First Week in the Mission of ALL Spanish!

"How can I be better each day?"

Hello Everyone!!!

So this week was a looong but short week. It is weird how it works like that. I am definitely experiencing the refiners fire lol. But like the scriptures say, if we endure it well we will be exalted on high. Man am I clinging to that promise!! So this week was the first week in the mission of ALL Spanish... My mind is pretty much mush right now.. Buuuut my Spanish has gotten so much better!!! I am very glad for this opportunity to learn. I feel like this type of learning is when you throw a kid into the swimming pool and that is how you teach him how to swim but its all for the better. My companion is a great teacher. Even though we can't communicate well, we work together well in a companionship for teaching investigators. I keep asking myself "how I can be better each day?"I figured that if I pray for the gift of tongues that I should have enough faith to just open my mouth! So I have been trying to do that more and more and I can feel the Holy Ghost work through me. I just have to be patient. Definitely a Christ-like attribute I need to work on. 

So it was pretty crazy, from Monday to Saturday we had new investigators every single day!! By the end of the week we had 12 people on date for baptism!!! Although only 4 came to church on Sunday so only 4 have baptismal dates...but still! Elder Saldana reminded me of my purpose here and that is to invite! So that's what we have been doing. From the very first lesson inviting people to read the Book of Mormon and to prepare for their baptismal date. What I like about Elder Saldaña is he is very good at gaining the people's trust, by not going straight into lessons but getting to know them and their interests. I have always wanted to teach that way but I felt I never had a sufficient knowledge of words to convey what I was thinking.. But like I said my Spanish has improved a lot in one week!! We found a family that is pretty much golden. On our 2nd lesson with them they invited 5 other family members and friends to attend church and to sit in with us on lessons! How awesome is that!!? It really is true when the Lord says in scriptures about how people are being prepared and we need to find those that are prepared. I think that's definitely what we did here. Well we didn't find them, it was a reference from a member! Man how references are so much better than plain contacting on the street! So help the missionaries by giving them references!! I like to think of it as we train every day to be able to teach, just like as an athlete you train everyday to be able to perform at your peak... And now we just need people to teach because we are ready! It feels good to be ready. Speaking of always being ready....I experienced the first of what I think many missionaries are so used too. So we were about to go to bed Saturday night and we get a call from the bishopric saying that I am giving a talk tomorrow in sacrament meeting..... What the?!! haha Church starts at 9:00 and we have meetings at 7:30 so there wasn't any time to prepare but it was nice because really my whole job as a missionary is to be ready to teach the gospel at any time!! So it wasn't too bad. It was funny, as I was going up to give my talk the bishop whispers to me, please make it short...and I was like pffff..very funny. Surprisingly I gave a 10 minute talk! Although I think it was mainly because when I was reading scriptures I struggled on a lot of the words... But it was good! 

This week I learned of all the traditions of Easter here in Ecuador. First off, every night of the week or during the day there was something going on from one of the different sects here. So that was cool to see all the churches doing something. But from Thursday all the way to Monday or today everything was closed!! I couldn't believe it! It was like the town got robbed and everyone left! But it was good for us because everyone was home and it seemed like a lot of people were nicer to us. So on Saturday we had a ward celebration of Easter and they have this soup called Fanesca. I honestly have no idea what was in it but everyone has been talking about it for the week coming up to Saturday and if I have ever tried it. So finally when the day came to try it they would not stop giving it to me!! Literally I felt like I was going to throw up haha. They made about 70 liters of this soup. It was actually pretty good! Although there was cilantro in it and I am not too fond of cilantro..... But I think I contributed 10 liters of consummation to their total 70 liters.. NO joke I had a ton. They kept on giving it to me like there was no tomorrow! It was good, but I must say I am kind of glad Easter only comes around once a year. And of course when we went to lunch on Sunday, they asked if we wanted Fanesca to take home and we were like yeaahhhhhhh hahaha. But its all good.

We also had the opportunity today to listen to Elder Christofferson!!!! We barley knew about it until this Thursday! haha It was funny cause they were like, oh yeah Elder Christofferson from the 12 is coming so we are going to go listen to him. I was like what !!!!!!!!! It was very awesome. I didn't know he knew Spanish either!! It was cool to hear him speak in Spanish. He talked about how the most important doctrine we can teach is repentance. That it is that that changes a person. And really it is true. Baptism does not change a person, it is an important ordinance that needs to be done, but repentance is truly where we change. We got to shake his hand too and how special it was too feel a living Apostle hands like the ones we teach about from the scriptures.. Amazing!!

Funny story this week...So I am not good with directions for those who know me. But I am almost positive I knew this street where one of our investigators lived but I took the wrong turn. We ended up walking an extra 10 minutes, but a less active called out to us and we were able to visit them and give their  three children blessings!!!! Because they were really sick. I guess the spirit works in mysterious ways! But the funny part is that we sat down to wait for her to show us her house, and when I got up and put my hands down to push off from the ground I felt the ground move a little like I was pushing on playdoh.. Yep right into poop!!!! And I couldn't wipe it off because I didn't want her to know that I had poop on my hand! hahaha So we gave blessings all the while I had poop on my hands.... I don't know if the people knew but I knew because it reeked!!!! Ohhh man..... But it was a really good experience.

I love this work. I am so glad to be apart of it. This week was hard, but like always Heavenly Father came through. In Alma Chapter 27 or 28 I was reading and it says "and thus we see the great calling of those who preach the gospel"..I am summarizing it but I am so happy to be able to help people and most importantly bring them to Christ and allow them to have joy!! There is no other work like it. I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Reynolds

Elder Reynolds and Elder Jacobs (first companion)

Do I want to know what he's doing?!!

~Crazy adventures of Elder Reynolds in Ecuador~

New adventures! Comp #2...No habla ingles

Thanks to another missionary mom, I have this photo!

Someone stole his battery out of his camera, so no pictures this week :(

Hello Everyone!!!

I am still alive and well in the good ole country of Ecuador! Another week has come and gone and lots has happened! So I totally forgot to tell you guys but we had changes this Monday! So my new companion is called Elder Saldaña. He is from Columbia. Yep!! Speaks only Spanish so this is going to be quite the adventure. Our bus ride back was quiet haha Much different than what I have been experiencing these past few weeks with Elder Jacobs. It is going to be so hard, but I know our President of the mission is guided by the spirit and knows what I need. And it is true! I definitely need to learn Spanish! haha And once again I am out of my comfort zone! lol So another opportunity to grow! I am being honest, I am quite nervous... I really got used to Elder Jacobs and this sector but now it seems everything has changed! But its all good. Yes I am also still in the same sector. 

We are expecting to have a lot of baptisms this change! We have lots of investigators! We have encountered a few kinks with each one of them but that's only because Satan knows how big of a decision this is for them and how much it is going to change them for the better! It was a little funny as we were teaching one of the investigators, we invited him to baptism. He said, "wow.... I don't think I am ready for that because baptism is like marriage. If you marry the wrong women.. you are screwed!" hahahahahahahaha It was really funny. But I am so glad he sees the importance of the decision of baptism. Honestly it is hard to get our investigators to see the importance of baptism and that it isn't just a one time thing. Baptism is just the first step towards our eternal progression. We will always be progressing and chasing the Christ like attributes. I think that is what is most intriguing about this church and what we believe! There is no end! 

Our investigators are all progressing slowly but surely. We had a breakthrough with one of our investigators. She is 20 years old and her mom and sister are members but she absolutely hates the church. She has had rough experiences with church and also with the missionaries. Whenever we would go over there she would maybe say hello and then go to her room.. She wouldn't even shake our hands!! But her mom is always trying to get her to meet with us.... so we were thinking a lot and praying for her and finally she decided to have dinner with us! We talked about what her interests were and all and she has desires to go into the military but she was lacking English.... She was wanting to learn English and Hey! I know English! haha So we are now teaching her English and trying to gain her trust. We have shared one small lesson about prayer and how it can help us in our lives. She didn't think much of it but this was the first time she has even met with us! So it is awesome!!! I am really starting to understand that these are real people!! Not just numbers... We are in a great and marvelous work and the only way to get to the hearts of these people are through actually treating them like people! This probably sounds totally whack but as a missionary your whole purpose and what your leaders expect from you is success and that success comes from numbers... But really these numbers are people! Our very own brothers and sisters. My Spanish is coming along so I am having a lot better time with actually treating and making relationships with PEOPLE! lol I am probably sounding totally weird right now.

So this week was hard but we had a lot of success. So I learned that I can't walk...In Ecuador the streets and sidewalks are all banged up... So lots of holes and what not.. Unfortunately one of the holes got the best of me and broke my ankle haha It was pretty embarrassing. I was literally carrying 2 shopping bags and it was like a movie in slow motion when I fell and my stuff went everywhere.. It hurt so bad! But it is a lot better now. What was so unfortunate was there was random toilet paper in the street and I broke my ankle right in front of that so it looked like it was mine and everyone didn't know what the heck I was doing laying on the ground with a bunch of toilet paper....lol Gosh.... its not what it looks like... hahahaha (He said his ankle is swollen and bruised)

I love you all! 

Elder Reynolds

An Amazing Weekend...General Conference!!

Group of Elders who gathered for a meal after a Saturday session of General Conference!

Helllooo Everyone!!!!!

Man what an amazing week it has been!! Or should I say an amazing weekend! How privileged are we that we get to listen to a living prophet. I loved his determination. You could see it in his eyes. Even though the troubles of old age made it difficult, he still wanted to address us. That is just so amazing to me. How sweet and simple were his words too?! Simply about reading the Book of Mormon. The more I study talks about missionary work, the more I realize how important the Book of Mormon is in conversion. I love how he said to do whatever is necessary to obtain a testimony of the Book of Mormon (among other things too). Really the Book of Mormon is what makes our religion different. What makes our religion true. That we do have modern day revelation. If you think about it, why would a loving God stop revelation? Why would a loving God not continue to bless his people with the great gift of having a living prophet? The Gospel really is so simplistic in all its teachings. In General Conference there is always an underlying topic of every talk that reverts back to reading, pondering, and praying, and then acting on the answer. That is really it! There is no secret formula to happiness. Or a secret....lose fat and get fit in a day pill... Its a process. Eternal happiness is not a destination, its a process. I find it awesome that there is no end to anything. That we will always be progressing towards something. Man I could go on and on about General Conference. There was so many great talks and the spirit was so strong! Even though none of our investigators came...I still enjoyed General Conference. We were bummed that no one came that we were hoping for, but all the members were there and we had the opportunity to talk to a lot of them after and it was so great to hear what they learned! It really taught me that our job isn't to just find and baptize, it is to strengthen all. To invite all to come unto Christ. 

So one of the investigators we were hoping for is Gustavo. He just moved here from Venezuela. I think I told a little bit about him in my other letter. Anyways, we were able to talk to him Sunday night after conference. Man how we get to his house is pretty ridiculous... So we live in a sector with tons of hills. I would say you can compare it to San Francisco. But a little steeper... So how we get to his house is we have to walk about 40 minutes from our house, then get into a cab and it takes us up this HUGE hill and drops us off and we walk for another 5 minutes or so... So yeah its a looong ways away. But we showed up and this other guy was there and we started talking to him. Turns out, he knows English! He is from Venezuela but he was in the USA for about a year and learned English! I felt like Elder Calhoon in the movie "The Best 2 years" when they meet Kyle the investigator and he says "Oh sorry I dont speak Dutch"... And then the Elder is like "Heyyy Me neither!!" hahaha So we started talking in English getting to know him a little bit more. And I must say, it was the absolute weirdest thing. I could not teach worth a dang in English. It was even harder than teaching in Spanish!!!! Even though I can't speak Spanish fluently, it was crazy because I kept on wanting to speak in Spanish because it was so hard to teach in English! Elder Jacobs was looking at me like I was having a seizure... hahaha!! So that was pretty cool that I am starting to forget English...ha Just kidding, English is still in my brain! Elder Jacobs and I try to talk all in Spanish now to each other but sometimes I just want to speak in English because my brain hurts. So pretty much instead of being bilingual, I am going to be ninguna (nothing)-lingual! haha So that was a weird but cool experience for me this week. Gustavo has a problem with the Word of Wisdom so we had to push his baptismal date back. That bummed me out because I might not be in the sector. Changes (transfers) are this coming. I don't know whether I want to stay or go somewhere else. Of course going somewhere else is always intriguing, but I am starting to actually make friends instead of just acquaintances in this sector! So wherever the Lord decides to send me, I am totally okay with! Like Elder Bednar said, I am called to serve!!!!! I am not called to a specific country. 

So I'll fill you in a little about what we did for General Conference. We had to travel to the stake center and all the gringo missionaries got to watch it in English! It was pretty awesome. Pretty hilarious too. Because we got there about 5 minutes before it was about to start and we were looking all over the chapel to see where the gringo room was. Then we opened this door and you just see a whole bunch of white guys staring at you huddled around a little computer screen. haha Ohhh man that was a tight room. No big windows either...So you bet that it smelt like farts and doterra oil. ha This guy had some doterra oils and before Conference started we would dare each other to put certain oils on their tongue hahaha But we did figure out a trick to make our testimonies more powerful, we would put peppermint oil under our eyes! hahahaha just kidding. No, we had Conference to strengthen our testimonies. But yes some missionaries did try that and yes it was funny..... Oh man the mission is so fun. Men are that they might have joy!!

One thing I want to end with is a little bit of motivation. In President Eyring's talk it said that if you are ever overwhelmed that it is good! Because you are realizing the amount of trust Heavenly Father is putting on you. That Heavenly Father trusts you and believes in you that much to challenge you all for the benefit of you growing. It made me think of a quote that we had in our football weight room, it said, "If you treat a man as he is,  He will stay as he is. But if you treat a man as he can become, he will become that man." Really that is what Heavenly Father is trying to do with us! He knows our potential, and so he treats us the way He wants us to become. How loving is that. Since we are trying to become something we have never been, we have to do things we have never done. This life is hard, and the only easy day was yesterday.... But we have to keep going. We aren't quitters! We promised our Heavenly Father at baptism we would endure to the end and bring all we can with us. Now is the time to show that. Like my dad always constantly said, The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is NOW!.  I absolutely love this Gospel. The motivation that we can gain from it is incredible. I know Heavenly Father is waiting to bless us and perform miracles if we but show a little faith. Even a little desire, let that desire work in you. I love you all!!!

Elder Reynolds 

Ecuador thinks Halls cough drop is a candy hahahaha!

This is a candy store and there's a huge variety of Halls haha

Love My Missionary!!!

Rainy Cold day in Ecudador

Random weird scary baby!

Donuts are my Weakness...

P-day Adventures in Quito!

Hello everyone!

Well this week compared to last week wasn't so spectacular.... Having a baptism is a real high and its hard to stay up there! lol But we do have another person on date for baptism next week! We actually scheduled him for this weekend but we totally forgot it was General Conference so it was kind of embarrassing that we had to change the date... But its all good because he is strong and is super excited to get baptized! His name is Gustavo. He just moved from Venezuela with his daughter and his wife should be arriving in Ecuador here in a week or so. We are hoping to get the whole family baptized!! I love when teaching investigators they just light up when you recite the First Vision to them. No matter what you are experiencing in life, that special experience always makes you feel like the world isn't that bad of a place after all. I love when it is my turn to recite The Fist Vision because every time it is so special. Such a testimony builder every time. I think that's what I love about the gospel most, is that it is never ending. You can learn so much from it and never get bored of it. Luckily, Elder Jacobs and I are starting to click while we teach. We do a lot of role plays in our companionship study and it helps me a ton. I thought the role playing technique was totally dumb, but it helps! You feel so weird doing it the first few times.... But it helps! Practice makes perfect! Even though I still don't know a lot of Spanish, somehow our investigators and the people we teach understand me. I am so grateful for the spirit. Without it I would not be able to communicate with the people we come in contact with. We are getting better at contacting people too. Well I am haha Elder Jacobs already knows how. It kind of sucks that the only way to get better at something is you just have to do it! It is crazy because I am leading the lessons now! Well not really leading, just starting off and trying to talk more and more. 

We didn't have any crazy stories this week. Just another week in the life of a missionary. Waking up at 6:30 and being tired all day! haha For some reason it seems I am always tired out here! I don't know why I am because I have been living off of less sleep before the mission... hmmmm Oh well, some things just don't make sense. I can almost compare this to the construction job I had before the mission. At the end of the day you are always completely exhausted, but it feels good to know that you did some quality work. That's how I feel every night. This work is hard, but like I have said it is so worth it. The language is still coming.......sooo...ever so slowly. It seems I have hit a stand still in learning more and more each day. Instead it's like I have spurts. One day I can understand a lot and the next I have no idea what I am saying or the other person is saying. Oh something interesting happened kind of... A new donut shop opened up in our sector. I must say Ecuadorians definitely know how to make bread...but on the pastry side of things they need to learn some stuff haha But we ended up trying them last p-day annnnnnd yeah they got it right this time. It's so bad because the donuts make you feel like you have diabetes.....but they are soooo good! ha I am having a real hard time with self control... And it sucks because it is on the way to most of our appointments!! My companion already has probably knocked off 20 years worth of his life eating them... I probably knocked off 5 to 10 years.... hahaha The donuts are actually the first food that has really tempted me out here! But so far its all good, I still fit into my pants.... haha Saying that after a week. But we walked a ton this week! Its good because Gustavo lives on a crazy huge hill so every time we visit him we burn off about 1000 calories. It has been raining almost everyday too! Usually its off and on throughout a day but this week it has been a steady stream of rain! So it kinda sucks a little because nothing dries here!!! It is humid so wet just stays wet! haha experiences of the mission.

So I'm sorry this isn't too much to read.... I hope something crazy happens next week. I love you all!! Hang in there! Life is too short to not have fun!

Elder Reynolds

Two random big white balls and I had to climb it!

Presidential palace where the President lives.

We ran into our Mission President!

A virgin statue

First Baptism--Cold, wet, late...but warmed by the Spirit!

His First Baptism!

Hello Everyone!

So we did successfully have our first baptism!! It was fantastic!! It was a little weird to me how we go through so much effort and so much teaching and time to do such a simple act. Me and my comp were talking about that and how we have been teaching Esteven for I think 3 months now and how our whole purpose is to do one ordinance that takes like a minute. ha (It isn't our whole purpose but that is the best way we can bring people to Christ) But the scripture came to mind that "by small and simple means are great things brought to pass." The gospel truths and principles really are simple when you think about it! It definitely isn't easy though I will be the first to say that. But It is definitely worth it. It was so nice to finally see an investigator progress from knowing not much about Jesus Christ to being baptized as a member of the Church!! So the whole baptism story is pretty crazy... It was Thursday and we realized that we had a baptism date on Saturday, but the family hadn't given us a time to do the baptism!! So we went to visit them that night and got all the things sorted out. It was schedule for 7 pm. We also realized he hadn't picked anyone to baptize him! So we asked who he wanted and he said me!!! I was so excited and so humbled at the same time!! Of course I said yes and thank you for the opportunity!! So Saturday finally came and we started filling up the font at 4:30 because I guess it takes forever to fill it up. We turned on the water and the water heater so the water wouldn't be freezing. Then we left to do other things and visit one other person. We live by a member and we were leaving our house around 6:40 to head to the church. And she said that the font was empty and they just started filling it up!!! We kinda didn't believe her...But we ran to the church to see what was going on and sure enough the font had about a foot of water...... Our hearts dropped! I could not believe it!! And all the members were freaking out! ha Like the end of the world was about to happen! We didn't know what we did wrong, and explained that to people but it didn't really matter at that point... So we were thinking of ways of how we could make the time go faster... So we figured out that if you turn off the water heater it would fill up faster. We asked Esteven if that was alright that the water would be cold. He said yes. It was about 7:30 now and the font was filling up but it wasn't going to be done in a timely manner. So a long story short, we found a hose and hooked it up to the outside faucet and ran it through a window of the church and turned it on full blast.. Needless to say it filled up a lot faster!!! ha So the baptismal service didn't start till 830! Our curfew was at 9:00! So the talks were a little on the short side... And a note to self.... bring an extra shirt!!! haha I figured out after the baptism when we were changing that I was wearing my only long sleeve shirt I had! That is not a nice realization. Esteven was wearing my backup... So I was wet for the rest of the service ha But it was an amazing experience for me and for Esteven. Nothing can compare to the experience of hugging a newly baptized member of the church in freezing cold water, both of you wet, and just smiling. Luckily the spirit was strong so that warmed us up a bit! haha It was a great experience. I have a testimony that this work is the greatest work that can be done on the Earth. Our whole mission here is to prepare for the next life. I love the fact that I get to serve our Master for 2 years and after a whole life time. The only way to true happiness is through the Atonement. Humbling ourselves and submitting our will to our Father in Heaven. This mission has definitely not been the easiest, but the reward is far more than I can imagine. Truly serving others can bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. I love you all!

Elder Reynolds

Hard Work Paying Off

Bus Selfie

These buses can get really crowded!! Other than walking, this is their main source of transportation.

Hello everyone!!!

This week was full of ups and downs! But all good. My Spanish is really starting to come along so that really excites me. I am excited to finally start making relationships with people! haha Nothing against my companion, he is a great companion, but it will be nice to talk to someone else. WE try to talk to each other in Spanish in the street but one of two things happens, either one of us gets tired of it and the patience goes out the window, or we don't really talk at all haha. But we are trying! That counts for something right?? It was a cool experience this week because I did my first bartering! I think that is how you spell it... But I was buying some strawberries and they were 1 dollar, that is kind of expensive (especially on a missionary budget) ha So I started trying to talk to them in my broken Spanish about who I am and what I am doing in Ecuador. Then I was about to walk away and they were like we will give you 2 for 1.80. And I was like how about 1.50 for 2? And they said okay! lol Now that I think about it, it kinda seems like they did it because I was a missionary... But I am going to take that as a win for Elder Reynolds. Elder Reynolds 1.... Ecuador 0. 

We have our first baptism this weekend!!!!! His name is Esteven. He is a 13 year old boy who his sister was a convert just this past January. We have been teaching him ever since I got sent to this sector. He doesn't really pay attention and take things seriously. But we really tried to focus in on him on our lessons. It was kinda odd to because he wanted to be like us someday (a missionary) but didn't want to get baptized haha. So one time this week we were on divisions and I went with another Elder. We totally focused the lesson on him and asked him directly about 3 times if he would follow the example of the Savior and be baptized... He is quite shy and doesn't like people focusing in on him. I honestly don't like silence either but I learned this week that silence is our best friend as missionaries! As we were silent and asked him the last time, you could see him opening up and said yes and started talking about how he knew it was true!!!!! So lesson learned! Be quiet! haha That is hard for me because I love talking! But I am so excited for him! And that he may serve a mission makes me even that much more excited. He really is a sweet spirit and the ward befriended his family quite well. It was interesting to me also that other missionaries do the baptismal interview. It makes me want to be that much more worthy because if I ever do it that is a big responsibility! To listen to the spirit and discern whether or not the investigator should wait or give them the go ahead! It is quite cool though how the spirit works and how powerful it is if we are worthy of it. It can be with us anywhere anytime of the day. I am especially grateful for the spirit as I have experienced the Gift of Tongues almost everyday. I know without the spirit I would not be able to pick up this language. 

Although this language is hard for me... It was a humbling moment.... For p-day we usually go to the mall so we can buy groceries in bulk and we ran into some members. I have no idea where they were from but they said Hey elders! I was like Hey I understand that language! haha But I guess they were in Ecuador for a service thing and they were members. They both spoke Spanish and asked me how my Spanish was and I said not very good.. Then she told me... Well at least you don't have to learn a new alphabet....! I was like oh great she is going to hit me with some crazy language and make me look super dumb that I couldn't even grasp Spanish. So yes she said she served in Russia and had to learn that language. I was like okay bye.... No haha I was very impressed because she was fluent in 3 languages! I cant even be fluent in English! haha 

This week has been better than most on my mission mainly because of the upcoming baptism. I have gotten so excited to teach him because I know that he is getting baptized. Now I know why they say teach everyone with the same motivation as to if they already agreed to baptism. Because for sure we taught differently and tried our hardest each time we taught. So another lesson learned! But it feels so good to have hard work paid off! It will eventually pay off, we don't know when, but it will. That is Gods promise to us always. I love you all!!

Elder Reynolds

What the heck Ecuador...random staircase leading to nowhere!

What does God want me to learn from this?

First time eating cow stomach!

Hello!

This week was definitely a lot better than last week! Feeling better but definitely not 100% yet. Oh well, no one ever said it was going to be easy! I talked to the Mission President this week because we had little meetings and told him what I was going through and he was really caring, but compared my mission to the Lord, our Saviors mission. So of course I was totally shut down and humbled. I don't know if I told that story before but it happened again haha It is true though, we don't know the extent of what the Savior went through so who are we to say, woe is me. Although the trials we go through are hard no doubt. But because of what the Savior went through, we can overcome it!! And we don't have to do it alone! Thank goodness!

We have another person on baptism for next week! We went on divisions this week, where Elder Jacobs goes to another sector and I stay in our sector while the district leader comes and proselytes with me for a whole day. A whole day of Spanish! Not bad I must say. I knew a lot more than I thought! It was complicated though when I didn't understand something coming from the investigator... Because the other Elder didn't speak much English so he couldn't translate it for me. But other than that it was great! So now Elder Jacobs and I are speaking more Spanish in the street. Although it is bad to say... I think the mission will be a lot more enjoyable once the language comes! But I am trying to enjoy it now. We can serve people even if we cant talk to them directly. It is a different kind of service because I am a people person and like to make relationships with them. But gotta find a way to win! -Coach Bradley haha But yes we have another person on date for baptism!!! And this one is almost for sure. He has been coming with his family for about 6 months now but hasn't committed to baptism because he is really shy. But the other Elder that I went on divisions with was really really direct! I was kinda scared we were going to end our good relationship with this family. But thankfully, it paid off and now his baptism date is for next Saturday. (Not this coming Saturday but the next one) I am starting to see why missionary work is so dang addicting! Whenever someone accepts the message and you see the light in their eyes, It becomes so real! It is like realizing something they knew their whole life but now just realizing it! It takes a lot of work sometimes, but it is worth it.

So also this week we had to stay in 2 days because of the holidays. We could go out to email but that was it. We almost got hit a few times from little kids on top of buildings throwing water balloons. I was hoping we would get hit because my companion did not like to walk back to the house early because we live on a hill haha But I was secretly hoping that we would get hit just so I could laugh my head off while he would be mad.... I know.. still learning charity but hey I am still 21 years old and immature. I don't have to grow up too much do I? lol The mission is becoming life now so it is getting better. Just accepting that this was life was hard for me but once I did the days seemed more fun. Along with my Spanish getting better every day, now I like going out to contact people. It is definitely true, the Lord does prepare people. We just have to be worthy to find them. 

I was reading in Mosiah this week and it was in Chapters 20..ish I don't remember exactly which one. But I was reading in a verse how it said the Lord saw fit for his people to be afflicted for a little longer. I pondered on that for a while because why would our loving Father in Heaven want that for his children? I'm not a parent yet but if my child was afflicted in any way I would want to help him! But it hit me that sometimes God lets us do it on our own 1. because we choose not to let Him into our lives, and 2. because this life is meant to be hard! The only way to grow stronger is to break down first our weaknesses, and then build it back up. During the trial it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, when you're sitting on the toilet wishing you didn't eat that weird looking thing... God is still there, but He wants us to learn something. Everything I feel is for a reason. My mom and dad would always say to me, What does God want me to learn from this? They are a lot better than I am but it is so true. We are human. We are trying to become more like our Father in Heaven so... YEAH! You bet its going to be hard. But we are in this together! I love you all! I feel like this letter was all over the place so I am sorry... I hope it isn't too bad!

Elder Reynolds

Eating Cow stomach!

A Catholic Cathedral

Completely gold on the inside and we didn't go in cause it costed a lot!

I made it back to the states...San Francisco haha!!