Week 34: EVERY member

Hello Family,

Scripture of the week: Alma 46:12-13

Well i have so much to tell about this past week im not even sure where to start. I guess i will start with why this weeks scripture is the tTtle of lLberty. So this past wednesdays district meeting lesson was on the Book of mormon and as part of it i made the whole district share a scripture from the BOM and a testimony of how that had changed there life. I chose the title of liberty because it is the exact reason why we do the things we do in our life, no matter how hard they are at times. So always remember that.

This Pday on tuesday is throwing me off a bit, but thats ok. Went on exchange with Elder Guinn this last week, and that was great. We had a really really good time. It was like memory lane. I felt bad because i kept forgetting to introduce him to people cause i am so used to him being my actual companion, poor guy. It was so neat to get to see how much he has grown in the last transfer and a half. He is still elder guinn, but he is growing alot in the work of the Lord.

This week we helped Brother Marston Cubit (branch mission leader) re roof his house. Thursday we stripped the old shingles off and prepped it for tin, and then tarped it cause it was supposed to rain all day friday. We had no plans to go help put tin on, but saturday we felt like we should swing by and see if they needed any help. When we got there the only one on the roof was brother cubit, no one else would get on the roof. So i strapped on a tool belt and went to work. Elder V doesnt like heights so it was just me and brother cubit up there most of the time. I technically probably should not have been on a roof, but it needed to be done. I couldnt let the cubit's sit there with a leaky house for any longer.

They say that once you start to love the people of an area, that is when you will get transfered, well i have finally started to love the people of this branch, so i guess that means in 3 weeks i could be finding my way to a new home but who knows.

We also were blessed with two new investigators this week. In the NHMM new investigators bring us as much joy as baptisms in most places. Ed and Pracilla are a really cool couple, and i am excited to continue to get to know them better.

Well by now you know that we had Zone Conference yesterday. The first one with President Stoker, and his first one EVER. It was so good. President Wilkey always taught us to go to every meeting with a question in mind, and promised they would be answered. Well yesterday was just another testimony builder on that for me. Every question i had thought of was covered in some form or another. My biggest question was "how do i better utilize the members?" the main theme of the whole conference was working with members. In fact that will be the main focus for the mission over at least the next 12 months.
The new New Hampshire manchester mission vision statement is.... Drum Roll please... BuM BUM BUM... " In the next 12 months we will help EVERY member have significant missionary experiences" that is our main focus. Im really excited to work more with the members. 

President Stoker is a business man, so therefore we are doing things like a business, im stoked and think it will work wonderfully.

Lets see some other highlights from conference... we learned alot on how to recieve personal revelation, which was my other question. I have no problem recieveing ideas for those we teach, but when it comes to myself i have struggled with that. Lately i have really been praying to know where i should go to school when i get home, and what i should study, and i really just dont know. Scriptures on how to recieve revelation... 1 nephi 11: 1-6, JSH 1: 8-16, D&C 138: 1-5,11,28-29. You will notice that pondering is a key ingredient in all of these scriptures. President ended this by saying "Elders and Sisters we need to spend more time pondering" I think that can really go for all of us as children of god.

Other cool quotes from conference... Speaking of the JSM "this ground was hallowed long before the smiths settled on this plot of land." -P Stoker- "success is judged by your determination to keep working" - DR Aldous the mission doctor- And my favorite... "there is no greater priviledge or opportunity than what we are doing right now" - P stoker.

So yup as you can see zone conference was great. We are flying on a bit of a spiritual high today.

Well i have been debating on telling you this or not, but i guess i better tell you. It was this way last monday too i just didnt say anything. Please dont freak out or be worried, casue i will be just fine. Just know that my back is not doing too grand anymore. I lasted about 3 days back to work without pain and then it was back. Im not quite sure what to do yet, but i believe the lord will continue to help me as i press forward. God does not lie, and he told me in a blessing that i would heal sufficiently, so i have no doubt that in his own time i will be just fine.

To keep me going this week i have used captain moroni as my motivation. Its incredible the strength that we can recieve from the scriptures. I plead with you all to make the scriptures a more prominent part of your life. Before my mission i never read the scriptures like i do now, and they never meant so much to me as they do now. I know that life gets busy and its sometimes hard to sit down and read, but please take the time to do it. Heavenly father will bless you so much as you do so.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. With the fair and traveling to moscow. All will be well. I wish i could be at the fair, but im no doubt where i should be right now. Lou you will do a great job representing the family at the fair, i have no doubt about that. Remember to take lots of pictures. Especially want pictures of all the heifers all ready to go in the ring. Its the orleans county fair here this week, a few less actives have cows so i may see if we can sneak on down to the fair to check things out.

Well i do hope i covered everything that needed to be covered if not i guess it will have to wait another week. I was thinking the other day and i hope my emails are uplifiting and it seems like i am accomplishing something here in vermont. Although we may not be baptizing every week i feel great about what we are doing here. When they were building the nauvoo temple the prophet joseph said to brigham young "WE are not just building a temple, the lord is building us" That is how i feel about my mission. I have learned so much in these short 8 months. I will never regret the decision i made to do this. The church is true. I hope you all know that i know that with every fiber of my being. I pray that when i return home you will be able to see the change in me, im sure its hard to see via email.

But i love you all. Have a great week.

Dare to dream big

Elder Quinton J. Zilles