Elder Zachary 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

I didn’t journal very well this week. Journals are very good in the mission and have helped me so much. If you want to show off to your kids in the future just pull out the ancient tome, one of your old journals.

Tue 13th 

I said goodbye to Sheldon and the Grices then took the Deathnut challenge. I am still trying to aquire the video of it, so you might get it next week. 

Wed 14th 

I packed everything up and drove to McComb, Mississippi where I met Elder Weber, my new companion, a really hype dude.

Thu 15th

I unpacked a least some of my stuff and had scripture study with the branch.

Fri 16th

We did a ton of service and we were given a box of pastries.

Sat 17th

Elder Weber wasn’t feeling well at all, so we didn’t do much.

Sun 18th

Church was awesome! We had at least 60 people and I am still learning names. I also met a member’s pet rooster.

Mon 19th

We went to the Zoo as a district and had a lot of fun we then went to the Baker building where the Zachary Ward meets!

See you next week!

May the wind be in your sails.

– Elder Ward 

Whew, the past two weeks have been busy but it has been real fun as well! Two week emails are always fun for me because it seems like the 28th was ages ago. But for others it might not have been long at all.

Tue 29th 

We went on exchanges with Mandeville and I stayed in Amite with Elder Kendell where I was able to teach and learn a lot!

Wed 30th 

We had DC with Sister Smuin while President Smuin did our PPI’S. It was a lot of fun! We then got to hang out with Sheldon and have dinner with the Crutchfields.

Thu 31st 

I was really sore the entire day but we had an amazing lesson with John Smith.

Fri May 2nd 

I was sick and in bed all day but started to recover in the evening. 

Sat 3rd 

We focused on our referrals and had an interesting conversation with the Grices about mental health. 

Sun 4th

We didn’t do anything Star Wars related. We did however finalize the details of John’s baptism!

Mon 5th

The district went to the Global Wildlife Center with the Newmans and Crutchfields, it was a blast! I saw so many animals and even got to meet Popcorn the baby kangaroo!

Tue 6th 

The leadership decided that for this week the entire mission should do an apartment fast. Staying out of our apartment until Saturday. At the same time we are getting flood warnings, I’m glad I brought a rain jacket!

Wed 7th 

DC was fun our DL (Elder Roberts) is trying to encourage us to hit our goals by saying that will buzz his head if we hit our goals. We also connected with a member that hasn’t come to church in a while.

Thu 8th 

We helped Sheldon then had a extensive weekly planning at the library.

Fri 9th 

We cleared out the senior couples apartment with the Hammond Sisters and the Gunters who are the housing coordinators for our mission. We also went to the Branch’s celebration of President Adams Birthday.

Sat 10th 

John got baptized!!! I was able to confirm him and it was awesome! He was ready!

Sun 11th 

John, now Brother Smith, was ordained as a priest and was able to take the sacrament to people after church with us.

Also awesome – my most dear mother! It is thanks to her I am on my mission now. Thanks Mom!!

Mon 12th 

We didn’t do anything exciting for Pday but I did find out I am being transferred! I am headed to McComb Mississippi the area right next door to Amite. I’ve heard my new companion is pretty cool too!

May the Power of God be in your efforts 

– Elder Ward

Sorry! I got really busy and don’t have time to write a full weekly email about my week. I will try really hard to send out next week’s email!

May the wind be in your sails and the current in your favor.
May your adventures be great and your journeys end back at home.
May the Light of Christ be in your heart and the Power of God in your efforts.

• Elder Ward

This week was pretty fun.

Tue 22nd
We put John Smith on a date! He has been progressing really fast. We also had some interesting calls. Sheldon also showed us his katana.

Wed 23rd
We practiced our special music number then drove to Waveland to sleep over with Elder Cuizon and Elder Daines.

Thu 24th
We had ZoCo in Gulfport which was really fun but it took us over an hour and a half to get back to our area.

Fri 25th
We did a lot of referral work especially in the Denham Springs corner of our area.

Sat 26th
We did family history class and once again nobody came which was disappointing but met a frog when we went knocking.

Sun 27th
We had branch conference out was pretty awesome and had a lot of people attend, we got to perform If You Could Hie to Kolob and did some visits with the Stake Presidency. Sister Tassin also gave us some of her own art!

Mon 28th
We had some plans for Pday but they were canceled so I made bread and we did some maintenance for our car.

Have a great week!
May the Light of Christ be in your heart
-Elder Ward

Sorry for not giving y’all an update last week. I was a little busy Monday evening. So I’ll recap last week and this week. Also Happy Easter!

Tue 8th

We had a pretty long call with the Cunninghams making sure everything in their paper area book was in our electronic one. 

Wed 9th

I had an experience that I can’t share that really helped me see and feel the importance of being in tune with the Spirit. We also had District Council.

Thu 10th

Thursday was sad because no one came to our family history class. We did set up a sign in the library about Family Search though, so that was good.

Fri 11th

We taught Josep- I mean John Smith about Joh- I mean Joseph Smith. Yay!

Sat 12th 

We helped pick up trash around the town. It was mostly alcohol bottles.

Sun 13th

We meet a member at a western store where he gave us the suit Elder Jenkins left in his previous area.

Mon 14th 

We had Zone Council and Zone P-day! It was really fun. We did a nerf war, Zone Olympics, and pickleball which I got to ref while eating homemade pizza. 

Tue 15th 

I had a good exchange with Elder Roberts. We had lunch with the Gunthers who inspected our apartment. I also accidentally ran over a squirrel which made Elder Roberts crack up.

Wed 16th 

We had a fun DC because the ZLs and the STLs switched which DC they went to.

Thu 17th

We had an awesome lesson with Josep- I mean John Smith and an interesting weekly planning.

Fri 18th 

We had some good lessons even though I didn’t feel very great in the morning.

Sat 19th

We visited the Logans with the Coronas and shared some Easter messages.

Sun 20th

Easter was pretty fun – Brother Topham played his clarinet! We then hung out with the Crutchfields and the Newmans where I met their dog Moses.

Mon 21st

We had Pday with District+Bogalusa again and I got to run a DnD one-shot for everyone! We also played chair soccer.

May the Currents be in Your Favor.

– Elder Ward 

Hey y’all this is exciting because there are new faces in town!

Mon 31st
I know I covered this day last email but we did some other stuff too. We stole a spoon, a table and a pull-up bar from the Covington Elders, because they left their door unlocked.

Tue Apr 1st
We had some good lessons with President Newman. We then took some photos next to a train picture on a building. Then went over to the Grices where Elder Stubbs took the Deathnut challenge, which involves eating peanuts that have capsaicin crystals on them making them super spicy, like 16 million Scoville units spicy!

Wed 2nd
We had the last district council of the transfer and got to say goodbye to everyone that was leaving. Then we had 8 elders sleep in our apartment for transfers which was fun.

Thu 3rd
Me and my new companion, Elder Jenkins, helped the Cunninghams move out and then had a wonderful weekly planning. Elder Jenkins is pretty awesome, he is very efficient and strategic.

Fri 4th
We started getting ready for conference and cleaned out our area book.

Sat 5th
We watched conference with the grices and though it is hard to choose a favorite I really enjoyed President Eyring’s talk.

Sun 6th
I really liked Elder Strong and Elder Kim’s talks during the Saturday sessions of conference.

Mon 7th
We went to Hammond and played some board games which were fun. Me and Elder Jenkins are also starting a small DnD campaign in the evenings before bed.

Love y’all
May the wind be in your sails
Elder Ward

Hey y’all this week has been hype!

Mon 24th
For Pday we went to Covington and the beach with the Elders from Bogalusa, The Bog Monsters, Elder Ence and Elder Larsen. We played football, basketball, and Spikeball. I also started my exchange with Elder Roberts.

Tue 25th
I saw a mountain! It was actually a dump. Guess the tallest thing around is a pile of trash. While finding me and Elder Roberts saw Bigg Dogg and little dog.

Wed 26th
We had DC and vehicle inspections where I ended my exchange with Elder Roberts. Me and Elder Stubbs went and did service for a member, where we got to set another branch and leaf pile on fire. We then went to Sheldon’s house. We met his new dog, Bojack.

Thu 27th
I had a stuffed nose and a super sore throat but we still did some calls and missionary work.

Fri 28th
We had a lot of stuff fall through but since the Cunninghams are leaving we are getting their teaching pool.

Sat 28th
The branch had a potluck soon we got a picture with the entire branch. We had our transfer boards drop, Elder Stubbs is leaving and Elder Jenkins is going to be my new companion.

Sun 30th
Fast Sunday was fun and we had dinner with the Crutchfields where we had shrimp and crawfish then took some to Sheldon’s and tried to take a picture with Buck (short for Buckaroo).

Mon 31st
That’s right including this Monday in my email!
We had Pday with the Bog Monsters in covington and played basketball. Then it is tradition in this mission to get a buzz cut when you finish your training Elder Stubbs missed his buzz so he did it after training his first time. I am going to shout out Elder Larsen here for choosing to buzz, because he had some good hair going.

That’s all for this week! I’m excited for General Conference, make sure you watch it with a question!

\/..|||. Live well and love others
May the Winds be in your sails
The current in your favor
The Light of Christ in your heart
And the Power of God in your efforts

• Elder Ward