Hunter Has A New Companion

Hey guys, 

So I was not able to do a voice recording this week so I apologize. 

I am currently sitting in an internet and this old guy is just watching spanish rap videos and rapping along with them fairly loudly. He sways his body back and forth as well. 

This week was a very long week. We had transfers which means I usually have a lot to do. I went to the airport 3 times between Tuesday and Wednesday. It is somewhat draining just driving to the airport so many times but it was not that bad. 

Also, this week they announced that here in the mission and I think a lot of other missions here in South America, that we would be switching phone carriers. I don't know how but part of my job is taking care of the phones so it was all up to me to get everything ready. 

The thing was that on Friday (yesterday) at one point all of the sim cards in the mission were going to stop working and that everyone was not going to be able to make phone calls or anything until they put in their new sim card which I had given to them. The numbers were all supposed to stay the same and everything was supposed to be smooth. 

I didn't put my sim card in until like 10am to avoid the phone calls. It turned out that almost all of the numbers were different and I had not register of any of them. That was disaster number one. 

Number 2: Presidente and Sister Whitesides were in Lima Peru in a seminar with all of the other mission Presidents from a couple countries. Their phones did not work correctly either so we could not communicate very easily. 

Number 3: The church headquarters in Bogota accidentally sent me the sim cards for Ipiales which used to be a part of our mission but now is part of Ecuador Quito north  mission. I didn't know until he called me on Monday and transfers had already started so I had no free time until Thursday. I asked them for an address but they didn't give it to me until Thursday afternoon so I hurried to the post office (that is not what it is but it is the American equivalent) and sent it but it was not going to get there until Saturday which meant that Ipiales would not have cell phones for a whole day. I am pretty sure that their mission thinks I am a huge idiot but I don't really mind lots of people probably think that! 

So at the end of the day I pretty much stopped answering my phone and let the fires burn. 

I also have another new companion. Elder Villon is now the secretary of materials and Elder Chacon is my new companion. He is from Peru. He is super funny. Also, he is pretty good at soccer. We have had fun so far being companions. 

This week the hot water heater in the house ran out of batteries and we never had any time to buy some and the water was pretty cold but by the time we bought some batteries I was pretty much used to it so it wasn't all that bad. 

I took two of my previous companions to the airport this week to send them home. Elder Vallenas and Elder Alcorta. 

Elder Vallenas was my second companion in the mission and is one of my best friends. He had some rough patches in his mission but he went home a good missionary. 

Elder Alcorta had been my companion for the last 6 months. He is from Argentina. Also one of my best friends. 

The more times I go to the airport the easier it gets to say goodbye to people. It is not that bad anymore. It was not easy but I am glad that they are home and starting their lives.

Today we played soccer and it was pretty fun. After we were all like dead we just played Russian which is a game I taught everyone that we would play to warm up before indoor games. There is a point system for the way you score goals and everything. 

Elder Villon went to go do a sideways bicycle kick and jumped in the air but he completely missed the ball and his body just made this loud slapping noise when he hit the ground and it was probably one of the funniest things I have seen.

As for my investigators we are currently fasting to have a noche blanca (white night) on the 26th. It means that there are more than 5 baptisms on that day. The goal in our district is 14 on that day in total. 

The 5th of May is the baptism of Diana and her 2 kids and then I am not quite sure who has a date when for now. I know that we have a lot of people that are getting closer and closer to baptism. 

I have not gotten my package yet just so you know I don't exactly know what happened but it still is not here. 

As for my package for my birthday, Elder Chacon would really like a ring like the one I have. It is the CTR ring with the wood on the inside and silver band. I think that 9.5 would be a good size. You should probably get one for Elder Villon too because he never got one. I would get him a 9 though. He is little. 

As for things from the states, most of the things I need I can buy here but I would appreciate some snacks. I will list them right now. Remember these are ideas I do not expect you to buy all of them. 

Hot cheetos (lime), Dynamitos (doritos brand), takis (always the purple bag), gardettos (never the mustard or the cheese flavor), flamin hot funions, jerky of course (I dont know if you would be able to get the jerky from Idaho falls that is like local that I would always buy from that one local store there), something else that I want the latinos to try are those super sour hard candies. They are the warhead brand I can't remember if they have a specific name but it would be a great video to have them all try them. If there is anything else you see feel free to put it in there. 

The only like thing from the states that I thought about recently (I dont know if it is possible) but it would be super cool to have a soda stream here because there are not very many sodas here. If you could send one that would be cool but if not that is totally cool. If you can't send a soda stream I could use the syrup. If you could send rootbeer and maybe lemonade or something that would be great! 

Other than that there is nothing else I have in mind but never feel obligated to send me everything I list! 

Anyways, that is all for now! Have a great week! Love you all! 

Con amor, 

Elder Reese

With A Smile Everybody!

Hey guys, 

So this week was great! Well it was great in some ways and very long in other ways. 

Monday we had a BBQ at President's house to say goodbye to Elder Alcorta who will be finishing his mission and to Elder Pizarro who is leaving the office. It was great. There were enough people who knew how to use a grill so I just let them do it and ate the fruits of their labors. Plus one of them is from Meza, AZ so he lives in a BBQ. 

It was really fun but it is never fun to say goodbye to people. I don't know if you guys remember Elder Vallenas? My second companion in the mission field? He finishes this transfer as well and I have to say goodbye to him at the airport. It is not easy because the odds of me ever seeing any of the Latinos again in this life are very slim. 

We also started interviews this week for the missionaries that are leaving and that creates a lot of work in my life because I am in charge of helping them and greeting them and all of that. 

I also got a phone call saying that the church in Colombia will be switching phone carriers and that in a week all of our sim cards will no longer work and that I have to distribute all the new sim cards (120) to the areas before that happens. Everything just kind of gets thrown together at the last minute every time there are transfers. 

I also got a personal phone call from Elder Gordoy who is a new member of the Presidency of the Seventy. I explain that experience in my voice recording. 

Today I bought Dad something at a gift shop that I will have to save for later. It is classic Colombia and classic dad. I think I will have to buy every Reese boy one. 

One thing I didn't mention in my recording was that Elder Gordoy and President said that the missionaries in the office are leaders. They said that we are there because the Lord knows that what other missionaries do in a whole day we can do in three hours. It made me really happy to hear that they had such confidence in not only me but also in my companions. 

I am glad that everything at home is going well. It sounds like we all need to be ready to help Grandma and Grandpa like they have helped us all our whole lives so with a smile everybody!! 

As for my investigators. Everything is going really well. We have very high hopes right now about how we are going to end the month of May with at least 7 baptisms. I will give you a rundown on that next week! Thank you for everything! Love you all! 

Con amor, 

Elder Reese

She Ain't Beyonce

Que mas?? 

So I am currently at an internet and this girl is singing sooooo loud into her headset and I don't think she knows we can ALLLLL hear her. I won't say she's bad cause that is rude but she ain't Beyonce  I can tell ya that. 

It sounds like my family has been enjoying time away from home with my niece and nephew and maybe Brittany and Ty but they never talk about Brittany and Ty so who knows? (Bill and I went over to Salem this weekend to see Brittany and Ty)

I would be very grateful to see all my Grandparents if it is possible on Mother's Day! I totally forgot that Mothers Day was coming up. It is different the more time you get in the mission. It is still exciting but you don't need things like that to keep you going. It is a very special treat and we all love it but it is not like it was before! I don't really know how to explain it! 

Right now we have 7 baptisms scheduled. 3 for the 21st of April and 2 for the 5th of May and 2 more for the 19th of May. WOOOOHOOOOO!! All this work is finally paying off! 

Transfers will be the 22nd of April which is in about a week! 

In other news, Elder Villón is being trained by Elder Pizarro to be a different secretary which means that he won't be my companion anymore at the end of the transfer and eventually I will get a new companion or maybe my own replacement will come this transfer I actually don't know. If my replacement comes it will be here next Sunday so I will know then. 

Also, I will never be jealous of anyone that goes to a tulip festival. Ever. (We went to the Tulip Festival while we were visiting Brittany and Ty in Oregon) I will however be jealous of who they go with! 

I would have laughed soooo hard if Reese pulled the fire alarm. That would have been a perfect ending! I dont know how that lady thought you were the father of those two kids. Being a Grandpa is cooler anyways. 

This week Elder Alcorta made the mistake of assuming that a new investigator was expecting a child. She had had the child about two weeks prior and was just fat. Never ask someone if they are pregnant, NEVER. There are no limits on how big people can be! 

I didn't really hear anything about the attack on Syria. This crazy guy kind of yelled it at us and then we tell him we don't watch news and he thought that was the craziest thing ever. He thinks that the next world war is coming. I honestly don't know!

I actually had to buy a trip home for an Elder from the Philippines and he goes from here to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Taiwan and from Taiwan to the Philippines. He will be traveling for 2 days. 

We have been doing really good in the area! I am a little worried that they are going to take me out of my area and put me in Versalles with the other secretaries which would really be hard considering all the things that are going to happen here pretty soon. 

Anyways that is my week! I love you guys! Be safe! 

Con amor, 

Elder Reese

Mister Brandon

Hey guys,

This week was good!! We are really progressing in our area. 

We knocked on a door and found a family of 5. Mom Dad and 3 sons. They are such a unified family and they actually read the scriptures and pray!! We will see if they come to church this Sunday! 

We also have a single mother with her 3 children that we are teaching. Her name is DIana and her daughter Laura is so smart and they both have accepted to be baptized and are going to church tomorrow. 

It sounds like Dad bought some new toys. The guard of our office building carries a revolver and I asked him what caliber it was and he didn't know. I asked him when the last time he had shot it was and he told me he has never fired a weapon before. We pay him a little too much. 

It has rained SOOOOO much these past few weeks. This Tuesday it thundered so loud that these nuns at the terminal started to kneel down and pray in the middle of the walkway. I thought it was so cool. 

This week I was the companion of Elder Arcos. He got set apart as a missionary on Tuesday and was with me until Wednesday afternoon. Very nice kid. I have pictures but no way to send them! Sorry! 

Sounds like Duke is in the hot seat. (Duke got in my purse and chewed a credit card, come charger cords and food! I am still mad at him!) I still remember that one time I went to the bathroom and left some chicken nuggets on my plate on the couch and I came out and they were gone and so was Duke and he knew that he wasn't coming back in! You can't be mad at him though. (Oh, yes I can!)

I am super excited to meet the 300 new additions to the Reese family. I say the number sarcastically but it is true! All the little ones I knew are wayyy to big.  All the nieces and nephews love me no matter what. The only one that never chose me over others was Maddi. 

The other guard in our office, for some reason calls me Brandon. But sometimes he calls me Mister Brandon. I don't know why but he does. So every time I walk in I call him by whatever name that comes to my brain. I don't know if he pays attention. 

Anyways, that is about it for this week! I love you guys! Talk to you next week! 

Con amor, 

Elder Reese 

New Welcome Home Missionary Standard

Que mas ve? 

I hope everyone enjoyed conference and the great changes that are happening to make the Church grow even more! 

There were some great talks! I am going to have to re listen to some of them throughout the week because in spanish you don't get the same thing as you do in English! 

Did you guys see the joy in our Prophets face when he got to announce that we are going to have a temple in Russia? That is so cool! 

Latinos are very happy to have a representative in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Elder Gong and Elder Suares are going to be great disciples of the Lord. 

I am glad that Grandma is doing better. I hope that she is getting better! It would be really good if you guys could find time to go to Pocatello on Mothers day so that she and Grandpa can be at the Skype call. 

I am really glad Duke still loves Tanner and that he is still there! Thank you guys for being good to him he is the brother I had to go find because you wouldn't give me one! 

I am glad to see that Cody still has not wasted money on razors or hair clippers. 

Tyson got a new car which seems to be very nice. Mom, Dad, it looks like the Leggs just set the new welcome home missionary standard! 

I really hope that when I come home that I can find something to do at least! I will try thinking about those things sooner or later! I am not worried I know that there is never just no jobs there are just picky people who think they are too good for some jobs so they never get any job. 

My time here as a secretary has been interesting. It has really taught me the importance of planning and managing your time. We often prioritize things in life but we often do it incorrectly. I have learned that God will give me the time I need to finish my office stuff so that I can be a missionary. That is the same in life! 

Anyways, I will send you guys the recording I took for all of you! Love you! 

Con amor. 

Elder Reese