August 17, 2010

Hey family!

 

How is everyone doing? I'm on late again today because we went to the temple this morning, and then we all got together and had a zone activity. It was really fun, we went to one our our bishop's-- Bishop Willis-- to go through their corn maze. Oh, yes, a corn maze! And then we had lunch afterward. So now I finally get to email you all.

 

First of all, to answer the bike question. I not really sure what to do with my faithful bike. To ship the bike home it will cost $70. I'll go ahead and do what ever you'd like my to.

 

And that is really strange that Phillip and Michael come home almost a year before I do. It's the darn-dest thing. But that's pretty crazy that their coming home soon. Time goes by quick, for sure.

 

It's been getting really hot up here, which is sad because this is SNOWFLAKE!!! I thought that I left Mesa and the heat behind! But it's been close to 100 degrees a couple of days this week, and one day I think it got all the way there. Lucky we're on bikes, huh? . . . But despite the intense heat, we found a ton of new people to teach this last week, which is a miracle in and of itself. This coming week we have over thirty lessons planned (already!), not including dinner appointments of course. That's amazing for the area. We're really excited by the sudden increase in work, or in other words blessings.

 

On Wednesday we taught a guy, who is a 70-ish year old man who's wife passed away in April. It's kind of a sad situation. He's been lonely and depressed since he lost his wife. He told us about how he often goes to casinos to get away. We taught him a little bit. He wasn't incredibly open to learning about things like the plan of salvation (ironic, because that's exactly what would help him-- understanding where his wife is at and how he can be with her again). But hopefully as he continues to learn he will be able to allow Christ to help him more in his life.

 

Another one was an absolute miracle. There is a family in our area that we started teaching on Saturday. Jena is a member of the church, but her husband Zack is not, and doesn't beleive in God or religion. Jena wants to start coming back to church, and so we asked if we could meet with her and she agreed. Her husband wasn't interested. Jena talked to him and finally convinced him to sit in on our visit to just give it a try. And the lesson went great. They're both awesome, and even Zack showed a great desire to follow God (turn's out he does have a least a little faith) and do what's right. What a miracle that we found them!

 

We also started teaching a guy named Josh. Here is an interesting story for you. Josh recently was baptized in Show Low, which is a city near Snowflake, but it's in the Arizona Tempe Mission. Josh just moved to Snowflake to live with his aunt for a while. His aunt found us and asked us if we would go by and teach him all over again, because his understanding of the gospel was limited. We went by and met with Josh, and he is an amazing young man. (he's 19.) The missionaries in Tempe visited him, but they didn't really teach him. They apparently just came and hung out and shared some brief messages that Josh didn't understand very well. Josh still had a desire to do what was right, and so he read the Book of Mormon like the missionaries asked and prayed to know if it and the church are true. The answer came, and he was baptized, faithfully following the direction he recieved from God.......  Oh. . . . Anyway. . . .

 

We are getting ready for a baptism in our area a week from Saturday. Damon and Dillon will be getting baptized. Damon is 12, Dillon is 11. Their parents are members of the church, but haven't been going to church for a long time. Missionaries have been working on them for a while-- like three or four years on and off-- and they never came to church or anything. But by some amazing miracles, the family is now excited. They've been coming to church. They've been reading their scriptures. They've been praying. And now they are preparing for baptism. Wow.

 

I'm not really sure what else to tell you all about. . . . Other than that, everything is about the same as always. The work moves foreward.

 

Thanks for all you've done for me.

I love you all,

 

Elder Jason Mace

 

P.S. Tell Ally and 'Lisha I said kick hard. :-)

P.S.S. And tell Brady I said good luck. The MTC is probably the best place on earth. Right next to Mesa, Arizona (and Scottsdale, Phoenix, Apache Junction, and Snowflake).

P.S.S.S. I just wanted to add another one of these. ;-)