Mother's Day Skype (written by Mom)

We got to Skype with Elder Zack on Mother's Day for about an hour.  It was so great to see his face and hear his voice, and just to be together as a family for a little bit!  We laughed and teased each other and had a great time being together.  Nobody cried.

Here are some tidbits that I remember from our conversation:

He told us more of the story of the snake that the other Elders left in their apartment.  He said they came home and found it in a Tupperware container on Zack's bed.  He thought that they had left them some cookies and opened it to find a snake!  They then went to the other Elders apartment and left the snake in their microwave and the open container somewhere in their apartment.

He said that the Tyson chicken factory is in Sioux City and they have thousands of employees.  Many of them speak Spanish, so there is a lot of work for the Spanish missionaries there.  There are 4 Spanish speaking Elders and 2 Spanish speaking Sisters in Sioux City.  There are also 4 English speaking Elders and 6 English speaking Sisters. He said they could use some Hmong missionaries.  They have transfers this week but he thinks he'll be staying where he is.

He said he is very busy with the work of spreading the gospel.  He likes being busy.  He said that he & Elder Shipley get up early and exercise.  They found a stadium where they run stairs.  They have lots of appointments and they also knock on a lot of doors.  He says they are getting pretty good at picking out the Spanish homes.  He said that they've had their own car since January, before that they were sharing with the other Elders.

He said that the Spanish Branch only has about 30 people attending on Sundays.  He said that the youth combine with the Sioux City 2nd Ward for Mutual activities and that they invite that ward to all the Branch activities.

Meg asked him to say something in Spanish.  He told her to say something in English.  Later we asked him to bare his testimony in Spanish.  He didn't hesitate at all.  He seems very fluent.  He bore a beautiful heartfelt testimony.

He said it's getting warm there.  90 degrees and 90% humidity.

He said his eyes have been bugging him and his back is out of whack. We sent his glasses at Easter, but even with them his vision is fuzzy.  He said he needs to see an eye doctor and a chiropractor.  We told him to please do that.  We want him to feel good.  The mission office called on Monday to ask for some info before his eye appointment that afternoon.  I'm glad he made an appointment right away.

He said that the Sister who sorts the mail at the mission office said that he is one of the missionaries who gets the most mail.  Thank you to everyone who writes to him!  It means a lot to him.  He loves getting all the news from home.

He seems so happy to be where he is, serving the Lord.  He always sounds happy in his emails, but it's nice to see it in his face when he talks.

We loved talking with Elder Zack!  I may start counting down 'til Christmas!

Thanks to everyone who writes to him and prays for him.  We really appreciate all the love and support he is getting!

Love,
Ellen