The Trainee

Familia!

My trainee's name is Elder Williamson and he's from Maine! His Spanish isn't that great, but whose is when they just get out of the MTC? Haha it's all good though. It's given me a chance to practice mine a lot more, so hopefully it'll keep improving. My zone leader, Elder Puertas, actually told me that I speak better Spanish than him. I thought that was quite a compliment haha. He kept asking me how to say certain things because even though he grew up speaking Spanish, he never learned the rules or the "why" behind it. So it was kind of cool to be able to realize I'm starting to get the hang of it!

It was kind of a slow week with lots of meetings for both my new companion and me as a new district leader, but this week should be a lot better. We set a ton of return appointments for this week, so we're hoping we can get a lot of those going. We had a sweet lesson with Miguel Martinez, our investigator, and set a new baptismal date for the 29th of March. He's super ready, but just needs to leave some old habits behind and keep improving every day. He's awesome though. He went to the YSA ward yesterday but thinks he might like the ward we go to better, so he'll be there next week. 

I feel like so much probably went on, that I'm not really even sure what to write haha. We had a crazy rainstorm last night. There was even a little thunder and lightning for a little while. Always fun working in the rain haha. We actually did have a cool miracle happen justyesterday though. There was a potential that we were going to contact, and when we opened the door, a pretty rough-looking white guy opened the door and told us to wait there just a minute as he finished a phone call. He came outside with us and began to tell us how he's been stuck on hard drugs for most of his life and how it's something that he can't seem to kick, but he keeps running into missionaries! He told us a story of some missionaries who found him just as he was about to go buy some drugs and he had them ride their bikes with him to a train and wait there for him until he got on to go home, so he wouldn't have the temptation to get drugs. He really praised us for what we're doing and told us that every single member of the church that he's met has been one of the greatest people he's ever known. It was quite a compliment! He said he was raised Jewish, but met with missionaries for quite a while and really thinks highly of them. His name was Ned.

Really just goes to show that you're always going to be put somewhere you need to be if you allow the Lord to guide you! Just another tender mercy that I was able to see out here on the mission. Every day is another gift and another opportunity to become better! I love the Lord and am so grateful for the Atonement. I know the Church is true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Reynolds

Picture 1: Trainee on the first night. Wore him out!

Picture 2: Elder Williamson and I. Notice my tag hanging on for dear life haha.

Transfer Calls (2-16-2015)

Familia!

This week was amazing! It was the last week of the transfer and I actually had 3 exchanges with other missionaries. During the first one, I had the opportunity to work with an Elder that is just finishing up his first transfer out here. He is a STUD! Awesome missionary, we had a great time working together. His name is Elder Patterson, I hope to be able to serve around him again. We just had an awesome day. Talked to everyone we saw, and found some promising people by doing so. I realized that my Spanish is a lot better than I think it is. The second one was with one of my zone leaders and I met this awesome guy named Laszlo Makay. He is a convert of about 3-4 months, but he has the coolest story. He was a Hungarian prince that got captured by the Nazis when he was about 9 and was stuck with them until he was in his 20s. (He even lived in a huge castle and everything in Budapest.) Then he escaped to Austria and did reconnaissance for them for a number of years against the Russians and others to pay them back for helping him escape. Then one of the US Presidents signed something that allowed a bunch of Hungarian refugees to come to America, and he just happened to be one of them. He eventually became a US citizen and met a girl from Cuba here in LA and they got married. The missionaries found them and he got baptized! His wife still hasn't been baptized, but she is awesome as well. I just talked to her in Spanish the whole time and it was way fun haha. He is the coolest guy though! The last exchange was with another missionary that has become a super good friend of mine. We had a super good time and taught some really powerful lessons. We even had the chance to teach a guy from Brasil! He accepted a baptismal date and came to church the next day! He is the most prepared person I've met out here! He is awesome. He doesn't really speak any English, but he speaks some Spanish, so we were speaking Portuguese/Spanish to communicate haha.

We had transfer calls last night and there was actually a pretty big change! Turns out I'll be staying in the same area, but I'm going to be training a new missionary and I'm becoming a district leader. Crazy stuff! Just another opportunity to become more humble and try harder to rely on the Lord and His love. I'm sure I will learn a lot this transfer. I guess I'll probably have to haha. I'll meet the Elder tomorrow, so I'll fill you in next week on how it's all going.

I love you all so much! I know that the Lord lives and that this is His church! My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown a ton since being out here. I love that book so much. It has helped me through lots of difficult times and I've seen the light that it brings into the lives of others as they read it and pray about it. It truly shows that God loves all His children, wherever they are. We each can receive a testimony of its truthfulness through the power of the Holy Ghost, whether we already have a testimony of it or not. I would invite you all to read from the Book of Mormon and then pray and ask God to confirm the truth of its words to you again. I know He'll answer your prayers. I love the light the Gospel brings! Have a great week!

Elder Reynolds

(2-9-2015)

Wow, I am extremely sad to hear about the passing of little Isabelle. I'll be keeping them all in my prayers this week. What a blessing it is to have the knowledge that life continues on past this time on earth and that we all have been given the opportunity to see our loved ones again. Even though trials like this are EXTREMELY difficult for us to understand at times, I know that there is a plan in all things and that one day we will understand the reasons. It is difficult to view things with a perspective bigger than just this life and that of ourselves, but knowing that there is a reason does bring peace. I know that she was a blessing in the lives of her family members the short time she had here with us.

Thanks for that quote dad! I have read that before and especially like the first line, it is pretty profound, "Let us here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation." It's true! Most of the times, the things we have to sacrifice or leave behind make us squirm a little bit or second think, but it is always for our own benefit! Sounds like it must have been a great meeting! 

The work has been pretty tough here, we haven't been having a whole lot of success. We have been working super hard though, so I know it will come eventually. We handed our investigator Miguel over to the YSA ward, he'll fit in a lot better over there. So now we're basically back to square one. We set lots of appointments this past week, but only a little less than 25 percent of them actually went through. It's tough not to get frustrated and a little disappointed (never discouraged) at times, but you've just gotta make it past the rough patch and there's always something better waiting. 

We had a missionary in the ward I'm serving in return home and give his homecoming talk on Sunday from the Utah, Provo mission. Funny you should mention someone serving there, mom haha. The teacher didn't show up for Gospel Principles, so my companion and I taught  the class. It was pretty rough haha. 

A family that lives in my last district (not in my last area, but in the other Elders' area) actually goes to the ward I'm serving in right now. They found out it was my bday last Sunday, so they drove over to my area and took us out to dinner on Friday at a Cuban place haha. It was way nice to be able to chat with them for a little bit over dinner. I'll attach a picture with them. They're the familia Ramos, originally from Guatemala. They're awesome!

I love you all so much! I hope you know that! I know the Savior lives and that He loves us! We all have trials and tribulations that we will pass through in this life in order to become closer and closer to the person the Lord knows that we can be. Have a great week! 

Elder Reynolds

I'm an OLD MAN!

Since when did I all of a sudden become 20? Haha so crazy! I can't believe I'm not a teenager anymore! Thanks so much for the package mom! They ended up giving us mail on Saturday, so it must have worked out perfectly with the timing! It was a pretty good birthday. Church went well and Miguel came again. That's his third week in a row! We are thinking that he might fit a lot better in the YSA ward though, so we're going to pray and think more about what will be best for him. He's way good though. We ate with la familia Martinez ayer otra vez. Nos invitó el domingo pasado porque pensaban que era mi cumpleaños el 25 de Enero. Pero nos invitaron otra vez para realmente celebrar mi cumple! Pasamos el tiempo con ellos muy bien. El hermano es de El Salvador y la hermana es de Mexico. Son muy buena gente.

Glad to hear that Nole won! Especially against Murray! I hate that guy! Haha the Seahawks go down too! Sounds like a great Sunday!

My comp and I had this kind of exciting experience the other night haha. We were walking on the sidewalk and there was a guy walking toward us who was obviously on something. We both looked at each other and decided that we needed to get away from him quick. There was a gate to an apartment building just barely propped open, so we slid inside there to hopefully avoid him. But the gate didn't close all the way! So he got inside the gate too and started running after us! He looked just like the way the zombies run in Nazi Zombies haha. It was insane! We ran toward the back of the complex and he wasn't far behind us, but we were able to weave in between a few cars and found a way out of the gate for the vehicles. He was laughing like a mad man and making a bunch of weird noises haha. It was a good little excitement to get the heart beating!

Thanks for getting that camera sent! I hope you know how much I love you all! Thanks for everything you do! The Church is true!

Elder Reynolds