Back in Action😎

                                                                                            email sent on 5/9/22

Hello everyone!!

Hope you all had a super great week, because I know I sure did. This week was interesting to say the least, I actually got to do some solid missionary work which was a nice change after a while. 

Anyways, this last week was pretty wack again. What was kinda cool is I got to have another Pday with some missionaries I knew down in the Valley again last week, so that was pretty fun. But this week I got a new companion his name is Elder Uffens and he's a stud, it's kinda intimidating. He is 6'3" and he was a triathlete before the mish, so we go running almost every morning which is fun. Gotta be in that good shape for when I go home. Oh! And there's this thing where missionaries in their last six month, such as me, just go super ham on working out to look good for when they go home, it called six months to sexy, and you better believe I'm already sexy, but I'm just tryna get more, ya feel? 

But is has been a blast, I also found out I am probably getting transferred again already, because our mission president is combining our areas and that means I will get transferred and Elder Uffens will stay here and get someone else that is in a different area and they will cover three wards. So my hope is I get transferred to Phoenix, because my whole time here I have never technically served in the city of Phoenix. And I hope to go back on bike, so I can stay fit even easier, and get that nice summer tan on, ya dig?😜

But this week for dinner we went over to this families house, and the wife is a reptile rescuer. So she just has a bunch of reptiles just chilling around her house. Which was wack, she had everything from snakes, to lizards, to gecko, to bearded dragons, to this humongous lizard that could probably eat my hand off if he wanted to, she even had a tortoise that would just chill around the house. Needless to say I was very uncomfy with some of the animals. It was crazy, she wanted to show us this snake she had, so she just reached in and grabbed it and held it out to us, and I took a large step back and was like wooooah I was not ready for any of that yet, but yea it's fine. 

But this week was pretty mello, just doing a lot of catch up, so that is pretty boring, but I'm excited for this time I have with Elder Uffens it should be a blast. 

But I hope you all have a great week, and as always stay safe out there!

Peace✌

Elder Normandin 

He couldn't handle the smoke 🌬🌫☠

                                                                                                                        email sent on 5/22/22

Hopefully with this email my Mother won't kill me yet, but I hope you all have been well, I am chilling for the most part. But I hope you all enjoys this adventure of a last few weeks I am about to describe for you.

But life has been pretty crazy for me recently, I got transferred up to Flagstaff about 4 weeks ago and it has been a bit of a party. So normally I like to think I'm in half decent shape right? But Flagstaff decided to prove me wrong, because I went for a run my first day here, and I didn't even run that far but I got terrible altitude sickness because I came from Buckeye which is at about 800ft, and Flagstaff is over 7000ft above sea level so that was fun. 

Then we played some basketball on P-day and my companion had a terrible asthma attack, and so he was out for the count the next few days, which is really boring for me, because all I can do is sit there and wait for him to get better and I can't really do much.. so yea. 

Then in our area there was a pretty bad Forest fire, some members of our ward lost their homes which was really sad, but with his really bad asthma we couldn't stay where we were at. So normally we live just the two of us, but then we moves across town where the smoke is better, and are living in an apartment with 4 other Elders, so that makes 6 of us. And you know when you out 6 19-20 year old boys together, you get some trouble, so that has been a blast for sure. 

Also! Being a missionary is pretty sick too, this isn't why I like being a missionary but it's also a plus. We were going out to lunch the other day and we got some money from someone for lunch, so we were going to get 120 nuggets, with 8 large fries, and 8 milkshakes too to feed all the missionaries in our district group. It was gonna be like $150 all together, but we got money so we were like we'll be fine. We then are standing in line about to order, and this lady turns around and says, can I buy you all lunch. And we were all like... uhhhh, we feel bad because there's a lot of us, and said we should be fine, but she insisted and was like my daughter is on a mission, and she's needs some blessings. So we were like well, can't argue with that, so she paid for all of it, and I was like😱... I then said "The Lord is going to bless her soooo hard now" ... but yea that was fun.

Oh! And also we were all mega bedding in our living room with our mattresses, and then at like 4:00am we here this like pitter pattering in our cupboard, I think you already know where this is going. But I go to check it out and there is just a rat chilling in our cupboard eating our chili oil that we got stocked up which was waaaaaack. It was honestly really disgusting, but we then chased it around the apartment for a bit, then trapped it in a bag, then one of the Elders proceeded to curb stomp it, and another group spiked it, and then we tossed it in the dumpster. So... yea that was an adventure, ngl I almost lost my lunch watching them do that, but it's a fun memory now. 

But now actually I am down in Goodyear, because of all the smoke the Emergency Transferred us so that way Elder Borman could start to breath better. We have been down here since Thursday and it has been wack. But I has been a blessing from the Lord because I have been able to see a lot of cool missionaries that I used to know because Buckeye is right next to Goodyear, so I already know a lot of the missionaries down here which is fun. 

But we have been working in our area remotely and it has been super weird, we have called and texted so many people I don't care to count, but I should be going back up to Flagstaff with a new companion hopefully Tuesday, so stay tuned. 

But I hope you all are doing well, as always stay safe out there!

Pictures:

I'm just gonna dump a bunch of pictures that are described in said events above but lmk if you have any questions!

I'm still alive!!

What up party people?                                                           email sent out on 4/11/22

So it has been far too long since I have sent one of these, but I am finally repenting and here you are. 

So these may be kind of jumbled but bear with me, a lot of things have happened. So I just recently got moved up to Flagstaff coming from Buckeye and it has been... alright to say the least. As soon as I got up here I got this weird stomach bug and have been bed ridden for the last few days. But here is a quick recap of the last few months.

So I was with Elder Young for another transfer and we had a good time. We weren't able to hang out with many other missionaries so that was kinda a bummer. But at the beginning of our transfer we got put into a trio and covered 4 wards again which was crazy, we also had these Sisters in our district that were in quarantine so we had to help them out a bunch so it was like we were covering 6 wards which was even wilder, but hey the Lord provides. We then went back to normal and just kinda vibe for a bit. But then the last week and a half of the transfer we got put into another trio, with now one of my favorite people ever, and that would be Elder Jensen. We then covered our two wards, a YSA ward, and a Spanish Speaking Ward... Yup that's right your boy got to dabble a bit in the lingual arts. It was actually kinda scary because we would greet some people and be like Hola, and all that jazz, but they would say something back to us, and we would just awkwardly look at Elder Jensen, thankfully he is a fluent Spanish Speaker, so that was nice. But we had a blast to say the least.

Then I got a new companion, who is Elder Lynn. Funny thing is that when he first got into the mission field I lived with him in Surprise, so we already knew each other. Crazy thing tho, my first trainee Elder Thomas was in North Phoenix at transfers and none other than my current trainee Elder Young got to go over and join him and I thought that was pretty cool. But that transfer was awesome, had some really cool missionaries in my district, we baptized our friend named Susie and she is so sweet. Elder Young even got to come back for the baptism which was awesome, so I got to see him and Elder Thomas again which was the coolest thing ever. 

It twas also just April Fools, and so me being the hilarious person that I am. I decided I had to do something about it. So right before one of our meetings we got about 800 sticky notes and decided to put them all over our roommates car, and I even got the Sisters in our district involved which was awesome. We had a good time and they were good sports about it. 

We had General Conference too, which is a worldwide broadcast put on twice a year by our church, and we got to watch it with most of our district. The missionaries that I have served with in Buckeye are some of the coolest people I've met and I feel bad that you all haven't had the chance to meet them yet, and I hope one day you will. But we had a great time being able to hear from the prophet and to just hang out a little bit. 

We also got to go to a spring training game last week too which was suuuuuper fun. It was nice and sunny like it always seems to be in Arizona, but I got to book out with our district one last time before I got launched up to Flagstaff. But I got absolutely baked by the sun though. It was a good bake because now I have basically just tanned it all out since then. It was kinda nice because people kept commenting and saying how did you get so tan, so I of course responded, " wouldn't you like to know weather boy" and then told them my secret. 

But now my current companion is Elder Borman, and he's a stud. He has put up with sick me for the last few days so pray for him he has put up with a lot. But I'm excited to be here, have a good district and some good elders to work with and I'm really excited to see where things go from here. 

But that's it from me, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter this year and remember all the good the Savior has done for you. And as always be sure to stay safe out there. 

Peace

Elder Normandin

Also, I don’t have any pictures because my phone broke and I can’t access any of my pictures so yea… pray for me

Update from Mom

 

Elder Normandin has been a super busy Missionary these last few months so I thought as Mom I would post a few things to keep a record of events that have happened with Elder Normandin. 

~ Elder Normandin has just pasted his 18 month mark!! Which means he only has 6 months left till he comes home! He is doing great work and I know he is loving being a Missionary and loves serving the Lord in the Phoenix Arizona Mission.

~ Elder Normandin was made a District Leader in November 2021. Here is the Letter we received from his Mission President. Elder Normandin has been District Leader since this date, in both of the areas he has served.

30 Nov 2021 

 

Dear Brother and Sister Normandin,

 

I am happy to write you and let you know how impressed I am with your son, Elder Zachary Normandin.  His dedication and willingness to work hard have truly set him apart.

 

Your son has shown great talent and ability in sharing the Gospel.  He has gained the respect of his companions and trust of his leaders.  This letter is to inform you that Elder Normandin has been assigned to serve as a District Leader and as such will be directly responsible for the work and welfare of four to ten missionaries.  More responsibilities will bring more opportunities to help and influence others.  He is ready for both.  I am confident in his ability to serve in this assignment.

 

Thank you for supporting your son as he continues to make a positive difference here in the Arizona Phoenix Mission.  We are grateful for the opportunity to work with him.  It is a joy.  You can be proud of all the good he is doing in the lives of so many.  We pray our Heavenly Father will continue to bless your family for the sacrifices you are making.

 

 

With love and respect,

 

President Brik V. Eyre

Arizona Phoenix Mission

~ We have also received 2 email letters from Ward members telling us how well our son is doing in their area. It is such a blessing as parents to get an email about the kind of Missionary our son is. Here are the 2 email we received.

Sent to us in December of 2021

My name is Travis Midgley. I’m in the Surprise 1st ward. Your son served in my ward. It’s come to my mind to send you a quick message several times, I’ve typically brushed the feeling off but today I put pen to paper to write you.

I am very impressed by your son. We moved into this ward a couple months ago. The Elders were quick to schedule a visit with us. Our family is active; we attend church weekly, have callings and do our best to pray together.

Despite that, the Elders, felt inspired to visit us often. He would always challenge us to do something to improve our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Through his service and testimony, he has reignited my desire to be a missionary.

At this point we haven’t helped anyone to be baptized or listen to the lessons but we’ve had wonderful experiences as we’ve reached out to others and tried to be more Christlike to them.

The world can use more people like your son. He is an extremely focused and disciplined missionary. Im proud to have met him and will forever be grateful for his willingness to challenge me to get out of my comfort zone and live the gospel so others can receive it.

He and his companion taught gospel doctrine in our ward a few months ago. He opened by saying that they are just two 19 year old kids teaching a bunch of adults. To me, they are more then just 19 year old kids. They are dedicated disciples of Christ. I hope that he knows how much I appreciate all that he’s done.

It was sad to see him transfer areas. We wish him all best as he finishes out his mission. Thanks for raising such a great man that served here.

Regards,

Travis and Cathy Midgley

Sent to us April 2022

Dear Parents of Elder Normandin, 
I wanted to thank you for raising such a great young man as Elder Normandin! He has brought the Spirit into my home each time he has visited. He is in tune with the Holy Ghost as his words have brought answers to my prayers. In my opinion, he is a Spiritual Giant! Thank you for having your son be prepared to serve his full time mission, and bringing the Spirit with him!
May Heavenly Father bless and keep yall safe,
David Archdeacon
Estrella Hills Ward 

~ The last event I wanted to share is Elder Normandin had the opportunity to have a visit from a good friend of his and his father from our Ward in Oregon. They were going to be in his area for other reasons and Elder Normandin got permission to have a visit with them. 

This is the post Bro. Watkins made after them seeing each other.

The best part was the first part. Ethan was given a rare opportunity to visit with a friend from home who is serving a church mission in Phoenix. Since Ethan is planning to serve soon himself, they likely wouldn’t have been able to see each other for about 3 1/2 years! We spent close to two hours with Elder Zach Normandin and the confidence and growth displayed by this young man is one of the reasons why it is such an invaluable experience for young people. We are so impressed with the man he is becoming and I’m so personally grateful for the role model he has been to Ethan and the encouragement he has provided that has helped Ethan gain a desire to also serve. I love both of these young men and it was such a blessing to be able to watch them together today!

~ We want to thank everyone who has helped in supporting Elder Normandin during his time as a Missionary. I know he really enjoys the letters and emails he receives. We as parents made it hard on him by moving in the middle of his mission so all the love you continue to send to his is much appreciated.  

~ We are excited to see what the last 6 months has in store for Elder Normandin. Here are some pictures from over the last few months