Week 6 - October 20, 2011

Hey everyone!

Sounds like everything is going well back in AZ. On Monday I got the package you guys sent me (thanks for everything! It was all perfect!), and a letter from Macki and a letter from Kyle! The whole family in one day! It was pretty awesome. Also, I loved the pictures you guys sent up of Seattle and everything else. I had a lot of fun showing them the picture of Dad planking! Hahaha.

We've been busy this week with teaching, being investigators, etc. It's hard to believe that on Monday I'll only have two weeks left here in Provo. This place really isn't a prison like other people said. Maybe by the time I'm packing I'll have changed my mind, but time moves so quickly that I'll probably be startled that it's already time to leave!

Being District Leader is going well enough. We don't have any serious behavioral problems or anything, so that's good. Checking the mail twice a day is easily the most exciting thing. I'm pretty fortunate, because I think I get the most mail. Everyone gets some letters though, so we're always enjoying checking the return address to see who has written us.

It was kinda crazy, on Tuesday (I think), they did a giant evacuation drill. We had done a fire drill once before, where we stood in the parking lot and waited for the all-clear, but this time they shepherded us up to the big grass field just down from the temple where we have gym. It was super cold that morning, and the Elders were fortunate to have to wear coats now. The Sisters weren't as lucky, and a lot of them were wearing flimsy cardigans or just normal blouses, no jackets. Most mornings you can see your breath, but don't need a scarf or anything. We haven't had snow since that first time a few weeks ago either. People keep telling me it'll get colder before I leave though, so we'll see how that is.

Guess who visited us on Tuesday night for Devotional? Richard G. Scott! That's the third apostle and forth General Authority! Nuts, huh? It's kinda weird that they're all getting so old. I guess I forget that we have a bunch of young (relatively) apostles too, but I haven't really grown up with them like I have with these ones. But he was good. He's always so genuine and caring. He used a lot of audience participation though.  Elder Scott was super nice, and it was a good meeting.

I'm getting more and more excited to go teach real people, which is good. I just met a Sister yesterday whose best friend served in Louisville, Spanish speaking. I guess there are tons of illegals there, which is sometimes hard because the move around or get shipped home. But they need the truth too, right? But she said her friend came home sounding like he'd spoken Spanish his whole life, so that's pretty exciting! I've kind of worried about how much Spanish I'm going to use, but I guess it ultimately doesn't matter. It was still really good to hear that I'll use it though. Haha.

Things here really are going well. I can tell the way my Spanish has changed when I think back to the first few days. Now I read quicker, speak quicker, and understand so much better! The Scriptures are still rough. Really rough. But what would this adventure be without a little struggle? The District Leaders and Coordinating Sister had some training last week from a teaching supervisor, Hermano P, and he put it into good perspective. He said the objective in the MTC is not to create master linguists. I won't become a master at Spanish while I'm here. The real goal is to train people to teach the word as best they can, and to give them enough Spanish to do that. I absolutely have enough Spanish now, and it's growing all the time.

Thanks for all of your love and support! I feel your prayers help me everyday.

I love you all!

Zac

 

Week 5 - October 13, 2011

Five weeks here already? It's weird that my time here is already half over, and that this time next month I'll be in Kentucky teaching the gospel!

The most exciting thing that happened here was that I was called as the District Leader. They switch at the halfway mark, and Elder S had diligently led our little group through the first four weeks. I don't do a lot, but I am learning all of the responsibilities. Luckily we all get along, so I don't have to help companionship's work out differences or anything. The biggest thing I do is get the mail, and everyone has to be nice to me, or else they won't get it! Haha, kidding, but everyone pays a lot of attention to me when I say I'm going to the mailbox. I also meet twice a week with all of the other district leaders and the coordinating sister (Hermana S, who is in my district). We get leadership training and discuss the needs and successes of our groups. President D is so cool, and I've already learned a lot from him. I actually look forward to leadership training because of how cool he is. I also have awesome Zone Leaders, so that helps too.

Things have warmed up a little bit. Last Thurs-Sunday were pretty chilly, but all of the snow on the close mountains is gone, and snow on the far mountains is melting. I could still see my breath this morning on our way up to the temple, but the MTC President, President Brown, said it's time for Elders to wear suit coats everyday (thank goodness I brought two pairs of pants for my coat!), so I'm always nice and warm because I always have a suit coat on.

Things with our investigators have gotten tricky. One, Ivan, says he doesn't think he needs to be baptized because he was baptized as a kid in the Catholic church. It's hard to explain why he needs to do it in English, so doing it in Spanish is sometimes rough. But it's a super good learning opportunity, because that's something I'll probably face when I get out there. Also, we've taken on the role of investigators this week for other companionship's in our district to teach. That really helps us identify with how investigators feel if the missionaries ask genuine questions, explain things clearly, are kind and approachable, etc.

Estoy aprendiendo mucho español, cada dia (I'm learning lots of Spanish everyday). The grammar is getting harder, but it's actually making the scriptures make more sense! I'm still kind of scared of them, but I totally see how helpful it is. I also see the way that I've progressed since I got here. I understand so much more in class now than I did before. We've instituted "Hablar Su Idioma" (Speak Your Language) days twice a week, where we only speak in Spanish except for gym time and a meal or two. We're at the point where we even have some fun with it, and it's helping us learn a lot more about how to say things, so that's good. It is really frustrating sometimes, but most days I leave class and feel good and positive about how everything is going.

Kyle told me that finding things in your suitcases would be like Christmas. I didn't think much about it until I opened up the little cardboard box my contacts are in and I found all sorts of stuff in there!! I found my ordinance cards, some chapstick, some vials for oil. It was the best day ever!!! Hahaha, so thanks, Kyle, for telling me that before I left. It totally felt like Christmas. :)

Guess who spoke to us on Tuesday at Devotional? Julie B. Beck, none other than the General Relief Society President! I chuckled when I heard who was coming (remember "Mothers Who Know"?), but she was super good! She talked about the progression of the church in Brazil. Her dad was a mission president when she was a really little girl, and the government stopped issuing visas to Americans. So the stake presidents scooped up young men for surprised interviews, gave them haircuts and filled out their paperwork in one night! That was hard, but she said that through their faith, a temple was built in Sao Paulo, they married in the temple, and now a lot of those men that were the first Brazilian missionaries are becoming Brazilian mission presidents. Cool, eh? God's work never stops.

I also read the coolest scripture this week. Alma 31:5. Look it up. It talks about the word of God being the most influential thing in our lives. More than any sword, more than anything out there. Isn't it the truth? It's the only thing that will change our hearts and minds so completely.

Thanks for all of your love and support! You guys brighten my week with your letters and cards!

Elder Zac

Week 4 - October 6, 2011

Well, today was the day. I have been able to see my breath when we go outside. Hahaha. Today and yesterday have been rainy and gray, and I've loved it! When we were walking up to the temple this morning, the mountains right behind the temple were covered half way up with clouds! Which is nuts, since those mountains really aren't very tall! Also, there was snow way up at the top of the mountains. Everyone says it'll be gone tomorrow, and that we won't get any down on campus for a few weeks yet. Thank goodness. Hahah. Hermana S, who is from Provo, said that the trees on the MTC campus will all turn colors soon, since the weather has cooled off. Exciting!

We did sealings in the temple today, which was a cool experience. I had no idea how any of that worked, so it was fun to be in there.

Who liked Conference? I sure did! We all were gathered in the giant auditorium for Conference, and we watched all of the sessions. On Saturday night the boys got to see the Priesthood Session, and while we were there the sisters watched the RS Broadcast from last week. Everything was so good, wasn't it? Priesthood was especially great. Elder Holland sure got fired up, but he was pretty inspirational too.

Conference also made me think about the missionaries that taught Dad. Do they know how much good they did when they were teaching him? I mean, three kids all through the temple, one served a mission, one on a mission. Lots of ramifications there. They tell us that pretty often here, to remember that even though you don't know for sure which lives or how many you touched, it's a big deal. A really big deal. I think about that a lot here. What would we all be doing right now if those guys hadn't visited with Dad? Crazy, huh?

I like my new companion, Elder M. No one is perfect, but there isn't much to complain about. His Spanish has improved, even in the week that I've been with him, so that's cool. Teaching can be frustrating. I feel like they give us the tools, like Preach My Gospel, and all sorts of grammar books, but then don't give us very specific instruction on how to use them. I guess that's what makes us good missionaries, is figuring out how to be better teachers through study. Sometimes (or a lot of the time) that is really rough. When our spirits are down, our teachers almost always have a really good scripture to share with us, and they make us feel better. So at first we're mad at them for not giving us all of the answers right away, and then we love them for making us feel better about it all. It's sometimes a rough cycle, but generally it ends up being really good. I'm even understanding more of the scriptures in Spanish, which is exciting! Haha. Also, I was really frustrated with my Spanish, but after I felt the Spirit for the first time while someone was talking in it I decided I was doing okay, and that it would be just fine.
 

I won't lie, I got the best language to learn. I've met people going to Hungary, Finland, Houston TX Vietnamese speaking, Sacramento CA Hmong speaking (Google it, I had no idea it even existed. Also, he told me it's spelled like that. Haha), lost of Russian speakers, Croatian, etc, etc. Yeah, Spanish is the best. I remember Kendall said his dad thought Spanish is the eternal language. I laughed. But Hermano J says, "Español el el idioma del dioses," which is "Spanish is the language of the gods." Hahaha. I'm pretty excited to be fluent someday and be able to yack with Kyle and Tanner.
 

We've had some really good devotionals lately. One was by Chad Lewis, a former BYU football player and retired NFL player. No one in our family would know who he is, but some people were really excited he was here. Haha. Anyway, he talked about meeting with veterans of the Iraq War. They all hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, which is a big deal. Lots of them had physical impairments, like busted eyes, or amputated legs. It made us thankful for our health and abilities. He talked about how hard they worked to get to the top of the mountain, and that we have to work hard to help others up and down this giant mountain of life. It was pretty cool.
 

I don't know what else to say. Things are going well. It's weird that my time in Provo is almost half over. Crazy, huh!? Anyway, I love you all! Thanks for everything!

Much love,
Zac

Week 3 - September 29, 2011

What? Where does the time go? Three weeks here is really deceiving. I guess the whole mission is like this though, so it's no wonder people say it flies by. I'm already one-third one with my time at the MTC! And there's still so much to learn!

Everything here is going well. I had a better week this week than last week. My companions left last night and are probably arriving in the Dominican Republic within the next hour or two if they aren't already there. Another member of our district, Elder D left for the DR too, so our district is down to 7. It seems so small now! We're sad their gone. Even though I got really irritated with both of my companions yesterday, by the time they left it was really sad to see them off. They'll do awesome stuff though, and Elder G is such a hard worker that I know his Spanish is going to explode the second he gets down there. He is easily the most improved out of anyone over the course of our three weeks here. Now all four of us Elders in the district are going stateside, two to Las Vegas East Mission, one to Albuquerque, NM, and me to KY. Two Sisters are going to Cordoba, Argentina, and one Sister is going to San Francisco/Oakland Temple Visitors Center.

My new companion is Elder M, from New Jersey. He's super nice. He and the two other Elders in our district moved down into my room because it was bigger and had more desk space. Haha. We went to the scheduling office a few days ago and asked if the three guys could moved down to my room because it's way better than the one they were in before, and they said it wasn't a problem! The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? Plus, I didn't have to move any of my stuff, which was an awesome bonus. I am kind of dreading having to pack in 6 weeks though. Watching the other Elders do it made it look super terrible. I hope I can pack as nicely as Dad did for me. Hahaha.

I'm learning a lot everyday. Sometimes it's frustrating, because we're never told exactly what to teach our progressing investigators. We need to find out what their needs are, what will help them, and what will help them feel the Spirit and build their faith. Right now we're teaching Juan Carlos and Ivan (separately). They are a new challenge because they aren't very receptive and aren't good at commitments. Just prepping us for the real world I guess, even if it makes planning and teaching a little stressful sometimes.

My Spanish is coming along. Mom, I liked that scripture you sent me (Ether 12:27). Just a few days before I had gone to a fireside, and the speaker talked about how we have to let God take care of everything. I don't ask for help very well, so that's something I'm still working on, but I have seen my Spanish really improve as I've worked hard, but also asked for help and had the faith that Spanish is what I need to study. I gave one of my teachers a high five after I read a verse in the Book of Mormon that had grammar that we just learned in it! Haha. On a side note, reading the scriptures in Spanish is tough business. That is something I can't really do right now. Preach My Gospel is way easier, but that is frustrating sometimes too. It's pretty common for everyone to have their English scriptures, PMG, dictionary on their desk, along with their Spanish scriptures, Predicad Mi Evangelio, and other language books. Haha.

The weather here is great. Mornings are a little bit cold, but we always go outside for gym period because of how great it is. The trees on the mountain are really starting to change, and I'm so excited about it! I'm way less excited about potential snow we could get before I leave, and other terrible cold weather situations. Haha. But it's good practice for Kentucky I guess.

I guess I don't have much else. It's hard to know what I have and haven't told y'all. I know I need to be here though, so I keep on pushing through! I'm glad y'all are doing well! Thanks for everything!

Love,
Zac

Week 2 - September 22, 2011

Hey everyone!

Well, we just got back from a session at the temple. I didn't get lost this time after my session, so that's good. Haha. It was a really good session. I thought I had lost my white handkerchief with my white initials, but I found it last night in my luggage! Kyle told me you'd keep finding things in your suitcases and that it would feel like Christmas when you did. So true! It's going to be and adventure to repack everything though. At least I have a few weeks before that happens.

My companions got their visas and itineraries, so the leave on the 29th for the Dominican Republic. They're freaking out a little bit about the Spanish, but that'll be so cool to jump right into it all.

Spanish has been coming along. It's hard sometimes, but I almost always understand the jist of what my teachers are saying. I have to ask them to go slower or repeat, but I can see the improvements that I've made since I've been here, so that's good. Remember Victor? He was our progressing investigator the first week? He's actually Hermano J, our second teacher. He's really cool, and Hermano W has really grown on all of us. Tanner actually had them as teacher when he was here a few weeks ago. I'm in the exact same classroom he was in and everything! Now we're teaching two new progressing investigators separately, Juan Carlos and Ivan. Teaching is so frustrating because I know what I want to say, but often times can't really say it. But it's a crazy good exercise, because we're already getting acquainted with extending commitments, helping them keep the commitments, and building their faith with them.

Russell M. Nelson spoke to us on Tuesday night at our devotional. That's the third apostle in a row for Tuesday devotional (only the second that I've been here for), and apparently that's really unusual. He talked about the Book of Mormon and the new issue of the Ensign (which, might I add, is very good). We were all given a copy in preparation for his visit, and we all held them up for him when he asked if we had received our copies. It was cool to see the whole auditorium hold them up. He talked about how important the Book of Mormon is, and the intense history behind getting it printed here, in Britain, in Salt Lake, etc, and how it is the most important tool we have to help others in our purpose as missionaries. Our purpose, in case you didn't know, is: Invitar a las personas a venir a Cristo al ayudarlas a reciban el Evangelio restaurado mediate la fe en Jesucristo y Su expiacion, el arrepentimiento, el bautismo, la recepcion del don del Espiritu Santo, y perseverar hasta el fin. That's just about the only thing I have memorized in Spanish, but it says: Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end.

I'm out of time, but I'm doing well. Things are hard sometimes, but mostly I'm learning and growing all the time! Thanks for all your love! You're the best!

Love,

Elder Zac