three letters in one day

Re: RE: singapore‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Tue 9/15/09 8:55 PM
To:	wodenowl@hotmail.com

hey dad! it's so good to talk to you! haha yeah its funny you mention blow guns because
the trainers i live with both have them and shoot them around the house, so i feel
like indiana jones when i'm getting up in the morning! haha i'm glad nyssa made it. of
course jake would say that road is cursed haha. jakes crazy. how is he by the way? are
his kidneys doing better? i havent really heard much from or about him. but anyways,
yeah i really do need to use the sun block. i havent been because it has been mostly
cloudy, but i got burned the other day and it's not fun. the sun isnt nearly as
intense here as it feels in vegas tho. my skin was red but it didnt hurt. im planning
on getting some sun screen today tho. i need some insect repellant as well because
i'm getting eaten alive! haha i have two bites on my palm, which makes it fun to ride
my bike. oh man, the mission is so fun tho. testifying to people is the best. i
really wish i did it more before my mission. i feel like going on the mission is
making me better in so many ways. i can actually talk on the phone now, which is
pretty nice. my comp makes me call the people in malay, which is pretty scary because
sometimes i have no idea what people are saying, but it is fun. also, im getting
exposed to unusual foods, so i think when i get back ill be able to eat pretty much
anything. i can handle vegetable with almost no problem now! yeah i kind of feel
like my trainer's puppy sometimes as weel like you did. my companion is still fairly
young for a missionary tho. i kind of feel like you, because there are some
differences between malay and indonesian, so sometimes its hard to understand the
people. i think yours was worse tho, because malay is still really intelligible to
me. just wording difference. although, they have tribal languages that i dont
understand at all. sometimes people will just be talking in iban and i get so lost.
i can only say how are you and good bye in iban so far. also, it's funny beacuse
almost all the members call me elder bukit, which is the malay word for hill. did
the people in quebec ever do that to you? it's so funny, and the members get a good
laugh out of it. they laugh all the time. i love it. im pretty glad we dont have the
discussions memorized out here. it's much easier to be able to say things in your
own words. i feel like i can teach most things, but my comp does take over a lot
because he thinks i mess a lot of things up. oh well. i'm still getting experience.
also, im in a training period, where i have to pass off all the lessons to my
district leader and i have to read the book of mormon and preach my gospel and
memorize a list of missionary scripture masteries. i'm about 60% done with the
scriptures, but ihavent started passing off the lessons yet. i'm going to do my first
one this friday. i guess what i mean by this is that i feel like my training is
going well. it's fun. i have like 10 more weeks to finish, and i guess by then i'll
be a full fledged missionary! i have so much fun tho. the investigators are great.
it's so great to see people keeping commitments and changing because of the gospel.
we've been in a bit of a slump this past week, but we're working really hard to
strengthen the branch we're in. just hard work every day. i get so sweaty, but i've
never loved working so much in my life! oh yeah, so i read the message you wrote in
the journal for me that you gave me for my birthday and i just want to thank you for
it. it's really helpful. i'm sorry i never was really grateful before the mission,
but i can see how much you and mom have done for me the longer i'm out on the mission.
thanks so much for everything. i love you and mom very much. but anyways, i have to
get going, so i'll talk to you next week. let me know how your classes are doing and
how the fam is. :)

love, zac

Re: ‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Tue 9/15/09 8:33 PM
To:	quiltingqueen57@hotmail.com

hey mom! its so good to hear from you. yeah i heard that manticore died. thats a shame but we knew it was coming. its funny that you mention the blow gun because the two trainers already have one. haha i just bought this sweet tribal mask. it was only like 6 bucks! stuff here is so cheap. i may get a blow gun some time later. they have some pretty sweet fabrics here tho. they have things called sarungs that people wear around kind of like lava lavas that most missionaries get here. maybe ill send one home for you. what kind of fabric are you looking for anyway? ill see what i can find. it's still pretty hot here. its not yet into the rainy season, but it rains every week still. elder herbst said he's seen it where it rains for 10+ hours straight, so i guess i have that to look forward to. about the investigators, we have some good ones. a mother father and daughter are really making good progress and are slated to be baptized on the 3rd. its so sweet! i love teaching people. this is really the coolest thing ive ever done. i just feel so great when i testify to people that i dont even really mind if they dont accept. i know im planting seeds. also, the best part about being a missionary is just being nice to people all the time. i dont think ive ever smiled so much in my life and its so fun! i wish i would have learned that early. life would have been much better. thanks about the pumpkin. i dont think they really celebrate halloween here, so ill have to do without for a while. it's good tho. i'm having so much fun. oh yeah, about the language, i feel better about it now than i did last week. im starting to understand people more and i can say more things. just improve every day. it's so fun to learn. when i was young and imagining a mission, i never wouldve thought it would be like this, but i wouldnt give it up for the world! also, ive eaten yam and corn ice cream, they have this crazy corn and a rose flavored drink, and also i ate one of those fish that they just cook whole! the people here just wont let you get by without eating, so i have to eat! haha. i'm thinking that ill be able to eat anything when i get back. anywyas, i hope all of you are doing really well. take care of yourself mom. i love you and appreciate everything you do for me. oh yeah, next week i wont be emailing til thursday, so ill talk to you then.
love, zac