Transfers!

Familia!

We've got some transfer craziness going for y'all.. I'll be going back up to Santa Monica! And I'll be with an old companion, Elder Cox! And we'll be zone leaders together! Haha it was a crazy day yesterday finding out about all that. It should be great though. It's funny because after president called me and extended the invitation, I was thinking how around this time last year I was with Elder Cox and how crazy it would be if I was with him again. And then it turned out that I will be! I might be with him for both Thanksgivings, both Christmases, and both New Years haha. Good things to come! I really do feel like I'm leaving a big part of me here in Carson and Wilmington though. I love this area so much! So many people and experiences and memories have been flooding my mind today. I'm sad to leave, but I know that there is a lot yet to be done. Monica's family was pretty bummed to find out I'm leaving, but they invited us over for a going away dinner tonight, so it will be fun to be able to say goodbye to them all. I just can't believe how quick my time here has gone! It's been nearly 7 months, but it feels like only 7 weeks!

This week was amazing though. We had a super spiritual couple events happen. On Thursday, we went to the Visitor's Center with Monica, her mom, her sister, and her sisters two kids. It was awesome! We walked around the temple and there is always such a peace on the grounds there. You can look out and see the city and all the cars and things, but it's like that little area is protected from it all. There's a missionary exhibit there in the VC and part of it has 1,400 missionary name tags up on one of the walls. Mine is one of them! Haha, it was cool seeing it up there. Then last night, we had a FHE with Monica and the member family who have been her member mentors. It was so good! My companion and I focused our thoughts on the talk "Turn to Him and Answers Will Come." It was a great meeting. The Spirit was super strong as we each shared moments of difficult when we were able to turn to the teachings of the gospel and ultimately to God in prayer in order to receive the divine help we needed.

I love you all so much and am grateful for your love and prayers! I know that we all have to face difficult times in this life as part of the test we have to prove ourselves worthy and that those hard times and challenges can make us who we are. We can either let them weaken us and turn us away from the truths we know, or we can rely on the Savior's merits and grace and be strengthened through the power of His Atonement. Let us allow our challenges to strengthen us and help is become who the Lord needs us to be. I know God hears our prayers and that He allows us to go through certain things in order to eventually be able to measure up to our full potential. "Come what may and love it." I love the Gospel. Have the best week!

Elder Reynolds

Fall Weather

Familia!

This week was awesome! The weather managed to cool down a little bit this weekend, so that was gladly welcomed. We didn't have very many people keep their appointments, but that gave us a good chance to spend a lot of time on the streets of Wilmington! Haha I love this area so much. I'm glad I've been able to get some time here. Every time we go out, we meet so many different types of people from all walks of life. The tough part is just that everyone is so busy. They all work two jobs just to pay the cost of living here and then don't hardly have time to do anything else. Alberto, who has a baptismal date for November 8th told us that he's got a problem with coffee and alcohol, so keep him in your prayers that he'll be ready for that date! We taught him the word of wisdom on Friday and we could tell he didn't really want to say it, but he told us he drinks café y la cerveza every day. Won't be easy to drop those addictions, but he can do it!

Monica's family threw a surprise birthday party for their mom, Maria, on Saturday that we helped set up for. We were able to stay for a little bit and see the mariachi play haha. I felt like I was in Mexico! Most of her family doesn't live in our area, but we invited them to listen to the missionaries where they live, so hopefully they'll be able to do that. Also, Monica's sister, Jessica, made it to church yesterday! She's been kind of slow in her progress because she's working so much, but she started reading the Book of Mormon and made it this week!

I didn't realize that Matthew got his mission call to Brazil! That's awesome! I would have loved to have had him out here with me, but I'm sure he'll love Brazil. Which mission is he going to? I hope he doesn't have to wait, but we get a lot of visa waiters out here, so maybe I'll get to see him for a week or two haha. Sorry, I'm out of time, but I want you all to know how much I love you! We have transfer calls this Sunday already, so we'll see what happens with that. This transfer has flown by! Have the best week!

Elder Reynolds

Heat Wave

Familia--

We got smacked with some brutal heat the past few days! I thought it was going to start cooling down, but I guess summer wasn't quite ready to give up. Maybe this week will finally be the week that it cools down! I appreciate the pictures you sent last week, Mom! It was good to see little Lucy!

This week was a great one. It flew by because we were so busy though! On Wednesday, we had exchanges with the assistants which was a lot of fun. One of them, Elder Amacher, had served around a lot of my best buddies from the mission, but he and I never got a chance to work together, so we finally were able to on Wednesday. We had a blast! He is a stud. On Friday, we picked up a "mini missionary" and had him with us for the weekend. He didn't speak any Spanish, so it was hard for him to know what was going on, but I think he had a good time. Our stake will be doing a mini-mission in a month, and we're trying to get Monica to go! She sounded pretty excited about it, so we're stoked as well! We got her confirmed yesterday and none of her family was there for it.. But she seems to be doing well. I can't imagine how tough it must be to not have much family support, but she is awesome.

Dad--I've got a request from one of my best buddies who just went home a month or so ago. He wants to be put on the list of people who get my emails, so if you could add him on please. His email is charles.323.brown@gmail.com.

The work continues though! I'm excited for another week and for another chance to look for those who are being prepared. We've met a lot of awesome people when we're out on the streets, but it's super hard to have them keep their appointments. Hopefully we'll be able to get em going this week though haha. I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Reynolds

General Conference

Familia!

 

Wasn't it a great weekend of General Conference? There were some great messages given. I am looking forward to being able to study the talks again and get some more detailed notes. This weekend just flew by though! I think I had been looking forward to it so much, that it just came and went. We had Zone Conference on Friday and there was a big emphasis on the personal importance of sacrament meeting. It was all about growing our own testimonies of the importance of sacrament meeting so we can better help others to understand it and desire to come. There's a Mormon Message we watched called "Always Remember Him." You'll have to look it up and watch it, it's super good. Then that night, we went with Monica and a couple other members to the Visitor's Center and had a great lesson there. Saturday was jam-packed full of conference, so it just flew by and thenSunday came and we had conference and then Monica's baptism! It was a little crazy leading up to it, but it all ended up going smoothly. So awesome! I will try to send pictures.

 

That's sweet that Ethan was able to make it home and spend the weekend with you! Y'all need to start sending me some pictures, I never get anything from you guys haha. Send me some pictures of Callie and Lucy!

 

There was a talk in the priesthood session by Elder Andersen that I really liked. The topic of priesthood seemed to be on faith. It was interesting to me that no one spoke in their native language this time around? Maybe they aren't going to do that anymore? A couple of them were kind of hard to understand haha. General Conference is the best! A always look forward to hearing from some of the 70 that they have speak, because they always bring an excitement. Elder Durrant's talk was super good on "ponderizing," I enjoyed that. I really liked the talk about the family motto being "It will all work out." I need to go back through my notes and see some of the points I jotted down.

 

Enjoy watching Kona (Koiner) for me! "If it's hurting me, then it's killing them" haha. Those guys are animals! The weather wasn't too bad this weekend, so I'm hoping we'll be able to enjoy some cooler weather. Good things to come!

 

I'm grateful for the knowledge that the Gospel is a Gospel of progression. Where we are right now is not as important as where we are willing to go and who we are willing to become with the help of the Lord. Humility, effort, and patience are three things that have stood out to me up to this point in my mission. Each one of those is a great attribute, but the three of them together helps us along the path of progression. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Elder Reynolds