August 25, 2014

Zach's a Trainer Now!

THIS IS MY SON ELDER ROBERTS!!!!!!!!! this is when i picked him up from the office, in my spiffy new bday tie haha(:

This is also Zach's Mission President and his wife

Hey!!

my week has been crazy haha. so on sunday right after church i got a call saying that i was leaving to go spend the week in a city called Olhão with an elder named Elder Fossati until our greenys got to portugal. Elder Fossati is from Southern Cali and had a street bike before the mission, and so we were super friends right away haha, and it was a blast serving with him for a couple days in his area. then wednesday night him and i went up to Lisbon, and we spent the night there. then Thursday morning all the newbys arrived, and i met my son Elder Roberts!! Elder Roberts is from Beaver Utah. He grew up playing a bunch of sports and is really cool, he's just a little stressed haha. he actually reminds me a lot of Elder Arnold, my MTC comp. He's having a little bit of troubles with the language, which stresses him out a bit, but he's handling it really well. I cant help but think that i totally got called to be his trainer because so far it has been a lot like the MTC, only this time i know how to help my comp a little better haha. Im loving serving with him and we're already seeing a ton of miracles this week, so im super stoked for this transfer!

okay, and this is from last week.

3.) Denise is a friend of a woman named Mila. Mila was baptized when she was 13, but for the past 15 years or so she has seperated herself from the church. she never lost her beliefs or testimony, just stopped going. but before i got here in Beja, my last comp Elder Boyd and his comp were knocking doors, and they knocked the door of Denise's house. But whats funny is that Mila was there at the time, and Mila is the one who answered the door. so they started talking with Mila and found out that she's a member. Then the week after I showed up here, and we worked for a few weeks to reactivate Mila, and now she's fully reactivated(: And Mila and Denise are always together, and so we passed a lot and began to be friends with Denise too, But Denise didnt want too much to do with church. then we had a mini activity (the one with s'mores and we did a tour of our chapel) and when we showed them the Baptismal Font, we explained what you have to do to be baptized and why we're baptized, and Denise decided she wanted to be baptized too! so we started teaching her, and a week later she was baptized! And now what's happening is Mila (the member for a long time now) has a daughter named Joana. and Joana is best friends with Denise's niece Nadia. And this coming weekend, on August 30th, Joana and Nadia are going to be baptized together!! WE'RE GONNA COMPLETE A FAMILY!!!

and i still have not gotten the packages. I'm a little worried that they got lost somwhere in the mail system :/ Because you guys, grammy and grandad, and Holden all sent me packages, but i havent gotten any of them. i may get them during this coming week, but if not they probably got lost somewhere:/ but no worries :)

Yesterday we had a really cool expirience. Nadia (Denise's niece who wants to be baptized) needs her moms permission to be baptized because she's only 12. so yesterday she called her mom and asked her, but her mom said no. Nadia's stepdad is super catholic, and wouldn't allow her to get baptized. So Nadia started crying because she wants to be baptized super badly, but there wasn't anything we could do :( eventually we had to leave and go to other stuff, but while elder Roberts and i were walking, i got the impression to just stop and say a prayer. both of us were really bummed to see Nadia so sad, so we just sat down on a bench on an empty road, and i said a prayer in english (hahah like the first one in like six months) and we asked The Lord to touch the heart of the mother and change her mind. well we continued on with our day. at the end of the night when we returned home, while we were planning for our next day, we got a text from Denise saying that the mother had changed her mind, and Nadia could be baptized!!! the first thing we did was get down on our knees and we thanked the Lord for changing the mother's heart. it was just so incredible to get such a powerful response to our prayers(:

well i don't have much time left, i just got to say the I know God lives. and He does more than just live, He loves us. He's always there to help, we just need to take the leap of faith to ask Him(:

i love you guys so much, and i'll talk to you all again next week!!

Pictures from the BBQ/Zach's Birthday Celebration

i can't remember what was so funny, but i think our Branch Pres said something hilarious or was making fun of my comp or something hahahaha. this was while they were singing happy bday to me haha

I absolutly LOVE this picture of Zach!! It shows how much fun he is having as a missionary!!

 Here's my last comp Elder Boyd and I at our big branch BBQ/my birthday party... i was batman and he was spider man haha

the branch pres.'s family got me a cake(: "parabéns" means congragulations, but its how they say happy birthday haha

 so it goes Elder Mubai (from Mozambique), me (in my sweet pink tie that some members got me for my bday hahaha), my son Elder Roberts, and Elder Beckstrand (him and i were in the same district my first two transfers here in portugal) all 4 of us live in the same house now. cuz our area split to a 4 elder area, and now we party all day (when we're in the house haha)

and this is one more of me and my new son Elder Roberts... IM A DADDY!!!!!

August 18, 2014

Zach's Officially 19!!!!

IM SO OLD!!! hahaha

1. my birthday was pretty sweet(: i'll send pictures a little bit later today, and don't worry, i have a bunch haha(: ya we had a big ole BBQ, and initially it was just a branch activity, but they turned it into a birthday party at the end and brought cake and all sang and what not haha(: and no not yet. i got the birthday package from you guys, but i left my area sunday afternoon. right now im in a different area, but im only here until thursday. im down here cuz my comp elder Boyd got transfered away, and IM GONNA BE TRAINING!!!!! IM GONNA BE A DADDY!!!! hahaha, so on thursday i go to Lisbon to pick up my son, but until then im in a city called Olhão with another elder who's gonna be training, cuz we cant be alone. and so thursday we'll go to the mission office together, then thursday night i go back to Beja, so the package should be waiting for me there haha(: 

2. so im staying in Beja. it was a 2 elder house, but it's getting split into a 4 elder house, and im going to be training, and another missionary is going to be training also! and the other missionary is Elder Beckstrand!! he was in my district my first two transfers of the mish when i was in Tomar, and this guy is so sick!! he's the tall one who loves rough housing and messing around haha, im sooooo fricken excited for these next two tranfers!!! (cuz training is two transfers). so i still don't know what my son is like, i just know that his name is Elder Roberts. so next week i'll be able to send pictures(: 

im super sorry, but i don't have much time to write today cuz this week is kind of a funky situation haha. but next week i'll do my best to answer the rest of the questions! i love you guys all so much, and im praying for you guys every week!! dont be afraid to share your testimonies with those who need it!!(:

No Pics this week :(

Aug 11, 2014

decided to get myself a tatoo.... i thought it was an alien, 

but when i put it on i realized it was an upside mermaid hahaha, 

its been on for like 5 days now haha, 

they make heavy duty kid tats here haha

Zach's Gonna Turn 19!!

Birthday Boy on Saturday the 16th of August

HEY!!!(:

I DONT WANNA TURN 19 hahahahaha its too big of a number haha(: but this saturday we're having a big activity with our whole branch, and a huge BBQ in a park with a bunch of games and stuff, so im pretty stoked for that. and i got the package with the Hot Cheetohs and plane and cars haha, thank you!! 

and yea, this coming up sunday (the 17th) is transfer day, but most likely i will be staying here and getting a new comp, Elder Boyd has already been here for 3 transfers. so the next email that i write will be what's happening(:

So is Briggy driving everybody to school in the Jeep then? i gotta see some pictures of that haha(: and yes i got the link, thank you! and yea there are a lot of adults that live just together, and yea it does make the work a bit trickier haha.

So Denise was baptized on Saturday which was awesome. we're also hoping that a 14 year old kid named Renato can be baptized this saturday or sunday, but it'll be a push cuz he lives far away, but we're working hard and hoping it all goes well!(:

and this week I'm gonna start reading in depth the story of Ammon going over to the Lamanites. i was listening to John Bytheway, and he was talking about how Ammon was such a great missionary. When Ammon told King Lamoni that he wanted to be his servant, he wasn't just saying it to flatter the king, but because he was really there to serve. So im gonna put some thick study into trying to be a little bit more like Ammon. and also, if you haven't heard John Bytheway's talk "Five Scriptures" or something like that, give it a shot, cuz its really good(:

and one last bit of thought, dont throw away the drum set that Briggy has in the game room!! i totally wanna learn how to drum really well after the mission(: haha

love you guys, and hope you guys are having a good time getting back into the school groove! talk to you next week!(:

DENISE WAS BAPTIZED!!!!! she's 25 and she's gonna be a totally awesome member!!

and this is everybody that showed up for the baptism!(:

 hahaha the Portugal schools have the funniest field trips hahaha, they just put yellow hats on the little kids and take a walk around the block hahahaha, but the kids are always hilarious!














a missionaries two best friends(:

 sometimes it's hot and so we sit inside the supermarket and eat a box of ice cream... each hahaha(:












there's an awesome Brazilian named Paulo that has us over at his restaurant every wednesday to eat lunch for free.... holy crap its always so good!





Zach will always be a kid at heart-HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 CHECK OUT THE COOLEST TOY IN THE WORLD!!!
TOTALLY WORKS AND EVERYTHING!!
just doing some work on the ole shelby....
my garage is growing!! 

Aug 4, 2014

Zach Can't Believe his Bros are Starting School Again

(and PS... he's usually responding to a comment or question I asked if it doesn't make much sense!)

i was thinking it had been a while since i took a nice little rest in the grass in the shade, so i just laid down haha, it was nice(:

holy crud thats this week!! its blowning my mind thinking of Mace at Red Mt, and especially Brig as a junior! haha. hahaha oh c'mon they cant be much worse than me haha(; and dont say sorry, you're the reason i flippin graduated haha(: so im saying thankyou for hassling me about grades(: haha and don't worry, we've got plenty of time to talk about the military, right now im a missionary(;

if you havent sent the package can you pretty pretty please send me a football?!?!?!?! haha we've got a ball pump here, so it doesnt need to be pumped up, but i just want a football, like a real one! some stores here have super crappy wannabe footballs, but they're totally not worth it haha. could you just throw in a good Wilson ball or something? ask the McBride boys, they'll know what football is the best(; haha but im thinking im gonna be in this area for a while, and the members and investigators here are so cool and they're already like family with me, and i wanna get some sweet football games going haha(: but okay, now im excited haha(:

and no no no no no no no no no 19 is too big of a number hahaha, I DONT LIKE IT!!!! and im definitely gonna have to do something about his whole "turning 20" thing.... thats just disgusting hahaha, but i guess we'll see how it goes!!

the investigators are all doing awesome! yes, the lady getting baptized on Saturday is named Denise, and she's awesome, we're super stoked for her. there's also an older couple who are living together but aren't married (its really common here cuz apparently the marrige paperwork is just to hard or whatever haha) but we've been talking with them for a while, and we're hoping that by the end of August they will be getting married, and then soon after getting baptized too! They're such nice and cool people and they love the church already, and yesterday they finally came to church and got along great with everyone which was so sweet, so we're stoked for them too(: we've got other people too, but ill report on them when they start getting a little but closer(:

and that picture of briggy doing yard work in a speedo made me laugh so hard!!!!!!!! hahahahahaha, im glad to see that im not the only one who has a socially unnacceptable side haha(: go briggy!!!!

well i love you guys a bunch and them some, and ill talk to you next week! hope you guys have a good first week of school! oh yea, who do the boys all have for teachers?? maybe they'll need to pass on some hellos for me! haha

love you guys!!(:

and boy have a got a scripture for you guys this week!(; hahaha. a few days ago i was flipping through the book of Mormon just looking for something to read, and i flipped open to Alma 7, which is Alma foretelling the coming of Christ. I thought to myself "oh i've already read a billion scriptures prophecying of him and i already know all about the coming of Christ and his mission and what not, i want to read something that i dont know." and i almost turned the pages, but then i thought to myself that there's really not anything in the scriptures more important that the Life of Christ and his mission, so i started to read. well turns out that at the same time i was listening to "I Believe In Christ" by MoTab, and the scripture turned to be one of the most powerful i've read in a long time. i spent a while going over the part where Alma is talking about all the things that Christ would suffer, and began to really think pretty hard about that, and the spirit just hit me like a punch in the face. the whole reason that any of us have any hope for this life and the next is because of what Jesus Christ did for us, and i definitely recommend giving Alma 7 some study time(:

 this is good ole Simon!!!! our fearless ward mission leader, haha i fricken love this guy so much. we were on the way to teach an investigator who lives like half an hour away by car, lucjy for us we have him instead of paying for the bus!

good ole Simon again... every thursday we have a meeting with him in his tiny little house, then he always feeds us. this week just happened to be like 3 kilos of rice and fish, and like a kilo salad haha

Zachary SCARES his mother!!

so one day we were walking and we found a huge abandoned grain silo plant, and climed aaaaalllllll the way to the top, 14 stories up(: and there was no railing on the top and it was bloody windy haha, it was way sick!

it was super sketch getting way close to the edge cuz it was so windy, but it was soooo cool, plus a sweet view of Beja(:

hahahahahaha this is one of my favorite pictures, elder boyd HATES hights hahaha, he caught a little queesy while i was running by the edge haha

been here for almost 8 months and im still trying to figure out what the heck is the point of these tiny cars... like smart cars can at least hit normal speeds. i kid you not, these things top out at like 20mph. we call them lawnmower cars cuz they're fricken loud and sound like they have lawnmower engines haha, they're about as fast too

ths is my comp Elder Boyd helping Lara (the daughter of a recent convert) with her homework haha

at little chunky Isaac loves giving kisses hahaha

this is Isaac again(: we were passing by one day and saw him and his family and another member chillin in this park with some fountains, so we spent a little time with them. he stuck his face down in front of the spout and wasnt to happy with what happened hahaha

all the missionaries here decorate their planners, and the other day i was reading the Liahona and saw a fricken picture of a saguaro with lightning in the background, so i couldn't pass up that opportunity! and i also had a coke bottle on my desk, so this is my Arizona planner(:

there's a member who's friend is getting baptized this saturday, and they went to the beach, and they really fricken like us, so the brought us back a little bit of the beach since we can't go haha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME hahahahaha, these sweet suckers were on sale and ive been wanting some swanky shoes, so i treated myself to an early bday present haha, you likey? im gonna come home lookin so slick haha, if europe does one thing right its clothes... sometimes haha

July 28, 2014

Short but Sweet letter!

Hey fellas!!(:

im glad you guys all had a good time, holy crud the boys are getting big haha!! and i totally remember that lake!! no rafts this time?!(; 

and we've been working a lot lately with a less active member with daughter who hasn't been baptized yet. and its been some slow-rolling work, but we decided to stick with it even though it wasnt the most glorious missionary work, we just new it was the right thing to do. well now because of that member, we have one of her friends who is going to be baptized on the 9th of August, and a bunch of friends of the daughter who are progressing towards baptism too. it was really cool to see how after putting in a lot of work, the Lord was able to bring a lot of people to Him that we never anticipated in the beginning. 

i dont have too much to report though, the work here is just rolling on like normal haha. not too much is going on that im dying to tell you guys about haha sorry(: i did buy myself a jumprope and am fixing to get way in shape, but other than that life is good(: 

a few weeks ago i found an Institute Manual in our house (in English!!(: ) for D&C, and i've just been reading that book, cuz its so interesting and goes into super detail about a bunch of prophecies and stuff like that... the Second Coming BLOWS MY MIND haha. but the other day i was reading in the Bible, and Psalms 146:2 is a good one, short and sweet(:

and yes i did get the package(: thank you so much, and just so i dont forget, next time you're gonna send something, could you send some hot cheehtos pretty please??(: i don't need anything, its just a reminder for me(;

well i love you guys, and hey when does school start up again?? 

have a good week, love you guys!!(: 

 Check it out!!! im so mature that i bought myself a bunch of veggies to make sure i was getting my greens.... and yes that really is zucchini.... i had to take a picture to prove that i bought zucchini by my own will power hahaha(; but i still dont like it...

AMERICAN CAR!!!!!!!!!!! this is the first fricken Cadillac i've seen since ive been here haha, i couldnt stop myself from taking a picture!!! i just sat there staring at it for like 10 minutes hahaha, man its good to see some big ole American muscle again(;

this is nutmeg, my little bud haha. he was hopping around in the road and couldnt fly from a busted wing or something, so i heroically saved him, now we're buds for life 

and this is nutmeg taking a little bath and drinking some yummy sprinkler water haha

made another new friend... but he's a little colder, and i got sick of him just staring at me like a piece of meat, so i bailed... the whole situation was fishy from the start...

gosh dang im so funny(;

so the s'mores BBQ was a flippin success, and all the people loved the marshmallows cuz all the marshmallows here suck!! haha, they we're all like "holy crap these are so good!! i wanna go to America!!" haha

needless to say they were pretty impressed at my roastin skills haha, and they all just wanted me to roast them for them... lazy turds haha

aaahhhhhh.... its like seeing an old friend again(:

and here we see the natural past time of old português men, they gather in large herds, and while usually harmless, young women be warry, they're shameless when it comes to checking out girls, and ruthless when it comes to complaining about money.... and coming up next on animal planet.......

WE MISS OUR FUNNY ZACHY!!!!

July 21, 2014

Still young at Heart! Zach will never Grow Up!

i went fishing!! haha one of our friends can make balloon animals, so i grabbed a balloon and started making a fishing pole, and she made me a fish haha, but we were on the opposite side of the town, so i stuck in my back pocket and walked all the way home with a little yellow fish following me hahaha, sooo many people were laughing at me hahaha(:

Hi momma!(:

holy crud i forgot how pretty Utah is haha, we'll definitely have to go on some hikes when i get home haha, but dont worry ill still be in shape. my comp bought a jump rope last week, and im fixing to by myself one soon, cuz those things kick my butt haha. 

and the work is still going really good!! yes, we still have a lady who is wanting to be baptized this saturday! yesterday after church we sat down with her and her boyfriend (he's a member and the one who brought her to church) because both of them are smoking a ton (EVERYONE HERE SMOKES!!!!) but we want her boyfriend to baptize her cuz theyre talking about marrige, so it would be sweet. and it was probably one of the most powerful lessons ive had so far, but we talked a lot about sacrifice and how about when we put everything we have on the table, the Lord sees that we are doing all we can, and he picks up our slack. in the end we got them both to agree to quit smoking, and get working for this baptism haha, its gonna be so sick!! and really the only thing else that goes on here is the pool in the middle of the city haha. 

and sweet, thanks!! the package hasnt got here yet, but ill let you know after it does!(: and make sure to take a bunch of pictures of all the cousins pretty please!!i cant even imagine how big everyone is getting haha(: 

im sorry but i dont have too much time today, but this morning i was reading in the book of Isaiah, and if you guys get the chance read Isaiah 40:29-31 im pretty sure haha, its the last three verses in chapter 40, theyre really good(: well i love you guys a whole crud ton as you know(, haha, and i will talk to you guys next week(: thcau!! (:

This is Isaac!!!! that picture a little bit ago of a kid on my shoulders, this is him! this kid is a chunky little cannon ball haha, and for some reason he fricken loves me. i play the piano during sacrament meeting, and he always runs away from his mom to come sit with me haha, the kid is so fricken funny haha. his mom doesnt want me to leave cuz apparently when im not around he spends all day saying "Dayton!.....Dayton!" hahahaha

haha theres a super funky member here, but she's super awesome and gave a bunch of stuff to do facial masks hahaha, so we went a head and tried it out... we were just missing cucumbers(;

July 14, 2014

 Zach is getting settled in Beja!

Hey fellas!!!

haha dang i miss monsoon season!! its pretty warm here, probably about 90º - 100º, but its way humid haha, plus we're always in church clothes! but im atleast used to it, elder Boyd has been hurting a bit haha, Northern Ireland aint exactly a warm place haha(;  and thank you! and if you haven't already sent the package, could you throw in a big bag of marshmallows please?!?! haha, i know its a weird request, but they dont sell marshmallows here, and im dying for some s'mores hahaha. if you already sent it, its definitely not an emergency, but i was just wondering! haha(: 

and no i still haven't got through the Book of Mormon in portugues, we've been focusing a lot on a few investigators that are progressing incredibly. we had a lesson with an investigator on Saturday that was incredible. her name is Custodia, and she's about 40ish. she's dating a member here and he brought her to church, and she really liked it, so we've been working with her since then, and she's marked to be baptized on the 26th of July! she's never been baptized in any church and never really affiliated with any church because she's never felt that any of them were completely genuine. so it was a bit tricky to get her to want to be baptized and actually become a part of a church. but one thing i've been working on a lot is to really listen to the investigator and the spirit, and to try to not just teach lessons. and ive seen some gnarly improvements in the way the lessons go and the love i feel for the people, when we've got a lesson completely planned out, but as soon as it starts, we feel the impression to just toss it and go by the spirit, its so cool! the power that you can feel when you know that spirit is touching their hearts is just incredible and undeniable.

and thats awesome, i would've loved to hear Brents fairwell! and no, i haven't talked chandler in forever, but man that kid will be such a great missionary! and yea, im writing Holden and Brandon every week. Holden's doing great in Florida, i think he's gonna put up quite the fight when its time for that kid to come home haha, he's loving it out there! 

yea im still trucking along, and im loving this area. most likely ill be here for at least 11 more weeks, and im really looking forward to it. the members and investigators here are awesome. the only downside of this area is that there is a huge public pool in the middle of the city, and we walk past it all the time haha. i never thought i would miss swimming so much haha!! oh well, there's plenty of time for that after the mission haha(: 

oh and guess what?! yesterday i got to kick a door in, haha! a member here has been having problems with her lock on her door, so we walked home with her after church, and she couldnt get her door open, so she let me kick it in! haha, but i totally forgot to take a video of it haha, oh well(: and you guys might also get a kick out of the fact that im am the pianist here haha. so yes i do get to play the piano haha(:

dang luckies,  that'll be a way fun trip haha, make sure to take lots of pictures please!! and dang that lucky jerk haha! yea i would freakin love to go hunting haha!

i love you guys so much, and ill talk to you again next week!!(: have fun in utah and wyoming!!(:

This is my hood gang!!! haha, this is (left to right) Franklin a recent convert, Simão (Simon) our ward mission leader, and Romeo Tavárez a returned missionary. Romeo served here in portugal, and so he's gonna be living here for a while to visit family and work, but it rocks for us cuz he loves going out and working with us haha, bonus points!! 

Zach's new apartment has work out equipment, he's in heaven!

check out what i found!! one night i was sitting in the house all bored with nothing to do, so i went up to our roof, and there's fricken workout equipment up there!! hahaha, i was so stoked!! so i've definitely got myself a new workout program(:

the RoofGym even has a punching bag and a barbaque!! haha, its gonna be a nice stay here in Beja(:

 Some of the people Zach works with!!
the lady in the back sitting down is Maria João, and she's really wanting to get baptised here soon, so we've been working with he a lot lately, and this is just a bunch of friends and family all cramming into her little house haha, português houses are a wee bit smaller haha(;

This is our Branch President, Pres Ruberval, his wife Sheila, and their 1 year old son Miguel. They're brazilian, and this is the guy that reminds me of that old mexican cartoon character Speedy Gonzalez hahaha, this family is way cool, and Miguel is a tank and so fun to play with haha(: