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

Teaching the Gospel

Hey Guys,

I didn't get my package and I probably won't get it until the following week! You only receive packages during interviews, transfers, and when the zone leaders go to Cali every beginning of the month. So they go to Cali next Wednesday which means that is when I will probably get it. 

As for this week it was good. We had some pretty cool experiences. That family that we figured out wasn't married, we taught them the law of chastity. It was good. Last night they told us that they are probably going to get married. They have lived together for 17 years and they are going to get married because we taught them that it was right. That makes me pretty happy. 

H F V has been taking the lessons for more than three years and comes to church every Sunday and prays and has lessons with us but he wouldn't read his Book of Mormon. We decided that all our lessons we were just going to read the Book of Mormon with him. Well we read the introduction that says all the things you should do to know it is true. Then the testimony of the three and 8 witnesses and part of Joseph Smiths testimony. He really livened up during that lesson.

 

Later that week we had a FHE with some members and some investigators. The video we wanted to show wouldn't work so we showed one on the Book of Mormon. He said the closing prayer and he couldn't finish the prayer because he was overcome with the Spirit.

A few days later we had a lesson with him. I was talking to his daughter, a member of 3 years, and she told me that he started reading his Book of Mormon. During that lesson he said that his baptism is very close. So tomorrow we are going to ask him to be baptized on the 10th of June. 

I also had to give a talk in church yesterday. It was on missionary work. Not for missionaries for members. The 12 apostles said that the role of full time missionaries is to simply help the warm members with the missionary work. As members we can do so much. Always remember that. 

Anyways, other than that it was a pretty normal week. I hope all is going well and tell Katelyn congratulations for me!

I am doing good and staying obedient! Love you guys! Until next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese

First Baptism

Hey guys

This week was awesome! We had my first baptism which was awesome!! 

AGL was baptized on Saturday. Her ex-husband was supposed to do it but he got sick the morning before so he couldn't. We didn't learn this until lunch the day of the baptism. I was talking to her on the phone and I told her she could choose any member with the authority or any of us two. She asked if we had the authority and I said yes and then she said okay then I choose you Elder Reese!! WOOHOO!! I felt so good. 

The baptism was at six and I had to go get clothes and what not. We called her at 6 because she wasn't there and she said she was coming. We had a lot of people there and we just showed the restoration video because she didn't show up until almost 7!! Anyways we had all the hymns and the talks and then we got into the water which was freezing! I was so worried it was gonna be cold for her. 

I told her to come in and she did. I forgot to say her name so I started over. In Spanish this is what I said AGL habiendo sido comisianado por Jesuacristo yo te bautizo en el nombre del Padre, y del hijo, y del Espiritu Santo amen. I dunked her and when she came up out of the water her gown was pretty much transparent and she didn't wear what we told her to underneath. So that was interesting.

Anyways she bought a cake for Elder Vernaza because she didn't know if he would transfer or not and his birthday is the 26th of May. He didn't transfer by the way and neither did I. It was so sweet. 

He confirmed her a member of the church yesterday and gave a powerful blessing. 

Also, yesterday we taught this lady named L and she asked for a blessing for her back. We had just taught her about the word of wisdom and she had a little bit of problem with coffee but said she would do it. During the blessing the spirit told me in a way that she needed to know if she followed the word of wisdom that her back would be healed. As soon as I felt that Elder Vernaza said it in the blessing. It was very powerful. 

As for my package I didn't get it. I should have but I didn't and I don't know why. I will have to call the office. I am bummed because I really wanted it!

Other than that I don't really have anything to report. I love you guys and I pray for you everyday! We will have more baptisms here soon! Stay true!

Con Amor,

Elder Reese

Blessings of the Priesthood

Hey Guys!

Thank you so much for the Skype call, it was awesome. I enjoyed seeing everyone and having some laughs! I have a lot of them here as well though. Me and Elder Vernaza are always laughing and making jokes. 

I hope you guys enjoyed my call. I didn't really know what to say. It is weird because I don't think you guys knew either so I just started talking. Elder Vernaza said dad has a cool beard and that he looks a little scary. I just laughed and said he really isn't and that a lot of people that don't know him say that. 

Elder Vernaza is a good boy mom and an amazing missionary (I told Hunter I thought his companion looked like a good boy). And yes there really was an accident yesterday (It was very loud where Hunter was calling from and we heard a crash and apparently there was really a crash), but nobody was seriously hurt so it is all good. Yes it was a real building with walls and yes it is usually pretty hectic. As for the baptism she gets to choose and she has time to choose. It isn't important to me because as long as she gets in the water and is fully immersed she will be clean regardless of the missionary who dunks her. She was a reference from the zone leaders. I can print stuff off here yes.  (Hunter and his companion are going to baptize an investigator and I asked him who was going to baptize her)

Anyways, I wasn't super homesick after the Skype call I was relieved. I just wanted to go work and as soon as we hit end and payed we were off to an appointment. We found out last night that the boyfriend of the sister of one of the members here was hit and killed by a car yesterday. That was hard because she just shut everyone out.

Anyways, I love you all and I am keeping my guitar so I can learn hymns mom (He found someone who makes guitars and got one). I am doing great I don't think that me or my companion will transfer this time. I hope you all stay strong. 

Before I go, I have an experience I want to share. We have this family called the R family. D is 16 and she has been having stomach problems the last two weeks. Finally we told her that we had that authority we had been talking about called the Priesthood and with that we have the privilege to give blessings to help those who are sick or afflicted. She said immediatly that she wanted a blessing. Her whole family was there and I sealed the oil first and then Elder Vernaza gave the blessing. When he started the blessing, the spirit started to manifest itself. As he continued I couldn't hold my hands still and I almost couldn't stand. He ended the blessing and she stood up with this strange look on her face. She said thank you. She said she feels better and knows that she won't have problems with it anymore. The important thing about this story is that it wasn't the words Elder Vernaza said. It was the fact that we have the power and authority and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As members of this church solely through our actions the Holy Ghost will do amazing things.

I will pray for Todd. That is a good reason to go to the temple by the way! 

Con Amor,

Elder Reese