Missionary Mayhem -address correction

New Address

Elder Zack Holladay

9223 Creekside Ct.

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Hey Mom!

So I found out that I accidentally gave you the wrong address. When we went to move in on Monday we got to apt #9233. I tried the key and it didn't work. Then someone on the other side said, "Hello?" We were surprised. Did President Winegar throw us a 'welcome to your new home' party? No he didn't. Sister Winegar gave us the wrong address. So we apologized to the lady and called the office of our apartment complex and they said our number was actually 9223 not 9233. Just thought I'd tell you.

Oh and I also found out that we don't actually live in our area. We live somewhere in the middle of the ward I think. Elder Belnap (who is from lehi by the way. he lives over by Micron sort of) and Elder Bair are the other elders in the Princeton 1st ward. they cover Lawrenceville. Their apartment closes in December so we will have the whole ward to ourself next year.

Also, Elder Thielen got transferred to Camden instead of Princeton. Elder Edgar who leaves in December, has some health issues so they had to take him off of the bike. So I am now companions with Elder Edgar. Elder Thielen is companions with Elder Mcgee(Elder Edgar's companion) I'm a little bit bummed that I only got to serve with Elder Thielen for 3 weeks. He is a good missionary.

Our apartment is nice. It has a washer and dryer, dishwasher, and fridge and sink. There is also a small gym here in our complex, so I get good exercise. So far Princeton has been rainy(or misty rather). It's much different from down southf. There are still tons of trees, but there are buildings and roads built between all of them. I totally forgot my camera today. I'm sorry. I will repent.

Sister McNaughton is way awesome. She takes care of the missionaries very well. She loves to go out to teaching appointments with the missionaries. She fixed my pants (Thank goodness!) They were getting a little bit tight around the waist. I love Sister McNaughton. We always had a good time at her house and we could always, with out fail, feel the spirit at her house.

The baptism went great. Brian's Grandfather baptized and confirmed Bryan after church. The attendance was good. A few of Brian's relatives were there and they weren't members so we took them on a little tour and showed them the baptismal font. It was a good experience. I'm glad Brian has chosen what he did. Its good for him.

You won't believe what happened last weekend. Elder Thielen called the apartment office in Mantua to see if we needed to clean anything or if they were going to rip everything out. We both heard the lady answer that they wouldn't be replacing anything and we would have to clean everything or else it would come out of our security deposit. Elders have been in that apartment for a long time and it hasn't been cleaned very well. There is a dark spot leading from the front door to the hallway and the walls had a million holes in them from pushpins and those were just the beginning. We spent most of Thursday, Friday and Saturday cleaning and repairing. We spent the most time on the carpet because it was the worst. We tried the resolve, but one can only did a small area and we had a lot of ground to cover. So we borrowed a shampooer from one of the members. We only had time to clean a section. Sunday we had the baptism and church and dinner at the McNaughtons. Monday is the day that management was supposed to do the walk through at Noon. We spent most of the morning packing. We drove to the church to swap vehicles with President Winegar because all of our stuff wouldn't fit in our tiny car. He gave us the minivan. Then at about 10:45AM, Sis. Winegar calls and tells us that we need to replace the covers for the hanging-ceiling light fixtures so that we wouldn't get charged for those. They had been broken for a long time. So we had to make a quick run to Home Depot to get the covers. The 2 that we got didn't have a barcode on them so we had to go back and get one. Then when we got home, we found out that our covers were too big. Elder Thielen had a utility knife so he cut them to size while I finished packing the van. By the time we were both finished it was 12PM. We waited for the inspector to come and no one showed up. It got to 12:15 when we called the office again to have someone come inspect our apartment. Finally a guy came to inspect our apartment. He walked through right to the bathroom, looked in and said, "It's good" We said, "Wait what? You didn't really even look at it." Then he said that they were going to replace everything, the kitchen, all the apliances, the carpet, the sink, the toilet, the vanity, EVERYTHING except the tub which was the easiest thing to clean. So we left for Camden to swap companions and then went to Princeton. Crazy Eh?

Congratulations on your victory at the pumpkin contest!

Thats so cool that Kyle met someone going to the same mission as him BEFORE he goes on his mission. Has he talked with the other missionary since then? That would be wierd if they were companions in the MTC.

There are a few people around here that have the flu as well. At least that's what I hear.

Ok I think that about wraps it up. I hope it's long enough.

Love,

Zack

Cool Call!

I got a phone call this afternoon from a Sister McNaughton in New Jersey. She was just so happy to have Zack and his companion over for dinner and to have been able to get to know them these past 3 or 4 months! They are very sad to have them leave their ward. She said she fixed his pants for him. I was so grateful that she was there taking care of my boy! It's amazing how many people from New Jersey have called or contacted me saying great things about Zack! Awesome!

10/21/09

Hey Mom!

Ok so I found out that I'm being transferred to North Lawrenceville with Elder Edgar. Elder Thielen will go to Camden. Elder Edgar has a stomach ulcer so they want to take him off the bike. That's why we're playing musical areas. This transfer has been/is super crazy. I'm kind of bummed that I only got to serve with Elder Thielen for 3 weeks, but it was great while it lasted.

The new apartment address is:

Stewards Crossing

9233 Creekside Ct.

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

I won't be there until Monday. We still have to finish cleaning the apartment this weekend and we have to get ready for a baptism this Sunday and we have to say our goodbyes. On Monday we'll drop off Elder Thielen in Camden and we'll pick up Elder Edgar and drive to Lawrenceville. We're super busy this weekend. Which I don't mind too much because it makes planning easier.

Bryan Gates is going to be baptized this Sunday after church. He's 11 years old. His family is less-active, but they come to church sometimes. I think that his baptism will help his family to become active again. He seems pretty solid. He LOVES to pray. He always volunteers to pray. He likes church. I'm looking forward to his baptism.

I was going to send some pics today, but we packed everything and sent it to Lawrenceville this morning. The cord that I need to plug my camera into the computer was among the things that were packed. Next week definitely, there will be pics in your inbox.

That's pretty cool that you've gotten that far back on our genealogy. How far back have you gone with your research? So am I a royal Lamanite to some extent?

Who sang a duet in church? Who is Staci? What song did they sing? J.C. gave his farewell talk already? I thought he wouldn't do it until the Sunday before he left. What was the topic that he spoke on?

Tell cousin David that I said Congratulations!

Tell Grandma I said Happy Birthday!

Good luck with the pumpkin contest!

It sounds like you had an AWESOME experience at the temple! That is so cool! I hope your further experiments produce results such as these. As I've gone to the temple myself, I've caught glimpses as to why going to the temple once a month is not enough. Now I clearly know why we need to got to the temple often. I have heard someone say that this life is like K-12 and the temple is like college. I still have much to learn. I plan on going to the temple often to learn and to ponder upon the things which I learn, when I get back home. I have a great desire to learn more about the temples and the symbolism within.

That's great that J&J went to church! I hope they continue to be diligent and CONSISTENT. That's the hard part. I guess since they don't have the internet, they don't have email. I'll have to find some time to write them a letter.

Who said that we can't chat when I get home? wouldn't it be easier to chat when I get home?

Love,

Your favorite missionary son,

Zack

Part II

Hey Momalomabingbong!

That's awesome that Kyle went to the temple! How did he like it? I hope he goes more than just once. He has a month left before he's off to training. I hope he makes good use of it.

Jake 'N John got a job? That's fantastic! Are J&J regular employees or are they just temps? $15 is a lot! That's more than I ever got paid at a regular job.

How much sickness is there? I hope you are feeling better soon. And everyone else too. I'm thinking of getting the flu shots(flu shot and swineflu shot) this year. I don't normally get it, but I think I will this year. I'm going to look around to see where the cheapest place is. So far, I've found that each one is $30.

Its been a while... What did my hair look like when I left?

I've had it cut short on the sides and longer on top the past few times I've gotten it cut. I think some time ago President Winegar said to have a part in the hair. So I part my hair now. Something I hope I never have to do after my mission... Its not my style.

The weather is just opposite here. It was super cold and now it's warming up. It got down in the low 40's/high 30's last week and it was raining the whole time. We rode bikes in it once. We had a few people to go see, but none of them were home. We rode 15 miles in the rain and cold. The only part that was good about the ride was that we got to talk to a lady who recognized us as men of God. We gave her a DVD called Mr. Kruegers Christmas which also has the Restoration on it. We committed her to watch it with her family. The rest of the time it was cold we drove the car(I'm so grateful we get to choose which one to use). The leaves just started to turn and some are starting to fall.

Hi Everyone! I'm doing Grrrrrrreat! How you doin'?

Love always,

Zack