Elder Kyle Reynolds: There is Heaven on Earth!!

Elder Garcia and Elder Reynolds

Hello Everyone!
This week was a week of bus rides and tender mercies. We spent from Sunday until Saturday in another part of Ecuador besides our sector. We were traveling all around and it seemed like a big blur as yes...now I am going to be getting glasses haha. Man was that one of the hardest decisions of the mission! Trying to pick out glasses without the help of a woman...Let me tell you...we spent around an hour and a half trying on different pairs and with mental breakdowns and laughs and cries and haha no just kidding, but it sure was an adventure! I hope that I only have to do that once.

So we got back from all our travels Saturday and we barely had enough time to go visit a few families. We walked all over Puyo mainly just passing by to invite them to come to church. We were walking by the Valencia family and the kids saw us and ran out to come talk to us but we were on the other side of the street so they just yelled at us and were like "when are you coming to visit us??!!" We said we were going to pass by tonight. So we went to pass by around 8:45 just to invite them and we heard a lot of music and yelling and we thought oh great...not this. But we knocked on the door anyways and the wife came out and thankfully she was sober along with her family and we invited her to church and asked why they didn't come to church the last week. (So back up a little bit, in Puyo, it rains a ton). So that past Sunday it appeared as if a hurricane was taking place and they live about 20 minutes away walking. The answer she gave was so touching as she said "we were all ready and dressed! But it was raining hard and we couldn't come because the babies might get sick. (They have 2 babies) and we couldn't call you because we couldn't afford minutes." And then she said they would come if it didn't rain. We asked if we should come by to get them in the case that it did rain and they said no, we will come. So of course that night we prayed that it wouldn't rain so they could come to church. And sure enough....it rained! It was pretty light so we thought...hey, I think they can still come. We arrived at church and were constantly looking outside to see if they were coming. The rain started getting harder and harder and slowly my faith and hope diminished minute by minute. Sacrament meeting started and we were singing the first hymn and then one of the Presidency members asked us to pass the sacrament so we got up and right as we got up, I looked back annnnd...THERE THEY WERE!!! Soaking wet with huge smiles on their faces as they came to shake our hands. Man instantly tears filled my eyes as the huge family of 12 with their 2 little babies filed into the benches. We went up to pass the sacrament and I looked back and there they were sitting in the benches smiling and waving not having a clue that they were soaking wet. I don't know what it is about rain but it seems to be my personal testimony fertilizer. Every time it rains hard, something miraculous always seems to happen.

I have come to learn in the mission that there is Heaven on Earth. Heaven isn't something we magically earn, I feel like we are creating and experiencing it ourselves as we serve others. I can testify of the fullness of joy that comes from others. I felt in heaven as after we passed the sacrament we went back to sit with them. Gosh, I just wanted to hug each one of them. They have such sweet spirits. One thing about them is they can't read. The parents can't read so we read with them. The thing that I love is they act on feelings. Their faith is so strong. Maybe its not such a bad thing that we don't know everything...look at the Valencia family. They are amazing examples for me. They truly understand the importance of attending church and commitments. Humbleness and meekness is a strength not a weakness that's for sure. I love these people. The more I serve them, the more my love grows for them. I love this country. Man I love all of it.
Elder Reynolds