Someone's Gotta Watch Their Kids!

Hey guys!!

My birthday was great! I actually forgot it was my birthday until my companion said something!! 

I have pictures I will show you!! 

So this week the president of our branch called and said ¨hey you guys have a day of freedom on Monday right?¨ 

We said ¨yes¨ 

¨oh great that works out perfectly because we have an activity Monday and we need your help!¨

¨Fantastic. What can we do?¨ 

¨All the adults are coming to learn about how to store food so someones gotta watch their kids¨

¨Okay....how long is the activity?¨

¨10 until 4¨

So that was pretty much what my p day consisted of today. They also popped my soccer that I bought. I didn't really care. We tried our best to entertain them!! 

As for the other days of the week nothing too extraordinary happened!! The sister missionaries called me tuesday night because they had a baptism this Saturday and they wanted me to baptize her! I said of course! 

I met her wednesday and Elder Vallenas gave her an interview for a little while. After the interview the sisters asked her who she would like to baptize her. As soon as they said that I knew It was going to go another direction. The sisters said that almost positive she would choose me. She chose my companion! I really didnt care I just knew she was going to be baptized by someone with the authority anf that is all I cared about!! 

I learned something cool from a return missionary here. She said that theres these things called alpha smarts that we are allowed to have in the mission. it is literally just a keyboard and a tiny black and white screen. It stores what you type and you can download it onto a usb and send it. I would like one. She said they arent very expensive and that way I can write during the week. 

Yes my investigator came to church and she will be baptized this Saturday!! WOOHOO!! 

I hope all is well and I totally didn't realize I had hit four months! only a couple more!! The new mission president arrives this week!! 

I love you guys and I hope all is well!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese

I All of a Sudden Understand!

Hey everyone!!!

Thank you for the happy birthdays!! I am excited to pass that milestone! 

I did share with my companion! Both of them actually! I have some stuff left! Thank you so much once again! (I sent some stuff in his birthday package for his companion)

As for this week! It was interesting. I all of a sudden just understood everything people say. It just kind of clicked! It was great. Elder Vallenas is a little quiet but he talks when he needs to teach and he talks to me a lot in the house and and when I talk to him. 

Yes the camera works! I haven't taken very many pictures because I am not in the habit hahaha. 

Our baptismal date for June 24th got pushed up to July 1st! She couldn't attend church so we couldn't baptize her this week. 

We have another one for August 4th. She wants to get baptized on her husbands birthday. Which is cool and all but why couldn't he have been born tomorrow or something cool like that? 

We had a zone conference today in the morning. It was really cool because I understood all the things they said. It was more of a goodbye to President and Sister Pricoli because we probably won't see them again. They will leave in the next 10 days or so. 

My companion told me one day this week that when he was training another Elder that Sister Pricoli told them they could rest of they needed to because this other Elder was in training. I could tell he wanted to rest but I just looked at him and said I wasn't tired and that we don't need to rest. It was a great feeling knowing that I had the opportunity to do something seemingly harmless but I knew I would rather teach people. 

I had no idea that the stuff inside my package were from other people as well! Tell your friend from work that I'm very thankful for what she did!! I will email Grandma too!

Elder Robison told me that a lot of times letters take a long time to get here and its kinda lame but its true.

If at all possible I would appreciate my blue suit jacket and my other pants! Also I really loved that john Bytheway track! Those are really cool!

Thank you so much for the happy birthday I love you all and I will talk to you next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese

(He sent pictures and this is what he said about them)
One of those was a failed attempt by my zone leader to hurry and press all the buttons in time! I am currently the only gringo in my district! What a treat!

He Got HIs Package!

Hey guys!

So this week was a little strange. I did get my package though and everything was in it. My camera, mp3, speaker, 4 bags of hot cheetos, 2 bags of jerky, 1 bag of jerky sticks, 2 things of pixie stix, goldfish, zone bars, smarties, fruit roll ups, my ring and necklace, and the three boxes of candy. 

Thank you so much it made me so happy! I am trying to make them all last! 

As for my week...Elder Vernaza got sick Monday night and stayed sick until Saturday morning. He kept going out though! Except for Thursday and Friday. I got to study a lot. I love that John Bytheway track it is very cool. It is really fun studying your scriptures in depth as a missionary! You can always think about the situations that you could use the scriptures you have! 

As for my letters from grandma I haven't seen a single one! I will have to ask the office about that and see if there is something special we need to do. 

My baptismal date got moved up to Saturday the 24th of June. She went to see family this Sunday and didn't attend church so we cant baptize her until then. 

Not much happened this week because Elder Vernaza was sick but it was still a good week.

Now, about transfers. Elder Vernaza got transferred to an area called Popoyan. I stayed in Prado where I have been. My new companion is Elder Vallenas from Peru! He speaks Spanish like a gringo because he has had a lot of gringo companions. A big trial has come into my life with this cambio. Wannna hear it?

So he arrived in Palmira and I took us to the house and then I said I needed to cut my hair so we got ready and left. While the dude was cutting my hair he was talking about a lot of church stuff and his opinion on things and I was staying with him pretty well. Elder Vallenas didn't say a whole lot but i figured it was fine. He told me earlier he has like 1 year and 2 months in the mission. After the haircut we were talking and he told me that he still doesn't understand everything people say!!!! I was like are you kidding me!! We are like two deacons short of a quorum here. I know that this is God saying I am about to have to learn how to step up my game.

He is very nice and a little quiet but I can fix that! He plays the guitar beautifully! It was hard to say goodbye to Elder Vernaza but it is part of the mission. 

I hope everyone is healthy and strong and being good. There is not a temple in my mission. I now know what it feels like to enter the temple and I don't know why anyone would decide not to go there regularly. Please try and make it a goal to go at least once a month or more!! I just know it will bless you guys! I love you all so much! Stay strong!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese

No Package Yet!

Hey guys!

This week was good. Not a whole lot happened but it was still good. Every week is what you make it!

As for my package...no. I should get it this week on Thursday possibly Wednesday! 

I haven't ran into a lot of mosquitoes while I have been awake but they sure visit me at night dirty turds. It is rainy season here so they aren't as lively I don't think. 

As for investigators. In South America you almost always have investigators. I have another baptism the 17th of June. She is amazing. Her Book of Mormon is marked better than most members. I have another investigtor who has taken the discussions for 3 years and his baptism is very close. He finally started reading the Book of Mormon which is the reason for his dramatic change. We have some others but they aren't keeping all of their commitments.

I have heard a lot of different things about the new mission president and when he gets here so I don't really know when he gets here for sure. 

As for Grandmas letters...I have yet to receive a single one. So you might want to check with her on what address she is using and things like that.

 

As for new friends, yes mom, I always make friends with whoever I can! All the Elders are my friends and all my investigators as well. (I asked him if he was making any new friends)

Bishop Black emailed me so I can email him back through that! 

There is a series called The District where camera crews followed around missionaries. I have to watch it as part of my training. One of the sister missionaries on there had 2 months in her mission when her brother died. She said something that caught my attention that I really like. She said that there comes a point in everyone's life where they have to have God because they have nothing else. In our lives at some point, we will be in a place that only one person can go with us. That is God. Always remember that. 

Other than that it was a basic week. We have transfers next Sunday. I think Elder Vernaza will leave and I will get a new companion. I don't think I will go but you never know. If I don't email on Monday it is because I got transferred and I have a 14 hour bus ride somewhere. 

Anyways I love you all and stay faithful!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese