Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 8:18 AM
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: Zone Conferences, Boxes, Aquariums, Oh My!
Well another end to another good week. Brother Tyndel (from the 1st ward) took us and the English Zone Leaders to the aquarium last week. It was at Fort Fisher which is an old Civil War Fort. The Aquarium was newer, though. We saw an Albino Aligator named Luna.
The rest of the week was pretty crazy. We biked a lot and I got my pant leg snagged a couple times in my gears, haha. Fortunatley those pants got soaked in the rain so I can't wear them around. By the time they're dry it'll be interviews and I can have Sister cotterell sew them for me.
Last Friday was my first Zone Conference. It was really cool. Since there's only 30 Spanish missionaries they had both zones combined. I got to see Elder Parsons again and he looked really good. He said his brother got hit by a car in Indiana while riding his bike, but is ok.
We had a lot of good lessons in Zone Conference from President Cotterell, Elder Baker and Pepinos, and the AP's. Elder Baker gave us stickers to put on the back of our name tag with a commitment on it. It was really cool.
After zone conference Elder Jasperson and I had headaches (we had to get up at 5 and drive for 2 hours since the conference was in Raleigh and we hadn't eaten anything.) Elder Larsen drove us to Wallace (his area) and then we drove from there to our area. We got home around 8:30 that night and stopped by a members house.
Yesterday we had one investigator at church. It wasn't as many as last week but it was good. After church we went to see Celeste. She's moving to Mexico on the 29th but if she wasn't she would be so ready for baptism. She's really fun to talk to and our lessons are always full of the spirit when we're with her.
We also met with Arcio and Hector. We've been meeting with Arcio for a while. He lives with a bunch of his cousins and everyone he lives with is really accepting of the gospel. Arcio and Hector have baptisimal dates for September 12th. Giovani also lives with them and Elder Jasperson thinks that he's the best investigator we have. On Saturday we were leaving the trailer and he was there saying "I saw your car when I drove in and I walked all over the neighborhood looking for you. Oh well, guess I'l lsee you tomarrow at church." He didn't come to church, but the fact that he was excited to see us was cool enough, haha.
As far as this week goes it's the last week of my first transfer. This transfer has gone by so fast but from what I hear it's the "longest" transfer.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 8:56 AM
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: Famb'lee!
Ok, I got one letter this week so I won't write this in Spanish (but it was an old one that came late, so concider yourselves lucky!)
This week was nuts. I went on another exchange (I go on one every week since Elder Jasperson is DL). I got to go back to Wallace but this time I was with Elder Larsen, who we call Big Lars. He's really cool but really, really quirky. He's like a guy version of Courtney, actually. We had two dinner appointments that night. The first was with a Less Active family and things got heated when we talked about prayer, haha. The other was with a guy named Victor. He's the Branch Mission Leader (Wallace only has a Branch for Spanish and English members, no Ward.) He's really young and is moving to Provo in a month for School.
Yesterday, we had 7 investigators (we just call them Gators) to church. We usually have one or two come, but they had been coming since before we got here, so this is my first real time having an investigator come. They all liked it.
After church we had dinner with a member. He lives in Oaklahoma but is here for work for the next month or so. He's originaly from American Fork so when he heard I was from Lehi he started picking on me, haha. He fed both us and the English ZL's. It was the best meal I've had since I left. He made up a recipe for pasta that had shrimp, scallops, Italian sausage, and yogurt. It was really, really good.
Elder JAsperson and I then went to Bell street to talk to an investigator. He wasn't there and no one lese was at any house. We got to the end of the road and there was a huge fiesta going on. It was a girl's birthday party and the person we were visitting was there (along with the whole neigborhood). The tradition is (from what I could translate from our gator) was that for every year they have they have that many pinatas. We talked with Hector for a while and he invited us to have dinner with him on Thursday. We also have 2 more dinner appointments on Wednesday.
It's so awesome being here.
I hit my 3-month mark in 3 days. I don't get to burn anything, but in 3 more months I get to burn a tie. Elder Robertson (the English ZL) just hit his 18 month mark and burned his pants. I wasn't there but the pictures were cool.
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: Famb'lee!
Ok, I got one letter this week so I won't write this in Spanish (but it was an old one that came late, so concider yourselves lucky!)
This week was nuts. I went on another exchange (I go on one every week since Elder Jasperson is DL). I got to go back to Wallace but this time I was with Elder Larsen, who we call Big Lars. He's really cool but really, really quirky. He's like a guy version of Courtney, actually. We had two dinner appointments that night. The first was with a Less Active family and things got heated when we talked about prayer, haha. The other was with a guy named Victor. He's the Branch Mission Leader (Wallace only has a Branch for Spanish and English members, no Ward.) He's really young and is moving to Provo in a month for School.
Yesterday, we had 7 investigators (we just call them Gators) to church. We usually have one or two come, but they had been coming since before we got here, so this is my first real time having an investigator come. They all liked it.
After church we had dinner with a member. He lives in Oaklahoma but is here for work for the next month or so. He's originaly from American Fork so when he heard I was from Lehi he started picking on me, haha. He fed both us and the English ZL's. It was the best meal I've had since I left. He made up a recipe for pasta that had shrimp, scallops, Italian sausage, and yogurt. It was really, really good.
Elder JAsperson and I then went to Bell street to talk to an investigator. He wasn't there and no one lese was at any house. We got to the end of the road and there was a huge fiesta going on. It was a girl's birthday party and the person we were visitting was there (along with the whole neigborhood). The tradition is (from what I could translate from our gator) was that for every year they have they have that many pinatas. We talked with Hector for a while and he invited us to have dinner with him on Thursday. We also have 2 more dinner appointments on Wednesday.
It's so awesome being here.
I hit my 3-month mark in 3 days. I don't get to burn anything, but in 3 more months I get to burn a tie. Elder Robertson (the English ZL) just hit his 18 month mark and burned his pants. I wasn't there but the pictures were cool.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Today's Letter from Zach
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 1:47 PM
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: New apartment smell!
Crazy crazy week.
A couple days ago we got our new apartment. Elder Jasperson and I aren't sleeping on the floor anymore! Woohoo! Our new apartment is huge. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a giant living room. We turned the other bedroom into a "closet". They were able to get us most of the furniture we need. We have tables, desks, beds, and a couple lamps. Unfortunately, we don't have lightbulbs or chairs. We'll make it, though. We baught most of what we needed (like lightbulbs and candy).
Other than that not a lot has really happened, haha. I went on a couple exchanges since last Monday. The first was with Elder Pepinos and we stayed in Wilmington. The second was with Elder Meza in Albertson (Elder Loe's area).
It's always neet seeing what other areas/companions are like but I think most of it is too show me how great of an area and companion I have, haha. Everyone who comes to Wilmington says I don't know how lucky I have it. But it's hard. Hands down hard. It's been 3 weeks and we have 1 progressing investigator and neither of the investigators that have baptisimal dates are progressing.
We do have a really great ward, though, and with the recent changes to the meal policy it looks like we're going to be fed a lot (we're technically split up between 4 wards, and guranteed dinner every wednesday by a part-member family).
My Bike is still running fine. I named it "Flux" because the English Zone Leaders we were living with kept calling me "Huffmaster Flux" while I was working on it. The front fender fell off, but that's a story for another time.
When Elder Jasperson and I were riding home from Albertson we talked into our hands like microphones as airline pilots. It was really fun and a great way to pass the 2 hour drive home (after getting lost in Albertson for an hour).
I love you all and am so thankful for your support! Keep writting me or the next email will be in Spanish!
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: New apartment smell!
Crazy crazy week.
A couple days ago we got our new apartment. Elder Jasperson and I aren't sleeping on the floor anymore! Woohoo! Our new apartment is huge. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a giant living room. We turned the other bedroom into a "closet". They were able to get us most of the furniture we need. We have tables, desks, beds, and a couple lamps. Unfortunately, we don't have lightbulbs or chairs. We'll make it, though. We baught most of what we needed (like lightbulbs and candy).
Other than that not a lot has really happened, haha. I went on a couple exchanges since last Monday. The first was with Elder Pepinos and we stayed in Wilmington. The second was with Elder Meza in Albertson (Elder Loe's area).
It's always neet seeing what other areas/companions are like but I think most of it is too show me how great of an area and companion I have, haha. Everyone who comes to Wilmington says I don't know how lucky I have it. But it's hard. Hands down hard. It's been 3 weeks and we have 1 progressing investigator and neither of the investigators that have baptisimal dates are progressing.
We do have a really great ward, though, and with the recent changes to the meal policy it looks like we're going to be fed a lot (we're technically split up between 4 wards, and guranteed dinner every wednesday by a part-member family).
My Bike is still running fine. I named it "Flux" because the English Zone Leaders we were living with kept calling me "Huffmaster Flux" while I was working on it. The front fender fell off, but that's a story for another time.
When Elder Jasperson and I were riding home from Albertson we talked into our hands like microphones as airline pilots. It was really fun and a great way to pass the 2 hour drive home (after getting lost in Albertson for an hour).
I love you all and am so thankful for your support! Keep writting me or the next email will be in Spanish!
Missed one- last weeks letter
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: I feel like I'm still riding my bike when I'm sleeping!
Wow, what another great week! After I sent the last email we went golfing with a bunch of other missionaries for our P-Day. Afterwards we bought our grocceries and I spent $16 total and still have plenty of food, haha.
This week was crazy, to say the least, with a lot of ups and downs. Rosi, one of greastest investigators, is good friends with Cozme, who is probably one of the strongest members in our ward. He told us that she's been taking the lessons for a lot longer than we thought and she looks at them more like conversations than anything else. He told us that if she doesn't start keeping commitments or coming to church then we should drop her.
The day before that I was on an exchange with one of the Spanish AP's. It was Elder Espinosa (the person that trained Elder Jasperson so in missionary terms he's my "Grandpa"). He taught me a lot and pushed me to talk a lot more to the people we contacted. We contacted 3 drunk guys and they all said I looked like I was afraid of them, haha. Afterwards Elder Espinosa got a picture of them and us but one of the more sober ones left cause he thaught we were police.
I then went to teach Rosi with him and all that happened for an hour and a half was her husband Rolly argued with us (he's a devoted Atheist). Cozme told us Rosi believes all the same things her husband does and that she never keeps commitments, so we'll probably have to drop her.
Two of our investigators have baptisimal dates. Adali and Arcio. They both live together with a few other people in a small little trailer. They both took to what we were teaching very well and Elder Jasperson and Elder Holse (the other Spanish AP) read them 3Nephi 11 and they both had no doubts that it was wrong.
On Thursday I went on an exchange to Wallace (since my companion is District Leader.) I worked with Elder Wilson and he taught me a lot. It was wierd working in another area.
We gave the car back to the English missionaries so we rode our bikes all around Wilmington. It's a lot bigger on bike than it is on car.
President Cotterell had interviews for us in our area the other day. During my interview he said there is a good chance that I'll be in Wilmington for 6 months, and he told it to Elder Jasperson, too. He's an awesome person and he told us all that his focus for us is to develope us for the long run. Not to just become better missionaries but that we'll be prepared to be better parents and husbands. One way he's doing that is by having companions together longer and being in the same area longer.
He also changed the rule on meals so we're getting fed a lot more.
Today, Elder Jensen and Elder Robertson (the english missionaries we live with) had some one take them out for breakfast. He invited us too so we came along. His name was Daniel and he's a friend of a member that Elder Jensen became really good friends with in another area. He bought breakfast for us and then we went to his house for an hour and a half. He had a lot of questions and was really accepting to what we taught him. He's probably the most golden investigator that has ever existed, and on top of that he's the kind of person that you can become great friends with in the matter of seconds. He told us that he didn't want to take up all our time but we told him about what P-Day was and invited him to hang out with us while we did our chores. He came to the church and we played basketball (well, they played basketball, I watched). He went home but we all gave him an assignment to read from the Book of Mormon.
Other than all that, not much has happened. We're still teaching a lot and still going up and down trailer parks.
Don't forget to send me letters!
Subject: I feel like I'm still riding my bike when I'm sleeping!
Wow, what another great week! After I sent the last email we went golfing with a bunch of other missionaries for our P-Day. Afterwards we bought our grocceries and I spent $16 total and still have plenty of food, haha.
This week was crazy, to say the least, with a lot of ups and downs. Rosi, one of greastest investigators, is good friends with Cozme, who is probably one of the strongest members in our ward. He told us that she's been taking the lessons for a lot longer than we thought and she looks at them more like conversations than anything else. He told us that if she doesn't start keeping commitments or coming to church then we should drop her.
The day before that I was on an exchange with one of the Spanish AP's. It was Elder Espinosa (the person that trained Elder Jasperson so in missionary terms he's my "Grandpa"). He taught me a lot and pushed me to talk a lot more to the people we contacted. We contacted 3 drunk guys and they all said I looked like I was afraid of them, haha. Afterwards Elder Espinosa got a picture of them and us but one of the more sober ones left cause he thaught we were police.
I then went to teach Rosi with him and all that happened for an hour and a half was her husband Rolly argued with us (he's a devoted Atheist). Cozme told us Rosi believes all the same things her husband does and that she never keeps commitments, so we'll probably have to drop her.
Two of our investigators have baptisimal dates. Adali and Arcio. They both live together with a few other people in a small little trailer. They both took to what we were teaching very well and Elder Jasperson and Elder Holse (the other Spanish AP) read them 3Nephi 11 and they both had no doubts that it was wrong.
On Thursday I went on an exchange to Wallace (since my companion is District Leader.) I worked with Elder Wilson and he taught me a lot. It was wierd working in another area.
We gave the car back to the English missionaries so we rode our bikes all around Wilmington. It's a lot bigger on bike than it is on car.
President Cotterell had interviews for us in our area the other day. During my interview he said there is a good chance that I'll be in Wilmington for 6 months, and he told it to Elder Jasperson, too. He's an awesome person and he told us all that his focus for us is to develope us for the long run. Not to just become better missionaries but that we'll be prepared to be better parents and husbands. One way he's doing that is by having companions together longer and being in the same area longer.
He also changed the rule on meals so we're getting fed a lot more.
Today, Elder Jensen and Elder Robertson (the english missionaries we live with) had some one take them out for breakfast. He invited us too so we came along. His name was Daniel and he's a friend of a member that Elder Jensen became really good friends with in another area. He bought breakfast for us and then we went to his house for an hour and a half. He had a lot of questions and was really accepting to what we taught him. He's probably the most golden investigator that has ever existed, and on top of that he's the kind of person that you can become great friends with in the matter of seconds. He told us that he didn't want to take up all our time but we told him about what P-Day was and invited him to hang out with us while we did our chores. He came to the church and we played basketball (well, they played basketball, I watched). He went home but we all gave him an assignment to read from the Book of Mormon.
Other than all that, not much has happened. We're still teaching a lot and still going up and down trailer parks.
Don't forget to send me letters!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
latest from Zach!!!
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2009 10:21 AM
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: Wow! What a week!
Wow, this week has been crazy! I guess it's been 2 weeks since my last email, but my last week at the MTC wasn't all that exciting.
The flight to NC was fun. There were 11 missionaries total on the flight. It was 4 hours from Salt Lake to Atlanta, and I talked to the guy next to me for most of the trip. Then from Atlanta to Raleigh was 2 hours and I talked to a really nice guy from Georgia.
When we got off the flight we met President and Sister Cotterell. They're really nice and I knew from the moment I saw them I'd love being with them. The assistants to the President were there, too, and they helped us load our luggage into the cars and drove us to the mission home.
Elder Espinosa was one of the Spanish Speaking assistants and he talked to us a lot about the area. He said he knew all the missionaries that were set apart to train us but he didn't know yet who would be paired with who. He said he trained one of them and said that that missionary was probably one of the best in the field. He then started telling us about the areas and how one of the areas was just being opened for Spanish work and that who ever gets sent there will have a lot of success.
We then got to the mission home and had dinner and President Cotterell pulled us all aside one by one and had our first interview. I got to know him a lot better in those few minutes and it got me pumped for the rest of my mission. We then wrote letters for home and then went to sleep on the basement floor of the mission home.
The next morning they cooked us breakfast and pulled us one by one again. President Cotterell told us who our companion would be and what area we'd be serving. I was the last to be called in. He told me I'd be serving in Wilmington, which was the area being opened to the Spanish Work that Elder Espinosa was talking about in the car. He then told me that my companion would be Elder Jasperson, which is also the same Elder that Espinosa trained, so I got both the best trainer and the most coveted area in all of NC!
After that they took us to the Mission Office (which I thought was the same as the mission home, but it's not). They gave us a brief orientation and the only thing I remember was them saying to stay away from the Recluse Spiders, haha. We then went back to the mission home to meet our companions. Elder Jasperson greeted me with a hug and I knew we'd be good friends. After some boring stuff we left to go to the church for our first Transfer meeting. I met me zone leaders, Elder Baker and Elder Pepinos there. Elder Baker is a real jolly guy with a big smile and Elder Pepinos stands about 5' 3" but his spirit is huge.
After the meeting I got to "meet" my bike. I haven't ridden it yet (Elder Jasperson's is still in his old area). Elder Baker then drove us to our area which is 4 hours from Raleigh. He got pulled over for speeding, haha.
Since we're opening the area we don't have many resources, including an apartment. We're staying with a couple English speaking elders (Elder Robertson and Elder Jensen) until August 1st. We're also using another companionship's car until we either get our own car or Elder Jasperson's bike.
Opening an area is really hard, though, and Elder Jasperson keeps telling me it's the hardest thing I'll do on my mission. That made me feel better because it's super hard, haha.
We go tracting all day because we don't have any scheduled appointments or an Area book to go by since there hasn't been Spanish missionaries for almost a year. We've met some really cool people but none have made a lot of progress. Other than that I'm just trying to figure things out, haha. Elder Jasperson is really good at helping me understand what I'm doing but I'm still trying to figure out how.
Not a whole lot else has happened. Since it's just tracting I can't really report on anything. Thanks for all your support and keep writing!
To: Huffman, Lisa
Subject: Wow! What a week!
Wow, this week has been crazy! I guess it's been 2 weeks since my last email, but my last week at the MTC wasn't all that exciting.
The flight to NC was fun. There were 11 missionaries total on the flight. It was 4 hours from Salt Lake to Atlanta, and I talked to the guy next to me for most of the trip. Then from Atlanta to Raleigh was 2 hours and I talked to a really nice guy from Georgia.
When we got off the flight we met President and Sister Cotterell. They're really nice and I knew from the moment I saw them I'd love being with them. The assistants to the President were there, too, and they helped us load our luggage into the cars and drove us to the mission home.
Elder Espinosa was one of the Spanish Speaking assistants and he talked to us a lot about the area. He said he knew all the missionaries that were set apart to train us but he didn't know yet who would be paired with who. He said he trained one of them and said that that missionary was probably one of the best in the field. He then started telling us about the areas and how one of the areas was just being opened for Spanish work and that who ever gets sent there will have a lot of success.
We then got to the mission home and had dinner and President Cotterell pulled us all aside one by one and had our first interview. I got to know him a lot better in those few minutes and it got me pumped for the rest of my mission. We then wrote letters for home and then went to sleep on the basement floor of the mission home.
The next morning they cooked us breakfast and pulled us one by one again. President Cotterell told us who our companion would be and what area we'd be serving. I was the last to be called in. He told me I'd be serving in Wilmington, which was the area being opened to the Spanish Work that Elder Espinosa was talking about in the car. He then told me that my companion would be Elder Jasperson, which is also the same Elder that Espinosa trained, so I got both the best trainer and the most coveted area in all of NC!
After that they took us to the Mission Office (which I thought was the same as the mission home, but it's not). They gave us a brief orientation and the only thing I remember was them saying to stay away from the Recluse Spiders, haha. We then went back to the mission home to meet our companions. Elder Jasperson greeted me with a hug and I knew we'd be good friends. After some boring stuff we left to go to the church for our first Transfer meeting. I met me zone leaders, Elder Baker and Elder Pepinos there. Elder Baker is a real jolly guy with a big smile and Elder Pepinos stands about 5' 3" but his spirit is huge.
After the meeting I got to "meet" my bike. I haven't ridden it yet (Elder Jasperson's is still in his old area). Elder Baker then drove us to our area which is 4 hours from Raleigh. He got pulled over for speeding, haha.
Since we're opening the area we don't have many resources, including an apartment. We're staying with a couple English speaking elders (Elder Robertson and Elder Jensen) until August 1st. We're also using another companionship's car until we either get our own car or Elder Jasperson's bike.
Opening an area is really hard, though, and Elder Jasperson keeps telling me it's the hardest thing I'll do on my mission. That made me feel better because it's super hard, haha.
We go tracting all day because we don't have any scheduled appointments or an Area book to go by since there hasn't been Spanish missionaries for almost a year. We've met some really cool people but none have made a lot of progress. Other than that I'm just trying to figure things out, haha. Elder Jasperson is really good at helping me understand what I'm doing but I'm still trying to figure out how.
Not a whole lot else has happened. Since it's just tracting I can't really report on anything. Thanks for all your support and keep writing!
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