I Can Take His Bed and Bathroom

Hey guys,

So I sent the recording to moms Gmail acount so that might be why you didnt get it!(I found it and will get it posted :) )

I am glad Dad had a good Birthday! I forgot to tell him happy birthday last week but I will tell him this week!

A lot of Brazilians have a good background in English (We have a missionary serving our ward and his from Brazil). The Brazilian accent is pretty bad though. I don't like it at all. God called me to speak Spanish because he knew I couldn't speak Portuguese. 

It sounds like Abby has a lot of opportunities coming her way and that makes me super happy! I have a lot of faith that she will do great. 

It sounds like Middleton is doing great in football! That makes me happy. We have the best kicker in the country so woohoo!! 

You guys got rid of the bed with the outlets in the headboard thing!! (We are rearranging and getting rid of stuff we don't need, but we didn't get rid of his headboard) That bed was awesome! Where am I going to sleep now? Oh well. The mattresses here are terrible. I am kinda banking on my companion to get transferred so I can take his bed and bathroom. That would be the ideal transfer. 

I have a recording about a super cool experience that happened this week so I will attach it for all of you! 

Most of my week is in my recording so that is about it! Love you guys! 

Con amor, 

Elder Reese 

God Always Provides a Way

Hey guys,

So, I sent a pretty long recording this week so I hope there are some that can enjoy it (We haven't gotten the recording yet, but if it's a big file, I'm not sure we will get it)! 

I pretty much explained the whole week so hopefully my mom can get it uploaded! 

We have interviews with President and Sister Whitesides tomorrow so that will be fun! I love interviews. 

Elder Hodges is slowly pawning my companion into doing splits so that he can come to my area with me and order food from this restaraunt that he really loves. We will see if he can get the job done. 

We are currently in week 4 of transfers. We will have transfers again on October 7th. 

I went to the offices the other day and Elder Whiting was kinda stressed out. I helped him get some work done so he could go proselyte. 

We should have a baptism coming up here on the 29th of September. She is one of my favorite people ever and I am so glad she wants to get baptized. She lives in the amazons but is here on a visit. 

She speaks spanish and a different language called guaya so that is pretty cool. 

We were really worried though because the closest church to her house is far. Me and Elder Saboya didnt know if we wanted to baptize someone that was not going to be able to partake of the sacrament. 

I fasted twice for that. Nephi clearly said that God never gives his children commandments without a way to keep them. I knew God had a way but we just had to have enough faith to find it. 

This week we found it. Beatriz received a picture of her friend that lives there getting baptized. She spoke with her and her friend was so excited to take Esther to church when she got back home. 

God ALWAYS prepares a way for his children to keep the commandments. So now we will move forward with the baptism. 

Anyways, everything else is in the recording! I love you guys! Have a good week! 

Con amor,

Elder Reese 

They Smoke Weed By The Way

Hey guys,

So this week is mostly in that recording, but it sounds like Middleton will be two stakes when I get home and that is kinda weird!

Our new downstairs neighbors have a terrible smoking problem and it comes straight up to our apartment. They smoke weed by the way, not cigarettes.

I have really enjoyed handing out those sour candies you sent me in the package. It is the best part of everything. Yesterday in Stake Conference I gave them out to this huge family in our ward and they all almost gagged. Classic. 

We still haven't finished all of the left over soda from the conference. 

I enjoy Sundays because it is my day to cook and I always go all out. Yesterday I cooked 3 chicken breasts with teriyaki noodles and it was delicious! I also found a store that sells Mountain Dew so I bought like 20 bottles. 

I really wanna learn how to cook some things from here so I can cook them at home. There is this lady in my area that cooks this chicken cake thing and I love it! Also, empanadas are super great. 

I was reading the Book of Mormon this week and I came across a part in Mosiah that talks about how those who refuse to give a part of what they have to someone who doesn't have anything because they think that they will misuse what is given.

It says that it is not our job to decide what they will do and what they won't. God is the only one who can judge in such a way. So, those who choose not to give are sinning. If you have more than enough of something what are you gonna lose anyways? 

So, here in Cali there are a ton of homeless people and they always ask for money. Before, I said no. Now, everyday I take a handful of coins out of my box of coins and when they ask, I pull out one coin and let them do what they want. 

We may know someone for a druggy or and alcoholic but I know for a fact that people can change. Maybe with a little money someone can finally decide to make something of their life. Who knows? 

Anyways, just a little thought. I love you guys! Have a good week! 

Con amor,

Elder Reese 

He is Going to Africa!

Hey guys,

Well it sounds like it is football season again! I asked President if he could join a fantasy team under my name and keep it up for me but he said no. Go figure! 

This week we had a visit from Elder Held of the Seventy. He is a really cool guy! He and his wife were born in Bogota but their parents were born in Germany. They spoke German in their houses as children and Spanish everywhere else. 

They then moved to Germany and got married. Then one night the missionaries knocked on their door and 10 months later they were baptized. 

They learned about the Gospel when they were 28 years old. And he is now a General Authority which goes to show that conversion has nothing to do with time but it has everything to do with dedication. 

This week was kind of slow in the sense of the missionary work because we had to do a lot of stuff for the conference with Elder Held because it was in our chapel. 

We bought 90 liters of soda. Do you know how much soda that is? 30 3 liter bottles. After the conference there were like 20 left over and we took 10. 

There will no longer be any baptisms this Saturday because we are going to have stake conference and the leaders are in a meeting on Saturday. Esther's baptism will have to be for the 15th of September. 

The ward secretary in our ward just got his mission call and I have been waiting so long for it. 

He always comes out on splits with us and is literally such a good kid. 

Yesterday he opened it at the chapel. He had like a testimony meeting and everything and everyone made guesses on where he would go. 

Now, basically the majority of people from South America go to another country in South America or maybe Mexico. And every now and again the USA. So those were basically the guesses. 

Side note: Latinos are very superstitious and make things up in their brains about everything they think they know. It is terrible. You will understand why I mentioned that in a second. 

He finally got to the part of opening his letter. He pulled it out and read the whole first paragraph and his eyes just got a little big and he had his mom come up and stand by him. 

He started reading the letter, about halfway through his moms eyes got really big and she just started crying and crying and crying like frantically. 

Then he gets to the end and says¨ You are hereby assigned to serve in the Ghana Accra West mission.¨ and I was literally the only person besides him and his mom that knew where that was. And I understood completely why she was crying. 

In the mind of a person in Colombia you might as well be sending the poor kid to the moon. It almost doesn't fit in their minds that he is going to Africa. It was really funny. 

In the conference with Elder Held he told us all that we have to fill out a My Family pamphlet with our 4 generations in it to be able to show to investigators. So this Wednesday my companion and I will be going to the family history center in our chapel to receive help from the ward lady. (He did take this information with him, but I'm not sure he knows it)

This week I gave my first ever baptismal interview. His name is Honorio and he is a great guy. A little strange but a great guy. He passed and was baptized but I really enjoyed the chance to really figure out if he had a testimony which he did. 

Anyways, that is my week! Love you guys! 

Con amor,

Elder Reese 

We literally pray soooo much

Hey guys,

This went by quick! For those that dont know we had transfers today and I stayed here in Floresta with Elder Saboya. We received some other missionaries and said goodbye to some others. 

Elder Kelley is now a zone leader in Pasto and I was sad to say goodbye to him but he will do great things! 

There are no new missionaries here that you guys would have heard about before. I am excited to see what we can do with these new missionaries. 

This week was also the Capilla Abierta and it was awesome. My companion and I assigned all of the missionaries to their posters and they killled it! It was awesome. 

There were lots of new faces and people that were getting to know the church for the first time and I loved speaking with them. I was a guide but I would just kind of run around everywhere making sure everything was going well. 

There was this family of Venezuelans that were members that had just barely arrived here in Colombia and the daughter of the family stopped me in the hallway and told me that her Dad needed a blessing. 

I told her that when he finished the tour that they could ask for me and we would gladly help him. 

He found me and we took him to a room in the back and he started explaining what the problem was and about his life. 

He was a bishop in Venezuela and he is a convert of 2 years. He said there was nobody else in the ward that could do it. He said that his house stopped receiving water about 1 year ago but he couldnt leave because he loved his ward. 

Finally he had to leave and he said that he didn't know why he felt sick but he said that he will go back as soon as he can to help. He asked me to give him a blessing and my companion did the annointing. 

In the blessing I promised him that he would go back to Venezuela and that his life here in Colombia would sustain him enough to be able to return. I promised him that God loved him and that he will always be by his side. 

I don/t remember what else I said but when it was over he was so happy. He looked me in the eye and said ¨I am happy because I now know that God will send me back home.¨ 

Later that evening his daughter saw me and started crying and put her hands out to hug me but I put my hands up, kind of like Chris Pratt in Jurassic World with the Veloceraptors, and she shook my hand. She said that her Dad had not smiled since they left Venezuela and now he was just like he was before. She thanked me and left. 

Everytime I give a blessing I always get a warm feeling along my spine. Everytime. Without a doubt. I have really figured out how to use my priesthood here in the mission and how the power of God literally flows through my hands. It is one of my favorite parts of life. 

As for the rest of the week, it was really slow because we were preparing for the capilla abierta and saying goodbye to the dead missionaries. 

I will have to send you an audio about one of our investigators next week because it is a lonf story. 

I hope that everything went well this week for all of the events that seem to be happening. 

I hope everyone knows that I pray for you all at least 5 times a day. We literally pray soooo much and you guys are always mentioned. 

I love you guys and I hope you have a great week! 

Con amor,

Elder Reese 

It Doesn't Feel Like a Waste of Time

Hey guys,

This week was pretty busy! 

We have this event coming up that is called a capilla abierta or an open chapel in English. It will be held in our chapel and we are in charge of making sure all the missionaries are ready and prepared and we have to set up the chapel as well. 

President Trochez is in charge of everything else but since nobody really helps him he asks us. 

Also, we had to start looking for a new house for a companionship in my zone because their house is a disaster. It is literally one room and a bathroom. 

This week we spent a lot of time running errands and there is a member that always takes us  his name is Hector and he is hilarious. He bought us ice cream at this really good ice cream place and when we get tired in the car he starts dancing and it is really funny because he is a BIG dude. 

I honestly don't have much to report for this week. My zone got me a little fired up this week when we were doing a practice run for the capilla abierta and they weren't even close  to where they needed to be when Pres Trochez came in. They were just talking and not paying attention so I gave a good raise my voice without yelling type of thing. They listened though. 

I am practicing lots of hymns on the guitar because I think it is fun to play hymns and it doesn't feel like a waste of time. 

Looks like Ricky got married so that is good! He got tied down! I wanna go whitewater rafting eventually when I get home. It was a lot of fun when we went that one day with the Webers right after Travis got home from his mission. 

I apologize for this short email but  it has to happen! I love you all! 

Elder reese 

My Shower Is Cold

Hey guys,

Yea I guess I come home in less than 6 months now and it is kind of sad. They say home is where the heart is and mine seems to be split in two. It will be just like leaving home all over again when I head to my other home. 

I am working on getting my birthday package. The government has it in customs so I am about to take em down. 

Sounds like Dad is enjoying the "Retired" life. I always liked fishing but only when it was easy. I was never one to wait for an hour without a nibble. The best part was just being there though. 

It sounds like everyone had fun at Silverwood! I can't even remember the last time I went there. I remember when Aaron used to work their but that is about it. Wait! We went there when we were there for state. But it was Halloween.

I hope they (our plans to add on to our house) get approved! Are the plans you have now the same ones you sent a little earlier? 

Elder Kelley  (I connected with Elder Kelley's mom) is indeed in my zone and we get along great. He is a really good musician and 2 weeks ago we sang Hallelujah together. The Kelley's are pretty much the best. 

I am sure Dad is having tons of fun. Fishing in the great lakes is a pretty cool experience. 

9 o'clock church is pretty good (our ward just switched buildings and meeting time to 9:00). My ward right now starts at 8 and that is like pushing it but we have 2 showers in our house so it is a lot easier. My shower is cold (hehehe) though but I enjoy it.

I have not seen Elizabeth (my aunt) in a really long time but I sure do miss her! I love her house. That is a very well located house. 

Our investigators are doing well. If we work really hard we should have 4 investigators with baptismal dates. I will keep you updated on that! 

This week we had splits with 2 district leaders. I was with Elder Guerrero from Chile and Elder Choque from Peru. They are both great missionaries and I was happy to work with them for a day each. Elder Choque has a pretty thick Peruvian accent so sometimes I didn't understand what he said but I was not the only one so I didn't feel so bad. With both of them we were able to find new investigators and teach some good progressing ones as well. 

With Elder Guerrero I went to his area which is like the most dangerous part of Cali. On the local radio station they have an hourly death count of just that part of Cali. When I was there at 5pm it was up to 14 that day. It is a great part of town. (YIKES!)

We taught this 35 year old lady that could not stop looking at me. I would be teaching and looking away and she would stare at me and then compliment my eyes. We would ask her questions and she wanted to sound smart so she would just say whatever came to her mind but she had no idea what she was talking about. She mentioned "Moses and the ark" more than once. I was so ready to leave. 

Anyways, it was a good week. I hope everyone had a good week! I love you all! 

Con amor,

Elder Reese