Thanksgiving Photos

12th Missionary Email

Just Another Day

Thanksgiving is coming up and Elder Heyen and I will be eating at 2 homes! We are also going to have a Turkey Bowl, which should be pretty fun. 

Lupita and her 3 children are getting baptized this next weekend! We met Lupita and her family at the church building to fill out their baptismal records and our district leader interviewed them. They passed.  Lupita, who had attended church for the first time the week before, noticed that her Book of Mormon missed the Pearl of Great Price and D&C. She brought it up when we visited her in her home a couple days later. I remembered I had an extra Spanish set of the black- leather, gold- edged Triple Combination and The Bible, so I planned on giving it to her.  I gave her the books at the interview and she was very pleased with the gift!

I gave a talk in Spanish on Sunday, and I loved it! I don't know why but giving talks is no longer scary but really fun! I love the opportunity it gives me to devise a speech and then the feeling that comes with holding an audience's attention! I had written my talk the day before but completely rewrote it the morning of! I started it with an "hola hermanos" and by telling everyone that I didn't know much Spanish but that I was learning quickly. Then I introduced myself, proceeded to give my background info, and then as a joke, I told them in Spanish that I had brunette hair and green eyes (opening my eyes as wide as I could)! Everyone started laughing and thought my talk was so funny that I had to stop a couple times because I started laughing too!  I made sure it wasn't too funny though!  I also made sure it was very spiritual and talked about my opportunities as a missionary and why I chose to serve a mission. I also spoke about how every member is a missionary and each has a responsibly, and is given opportunities, to reach out to others.  I was able to meet many people from the audience and they came up to me and shook my hand.

All the Hispanics here tell me I look like some Mexican singer and actor named Christian Castro! Haha I hear it from different families all the time! But someone showed me him and I don't see it.

I've gotten to know an Elder here, who happens to be our zone leader, and I can't believe I haven't mentioned him yet, because he is now one of my best friends! His name is Elder Jareth Harpole. Yes his name is Jareth.  Elder Harpole is almost finished serving his mission and has 1 or 2 transfers left.  He and I will definitely keep in touch and plan on meeting up after my mission. We have established ourselves as lifelong friends.

Love Elder Zierenberg

11th Missionary Email

This week was another great one!  I feel like I’ve been food poisoned though! 

My Spanish is coming along and I've had some "gift of tongues" moments where the words I need just pop into my head conjugated correctly! It's been getting colder but it hasn't snowed in a while. 

My companion, Elder Heyen is the youngest of 5 children in his family, and his birthday is exactly a week before mine. So he's 19 and only one week older than me. His parents are currently serving a mission in Africa. They sent him a warthog tusk!

Elder Heyen and I work with a missionary couple named "The Jacobs", and in this mission, the senior missionary couples invite tons of nonmember Hispanics to learn English from a program called "The Daily Dose". The senior missionaries then meet the people at their houses to teach them English and develop a friendship with them. They prepare them for the Elders by inviting them to take the missionary discussions and by attending the first lessons. This "Daily Dose" program is very effective and the Jacobs have helped Elder Heyen and me find many investigators in our area.  We have some baptisms coming up in December! 

Oh yeah, my visa is ready and I'm leaving for Colombia on December 2nd.  I actually wish I could stay till Christmas though! I'm sure I'll love it there anyway!  It's crazy that I'm leaving the US! 

Love Elder Zierenberg

Getting Colder

Elder Z shows off a new pair of gloves.

Hey!! Guess What!!

I got a phone call a couple minutes ago, and was told that my flight plans are ready!!!

I'm leaving for Colombia on the 2nd of December!!!!!!b  So I still have 2 weeks here!!

Love you guys, Elder Zierenberg

UNITED AIRLINES  02DEC SALT LAKE C UT HOUSTON TX 750A    1205P

UNITED AIRLINES  02DEC HOUSTON TX     BOGOTA     328P    933P

Missionary Moment

Lupita Montoya is an amazing woman in her late 40’s that heard about The Church through her boss and referred herself to find out more about The Gospel.  She is our highest progressing investigator and has just finished all the discussions.  Lupita has given up coffee and has enthusiastically committed to living all the gospel standards She has learned and accepted everything we have taught her and is excited for baptism!  Her 3 children that have listened and participated in all our lessons as well!  She and her children will be baptized on the 30th of November!!

It has been an amazing experience to share messages and bear testimony of The Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Restoration of this Gospel!  I love the feeling and power that comes from bearing witness of its truthfulness! To find God's beloved children, who's souls are searching for Truth and Happiness, to share that Truth and Happiness, and to watch them accept it and to see it fill their homes and lives, is the most rewarding work in this universe. I have the opportunity to do find His children everyday.

The Lord is Hastening His Work

"Number Nine" - Missionary Email

Entonces... (So)

Halloween was awesome and I forgot to mention it last week that we weren't allowed to proselyte and had to stay in a church building for the evening. We had a party and watched a movie. I joked that I wanted to go "Tract or Treating" Ha ha!  A guy in his truck rolled by us on our bikes and said "Nice Costumes!" Ha!

This week went by quicker than the Beach House.  Elder Heyen and I have been seeing more success and have committed more people to be baptized. I've met more people in this area and have established myself as a good friend.  

Elder Heyen (Hy-in) is from Oregan. He is cool and we have some fun times. He listens to Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. The music rules have changed "hear" Ha! You can listen to any uplifting music and it doesn't have to be by the Church or Disney or over hundreds of years old. 

At this special time, and with the commencement the Work hastening, the missions are changing worldwide. Our Mission President has been focusing everything on the missionary purpose. Rather than giving us hundreds of rules, he focuses on the principles behind the rules and the doctrine behind the principles. The Lord was going to give the Jews the higher law but when Moses returned from the mountain, he found them worshiping idols. They were given the Law of Moses and all it's many rules because they didn't understand the doctrine behind the law. Interesting stuff to learn about. 

I'm doing great and I'm continuing to study the Scriptures and Español.  I've been in many great lessons and have had the opportunity to boldly testify to those I teach, that I know the Church is true and that they can know for themselves. I invite others to come unto Christ, to follow His teachings and to find real, lasting happiness in their lives. When we follow His teachings we allow Him to bless our lives and our homes. His spirit dwells in our hearts and we have His love.

The Lord is hastening His Work. He is preparing vast multitudes of people and many are ready to hear our testimonies and to receive our invitations. It's the members responsibility to reach out and be supportive and to fellowship.

Love,

Elder Zierenberg

8th E-mail

Hey everybody!

I'm enjoying Orem and my new residence.  Elder Heyen and I live upstairs in a members' home.  We have a bedroom with 2 beds, a small fridge for convenience (we mainly use the fridge downstairs), a dresser, and a large closet (Elder Heyen's closet).  We also have our own really nice bathroom and a study room with desks and a large closet (my closet).  Then there is also an upstairs lounge room with a nice sofa and tons of exercise space.  Random belongings of past missionaries are discovered everyday, and the signs of some epic Nerf War.

The Compos are the couple that we live with.  They are very nice.  Every time they see me they ask, "Como estas?", or they say, "Buenos dias" or "Buenas noches" at night.  Brother Compos speaks a lot of English, but Sister Compos knows very little. Brother Compos loves me because he's a Beatles fan. 

My legs are really sore from biking so much.  It's crazy.  I made the mistake of enjoying a very, very, steep down hill, and had to bike up it at the end of the day.

I've met a lot of people here.  I am starting to remember my investigators and really get to know them and the members better.  Everyone is very friendly and I got to know a lot of young men.  All the kids here speak English.  I love it.  They only speak Spanish to their parents.

We work in a neighborhood nearby a Fire Station and I've met 2 different shifts when Elder Heyen and I stopped by twice for a bathroom break.  Really nice Orem Fire Fighters.  I told them where I was from and talked about dad (being a firefighter).  They talked about working here and told me about their own missions.  They gave us pizza, and told us we could come anytime and they'd feed us.

It snowed yesterday.  I didn't wear my jacket because the sky was blue, but after a while of biking it turned grey and started frizzling.  Luckily a nice member drove us back home from church to get our big jackets.  It gets so cold on the bikes that I keep my hands in my pockets and just lean to steer.
The past couple of nights Sister Compos has made us tons of Hot Chocolate, when we return home after the days work.

I met a lady yesterday in church who saw us as standing in a hall waiting for a meeting.  She wasn't in our ward as she is English speaking, but she said that she was a mother of a (NYC) missionary and wanted to take our picture and send it to our mothers.  (Posted below on 11/3/13)  I was talking when she took the picture, with a word forming in my mouth.  Then she took another one of just me (with a thumbs up).  I told her she was very nice and that I wished everyone everywhere thought of doing that.  I think it will catch on.  Spread the word.

I've been using Facebook everyday to teach and invite others to hear the gospel.  I have had a lot of impressions of who to contact and what to say.

I was thinking about how hard it might be to teach someone about our church, when they have no Christian background or faith.  But then I realized that teaching people of Christ is the same as teaching them of the Restoration of Christ's church.  It's just A and B.  They both are taught with the invitation to test it out for themselves and to pray and gain their own confirmation.  I have been inspired by my study in Preach My Gospel and the Scriptures.  The Book of Mormon and The Bible give us great examples of ways to invite others to come to Christ and to follow his teachings.
I challenge you to read those stories and to evaluate how "they" taught "who" they taught.

Love Elder Zierenberg (or Elder Zeta--Spanish for the letter Z)

From One Parent to Another

"Your son says he loves you!" was texted home today from a parent of another missionary.  Their only son was among the first 18-year-olds to arrive in the MTC on February 6, 2013, and is currently serving in New York City.  :)

Elder Zierenberg with his current missionary companion--Elder Heyen