Weddings always bring people together :)

Congratulations to Stephanie and Landon on their marriage. We enjoyed being with family this weekend. I had so many more pictures but it is not letting me download them...hum!!! I'll try to post them seperate.

RS CaMpOuT

In Willcox AZ, working hard and will be home next month!

Hey Everyone,
It was great to get your letter here in my new area :)SO about the flight plans, I'll call and ask if they have sent it again to you all. I hope you get them soon. That's crazy that you have the time that I get in :) If I get in @ 4:25 will I be realeased that night by President Baker?
SO I'll speak on the 30th? I guess that's alright. That is quiet a while later but oh well. Whatever works :0 So Leslie is getting married right when I get home? That's pretty cool. Sounds like everything just seems busy that weekend I get home. No worries! I'll just be happy to be home :)
I'm excited for Zach and Abby, I am sure they will both get into BYU. I'm glad Dallin & Jacs are good. They are coming up for my farewell right! I'm excited to see TOry play soccer when I get back. I'm sure he is so different. I can see physically, but I'm sure he's grown up all around. That's cool Abby is working in the office :) I would love to go back and visit her in the office and to see everyone.
I got the B-Day package!!!! :) Thank you so much!!!! I did get my running shoes. They are really great! Thanks!!! I saw that you got me junk food anyways ;) I'll try to take more pictures. I've be pretty bad:/
So updates with me. SO as you know I'm in WIllcox AZ. Its a tiny town. Not as small as Fabens! We live with a member which is something new to me. They are the Bushmans & they are super nice! They have a really nice house!!! Like really nice! Its kind of weird to live here after so much time in old, nasty apartments. They are really nice about us just feeling at home. They let us borrow food so I'm eating alot better. I'm getting off the cereal diet.:)
My companion is ELder Stringer from San Antonio TX. He's a nice guy & loves to exercise like me!!!!! I finally got a companion who works out with me!
Small world though, Elder Stringer's best friend @ BYU was Elder Jordan's brother. (my MTC comp.)Crazy huh! Also we visited a less active who has family in El Paso in my old ward. I knew them!
So there are two wards here and we cover 2nd ward. They don't have a spanish branch, but expect the spanish members to go to the english wards. I'm the only spanish missionary in Willcox so I'll be pretty much on my own with teaching them.
THe people here are really nice and just old country folks :) It kind of reminds me of Caswell. The is a little slow, but we have to start somewhere. It's been kind of a hard week because we don't know anyone or how to get around yet, but were getting there.
Thanks for the Chili's cards, but there is no Chilis around here, so I'll probably just save them for a date with me & Mckenna.
I miss my old area, but I will try to do my best here. We are a brand new Zone, so wer are all kind of getting the hang of it.
Well, I love you all! I hope you have a great week! I'll write next week , &&&&& I'll see you next month!!!!!
Love Elder Page

Happy Birthday Matthew

Everyone loves Matthew!!! Hope you have the best birthday! What a joy you have been to everyone that knows you. So glad that 21 years ago we were bless with your sweet smile. Love you!!!

Last transfer to WIllcox AZ

Hey mom
Just as a heads up, I got transfered. I am really upset that I am leaving. To leave with 6 weeks left is draining. I just feel disappointed with the area picking up and with working all summer to just leave. I will miss so much the members here! I want so badly to keep in touch with some of them. With working in the singles wards, these members actually become friends. :) I will miss them, but Elder Densely will do great and get to see lots of success in the coming weeks. I will miss him too. :)
Well, Im going to Willcox, small town, still english (This is the last nail in my spanish speaking coffin). I am opening up a brand new area in a brand new zone. I am the district leader and my companion has only been out for 6 weeks. Needless to say I will have my hands full. I hope I have the spirits to keep on working, to learn, set up, and work an area to just leave it in 6 weeks. This is not the way I pictured finishing my mission. Oh, well there is no reason in complaining about it. Just put my head down and run to the end. Sorry if I sound whiney. I just thought I would let you know how I feel about it instead of sugar coating it and just say,"I am excited for this new adventure". :/ I hope you all are doing great and please pray for me, especially in the coming weeks.
Love you all and I will talk to you soon.
Elder Matt Page

3096 N. Circle 1 Rd.
Wilcox, AZ 85643

here is my new address so I'll keep a look out :) Love you all! :)

matt

A message if Hope :)

Hello Everybody!!
It was great to get to hear from you this week! Geez!! The weeks just go too fast sometimes! I will reply to your email first and then I will let you know how I am doing. I am so excited for Matt opening up that new area!!! Right now Elder Lay and I are working with President on opening up another area after the earthquake and it is an exciting thing. I guarantee that his President put Matt in there for his last transfer to start it off right. It is really hard to open an area so Matt is the perfect missionary for the job! It is all so exciting! I am also so excited for Michael leaving! He will do so great! I will do my best to get time to write a letter to the primary. I am not going to lie Mom, making time to write letters is way hard. I have been struggling to communicate well with Marissa lately. I will do my best but it is pretty hard with so many things to do. Today I just started my PDay and it is 6:00. We had things to do and phone calls to make up until six at night. I would love to get some jerky with something that granola! Just the fact that the recipe is Marissa's makes it so much better!! You have no idea Mom, just seeing her name typed in an email is refreshing. I am so tired that a spare second to think about Marissa is so nice. :o) There was a typhoon this week, but Elder Lay and I were all the way on the other side of the mission doing work then so we were totally fine. I love getting hand written mail so much! Speaking of, I got the package this week!!! Thank you so so so much! I absolutely loved it so much and it made my day. The candy doesn't help because I am still getting fat, but it was so delicious! :) The shirt was sweet and the tape was awesome. However, the tape didn't have much on it. I don't know if it messed up or something, but I only got to listen to Jordan and Kirby and Kyle (which was hilarious by the way) and Abby and You. Maybe that was all, but thank you so much!! I loved the package! I have a couple things that I would like in a package but in the moment I can't remember all of them. I have them written down but the only thing I can remember in the moment is two CDs by a guy named Alex Boye. They are called The Spirit and Be Still My Soul. They are awesome and I would love them. Also one called Nearer, which we might have on our computer. Those would be great! The other stuff I will let you know next week! So this week was probably the busiest week of my mission so far. We only spent about a day and a half in our own area! We had a service activity, another Zone Leader Council, and Splits on the other side of the mission! Needless to say I am quite tired, but I am great!! Things right now are pretty good, the weather is starting to cool down so it is a little less...in this moment I can only think in Japanese so I can't think of the english word for it, but it is getting nicer. Communicating in English is getting a little hard which sounds totally crazy, but my brain is slowly thinking all the time in Japanese. I guess it is a good thing now, but when I come home you guys are going to think I am pretty weird! :) That is exciting to hear that McKenna is coming down to NC a week after Matt comes home! I guarantee that he LOVES that. I also promise you that Marissa has already thought about that so many times so make sure she doesn't get too ahead of herself. ;o) hahaha The work right now in our area is a little slow but it is just because we have been so busy we haven't had a lot of time to do work in our area. Things will pick up though. :) Something short I wanted to share to end is something that an elder named Aiura Choro. He is a Japanese Elder that paid me an interesting compliment last week that got me thinking. He told me that my Funiki (it is a Japanese word that kind of means your aura or atmosphere or countenance, hard to translate) is hope. He told me that the way I communicate and carry myself just brings hope to people. It was a very nice and interesting compliment, but it got me thinking about the gospel and the word hope. I always try to show the gospel as a missionary and that elder helped me see that the gospel can be shown in a hope too. Right now in this country there are people without hope, and through this gospel, you can find hope. I am so grateful for the hope I find in Jesus Christ, the hope I find in the Plan of Salvation, the Hope I find in Family. All of this hope stems from this wonderful gospel. I testify that among so many other things that this gospel is, this gospel is a gospel of hope. Through the gospel, you can find hope in ALL things. I testify that to all of you in the Name of Jesus Christ. I hope you have a wonderful week! I love you all so so so much and I can't wait to hear from you next week! I love you mom. I think of you and your hugs so often.
Until next week!
I love you!
Elder Zachary Taylor Page

Elder Page has a baptism

Hello everybody!!!
I hope you are all doing great! This week flew by like I can't believe again! It feels weird to be sitting hear typing another email already! I am so glad to hear about Ben going to the temple! Things are just changing and everybody is leaving so fast! I did write him letter last week so he should get it around Wednesday I think. The Matt comes home countdown is crazy fast! This month of August went by SOOO fast! Haven't gotten a package but I will be looking for it!! Thanks as always Mama! Things this week have been crazy fast and busy, and for the next month it will do nothing but pick up. Last week we were traveling and did a split with the new missionary that came in and his trainer. The new missionary is very raw and a little timid but he will make a great missionary as he goes along. We are traveling a lot right now. We are traveling all over the mission over the next 5 weeks doing splits and doing training. Along with that, we have 3 days of service, then we have Zone Leader Council this week as well. Next week we have a big Zone Conference and then another Stake Dendo meeting the week after that! September is going to just fly by. This week was a little hard as far as missionary work in our own area is concerned. Every single one of our investigators dropped us except Takeshi's sister, and we gave her to the sister missionaries. So we have ZERO investigators. We had three straight days of about 7 hours of finding! :oD But, we have a good attitude and we are happy and things are good. I don't really have too many details to tell about stuff. Things are just pretty normal and busy. This is just one of those weeks mom, I don't have much to tell. It is pretty crazy how just things blur together and everything just becomes...schedulized? Is that a word? One funny thing, a guy from Californina came to church on Sunday and I had to translate for him. It amazed me how hard it was to think in English at church again after so long! Other than that, I hate to leave this email so short and uninteresting, but I am just going to send some pictures and wrap it up for this week. I hope everybody is doing great and is doing well as school and things get going again. I love you guys so much. This gospel is true and I am so grateful that we have this truth that allows us to be together forever. Until next week!
I love you!
Elder Zachary Taylor Page

Hello Everybody!!!!
I am so sorry! Today will not be a very long email at all because i dont have a lot of time!!!! Today and these past couple days were way super busy! I am glad that you enjoyed getting all of the pictures!! I didn't write anything down for this one, but I send Marissa a tape and on the tape I explained the pictures! If you want to know what they mean, just get on skype with her and you guys can go through it on the tape! I am sorry, last week before I sent her her package I was scrambling and I didn't have time to write them all! yes, my hair was very appauling, but it has recovered. I have had a couple of funny/sketchy experiences with aisian girls but for the most part I am alright. :) I will remember Abby in my prayers,but I doubt she has anything to worry about. :oD AAHHH! Thanks for sending me a package, but if it isn't to much of a headache, I need a couple of things, well pictures of me. We have this new type of missionary activity we are doing and I need pictures of me as a young kid/soccer/junior marshall/etc. I am sorry for it being a pain, I just need them for this thing we are doing. We are really trying to change the missionary we do a little bit here. We are trying to do it through "referals" we have been doing a lot of activities and stuff like that with a lot of members and nonmembers there. That way, we can have and be teaching people with strong relationships with members. It is pretty tiring because right now the missionaries are planning everything! Hopefully we can pass it off to the ward in time. The baptism was great! I got him down and baptised in one try!!! Better than I can say for Zach!! hahaha :oD It was a great experience for everybody that came, especially his sister! We are still teaching her and she is our best prospect for a baptism soon. I wish that I could reply to everything better, but I have no time! Great to hear about Matt coming home, I am so excited for you guys! Dallin switching his major, I like it! I got the letter with Jordan's email, great to hear about him but it is too bad about his finger! Typical Jordan, District Leader. :oD He is going to do great, no doubt. Brian too! Ahh!!! Everybody is going! I wrote Ben a letter today so I will get that off tomorrow! Mom, I have no idea about anything for christmas or birthday! Absoulutely no clue! Just something that makes me think of the most important people in my life, so anyhting is great! These past couple of days have been really really busy and some ups and downs. We had a great baptism, but we also had several investigators tell us that they can't meet with us anymore. One told me, we got really close, that he would be my friend forever, but that he couldnt meet with us. It has been pretty crazy. Things with Elder Lay and I as Zone Leader are pretty busy too. We have a big Zone Conference with the Area Seventy, Elder Aoyagi, coming. We are also going to be traveling all over the mission every week for the next 6 weeks spliting with missionaries! Keep me us in your prayers so I don't just fall over in the middle of walking!! :oD Hahaha I am doing great though! I am happy and the work is great! i will send pictures of the baptism probably next week! I love you guys so so so so so so so so so much!!!! Give Marissa my Love as always and know that I always think of you and am praying for you. This gospel is true. I know that God is with his missionaries. I guarentee that this work is not possible to a normal human. The Lord Sustains his servants in his work. I love this gospel. It is true happiness and joy. Have a wonderful Week everybody!!!!!
Love Always,
Elder Zachary Taylor Page!!!

46 days :)

Hey Everyone,
Thanks so much for the letters last week! Letters really mean alot to me, that you take the time to sit down and write me. It's going to be weird when I come home and I won't anticipate the mail this way ever again...I think :)
I feel like I've been relatively good about writing every week. You guys have been great! Thanks so much for the beach pictures! It looked like it was tons of fun with everone. Mckenna looked cute :) especially in that Uof A shirt!
I'm glad that you don't have to worry about signing up for classes for me and that I can help with all of that at home. If you could look for somewhere to live close to Mckenna that would be awesome! I'm just a little excited about the idea of finally being about to live near her :)
Yeah, I've been thinking about studying Physical Therapy for a whil and then I found out Dallin is going into that! I guess he can show me the ropes when I get back. That would be fun to work with Dallin :)
I'm glad that you and Dad had a great anniversary. That sounds good about new clothes! I'm sure all the stuff I had before got swipped :)
That's cool Elder Straw's homecoming is comoing up. Me and him became good friends. There are so many people I want to keep in touch with.
I'm glad TOry is enjoying soccer. I loved High School soccer! I miss those days. I'm ecited to be able to come home and see him play.
That sounds good about you and Abby's workout! I'm still struggling to stay somewhat healthy and keep the punds off. I hate how I got the weight gain in my face. I'm going to try to make an extra big push this last transfer. SO for my Birthday don't send me candy :) Also transfers are not this week but next week, so I will let you now what happens. I hope I just stay and finish here, but we'll see.
SO this past week for me was good. It also had some tough stuff. We had Zone Conference on Friday, which was good It was my last one!!! CRAZY! ALways good to see Elder Kindsey. He's going to Weber State for school. He wants to study PT too! Also saw Elder Bellows. He's good! Saw Elder Rhett too. We had fun talking about Carolina!
We also had kind of a bummer thing happen. One of our investigators named Sarah who has a baptism date for the 17th is moving out of our area! It's really sad for me to see her go because I've been working with her since I got here. She has come so far and right when she gets a date she moves. SHe is struggling too with her mom wheo is not supportive andt all. I want to see her be happy and I have come the care about her alot!!! She's even engaged to a member now! I have been blessed to be a part of her journey and all the people I have taught! It's true you love those you serve. I never thought I would say it after two summers in this place, but I LOVE TUCSON! and the people here! :)
I'm blessed! I just have to say that. :) I hope you all have a great week! Good luck with school starting and I will update you all next week of the transfers
Love,
Matt

Elder Page has 56 days left!

Dear Family,
Thank you so much for the letters this week. Thanks for the post card from the beach too. I think you sent the same one last year too :)
I loved seeing pictures and hearing about the beach. I can't wait for the pictures and tape from it. Those are my favorite!
I'm glad to hear that TOry is doing well with soccer. I can't wait to be able to play in the alumni game too! I have not gotten to play hardly at all out here :( Everyone wants to play basketball...lame!(no offense Dad)
SO to answer some questions. with the running shoes, I could just try to find some out here if that would be easier. I am 8.5 though if you want to send me some. I'm ok to wait too. My shoes are a little worn and hurt my feet alittle. I've been running alot!:) I've been trying to keep my waist size down.
I also was wondering if you could send more differin. This is the last one from my mission.
Mckenna told me about how she will probably be staying home in the fall for her surgery. I guess I will carry her around.:) I told her that I will miss her cute little feet, but I'm sure her new feet will be cute too!
With a roommate out @ BYU I don't think E. Kindsey will be going to BYU.:( I'm not picky with roommates. I would like to live somewhere relatively close to Mckenna while I'm there. That will be nice after 5 years :) Again I'm not very picky after living w/companions I've learned to be able to get along w/ most people. (As long as they are somewhat clean)
So things here are doing good. Tis past week we were able to go to the temple. IT was a great experience to go. This was probably my last time.:( Ican't wait to be able to go more often when I'm home. There is so much peace in the temple.
We have two investigators getting baptised on the 13th! It will be so great. Their names are Josh & Ellie. Both super great & super prepared. It will be a double special day with it being you and Dad's Anniversary. :) Know I will be thinking about you both. Thank you for your love & Selflessness you show as an example to me in your marriage :) I hope to be able to be like you both and have the same joy & blessings in my own marriage. I hope you both have a great day!
I got your package!!! I love it! Thank you I'm going to have to work off all the cookies and bread! I love the tape and pictures. It was so good to hear all of you. I have got to send this letter off. I will update you all next week
Love you all!!! Things are getting really busy with school getting ready to start.
Love you all
Love Matt

Elder Page stays in Kamisugi

Hello Everybody!!
Sorry about the curve ball this week! It is transfers this week and I forgot to let you know about the switched P-Day last week. Well, like I said, transfers...and...........I am staying in Kamisugi!!! YEAH!!!!!!! I was so excited that I heard that I get to stay. I was pretty nervous that I was going to get transfered and we all thought they were going to fix last transfers mix up and bring in somebody older, but Kaicho said that there was nothing to fix. He said we are doing an excellent job as zone leaders even though I am young and so I won't be leaving and we are staying as the zone leaders. I was really relieved to get to stay in Kamisugi because if I got transfered I was going to miss Takeshi's baptism. Speaking of, he is getting baptized on Saturday and I have to tell you a couple of stories about him. The first, we were making plans for his baptism, like who he wanted to speak and what not, somebody asked him who he wanted to baptize him. He asked if it was his choice and we told him yes. He then got the biggest smile on his face and said, "Ok, then I want Page Choro to do it!" Mom, you have no idea how happy I was. I am not even going to try to describe how happy I am because I can do it! His baptism is Saturday at 6 and I am so excited. Even better, we met with him and his younger sister, who is 22, to tell her all about his baptism and stuff. We ended up teaching her lesson 1 and she wants to hear the message. She is coming to the baptism and to church on Sunday and it is just amazing! Things have been pretty hard recently with investigators not progressing and some even just disappearing, but hopefully everything goes right this weekend and I get to see my first Baptism!! I will for sure take pictures and let you know how it goes! Other than that, things with me have been pretty dang busy! We had our monthly zone leader council with Kaicho, then we had another meeting with us, the APs, Kaicho, and the Stake President. Oh, sorry, Kaicho means President if you didn't know. Then we have been busy working everything out for transfers tomorrow. The mission just doesn't slow down! I can hardly believe my 4th transfer is starting already! Mom, that is 1/4 of the transfers!
I have thought a lot about how Matt is coming home and how crazy that is! I was thinking, it has been so long since I have seen Matt! That is so exciting for everybody. So what do you think Mom, am I probably going to miss the next Page family Wedding? :oD I am glad to hear about you and Abby working out so well, I have to be honest, I am probably moving the opposite way as you. :oD I am trying to keep it together for Marissa's sake at least! I want Zach to come home to her not...The Santa Clause reference..."Stung by a bee? A big bee" Zach. :) Thanks for letting me know all about Tory and Soccer, I love hearing it! Hard realizing how I don't play but I love hearing about him! Kirby wrote me and told me that he is huge! He looks like he has gotten even bigger in all the pictures. By the way Mom, I have gotten all your letters and pictures, Marissa's too. Two things, one, Abby is too pretty for HER own good so she should just never talk to boys again. Two, Marissa sent me pictures and She is way to pretty for MY own good so she should never talk to boys again...unless they speak Japanese and are from North Carolina. :oD I have just felt a ton of gratitude for all of my girls these past couple of weeks! Mamma, Abbs, and MJ just blow my mind away! You guys are the greatest!
Oh, one more thing, I don't know if I am allowed to activate my new card because that would require me to call outside of the country. Could you guys just activate it for me? If not just let me know and I will ask about making that call. Thank you! :) One funny thing that happend this week. You remember how with Alcides, me and dad and Tory and him would always say, "Bons Velos Tempos." The good old times right? I figured out how to say that in Japanese this week! I used it and just laughed at myself! :) Tell tory that the way you say it in Japanese is just this, good luck saying it right, "Natsukashi!" That was a good happy thought of home and family this week.
I want you guys to know that I thought about you and Dad on Your anniversary! I hope it was great, and considering you both went off on eachother in your individual emails, I am guessing it was great and that you are deeply in love as usual. You never know, a couple of years from now, there could be another anniversary on August 13th. You never know!?!?! :oD
Well, that is about all I have for this week! I have seen miracles this week in the mission, just as I have seen every week. As the weeks go by I come to know more and more that this is God's work and his glory. We are working here not just to bring about good things and help people, we are "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." This gospel is the road that leads to eternal life; eternal happiness. I know that to be true with all of my heart. My promise is that if you learn, study the Book of Mormon, ponder in your hearts the message that it contains, and then ask God, you can know that it is true and that this is God's Church. I love you all so much! Keep me in your prayers as I remember you.
Just to make everybody laugh, I am going to poke fun at Dad Mom. Get Tory to give Dad a good ole' spanking for me. Then, when Dad tells him to stop, tell him, "Dad, your the bishop you aren't the pope!" And then everyone will laugh as Dad reads this and says, "Hey, I don't know if I like that." :oD I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week and I will email you on Monday!!
Love always,
Elder Zachary Taylor Page

Alumni weekend!

This weekend was Alumni weekend. Dallin & Jaclyn came home for the weekend. As always it was so great having them here. They brought the newest member of the Page family...Abe. He is a cutie! Dallin and Jaclyn are the greatest family. I am so proud of them and all that they have accomplished together. Love you both!

Soon to be Elder Armstrong...

Saturday we went to the Temple with Gina and Michael Armstrong. We were so happy that they asked us to go with them. It was a beautiful day for everyone. Michael will be leaving for his mission Sept 14th to Portland Oregon.

(Elder) Spencer Perkins

Spencer Perkins and his new bride Mandi, his dad, Step mom and step brothers all came to NC for a visit. It was nice to see him again and sooo happy. He has a great family, so nice to meet them. A big thank you to Jim and his sweet wife for treating us all to dinner. Hope you had a great visit in NC.

Elder Z Page

I hate that I have no pictures to put up. I told him I wanted pictures!!
Hello Everyone!
Glad to hear that you guys had another wonderful week! That is pretty crazy that they did the Alumni game in the gym, that must have been way different. I will write Ben. I will just make time.
Great to hear you had a great day with Michael at the Temple. It is really great to hear about everybody coming out into the service of Heavenly Father. This work truly does change other peoples lives and shapes us into the people Heavenly Father wants us to be. I am so excited for Michael to serve in Oregon and Ben to serve in Las Vegas. I have no doubt they will do great work there!
Not going to lie, one of my favorite things to read in an email is that you guys have skyped with my Marissa. :) I agree that she is a keeper. But, you know Mom, you always told us that you would know we loved a girl when we found one just like you. (****NOTE FROM ME I DON"T RECALL EVER TELLING MY BOYS THAT! JUST SAYING!!) And well, I love my Mamma so much I found a girl like her. :oD
I will get to a letter Mom, and some pictures will come your way soon. I am sorry that I haven't been doing very good! I will get to that.
Crazy to think that Elder Perkins is married! I remember a couple weeks before I left I went to Statesville for transfers and I met him and his family and now he is married!
I am so proud to hear about Tory! He is going to have such a great year playing! I always really liked Phil so I am excited for him to have a great season. I am afraid by the time I get home and we all play in that Alumni game I will have lost my touch. I haven't played soccer since Sapporo! I really hate not being able to play, and I am scared I am just going to lose it by the time I get home.
You asked how my language is going? I honestly don't really know how to answer that question. It is hard to gage it. I can get along by myself almost entirely now. I dont have to think to much when I speak anymore. Still obviously a lot of vocab I am not familiar with, but i don't have any trouble anymore. I guess we will just have to find out at Christmas, have Sister Mitchell there when I call and we can talk for you!! :)
The work is still going pretty good. We have hit another bump in the road. Neither of our baptisms this week are going to happen. Takeshi was doing wonderful and set to be baptised, but the day of his baptismal interview Satan hit him with a hard temptation and now he has to wait a little longer to get ready to be baptized. It is a bump, but he is still working hard to get baptized on 8/20. Please pray for him, he is having some trouble with smoking. We have been doing a lot of different things and working hard these past couple weeks.
I have been spending all day today puting all the pieces for Marissa's birthday package together. Hopefully she likes it!
It has been SOO hot here this week so everyday is dying in 100% humidity and heat! Makes me excited for the winter!
I was laughing the other day because it is pretty hard sometimes to do things in English! I pictured me coming home and having some serious issues during my homecoming talk trying to speak in English! This coming week is going to be pretty busy. Lay Choro and I have to spend a day at the Mission Home for ZL Council, and then we have service again this week, and before I know it it will be P-Day again! Weeks are starting to breeze by and I can feel things pick up and up. I can hardly believe I will be on my 4th transfer in a week and a half!! There are only 16 transfers! I am trying to think of things to say but I don't really know what to report! I remember all those times Dallin and Matt would write and not say much and now I understand! Every day we are finding and teaching people...and...well that is a mission!! :oD How is Jordan doing? That is something I have been thinking about a ton, I want to hear about how he is doing. Please let me know!
Well, I guess that is it for this week, I will finish by bearing my testimony. Ether 12:27-28 talks about we have weaknesses to make us humble and to bring us unto the Savior. I want to testify that in our weakness, we can find true strength is our Savior. A mission is something that you just absolutely can't do on your own. On a mission the Lord teaches us to come unto him in humility so that he can show us miracles. Those miracles aren't just ones we can see, he will cause miracles of change within us, the power to change our natures. This is God's true gospel. I know it with all of my heart. If we follow faithfully and humbly, we will never be lead to roads we cannot walk, bridges we cannot cross, or mountains we cannot climb. The path of a disciple of Jesus Christ is a path that is narrow and long, but the only path that will take you to eternal happiness with our Father in Heaven. I testify that it is a path worth taking. I love you all so much!! I hope you are all doing well and have joy in every day of your lives! Until next week, I love you!!
Elder Zachary Taylor Page

Elder Page nears the end

Hey everyone,
Thank you so much for your love and letters. I love to hear how everything is going with you all. It sounds like you are really enjoying your summer. I'm glad that you are getting so much time together.
It sounds like Zach is doing well in Japan. I'm glad he met Sis. R :) She is really sweet. I'm glad Zach W. is doing well too! That would be awesome if he went to BYU Law school :) He is such an example to me.
Things with me are alright. THis week we finally met the new mission pres. The Kilpacks are great:) Thare are super nice & seem really excited about the work.
Elder Densley is recovering well. He's really postive about everything. With him being sick I've had time to do alot of reflecting. Now that I'm coming to the end I've been having a lot of thoughts about the last 2 years. Have I done enough? Have I grown? Have I become Who I need to be? I've found that with the excitement of coming home comes fears of all that lies ahead, school, work, marriage. Am I ready for all of that...am I ready to leave my mission? I feel so torn and confused.
Keep me in your prayers, I need them more than ever.
I read in Alma 42. I felt really connected to Alma's son. I've made mistakes & sinned & felt that there was no hope for me. Inadequecy comes alot as a missionary. I read the last verse and felt peace from Alma vs. 27 all are invited to receive the waters of life. We are not compelled! Agency allows freedon to chose. I've felt that in inviting others to drink from the living water of Christ. We will never thirst as we go to him. We fall and slip. We constantly sin and mess up. It would seem all hope is lost in the unpayable demands of justice. We cry within ourselves, " I don't have the means to pay the debt" We feel sorrow. From this pain comes the desire to repent. I'm so grateful for the sorrow I feel that pushes me to my knees. Humility, how much I need more of it. Pride continually seems to creep into my life in all forms. How can I call others to come to Christ when I still am so far from being perfect as He is? I am a sinner and feel as Nephi encompassed by the sins that so easily beset me. The last verse made me feel Christ's love for me. With my sin and mistakes. The Savior says, "stand, go, thrust in the sickle, they sins are forgiven you.
I know that peace and true joy can only be found in Christ. He is mindful of ALL his children. He is our Savior. It's true! We have hope. He is the rock of our salvation. I am in awe at his perfect nature and love for all and that we can know and understand who he truly is and He is through the gospel.
I love you all You have helped me be more like my Savior through your examples. I am so undeserving of the blessins that have been piled at my feet. I am grateful!
Have a great week:)
Love
Elder Page

Page Choro

Hey everybody,
ok so I am very sorry this email will be very unimformative and short, but this week has been one of the busiest weeks of the mission so far and I only have like 15 minutes until I have to be home. So just to recap the week very briefly...We made two baptisimal dates this week! Both were miracles. The first miracle is named Mariko. She is in her early 20s and we broke her phone and then made a baptisimal date! Long story but she could possibly be my first baptism in about a month. But, if not her, we met a guy last night named Takeshi. We met him on the street, took him back to the church, we taught a great lesson, he said he wants to change his life and we made a baptismal date!! It was a great week, but way busy! The Sendai Zone is by far the biggest zone in the mission with around 20 missionaries, and so being a Zone Leader is way busy! We went on two splits this week with the APs and a District leader. Me and Lay Choro are really working hard to lift up the zone and help everybody out. Lay Choro is a great example to me and I have learned so much from his leadership. Tell his Mom that she raised one heck of a son! :) We had a big Ward party today with a couple of Investigators there. Us Elders planned the party so it was really fun and...well...American! We had a water balloon fight, a hoola hoop contest (which I definitely failed at), and a food eating contest! It was way fun and a good experience for everybody. I also got my haircut today by a sister missionary named Sister Kumagai. Mom, when I thought it couldn't get worse than that one time the guard fell off...I was wrong. :) I will send you pictures soon. Lets just say that I hope people focus on my Smile!!!! I am sorry this email has been so super short! I got a letter out to Marissa today and I relayed a very special experience, one of the greatest of my life, to her in that letter. When she gets the letter she can read it to you guys, Ok? I am so sorry!! I feel super bad that you don't really know a lot! Just know that I am really trying to work my heart out! I am trying to be the very best missionary I can. I love you all so much. I know that this church is true. There is no doubt. I promise you all again that God Lives, Jesus is the Christ, We can know eternal truth perfectly through the Holy Spirit of God. You guys are all the best. Mamma, I love ya! The most exciting thing I can imagine about going home is getting a big Mamma hug again! There are a couple other things but that is first! ;)
I love you all!!! Have a great week!!
Love always,
Elder Zachary Taylor Page

Choose to Bloom where you are planted!

Hello Everybody!!
Well, where to start on the past few days! Since I don't have too too much to just tell you as far as things going on, I will tell you about a wonderful learning experience that I had. So I am going to put it straight, the past three days were terrible for missionary work. It started with one bad evening and then it carried over into the next days. It is way hot and humid here, and we spent all day out in the heat, and nobody would even stop to talk to us. All day people rode by on there bikes and turn their shoulders as they walked by. Coming off of a week of seeing a lot of miracles and good experiences, it was a long fall into this period of hard rejection. With the drop into this hard time, I began to lose patience. I listened to people tell me they didn't need this message over and over again and it drove me up the wall. I began to be impatient and wouldn't even be happy when I would try and talk to people. I made the mistake of letting my faith in miracles go. I walked into every contact believing that they would just ignore me, and so that is just what I got. I began to recognize me own discouragement and impatience as last evening drew to a close. Last night, I hit the bottom and fell on my knees in prayer. I came to my Father and told him exactly what I was feeling. I cried and felt his assurance that if I would pick my head up, he would give me ways to lift me up. So as I went to sleep last night, I still felt down, but decided that things would get better. The morning was the same and I felt pretty lowly. I decided that would write in my journal, and as I wrote, I began to feel the love of my Saviorin my heart. Moments later, Elder Ellis and Elder Lay came home from shopping and they had bought me some Melon Pan (my favorite bread) to cheer me up. I felt there love and my mood gradually began to be lifted. As soon as I decided that I could feel joy, the Lord began to bless me with his tender mercies. Through his spirit my change of attitude and heart was completed as I received a talk from my Dear Marissa. Her sending that talk to me was inspired of the Holy Ghost and brought that smile back to my face. The talk was all about discouragement and at the end it says, "I can choose to bloom wherever I am planted, whenever the season, whatever the challenges." I know that the Lord answers our prayers. I have learned this week that he will try our faith. If we keep faith in him through all things and do not droop in discouragement, he will keep his promise to us that "the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him (Mosiah 29:20)." Through this experience I have better learned how to trust in my Savior through all trails on the mission and in life. My sincere and solomn promise to all of you is that Jesus Christ lives. He paid the ultimate sacrafice so that through all pain we can be lifted up. Jesus Christ truly hath decended below all men so that he might lift up even the most lowly soul. I am so priviledged to be able to serve him and to be his tool to lift up those souls who will humble themselves and let him heal them. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It was brought back to this earth throught the prophet Joseph Smith. He truly did translate golden plates, given to him by an angel, into the Book of Mormon. Eleven witnesses testified to their death that they had seen the plates, handled them, and that they were an ancienct record.
My testimony is with their's. The Book of Mormon is true. It is the word of God. Read it and you can know without a doubt that it is Gods word, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. If the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet, and this church is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is the Keystone. If you want to know if this gospel is true, read that Book. It is everything and I know that when you read, you will know with no doubt that it is true, and therefore,that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all so very much. Everyone have a wonderful week. Until next week everyone please remember me in your prayers.
Love you all,
Elder Zachary Page