December Musings

Our emotions are all over the place these days--high highs and low lows! We decided we wouldn't really miss all of the Christmas hoopla, but hey, guess what. We did miss it. Boo hoo! Walking through Publix (the grocery store) and the mall just made us sad, and we couldn't wait to get out of there. Also on the "low low" scale are the daily encounters with people with very serious problems that seem insurmountable. The Christmas season just intensifies their difficulties. So we are trying to follow President Hinckley's father's advice to him by forgetting ourselves and going to work. Instead of exchanging Christmas presents in our family, we are giving to those in need. Oh, what a joy this is! We love President Hinckley's father's wisdom.

Also on the "high high" side is seeing more fruit from our labors. A new family was baptized into the church the weekend of November 24. Yes, it did take a whole weekend to get the job done. Virgil was baptized on Saturday, and Willie Mae and Catherine were baptized on Sunday afternoon. Unbeknown to us, and maybe to them also, Willie Mae and Catherine were terrified of the water. Neither of them had ever been in anything bigger than a bathtub! We learned afterwards that fear of the water in the black community is very common. There are really bad things in the Florida waters, such as water moccasins and alligators. Also, slaves were often deliberately drowned adding to a cultural predisposition to avoid water if at all possible. Willie Mae's cousin drowned which heightened their fear of drowning.

After a long attempt to coax them into the COLD water (which we promised would be WARM) we discontinued our efforts. The next day, after a nice lunch at our trailer, we took the family to the mission home where President Summerhays used his snorkeling mask to get them used to getting their faces and then their heads under the water. On the way to Tallahassee we all sang primary songs selected by Catherine from her new CD. Belinda, age 7 has a beautiful voice and proudly sang the newly learned songs for us. Catherine's favorite was ironically, "I Hope They Call Me On a Mission!" It was her 11th birthday.

When we arrived at the mission home, President and Sister Summerhays came outside to greet us. The house was toasty warm to make everyone feel very comfortable. President and Sister Summerhays gave the family a beautiful statute of "The First Vision" symbolic of Willie Mae's vision for her family.

What President Summerhays did was the most masterful example of charity, patience, long suffering, and meekness that we have ever witnessed. We wish we had a video of it, but even then one could not feel the power of what transpired that Sunday afternoon. It was the most beautiful example of honoring one's agency as a PREREQUISITE to influence, motivation, and trust. At every step of the process, his love and respect for their comfort level was paramount. He was like a brain surgeon, meticulously excising their fear one little centimeter at a time. He promised them that if they could not breathe out of the snorkeling breathing device he would give them $1000. Virgil shouted, "Don't breathe, Willie Mae! Don't breathe!"

Afterwards, we went over to the chapel next to the mission home to try again. The font was filled with about two feet of VERY WARM water. President Summerhays sat in the water where Willie Mae joined him. He gradually coaxed her on to her side and then to her stomach. He let her feel the water on her face, then slowly going a bit deeper with each try, until she was completely covered. Oh, what a joy to see the two of them sitting side by side in the water, quietly rejoicing in the glorious experience of baptism. We were all so moved that it was difficult to keep our cries of joy inside.

Then Catherine followed her mother's example without any fear whatsoever. She said, "I'm swimming, I'm swimming!" Afterwards, we shared testimonies with Virgil expounding some doctrine that was a bit mixed up with his former beliefs. President S said, "Well, Elder and Sister Z, you will continue to teach the Smith family for some time."

We all loaded up in the truck and sang more primary Christmas songs until both girls fell asleep on their parents laps, a celestial day complete.

More fruit of our labors involves the baptism on Saturday, December 15 of Elizabeth Groves, a single mom of three children under the age of three and a half. We are getting very attached to this family. Blue, the two-year old boy hangs on to Elder Z's leg crying uncontrollably every time we leave. The three and a half year old girl, Diamond, is perfectly matched to her name. She is a beautiful child. The baby, a six-month old baby girl named Ga'Daisha looks serene and smiles all the time. The angels are watching over her for sure.

Other good news about Virgil Smith and family: We found an attorney in Tallahassee who is filing a class action suit on behalf of Virgil and all of the other poor victims of a water softener scam in Gadsden County. The company sold $7,000 water softeners to poor people under the guise of testing their water, then sold the contracts to a predatory lending company at an exorbitant interest rate. Virgil had no clue what he had signed. Virgil also got all of his abscessed teeth pulled and is getting a new set of dentures next Monday, courtesy of a fabulous dentist and a good bishop.

We are teaching a few other people with very promising results. More on this later. Big day tomorrow.

We miss you all during this most beautiful of seasons as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ . We send our love and best wishes for a glorious holiday.

Elder and Sister Z

Fruits of Our Labors

Oh, how sweet it is! This is our first baptism. John Booth was baptized by Elder Zabriskie on November 3, 2007.

John and Qedrin walked into the Quincy ward eight days after we arrived in Quincy. We invited them to dinner the next night, and we have met every Monday night except one since then. We taught John along with the Elder's Quorum president, Brother Mike Johnson and others who joined our FHE group. It has been a great joy. John was formerly a Baptist. He is going to be a great member of the Church.


The baptism was held at 5 PM Saturday. Qedrin spoke on baptism and Sister Z spoke on the Holy Ghost. The baptism itself was a bit out of the ordinary. When Elder Z and John entered the font, John started shivering, and he and Elder Z started murmuring about how cold the water was. The bishop said, "No, its warm." Elder Z said, "It must be 47.2 degrees!" John exclaimed again, "It's really cold!"

The other problem was that the font was not filled very full of water, coming up to about hip level. John weighs about 250 pounds and wears a 17 1/2 shirt. Some of us could see a problem developing. Elder Z almost drowned our first baptism! When he baptized John, both Elder Z's and John's feet went out from under them, causing both to go to the bottom of the font. John started thrashing about trying to find something to grab hold of and Elder Z struggled to stand up again. When John came up out of the water he exclaimed, "Did I stay under?! Did I stay under?!" The two young elders serving as witnesses assured Elder Z and John all was well. Later, Elder John, a 6 foot 7 young man with very long arms said he was just about ready to reach down and rescue the two of them. The bishop said, "Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you how slippery the bottom was and to be sure and stand on the no-skid strips."

Well, all of this went off without a giggle from anyone. Don't ask us how, but we all just stayed reverent and focussed on the seriousness of what was happening. But, believe me, after it was all over. we have laughed ourselves silly about the event.

After the baptism, we all went to Pizza Hut and enjoyed our first pizza since we arrived here. Yummy, even if it was Pizza Hut. Sunday Elder Z confirmed John and ordained him to the office of Priest. It was a beautiful sacrament service and many tears flowed. John bore a sweet testimony. His father-in-law, who has been less-active, also bore his testimony. Another less-active member whom we visited last week also came to church for the first time in many years and bore her testimony.

We have another baptism next Wednesday and Elder Z says he may have to get a little help to avoid a repeat performance. Travorish Arnette, age 15, is 6 feet 5 inches tall! Tarvorish is having brain surgery next Saturday. Pray for him.

We love this work! Nothing compares to the joy we feel teaching the gospel and seeing people accept the message of the restoration. Willa May and her daughter will be baptized as soon as Willa May recovers from some surgery. Last week was her youngest daughter's birthday who turned 7. We had a little birthday party on the tailgate of the truck. It was very special. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us. Willa May hasn't missed church since we first met her. She is an amazing woman, in spite of her limitations. Last week the SS teacher asked a question, and as we both struggled to come up with the right answer, out popped this thoughtful perfect answer from Willa May. Not once, but twice. She brings me a pack of chewing gum every week. We are so happy that we were able to get some free dental help for her husband as well as some pro-bono legal help for a swindle contract for a $7,000 water softener.

We are also teaching a wonderful Haitian woman, Edith Victor, who just showed up at church saying God sent her to our church. She is so humble and teachable. She claps her hands in joy for every thing we do for her. She speaks a little English, so we loaded her up with everything we could find in French and the Holy Ghost made up the difference. It is truly amazing how much can be communicated through the gifts of the Spirit. The second time we visited, her friend Wills joined us, and we will teach both of them tomorrow with the help of a returned missionary who served in Haiti. Our good friend, Dominique Lambson, helped us out on our cell phone on our last visit.

Two other investigators are Sal Torres and Guillarmo Gongales. Sal is a social worker and Guillarmo teaches English to Hispanics. Another "coincidence" is that Guillarmo is teaching English to both Edith and Wills. Small world, or just another of Heavenly Father's little interventions? Sal set a baptism date of December 8 when we taught him tonight.

We are progessing well with a less-active member who has so much to offer the Lord. She and Sister Z really "clicked" from the beginning. She says she is enjoying reading Sister Z's book on line and is making copies for her family and friends. We are working on forgiveness issues together.

Elder Z and I are finding our groove and are working really hard. The Lord always gives us what we need when we need it. It is truly awesome how much the Lord cares about every single person and leads us to those who are ready to hear the gospel message. We feel so unqualified sometimes to do what we are doing, but somehow things just work out. Always.

Thank you all for your prayers and continued support. We love you very much, our dear friends and family.

Love,

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Building the Kingdom

It is very rewarding to be anxiously engaged in the work of the Lord full-time. The benefits to Elder Zabriskie and me far outweigh any sacrifices we have made to be here. My friend told me a couple of times before leaving that all of our weaknesses would become self-evident in the early days of our mission. Oh, how right and wise she was to warn us! But, there are always obstacles to doing good things. Joseph Smith said he was a "rough stone rolling;" these two rough stones are definitely getting a few more rough edges knocked off.

In Sustaining and Defending the Faith, Joseph Fielding Smith and Robert Millett write, "One does not approach God without the adversary's opposition. The opposition of darkness and evil is a sure sign that the path being followed is offensive to the prince of darkness and thus pleasing to the God of heaven." They point out the great lessons learned by the Prophet Joseph Smith: "The nearer a person approaches the Lord, a greater power will be manifested by the adversary to prevent the accomplishments of His purposes."

But, there are legions of heaven's army standing in readiness! We are thrilled to have a spiritual boost from our dear prophet and apostles speaking to us at the semi-annual general conference in Salt Lake City this past weekend. The brethren are all focused on building the kingdom of God on the earth and are providing compelling information about the doctrine of the church. For a real treat, go to www.mormon.org and www.lds.org to see the new information about our basic beliefs, along with real life stories on video from converts to the church. We can't wait to use some of the talks in our work, especially Elder Holland's, Ballard's, and Nelson's talks. All of the conferences talks are already available on www.lds.org. We are also very happy Preach My Gospel is getting more attention. Next to the scriptures, we feel it is the most powerful book to study.

We have some good news about those we are teaching: John Booth wants to be baptized asap. We have a little group that meets each Monday evening here at our villa by the lake to share a meal and discuss the gospel. Last week we had 8 people squeezed in our tiny living room. We have a wonderful time together. Willa May is attending church each week and is bringing her two little girls. We are working with them on improving their living conditions. They are good examples of people who know how to be of good cheer in spite of their poverty. The father and mother both take great pride in being able to provide for their family. We are inching our way forward, building trust and just loving them. We think the family's hope lies in helping these little girls learn a better way to live. We've made a big dent in visiting the long list of less-active members here with some hopeful results.

On a lighter note, we enjoyed an excursion to Colquitt, GA to see Swamp Gravy, a folk-life play about southern culture. Our friends here who manage the marina/campground invited us along with her sister and husband who are members of the church. Colquitt is a tiny, charming town whose claim to fame is this play is now in its fifteenth season. It has been performed at the Kennedy Center and at the Olympics held in Atlanta. We had a delicious buffet dinner at the Tarrer Inn, a beautiful old Victorian hotel built in 1905. Our clothes continue to get tighter with such wonderful food. And yes, they served a dish called swamp gravy! It is made of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and hot sauce, all cooked in the drippings of fried fish! When done, a little of the cooked fish is added to the mixture and simmered. No kidding. It was good, but I didn't see or taste any fish.

We had another wonderful time a couple of weeks ago at a senior missionary conference at the mission home in Tallahassee. Another spiritual feast. President Summerhays is gifted in bringing out the best in us. The following are some of the scriptures he used to teach us:

1 Nephi 14:14: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

D&C 105 31-32: "But first let my army become very great, and let it be sanctified before me, that it may become fair as the sun, and clear as the moon, and that her banners may be terrible unto all nations; That the kingdoms of this world may be constrained to acknowledge that the kingdom of Zion is in very deed the kingdom of our God and his Christ; therefore let us become subject unto her laws. "

D&C 138:30 "But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men. . .

We are so very blessed to have the gospel and burning testimonies of the goodness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We hope all goes well with you, our dear family and friends. Know always that we miss you and cherish the love we share.

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Finding Heavenly Father's Sheep

We've logged 1800 miles on the truck since we arrived. Our curriculum of the day is to "slow down." The urgency of the work makes it difficult to find a proper balance. We enjoyed a moment of comic relief last week as we sat in the parking lot eating our sack lunch (in the middle of nowhere) at the Elizabeth African Methodist Episcopal Church!

We have been working hard to catch up on four pages of media referrals that were way over-due. We visited three people at the State Mental Hospital in Chattahoochee. One of the people with whom we visited had been taught about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon by a fellow patient who is a member of the church. He was very upset because the other patients were telling him it wasn't true and asked what he could do about it. We referred him to the introduction to the Book of Mormon offering as a solution to have them read it and pray about it for themselves. This satisfied him, and he said, "I know it is true because I can see it in your eyes, and the eyes don't lie." It was a sweet and tender experience. I am so thankful for my previous experiences at the mental hospital in North Carolina which enables me to minister to the dear people here in the hospital.

Many wonderful things are happening. We are still teaching the Booths, Sadburys, Smiths, Lillian Hover, and friendshipping several others. We have second appointments with two families we contacted through the media referrals, the Jenkins family and Sharissa Cobbs. Sharissa just lost her job, her husband is incarcerated for spouse abuse, and she has two darling little girls about three and four years old, and another older boy. She called the media center to request two copies of the Book of Mormon hoping to find some answers. She and I really connected. We are going back to see her tomorrow. We gave her the "Finding Faith in Christ" video, embraced a long time with the encouragement that hope is on the way.

Trying to figure out how to help some of these people who are in extreme poverty situations is difficult. We often feel very helpless. But, the hardest part is living up close and personal with people who live in squaller with no apparent options for remedying their circumstances. All of the Church's materials about provident living are all long-term solutions to their problems. I am sure that with time we will become more comfortable knowing what to do about these very difficult situations.

Last Sunday the Quincy ward was almost packed. There were no empty chairs in Relief Society. Bishop Decembrino changed all of the auxiliaries except the elders quorum president! Good move on his part. It was one of the most spiritual meetings we've ever attended. Once again, there were many "coincidences." This will probably turn into another epistle.

First, a little background is needed. Last week we visited a less active member's home, Luci Robinson who is black. She has a beautiful fifteen year-old daughter, Montresha. Both haven't been to church in a long time. Luci wasn't home, but we had a nice visit with Montresha and her boyfriend, Travorish. We invited her to church and agreed to pick her up.

We also had a second meeting with Willa May Smith, a poverty-stricken woman we found through a media request for the "Finding Faith in Christ" video. She has two darling little girls, ages 6 and 11. Their living conditions are comparable to many third-world country situations. She is a very courageous woman who goes to school each day on the school bus with her little girls and works as a volunteer. She said she had been baptized, but her children had not. We invited her to come to church, but she said she had no way to get there. She lives about 6 miles out of town, we were already committed to meetings with the bishop and picking up Montresha. The bishop said he would see what he could do to have someone pick her up.

Back to my story about the coincidences. Unbeknown to us, President and Sister Summerhays, the mission president, were scheduled to speak at the Quincy ward. Also, Brother Torres from Salt Lake City, the first Spanish-speaking missionary assigned to the Quincy Ward in 1994 arrived along with a friend from Salt Lake City. When we went to pick up Montresha, her boyfriend, Trevarish, proudly decked out in his ROTC uniform, came to church with us. Several other new faces were spotted, and Bill and I were almost hyperventilating from trying to greet the new visitors, as well as prepare for our investigators class. In walks in Willa May Smith, ten minutes into relief society, announcing, "I told you I would come! She found a ride herself.

We started teaching Willa May and President and Sister Summerhays join us. In the discussion, President Summerhays asked Willa May what did she think the Lord wanted her to do. She said, "I don't know." He read in the scriptures about the day of pentecost when 3,000 souls were baptized. She said, "I've already been baptized." Willa May only answers direct questions and volunteers nothing unless asked. As President Summerhays continued to emphasize "this church", and Elder Zabriskie pointed to his name badge, she continued to hold fast to her story that she was a member of this church. Painstakingly, we learned that she knew about President Hinkley, and she watches the "Finding Faith in Christ" video every single day. She said she was baptized in a river some place near the GA/FL line by her uncle who was a bishop when she was about 14 years old. She said her husband was also baptized as a member. She wants her girls to be baptized, too.

Well, the tears flowed all around. The Lord had found one of His lost sheep! Maybe three more also.

In sacrament meeting, the bishop preempted President Summerhays talk, calling on the former Elder Torres to bear his testimony. He told about an experience he had in Quincy in 1994 that changed his life forever. He and his companion were tracting out the whole town street by street. One day his senior companion said they were going to Midway instead, riding their bikes about 1o miles to a trailer park in the scorching August heat. He and his companion went directly to where the Spirit was directly him. His companion knocked on the door saying, "We're missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Lord has sent us here today. Do you why he sent us here?" It was the home of Luci Robinson. She had been praying for the Lord to send her something to help her find her way. Twenty minutes into the discussion she committed to baptism, along with her two older children. Montresha was about 3 or 4 years old and was later baptized.

Elder Torres said from that moment on he stopped trying to do things his way because it was not his work but the Lord's work. He was very emotional as he shared this life-changing experience, and Montresha and her boyfriend were spell-bound by his testimony.

After church, we invited Elder Torres to accompany us to take Montresha and Trevarish home. It was a grand reunion!! Elder Torres shared the same story/testimony with Luci, posed for pictures, and made new commitments about activity in church. Sweet!

President Summerhays preached a stirring sermon about the sealing power of love that binds us all for eternity, using the examples of Willa May, Montresha, and another Hispanic investigator to illustrate his message. There were no dry eyes. He also said lots of wonderful things about Elder and Sister Zabriskie with the edict to slow down!

We are looking forward to a senior missionary conference at the mission home Thursday-Saturday. Elder Zabriskie has my sore throat and cold and is trying to rest a bit more today.

Just for the record, the senior missionaries do not have the same restrictions around communicating with their family and close friends. It helps us a great deal to hear from you. It is easier to post on the blog instead of doing all of the cutting and pasting for the e-mails. You can probably tell that the blog is our way of journaling our experiences. FYI: we now have a hybrid phone connection with our old phone number in Provo: 801-373-6785. It doesn't alway work, but if you need to call us try this number first so we can save our cell phone minutes to use while we're out proselyting. There is a two-hour time difference

Know of our deep love and concern for you all. Pray for us and the Lord's lost sheep.

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

One month anniversary update

Hey, y'all! We made it a month. If the next 17 are this good, we'll be doing mighty fine. And I mean fiiine. My southern accent is way back, thicker than ever in North Carolina. It's a whole different language here. Poor Bill, he's struggling a bit with the African-American lingo. He is also in a bit of a culture shock. He says that's an understatement.

Wednesday we met with a visiting general authority, Elder Craig Christensen, a member of the quorum of the 70 and his wife. It was a spiritual feast. All of the missionaries stood in a circle in the cultural hall, and Elder Christiansen, his wife, and President and Sister Summerhays came around and visited briefly with each of us.

We met in the chapel, and he came down front close to us and taught us about the importance of teaching by the spirit and understanding the gift of the Holy Ghost. He taught us about the different roles of the Holy Ghost and the importance of understanding what role the holy ghost is taking with us. For example, the Holy Ghost can be a teacher, comforter, testifier, and protector. The Holy Ghost functions differently according to the needs of the individual and is an extension of our Father in Heaven. He also emphasized the importance of "a better way" of doing missionary work, utilizing the members of the church instead of just relying upon the missionaries. I bore my testimony about how I came into the church because a couple who were new members of the church invited me into their home to teach me with the help of the missionaries. I shared the unspeakable joy that came into my heart when I heard their message. The spirit was very strong. Elder Christensen turned to President Summerhays and said, "Isn't she assigned to the Quincy area? President, you don't have to worry about Quincy."

Later, I felt prompted to share how sacrifice by missionaries can touch the hearts of investigators. I told of my difficulty with quitting smoking and how the elders' fasting was the thing that gave me the spiritual strength to stop. Afterwards, another elder said he came seeking answers to two problems, one of which was how to help one of is investigators to quit smoking. He expressed gratitude that the Holy Ghost prompts others to give us solutions to our problems.

Elder Zabriskie and I left inspired to work harder and be worthy of having the Holy Ghost with us at all times. On our way home, we stopped at the Fresh Market we mentioned in our last e-mail and gave a Book of Mormon with our testimony in it to the nice African-American man who waited on us at the deli the week before. He happily took the book and said he knew something about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and he would read the book. He has a great spirit and we think he will follow through. We're going back to see him Tuesday when we go to district meeting.

We continued our work this week with Arlivia Ray, one the woman we mentioned who is suffering from extreme poverty. We met with her sister who is a well-to-do woman in town. We are exploring several options to help this family, one of which is to build her a new home with Habitat for Humanity. Arlivia is depressed to the point of being numb and needs some professional counseling. Bill gave her a priesthood blessing last week at the home of Arlivia's neighbor, Lillian Hover. This woman is a saint! She has been carry Arlvia's problems for years, trying to help to the best of her ability. She loves the Lord, and testifies of Him frequently. When Bill gave Arlivia the blessing, she wept the entire time. She kept praising God for sending us to help. Yesterday, she said she was feeling left out and could she have a blessing also. She wants to learn more about the church, and we will teach her next Wednesday. This woman is remarkable; the strength of her spirit is amazing.

Yesterday, we went to the small adjoining town of Havana about 25 miles away. We delivered videos, Books of Mormon, and Bibles requested from media referrals in Utah. We also visited an inactive member and her daughter, Sister Hellon and Sister Townsend. We taught them OUR scriptures Moroni 10: 32 and Alma 32. We encouraged them to come to church and to invite the spirit into their homes through prayer and scripture study. The daughter wants to come but her mother is holding back.

We drive many miles, most often going around in circles trying to find these addresses. The GPS loses its brains every 5 minutes. Bill is the navigator; I am the driver. I am working on becoming a more patient driver because we do a lot of do-overs. Yesterday we wound up in Georgia! Finally, we found our referral about 50 feet from the Georgia line, the mission boundary. Some day perhaps she will say she was saved by 50 feet! Her name is Mary Harris. She treated us like her long-lost children, embracing us as she said, "We are all God's children."We are teaching her next Saturday. She stood at the door waving and watched us as we walked hand in hand to the truck. She said, "Look at that! You're such a beautiful couple."She said, "Now, y'all be careful backing out. Be careful going home."

Wow, just wow! So much love for two perfect strangers. These visits bring back many precious memories I had as a child visiting in the black community with my dad as he collected his nickels and dimes from his insurance route.

Before we found Mary we visited with Teresa Brown. She wasn't home when we got there, but arrived as we were leaving. She said she hadn't ordered a Book of Mormon, but her son had been reading one. Maybe someone else delivered it. We visited a bit and she also began to testify of the Savior. She said she wanted to learn all she could about Him, and we made an appointment for next Saturday. These are such valiant souls. She works two jobs even with a diagnosis of lupus. She said she is not claiming it, and believes the Lord is healing her of it. Wow, just wow again. Our hearts are over-flowing with admiration for such courage and faith in the Lord.

Today we taught a new couple that "just showed up" at church last Sunday, Qedrin and John Booth. She was raised in the Church but has been inactive for some time. They are 31 years old and are expecting a baby. John is a Baptist. They came over for lunch today along with Michael Johnson, the Elders Quorum President. They stayed several hours and John said he will work towards baptism into the church. We watched the film on the Joseph Smith story in addition to discussing the need for the restoration of the gospel because of the apostasy. He is very open and we had a great visit. Pres. Johnson is a great teacher and help us greenies a lot. He's quite a talker. Michael is also very funny. He said his dad told him he believed he had been vaccinated with a Victrola needle!

Well, I have had a very bad cold for three days, but somehow, the Lord gave me strength to carry on . Bill is making out our reports for church tomorrow, and we need to prepare our Sunday School lesson. I think we will have at least two people to teach tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who pray for us. We feel your strength. Thanks for your encouraging words. It helps a lot to hear from you and to feel your support.

Love,
Elder and Sister Z

Hello! Kevin here testing out my new account...

Test post for new Blog created for Bill and Viv to account for their upcoming adventure!