Week 19 - March 19, 2012

Hi family --

Three heads are not better than two. I'm not saying we've had a bad week or anything, but it really is harder to get three people moving in the same direction at the same time. Haha. Elder F is a good guy and is sooo excited about the work. He's been out for a year and has a super super good attitude about everything. I have a hard time getting excited for knocking doors (because we have hardly found anyone in the last two or three weeks) but he just goes along, sharing the gospel with a big smile everywhere he goes! So that's good. Elder F was previously serving in the same zone we are in right now in Lexington, which is only 15ish miles east from here, so instead of driving way out west to Louisville for the transfer meeting, the zone leaders just dropped him off on Tuesday morning. They do a lot of that stuff at transfers for people that are moving, but not very far.

St. Patrick's Day ties.

This week was pretty good. I don't think we have scared too many people at the doors now that there are three white people instead of just two white people. Haha. But we still haven't really found anyone new in quite a while. Things have sort of dipped with our investigators lately... Roxy has cancelled our last two appointments and hasn't been to church for two or three weeks. Gustavo didn't come to church and still didn't talk to his lady friend about marriage (although he was reading the Book of Mormon when we stopped by the other day, so that was wicked cool!), Rufino's work schedule changed and he can't come to church, and we asked Enrique a question the other day and he seemed to remember nothing about the restoration of the gospel... that we had already taught him twice. But we still think these people have all the potential in the world if we can help them commit and study and pray. Which is so much easier said than done. But we're trying.

I have felt like I'm on vacation this week. Being from Arizona, I'm totally used to 7% humidity and dirt and clear skies. But this week it has been cool but humid, and everything has really greened up. If we have a little bit of a breeze it seriously feels like we're in a coastal town, so every time I open the door and go outside into the green and cool, I feel like we're off on vacation somewhere to get away from the desert. I'm sure that feeling will go away when it's in the 90s with 95% humidity. Hahaha.

Blooming trees?! My new favorite thing.

Yesterday church was only an hour long because a ton of the wards in Kentucky have gotten together and gone to southern Indiana to help clean up the mess from the tornadoes a few weeks ago. I was way impressed that so many people went up there, because I think it's about 2 hours away and they had to camp and take their own food and stuff. We had an investigator come to church yesterday named Mariela. We knocked on her door a few weeks ago and finally got in contact with her and got her to church. She is super super cool. But she left before the closing hymn. She said it's because her two daughters were too hungry and restless to sit still, although we aren't really sure if that's the case. Our speakers were less than dynamic. One of them was a super great member that we've interacted with a lot. But she talked about her smoking problems, and Mariela turned to Elder S and said, "I thought you guys don't smoke." So that was kind of a rough spot yesterday... But we'll see. Fingers crossed we can get her back

I did something this week that made me think of Dad -- I helped lay a brick patio in a member's backyard! And guess what... it was actually super fun! Haha. I don't have pictures of it, but the member said he's going to send them to me, so maybe I'll have them next week. But seriously, it was way cool to watch a patio sort of come to life in just a matter of hours. I've seriously learned a ridiculous amount about power tools and back yard projects since we are free labor for the general public. Haha.

A few spare minutes before an appointment.

Things are going good. We're working hard, and I really do like our companionship. Even though we're kind of awkward in a group of three, the other elders are seriously great at all of this, so we can't really fail if we're doing the best we can, right? Right.

Thanks for all you guys do for me! The support I have from home is a real blessing, because there are quite a few missionaries that don't really have that. So thanks. :)

Have a good week everyone!

Love,
Zac