The Red Car

We bought this cherry red Durango days before Steven was born, eithteen years ago. It has safely driven our little family over hundred thousand miles (135,000). Three of the six children learned to drive in it. I find it ironic that as we prepare to send Steven off, the Durango's heart (engine) cracked. Sadly, it's time to say good-bye.

The Martyrdom!

Hello Everyone!

Our week was decent. As far as "success" goes, we had a kind of disappointing week.

The week started out really good! On Tuesday, we had exchanges with the Elders serving in Macomb, Frew and Spencer. They aren't in our district, but due interesting circumstances, we go on exchanges with them periodically. We did service at the Nauvoo Temple which was awesome! We vacuumed the carpets which was kind of strange because there was nothing to clean. It was a great experience though because I haven't been inside a temple since the MTC.

Then, the next day we had exchanges with the zone leaders in Burlington! It was a lot of fun. I went with Elder Gunderson who was one of the zone leaders when I was in Des Moines. 

On Friday we had Zone Training Meeting. That was really long. Right after that we rushed over to Carthage to take Dewan and Michael through the tour! It was such an awesome experience! Other than temples, it is one of the most hallowed grounds I have ever been on. After the tour, we had a lesson with Dewan and Michael in the Martyrdom room. The Spirit was so strong. They both were able to say that they knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and that they wanted to be baptized! They are also on track for getting married this Friday. Everything was coming together for them to be baptized on March 18th! We called President later that evening to discuss baptism interviews for them. We found out that Michael can't be baptized for another couple of years because of some crimes he has committed a few years ago. That was kind of devastating because we had JUST gotten them to a point where they WANTED to be baptized and now Michael cant! This is just a reminder to me to trust in the Lord's timetable. But wow, we were really disappointed by that. We are still working with Dewan, but it is going to be hard to get her baptized without Michael.

The weather had been a bit colder, but not unbearable. Because of the warmer weather, we have been seeing bugs IN FEBRUARY :(.

I got to meet the ward this Sunday! Most of them are older retired couples who live in Nauvoo. Everyone is very welcoming and kind here! Even though Nauvoo only has a population of 1000 people, there are two wards here!

Everyone have an amazing week! Love you all!

Elder Zinn!

The Nauvoo Zone!

Kitchen Design

I met with Roya this week, who works at Los Gatos Kitchen Designs, to pick out countertops and cabinets for our kitchen. She also gave me these computer printouts of what it will look like after the remodel. The top picture is the view of it from our family room. The kitchen will now extend to our stairwell (far right). The below picture is the view from our dining room.  The placement of the island is the only thing I'm not sure about. I had always picture it being horizontal to the sink. I expressed this to Roya, and she explained that if it were placed that way, it would have to be a lot smaller to leave room for traffic area. I hadn't thought of that. So, I am trying to readjust my brain to this new design. I am so excited to get going on this project.

Gymnist

David loves going to gymnastics. Lots of people were out of town this week, so he had a one on one lesson with his coach. (Normally there are three boys in his class.) 

Hedgehog

I attend a Fabrics Art class the third Tuesday of each month that the Relief Society sponsors.Rose Adams opens her home and huge fabric stash to us and teaches us many fun techniques. This evening we made an adorable hedgehog quilt square. Rose had all of the pieces cut out for us to save on time. I love how it turned out. I think I'll turn it into a pillow. 

Transferred to Nauvoo!?

Hello Everyone!

I had a pretty crazy week out here! Transfer calls came and I was told that I would be getting transferred to... Hamilton Illinois! The best thing about Hamilton is that Nauvoo, Carthage, and Warsaw are all in our area! Our ward is the Nauvoo 3rd Ward. We aren't allowed to proselyte in Nauvoo, but we go there all the time. We clean inside the Temple every week which is awesome. I am emailing from the Family History Center here in Nauvoo. My new companion is Elder McCain! He is a super tall guy from Seattle Washington. So far I love him as a companion!

Hamilton is a tiny town. It is the largest town in our area with a population of 3000 people... There is exactly ONE stoplight in the entire town. We stay in a duplex kind of thing! It is the best living condition I have had on my mission so far! 

Right now, we don't have a very big teaching pool. Our main focus is on our investigators Michael and Dewan. We are planning to take them to the Carthage Jail this Friday. They both have a desire to be baptized, but have some pretty big hold backs. The main one is that they aren't married. We are trying to help them with that. Aside from teaching Michael and Dewan, we have been knocking on doors. Finding is pretty different here because we are a ten minute drive from Nauvoo, so literally everyone has heard of us. Everyone has been to the pageant multiple times. All of this makes it a challenge to find people who don't have false preconceived notions about our church.

We had Stake Conference this week so I really haven't met the ward yet.

We continue to be grateful for the BEAUTIFUL weather we have had lately! It is February and in the 70s! We have been rockin' short sleeves!

I love You all!

Elder Zinn

 Bye Alex, Jalay, Elder Schoenfeld, and Elder Davis!

 The Best West DUO!

Loni Scissor-hands

One of the many ways of keeping Loni entertained while I do school with Dave-o and Kirsten. This girl LOVES scissors! 

To Infinity and Beyond!

 Blastoff!! 

This last half of the school year, Dave-o is studying the universe and loving every minute of it.

I Heart You

I love having my children home with me. Especially on holidays, like Valentine's Day. We played lots of games, decorated cookies, and practically had the theater all to ourselves to watch the new Lego Batman Movie. The movie was fantastic! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Winter in Iowa

Hello everyone!

This week went by so fast for us!

Tomorrow are the infamous transfer calls! My guess is that I am getting transferred since I am now done training Elder Schoenfeld and I have been here for three transfers. The Zone Leaders have also told me that I am getting transferred, but I know that anything can happen. I am secretly hoping to get transferred to a bigger city, but everyone is teasing me that I will be sent to a tiny town. We will see. I am prepared to serve wherever I am needed.

Our missionary effort weren't very fruitful at all unfortunately. No one came to church which was a disappointment. We have been spoiled lately with having amazing success getting investigators to church. Mary and Dorothy are still the same. We visited them a couple of times this week, but nothing really came of it.  So we spent a lot of time this week rebuilding our teaching pool. We did have a bit of success doing that luckily. We found a cool new investigators named Brad. He is a part of Salvation Army, but was interested in hearing about what we had to say considering modern day prophets. 

The weather continues to be warm. People say spring is just around the corner.

Nothing else really happened the rest of the week. Sorry this is such a short email. There isn't a lot to see right now. Winter in Muscatine Iowa is kind of boring.

I love you all! Stay posted nest week for the changes that come with transfers!

Elder Zinn

 pic of our balling squad. Guess which one is me!

 Winter in Iowa

Bones and all!!

Hello Everyone!

We had a really busy week, but at the same time we didn't accomplish much. This is the last full week until transfers! We get our calls next Tuesday (2/14). 

Right now, our main focus is on helping Mary and Dorothy. Not much has changed with their situation. We visited with them a few times this week, but it seems like they wont be able to be baptized for a while. :( I am a bit sad over this because it is very unlikely that I will be here when this problem gets resolved. I have had to remind myself to trust in the Lord's timetable. President Badger has encouraged us to continued to work with them. Aside from them two, we are spending our efforts searching for other prepared people.

After every visit we have with Mary and Dorothy, they feed us. We usually tell them to only give us a little food, but we end up getting a plate full of rice! This last time we went over, we were handed a plate full of rice with boiled chicken feet! Mary and Dorothy ate the whole foot, bone and all! I only was able to eat the skin/meat surrounding the bone.

The weather continues to be surprisingly mild! Just a couple more months and we will be out of the cold!

It sounds like the news is pretty crazy right now! It makes me glad that I am on a mission. People here in Iowa are taking politics way to far right now. Even in the ward here lines are being drawn. Testimony meeting was less about testimonies and more about political opinions. We have a great Bishop here in the Muscatine ward, and he read: 

Luke 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

He then bore his testimony,"In these last days, many members of our own church will fall because of division. But if we rely on Christ and follow the Prophet, we wont fall away"! Let's build our foundation upon Christ and be united so that we wont fall in these hard times! I love you all!

Elder Zinn!

   

Carry On

Steven is now an endowed member. Grandma and Grandpa Zinn and our home teacher, Brad Ford, joined Steven for the 10am endowment session. I'm so proud of the choices he has made that led him to this moment. He has kept the temple in his sights and hasn't let go of the iron rod. What a special moment it is as a parent to watch your children enter the House of the Lord and be willing to make covenants that will bless their lives here on earth and carry on through the eternities. 

(Thanks to Brad Ford for the picture)

Pop Art

Inspired by the American pop artist, Jim Dine, Daveo made this Valentine artwork using tissue paper, white glue, and oil pastels. 

Quart Sized

Those who know me well, understand that I'm not a huge ice-cream consumer. I can take it or leave it. However, when February rolls around, I am the first one to suggest a stop into Baskin Robbins for their Love Potion ice cream. Yummm! It's easy to fall in love with the white chocolate flavored and raspberry ice creams, a raspberry ribbon, chocolate chips, and raspberry-filled chocolate hearts.