Week 67

This was a great week! We did a lot of traveling, again. We went to the south. We went to Victoria, my old sector, and I did the interview for a woman I was teaching. Her name is Rosemary and she will be getting baptized this Saturday! I also visited another family I was teaching and Joaquin, the oldest son, will be getting baptized in two weeks! I´m so grateful that they´ve been able to progress! Also, an investigator of mine from Labranza is getting baptized today! After Victoria, we went to Loncoche, which is the sector furthest to the south. There isn´t much there. It´s super pretty and really green, but there isn´t much more than houses and a milk farm haha. I enjoyed it, though. We finished off in Temuco. Yesterday morning, we headed back and at 7pm, Vanessa Alejandra Silva Degen was baptized! It was the most well-supported and well put together baptismal service that I´ve been to on my mission. The ward mission leader did everything! We are so happy to have had a baptism. The assistants haven´t baptized in years and it´s so great to play a role in that. It looks like we will be bring in at least one more assistant this coming week, but all the details aren´t set. Happy birthday to my dad! He has always been an amazing example for me and continues to be everyday. I am forever grateful for everything that he has done for me and eternally grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such a great dad. I love you, Dad! I know I´m a day late, but I hope that you had a wonderful birthday. I won´t miss the next one! We went to Lota today and went to a national park there. It was beautiful! Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Elder Reynolds

Week 66

Week 65

Week 64

This was a great week! I turned 24 on the 16th and President Bluth and his wife cooked a huge breakfast for me and my companions. It was a lot of fun. My great-grandson in the mission just got here this week. What I mean by that is that the missionary I trained trained a missionary, who is now training another missionary. His name is Elder Davies. He is a great guy. We had some more conferences this week. They never end haha. Vanesa Silva is progressing a lot and now has a baptismal date for the 7th of November!    It´s amazing what the Spirit can do to change the lives of so many. She has a lot of family problems, but has found that the gospel helps her to overcome them and to always have a positive attitude, understanding that trials and difficulties are necessary for our progression here in this life. Have a great week!

Elder Reynolds

Week 63

It was another busy week with a lot of traveling due to the conferences, but I had a lot of fun. We are working well in our own sector, too. We are teaching someone named Vanesa. She is awesome and is progressing a lot. She has sincere desires to come closer to God and is already seeing and feeling the changes that the gospel brings. I love the mission so much. Seeing people make changes in their lives and feeling the love of the Lord is the greatest thing I could ask for. I am so grateful for this experience. Some missionaries in the conference, those going home, shared their testimonies and it make me really sad thinking that someday my mission will end. Obviously I miss my family, but I have grown to love everything about the mission and all the friends I have made here in this country. I have never grown so much in my life and it´s hard realizing that it doesn't last forever. BUT, there is still a lot to be done!

Elder Reynolds

Week 62

This week was crazy! We traveled to the south of the mission to do a series of conferences. We started in Temuco and did three conferences there. After that, we went up to Angol and finished off the fourth conference of the week there. All week I was able to work in different sectors and get to know more missionaries. It was an amazing experience, but very tiring. The countryside here is so beautiful. I have been able to grow a lot here in the office. It really has helped me to stop thinking about myself. There are so many people that we need to and are able to help. It is a huge blessing. All week I shared my conversion story with the missionaries in the hopes that it would help them to understand why they are here. What we do is so important. The gospel changed me so much, and being able to think about that some more has helped me to be even more grateful for Christ and what He did for me. He gave me the power that I needed to overcome the sadness and emptyness that I felt and brought light and hope into my life. There is no greater happiness than feeling what He did for me. I can feel it everyday as I teach this gospel and as I work to improve. Everyone deserves that opportunity. I am sure that there is nothing more important that the gospel. If we put that first, we won´t need to stress about the other things because the Lord provides. He always has and He always will.

Elder Reynolds

Week 61

This first week as an assistant has been crazy. We took all of the missionaries who finished their missions to the airport and, just after that, 27 new missionaries arrived and we were able to welcome them. We took them around the office for the day and helped them get everything ready and the following day they met their new companions. My new companions are Elder Anderson, from Utah, and Elder Paris, from Chile. I participated in my first conference as an assistant. It was a fun experience. I still really don´t have any idea what I´m doing, but I´m sure that the Lord is there to help me in every moment, as long as I trust in him and do all that I can. We went to the Andes today. It was absolutely beautiful. It is incredible what the Lord has created. I am so grateful for all that He has done and continues to do.

Week 60

Week 59

Week 58

Week 57

Hey, everyone! I haven´t had much time, but things are going great here in Victoria! We had a baptism this past weekend. Alejandra Vásquez Vásquez se bautizó! She has had a lot of difficulties with her husband, but she still came through! She´s a great example for me. It´s been amazing to see how we experience so many difficulties when we come closer to God. I know that we need to experience challenges to progress and that we can have a solid foundation to overcome all things if we trust in the atonement of Christ. If we put that first, nothing can shake us.

Elder Reynolds

Week 56

This was my last week in Labranza. I was informed this week that tomorrow I will be heading to my new sector, Victoria. It is about and hour and a half north of Labranza, so I won´t be going too far. My new companion´s name is Elder Braga. He is from Brazil. I´ve worked with him a few times, so I know that he is a good guy. I´m looking forward to what we can accomplish there. I have enjoyed my time a lot here in Labranza. I have met many friends that I will always have thanks to the gospel. I am leaving feeling like I was able to do what I could here. This past week, I went to Padre Las Casas to talk to a lady who is investigating the church there. Her name is Alicia and she is awesome. Her daughter is a member and is serving her mission in Ecuador. Everytime I have talked to her (this wasn´t the first time), I felt as though I was teaching my own mother. I know how her daughter must feel and the prayers she must be offering so that her mother can become a part of this gospel because I do and feel the same way. It was an amazing experience to get to know her and to teach her. I know that she will be able to accept the gospel before her daughter gets home from her mission. That is the very same hope that I have had for my mother since I left almost a year and a half ago. There are many things that don´t go our way and many things that don´t happen in the timetable that we have, but God has a perfect plan for each and every one of us. Many times, we just have to stop and realize that His ways are higher than our ways. We have a very small perspective and many times what we see is best, actually isn´t. When we learn to let go and accept God´s will, we will truly know what happiness is.

Elder Reynolds

Week 55

Week 54

Week 53

Week 52

God humbles the prideful. This week has provided me with that testimony.

Elder Reynolds

Week 51

Lissette was baptized this weekend! We went to visit her earlier in the week, knowing that her main doubt was the Book of Mormon. So, we picked out that same video that I wrote about last weekend. We showed it to her and shared with her our testimonies and a few more scriptures from the Book of Mormon. It was obvious that she felt the Spirit. In the end, we simply told her that she already knew that it was true. We said "Lissette, ya sabe que es la verdad." She responded with a smile on her face "Sí, ya lo sé." From there, we set up an interview. On Friday, she had her baptismal interview and on Saturday, she was baptized! It was amazing! The Book of Mormon is the word of God. There is no doubt about that. Anyone who reads it humbly, desiring to do the will of God, will come to that same conclusion. This coming weekend, Maria Paz, the daughter of Elizabeth and Robinson, is getting baptized! Also, Andrea may be getting baptized, so we are excited about that. Cristian, the son of Andrea and a recent convert, received the Priesthood and will be able to baptize his mom! That´s my dream! It´ll be amazing to see that happen. Please keep her in your prayers! Have a great week, all!

Elder Reynolds

Week 50

I don´t have much time to write, but it was a good week. Cristian was baptized and the 6 missionaries in our ward, including me, performed in a talent show. We rapped a hymn. It was really funny. I will have someone upload that to Facebook, most likely Cristian. Cristian´s mom, Andrea, and another lady named Lissette may be baptized this coming weekend, so please keep them in your prayers. We watched "17 Miracles" this morning. It was amazing. I recommend it to everyone. I also love this video about the Book of Mormon:http://youtu.be/3dNYpXZIN_c. Watch it! I promise that I will have more to say this coming week. Happy Birthday, on the 21st, to my little brother Blake! He will be 21! I love you, buddy! 

Elder Reynolds

Elder Reynold's 2nd zone

Elder Lopez from San Antonio (he also is an Aggie... shame.)

Cristian's Baptism