Sounds like you guys had a great Sunday too! Parker just doin workie in Sacrament meeting?! Atta boy! I forgot to mention in my email last week that my first Friday here I was fasting for a number of things and one of them was to be humble so that I could be teachable and better receive the gift of tongues or "el don de lenguas" as we say here. That night, I met my branch President and he ended up calling me as a zone leader. If I before then, I definitely was after haha. It´s intimidating having extra responsibilities on top of what I feel is already overwhelming, but I know that it will only better prepare me for the field. I gave a talk in sacrament meeting this Sunday in Spanish. It was pretty rough, but I tried my best and did all I could to get the message across. The Lord doesn´t expect perfection, just your best! My companion´s name is Elder Gale and he is from Connecticut. His personality is definitely different than mine, but I am striving to be the best companion I can be. He doesn´t like to follow the 10:30 lights out, 6:30 wake up schedule, which is frustrating to me. I am trying to be exactly obedient in everything that I do in order to be more in tune with the Spirit and be better able to receive the gift of tongues. That reminds me of the conversation I had with Aunt Marcia at the cabin a couple weeks before I left, "Obedience brings blessings, but EXACT obedience brings miracles." I am trying to live by that.
Did you receive my pictures last week? I can´t send them from my camera for some reason on these computers, so I had to use one of the Elders in my district´s camera. It is crazy to think that I´ve already been here for two weeks! That first week was pretty slow, but I think the weeks will continue to fly by. The language is intimidating, but I am trying to set small goals so that I can have small victories that will add up to a master of the language. There is more to it that what I had previously had in my mind haha. But I know I will eventually be confident in the language.
On Sunday we had a devotional with President Octaviano Tenorio (he was a Seventy) and he told us about some of the blessings he has received because of paying tithing. One of the stories he shared was about a time he was on a bus here in México city and two armed gunmen came onto the bus, demanding everyone to stay calm and to hand over all of their valuables. He had just cashed his check and said that as soon as he received his money, he put the amount he was going to pay for tithing in one pocket and the rest in the other. He was sitting near the back of the bus so he watched as some people quickly grabbed money and other things and sat on them or hid them so they wouldn´t have to hand them to the robbers. He said that as the robbers approached him, he thought in his mind that he would prove the Lord of his promised blessings because of tithing. When the men finally reached him and pointed their guns at him, he thought "The Lord will bless me because of tithing." At that moment, he began to reach down to grab his money, but instead the men said "Stay calm, you will be fine, we have all we need" and walked off the bus. What a story! He said as missionaries, we shouldn´t "prove the Lord" though, just hand over our bags or money haha. He also bore his testimony of the Plan of Salvation and what a strong testimony that was.
We also watched "The Testaments" later that night. I had never seen that movie but really enjoyed it, especially when Christ heals Helam´s blindness because of his faith. You should watch that for FHE one night so Parker can watch that. Some of the Hymns we sing here in Spanish are beautiful, I think I like them more than in English. I will have to start taking down the ones I really like so you all can listen to them.
Please give everyone my love! Tell grandma and grandpa hi for me and that I am doing well. I am so grateful for them and for all that they have done for me. I read my patriarchal blessing often and can hear grandpa´s voice every time. I still get emotional reading that blessing. I love you all and pray for you every day! (in Spanish). I hope all is well at home. Thank you for getting me here. I know this is where I need to be and that this is the Lord´s work. I can see it in myself and in the others around me that this work we are preparing for is the work of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I am getting to know my Savior better every day as I pray to Him hundreds of times for help and the ability to be a better servant. I know that we have a true Prophet of God today and that Joseph Smith TRULY was a Prophet of God. There could have been no other way or means by which the sacred record recorded in the Book of Mormon could have come about for our benefit at this time. I love that book and am getting to know it better as I read it every day. Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement! Have a great week!
Elder Reynolds
This is the laundry detergent he used this last week. Calls it "Heisenberg's Finest."
