Happy Halloween!

My Halloween Costume: going as Elder Holman

It truly was a happy Halloween!  Transfers were the same day and I'm still in Crete with Elder Holman (Transfer #3), which I'm completely OK with.  Hopefully we can still get some good work going in Crete and get ourselves out of the temporary slope that we're in.  The work's been struggling recently in Crete but we're working on getting it back to where it can be. 

Halloween for us was pretty alright.  We weren't allowed to be out after 6 unless we were with Members, and since all the members were at the Ward Trunk or Treat we went there.  I thought I was so creative and dressed up as Elder Holman, who likewise dressed up as Elder Paddock (He wouldn't cooperate for a picture though, sorry).  After that we went to some other Elder's apartment and roasted Marshmallows and then to Lincoln Spanish's apartment to carve.... a Pineapple.  It would've been a pumpkin, but walmart was sold out and Pineapple sounded really tasty.  

I absolutely loved Daylight Savings yesterday at 5:30 AM when the alarm on my clock went off and I realized I still had an extra hour of sleep... however at 5:30 PM it was already dark, and nobody likes to open their doors when its dark.  For example, we knock the door of one of our investigators and he answers and tells us, "Well the hour moved back so it's darker earlier which means that I get less sleep so I have to go to bed now."  I was under the impression that if you went to bed at 9 and woke up at 5 that that would be 8 hours of sleep no matter what time of year it is.... I guess I'm wrong.   Hopefully we'll be able to find some investigators that think the same way we do and that'll be awake and willing to talk after the sun goes down.

A lot of the lessons we taught this week were taught to people that you would be changed so much by the Gospel.  For example, troublesome teenagers, depressed adults, and people just going through downright hard times.  The amazing thing about the Gospel is that it changes us.  It gives us a new perspective on life, God, ourselves, the world, eternity, etc.  I'm grateful that I've always had the Gospel in my life, that it gives me guidance and helps me know that there is so much more to life than work, food, and sleep.  I'm reminded of the words of Lehi when he's talking to his son Jacob and says, "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."  That's the purpose of this life.  God's given us the way to find joy in this life and ETERNAL joy in the life to come, and that's the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know it changes lives.  I know it enriches lives.  I know it helps us to live our lives to the fullest and be able to really find that true eternal joy.  

I love you all and I hope that your week is very joyful!

Lots of Love,
Elder Zack

Also Elder Holman and I were able to reach our goal of handing out one Book of Mormon for everyday of the last transfer!  Granted those were maybe 4 a day here and 1 a day there and 0 for a couple days, but that still equaled out to 42 Books of Mormons loaned out with a return appointment during the last 42 days.  We're hoping to be able to see lots of fruit coming from that.

Answers to a bunch of Mom's questions:

No snow yet and hopefully not anytime soon.  We haven't done a lot of walking, but we're probably going to have to.  Yes I have sufficient to eat.  No, no one feeds us.  We're 30 miles from the members willing to do that, but we are going to have a regular Monday night, post P Day meal appointment with a family in Lincoln that I'm pretty excited about.  She cooks similar food to you so its almost like being home.... but not at all.

The new decorations to the Crete Elders' Apartment
"Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"