September 24, 2012, Las Vegas West Mission

I only need like one more (shirt) now.  I can go get that.  Maybe you should just buy the missionaries there some new shirts instead.  That would be good, haha.  That is a big deal to missionaries.  Oh, one thing about my card.  Could you go and tell them i am in Nevada and to make it work here, haha.  I have to put in my pin, no matter what, or it won't work.  So if you could go and see about that that would be awesome.  Because it stinks to get denied because some place doesn't have a key pad.  Thanks, love you, Mom.

 

Yeah, those packages got here.  I love them, thanks.  I don't need a letter every week, just once in a while, haha.  Every now and then it is nice to get some physical mail, haha.  Yeah, I used to get more mail.  I was looking at my mail the other day and I realized that more than like 70 percent was from the first 6 months, haha.  It makes me laugh.  It is nice to get it every once in a while. But yeah, the package was awesome.  I can now make some gumbo for some people that want it.  Yeah, sausage would be awesome if you would not mind.  If you sent it with her, just have her bring it to the mission office.  I can't accept visits in this mission like I could in the other mission.  Kinda sucks, haha, but, oh well.

 

Yeah so, Elder Lopez has been good.  I really enjoy him.  We have been working hard.  It is fun.  No, it is pretty easy to wake up now.  We have been going to the gym every morning, so it makes it easy to get up and stuff.  So, it is not too bad anymore.  When you have a comp that is willing to get up on time, it makes it easier, haha. But yeah, Elder Lopez is doing good.  He is from Mexico, but grew up mostly in Utah, so he has perfect English, haha.  It is really cool.  I really do like him.  He has opened up more and it has been good.

 

Yeah, the zone is really good.  We are having a lot of fun.  We are about to start practice on p-day for football on Thanksgiving, haha.  It is going to be awesome, haha.  

 

So, are y'all going to bring in MC and Alex for Lil's b-day?  That would be really cool.  I love y'all, but I don't know what else to say.  

 

Love, Elder Zachary

September 17, 2012--Las Vegas West Mission

So, this week has been a lot of fun.  I found out that my companion is going to be leaving to go to the Mesquite Zone serving in Logandale.  So I am kinda sad about that.  He was a really good comp to have.... just a really good guy and really a hard worker.  He will be a trainer now.  He is dropping from zone leader which is kinda weird for him, but that's alright.  

 

My new comp is Elder Lopez.  I will go pick him up tonight.  So that should be good and a lot of fun, but I kinda already know him because he is a zone leader now.  I am kinda nervous about that but it should be good.  I think.........I hope.  But, he is really intense, haha.  I am not too happy about that, but it will be good for me.

 

Well, it has been a lot of fun serving in Vegas, but I am ready to go back to the country.  The lights hurt my head.  It is never dark.  You can't see any stars.  I just want to go back, but I don't want to leave the area.  Look at the dilemma that I have.  It is terrible, but yeah.

 

Oh, so I found out that the Beale's are in the stake right next to the one that I am in.  He is a bishop there, so that is kinda cool.  Maybe we will see each other one day.  That is really cool that Ivy is in the stake.  

 

So, there is a family that we are teaching.  His name is Art and we have just started teaching him.  He is such a good guy.  Just really funny and was so prepared because of a friend that he has that has just showed him that example. It is shocking the difference that it can make in someone's life when they just have someone in their life that lives the gospel.  They notice the difference.

I need some new shirts, so I was going to go get some.  If you could make sure there is enough money in the account for like 3 or 4 new shirts that would be awesome.  I would appreciate that alot.  I am kinda tired of wearing yellow shirts, haha.  It is kinda gross, but I guess it is ok.

September 10, 2012--Las Vegas West Mission

Hey, so this week has been good.  Transfers are coming up, again.  I think we will stay together again, which is fine with me.  I love Elder Jones.  We are working hard together.  I really enjoy it.  It has been fun.  I guess he could leave, but we shall see what happens.  Well, love y'all.  We had a baptism this past week.  Awesome!  She was so happy!  She gave us hugs afterward and was just so happy.  She is a sweet lady.  Really glad for her.  Her name is Sister Pierce.  Well, love y'all.  Hope everything is going good.

Mom, I really appreciate all that you have done over the years to make my life so comfortable.  It really has been hard for you at times, I know, but I have really been blessed to have you as a mom. Love you and hope you are doing good.

P.S.  Hey, hey, mom, I am here.  So I have not gotten any mail in 2 months almost.  It is kinda depressing to open the mail box.  I need more roux.  We had to use some. 

September 4, 2012--Las Vegas West Mission

Well, since yesterday was Labor Day, we could not get to the library to email.  Sorry about that, Mom.  

 

And well, when there is a hurricane in the Gulf I want to know details.  Y'all did not say anything to me.  I have no way of knowing if it is headed to hit y'all or what is expected, and well, it makes me nervous when everyone here is asking how home is with the storm, and i have no idea.  And y'all don't even tell me about it.  So please tell me about it whenever there is a storm in the Gulf.  Thanks.  

 

So yeah, this week was fun.  We had a BBQ for p-day and for Labor Day.  It was fun.  So yeah.  So this transfer we are going to loss one of our wards that we cover and the other one is going to split.  So we will cover those two after that.  So it should be weird, haha

 

I am ok.  Doing good.  I don't know what else to say really.  

 

Sean emailed me.  Said he is doing good and wants to go on a mission.  That would be awesome.  Well thanks so much for all that y'all do for me, and I love y'all so much!

August 29, 2012--Las Vegas West Mission

Hey family.  So we had a little change in schedule this week.  We had a pday move from Monday to Wednesday so that we could go to the temple this morning.

It was really cool to be there with another 100 something missionaries in the temple at once.  We broke it up though.  We had a meeting with 3 zones at a time where we would go and have a meeting with some talks from President Black and Sister Black.  They are really awesome.  I love talking to them and just enjoying them.  It really does bring peace in my life to be able to go to the temple.  Then we sat in the Celestial room for like an hour with the members we live with.  They are really one of the best families I have ever met.  They are fun, funny, and so nice.  There house is the house where everyone wants to be.  It is just one of those places where you just feel welcome.  Today we had some gumbo that I cooked.   (oh i need more roux) thanks and had another 2 sets of missionaries over and some of their family over.  We had two amazing piano players over.  One is a missionary and the other is in our ward.  The missionary is the best I have ever seen and he taught himself.  He is amazing. But anyway the family that I live with gets mad if we buy our own food.  We just have to tell her what we want and she will make it or buy it or what ever.  I almost feel bad, but then i get over it, haha.  Y'all should have the missionaries move in once we are gone and buy all their food and cook for them all the time.  Y'all would be the favorite house in the mission.  Kinda like the people that we live with are now.  It is really cool.  Their names are the Rosequiste.  They are awesome.

 

Yeah, so we just have to conduct district meetings, and once a month give trainings, and every once in a while do some more trainings and go on exchanges and take care of the problems that come up in the zones.  It is really fun some times.  Once a week we go to the mission office and go do some paper work.  Yeah, it is a blast.

 

The Rosequiste' are keeping me up on what is going on with the storm.  Oh and I love she is so anti-Obama.  I don't even have to worry about what I say in politics because we always agreee, haha.  It is really kinda cool.

The work is going good.  Loving it.  It is fun

August 20, 2012---Las Vegas West Mission

Dear family and others.....haha.

So this has been a lot of fun, but really stressful.  Me and Elder Jones have a new quote that we live by..............Don't sweat the small things and everything is a small thing............haha.  It has helped a lot.  It is weird, but yeah.  This week we were able to give two trainings that were a little stressful.  We went out and taught and tracted with President Black which was really cool.  He is a great guy and really has the Spirit with him.  But, he is still a guy and didn't see much more success than we usually see, which makes me think of the best missionary, Jesus Christ.  He was perfect, but many still didn't believe the things that he taught.  Then to cap off the week, we had a baptism on Saturday that we didn't know was going to happen till Monday, but it was quite a wonderful thing to see some one make those sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.  It really brings the Spirit.  He was about to cry when I gave him the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  He was converted when he read the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon is really that evidence of the things we teach and the restoration of the priesthood....which is a real power.

Yeah, it is Ezra Taft Bensen's great-grandson and he is one of the most Christlike people I have ever meet.  Just super humble and a great guy.  A little quiet and shy but really brings the Spirit with him.  It is great to have a companion that I don't have to do everything with.  It was really hard for the past 6 months, but it is awesome.  We have been setting people for baptism.  It has been a lot of fun.  You can just see the change.

Well, I am so glad MC is doing good.  I would hate to have to kill a fool.  Have her tell him anything he does to her I do to him.  So if he shakes her hand....I shake his hand; if he hugs her....I hug him; if he kisses her....I kiss him, so on and so on.

Love y'all

August 13, 2012----Las Vegas West Mission

Well yeah, it was good we are back for like 2 minutes to read your email.  Thanks for sending it.  I love hearing from y'all.

Well, we are really excited about the zone.  We have some really good missionaries.  My new companion goes home with me and he is just a really good missionary.  It is really nice to have such a strong companion in comparison to the past ones, haha. Cool face!  He is actually the great-grandson of Ezra Taft Benson and you can tell.  He is a little quite, but just really spiritual and humble.  I really like him.  We get along great and are having a lot of fun together.

Well, got to go.  The area is part getto, part really really nice.  Yeah, the family we live with gets mad if we buy food that they would have.  We just open the fridge and go to town, haha.  It is really cool.  They are named the Rosequest.  They are mission legends.  And about the bikes......we don't ride them as zone leaders.  We always have a car.  There are not any zone leaders that don't have one because of some of the stuff we have to do.

Love to y'all
Bye.