Why didn't you call me???

This is Mihel!! Completing the family!!! His dad baptized him.

Hello Everyone!
Another week! Gosh I love these people. I love my companion. I love my Savior. I am so full of love. It was a good week of learning...so yea that means hard lol but I am so grateful for these trials that were able to help me in the long run. This week we taught probably the most spiritual Lesson 2 Plan de Salvacion lesson I have ever been apart of. The spirit seemed to be testifying in every moment that these things were true and how grateful I was to be able to just open my mouth and words to fill them. I love the language...because to be honest I wouldn't consider myself fluent but I love that I can just open my mouth and words seem to form and come out and somehow the people come to understand what I am saying...definitely the gift of tongues.

So as I started out I love loving people but I feel that it comes at a great price. We had really great lessons this week, but we also had occasions where my heart seemed to drop down to my ankles. We had this one progressing investigator that is going through a major repentance problem and is struggling so much. So he wasn't answering his phone which was a bit odd for him, so we decided to go to his house and as soon as we walked in you could tell something was wrong. We walked in and there he was...drinking..with his ex. Ahh how my heart ached for him. The only words that I could muster was "Why didn't you call us? We were here for you. Why didn't you call me? Why why why?????" And then he said "I am so sorry. Sorry for being too weak. I am sorry..." Then as I was walking down the stairs I was thinking about those worlds...Why didn't you call me? And thought about Jesus. Every time we go through something hard and turn to some other means to coupe with our sorrow and hurt, I just imagine Jesus up there...Why didn't you call me??! I was there for you. Why didn't you call me? Why why why???????? I died for that very reason! To life you up, to take away your pain, to help! Why didn't you call me? And there He is, with His heart aching...not because we did something wrong, rather because He longs to help us and see us succeed. I love being a missionary and getting that perspective. But man it sure does hurt. It hurts having the answers to every single problem that every single person has...but bowing my head and letting them choose. My companion and I were talking and we were like AKA Welcome to Parenthood haha.

I seriously am so privileged to be a part of this great work. It is amazing to be here in Ecuador. Only a few weeks left to make a difference is quite mind boggling...but we will do it...one soul at a time. I love you all!
Elder Reynolds

His baptism was super special despite the tardanza (dealy) of over an hour!!!

When you're about to sneeze hahaha

Getting people hitched! You can call us the Matchmakers!!

Trying out the new style of wearing your pants above the belly button

Ecuador is...

so...

diverse!!

B E A U T I F U L

Above the clouds for a bit...

I love these people. I love my companion. I love my Savior.

There is Power in Weakness!!

We'll bring the World His Truth!

~Latacunga Ecuador Missionaries~

Hello Everyone!
Another great week in Ecuador. My companion got his first taste of good ole stomach problems. I feel like my stomach is so messed up that it doesn't make me sick anymore or that it is made of steel now and nothing can damage it haha.

This week was definitely a week full of ups and downs. Some days it was incredible and I couldn't believe the spirit that we were feeling...and other days, it felt like Satan was attacking us from all fronts and there was no way out. It's crazy how every week and ever day is such a battle to stay on the covenant path. But I love a quote from a Seventy that came to visit us in Latacunga that said THE RECOMPENSA (REWARD) ISN'T HERE! Sometimes we look for the reward a little bit too early but in reality the reward isn't here. I can't imagine what it means when it says in the scriptures about interminable joy. What a day that will be. One of the best experiences this week came on Sunday when Hermano Constante was able to receive the Aaronic priesthood!!!! And then literally 3 minutes after he received the priesthood, he put his hands on the head of his son and conferred to him the same priesthood! Man it was such a spiritual experience to see that. Getting baptized one week and confirmed the next day to receiving the priesthood to giving the priesthood! I think from all that has been going on in the time of my mission, God is trying to teach me that there is power in weakness. We have a little sticky note in our apartment that says PAY THE PRICE and then another note says TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WEAKNESS. I love a talk that is called The Power of not Knowing. It is a BYU talk that is probably one of my favorite talks. The more I learn, the more I learn that I know nothing and am nothing haha funny how that works. I sometimes envy my companion as with his limited vocabulary and teaching skills...in reality he is a spiritual giant and has no idea of his potential and the power he brings. Knowing Spanish, knowing the scriptures, knowing how to teach, it seems I have the disadvantage!! My favorite scripture is Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Sorry for 2 weeks in a row talking about grace and weakness but I can't get enough of it! I love being weak! It's okay to be weak! I love you all!
Elder Reynolds

A Family of 5 Baptized!!! And Elder Cox is a Stud!

The Constante Family

~Latacunga Ecuador~

Hello Everyone!
Well it's a boy!!!!!! haha And we named him Elder Cox!!! lol I am super lucky to be able to have him as my companion. It is super easy to break the ice with people because they are so amazed at how tall he is and what size of shoe he wears! It's funny because they view him as some sort of experiment that went wrong and that's why he is so huge and I just chuckle because of how many people say the same thing every lesson.

We had a baptism!!! Elder Cox is a stud!! A family of 5 his first week here! He is a legend!! They are so awesome. I love them. The family Constante. I love seeing people make covenants with God. Probably the best sight is being in the font with them and seeing them come up out of the water...pure...just so pure. That's the only word that describes it. I sure am a lucky guy.

Even though I am suppose to be training him, it seems like I am learning more from him than me! One of the things that has hit me more than anything is the fact that Spanish is SO irrelevant in this work. I thought that wow, it is going to be hard to teach a lesson because my companion won't be able to talk and that will cause that the investigators won't progress, etc. But man was I wrong! I was reading in Ether 12 and I feel like that chapter explains very well how we can deal correctly with the weaknesses that we have. I love this chapter because for me it says that without weaknesses, we couldn't have charity and we wouldn't be able to be made whole. So thanks to the many weaknesses that I have, I can be made whole. It made me think of the talk by Elder Holland and how he talked about grudges and how it takes up space in our soul...and what are we filling it with!? For me...well I probably shouldn't confess sins...hahahaha just kidding but for me I feel like I have a lot of weaknesses that are just gaps. But as I take advantage of these weaknesses, they can be filled with the good ole grace of God! And then will my soul be filled and be made whole! An example of this, obviously Elder Cox is still struggling with Spanish as his 1st week in Ecuador but we went to this lesson where it was pretty heated. Everything. we said was refused by a personal opinion and it seemed like we were getting nowhere. And that's when I kind of realized that I was trying to take this on myself and what I knew about the scriptures instead of letting the true teacher take his place in this lesson. So I turned to my companion and he just had that gringo smile as to say I have no idea what's going on but I am going to nod every once in a while to make it look like I do.....been there done that! And so I just told him DO IT! And he was like what??? Do what??? And then...HE DID IT! Man he testified of the Book of Mormon with such power that I teared up and couldn't talk for a bit. I loved it! I love that Spanish or language in general is so irrelevant! I often lose track of that as I gain more experience. But I am grateful for him and his pure testimony in order to save that lesson.

On a lighter note, we were able to eat Cuy!!!!! Man was that an experience...and well...it tastes like a rat. I thought it would taste like chicken but we concluded that yeah, it tastes like a rat hahahaha. One of the hardest things to do here is not laugh while trying to eat a cute pet. Man life is good here. I love being a missionary. I absolutely love it. I love you all!!!!
Elder Reynolds

Elder Cox is a stud!

Super blessed to have him as my last companion in the mission!

We found a fighting chicken!!!

Awesome haha!!

The Baptism!

Ether 12:24

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

The sister on the far left has sent random pictures of Elder Reynolds since he's been in Latacunga! Super blessed to be in touch with her:)

After Baptism photos!!!

Elder Cox and Elder Reynolds

Climbed this sucker...

I tried to run up it but only got the face haha

P-DAY ADVENTURES

LAST Transfer for Elder Reynolds!!!!! ...Staying in Latacunga and Training Elder Cox!!

Elder Cox and Elder Reynolds

Hello Everyone!

Wow what a weekend it was!!!!! Leading up to General Conference it seemed like I was waiting to go on vacation!!! I love General Conference. This whole week Elder Medina and I were talking to everyone we could to tell that a living Prophet and Apostles were going to be speaking to us this weekend! Who could say no to that proposition???? I loved everything what was said. I felt the themes of this conference were auto sufficiency, hope, and forgiveness. It was amazing because as I was so anxious to hear what the Prophet would say to us it came to be right before he was about to talk that what I was about to hear what the Lord wanted us to hear in these moments. Not going to lie, I was a bit confused as out of all the temas (themes) he could have treated with us, it was about calling the church by the correct name. At the beginning of the talk I was thinking that he was going to mention it and then go onto the real talk that he had prepared for us...but boy was I wrong!!! As I was pondering about it later, I was hit with a spiritual V-8 that what the spirit told me before he spoke was true! That this is truly what Christ wanted us to hear and correct for these next 6 months. What I learned was the loyal that our dear Prophet had towards God. Like what is in a name? ....EVERYTHING. I could only imagine what maybe was going through his head like wow, I am going to speak 25 minutes on this...but no! He was like I AM GOING TO SPEAK 25 MINUTES ON THIS!! haha I love that he does what the Lord wants him to do regardless of what others think. Man this church is true. I am so grateful for living Prophets and Apostles to guide us in these latter days. I am grateful to be apart of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is His church. This is His work. I love you all!
Elder Reynolds

This week was exchanges and Elder Reynolds will be staying in Latacunga the last 6 weeks of his mission. He will be training Elder Cox, who is from California!

P-DAY in the Mountains :)

Doctrine & Covenants 4:2

"Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."