On the road again...

November 7, 2011... Dear Family,


Transfer calls came on Saturday night and I am being transferred. The actual transfer meeting is this Wednesday. I will find out where I am going at the meeting. I'm excited to find out where I'll be living for at least the next six weeks and who I will be living with.


I do have to say though, that I have really loved it here in Lake City. There are so many wonderful people and I have learned a lot! I definitely feel like I have become a better missionary and person. I am very thankful for the time I have been able to serve here.


My last week in the Cannon Creek Ward went well. For the most part it was normal. Unfortunately we weren't able to find any new investigators. It's been getting increasingly harder to find people the last few weeks. However, we have some great prospects.


We were able to teach quite a few of the members and help them out with their missionary efforts. I really enjoy teaching members...come to think of it I just enjoy teaching and helping people. It's fun to teach individuals, and families, that want to learn and do things.


The highlight of the week was yesterday. Weston was baptized and confirmed!! It was the least stressful baptism I have ever had! His grandma set up the program and the ward took care of the rest. There were a lot of people there yesterday. We almost didn't all fit in the room. Some people were Weston's family from out of town, but most of the people were members from the ward. Teaching Weston and his family over the last few weeks has been like a dream. It has been so smooth and easy. They were all really well prepared and had a ton of member support. It made it all so easy. That's the ideal situation. Now when I go, and when Elder Maxfield eventually goes, Weston and his family will have great friends and be an integral part of the ward.


We taught Lin again today. It was the first time we've taught him in the last two weeks. He is still doing really well. We were able to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Chinese a few weeks ago and it has helped him a lot. Today he was as humble and happy as ever. He is wonderful. He has a lot of hope and has gained a belief in God. Today when we got there he said we should have a prayer as soon as we sat down. I was so happy when he said that. He is going to take longer to teach, due to how little he understands, but it is going to be wonderful to see his understanding grow and his life change. Obviously I won't be here for the rest of it, but I'm excited for Elder Maxfield and his new companion.


Yesterday Elder Maxfield and I had an eye opening experience. We taught a recent convert and he really opened up to us. To make a long story short, he has been struggling with his testimony over the last few months. He comes to church occasionally but that's all. As we talked to him it became very clear that he doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He has read it all the way through once and hasn't read it much since. He said he can't deny it's changed him because before he read it he wasn't even sure there was a God. However, because he hasn't been reading it since that first time it has been a very challenging road. It made it so clear that everyone, whether they're a convert or raised in the Church, needs to be reading the Book of Mormon DAILY! When we read daily it blesses our lives in so many wonderful ways. I really want to focus on reading it everyday for the rest of my life. Even if it's just a little bit, I know it will greatly help me and all those people I interact with. I'm definitely going to study other scriptures and things, but reading the Book of Mormon daily is going to be a part of who I am. I also want to make sure when I teach people they are doing their reading and have a good testimony of the Book of Mormon.


That's about all for this week. I love you all and will let you know where I am next week when I write.


Love Always, Zach