Sister Reece - Hello to all!

Hello Family and friends!

Well, I have officially made it past my one week mark and am still alive. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving here in the MTC! We were blessed to have Elder Jeffrey R. Holland come and speak to us first thing Thursday morning. He is such a wonderful man and nows how to invite the Spirit into the room so well. It was amazing! We then were able to help make 33,400 kits for school bags for the Humanitarian center. It was great to work together as a zone to help with such a great service. Thanksgiving dinner was yummy, but I have had better. I am so grateful though for all of the employees that came and worked on the holiday so that we missionaries could eat.

The Mandarin is coming slowly but surely. I feel more comfortable with it everyday, but wish I were able to say more. I am trying to work hard, though I know I still have more I can give. I am learning so much more though how to trust in the Lord and His Spirit. There are some things about the MTC that are kinda interesting, but overall I am loving it. It is such a great environment that is so condusive to learning. I love it!

I am sorry this is such a short letter, but my time is ticking away quickly. I thought p-day's would be relaxing-ish, but I just feel there is so much that needs to be done. Oh well! I am grateful that I can take time and send you all my love. You are in my prayers daily and wish you all the best. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was probably one of the best I have had, or ever will.

Love you all!

Sister Amy Reece

Elder Reece - Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias (Happy Thanksgiving)

Dear Family,
How was your Thanksgiving? We went over to the Escobars for dinner. They are a great family in our Ward. La Hermana nos cuida mucho. Their son is actually enterring the MTC on the 8th of Dec. So, Amy, look for an Elder Escobar and get a picture with him for me. He is going to Fresno, CA.
Thank you David for your letter to us. It was great to hear from you too Amy. Sounds like your having a great time. Keep up the great work. Mother I got your letter a few days ago. I don't know why but they seem to be taking a long time in the mail. On Saturday, the 27, I received a letter you wrote on the 15. So if it ever seems like I take a long time to address things you write in your letters, that is why. By the way, you asked about me writing President. Yes that is very normal of missionaries. It is actually required. I think a lot of missionaries write him snail mail but we have the privilege of being able to email him. Each P-day I have an hour on the computer in total. So I read his email and write him and then I read family emails and write ya'll. So sometimes I take a lot of time reading his email and writing back to him and so I am left with little time to read your emails and write you a long email. The purpose for writing him is to let him know how the progress of the are and companionship are and to let him know how I am doing. I assume David did the same thing. And I'm pretty sure I told you about Mya's baptism in the letter I wrote you two weeks ago. But if you still have any questions let me know.
It was great to hear everything is going well with you all. The Madrigal Dinner should be coming up soon. Will it be the weekend of the 3 and 4? It sounds like everything else is going well.
This week has been very good. We have been blessed enough to find three new families that we are starting to teach. Hopefully more are on the way. We are working hard trying to do everything we can to do the work the way God would have us do it. One really neat family is Julio and Fabiana German. Like their name suggests they are of German decent. They are from Uraguay, down between Brasil and Argentina. They are both very nice and have great faith. The first time I talked to Julio was actually probably a month and a half or two ago. I talked to him on the street when I was out with Ervin Mena, an awesome young man in our Ward. But Saturday night was the first time that we were able to go in and share something with them. I really hope the best for them. It was really neat too because they weren't even in our plans for Saturday but God did some rearranging of our schedule for us and put us at their house only a few minutes after they had gotten home from shopping. They are really great. And they have two teenage sons. I will keep you posted on their pogress.
I need to get off now to stay under time. I love you all a lot. I hope you are all doing well and staying active in every aspect of the Gospel. It really is a great blessing that we have. Like Amy said, it is easy for us to take advantage of the things that we have grown up with. But they truly are great blessings. I am so very grateful to have grown up in a home where my wonderful Mother taught me these simple Gospel truths. We have been so blessed! You are all great. Se me cuiden.
Con amor,
Elder Kevin Reece

Sister Reece - Hey! Week 1

My Family and Friends!

I am so happy that I am finally able to sit down and write you! I feel like it has been forever since I have talked to you. This has been an awesome and exhausting week and I am so glad to be on to the second. I am in the process of writing you a letter by hand as well that will provide more details on stuff, but I will give you some of the deets right now. Let me know if you have any questions. P.s. I would love it if you sent letters by dearelder.com so I can get some during the week. It has been so fun to get some mail each day. Thanks in advance!!!

First of all- my companions. Yes, that is plural. We are in a trio and it is so amazing I can't even explain. We have such a great and strong relationship already and we feed off of each other so much during lessons and discussions. Sister Brittney Okada is from Cody, WY and she is a spiritual anchor for me. She is so wonderful and inspires me to be better. Sister Elle Bray is from Sandy, UT and I love her sooo much too! She is so funny and keeps us laughing constantly. She is also my spiritual anchor and is so wonderful at being an instrument of the Lord.

Second- we have already taught our progressing investigator 3 times, all in Mandarin, and tongiht will be the 4th time we teach. They are using my district as a pilot district to try out a new way of teaching the missionaries here in MTC. It has been an adventure, but I am loving it. I don't know anything different really, but from what we hear from our teacher and other missionaries in our zone, the program is already working wonders. Having the opportunity to teach someone already and especially in Mandarin (which none of our companionships knows) has been so amazing. We have learned already how important it is to rely on the Spirit to prepare and guide us as we teach. We are always discussing how we can better be prepared personally and as a companionship to help our investigator, Bro. Xia feel the spirit and understand the gospel. As he is Chinese (okay, really he is an American MTC teacher role-playing as a Chinese non-member) he has no real concept of God. We had to start from ground zero and are having to teach him all these things that I just take for granted as having known all my life. It is amazing (I know, I have used that word like a bazillion times) and I am absolutely loving it. Really, I am loving everything about the MTC though and am just trying to take it all in and appreciate this opportunity I have. No one could have prepared me mentally and spiritually for all that I am experiencing here as it all seems just out of this world. The spirit is always in the room and has such a presence here in the MTC. I love how much the Savior is talked about and the overall atmosphere. Sunday was awesome with all of our church meetings and I was able to receive so much inspiration and revelation throughout the whole day.

Mostly I have just come to rely on the Lord so much more than ever before in my life. Mandarin was a huge challenge for me my first couple of days and I was completely overwhelmed by it. I received some great reassurances from my teacher, Branch President, and companions though, and am going into this week with renewed energy.

Okay, my time is down to five minutes so I need to wrap it up. I love you all and am so grateful for your love, support, and prayers. I want you to know that I love my Savior and am grateful for this opportunity to devote 18 months of my life to Him.

Love you all!

Sister Amy Reece

Elder Reece - Una semana buena

Buenos dias mi querida familia,
How are you all doing this fine day? Amy, how are you doing?
Have you dived very much into the Chinese yet? I know that for me,
they taught us how to pray and bear testimony in the first two or
three days. But it might be different since you are learning a
language that doesn't even share our alphabet. How are the rest of you
doing? Kim, thanks for the email. I hope all goes well with the
painting next week. Mom, I received your letter this week. It took
longer than usual because of transfers. The office doesn't forward
mail for a few days before transfers because people move around. But I
got your letter and I loved it. Thank you for the newsletter as well.
I wouldn't mind receiving one every month, if you can. Also, the shirt
you sent me was the reunion shirt and it is just a little too tight.
Larges fit very well now.
Well life here is good. I can't think of too much exciting
here that has happened. We are just working hard trying to teach the
Gospel. One of the problems we are having right now is finding people
to teach. We are knocking doors but that hasn't been very fruitful. It
seems like I have had this problem a lot on my mission. Sometimes it
is really hard to find people. That is why members are so important.
We are trying to work with our members more to get them excited about
sharing the Gospel. We have the goal of having a member out with us
every day in an effort to have a member at every lesson possible.
Members are so important. It is something that I didn't understand
before my mission. I used to always think that the missionaries asked
me who I knew that they could teach because they were just lazy and
didn't want to have to find the people themselves. I didn't know the
difference it makes when a member is involved in the teaching. Of
course, it is more enjoyable for us if we don't have to knock to find
all of the people that we teach, but it is much, much more than that.
When members are involved, things work so much better. The
investigator already has a friend in the Church, someone to sit with
them and explain the things they see and be their constant support
even when the missionaries aren't around. Members are so key. Do you
all understand how important you are and how much of a part you have
in the work Amy and I are involved in? Even though you are not out on
full-time missions, you can experience the joy of sharing your
testimony and helping someone come closer to Christ. You can all be a
part of this great work! Even though I still have a while before I get
home, one of my big fears is that I will return and stop doing
missionary work. That I will forget all that I have learned out here
about how much the "normal" members of the Church can and should do to
help God "bring about the immortality and eternal life of man".
Missionary work can and should be a part of every members daily life.
I hope you all understand that.
Well I don't have much more time. You are all great! I love
you all so much. I hope that you are all well. Sorry that I didn't
give too much information about whats going on down here. If only
there was more time. . . But there's not so suffice it to say that the
Church is true, this is the work of our God, and I love you all, very
much.
Con amor,
Elder Kevin Reece

Elder Reece - Small email but BIG news - Mya was baptized

Querida Familia,
How are you all doing this fine day? Life here in Florida is great. I am now officially 20 years old. Weird. But anyway, thank you Kimberly, David, Amy, and Julie for you emails. It was absolutely great to here from you. It sounds like you are all doing wonderful. How about you, Shorty? Is life treating you well?
Amy congratulations! I am so excited for you. You start your mission tomorrow! That is so great. By the way, I love the name for our blog. Very creative. In the MTC you will only have 30 minutes a week to email. We are going to have to figure out a way to stay in touch with out using too much time. Maybe Mom can send us each others emails through snail mail. That would be cool. But anyway, good luck and have fun. You're in for a ride:-D. But it will be the time of your life. Just remember to focus on your purpose and why you are on your mission. Also, remember that I love you. Now we have three full time missionaries out serving: you, myself, and Dad on the other side of the veil. I am so excited for you!
Well family not much time for a lot of news. Important news is Mya got baptized and confirmed! We taught her again last night. She is so cool. Now we will be going over and reviewing everything we taught her before her baptism. It will be fun. Other big news is that Elder Carpenter and I are staying together for another transfer. Except for Elder Lauck, I have been with him the longest so far. Thank you for all the Birthday wishes. It was a good day. Elder Carpenter had a Leadership Meeting so I spent the morning and afternoon with two youth. They are awesome. We will actually be out with them again this evening.
Sorry. I don't have time for more news. But life is great down here in Florida. You are all great. Remember that I love you all. Stay in the scriptures!!
Con amor,
Elder Kevin Reece

Elder Reece- "Am I truly as happy as I look?" What kind of question is that? ;-D

Dear Family,
     Mom, I was surprised by your question. I don't know how happy I look in my pictures but I sure feel pretty happy. I can't honestly say I have a big grin on my face all the time but I am working on it. You know me. Sometimes I get frustrated over things and then look back later and wonder what I was fretting about. I am really trying to control myself. Getting frustrated doesn't help anything. It actually hurts things, especially in my line of work where having the Spirit is necessary. Getting frustrated frustrates revelation. So I am working on that. But yes I am definitely happy.
      Especially this week because Mya Wildman is getting baptized on Wednesday. She was at Church yesterday and everything is looking great for Wednesday night. We went to Primary with her yesterday to make sure she understood everything. I don't know if I have told you but she doesn't speak Spanish. But everything is looking great. We are going over tonight to work out logistics and talk some more about Baptism and Confirmation. If I remember you should receive some pictures next week.
      Thank you Amy, David, and Mom for your letters. And Mom, I did receive your postcard. I enjoyed it. And it helped me out. One day last week when I was getting frustrated, Elder Carpenter just pointed to the postcard and I just had to laugh. Satan is good at pushing my buttons and I just need to ignore him. David, I'm glad to hear everything is going well with school. What you said about preparing now for then is something that President Hale has been emphasizing a lot recently. He stresses very strongly that the experiences one has on the mission will forever influence the kind of person he or she is. Remember that, Amy. God will use your mission to shape you into who he wants you to be. He is definitely doing it to me. I am way excited for you Amy. You enter the MTC on Transfer day for me. I may be having a smaller scale version of what you will be experiencing. But I doubt it. I think I will still be here for a while yet. But Amy, what you said in your email is so true. The Gospel is simple and so is our purpose as missionaries. Memorize it quick and never let it become a rote thing. In everything that we do, we as missionaries should be seeking to increase the faith of those around us. When Brother Watson came to visit us, he focused a lot on the Atonement and our purpose as missionaries. He gave us four questions to ask ourselves after every lesson, whether it be with invesigators, recent converts, in-actives, or strong members. 1) What evidences were there that their faith was increasing?; 2) What evidences were there that they are repenting?; 3) What evidences were there that they are preparing to enter into the covenant of baptism? or evidences that they are keeping their covenants?; 4) What evidences were there that the Holy Ghost was present and guiding the teaching? Discussing these four questions helps us stay more focused on our purpose. I would suggest getting into that habit from the beginning at the MTC. Or at least keep that in mind. There is a lot of other stuff you will be worrying about in the MTC. I don't want to add more to your plate. But that will help you focus less on yourself and more on the person you are teaching and what they need.
       Well sorry about that missionary tangent. I hope it can help more than just Amy. We should all be striving to daily increase our faith, repent, keep our covenants, and strive to be led by the Spirit. That is the process of enduring to the end. The Gospel truly is amazing. We really do have a wonderful message to take to all the world. Amy, strive to really internalize your purpose. I am still striving to so so. It will change everything.
       Well time to go. I love you all so much. Thank you for the Birthday wishes. I am going to enjoy my last three days as a teenager.  ;-D
                           Love,
                                             Elder Reece

Elder Reece- Ya es el mes de noviembre

Dearest family,
      You are all great! Thank you for your letters and love. They really help. It is odd for me to be sitting here in Florida on my mission and think of all of you on the other side of the country, living your lives. The mission is such a crazy, wonderful thing. I am so happy to be here. Kim, thanks for writing and sharing that story. It really shows how important you regular members of the Church are as examples. It makes me think how much more effective missionaries you all are than me because the people can see that you are normal people that just have something so so special in your lives. I feel like the people here really don't understand what the restored gospel can do for them because they don't see, in us as missionaries, the practical application of the gospel in their lives. They can see that in you because it radiates from you all. Don't get me wrong, I love working down here and understand the important role of full-time missionaries. I just hope that you all understand how important and great you are. I love and admire you all so very much. Keep it up!
       David and Rachel, thank you also for you letters. I know life must be very busy for you two.
      The mission sure isn't easy, but it is very worth it. What he said about the Lord giving us trials to help us grow is so true. It is something that I have been thinking about a lot over the past few weeks and months. My trust and confidence in the Lord has been tested and strengthened on my mission but it hasn't been in vain. My personal learning curve shot way up once I got on my mission. I have learned soo much and I know that I still have even more to continue to learn. The true, restored Gospel truly is wonderful and amazing. It is deeper, more intricate, more inspiring, more rewarding, and infinitely more true than anything else the world has to offer. I love being a part of it and I love being immersed in it for this time of my life. President Hale has mentioned a lot of late how life-changing our missions really are. He often states the importance of learning and applying good principles on the mission because the kind of missionary we become will define the man (or woman) we will be for the rest of our lives. I am really trying to become what God wants me to be, for this time while I am on my mission and for the rest of my life.
             Quick news before I have to go. We started teaching a new little girl this week, Mya. She is the granddaughter of some members. She is very excited to get baptized. I'll hopefully give a better update next week.
        Love you all,
                                    Elder Kevin Reece