Tuesday, December 11, 2012

December 11, 2012


As for the mission this week was pretty good!  We were busy with appointments and different service things so it was a fast week.  We went on exchanges with the zone leaders on Thursday/Friday and were able to see most of our progressing investigators so that was good. On Friday we did service for one of our investigators by laying a bunch of cement.  We actually did a pretty good job, we were pleasantly surprised.  The work here is progressing but its been a while before the missionaries here did much member work so I'm really trying to focus on that.   Just like President Hinckley said there a better way to do missionary work than tracting! =)   I hate tracting so I use that statement a lot.   Well I love you and miss you all!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, December 3, 2012

December 3, 2012

It was a pretty good week! Not too many lessons and still have yet to meet some of our investigators but we did have some fun!  BYU played ISU on Saturday and we got tickets to the game! Ha it was a blast!  Ha the APs ended up being there as well.  They were embarrassed because they didn't have an investigator there and we did.  But that's the day they took their P-day which most the time they don't get, so I let it slide! ;)   Then of coarse the Christmas devotional was last night and that was great!   It's always good to hear some inspiring words from the first presidency!  What a wonderful country we live in to be able to celebrate and worship freely! What a wonderful time of year this is! The time that we have to reflect on the Savior and all that he did for us!   The Spirit of giving is all around us so let it sweep you away and feel the wonderful joy that comes from serving and giving to others!  What better gift can we give than the knowledge of eternal families and the peace that comes from the restored gospel! Give your friends the best gift possible by sharing with them the same joy that you feel!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, November 26, 2012

November 26, 2012


As for the mission it was a pretty crazy week filled with not many appointment because of Thanksgiving.  It was definitely a good week though!   Monday we had Elder Don R Clarke of the 70 come and talk to us for the day that was awe inspiring and very motivating!   Elder and Sister Clarke sat at our table for lunch and talked with us.   Sister Clarke talked to me a lot about school and asked where I wanted to go. I mentioned that BYU was always my childhood dream!   She than proceeded to tell me that I need to start taking the ACT and get a good score on it and start filling our an application.  Then she talked to Sister Jergensen about it and told her to help me with whatever I needed! Ha ha what a nice lady! =)  Looks like my charm comes in handy! Ha ha ha! ;)!   We were able to meet with the ref from Iowa games sadly he is very argumentative and all he did was try and tell us how we are wrong and that we are a pagan religion because we celebrate Christmas! Apparently because of a scripture talking about worshiping idols in Jeremiah 10.  I think verses 1-5 ha ha but he said he wanted to meet again and that he would actually let us talk this time so that is good! =) We went to a members house for thanksgiving and had a great time!   A really awesome young family. The husband has served in the army for a while so we talked a lot about that and it really got me thinking about joining again!  So we'll see if that's still what I want when I get home! =)
Love Elder Jach Goates.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

November 20, 2012


As for the mission things are going relatively well.   My new area is Ames.  It's a college town with Iowa state right in the middle of it.  Sadly I'm a Hawkeyes fan,  Ha ha.  Fun for me to rub it in people faces! =)   My new comp is Elder Swindler.   He actually grew up in Cedar Falls Iowa then moved to Provo when he was 14.  Ha pretty funny!  He is an interesting kid... =) but I'm sure we will get along just fine.  We had the Iowa games on Saturday, which is like a little kid olympics.  The missionaries get to help out with it.  We were there all day Saturday doing scoreboards for basketball.  It was really fun and we actually got a potential out of it.  One of the refs gave us his number and took ours and has already called us.  Pretty exciting! Yesterday we had Elder Don R Clarke of the 70 come on a mission tour and talked to us all day!  It was a very inspiring devotional!   Hopefully motivated a lot of the other missionaries like it did me!   We have a few pretty good investigators, but I haven't been able to meet any of them yet because we have been so busy.  This ward is full of a lot more younger people because of the college which is really fun.  I like the ward already.  I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and can remember all that they are thankful for!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

November 11, 2012


It's been a pretty up and down week!  Lexi didn't get baptized and has been dropped because she wanted to get baptized because she had friends in the ward.   Her mom still wants us to come over and read with her and teach lessons so that's good.  Hopefully it will spark an interest with her too!   Nita is doing great she had an awesome Sunday and a great time in Relief society and made some new friends in the ward so that was really good.  Amari is doing good we got to meet her mom for a second but wasn't really a formal greeting so we still need to go by there and hopefully will be able to talk with her mom and set a date soon.  It's transfers this week and I am getting transferred to a new area.  It will be hard to leave with all the success the area is having but I'm sure my new area will be great!  It was nice weather last week and got into the 70s on Saturday.   We were on exchanges and played some football with some members in  Keokuk.  That was fun!   Well that's about all for this week.  Hope everyone is doing good!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

November 5, 2012


Lexis baptism was rescheduled till this Saturday because her mom felt like she hadn't been reading enough out of the BoM and really wants her to learn about the Church.  The whole family is still excited for her to be baptized!   We are starting to teach Amari again this week and will hopefully be able to meet her parents before I leave so we can set a date with her.  She has still been reading out of the BoM and still really wants to learn.  Nita is doing good she struggles some days with wanting to drink and feeling inadequate but she is still working towards being baptized on December 1st.  The work is moving along here!   It will be hard to say bye as I now have confirmation that I am leaving Burlington on the 15th! Ha Ha President Jergensen text us this morning because I text him about Nita still working towards the 1st of Dec and he said "Great work out there, see you at transfers!" Ha Ha! Well just gotta keep pushing forward!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

October 29, 2012


As for the mission this week has been crazy!   We had some new people move in from Ottumwa it is sister Gyechis sister Nita who has been taking the lessons since March and is scheduled to get baptized in December.  So we will work with her to get her there.  Her daughter Cierra is 13 and has had all the lessons and wants to be baptized, so we are going to schedule a date with her this week.  Lexi is doing awesome and will be baptized on Saturday. Her family came to church on Sunday and her mom said she enjoyed it and asked for a gospel principles book so she could read for next week.  We are going to work on getting them to come with Lexi and hopefully start teaching her before I leave.  Her family is so nice and Lexis mom Tasha feeds us all the time,  ha ha!  It's usually pizza or taco bell but its nice to not have to cook for ourselves!   We had a a lot of people in church on Sunday that we had to help get to classes and everything so it was pretty hectic but it was a good Sunday.  This week should be even better!   The work here is really picking up and we have some really serious potentials that we are working with.  It will be hard to leave here but  I'll go where you want me to go dear Lord! Ha ha! well I hope everything is going great for all of you back home thanks to everyone for the Birthday wishes!  Love you all!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, October 15, 2012

October 15, 2012


Things are still going good!   Still disappointed about Tamara, but that's just how things go sometimes.   We still stop by to show her we still care but she still won't have anything to do with us! =(   We did set a new baptismal date with Lexi, for november 3rd.  We have been teaching  Amari , and are going to talk to her parents this week about a baptismal date.  SO exciting!   We have really been getting close to different ward members now that we don't have a car, Ha Ha its really been a blessing actually.  Just sucks for the new elder who comes in November the won't have a car for 3 more months! ouch!... sorry... =) Ha Ha!   I've really enjoyed riding a bike so far.  I've started losing some weight!  HA!  Missionary  life is really something different.  It can change so much from day to day and I'm really starting to see how it helps you for the rest of your life.  So many life changing experiences and a wide variety of family situations.  Really helps you to pick out what you do and don't want to have in your family.  For those of you who are still unsure about a mission just take a step back and look at the people you know who have gone and returned faithfully and how much it has helped them in their lives.  Then find a missionary and ask them if they would trade their missions for anything!
Love Elder Jach-Goates.

October 7, 2012


This was a pretty good week other than we lost Tamara for now!   We weren't able to find her a ride to church. Our ward mission leader didn't do anything to help us!   She was so upset about not having a ride to church that she wont even meet with us anymore! =(   On a brighter note, we have a new investigator Amari she is 11.  She has been reading and really loves to learn!  We also taught  Lexi a few times and all the lessons were at her house with her family.  They went great!   Her mom sat in on the lesson on  Friday and was asking a bunch of questions, it was really good!   Lexi said to her "this is my lesson!" Ha Ha, her mom said " I know but I can ask questions too!"   We talked to her mom about getting Lexi baptized and she was all for it.  We are setting a date with her today.  Hopefully we will be able to with Amari soon as well, we just have to talk to her family first.  Conference was amazing!!!  I'm sure everyone felt the spirit and received revelation on at least one thing!   I know I did!!! What an amazing day and age we live in.  We have the Lords prophet on the earth.  We can receive direct revelation from our Father in Heaven!  No wonder we are the fastest growing religion in the world!
Love Elder Jach-Goates.

October 1, 2012 Car Wreck!


We got in a car wreck on Friday.  It was pretty bad but luckily no one got hurt or anything.  I won't be driving for the rest of my mission and now I guess  I'll have an accident on my record! =( crap!   We were driving from an appointment to go to the hospital to give a blessing and we were following a van who was following another car.  We were going up a hill and came to the crest and the car in front of the van stopped suddenly and took a hard left turn.  The van slammed on her brakes and swerved to miss the car but I didn't have enough time to stop to miss the van.  Smashed the whole front left side of the car.  Luckily the air bags didn't go off and her car wasn't hurt too bad but our car is pretty messed up!   We'll be on bikes now for a few weeks.  On the bright side it is helping us get closer to the ward because they are all offering us rides every where and we are getting exercise riding bikes.  So that's good! =) President was more upset that I wouldn't be able to drive for the rest of my mission than he was about the car getting smashed! Ha Ha I love President Jergensen!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Birthday

As you all know Izach has a birthday coming up.  He will be 21 WOW!! time goes so fast.  He is trying to stay away from Candy so has requested that none be sent.  He needs to repair his bike and has a few other needs.  If you feel so inclined to send him a couple of dollars in place of treats I know he will truly appreciate it.    He is doing so great, you can hear his personal growth in his letters.
Thanks for you support.
Kim

October 1, 2012


It's been a pretty crazy week!  We've been teaching Lexi and got to go to her house and talk with her mom and her grandma.  They were both really nice and her grandma really enjoyed the lesson.  Her mom wants us to teach at least half the lessons over at their house which will be great!   Hopefully will spark an interest in them to learn as well.   Lexi asked the other day when she could get "bathtised" ha ha it was pretty cute!   She said she wanted it to be soon and that she already picked who she wanted to do it.   She said me until I told her that Elder Bagshaw hadn't baptized anyone yet then she said oh then definitely  Bagshaw, ha ha .  We start teaching another little girl  Amari today.  She's 11 and has already been reading in the BoM!   Crazy!    Tamara, another investigator, is doing great.    All last week she was so excited about the BoM and about being free from her addiction to alcohol!   The first day we taught her it was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon and she had already had 6 beers that day.  Then on Friday it was 4pm and she had only had 2.  She was so excited to tell us how good she was doing and so excited to do better.  She said every night when she lays down to go to bed she hears my voice telling her "I promise you can be free of this addiction!" ha ha wow!   The spirit has some amazing power!   Tamara excepted our baptismal invitation for November 10 and is so excited!  This work is amazing!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, September 24, 2012

September 24, 2012

Things are really picking up!   Last week we found 2 new investigators.  Lexie is 11 and was a referral from a family in the ward.  We have taught her 4 lessons already and invited her to be baptized, she accepted!   Her parents are willing to let her learn and want us to start having some of the lessons at their house.  We have been having her lessons at the members house for convenience.  Her parents are Christian and don't have a particular church right now so its quite possible that we will start teaching them as well.  That would be even better especially for  Lexie so she has her family in the church and not just friends.  Our other investigator is a funny story!   We were walking to the members house to give Lexie a lesson and we walked passed a lady mowing her lawn, we waved and said hi and kept walking.  We got a ways down the road when a car stopped in the middle of the road and said "hey that lady is chasing you!" ha-ha .  We turned around to see the lady that was mowing her lawn running down the street after us.  So we turned and started walking back toward her.   She had been yelling "MORMONS!" down the road but we couldn't hear her because it was windy.  We got to her and she started telling us how she had Mormons like us over for thanksgiving dinner last year. We asked if she had been taking the lessons to which she replied that they hadn't even talked about the church they just didn't have anywhere to go for thanksgiving.  She then asked if we had some time we could talk.  Of coarse we said yes!   We then taught her the restoration and invited her to read and pray and she was so excited and told us she knew that the spirit had guided us to her that day and that she was so excited to learn more.  It was such an amazing experience especially because when we had started walking to the lesson with Lexie I said a silent prayer asking Heavenly Father if he would guide us to someone willing to listen. We ended up walking a completely different way to the members house than I had ever walked before and because we did we were able to walk past Tamara! I am so blessed to have this opportunity to be able to have the spirit with me and be able to see the light and excitement come into peoples lives as they find out about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I encourage all of you to look for people you know that may be in search of something more in their lives and as a representative of our Savior I can promise you that you will be lead to those people just as me and my companion were lead to Tamara.
Love Elder Jach-Goates

September 17, 2012


It was a fairly good week still a bit slow but overall it was good.  My district is doing amazing we have 5 baptismal dates set right now and they are doing amazing at finding people to teach Burlington is still lacking on investigators but as long as we work hard we will be blessed with more people to reach our goal.  Kenna and Bill keep pushing back the appointments and seem to be busy all the time but they still seem interested and  I'm sure if Bill wasn't he would let us know!   We had a green dinner at the bucks last night for Elder Bagshaw.  Green Spagetti noodles with green beans, green jello, green garlic bread, green cottage cheese salad, green koolaid, and green gooseberry pie with green whip cream ha-ha it was actually my first green dinner as well so it was a fun experience!   We had interviews on Wednesday with President Jergensen those are of coarse always great.  The interviews usually go for about 15 minutes but mine went for about 25 ha-ha whoops! =)  I guess President just loves me a little more... ha or I just need more help! ha-ha either way I got some extra time with president which was good! =)   We then went to lunch as a district and went to a little diner and had a "wally" burger ha-ha kind of an ironic name!   It was a 1 pound burger it was huge!  Imagine 4 quarter pounders from McDonalds and that's how big it was plus grilled onions and mushrooms with 4 slices of cheese! ha-ha it was pretty good though.  I hope things are going well back home it has now been 10 months as of yesterday! =)
Love Elder Jach-Goates


Monday, September 10, 2012

September 10, 2012


This week was extremely slow!   We had a total of 3 lessons for the whole week.  We are really trying to find some investigators and more potentials so that we can have an actual teaching pool.  Luckily we have 3 scheduled lessons with some really good potentials we have a guy tonight who is in a part member family his wife is a member and he is always full of questions.  He came to church last week and had a really good time.  We are going over for dinner and a lesson tonight.  He loves having us over and is such an awesome guy.  We have a young couple on Tuesday that we have taught before and seem interested and we have a family on Saturday the ones who were really excited about the BoM.  So things are moving just not as quickly or as much as we would like but sometimes that's just how it is.  It's weird being a trainer sometimes I forget that what I teach him will be the standard for the rest of his mission.  That's crazy!   I hope I'm doing a good job.  Luckily we get along great and have fun together so that is good.  Well wish me luck!
Love Elder Jach -Goates

September 5, 2012


Things have been pretty slow this last week we haven't had many appointments and our promising potentials,  Kennabell and Bill were sleeping on Saturday and told us to come back Sunday but they weren't home.  Maybe they forgot, but she seemed to still want us to come back so we'll keep trying.  We have a lot of potentials from when the Nauvoo temple sisters came tracting in our area so we're going to try and hit some of those this week and hopefully deepen our teaching pool.  I had my first full district meeting on Thursday and of coarse mixed up a few things again but that's ok! =)   It turned out to be a great meeting!   I'm kinda starting to like giving trainings.  I trained on the plan of salvation and used the whole time going over scriptures on each topic.   The zone leaders trained on the atonement and did an awesome job!  I love talking about the atonement!   Elder Bagshaw is doing great!   We are a lot alike so it makes it pretty easy.   Seems the Lord is blessing me with good companions now! =)   We went on exchanges last week with the ZLs in Burlington and than with Keokuk elders in Keokuk they were fun.  The one with the ZLs was definitely more productive than the one in Keokuk but they were both a good time.  It's great to be a missionary even though not everyday is fun.  The days that things go well and you see progress makes all the those hard days worth it!
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, August 27, 2012

August 27, 2012



As for the mission, definitely a crazy week!  With transfers and being a new trainer. My new comps name is Elder Bagshaw he's from Centerville Utah.  He's a cool kid, we get along great already.  He's pretty quiet but opens up once you start to talk to him.  Life is so much more busy than it was.  Two hours of study on top of making sure I'm prepared for district meeting and that everyone in the district knows their responsibilities.  Saturday was my first district meeting, ha of coarse it didn't go perfect but we for sure had a lot of fun in the process.  It was a get to know you district meeting to help everyone of coarse get to know each other.  It was fun!  My new zone leader is Elder Winchester my other comp from the MTC, haha!  It was really cool to be able to see him and spend time with him again.  Makes me feel like we're back in the MTC.  We also recently got 2 new investigators, Kennabell and Bill a couple with a few younger kids.  We went over and taught then about the Book of Mormon.   Funny story when me and Elder Kirton first went to try and set up an appointment Bill answered the door and said OH NO only the King James Bible comes in this house none of that new Mormon Bible stuff!   Apparently his wife was the one that received the Book of Mormon from the Nauvoo sisters.  She came out and as she did Bill yelled from the other room devil worshippers! haha =)   We sat on the deck and started to talk to her about what the Book of Mormon was and told her that it wasn't an interpretation of the Bible but was another witness to strengthen peoples faith in Jesus Christ.   At that point Bill came out and said well now I want to hear about this!   Apparently he was listening through the window! =)   So we proceeded to tell them both about the Book of Mormon and set up another time to come back.  Me and Elder Bagshaw went over on Saturday planning to teach the restoration but ended up answering a bunch more questions about the Book of Mormon.  Bill really wanted to hear a story out of the BoM so of coarse I told him the story of Ammon, =) and asked him what he thought.  He said that's a great story.  I asked what he got out of it and he said well the Lord was able to give him strength to defeat those guys and I said exactly, the Lord is able to help us in all things.  At that point they were so excited about the BoM they just wanted us to leave so they could sit and read it!   It was an awesome lesson, and we're excited to see them again this week.
Love Elder  Jach-Goates

Monday, August 20, 2012

August 20th, 2012


It's been quite an eventful week!  Last week I mentioned we dropped a lot of our investigators but that I'm sure it was going to work out.  Well turns out it did, ha.   We have 7 new investigators all of which want to make it to church but haven't been able to yet.  We have more potentials and more people to try and contact now as well so things are definitely looking up!   We still haven't been able to contact jerry (our investigator that had a baptismal date) and now with school started it will be a little harder but we'll keep tryin!   We got transfer calls on Saturday and Elder Kirton is leaving and is going to be a district leader somewhere.  That's exciting for him!   We were on exchanges when we got the calls so it was a little different.  I was down in Nauvoo at a baptism of the zone leaders with our district leader.   President Jergensen called so that usually means a leadership position and he was talking to Elder Holmes (the district leader) and told him that he was being transferred and going to be a zone leader and that his companion was going to be training.  So that's way cool! Then he asked if he could talk to me... im thinkin oh great now what, ha ha.  I answer the phone "yes president?" he says "how are you doing" I said "well pretty good" he said "I want to hear a wonderful out of you!" i laughed and said "well I was doing wonderful" he laughed and said "well I have 2 favors to ask you..." I kinda sat there and said "...2... favors?" he said "yes the first one is the Lord would like you to be a new trainer  will you accept that call?" I said "well  I guess I can do that."  He said "great! the second is the Lord wants you to be the new district leader as well, this is a lot of responsibility but I know and the Lord knows as well that you are ready for this!" ha I kinda chuckled and said "well I'll put my trust in the Lord and in you and see what happens! Ha ha.  So I guess I'm a new trainer and a district leader.  I'm definitely overwhelmed but I hope I will be able to handle it.  Lets just say I hope my greeny is ready for a treat cause everyone knows I like to have fun! =) ha.  Wish me luck and you might wanna keep my new comp in your prayers! Ha ha
Love  Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, August 13, 2012

August 13th, 2012


As for the mission its gonna be a short one!   Lets just put it this way... It was a tough week! We lost 5 investigators one of them had a date set for Baptism this Saturday.   We have very little teaching appointments so our days are pretty long.  My mood has been up and down, up and down and it seemed as if it couldn't get any lower and I pray it never does.  But out of all of this negatives and fearful people it seems as if things are getting better already.  We'll see what happens this week! =)
Love Elder Jach-Goates

Monday, August 6, 2012

August 6th, 2012


Things are going great still here in Burlington.  Our investigator jerry wasn't at church on Sunday though so we might have to push the date back one week to make sure he comes to church.  But that's ok he still wants to be baptized and is doing good.  Those 4 referrals we got were awesome!   We taught them on Tuesday and they loved the lesson we were there for 2 hours and still didn't finish the restoration.   We invited them to baptism and they said if they know its true they would.   We got Camille to say the closing prayer for us and in her prayer she said thanks for bringing these boys over and shedding so much light on so many different things.   It was awesome!   She asked us several times throughout the lesson how we are so knowledgeable about the scriptures and about life in general, haha!  They were really impressed it was great!   The spirit was definitely present and directing the discussion.  The pageant is over =(   It was such a great experience to work at the pageant and to meet so many people.  I made really good friends with the guy who plays Joseph Smith and his wife that was really cool.  He would come talk to me every time he saw me.   I know he wasn't the real Joseph Smith but playing that part gave him an enormous amount of the spirit and you could feel it every time you talked to him.  It was awesome!   If you haven't seen the pageant you need to see it next year because it is amazing!   We got to watch it on Wednesday, it was SO good, and very spiritual.   It teaches all about the church and the restoration its so great. Saturday was the last day of pageant and we got to stay and help take it all down we were there till 2 in the morning taking everything down and loading it all up.  It was a long night. We didn't get to bed till 3 than had to be up for church in the morning.  Luckily we got a 3 hour approved nap after church.  That was sweet!   I love you all and appreciate all the support.
Love Elder  Jach

Monday, July 30, 2012

July 30th, 2012



Things of coarse have been pretty crazy with the pageant and trying to keep our area progressing but everything is going great!   We set a baptismal date with Jerry for the 18th and he's pretty excited.  We had an awesome lesson with him and he really opened up it was great!    We got some referrals from the pageant that seem really promising.   It is a family of three and then one other friend and they want a group lesson.  They went to the pageant a few weeks ago and I guess they were slow at getting us the referral because they called Nauvoo and asked where we were that they have been waiting for us to come teach them. Ha!  That was pretty cool!   We have our first lesson with them tomorrow so we'll see how things go.  The zone leaders mentioned that it seems like President Jergensen is preparing us for future leadership positions by making us work the pageant.  It takes time away from our area and so the work is of coarse slowed down because we're gone.  But we have been doing a great job at keeping the work going, just like when zone leaders and district leaders have to be gone from their areas all the time.   It's been so great to be a part of the pageant and to talk with so many different people.  I was able to go to the temple for the first time on my mission on Monday and it was awesome!   We did initatories and an endowment it was so great to go through the temple again.  We went on exchanges in Keokuk on Thursday and Friday up until the pageant we had a blast!   We taught their investigator who has a baptismal date for this Saturday.   It was a fun lesson she's a strong willed person and knows what she wants she doesn't like a lot of questions and of coarse I love asking questions! =)   It was pretty funny.   Then later that day she called the Keokuk elders and asked if she could have another lesson the next day... and wanted to know if I could be there haha... she had a friend over that was a member and they apparently looked me up on facebook and everything it was pretty funny! =)  I talked to her after the lesson the next day and she said she didn't start the stalk but she said I'm not finished with it yet either... hahaha not really sure how to take that but oh well. =)   Things are going  good and I'm loving it of coarse!   Hope all is well back home.
Love Elder Jach

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

July 16, 2012


Things are going good Nauvoo was awesome!   It's so fun to see all the people there and to talk with people who actually know who we are and what we're doing  Ha ha!  There were a lot of non members there as well which was great.  I actually got 2 people to sign up for the missionaries to come to their houses.  I've been making a lot of friends too.  I've met the guy who plays Joseph Smith and his wife and they both know me by name now and say hi every time they see me.  I've met a lot of the other actors and people as well and they are all so willing to help with whatever we need its great.  One cool thing I didn't realize is that all the actors for the pageant have been set apart to be missionaries for these 2 months.  That's pretty cool!   On a less positive note we had a less active sister and her investigating sister storm out of church on Sunday because the people passing the sacrament didn't offer them any.  They were pretty upset especially the less active sister.  So we might of lost our investigator, which would stink because she was doing really well.  I'm sure everything will work out the way its suppose to as long as we follow the Spirit and do what our Heavenly Father would have us do.  Thanks everyone for your love and support I love you all.
Love Elder Jach

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

July 9th, 2012


As for the mission things are going great!  We had the 4th, the fireworks were lame ha ha but that's ok!   We had a lot of fun hanging out with the ward and playing some softball then we went to Geode park and had a BBQ with Becky and her family.  We found out about the pageant and what we're going to be doing.  We have to be down there at 6 to have a meeting with the cast and than we go out at 7 when all the activities start and talk with people and try and get referrals and just answer questions and be friendly.  This week we go down Tuesday Wednesday and Friday but it switches after that.  It will be good to get down there and good to have a lot of time in our area still.  Even though we have to leave our area at 4 30 and eat dinner before that,  ha ha .  So busy days for July but it will be good.  We had a pretty busy week with the 4th and than our meeting in Nauvoo but it was still a good week.  We found 2 new investigators that have been taught before but we had an awesome lesson with them and they said if they get baptized they want their son who is a member in Colorado to do it.  So that was awesome than the guy said that whenever he prays he always thinks of us and he doesn't know why.  It was sweeeet!  Everything is going great, some days are tough but its those days that make all the rest easy.
Love Elder Jach

Monday, July 2, 2012

July 2, 2012


Things are going great other than the temp!  It's been really hot here and then humid as well so just miserable to go outside.  Luckily we had plenty of miles for the car so we didn't have to worry about walking anywhere.  Even then we would get out of the car for 2 minutes and when we got back in it's like it had been sitting in the sun for hours! Haha, but oh well!   It was kind of a slower week, we had interviews and than district meeting so we were gone for two days.  I love interviews President Jergensen always knows how to brighten your spirit.  This week is going to be crazy we have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it!   Especially with the 4th and not being able to set up appointments with people but luckily we get to have a BBQ with one of our investigators as well as a big breakfast with the ward so that day should be a blast!   We go to Nauvoo tomorrow for a meeting to figure out what's going to be happening and what we're going to be doing so it will be the first time I get to see Nauvoo I'm definitely excited!!!   I'm so happy to be able to be out here to serve these wonderful people and create so many great friendships.  I love you all and would love to hear from you so write me!!!!!!!!! =)
Love Elder Jach

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

June 25th, 2012


June 25, 2012
As for the mission it's been a great week!   The baptism went well.  It's so great to witness someone coming unto Christ!   She's gonna be a strong member.  Her confirmation was a little crazy though.  The guy who was supposed to confirm her was the same guy who baptized her but he showed up late to the baptism and than didn't even show up for the confirmation.  He said his car wouldn't start but he lives by a few members that easily could've given him a ride plus he didn't even let anyone know he wasn't going to be there  ugh!   But other than that it went great.  We had some great lessons with our investigators this past week found out a lot of their concerns and will hopefully be able to help them progress more fully now.  We went to teach a less active woman from brazil and her husband who's not a member ended up asking us a lot of questions and mentions that he's not ready to get baptized "yet" ha and said he would love to have us come back again and that he thinks we are great guys and loves the light in our eyes when we talk about the gospel.  He knows a lot about the bible and wanted to go to school to be a pastor but ended up going into the NFL and played for the Atlanta as QB and that slot receiver but only played for a little while.  He's a really nice guy and has some real potential.  The weather here hasn't been too hot and we've had some pretty good storms.  Last Saturday we had a really good one.  A big dark wall of clouds moved in and a down pour of rain.  We had a tornado warning and everything but luckily we live in a school so we just went home and hung out for the night.  I really want to see a tornado but apparently I'm not supposed to because the last town I was in never had tornados and apparently this one doesn't either  lame! haha but oh well.  Remember to pray often for all you need and to give thanks for all you have!
Love Elder Jach

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

June 19, 2012



It's been a pretty crazy week!  We went on exchanges in Keokuk and than had zone conference all day Friday.  So we were gone out of our area for 2 days but surprisingly we still did really well.  We got a baptismal date scheduled for Sandy she is getting baptized this Saturday the 23rd.  So excited she's still nervous and feels like its going to be a huge change in her life.  We keep having to remind her that she's already been coming to church for 3 years and keeping all the commandments and the only thing that is going to change now is that she is going to be a member of the church and she'll finally have the gift of the holy ghost!!!  Some sad news, we found out one of our investigators cant be baptized for a while.  She is married but her husband took off to Mexico and started a new family there and won't sign the divorce papers.  She is dating someone else and already has 2 kids with him but cant marry him because she cant get a divorce.  Quite frustrating if you ask me!   Either way she's interested in the gospel and wants to learn more so I'm sure once she gains a testimony that she will start working harder to get that divorce so that she can be baptized!   A few of our other investigators are slowly progressing but are definitely still progressing so that's good.  It's so exciting to see the change in peoples lives as they come unto Christ!    I'm so blessed to be able to be out here and serving the lord.  It really is such a privilege!  I love you all and happy fathers day!
Love Elder Jach

Monday, June 11, 2012

June 11, 2012


As for the Mission, things are going great!  This area is booming with growth!  We got 2 new investigators this week so that makes a total of 11.  SO cool!   5 of them will be baptized within the next 2 months and 3 of those 5 should be this month.  It's so cool to see the progression of things and the change that the gospel brings to peoples lives.  Elder  Kirton is from Draper Utah.  He's a pretty cool kid, we've been getting along great and working hard.  I'm definitely excited to go to Nauvoo!   We drove past it on the other side of the Mississippi the other day it was a pretty cool site.  I'm excited to get to go there everyday in July and to be able to help set up for the pageant.  This new area is so good and the Ward here is really nice.  It's a little different being back in a Ward instead of a Branch but I like it.  Definitely miss my families in Manchester.  One of our investigators named Sandy has been investigating for quite a while.  She's been coming to church for 3 years, haha but just recently excepted the lessons from the missionaries.   She should be getting baptized on the 23rd of this month and one of the less actives in the Ward, her sister, is a new investigator that we have been teaching and I think she will be baptized this month as well along with their friend that decided she wanted to learn too.  They have both been reading the Book of Mormon and we have an appointment to teach them this week.   We usually see them more than once a week because of the less active sister so it will be even better to get over there now!   Well that's most of what's going on here in Burlington.   I'm loving it and am so excited to serve! Mosiah 12:27  I'm gonna be ripped! haha ;)
Love  Elder Jach

Monday, June 4, 2012




June 4, 2012


May 21, 2012
It's crazy that another transfer has already come and gone.  I've been in Manchester for 5 months now and it really does feel like home I don't want to leave!   The people here are awesome!   The work has been kind of slow, we have still been doing a lot of service so we haven't had the chance to teach a lot of lessons which stinks cause that's what missionaries do is teach!  But I definitely love doing service.  We've been so busy going from place to place and doing service  I always feel like we're forgetting people  =S I hope not!  Brian is still doing great he's scheduled to be baptized on the 9th of June.  He's still coming to church every week and loves the lessons.  He's worried about his wife not coming around but we talked to him about leading by example and that she will start to notice the good changes in his life.  He has brought his girls to church twice and they love going.  That will of coarse help with his wife as well.  Well I guess he's our only really progressing investigator at the moment at least the only one I have anything to report on.  But the work is still going great and the people are still awesome!  Being a missionary is definitely a great experience!
Love Elder Jach


May 28, 2012
It's been a pretty crazy week.  Transfers are this week and I'm leaving! =(   Found out Saturday and EVERYONE wants to feed me one last time! haha   We have 2 meals everyday and 2 dinners tonight! haha   The members here are the best!   They all made me promise to come back and visit.   One member Brother Griffeth the 1st counselor asked me to come up and bare my testimony.  He said in front of the whole congregation "you better come back here you might even come live here you know  I  still have a daughter who's not married and I would just love to have you as a son-in-law! you are a great missionary!" haha  Best part about it is his daughter is cute! hahaha   Then the branch president stood up and said not until after your mission! haha so funny!   I'm excited to see the rest of the mission and excited to get a new companion  ha! Things are still moving forward here in Manchester and President said an awesome missionary is coming in to replace me so hopefully he'll be able to keep Elder Wally in line and keep expanding this area! 
Love Elder Jach 


June 4, 2012
I am in Burlington Iowa.  It's in the Nauvoo zone so that means I get to help with the pageant! Apparently for the whole month of July I will by driving to Nauvoo and back everyday to help set up for the pageant.  We usually won't get back till 6 or 7 so that pretty much takes up our entire day.  I'm really excited to help but kinda worried about not being able to do a whole lot of missionary work especially since we have some progressing people here. But I'm sure it will be a blast and time will fly because we will be so busy.  My new area is right on the Mississippi so I got to see it for the first time.   That was pretty cool it’s a lot bigger than I imagined and looks more like a lake than a river, haha.  My new companion is Elder Kirton he just got done being trained so I'm the senior comp.  He's a cool kid and we have been getting along great so far which is a huge relief, haha.  I needed a good companion at least for a little while!  One cool thing about living in Burlington is we live in an old school.  Some members bought it and live on the 2nd floor and we live on the first.  It's really cool!   We have a lot of room to do stuff.  We have a gym that we can play ball in and there's a small weight room so I get to start working out better  =)   Time to start droppin those pounds!   This area is really promising and the members here already seem really nice.  One funny thing is that Elder Wally just got done serving here so all the members know him.   Sadly most the members don't like him! =P   I'm really excited to be able to serve the Lord at this time and in this area.  This work is so important and I'm so privileged to get the opportunity to participate in it.  I love you all and miss you a ton!
Love Elder Jach

Monday, May 7, 2012

May 7, 2012


April 30, 2012
The mission is still going good, its been a pretty crazy week though.  Elder Spencer, the senior missionary here, ended up in the hospital on Tuesday morning because he has fluid around his heart.  Luckily our stake president is one of the best cardiologists in Iowa and had him come in for an appointment on Thursday and again today.  President Jergensen came yesterday to give him a blessing and while he was here he talked with Elder Wally and actually took his driving privileges away so now I'm the driver! =)   I'm good with that. haha!  It was good to see President Jergensen.   We finally set a baptismal date with Brian on Tuesday his date is June 9th so that's pretty exciting!   His wife is still unsure but she let him bring their daughters to church on Sunday and of coarse they had a good time.  Hopefully she will come this week.  It's so good to see the progress of hard work it keeps me going.  Richard from independence wants to take us to the effigee mounds, its an Indian burial ground park in Fayette's area so he said he would take us and the Fayette elders with him.  We go on the 21st so I'm excited for that!   I'm not sure if he will progress very much it might take a while but he really enjoys our visits and wants us to keep coming back so we will!   We have a few more potentials to work with and most of them seem really promising.  I'm so glad that this area has picked up and I'm so jealous of the new elder that will come in to replace me.  Elder Wally has started to do better again we had a good talk this past week,well it was kind of and argument but either way  I got my point across and things have started to get better!   Always remember that you are never alone Christ went through everything we have and ever will so that we could always have someone to relate to.
Love Elder Jach


May 7, 2012
The mission has been pretty crazy!  Elder Spencer the senior missionary went into the hospital on Monday and found out he had to have heart surgery.  His 2 main arteries were blocked and they were amazed that he wasn't dead already!   He went in for open heart surgery on Wednesday, we got the call that he came out fine and has been doing great!  They called him the all star of the ICU.  He is already home after only four days in the hospital.  The doctors said that someone half his age would still be in recovery for another few days at least.  The power of prayer and a priesthood blessing is crazy!   I'm SO happy that he gets to stay out on his mission I don't know what I would have done if he would have had to go home.  This week we did a ton of service.  Now that the weather is warm everyone has things they want to get done which is great for us.  We have been able to do a variety of different things.  We dug post holes for a fence luckily we had a tractor and a drill.  We sanded down some cabinets. We made some raised gardens and worked on a dairy farm, that one was one of my favorites. We're going back out there today and again on Wednesday I'll be sure and get some pictures to send next week.  I miss being able to be outdoors and working on the farm helps me relax a little more.  Doing some hard manual labor feels really good.  Mothers day next week and another call home.   That's pretty crazy it came so fast, but it will be good to get to chat for a little while. Mosiah 4:9 you don't understand everything!!! =)
Love Elder Jach

Monday, April 23, 2012

April 23rd, 2012


It was a really slow pretty unsuccessful week.  We were gone in Fayette for 2 days and our appointments fell through so we didn't get to see a lot of the people we had planned.  We had 4 lessons for the whole week. Pretty bad!   This week is going to be jam packed full of lessons we have lunch and dinner appointments on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We have a Friday dinner and we should have a Thursday dinner by tomorrow.  We're going to Dyersville on Saturday and the 2 member families that live out there will be likely to feed us so we're doing pretty good with that plus we have a bunch of investigator lessons and we had another random person show up at church and want the missionary lessons.   He said he has been to church in Cedar Rapids but we're not sure if he's a member or not yet.  I see him every week at Second Helpings at the Methodist church (a free meal for anyone that wants it with donated food from the Methodist church and stores in the area).   President Johnson is so excited for the growth that has been happening in Manchester and so am I!  When  I  first got here we had one "kind of" investigator who wasn't progressing now we have 4 investigators and 2 families investigating!   Don't worry I know it has nothing to do with me I'm just harvesting everything previous missionaries have planted! and   I'm lovin it! =)   All I have to do is continue to work hard and I know that the blessings will continue to roll in.  I'm so excited for this area and to be a part of it and to be able to serve my Heavenly Father!   So many blessings are coming to so many different people and I'm so thankful for that.
Love Elder Jach

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

April 17th, 2012

As for the mission it's going good.  We just had a new part member family move into the branch.  She has a daughter that is 9 and her boyfriend that aren't baptized and are investigating so we'll see what happens with that.  We weren't able to go see Brian this past week but we are seeing him tomorrow night and are going to set a date then.  I'm pretty excited about that!   We got transfer calls on Saturday and we're both staying but then of coarse I already knew that from President Jergensen.   We were finally able to make contact with Pearl again and she has been reading the Book of Mormon.   She felt like she hasn't read enough so that is why she hasn't called us back.   She seems pretty promising, she said she has gone to a lot of different churches but just hasn't found one that feels right.    We're trying to get her to come to church and hopefully things will go well with her.  This area seems to really be picking up and more people seem to  becoming interested in the church which is of coarse great for missionaries!   Can't believe that I've been out five months today pretty crazy! Almost 1/4 of my mission gone already! =S
Love Elder Jach

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9th, 2012

The mission has been going good pretty.  Busy trying to find people to teach, keep up with potentials and all that is going on.  The funeral was good definitely different than LDS ones and being a pall bearer was cool.   One crazy thing that I forgot to mention last week was that I actually carried the body out of his room onto a stretcher because it couldn't fit down the hallway, ha pretty weird and definitely something I'll never forget!   We've been trying to teach his wife but haven't been able to catch her yet.  Shes either gone or taking a nap but we'll get her this week!   Transfers are next Thursday, crazy to think that another 6 weeks has already gone by luckily I already know that I'm staying here and so is Elder Wally.  We have been teaching a family across the street from a member family and things have been going really well they have a lot of questions and are progressing pretty quickly.  We're setting a baptismal date with them this week which will be awesome!   I guess they are our only progressing investigators but that's okay just means we get to put most of our focus on them. I can't believe that it will be 5 months since I've been gone on the 16th, it feels like I just barely left!   For all you people who have been reading these and haven't written me you better get on the ball before I forget who you are! ;) but seriously letters are good!  In the words of Henry Ford whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right!
Love Elder Jach.

Monday, April 2, 2012

April 2nd, 2012

The mission is still going good.  Had interviews with Pres Jergensen last week.  They were of coarse awesome!    I talked to him more about Elder Wally than I did about me, but that's ok because he needed to make sure he and  I were doing ok.  I found out that I do get to make the decision if he stays or goes, or if I want him for another transfer.  By the sounds of it I might be getting a lot of the troubled missionaries because apparently I can handle them better than everyone else.  I talked to pres about how I can read him and I know exactly why he acts the way he does.  I know all that because of all the counseling I have been through he laughed and said its finally paying off isn't it! ha   I said it looks that way! =)  Elder Wally is really insecure and has to be the center of attention.  If someone says something they did he will always top it with something he did, ha, and he loves to tell every single person we meet that he is in the special forces so they know that he's a hardcore guy! haha  For some reason he always listens to me when I ask him to do things.  Yes sometimes he argues for a minute but he always does what I ask him so that is good.  We found an investigator about 2 weeks ago and he has been dying of cancer so we had been seeing him everyday.  He loved having us come over and so did his wife and their friend that was always there helping them. Unfortunately he past away on Wednesday, but we know that he felt the spirit while we were there and will recognize it in the spirit world.  We met a lot of people through his death.   The sheriff and the mortician and a lot of other people.  They invited us to be pall bearers at the funeral and almost had us give a talk as well.   It was a great experience and I'm glad we got to participate in it.   Sad he's gone but glad he's in a better place.  I know that he is happy that we came into his life when we did.  We are still seeing his wife and their friend and have a lot of other people we can see because of them.  I'm so thankful for the strength and the spirit I get as a missionary  I encourage all of you to invite the missionaries into your home so you can feel of the spirit they have.  I'm so glad to be serving my Heavenly  Father and being able to bring his sheep unto the fold!  Love you all!
Love Elder Jach

Monday, March 26, 2012

March 26, 2012

I wanted to add some of my thoughts this week.  Izach didn't mention in the message he sent me for the blog that he currently has a very difficult missionary.  The kind of missionary that no one wants to be companions with and is on the verge of being sent home.  I am so impressed with Izach and how he is dealing with the situation.  He is bold in telling this missionary that we will obey the rules and we will work hard.  He is working hard, and certainly sounds like succeeding, to understand this missionaries heart.  He is focusing on finding and helping this missionary to see his strengths.   This missionary is very resistant to change telling Izach that even the army couldn't change him.  Izach responded with I am not going to change you just going to help you succeed - me and Heavenly Father.   Izach has always had such a compassionate heart, such a deep understanding of people and it is so wonderful to me to see him finding and using those strengths again. Love it!!

March 26, 2012

As for the mission, last week was a great week we did A LOT last week!  The Fayette Elders came down for exchanges and me and Elder Beattie went to Greeley to teach the Tibbotts. The lesson went ok but we hadn't been there in a while so they had a lot of time to forgo what we had taught them.  They had a good question about baptisms for the dead they thought we were just baptizing them and taking away their agency.  I felt like we answered it really well but they wanted more so we told them we would find more answers for next time. Of coarse they said they wanted us to come back!   On Friday the zone leaders came down for a surprise exchange.  Me and Elder Roberts went out and walked around Manchester all day but before we left the house Elder Roberts asked me how many potential investigators we were going to find that day.  I kinda stopped and thought about it and said 2, I think we can find 2 P.I. today.  So we said a prayer before we left and then went on our way.   We were walking and we would see people and try and talk but most of them didn't want to talk but we were able to leave them with a mormon.org card, so that was good.  Then we were walking up a road and we saw a lady walking her dog across the street so of coarse being friendly I said "nice day for a walk isn't it" she said "yes it sure is" then asked us what we were doing. =) YES!   Then we walked across the street and began to talk to her about who we were and what we were doing.  She had questions already!   We asked if we could have her info and if we could set up for a day that we could come by and teach her.  She said "well I'll be home later today how about then."  We said "awesome, we'll swing by later!"  Then we parted ways and began to walk back to the house for lunch.  We were walking past one of the bars and there were 2 guys standing out front so we said "Hi, how are you today" one of them looked at us and then went back inside.  The other turned out to be the manager of the bar and stayed out and talked with us for a while.  He said that he wasn't happy with his job and that he was going to start looking for another one.  We asked if he had ever talked to missionaries before and he said he had them knock on his door but never listened to them.  We asked if he would be interested now and he said sure, so we got his info and he said to come by during the week! =) AWESOME!!!   We went back to the house and ate lunch and then started to walk towards the ladies house that we talked to earlier.  As we were walking a girl came out of her house and we asked if we could give her a card.  She said sure and we asked if she had ever talked to missionaries before.  She said no, so we asked if she would be interested and she said yes, she had actually recently decided that she needed some change in her life and wanted to get closer with God! =) SWEET!  She said to come by during the week.  We started to walk to the ladies house again, of coarse we were filled with excitement for how the day was going.  We walked past this house with a ramp going into a pile of woodchips we laughed about that and Elder Roberts said lets go knock on the door.  We did, a lady answered and looked at us and said look fellas I really don't have time right now,  I'm getting ready for work. We asked if there was a better time to come back and she said any day before noon.  She then said I would really like it if you came back though.   We said oh don't worry we will! =)   We then walked to the ladies house taught her the restoration, invited her to baptism and to church and to read and pray about the book of Mormon.  She accepted all of them and asked if we would come back.   We said absolutely!  Sadly she wasn't at church on  Sunday but that's ok.  We will go back and talk to her this week, things come up sometimes.  AWESOME week!!!!!!! and to top it all off I got to baptize my investigator Paul on Saturday!  SOOO COOL !! Funny story about it though.  We have a little baptismal font so it was a tight squeeze but we got in there and I  said the words perfectly and pushed him under.  As I was bringing him back up I feel this jolt and heard a BANG.  I smacked his head on the hand rail as I was bringing him up! =S Ha.  It was ok though, he said it didn't hurt, just startled him.  Of coarse everyone gave me crap about it but it was ok it was pretty funny! =)   I'll never forget my first baptism that's for sure! =) haha.  Such a good week I'm looking forward to another great one here in the IDMM Manchester Branch! Remember to always look on the bright side the more you focus on the bad the more bad flows into your life! =)
Love Elder Jach.


Monday, March 19, 2012

March 19, 2012


I definitely hope that you are right and it is Pres Jergensen trusting me and not just throwing this kid on whoever will take him... Ha.   No I know that Elder Wally is here to teach me and to learn from me.  I guess he has a pretty bad reputation with other missionaries as well.  I talked to my zone leaders and they said they were pretty worried when they heard he was my new comp, but I've talked with him a lot and gotten some things straightened out.  I know he will get better because he has already started to.  Last week was pretty tough.  I got sick and we had to stay in all day so I could sleep.  I'm doing better now.  We had zone conference.  That was pretty fun.  Got to see Elder Meservy and Winchester "my MTC comps" .  Winchester is training and Meservy is still in my same zone. I see him regularly so that's always fun!   We had stake conference yesterday and Paul drove us down everyone was coming up to him talking about his baptism and I got kinda worried, but the more people that asked about it the more excited he seemed to get! =)   I'm SO excited to see him get baptized on Saturday.  We're setting it all up and it’s a lot of fun!  A lot of nonmembers are going to be there as well and I hope it will open some new teaching doors for us and get the members excited about missionary work.  Our other investigators we weren't able to see last week because we were so busy and I was sick.  We had an appointment with Chad but he ended up not being home but that has happened in the past and he was really apologetic about it.  He said sometimes he gets called into work and that he is not just blowing us off, so that's good.   I feel like he has some real potential.  We haven't been able to meet with Audrey,  but she was excited for another lesson so we're going to try and set one up for this week.  The Smiths are still really busy with their kids and work, but still want us to have a lesson with them.  So we're doing our best to set one up.  They said to keep trying so we will.  We haven't been able to see the Tibbots for a while, but I'm gonna try and see them this week.  We have exchanges and I'm gonna try and get out there then ;)   Well the mission brings out the best and the worst in me I've been really depressed this past week.   Between being sick and getting a new comp, ha not a good combination of situations.  But that is ok its turning around and I'm starting to feel happy again! =)  Keep pushing forward whenever you're on the right path more things will get put in your way to stop you from progressing just remember that is Satans way of getting you to miss all the good things that are happening all around you!
Love Elder Jach