Zach's First Area Tomar, Santarem!

Zachary's Made it to Portugal and He is doing Great!!

This is Zach with his new Companion Elder O'Malley

HI MOMMA!!!

 

right now im serving in the Tomar, Santarém! holy crud i love it here so much! my companion is Elder O'Malley, he's from England, so i get to speak some English! its pretty cold here, but the coldest part is the houses, theyre all freakin made of concrete and tile, so it's always freezing in our apartment! haha im so grateful for this little heater we have that keeps our bedroom warm at night!

 

The language is coming along really well, and its amazing how fast im learning, but it's so hard to understand the natives because they slur their words together like no other! but slowly im catching on!(:

 

The food is pretty good, but its just like home... it all depends on who prepares it haha. the first night we had dinner at the mission home, and it was straight up the best lasagna i have ever had! but on the flip side, the cereal we have every morning in our apartment isnt all that great haha, but we bought some meat like two days ago and that was awesome for lunch! we dont have dinner very often cuz most of the time we're really busy teaching people, but the adjusment isnt as hard as i thought it would be, its crazy what the Lord can do!

 

Holy crap our ward is tiny! we dont have our own church building, its like a tiny little complex inside an apartment, but it's so awesome! there are about 14 members in our ward, and on Sunday there were about 10 who attended, including my companion and i, and two investigators! but everyone in our ward is so flippin awesome and i love every single one of them!

 

I HAD MY FIRST BAPTISM ALREADY!! well i didnt really do anything... i just helped a little in the last two lessons, and then she was baptized yesterday! her name is Inês, and she's 19 and is the only one in her family who is part of the church, so she has a killer testimony and curiosity of the gospel to do this alone!

 

this coming up sunday another man is marked for baptism, his name is Ivo, and hes about 35 - 40ish, and he really likes the church, he's just having a hard time quitting smoking, but two days ago we gave him a blessing and it's already working incredibly fast! i think he'll be ready by Sunday!

 

being a missionary is so flippin cool! portugal is sooooo beautiful! is like as green as freakin Jurassic Park here! i wish you could all see this Português keyboard im trying to type on haha. all of portugal is so rad, but yea there are a lot of more poor areas, but its just so different from anything ive ever seen and its so unbelievable cool!

 

i love you all so much and im running out of things to say, but just know that im super happy and yes im safe(:

 

Eu sei com todo meu coração que Jesus é O Cristo, e que porque Dele, podemos voltar e viver no Ceu novamente, com todas nossas famílias. Eu amo as pessoas de Portugal, e eu estou tão animado poder servir aquí por dois anos. Vocês em minhas oraçoés cada dia! Nosso Salvador Vive!(:

translation: (I know with all my heart that Jesus is the Christ, and that because of Him, we can go back and live again in Heaven with all our families. I love the people of Portugal, and I'm so excited to serve here for two years. You in my prayers every day! Our Savior Lives (!:)

com todo o amor na terra,

Elder Dayton

Zach didn't send an address in Tomar yet!! He probably forgot, I've been told mail is reliable and takes about a week, but we need an address for it to work :/ Here is his Mission Home address but he won't get things sent there until they have a zone conference. 

Here is Zach's Mission Home address:

Elder Zachary Dayton

Portugal Lisbon Mission

Apartado 40054

1500 Lisbon

Portugal

On His Way to Portugal!!

Today Zach Leaves for Portugal!!

Zach only had a little time to write, I think he was busy yesterday getting all packed for Portugal!!

Here is the sweet note and testimony he sent home last night!

not much time, love you love you love you all so much, i will call as often as i can tomorrow!! never forget how much God loves us for sending His only begotten son, and how much Jesus Christ loves us for atoning for our sins. "Surely there is no greater love, than for a man to lay down his life for his friend." Christ did more than just die for us, he lived for us, and every day he still lives for us and wants us so badly to return to be with him and Heavenly Father. PLEASE NEVER FORGET THIS OR TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED!!! 

Love you all, i will call tomorrow!!(:

Yes, you read right he gets to call home today!! Can't wait to hear his voice!!

I also received this sweet email from Zach MTC companion Elder Arnold:

Hey this is elder arnold, i have been lucky to be elder daytons companion in the MTC, i just wanted to thank you for your son, i have grown to love him and your family, he talks about you so much, i feel as if i have known you my whole life! elder dayton has grown so much and he will be an amazing missionary, i am so happy that i got to serve in the mtc, he has the stongest testimony, i am so proud of him, he is so awesome i love him to death, and he doesnt know that i am doing this i just wanted to thank you for raising him the way you did and making him such a strong spirit! 

   Love Elder Arnold

It was such a blessing to know that Zach's companion truly became a best friend!!

LOVE ELDER ARNOLD!!!

Here are a few more pics of Zach's last week in the MTC. We all know that Zach plays hard, and he has the scraps and black eye to prove it!!

PORTUGAL HERE HE COMES!! 

The Beginning of the End - Last week at the MTC

Zach sent a ton of pics and captions along with his latest letter

Here are a few:

From left to right it goes Elder Ward, Elder Lines, Elder Johnston, Me, Elder Pau'u (pronounced "pow"), and Elder white.... yes he's black(: haha, this was us right after our first Temple sessions a day after the Temple opened(:

our whole zone did the "cereal challenge" where we ate an entire dispenser of Captain Crunch, it was awesome!!

This is my companion Elder Arnold and i in traffic duty last wednesday when we were hosting the new missionary arrivals, haha it  was so fun!(:

my companion's girflriend's mom made us both beanies! haha but theyre huge!!

here's me, elder ward, and elder lines sleeping in one of our devotionals... haha it happens pretty often(:




Glad to see Zach is still Zach!!

Zach is doing amazing! He is loving it!! Here is his latest letter!

Minha familia!! eu estou tao animado para ir a Portugal na uma semana!!! its so freakin close i cant wait!! this last friday we did a thing called TRC, which i dont know what it stands for, but we Skyped a guy in portugal and got to talk with him for almost an hour, it was so rad!! the language is coming along so well but i know when i get there ill feel like i pretty much know nothing but im still so freakin stoked!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!! i have my travel itinerary and ill send a picture of it in a little bit if i can, but basically it goes:

LV: Salt Lake City, UT --                       12:35 PM      21 JAN 2014

AR: Dallas/Ft Worth, TX --                     4:15 PM        21 JAN 2014

LV: Dallas/Ft Worth, TX --                      8:20 PM       21 JAN 2014

AR: London Heathrow, England LHR --   11:25 AM      22 JAN 2014

LV: London Heathrow, England LHR --     3:25 PM      22 Jan 2014

AR:     Lisbon, Portugal --                    6:05 PM       22 JAN 2014

I GET TO GO TO FREAKIN LONDON, AND THEN TO FLIPPIN PORTUGAL FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! 

i will get to call from the airport, i can buy like 5 dollar phone card things here, so the times i will probably be able to call are at the SLC airport and the airport in Texas!!:) And im pretty sure there are 17 others all going to Portugal at the same time!! 

I wish you guys could have your own six weeks to be up here, the things ive learned spiritually are so incredible!! D&C Section 109 is an all around amazing scripture, and i definitely recommend reading it! if thats the wrong number for some reason, its the Dedicatory Prayer for the Kirtland Temple, but the things that Joseph Smith prophesies and promises are so gnarly!! i cant remember what verses exactly, but i think its like 38 - 44 or something... anyways its talking about the Lord's servants and asking blessings on them and the people and cities they serve... sooo cool!! that scripture along with Alma 29 are my favorite missionary scriptures I've found yet(:

My testimony has been strengthened here like i never thought was possible, like i dont see how people can see the Gospel and the Book of Mormon and the life and history of Joseph Smith and say that its not true, like are you kidding me?! I've had the opportunity to give a couple blessing here.... holy crap its the coolest thing ive ever done! i go in all nervous and unsure of what to say, and i just said a quick littler prayer in my head to let the Spirit guide me, and i swear it was like my spirit came out of my body and the Holy Ghost just took over, and i was watching the prayer in third person! after the prayer i couldnt hardly remember anything i said, but at the same time its something that i will never forget. When we put our faith and trust in the Lord, i know without a shadow of a doubt that he picks up our weaknesses and makes us strong. Im so thankful for the testimony i have been given since ive been here, dont any of you ever dare to be afraid to put your trust in the Lord, because he IS there, and he DOES love all of us, and he WILL make you strong, so long as you are obedient and faithful(: Digo estas coisas en nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen.

I'll have more time to write later, but right now im going to get my haircut for the first time!! Eu amo todos voces tao tao muito, por sempre e sempre!!

Elder Dayton...... POR LISBOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (: <3

Zach being Zach!

I guess if you take a highlighter and it catches the flash of a camera just right it looks like a light saber! 

Of course Zach learned this MTC fun fact quick! He will always be a little kid at heart and that is what we love about him!!

Here is his latest letter:

HOWDY Y'ALL!!! 

thanks for sending pictures!! its weird cuz i feel like i have so much to say, and then i sit down to type and i go blank! haha, but holy crap i just turned to my comp and asked him how many days we have left.... 14!!!!! i literally leave in TWO FREAKIN WEEKS!! im so stinkin excited to get out of here!!

yes i got the sd card, and it already has some sweet videos on it! haha, im not gonna tell you about them cuz i want them to be a surprise, but get ready.... theyre pretty sweet(: 

eu nao sei que dizer sobre minha semana, qual e estranga, mas eu estou a aprender muito portugues! (por David ele e 'aprendendo')  eu amo issa lingua, eu sento como ele e uma lingua bonita! ele e muito otimo que eu posso fazer no portugues, posso ter entire conversaos com meus profesores, e eu posso comprender eles quando eles ensinam nos! eu estou descupe que este email e muito poqueno, mas eu nao sei dizer! se eu posso pensar sobre mais coisas dizer voces, entao eu vo depois almorzo ou algum... mas eu amo todos voces!!

oh yea i almost forgot!! the temple here has been closed, but it opened yesterday, so we get to go to the temple today at 2:30!! im so stoked to finally be able to!(:

my freakin companion just started tickling me! haha this dude is one of my best friends by far! i swear people look at us and wonder if we were friends before the MTC, cuz we just get along so well! i wrote you guys a letter this morning, so i dont want to repeat a bunch of stuff in this email, but i love you all and miss all yall so much!(: 

if i think of more stuff to write i will later today when i have more time!

EU AMO SENDO UM MISSIONARIO!!!!!!!!

amor, amor, amor, AMO VOCE SEMPRE,

Elder Dayton(:

Zach and his Comp

Zach and his District

Zach leading some goofy missionaries

Zach being Zach

Elder Dayton is loving his MISSION!!

Here is the letter he wrote us on Christmas Eve! Sorry it has taken me so long to post! I've been out of town, but lucky you, you can read two letters from Zach!

This is a pic of Zach's zone and of his district. They were on a "temple walk" Sunday Dec 22, 2013

Zach's Letter from Dec 24, 2013:

WELL CRAP!!!! im kinda bummed you guys didnt get my letters! haha oh well, tudo bem! (all is well!) oh and by the way, in portugues when a word ends in an "m" it is pronounced like an "n", so you would pronounce tudo bem --- *too-doe bane*

E Feliz Natal para todo minha familia!! (Merry Christmas to my whole family)

PORTUGUESE IS  THE COOLEST LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!! its insane how fast we are all learning!! our district does regular "English Fasts" where for a while we dont speak any english, and at first it was kind of just a big game of charades, but now we can actually have full on conversations and can understand each other!! on our second full day here (Friday the 13th of all days) we had to teach a mock investigator in only portuguese, and to say the least... it was humbling! haha, but now we have a bunch of actors as investigators and i can just carrying on conversations about their families and their beliefs and my beliefs and why i feel the gospel (o evangelho) will help them and how...... its just mindblowing!!

im sitting here emailing you guys and my companion is listening to hymns on the computer next to me and he all of a sudden goes "I LOVE THIS SONG!!" and gives me the dopiest smile ive ever seen! haha, i love this guy so much, and its so awesome to see him now that hes starting to get more comfortable with the language and hes starting to open up and be himself more! 

my district leader is another story though..... i love the guy to death and would do anything for him.... but holy crap hes a nazi!! im obedient and i do what im supposed to, but this kid is something else! i think he hates fun. he told us we cant tell jokes unless theyre gospel jokes, but everyone still does any way, even our teachers and zone leaders joke in front of him to bug him haha(: but hes a good guy and he means well...... but jeez he could be a little more "loosey goosey". haha

not flirting with sister missionaries is way hard! hahaha, it wasnt too bad this first week, but then this last shipment of like 800 some new missionaries has a bunch of... umm... attractive sisters?? haha i dont know how to say that without getting in trouble! haha, like whats the difference between being friendly and polite, and flirting? not throwing in a wink maybe?! haha, aaannyyywaysss... read this quick cuz i think i can email a little later today! and also i can email some time tomorrow too since its Christmas!(: OPA!! FELIZ NATAL!!

i love you guys so much and i love getting pictures of our family more than anything!! i showed the pictures to our whole district and theyve all seen the pictures of dad on my camera, and i guess we've all agreed that when we all get back from our missions were all gonna hang out at our house because they all want to meet you guys!! haha, so please keep the pictures coming! even just of something plain like sitting on the couch watching football! BY THE WAY, HOW IS THE NFL?!?!?! IM DYING TO KNOW WHATS GOING ON!!! THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL RIGHT!?!?!? they were 11 - 2 when i left! and i got masons letter about the cardinals cowboys game! man i missed it!! haha oh well!(:

i gotta go for now, but i love you guys so freakin much and ill email and continue to write soon!!

Meu companheiro fala oi, e eu amo todos voces, A IGREJA E VERDADEIRA!!!! eu sou grato for meu chamado de um missionario, tchau tchau!!! ate mais!!!

Elder Dayton

This is another shot of his district, which I think he loves! And he finally ran into Bronson Hixson, they entered the MTC on the same day, but different missions.

We didn't get a phone call on Christmas but we got an extra email!! 

Zach's Letter from Dec 25, 2013

FELIZ NATAL!!!!! I only have 20 minutes to email, so ive got to make it quick, but I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!(: please tell everyone thank you for all the stuff they've sent! I don't have time to thank everysingle person but I wish I did!! were pretty positive that elder bednar is coming to speak to us tonight!! so freakin stoked for that!!!! and I guess since Portugal is so reliable with visas they don't even tell us, we just get on a plane and go!! I LOVE YOU AND HAVE FUN AND FELIZ NATAL!!!!

On Christmas we were able to send pictures back and forth a couple times, it was amazing to know that he is so happy in what he is doing!

Zach's Letter from Dec 31, 2013

OI FAMILIA!!!!!! eu estou muito feliz e animado estar aqui por tres mais semanas, e eu amo sendo um missionario!!!

so yesterday i found out the they have a gym with actual weights that we can go to instead of going and playing basketball or something..... and now today im dead sore, haha (: 

my week has been pretty awesome i guess, just still trying to cram my brain with portuguese and churchy stuff!! "the brothers around here dont think that i know a buttload of crap about the gospel, but i DOOOO, okay??" hahahaha i crack myself up (: 

and dont worry about me being homesick, im honestly not at all! I love you guys a ton and i miss you, but im not sad at all! and why would i be?! IM A FREAKIN MISSIONARY!! AND ITS WICKED AWESOME!! 

Theres a sister in our district named sister cisneros, and she hasnt gotten any letters from her family yet, so we all wrote her letters and were gonna give them to her tonight for New Years! im actually really excited for her. shes always super upbeat and laughing and hilarious, but i think it will mean a lot to her to get some letters(: 

oh and by the way, the dried mangos were a huge success!! apparently my entire district loves them! so i made friends real fast(; haha, but thank you so much for all the packages and letters ive been getting! i wish we had more time to respond, but we really only get like 2 hours of personal time on p-day, and im struggling just to finish emailing and writing letters to you guys! so please on you bloggy thing or whatever its called will you please tell everyone that i am very gratefull for everything that everyone is sending me??

haha, i cant remember if i already said this or not, but i lost my voice for like 4 solid days just because ive been singing so much here! my entire district loves to sing, so its nonstop and its awesome! its finally coming back, but not enough to where i can sing AC DC or high pitch songs yet, but hopefully it will soon! 

ele e muito divertido aprender portugues com meus amigos e com meus companheiros. Nos temos dois profesores, Irmao Hickmann e Irmao Bitner, e eles sao muitos otimos!! Portugues es mais or menos dificil, mas a o mesmo tempo, ele e muito muito divertido e animando aprender. meu companheiro e eu ensinamos dois "pesquisadores" (eles sao nossos profesores), mas ele e dificil ensinar os licoes na lingua que nos nao sabemos muito bom, haha. Mas eu amo todo minuto de meu tempo aqui na CTM (MTC), e eu estou muito animado ir a Portugal!! 

eu amo voces muito muito muito!! FELIZ ANO NOVO!! boa sorte com escola este ano para os filhos!! Nao estam triste, porque eu amo a obra de meu Deus, e eu amo sendo um missionario!!

if you guys cant translate that, let me know and ill get to it next p-day!(; 

i love you all so much, i gotta go finish my laundry! 

Happy New Year, LOVE LOVE LOVE

Elder Dayton....  POR LISBOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Zach Loves to makes Faces!!

Last Few Pic!

Zach and His companion Elder Arnold (top left) Zach with Elder Ward who reminds him of Brigham (top right)

Zach being Z (middle)

Elder Arnold and Zach doing companion study (bottom left) . Zach made a BIG D (bottom rt)