Broadcast of the Century!!!

Dear Family, Friends, and all others whom read this message.

This past week, here in the New York Utica Mission, in Greenwich New York, has been amazing! We have recently received a Branch Mission Leader for our Branch here in Greenwich which has been a major blessing! This Branch hasn't had a Branch Mission Leader in a long time, let alone one that has been called that was going to actually stay around for a long time. 

Which now leads into the amazing experience we had at the "Broadcast of the Century!" From Salt Lake city on Sunday afternoon! (evening for us here in the east) It was such an amazing broadcast we had! I felt the spirit strongly and couldn't help but to get teary eyed during the broadcast. At the end of the Broadcast, Our new Branch Mission Leader, and Branch President, were both in tears. The Branch President Came over to my companion and I as well as our new Branch Mission Leader and said to us with a smile on his face saying, " We have a lot of work to do." What an influence this broadcast has had on just our little branch here in Greenwich. I cannot imagine the impact it had on people through out the world! 

Earlier this week we had the wonderful opportunity to have a ZTM or Zone Training Meeting with our entire zone this month. We were trained on ways we get our branch involved in helping us find people to teach and how they can come with us to our lessons with investigators as well as when we go see Less Active members. Because of Miles, we were instructed to ride up with the Glensfalls Elders to ZTM, They stayed the night at our apartment and we left in the morning to the meeting all the way down in Albany. On the way home from ZTM, We noticed that Elder Moosman (Driver) was sweating bullets and driving kinda funny. We asked him if he was ok and if there was anything wrong, he said no he was ok. We heard a constant vibration coming from his pocket. We asked him what that was, he said it was his insalen pump telling him he was out of insalen for his diabetes. We asked him how long he had been out of it, he said it was out half way through the training which was 3hrs long! We knew immediately that was his problem and why he was driving funny. Since I was the only other person in the car that had a tiwi card and could drive, we made him pull over into a parking lot so that way we could get him something to eat and drink ASAP. Luckily the place he pulled over at, was a BBQ place that just opened! It was such an interesting thing to watch Elder Moosman, (who by now is dripping in sweat and is loosing energy fast) walk to the restaurant as his companion (Elder Moore) and I were under each arm helping him walk. We were greatly blessed that we got him food and sugar just in time anything brutal happened, and that we were safe and didn't die form his driving on the way home. 

That was my epic story for you all this week! haha Hope you all are doing well and that the lord is blessing you and your families where ever you are! I sadly don't have pictures this week of anything and will talk to you all next week on monday! 

Love,

Elder Zenger

New Senior Companion

Dear Family, Friends, and others whom I love dearly!

This week I was made senior companion and was able to take over my area for the first time on my mission. So far things have been going great and I am excited to see what else this transfer has in store for my companion and I. We did indeed get one of our investigators with a baptismal date on Sunday for July 20th! We are hoping that things will continue to go well and that the date won't change because that day is the saturday before transfers.

Other things that have happened this week, I did receive a huge envelope from Josh Spilker that contained a ton of letters from our amazing youth in the Kimball ward back home. They were all amazing and thought it was awesome how they all took the time to write the missionaries that are serving in their ward. If any of them are reading this and or any of the youth leaders are reading this, I am indeed going to write back each and everyone of them and send them to Josh Spilker's house to give to all the youth and the leaders that wrote me at there next activity.That means I better get a move on and start writing! haha

I have realized more and more these past 2 transfers that Satan is all around doing all he can to tempt not only the people we go and see and teach, but us as well. It is hard, but I always remember all of you whom I have left at home and the ones here that I have met in the MTC and all around me that, you are never alone and aren't fighting alone. I know that the lord has blessed me and my family and friends and fellow missionaries that are serving and are preparing to serve and will walk with us as long as we allow him to.

In closing I would like to say a big HAPPY FATHERS DAY! To all the fathers that have been and are still in my life. You are all amazing examples to me and have helped me through out my life and still are supporting me and helping me through out my life and the lives of others.

I love you all!

Elder Zenger

Picture #1 - Elder Wilson my new companion. 

Picture #5 - Driving with Elder Dalton

Transfer Week 6/10

Dear Family, Friends and all of you whom I love! 

This week has been a great week! I had the chance to go on exchange with my district leader, we got transfer calls, and we taught some really good lessons!

This past week I got to go on exchange here in Greenwich with my District leader Elder Neville. Which means Elder Dalton went over to saratoga for the day. Elder Neville and I got a hold of a lot of people as well as trakted into a basher. (yup again) Other than that I learned a lot about my area book, door approaches, as well other little things that I needed work and help on. All around I did miss Elder Dalton a little bit on that exchange, but the exchange was truly beneficial!

Now for the moment you all are waiting for. Who is going where for transfers! haha Well we did indeed get transfer calls on saturday morning and Saturday evening. We are pleased to announce that Elder Dalton will be going to Elmyra New York to serve as Zone Leader! We are replacing both Elders in Saratoga with brand new sisters, and Elder Mecham (who I was in the MTC with) is going to be my new district leader. I am staying here in Greenwich with an elder who has just come out of training and his name is Elder Wilson, he is from Arizona and has a Scottish accent. (his parents are from Scotland) This does indeed mean that for the first time ever I am going to be senior companion and the designated driver for our area. I will admit I am a little nervous and have some doubts about leaving me in charge of an area that I only have been in 1 transfer. I do know that the lord does know something I don't and that he trusts me to take over this area and help the continuation of it's growth. I am now going to tell you something I was feeling through out this past transfer that I wanted to include in my last email and then forgot about it. I did send this email to a couple of people, knowing that they would share it with people who NEEDED to hear it before I put it in this weeks email. 

This transfer (month and a half) has been a real pain in the bum. I feel like I am being torn to pieces by satan and his followers and can only find peace when I get some sleep or when I get to email home. I have had some great experiences though this transfer that I have been truly blessed for. I know this work is not easy, I knew that before I left and I defiantly know that now. I know that all I have to do as our recent converts have to do, which is just endure to the end and stay faithful and true. I am really looking forward to this week (Saturday) when we get to find out who is leaving and who is staying and all that stuff so that way I can try and start a new transfer on the right foot and not feel like I am falling down millions of flights of stairs. Don't get me wrong when I say any of this because I love this work, I love doing it everyday. I just want to "go back to bed and wake up on the right side of the bed" 

I can now say, at the end of this transfer, that I needed to have those things happen to me in order to help me grow and progress and remember why I am there and that the lord has put me here for a reason. I will say I have had some really interesting spiritual experiences that were pretty intense and that I will not mention for I need not need to mention them. All I can tell you, is that this transfer has indeed been a big trial of my faith, patience, and hope. The exact Christ like attributes that I am working on and trying to improve on. I do feel like I have grown a ton this transfer and have gone through some good trials of my faith. I know that it isn't the end of those trials either, cause only through the trial of our faith can we grow closer to our Father in Heaven and gain a stronger and more firm foundation. 

At the close of this email, I would like to say a big CONGRATULATIONS to all of those who graduated from Seminary, High School, and other parts of school. You have accomplished something indeed great! Now continue forward and keep progressing and accomplishing those things that you need to accomplish through out the rest of your life, and always remember that the lord is always with you and loves you no matter what you do or say. I know this to be true, because I have not only seen it in my life, but in my current life and especially in the lives of others as well. 

I love you all and hope to hear from some of you soon! 

Elder Zenger

Week of Storms

Dear Family, Friends, and all of you who hear this message! (or email)

This past week has been a week full of weird weather, warnings, emotions, and allergies!

This past week we have had some major on and off rain through out the week. Like BUCKETS AND BUCKETS of rain! WE did indeed have a flash flood warning that was sent to us through text one day as it was raining and was blessed that there was no flood. We did though have a tornado warning that neither Elder Dalton or I found out about till a member told us and I checked and got an email from my dad saying that we did. Luckily we were not near the tornado, but we did see and tell that something wasn't right in the way the sky looked and the way the weather was acting. A tornado did indeed touch down in Amsterdam and in Schenectady which both have missionaries in them. There were no Missionaries or anyone hurt or anything damaged that we know of. so we are indeed very blessed that no one was hurt. During one of those storms yesterday (sunday) after church, we were sitting in our apartment practicing teaching a lesson we had in a couple of hours ( the windows were all open) when we both had the sudden urge to turn and look out one of the windows. When we looked, we heard what we can say was a literal crack of lightning! We heard the loud crack and saw the bolt of lightning hit the earth and we both sat in awe and shock of what we had both just witnessed. It was one of those experiences you hope you remember when you tell you gran kids stories from when you were a kid haha WE also had this huge roll of thunder that literally shook our apartment like a small earth quake!  It was a pretty good storm we had yesterday haha.

We also helped out our Young Women on saturday with there Garage sale (with stuff donated from everyone in the branch and around the neighborhood) that was their fund raiser for all the girls to go to camp this year! It was 91 degrees outside the entire day we were out there! The good news was, we did help the Young Women out. Not only by moving things for them, but we also bought somethings to send home. (which btw, my family, when you get a box at the door with my name on it, please put it in my room! thank you) haha It was a good sale though! They sold alot of stuff and made over 1000 dollars for camp for the next couple years! 

I was a little sick this week but am now better! I know what your thinking, "It seems like he is always sick! What's his problem!" That is exactly what my companion said this past week haha If I could choose not to be sick, I wouldn't be sick. But this time I got a little soar throat with a cough and with the pollen count at its high this past week, it mixed in with my allergies so I lost my voice for a little bit off and on through out the week which Elder Dalton wasn't to happy about haha but all is good not and I am doing TONS better! :) 

Nothing else has happened this past week. I can say that our appartment is a literal sana! It's so hot in our appartment that we sweat more when we aren't moving around!  haha It's also gross when you sweat so much that your skin is sticky.....hahah

On that note I am going to send you some pictures that we took this week while I was sick and other things we have done!

I love you all and will hope to hear from you soon! 

Elder Zenger

 

 

These pictures are:

1. Title of Liberty (Alma 46) that I made

2. sunset we saw on the way home from an appointment

3-7. is Elder Dalton and I using the Frosting we found cleaning our cubbard

8. is the rain storm we had the other day.

Memorial Day

Dear Family, Friends, and the rest of you on the interweb!

I do indeed have my camera back this week! This is also a Tuesday email because yesterday was memorial day and everything in the Village of Greenwich was closed. (except for the laundry mat which we were truly greatful for) We did have an awesome stake/zone Activity yesterday! We had a huge picnic, and plenty of sports and activities to play! I did get a little sun burnt.....but it has turned or is turning into a nice tan very quickly ;) haha 

NEWS FLASH! 

There has been a famin in the land of the Greenwich Elders! A famin of food! Well sorta not really haha we both realized that we have already run out of money for the rest of the month. (thank goodness this week is the end of the month) We do have food to eat. Just not too much of it and no meat haha we do have meal appointments this week so we have been blessed for that. :) 

MISSIONARY WORK:

This week for Missionary work we have been truly blessed to see people prepared for the gospel! We have picked up 3 new investigators this past week and we are super excited to teach them all! They are so truly prepared and the Branch is on top of things like Donkey Kong! ( I don't think I used that phrase right haha)  Other than that, we have been busy trying people and have been seeing as many Less Active people as we can! The lord has truly blessed us and the lives of others this week that we are now starting to notice.

STUDY JOURNAL OF THE WEEK:

The past couple weeks I have been studying some of my favorite talks given in our last general conference. The talk I studied last week was Pres. Uchtdorf's talk titled, " The Hope of Gods Light" as well as Elder Hollands talk titled, "Lord, I Believe." 

By re-reading these talks, taking new notes on them, highlighting certain things, and then comparing my notes I took when I watched general conference with my new notes. I was amazed how similar they were. I have never taken notes the same way ever since we had that all mission conference with Elder Bednar when he told us boldly, " Don't ever write things from what people say here at the pulpit. Write the things down that come to your heart and what the spirit tells you to write down." My notes were almost identical and my chest was filled with the spirit giving me a confirmation that this is what I needed to know and to study.

Again I am truly sorry that this is yet another short email I am sending this week. I am trying to do what I can in remembering/writing down what has happened this week as well trying to remember to write in my journal every day. (which sadly hasn't happend once this past week.) I am going to try and do better I promise! 

I love you all and thank you all for all your support and prayers. I pray for all of you daily.

Much love and blessings,

 

Elder Zenger

May 20, 2013

Dear Family/Friends/All Yall!

This past week was a pretty interesting week! I have been doing a lot of cleaning, paper work, and phone calls this week. We now can say that the rest of this transfer (hopefully) will be as normal for a missionary as normal can get. haha We have now got things updated/up and running for this area and are now getting things rolling! I totally felt like a clean up/ Mr. Fix it this week haha But it is all worth it cause since Elder Dalton and I did all of the fixing and updating, the next set of missionaries DON'T HAVE TO DO IT! Which is how it should be in the first place. 

Ok, now that I am done ranting on the hard work, lets get to the fun stuff that happend this week! I cannot sent you all any pictures this week cause I left my Camera with the Albany Zone Leaders (in their Van) last P-Day when we did our activity and they are all the way in Albany (hour and a half away) and I won't get it until tomorrow (tuesday) at district meeting! 

Last P-Day, we had the awesome chance to go to downtown Albany with the other Elders in our Zone to a museum and an out look point that viewed our entire zone! (pictures next week I promise) At the Museum, we got to see things from 911, seaseme street, historic times, and then the whole reason we went there, was for the best thing in the Museum......THE FIRST EDITION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON! We got to see, hold and take pictures of and with the First edition of the book of mormon! It was the coolest thing ever! It was super old though so we couldn't hold it too much or it would like ruin it.

I also have to tell you this story, this story is for all of you who LOVE cheese cake. We were at an investigators house on evening, we were discussing things about the gospel, when we randomly got onto this tangent on food and then cheese cake! They told us there was a place in their village ( I live in the Village of Greenwich they live in the Village of Cambridge) there was this monk place that sold the best cheese cake in the entire world! This was cheese cake that was made by nuns who make cheese cake every day and put love and blessings into it. We thought they were joking, until the next time we stopped by. When we stopped by last time, they said they had something for us. Lo and behold, there it was sitting on the table, a box that read, " Raspberry Swirl Cheese Cake- Made by the Nuns of Cambridge" 0.0 We both could not believe our eyes! They bought us a half a cheese cake for us so that way we could literally eat the "Love, Blessings" and "Eat a Piece of Heaven." It was the most amazing cheese cake I have ever tasted in my entire life! Even though it wasn't cheap, it was pretty much what they had told us it was! 

This last Sunday, we had stake conference. We were told that the way they do stake conference here is that every other year they go to the stake center for conference, and the other year they watch a live broadcast of stake conference. This year it was a live broadcast. Elder Dalton and I both thought, "Well this is weird, they are going to broadcast stake conference from Albany to our ward building. weird..." When we got in and the broadcast started, it was a live broadcast from salt-lake city and that we were the few stakes that were chosen to watch this stake conference, because the people who were speaking at the stake conference had special connections to each of the stakes and wards through Vermont, New York, and England. at the stake conference was Pres. Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry, 2 others from the presidency of the seventy, and the relief society president was there as well. This was an amazing time for all of us and new thing for Elder Dalton and I to experience. It was amazing to hear from all these people and to hear the wonderful messages they had to share with us. 

I sadly do not have anything to share about what I studied this week. I have been running around today and forgot my study Journal at the apartment. 

I love you all and promise that things should not be as crazy or rushed as the past week has been. 

Love and blessings,

Elder Anthony Zenger

Here is Greenwich!

Dear Family and Friends, (and others on the interweb)

This week has been a good week of trying to figure out who is who in our area and what not! haha We spent a day and a half staring at our GPS' punching in all of our Investigators, Formers, Potentials, and Less Active lists and seeing where they are at compared to us. So far things are coming together. I do have 1 thing to say about this area....WHITE PEOPLE ARE RUDE! haha People in Syracuse were so much nicer! Promise me non of you who read this will turn into old, grumpy, hicks, who hate everyone haha We spent a whole day doing some tracking and seeking our some potentials and formers in the area. We didn't find 1 person interested. -.- When we went tracking everyone was saying that they don't want us to come back cause we ALWAYS stop by every six weeks asking the same thing after they have already said no. (stupid missionaries who don't update their records!) When we were looking for some formers and potentials we found that were pretty recent, we went to every door and we literally had everyone tel us that the person had either moved, or had died within 2 years to a couple weeks....Which brings me to a awesome story about something that happened to Elder Dalton and I on the way home from a dinner appointment.

STORY TIME! 

On our back from a dinner appointment, Elder Dalton and I were chatting in the car when all of a sudden Elder Dalton says, " Opps, can't slow down for that one." and then I felt that we had just ran over something. I looked at him and asked, " What did you hit?" He then went to tell me that while we are driving, a rabbit darted out at the last second in front of us and that he knew he had no time to slow down. We then both realized that after we hit the rabbit, we could not see anything behind us in the mirror that we hit something. So we pulled over and took a good look around the car and all of a sudden Elder Dalton freaks out and tells me to look at the license plate. This is what we saw.

That is a Rabbit the size of a desk top computer jammed completely into the grill of our car, still in 1 piece, with no blood or anything. haha

This is what happens when you drive down the road (going the speed limit) at 55 mph and a rabbit hops across the road. :)

That is my little story I have for this week and I will see you all next week! I hope you all had a wonderful mothers day and that your moms all got something nice for mothers day! :) 

Love,

Elder Zenger

 

1. What we call the "Smurf Pancake!" Blueberry pancake

2.Elder Dalton on the way back from ZTM

3. Picture of Greenwich

4. same 

 (His order and my computer's order are backwards >.<)