Last Email Before Heading Home

Dear Friends of the interweb!!!!

This email is the very last email I will send home as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the New York, Utica Mission. The best part about all of this though, is that I have the same feelings as I did when I left home. Sad to leave those I have come to love, adore, and teach, and am going home to others whom I love, adore, and will get to know. But the one thing that still applies for when I left home on this blessed journey as a missionary, applies now as I depart from being a Missionary ending my journey. This is not good-bye forever, this is only good-bye for now! smile emoticon (Thank goodness for modern technology and Email, Facebook, and Youtube!)

So, as you know I went to the Palmyra Temple last week! Yes I did take pictures and a lot of you that are my Facebook have already seen a sneek peak of what is to be added to this email. Those of you who don't have access to Facebook, will get to see them here smile emoticon Not only did we go to the temple, but we got to tour a lot of church sites there including, the smith far and cabin, peter whitmer farm, the sacred grove, the printing press where the Book of Mormon was printed, and the Hill comurah where the Golden Plates where laid and buried! I will put captions with the pictures so that way you all know what is what. But For this final email I would like to say thank you and bear my testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ.

THANK YOU! To all of you who have supported me in the last 2 years of my life both verbally, spiritually, physically, and everything in between! Nothing can express the Love I have felt from all of you across the United States and else where and my deep gratitude for the blessing you all have been in my life and my families life.

I know that my redeemer lives, I know he is there, knows my name, and knows who I am. I also know that he knows each of you, loves you, knows your name, situation, and is willing and doing all he can to bless you in any way he can. I know that he died for us on the cross so that we can truly become clean from sin, and sorrow too, so that way we can be happy, blessed, and one day united with our families and with our Eternal Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ for all of Eternity. I have felt that power of the atonement of Jesus Christ in my own life again and again. He has been able to change me, shape me, and help me become whom he wants me to become. I can promise you that I am still learning, growing and will continue to do so, until that bright and perfect day when the savior of us all shall come to the earth once more. That day, will be a truly blessed day. I love my savior with all my heart, might, mind and soul, and will continue to serve him, be his servant, and an instrument in his hands forever till the day I shall surely die. I say these things in the blessed and sacred name of Jesus Christ Amen.
I will see and talk to you all very soon!

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Love Ya's!
-Elder Zenger

RUSSIAN CATS!

Dear You people of the earth! (Aka those who read my emails lol)

!!WARNING!! 

-The following email might be a little scattered brained, excited, random, and completly off topic than usual. This is due to lack of sleep, television, music, and many other things in the last 2 years. This is also due to the fact that the person writing this email is going to expire as a missionary in 9 days and is slowly getting excited. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! 

This week has been a pretty good week! I will admit that my caring level for planning the next week or so (since I only have a small time left) has decreased  A TON and It is hard to control and let alone something I cannot control. But I will have you all know that I am excited, like I have said before, to go home and what not. I am not however going to be those "Trunky Missionaries" Who are dumb and break the rules and not teach effectively because I am going home. I have lost part of my caringness for planning, but I am determined to finish strong and do what I can with those around me in the time I do have left. 

Most of you as you are probably reading this, I will be on my way to Utica, NY to spend the night at the Mission home so that tomorrow morning at the bright and early time of 6:00 am we can head off to the Palmyra Temple to go through the temple and visit the church sites that are in Palmyra. It is going to be awesome! I will take and send next week (which is my final email next week) pictures of all of that awesomeness! 

I really don't know what else to say cause I still have 1 more time to email before I go home so I will save those for my final words as a Missionary for the Lord next week :) I love you all and thank you always for all you have done for me, each and everyone of you, in the last 2 years of my life and your continual support as I return home very soon. May the Lord bless you in all that you do as you continually hold to the teachings of our savior Jesus Christ! Have a sweet week! 

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Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger

The Dead Sea Squirrels!

Dear Ere' body!

I don't know how long this email will be due to time and other things! ( I hate emailing at freakin library's it sucks) But I will do my best to get off what I can today with the time I do have! It has been an odd week let me tell ya! 

So, I am going to start off with the last few days cause the rest of last week was just the usual stuff haha So Saturday, Elder Connole got some stomach stuff, and on top of that in the morning we had snow flurries through out the day, and when we came in for dinner (and to let Elder Connole rest) we got a text from the Zone Leaders telling us that we are NOT allowed to drive when it is snowing...period... so we looked outside and its not snowing any more but it is now turned into freezing rain... yeah it sucked haha so we stayed inside and did what ever we could to keep ourselves busy and productive.

The following day, we got up in the morning and we got a call from the Branch President saying that church was cancelled due to weather.... So, us being Missionaries and not having anything planned from 8:30 to 2:30 we had no idea what to do! So after telling our investigators and Less actives that there was no church, we got a text from a family we teach and they invited us over for breakfast (lunch) and to have a lesson! It was such a blessing! Especially since none of the roads were super good yet and we only lived like 2 min away up the street so haha 

Then for the epic title of this email! This morning we woke up to a dead squirrel in our toilet! Yup you are reading that right, a dead squirrel in our toilet! It was the oddest thing cause we don't know where it came from, why it was there, or how it died....but we think it drowned itself which is how it died.... haha so yeah that has been my epic week this week and I actually have 2 pictures to send ya! (Yes the Squirrel is included so if you don't want to see it...look away haha) Have a good week and I will talk to you all soon! 

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Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger

MERRY CHRISTMAS - ya filthy animals!

Dear you Non Filthy Animals xD haha (did ya like that?)

I have to say first off THANK YOU  to all of you who sent me cards, presents, and letters for christmas! I loved them all and I hope that most of you got the Thank you cards I sent out as well as the Christmas Cards I sent out as well! ( I sent out like 40 so I hope some of you got them 0.o lol)

This week has flown by super fast because of the Holiday Season and yet this week there is another Holiday coming our way that will make this week go by super fast, then the following week we have a zone meeting, and I have my temple trip, which will make that week go by super fast, then the following week is transfer calls, then after that is transfers and I will home. 0.0 MIND BLOW!!!!  (Bang) Anyways... onto other things!

Christmas was sweet! We had all 3 sets of Elders in our Unit (yes there are only 3 sets in our unit) over at our apartment on Christmas Eve and they spent the night! (It was a wild night...that is all I am going to tell you right now haha ) WE then got up the next morning and all opened our presents 1 at a time before we headed off to skype home and got to 2 other members homes for the rest of the day. 

Skyping home was actually different this time around than it has been the last 2 times. I was calm, I had plenty to talk about, and it was just awesome! (course they were all on their "Phones" and talking to me at the same time but oh well! I would be to if I had one haha) It was weird to tell them "See  ya in 3 weeks!" But It was still awesome! I loved watching the other elders call home for it was all their very first times calling home on their missions and it was awesome to watch them and see them smile and glow with excitement!

Other than that Things have been good here! It hasn't snowed yet but it is getting cold again so we might have some by the time I go home ;) haha Talk to y'all next week!

--

Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger

WEEK OF CHRISTMAS!!

Dear All you Wonderful people out there! 

I have to say.... THANK YOU!... (that is as big of a thank you I think I can do over email with out using the entire page lol) You all are amazing and just awesome! I love every single christmas card I have received and letters, and all sorts of other things! I feel spoiled... haha 

I have to say that Christmas only scares me this year because that means that New Years is around the corner, and I have to admit that New Years is going to scare the crap out of me! 0.0 When New Years comes that will mean I will be going home in only a couple weeks. Which isn't a scary thought really, the scary thing is... I don't know what the heck I am going to do and how I going to do it! But that can all be worked out in its own good ol' due time after I get home, find work, and yada yada yada :) I have been asked many times since this new transfer happened from many different people over email, letters, and those who I am around here the question, "Are you excited to go home? Are you Trunky? What are you going to do when you get home? School? Work? Are your parents excited?" and many many more questions that are similar haha

I have to say my answer to those is something a good friend of mine who is going home on the 27th of this month who isn't going to be able to bear his testimony with the rest of us at transfers  but was able to do so at our Zone Meeting last week. Elder Stockton Butterfield said in his testimony, "I want to tell all of you, to be excited to go home! Be excited! Your mission is a preparatory state or time to help prepare you for what is going to come when you get home. When you came on your mission you started a new chapter in your life and you were excited! Now when the time comes to go home, be as equally excited and anxious! When you go home you start a new chapter in your life as the new person you have become while you have been on your mission. Show the Lord what you have learned, show him what you've got!" 

That is the way I truly feel about going home. I am excited, anxious, ecstatic! There is always good things to come, if we are faithful and true to the Lord and his commandments. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and I will see you all next year ;) 

(haha see what I did there! Next year... get it?....WWWWOOOOOWWWW....that was lame haha)

--

Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger

SNOW SNOW SNOW!!!!

Dear all you people who are either in upstate New York bearing my burden of the cold and snow (or worse) and those who are back west or across the world who are in the warmer weather!

I got to transfers this last Wednesday, and I found a box from grandma and grandpa and I found 6 letters to accompany it. While we were eating lunch in Utica for transfers, I had 3 different missionaries tell me that I got 4 packages instead of just the one I found. Sure enough, I walked over to the other tables and saw 2 packages from Mom and a package from Aunt Susie as well! It truly blew my mind and other missionaries minds as I tried to walk out to the car, that was taking me to my next area, with 4 packages and 6 letters in my hands along with all my luggage (I did get help don't worry haha) I am so grateful for all those who have willingly sent me packages for my last Christmas on my mission right before I go home. I will admit that I do feel bad for being prideful and complaining about the lack of mail I had received the previous transfer... I kinda felt like I made them send me mail....  :/ I am still very grateful for it and I am excited to see what lies inside with all the things I did receive! You all are super awesome and I don't know how I can repay you guys.

For all of you who keep asking me about how I feel about going home and what is running thourgh my head, I will tell ya. :) I have mixed feelings about going home, over all though I am excited to see all the family I have missed that I have been now blessed to be able to live closer to and be able to see them much more often when I come home! I am also sad to leave the people I love so dearly here that I have been able to interact with through out the last 2 years, but am so great full and blessed that we have Facebook to keep in touch and cell phones so that constant support and communication is much faster and more convenient for all of us! 

The Lord is truly hastening his work, and I feel so blessed to be apart of it now and forever! I hope and pray that the Lord will bless all of you this week whether is be sunny skies, or skies of grey and snow like here in Amsterdam New York, that you will continually feel the warmth and brightness, love, and comfort the spirit can bring not just for this time of year but always! 

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Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger

Week of Handicapness

Dear you all,

So I have a few things to announce before I talk about this week! 1. President Wirthlin has asked that all family members from back home to NOT tag us in any sort of post weather it be religious or not. So... yeah, I also go home in 6 weeks and I have it so that I can either accept the tag or hide it from my timeline till I get home.. so you all have agency :) 2. I have to say I have never felt more dumb in my life than this past week.... It has been ridiculous! Let me tell yas about it :) 

MONDAY- This P-day was the most bizzar p-day of my mission. So we actually didn't have the car this week, so we had to walk to get grocery's (which was not bad it was sweet haha) and then Elder Sanders and I just sat in the Apartment all day till our lessons... He wrote letters and doodled a little bit...while I (since I have had no mail in 3-4 weeks) went and wrapped copies of the Book of Mormon for our Christmas goal Elder Sanders and I are doing. (which is to hand out the B.O.M's I was talking about as well as the new christmas cards we were given)

TUESDAY- Tuesday wasn't to bad, we had District Meeting with all Elders and a Senior Couple (The sisters were at return and report and didn't tell anyone) and it was pretty sweet, and we had Book of Mormon class that night and we discussed Jacob 5 which was pretty sweet.

WEDNESDAY- Wednesday was a normal day... Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but we taught a lot of people. (that is exciting I just realized...) 

THURSDAY- This was my final Thanksgiving as a full time missionary and it was a sweet time! We had a "Turkey Bowl" in the morning with all the missionaries and some of the members and yes we played in a foot of snow! It was so awesome! But I realized how bad I suck at all sports.. haha We then had thanksgiving at the Gutheries and that was a good time! WE then went and visited a couple of people who were alone and that was a sweet time as well! 

FRIDAY- We taught a ton of people this day and we had like spiritual experiences coming out of our ears! 

SATURDAY- I almost died on this day :) So we were coming out of an appointment and the guy we were visiting said, "I would advise you to hold on to my rail as you go down the path and down the stairs." Me being Mr. Stupid, just glided my had across the rail until I got to the stairs. When I got to the stairs, I went to go grab the rail and in the process, I slipped; Elder Sanders says that My back was parallel with the stairs as I floated down the steps and some how grabbed the railing at the end, extended my left foot out and magically ended up standing up right!  I came away from the incident with some cuts in the middle of my palm which isn't to bad. 

SUNDAY- Church was pretty good, it was Elder Sanders' birthday so we made a cake and some grilled chicken for his birthday. I think he enjoyed it. haha 

SO that was my week, I have had ups and downs, (Literally and non) and I learned to always hold on to the iron rod! No matter what! I love you all and will see ya/talk to ya next week! 

--

Love Ya's! 

-Elder Zenger