Tew, Coleman T

Dang, this is so weird! Another transfer has come and gone, and now Elder Donaldson is on Saint Kitts. This week was insanely cool. We had a really good week full of miracles, and lots of people kept their commitments. We baptized Oscar this week. I've never seen someone so ready. We found him three weeks ago, invited him to be baptized our first contact. Now he's confirmed three weeks later and has the Aaronic priesthood! Pretty impressive to me. How hard the Spirit works. He was really good at keeping commitments. It's made me realize how much God has prepared people for the gospel and who is actually not ready to accept. Jose and Marie, our most progressing friends, finally accepted a baptismal date for July 9th. Let me tell you, that was the hardest thing ever, getting them to accept a date. But we came in with the Spirit, and we prayed a lot on how we could help them. They have been to church five times in a row, so we knew they were ready. We went into the lesson with...

Ay bendito! Cristaly was baptized... That was a miracle and a half. I have never seen someone so cranky accept the gospel in that way, but all I know is we couldn't have done it without the Lord and Elder Donaldson's face (she has a crush on him). No, but in all seriousness, Cristin's daughter had a very nice baptism, and the Lord truthfully helped us a lot with that. We had a really cool exchange, me and Elder Clayson, and we found a super cool goat named Milton. We pray it keeps going well with him. We went to a random gated neighborhood to knock on some doors, and usually, we could get in because there is a lady that opens and closes the gate for the visitors. At least, that's the case with most neighborhoods. Unfortunately, there was no lady to talk to, and then we went to click the little keypad, and we couldn't get in, so we went to another neighborhood. Same thing. So, I got out to back up my comp, and I go, "Dang, we just wanted to find souls here,...

Well... RIP Lil Costco. So, one morning this week, we woke up and decided to go for a run. We went running and saw a baby iguana, so we grabbed it and ran back home to put it in a little box and keep it as a pet. Unfortunately, he was dead when we got home that day. Unfortunately, we just killed Lil Costco before he had time to live. So, I have been a missionary officially for a year in 2 days. As I look back on this last year, I realize how much I have actually changed and grown. It's amazing how fast it is going. I'm finally a "dynamite missionary Zack." No, but all seriousness, this is the most joy I have ever felt in my entire life from serving a mission. It has been so amazing to learn so many things every single day, to just learn how to deal with the word "no" and people being mad at you on the street for no reason, just mad because you are a member, to learn how to deal with tough situations personally and when others tell you their situations. They ...

We were walking in the street from 2-7, which was in the same neighborhood, and it was hot! Elder Donaldson and I found an iguana stuck in a fence. So, what did we do? Well, it was stuck in barb wire, so what did we do? We performed surgery and helped that iguana live! I was in shock after being very stunned that it didn't die on the fence. I'm pretty sure it gave up, but it's free. We had a cool district council this week. President Hermana Skinner came, and then they did interviews. I had a really cool interview. It's always good to see the president and hear his advice. Our most progressing friend and her husband are both coming to church and stuff and reading, and now they're having lots of marriage problems. I feel like a marriage counselor. I've never talked so much about the plan of salvation and eternal families and marriage. I have also studied so many talks and read the proclamation of the family like 35 times. This marriage thing is hard. I don't ...

We are out of quarantine. It's crazy. All I know is that I absolutely love knocking doors, and I hate quarantine. So this week was super good. We had a lot of fun and a ton of miracles! We had Cristin's baptism. It was so cool to see her husband get to baptize her too! (He's only been a member since February.) It's really cool to be able to be used as an instrument in the Lord's hands. This week, we met a guy when we were doing the shopping cart service. We ended up going to his house, and I kid you not, I have never had to try to convince a guy on my mission that the Bible is also the word of God. He was so for the Book of Mormon but against the Bible (he read the Book of Mormon, and it helped him quit drinking), but I have never had to try and help someone believe in the Bible. It's always the opposite. It was weird. We were walking the streets yesterday, looking for fewer activities, and the Lord just happened to put us in the right place at the right time to...

Day 72 out here in a concrete house, yeah... I'm quarantined. I tested positive 2 times for COVID, lol, kinda stupid if you ask. I haven't had COVID symptoms since last Monday, but my back was killing me all week, so I thought I had a kidney stone or a kidney infection, you know, I don't know. So I went on for a few days with this back problem, and finally, I'm like, "I gotta figure it out." So we go to the doctor, he writes me up for 5 labs: pee test, blood drawing, strep throat test, COVID test (bad idea). First off, I walk in and get told to sit in the chair. She puts the band on my arm, and I'm like, "Oh dear, she's going to draw my blood." I'm going to pass out. So I tell them it's normal and it always happens. Then the other lady starts coming to talk to me about missions, so I start talking to this lady, and then I'm done. Mom, you'd be so proud! I didn't pass out, and I have no idea how. Anyways, we get done, and t...

Wow, I am going to say that this week was milagroso! Holy crap, have I witnessed the coolest thing ever. So on Monday, after our pday, we went to Cristin's house. She has been wanting to get baptized but keeps putting off a date for a reason we have no idea why. So we had her 7-year-old daughter offer a prayer. We had her daughter ask the question, "What date should my mom get baptized?" And I felt really strongly on May 22, so I told my companion what I experienced when she was praying. He didn't say anything, but a day later he randomly looked at me and went, "Yeah, I think May 22 is right." So we decided to make the invitation for her baptism before telling her because the Lord already told us May 22, so we weren't even scared at all for her answer. We were looking forward with the eye of faith, knowing that the Lord already promised. So we went to her house on Friday with the invitation to her baptism. We were super excited to talk to her and make it...