Sprinting to the Finish

We are so blessed to see the Smith family all members of the Church! Staresa, age 21, and Belinda, age 8, were baptized by their father, Virgil on December 20. We love and admire this wonderful family. They are so valiant, never missing church even though they must depend upon their family and friends for transportation. Elder Z and I are looking for a newer mobile home to replace theirs that is totally worn out and unrepairable. It will take a miracle to pull this one off, but the Lord has not failed us yet. Pray!! Staresa is impressive and is working hard to complete her education in nursing. Belinda is very smart and wants to be a teacher or an artist.

We loved being a part of helping provide a nice Christmas for families who would have had little or nothing without the sacrifices of many people in the Quincy ward. One family of seven had never had ANY presents before this year. It is hard to imagine. Thanks to a family who sacrificed presents from their grandparents and parents, an anonymous donor gave Elizabeth, single mom of three, a new washer and dryer for Christmas. Can you imagine washing clothes for a family of four in the bathtub?! She called us on Christmas morning to share her joy. Elizabeth said they were all dressed up in their Christmas clothes and were just about to open their presents, along with Elba and her children with whom they spent the night. She said we wouldn't believe what miracle had happened. She related how on Monday the 22nd as she was writing thank you notes to all of the people who had helped her over the past year (and wondering how on earth she was going to be able to get three weeks of dirty laundry done in the bathtub), a delivery person from Home Depot drove up to her house. She said she was sure the delivery man was lost or looking for the people next door. He asked, "Are you Elizabeth Groves?" She said yes, and the delivery person said, "Merry Christmas!" She screamed for joy! The neighbor next door who helped arrange the surprise delivery said they could hear her screaming all the way over to their house! Then she restated in a little different way her beautiful testimony about her new faith in Jesus Christ: "I can tell you one thing, this ain't no fake God!" Priceless.

Through another series of little miracles the week before Christmas, we found another "lost sheep" of our Heavenly Father, a less-active member of the Church. We will never forget the Spirit that was present that Sunday afternoon as we all joined in a prayer and blessing upon her cold, dark home. Anna came to Church the following Sunday and an anonymous donor left a box of food in her car. We found the perfect warm winter coat for her in the charity clothing closet. The next week someone gave us some much needed new warm blankets that will keep her warm this winter.

We share these stories to let you know of our gratitude for all of God's rich blessings to us and also to bring to mind how different the world is here from our world back home. We see such heroism every day. The little family of seven who had their first presents are very happy children, happier than most children we know. They pitch in to help their mother with the chores and helping with the baby. They sit quietly in church, although church is very new to them. They are humble and sweet children, and we know that God has led us to them. We are deeply grateful and pray that they will be baptized in the near future. Amazing grace.

We spent Christmas day with the senior missionaries who work in the mission office and also another proselyting couple from Mexico Beach, Elder and Sister Farr of Farr Ice Cream fame. We are all planning a trip together to Hawaii next October and maybe to Alaska the following May. We have so much fun together.

We are beginning to think of home and are actually looking forward to seeing snow again. Elder Z says a balmy, humid 75 degrees is not his idea of Christmas. He'll probably change his tune in a hurry when he's huffing and puffing with the snow shovel again. Probably time to buy a snow blower.

Thank you all for the many kind words and Christmas greetings, photos, and treats. We started repenting of our over-indulgence and are practicing self-restraint today. Pretty soon it will be bedtime and maybe we won't know how hungry we are! Can't come home looking older AND a few sizes larger . . .

We love sharing the gospel. We love the change we have experienced in ourselves that we hope will be permanent. There is no greater joy that seeing people come unto Christ and to feel of His great love. Best wishes to you all for a very Happy New Year.

With much love and affection,
Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Enjoying Delicious Fruit

As we each celebrate the birth of our Savior, let us be mindful to smile through the difficulties that life brings. In addition to keeping our focus to always remember Him, learning to savor all that is good in life helps the medicine of life go down so much easier. I love this quote by Carlfred Broderick, an LDS marriage therapist: "The gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance against pain. It is a resource in the event of pain, and when that pain comes, (and it will come because we came here on earth to have pain among other things), when it comes, rejoice that you have a resource to deal with your pain."

Elder Zabriskie and I are rejoicing in the miraculous resource of the gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We have encountered many difficult situations here. Yet, the Lord provides a way to keep you "smiling through the pain."

This past weekend was one of those weekends which we wish we could keep locked in our memories forever to carry us through the hard times of life that will surely come. Tyler Smith, age 16, going on totally mature in the near future, was baptized and confirmed a member of the church. He has a great destiny in building the kingdom of God on the earth. What a joy to see him progress in the gospel. In a beautiful card to us he wrote, "Dear Elder and Sister Zabriskie, Thank you so much for everything you have done for me. You will both stay in my memory forever. I hope to keep in contact with you after you travel back to Utah! Every testimony that I give can be traced back to you two, because of how much you influence me. Thank you again! Love, Tyler Smith." We are truly bound together in love eternally. Bliss!

On Sunday, Elizabeth and Elba bore their testimonies for the first time in church. They are both young single mothers who were baptized this year. When we first met, both were homeless or living in very undesirable circumstances. With the help of the Lord and many people pitching in, they both have their own place and are striving to be worthy of going to the temple to be married some day. Truly, they are the real heroes of life.

In Elizabeth's testimony, she expressed vivid and sincere gratitude for her new life. She expressed her belief that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and searched for the right words to say how she felt and what she knew. Then she found just the right words: "I can tell you one thing, this ain't no fake church!" Go, girl. No it ain't! We laughed and cried so hard when she said that. It was so "Elizabeth" and so true.

Eba told about how her daughter Betsybel's life was spared when she was born. The doctors told Elba, who was but 15 years old at the time, that there was no hope for the baby. Elba prayed for help from the Lord and told Him she would gladly give her life if He would but spare her baby's. Such a perfect example of Christ-like sacrifice which everyone feels in sweet Elba's spirit.

We are also teaching Elba's mother, Manuella, sister Rosio, and nephew and neice: Luis, age 10 and Daisy, age 8. Last Wednesday was another one of those memories you hope to savor forever. Manuella struggles to read in English but is determined to succeed. How thrilling it was to take turns reading from the children's versions of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and New Testament. Surprisingly, Luis and Daisy did not know anything about the story of Christ's birth and why we celebrate Christmas. While they read very well phonetically, I discovered they didn't know the meaning of many words. So, with a little encouragement, they started asking for the meaning of words they did not understand. How thrilling is that, to be able to help them with their reading comprehension skills and gospel studies at the same time! These children are so unspoiled and eager to learn. They appreciate everything so very much that is done for them.

We wonder how on earth we will bear to leave these dear loved ones.

Yet, as we will be waving sad goodbyes, you our dear friends and family will greet us with warm hellos. We are wondering what new things lie ahead that can compare with serving a full-time mission.

We send our heartfelt love and best wishes for a glorious celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Building our Remembering Muscles

Always remembering Him is the most important thing we can do in life. If we always remember Him and keep His commandments, we are promised to always have His Spirit to be with us. We know from experience how hard it is to think of anything consciously all the time. So, why does God admonish us to do something that seems impossible to achieve?

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor to Thomas S. Monson, president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says always remembering is essential to our survival because our Father in Heaven knows perfectly the powerful forces that influence us and also what it means to be human.

Opposing Forces

President Eyring says that with the acceleration of temple building and the expansion of missionary work all over the world comes an increase in an opposing power of sin. Also, we learn from the Book of Mormon that with great prosperity comes increased pride, greed, and a turning away from God, soon followed by a downfall of the people. Never in our lifetime have we witnessed such an ominous increase of acceptance and encouragement of the power of sin to corrupt and torment. President Summerhays told us yesterday in zone conference that very difficult times are ahead. With this warning, he also assured us that the "worst of times" would also be the "best of times" if we always remember Him.

Elder Zabriskie and I take solace in the knowledge that we know the Lord is at the helm even though it may seem otherwise. We know through experience that sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. This is a little bit akin to Grandma Z's answer for almost everything: "Sometimes people just need to get a little older."

In addition to the Master foreseeing perfectly the growth of opposing forces, He also understands what it means to be mortal during these difficult days. He knows that our ability to face our trials ebbs and flows. He knows that we underestimate the opposing forces and also tend to rely upon ourselves instead of relying upon Him.

Remembering Tools

Our safety is assured in remembering and praying always. We remember through reading his Word. We remember Him by praying more sincerely with real intent. We remember Him when we accept with gratitude whatever is happening to us as His curriculum of the day for our lives. We trust in His Love for us, for giving us the opportunity to learn the lessons we need to learn so that we may one day return to His presence with our families.

Being of Good Cheer

So, we press forward in faith and good cheer! We are entering our second Fall season and are feeling an urgency to sprint to the finish line, finding joy in our service each day. We are deeply grateful for our health and rich blessings to be here in the service of our Lord.

Part of our joy comes from seeing Sister Nan Hosey be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church on her 72nd birthday. She has a wonderful testimony of the gospel, choosing to follow her heart in spite of persistent opposition from her children. We also look forward with great anticipation to the baptism of an extraordinary 16 year-old, Tyler Smith. Tyler's parents requested that he visit his soon to be ex-pastor to inform him of his decision to join the Church. When the pastor tried to persuade him to reconsider his choice to join a church with only a "200-year Christian tradition instead of a two-thousand-year tradition", Tyler taught him the principle of agency (the divine gift from God to choose for one's self) and explained to him why there are more revealed holy scriptures for us today.

Please pray for us that we may find those whom the Lord has prepared to hear the message of the restoration. This is our testimony:

Our Testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

From the beginning of the world, God has followed a pattern of love and concern for His children. Many times He has reached out in love to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ through prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. But, many people have chosen to reject or alter His truths, even when taught by Jesus Himself more than two thousand years ago.

Whenever people disregard or distort true doctrines and ordinances, God withdraws His authority to administer the Church creating a need for restoration of the gospel in its fullness. Our invitation to everyone is to add to the truths you already treasure. Consider the evidence that our Heavenly Father has again reached out to His children in love and revealed the true doctrines and ordinances to a prophet as He has throughout the ages.

The evidence of these glorious truths is found in the Book of Mormon, translated through the power of God by Joseph Smith in 1829. This book is another sacred testament of Jesus Christ.

We invite everyone to read this book, to ponder its message in your heart and mind. We testify to you that you will come to know that this book is sacred text written for our day. If you will do so, we know that your lives will be blessed immeasurably in wondrous ways as has ours.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Love to you all, our dear family and friends. We would love to hear from you!

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

New Improved Sis. Z/Hurricane Watch/One Year Update

We just realized our last blog written nearly a month ago didn't get published! So, the news isn't new. Oh, well. Techies we aren't . . .

The latest with us is that my health is greatly improved, and the last two days I have felt like my old self, but maybe even better than the old. We are both very grateful for this. The Lord has truly blessed us. From all of this adversity, our faith is stronger, our prayers more sincere, our gospel study more in-depth, and unnecessary burdens are where they need to be: in the hands of the Lord. After the trials the blessings do come. In retrospect, complete surrender IS a lot easier, but certainly NOT while you are in the midst of it.

We have completed a year of service to the Lord and are grateful for the peace we now feel. Our perspective is very different than when we went into the Missionary Training Center. Fear and doubt, two of the adversary's fiery darts, are BIG obstacles to overcome. The evil one has worked overtime on us lately with SEVERAL darts in his quiver. But, the Lord's power is always greater, and we are uplifted and sustained by His great love for us.

We are watching tropical storm Fay now headed to the Panhandle and Big Bend area of Florida where we live. We may have to leave this area if the storm continues on it's current path. We are preparing to be ready to move the trailer to Alabama or some area away from the storm. Pray that we won't have to leave, and we will be protected. Elder Z is diligently tracking the storm, watching over us so that we can make a good decision.

Next weekend we have a visiting General Authority of the Church visiting our stake to reorganize the stake presidency. About 1500 people will meet together in one session filling all of the classrooms and seminary building. We think there will perhaps be some other important organizational announcements made at this time.

We send our love to our dear family and friends. We miss you all and look forward to seeing everyone next February.

Love,
Elder and Sister Z
xxoo

Health Update/Trip to Mayo Clinic

We spent last week at the Mayo Clinic at Jacksonville, Florida, about a three hour drive from Lake Talquin where our RV is parked. We are so blessed to have such a fine medical facility to get the answers we needed. The good news is that the odds that my pain is caused from cancer are very low, a suspicious looking lesion is nothing to be concerned about, and there is a new medication just approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia which may help with some of my chronic pain issues. So there is nothing really life-threatening unless you consider the fact that I continue to be a danger to myself. I am told I have to slow down, pace myself, work within my limitations, manage my stress better, and get restorative sleep. Nothing new here! Physical therapy is also prescribed to address the pain in my pelvis and back. We haven't figured out how we can pull off three trips each week to Tallahassee and still do our missionary work. We already go once a week to district meeting , so maybe we could add one more day and call it good.

The bad news is that the new medication can cause internal bleeding if taken with n-saids which I need for pain. Nothing new here, either! The side-effects of everything are often worse than the "cure." Still have to figure this one out . . . Maybe I'll wind up at the alternative approach before this is all over with.

Through all of this, I am reminded of how much I still need to learn in life: more patience in adversity, more faith in the redeeming power of the atonement, moderation in ALL things (even in missionary work), and more gratitude for all of which He has blessed us. We don't get to choose our trials, and I am trying to let go and let God help me cope with and adjust to whatever He sees fit to allow. We are trying to take one day at a time, hoping for brighter days ahead.

Elder Z is my rock. I am so blessed to have him as my eternal companion. We already had a great relationship, but serving this mission has brought us closer. He is so patient, kind, and wise.

An added bonus at the Mayo Clinic was meeting a member of the church there who is an expert in ergonomics and also serves as the ward mission leader at The Beaches Ward. We had a wonderful visit in the lobby as we were leaving. He told us his very inspiring conversion story which took place in Germany. After reading the bible, he had many unanswered questions, such as why aren't there prophets and apostles today and continued revelation from the Lord. About two years later he met a young LDS woman who shared the gospel with him. He said everything just fell into place for him. He looked up the phone number of the church, found a stake president on the other end of the line, and told him he wanted to be baptized and become a member of the church. The stake president explained he would have the missionaries teach him, to which he replied, "Oh, no, I don't need the missionaries. This church is what I've been searching for."

His ward in Jacksonville set a goal of 50 baptism for this year and they already have 27! He e-mailed us his very impressive power point materials and the process the ward went through to meet these very optimistic goals. Hopefully they will also help us in our work here in Quincy.

We thank everyone for your continued prayers and concerns on our behalf. We have faith that with these interventions we will be able to finish the work the Lord has for us to do in the Florida Tallahassee Mission.

Love to all our family and friends,
Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Power of the Priesthood

The past four months have been the most challenging of our mission. I have suffered from pelvic pain of an undetermined cause. We have made the rounds to several doctors doing tests and more tests to no avail. Every night has been miserable, waking up several times. Finally, two weeks ago my primary care doctor referred me to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville with an appointment scheduled for July 22. The pain medicine the doctors have given me helped dull the pain somewhat, but the side effects are worse than the pain, so I quit taking it.

We attended zone conference in Tallahassee on June 27. As always, the conference was very uplifting. There are twenty young missionaries and four senior missionaries including us. We sit in a circle receiving instruction from our zone leaders, assistants to President Summerhays, and from President and Sister Summerhays. The spiritual maturity of these young elders is amazing. President Summerhays showed us a DVD about the changes in the culture of the BYU football team, and we talked about the desired culture of the Florida Tallahassee mission. Our theme is about "remembering" the points listed on the last page of "Preach My Gospel."

At lunch, President Summerhays met with Elder Z and me. He told us it was time for us to focus on my health and to do whatever we needed to do to make that the top priority. He reassured us that the Lord was aware of us, He was directing our lives, and that He required complete surrender to His will and purpose. It was a very tender time with tears flowing freely. The Spirit of the Lord was very strong, and I could feel myself letting go of my disappointment and fears that we would perhaps have to go home for medical treatment, or that we could possibly not complete our mission. We requested a priesthood blessing from President Summerhays and all of the missionaries to stand in the circle.

After lunch we all gathered together and President Summerhays explained to everyone what Elder Z and I were dealing with. He called upon me to offer a prayer. It was difficult, but somehow I was able to request a miracle, to increase our faith, to guide us in our decisions, and asked that the will of the Lord to be done. All of the elders stood around me, arms folded, heads bowed. Elder Zabriskie anointed my head with oil and President Summerhays pronounced a powerful blessing upon me. It was a sacred and holy experience, the feeling of which I will never forget.

We traveled back to Quincy to our little home on wheels and retired early to bed. For the first time in many months I slept through the night without pain and without medication.

After a couple of days, the pain returned, not as bad, but interrupting my sleep throughout the night. Puzzled and disappointed, once again, I struggled to let go and accept the will of the Lord, trying to muster more faith in Him.

Since then, I have been feeling a little better each day. We are hoping that a trip to the Mayo Clinic will not be necessary. Today I feel pretty good.

We are so grateful that miracles have not ceased from the earth. We are grateful to feel the healing power of the Savior. We invite your prayers on our behalf. We want to complete our assignment here so very much.

We send our love to you our dear family and friends.

Elder and Sister Z

On Saving Gadsden County

As missionaries, we are continually challenged to adjust to our own limitations and to the limitations of others. We would love to "save" all of Gadsden County! A few days ago, we wrote to our mission president, sharing some of our challenges. We knew of his very busy schedule and didn't expect a reply right away. Immediately after receiving our e-mail he wrote back:

Dear Elder and Sister Zabriskie,
Thank you for the excellent detail. There is so much more we do not know than we know. What we do know is that you have been sent to the (name withheld)for their redemption. The Lord loves and trusts you enough to place these beautiful people in your hands. Do not allow fears and doubts to linger long. You deserve to feel a peace and warmth regarding the progress that is taking place. The adversary always turns nasty when the stakes are so high. He wants everyone to lose their confidence and their cool. He has tremendous bluster as he seeks to stir up the hearts to anger. Our greatest weapon is the Spirit of love and peace. We must patiently apply this healing power to still the storm that seeks to rage. We must bind up the broken heart, strengthen the feeble knees and calm the troubled sea. I do not know exactly what to do but I do know exactly how we must do it. I know that you are imperfectly perfect for the assignment with which He has entrusted you. His grace is sufficient for you because you love much and will submit to anything He asks you to do, in any way He asks you to do it. So ONWARD into the fog with a humble, submissive, love that will conquer the chaos. I love you both very much.
President

Oh, how we needed his confidence when ours was weak! Later that day, we thanked him for his wonderful response. His eyes filled with tears and he pointed to the heavens, replying, "Isn't He great?"

Yes, He is!

Sunday was our ward conference. We are so happy that our "ward" was more accurately reclassified as a "branch" and that the stake boundaries are being redrawn giving us about 5 new families. A few families here in Quincy have been holding things together with a band-aid for a long time. This reorganization is a GOOD thing, giving more flexibility in making some long-overdue decisions. It has been quite a struggle, yet, today as we sat in the gospel essentials class, I counted ten new people eagerly progressing in the gospel, all of whom are new since we came. We were especially thrilled to see Edith, our Haitian friend, back, whom we hadn't seen in a couple of months. The deep and abiding relationships we have made are so heart-warming. After the sacrament meeting we enjoyed a very nice dinner together; oh, boy, more notches to be let out of our bigger and bigger belts. There are some really good cooks here, especially my friend Angela who has promised me a cookbook of her recipes before we leave. (Between Cora's and Angela's recipes I may have a more successful book next time.)

We are so grateful for Angela and Bruce's friendship. Her heart is as big as the ocean and has taken 20-year-old Elba, single mother of two, under her wing. Angela is the nurturing mom Elba never had, teaching her to sew, how to manage her children, set the table, budget, you name it. Angela is the perfect example of Christ-like charity. Not many people would extend themselves to someone like this, doing sleepovers, feeding the horses, taking Elba and her kids to the doctor, sorting out her school problems,and whatever else is needed. Elba is going to be baptized on June 3, her 20th birthday, and the Rowans are giving her a big birthday party at their home. Don't you love it?!

Saturday, Elder Z cut 7 acres of their pasture on Bruce's big tractor. Angela took me to a candle party so I could make some new acquaintances, hoping to find someone new to teach. We were blessed with just the right person there, a transplant from Indiana who served on the city council back in her hometown with a member of the church. She was curious about our work, saying she didn't like any of the churches she had attended here. Angela invited her come to our church, I invited us over to talk about the gospel, and she said she would love it and thought her husband would also. Bliss! Monday the Rowans took the Summerhays and us on a lovely trip in their boat down the Apalachicola River. We are still teaching Bruce once a week on Mondays, our P-day.

A couple of weeks ago, most of the senior missionaries were given permission to do an overnight get-a-way to Monroeville, Alabama to see the play, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Monroeville is the birthplace of Harper Lee, the author and close friend of Truman Capote, also of Monroeville. Several of the characters in the award-winning book and movie were based upon people Lee knew in the town. The beautiful old courthouse was the model for the courtroom in the movie starring Gregory Peck. Elder Zabriskie and four other Elders were "summoned" as jurors for the trial. What a sight, five Mormon missionaries proudly wearing their name badges, deciding the fate of a wrongfully-accused black man! And they would not let us take any pictures . . .

Now, for the best fish story ever. My two sisters and their husbands came for a short visit from North Carolina. After a couple of unsuccessful days of fishing, I felt "inspired" to invite a little divine intervention down on the pier the last day of their stay. I walked to the end of the pier, raised my arms to the heavens and said,

"Lord, my family came a long way to fish here. Now, I have really built this place up to be a BIG fishing hole, and we need some fish! Okay?!"

Nobody's believing I'm doing this. Miraculously, within five minutes a fisherman walks out on the pier and asks, "Would you guys like to have some fish," offering a much-wanted large bag of speckled perch. Now we could have the fish fry we dreamed of! Then he offered to not only give them to us but to clean them, filet them, with or without the ribs in the fish. He whipped out his electric knife and before you could say, "fish fry" the whole mess of fish were ready for the deep cooker. I just imagined Heavenly Father having such a good time with all of us about this, and I smugly said, "Sure didn't take Him long to answer that prayer, did it?!" My sister was tickled to have a good fish story to tell her Baptist Sunday school class. . .

There's more: the fisherman also offered his condo free of charge to any of us who wanted to have a little vacation in Pensacola! Well, after all of this, I later told Elder Z to go over to his cabin and invite him to our fish fry. Unfortunately, our fisherman friend declined but Elder Z came back with another big bag of fish. Who says we don't have miracles today? Must be something about the fish. . .

This has turned into a long epistle, not so much about "saving" Gadsden County but saving ourselves through the tender mercies of Him whom we adore. We send our love and best wishes. Thank you for your prayers and concerns for us. Don't forget to WRITE . . . we miss you.

Elder and Sister Z

Enabling Power of the Atonement

There is no way we could do what we are doing without the enabling power of the atonement. We encounter so many situations we have zero experience and little capacity to deal with. But, in a very miraculous way, things work out.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that all things "which pertain to our religion are only appendages" to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are having many opportunities to focus on the centrality of His glorious intervention on our behalf. Our basic message flows from our knowledge that He alone redeems us from sin and death, advocating mercy for each of us in our weaknesses and at the judgment bar of God. Our part of the covenant is to exercise faith in Him, to exercise exact obedience to His commandments, and to repent quickly when we stumble.

The fruit of our more exquisite understanding of His great power in our lives as missionaries is a little more patience, kindness, meekness, long-suffering, empathy, and charity. We continue to be the great beneficiaries of our service here. We are grateful for all that is good in our lives. And the good things are getting better!

We are teaching several families and have two baptismal dates within the next three weeks. Erick Alvarado, age 20, will be baptized Saturday,March 29 and Elba Parades, age 19, mother of four-year-old Betsy and two-year-old Jason, will be baptized April 12. Both are heroes to us, having already endured more than most people endure in a life time. Pray for them. They still have many mountains to climb. The immigration issues takes on an entirely different meaning when you see the challenges and heartaches up close and personal.

The Jacksons are a great African-American couple who have great testimonies of the Savior. She has a fantastic voice, and she and I enjoy singing together. She has quite a set of pipes! Gladys Knight, who is a member of the church, is her idol. We are hoping Sister Knight's testimony will be a positive influence.

Angela and Bruce Rowan are progressing well in the gospel, attending all of their meetings and keeping their commitments. We continue to have very spiritual experiences teaching them with President and Sister Summerhays each Monday night.

We are also making progress repairing Virgil and Willie Mae's mobile home: the plumbing is working again, floors are replaced in three parts of the home, the little girl's room is cleaned and primed for painting, the dryer is vented, and a new back door installed. I have a priceless memory etched in my brain of Elder Z spending an entire day underneath the trailer with Virgil fixing the plumbing. The repairs didn't hold requiring several more do-overs, one of which was in a torrential rainstorm. There stood Virgil, umbrella in hand, though not completely covering Bill, watching and helping the best he could. Cold, muddy, and patient, Elder Z hung in there when most people would have just gone home. What a guy! I am so blessed.

It is heartwarming to see the growth in this little family. Willie Mae would say very little in the beginning; now we carry on quite interesting conversations. I learned recently that she ran track in high school and also once lifted weights. She hates to try new things, but with a little coaching she comes along. She will NOT let me out-do her at something. Their toilet needed a miracle scrubbing, and we hauled it outside when we put the new floor in the bathroom. The cleaning job quickly was delegated to Virgil. Shaking her head emphatically, she refused to help Virgil despite my encouragement and promises that helping each other creates more happiness in her family. Only after I started helping Virgil did she come over and pitch in. I love that woman! Belinda, age 7, and Catherine, age 11, get a big kick out of calling us Grandma and Grandpa. They are so adorable.

The weather is perfect here right now. Still many allergies and a few other health challenges. But, overall, everything is working out the way the Lord wants it to.

Know always how much we love you all, our dear family and friends. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Love,

Elder and Sister Z

Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Greetings, everyone! All of our appointments bombed this afternoon and it's raining sooo hard you can't hear yourself think. Elder Z had to put a piece of foam over the bedroom slide so we aren't awake all night when we have big rainstorms. Elder Z is taking a little snooze on the couch trying to recover from another cold. He's been sick on and off most of the month. The humidity and pollen here often wreak havoc with transplants, creating a new disease called the "Tallahassee crud!" Honestly, that is what the doctor said I had.

We are looking forward to Zone Conference tomorrow and to the senior missionary conference next weekend. We're pretty isolated from people we know, so it is always good to get replenished. After six months we know our way around the county as well as Tallahassee which takes some of the stress out of the work. The ward attendance is slowly improving. We had about 60 people at sacrament meeting last Sunday. Two people we are teaching look very promising for accepting baptism. Another very strong less-active woman has come back to church after years of inactivity. We recently had the blessed opportunity to teach her and her non-member husband along with our mission president. The spirit was so strong we felt as if we were in the temple. Such a love fest!

We met another very interesting African-American woman yesterday through a media request for the Book of Mormon. She said she was a "minister of God," preparing to preach the gospel for the last year. She told us the young elders taught her several years ago and she lost the book. She went on to extol the virtues of the Book of Mormon, how easy it was to understand, even more than the Bible. She also related several other spiritual experiences she had, one of which happened the night before when a "Prophet" at a revival meeting told her that before nightfall the following day messengers would come to tell her of a work she was supposed to do. She then described a dream or vision she had about her "building" a large building where people of all nationalities attended from all over the world. As she described it, I thought,"She's describing the temple." When we showed her a pass-a-long card of the Salt Lake Temple, she nearly fell over, saying that was the building she had seen in her dream or vision. The spirit was very strong and she literally shivered as we taught her about temples of the Lord. We have another appointment next week. We are trying to stay steady, not get too excited about this, because people are notorious for getting very excited about the Book of Mormon and then ditching us on the second appointment. She seems very sincere and thirsting for more knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. For sure, she is dynamic!

Elder Z and I are having some success teaching our investigators who speak just a little English. We have them read the scriptures first in their native language, then in English. With our dictionaries at the ready we explain the words they do not understand. We also use the hymns in the same way. Our lessons are a bit long!! One thing is for sure, no matter what the language barriers, people know when they are loved.

Pray for Edith, the Haitian woman we are teaching. She postponed her baptism date, saying she needs more time to settle some things in her life.

Know that we love and miss you all, our dear friends and family. Let us hear from you; it gives us a big boost.

Elder and Sister Zabriskie

Staying the Course

Since our last posting, Elder Zabriskie baptized Elizabeth Groves, age 32, single mother of three. Her children are Diamond, Blue, and Ga'dashia. She has many challenges in life. Please pray for her.

We are grateful the Lord continues to sustain us in our work here in Quincy. We are currently teaching 6 people all of whom present big challenges in some way. If only we could speak Spanish and French! We are studying and praying more intensely hoping that we can find that special something that will "click" with those we teach.

President Summerhays is such an inspiration to us each zone conference offering just what we need to leverage us to higher ground. Last week he focussed on the attributes of diligence and humility. It is a huge temptation to mummer when "other" people impede the work of building the kingdom. We all know what happens when we complain, even if it is just in our hearts. We lose the spirit and the power to teach effectively. Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, knew all about barriers in doing the work of His Father. Yet, whatever was thrown at him, he was meek, lowly, humble, and submissive. Diligently, He stayed the course, doing what he could do, not fretting and stewing about what He could not do. It always comes back to how we respond to the adversities we face. We continually remind ourselves, "The Lord is in charge here."

Elder Z and I are having a HUGE STRUGGLE being out of the loop in an election year! You all know what a current events/political junkie I am. Bill says it almost matches his desire to watch BYU football. Now, that's saying a lot. I rank it next to being deprived of MOVIE POPCORN! Our waistlines are showing how much we are compensating for these and other DEPRIVATIONS . . . Oh, well . . .

Come February 13 we will have six months under our bigger belts. Boy, oh, boy, do these people know how to cook. Last evening we were invited to a farewell dinner for a young missionary who chose the following menu: hot wings, sausage links, macaroni and cheese, fried ocra, fried onion rings, cole slaw, broccoli/cheese casserole, wild rice salad, lemon bars, and two kinds of home made cookies. Before the main dinner we enjoyed goat cheese, hummus, assorted crackers and olives. Oh, well, again . . .

The weather here is not all sunshine. The "cold snaps" are REALLY cold requiring all the warm woolies we brought with us. We are using a lot of propane, even with the little heat dish we bought.

We miss you all and love to get ANY KIND OF MAIL. We have been known to get really excited over the vitamin catalogue.

Here are a few pictures of the area where we live.

Love,
Elder and Sister Z