Saturday, January 19, 2013

Christmastime is Here - 12-10-12

Hey Everyone!

Isn't Christmastime great? It is arguably one of my favorite times of the year. The spirit that goes on during this time of year is wonderful.

Our Mission President gives us 1 hour a week to spend on the computer other than emailing time. We call it "mormon.org time" because we get to go acquaint ourselves with mormon.org and other church websites. This last week I visited mormonchannel.org, a website with audio and video put out by the church. There was a new video called "O Come, Emmanuel." If you know me, you know I love The Piano Guys. The Bible videos the church has been putting out recently are also very cool. It was awesome to be able to listen to a Christmas song by The Piano Guys. It brought joy to my soul. :)

We went on exchanges in Quincy, Illinois this last week with one of the sets of Elders there. They had an appointment set up that I went to with the other pair's senior companion. The appointment was with a Part Member family who was also a Former Investigator of the church. This was the first time that this Elder had gone over there, as the Investigator was dropped right before he arrived. We were going to ask her why she stopped investigating the church and have a nice visit. We went over there, exchanged pleasantries, then they told us they had an announcement. She wanted to be baptized! It was awesome, so we talked over the Baptismal Interview questions and she is getting baptized next week! It was a unique experience and one that neither of us had experienced before. It was really cool!

Our Mission President and the senior missionaries in our mission have counseled us to have a lesson in the church called the "Church Presentation." We use pictures, and the building itself, to teach the first lesson. It is really neat and the spirit is very strong. We taught this lesson with the family of the old Bishop of the Ward. He has 4 children at home and one at school, ranging from ages 9 to 19. It went really well and was really neat to get the members involved with our efforts as missionaries. We are going to teach it again tonight to some Ward Missionaries and as well to a Part Member couple we have been working with. 

The youth in the church are awesome. When you have a solid youth, especially one that is preparing to go on a mission, it is great to get them involved with teaching. We are starting to incorporate the two Priests that are in their senior year of high school. We hope to help them prepare and get some good experience. Take advantage of anytime you are able to work with the missionaries!

To finish, I also finished the Book of Mormon for the first time in probably 4 years, as well as for the first time on my mission. I read it in about exactly 3 months. It is a wonderful book and I want to invite all of you to begin it again or to at least continue where you are reading. Incorporate it into every single day of your life, it will help you in all aspects of your life. Read at least a verse, a column, a page, a chapter, or more each day. I promise you that you will receive blessings in your life because of it!

Enjoy the Christmas season! And reach out a helping hand whenever you have the chance. People don't always need money or stuff to be happy. A smile will go a mile. It will make someone's day. A friendly "Hello!" will touch more lives then a dollar will. Love is the solution. After you love, then you can offer a helping hand.

My two favorite scriptures of the week. 1 Nephi 7:4 and Moroni 8:16. Let them touch your life and you will touch someone else's.

Love,
Elder Zachary R McKenzie
Iowa Des Moines Mission
    D&C 6:34, 36
Doubt Not, Fear Not.
Faith in 400 for Christ in 2012

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