29 Dec 09

Re: RE: hey zac‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxx.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/29/09 8:59 PM
To:	wodenowl@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey dad. i'm sorry i didnt get to talk to you for very long on the phone. i'll make
sure to be more specific next time to avoid confusion. that's really cool about your
gifts. sounds like a lot of fun. so what happened to you having an office? i guess a
kid's game room is equally important. haha. things are going well here in malaysia. we
are working with some really good people. we've been working with this bidayuh lady
who comes to church every week. she's pretty cool. her 11 year old son has been
learning and he's really smart. he's never entered christianity before, and wants to
be baptized, so we're excited for them. we're working on resolving her concerns
right now, but they should set for next year. the work is really picking up here in
kuching and is a lot of fun. well, i gotta skedaddle. take care dad. talk to you next
week.
love, elder hill

Re: ‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxx.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/29/09 8:52 PM
To:	quiltingqueen57@xxxxxxx.xxx

Hey mom
I'm glad christmas was so fun for you. it was a blast here. i had a good time talking to you all. after we called, we had a few members who wanted us to visit, and they fed us a lot. so needless to say, i was pretty stuffed pretty much all day. it was pretty crazy, because the people here celebrate christmas for a few days, so when we go to people's houses we often still get food. it's pretty sweet. holidays are pretty rough on missionary work. lots of people went out of town. but we've still been working really hard to help the people here come closer to the gospel. it's really awesome. we are teaching a couple whose children were baptized a few years back, and things are going really well with them. they are always so excited to have us come so they can learn, and it's really cool to complete a part member family. that family shows me that the Lord really does prepare his children. I dont know why they weren't ready before, but it seems like they are now, so we're really excited for them. things are going well and i'm excited for the upcoming week. let everyone at home know that i'm thankful for everything they do. love you mom. talk to you next week.
love, elder hill

12/22/09

Re: hey zac‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxx.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/22/09 9:48 PM
To:	wodenowl@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey dad. it's really good to hear from you. things are going really well here in
malaysia, but i guess i'll tell you more about that when i call you. it is pretty
tough to describe that awesomeness of malaysia in writing. i'm glad to hear you are
doing well. i hope you are having fun with your break from school. haha.
that's funny about erin. how much does she know how to say now? it's crazy how fast
those little kids grow up. i've only been gone 5 months! a.n. sent me a pic of
jameson and he's already getting big. nuts. anyways, have a nice merry christmas.
talk to you in a few :)
love, elder hill

Re: ‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxxl.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/22/09 9:42 PM
To:	quiltingqueen57@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey ma
i'm sorry i never got the email that you sent. speaking of pictures, maybe could you snail mail a picture of the entire family to me, laminated if possible? if that's too much trouble, don't worry about it, but the people here really like to see pictures of our families, and i left all my pictures in singapore. take care of yourself and dont work too hard. tell the fam i love them, and i'll talk to them in a few.
love, elder hill

nyssa's got her call!

In case you were interested, Nyssa got her call. See? She wants to open it herself and she'll not be here for 5 and a half more hours. I'll have to post (again with pictures) after she gets home.

edited 15 to midnight: She got her call to Canada Calgary! Here's her link: http://nyssassojournincanadaeh.blogspot.com

Dec 15, 09

Re: ‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Tue 12/15/09 8:14 PM
To:	quiltingqueen57@hotmail.com

hey mom. sorry i didnt email you last week. i didnt get one from you. i guess i
should still email. i just hoped that you would read the one i sent to dad as well.
about that picture with the water tho, it looked so much worse in person. i'm glad
you got my pics. i'll try to send some more to you soon. i guess i should take some
more. i'm pretty bad about that. i never think about the pictures. yeah i get to
call home for christmas. which reminds me, which number do you want me to call? i
should be able to check my email christmas morning so i can see your response. is it
better for me to call later? i can call pretty much any time that morning. i guess
i'll shoot for 8 or 9 am which will be like 4-5pm your time. so i hope everyone that
wants to talk will be there. i'm glad you had fun at the concert. it's good that you
and dad are getting out still. i'm actually kind of short on time, so i guess ill
skedaddle. talk to you on christmas. love you mom.
love, elder hill

Re: hey‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@myldsmail.net)
Sent:	Tue 12/15/09 7:52 PM
To:	wodenowl@hotmail.com

hey dad.
it is really crazy to see the conditions these people live in.  i tell you, it really
freaked me out when i first got here. but it has been great to see how different
people's lives can be, and that they are still so happy. it's crazy, because every
time we ask people about their work, they always say they love it, and are confused
that they would have any other feelings about it. they are a satisfied and humble
people, and it is humbling to just be able to serve them. i have learned so much here.
 once when we were doing a service project, the handle to the only shovel we had
broke. in the states, we would just take a trip to home depot and pick up a new one.
the people here just hacked a branch off a tree and made their own! it was hilarious.

it really is great to see the gospel bless people's lives here. people here always
tell me how easy they were to anger and now they enjoy life so much more. it's funny,
because when you ask people about their testimony, most people will start to talk
about the word of wisdom. it's just something that they have seen that has really
blessed their lives. they see first hand how much healthier they are following it.
i really do love the people here.

i'm glad things are going well for you. take it easy dad. any  more news from home?
i'll try to get more pictures sent out  to you as i take them. just know that things
are going really well here. we have so much fun finding and teaching people. i went
on exchanges with a kid from my mtc group and we had a lot of fun contacting. it's
great to just talk to people and get to know them a little bit while testifying
about the truthfulness of the gospel. people always get surprised when we tell them
we've only been in malaysia 3+ months because we "sudah pandai cakap bm" (already
speak malay) but i think they are just not used to white people being able to speak
to them. we've got lots of good families that we've been teaching. there's this one
guy in particular who bakes cakes for a living. he's awesome. the second time we went
 to teach him, he said he already had a testimony of Joseph Smith. he had been taught
 by a few missionaries before, so it showed me that the Lord really does prepare His
children to accept the gospel. but, i gotta go. tell everyone hi for me (especially
grandma & grandpa hill and grandma beesley!) i hope everyone knows that i love them.

love, elder hill

a letter full of pictures!

Zac sent mom and me a whole envelope of pictures. I seems he's having the time of his life.

#1 This is me with the branch president and his family. Pretty good looking bunch of Ibans, eh?

#2 This is the first Buddhist temple I saw in Kuching. They are everywhere.

#3 Ever been this thirsty?

#4 This is a crazy foresty field right in the middle of the city. I was hoping there might be some wild Ibans hiding in the trees.

#5 This is my sweet "Tembikai Garang"carved out of watermelon for Hallowe'en.

#6 Me and Edler Rajah-Kanagasabai, the day before he was transferred. Taken with the Elders' Quorum President's family. What a silly group.

#7 Me with some Iban girls. The girl in the middle is Ivy. one of the 3 baptized in October.

#8 This is Elder Harbst's Self portrait.

#9 This is four of us missionaries with some Ibans and our Chinese District President, President Kong. We poured some concrete and fixed a drain at his house. That was a fun day.

Dec 8th

Re: letter from home‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxxl.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/08/09 7:55 PM
To:	wodenowl@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey dad.
hows life going? life here is good. i love malaysia more and more every day. it's so
fun. the people here are just great. we have really good members. it's crazy that you
can tell a difference when someone doesnt show up for a week. we've got a really good
branch here.
i'm not senior companion yet. i probably wont be for a while. my companion now has
been out 13.5 months and this is his first time being senior comp. he and i our
having fun together. yesterday, we contacted all day, and i loved it. it's awesome
just to go out and talk to people about the gospel. and our message is really special.
we talked with this man who had never prayed before, and he had been christian for
years. he was pretty closed minded at first and didnt want to hear our message
because his pastor said our church was bad. he opened up a little at the end, and
i'm glad to have been able to testify to him about prayer. i hope that he remebers
what we talked about, and decides to experiment on god's word like it says in alma.
we didnt get a return appointment with him, but hopefully he'll be able to remember
what we taught him in the future when other missionaries come to talk to him.
i'm glad that you are doing well dad. but with all the falling youve been doing
lately, youre getting almost as bad as mom! haha. take care of yourself dad. but i
too am excited about nyssa's mission call. i hope she gets it soon. anywyas, thanks
so much for the letter dad. i love you too, and i love all the family. i'm grateful
for your prayers and support. talk to you next week.
love, elder hill

thanksgiving 09

Re: sorry‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxx.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/01/09 7:22 PM
To:	wodenowl@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey dad. well as long as youre glad you wont see me, i guess that makes me feel better.
 haha. so how did you fall on your knees while walking the dogs? did they just pull
really hard? are you doing ok? i'm glad to hear you're staying busy. how's school
going? can you believe it's almost christmas? time just flies by. if people ask about
me, tell them the work is going well and the people here are really responsive to the
gospel message. i know this message is true and i'm grateful for the opportunity to
help others understand it more fully. i've seen it's blessings in the lives of others,
 and i cant deny the truth of it. take care and have a good week, dad.
love,
Elder Hill

Re: ‏

From:	Zachary Hill (zrhill@xxxxxxx.xxx)
Sent:	Tue 12/01/09 7:14 PM
To:	quiltingqueen57@xxxxxxx.xxx

hey ma!
yes thanksgiving dinner was good. but i still missed yours. i'm glad i've been out for a few months, so it just felt normal to be away from home. we all got together as a zone and had fun. played games and just talked and got to know each other. thanks so much for the pics mom. they are awesome. i love the one of everyone at thanksgiving. abby is such a goof. can you believe it's december already? where is the time going. is dad going to have a cool french club party? hopefully youll be able to go. how is everything going at home>? are you and dad finding enough things to do to keep yourselves occupied? haha. i'm glad brit and matt are going to be able to make it down for christmas. that sounds like it should be a lot of fun. things here are going well. we havent had anymore baptisms since the ones in october. sometimes things just dont go the way you planned, but we have some in our future. we've got really good investigators. one guy, the second time we met him told us he already knew the message we taught was true, so needless to say we were pretty happy. so was he. nothing but smiles. it's so great to see how much this message can make people's lives better. everyday, i feel like i understand a little bit more, and every day i'm happier. i'm so pleased with my decision to come out. the teaching is going really well. i feel like i improve every day. i remember back to the first day i was out and i couldnt say anything. i feel much better about things now. we had a cool district meeting on really using the scriptures when we teach, so we're working hard on that. the language is going well, too. i feel like i can express myself so much better now, and i find new ways to explain the gospel every day, although i still sound like a white guy. haha. anyways, i'm really glad you sent me this letter. the pictures really are the best. thanks for everything mom. know that i love you.
love, elder hill