March 14, 2011

Hey did much damage happen in Oregon due to the tsunami? How about our family down in California where they all ok? No I haven't gotten the packages yet. Did you use the stories I gae you last time? Yes I am still with Elder Plunkett. Transfers are next week. I think I am now mostly used to being a zone leader. I hope I get to stay with Elder Plunket another transfer, cause he knows so much about leadership and about working with the stake, and helping the missionaries. I love to serve the Lord. And it is a little weird to think it has been a year now. But It really just makes me want to work even harder and smarter. Trusting in God more and more and seeking his guidance more and more and following the spirit more and more. With every aspect of missionary work, knowing what to do, what to say, what to pray for, what to teach, what to do to help the other missionaries, and stuff like that. we do have some awesome investigators. We meet and began teaching this guy last week named craig and he has already agreed to be baptized and we have set him with a date. Another couple we got the week before agreed to be baptized. and This lady who we already set with a date told us her daughter also wants to meet with us and learn more! There is stuff happening. I love it. I love to testify of this gospel. I love to testify of The Savior and His church, His prophet, and the Book of mormon. I love to serve. This is pretty much all I know now. I dont know who Benjamin Sherman is. I only know I love my Heavenly and my Savior and my fellow brohers and sisters. speaking of which. No my seiblings haven't been writing me much, except for Hannah. Tell Grandma and Grandpa I love them and I am sorry I never really get time to write letters anymore. The weather has been nice over here, its been spring already over here for a little while now. Its good to hear George is coming to church. how is Liz and Nikki doing? How's Jayden and Stephanie doing? Any thing new about Josh? Let me know please and thank you! I love you Mom, tell everyone I love them too and miss them. thank you so much Mom. Take care!

March 7, 2011

Hey Hannah,

Thank you for the Email. yeah we are pretty busy, I dont really have time to ever write in my journal now. Being a Zone leader is different. I love my companion, he helps me a lot. The responsibilities of a zone leader are collecting the end of the week key indicator report from the district leaders for each companionship in the Zone, then reporting it to the assistants through a fax on sunday nights. We also keep track of the car miles of the Zone( we can only drive so much a week, and we have a mileage alotment). We also collect information from the zone thursday nights about how many lessons they have so far that week, and get the updates of how the ward mission process is going in each ward/companionship (a list of 15 names from the ward auxilaries, selected, inveited, being taught, is the list updated stuff like that). we also get diamond list information on monday nights usually (Diamonds are top investigators throughout the zone) how they are doing/progressing, concersn they have etc... and on tuesday nights we report the ward mission process information and updates as well as the diamond list info to the stake (usually a high councilor in charge of missionary work, and the second councilor of the mission presidency, and sometimes the stake president) on tuesday nights. And we also sometimes present trainnings (or lessons for the missionaries) at district meetings and zone conferences. and we have conference calls on monday mornings with all the zone leaders in the mission, the mission presidency, and the assistants where we report how the zone is doing (what they are doing good at, member present lessons, investigators at church, stuff like that, and what we need to do better at as a zone, like getting and contacting more refferals, getting new investigators and investigators on baptismal dates) and President maynes rebukes us haha and gives us praise and tells us what we need to better at and to repent. It is humbling and also really good to help us be more focused on improoving. Also we go to zone leader councils. im out of time....