The Zachtastic Movie Blog

This is the family we spent Thanksgiving with. The girl in the skirt served her mission in Mesa! Thanksgiving was definitely interesting this time around. At least it was nowhere near as cold as last year, for back then we faced sub-zero temperatures (it at least felt that way due to the blistering winds). However, we were bombarded with a constant rainstorm throughout the whole entire day; not that the rainfall was torrential, it just never stopped, and that doesn't particularly help when you are on foot all day. But that is okay, for we put forth an effort to serve our brothers and sisters, and we were even blessed with some potential investigators when we went tracting in the morning. You probably think that we are crazy for doing that, but we actually ran into some very nice people in an apartment complex right by where we live. Tracting on Thanksgiving? It actually works better than you may think!! As for the rest of the work we did throughout the week, we unfo...

Well, the terrible bite of winter has finally come back. It hit quite hard   on Friday , in which we got hit by at least 6 inches of snow. Elder Homer and I were conducting weekly planning when a light flurry started to come through the area, and eventually when it came to the point in which we were walking around the storm   really  hit. For the next 5 1/2 hours we were walking around in a snowstorm, but you know what? It was great!  We did not exactly get to meet a lot of people while doing so, nor were we that warm (this was a wet snowfall), but it's still great to go out and share the Gospel no matter what the conditions are. Obviously I wouldn't go out when a tornado is blowing in, so you could consider that previous statement as an exaggeration, but still--the truth still stands that it's a pleasure to share the Gospel no matter what the weather may be like. As we have been working more diligently and efficiently, we have learned that it is ever more im...

This place (Zombie Burger) is GOOD. Anyone who stops into Des Moines should go here. This past week we had quite an inspired Zone Training Meeting, I would say. With the recent changes in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the member of said quorum who is in charge of missionary work is now Elder Dallin H. Oaks. With that, he recently sent out a letter to all mission presidents in the world with the following message (in summation): no matter what, the biggest factor in a missionary's "success" is his/her attitude. It really is quite simple when you think about it. If a missionary believes that through their faith, prayers and works that they can bring people to Jesus Christ, then they will keep on trying their best to accomplish this. Of course the results of their labors are contingent on the choices their investigators make, but that attitude really matters. Why? Because Joseph Smith once taught that one of the key elements of having faith is to believe in onese...

Chilling out in the old Volkswagen bus with this family! Well, it would seem that the changes with this new transfer are a little crazier than I previously expected--the other key reason why the Spanish Zone Leaders got whitewashed out is because the Des Moines East no longer exists! Both zones in the Des Moines Metropolitan area have been merged into one, meaning that the now combined Des Moines Zone has 27 missionaries total. As far as I know that is the largest in the mission in terms of how many people that is, so I am curious as to how things will go moving forward. My District has also been reorganized, in which the Des Moines 5th Branch is no longer part of it; instead, the 5 missionaries in the Walnut Hills Ward have been put into our District. One of the sisters that serves in that ward, Sister Whipple, is from Mesa so that makes things fun. Sister Olson from the Osceola District is also here, so it's nice to have a familiar face join our ranks. Our new Zone Leade...

It would seem Elder Homer has finally broken the cycle for me. What I mean by this is that for the past five transfers, I had a new companion every six weeks whereas before that it I would always get a new one every two transfers; however,  Elder Homer broke that because we are fortunately staying together!  I will also remain a District Leader. This results in something pretty trunky though--he will be my final companion. You have no idea how crazy it is for me to say that. I am coming into my final transfer, guys! I am feeling anxious about it, but not necessarily in the way that you may think. Sure, I will be sad to leave Iowa once these last six and a half weeks are through, but the fact of the matter is that it is happening, and I can't change anything. All I can really do is continue to do as much as the Lord wants me to do, and then more. This really is still plenty of time to do a lot of good for the people here in West Des Moines, so I am anxious to se...