February 23, 2015

Things are looking Sweet in Portugal!

Zach's cutting down a little sugar cane in a members grove, can't get any more natural sugar than that!

 So Zach answers a lot of my questions in his letter, I hope it makes sense. We are trying to coordinate a few things he's needing so that I can send him a package :)

Hey momma!

haha, i have no idea what size garments i wear, and i cut out all my tags haha(; but its the Cotton-Poly, and my waste is like a 32 and my torso is like a medium haha, i hope that helps!! and yes, i mean shortsleeve button up white church shirts haha(: and this is the best address to send stuff:

Rua Jorge Barradas Nº14C

1500 - 370 Lisboa

thats the mission office, and i live right by the mission office still, so you can send them there(:

haha yea, football was soooo fun!!! it was so good to play again haha(: today we played basketball in the rain for a couple hours and that was really fun too. my lip is healing along just fine, but now i have some scar tissue on my lip that isnt flexible, so when i perk my lips to whistle it feels all weird hahahahaha, so i have no idea if that will change or if thats for the rest of my life but whatever haha(: right now we're teaching quite a few people, but this coming saturday we will have 3 baptisms! A mother and daughter, and then another lady who is the friend of a member. so this week is getting them all ready. plus its mission council, so all the zone leaders in the mission tomorrow will go down to the mission office and we have a meeting from 9am to 4pm haha...... im missing the days of just being a normal grunt missionary!! haha. but we just found out that in April, David A Bednar is coming to portugal! so that will be super awesome!! we get to see and hear another apostle!!

and please can you send me an alttitude mask?? haha, i really really want one!! i know that im like a child but i dont know how to buy one while im here haha(: and hey, are dad and the boys even using that Polaris Razr?? i havent seen any pictures of it! i would be in that thing like every weekend haha! and can we please plan a dunes trip for when i get back? haha(:

well i love you all so much, and im doing great and im healthy and im happy(: and i love to hear that you guys are all happy too(: ill talk to you guys next week!!(: love you!!!

no, im not crapping in the woods, this is our buddy Armando, and he let us go out into his orchard?? is that what you call it, an orchard?? whatever, he let us go cut up some sugar cane to take home haha, they eat it a ton here!! 

so this is how they eat the sugar can, you strip off the outer bark, then cut it up into like french fry sized things, then you just chew on it and drink the juice (they're super juicy and sweet, its like a sponge full of sugar water haha) then you just spit it out haha

and this is like my new best friend haha. his name is Herói (Hero) hahaha, and he was running around last sunday a ton, so i picked him up by the back of his overalls and starting runing around with him like he was flying haha, and he loved it so now we're bros

so these are some sick shoes i got from a member here haha! its a little showy for my style but they're way comfy and they were free haha. and this is a member named Juju, he's super sick and way funny, and he dressed up like a king on sunday in church to help with the kids haha, he's the one who gave me the shoes

February 16, 2015

 YEAH!! - His Pictures came through!!

me on my last sunday in my last area with Geovani and  Hélio

Hey Momma!!(:

i finally got to send my pictures!! sorry that was taking so long haha! and yea this week i have a little bit more time(: and thats sad about Grandma, but yea at the same time i am happy for her really(: imagine all of her family that she has been waiting so long to see, and thats good that she passed quickly(: the funeral looks like it was really good, the family is looking really good too(:

and now to answer your questions!(:

1) yes i am loving my new area(: so far the people here are awesome, and even though its like an African ghetto here im really enjoying it haha, i guess Pres Fluckiger is just planning on keeping me in big cities haha.

2) yes me and Elder André are getting along really well, he's a hard worker and so that helps us to get along haha. it is a little bit weird though having a comp who's 25 haha, but we're cool and we joke and laugh all the time(: we also both really like working out, so we get up every morning and run over to this park about 1/2 a mile away and then he runs laps while i workout on the bars that they have there, so thats way awesome(:

3) he does not speak a lick of English hahahahahaha, but he wants to learn and so him and i practice together at night and stuff.

4) our ward here is sick! its almost as big as the ward in my last area, and the members are awesome. i hope i stay here for a while, but i've already made pretty good friends here(:

5) yea we travel a lot, not quite as much as my last area in the sense of public transport, but we use a train quite frequently. our area covers 3 seperate train stations, and also as zone leaders we have to travel to a lot of other areas to do baptismal interviews and divisions with the district leaders in our zone, so we travel quite a bit.

6) nah, im good, on both contacts and deoderant, thankyou(:

7) and yes, i would love some flaming hot cheetos haha(: and also throughout the week as i was thinking about the things i could use and i made a list... in the next package that you send could you please put in like 1 or 2 more shortsleeve white t-shirts? im down to only 1 left haha(: also some more garmets too please haha, im down to just 6 pairs hahaha, i dont know where they are dissapearing to haha(: also some hair gel, the American Crew Fiber, it's in like a little circular tub with a blue lid. and another thing that is a little different... could you send me an altitude mask pretty please??(: im gonna start getting pretty serious about working out, but im working out at 0ft. elevation, so i was thinking about using an altitude mask to work out better(: im sure david knows what they are, i saw some dude in his gym once that was using one(: haha, and i think thats it for my list haha, thank you!!(:

8) the snack that i missing from home is mostly just hot cheetos and beef jerky haha

9) if you are refering to the American store, no thats kinda far out of our area now:/

10) and there is a talk the Pres. Fluckiger gave to me that i wanted to share with you guys, i hope this link works: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/winning-the-war-against-evil?lang=eng&query=sober if the link doesnt work, the talk is called "Winning The War Against Evil" by Elder Hamula. its an awesome talk about kicking Satan´s butt haha(; no but its a really good talk(:

well i hope i answered everything!!(: and i gotta run soon, but thats so awesome about Sam!! that'll be sooo sick! kinda bummed that i dont get to see those guys before they take off, but thats okay, we'll have plenty of time to catch up after!(; i love you guys so much! have an awesome week!(:

FINALLY SOME PICTURES!! so this is the Baptism of Gonçalo!! now about three weeks ago haha(:


Check out the figures on top of Goncalo's cake! I love that they look like Zach and Goncalo!!!

getting to work in my new area Amadora! yea its pretty much the ghetto-est area in the mission haha, but its sick here(:

gettin to work!! my new comp elder André from Angola!

 when that list of Areas and Companions fills up it means its time to go home.... i can still remember filling in my second little box haha, i cant believe how fast its filling up......

People Zach is working with

so this little birdy is like my new best friend.... i got it to bite my tounge hahahaha

this was today, a bunch of us met up at a big ole mall in my last area to spend some time together and goofed around a bit haha. the one in the yellow is one of my best bud's here in the mission

well i took my football with me today, and when we ran out of stuff to do we started playing catch, which turned into 500, which then turned into a 3 on 3 game of tackle football haha. considering that we're in Europe we actually had quite a few spectators haha, it was three Americans, an Angolan, a Costa Rican, and a Brazilian haha..... needless to say the Americans one, but i went to tackle the Brazilian and when i dove at him he tried to do a spin move, but just ended up headbutting me in the mouth hahahahaha, so i just about bit a hole in my lip, but its okay cuz we ended up winning(: it was probably the funnest p-day i've had my whole mission haha

 here's the crew!!! it was me, the American sitting down in the yellow, and the Costa Rican is standing up in the blue on one team(the winners), and the American sitting down in the red, the Brazilian sitting down, and the Angolan standing in the yellow on the other team(the not-winners) haha, it was such a good time

February 9, 2015

This Letter is Short and Sweet...

Hey Momma!

haha, yea like, for portugal my area is kinda dangerous... but like in America its about the same as Provo on a Sunday afternoon haha, its Portugal mom, dont worry, nothing happens here haha(; and no last week the pictures didnt work. now we do them in this little internet cafe thing, and i cant send pictures from here. so here in a sec we're gonna go over to our chapel so that i can send some, and i've got a ton to send(:

and what the heck?!?! that truck is sooo sick! WHO exactly does that truck belong to now? haha, see if you can get one of those for me for when i get home!!(; hahaha, or at least keep an eye out on craigslist, cuz i think the first thing im buying is a truck. dont worry, ive gained a little bit of common sense here on the mish, at least enough to push a motorcycle down the list a little bit haha(; im thinking about a Dodge V8 like the one that Gavin has. the jeep was awesome, but after the mish im gonna want something that actually has some guts and can pull stuff... and go more than 45mph up a hill hahaha(; but the jeep is perfect for a teenager in high school! haha sure kept me out of any speeding tickets!(; and also what is the new shop that Arizona Autoparts opened up?? Emily sent me some pics, it looks sweet? do they need any whiteguys down there?? haha(;

and hey quick thought, when exactly are you guys thinking about coming back to portugal as a family? like after the boys get off school in December? and could Brandon come with us? he would buy his own ticket. but i flippin miss that guy, plus maybe it could be a cool missionary expirience for him... plus i fricken miss that guy haha(:

and i will for sure pray for Grandma(: and speaking of prayers yea im feeling perfectly fine again(: thank you haha(: what ever it was passed and i didnt even barf!(:

well i love you a ton, and i'll send those pictures here soon!!(: talk to ya next week!!(:

sorry, no time for more than these... Gonçalos baptism and my new comp elder André and i workin hard!  

February 2, 2015

New Area = New Computers = No Pictures:(

Zach moved to a new area this week and he didn't figure out how to send pictures, even though he says he's going to. And I shared with him the testimony I bore in church on Sunday, so that is what he's talking about at the beginning of the letter.

Hey Momma!!

 

well jeez, you done made me cry a little bit right here at the computer! haha, have you ever realized how strong your testimony is?? i think you and dad must have passed it down to me in my genes or something haha(:

 

and yes i am in a new area with a new comp! My new comps name is Elder André from Angola, me and him lived in the same house while i was in Montijo, he's the one who cut my hair and did a terrible job!! haha, but him and I are pretty good friends, so this transfer i feel will be a really good one! my new area is called Amadora, and its like the ghetto gangster town of portugal haha, its like the Bronx or Compton here haha, but its pretty sweet and i hear that it is an awesome area for getting down to work! and yes Elder André and I are zone leaders, now i am the ZL of a zone called the Oeiras, im only about 30min from my last area, its just a little bit northern than where i was, but it's still right in the heart of Lisbon, i guess the Lord wants me to learn how to work in they city haha.

 

I only have 20 minutes left on the computer, so i'm gonna have to give kind of short responses so that i can still have time to send pictures, because i have a lot this week! but Hélio is 22 from Angola, he's studying to a some kind of tech-mechanic, and we get to pass by and teach him about 2 times a week, and no i didnt hack his phone but i did ask him if i could do it! haha

 

and yes, Gonçalo was baptised on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday! and it was awesome!! teaching him was a little tricky because he is soooooooooo hyper all the time, but he really has such a pure little heart, and he knows that these things are true, and he's really good at reminding his mom to say prayers haha. and church on Sunday's are good, we have sacrament meeting last, but at least in the last ward i never talked. here in Amadora this coming Sunday i'm posotive that i will bare my testimony cuz they always ask the new elders to do that when they show up haha. and hey! i lost my voice like 3 days ago and i still can barely talk haha, its really funny, but kind of frustrating at the same time, because i cant get louder than like a decent whisper, so i would appreciate some prayers in that area haha(;

 

i love you so much, but im gonna get on sending some pictures!! have an awesome week, and i'll talk to you guys again next monday!(: i love you momma(: thank you for all that you have taught me(: just really quick, today we were leaving a big shopping center where we had lunch, and i was really really hungry so i bought two burritos, well for whatever reason just one filled me up so i put the other in a bag and was gonna take it home. well on the way home on the side of the road was a homeless man with i sign that said nothing more than "i am hungry", and i just got this overwhelming feeling that Heavenly Father had used me to take care of one of His children who was in need. so i walked over and pulled it out of the bag and asked him if he would like it, and he just put his two hands out, palm-up like a little child asking for help. and i just about broke down crying because it just broke my heart and i just wanted to give him everything that i had, but then i felt that Heavenly Father was happy with just the food, and that He would take care of the man. Heavenly Father seriously loves each and every one of us so much we cant even understand, and i had the opportunity today to witness of that love the He has for us. There is so much service for us to do and so many that are needing of us, and we've got to get out there and do it(: I'm so grateful for the family and country and situation that i was born into and raised. i love you so much(:

Zachary is a ROCK STAR!!

January 22, 2015

Zach's on the Move

A lot of Splits this week!

this is me and Elder Beckstrand on our division! he's Assistant to the Pres. so he's a driver! (that's a rare thing in these darn foreign missions!)

Hey momma!(:

im super sorry, but im pretty short on time today! but everything is still going good here! and yea i bought a ukulele today! haha, but im done buying stuff for a while! and only 28 bucks, what happened to all the money from selling my bike? haha are you guys hiding that so that i cant use it?(:

And gosh dang i love to see those pictures of Ammon playing! and im super sorry, but i havent been feeling super good lately, and right now im having a hard time focusing. plus this week flew by because i spent like 4 days out of my area so i cant really remember all that we did this passed week, but next week is transfers! im pretty sure that i will be staying here, i just hope i have plenty of time to write you guys to make up for this cruddy email! i'll be praying hard for you guys, pray hard for me too that me and my comp can get along a little bit better! i guess just African and American cultures are way different or whatever because there has been some friction between us, but ill trade you guys some prayers(: haha. 

But all of our recent converts here are doing awesome, and this weekend coming up the son of Sofia will be getting baptized! his name is Gonçalo and he's a tank haha, so hopefully i'll be sending some pictures in white next week!(:

well i have to run, and im sorry this letter is so lame, but i love you guys so much and i'll write you more next week!(:

this is elder Morse... Morse the Horse!! haha he played lacrosse before this mish, and his nickname was morse the horse cuz his thighs are fricken huge!! haha, he's a way cool guy, but he goes home in a week with transfers

so we had this meeting with quite a few missionaries, and we had a BEJA reunion!! my son Elder Roberts and awesome elder Beckstrand, me and him are always running into each other in the mission haha, i love these two goons

 then right after that meeting elder Beckstrand and i went on a division (its our 3rd together, which is unusual in such a big mission, but some how we keep running into each other) and we went to this part of town that is like fricken africa! hah then we got lost in the amazon, but it was way fun!

and my main man Hélio!!! he came to church yesterday in a fricken stud suit!! haha, this guy is so much fun to hang out with haha, i wanna take him back to 'Murica Land with me