These are the Waverly days...‏

My heart is so full right now. I need to take a moment to express some thoughts and emotions.

First and foremost, I am so thankful for my family! I cannot express sufficient gratitude for them and for their support. There are moments in life where you step back and see what's important. I suppose life just seems a little more tangible at those times than any other. Emotion can be shared at those times more effectively than others. I want my family first and foremost to know how much I appreciate them.

I also need to get something else off my chest. I am so grateful for the Spirit of God. I testify that it is real. I testify that it is the only true convincing power on this Earth. If I may perhaps get a little more personal for a moment, I need to tell my part of a story that has developed recently. I have a friend who I care about a lot. At the beginning of my mission she wrote me nearly every week and then came October. I remember the day very well...It was the Wednesday before transfers and it was my turn to respond to my friend's letter. I felt the spirit very strong whisper to me something peculiar, "If you really care about your friend then you will not be shy in showing her where she can find more happiness" I have a testimony that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings more happiness than anything else in this life. Well after feeling that impression I sent her a copy of The Book of Mormon so she could hopefully begin a search on her own. I didn't hear from her for over two months, the longest I had ever gone without hearing from her in a long time. I started to wonder if what I had done was right but I felt the comfort of the spirit in the decision I had made. See, this decision to share what I had with her was so tough because it crossed so many boundaries of our friendship. I knew that she did not want that in her life as well as I knew the spirit wanted me to share that with her. But I had to obey that prompting. Today I sit here in the Waverly Iowa library having just read my parent's emails and hearing that they attended the baptism of that same friend. I will never underestimate the power of one prompting.

As the subject line of the email says, I am now in Waverly Iowa and these are the Waverly days. I am serving with Elder Arbon from Grantsville, Utah. He is a great guy and has a great determination to serve the Lord. I will learn a lot from my time with him. The Waverly area includes Bremer County. For those who don't know there are 100 counties exactly in Iowa. The Lord has given Elder Arbon and I Bremer County to tend as part of His vineyard. There is a branch here with about 80 active members per week. From the 4 days experience that I have in the area, I know that I will like it. The work here seems to be a bit slow but Elder Arbon and I are determined to change that.

It was pretty awesome pulling up to transfer meeting in Iowa City with Brother Hubbard from Waukee and Elder Fenn and seeing a big giant yellow Hummer in the parking lot. Little did I know that that miniature bus would be taking us back to Waverly. We rode with the Austin's back to Waverly and had a great time getting to know them. They are getting ready to be sealed as a family in about a month or two.

There is some sort of loneliness tho that sets in after the couple hour rush of being somewhere new. You realize pretty quickly you have been booted right in the bum out of your comfort zone and that there is no one you know around. It's an interesting phenomenon that I wouldn't wish upon very many people. This transfer was comparable to leaving home for the MTC only because Waukee was so much like home to me. I had practically family there and I loved it. Then you sit on your bed in your new apartment and realize you can't talk to them or see them or think about them for the sole fact that it makes things worse. It's not easy. But as in all situations there is something to be learned from that experience...I learned somewhat of how lonely the Lord must have felt. He left his home in the heavens to come upon people who he even knew but they did not know him. Nor did many of them want to know him. I don't suppose I even felt a fraction of the loneliness that He felt but I felt close to him in that moment. After seeing the rest of the branch and getting to know some great families I feel much more at ease.

One of those great families was the Larson's. They are great and to be honest I don't know too much about them yet other than he works for the government and she teaches voice and music classes at Wartburg College here in town. Brother Larson has one of the coolest and most unique hobbies I have ever seen tho. He makes wands. Yes, I mean like Harry Potter wands. He has some in cherry wood, birch wood, pine wood, lilac wood, and many others. He kinda just started making them when he had some spare time and now people will pay pretty decent money for one. Don't worry...I will be putting my order in for a good wand to bring home! =)

It's been somewhat nice to go to district meeting and have no responsibilities. I miss knowing what's going on tho and I feel like I knew more of that as a zone leader. Our district includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls who has sisters currently serving there. Sister Brown, one of the sisters, actually has read the blog before her mission. She got called here and searched for some info on the Iowa Des Moines Mission and well the blog came up. She came up to me after district meeting and said, "Hey do you have a blog?" Anyway...quite a small world.

Saturday we had to get some new wiper blades for the Chevy Malibu that we're rolling around in now. The old ones were hammered. Well the first ones that we bought did not fit because Elder Arbon thought we had a 2011 model. Well just in case anyone reading this has a Malibu of the years of 2010 or 2011 they switched the wiper blade attachments. We felt like idiots after 5 minutes of trying to put the new blades on when they weren't the right ones. Oh well eh? You live and you learn.

Oh Sister Hubbard in Waukee made me my favorite cookies to take to transfers. She made me some no-bake cookies and sufficeth me to say that the plate was well polished within a couple hours. They were so good!

Things I learned this week:
-Charity and Compassion are pre-requisites to success.
-Try all the outlets in the house when you think your vacuum doesn't work to suck the air out of your space bags.

I know I already got a little personal and preachy in the beginning of the letter but I wanted to share something else that I learned this week in my studies. My favorite songs in the hymn book can pretty much all be attributed to one man. W.W. Phelps. Some of those songs have helped me so much in my mission and in my life. For example I can't sum up my feelings of the spirit without including,

"The Spirit of God like a fire is burning, The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning, And angels are coming to visit the earth.
We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven, Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given, Henceforth and forever, Amen and amen!"

But I became aware of something that I did not know previously this week. That man, one of the great psalmists of our day, was excommunicated 4 times and rebaptized 5. That shook me for a moment. Then I searched deeper and learned the forgiveness of man and God is great. The first time he was excommunicated was for signing the very affidavit that sent Joseph Smith, the prophet, to his agonizing months in Liberty Jail. I tried to put myself in Joseph’s place within those 4 walls in the middle of a Missouri winter. I can relate a little to that coldness he must have felt both physically and spiritually for this act on the part of Brother Phelps. But upon reading Joseph Smith's letter to Brother Phelps afterward I have learned much. I wrote it in my planner to share with you. He said, "It is true, that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior—the cup of gall, already full enough for mortals to drink, was indeed filled to overflowing when you turned against us. … However, the cup has been drunk, the will of the Father has been done, and we are yet alive, for which we thank the Lord. And having been delivered from the hands of wicked men by the mercy of our God, we say it is your privilege to be delivered from the powers of the adversary. … Believing your confession to be real, and your repentance genuine, I shall be happy to give you the right hand of fellowship, and rejoice over the returning prodigal. …Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, For friends at first, are friends again at last. -Yours as ever, Joseph Smith, Jun.” I now wonder no longer in curiousness as to how Brother Phelps could write "Praise to the Man" with such conviction. As much as I love that particular song, it seems only appropriate tho to conclude as I began—with poetry, from none other than Brother Phelps:

"Come all ye Saints who dwell on earth,
Your cheerful voices raise.
Our great Redeemer’s love to sing,
And celebrate his praise.
His love is great; he died for us.
Shall we ungrateful be,
Since he has marked a road to bliss,
And said, “Come, follow me”?
The straight and narrow way we’ve found!
Then let us travel on,
Till we, in the celestial world,
Shall meet where Christ is gone.
And there we’ll join the heav’nly choir
And sing his praise above,
While endless ages roll around,
Perfected by his love."

I love you all so much! I know second chances come to those who ask Heavenly Father for them. I know that this gospel is true. It is real. It is tangible and can be felt through that same Spirit of God.

Hugs and Kisses,
Elder Zachary Excell