Week 23: you might be a missionary if....

Hello mi familia,

 

Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 33:12

 

 

Schools out for the summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet that feels really nice right? and wow I can’t believe Lou is going to be a freshman in high school that is so crazy. I’m sure graduation was awesome. That neat about all of the mission calls. The army of god continues to grow I love it.

 

So this week, as you know zone conference was on Tuesday, and it was great. Tuesday was also the only day last week that the sun shined at all. President and sister Wilkey will be leaving June 27th, and president and sister stoker will be here that day. It’s going to be a tough transition; I’ve decided it’s kind of like getting a new football coach and new playbook right in the middle of the season. But as hard as it is going to be I think it will be just fine. change can really push you to grow, and I’m all about growing and becoming the missionary the lord wants me to be. But the good news is I will see president this week. We have our last interviews with him on Thursday, that could be the last time I see him, or if I get transferred I might see him at transfers in a few weeks. I think I will probably be getting transferred this time, but then again who knows.

Zone conference was just amazing. We did so many cool things; email can’t even do it justice, so I think you will just have to take my word for it. One of my favorite parts was... President gave us all a piece of paper and said we had two minutes to write our last testimony to our 2 year old child. He told us we were on a “plane" that was going to crash and this testimony would be the only piece o my family would have left of me. It was a very spiritual experience. At the end of conference president prayed for all of us by name. He didn’t have a list or anything he prayed by name off memory it was so incredible. There was not a dry eye in the place. I’m so glad I get to for sure see him at least once more.

 

So you know a few weeks ago I told you about the blessing I gave to Brother Edmunds? Well this week we saw him and his skin cancer is pretty much gone, he went to the doctor thinking he was going to have surgery, the doctor was amazed and had no idea what could have caused it to disappear. Of course Brother Edmunds knew exactly what caused it. So this week I have to say, priesthood blessings work, the power of the priesthood is so real and I’m so glad we have it on the earth today. People always say man I wish super powers were real. Well guess what they are real, in the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints we have the greatest super power ever, we have the power of god.

 

 

I am so glad to hear Audra is starting to improve, my prayers on her behalf have been lots and lots, the power of prayer is real as well.

 

This week we also had our pie auction, and can you say success. It was so cool to see the ward pull together and support the young women. We raised a total of 960.00 dollars the most they have ever made, and they have been doing it for at least 15 years. The high selling pie sold for 105 dollars. The pie Lori helped us make which was a beautiful apple pie sold for 40 dollars it was fun to be able to contribute to the young women. I was the guy that announced the talents and started the pie sales, the sister missionaries were the auctioneers, I filled the extra time with you might be a missionary or you might be a Mormon jokes. everyone loved it. Ill include a picture of the pie.

We did a skit in the talent show, the sisters elder Guinn and me. It was called a day in the life of a missionary, it was hilarious. I forgot to have someone record it though dang it.

 

 

Well I think that’s about all. O did I mention that it rained everyday this week; the sun is finally out today. Some places around here measured up to 7 inches of rain everything is so green it’s so beautiful

Love you all so much.

 

Elder zilles

 

You might be a missionary if when people see you walking down the side walk they cross o the other side of the road

 

Week 22: Power of Prayer

Hey Family,

Scripture of the week: D&C 132 22, 25

That is not good about audra, i will have to amp up my prayers on her behalf. But the power of prayer is definitely real. I see that manifest every day in missionary work. 

Sounds like quite the week back home. I’m glad everyone made it through it alive and in one piece. A huge congratulations to sis on graduating that is so neat. Can’t wait to hear more about it in the snail mail letter. I am not going to lie I was really missing Richmond this week. Wednesday I thought to myself it’s the judging contest today, Thursday the heifer show, and Friday the cow show. It’s definitely not easy missing something like that, at least for me cause as we all know I pretty much lived for Richmond week. But hey it’s all good it will still be there when I return in a year and a half. It sounds like it was a high quality show, super neat that local animals did so well. I like hearing that. How many head were there? and how many head did wade have tied with him?

That is so cool about west side track. Coach Moser is an amazing man. the whole reason he has been so successful is because he loves and respect the kids, so in return they love and respect him and would literally do anything for him. That man has taught me many valuable life lessons through football and track.

Congrats to little Lou on winning showmanship I’ve trained her well. Ok I didn’t do anything she is just awesome all on her own.

This week has been pretty incredible. First off I got tillamock cheese in the mail my favorite kind. it was great surprise, I also got the medicine so thank you for sending that. So I went to Newport with elder walker this week, and we taught 5 lessons in one day, which is a lot for our mission, we said it was just practice for when he and I are comps later in the mission. He is a great friend and missionary. As you know Elder Guinn and I have been working our tail ends off since he got here, and it is finally paying off. We earned 3 new investigators this week. The first is a man named Buck, he is in the final stages of terminal cancer. He doesn’t have long to live, but I feel very strongly we were sent to him to comfort him through to the end. The other day i prayed to know my purpose in the Lyndon area and bucks name just kept coming to mind, so I feel that’s why I’m still here. so please pray for buck and us that we will know how to handle his situation, it’s really hard for me knowing he doesn’t have long to live. I don’t deal well with death, and I’ve had to deal with it more on my mission than I thought I would have to.

Second new investigators name is Don. he is a family history guru that we ran into while knocking doors elder Guinn’s first week or so, and we were just barely able to get back in with him.

The third is a man named David he is nice, we don’t know a whole lot about him yet, but there is more to come for sure.

We also set a baptismal date with our investigator Tina. She is scheduled to be baptized the 29th of June. I don’t think i will still be here then, but it will still be great. she has been investigating since like last august and has been halted due to health problems. The spirit was so strong in our lesson with her this week. Normally we would invite someone to be baptized at the end of the lesson, but with her i felt impressed to invite her about 5 minutes into the lesson so i did and she accepted, the Gregory’s were there with us and it was just awesome.

This week should be very fun. Tomorrow we have Zone conference at the jsm. and then after that we are going on exchanges with the zone leaders, I’m not sure if I’m staying in Lyndon or if I’m going there. Then Friday we are going to mike and Loris and Lori is going to teach us how to make pie, and I am going to put a pie in the young woman’s pie auction that is on Saturday. Before the pie auction we are having a ward cookout, and then the auction/talent show. Elder Guinn and I are the auctioneers for the auction. in the talent show we are doing a skit with the sisters, the sisters are going to be elder Guinn and I and we are going to be them it is going to be wicked funny I’m excited. So yup all in all it should be a wicked fun week.

I do believe that is about all that I have. I sure do love you guys. Know that you are all always in my prayers.

Leave it all on the field

Elder Zilles

Week 21: STICK TO YOUR TASK TILL IT STICKS TO YOU

Hey guys,

Scripture of the week: Alma 26:37

Oh how i loved getting to hear all of your voices yesterday, it was so great. But i agree the time flew by way too fast. Im glad we get to have those occasional phone calls to remind me what you all sound like.

 i now have a much greater love for Mothers day, its now one of my favorite hollidays. But you all sounded great.

Sorry the email is later today, we played some basketball with bro jablonski today and then went to his house and got a hair cut and made pizza it was a good time. But dont worry i didnt forget about you guys. Its wicked cold here today, ive even seen a few snow flurries stupid stupid stupid. But o well what can ya do about it.

Aw man my poor dog got sprayed by a skunk im sure she didnt do anything to deserve that haha. that was a joke she probably deserved every little bit of that stench, i miss her she is such a good dog.

Please tell everyone that I said hi that i send my love. Maybe one of these days ill have to write a letter to the linrose ward. If i ever can find time to do that. :)

Dad thanks for sending the all utah pictures and the picture of audra they all look good, im excited to see audra progress this lactation. Hopefully cola will do better at richmond than she did at AU.

Now for details of the past week, well not much really happened. I was practically stuck in the apartment two of the days because of my head. But Friday we were out and about, and it was the first annual mission car fast day. So we rode our bikes 4 miles, and then it started raining so we walked another 6 miles. Of course we were making stops during all of this walking, but we got soaked, when we left the apartment it was sunny so we didnt have our rain jaacakets so we got soaked. It actually felt really nice.

Had a really neat experience with my buddy Keith this week. I have grown to love him so much. He is still trying to get into a rehab facility. Usually he isnt to keen on praying so we usually have to say them, but this week he asked if we could say a prayer, and he said he wanted to say it. That is such a huge step in the right direction for him. He will be baptized someday and i cant wait.

Yesterday i sang in the choir we sang  a really neat mixture of songs about Mothers. Brother calkins and i were the only bases and the bases sang melody the whole time, so it was a neat experience.

Sister Barbara Cameron that we visit every week at the nursing home was at church yesterday, i was up practicing with the choir when she go there and i couldnt help but just get the biggest smile on my face. After church she pulled me aside and said "Elder i wish you were my grandson" she is so sweet. Sister Dunoskovic wanted me to tell you on the phone that i am "a supersonic missionary" Said in a english/australian accent.

Dinner with bishop last night was great, we got alot of stuff worked out and planned for the area, so it was great. I have a great respect for bishop tucker, he has become a great friend, i learn alot from him.

 This week we are going on exchange with newport again, i dont know yet if i am going there or staying here. Next week is zone conference, it will be presidents last one, but dont get me started on that right now i cant deal with it quite yet.

Sure love you guys.

STICK TO YOUR TASK TILL IT STICKS TO YOU, BEGINNERS ARE MANY, BUT ENDERS ARE FEW. PRESIDENT MONSON.

Sorry not a very long email. Next weeks will probably be longer. This coming sunday is my five month mark. Time flies.

Love ya

Elder Zilles

Week 20: Leave it all on the field

Hello my family,

Scripture of the week.... Alma 56:46-48

Safe in Lyndon for at least 6 more weeks, with elder Guinn. It’s actually pretty cool our whole district is staying the same, with just one slight change, the Littleton sisters are getting a 3rd sister so three! woah. But other than that we are all staying put which is very awesome. By the end of this transfer I will hit my 6 month mark, six months in Lyndon.

The ward was so relieved I was staying, Sister Gregory cried about it when she bore her testimony. I played a joke on brother Jablonski and told him I was leaving and I thought he was going to cry as well. Ha I love this ward.

Well this week was absolutely amazing. I have never felt the spirit guide me so much as it did this week.  Saturday night I was laying in bed and couldn’t sleep because I had the head ache sent from hell( not a rare occurrence for me lately, but more on that later). Any ways I had the thought that we needed to go give brother Edmunds a less active brother a blessing. But the thing is I’ve only met brother Edmunds twice and he and his wife are rarely home. So last night I feel prompted to go to the nursing home to see if sister Barbara Cameron had gotten the sacrament yet, which of course she hadn’t, so if we don’t do it doesn’t get done. So we jumped on our bikes that we rigged up form odds and ends bikes that we found in the shed and headed to the nursing home. When we got there guess who was there?? Yup the Edmunds!

The bike they threw together :)

 So we administered the sacrament to them and were talking for a while and brother Edmunds asked if we would give him a blessing, it was so cool. I gave it and the spirit was so strong, after I offered to give sister Edmunds a comfort blessing and the spirit was miraculous during that as well. After all of this I told the Edmunds that I had felt we needed to give them a blessing and they both teared up quite a bit, it was such a neat experience.

I love the priesthood, and love the promptings we can receive from the spirit. Always follow those promptings you receive. Sounds like everyone is super busy back home, hopefully you can make time to talk on Sunday. I’m super stoked to hear from you guys it will be so so so so so great.

So this week I went on exchange to Newport which is right on the Canadian border so yup I saw Canada it was pretty sweet. Elder Uhl and I were traveling from Lyndon to Newport via a back road and we saw a TURTLE ill include the picture.  I did get grandmas package a few weeks ago, and I also got my shirts and goodies this week thank you for that.

 You will be happy to know that it was at least 70 everyday this week so I didn’t have to wear my suit jacket once. And as far as tracting slacks I just wore them for the first time this week, so yes a full new wardrobe for summer pretty sweet.  

 I am sure All Utah and Richmond will be great ill miss being there but oh well soon. I have been getting terrible headaches almost every day for the past well pretty much 6 weeks. I thought maybe they would just stop but they aren’t going away and ibuprofen does not help one bit, in fact no drugs help. I told president about them and he asked me to please call sister wilkey(she takes care of all of the doctor stuff). So ii guess I’ll have to humble myself enough to do that sometime today.

We are spending our pday chopping wood for mike and Lori Cochran today.  Glad to hear the packers took some ball carriers they sure needed that.

Well hope I covered everything. Talk to you all on Sunday.

4 my time 2 yours.

Love ya

Leave it all on the field

Elder Toner

We aren't sure what they're dong in this pic, but they all look cute!

Week 19: Fearlessly Serve the Lord

Family family family,

Scripture of the week: D&C 135:3-6.

Mom your idahoan/californian/montanian is great, by the time I get home I will have an Idahoan/utahn/wisconsinian/ vermontese/mainer/newhampshister/and hopefully a little canadian. Accents are the coolest thing ever, and its getting kind of scary how often I use the new englander terms. such as wicked, all set and geezum. But I guess that just means it’s becoming a part of me right??

I’m glad you were able to share my testimony of the prophet with the primary I miss those little linrose kids, they are all keepers. As you will see from my scripture of the week my testimony of the prophet has grown even stronger this week, I found an ensign from October of 1987  and in it was an article about the prophet and it said something along the lines of, when we think of Joseph we should think of how fearlessly he served and loved the savior! I thought that was pretty neat. I had a guy tell me this week that the book of Mormon is BS and it’s a good thing im a missionary or he may have found himself on the ground. I have become very passionate about the gospel and I am learning how to channel that into good missionary focus, but the key word there is LEARNING. But I do love that I can now say without a shadow of a doubt that I KNOW the church is true.

Things with investigators are going well; Dave is reading the book of Mormon and is really starting to catch hold of what it is saying.

The Apartment! (It's about time he sent us a pic!)

This week was our best week ever as far as stats go, not that that’s what it’s all about, but they help to motivate us. We taught 16 lessons total, so it was incredibly rewarding.

Best of luck to Lou with cheer stuff, and to mom with work, you all will be in my prayers. Thank you for the cow pictures and the video of audra they all look good, and I can’t wait to see pics of audra calved in.

The rule here in the NHMM is we have to wear our suit jackets all the time till it hits 70, well guess what it hit 70 one day this week so we got to go with just shirts and ties for a day it was great. Supposed to hit 70 a few days this week too.

Fun experience street contacting in st johnsbury this week, no one wanted to talk to us, so I decided I would just be super bold so the next person I saw I said " Hey do you want to be baptized" yup it was fun he took a book of Mormon.

Last night Brother Rick Cochran did a fireside here at the church called sacred sites, talking about the places where the book of Mormon stories took [place it was very neat.

While we were eating refreshments sister French an 80 plus year old lady was talking to someone about me and goes yeah the tall handsome one is from Idaho I turned to her and said hey is it appropriate to talk about missionaries that way? She turned about 200 different shades of red. Good times.

(Elder Q, Brother Gregory, and Elder Guinn)

Well I think that’s about all I’ve got for today, oh transfer calls are this Saturday the 4th. I am anxious to see what will be happening. Can you believe another six weeks has already come and gone, so crazy.

Love you guys,

 you are all in my prayers.