Back in AmeriCA!

Familia!

I am in the mission! Actually out here working in the field! It is a humbling work, but I know the Lord is at the head of it. Last Monday was a busy day with meetings, interviews, trainings, and other things. But is good to actually be out here doing the work. President Weidman is a stud, he is a very spiritual man. I feel very lucky to have the trainer I do. He is a native speaker, I think I am the only missionary of those who came in with me who got a native speaker. His name is Elder Santos and he's from Arizona. I'm serving in an area called South Gate which covers a town called Lynwood and another one you might have heard of before called Compton haha. I can officially say I've served in Compton! We've been over there quite a few times this week and I always kind of chuckle when I see on all the signs "City of Compton."

I'm serving in a Spanish Branch. We had 6 investigators at church yesterday! It was awesome! And we actually had two baptisms as well, I am pretty lucky to come into an area like this one at this time. There are definitely people who have been prepared to accept the Gospel, we already have some awesome investigators in this area. They doubled the size of our area, so we are actually in a car. It is nice at times, but usually it is just a hassle. The roads are always packed so there are never places to park. Dad--before I forget, President Weidman said I don't need to be on your car insurance.

I'm glad you got that text from Bro. Porter. He was nice enough to let me and another Elder spend the night at his house that first night. He served in Tampico, Mexico a number of years ago. He was a super nice guy. I was hoping to be able to call from the airport, but after customs, it was straight down to where President was, so I didn't get a chance. I'm also glad that you guys had a good experience on the Trek! Parker enjoyed it too? I hope so. Dad that's hilarious that you said the "look down" while you were pulling the carts haha. I have a lot of respect for those Pioneers, that was just a taste of what they went through.

Mom--other than that workout stuff (I hope you can find it all, 3 different things in total), if you guys could send me and SD card reader, that would be sweet. For some reason I can't put my pictures from my camera to the computer with the cord it came with, so I need something that will read the memory card. I asked Luke to help me with a verb book, but he can explain more about that. Thanks for doing that!

It is hot here in Southern California! It is supposed to be really hot this week, so I'll just have to get used to that. The language is coming slowly, but I'm really glad I'm serving Spanish speaking. It is hard at times because we have to speak so much English, but I'm trying to focus on learning as much Spanish as I can, especially from my trainer. The Gospel is real! I have already had the opportunity to see how it changes peoples' lives. We have some people that we have been teaching who were prepared to receive this message. They have to make some changes in their lives, but I know that as they do, they will be blessed even more! It is a privilege to be a missionary and to share this message with others! It isn't always easy, but I know that it is always worth it.

I hope I have answered most of your questions, if not just ask them again next week. My P-days are on Mondays now.

I hope you all know that I love you and pray for you! It is such a blessing to have the Gospel in our lives and I have been blessed to have this opportunity to see how it blesses the lives of those who accept it. I know the Savior lives! I have prayed more since being a missionary than ever before! I rely on Him in everything that I do. I love the Lord and His Gospel. It's perfect! Sadly we are not, but that is why we have been blessed enough to have the Atonement. If not for the Savior, we would not be able to feel the forgiveness and happiness that comes as a result. Have a great week! The work moves on! I love you all!

Elder Reynolds

Last email from the CCM!

Next time I am in contact with you, I will be in So Cal! The state of my father where my blood lies! Haha I am excited to get out into the field and start contacting some real people! I know that I cannot speak the language perfectly, but I can testify of what I know is true. As long as I can let the people know that the Gospel can change their lives and that it is for their benefit, I can worry about saying everything else later. It is wild how quickly the time has gone when I look back on it. There were many days that I thought were never going to end, but time keeps on moving and now tomorrow night I´ll be sitting in the auditorium for the last time.

That´s crazy that that missionary from here is in your area! I told him to look for you guys if he ever got to Toppenish, so that is wild that his first area was there!

I saw Chris (Elder Barlow) his first day here. I sat in the Comedor and waited until I saw him haha. And I got the letter from mom too, so please tell her thank you for that! I leave here at 3 am and my flight leaves at 7:05. I´m supposed to get into LA around 9 West Coast time (it´s weird to think that I´ll be in the same time zone as you guys haha). 

Tell Parker that his experience will depend on his attitude! Did he ever see my email the other week? I sent him a letter too a few weeks ago, I hope it gets there soon. I hope you and mom have a good time on that trek too! The rumor is that I´ll get there and meet with the President and everything and then after we do all that stuff, it´s out to the streets! I am excited to be humbled and talk to the people! Come what may and love it! That is a great quote to live by! 

I wish I had cool things to say this week, but it has been a whirlwind of a week. It is crazy to think that my time here is done! Time is such a weird concept on the mission haha. I will keep you all updated as much as I can with my travelingon Monday. Also, can you remind mom to send me my workout stuff when she gets the chance? I had the little forearm squeeze thing, the forearm thing with the spring from stu, and push-up things from Luke. I forgot them all on the end of my bed when I was packing haha.

Dad, I also want to let you know what an example you have been to me since I´ve been out here. It already hasn´t been easy, but I often think about you and my brothers and all the others who have gone before me. I also think about you serving state-side and how you didn´t care at all because you didn´t know any different! I am to the point where I could be serving anywhere in the world, and I wouldn´t care because I just want to find the people that will listen to the message I will bring! I have been extremely blessed to be in the family I am in and to have the examples I have! I am also excited to be serving near or in some of the same areas that my beloved Grandpa Lott served in! (Also one of the greatest examples anyone could have.)

Another small step in the mission, entering the field! I want you all to know that I love you and that I know that the Gospel is true and that it changes lives. It is a privelege for me to have the opportunity to witness that change first-hand in the lives of some of the people I will be blessed to come in contact with. I just want to spread the message that I know is true and that I know has the ability to improve anyone´s life no matter where they are! Always remember how blessed we are to know what we know and the responsibilty we have to share that message with others! It is a humbling, but extremely rewarding experience for me to be in the situation I am in. I love the Lord and am glad that I have been called by a true Prophet of God to represent him! It is crazy to think that I have been out for almost a month and a half already! I have a feeling I will be seeing you all soon! (Or at least it will feel that way)! 

What´s up with mom not emailing me? Haha and tell those boys to shoot me at least just a quick email! The pictures are with my teachers. I was lucky to have them, they were both studs.

I love you all! Have a great week! 

Elder Reynolds

Final P-day en el CCM!

Familia!

It is crazy to think that my time here in México is so quickly coming to a close. I am nervous, anxious, and excited to get into LA and start doing the real work that I have been called to do. It has been a great experience here and a chance to begin some of the habits that I will need to continue through my mission.

Oddly enough, I didn´t hear a whole lot about the World Cup, but I did hear about LeBron! That´s crazy! I wonder if those guys in Cleveland regret burning those jerseys when he left haha. The running with the bulls is gnarly haha. I have no idea why anyone would want to do that.

Glad to see that mom´s doing okay with that phone! I´m sure I will see Chris here. I couldn´t remember if he was getting here last week or this week, so I looked for him last Wednesday but didn´t see him so I figured he´d be getting here this week. I am excited to see a familiar face haha. I hope he enjoys his time here. It is weird thinking that I was in his same place about 5 weeks ago. There are a lot of people here going to his mission in Chile. This place is also getting packed with missionaries. There has been a huge increase in numbers in the past few weeks. When I got here it wasn´t too bad, but now the Comedor is always overflowing with missionaries haha. 

I had a sweet experience this week during our "TRC" lesson. TRC stands for teaching resource center and people are usually invited from the community so the missionaries can practice their teaching skills and lessons on real people. Sometimes they are just teachers from the CCM or other members, but other times they are actual non-members. Our lesson started off a little slow (we were teaching a man who was a non-member, with his girlfriend who is a member). We got to know them both a little bit and then began to teach them according to what we felt was necessary. We didn´t prepare any lesson because we weren´t sure what they were going to need and we had been emphasizing the importance of teaching the PEOPLE, not just teaching lessons. It all began to go super smooth and the Spirit was SO strong in that tiny room! I asked him a few questions like if he´d read from the Book of Mormon or prayed and some other things and he said he had and had felt something different. Almost right before he had began to tell us about that, our teacher came in the door to see how we were doing. After our investigator shared with us those experiences, our teacher testified to him that the things he felt were the Spirit and that he was being shown that this is the Church of Jesus Christ.

Our teacher left after another minute or two and we continued to talk about those feelings some other things, so I asked him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized and he said he would and that he would be getting baptized that Saturday! I was so excited to hear that! He said that he made the decision to get baptized a little while ago and that we just strengthened his testimony that he is doing the right thing. I wanted to get up and hug the guy before we left, I kept telling myself that that feeling is only a taste of what I can feel in the field! It made me so excited to get out and find those who have been prepared to hear the message I bring! I wish I could have gone to his baptism on Saturday, but they don´t let us leave the CCM haha.

Please tell Patty thank you for the email. I really enjoyed reading that. Also, can you please get me Paul and Dallin´s email addresses? Or just have them email me.

A scripture I came across this week that I really enjoyed was D&C 50:13-22. Thanks for sending me good scriptures to look up, mom. I´ll try to return the favor when I can haha.

I am able to email again on Saturday because it will be my last "normal" day here. So you can email me again before then!  Please do! 

I know that Christ stands at the head of this Church and guides His prophet, Thomas S. Monson. I love the Lord and am grateful for this opportunity I have to devote all my time and energy to building His kingdom here on the earth for these two, short years. I know that I will be changed and molded by Him during this time in order to become the man He would have me be. I love you all so much! I hope to hear from you soon!

Elder Reynolds

Another week down?!

Familia!

Glad to hear you all had a good 4th of July together! The 4th here was just business as usual, but something cool did happen. When we all went to lunch, the tables had red, white, and blue tablecloths on them and they were serving BBQ sandwiches, apple pie with ice cream, coleslaw, and waffle fries! It was the most I´ve eaten since I´ve been here! Then about midway through lunch, they let all of us Americans sing our National Anthem! I had goosebumps the whole time and almost got a little emotional, it was sweet. It was nice of the people there to let us do that. Sounds like the parade wasn´t very good, but is it ever? haha. Glad to hear that Luke made it home too! Boating sounds like fun! I love Pres. Hendricks, that´s nice that he´d take you all out. He´ll have to take me when I get back haha.

I´ve done everything in my power to get my money back, but it is out of my hands now (literally) haha. I´ve talked to the head of security and maintenance twice and he said he is doing all he can, but I´m not exactly sure how much that is. I´m hoping I´ll be able to get reimburse for at least some of it so I can have some when I get to LA. If not, I´ll have my debit card I guess. Dad--Please call the bank if you haven´t already and let them know I´m in México and that I´ll be in LA.

I sure miss the smell of mint in the Summer! That is one of my all-time favorite things. I remember smelling that out in the hop fields last summer in the mornings and that would basically get me through the whole day. It doesn´t get super hot here, but it´s pretty muggy. Oddly enough, I actually kind of miss being out in those fields! I have some good memories being out there. I think I´ll have to work out there again when I get back so I can talk to all the other workers haha. And Nolé won! Nice! I am fine with him or Fed winning ever Grand Slam haha. It seems like Fed just isn´t able to play to the same level he used to though which is too bad. I´m also glad to hear that lady got excommunicated. I´m surprised it didn´t happen sooner. It isn´t good for stuff like that to be happening within the Church, that isn´t what it´s all about.

This past week was pretty good. Fast Sunday was great, I think it was the first time I´ve actually fasted for over 24 hours. Most of the time I´d try to eat as much as I could up until midnight and then eat as soon as we got back from Church haha. I think I´ve learned a little bit more about what it means to fast since being here. I´ve fasted a lot since being here, and I know we can receive blessings from doing so. I didn´t hunger or thirst once the whole time I was fasting on Sunday (from Saturday around noon to Sunday at 1 in the afternoon). My branch President told me he wanted as many people as could to bear their testimonies and that he wanted me to be an example to them, so I bore my testimony. I was able to say everything I wanted to say in Spanish and it all flowed smoothly. It was a fairly simple testimony, but I pondered on it afterward, and it was a testimony to me that the gift of tongues is real. Just a few weeks ago, I arrived here not knowing how to even pray in Spanish. It is difficult, but there are times like that that keep me going. The first counselor came up to me afterward and commented on my pronunciation and accent, he said it was perfect haha. I was glad to hear that.

It is crazy to think that in less than two weeks I´ll be in the City of Angels! I am stoked to get out there! I know I won´t be fluent, but I know I will learn the language a lot faster when I am constantly talking to people who only speak it. Maybe LeBron will even be there! Haha I´m not sure I could root for the Lakers, even if LeBron plays for them.

I had the chance to go to the México City Temple´s Centro para Visitantes this morning and it was sweet, I will include some pictures. The Temple is HUGE! I knew it was the biggest outside the US, but it is still a lot bigger than I thought. The Visitor´s center is also really nice, it was fun to have something a little different. I finished the Book of Mormon in English on Saturday and started it side-by-side in Spanish and English as soon as I finished. A few chapters I really enjoyed there at the end were 3 Nephi ch. 13-15 and Mormon ch. 9. I hope you enjoy them too. I´ve been kind of under the weather the past week, but I´m on the uphill. I had a pretty gnarly cold. I was craving some nice, hot, limón mate to get me through it haha. I also met a missionary here who is going to serve in the Washington Kennewick Mission! His name is Elder Budica. And what are the odds that he is from the LA area? Haha it´s like we´re switching places for the next two years. 

I love you all so much and am thankful every day for your help in getting me here to this point. It may not be 100% correct, but I will try to share part of my testimony with you in my new language. Yo sé que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y el Redentor de humanidad. Estoy agradecido por la oportunidad servir mi misión y compartir este mensaje con a las personas que son listo escucharlo. Es muy importanto compartir este mensaje con el mundo porque tenemos la plenitud del Evangelio de Jesucristo a través del Libro de Mormón, el profeta José Smith, y Jesucristo, el Hijo de Dios. Yo sé que Dios y Jesucristo nos aman y quieren ayudarnos. Gracias por tus ejemplos y amor!

Elder Reynolds

 

Also, I may not have been able to see the new Spider-Man before I came, but the actor is here on a Mission! Haha this guy looks exactly like the actor (I think his name is Andrew Garfield) so I had to take a picture with this kid, Elder Willes.

I love you all!

Halfway Done?!

Familia! Glad to hear from you all this week! I had heard it a number of times before my mission, but never really understood it when people said, "The days are long, but the weeks are short." It´s absolutely true! It´s crazy to look back and think that I got here nearly three weeks ago. 

Dad--I felt so bad that I didn´t get a chance to wish you a happy birthday last week. After I logged off, I looked back at my notes that I wanted to email and it said "Dad´s Birthday." I was thinkin about you all week! I hope it was a good day. Glad to hear you and Parks had a good time at the Triathlon. How was the sleep the night before? Haha The Lord sure does answer prayers! And you´re right, prayers for humility are ones that he loves to answer quickly haha. It is a great opportunity to serve. The responsibilities aren´t as much as I´m sure they will be in the field. I basically just have to check on the missionaries in my zone, organize Sacrament and Priesthood meeting, and meet with District Leaders. I write in my journal every night, without fail. Ethan made me promise him that I would, so I don´t plan on missing a day. Sometimes I don´t feel like I have much to say, but I always end up filling at least one page. The food isn´t that great, so I eat a lot of cold cereal and toast with Nutella. They have a Nutella bar here that is always packed haha. 

I´ve got some bad news that happened this week though. Someone stole all of my money out of my bag while it was in our classroom. My wallet was zipped inside one of the pockets, so they would have had to look through it in order to find it. I was pretty devastated when I realized what had happened. All my money (about 200 American dollars and 400 Mexican pesos) was stolen, so now I am without any cash. I filed a report, so I´m hoping I´ll somehow be able to at least get some of it back, but my hopes aren´t extremely high. Please say a prayer that I will be able to get some of it back. I didn´t think I would have to worry about anything like that happening here, but they said it could have been one of the workers and that similar things have happened before.

The language is coming along (slowly). It is hard not to get frustrated, but I try to tell myself that I have only been trying to really speak this language for less that three weeks and it takes most people a LONG time to be able to speak. So I´m continuing to work hard and striving for improvement. My typical day entails: waking up and getting ready for the day, study time in the classroom, breakfast, gym time, language class, teaching an investigator, companion study, lunch, language study, personal study, language class, teaching an investigator, dinner, personal study, language study, TALL (computer language study), then daily planning. They´re not all the same like that, but that´s basically the grind haha.

I hope USA does work in their game! I heard all about México losing haha. I want to hear more about US sports! How´s Wimbledon? (Wimbleton for Parker).

Mom--I hope you have as good of luck with this gopher as you did with the other one! You´ll have to try to drown it out again haha. Glad to hear you and Alli are having fun together! I hope the boys get there safely and that G&G make it back okay as well. The week has gone by fast again, they are starting to really fly by. I hope I can improve my language enough to be able to confident when I hit the streets of LA. I hope all is well back in good ol´ Toppenish! Please keep sending me scriptures to look up, I enjoy that. 

I´m pretty sure I left all of my workout stuff on the foot of my bed when I was packing, I might need you guys to send me that when I get back to LA. I think I already said this, but I cant upload pictures from my camera, so I´ll have to get a card reader or something back in the states. The past couple weeks I´ve used another Elder´s camera in my district to do it, but he isn´t here. Also, please add Trevor to the list of people you send my email to. I´m pretty sure it is trevork21@gmail.com but check with him just in case. How is my old friend Joe Bailey doing? Please keep him updated and let him know I am doing well. 

I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Enjoy the boys being home, that will be fun. And enjoy that rodeo! I´m jealous! I could use some good country music right now and a little bit of dirt on my pants haha. This Church is true and Christ stands at the head. I was able to watch a devotional from Elder Bednar on Sunday about the character of Christ. What a blessing it is to hear from Apostles of the Lord who are His witnesses here on the Earth. He emphasized that we must not only have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Christ, but we must also be CONVERTED to the Gospel of Christ. I know that He lives and guides this work that I have been blessed enough to participate in. I am trying to become more like Him every day and feel closer to Him as I plead with him for help and blessings all throughout the day.

"Become completely converted to the Gospel and you will never fall away." Have a great week and 4th! Te amo!

Elder Reynolds