Elder Zachary Snow

Elder Zachary Snow

Monday, March 26, 2012

Where Else Can One Do That? - March 26, 2012

Dear Family!!!
 
Wow!! What an exciting week. Thank you for sending the pics of the baby. Definitely fun to see. London Grace is a cute name, she is a real cutie too! Wednesday here in Pilar was a wild day!! Wednesday it rained harder than any other day in my mission. The streets got super flooded!! Elder Shaw and I had a good time cruising flooded Pilarense streets on our bikes. I love the mission!! Where else can one do that?

This past week we have been working super hard and finding lots of incredible people to teach. Our struggle continues to be getting new people in church, but Elder Shaw and I have a lot of faith that this next week we are going to destroy General Conference with lots of investigators in church.

Right now we are in Asunción. This morning we had a leadership conference. We got here early this morning because President Callan had something special planned to do. At 7 o clock bright and early we went out to the Botanical Garden of Paraguay. President Callan told us some of the history of the church in Paraguay and we went to the site in the Botanical Garden where Ezra Taft Benson offered a dedicatory prayer for the preaching of the gospel in Paragay. The prayer was offered the same morning that the first stake in Paraguay was organized. President Callan read the words of the dedicatory prayer and we all reflected on the mission and the church here in Paraguay. It was a really special moment and helped me to remember the purpose of our missionary work and why I am here. I really love missionary work. I want to develop a stronger love for the people of Paraguay. I think that is something that I am lacking and can do better.

After the Botanical Garden we returned to the mission office and had the consejo. We talked a lot about the vision of the mission, how to earn references from members, how the zones are doing. Our zone has been doing really well for the past few changes and we were really happy that every companionship in our zone baptized this past month. The Lord has been blessing us so much and we are grateful for it.

We are excited for this next week and for the opportunity to listen to the Prophet. It´s amazing how much I have grown to love General Conference. What a blessing it is.

I hope you are all doing really well! I am grateful for your support. I want you all to know that I have a testimony of this church. I know that it is the truth. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that God guides us through a prophet today.

Love,

Elder Snow

Monday, March 19, 2012

How Cool is That! - March 19,2012

Dear Family,

It was really neat to hear this week about the baptisms in the stake! Thanks for sharing a couple of those special experiences. I was thinking about the de Ruyter family a few months ago. That is such a blessing that Sister de Ruyter was baptized. I imagine that Brother de Ruyter was pretty content. He is a really great man, I feel bad for giving him a rough time in my Sophomore year of seminary. I`m glad that Melanie is a much better seminary student than I was. What an example of the miracles of missionary work. I know that this is the Lord`s work and that His hand guides and directs it.

This week we have been working a lot to find more new investigators. We have been struggling a little bit with getting the new investigators in church, however. This week we really want to work better with the members so that the investigators can leap that hurdle and make it to church. We found a great family that we have been teaching. The dad´s name is Ipórito. He is an elderly man, he´s probably around 65 years old. His wife passed away and he lives with one of his daughters, Liz, and some of his grandchildren. Ipórito and Liz received us very well and we taught them about the Restoration. It was amazing how they paid very close attention and showed true interest in the message. The Spirit was very strong during the part of the first vision of Joseph Smith. We introduced the Book of Mormon and left a part for them to read. By the next visit, Ipórito had read and was already developing a testimony of its truthfulness. He used to be very active in the Catholic church but has since doubted that the Catholic church is true for deception that he felt from some of its members and leaders. He is a sincere person looking for the truth. Ipórito and his daughters weren´t able to make it to church, however. We will continue working with them.

Yesterday we had the District Conference here in Pilar. President and Sister Callan came and spoke along with several members from the Pilar District. Most of the meeting´s theme was on the family. It was really neat to hear the members´ testimonies about their families and how important their families are to them. President Callan talked a lot on prophets and the blessing of having a living prophet today. He shared experiences of how he has gained a testimony that there is a living prophet today on earth.

One cool experience from a couple of weeks ago that I had forgotten to mention. Last month when Elder Shaw and I went to Asunción for the leadership council with the zone leaders, when we were waiting in the terminal in Asunción for a bus to come back to Pilar I saw Eduardo Calderón. Eduardo is the convert of Elder Bonilla and I from a while back. I was able to talk to him for a little bit and it was really good to catch up. He is doing very well. The coolest thing though is that just that Saturday he had the opportunity to baptize his older sister. He gave me a picture of the baptism with him and his sister dressed in white. How cool is that! Back when Eduardo got baptized, the rest of his family wasn´t very interested but he was able to help her make it to the waters of baptism. It was a really cool moment that helped me to remember what the mission is all about.

I am grateful for all of you!! Thanks for everything, for all of your support. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Snow

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Lord is Paying Off Our Efforts Big Time - March 12, 2011

Dear Family!

So great to hear from you this week. It has been a great week. The Lord has been paying our efforts off big time. The past 2 weeks we had struggled a little bit to find new investigators but the Lord is sending many miracles our way to help work among His children here in Pilar.

After the trip to the temple on Tuesday, we did divisions with a district leader from our zone and his companion. Elder Davis came back to Pilar with me and we worked here on Wednesday. We found a couple of great new people and the Lord blessed us greatly. On Wednesday night (for like the third night in a row) we were traveling and then on Thursday I was back with Elder Shaw. After all of the traveling we were a little pooped out but we got out there and worked anyway. The Lord really helped us to continue onward. This past week I have been studying a lot about Christ like attributes and it has helped me to complain less and trust more in the Lord. I have noticed a difference and I know that trying to become more like Christ is such an important goal in our lives.

On Friday we had a pretty cool experience in the morning. We left our pension in the morning and were on our way to where we had planned (it wasn`t a confirmed appointment). On the way we rode past a man that was sitting outside. At first we just cruised by him. Then almost at the same time Elder Shaw and I turned around on the bikes to contact him. It was cool how we both felt the same impression to go back. We sat down to teach him and the lesson went really well. His name is Max and he had shared with missionaries a long time ago in Asunción but has not met with them since. Max was raised Catholic but about 5 years ago at age 50 he converted to an Evangelical Church and really wants to know which church is true. He also noticed how we had kind of passed him then we turned around to go back and talk to him. He said that the Spirit had told us to go back. It`s the truth.

Dad had asked a little bit about Gabriela´s family. She lives alone with her mom. Her mom is also a member that was baptized in another town over 10 years ago. She was inactive when we found them but has attended church every week with Gabriela.

I love this work. I am so grateful for the blessing to be here in the mission. I love you all. have a great week!

Elder Snow

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Woo Hoo - March 6, 2012


Dear Family!!!
Sorry this will be another short one. We are here in Asunción again today, this time attending the temple. That is also why you didn`t get an email yesterday, rather today. Woops. Last night we had to travel through the night and we will be getting home in Pilar late tonight. That was interesting to hear about all of the Amazing Race in Paraguay things. To be honest, I haven`t heard of any of those places really, haha. The big fruit market that they went to maybe, is it called Mercado Abasto? I know that one if it is.
Elders Snow & Shaw with Servin Family

Brother & Sister Servin, Elder Snow & Elder Shaw

Anywho, in this letter I am trying to send some long overdue fotos from the Servin baptism as well as some fotos from Gabriela´s baptism this week! Woo hoo. It went really well. She is a great girl and both her and her mom seemed very happy with the baptism.
Gabriela

Gabriela's Baptism
These past few weeks Elder Shaw and I have been working really hard to find new investigators, but haven`t had a whole lot of success. Yesterday we found some really great new investigators that seem like they will progress. It seems to happen like that a lot of times, for weeks we can`t find anyone then all at once we find a lot of great new people. That happened with Elder Curtis in my last area. I think that sometimes the Lord tests us to see how much we are willing to give, how far we can push ourselves. I know that if we do our part, the Lord will fill in the gap.

This past week I finished the Book of Mormon again in Spanish. At the start of the year, I was about half way through and I set a goal to finish the Book of Mormon and read it all the way through again before July. So I just restarted reading this week and am on pace to do it. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love it.

The temple today was really great. It`s always a real blessing to go to the temple and to feel the special spirit there. It`s amazing the difference that one can feel between being in and outside of the temple. It is the house of the Lord.

Anyway, I`m gonna pass the computer off to Elder Shaw because there aren`t any computers open and we are sharing this one. But I love you all so much!!!

Elder Snow