A Staged Failure

  First off, I will begin by apologizing for the lack of an epic
letter last week. Things have peen super busy. We got caught up with a
huge conundrum with medication for a missionary out here and they
didn't have anyone to drive them around, so there was that great part
of the day. The perks of being in a car area, right?

     So this week was pretty sweet! We had brother Jim Shanahan and
Ms. Marope at church yesterday! It has been a bit since I have seen
them at church and it was superb to see them there! So let me tell you
why I chose the title that I did.
     It all began on a Friday night. We were helping one of the youth
with his eagle project. Now, this was probably one of my most favorite
eagle projects because it required much creativity and tons of fun.
The idea behind it was to have a food drive and a talent show type
dealieo going on. You bring a can of food, you get in to see the
performance. Evan, the youth doing the Project, asked us to stand
outside and make sure that everyone donated before they entered. That
went rather quickly, so we helped in other ways. Now for a little back
ground... The day prior, I had just barely figured out the chords to
"We'll Bring The World His Truth" on the uke. Back to the story. I
look at Elder Babb (my new companion from Snowflake, AZ) while a
performance is going on and give him that look like I have an Idea. He
laughs a little and asks what I am thinking. "Do you know what we
should do?"
"No...?"
"We should totally go back home, snag the uke and sing a duet!
Remember, I learned that song the other day!"
"Uh... No."
"Yeah! It would be so epic!!" Sadly, my attempt to pump him up to sing
in front people was unsuccessful. "Come on!!! It would make such an
awesome story. Picture it now!" It was then when he probably
visualized us singing and sounding terrible being boo'd of stage.
"Come on! Let's just ask Evan if it would even be a possibility."
Finally, he caved!
     We went and asked Evan and he said it would be awesome! That
convinced my companion for sure. We booked it to the car, went home,
snagged the uke, and went back to the church. On the way in, my
companion informed me that I would be a one man act. Lame..... We
walked into the gym and Evan saw us and said, "And now, I have a
surprise for you!" I walked up stage with little to no practice of
this song I learned probably 18 hrs ago. I, being used to on stage
performances collect my cool and perform. And the rest is explained
through the title.... Haha! I will send you all a video of how I did.
Just promise to laugh at me. A whole bunch of people came up to me and
told me I did a good job, but I felt like I could have done better. Oh
well. At least there are a bunch of people who are now coming to the
youth activity we do every Friday night. Huzzah!!

     That's it for now! Love you all!

   ~ Elder Zac Snell :)


Sent from my iPad
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Elder Snell and Elder Babb

A Mom's Favorite Day

So, not much time to write today. we have an awesome zone activity. We are reserving a super sweet park. Sweet!!!!!

     So, yes, I was able to Skype my family and I learned that they are doing great! Lexie is First chair and Caden is a drum major and will be coming to Indianapolis for a clinic. He will just have to come a little farther and I could use him as a member present lesson. ahahha! XD So proud of those two. I also was blessed to see my Grandma Wood. She is so sweet to have come to see me. I really appreciated her being there. 

     On the home front, we are doing well. We are setting BOLD goals to become better missionaries and truly become consecrated through our service. Deairdre dropped us then apologized and set up an appointment for Tuesday. So things are going good. I was able to participate in conferring the Melchizedek priesthood and ordaining to an Elder. It was a less active man that we have been working with. Great experience.

Happy Mother's Day to all who fit the criteria. Love you all!

~ Elder Zac Snell

Play Matters

May 4th, 2015 Letter..............

 So, not much to talk about this week. It was sorta sad because all of our our teaching appointments fell through, which was sorta disheartening.... Those people and their darn agency! As wonderful as a gift it is, people tend to use it in ways that I wish they wouldn't, but there are situations that are out of our control. What we did do, though was take advantage of everything that we could control! It was pretty sweet because we have been planning this huge service project for our district that our sisters found, so that happened this week.

      We built/ put together a huge playground for a rather ghetto community. Haha! It looked super good by the time we finished it. With about 200 people there, we built it in about 4 hours or so. There were team of people working with cement, some in mulch, some on the big toy, some on the hopscotch and four square, and some in the woodworking part where we built benches, planters, picnic tables, and pavilions. I was in the woodworking section with Elder Nielson. We built a bench by ourselves, so there is a wooden bench there that just the missionaries built. Coolieo, huh!? My group was the mustache group, so we had mustaches on our name tags. After it was built, we had some kids do a presentation on why playing matters and he educational benefits to it all. Really cool.

     That is probably the highlight of the week. Stake conference was awesome! President Riggs spoke with Sister Riggs, so that was cool. Great talks and things pointed out. The theme for it was all on missionary work with the Ward Council. I really liked it. We also had Duty to God, Dodgeball, and Doughnuts! I don't know if I wrote about that yet, but it is a young men's dealing that we are doing to ultimately get them worthy to come pass/bless the sacrament. Anyways, that went super well, so that was awesome! 

     Not much else to write about, but I do love you all and hope you have a stellar week as well! Happy Star Wars Day!!!

~ Elder Zac Snell :)

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#Jog4Jesus

So, awesome title, right?! Hahaha! So, I don't think that I took the time to tell you all, but Elder Nielson and I decided that We would run a 5K to talk to people. Little did we know that while you are running, it isn't fun to talk because it makes you run out of breath.... We talked to people anyways. There was one guy who wanted to talk to us and told us that our religion was fake and we needed to come to Jesus. Man! We are Jogging for Jesus! What did he think we were doing in a white shirt and tie running a 5K? Trying to bring others to Jesus! He wasn't a fan of us, but he loved talking with us while running. Anyways... The real success happened after the race was complete. Others would come up to us and ask us our time and why we were running in a suit (25 minutes flat btw. also, I finished before Elder Nielson, but the count didn't say so... Lame....). We handed out a bunch of cards and invited everyone we saw to come to church the next day. Twas epic. I will upload a recording of me running the race and talking with people afterwords. Also maybe a picture or two.

     We had Zone Conference this week. It was epic because it was President Riggs last set of Zone Conferences. He told us a bunch of life secrets and stuff like that. Something that really stood out to me is that when we receive a prompting for a goal, that goal is inspired and we should stop at nothing to achieve that goal that was given from Heavenly Father. We talked about Faith and how everything we do is based off of our faith in Jesus Christ. Think about it! Why do we repent? Because we have faith that Jesus Christ performed the Atonement so that we can get clean and return with our Heavenly Father! FAITH!!!! So we have taught that a whole bunch this week to those we teach.

     We found some awesome people to teach this week too! We were checking up on some Less active members and the people in the apartment below the less active was walking in and we opened the door for them. As they walked inside, they said, "Hey! You are coming over tomorrow at Three, right?" uhhh....... YES! So there. Lesson set up and we show up the next day and find out that they are searching for truth in this world and are really confused with some teachings that other churches believe. So Prepared for the Gospel! I love when Heavenly Father just gives us somebody. He has to love making us happy. :)

     Well, I will now recover from that 5K. We didn't really train for it.. We just decided to run it and we did. Good stuff! My legs are super sore still, but I did hit my goal. I set my goal to be 25 min, and I achieved it!!! Good fun!

Love you all!

~ Elder Zac Snell :)

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SPECIAL EMAIL SENT TO ME (WENDI) BY A WARD MEMBER.(ALEXANDRIA).................

Hey Wendi,

You're welcome! Yes, they ran in their white shirts and ties and they received a lot of attention from fellow runners. People were taking their pictures and Elders Nielson and Snell were able to pass out a lot of pass-along cards with their contact information. I think it was a great missionary opportunity that will help the public see the missionaries in a new light. Elder Snell said he was still a bit sore when we had him over for dinner last night! 

My wife and I have had the opportunity of having your son and his companion over to our apartment many times for dinners. These two missionaries are absolutely wonderful. Elder Snell is always smiling and enthusiastic about the work. He is one happy and diligent missionary. I have also been able to go to teaching appointments with Elders Snell and Nielson and they are fantastic teachers. They listen to the concerns of their investigators and respond accordingly which helps them have strong and personal relationships with those they are teaching. They teach in a simple yet powerful way. It is always a joy and a great learning experience for me to go teaching with them. 

Hope all is well back in Utah,

Steve.........

MY SPECIAL EMAIL SENT TO ME (MOM)............................................................

Thanks for the recordings and pictures. They were cool, but nobody was talking...... Maybe I should have been more specific. I have jazz music. Anyways.. I am glad hat there are youth that get it. I honestly don't think that the others have no idea what an impact this has on them. It one that affected me eternally and I will be forever grateful for it. :) I hope you like my pictures and recordings! I am doing my best to make one each week or so. Just that kind of stuff. :)look a trumpet! We played Ultimate Frisbee and it was super fun! I want to start a team or something when I get home. That would be Epic! Life is sweet! We had an appointment cancel tonight, but that is ok because we need to do more finding anyways. We will FaceTime with them during the week. Stoked!!! By the pictures, it looks like Lexie is taller than me. Hahaha! They are changing so much since I was home. Holy cow! Do down, I just knew that I would be the shortest out of the three of us..... Who knows. I could come home taller than I thought I was and I will be taller than Lexie! (Secretly hoping for that) hahaha! I love having all of my best friends out on missions. It tells me that I made good choices about who my best friends are. Good people. :) I am content with life. I think that when I get home you might be surprised with how much I have grown. Spiritually, that is. I feel really close to Heavenly Father and I am grateful for that. I am changing into the man that He would have me be (even if that man is shorter than his little sister). But, you know what the Prophet Alma said about Small and Simple things. With them, "the Lord doth confound the wise." XD Using scriptures to my benefit. Haha! Thanks for your unconditional love and example you always give to me! You and Dad are my Hero's and have been excellent in guiding me back Home. I have a long way to go and so so much to learn... Haha! I think I will just take it one small step at a time. 

     Anyways... Thanks for letting me vent out my thoughts. I am working on pondering more. Is is one of the ways I do so. I love you! I have something for Mother's Day, I just need to go to the post office to send it. Expect that coming some time this next week! Can't wait to talk to you!

Love you!

     ~ Elder Zac Snell :) 

Sent from my iPad

Let Us All Press On!

Letter April 20th 2015

 This song has been stuck in my head all week! Well, actually all
month. Ever since the choir in conference sang it, it has been a
motivating factor for is week. Believe it or not, but we faced quite
the adversity this week. Haha! We were walking to save some miles in
our car and we went between two apartment buildings and out of nowhere
comes this egg! It hit the fence right next to Elder Nielson and it
got all over him! Crazy huh!? So he then went into a nearby apartment
complex and washed off the egg from Elder Nielson's pants. Oh
goodness. The audacity of some people!

    So I bet you are all wondering if Deairdra was baptized this past
week. She did not because she wanted her family to understand what she
was getting herself into and to support her. It makes me sad when
people have to post pone, but it is for a good reason, I know. On the
other hand, we got together with all the inactive young men and did
Duty to God with them. We have a deal with the, that every Friday
night we all walk over the the closest church and have a lesson, play
dodge ball and eat doughnuts! This was the first week we tried this,
and it was a success! They loved it and can't wait till next time. A
lot of them have a bunch of potential.

    Ok! Here is something sweet! After the epic success of the Metro
Blitz, our zone is on a creative finding kick. We are putting together
this EPIC BBQ for Father's Day. We are having 8 wards combine and
bring all of their friends to it. We already have the Stake President
on board and ready to speak at it while everyone is eating. Part of
preparing for it is creating a Father's Day video that we can show just
before President Davy speaks. It will be an interview of a bunch of
people off the street and primary kids saying what they love most
about their dads. We are all stoked!

     On the home from news, Caden is a Drum Major for he Davis High
Marching Band! I am so proud of him!!! He is going to be the best
ever! Also, Moonlight is this week. If you have never been and don't
plan on going this weekend, then you are making a huge mistake. Just
sayn'. Remember that when in the Service of The Lord, we are entitled
to his aid! Love you all!

Hobey Ho!
     ~ Elder Zac Snell :)

Sent from my iPad

Cavaliers Show this year. "Game On" for the mission too!

Companion Elder Nielsen and Elder Zac Snell

Blossoming Into a New Transfer

I will start off apologizing at this will be short. First off,
transfers happened this past Thursday and we have a whole bunch of
awesome new missionaries! Among those is Elder Cline who I was his
companion in McLean. He is the Shirlington district leader. He will do
well! Today we went into DC to see the cherry blossoms and tour the
Washington Monument. Let me tell ya, that was super fun! Pictures
included at the end. We then went to Lunch with a member who works in
DC. After hat, Elder Nielson and I toured the Holocaust museum. It was
very eye opening and sorta depressing. Definitely something everyone
should go through, but not more than once. Sadly, we left in that
depressing note...haha and now I am on the Metro finishing up emails!

     Thanks to all those who are helping me and giving me support.
Including those out here with me! I am super jealous of all ad you
back home because you get moonlight serenade, but I guess that is in a
week or so. Love you all!

METRO Blitz!

  Oh goodness! This week has been super packed with awesomeness! I want to start first with those we are teaching. So, Hawah, had been meeting with the missionaries for quite some time now. She is "African Sisters"with another lady we are teaching. Recently, Hawah has been going through some though times and was having trouble finding God's hand in it all. She wants to believe He is helping, but just couldn't see the progression she had made from since we first met with her. The other day, she was a beaming Ray of sunshine! Just glowing with happiness! The previous lesson we had with her, we told her that she has grown a lot and if she read the scriptures, everything would turn out right. It was apparent that this was definitely the case. She then proceeded to tell us that she really wants to be baptized this month and wants to start paying tithing! Ah! I love it when people understand that the Gospel is not restrictive, but a giver of blessings. She really wants those blessings.

     Deairdae (dee-druh), another really nice African Lady, is known for canceling appointments last minute because of either medical reasons or because she is too tired. This week, I had the phone every time she called to cancel but I talked her out of it and for her to let us come do a "bible study" with her. We had an excellent lesson with her and she felt the spirit so strongly that she set a day for her baptismal service! Her day is on April 18th! We are so excited for all those we are teaching and their determination to come closer to the Savior.

     Let me be honest, this week had to of been one of the most stressful of my mission. All the district leaders got together with us and we planned an epic event to take place in a month or so. That month or so was up is week. The plan was to take full advantage of the new Easter video that the Church produced. We would set up a booth at three METRO stops (the METRO is the subway system for DC). We planned to be at King Street, Pentagon City, and Crystal City. We would have he video playing on a laptop or iPad while missionaries would be handing out #BecauseHeLives cards, water bottles with stickers we made, or copies of the Book of Mormon. We would set up the booths right at the top of the escalators or where everyone comes in to the station. 

     Wow, does such an event take tons of time for planning and preparing! We had to go talk to the city about doing this and also the METRO people. After permission was granted, we had to make signs, make stands for said signs, make some phone calls to some very high ranking people, notify the Zone about progress, and collect 5 cases of water bottles per companionship from a bunch of families in the stake. We were able to snag a couple rare items to use for a display from the Temple Visitors Center, so that was a plus and one less set of signs we would have to make. Now, for the water bottle count. We wound up with a total of 2000+. Our first idea to transport them was to use trash bags, but that failed miserably, so we made a quick trip to CostCo and grabbed three shopping cart loads full of empty boxes to use for transporting the water. 

     On Wednesday, the Zone came together to put the stickers on all the water bottles and help load them in boxes. It took 23 missionaries 30 minutes to slap stickers onto them, then pack all the water into boxes. Thursday was the Zone's day to prepare themselves for epic street contacting. While the Zone was out and about, Elder Nielson and I scouted out each METRO Station looking for where the best place to set up was and as well as talk to the METRO officials about talking to people in he METRO station. 

     Friday was the big day. Starting at 07:00, everything was set up at each of the three stations and we began gathering people over to the booths to watch the two minute video before they hurried into the METRO to catch their train. This carried on until 09:00. The rain and wind became such a fighting force that we had to take down and delay till evening. The weather reports were saying that it was going to be even worse of conditions during that time, so we knelt down and prayed our hearts out for better weather conditions. That is where the miracle took place, around 16:00, the skies cleared up and he sun shone through the clouds! Our prayers had been answered! We resumed until sun down, 21:00.

     The same schedule was followed the next day, but less people were there so we took breaks to watch Conference. Goodness, such a fun week! I will include pictures of the event, so be looking out for that. The pictures were taken by the Mission Photographers. They are in our Zone and are really good at what they do. We are hoping to make it into Mormon News Room. Anyways, thanks for reading this really long Email. If you didn't, I don't blame you. It is super long. Haha! Love you all!

Hobey Ho!

     ~ Elder Zac Snell 

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