Laugh & Cry = ROCK STAR!

Mom I believe you told me that if I can make the congregation laugh and cry during my talk then I am a ROCK STAR! Challenge accepted....Challenge PASSED! :)

So.....I spoke in church yesterday. The spirit was so strong! There wasn't a dry eye in the room. So many people LOVED my talk...People even asked for a copy of it...It was awesome! A member from the high council pulled me aside after sacrament... as tears streamed down his face he said " I wish you were not a missionary...I just want to hug you! You are so amazing, I've known it since you stepped foot into this branch. You have a strong spirit about you...and you have the perfect sense of humor... NEVER FORGET THAT.."- Brother Josie. 

I spoke on enduring to the end which seemed fitting to come at this time...this week has been really long and one of the hardest weeks thus far on my mission. I've learned so much this past week! I've learned how important it is to seek guidance from my Heavenly Father...I've learned how important it is to "endure"...every moment...good or bad...hard or easy...I've learned how important it is to LISTEN...and how strong I actually am...but most importantly I've learned that "people are placed in my life to teach me what to do and not what to do..." - Brother Belanger. 

It's strange to think that we need people to teach us the don'ts...our church is built on the foundation of principles...to be honest, it has A LOT of rules and those rules have regulations and those have footnotes :) The "rules" are to make the choices easier, they say "hey dummy if you do this or don't do that...bad things are still probably going to happen but, maybe not as much, and if you obey, when they do, you'll be strong enough to endure." Seems easy....right? 

I've also learned that sadly so many people live in the gray...the I believe, I go to church, I pay my tithing, I pray, I am the bomb at my calling so...WHAT if I break the word of wisdom once in a while...it's not a big deal if I miss church, we are having a "family day"...I only make fun of the super weird people...I don't curse around my children...the gray....this week I've learned that we too easily make excuses as to why we do or do not do things...and as long as we have set it right inside ourselves, mistakenly we believe that it is right with the Lord. 

<Insert the people that teach us here> The people that build outer walls to their life mansions, with so much time spent on the designs for others to marvel at, such pains taken to layer the "perfect" thick enough for prying eyes not to see...those with columned, marble castles having put their all into what the world will envy and want...have neglected their being...they have left themselves, the them that IS them...empty of support and foundation...when the storms come...because they always come...there, enclosed in their creation, they will find themselves surrounded by nothing but the darkness of the gray...Those that teach us are such a blessing...there is no happiness in another's pain but, I am thankful for those who learn the lesson, feel the hurt, accept the loss and let me stand safely outside their walls...

If I can say anything to my family, my friends, to those I love...I say, live the Gospel! There is NO gray! You are either living it or you are not...do not excuse away your future, do not hide behind the appearance of a Christ filled life...the Lord knows the true and real us, be who would make our Father in Heaven proud! Live the Gospel, live it with all that you do, with all that you say, live it in each moment of every day in every aspect of your life. 

Tell Marianne & Michelle I got their gifts.YAY! Thanks! Love them! 

Tell Jane she's awesome, Thanks!

I am so blessed to have you all! Thank you so much for the love, the support and for not forgetting about me! I may be a "senior missionary" but, I still need the from home love - keep it coming!

XOXO

Sis Z

Transfer!

Attention Attention....we have an update!

Sis Redd has been transferred! I know! Oh snapdragon, right?! 

Yeah, I about passed out, we both cried!!! I thought about packing and calling it a day but...I pulled up my big girl tights and said "bring it!" On Monday I drove Sis Redd out to meet her new companion and picked up Sis Seyboldt, my new companion. Oh, did I mention 6 weeks in and I'm a trainer! That's right I'm a ROCKSTAR and you KNOW it! :)

Sis Redd and I went together like peas and carrots...my heart hurt to lose her so soon.
 

I was a little nervous to meet my new companion, what if she picks boogers and flicks them on the floor? What if she snores (louder than dad)...what if she has IBS and we have to drive everywhere with the windows down? What if she bites her toenails...mom, what if she....squeels like a baby pig when she's hungry? (HA! Inside joke)

Okay so now that my crazed rant is over....my new companion is AWESOME! She is the peanut butter to my jelly and you KNOW how I feel about peanut butter! LOVE!

On our first day together we found 4...that's right Four...F-O-U-R new investigators! If they all come on Sunday, that will double our congregation :)

Oh, I should say that Sis Seyboldt is totally normal...whewww.
 

I LOVE being a missionary!

Today I realized that I am not perfect and I will mess up, but as long as I am obedient and work hard, I have nothing to worry about! Being a trainer is exactly what I needed. 

Before Sis Redd left, she told our mission President that I was "a powerful instrument in the hands of the Lord." WOW! I was so blessed to have the honor to serve with her. 

One of our investigators is D-- he is married to an active member. We left him a Book of Mormon and he read the intro, by HIMSELF. I know that it will take a while before he enters the waters but, it's going to happen...I can feel it! I can see the gospel changing peoples lives! It's Amazing!

 

My next talk is on enduring to the end...after this week, I feel like a part of it is so appropriate...

 

In 3 Nephi 15:9 is says “Look unto me and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” 

What powerful words....what a powerful promise, what a powerful blessing....if we but endure to the end we shall be given eternal life...

We must always stay faithful, we must always stand true, we must hold true to our faith when we feel that all of our strength is gone...for it is then that our true self shines through....we must endure each day, each week, each year....we must endure each trial until we reach the next and then we must press forward. The end is not “the” end, it is not the stopping point, it is the transition between now and whats to come...and then....once we are there at the”whats next to come”.... we must endure to the end.
 

I love you ALL and can't wait to talk to you on Christmas. Oh what a joyful time :)

Sis Z

Birthday!

I thought we would get to email about the full awesomeness of my birthday but...since email has not worked out so much for us the past two weeks, here is the hand written version.

First I was SO worried I would go into full-on melt down mode being away from y'all, on my birthday, for the first time EVER! To be totally honest...there were a few sketchy moments :)

However, since you are receiving this letter via snail mail, and not hand delivered....I survived!

The ladies at church gave me a super fabulous birthday party, with cookie cake included! It was GREAT!!

Thanks mommy for the Birthday in a Box and ALL the time and creativity that went into making my 22nd Birthday the BEST one SO far!!

(Mom, dad & the sissy's blew up 22 balloons and put her presents - cash, letters, gift cards, etc. in each balloon - she HATES popping balloons, so.....she had to pop each one to get her present out)  :)

The hand and feet prints from Piper and Sayler were the BEST gifts! I HEART them so much!

I know my Father in Heaven lives and I know that his love for me is unconditional. I know that we have a living Prophet on the earth today, that leads and guides us. I know that this is the true church and I know that I will live with my Father in Heaven again.

I am so grateful that grandma found D. L. I am thankful he prayed for an answer and was given the truth he sought, and joined grandma in the church. I am so blessed that they are your parents mom, and that they raised you as a Latter Day Saint. I am eternally grateful that I was raised in the church and that even though it was hard, that you kept going...that you took us, that you made us go even when we didn't want to.
The work is long and hard and when I fall weary in my bed at night, cold and exhausted, I thank my Heavenly Father for having blessed me with this opportunity and pray he gives us even more tomorrow.

I love you all beyond words! I know you worried mom...DON'T my birthday was Awesome!

XOXO,

 Sis Z

Dec 2nd

I can't believe I've been out for 2 months already...time flies! I really miss everyone so much!! I only have 5 more weeks of training left. Sis Redd is getting transferred in 5 weeks...we know that for sure! :(
We didn't get to go black Friday shopping BUT our Mission Leaders wife went for us, YAY! She got us black boots & knee high socks.
Yesterday (Thanksgiving Day) while teaching a lesson at an investigators home, our phone rang and is was Sis M. she is from Utah and was in town with her dad taking care of a trailer. Sis M said her dad was in need of a blessing. We called everyone in our branch and could not get a hold of anyone. So, we called the Elders from Tillamook (30 minutes away) and told them the need. They dropped what they were doing and met us, Sis M and her dad at the hotel they were staying at. The elders gave the dad a blessing...it was Amazing :)
Afterwards Sis M told us that her dads wife had recently died and they had a travel trailer they were trying to clean out...so, we told them we would love to help! We spent our Thanksgiving helping these amazing people.

As I reflect back I think...WOW what an honor to have total strangers trust in us enough to find someone to give them a blessing in their time of need. I am SO grateful for the Priesthood. I am grateful for the Elders that dropped everything to give the blessing. 
I am grateful for my family and all that you do!
I love you more than I can put into words! 

All my love!
Sis Z

* As a side note, mom and dad received a text from Sis M telling us how grateful they were for the service of these amazing missionaries and how touched they were at the strength of their spirits. To receive that on Thanksgiving was truly a blessing!