power

June 13, 2011...Dear Family,



How are things going back home? Out here all is well. To start I'm going to answer a few questions from Mom's last letter.


First, my responsibilities as a zone leader are similar to those of a district leader except on a larger scale. As a zone leader me and my companion, Elder Failner, are both zone leaders. We are accountable for what happens within our zone. There are eight companionship's in our zone. Basically the companionship's report to their district leaders and the district leaders report to us. Then we report to the assistants to the president. We provide training when necessary, we go on tradeoffs with the district leaders, and when we get the weekly numbers we look to see what our zone needs and share with the district leaders what we feel. Those are the basics. There are a lot of little things that I could write about, but that probably wouldn't be very interesting. With that said, I have really enjoyed it so far. Last Monday the assistants came and went on a tradeoff with Elder Failner and I. It went really well. Elder Aiono went out with me and I had a great time. He is a really great missionary, and I was able to learn a lot from him.


Next, yes we do have a crock pot. I'm not sure what significance that has.


We can't wear any pink or purple ties anymore because we want the first thing people notice to be our name tags, not our ties. We are supposed to have conservative ties only, no bright colors or pink or purple ties. That's the new rule.


Lastly, my bike is not fixed. I did fix it, but it didn't last. The day before I got transferred I bought a new tube and Elder Allen put it in for me because he's really nice. It was fine, but after the transfer meeting it had gone flat. I'm not sure what is going on with it because I haven't had time to look at it. I don't need it right now anyway. The only time I'll be on a bike is if I'm on a tradeoff, and if that's the case I can use someone else's bike. I'll have to look at it when I get more time.

That's it for Mom's questions.


Last week was good. There really isn't anything exciting to write about at the moment. Every day is slightly unique in it's own way, but for the most part it's the same. We are no longer teaching Alvin. He wasn't keeping commitments. We have two other guys we might be able to baptize within the coming weeks. They are Shaun and Shawn. Yes they have the same name. The only difference is the spelling. Shaun has a baptismal date for June 26th. He has given up a lot. In order to live the law of chastity he left his girlfriend and is now staying in a hotel room. The hardest part is getting in touch with him because his phone got turned off. Shawn is doing really well. We don't have a set date for his baptism. He hopefully will be baptized soon, but we're waiting on some other things to get taken care of first. Elder Failner and I were blessed to find eight new investigators last week! It's been quite awhile since I've found that many in one week. It was really great to find that many new people. Finding new people is one of the most important things we do. If we don't find new people we will run out of people to teach. That's about all for last week.


Over the last few days I've been focusing on becoming more powerful in all that I do. I have been studying it quite a lot. One of the biggest things that has held me back is fear. I let fear and doubt creep in and they keep me from being more powerful and achieving greater things. There is a quote that President Barry sent to us in his letter that talks about this.


“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992 (commonly misattributed to Nelson Mandela, 1994 inauguration speech)


I think that sums things up pretty well. When I lose my fear and doubt it will help others do the same. When that fear is replaced with courage and love it will bless and lift others so that they may achieve greater things. That is how I can do all things with greater power.


Love Always, Zach