A Bug in the System

Mommy!

    So, this week has been pretty hard as a missionary. Let's start
with this. . . Elder Johnson (room mate) walks in Monday night and he
looks ghostly pale. "Guys, I don't feel so good..." Ha. You don't have
to tell me again to take your word for it. He tromps over to the couch
and falls flat on his face. The next morning, he is coughing up a
storm in his bed. Great! Now we have a sick person in our apartment. A
dirty apartment......
    A couple days later, I start to have a small cough. It is just a
small cough, I think to myself. There is no way I am going to be sick.
We come home from the afternoon and there is Elder Farnes (Johnson's
companion) passed out on the couch. We talk to him a bit and try to
wake him up. Groggily he replies and is in and out of consciousness.
It was then that we we remembered that he is Diabetic. Elder Johnson
couldn't check his blood sugar level because he was passed out on his
bed from sickness. We grab his kit and check his blood sugar.... 25
..... Now, I don't know how bad that was, but it was bad enough to
make him half passed out. We grab Capri-Sun, an apple, and some juice,
and give it to him to raise his blood sugar. Thankfully, he is still
alive and he said that 25 was the lowest he has ever reported on the
tester.
    Friday. We woke up, planned for the week, updated the progress
record, ate at MOE's, and biked home. There is this really cool path
that we wanted to take to get back home. It is just off the side of
the road and all you need to do is pop up the curb and carefully
maneuver to the path. Now when I say "pop" up the curb, Elder Jensen
took it literally. His back tire blew up! So here we are, 30 minute
bike ride from home, with a flat tire.... GREAT! So we decided to take
some awesome pictures so we can post some on Facebook. The walk was
really good! We talked to SO many people! There obviously was a reason
why that tire popped. Sure, we didn't find anybody new to teach, but
we still had a great night.
    Saturday...... We all woke up sick... That was probably one of the
most annoying day ever... We did as much work as we could, but in the
end, we weren't in the best condition to go out and give the rest of
the world this putrid disease. We went to all the appointments we
could, then after that, it was back to getting ourselves better.
    Sunday! I am really glad I have you as a mom because I ended up
taking the medicine my mom packed for me and feeling a ton better! We
all went to church and then back to our apartment where I was consider
end the "healthy" guy to take care of the apartment! Huzzah for being
healthy! Let's just say that I got good at helping people with getting
water and medicine.
     Right now I am at McDonalds in Walmart. We decided to spice
things up a bit today because Elder Jensen and Elder Farnes are at the
Temple. So I am hanging out with Elder Johnson this Preparation Day.
All is well and I hope all is well for you too!

I love you, Mom!

~ Elder Zac Snell

P.s. I saw this license plate and took a picture for you.

Attachments area

image.jpeg

The Tri-Mission Tournament

     This past week has been jam packed with meetings! Holy cow! Of
course they are not at all boring, so I guess I will work from meeting
to meeting.

          First meeting we had: District Meeting.
     We have this one every Tuesday, so that makes this meeting less
special than the next because of how often the recurrence of it. This
one was cool because Elder Jensen taught district meetings for the
first time! He did a great job! Afterwords, the set of Elder's who
bought us to the meeting said that they were going to an awesome sushi
place, so we tagged along to celebrate the first district meeting
(last Tuesday was Zone Training)! We knew it would stab a hole in our
budget the second we walked in. It was fancy, for sure. I, being the
money saver I am, only spent $9.00 on a delicious plate of Sesame
Chicken (it was also due to the fact that I tried some of the sushi
and didn't care for it (but you should be proud of me for trying
it!)). Haha! Elder Jensen spent about $20.00, while another Elder
dropped $60 that day for fancy sushi. Ah, good times.

          Second meeting: Zone Conference! (Wednesday)
     This one happens only four times a year, so it is pretty awesome
when we get to see President Riggs. We talked about "owning your area"
and how we can use the members better. Over all, it was awesome! Oh,
also, we practice teach a lot on our mission. A lot of the time, it is
super awkward to practice teach with others. It just is.... I really
don't know how to describe the type of awkward it gets except to just
say it is weird. And just to make it more awkward, we split up Elder's
with Sisters, practice teaching the Law of Chastity. Whoot!! You can
imagine how that was going to turn out. President told us to act like
someone who is living out of marriage with someone and tell them to
repent. "Give them two options, get married or move out." So that was
fun.

          Third meeting: Tri-Mission Conference (Saturday)
     This one happens once in a life time! Elder M. Russell Ballard
came to talk to the Washington D.C. South, D.C. North, and Baltimore
Missions! He talked about showing love for your those we teach and
helping them feel the Spirit. I also saw a really good friend of mine
that is serving in e Baltimore mission, Elder Harrison Sturgeon! So
that was way cool! Elder Ballard wanted to shake hands with everyone
at 13:30, but there was absolutely no time to shake all 700
missionaries hands. Oh, and tell Troy that nobody really likes the
D.C. North missionaries because they are really apostate. Haha! South
is the place to be!!!

          Final Meeting: Stake Conference
     Elder Ballard came to our stake and spoke about marriage. All of
the missionaries there were sorta laughing to themselves because he
was basically telling every young single adult to not wait to get
married because of some sort of circumstance you are in because it is
always easier with a companion. It was then when reality struck. They
expect missionaries to come home, start school, start dating, and in
about a year or so, be married! :O hahaha! Yeah, we'll see, Elder
Ballard. . . We'll see. . . You never know!

     Anyways, that' my week for you. Thanks for the Great support you
give me and the time you spent getting me where I am today. I love
you.

Love ya!
     ~ Elder Snell


     So this guy just barely walked up to us and asked us if we work
for McDonalds. We told him we sew missionaries and he sits down and we
teach him about the Book of Mormon. He Loves It! Too bad he is in the
other Elder's area. Love the mission life! ... Aaaannnd now He is now
telling us his hallucinations of his when he is high off of
marijuana..... So much for that guy. Hahaha! I don't care how bad of a
path you take, there is always room for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in
their life. He is SO getting baptized!

Sent from my iPad

To Be, Or Not To Be a Missionary!

Mother's Day Skype

  In my mind and with the experience that I have had while serving
The Lord, this is a no brainer! I have seen miracles and so many
tender mercies as a missionary. On multiple occasions, I have turned
to a quote by President Monson, which says something along these
lines, "When you are on The Lord's errand, you are entitled to His
Help." There have been many rough patches on my mission so far and I
have been out for a little less than Eight Months. I have seen how I
have been helped on my way to becoming the servant that Heavenly
Father wants me to become. I have been, and still am being sent
through the Refiners Fire. If somebody came up to me and said, "Hey,
Zac, I have been thinking of serving a mission, but I can't decide if
I should. Would it be worth it?" To that I would reply, "YES!!!!! OF
COURSE!!!!!! It is worth ever single second spent away from home
serving him who created you!" In the long run, isn't that what we are
here doing in the first place? We left the presence of our Heavenly
Father (our home) and came here to learn for our selves and to help
others on their way back home.

     55 I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones
who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.

     56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received
their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come
forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the
salvation of the souls of men.
 (Doctrine & Covenants 138:55-56)

     We are those noble and great ones! We have received our first
lessons in Heaven so that we can come her and be prepared to labor in
His Vineyard. We are not just working to be paid in cash or for any
earthly possession, but for the salvation of the souls of men! There
is no greater work than the one that is before us now! Do we need to
have the title Elder or Full Time Missionary to be one who harvests
souls of men? No! We, as brothers and sisters are entitled to that
calling to serve and save those around you.

     Remember that there are no crown wearers above that we're not
cross bearers below.

     I love and miss you all, but for now, I wish to keep my mind on
my calling: A loved Son of God here to save those who have wandered.

 ~ Elder Zac Snell
Sent from my iPad

Elder Snell and his Apartment

Missionaries after a Hard Days of work!

Life's a Short Joke

 Transfers! Whoot! Gotta love days when you switch things up a
little bit. Actually.... A lot a bit! I am in unfamiliar territory now
and with a new companion. Am I scared at all? Uh.... Yeah, just a taco
bit, but who isn't nervous for a new transfer. Any ways, we will get
into the good stuff.

     So, Fort Belvoir.... I had heard about it because it is always on
the "Keystone" (weekly letter from the assistants). They are on there
because they have tons of baptisms. We work hard here in Fort Belvoir!
I had thought that it was hard for an area in the United States to get
 a baptism per month, but they is exactly what happens here, so
hopefully, I will be able to find some EPIC success!

     Oh yeah. Heh, just a bit if information for you all: Yeah..... So
his last companion was 6'7'.... Every house that I have gone to has
cracked a short joke.... XD I would like to thank Jake for all those
short jokes preparing me for this transfer. Now I won't go home and
cry
myself to sleep because of all the short jokes I have to put up with.
Hahaha! :D my companion's name is Elder Jensen. He is from South
Jordan, Utah. He loves long boarding and snowboarding. He was also the
DECA president for his school.

     So, we were visiting a less active member named Chris Thompson.
We had an excellent lesson and I soon found out he was from Utah! He
asked what my Dad does for work to try and guess where I was from. I
told him he works for a ski and snowboard shop. He starts going off on
how much he loves skiing and eventually guesses where I am from. I
told him that I worked with my Dad at Utah Ski & Golf. "Oh, I have
been there before" he said. I was totally appalled! Not many people
from Virginia know the ski shop. He said that he went there for skis
and customized ski poles for somebody 6'2" when he was 16. I asked him
if he knows Steve Snell. "Oh yeah. I know him. He was wearing a
beanie. A stockier and bulky guy, right?" Hahaha! "That's my Dad!" Way
to go dad! People remember you as the guy with the beanie! Hahah!  I
am actually curious if you remember him. I bet you would if you saw
his face.

     That' sabot all Folks. Please ignore my incorrect grammar/use of
words/lack of caring to change my autocorrect. I love you guys! Stay
Stellar!

~ Elder Zac Snell :)

Sent from my iPad

Legacy to be Left

  Ah, I am truly sad to be leaving the area of Reston. I have
absolutely loved to serve here! Definitely one of my favorites! From
the amazing people I have met to all the flippin' awesome bike trails.
This Area had been through ups and downs for sure. Haha! And I have
been here for about 5 1/2 months to see it. The first day I arrived in
Reston, I was a little down hearted because I looked at how many
lessons they were teaching and how many investigators they had. ZERO.
Nada. zip. Zilch. NOTHING. Not a single progressing investigator.
Then, I realized something. Just because it appeared that way for the
first reporting week of our key indicators (if you don't know what
that is, I might suggest reading chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel) didn't
mean that it would be the same for the next few weeks. The first week
I was here, we checked up on every potential investigator there was in
the area book. Soon enough, we were able to find one person to teach!
Through prayer, fasting, and reading the scriptures, we accessed the
things God in store for Reston!

     If there is anything that I have learned here in Reston, it is
what is found at the beginning of the fourth verse of hymn #27: Praise
to the Man. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven;" If you
are in need of some blessings straight from heaven, there needs to be
a sacrifice given. We have put in as much as we can to help Reston
have more converts. This ward hasn't had a baptism in over a year and
a half!!! When I heard this, my mentality changed from "there's no way
we can do this" to "this changes NOW!" I am pleased to tell you that
the next baptism for the Reston ward will be on May 17th for a
fantastic guy named Adam. This is just the next one. As of right now,
the Reston district (one of the smallest in the mission) has not 5.
Not 8. Not 11, but 12 people that have set a solid date for their
baptism! The Zone average for people with a baptism date is 11, just
to give you a comparison to look at. This testifies that when we give
up what we want and take hold of what God wants, he will provide for
us and give us success!

     Brothers and Sisters, I strongly exhort you to lay claim on those
blessings that await you in heaven. Our Heavenly Father is just
waiting to give them to us!
     "prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it."(Malachi 3:10) I know
this scripture may be associated with tithing, but isn't paying
Tithing a sacrifice? Doubt not The Lord nor his goodness. He will
bless you. I know it!

Stay true, guys. Love you all!
     ~ Elder Zac Snell :)

Sent from my iPad

Move 'In - 100.7

 Oh, where to begin?! There has been so much that has happened this week. It was just Super full of surprises. Well, let's just start off with this...

     Monday! That was preparation day! We loaded up in a car and headed over to DC to check out the cherry blossoms and stuff like that! It was way cool! A bit of walking, but I am ok with walking. I do it all the time! We saw about half of the mission there and a whole bunch of members. If you want to see stuff, check out my DropBox folder.

     Tuesday! We got a text from the Office Elders telling us that our lease was up and it was time for us to move. Ok. That's fine. They told us that they could help us move on Wednesday next week. Serendipitously, The other Elder's across the street got the a text that they were moving too! They talked to the Office Elders more and scheduled to move on Saturday (a couple days ago). We didn't understand why they would want to just move one companionship at a time, but we didn't question it. So that was great!

     Wednesday! We didn't do anything super awesome. Just us teaching everyone we come into contact with. We teach members the missionary discussions to get them more excited to do missionary work for their selves. oh! JK! I was on an exchange with Elder Holtby (District Leader). We had a great time. He is giving me Leadership training because he says that I am going to end up being a District Leader this next Transfer and I have to get ready for it. It is really funny because all of the missionaries in my district are thoroughly convinced that I am going to end up being an Assistant to the President.

     Thursday! We did service for Brother Merritt! He is one of the coolest members EVER! He is building this super house with epic floor plans! We went and helped him at his property for that. He said that when it is finished I can come back and stay a night there! That will be way cool! After our service for Brother Merritt, we went to a potential investigators house and had dinner with him and ended up staying over there till the end of the night. He is super cool and Loves the Gospel (sadly, he is Catholic and is not changing any time soon). He became a new investigator that night. His name is Robert Tershak. Please pray for him.

     "It's Friday!!!!"(Red) We did a Blitz! It was way awesome! We had the Zone Leaders and Elder Holtby and Coates come over to a neighborhood in our area and tract it out with us! That, my friends is called a Blitz. Personally, Elder Coates and I didn't have much success. Just a whole bunch of no answers and no's.... oh well. The others had more success. we have a return appointment set up for Tuesday and two super solid potentials. Huzzah for Blitzing!

     Saturday! We helped the other Elders move and were also wondering when we would be moving.... We decided to call the Office Elders and ask them when we are moving. "Today. Move as much as you can and then we can help you on Wednesday with the rest that you didn't move." They didn't even tell us before hand that we were moving today, so we had to pack like crazy and get out of there! We spent the night at the new apartment which was maintained by a senior couple, so it was in great condition. We are now room mates with the other Elders. Fun story, right?

     Sunday! Adam (our miracle investigator from last week) beat us to church! He said that he would meet us at the corner by his house at 7:45 so we could walk to church. We got to the corner and he wasn't there, so I called him and asked him where he was. "I am at the church, are you guys inside?" He was so excited for church that he just jumped the gun and walked by himself to church! He is loving it! Please pray for him, though. His dog isn't doing well and he loves that dog. We also died Easter Eggs. I will attach a picture of them so you can see them!

     Well, that's about it. you don't have to read it all if you don't want, but It was a pretty crazy week. Keeping being the stellar people that you are! Love you guys!

-=iii=<{ Elder Zac Snell

Elder Snell at The White House 2014

Elder Snell and Elder Ogilvie April 2014