Week 28

We did a lot of traveling this week. On Tuesday, we worked with the hermanas in Angol. That went really well. We found 4 people who accepted baptismal dates! We will see how those go in the coming weeks. On Thursday, we went to Temuco for the Christmas Conference. Every zone that was there had to create a dance/song and then perform for all the other missionaries. That was a lot of fun. We also got pillows for Christmas!  The week in Renaico went really well, too. We are teaching 8 people who have baptismal dates and are hoping to see at least 2 this month. We are teaching a man named Luis and his son, Luis. Almost all of their family was just baptized recently, so we are looking to help them complete that. It has made me think about why we are really here. We aren´t here to baptize people. We are here to bless the lives of everyone by helping them become a part of an eternal family. Thanks to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have the same power that the apostles had to bind on Earth and Heaven. In temples, we have the opportunity to be sealed to our families and to our spouses for eternity. I´ve said it before, but that is the #1 goal that I have, to be sealed to my family forever. The peace, hope, and comfort that brings is something that I want everyone to have. Although that´s not possible for me right now, I can help others experience that. There is no greater gift than sharing the gospel with others. I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Reynolds

Elder Martinez from Guatemala, who goes home after this transfer period

Some pictures of Tijeral, which is a little pueblo outside of Renaico

Some pictures of Tijeral, which is a little pueblo outside of Renaico

Week 27

This week was crazy. I can´t remember if I wrote about this, but Elder Carlson, one of the missionaries in Coronel who was training, had to leave early to go work in the office and left his son there with Elder Hill and I. So, I spent the last part of the week with two new missionaries. That was a fun experience, though. Elder Baggs is a really good guy, too. It was a fun way to end my time in Coronel. I think the hardest part about being a missionary is saying goodbye to all the people that you´ve grown to love. It was like leaving home again. On Tuesday, I headed to Renaico. It´s really pretty here. It´s really green, there is fruit everywhere, there isn´t pollution like in Coronel, there aren´t millions of stray dogs and vast quantities of garbage in the streets, and the people don´t yell things at you as much. My companion, Elder Escalante is a great guy. We get along well. We work in two branches. One is in Renaico and the other in a small town called Tijeral. I went to church in Tijeral this week. There are about 26 active members there, but they are all really great and all have the desires to help with the missionary work. My first day, we ate lunch in Tijeral. After, we went into a members backyard and ate raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and other fruits off the trees in her backyard. I also ate a fruit off a tree while my companion and I were walking in Renaico. There is fruit everywhere. We found a lot of people to teach this week: 22 new investigators, which is the most, by far, that I´ve ever found in a week. The people here are really receptive. I look forward to becoming a part of the work here and hope that I can do at least some good here. My new district is great. The two other elders here in Renaico and two hermanas in Angol are in my district. I´ll be working in Angol with them tomorrow. We have a Christmas conference in Temuco on Thursday, so I´m excited about that. That´s way south of here. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST WONDERFUL WOMAN ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH: MY MOM! It´s hard to believe that she will already be 30 years old! WOW! Also, happy 11 month anniversary to my wonderful, beautiful, intelligent girlfriend, Micaela Morgan Wright. She forgot about our anniversary, but I didn´t! Further proof that I love her more than she loves me. Next month will be a full year! Time really flies when you have the most amazing woman in the world, other than my mom, by your side. Have a wonderful week, everyone! 

"Elder Baggs, Elder Hill, and I. My short time as a single mother of two."

Week 26

I found out today that I am being transferred to Renaico as a district leader. My new companion will be Elder Escalante. He´s from Mexico. I´ve really enjoyed my time here in Coronel and have learned a lot. I think Elder Hill trained me more than I trained him. He really helped me to be more humble and to be more patient. He´s a great example for me. He´s a great missionary and I hope to work with him again in the future. We didn´t have a ton of success this week, but we did see a miracle. We were in an area of Coronel called Lo Rojas a few days ago because we had an appointment. We went, but no one was there. We went to our back-up appointment and no one was there either. We started walking around looking for someone to teach when we walked by a woman with a bunch of bags. All she said was "hola," but the Spirit just screamed at us that we should talk to her. It turns out that her family had been taught by the missionaries when she was a little girl. No one in the family was baptized, but many years later she took the lessons again. This time, she was ready to be baptized, along with the rest of her family (her and her 4 daughters). However, she was unable to because she didn´t pass the baptismal interview due to a couple of commandments she wasn´t following. She moved shortly after that to Coronel. This experience goes to show that, even when we think things aren´t going our way (both of our appointments fell and we had nothing else to do), it´s all a part of The Lord´s grand plan for His children. We should always remember how small our viewpoint is in comparison to The Lord´s. He always knows best, even when we are convinced that we know better. Have a great week, everyone! I love you, Micaela Morgan Wright!

Elder Reynolds

Victoria Mendez and her mother, Victoria Bustos with Elder Reynolds

Elder Reynolds and Lienturl 

He couldn't leave the dog out!

Week 25

We had a baptism on Saturday! Oscar Andrés Bastías Vega made his first covenant with the Lord and for just a moment was made absolutely perfect in the atonement of Jesus Christ. He has the opportunity to continue to be made perfect in the atonement everyday as he strives to keep the covenants that he has made with God. That´s a promise that all of us have if we take upon us the name of Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. That is was this work is about, giving that hope to those who lack it and helping them find the joy that this gospel brings. We had a talent show that same day, which included being forced to do ridiculously embarrassing things because missionaries don´t really have free agency when it comes to the members. A member made a video of the other 3 missionaries and I here in Coronel. I played a cowboy... obviously, because everyone from Texas still rides horses to work. Elder Hill was "The Pianist." Elder Carlson was Legolas, and Elder Baggs was Neo, from the Matrix. It´s pretty funny. He is going to put it up on YouTube, so when that is up I will send the link. This cambio ends on Tuesday and I think I will be moving to a different sector, but I´m not completely sure. I´ll update y´all on that this coming Monday. Happy Birthday to Mrs. Wright!!! I believe she turns 28 this week! Congratulations to Stephen and Juliana! Congratulations to LSU for beating A&M! Congratulations to Micaela Morgan Wright for being the most beautiful woman on the face of the Earth! I love you! I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Reynolds

Here is the video Elder Reynolds was talking about! 

Elder Reynolds, Oscar, and Elder Hill

Week 24

This week went well. We found some new families to teach! It´s always great to find families. That´s what the gospel is all about. It´s about helping great families, broken families, all types of families become eternal families. I know and have seen how true that is. One of my good friends, a member here, named Victor Monsalve is leaving in a few days and I probably won´t see him again for a few years, so that´s disappointing, but I´m grateful for all that he has done for me, for the friend he has been and will continue to be, for all that he has done for the work here in Coronel, and for all the work he will do on his mission. We have been teaching a woman named Veronica Arraíz. She is a single mom and lives alone with her 1-year-old son. It´s really sad to see that. She really has the toughest job on Earth. I´m so grateful for what moms do. I´m especially grateful for my mom, who has always been there for me and always had faith in me. She has no idea the effect she has had on me. Mom´s truly make the difference. Behind every great man is a great mom. Anyway, Veronica is great! She understands everything! She´s basically a missionary´s dream. Not only does she understand everything, she is willing to do everything because she knows how important her relationship with Heavenly Father is. That´s rare. So many people have knowledge of the gospel, but lack understanding (i.e. they don´t apply it and live it). I really look forward to helping her and her son. We have another baptism this Saturday! His name is Oscar Bastías. He is a 17-year-old. He is so excited for his baptism. He is already trying to share the gospel with his mom! He looks like missionary material to me! I´ll be putting up pictures from the baptism next week! Happy birthday to my dad! He turns 25 this month ;)! I love you, dad! I also wanted to thank Mr. and Mrs. Wright for the birthday card I received from them and also for everthing they´ve done for me. They probably don´t realize it, but they have been and are great examples for me. The way they have raised their family in the gospel and the love they have for eachother is something I will never forget and will strive to apply in my family some day. I also want to thank them for raising the most wonderful, beautiful woman I have ever met! They really have no idea the effect they have had on my life. I will be forever grateful for that. I hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Reynolds 

Week 23

We had two baptisms this week! Victoria Valeria Irinea Mendez Bustos and her mom, Victoria Del Carmen Bustos Navarro have officially made the greatest decision of their lives! It really was an amazing experience. To see the power of the atonement in action like that and to see how much they glowed afterwards was incredible. I say it all the time, but it truly is humbling to be a tool in the Lord´s hands to bless the lives of His children. We are currently working with two other investigators who have baptismal dates for this month. One of them, Oscar, is actually already telling his family members, many of whom are members, that he is getting baptized, so I´m really excited about that! As we continue to work hard and be obedient, the Lord continues to bless us beyond belief. We played paintball today... on the beach... in abandoned, half destroyed buildings. It was pretty fun. The entire zone, except two hermanas, were there. I heard that Texas is still undefeated in the Big 12, so that is great news. Today, 10 months ago, I began an eternity with Micaela Morgan Wright!  She is the most amazing, beautiful, inspirational, supportive woman I know. I know that I already love her more than she loves me, and I will continue to love her more each and every day. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Elder Reynolds

Victoria Mendez and her mother, Victoria Bustos with Elder Reynolds and Elder Hill on their baptismal date.

Paintball on the beach.

Paintball on the beach with another Elder from Peru.

Week 22

We will be having two baptisms here in Coronel this coming Sunday. Victoria Mendez and her mother, Victoria Bustos are going to be baptized! Elder Smith and I found them about 3 months ago knocking doors. I remember the first time we taught them, Victoria Mendez wouldn´t even let us teach. She basically interrogated us the entire lesson haha. The next lesson, she had spoken with a friend, who is a member. She listened attentively the entire lesson. That is a perfect example of the importance of members in the church. Her friend has been there for her the entire way and continues to be there for her. Without her, Victoria and her mom wouldn´t be where they are today. Victoria recently quit smoking to be baptized. She went from a pack a day to 0 in weeks. That´s the power of the atonement. I know that addictions are not easy to overcome, but I also know the power that we receive through Christ to overcome our weaknesses (Ether 12:27). I will be baptizing Victoria Mendez and Elder Hill, for his first baptism ever in his life, will be baptizing Victoria Bustos. The branch has really been a great help with them. They have constantly been there for them and, as a result, the Victorias have been active investigators. Active investigators make active converts. It has been amazing to watch them learn and grow together as a family and I know that the baptism will be one of the most gratifying moments of my life. To watch someone, especially a family, make those covenants with the Lord is something that words cannot explain. Elder Carlson spoke about how much his family means to him this past Sunday and I couldn´t help be be overwhelmed with gratitude for my family and for all the blessings and opportunities I´ve received through them. I love my family so much and miss them everyday, but I know they are being blessed for what is happening here. I´m also incredibly grateful for Micaela Morgan Wright, who is the love of my eternal life and I will always do all that I can to help her remember that. Have a great week!

Elder Reynolds