Sin is Sin!

January 30, 2012...Dear Family,

I'm happy to say that last week started really well. I'm sad to say that it wasn't sustained very well. We had a lot of good things happening early on in the week. We had some great lessons and even had a date for this Tuesday at one point. Elder Mecham and I were able to see a lot of little miracles and great things happened. I think one of the things that hurt us this week is we rode bikes for a few days. We had to bike to save miles due to the trade-offs we've been on. It definitely is different planning for a day on bikes compared to planning for a day with the car. I did really enjoy riding my bike.

The weather has been beautiful lately. It gets in the mid 70's and at night it get relatively cool. Having this kind of weather makes riding bike in a suit much better.

 Paul is still doing really well. He continues to progress and has a lot of great questions. On Tuesday night we tried to set a specific baptismal date with him, but he wouldn't. However, he said his goal is to "make it happen." Basically, he plans on being baptized, but doesn't feel ready to set a date. He was able to make it to the adult session of stake conference this weekend. Which means Elder Mecham and I were able to go. It was the first time I have ever gone to the adult session. I really enjoyed it, and Paul said he had some questions to ask regarding stake conference. I'm excited to hear what they are.

Zay is having a hard time. We had a really great lesson with him on Tuesday and even set a baptismal date for this Tuesday. Later in the week we called to set up an appointment and he said he isn't ready to be baptized. We haven't been able to see him since. We've talked to the members that he is close with and they said he's pretty confused about what to do with himself. I pray that we will be able to see him again soon. I feel like we could have done a better job teaching to his needs.

Last night we went to a wedding at the church. A recent convert named Anastasiya married her boyfriend Mason. It was great! Mason is a convert of a few years from Georgia. This was the second wedding I've been to in St. Augustine. Maybe there will be more in the future.

Yesterday we had stake conference. It was a regional broadcast. It was good. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke. He talked about howevery member needs to be a missionary and share the gospel with those around them. Elder Walter F. Gonzalez and Bishop Richard C. Edgley spoke as well. They were all really wonderful. My favorite was Bishop Edgley's talk though. He was really fired up! He talked about sin as part of his talk. He basically said that regardless of what the world thinks is okay and not okay, sin is sin.It doesn't matter if the world thinks something is appropriate. If God says it isn't, then it isn't. Case closed. There is no debating or justification. It was very powerful. There are some people we're working with that I wish could have been there. They needed to hear that talk. 

We got transfer calls on Saturday night. Elder Mecham is being transferred and I am staying. I will still be a zone leader for the Jax South Zone. It's incredible how fast this transfer went...actually how fast the last nearly three months went. I'm afraid that the next three months may go even faster.

Transfer meetings this Wednesday will be strange. There are five missionaries going home and I have been really close with four of them. Two of them are former companions, Elder Failner and Elder Jacobs, and the other two I have served around for a long time. They're all really great missionaries too! One of them is Elder Todd. He's from West Jordan too. I think he lives by Uncle Mark and Aunt Angie. Pretty close to home...hint hint Emma ;)

My studies are continuing to go well. One thing I truly love about the gospel is how so many things are cyclical. It's just a matter of getting on that cycle and making sure we stay on. I have a testimony that it is the small and simple things which help us stay on track. As I establish a pattern and have more order, good things happen which lead to other good things.

 

Love Always, Zach

Faith

January 23, 2012…Dear Family,

Last week flew by faster than ever! There is a good reason for it too. I went on three trade-offs with other missionaries. For two of them I went to their area and the other one we were in my area. For the one in my area I was with Elder Allen, one of my former companions. It went really well. It's incredible to see the growth that can happen. He has really changed and is an even better missionary.
The other two were pretty good. They were all very different from one another.
For one of them I was in a little town named Interlachen. It reminded me a lot of Lake City, only it was more country. Just about every road we went on was dirt.
 I learned a lot from the trade-offs.
One thing that stands out is the importance of virtue. It is such an essential Christlike attribute! I would recommend each of you to study it, and then set a goal to improve. Good things will come!
Other than the trade-offs Elder Mecham and I saw great things in our area. We have some really wonderful investigators. I don't know if I've mentioned Zay, but he is a young man we're teaching. He has been practically adopted by one of the active families in the ward. They treat him as one of their own kids. It's a great environment for him. We've invited him to be baptized a few times and he is praying about it. Whenever we talk about baptism he is all ears!
Another wonderful investigator is Paul. He is the non-member husband to a less-active sister. We've been teaching them for a little over a week now. All of the lessons have gone really well. We've also invited him to be baptized, but he feels he needs to learn more. We think he knows the Church is true. He just needs that extra nudge from the Spirit. Last Thursday we taught him and his wife. We had a member with us. Actually, we had the first counselor in the bishopric with us. It was a really wonderful lesson. We talked about baptism and the member likened it to joining a gym. We can't expect to be able to use all the equipment and get the help from trainers and such without first joining the gym. It's the same way with the gospel. We can't expect all the great blessings that come from living the gospel unless we are baptized and then continue going. At one point the member said, "You've gotta join the gym. I need you to spot me." It was great!
In my studies I've been studying about faith. I was reading in the Bible Dictionary and this is something it says,"All true faith
must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity." I know that we can obtain the correct knowledge necessary to have true faith as we read the Book of Mormon, pray, and go to church. As each of you do this you will see great changes in your lives, wonderful blessings, and the strength to endure all things.

 
Love Always, Zach

Study Up!

 

January 16, 2012…Dear Family,

 
 

Hmmm....I'm not quite sure what to write about at this very moment....

Well, the week was great! Elder Mecham and I were blessed to find some really great new people to teach. Most of them came in one way or another through the members.

On Wednesday we had a zone conference. It was a really uplifting experience. I learned a lot of wonderful things. One thing that stood out to me is the importance of everyone. It wasn't spoken of during the conference, but it was impressed upon me by the Spirit once again. It goes right along with what I wrote about last week. I feel a greater desire to see everyone as Heavenly Father sees them, and not as the world sees them. Brother Beckstead wrote me a letter and in it he had a quote from President Monson. It says, "I find there is a little bit of sainthood in everybody, and I look for it." I really believe this and want to do better with looking for it.

I went on another tradeoff with one of the district leaders. This time I went with Elder Wheeler in Palatka. It was a really wonderful experience. We were able to find some great people in his area and the Lord bestowed upon us many tender mercies. I was very humbled by something that happened. At the end of exchanges we have an evaluation. I evaluate with the missionary what happened, what was learned, and then help them set goals to improve. Well, while talking about what was learned Elder Wheeler shared that what had happened on the tradeoff was an answer to his prayers. That his faith in finding invested investigators was low, but that through the things that happened his faith was rekindled. It was another humbling experience. To know that I had in some way helped answer someone's prayers.

This morning I was studying in Preach My Gospel. I was studying chapter two which talks about studies. I read this,"Always begin your gospel study by praying for the Holy Ghost to help you learn. He will bring knowledge and conviction that will bless your life and allow you to bless the lives of others. Your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. Your desire to repent and improve will grow. This kind of study prepares you for service, offers solace, resolves problems, and gives you the strength to endure to the end." There are some really wonderful promised blessings in there and I know they're not promised just to missionaries. I know that as each of us diligently study the scriptures each day we will see great and wonderful changes within ourselves and our lives. I pray that each of you will make time to study and ponder the scriptures everyday.

 
 

Love Always, Zach

Treasures..

January 9, 2012...Dear Family,



Whew...it was a good week. I think it was also one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time. It feels like Elder Mecham and I were in meetings just about all day last week. We have three districts in our zone and we went to all three district meetings. I also went to work with another missionary in his area for a day. It was a really great experience. We were also able to teach a lot of lessons. So, overall we were very busy. We were constantly on the go.


There are a lot of little things I could write about, but there is something that I heard in sacrament meeting yesterday that has stayed on my mind.


Yesterday was fast and testimony meeting. The first person who stood up was bearing his testimony and in it he said something along the lines of, "I treasure you as friends." I thought it was interesting the he used the word "treasure." I realized that the real treasure in life isn't money, cars, or anything material, but it's people. Our family and friends around us are the real treasures in our lives. That is why God's work and glory is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). That is also why "the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father" (D&C 15:6). I was humbled by this little experience I had. It helped me take a step back and look at what really matters. It helps me better understand that I am a child of God and everyone else out there is too. They are loved just as much as I am. That's why it is so important that we first find the truth for ourselves and then once we're converted that we share it with those around us. That we help them feel the love of their Heavenly Father.


Love Always, Zach

2012…

January 2, 2012...Dear Family,

Wow!! It's already 2012!
2011 flew by. I have been able to learn so much and have seen a lot of growth within myself.

The last week of 2011 went well. On Wednesday I was in Jacksonville for another Zone Leader Council. It was really wonderful. It was different than in the past, but enjoyable. Whenever there are Zone Leader Councils the day goes by quickly. We were at that meeting most of the day. When we got home we were able to work for a few hours, but then had some other meetings at the church.

This last week we were also able to get things back to a more regular schedule. It has been rough getting appointments with people the last few weeks because of the holidays. However, things should now return to normal.

This has nothing to do with anything I'm writing, but we were watching this video on lds.org and I like it http://lds.org/pages/we-can-live-with-god-again?lang=eng

As the year came to an end I was thinking about any goals that I could set for the upcoming year. I couldn't think of anything in particular. Then on Saturday morning I was studying and had to go to the Topical Guide to look for some scriptures I could share. While there I remembered that in the Topical Guide there are 52 different topics referring to Jesus Christ that have scriptures that go with them. At that moment I knew what I could set as a goal. There are 52 weeks in the year and I'm going to study a different topic referring to Jesus Christ each week. I started yesterday and am enjoying it so far. I know that studying more about Jesus Christ will help me in all aspects of my life. I'm excited to learn and grow!

The other day Elder Mecham and I stopped at CVS to go to the bathroom. It was a one person bathroom so I waited while he was in there. While I was waiting a lady walked by on her way to the women's restroom I said, "Hi." She looked really upset and quietly said, "hi" back. Elder Mecham soon departed from the bathroom and I proceeded to enter. On my way in the lady yelled out of the women's room, " Sorry there is a disgruntled ___ in here." I was caught off guard. I didn't say anything. I felt really bad for her. She was so unhappy. I was trying to think of something I could do to cheer her up and help her find happiness. I was hoping I would see her on the way out, but didn't. Instead I wrote a little note on a mormon.org card and left it by the door on the way out. I really hope she found it. If not, maybe someone else will and it can help them. Either way, there are so many little opportunities to help other people out and share the gospel everyday.

Last night we had a funny experience. We were tracting in a trailer park at the end of the night. We stopped to talk to a couple guys and quickly realized they were drunk. To make a long story short I am now an official "prayer warrior." I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I am happy with it and thankful to all those people who made it possible for me to obtain that title. Basically the guy asked us if we were "prayer warriors" and we said, "Yes." We then stood in a circle, held hands, and said a prayer for them. It was one of those experiences that only happen on a mission.

 

Love Always, Zach
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Back: President Barry, Elder Grant, Elder Tenney, Elder Neville, Elder Graham, Elder Craig, Elder Maxfield, Elder Crosby, Elder Bushman, Elder Allred, Elder Reid

Front: Elder Barnes, Elder Rowley, Elder DiCristofano, Elder Marquez, Elder Snow, Elder Mecham.
 
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