12/2/2013

Well, this past week has been one of the best weeks i have had on my mission so far! this last week was awesome! i had both a relaxing preparation day and a day off on Thanksgiving. Monday was great! i took a nap and did lots of other fun stuff and then on Thursday i week became awesome! on Thursday in first went to a brunch with some of my investigators here and they fed us some very delicious food! it was sweet pork on bread rolls with red velvet cake! :):) it was so good! so then after that we ran to a park here in town to play some Frisbee golf, the park was actually closed for the winter which is really dumb but yeah, we didn’t play but because i tried to play on Thursday, when i went down to Rocky Mount North Carolina on a companion exchange i told one of the members down there that that is what we tried to do they told me that they have a couple of disks that they don’t ever use so they gave me two more disks ( one is a Valkeri and one is a super cool........i don’t remember) but now i have two sets of disks that i can use now, one for me and one for my future companions! :):) yay! that makes me happy! but after we had ran to the park we then went to Thanksgiving dinner with the Hutchings! they are a very wonderful couple and their son came up for Thanksgiving so they wanted us over as well. brother hutchings is the Ward Mission leader! he is old and awesome! so then after that we ran to a Tattoo shop, yep that’s right, we ran to a Tattoo shop to check up on our investigators who had fed us lunch and we got some super funny pictures with them. i swear, its right out of a church comedy movie, we have seven investigators, three potentials, and five sympathizers all from that Tattoo shop! it is crazy! many of them have baptismal dates and two of them will be getting baptized, hopefully, later in the month! :) they are super close! but yeah! This last week has bee great for me!

This last week has been full of great ups and downs! It was one of the best weeks on my mission and that is because I tried to make it so! And it kinda worked! Thank you Thanksgiving! Wow, Paradox!

Thank you for all of your prayers and such! Everything is working out swimmingly right now! :) I feel great and when I feel depressed or sad I can think of you guys and look at some of the pictures you sent me and I feel happy and great! :) I love you so much! Did you take pictures of Thanksgiving? If so then you should send them to me! :)

Thank you so very much for all that you have sent me so far on my mission! I love all of the Packages and the notes and the letters! They make me happy! So very happy! They make me smile and cry and want to fly! I love you all so much!

I don’t know what I want for Christmas yet! Well I want one thing for sure! I want a calendar from uncle Eric! That’s for sure! I want a calendar of his art work! That would be great!! Also, I want my brown shoes! I have a pair of sweet brown dress shoes at home and I can wear them now cause we can wear Khakis’! YAY! But we have to have brown shoes so I want my shoes if that’s okay! If Austin or kaden wears them regularly then don’t worry about it but if not then will you send them to me? :) that would be great! :)and that is all I can think of!

 

hey, did you get my letter about my fight with a candle? any news on that?? :)

I love you all so very much and I will send you a letter in the week! :)

With lots of love and other stuff from your missionary brother and son!

Elder Anthony Zonts  

Hello my amazing, wonderful, fantastic, exceptional, Mathuzanistic, crazy beautiful, smart, growing, fun-loving, super, superb, suave, sophisticated, sweet, smart- I already said that- strong, simply amazing Family!!!

Thank you so much for you emails! :) every time I read them I have a huge smile on my face afterwards! It is the highlight of my whole week! :) and Holy Cow! It is already happening! I wasn't sure when it would be it has happened. When contemplating coming on a mission, the same though kept coming to me; “if you leave, then you will not be home to see your family grow and change” :( but as I have continued to work and to write and to live and to laugh and to love and to grow and to preach, I had yet to see many changes come upon my wonderful family waiting at home. But the time has come!! I mean wow! Kaden is on a soccer team, Xoe needs to get glasses?, Luke is starting school, my dear Mother is starting a nursing program, my wonderful father is working a new job and an EMT program, Austin is in deep bewilderment on what foxes say…………? O.o things are just changing so quickly! :) sniffle sniffle!

But now it is my turn! You’ll never guess what has happened to me this week! HA, didn’t think so! My week started last Monday with a super great preparation day. After email and shopping and lunch, the real fun started. You see, being here in Roanoke Rapids, there is not much to do……..at all! The only entertainment found in this small town is a movie theater with two screens! So it is very hard to entertain ones self. The most entertaining preparation day activities I have done so far are going golfing in Rocky Mount, which is 40 minutes away. And going fishing on Lake Gaston, which was pointless because I didn’t catch anything. So I was in a very bleak predicament. What should I do to keep my sanity? So this is what we came up with; let go to the Mall! Yay! Roanoke Rapids has a tiny tiny shopping mall with about ten stores in it and the biggest one being a JC Pennys. So we went shopping! YAY! When we got there however, we discovered something that just made me cry; all the stores but one are closed on Mondays…….:( so we went into JC Pennys so we could look at the ties. It was great though, while we were looking through the ties they were playing music over the speakers which made me smile! It was great music that I use to listen to in my past life……. O.o so it helped my keep my sanity. And after the mall we then ran home so we could relax! Tuesday was great, we had a correlation meeting with my ward mission leader at Carinis again, I ordered Spaghetti with Italian sausage! :) I also had a chance to teach a nice lady at the non-prophet store I serve at. She is very nice and she is very interested. Wednesday was great as well, most of my time was spent with some of my investigators at there home, we helped him with some struggles he has been having with his arthritis, I then traveled down to Rocky Mount to do a baptismal interview for one of the investigators there because Elder Jones is the district leader! Thursday was great, Thursday was an exchange day with Elder Barber from Wilson. We taught Mr. Anthony Hicks and then ran over to the Swanson’s to teach them a lesson. I was able to get a promise from Sister Swanson that she would come to church on Sunday and She Came!! I was told that she hasn’t been to church in almost a year! It was a big deal for quite a few members to be able to say hello and to give her a hug after so long! It was a great Sunday! And then comes Friday!Friday was probably the best day I have had on my mission as of yet! :) Friday was Zone Conference with President and Sister Baker! I drove to Goldsboro and was able to be with the Bakers for about six hours! And my goodness was it a great meeting! These last few weeks have been a struggle for me in a few different areas so I was very eager to receive some revelation and inspiration from my wonderful Mission President! And I can tell you this, in every single area that I have had struggles, it was addressed at Zone Conference! Every Single One! It was such an amazing meeting. A few of the others things that made it such a great meeting were that I got to sit right next to President Baker for Lunch and that he asked me to give the opening prayer for the last session of the Conference! It was humbling and so spiritual to be there and to have everything feel great again! They have also come out with this new booklet for missionaries. It addresses, in great detail, how to adjust to missionary life! It focuses on physical, emotional, social, and intellectual challenges faced by missionaries and how to best deal with them. I don’t have many problems with the other three but I am very excited about the section dealing with physical challenges. These past three months have been hard for me for a few physical reasons. The first being the morning workouts; we are suppose to workout for thirty minutes each day, which I don’t have a problem with; it’s the time they want us to work out which is the problem. I love to workout, as I am sure you know. But when I was home I would normally workout in the afternoon. For missionaries, we are required to wake up, kneel for prayer, and then drop to the floor for pushups………. We are also required to do only ten minute of strength and then twenty minutes of cardio, every time. So on the morning when I wake up and just drop to the floor to do pushups and am really great, I can only get ten minutes of strength in………and then I am running up and down the stairs or jumping rope. But as I was contemplating this, this being a minor thing for me, they then came out with this new health guide and in it, it gives much less strict requirement for workouts! :) Yay! Now I can work out the way I want to! I can actually get a good workout in! I am super excited about that! The other physical challenge I have been facing is that this last week and a half I have been very sick! My appetite had all but disappeared, my stomach hurts a lot, and I have had trouble sleeping. But after Zone Conference I just felt great! I feel great today and I am feeling better and better as the days continue. And then comes Saturday!Saturday was a fantastic day. Saturday was the Ducky Derby in Weldon and the 21^st of September!! Earth, Wind, and Fire!. So a few weeks ago we had seen a billboard advertising the ducky derby last Saturday, so we pulled some strings and made some calls and guess what! Last Saturday we had set up an information booth and for five straight hours we were giving out church material, talking to people about the church, and getting information for potential investigators from loads of people! It was such a great day! After the Ducky Derby I then ran over to the Tupper’s Home to give brother Tupper a blessing! And then comesSunday! Yesterday was just so wonderful. I didn’t have any investigators come to church but it was still fantastic, it actually made it more of a relaxing experience for me. I learned about being a Heavenly Rescuer! And I was able to say hello to Sister Swanson! And hen after church I was invited to Sister Jerry Jones home for dinner! And wow, she has such an interesting house! It is a dome with connecting triangles! It was super good cooking too! I ate some of the most delicious pie I have ever eaten in my life! Mother, I will send you the recipe! So I had such a great week! Things are just going very well for me! I love the people here too! They are just so amazing, and here is an example! Yesterday at church something funny happened that proves what kind of people live here! So yesterday my companion was talking to a Brother Baraccado while I was talking to Brother Fortier not seven feet away. Elder Jones told brother Baraccado that he liked his tie clip so, quick as a flash, brother Baraccado grabbed his clip and put it on Elder Jones tie and would not take it back. Well I had a similar experience. Without knowing what was happening with my companion, I walked up to Brother Fortier and patted him on the shoulder, I then told him that I liked his watch and then it went well with his suit. Well quick as a flash Brother Fortier had taken his watch off and tried to hand it to me, seeing what he was trying to do I simply refused to take it but I did not succeed, he ended up stuffing it in my pocket and refused to take it back with a firm determination. I thought I would win but no! The way Brother Fortier likes to put it is this, “when you’re calling Jesus from the South, it’s a local call! When you’re calling from anywhere else, it’s a long distance call” I love these people so very much! And so now I have another watch………

I love you all so very much! :) and I miss you terribly! Hey, you should tell everyone to write me! I mean real letters! I have received a total of three letters out in the field, and two of them are from uncle Mike! :) it would be very nice! :)

I love you so very much!! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!

Elder Anthony Robert Zonts   

Hello my wonderful Family!

Well I might as well start right into my wonderful experiences. So lets start with Monday of last week!Monday was a terrible day, it was terrrrible because it was the first Preparation day where I hadn't done something fantastically wonderful! All I did was clean, did laundry, and then I took a nap; all of which was boring and lame. So Monday was fun! So on Tuesday of last week I went to a non-prophet shelter store and I was able to volunteer my time there! While I was there I learned that they were having a 5 dollar bag sale for the coming week (Wednesday to Saturday) where I could buy everything that I could fit into a jumbo paper sack for 5 dollars! Missionary hallelujah! So I resolved to take advantage of that in the coming days! Also I Tuesday I was able to teach a pastor of a local church here! We had a return appointment which went fantastically! He appreciates our willingness to serve our fellow man and he has promised us that he would come to church next Sunday!  Well on Wednesday I then helped the other organization in the community build a house! We have upgraded our improvement to that of almost finishing all the flooring of the house! So four hours later we were done so we showered and ran to a dinner appointment with the ward mission leader! Wait, first off, during lunch that day I ran back to that thrift/community store and I bought NINE pairs of slacks for 5 dollars!! In the end only six of them are salvageable; there is a very nice lady here that does seem work for all da missionaries! So she is working on those for me! I will hopefully have them soon; I found one pair that are just right so I am wearing these until the time comes!  And that brings me to Thursday! On Thursdays I start the day off at a religious livings warehouse, it’s the D.I. of North Carolina. Needy people come in with a city ordinance or from a church and they are able to get the things that they need! I have been volunteering there since I came here and I can honestly say that I look forward to it each week! So after service I then went to lunch with that same lady who is helping me with my pants; I had taken some of the local Elders from neighboring cities while on exchange to her house and we have been attacking her backyard to make it look fabulous! So she wanted to repay us for that so she asked if she could take us to lunch, we went to a new restaurant in the next town over and I ate the most delicious Turkey Melt I have ever tasted! MMMMMMM!!!!!!   And then after lunch I had another dinner appointment later in the day so I went to that; it was an elderly lady and her grandson, they took us to an Italian restaurant which has some super delicious Stromboli’s!! so that day was a great, super, fantastic, wonderful day! And then it comes toFriday, so on Friday I have district meeting so I went to that and then a new Elder in our district came to my area on exchange, this Elder has been our here for 20 months! I mean wow! So we helped the bishops neighbor with some service and then we went over to the backyard my mom-away-from-home and we rendered more service for her and she was so thrilled! She said that she can never do anything to repay us, she is so sweet and funny! She is the classic old black lady sass and attitude mixed with LDS kindness and motherly concern! Haha! And then that brings me to Saturday, Saturday wasn't as busy! We had study, then we had one lesson, and then we went home and planned for the coming week! So yeah, it was a little more boring. But Sunday was excellent! This last Sunday, I had six investigators come to church! Yep, that’s right, SIX! It was so wonderful! They came and they were able to be there for fast and testimony meeting, well at least three of them, it was very powerful and extremely spiritual! That’s a promise with some of these extra small branches, when we get someone to come, they are welcomed so openly and everyone introduces themselves and the lessons are so strong! I actually taught gospel principles on Sunday, I taught about eternal families and it went so very well! And then for yesterday (Monday), I actually was able to play basketball with some of the young boys in the ward and wow do they have some skill! They are near 11 and 13 but they can work ya, it was nothing I couldn’t handle, but others would have been beat badly! So yeah, yesterday was much more enjoyable and this last week has been very spiritually and physically rewarding!

My scriptures for the family are sitting on my desk at home so I will give you extra next week! But here are some from my memory!

Alma 7: 14-16

Mosiah 4: 9-12

Moroni 8: 25-26

3 Nephi 27

I love you all so very much and I can’t wait to hear from you again soon!

Lots of love from your missionary

Elder Anthony Robert Zonts       

Hello my wonderful family!

So I want to jump straight into my experiences this past week! So on my preparation day last week it was very relaxing! I watched the Joseph Smith movie and wrote some letters and then cleaned a little! Yep, relaxing! As soon as my preparation time was over I then ran around looking for some people to find and teach and Elder Jones and I ran to Brother Murphy’s home. Brother Murphy is a less active member who is also a double amputee! It was very humbling to meet him and to talk about faith in our trials, he has been struggling since his wife died and then he lost his legs so things have been very hard for him! I am planning to go back this week and check up on him and see how he is doing! Well, on Tuesday, after study, I had lunch with a Pastor of a congregation here in town, I cant remember if he ever told me which church he preaches for or if he is Baptist or if he is Methodist but we had lunch with him at his home. After lunch we made a rather successful transition to talk on religion and we then spent two hours with him doing a question and answer session on our beliefs and on his! It was very rewarding for me because its not every day or with every missionary that he or she gets to let a preacher of a different church know what we believe! I bore strong testimony and he made us a promise that he will read and pray about the Book of Mormon because he said that he doesn’t like to live life as a ‘closed book’ and that he wants to meet again next Tuesday! Elder Jones and I have a suspicion that he is trying to Save us so he wants to keep meeting so we will se what happens! Also on Tuesday I was able to meet with a nice younger women who has a very remarkable story: we were told by her and the Bishop that a couple of Wednesdays ago she was working at her shop and she then went over to Sonic for no reason, but when she got there her car was having troubles and it wouldn’t start, so after another frustration which added to multiple that same day she just decided to start walking, she had had a very hard day and she was not sure what to do so she just started walking, she said that she was just fallowing her feet and when the sidewalk ended she looked up and she was at the door or the Church!!! It was a on a Wednesday so there were people there for mutual so she walked in and asked a young boy where she was, he told her where she was and he then took her to the Bishop! So we got a call from the Bishop after talking with her and he told us her story and we were able to meet with her and her sister last Tuesday for the first time! J we had a very good lesson on the Restoration of the Gospel and she says that she believes it all happened without a doubt! I am very excited for her yet a little skeptical and I will let you know why later! So that brings me to Wednesday, well on Wednesday I started my day off with six hours worth of service for the Habitat for Humanity crew, we were working on the foundation of a new house so Austin, I am building a house from the ground up! Hehe! Well after working with them and after some study time I then ran over to a less active family and I trimmed their trees in their front yard, as a reward they fed me some delicious chicken Catchatori! And then comes Thursday, Thursday was also a day of service, after volunteering at a non-prophet shelter for a couple of hours we were then recruited by the bishop to help him move a piano! After that I then had another lesson with Crystal, well actually we had a lesson after a rather exciting tour of her tattoo shop, she forgot about our lesson so we had to run to her shop to try and catch her so we got to meet her husband who is a very nice man, he is very very nice and they are both prime investigators to the gospel! So after taking a quick, yet kind of awkward, tour of their tattoo shop she came with us to the church and we had a fantastic lesson with her! She is the closest investigator we have to baptism and her husband wants to meet with us very much! So it has been a wonderful testimony for me when thinking about who is ready to receive the gospel and the places we will all go to spread the word! We have another lesson planned with her tonight so wish me luck! So on Friday we had district meeting and then we went on exchange, one of the Spanish elders from a neighboring area came with me to Roanoke and I got to drive for the first time on my mission! Thank you for sending me my license and my driving record! Did you get my letter? So on Friday I had actually set up a dinner appointment with a less active member who is from Puerto Rico, so we had a lesson and dinner with him and his Spanish speaking niece so that went very well, Elder Sanchez has been out for 16 months and speaks fluent Spanish! After dinner we then ran to another member’s house and we destroyed her jungle, we weeded and hacked at her plants in her back yard! We are going back to her house this Friday so we can finish! And that brings me to Saturday! Well actually not much happened on Saturday, we had a surprise lesson with the Grandmother of an investigator who wasn’t home so that went well! We have a return appointment for this Tuesday! And then we held a weekly planning session and some contact calls and the adult session of stake conference which we only saw a small portion of cause of computer issues, so a slow day compared to the others. And then Sunday! Sunday was stake conference and my mission president and his wife bore their testimonies so it was an excellent meeting! I love how stake conference and ward meetings and everything else still holds in store the same experiences and the same organization! It is very exciting! And then I went to bed and then I woke up this morning! Today we have a lesson planned with Crystal and we are heading over to the home of a youth here who wants to play basketball and ping pong with us so that will be exiting! And those are my experiences, things have been picking up and getting better here and they only seem to be improving! Wish me luck on my continued success and I love you all so very much!

Hello my dear Family!

I am super happy to hear all of that! I love being able to hear from you every week! It always makes me super happy! And I already feel very surreal…….. like a twilight zone! I miss you very much and I love you with my whole heart! I am approaching my two month mark and it feels like I just walked out the door! Holy Cow, so much has happened! And I cant wait for more news on everything which will be happening soon. 

I am having lots of super fun experiences here in Roanoke! That young man whom I was talking about earlier has not yet been baptized. He just two days ago went out to school at Campbell University here in NC so we had to do a transfer of missionaries but he is coming back up here to be baptized on the 24th of this month or the 7th of next month! He actually came with me on a nonmember exchange of sorts and we had a lesson which was so super powerful! He has been progressing so very much and he cant wait to be baptized! I have also been teaching a man and his son who are just as close to being baptized, he is a former member and his son has not been baptized but they are very close! I am super excited! I have placed about 13-14 Book of Mormons and I have exhausted all of the Book of Mormons in my house!!! Yeah, it has been super spiritual to be out here with real investigators and real door rejections and really hardcore Baptists! I use to feel bad for those Russian missionaries and those Chinese missionaries but I would like to see them try to convert a stanch Baptist…………yeah……….but it is very powerful to see the fruits of my labor! I have a ward of about 70 active members and all but 30 of them are strong convert of ten to twenty years ago or such!!! Last night I attended a ward mission fireside and it was an amazing experience! I love the people here and am looking forward to continue to serve them! They have accepted me as a member of there family and I can see that they trust me and love me very much! I bare strong testimony and I serve with love and that is the key to having a lasting relationship with others! I have been on four or five different exchanges since coming here and I have met and got to know many of the missionaries in my district and my zone, two days ago I went to Goldsboro to exchange with my zone leader and I like him lots! While I was at the Goldsboro home I saw a picture that made me stop in my tracks! Mother, you should look up the picture by D. O. Christensen in 2002, it is a picture of two missionaries getting ready for the day and one of them is looking in the mirror and that missionary looks a lot like me! It was crazy; you should look at it and let me know that I am not crazy! I have been having so many serving and teaching opportunities out here and they come more and more every week! I love being here!

So here are my scripture of the week! I am sorry if I have already sent some but these really came to me this week!

-Romans 15:13

-Mosiah 28:3

-Alma 27: 24-26, 31

-D&C 78: 17-19 a personal favorite of mine!

-D&C 76:1-10

I want all of you to think of these and how they apply to you there in Idaho! And how my amazing family can be further strengthened! So how has your reading been going? I hope you have at least read my homework assignments to you! I usually send them cause I have a feeling that you need them, call it inspiration if you will but I have been having some promptings lately! Will you all please make a commitment with me, yourselves, and with our Heavenly Father that no matter what, you will do Family Home evening every week and will try to fit scripture study in as much as possible! Being here makes me love my family so very much and I would hate to find out that something has been keeping them from upholding their legacy!! :D I love you with my whole heart and I am actually getting choked up right now while I am typing this cause I Love You So Very Much!! There is only one thing in this whole world that would keep me from being there with you and that would be this call to serve, so lets both make the best of what we know we must do cause the Lord only wants the absolute best for us and that can only be found when we serve him and when we grow spiritually! I want you all to read these talks that I read this week, you kept popping into my mind as I read! The first is “These Things I Know” by President Packer and the second is “A Sure Foundation” by Bishop Dean M. Davies! Read and ponder and ACT on your promptings, I want a report from all of you in the next letter, if it is not there then I will not respond……….maybe……..!! I love you all so very much!  

You should look up the “missionaries epistle to the dead letter writers” written by the San Antonio missionaries a few years ago!! I like it a lot!

Thanks for the pictures!  

I Love My Family Beyond Description! Have a great week and review what I have asked, and don’t forget to read, pray, ponder, study, love, learn, laugh, play, and grow!

Lots of Love from your missionary

Elder Zonts  

Hello my dear Family!!

I am so happy to hear from you again! ;)

That is awesome to hear that everything is going well for everyone!

Father, I really hope you get/got that job we were discussing last week! Congrats if you already got it! I love you and cant wait to see some pictures of your progress! J PLEASE CHANGE YOUR PICTURES!!!!!!!! But other than that I Love You!!

Mother, that’s awesome to hear that school is going very well for you! J congrats on all you’re A’s. and thanks for the scripture! My scripture to you is Mosiah 2:41. I love this Scripture!! Please read it and re-read it as often as possible!

Austin, why you not say soda stupid!?!?!?! I mean why haven’t you told me about your High Adventure? And where are those pictures I asked for? And when does school start for you? And how has your reading been going? And has the new Psych season come out yet? And your names doodle!!!! Haha!

Kaden. I love you bro, I have those pictures from the wedding we went to and I laugh at them every time I see them, I really miss you guys and I miss how much we look alike and how much you’ve grown! HOLY COW, are you taller than mom yet? How long have I been gone? It feels like an eternity! But yeah, we need more inside jokes! You should make us some more inside jokes and ill laugh at them!! Alright, it’s a plan!

Xoe, I love you so much little princess, I am in North Carolina and I am having a blast! And WOW, you got a hair cut!?!?! It looks so super cute Xoe, I love you and miss you!

Luke, you love you too, bye! Haha, so how was school for you? How tall are you now? Mom, you should measure them today and then send me their heights every week! J but Lukie I love you so very much and hope to get some more pictures of you!

Mom, you should ask sister dotey to take some more family pictures so I can have some nice ones! And hey, tell me about their newest little sweetheart! J  

And I want to know how everyone’s homework has been going? And if you didn’t read those scriptures I sent earlier then you know have to do 600 pushups and you have to read the scriptures EVERY NIGHT!!! Haha……..but seriously……..if you aren’t ready every night then you really should, I cant read enough for everyone believe it or not, and I would love to have some partners for discussion! I am reading for the challenge that my mission is having to read seven pages of the book of mormon each day and I am marking up my copy like a monster, I just recently read from the end of Jacob into Mosiah and it blew my mind! So keep me posted on you reading! By the time I write next week I will be into Mosiah, probably the ninth chapter! Let me know about you home work and everything else!

So yeah, it’s been going very well here in Roanoke! My companion is Elder Jones; he is from Ogden, Utah. He comes from a family of four I think, he is a very good missionary and together we are the second best fighting force in the world!! Right next to The Avengers!! ;) he doesn’t cook like me so I have been teaching him some things…..OH YEAH!!! I have cooked my usual omelets every morning, then we will make things like Ham-fried rice, spaghetti, fettuccini, stir-fry, cashew chicken, and everything in-between! So yeah, I’m still upholding my fake reputations…..that’s right!!    

The Roanoke Rapids ward covers a 100 mile by 120 mile area with Roanoke right in the center! YAY!!! We have meal appointments maybe twice a week, and when we do they feed us so much that I have already become the bestest friends with Everyone cause I eat everything they give me! HEHE!! Some of the members here are like two time state winning Barbeque……ers…….:) haha, the food here is so so so good, I am trying to get as many recipes from them as I can so I can send them home so you and Meg so you can perfect them and make them even better!:)

Well I Love You All so much but I must be off! Keep living life and keep reading and studying! I just recently read a general conference address from president Hinckley about what all new members need and I love the last of the three things that everyone needs, and that is to be nourished by the good word of God! I Love You and cant wait to hear from you again! J

Sincerely

Elder Zonts

Hello My dear Family! J 

I love you all so much and am so glad to be able to write you! YAY, its my first preparation day! 

So you'll never guess where I am! I am in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. I don’t even know where I am because I am not a-loud to look it up on Google maps or whatever because I am not aloud to get on any other internet sites then LDS.org and some others!

So just so we can have a written account of my travels: I left the MTC at 7:30 AM on the 10th of July on a flight to Detroit, Michigan; the plane was 25 minutes late so we arrived at Detroit, after passing two time zones, at around 1:55 I believe. While in Detroit I learned that my 3:15 flight to Norfolk Virginia had been delayed to around 3:55 and later to 4:10. So after scouting around and finding a phone I then called my dear family to tell them where I was but they did not answer my call (FAIL AUSTIN!!!!). My travel group and myself, 26 of us in all,  then discovered that our 4:10 flight to Norfolk had been canceled due to mechanical issues in Kentucky……….. >L, so our group of 26 of us were then all given new travel itineraries, many of us were re-booked for flights going into Virginia the next morning so they were forced to stay in Detroit at a nice little hotel. Me on the other hand, I was offered to fly as a single passenger to the JFK terminal in New York and jump on a plane to Norfolk later that evening (the 10th) and be the first of our travel group to make it to Virginia! So YAY!! I was going to go to New York, so I jumped on the plane and was given a seat at the very back of the plane next to the very last window seat, so HA! I was able to fly over parts of Canada and I was able to fly straight over the city of New York, I could see all the super tall buildings and I flew right over central park!! BOOYA! Hehe, soon after landing in New York at the JFK terminal I checked my next flight’s status and found out that the flight had been canceled!!! >L. So I got into a HUGE line to get re-booked for another flight and discovered that most if not all of the flights heading into the east coast, Virginias, Carolinas, and all other southern states, had been canceled due to thunder storms……… >L. So after standing in line for close to two hours I finally got a new itinerary and it said that I was going to fly to Atlanta Georgia at 6:20 the next morning and then from Atlanta to Norfolk. But here was my dilemma, I didn't have my I.D. with me and I was afraid that security at JFK would not let me back into the terminal, at Salt Lake they barely let me in because I had my social security card, birth certificate and they recognized me as a missionary, but they still gave me the royal treatment though: they went through every single thing in my shoulder bag and my carry on, they scanned me twice, and they patted me down nice and good……… :P……. I didn't think they would treat me so NICELY at JFK so I got to sleep in the Terminal, yep call me Victor cause I did the whole thing, I moved the seats and jumped up when a plane went by and I got to eat terminal food…..Wendy’s……Gross!! haha. So that was my New York experience! So after getting close to an hour of sleep, mixed with the fact that I woke up at 2:30 on the morning of my departure from Salt Lake, I was very tired. But I jumped on a shuttle that took me form terminal C to terminal B and was able to get in line for my flight to Atlanta. While in line I met a rather interesting young women from Australia who had the coolest accent but some very strange description phrases….. hmmm. Anyway, while I was in line I checked my ticket and discovered that the Airline had Opt for me to fly to Atlanta FIRST CLASS!!!!! ;) So from New York to Georgia I was flying in style and I have to say, it looked good on me! ;) and I was dressed the part so I didn't get any second glances and they fed me a super rich style breakfast; it was a granola cereal with sliced honeydew and every other rich looking thing like a crescent. Well, after I landed in Atlanta, I checked my second ticket to Norfolk and found the gate no problem. As I was waiting to board I just new that something was going to go wrong so I couldn't get over my anxiety and that left me a little jumpy but other wise okay. I jumped on my flight to Norfolk and was able to jump in front of everyone else because for this flight I was part of the sky priority group!! Hehe, it wasn’t first class but I got on the plane first! So after my hour and half long flight to Virginia I finally landed and could breath again!! J haha. And that concluded my missionary travel experience. 

AND I ALMOST FORGOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday was my first sunday here in the field and you'll never guess what happened! 

Elder Bednar came to my wards sacrament meeting!!!!!!!

Yep, that's right! I was there to meet Elder Bednar, i was the first person to shake his hand cause me and Elder Jones were 'guarding' his parking spot. I WAS THE FIRST!!!! his address was so so so good and ill have to give you more details but i don't have time! he addressed us and then held a question and answer session which took up all three hours of church. It was amazing!!  I also got one of his cards cause i was persistent, i asked Elder Jones if it was okay if i asked for him to sign my hymn book but i think we both thought it a little over the top, so i just asked for one of his 'business' cards haha, it was a great way to start a mission!!

Here is a picture of Tony and His first companion!!

Elder Anthony Robert Zonts had quite the adventure yesterday, He left the MTC at 3:30 am, flew out of SLC with a group of 26 Elders and Sisters, landed in Detroit, the plane had trouble, so they were all separated, he ended up going to NY by himself, They then told him his next flight was delayed due to weather, Because of the whole mess with his wallet being stolen, and his driver’s license not coming from OK in time, He didn't want to go through security again, and take the chances of getting stuck in NY, he had to "sleep" in the airport.

 He's had several tender mercies so far, First he has very little cash, and his calling card only has enough to use for a couple of calls, so his first tender mercy was a gentleman offered him his phone to use, He is not a member but recognized him as an Elder because he works with a member that has sent his sons on missions. So he was able to call us to tell us what was happening. Second tender mercy, after hours of not being able to sleep, a gentlemen gave him a blanket, he was then able to sleep for about an hour and a half, third tender mercy, around 3am the spirit told him he was in the wrong terminal, he jumped up, barely caught the shuttle over to the other building and climbed right on the plane (earlier than he thought he was flying)

Fourth tender mercy they upgraded him to first class, they fed him a really nice breakfast and he was able to sleep for a half hour, but this time sound sleep. He is now in Atlanta, and is supposed to fly out to his final destination at 10;30.

I am so grateful that the Lord is with him! He had the chance to read 100 pages of Preach my Gospel, and gave two people pass along cards while he waited. I'm SURE the Lord has a plan and I know Tony is in the right place, doing the right thing and the Lord is protecting him, putting people in his path and will for the duration of his mission, and his life for his sacrifice and service!

MTC

Hello my son,

So, first things first, I prayed to know what scripture to share with you, and the Lord led me to Alma 38, Read it..... Now we can talk about it!! It made me think of you and how proud I am of the wonderful person you are, I also loved the advice it gives. It was so perfect, it talks about missionary work, about his great faith and about loving and serving with humility! I know that you are strong and faithful, that you have a great desire to serve in diligence and humility! I am bursting with gratitude to have been given the awesome privilege to be your Mama.

So, what’s happened here is we went to Braden Grants home to watch him open his mission call, everyone said to say hi to you and they are proud of you. Anyway, he was called to the Philippians. He reports August 14, to the Prove MTC, Cool right?

Sister Barton wanted me to tell you thank you for your wonderful example of reverence in the temple the last youth temple trip.

Xoe says: I love you Tony, You’re the best brother in the whole world! And I love you very very very very much!! I miss you a lot! Love Xoe.

Luke says: I love you and I miss you! When you come back I will be 6!

Kaden says: I love you Tony and I miss you, I wish you could have come to the encampment It was so so so fun! I can’t wait until you come back.

Austin Says: How’s it going broski?

I want to hear all about your experience in the MTC and what you are learning, don’t forget your scripture to share! I love and miss you, Thank you for being such a great example to your whole family, especially your brothers! We are spending our Sabbath listening to classical music, remembering all of the wonderful Sundays with you and feeling HAPPY!

Be good, remember who you are, make good choices, be respectful, and have fun!

                                                                                                Love you

                                                                                                Mama

MTC

That is so awesome that there was ten thousand people there! and that's all fantastic! Have you told everyone to letter bomb me? and also, if you fax my records then it will be faster! i put the number on my first letter! yeah, i only have time for that! I love you so very much! have an amazing day and i will not be able to email until two Mondays from now.... :'( at least that's what i understand  if not then great! Keep sending me letters cause i want to know everything that's happening, thanks so much for having everyone send me a personal message! Tell Austin that the spirit is whats up! Tell Xoe and Luke that i Love them and cant wait to hear them at the Airport! I don't know exactly what time ill call but it will most likely be early in the morning, like 6 or 6:30. I love you and miss you, God be with you till we talk again! :) <3 <3

MTC

Elder,
We are so proud of you and the way that you have allowed the spirit to help you in all of your accomplishments. It sounds like your days are definitely eventful! That is awesome that you got to sing in such a huge choir, must have been an awesome experience. Speaking of awesome experiences the scout encampment was very cool! There were more than 10,000 people there!! The boys and I got this awesome medallion to help us remember to put on the armor of God and the awesome power of the priesthood. I was able to get you one too, so I will be sending it to you with the other stuff. Well, I want you to know I love you and Mom will write you later!!
I love you and am so proud of you!!
Love Dad

MTC

Hello dear family!!

I just wanted to start off by saying that i love you without bounds!! I cant wait to share my experiences with you and i cant wait to grow here on my mission!.

So my first day in the MTC was AMAZING! i met my companion- Elder Shell! i took a quick tour, everyone there got to say "welcome to the MTC" or "velcomin ouse die MTC" or "ching chong wing bong wong" because i was wearing a sticker on my name tag so everyone new that it was my first day!! hahahaha! So on my first day we went to a huge group teaching thingy and i was able to make some awesome inputs and i actually got one of the investigators to cry because she felt the spirit so strong and the Brother who was over my group said that he had never seen Luwanna choke up like that!! ;) yeah that's right! I was also interviewed on my.........second day and the Branch President instantly knew that i was suppose to be the district leader, that s what he said to me! hehe. so i second and third and four days were all pretty much the same: my district and myself go to a study period at 7:00 and then we go to breakfast at 7:30,  we then have Zone teaching and then we go to lunch after two more hours of study time, then we lunch and then we go to another hour of study time and then we have six and a half hours of classroom instructions! So my days have been pretty busy! But its PREPARATION DAY!!!! :):) oh yeah my P days are on Wednesdays but i only get one while I'm here in the MTC! MY DEPARTURE DATE IN JULY 10th!!! So i will leave to go to Virginia in one week!! YAY!! Yeah, I've been having such a super fun time! All the Elders in my district are super cool in both physical and spiritual things! All the sisters in my district are super cool and we all respect each other very well! So yeah.... OH YEAH! so on Sunday we had sacrament meeting and then priesthood and then we had a Branch devotional! it was super cool! oh and yesterday! (Tuesday) we all attended a huge devotional which so super inspirational! and i got to sing in a 700 member choir!! :) it was super super super super fantastic!! I cant wait to tell you all the details of everything but i only have five more minutes but i can respond later today cause I'm only using 30 minutes of my computer time!!

MOM!! im so sorry that you hurt your leg! I love you and know that you'll be fine but that stinks! Pleas make you leg heal quickly so that you're not in pain! :)

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

Your wonderful Elder

Elder Zonts

P.S. If you email me today (like now) then i can respond later! I love you!