8 Months


12/20/10 .....Hello Family,

Time is flying by. Tomorrow will be my eight month mark. It's hard to believe I've been gone for that long. Last week was okay. The work was slow last week. We did have our Mission Christmas Conference on Thursday. It was wonderful! I felt so great. The Spirit was there in great abundance. It was really powerful. It took all day. We left the apartment at 6:30AM and got back home at 9:30PM. It was a really fantastic day. I was able to see most of the Elders I have had the privilege of serving around. I'm happy to say that they all are doing well. During the morning and afternoon portion we got a lot of instruction on how we can improve our finding. Then that evening we had a Christmas devotional. The really important thing for me to do now is to make sure it's not just a great moment in my life. I need to learn and grow from the experience. To become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.

Misa was confirmed yesterday. I could tell she was a little nervous before, but afterwards she was much happier. Damon is doing great! He is incredible. We met with him a few times last week and his testimony is growing quickly. He has a lot of faith and is very humble. He currently isn't employed, but is looking for a job. He's been having a hard time finding one. Every time we talk to him he bears testimony that he knows that the Lord will provide and take care of him as long as he is living righteously. I know this is true too. The better we follow the Lord and obey His commandments the more blessings and joy we can have in our lives. We can truly weather any storm that comes our way. Over the last few weeks I was wondering if I would feel the same way about Damon as I do with the other people I've been able to help convert. I was unsure about it because he had been taught a lot and was all ready for baptism when I got him as an investigator. Elder Bagley and Elder Camp did a lot of work with him. I can honestly say that I do love him as much as I love the others. They're all a part of me now. I truly feel that they are my brothers and sisters. It's incredible how quickly and powerfully we can love one another when we are firmly fixed in the gospel.

Being District Leader is going well. Last night I did weekly calls again and I feel like I did a much better job with it. I felt like the Spirit was there more than last week...maybe I just did a better job of recognizing it. I had my first District Meeting. It was pretty intense. I spent a lot of time preparing. I was really nervous when I first started, but then the Holy Ghost took over and it went really well. I'm hoping that I will be able to build off it this week.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll talk to you on Saturday...I'll email Mom the details.

Love Always, Zach

Elders Allen, Day, Huntsman, Drake, Carney, Camp, Morris, & Snow.
http://floridajacksonvillemissionnews.blogspot.com/

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12/13/10... Hey Family,

Well, another week down. It was a busy one too! We had transfers on Tuesday and that was a good time. It was a little hard too. Elder Brandon went home...he's the missionary that trained me. It was hard to see him leave. I learned a lot from him and really grew to love him. Elder Bagley and Elder Camp went to their new areas. I really enjoyed serving around Elder Bagley and Elder Camp. They are really great missionaries. We all became good friends during our time together. I was also nervous about being District Leader and taking over their investigators and everything. I did feel pretty overwhelmed during the first few days. Especially because one of the investigators they had was set to get baptized on Saturday. I had to set it all up with only a few days notice. Everything worked out though. The baptism was really great and he got confirmed yesterday. His name is Damon Rice. It's a little strange to baptize someone who I barely know. A member from another ward came and did the actual baptism. Damon was really happy. I am happy for him. He's taken a big step and will be a great addition. I look forward to helping adjust to his new found religion.
We had a hard time with Misa last week. We were only able to see her briefly on Monday night. Other than that we weren't even able to talk to her. We tried everyday, more than once on most days, but she was never there. She didn't return our calls either. We were really worried about her. I'm happy to say that she showed up for church yesterday. We are going to see her a few times this week then confirm her next Sunday.
Being District Leader has been pretty good so far. Not much to really write about. I did have to make calls last night and get the numbers from the missionaries in my district. It was a little awkward. Especially because one of the companionships in my district is a set of Sister missionaries. I'll get more comfortable with it as time goes by. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I will be holding my very first District Meeting! I'm pretty excited/nervous for it. I know what I want to teach, I just hope that I will be able to teach it well. I really want to help all the missionaries in my district learn and grow. I want to help them further their conversion and find success. I can tell you one thing, I have been doing a lot of praying lately. I'm on my knees asking Heavenly Father for guidance a lot. I just want to do what He would have me do.
On Saturday night our ward had their Christmas party. I had a good time. The ward here is really great! I enjoy the members a lot. They are really nice people. They gave us a bunch of left over food. It's so nice to have extra food.
Elder Morris and I got some new roommates. The Zone Leaders moved in with us. I was disappointed when I found out they would be living there. I was really looking forward to having an apartment with just me and Elder Morris in it. It's got two bedrooms, but only one bathroom. It's a little hard for all four of us to get ready in the morning. The Zone Leaders are Elder Toney and Elder Perez. They're pretty cool. I served around Elder Toney in Ocala. He was my District Leader at the time. Elder Perez was an Assistant to the President before he came here. Assistant to the President is the highest leadership position you can get as a missionary. So, he knows his stuff, and now he's my new roommate. When they came to the apartment we changed it around. We all moved our beds into the living room and sleep out there. The bedrooms are now used for studying. I actually like the change. Elder Morris and I were also able to get a huge whiteboard to use for planning. We haven't done anything on it yet, but I've got a lot of ideas for it. We really haven't had time to do much with it.
My studies are going well. I have started reading the New Testament. It's fantastic. I wish I had the time to just sit down and read. Today I studied about families, and the importance of family history. Before my mission I thought genealogy work was something I would never do. Now I want to do it. I can only imagine how wonderful it will be to go to the temple and do work for one of our deceased relatives. It will be fantastic!
That's all for now.


Love Always, Zach

Another Calling...

 Dec 6, 2010 ...Hey My Wonderful Family,


All is well here in Gaines-ville. Last week was a very interesting week. Elder Morris and I really focused on making sure Misa was prepared for baptism, and she was. We had a really great lesson with her last Monday night. She said she was feeling scared and was worried that she wasn't ready for baptism. We talked for a little longer, and then I shared that I felt the same way before I came on my mission. That I felt scared and wasn't sure if I was ready. However, I did know that the church is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is true. Therefore I knew that serving a mission was the right thing to do. We told her that if she knew those same three things that she would know that baptism was the right thing to do. She sat for a moment thinking and then it's like a light when on in her head. She simply said that she was okay and knew it was right. It was incredible! It was a really great moment. I had the privilege of baptizing her on Saturday. It was a great baptism. I was happy with it. Unfortunately she wasn't able to be confirmed yesterday, but will be next week. Yesterday she was going to be confirmed, but to make a long story short she ended up passing out in the foyer. It was pretty scary. We had the paramedics come and they didn't find anything wrong with her. We gave her a blessing then she went home to sleep. We're going to go see her tonight and give her a cake or something like that. All in all I feel like everything is going to be okay. I know she has a testimony and wants to do what is right.


The rest of the week was okay. Not too much else happened. We did find some new investigators! It had been quite awhile since we had found anyone. It's nice to have someone new to teach. Especially now that Misa has been baptized. Our new investigators are actually a family. On Saturday we taught the Dad and his three kids. Two of them are over 8. The mom wasn't able to be at the lesson, but she's actually the person we originally talked to and who wanted us to come back.


Transfer calls came on Saturday night. Elder Morris and I are both staying here. Elder Bagley and Elder Camp are both being transferred. We were all really surprised when we heard this. We figured that one of them would be transferred, but not both. I'm sad that they're leaving. I have really enjoyed serving around them. They're both really great missionaries. I have learned a lot from each of them. I'm happy that I get to serve with Elder Morris for at least another transfer. This upcoming transfer is going to be challenging and a lot of fun. Which leads me to the reason I titled this email "Another Calling." I have been called to be a District Leader. Elder Bagley was the District Leader, but now I have the privilege of serving the Lord in that capacity. I'm nervous. Luckily our district isn't very big. I think there are only going to be six missionaries including Elder Morris and myself. Getting any calling is such a humbling experience. It really makes me realize how important it is to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I know I can't do this without the Lord's guidance. Also Elder Morris and I are going to be the only missionaries in our ward. If you remember, Elder Bagley and Elder Camp split the ward with us. Now that they're leaving it's all our responsibility. This week is going to be pretty busy with all the changes. We have a lot of things to get in order.


My studies last week went pretty well. I studied the doctrine of Christ. Which is, faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I learned a lot. It's especially important to know that this is an ongoing process. It's not a one time thing. We must always build our faith in Christ. Which leads us to repenting. That leads us to either being baptized, or renewing our baptismal covenants through worthily receiving the Sacrament. That makes us worthy to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and then enduring means continuing to do these things. Like I said, I learned a lot. One thing that I really enjoyed was in 3 NE 11:39 it says "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them." At the moment I read this I realized it goes perfectly with Helaman 5:12 and how we need to build our foundation on Christ. I realized that the way we build our foundation on Christ is by living the doctrine of Christ. It's something that just hadn't clicked before. It was a great moment. I really felt the Spirit. It made me happy.


That's all for now. I will email you all next week and let you know if I'm still sane....hahaha just kidding, I know things will work out.

 Love Always, Zach

Braxtyn turns one...

Happy Birthday to our youngest grand baby.

Braxtyn and Brady. Braxtyn is 18 months here but I LOVE this picture! Christy did a great job.