WEEK 79 - NEVER GONNA BE ALONE

Good morning universe! This is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in to y'all back home, or wherever you might be, from the Prairie Ridge and Taft Canyon Wards in the Fort Collins Stake in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. Once more, I am here to report in to y'all about how things are going, what progress is in the mission field, what's the latest and craziest thing that's happened to me on the mission, and other stuff like that. And this week, while there were a lot of days that just rolled by slowly and dryly, there were definitely some days that I'm glad to be reporting on this time around. So, without further-ado, Let's a-Go!

The week started off well on Tuesday, with me and Elder Anderson heading over to District Leader Counsel again. Nothing much happened there by way of interesting or exciting topics, so we'll move on to the end of the meeting. After the meeting closed, we had to head right over to our Ward's meeting house, as one of our investigators, Jennette, was getting interviewed by President Brown. After waiting for about an hour for the interview to end, we were allowed into the room to discuss with Jennette when she would like to have her baptism. After some light discussion, we all agreed for the 20th, this coming Saturday. It was really incredible, to see this woman that previously had been nervous about baptism, now so excited for it.

Wednesday, also, was planned to be a very big day. Between exchanges with the Zone Leaders and the District Meeting I had to organize, it was expected to be a pretty hectic day. Unfortunately, we may never know how hectic it would've been, as that morning I awoke with a light head and a very upset stomach. Seriously, this really is just my sick transfer. I was in no way capable of doing work that day, so we had to cancel our appointments and meetings and I was reserved to sitting in a recliner and staring at the ceiling all day. Not exactly the best way to spend the day. Definitely one of the worst ways to spend the day while a missionary. However, by the time Thursday rolled back around, I was better and ready to work.

Now, we weren't able to do exchanges with the Zone Leaders, as we had planned for the day before, but we were still able to gather together at the Ward building and have a pretty alright District Meeting. We mainly spent the meeting discussing problems we have been having in our areas, and how best to overcome them. In my own personal opinion, I thought the meeting went well. Then, afterwords, we grabbed the Harmony Elders (the one other companionship in our District) and went out for a quick lunch together, and further discussion on how things in our companionships are going, what we are struggling with, and how they (as the younger missionaries) are adjusting to mission life.

After the lunch ended, and we had dropped off Harmony at their house, Elder Anderson decided to address my sickness problems. Apparently there was this member in the Taft Canyon Ward that had this method of discerning what chemically is going on in someone that can cause things like headaches, stomach aches, achy joints, and how to best alleviate them. When I tried to get more out of him, he simply said that she was a witch doctor, and that was the easiest way he could describe it. Which, honestly, doesn't make much sense to me, as the procedures she used weren't very voodoo-ish. Whatever it was, though, it worked, as since then I haven't even been the least bit sick.

So, what did we do with my newly-healed self? The very next day was our weekly-planning day, and luckily I had a clear enough head to actually participate. The planning session actually went very well. We had several very good discussions in our companionship about what methods of finding people work and what don't, what we should improve in spending our time on and what we could do less of, and how we can better reach our goals as missionaries each week. We also were able to, in a very relaxed and caring manner, address what we personally were falling short in, and help correct and instruct each other in how to teach more effectively. By the end of the planning session, we both felt very satisfied and ready to start our next week.

And that was my week! All in all, it was a pretty good way to serve. I'm happy with how it went down, even if I was sick (again) at the beginning part of it. But I feel better now, and have grown more as a missionary and a child of God. Which means, it's time for this week's spiritual thought. For this week, I thought I'd share a fairly well-known story. I don't know who first told this story, or who wrote down the story or poem that it comes from. It's been told and retold countless times by men young and old, Mormon and not. And now, it's my turn to share the story. The story is called "Footsteps in the Sand."

"I had a dream last night, a dream profound and deep. In the dream, I was carried away to stand on the edge of the sea with my Lord and give an accounting of my life. As we walked together along that stretch of sandy shores, I recounted every moment of joy and sadness, every triumph and every fall, that I had experienced in my life, from my childhood up.

"As I gave this accounting of my life, I would notice these two sets of footprints running beside the two of us—one for myself and one for my Lord. As I did so, I began to recognize a recurring pattern in the footprints. Whenever I got to a point in my life when I had to overcome a considerably terrible hurtle, when my faith and my strength were truly put to the test, and when I felt that I could go no further, those were the times that there were only one set of footprints walking along in the sand. I was both grieved and frustrated at this revelation.

"Finally, after a while, I came to a stop and turned to look at my Lord. 'My Lord, I don't understand it. I've been baptized. I've obeyed your commandments. I've upheld every covenant you've ever given me, and lived my life to the best of my abilities. And yet whenever I faced a terrible trial in my life, something that left me more than just a little emotionally and spiritually bruised and battered, there's only one set of prints in the sand. Why is that? What did I do during those times that would cause you to abandon me?'

"My Lord simply smiled at me and shook his head. 'My son, you misunderstand. I have never, and will never, abandon you. Whenever you lifted those heaviest burdens that made your back nearly break, I was the one that lifted with you. Whenever you had fears or worries that threatened to keep you up at night, I was the one that helped you get the rest you would need. When you were sick, I was the one that healed you. When you were grieved, I was the one that comforted you. And when you felt that you could go no further, when you had walked as far as you possibly could, well then, that was when I carried you.'"

And such is true. No matter how alone we might feel, no matter how terrible our trial is, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is always there for us. It is true that no living person can truly understand what we are going through, what trials we have faced. But Christ, the glorified Lord, does. For he "suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people...that his bowels may be filled with mercy...[and] that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:13, 12) He suffered for each of us in Gethsemane not just so that he could take away our sins, but so that he could know how best to help us overcome the trials and burdens we carry in our lives. He truly is the glorified Lord.

I bear testimony that I know this to be true. Our Lord is always at our side, lifting up our burdens beside us when the load is too heavy for us alone, and sometimes lifting us ourselves up when our lives have become too heavy for us alone. He is there always, and he will never, and can never, abandon us. He will always strengthen us and help us, if we turn to him in faith and seek to do his work. I know this to be true for myself, in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 78 - ANOTHER TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST

Good morning, 'Merica! This is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting to you live from a member's basement in the Prairie Ridge Ward, the Fort Collins Stake, the Colorado Fort Collins Mission! Today, once more, I have an epic weekly update on how my life as a missionary has been. And let me tell y'all...this week has been rough. I'm pretty sure that this is my 'sick' transfer, because since the second day that I've been in this area, it's almost as if me and my companion have been playing on a sickness-teeter-totter. If I'm not sick, then he is. If he's not sick, then I am. This week, unfortunately, was my week, and so Saturday and Sunday (and a little bit of Thursday) was spent inside, trying not to worsen our situation.

It has, however, made me feel very thankful that we live in the generation that we do, with the technological and medicinal advancements that we have, things that make fighting illness and disease much easier. As our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Haynes said this last Sunday, "I'd be dead today if it weren't for drugs...pharmaceutical drugs."

Anyways, time to move on with the week! This week started off slow with Monday and Tuesday, as a terrible snowstorm came in from almost out of nowhere. Thirteen inches of powdery white death covered everything for miles around. Our car was so buried under the snow that we actually had to dig our way to it! Because of the circumstances, the Fort Collins and Loveland Zones were labeled as a no-drive day. So, rather than have to fight through the storm, my district (Elders Chan, Christenot, Anderson, and yours-truly) decided to just spend the day chilling at my and Elder Anderson's apartment, playing the Munchkin: Adventure Time game one of the other elders got on last P-Day. So, it was a fairly slow first few days.

Wednesday, though, the roads were mostly cleared, and the car was finally uncovered, so once we were able to get the car out of the snowbank that had built up around it, we headed off to another District Leader Counsel. The meeting went rather calmly, as for the most part it was just spent teaching the 'greenie District Leaders' (myself and Elder Clark) how to do the basics of District Leadership. They went over how to present and plan good District Meetings, what the mission expects from us on our exchanges, and how we can best communicate with our missionaries. We also collaborated together on what would be a good baptismal goal for this month we're now in. All-in-all, it was a rather nice meeting.

Thursday, however, was the day to see just how well I could put my new-found District Leader knowledge to work. Thursday morning, we had our first District Meeting—the first District Meeting I'd lead. Cue sarcastic yay~! That morning, during studies, I tried to come up with a good lesson that would be most helpful for the elders I currently lead. By the end of study hour, I felt pretty happy with how my lesson plan looked, and so we headed off to the church for the meeting. When it got time for my training, I got up at the front of the room, opened my mouth...and just blanked. I just got the feeling that I shouldn't do my training on the subject I'd thought of. So, spur of the moment, I started a discussion with the other elders of finding people, what works and what doesn't, and how we can all improve.

Though very stressful, the meeting actually went well in the end.

Friday was a fairly bland day, mainly spent in planning and preparing for the week ahead. And, as I've already stated, Saturday and Sunday just weren't my days for missionary work. So, that's pretty much my week. However, I do have a message to share, one that started on Friday, actually.

While we were rushing around on Friday, trying to get things hammered down for this coming week, Elder Anderson and I got a call from Elders Noh and Klain, asking us to stop by the church building to meet with them real quick. Initially, my first thoughts were, "oh crap, what did we do?!" But, no, when we got to the church building, it turns out that they just had some messages from a meeting they had been in with the mission leadership earlier that day. Among other problems in the mission, President Brown has noticed a lack of enthusiasm or draw to doing the work of the Lord. So, to renew our enthusiasm and eagerness to do the work, President Brown presented a new challenge for us missionaries to accomplish.

The challenge: to read the entire Book of Mormon in ninety days. The challenge, in of itself, isn't actually all that hard, as we only have to read about seven pages a day to stay on course. Of course, just reading the Book of Mormon isn't enough of a challenge for us missionaries. There is a second portion to this challenge: while reading it, we have to mark every reference to (1) Christ's names, titles, or pronouns describing him, (2) his words, by him or by his prophets, (3)his attributes, also known as the Christ-like attributes, and (4) his doctrine and principles that we as missionaries teach. Now that is more of a challenge!

Anyways, we received that challenge on Friday of last week. Today is Monday. Right now I'm at page 19, right at the beginning of the eleventh chapter of the First Book of Nephi. I've only gotten in eleven chapters, but already I can see the promise of the Book of Mormon shining through. Each page that I read, I find more and more of the references above. Almost every other verse, Nephi or Lehi mentions the Lord's name as they testify or serve to their family. The doctrine we teach is on almost every single page, and references to his words are often quoted or revealed through Nephi and Lehi. Though the Christ-like attributes have been harder to find, they are there, and it's just as fulfilling to find them as it is to find the actual doctrine.

As I've been reading this, starting fresh with this new challenge, I've been reminded of the words that Nephi wrote to his children, and to us, in the Second Book of Nephi. "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26) This challenge has truly revealed that this is true. Christ truly is the cornerstone of our religion, and his words and doctrine are the foundation on which we are built. The Book of Mormon stands as a clear witness of this, with the words revealed truly testifying of the divinity have and wisdom of the Lord. It truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know this to be true, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber

WEEK 77 - A TESTIMONY of TRUTH

Hello and good morning, once again, my dear friends and familia! This is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in once again from the Prairie Ridge/Taft Canyon Wards in Fort Collins, Colorado. This week has gone fairly alright for me and my companion, Elder Anderson. I will admit, though, that I am wiped. The work here in our areas is very taxing, both on the body and on the soul. By the end of the day, I barely have the energy to stay awake through my bedside prayers, and pass right away the second my head touches the pillow. At least we can say that I'm getting the full eight hours of sleep in...though that only seems to make me more tired through the day. Oh well...

So, on to the week!

This week, we started off with an interesting new experience for me. As you might know from my past emails, I've had the chance several times throughout my life as a missionary to be companions with a District Leader. As such, I've often been dragged along to the District Leader Counsel they would have. I never really knew what went on in those meetings, because that was for my companion to know and for me to find out on my own. All I knew was it was a time for extra studying for the non-District Leaders in attendance. Well, now was my first time to be on the other side of that situation, now that I'm a District Leader myself.

To be honest, the meeting went fairly well. Perhaps it was because both I and my fellow District Leader, Elder Clark, are new, and so they went easy on us, or perhaps it was because Elder Klain and Elder Noh (the Zone Leaders) handle the work a lot more simply than past Zone Leaders have. Whatever the reason, the meeting actually went very well. We agreed to focus on returning to the basics of missionary work and to stay focused on our work. Too often on my mission, I've seen missionaries pulling trainings or lessons from resources from I don't know where, and it often causes a disruption in the actual teaching. That needs to change. We have the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel for a reason. Use them.

Wednesday was a fairly nice day, all things considered. We met up as a zone once more for a Zone Meeting at the Fort Collins Stake Center. As we had stated in our District Leader Counsel, our focus for this next transfer is to return to the basics of missionary work and improve on our most basic skills in teaching. Near the end of the meeting, we had everyone break up into two-on-two groups (companionship-on-second companionship) and practice teaching investigators by using only the basics of missionary work. After listening to some of the discussions around me, and what knowledge was being thrown around, I reaffirmed my previous belief. We need to use the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel more.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn't so good, as I came down with some stomach flu of a kind that put me out of commission for the rest of the day. Luckily, by the time Thursday rolled around, I was up again and ready to go to work. And work we did, as we had several appointments to get through throughout the day. The first was with an elderly man named Roland who had been meeting with the missionaries for quite some time now. We brought one of the Ward Missionaries, Brother Haynes, with us, which really made the meeting go well. Brother Haynes was really able to connect with Roland in a way that us missionaries, being so much younger than Roland, can't.

The next lesson we had that day was with Brian and Beth, who I believe I mentioned in my last email. As Beth's baptism was happening on this past Saturday, we had Elders Klain and Noh come and interview her to see if she truly was ready to enter into the covenant of baptism. After a few minutes of meeting with her, the Zone Leaders agreed that she was ready, and then left to let us get to teaching again. With that, we got to teaching the final lesson, which is the Laws and Ordinances of the Church. We talked about what the Priesthood is and how men like us and Brian wield it, as well as the importance of serving in callings in our Wards and going to the temple for the sacred ordinances found there.

Towards the end of the night, we made one last meeting with an investigator the past missionaries had been teaching often, Jenette. Like Beth and Brian, we finished up teaching Jenette the lessons, though she still feels she needs a bit more time before she can get baptized. It seems that she wants to finish the Book of Mormon, cover to cover, first before she makes the big leap into official membership in the Church. We merely encouraged her to keep reading, but also encouraged her to not wait too long. I've seen many who enjoyed the church, but were happy to just sit back and ease into the transfer. Hopefully, the same is not true for Jenette.

Friday went along fairly slowly, but Saturday was great. Saturday, as I've already stated several times, was Beth's baptism. We had invited several of our other investigators to come and see the baptism with us, but sadly none showed. Still, it was a great experience, and the spirit was felt so strongly in there. For some reason, there were about ten missionaries that showed up for the baptism. The two from Lakeside in Loveland were expected—that's where Beth actually lives, and it'll be where she'll now attend most of the time. However, where the other six elders came from I'm still trying to figure out. It was a wonderful service, though, and I'm glad that I was able to experience it once more.

So, yeah, that was my week. From meetings to teachings to baptisms, it was a great week. Of course, there were some low moments in the week, but those only made the high moments all the more great. And that brings me to my Spiritual Thought of the Week.

This week, I would like to do something different than normal. I came to the realization this week that unless someone takes out all of the servers in Google or something odd like that, the Internet is going to last for a VERY long time. Therefore, these emails of mine, being read by those it was initially sent to or by those that stop by the blog my mom has created for me so lovingly (Love ya, Mom!), may actually still be around several years from now, perhaps even after I've had kids, or even maybe after my kids have kids (that's a scary thought...two whole generations of Zacharites running around the world...). Anyways, for this Spiritual Thought, I'd like to bear my testimony to my future children or grandchildren, as well as all of you that are already reading my blog in present time.

My sons, my daughters, my dear grandchildren. There will be times in your lives when trials will appear, when the burden you are forced to carry through life gets ever heavier, when all the world seems to fight back against everything that you stand for and believe in. You will face abuse—physical, verbal, mental, or otherwise—and will be scorned for who and what you are. As a missionary serving in the Lord's vineyard in Colorado, I can attest that this abuse is terrible. There have been many times, after a long night of being shunned and rejected by those around me, that I have laid in bed and wondered to myself why I was even still on a mission.

Let me now tell you, my children, why I was still on a mission. Even in spite of the terrible trials that surrounded me in my life, I was able to gather strength through my knowledge and faith in the truth. God is real. He truly is our Heavenly Father, and He loves and watches over all of us. He has promised us that though we may face trials and adversities from time to time, "[our] adversity and [our] afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if [we] endure it well, God shall exalt [us] on high." (Doctrine and Covenants 121: 7-8) How great a promise from the Lord! That if we endure our trials but for a while longer, we will be raised up in glory by our Father in Heaven; we shall triumph over all our foes.

Of course, this road will not be easy. But then again, nothing that ever is worth much in this life truly is easy. Indeed, surviving the buffeting storms around us in this world is impossible for mere mortal men to overcome. But with Christ as our Master, the captain at the helm of the ships of our lives, we will sail through the storms. We will still be battered, but we will make it through to see the sun shining again. These things I know to be true. Stay strong in the faith, my children. There is no other way to truly find lasting joy and peace in this life than through this faith. I know this to be true, in the sacred and hallowed name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber