Elder Zachary Ward

Well this week was faith week for our Zone which means we set high goals and high expectations then act and see miracles.

On Tuesday me and Elder Keller cleaned the car and visited a ton of people and played basketball with the Cullota’s outside. It was hot!

On Wednesday we had District Council and PPI’s which were really good. We had dinner with some members but it was cut short by a medical emergency. We met a really cool dude called Yair from Mexico.

On Thursday we weekly planned at the mall where someone gave us an invite to their gospel festival. We then found five people in an apartment complex in a little over an hour and then had scripture study and dinner with the Dustins.

On Friday we had some good lessons and knocked more apartments and found five more people!

On Saturday we had some really cool contacts and did a ton of calling inviting people to church and had like 20 people promise to show up!

On Sunday nobody showed up to church but we had a great huddle! We went back and taught some lessons at the apartments and then ate some really good pasta at the Reynolds then went to the youth fireside at the church and got there just in time for the refreshments.

We also got transfer news and I am leaving McComb and headed to New Iberia, Louisiana. My new companion is Elder Wight. Resulting in having exactly half of my companions come after me in alphabetical order. I keep getting W companions, that’s a win in my book!

Have a great week and may your fortunes be bright.

– Elder Ward

This transfer has gone by so fast! We learn about transfers this week! It has been awesome! We’ve been working hard and have found around 70 people so far this transfer!

On Tuesday me and Elder Staker did some grinding, found a cute puppy, and went knocking past dark.

On Wednesday we had DC and Elder Bowden’s birthday and did a lot of calls.

On Thursday we had weekly planning and then it rained a ton so we went knocking then had a wonderful scripture study with the members.

On Friday we visited a ton of people and the Ohrans from my Ward stopped by. We had a great time with them. We also visited Brother Hiersche and had dinner with him.

On Saturday Brother Threlfall drove us to the temple for our branch temple trip. It was awesome and I bumped into the Ohrans again! We also had our Pioneer Day celebration which was really fun where I got to have homemade ice cream!

On Sunday one of our friends came to church! It was  really hot but we knocked Blessed and Miracle Lane and went past the Lynyrd Skynyrd monument.

On Monday we played volleyball and poker at the church in Baker and had an awesome FHE with the some members.

May Luck be With You

-Elder Ward

Well it has been a minute so I’ll try to give a brief recap of the three weeks that happened without an email.

So back around July 1st is when you stopped hearing from me. So let’s start there!

If you remember back that long I had started an exchange with Pride, it was pretty fun with Elder Bowden, the new missionary in our district being trained by Elder Dearden. They’re currently in a trio, so elder Keller went up to McComb. We did a lot of knocking and had some cool miracles happen, it was really hot for much of the day so many people gave us water.

For the 4th of July, we went over to the Reynolds and fished after we had dinner with them. The members here are awesome and are really involved in the work. A little after the 4th of July we also hit our first feels like 100° while raining.

We had Zone Council where we got our Zone scripture which is really awesome from Exodus about concentrating everything to the Lord. We also had Zone P-Day, which was really awesome. We had a huge water balloon fight and then played volleyball at the church. It was super fun! On the way back I also hit that giant traffic jam and couldn’t send email due to how late we got back home.

We were also gonna go on exchanges with Pride again, but there were some injuries that happened. So we switched them up a little bit and had Elder Bowden come up to McComb with us while the other two Elders just stayed in Pride.

During the exchange, we went and played basketball with some of our members then it rained and I slipped on the wet court and injured my arm a little bit. It actually wasn’t too bad. The photo that we took makes it look a lot worse than actually is.

Finally this week. We helped make some stairs for a member where we dug some post holes and got to use a sledgehammer to break through concrete, the “feels like temperature” was twelve degrees higher than the actual temperature where it felt like a 106° in the humidity.

I had an awesome exchange with the ZLs and then went down to Baton Rouge for our Zone Conference, which was really fun and got to see the temple for the first time on my mission. Our Mission President gave a talk about moral agency.

For P-Day we went over to Liberty and went fishing at a member’s pond and played pickleball. Since we saw the sisters’ car at Walmart, we decided to put some pamphlets on it as a joke. After all that we went to the Perkins who are some pretty awesome members! I got to eat some pretty interesting food. I had some pickled quail eggs, some Dubai chocolate, and yellow watermelon. I love the food down here in Louisiana. You always will get something unexpected.

Sorry for missing so much hopefully you’re all caught up now!

May the Currents be in Your Favor.

-Elder Ward

Sorry guys! I got caught in a huge traffic jam today and don’t have time to share this week with you. next week I’ll try to send something out!

May your focus always be pointed towards Christ.

Well, exciting things have happened!

Tue 24th

We had some interesting referral stuff happen and were told our transfer logistics. Also, shouting out Elder Gee again for encouraging me to make some videos about tying tie knots! If anyone knows the name of the knot I tied please let me know! I’ll probably call it the Ward knot for now.

Wed 25th

We had DC and the missionaries that were leaving their areas gave departing testimonies we then headed to Amite to pack up stuff to take to McComb and then packed up stuff in McComb then we stayed the night in Mandeville with 10 other elders! I saw Elder Kendell again and met my new companion Elder Weston.

Thu 26th 

Elder Weber left for Wiggins and me and and Elder Weston dropped off Elder Jenkins in Amite then headed to McComb to do some work. And take a picture next to the train.

Fri 27th

We found some assembled puzzles that were long-forgotten in the back of a dresser but really cool! We also found two puppies while out finding people called Shine and Gracie.

Sat 28th

We met a really cool Native American dude who had a 55 Chevy who helped us find the people we were looking for. We also saw a double rainbow while knocking doors.

Sun 29th

We had a fun 5th Sunday at church where we gave a small presentation about how members can work with missionaries and now we have some awesome opportunities to serve with the members! The members are awesome!

Mon 30th

I packed for my exchange with Pride then we went to Baker/Zachary and played volleyball where I realized that about half of my District has been out for about as long or less than I have been!

I end with a scripture that y’all will have to find yourself Jacob 6:12.

May the wind be in your sails.

– Elder Ward 

This week has been pretty tiring. Missionary work is not easy but it is rewarding.

Tue 17th
I was extremely sore in my lower back from our hike on Monday but we did call some people and visit some members.

Wed 18th
We had DC and started our exchange with Pride. Elder Jenkins and Weber went to Pride while Elder Dearden and Nelson came to McComb.

Thu 19th
We did a ton of referrals in the morning then went down to Kentwood and knocked a bunch as well and set up a few return appointments too! We then drove to Pride through a huge thunder storm where we could barely see further than 10 feet ahead of us!

Fri 20th
We drove from Pride to McComb to move some of our stuff to Amite and met with some members down there.

Sat 21st
Summer is here! Beating hot weather, unbearable humidity, I already can’t wait for it to be over! At least we have working AC. We focused on Amite’s referrals then after dinner with some members we got buzzed! We also found out transfer news!

Sun 22nd
We went to Branch Council in the morning and took the sacrament to people after church. I also took a quick Sunday nap before we had dinner with the Crutchfields.

Mon 23rd
We didn’t do much but we went back to McComb and Elder Weber did get a Gundam which is cool.

May the wind… -oops

Here is the transfer information. I am staying in McComb, Elder Jenkins is going back to Amite in a trio, Elder Weber is headed to Wiggins Mississippi, and my new companion is Elder Weston who was serving in Chalmette.

May your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

• Elder Ward

Well. 6 months! It has flown by – it seems like the days take forever but the weeks and months are over like that!

Tue 10th

It was really stormy, we were still able to go to the park and visit with members.

Wed 11th 

DC was really good – we really felt the Spirit. We then went back to McComb.

Thu 12th 

I had some trouble waking up which was weird. I gave an awesome spiritual thought at dinner.

Fri 13th

I woke up early and well-rested which was also weird. We did some good service and then some referral work.

Sat 14th

We had some funny interactions with some of our referrals. We had one say that Jesus took his own life for us. An interesting way of putting it for sure. And another who said that we were a toothless snake and of the devil. Meeting new people is fun!

Sun 15th 

Happy Father’s Day dad! You’re the best! All three of us missionaries gave talks in Sacrament Meeting. I talked about service and how service brings us and those we are serving joy. And because Jesus knows us perfectly and went through all we did whenever we do service He feels it twice.

Mon 16th 

6 month mark! We went on a fun river hike with waterfalls! We got hit with a big storm while we were hiking which was concerning. We then headed down to Amite and found that our AC had been fixed!

May The Wind be in your Sails
And The Currents in your favor 
May Luck be with you
And Your fortunes be bright 
May the paths you follow lead to prosperity
And may we meet again as friends 
May The light of Christ be in your heart 
And the power of God in your efforts 

Love y’all

-Elder Ward

Hey guys! This week has been a week! Stuff has happened.

Tue 3rd
I got sick with something so we stayed in the apartment all day. We were also called by the Mission President telling us that after Zone Conference me and Elder Weber will be in a trio with Elder Jenkins and cover McComb and Amite.

Wed 4th
We grinded our referrals. We get a ton every day! It is hard to find people who are interested unfortunately.

Thu 5th
I got sick again. It is most likely dehydration so I’ve been drinking more water.

Fri 6th
We had Zone Conference! I really enjoyed it and we got Elder Jenkins and the Amite car and we moved some of Elder Jenkins’s stuff from the Amite apartment to the McComb apartment.

Sat 7th
We had our weekly planning for covering both of our areas then went down to Amite. We found out that the AC wasn’t working so the apartment is a nice and hot 85 degrees.

Sun 8th
Almost everyone at church was surprised by my return to Amite and we were able to take the sacrament to some other members who couldn’t come to church. Then we hung out with some amazing members.

Mon 9th
Our landlord got us some portable AC units so we can finally have a nice and cool apartment we didn’t do anything for our Pday except for having a ton of technical problems so I am hoping this email actually sends!

May the power of God be in your efforts
Love y’all

-Elder Ward

This has been an exciting week. I’m going to share a spiritual thought given to me by my wonderful Grandma Guptill that has inspired me and was shared at precisely the right time for me.

“Obedience is not a mindless shifting of our responsibility. Instead it is tying ourselves to a living God who will introduce us—as soon as we are ready— to new and heavier responsibilities involving situations of high adventure. Obedience, therefore, is not evasion; it is an invasion— one that takes us deep in to the realm of our possibilities.” – Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Obedience is key. That is something that has been repeated over and over again to me ever since I opened my mission call. That probably means it’s important. I can testify that obedience brings miracles to our lives.

Tue 27th 

I went on an exchange with Elder Staker in Slaughter; it was awesome! We visited a lot of people with a member called Zade; he was awesome.

Wed 28th 

We went to DC and had PPI’s which were really awesome. I started my exchange with Elder Bamala and since Slaughter doesn’t have a car, we quadded up with them for the day and went over the Mississippi river to a town called New Roads where we got caught in a big storm.

Thu 29th

Elder Bamala was awesome at the Branch scripture study and I’m finally starting to remember members’ names. We also moved around some furniture.

Fri 30th 

We did some service in the morning and got some cool little Jesus’s and we also visited a ton of referrals driving all the way down to Kentwood, Louisiana.

Sat 31st

We drove to Central where the Pride Elders live and I finally reunited with Elder Weber and had our weekly planning. We then went to Stake Conference where we sung Armies of Helaman.

Sun 1st

We sung Armies of Helaman for the general session of Stake Conference and I made a cool origami fan out of the program. We also had some delicious shepherds pie with the Reynolds.

Mon 2nd 

We went to the Cullota’s family pond and went fishing and played KanJam, Cornhole, and Tennis. We then did service at Brother Burts helping him pick blueberries.

I love hearing from you!

May the light of Christ be in your heart.

– Elder Ward

Man this week has flown by!

Quick Spiritual Thought 

1 Tim 4:12

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

In essence, no matter your age you are an example to those around you. 

Tue 20th

We ministered to some members in the hospital and rearranged our living room.

Wed 21st 

I was able to give a blessing to a member which was very spiritual. We went to District Conference as well! It’s a lot further than it was in Amite; it takes us an hour and a half to get there! We also had a funny moment with a “lukewarm” referral called Laodecia.

Thu 22nd

We helped a member clean and move some heavy stuff out of their house. The Office Elders stopped by to take our bunk bed and replace it with a normal bed frame.

Fri 23rd

I got a little sick and dehydrated due to a sunburn so I am making sure to drink plenty of water now.

Sat 24th 

We had weekly planning at the train park where we found some hatchling birds in a nest and encountered some cool weather. Elder Weber is a weather nerd and told me that it was called a Supercell and it was the type of storm where tornadoes form!

Sun 25th

We had a great Elders Quorum meeting about lifting up others. We also gave the sacrament to some members that were unable to make it to church. We had a wonderful meal with Reynolds who made soup and ham and bean cornbread!

Mon 26th

We had Zone P-day and played slip-n-slide kickball and volleyball which were a blast! We also had an awesome Zone Council about how obedience brings miracles!

May the Currents be in your Favor.

-Elder Ward