Hello everyone!!
I want to apologize for my short email last week!!!! I am very sorry! So I feel I have been in the furnace of affliction for quite a while now haha When is it going to end!!? Although I am so thankful for the opportunities my Father in Heaven is giving me to learn new stuff everyday!!! I have learned so much about charity this change more than anything. Being with a Latino companion and not being to fully express myself has been very difficult, but as I have been learning it is so important to be united as a companionship. That we both have the same purpose and the same desires. We had Zone Conference this week and I guess President Christensen had a lot of complaints about companions and how missionaries wanted to change their companions. So he gave a lecture about how if there are 2 people that think the same exact way and do the same exact things, that one of them isn't needed. That being different in a companionship is a great thing!! Because there are so many different ways to teach and to see situations. He compared it to as if you have 2 people facing the same direction (which is comparing 2 people seeing the same ways and thinking the same ways) then he had one person turn around and when that happened as a companionship, you could see the whole picture!! You have his back and he has yours. It was really great to hear that because it has been frustrating not thinking the same ways. But all along, it was a blessing! haha Who knew God knows more than us?! lol We also had a lecture from the assistants. They had an example of 2 people and one of them couldn't use his legs and he had to get up from the ground. So the other person pulled him from the ground and although it was hard, he was able to pull him up. Then the second companionship were both laying down and they couldn't use their legs. And they had to try and push the other one up... And obviously they couldn't get up. They compared it to us and how we are inviting people to Christ. That It shouldn't be we are pushing someone to the gospel, we need to be pulling them to Christ. We need to be converted first!! I had an experience with this actually this week. We were meeting with one of our investigators and he was struggling with money and he said he had to work Sunday's or else he couldn't afford to eat... After the lesson we were both pondering on how we could help him. And it hit me that I needed to be doing the same exact thing we were asking him to do! That he needs to follow the Dia de Reposo (Resting day) and trust God that He will bless him. But here I am complaining and struggling with keeping some of the rules of the mission. That if I don't keep the rules of the mission, how can I ask this person to give up his job!? Sheesh how hypocritical would that be. On a much smaller scale, I realize what he is going through. And it is so hard to get people to take that leap of faith. As we know that we don't get our answer till after the trial of our faith. Faith really is the key.
I have a couple of funny stories this week too! So we went to members houses to eat this week and one of them fed us fish!! I find fish pretty good so I was pretty excited as almost every meal is the same old chicken and rice haha So we were eating it and I was about done... Then I realized wait... Do I eat the head??? So I looked around and everyone else was chomping down on the head and I had nooooo idea how to eat the head. I felt so dumb as I asked the question, How do I eat this? hahaha everyone laughed and then they showed me how. Eyeballs are....interesting lol. And the same family fed us twice this week so they fed us crab!! Ahhh so good! And after I got finished eating all the legs I had the same thought...wait... do I eat the head too!?? And sure enough yes I do! lol So I didn't really know how to eat the head so I just decided to tear it open and eat it as quickly as I could and drink a lot of juice haha And one of the members looked over and said "Elder!! You don't eat that part!!!!!!" That would make sense because it tasted absolutely disgusting hahaha I guess there is a part of the head that you eat and the part of the head you don't... So I am hoping I don't get sick with eating some of the mystery meat.... lol
Man the mission is full of so many experiences and so is life. It is very interesting how God wants us to learn. I love the guia (guide) in the back of the scriptures about oraci (prayer). It says that prayer is not to change God's will, it is only to know God's will. It is very powerful as we pray so hard for people and things... But in reality we should be praying to follow His will to the fullest. That is really tough for me right now, but I know it is the best way. A quote from Elder Holland is we can have our way or we can have an even better way which is the Lords way. I know that the Lords way will ALWAYS be better than our own understanding. I love you all!
Elder Reynolds
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