down and then putting a ton of shoe polish on it. I really hope it works. If not I'm going to have to go and find a cheap pair of shoes the will hopefully last. Wish me luck! Well, now is the time for me to explain the title of this email. A few weeks ago President Barry gave all of us a binder with important papers in it. Well, I was looking through it and discovered there are some new email rules for our mission. To put it plainly I will no longer be sending my emails to the majority of you. The rule says I am only supposed to email immediate family members. I am only supposed to email the following people: Grandparents, parents, brothers, and sisters. So, those are the people who will be receiving my emails. I know that by following this rule I will be able to focus more and help more people. There is a quote that keeps coming to my mind. Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said,"Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God's laws, the greater will be the endowment of faith." I know this to be true, and I need to be obedient to even the small things. This is really the only time in my life where I can dedicate myself completely so serving the Lord. So, I want to do it the right way. However, this doesn't mean that you won't be able to hear from me at all. You can always go and check out my facebook page. I know Emma is still doing a great job of updating it. Also, you might be able to have my emails forwarded to you from someone who gets them. Either way is fine, and it will definitely help me focus. There is one other option, and it's my favorite. YOU CAN WRITE ME A LETTER!! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to get a letter in the mail. So for now you can send them to my current address, but it would be better if you sent them to the mission office. That way when I get transferred there isn't the chance of me never getting it. So, send your letters to the following address.
8663 Baypine Rd. STE 102
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Send them here and I will write you back as soon as I can. You'll need to be patient because I'm not going to get that mail super often, but I would love to hear from all of you! You all mean the world to me, and I appreciate everything you have done to help me be the person I am today. I look forward to your letters.
Love Always, Zach
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