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

Week 49

This week was a little frustrating. We did nearly everything possible to help two families get to church, including calling them the night before and the day of and passing by one of the families right before church, and they didn´t show up. During the sacrament, I was really sad about that. I prayed really hard and asked the Lord to forgive me for not doing everything in my power. Towards the end of my prayer, I felt something that I hadn´t felt in a while. The past few weeks I´ve been really worried about the zone because I feel like we aren´t meeting our potential. I have been trying to figure out what more we can do to help, but it´s been really difficult to answer that question. I feel like we are really working, but we aren´t seeing what we thought we would. But, in that moment during the sacrament, I felt peace that only comes from God. I felt His concern and His love for me. I knew and know that He sees what we are doing and feels what we are feeling. He does all possible to help all His children, and many don´t understand, and many reject Him. I know that He sends angels before us and behind us to help and support us. I know that He will never fail us and He will never leave us comfortless. I know that He loves me. I feel it everyday. I know that He is involved in my life and in this work. I know that, if I do what is required of me and do all that I can, that He will always do the rest. I can´t do any of this by myself, nor anything else. The only way is with God. He makes all possible. I know that if I put my trust in Him that He will always come through. I have seen that way too many times in my life to deny that. I know that this applies to everyone. I was extremely happy to be able to talk to my family yesterday. My mom, dad, brother, uncle Jeff, aunt Jeannice, and their three daughters, Gracie, Claire, and Ella were all at my house to see me. I am extremely grateful for my family, for the love and the support that they show me constantly. I feel their prayers everyday. I was also able to see the stunningly beautiful face of Micaela Morgan Wright! It´s incredible to think that this next year, she will literally be mine forever! God fulfills His promises, and He always will. If we put Him in first place, He will take care of everything else. I know that is true. We have a baptism next weekend. His name is Cristian, so please keep him and his family in your prayers! Have a great week, all!

Elder Reynolds

Fabiola's baptism

Week 48

Fabiola Lucila Canuillan Gamboa was baptized this Saturday and confirmed a member of the exact same church that Christ established on Sunday! It was amazing! The ward really supported her. A ton of members showed up and a lot of the young women in the ward were there to support her and make her feel welcome. Someone who isn´t a member of the church told us this week that she loved how much unity there is in our church. It´s amazing how united a body of people can be when Christ is at the base of everything. The people in the church may not be perfect, but I do know that the church organization itself is perfect because Christ established it. I feel humbled knowing that we can be a part of that. Obviously I want to share that with everyone. We are working really hard in Labranza. We are hoping for 3 baptisms on the 17th, so keep Cristian, Andrea, and Lissette in your prayers! This week, on the 8th, I will have one year left in the mission field. The time has literally flown by. It´s unreal. I love being here and love being a missionary. There is nothing greater than seeing the Atonement of Christ in action every single day. I know that I don´t have much time left here and that makes me sad, but I do know that every day is a chance to get better and a chance to bless someone´s life. Happy, almost, Mother´s Day to all the mom´s out there, especially Dina Reynolds and Doris Reynolds, two of the greatest moms to every walk the Earth. I love you both very much and I hope you have a wonderful Mother´s Day. I love you, Micaela!!! Have a great week, everyone!

Elder Reynolds

Week 47

These past two weeks have flown. We are extremely busy, but everything is great. We have a baptism this Saturday! Her name is Fabiola Canuillan! She is 17 years old and a future missionary. I´m extremely excited about her baptism. We are also working closely with the Familia Santibañez. The oldest son, Matías, is having some trouble getting to church, but the mom (Andrea) and the younger brother (Cristian) are progressing a lot. Cristian was able to see his first baptism this past Saturday and he loved it. Keep them all in your prayers. Yesterday, we went to Concepción for a meeting with President Martinez. It went really well. It helped me realize the way I can continue to progress. I have noticed that, once I made the big changes in my life, that I became comfortable. I felt like I didn´t need to change anymore and was blinded from the small things in my life that I can still change. I´ve felt like I´ve hit a wall and like I haven´t been progressing. I realized yesterday that there are many small things that I can change to overcome that barrier. Alma 37:6-7 says that small things bring great things to pass, but it can be applied in the reverse as well. Small things can keep us from achieving great things. Romans says that we are coherederos (I´m not sure how to say that in English, so use Google Translate) with Christ. That means that we can be exhalted like Him. If that is our potential, we can´t be anything less. I think that, if we can keep our potential (the potential that God knows we have) in our minds, that we will not only notice the small things that we are doing to keep us from growing, but that we will run from them and do everything possible to leave them behind. We can be exactly like Joseph of Egypt and run from those things that have the potential to hinder us. As we do that, we will feel more of the eternal love that Christ has for us, feel the potential that God has ascribed to us, and we will achieve a happiness only available to those that apply the Atonement in their lives everyday. How can we begin? We can repent. What is repentence? It´s a process of change that lasts a lifetime. It´s something we have to do everyday. As we understand the Atonement, we will understand that it has no limit. There is nothing that we have done that can´t be covered by the Atonement. Now is the time to begin. I know that the Atonement is real. There is not a person in this universe that can convince me otherwise. I have felt its power and the glory of the Man that brought it to pass. I know it not only applies to me, but applies to all. It was an eternal and universal sacrifice that cannot be contained, nor will it ever be. Everyone, come unto Christ and feel His love. Leave behind your worries, your pains, you weaknesses, your sadness, and your burdens and He will lift you up. 

Elder Reynolds

Week 45

It was another good week, like always. We are teaching a lot of amazing people. We are teaching a family called the Familia Santibañez. The youngest son is 18 years old. He played soccer with us on Saturday and, on the busride home, he told me how he is planning on serving a mission after he finishes his studies next year. He´ll be doing that AFTER he gets baptized, he said. The rest of his family is great, too. They will be getting baptized on the 10th of May! We are also teaching a girl named Fabiola. She has a baptismal date for the 26th, along with Vanessa (from England). Fabiola is doing great. She has been reading the Book of Mormon like a machine. It´s pretty amazing to see how fast someone progresses when they are reading the Book of Mormon. We had an Easter activity today with the zone. We dyed eggs, had an easter egg hunt, and played soccer. It was a lot of fun. This week, the 19th, is my grandma´s, Doris Reynolds, birthday! She has been there for me since the day I was born and has always been the perfect example of patience, love, and charity. I love you very much, Grandma! Have a great week, everyone!

Elder Reynolds

Week 44

It was another awesome week! 6 of our investigators were able to come watch general conference with us! Elizabeth and Robinson were baptized! It was a miracle. Elizabeth, this past Friday, began to feel sick so she went to the hospital. We visited her Saturday morning and she wasn´t sure when she would be able to leave. We were told that if she didn´t leave Saturday, that she wouldn´t be able to leave untilMonday and she would miss her baptism. Well, on Sunday morning she called us. She told us that a doctor was there and that she thought she would be able to leave that morning. Just a few hours later, she showed up at church, watched general conference, had her baptismal interview, passed it, and was baptized with her husband. It was amazing. I felt like I was baptized. I felt so clean afterwards and I know it´s because God´s glory really is manifest in His ordinances. After Robinson´s confirmation, he hugged me and didn´t say anything but thank you. Those are two of the greatest words I´ve ever heard. After Elizabeth´s confirmation, she hugged me too haha. The cambio ended today and the new one starts tomorrow. I will be staying here with Elder Hansen for at least 6 more weeks. I´m looking forward to it. So everyone knows, all of the earthquakes in Chile that happened recently are all in the north. They are nowhere near where I am. In addition, Chile is very prepared for earthquakes, so there is nothing to worry about. Happy 15-month-anniversary to the love of my eternal life, Micaela Morgan Wright! I love you! Have a great week, everyone!

Elder Reynolds

Elder Reynolds and his zone

The other missionaries from his house in La Branza

Elizabeth and Robinson's baptism!