WEEK 50 - WALK on in FAITH

Hey everyone! It's me again, Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting to you from the Dimig's basement apartment in Boulder, Colorado. I'm here to give y'all another quick update on how things are going for me and my companion in the Colordao Fort Collins Mission. And let me just say...it is too hot to function! Last week, the temperatures rose to over 100° Fahrenheit, and the sun quickly scorched anything that dared move under its burning rays. Sadly, Elder Hale and I had to be two of the unfortunate elders that had to tract in said blistering heat. On the downside, we have now finished everyday sweaty and tired as well as unsuccessful. On the upside...were now sporting some epic mission-tans!

 

However, even with the baking heat and stifling sun, Elder Hale and I were able to find some awesome ways to spend our time this week. On Tuesday, for instance, we went over to EFAA to do some service. We hadn't been for a while because of how little work was needed to be done, but we felt it couldn't hurt us to stop by. It was a good thing we came, though, because the place had gotten a surprise donation of blankets, sheets, comforters, and pillows from a hotel that was going under a renovation. So, we had about a hundred blankets, sheets, comforters, and pillows, that needed to be sorted, folded, bagged, and stuffed somewhere until they needed them. Going through all that suddenly made me realize what my mom went through on laundry day when we were kids...

On Wednesday, we got a surprise call from our District Leader, asking if Elder Hale and I could give the training during the District Meeting...that afternoon. Elder Hale and I had been called to do a training last week, but we hadn't the chance because we needed to fill out a survey for the mission. Luckily, we still had the notes, so we were able to be ready for the spur-of-the-moment lesson. Our training was on the powers of the priesthood in the church, and how we use them in our service as missionaries. One of the most important parts discussed during the lesson was how we need to apply it into our purpose, and seek to live worthy to wield the powers of the priesthood, that way we can truly live to our full potential as servants of the Lord. For a spur-of-the-moment lesson, we did pretty good.

On Thursday, we returned to EFAA for more service opportunities, and found just as large a load as on Tuesday waiting for us. Apparently, the regional manager was going to be stopping by later that week, so we needed to mow and weed-whack the yards so that it looked in top condition for when the manager came. While the yard work was going on, we also found out that they had a family in one of the apartments that had a bunch of broken furniture that needed to be replaced. So, while some of the missionaries worked out on the yard, I got the fun job of carry the chairs down to the trash can and breaking them apart with a sledgehammer, then carrying the new furniture up to the apartment. All in all...it was an interesting day.

Finally, on Friday, we got a call from a new family in the ward asking if we had anyone for dinner. When we responded that we didn't, we were asked to come over for make-your-own pizzas. The family, the Holeceks (Hole-a-checks), turned out to actually be a part-member family, with the father and his son nonmembers. As we talked, we found out that he had taken the discussions with past missionaries, but was still lacking the final step to move on to baptism. He's a computer programmer, and so his main problem is that he likes to see the answers before moving on. He reminds me a lot of Brother McManus, from my first area. It's our hope that, if we continue to work with him, we can help him overcome this hurdle of his, and lead him to taking that step of faith.

Well, that's my week! And that means it's time for the spiritual thought. This time, however, I have a story of my own design to tell.

This last P-Day, after finishing all of our preparations for the week ahead, Elder Hale and I decided to go over to Chautauqua Park for another round of hiking, continuing on from the hiking from last week. This time, we took a different path, and soon found ourselves at a fork in the trail. One trail led upward, and was a bit more rocky and rugged. The other was more level, and looked as though it merely led back down the mountain. We didn't want to return just yet, so we decided to go with the first trail, and see where it led.

The climb was rough for the both of us. The path seemed to be more made if rocks than of a trail, and the ground was loose and hard to hold onto. But these problems were of little consequence to us at the time. As young men with energy to burn and adventure in our hearts, we climbed our way to the top of the trail, unfazed...that is, until we found out our trail led to a dead end. The trail led to a sheer cliff wall, meant for experienced rock climbing, something neither of us could do.

Turning around, we found ourselves stuck. The trail back down was very steep, littered with loose rocks and gravel. Not only that, but this trail ran by a large ravine, a steep fall that went at least thirty feet down. Due to the exhausting hike up, we were almost spent on our energy, and fear crept into our hearts. What if we fell? What if the rocks gave out under us? What would happen?

It was during this that I noticed my glasses slipping off my face. In that moment, I realized I couldn't just stand there. We had to get back down the mountain. But I couldn't do it while I was trying to hold my glasses in place on my face. Though I knew I wouldn't be able to see as clearly without my glasses, I took them off and slid them into my pocket, that way both my hands could be out to steady myself, should the rocks give way during my descent.

Because of my limited vision, however, I was able to clearly pick out the shadows of the larger rocks—the rocks that were more stable than the others. Before, those shadows had been lost because of my anxiety in all the loose rocks. Once my vision was blurred, and I couldn't see as clearly, I could see the rocks that were the safest, and could put my trust in my steps. Before I knew it, we were back down on the trail, enjoying the beautiful scenery the second path had to offer.

My friends, sometimes we can get distracted by everything we see and hear around us. There are some doctrines that don't easily make sense to us, rules or laws that we cannot reason or find logic in. Sometimes, they might even be so terrifying, that we are hesitant to move forward in our pursuit of truth and light. However, when moments like that occur, I propose that we need only take away our 'glasses'—our focus on all the troubling things around us—and focus only on the 'shadows'—the core doctrine we know to be true that can lead us to safety.

Before you start doubting yourself, the church, or even the works of God, ask yourself; Is the Book of Mormon truly a work of God? Was Joseph Smith truly a prophet of God? Did he truly restore the Church of Jesus Christ? If you can say yes to all three of those questions, what else matters?

I bear my witness that this is the Church if Jesus Christ, restored in our days! It was restored through the workings of God, done through the hands of Joseph Smith, who truly was and is a prophet of the Lord and God of this World. The Book of Mormon truly testifies that these are so, and testifies that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the World. While I may not know everything, I know these three truths to be true. And that gives me the strength to press forward in faith. I pray that you can all say the same as well.

I'm the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Well, that's it for this week! See y'all again next P-Day! Ciao!

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 49 - WE WILL ENDURE

Hey everyone! Yeah, it's me again, Elder Z.S.Weber, here to give you the latest info on how this week was for me and my companion, Elder Hale. Sadly, once more the mission field has been left barren for the two of us, with only the smallest of sprouts starting to appear. We're dedicating and consecrating our time right now to planting the seeds, and getting the fields ready for the next group of missionaries to come in. It's been fun, it really has, but going out and tracting out the entire area can get a little tedious from time to time.

Luckily, Elder Hale and I were able to mix things up with some interesting activities that made the week go by a little bit more quickly. On P-day if last week, we filled our satchels with granola bars and waters and started hoofing it up the two-hour hike up Chautauqua Park. The scenery was beautiful up there—you could see the whole of Boulder County, miles and miles of beauty! Of course, the hike to get up there was a real killer. Several times I felt as though I was going to fall backwards back down the mountain. Luckily, I didn't fall—that would've definitely ruined the rest of the day.
 

Then, on Wednesday, we finished helping our neighbors, Jerry and Cherry, with their hay out in their fields. It was a really hot and humid day, as we'd received a lot of rain over the two days previous. Which then made for long and tiresome work. Still, it was nice to get out and serve our neighbor. Plus, it put our 'Tetris' skills to the test, as we had to fit as many of the bales into the back of Jerry's truck without them all falling off. This time was the hardest yet, as the bales kept slipping on the sides as Jerry's truck hit each pothole in the field. Luckily, no bales were too badly injured, and we were able to finish the hard work with smiles on our faces.

 

Sadly, the rest of the week went by slowly. Without service opportunities to make the time go by faster, and without any people on our lists that were still interested or even in town still, we were forced to resume our work in street contacting and tracting. I only have three words to explain the labor we had to face. It was rough. It seems to me that people don't like talking when we approach them at their door. Now, we have been able to start conversations with people out in their driveways or even on their front porches. But as soon as we try to bring in the gospel, they shut us down and kindly tell us to leave.

 

But, I guess that's the trial I'll have to face with my mission, I suppose. I was talking with Elder Hale about this trouble the other day, and he put it to me this way; "Sometimes we have to endure the dry-spells and the droughts of missionary work before God can bless us with the showers of blessings and work." I'd have to agree with him there. Not just with missionary work, but with all things in this life. Sometimes we have to endure hardships, trials, times when we feel like nothing is going for us, before we can receive the full blessings that God has in store for us.

I realize I might come off as a broken record with this, but this is the principle I feel God is trying to teach me the most through my mission. Be patient and endure to the end. Enduring hasn't exactly been the most fun experience I've had on my mission. Pretty sure hiking, laser-tag, and watching the goat-butchering were all way more fun than the constant tracting out the neighborhoods and contacting anyone and everyone we meet. But whenever I read the scriptures, and I find passages that talk about trials or hardships, it never says that they found ways around them, or ignored them until their situation got better.

No. They always endured. And that's what we have to do, as well—before we can receive the blessings God has in store for us. This I say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 48 - CONTINUE in PATIENCE

Hey everyone. Yep, it's me, Elder Z.S.Weber, signing in again for another update on how life is going right now in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. And...well, to best describe my situation, have you ever heard the old saying, "hit the brick wall"? Usually has to do with some kind of athletic event, where you're doing great, keeping pace, and then suddenly, you run out of steam and start to shut down. Yeah, well that was how I felt all throughout this week. I'd get up, start getting to work, and then some time along the course of the day suddenly lose steam, and find myself lacking in the desire to actually do the work.

It wasn't that I was undesirous to do the work from the beginning, far from it, actually. On Tuesday, in fact, we had interviews with President Brown, and I was able to enthusiastically and quickly list off some plans that Elder Hale and I had for this week, as well as several members that we were planning to work with. But, whether it's because of summer vacation and everyone's off with their families in another part of the continent, or summer activities like baseball, band, and other things take precedence, a lot of our appointments and plans fell through. Leaving us to do the one thing missionaries 'love' to do most of all--tract. And really, there's only so much tracting you can do each day before you feel yourself hitting that brick wall over, and over, and over again.

Of course, I'm not saying that I'm tired of the work itself. I love the work. I love to see people happy. To share my testimony and preach of my Savior, Jesus Christ. The good far outweighs the bad, and fills my heart and soul with everlasting joy. However, I recognize that there are going to be some weeks that are just off-weeks. Where nothing seems to go as planned, when life throws you a curve ball, when you feel like you've given all you've got, and the world asks for more. We all have days like that. It's a natural part of our human existence. The important thing when life treats us to this hard blow is to get back up, brush ourselves off, and keep going.

That's the whole reasoning behind 'endure to the end'. In 2 Nephi 31:20, Nephi tells us, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." Even after everything we do, after everything we learn, we still will not have learned enough. The most important thing to learn in our lives, when trials and tribulations arise, is to bear up our burdens with patience, enduring faithfully to the end. We must learn patience, and grow in our strength as Latter-day Saints, if we are to survive the harshness of a world that will leave us hitting the wall several times a week, if not a day.

I bear my witness to this truth. I know that if we press forward in patience, enduring to the end, that we shall be rewarded with that greatest reward Heavenly Father has for us--Eternal Life. It may not be the easiest thing to do. In a world of shifting views and opinions, with opposition in all things, and where good shall be had for evil, and evil taken as good, enduring patiently and faithfully can be a painful, taxing experience. But, in spite of all the opposition the Adversary may send our way, it does not change the joy felt by doing good amidst this chaos, or the sweet, everlasting peace that is yet to be felt by reaching eternal life. It will be hard, but it'll also be so worth it. I know this to be true.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Well, that's about in for this week. Sorry that I don't have some more entertaining stories to tell today. Like I said before, this was just a really off week for me. But, I promise, next week will be much better. Well, hope to hear from all y'all soon! Have a great week, and see y'all again next Monday! Ciao!

--ElderZ.S.Weber

WEEK 47 - HAPPINESS or JOY!!!

Good Morning world and all that inhabit it! What a beautiful day it is today! As you might have guessed, this is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting to you fresh from the town of Erie in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission! And, for the first time in far too long of a time, I can honestly say that this past week has been a truly great week! My new companion, Elder Hale, and I get along great, and we're both able to push each other far to get the work done. We're bold, we're strong, and we're confident that the Lord will bless us for our labors, be they profitable or not. So, without further ado, let's examine this week ourselves, and see just why this week was so great!

 

So, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Hale suggested something to me that I had never considered before--bike tracting. The idea is very simple; bike over a large area with our companion to get to know the area and to reach out to those who are out and about, or enjoying the sunny day outside, and try to share God's love with them. And it's been an interesting experience. There are a lot of people that are very willing to talk once you have them outside of their front doors. Though they might not be willing to listen to the message, they can see though our actions and our words that we aren't that crazy of people. Of course, you still get the occasional person that says something crass or rude like, "Mormonism's a cult and you're all gonna burn in hell". But, hey, opposition in all things, right?

After working hard as missionaries on Tuesday and Wednesday, Elder Hale and I decided to take a break on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and see how good of ranch-hands we could be. The next-door-neighbor to our host family, the Dimigs, happens to be non-members that have had little to no interaction with the church. So Elder Hale and I got to be the first influence in their lives. We did this by serving them. They had approximately 1,120 bales of hay out in their field, and they needed help moving it and stacking it up for storage. By the time we were done, Elder Hale and I had moved about six-hundred of those bales of hay, truly showing our non-member friends that Mormons are hard-working people that aren't all that bad.

 

On Friday and Saturday, Elder Hale and I were able to celebrate our patriotism a bit. On Friday, we joined the Birds family for hotdogs and pulled pork sandwiches at their culdesac barbecue. As we ate and socialized, we couldn't help noticing how many people were coming to watch the fireworks that night. The streets were completely jam-packed. Going home, we could barely make our way through the masses of cars and pedestrians that were parked along the sides if the street. Just as we were clear of the chaos and off on our way home, we heard the first of the fireworks going off.

 

On Saturday, Elder Hale and I joined the Coal Creek ward for their annual Fourth of July pancake breakfast. It was really cool, as we were able to watch hot air balloons fill the skies and sail overhead. After everyone had been fed, and we're able to get their fill, ElderHale and I decided to play a round of horseshoes with the Elders Quorum President and Second Counselor. The awkward part was that neither of our teams could even get a point until almost a half-hour had passed by. Still, it was loads of fun, and afterwords, we still had the energy to play some ultimate frisbee with the young men and adults. So, it was a great way to spend the weekend.

 

Finally, Sunday was a great day because during Gospel Principles, we had a very in-depth discussion about the difference between happiness and joy. And it left me wondering...what is the difference?

To me, I see them as this; happiness is something of temporal worth that gives you satisfaction or entertainment in the moment. There are many things in our lives that can bring us happiness, or make us happy. For me, they're things like playing a good video game, or reading a good book. But those things aren't things that produce feelings that can last. You feel good after playing a video game, or reading a book, but not long afterword, you lose that feeling of satisfaction and happiness. Therefore, you need to seek out another form of pleasure or entertainment that can preoccupy your mind and fill you with happiness again.

Joy, however, is not something of temporal worth. Joy is something that is from our Father above, a lasting feeling of peace and happiness that does not flee the moment trials arise, but can push through them. God's source of joy comes from "bring[ing] to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Right now in my life as a missionary, my source of joy comes from serving faithfully and magnifying my calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. It's not an easy thing to do. Compared to playing a video game for an hour (or five) of fun and entertainment, it's long, laborious, and seemingly unfulfilling. But unlike the short-term happiness I feel whenever I play a video game, the long-term joy I feel from serving my Father lasts through even my worst of days.

In closing, I'd just like to bear my testimony that this Church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and He lives. I know this to be true. I can't explain how I know this, but I know with as much certainty that I live, that He still lives today, and shall return soon to this earth. I hope that when He does return, I'll still be as fervent in my testimony as I now am, so that I can meet Him face to face and welcome Him back to His kingdom with open arms. I pray that we can all do the same.

In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

--Elder Z.S.Weber