Week 41: Adventures of "WE GOT ROBBED!"

First of all, I would just like to thank all of you who have been writing Zach. I received this little message from him this monday:

 "I'm so glad that you write me. It means the world to me that you take some time out to write me every week. Sometimes its hard being out here working all day everyday and then on top of it your here in the mission alone. I'm blessed to receive such awesome letters from you. They really mean the world to me!"

So, I am not posting this to brag, because my brother loves me the most out of all the family, even more than our mom... But more so because I just wanted everyone to see just how much these letters mean to Zachy. It has been so crazy hard for us here at home without Zach. Our family can tell you, that not a day goes by that we don't see or do something that reminds us of our brother. Its actually more like several times a day. So, how hard it must be for him, going to a completely different country, not knowing anyone, and your closest friend (companion) gets transferred out ever couple of months. The only consistency in his life right now, is the gospel and our letters. So keep them coming!!!

Well, Zach has a new companion, his name is Elder Hill. So far they are getting along. He only has 11 more weeks left in his mission, then after the next transfer Zach will most likely be leaving Lagunillas and going to a new area.

So hopefully, you read the post title... No Zach did not get robbed, he just made it look like they got robbed as a prank for Elder Castro. Call it a goodbye present, because he ended his mission this last week. They took all the valuables out of the house and supposedly it was pretty funny. I am glad Zach still has his sense of humor!

This weeks letter was kind of short, but I would like to end this post with, once again, Zachs words. Thanks for reading y'all! He was so excited to get more than 2,000 views to his blog. What an awesome feat. that so many people care!

"I love you all so much. Keep on Keeping on. Do your best. Read the scriptures. Stay strong in the gospel! What ever you do obey the commandments. If we cant obey simple commandments and things like going to church or reading our scriptures or praying to our father in heaven how do we expect to obey a higher law in heaven? We are in a preparatory state. Prepare and give your all to god. Use the atonement, learn, do your best to improve because it will all be worth it in the end. I am so happy and i'm happy because i'm living the commandments and trying to obey every rule in the mission. I'm not perfect though and that's the key I believe. Admitting that we aren't so we can have humility. Humility to call on god for help to make us better and guide our lives with the holy ghost."

Hasta luego!!!!

Week 40: Adventures of a new perspective

It has been a super busy week this week for me, so I decided to post Zachs actual email. Good thing it is a super awesome one and his own words are so great to read. Love this kid!!! Here it is for your enjoyment and spiritual feeding:


"This week has been a very interesting week! I apologize now because I forgot everything my camera and my memory card and my wallet because we left early this morning to Concepcion to send Elder Castro on his way home. This means I can’t send photos today.... I’m sorry! We rushed through the doors early this morning.

Two Cambios Gone:

The last 2 cambios have been a test of charity, patience and who I am as a person. The last 2 cambios have been a battle to serve and help my companion. Elder Castro and I got along well. Most of the time but now I will be getting a new companion whose name is Elder Hill he is from Utah as far as I know he is a pretty great Missionary. I’m excited to meet him and work hard. It was sad to see Elder Castro end his mission. You could tell he loved the mission and being a missionary. It gave me a new perspective of this work. I have limited time and I must work hard and love and serve.


A Prayer and Splits:

I was on an inter cambio with Elder Ehlen. He and I had a great opportunity to work and contact. At the end of our day we wanted to teach one more family. We had been contacting all day and so we really wanted to teach someone. We bowed our heads and prayed to find a family of 3. We ended our prayer and started contacting. After 3 houses we found a family of 5. They are really great! Their name is Familia Villatora. It was a tender moment when they let us in and not knowing who we were at all just sit down and listen to us. They are really interested so keep them in your prayers.

Meeting With an Apostle?

We had a conference with an apostle. Well kinda. It was a web broadcast to our mission. Elder Oaks was in Santiago and our mission was able to participate in the conference via internet. Our whole mission got together and had lunch and watched Elder Oaks speak words of comfort and revelation for our mission.

Something that he said grabbed my attention. He said that all of us can receive an answer from god about anything. He explained in this example to receive an answer that the Book of Mormon is true. He asked... why don’t we get an answer sometimes? In Moroni 10:4 it says that we need three things to receive an answer that the Book of Mormon is true... 1. Sincere heart. 2. True intentions. 3.faith in Christ. Now Elder Oaks said something very interesting... if you have all these things and you’re praying to know if it’s true and you receive an answer what then...? What will you do after you receive an answer. Many times we say we will do something and we end up not doing it or we forget. If you received an answer from god through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon was true what would you do...? That is the question we give to investigators. We then commit them to baptism.

Now in our personal lives, what if we want charity? If you ask for charity and god blesses you with charity what will you do after you receive your answer? God knows us perfectly and for us to receive an answer we must act. If we want to be forgiven of our sins what should we do? Make a commitment with god that we will not make a certain error again. I feel like this is an important thing to know. If we want answers we must commit.

That gives a new perspective for me for the restoration. Joseph Smith prayed and he received an answer because god knew he would act and help with this great work and restore the gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember revelation is much related to commitment. If we receive something what will we do?


In Conclusion:

Love you all so much and am so happy to hear from you all. I got my birthday package from mommy this week and it was awesome! Just what I needed I’m so lucky! I’m the luckiest, most blessed missionary. I know some missionaries who haven’t gotten one package.

I also received Aunt Kim’s awesome package with magic tricks! I’m so excited to get started and showing all the kids these awesome tricks! Thanks Kim! Love you and appreciate the package.

Love your all so so much and hope that if you have anything that you need just let me know!:)"


HAST LUEGO

Week 39: Adventures of the jacuzzi baptism miracle

Alo all of you Zachary lovers out there!

Zoey meeting uncle Zachy

Hope all of your lives have been equally as awesome as our families. Zach was a little worker bee this week, keeping busy to keep his mind off of all he was missing here at home. He made sure to focus his time and efforts on the people of Chile, rather than his desire to be here with us for the wedding. Luckily for us, we didn't have to live without Zach this week... In fact, we have a new, taller and improved Zach who accompanied us to the wedding. It was great to see and talk to him. He was really quiet and is eerily thinner than he was when he left us. Hello, Chileans, are you even feeding my brother?! So, the gig was probably up before it started, but we really just grabbed a card board George Bush from party land and pasted Zachs face over Georges wrinkly old one. Bush, is probably a foot taller than the real Zach, and also has a ton of liver spots on his hands... Hopefully guests didn't mistake him as the real Zach, because as much as we would like him home, he is still in Chile.

Speaking of new and improved Zachs, he actually is blooming into a little social butterfly! I mean, he was one before, everyone who knew Zach, knew that he radiated the spirit and loved EVERYBODY. Well, he is taking it to a whole new level. He is contacting wherever he can contact. I mean this kid is preaching to buses full of people, which is something that I couldn't see him doing before he left on this journey. Off that bus, he received 3 whole references, which is three more than what he would have gotten if he hadn't of stood up and bore his testimony of the gospel.

Well the title of the blog this week is pretty awesome. When I first read this story, I was like "heck yes I will get baptized, where do I sign up?!" but it turns out I am already a baptized member of the church and they wont baptize me again... So I guess I am out of luck. Anyways, this week Zach and his companion attended a baptism in Laguniallas. They filled the baptistery up with water and when it came time to do the ordinance, they felt the water and realized the temperature was boiling hot. Like scalding hot. I imagine it being hot, like the lake water that the grandma pushes the boat across and dies in the movie Dantes Peak. Anyways, the humble bishop overseeing the baptism, said a prayer that the baptism could continue forward. Turns out, a little miracle happened right then and there! The water turned from Dantes peak hot, to a nice little relaxing jacuzzi, and they were able to continue on with the baptism and receive their ordinances as planned. SUPER cool!

One last cool story before I end this post, is that Zach had borrowed some rope from a member to help do some service for another member. She made sure to tell them to return it in due time. Well they used it and Zach had a strong feeling to return the rope in the morning before any of their appointments, so he did. They arrived and the member invited them into the house. They had a pretty booked up day, so they were going to just drop off the rope and head out, but Zach had an overwhelming feeling to stay and visit for a little bit. As Elder Castro went to use the members bathroom, Zach found a young man on the couch and began to talk to him. The young man told Zach that he loved the church, but had not been baptized. Zach asked if he and Elder Castro could come and teach him the lessons and if he would be interested in setting a baptism date, to which he agreed! Always listen to the Holy Ghost people! You never know when you are being set up to succeed!

Well until next week,

hasta luego!

Zach and one of his best friends, Matt, at the wedding

Week 38: Adventures of the drunk zombie

The time has come to again begin another post! 9 MONTHS! The weeks just pile on top of each other, and I love it! That means we are one week closer to being with our little Zachy poo!  As I have mentioned in blog posts previously, this week is the week that our sister Cassie is getting married to her sweetheart Chan. If you haven't heard of her journey, you can read about it here:

http://beautifulplacetogetlostin.blogspot.com/

Now that you know a little more, you can understand how awesome this day is for our family. I cannot tell you enough how many times we all prayed for Cassie to find someone who would treat her like a princess and be the best daddy for Tegan. Zach has been very protective of us, especially Cassie though. They are the closest siblings in age, so I think they have grown up with a special bond. I always felt like they had their own little club (which is fine, because they were both really annoying when we were young). So of anyone in this family (other than our parents) I am sure that Zach is probably the most excited about the event that will take place. Unfortunately he won't be able to be there, which is sad, but it is something that he has sacrificed to help the people of Chile. He even emailed me this morning asking if we could print out a life size, cardboard cut out of him so he could be in the pictures (tender). Knowing this, you can see how important this sealing of Cassie to Tegan and Chan is to him and our family.

Well, Zach of course mentioned general conference in his letter. How could a missionary not mention the only time they get to watch TV for two years? :) One talk that really stood out to him was Sister Linda K. Burton's talk. A question that he asked going into conference this last weekend was, how can I be better. She answered his question by saying, that everything we do, should reflect our ending goal, family. He said he felt such a great feeling spread over him, that he can become a better person, by becoming a better future father and husband. It is weird for me to think about Zach coming home next year, and then getting married and having little nieces and nephews for me. I like to just remember him as the little squirt, running around in his Tarzan loin cloth, singing Phil Collins. What a cute kid. Too bad that loin cloth ended up being burnt on our fire place... Anyways, everything he is learning there on his mission are attributes that he can use with his future family.

Ever walk down a dark road and a drunk zombie comes out of the alley way yelling at you? Well that happened to Zach. Except, he wasn't a zombie, which is disappointing, because our family loves zombies. So I guess Zach and Elder Castro were just minding their own business when this drunk guy out of no where, starts chasing them and yelling "ELDERS!" Bahaha, Zach just laughed, but I guess Elder Castro was a little freaked out (rightfully so), and he started walking faster and faster. Luckily, they escaped the cold grasp of the crazy drunk man.

Sooo, that is it for this week. Keep up the good work you guys, make Zachy proud. My new mantra is W.W.Z.D? Yes, what would Zachy do?

Hasta luego!

Zach was super excited about making this pizza for some investigators.

Week 37: Adventures of eternal life

 I can't help but be so thankful for my brother and his choices even more this week. I have been missing him something bad the last couple of weeks. With our sisters wedding coming up, it is hard to imagine not having our Zach here to witness such an incredible, joyous occasion. In fact, it is hard to imagine Zach not being here for the next year and a half. He is missing so much here back home. His little princess niece Tegan, has grown so much. He hasn't met his new niece and my daughter, Zoey. It is hard to think, that he is missing 2 whole years of her life. By the time he returns, she will be able to run into his arms, but will not recognize him, because he will be a stranger. Then as I look back at this paragraph and the negativity that I have felt, that my brother is "losing" two whole years, seems so petty. How many nieces, nephews, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, is he saving? How many family members is he giving eternity to? How many people is he giving complete and eternal happiness? He is not losing two years, but giving two years. He is giving the gift of his time, to our brothers and sisters who have lost their way and are searching for something more in this life. Those who have not yet had the chance in this life to have the knowledge of eternal families and the atonement. Those who have released their grip from the iron rod and wandered into the darkness that is in our world. Although he cannot hold my little girl right now, he is holding those who need him more in Chile. What a selfless gift that he is giving to the people of Chile. He is changing life's. He is doing Christs work, and for that, we can wait a year and a half to be with my brother again.

Anyways, it is conference weekend. Super exciting to think that Zach will be watching it at the same time as us. So far, it has been filled with so much incredible advice and words to live by. I am sure that Zach would love to receive a letter with some of your favorite tid-bits from conference!

Zach said in his letter that the work is continuing forward in Chile, as he and his companion, Elder Castro, try to communicate with anyone they can.

A story I cherished in his letter this week, I am going to post in his own words, which everyone should read:

"As I was walking down a dirt path I remembered a scripture that my brother had shared with me.

Lucas 1: 37

This scripture passed my mind and I gained a footing on a small inner battle I was having with myself. I started then saying, if God can do anything, surely he could make me a better person. If God can do anything, I can learn and grow. If God can do anything, surely I can be a great help in the work. I then said a small prayer in my heart on that dirt road and asked God to make me a better person. To help me be better to myself and to help me love me. I feel like too many times we are super hard on ourselves, but if we turn to Christ he will show us that there is a lot to be happy about and that we literally are sons and daughters of Christ."

Recently we had a close friend of our family's, Arik Mack,  die in a freak semi-trailer accident. Of course Zach probably received many emails with the sad news, however, he sent back his testimony of life after death. He bore that heaven does exist and we are all here for a purpose. We will see our families again after this life, and we can be together for eternity. Though those closest to him are probably feeling such pain and sorrow, he encouraged them to reach out to the person who knows exactly what they are going through, because he too went through it himself, Jesus Christ. We have hope, because Jesus lived. He gave his deepest condolences and expressed his love to Jeff, Liz, and all of the Mack family.

Keep them in your prayers please, wherever you are, and know how fragile this earthly life is. But death will not bruise our heels, because we know that by grace, we are all saved.

Zach loves you all and is so thankful to be doing this important work in Chile!

Hasta luego!

Funny story: Zach, Cassie and I LOVE Shrek. No really, we are obsessed. Gingy is by far our favorite character in the series. We always yell "GINGY!" to eachother, and then we respond "PAPA!" Well somehow, he ended up with a Gingy doll. His roomates obviously defaced him, which breaks my heart...