3-31-14

CONFERENCIA GENERAL!!!!  NO PUEDO ESPERAR!

There is so little time before general conference!  I can’t believe that the time is already coming again!  One year ago, I was in my oro area with my trainer.  Remember the photo I sent you of me watching it on the small TV screen in the technology closet? Ha-ha.  I am hoping that this year will be different.  We are 3 gringos in the house and 5 gringos in the whole zone.  They ha better set up a good English room. ;) Ha-ha.   Loved to hear that my sisters are so excited to do the fast from the world week. I remember those days so very vividly.  The opportunity that it gave me to feel a little bit like a missionary.  Now I live that life 24/7. ;)  And love it so much.  This week I have had the opportunity to exercise my priesthood many times, and it is just such and amazing feeling when you lay your hands upon another persons head and feel the change in your demeanor.  There is something that changes when you are acting as the voice of Jesus Christ.  As a missionary, I get to testify in His name daily and it is such a privilege!  I love the mission so much!!!  Keep us in your prayers for the month of April.  There was LOADS of opposition this month as far as baptisms goes, we had 7 planned yesterday, and every...Single...One fell through.  Ha-ha.  So we are hoping for better results this month!  My comp’s birthday is on the 15th, he is turning twenty... My mom’s birthday is on the 17th, no idea how old she is turning. ;)  I continue to tell everyone here in Uruguay that she is in her forties.  Ha-ha... Before I do, everyone thinks you are 20 and that you are my girlfriend. ;) Ha-ha.  I love to give them my photos and wait to see if they ask me "what’s your girlfriend’s name?"---"That’s my Mom."---"You’re Mother!!!  How old is she!!!!???"   Ha-ha.  Love it!  Every time! :)

Love you all so much!!!!  Go to the temple before and after General Conference!  I’m sure revelation is eminent!

Love,

Elder Reay

3-23-14

Pictures are a commin!!! Ha-ha.  It is amazing how fast time moves when you are completely immersed in the Lords work and you are giving everything you have in every moment. ;)  I have been going a million miles a minute and love it so much!  Ha-ha.  We had a baptism yesterday!  Karina!!!!! She is so prepared and just so excited to get baptized!  We were so honored that God prepared her so that we could help her find her way to the waters. :)

My comp is from Idaho.  Caden Alder.  He is super awesome and helps me A BUNCH as district leader.  He is one of those PERFECT advisers.  He helps me in everything.  He and I are getting along great and we are being the example for the entire zone. ;)  I live with elder Abbott and elder Garcia.  We get along great!  We are working SUPER hard to aumentar everything that we have done in this zone.  Our branch is SUPER small and not very lively, but that is going to change, just give me a change or two. ;) Ha-ha.  We have the goal to double the assistance and to baptize two more this change, so we are planning to make some huge impacts on this little branch of ours... we share the branch with elder Garcia and Abbott.  We are not a stake, we are a district.

Loved to hear about my cuz getting his mission call!  I was able to watch the video and loved it !  Ha-ha.  Can’t believe that so many of my friends and family members are going out to serve!  IT seemed like when I was getting ready, there was NOBODY I knew out serving... I had Ryder, Holden, and Brandon... Josh and Trevor wills and that were about it!  Now there are LOADS of friends and family serving!!! I love it so much!!!! Ha-ha.

This is a photo of Karina, her son, Brother Sergio who helped us teach her, my comp and I. :) yesterday. What a beautiful service that it was!!!! We are super excited to baptize here!  It had been three months without a baptism in this area

Love you lots!!!

Elder Reay

3-17-14

 Me with the Iturria family.

 My bed is the one on the floor. :) haha

 My NEW house, the size of kingdom come!!!

Better than the CCM!

My district before I left.

 

Love to hear all the amazing blessings that are coming to fruition (Fruu-i-shin) back home.  Thank you so much for that boost!  Hope you all enjoyed your time at the cabin and that you were all able to enjoy the blessings that come through the temple.

I am now in Rocha.  Living in an amazingly good house.  I live with my comp and the zone leaders.  The zone leaders are great!  Elder Abbott y elder Garcia.  Elder Abbottt is from my group and elder Garcia was in minas when I started the mission!  SO we get along GREAT!  My district rocks and we are totally going to meet the goals we put here.  We have plans to get our branches turned into wards by getting our assistance up to 100 each branch.  Keep us in your prayers.  I love my district and can’t wait to see how well we do this change.  My area is pretty hard, but we have so much potential!  We are hoping for two baptisms this Sunday.  Karina and her son Lucas.  I have two hermanas in my district and two elders.  So far, elder Alder and I are just whipping everyone’s BUTTS haha.  He and I have decided to be the examples for the district/Zone.  Sorry I didn’t take any photos with him, I have had little to no time for anything really... neglecting my dçjournal even!  :( aw well.  Ha-ha.  Loving it up here in rocha, got to meet my new mission president on change day, President Cook from Idaho.  He and his wife are very loving and very focused, got some one on one time with both of them and that was very nice.  My comp is named Elder Alder.  He is from Idaho and has about 10 months in the mission.  I picked him up from the airport when she showed up and now we are going to baptize here in Rocha. :)  I have seen so many blessings in my position as District leader, last change, I took so much time and energy in trying to help my district and IT ALL PAYED OFF!!!! I met every goal I had put before the change started and was able to baptize as a district EVERY week the entire month of January.  I have plans to do the same here in Rocha. ;)  Many miracles are bound to be included in my following emails. :)

Love You all

Elder Reay

03-11-14

Yes, i got transferred...  Going to a new zone, my area will be in Rocha.  I will be the district leader, but that is all i know. :)  Not sure who is going to be in my district, or how many there will be. haha.  Don´t know who my companion is, must have showed up to the mission AFTER i left the offices because before i left, i knew every missionary by name and face. haha.  Elder Parker, My current comp is going to stay here and will be getting a new comp, his new comp will take my place as district leader.  Hermana Coon got transferred to melo, with one of the other hermanas that was in my district. That will be totally fun for her. :)  I know one of my new zone leaders will be Elder Abbott, he is from my group and can´t wait to see if we are living in the same house!  haha.  After we finish the ciber today, we are going to the Iturria´s house for my last lunch with them, can`t believe that i am going to leave 18 de Mayo.  JJ and Chelsea keep me informed and write me pretty much every week... Boy howdey is that necessary. :)  I love hearing from them and being able to write them personally each week. (They are first priority by the way, i read and respond to my sibs, then mom and dad, then old comps, then anyone else i have time for. ;) haha)

Oh what i wouldn´t give to hop on the Rhino with you and head out to shoot off rockets!!!!! Those memories are just so awesome.  Our family focks!!!  Yesterday, The iturria family looked up dad´s you tube account and watched him taking the jeep down the sedona rocks. :)  Somethings like that just absolutely BLOW them away.... Their most exciting thing is taking a bus to montevideo or something to walk around the plaza... Yet, we are so blessed as to have SO MANY COOL THINGS TO DO!!!! haha. :)

Love you all,

Love,

Elder Reay

 Me, My comp, and Brother Cejas

 "Knocking" on the door in Uruguay.

 

3-4-14

Our Humble abode.  Needing a weed wacker pretty badly. :)

 Work outs every morning, with my make-shift carpet for my pushups/situps. ;)

The UGLY zebra tile we have in my room

 Hermana Frietz and her companion, me and my companion, and another random hermana because mission rules are that if there is a photo with elders and hermanas, there have to be 5 people. ;)

 Bus ride to Church every Sunday.  This is a contracted bus by the church that makes two trips back and forth to pick up, then two trips to drop every one off.  We were 100 people in church yesterday!!!!  with 14 less active members!!!!!!!!!!!!  that was crazy.

This was our trup to San Jose, this is a classic Uruguayan bus station.

What a week.  Been working my tail off and it showed off yesterday in church!!!! :)  We had so much work to do yesterday, so many sheep to heard... We had 14 less active members, 10 of which hadn’t been to church in the last year, we had 4 investigators to teach and show around... helping them get to know the ward and introducing them to members, then to top it off, the bishop had to leave and we were in charge of getting everyone on the buss and back to their homes. :) What a beautiful fast and testimony meeting FULL of blessings.  I was truly blessed by the testimonies that were born... The most powerful one was when Hermano Pedro Corujo stood up and bore his testimony... He had done a lot of missionary work that week... Sitting in the pew with him was his non member wife, two less active kids, and his less active brother.  When Pedro stood up, he started by saying how grateful he was to see his wife at church, then talked about his kids, then when he got to the point about his brother being there with him, he broke into tears... that struck me as I could tell they have a relationship similar to the one I have with my own father.  Pedro testified how important it is to be baptized and to remain worthy.  Perfect for his wife and other family members.  

BTW.  I found out that I really like the look of cuff links... ha-ha. SO if you want to, that would be a great gift for your missionary son, a good looking tie with matching cuff links. :)  I have one but it is a white tie with blue lines, not very.... "Logan".  Ha-ha.  

Had a great interview with President Etchegeray this week, he interviewed my companion and I.  We are seeing some incredible progress with my companion and the same with ME!!!  haah.. Having to learn a lot about being Christ Like and not being so darn prideful.

<<<<<<<<<<<love you all>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Love,

Your Son, Brother, and Friend

Elder Reay