Additions and Much Walking‏

 

2/28/11....Dear Familia,

What a week it was! I think I told you, but a few weeks back our car got backed into and had a huge dent in the rear driver side door. Well on Monday last week we took it in to get it repaired. Originally we were told that we would be getting it back on Wednesday or Thursday. It's now been one week and we still haven't gotten it back. We're supposed to get it later today, but the part they need still hasn't arrived yet.

With that being said Elder Hammond and I have been walking all week. I would have liked to ride a bike, but Elder Hammond can't ride a bike because of medical reasons. We tried to find a car to use or rides when we needed them, but nothing ever happened. It was pretty tiring the first few days, but I by Thursday I was okay. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Sure it took us awhile to get places, but it was good exercise and I felt like I had more energy. That's something Elder Hammond and I really noticed, we had more energy than we do when we have to car. In the car it's so easy to get tired from driving. The biggest problem with walking is that we weren't able to cover much of our area at all. Something very good did come from all the walking we did. On Saturday we were walking from one appointment to another and we ran into a lady walking home. Her name is Lily, and we talked to her and set up an appointment for Sunday. We had a really great lesson and she committed to being baptized on March 20th. The lesson was really powerful and she definitely recognized the Spirit. It's going to be really wonderful for her. She also has two boys who are eight years old. So next time we have a lesson we're going to see if they will commit to being baptized on that day too.


Speaking of baptisms we also set a date with a man named Bobby. He is a referral from some other missionaries and is really great. It was a very humbling lesson. We met him and talked to him and as we talked he said he has an incurable disease. He's been told that he only has 4-6 months to live. He says he doesn't think about very much because if he did he would go nuts. I really admire his strength. We had a great lesson and when he committed to being baptized on the 20th too he was SO HAPPY! It felt amazing. I'm really happy with how things worked out.


The rest of the week was rough. We worked really hard, but nearly all of our appointments canceled on us. We didn't see any of our other investigators. It was really disappointing. I don't know what's going on with them. Some of them aren't even returning our texts or phone calls. We even had some members cancel appointments they had with us. Also other potential investigators just wouldn't be there for appointments. On Saturday we had seven scheduled appointments and only one of them actually happened. That really sums up our week. Then on Sunday the Lord really showed his love by giving us those miracles with Bobby and Lily. Throughout the last week I was praying and asking for help with being more patient. I know the Lord was helping me to learn to be more patient. Also I have a better testimony that His timing is the right timing.


As far as additions go, our mission is going to be expanding this summer! Right now we cover a little part of Georgia, but this summer we're going to be covering much more. The Macon Georgia Mission is being dissolved and we're going to be receiving the Savannah Georgia Stake and the missionaries there. It's going to be pretty cool. Our mission is going to be really big! I actually really want to serve in Georgia at one point or another.


That's not going to be happening this transfer. We got transfer calls Saturday night and I'm staying put. I'm okay with it. Before we got the call I had mixed feelings, but now I'm looking forward to having another transfer to help build up the ward here. The crazy thing is that at the end of this transfer I will hit my one year mark and I will have served in only two areas. Another crazy thing is that those two areas are only about 45 minutes from each other. I'm going to be here for Stake Conference again. It will be my third Stake Conference in the Gainesville Stake. That doesn't happen very often.


In reply to some things I read in Mom's weekly letter, congratulations to Emma and Sarah on the new jobs! I did receive Aunt Cindy's package and it was great. The person being baptized is the one who chooses who baptizes them. We got Jason a large print copy of the Book of Mormon so he can read it. I don't know if he has been though.






Love Always, Zach

Chaos....

2/21/11....Hey Family,
As the title indicates this last week felt really chaotic. There seemed like so much going on, but at the same time nothing. On Tuesday I went on a trade-off with an Elder in my district. I went and worked in his area with him while his companion worked in my area with Elder Hammond for a day. It went well, but I did miss working in my own area. Then on Thursday we had a Zone Conference which lasted almost all day. It started at 9AM and ended around 4PM. It was really fantastic, but definitely throws things off a little. Between those two things and a bunch of our investigators bailing on us it was rough. It seemed like that happened a lot to us. We would have an appointment and either the investigator wasn't there or they would call and cancel while we were on our way over. We had backup plans for all of them, but I'd definitely rather be teaching than doing other things. I think another reason last week was hard is because I didn't exercise like I should be. I would get to bed late and then wouldn't be able to wake up early to exercise. I really noticed a difference.


During Zone Conference I did learn a lot. Over the last week or so President Barry had given us certain things to study that all related to the Atonement. Then at Zone Conference we really focused on the Atonement and what it means, or should mean, to each of us. It was really powerful. It really made me realize how much the Savior went through for each of us. Also that using the Atonement in our lives is something we must actively do each day. When we do this we can truly feel the healing power of the Atonement. This will bring us more happiness and peace than any other thing can.


Jasmine was confirmed yesterday. I got to do it. It was my first confirmation and it was pretty cool. She was really excited. Unfortunately her mom wasn't able to make it because she was sick. I really hope that she will come around and have a greater interest in the Church and taking the lessons for herself.


That's all for now. I will write again next week and let you know what's going on with transfers.






Love Always, Zach




Sisters Prettyman and Martins, Elders Collard, Bishop, Bagley, Lyman, and Boren.
Elders Zachery Snow,  Hammond, Lewis, Taft, and Summers.

                                             floridajacksonvillemissionnews.blogspot.com

S

Gulf of Mexico...

Feb 14, 2011 ...Dear Familia,



This last week went well for the most part. It seemed really slow and like not much was happening for the most part. It ended well though. On Saturday we baptized Jasmine. I got to baptize her and it was fantastic! Unfortunately she wasn't confirmed yesterday. She is sick. So, we'll do it next week. The baptism went really well. It was the least stressed I've been for a baptism. We got the program all set up and everything taken care of early in the week. That made it really nice because there weren't any last minute surprises.

Some of our investigators are progressing really well, while others aren't. Robert isn't going to be baptized on the 26th anymore because he didn't make it to church yesterday. He's going to take longer than we had hoped. Magdalena is doing really well. She made it to church for the first time yesterday! We talked to her a little bit afterwards and she said she really enjoyed it. With her the biggest obstacle I see is that she normally works on Sundays. It's going to be hard to get her to keep the Sabbath holy, but I know it can happen.We have another investigator named Jason, and he's doing pretty well. We've been working with him for a few weeks and he's coming along really slowly. He has MS and is legally blind. He can see, but his eyes aren't steady. They wiggle back and forth really quickly so it makes it hard for him to see. We got him a large print copy of the Book of Mormon and he can read that. Hopefully he can read it and start making more progress. Other than that we don't have any really solid people that we're working with.

So, this morning we went to the Gulf of Mexico! We have been wanting to go for the past few weeks, but never got around to doing it. Then this morning when we woke up Elder Perez said we should all go. So we did. It was about an hour drive. It was really great! We didn't do any kind of swimming obviously, but we had a really good time. I took quite a few pictures and Elder Perez got some really cool pictures too. I'm going to have to find a way to get them...We were out there for a few hours. We took pictures and looked at stuff. We had breakfast too. It was a really cool experience. One I'm definitely not going to forget.

I really can't think of anything else to write...


My studies went okay this last week, but I don't have anything that really stands out to write about...Actually, I did read my Patriarchal Blessing on Friday and it was fantastic again. It was part of a study assignment we had from President Barry. As I read it I looked for what was expected of me, what I was commanded to do, and what blessings I could receive if I was faithful and did those things. It was an eye opening experience. I realized that there is so little asked of me compared to what I can receive, and I know it's that way for all of us.


That's about all for now.


Love Always, Zach

One In One Out‏...

February 7, 2011...Hello Family,



What a week it was. We had some pretty crazy things happen this last week. Elder Hammond said some funny things. I just remember that we were eating lunch at home and pretty much out of nowhere he said,"I'm a hopeless romantic." It was so funny. He then explained his statement, but it was really random. He says a lot of things like that. It definitely keeps things interesting. I had one of the craziest lessons of my whole mission. Elder Hammond and I were out going to visit an investigator when out of nowhere we got a call from a different potential investigator....well long story short we went and saw the potential investigator. She was really upset about something her daughter had done. We talked to her for a minute then asked if we could have a prayer. Elder Hammond started saying the prayer and about 30 seconds in she starts saying something, which isn't unusual, but she really gets into it. Next thing we know she was almost yelling praises to God. She went on for a few minutes and we didn't know what to do. We just sat there like we were praying, but she kept going. Eventually we just looked up and she was looking at us and still nearly shouting praises. It was really bizarre. We taught her a little, and at the end of the lesson she told us to wait for a second because she wanted to go get something to show her gratitude. Before we could say anything she walked out of the room. Next thing I know she came back in and was trying to pay us. We kept refusing the money, but she kept trying to get us to take it. She was reaching to try to put it into our jacket pockets! We just kept refusing and she eventually gave up. It was the first time I've ever had anyone offer me money. It was strange. So, those are some of the little stories from last week.


As far as the work goes, it's going well. We are no longer working with Bob. He was avoiding us early in the week and when we finally met up with him we talked and basically it came down to that he isn't ready right now. It's unfortunate because I know he's been happier since we started teaching him, but he just doesn't want to change. However, we were able to set a baptismal date with Jasmine. She's an eleven year old girl we've been working with for the last few months. It's been pretty slow going these last few weeks, but we made a lot of progress. She's actually going to be baptized this Saturday. We also have another baptism scheduled for the 26th of this month. Hopefully he will be ready. His name is Robert. He's actually married to a less-active lady we ran into a few weeks ago. He's really great too. We taught a lady named Magdalena again. She's really awesome! The first time we met her was a complete miracle, and this second time was incredible too. She's so willing to do what the Lord wants her to. We were teaching her about the Word Of Wisdom and before we had even committed her to living it she was thinking of ways she could stop drinking coffee and tea. It was a really special lesson. Then we've got a few other investigators that are coming along very slowly. The end of the week was a little nuts. We are working on getting everything organized for Jasmine's baptism, and it's not fun setting these things up. It's just hard to get everything done for the baptism along with all the other things we have to do as missionaries. It works out though. Overall it was a good week.


My studies went pretty well. I was studying and in a roundabout way I came to D&C 52:33. It says,"Yea, verily I say, let all these take their journey unto one place, in their several courses, and one man shall not build upon another’s foundation, neither journey in another’s track." Now in this verse it's talking about some Elders that are appointed to share the gospel while traveling to a conference. I was thinking about it and it came to me in a different way. I was thinking more along the lines of how each of us need to come to know the Church is true. We're all journeying to the same place, finding the truth/happiness, but the way we get there is different, and we can't stand on the foundation of another. I think of the foundation as our testimony. We can only get so far on someone's testimony before we have to find out for ourselves. If we try to go our whole lives relying solely on the testimony of someone else then we will never survive in the Church. The Lord asks way too much of us to rely on something like that. If we are going to make it in this life and eventually make back with our Heavenly Father and be with our families together forever, then we must build our own foundation. Basically we must each individually find out for ourselves if this is true. I applied this to the "journey in another's track." We won't go through the same struggles or trials as those around us. Even if we have the same thing happen to all of us we are going to handle and look at it in different ways. So, we each have our own unique journey. Regardless of where our journey takes us we can then take comfort in knowing that our Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ are there for us each step of the way. They know all that we go through and know how to help us. We just have to look for Them and trust inThem.


I hope this email makes sense. If not, I'm sorry.






Love Always, Zach