Week Five!

Happy late 4th of July everyone! This week flew by. We have a new family that we are teaching. The parents´names are Arturo and Patricia. They are such a great family. Patricia is going through treatment for cancer, but she is still beyond animated. It´s great to find a family like that. There are so many broken families here, but every once in a while, you find one like this. They have been meeting with the missionaries for a long time, but they are just now starting to show some real interest. Arturo and his daughter showed up to church this weekend. He works nights on Saturdays, but he still made it. He made a sacrifice for The Lord and I know that he and his family will be blessed for it. It´s been another really cold week. I had to add a 4th blanket to my bed of blankets. I learned something really important this week. Nothing we do in this life should be solely for us. Everything we do should be for others. All the school work I´ve done, the work I´ve put into my life, this mission, all the sacrifices that have been made, all that shouldn´t be about me because it isn´t. It´s about my family, it´s about Christ, it´s about God, it´s about those around me, my brothers and sisters. I´m working to pay everyone back for all that has been given to me. I am who I am today because of other people, because of their sacrifices and love for me. I´m preparing for the family I will have in the future. I am so grateful for everything that I have been given. I´m so grateful for the people in my life. It it weren´t for you all, I wouldn´t be here right now. I wouldn´t be who I am. I hope everyone receives blessings for the work I am doing here because that´s where I want them to go. It seems like this is all so obvious, but sometimes it becomes about you, and it shouldn´t. Everyone at home gives me strength. I can feel your prayers. Thank you. The people here give me strength, too. They have taught me these things. Their gratitude for what little they have has changed my outlook on life. So many here are the definition of humility and gratitude. I´m proud to be American because of all the blessings that we have. Even the litte things, like heating, are massive blessings. You don´t realize how much you have until you go somewhere where there is so little, yet the people are so happy. I hope we all learn from the example of the Chilean people. Cling to what you have rather than envying what you don´t have. I´ve fallen into that trap many times and that is something I´m working to change. I want everyone to know that I love my family. I also want everyone to know that Micaela Morgan Wright is amazing and is a source of my strength. She makes me want to be a better person everyday. Her example drives me. I love her very much and I hope she knows that. Have a great week everyone.

Elder Reynolds