Dear Mom,
I thought I would take you advice and write a few thoughts for the Ward. If I don't have time to write you and everyone else another letter, I will try to get a snail mail letter sent off. So I am just going to address this to the whole Ward.
Dear Wonderful Brothers and Sisters of the Eagar 4th Ward,
I have been on my Mission for a little over a year now and I wanted to write you all and give you all a brief report on how things are going. I am right now serving in the Hollywood Hills Ward. Of course, it is a Spanish-speaking Ward. It is only the Second Ward that I have served in so far. I have been in this Ward since August of 2010. I am loving it here. This Ward is amazing. If you don't know, South Florida is a huge melting pot of all of the countries in South America, Central America, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Islands. Due to this, I have met people from every Spanish speaking country. It has been really neat to meet so many people from different countries, cultures, and lives that have all come to USA for a number of different reasons. I love it so much.
The work here is great as well. It may not be as easy or as fruitful as I would like, but my testimony is strong that this is the Lord's work and that He is with me here. Being a missionary, God is a HUGE part of my life. I am constantly studying about Him, teaching about Him, talking about Him, talking to Him, or even just thinking about Him. I understand now more than ever His great love and mercy. I am coming to know and understand His wisdom in making us how we are and putting us here on this Earth. I am coming to understand His plan for me and all of us. I wish I could help more people here accept the fulness of our Savior's Gospel, but I am very, very sure that of all the people I have worked with on my mission, I have learned and benefited the most. I can look back to when I wasn't a missionary and see a change in the way I think, the way I am. When we walk with God, He is truly there beside us, helping us, guiding us, teaching us. One of the things I have learned throughout my Mission is that as long as I am doing my best to do what God wants me to do, I can trust that He is making of me what He would have me be. I feel very confident in that. I am trying to do my best. And even though I am far from being a great missionary, I know that God is with me and helping me. My testimony grows each and every day. Through hard days and easy days, through hot days and rainy days, through long days and short days, my testimony is always growing.
Thank you all so much for your support. I have received love and encouragement from many of you and I have been terrible at giving thanks where thanks is deserved. But thank you all so very much. I am excited to see you in a few months. Stay strong in doing the work of the Lord.
Sincerely,
Elder Kevin Reece
Mom- Times up. Sorry. I'll do my best to write you later today. But know that I love you :-D
Monday, April 25, 2011
25 April 2011 - Wo hen ei wo de jaiting!
I love you all! I am so excited to talk to you in a couple weeks.
Hopefully it will all work out without any kinks. KJ, I asked
President Bishop and he said that if we can work out a three-way call
I can talk to you, but I can't call you directly. From what mom was
saying about the times I don't think we will be able to talk for
another couple of months. Bummer! But I love you tons and am excited
that you will get to talk to mom. Keep up the good work down in
Florida!
I am so happy to hear that David and Rachel are finally done with
their stressful couple of last months at BYU. It will be weird going
back to BYU without them there. Georgia sounds awesome though! I am
excited to go visit! :D I am glad that mom had a fun, safe trip that I
am assuming ended with getting home safely as well. Congratulations to
those that are done with school, and keep working hard to those that
are still going.
This was a really good week here in the Nothern most parts of
Taichung. I love being a missionary! Everyday I have experiences that
help me come to understand and love Our Savior on a new and different
level. This week we found out that one of our investigator's has a law
of chastity problem that is really difficult for her. It was so
amazing to feel the Spirit in the room as Sister Howard and I talked
with her and bore testimony of the power of the Savior's Atonement.
This sister is so humble and wants so badly to understand the church.
I am so grateful that I can be here in Taiwan helping in the fight
against Satan's evil lures. It is so sad to see all the ways that he
twists and turns the pure and true doctrine of Jesus Christ. I love my
Savior!
I love tracting! I love being able to teach people about Jesus Christ
right there in their homes. It's so great! Last night we had a really
cool experience right before we were getting ready to head home and
call it a night. We had knocked on a few doors with no success when we
realized we hadn't prayed. So we stopped and I said the prayer. While
praying I asked that someone would be willing to let us in to their
house so that we could share the plan of salvation with them without
knowing where that thought had come from. When first meeting someone
we share the Restoration, not usually the plan of salvation, so it was
a little weird that that was what I was inspired to pray for. After
the prayer we walked to the next door when a lady and two boys drove
by and said (in English) "hello". Thinking they might have English
class interest I followed them down the road a bit and started talking
to them. We quickly found out that they are a very Christian family
and missionaries had come to their house before. They invited us in
and we started talking with them. When we found out that missionaries
had been there before, they had seen the Book of Mormon and even knew
who Joseph Smith is I realized that Heavenly Father really does have
bigger plans than I do. He knew that family didn't need another lesson
on the Restoration but that they needed the Plan of Salvation. I don't
know if this little story makes any sense, but I guess what I am
trying to say is that Heavenly Father is truly aware of each one of
us. He knew that there was a family on that street that already
believed in Christ, knew a little about the restoration and who's
father/grandfather had passed away a couple of years ago. I love being
able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord! There is no greater
thing that I could be doing right now.
I love you all so much. I want you to know that I know now, more than
ever that this truly is the true and complete Church of Jesus Christ.
I can't wait to see how much more I will come to know Jesus Christ
over the next year. I have just about 13 months left which seems so
long, yet so short at the same time. Ahh! I know the Lord has so much
He needs my help with before my mission ends. I am so excited to see
what that is!
Thank you for your love and your emails. I have the greatest family
ever! But really, I do.
Love you,
Sister Amy Reece
Hopefully it will all work out without any kinks. KJ, I asked
President Bishop and he said that if we can work out a three-way call
I can talk to you, but I can't call you directly. From what mom was
saying about the times I don't think we will be able to talk for
another couple of months. Bummer! But I love you tons and am excited
that you will get to talk to mom. Keep up the good work down in
Florida!
I am so happy to hear that David and Rachel are finally done with
their stressful couple of last months at BYU. It will be weird going
back to BYU without them there. Georgia sounds awesome though! I am
excited to go visit! :D I am glad that mom had a fun, safe trip that I
am assuming ended with getting home safely as well. Congratulations to
those that are done with school, and keep working hard to those that
are still going.
This was a really good week here in the Nothern most parts of
Taichung. I love being a missionary! Everyday I have experiences that
help me come to understand and love Our Savior on a new and different
level. This week we found out that one of our investigator's has a law
of chastity problem that is really difficult for her. It was so
amazing to feel the Spirit in the room as Sister Howard and I talked
with her and bore testimony of the power of the Savior's Atonement.
This sister is so humble and wants so badly to understand the church.
I am so grateful that I can be here in Taiwan helping in the fight
against Satan's evil lures. It is so sad to see all the ways that he
twists and turns the pure and true doctrine of Jesus Christ. I love my
Savior!
I love tracting! I love being able to teach people about Jesus Christ
right there in their homes. It's so great! Last night we had a really
cool experience right before we were getting ready to head home and
call it a night. We had knocked on a few doors with no success when we
realized we hadn't prayed. So we stopped and I said the prayer. While
praying I asked that someone would be willing to let us in to their
house so that we could share the plan of salvation with them without
knowing where that thought had come from. When first meeting someone
we share the Restoration, not usually the plan of salvation, so it was
a little weird that that was what I was inspired to pray for. After
the prayer we walked to the next door when a lady and two boys drove
by and said (in English) "hello". Thinking they might have English
class interest I followed them down the road a bit and started talking
to them. We quickly found out that they are a very Christian family
and missionaries had come to their house before. They invited us in
and we started talking with them. When we found out that missionaries
had been there before, they had seen the Book of Mormon and even knew
who Joseph Smith is I realized that Heavenly Father really does have
bigger plans than I do. He knew that family didn't need another lesson
on the Restoration but that they needed the Plan of Salvation. I don't
know if this little story makes any sense, but I guess what I am
trying to say is that Heavenly Father is truly aware of each one of
us. He knew that there was a family on that street that already
believed in Christ, knew a little about the restoration and who's
father/grandfather had passed away a couple of years ago. I love being
able to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord! There is no greater
thing that I could be doing right now.
I love you all so much. I want you to know that I know now, more than
ever that this truly is the true and complete Church of Jesus Christ.
I can't wait to see how much more I will come to know Jesus Christ
over the next year. I have just about 13 months left which seems so
long, yet so short at the same time. Ahh! I know the Lord has so much
He needs my help with before my mission ends. I am so excited to see
what that is!
Thank you for your love and your emails. I have the greatest family
ever! But really, I do.
Love you,
Sister Amy Reece
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
20 April 2011 - Goodbye my beautiful legs - Read on for more details:D
This is such a great week! I don't remember a lot of specifics about
it but I know it was great. Sis. Howard and I have been able to find
and teach a lot of really solid people that are progressing so well to
baptism. If all goes well we will be having at least three baptisms
before she leaves at the end of the move call. We are setting lots of
goals and trying to make thorough plans to help the these wonderful
ladies enter the waters of baptism. It is still so exciting to me to
see all of the different challenges and struggles that each person
goes through on their journey to gaining a testimony. I love being a
part of it and I pray everyday that I will be an effective instrument
in the Lord's Hands.
KJ, do you want to know total lessons? Actual, sit-down, solid
doctrine taught- probably about 30. Our mission counts on the side of
the road, both companions present, where a prayer is said and atleast
one principle is taught as a lesson too. So including that the number
is actually a little bit higher. I am so excited to discuss how our
missions do things in a year! Yahoo!
We still have not had much progress helping our recent convert but she
is in our prayers and thoughts all the time. I have faith that
Heavenly Father is so aware of her and wants to help her. I love her
and want to help her come back to the fold!
I am so grateful that I was able to go to the temple this morning. I
think it was probably one of the best sessions I have been to since
receiving my endowments, and maybe before that too. The temple really
is the House of the Lord. Today I got such a strong desire to help my
investigators be able to experience the same blessings that I receive
from temple attendance. Baptism is the gateway covenant to so many
amazing covenants and blessings. I am so grateful for the opportunity
I had to attend the temple today. Thank you for making it possible! It
was a much needed spiritual boost.
I almost forgot to tell you the biggest news of the week! I got the
most awesome mark of Taiwan I think any missionary can get- a huge
burn from a moped on my calf. Seriously. Write after I wrote to mom
last week that I love her more than all the mopeds in Taiwan Sis.
Howard and I were running a quick errand when I got too close to an
uncovered moped muffler that was SUPER hot. It melt two patches of
skin right off my leg. Yay. It was crazy. I didn't realize how bad it
was right away but after about and hour it was killing me. President
Bishop looked at it last Tuesday at zone conference and said that it
was a second degree burn. Nice, huh? I attached two pics of it. The
first one is right after it happened and the second one was this
morning. It was pretty gross for a couple of days but I don't have any
pics of that. But its all good, I will never forget Taiwan now! And I
think the Lord is trying to teach me a lesson because I have always
been a little prideful of my legs. ;)
Okay, now down to business. Mom, I ordered the fan but haven't gotten
it yet. So as soon as I do I will send it off. Hopefully it won't be
too expensive to send home. Also, Mother's Day. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE
to talk to Kevin. Someone much smarter than me will have to do the
math though. Is that even possible time difference wise? I will ask
President Bishop if that would be allowed. KJ, were you thinking
actually calling or us each being on speaker phone with mom and her
holding them together? Sis. Howard thinks that President Bishop would
probably let me actually call you. Mom, KJ, what do you think? Check
with President Hale and see what he says KJ and I will talk to my
President.
I love you all so much! Thank you for all your letters and love!
You're all so great. Finish off the week strong and know that you are
in my prayers.
Loves!
Your Sister Amy Reece
it but I know it was great. Sis. Howard and I have been able to find
and teach a lot of really solid people that are progressing so well to
baptism. If all goes well we will be having at least three baptisms
before she leaves at the end of the move call. We are setting lots of
goals and trying to make thorough plans to help the these wonderful
ladies enter the waters of baptism. It is still so exciting to me to
see all of the different challenges and struggles that each person
goes through on their journey to gaining a testimony. I love being a
part of it and I pray everyday that I will be an effective instrument
in the Lord's Hands.
KJ, do you want to know total lessons? Actual, sit-down, solid
doctrine taught- probably about 30. Our mission counts on the side of
the road, both companions present, where a prayer is said and atleast
one principle is taught as a lesson too. So including that the number
is actually a little bit higher. I am so excited to discuss how our
missions do things in a year! Yahoo!
We still have not had much progress helping our recent convert but she
is in our prayers and thoughts all the time. I have faith that
Heavenly Father is so aware of her and wants to help her. I love her
and want to help her come back to the fold!
I am so grateful that I was able to go to the temple this morning. I
think it was probably one of the best sessions I have been to since
receiving my endowments, and maybe before that too. The temple really
is the House of the Lord. Today I got such a strong desire to help my
investigators be able to experience the same blessings that I receive
from temple attendance. Baptism is the gateway covenant to so many
amazing covenants and blessings. I am so grateful for the opportunity
I had to attend the temple today. Thank you for making it possible! It
was a much needed spiritual boost.
I almost forgot to tell you the biggest news of the week! I got the
most awesome mark of Taiwan I think any missionary can get- a huge
burn from a moped on my calf. Seriously. Write after I wrote to mom
last week that I love her more than all the mopeds in Taiwan Sis.
Howard and I were running a quick errand when I got too close to an
uncovered moped muffler that was SUPER hot. It melt two patches of
skin right off my leg. Yay. It was crazy. I didn't realize how bad it
was right away but after about and hour it was killing me. President
Bishop looked at it last Tuesday at zone conference and said that it
was a second degree burn. Nice, huh? I attached two pics of it. The
first one is right after it happened and the second one was this
morning. It was pretty gross for a couple of days but I don't have any
pics of that. But its all good, I will never forget Taiwan now! And I
think the Lord is trying to teach me a lesson because I have always
been a little prideful of my legs. ;)
Okay, now down to business. Mom, I ordered the fan but haven't gotten
it yet. So as soon as I do I will send it off. Hopefully it won't be
too expensive to send home. Also, Mother's Day. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE
to talk to Kevin. Someone much smarter than me will have to do the
math though. Is that even possible time difference wise? I will ask
President Bishop if that would be allowed. KJ, were you thinking
actually calling or us each being on speaker phone with mom and her
holding them together? Sis. Howard thinks that President Bishop would
probably let me actually call you. Mom, KJ, what do you think? Check
with President Hale and see what he says KJ and I will talk to my
President.
I love you all so much! Thank you for all your letters and love!
You're all so great. Finish off the week strong and know that you are
in my prayers.
Loves!
Your Sister Amy Reece
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Elder Reece - Buenos Dias; 18.April.2011
Dear Family,
Yep, it's that time again. Mother's Day is in three weeks. These last four months have flown by. Like last time, the most convenient time for us will be early afternoon. But Mom, let me know what your plans are and we will see what we will be best. Do you think there is any chance in Amy and I being able to talk? What do you think Amy? We are what, 12 hours difference? Probably not but just a thought. Let me know what you think.
This week has been good. We found a few new people. They are all neat. We will be meeting with them again this week. We hope to be able to extend solid baptismal commitments and get them to Church. Unfortunately, no investigators came to Church yesterday. But Luciano Pintos was there. Have I told you about him? He is a 19 yr old from Uruguay. He is going through some rough times right now. He is a member but has never been very active in the Church. He is really starting to be interested and try to come back. He is really neat. All of his family is in Uruguay, which is tough for him. But our awesome members are helping him and fellow shipping him. He is probably our biggest focus right now.
What else would interest you to know about my week?
On Saturday morning we went with Luciano to go help a member paint here hurricane shutters. But it started to pour rain so we ended up just cleaning the shutters and getting the old paint off. We will finish the job either this weekend or the next. We had a lot of fun playing in the rain. Afterward we enjoyed an amazing Colombian Barbecue. Tell you what, Latins know how to cook. I am going to try to learn how to make as many things as possible so that you can all try how good their food is. With that said though, I can't wait to get home and have some of Mom's great food. Mom- No matter what, your food will always be the best. As sad as it is, I can't really remember what my favorite foods are. Mom- What kind of food did I like to eat when I was at home?
Really quickly before I finish up, I wanted to share something that I was taught yesterday. It was right before PEC started. The second counselor in the Stake Presidency, Presidente Rincon, was walking out of Bishop's office as we were walking in. And right before he left the room, he asked the Bishop and his counselor's a question,"Do we help the missionaries, or do the missionaries help us?" I thought it was a great question. Really, the missionaries are here to help the members in the Lord's work. You, the regular membership of the Church, are the real missionaries. We are just here to help. So what are you doing for the Lord's work? Are you asking the missionaries to help you? I can't wait to get home and be able to still be a missionary while going about living a "normal" life. The Lord's work is wonderful and perfect.
I love you all so much. I am glad you are all doing well. Have a great week and enjoy yourselves.
With love,
Elder Reece
Yep, it's that time again. Mother's Day is in three weeks. These last four months have flown by. Like last time, the most convenient time for us will be early afternoon. But Mom, let me know what your plans are and we will see what we will be best. Do you think there is any chance in Amy and I being able to talk? What do you think Amy? We are what, 12 hours difference? Probably not but just a thought. Let me know what you think.
This week has been good. We found a few new people. They are all neat. We will be meeting with them again this week. We hope to be able to extend solid baptismal commitments and get them to Church. Unfortunately, no investigators came to Church yesterday. But Luciano Pintos was there. Have I told you about him? He is a 19 yr old from Uruguay. He is going through some rough times right now. He is a member but has never been very active in the Church. He is really starting to be interested and try to come back. He is really neat. All of his family is in Uruguay, which is tough for him. But our awesome members are helping him and fellow shipping him. He is probably our biggest focus right now.
What else would interest you to know about my week?
On Saturday morning we went with Luciano to go help a member paint here hurricane shutters. But it started to pour rain so we ended up just cleaning the shutters and getting the old paint off. We will finish the job either this weekend or the next. We had a lot of fun playing in the rain. Afterward we enjoyed an amazing Colombian Barbecue. Tell you what, Latins know how to cook. I am going to try to learn how to make as many things as possible so that you can all try how good their food is. With that said though, I can't wait to get home and have some of Mom's great food. Mom- No matter what, your food will always be the best. As sad as it is, I can't really remember what my favorite foods are. Mom- What kind of food did I like to eat when I was at home?
Really quickly before I finish up, I wanted to share something that I was taught yesterday. It was right before PEC started. The second counselor in the Stake Presidency, Presidente Rincon, was walking out of Bishop's office as we were walking in. And right before he left the room, he asked the Bishop and his counselor's a question,"Do we help the missionaries, or do the missionaries help us?" I thought it was a great question. Really, the missionaries are here to help the members in the Lord's work. You, the regular membership of the Church, are the real missionaries. We are just here to help. So what are you doing for the Lord's work? Are you asking the missionaries to help you? I can't wait to get home and be able to still be a missionary while going about living a "normal" life. The Lord's work is wonderful and perfect.
I love you all so much. I am glad you are all doing well. Have a great week and enjoy yourselves.
With love,
Elder Reece
Monday, April 11, 2011
11 April 2011 - Sister Reece - Busy, busy, busy!
My loves...
It sounds like everyone either had a really busy week, has a really
busy one coming up, or both! I love hearing that while events are
changing in your lives you are all strong in your faith in the Lord.
Thank you for being such an example to me! Sis. Howard and I were just
talking about the importance of enduring to the end after we have been
baptized. The Sister that got baptized last week is already struggling
with that. She has decided that she doesn't want to meet with us
during the week and isn't coming to much of church. Sis. Howard and I
are at a loss right now as to what to do to help her. It is breaking
my heart that she hasn't even been baptized for two weeks yet and she
is already struglling with enduring to the end.
Besides that sad bit of news, the week has been pretty good. For the
first time in a few weeks the week didn't fly by super fast. Which is
weird 'cause we were constantly on the go. We weren't out on the
street talking to people much this week, but rather had a lot of
lessons. We have some really solid investigators right now that are
progressing really well toward baptism. We are constantly praying that
the Lord will help us know how to help these amazing daughters of God
enter the straight and narrow path to His Kingdom. I love seeing the
different ways that the same doctrine needs to be taught to each
different person. It is so great! As it says in Alma 7:11-12, the Lord
truly does know how to "succor His people according to their
infirmities."
General Conference! We were lucky enough to be able to watch it in
English. Kevin, you're Spanish must be amazing if you were able to
understand all of the talks! If I had to watch it in Chinese I would
have not gotten much. But thankfully we have amazing leaders here and
we were able to watch conference in English while the rest of the ward
watched it in Chinese. That really was a blessing though, because one
of investigators doesn't speak Chinese but was able to watch both
Sunday sessions with us in English. I loved Conference! Mom, I also
loved Elder Robbins and Elder Bednars talks. They also hit on some
topics that I have been needing right now. It is a completely
different experience watching General Conference as a missionary. I
love it! And Ft. Collins!?!? That is so exciting! Who would have
thought? I also LOVED the "Spirit of God." That song always touches
me, and it hit me particularly hard on Sunday.
Before I forget, I won't be emailing until Wednesday next week. I get
to go to the Taipei Temple! I am so excited to be able to go to the
temple again after not going for so long. President Monson's talk in
Conference made me even more anxcious and excited. Yay! I am sure that
I will have a TON to write after a week and a half, as this week is
already booked full. Sis. Howard and I get to go down to Kaosiung
(really it's Gaozhong but I think its the other way on the maps) so
that she can teach some missionaries down there how to make mission
stats. She is such a rockstar. But in one week along we will go from
the middle of the island, to the very bottom, then up to the very top.
Yay!
Okay, this letter is WAY longer than I thought it would be. I love you
all so much! Thank you for your prayers and your letters. Please
continue to be the great examples to everyone you interact with.
I love you,
Sister Amy Reece
It sounds like everyone either had a really busy week, has a really
busy one coming up, or both! I love hearing that while events are
changing in your lives you are all strong in your faith in the Lord.
Thank you for being such an example to me! Sis. Howard and I were just
talking about the importance of enduring to the end after we have been
baptized. The Sister that got baptized last week is already struggling
with that. She has decided that she doesn't want to meet with us
during the week and isn't coming to much of church. Sis. Howard and I
are at a loss right now as to what to do to help her. It is breaking
my heart that she hasn't even been baptized for two weeks yet and she
is already struglling with enduring to the end.
Besides that sad bit of news, the week has been pretty good. For the
first time in a few weeks the week didn't fly by super fast. Which is
weird 'cause we were constantly on the go. We weren't out on the
street talking to people much this week, but rather had a lot of
lessons. We have some really solid investigators right now that are
progressing really well toward baptism. We are constantly praying that
the Lord will help us know how to help these amazing daughters of God
enter the straight and narrow path to His Kingdom. I love seeing the
different ways that the same doctrine needs to be taught to each
different person. It is so great! As it says in Alma 7:11-12, the Lord
truly does know how to "succor His people according to their
infirmities."
General Conference! We were lucky enough to be able to watch it in
English. Kevin, you're Spanish must be amazing if you were able to
understand all of the talks! If I had to watch it in Chinese I would
have not gotten much. But thankfully we have amazing leaders here and
we were able to watch conference in English while the rest of the ward
watched it in Chinese. That really was a blessing though, because one
of investigators doesn't speak Chinese but was able to watch both
Sunday sessions with us in English. I loved Conference! Mom, I also
loved Elder Robbins and Elder Bednars talks. They also hit on some
topics that I have been needing right now. It is a completely
different experience watching General Conference as a missionary. I
love it! And Ft. Collins!?!? That is so exciting! Who would have
thought? I also LOVED the "Spirit of God." That song always touches
me, and it hit me particularly hard on Sunday.
Before I forget, I won't be emailing until Wednesday next week. I get
to go to the Taipei Temple! I am so excited to be able to go to the
temple again after not going for so long. President Monson's talk in
Conference made me even more anxcious and excited. Yay! I am sure that
I will have a TON to write after a week and a half, as this week is
already booked full. Sis. Howard and I get to go down to Kaosiung
(really it's Gaozhong but I think its the other way on the maps) so
that she can teach some missionaries down there how to make mission
stats. She is such a rockstar. But in one week along we will go from
the middle of the island, to the very bottom, then up to the very top.
Yay!
Okay, this letter is WAY longer than I thought it would be. I love you
all so much! Thank you for your prayers and your letters. Please
continue to be the great examples to everyone you interact with.
I love you,
Sister Amy Reece
Elder Reece - Buenos Dias; 11.Apr.2011
Dear Family,
I love you all. Like Amy said, you all sound super busy. Keep up the great work. You are great examples. Its nice to know that when I get hope and have to work on balancing a busy schedule, I'll have a lot of people to turn to for advice. You are all so amazing.
This week was pretty good. Update on President Hale is that the surgery went well. The tumor wasn't as embedded as they thought it was so the surgery was a little less complicated. As far as we have heard, President Hale is recovering well and should be with us in a few weeks. And Mom, I really hope he's back before Transfers again. I don't know how he would deal with that crazy process being away from us all.
Well, in terms of people's progression, not much changed this week. We don't have a lot of investigators, and it is hard to meet with the ones that we do have. So we didn't get to teach very many lessons this week. We worked a lot with the members though, as usual. Amy, how many lessons do you usually get a week? We get anywhere between 10 and 20 depending on how things go. We fluctuate a lot, unfortunately.
But one piece of great news is that we are finding a lot more new people. Since we don't have a lot of people to teach, we have a lot more time so we have been biking a lot more, which is great for the work but horrific for my body. It is only April and it is already super hot down here. That combined with the humidity makes biking really physically uncomfortable. But it is spiritually rewarding. We were able to talk to a lot of people and set up a lot of appointments for this week with new people. So we will see how that goes. I doubt all of them will be solid, but I am sure as we continue to bike around and talk to a lot of people, we will find a lot more prepared people to help progress.
We found out this Sunday that the groundbreaking for the Temple should be within 4 weeks. they don't have a set date yet but there will be a big Stake meeting on the first of May where they will give us more details. It is super exciting!
Well that's it for this week. I hope that next week I will have some good news about people that we are going to start teaching this week.
Love,
Elder Reece
I love you all. Like Amy said, you all sound super busy. Keep up the great work. You are great examples. Its nice to know that when I get hope and have to work on balancing a busy schedule, I'll have a lot of people to turn to for advice. You are all so amazing.
This week was pretty good. Update on President Hale is that the surgery went well. The tumor wasn't as embedded as they thought it was so the surgery was a little less complicated. As far as we have heard, President Hale is recovering well and should be with us in a few weeks. And Mom, I really hope he's back before Transfers again. I don't know how he would deal with that crazy process being away from us all.
Well, in terms of people's progression, not much changed this week. We don't have a lot of investigators, and it is hard to meet with the ones that we do have. So we didn't get to teach very many lessons this week. We worked a lot with the members though, as usual. Amy, how many lessons do you usually get a week? We get anywhere between 10 and 20 depending on how things go. We fluctuate a lot, unfortunately.
But one piece of great news is that we are finding a lot more new people. Since we don't have a lot of people to teach, we have a lot more time so we have been biking a lot more, which is great for the work but horrific for my body. It is only April and it is already super hot down here. That combined with the humidity makes biking really physically uncomfortable. But it is spiritually rewarding. We were able to talk to a lot of people and set up a lot of appointments for this week with new people. So we will see how that goes. I doubt all of them will be solid, but I am sure as we continue to bike around and talk to a lot of people, we will find a lot more prepared people to help progress.
We found out this Sunday that the groundbreaking for the Temple should be within 4 weeks. they don't have a set date yet but there will be a big Stake meeting on the first of May where they will give us more details. It is super exciting!
Well that's it for this week. I hope that next week I will have some good news about people that we are going to start teaching this week.
Love,
Elder Reece
Monday, April 4, 2011
Kicking Satan's face in- Feng Yuan style!
Yep, we gave Satan a swift kick to the face this week when Zhang Shu
Qin was baptized! It was such a tender baptism. She is a timid person
with such a soft little voice. She was so nervous for her baptism!
Unfortunately Sis. Howard and I didn't do as good of a job as we
should explaining the mechanics of baptism and she had to twice. The
first time her feet floated up and poked out of the water. The poor
youth that was helping her get baptized didn't know what was going on
either as it was his first time baptizing someone. But in the end
Zhang Shu Qin was able to make a covenant with the Lord on Saturday
night and then on Sunday be confirmed a member of the Church and
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yay! Sis. Howard and I were really
lucky to have our first baptism together be someone that we worked
with from the very beginning. Most missionaries first baptisms are
someone that their trainer and their previous companion were teaching.
So we may have gone one whole move-call without a baptism, but our
first one this move-call was awesome! We don't have anymore solid
baptisms set up for the next couple of weeks, but we have not given up
on our goal of 25 before Sis. Howard goes home.
It was kinda weird reading all of your letters about General
Conference already because we don't have it for another week.
Sometimes I forget that I am half the world away from you. It just
seems like it is 5 o'clock on Monday everywhere when actually you are
all sound asleep. But what is time really? :D
This week was a great learning week for me! It was hard, but good. It
is really interesting having to teach in a completely foreign language
because it requires so much faith, not only in Jesus Christ, but in
myself. And unfortunately I lack that faith in myself during a lessons
a lot and then am not able to teach very well. I learned this week the
importance of believing that I can speak Chinese and in believe that
my testimony and what I have to say is worth being heard. I am nowhere
near the kind of teacher that I would like to be and sometimes I find
myself dwelling on that instead of working hard to become that
teacher. The last couple of days I have been working extra hard to
focus in lessons on the investigator and not on me. I know, that seems
like such an easy thing, but it is much easier said than done.
While I have been trying to focus on improving my Chinese and teaching
skills, Sis. Howard and I have had some really interesting lessons
that have helped me really be able to focus on my teaching. We have
recently started teaching a mom and a daughter, and then a Philipino
lady and they all need/want the lessons in English. I have been
focusing so hard on learning how to teach the lessons using Chinese
that it is really interesting trying to do it in English. But these
lessons are really helping Sis. Howard and I become more unified in
our teaching as we do not have the barrier of the language between us.
I love how the Lord truly does give us experiences that we need to
truly test ourselves. The Lord knows each of our weaknesses and He
knows what we need to experience to be strengthened. I love being a
missionary! I am so grateful that I can be right here, right now,
serving my Lord and Savior. I know that when we trust in Him we can do
all things, whether it be finish 8th grade, finish High School, finish
College, or just finish each day.
I love you all and am so grateful for you in my life. I am more and
more grateful each day that I can call you my friends and my family.
Thank you!
Wo zhende ai nimen! (I really love you!)
Yuan Jiemei (Sister Reece)
(p.s. Chinese does not sound as cool written in Roman characters,
especially without the tones. But there it is! :D)
p.p.s. I have attached a couple different pictures for your viewing
pleasure. If I remember correctly (and clicked the right ones) There
are a couple pictures of our adventure at the Chinese "buffet" last
week. Yes, that is a teeny octopus Sis. Page is eating. There should
also be a pic of me in front of really pretty Chinese temple, one of
Sis. Howard and I with Zhang Shu Qin (yes, she does smile somtimes)
and a funny sign that was in a shopping cart. I love reading things
with awful english! Love you!
Qin was baptized! It was such a tender baptism. She is a timid person
with such a soft little voice. She was so nervous for her baptism!
Unfortunately Sis. Howard and I didn't do as good of a job as we
should explaining the mechanics of baptism and she had to twice. The
first time her feet floated up and poked out of the water. The poor
youth that was helping her get baptized didn't know what was going on
either as it was his first time baptizing someone. But in the end
Zhang Shu Qin was able to make a covenant with the Lord on Saturday
night and then on Sunday be confirmed a member of the Church and
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Yay! Sis. Howard and I were really
lucky to have our first baptism together be someone that we worked
with from the very beginning. Most missionaries first baptisms are
someone that their trainer and their previous companion were teaching.
So we may have gone one whole move-call without a baptism, but our
first one this move-call was awesome! We don't have anymore solid
baptisms set up for the next couple of weeks, but we have not given up
on our goal of 25 before Sis. Howard goes home.
It was kinda weird reading all of your letters about General
Conference already because we don't have it for another week.
Sometimes I forget that I am half the world away from you. It just
seems like it is 5 o'clock on Monday everywhere when actually you are
all sound asleep. But what is time really? :D
This week was a great learning week for me! It was hard, but good. It
is really interesting having to teach in a completely foreign language
because it requires so much faith, not only in Jesus Christ, but in
myself. And unfortunately I lack that faith in myself during a lessons
a lot and then am not able to teach very well. I learned this week the
importance of believing that I can speak Chinese and in believe that
my testimony and what I have to say is worth being heard. I am nowhere
near the kind of teacher that I would like to be and sometimes I find
myself dwelling on that instead of working hard to become that
teacher. The last couple of days I have been working extra hard to
focus in lessons on the investigator and not on me. I know, that seems
like such an easy thing, but it is much easier said than done.
While I have been trying to focus on improving my Chinese and teaching
skills, Sis. Howard and I have had some really interesting lessons
that have helped me really be able to focus on my teaching. We have
recently started teaching a mom and a daughter, and then a Philipino
lady and they all need/want the lessons in English. I have been
focusing so hard on learning how to teach the lessons using Chinese
that it is really interesting trying to do it in English. But these
lessons are really helping Sis. Howard and I become more unified in
our teaching as we do not have the barrier of the language between us.
I love how the Lord truly does give us experiences that we need to
truly test ourselves. The Lord knows each of our weaknesses and He
knows what we need to experience to be strengthened. I love being a
missionary! I am so grateful that I can be right here, right now,
serving my Lord and Savior. I know that when we trust in Him we can do
all things, whether it be finish 8th grade, finish High School, finish
College, or just finish each day.
I love you all and am so grateful for you in my life. I am more and
more grateful each day that I can call you my friends and my family.
Thank you!
Wo zhende ai nimen! (I really love you!)
Yuan Jiemei (Sister Reece)
(p.s. Chinese does not sound as cool written in Roman characters,
especially without the tones. But there it is! :D)
p.p.s. I have attached a couple different pictures for your viewing
pleasure. If I remember correctly (and clicked the right ones) There
are a couple pictures of our adventure at the Chinese "buffet" last
week. Yes, that is a teeny octopus Sis. Page is eating. There should
also be a pic of me in front of really pretty Chinese temple, one of
Sis. Howard and I with Zhang Shu Qin (yes, she does smile somtimes)
and a funny sign that was in a shopping cart. I love reading things
with awful english! Love you!
Elder Reece - 4.April.2011
Dear Family.
This letter will probably be really short because I only have ten minutes. Sorry. And I probably wont get a snail mail letter written because Elder Robles wants to do something fun today. But I will try.
This week was challenging for me as well. I love Elder Robles but we don't always get along as well as I would like. Having differing opinions and ideas is very hard to deal with. But that is one of the great things learned while serving a mission. This last week we didn't get very much done in terms of numbers which is hard to accept, but we are going to do better this next week.
I also loved Conference.It is interesting watching it in Spanish because the mouths don't move to the words. But I still really enjoyed it. A fun fact I didn't know until yesterday was that Elder Scott translates his own talks into Spanish before hand and then they play it while he talks. So while you all heard him speak in English, I heard him speak in Spanish. It was pretty neat. The timing was a little off though.
Yesterday after the last Session, President had the whole mission get on a big conference call. He called us all to tell us that he has a tumor in his lower back. He said it is a very dangerous place to have a tumor. He will be flying to Provo on Monday to have surgery. They don't know if it's cancerous yet. They will find out once they operate. He will be gone for about three weeks if everything goes well. We are fasting as a mission starting Wednesday evening. You are invited to join. But even if you can't fast, please keep President and Sister Hale in your prayers. We are confident everything will go well and President will be back here in a few weeks to finish off hims last few months as our President. That was very depressing news for us to hear as a mission, but the work will continue on unheeded.
Well that's about it for this week. Sorry its so short and I didn't send any pictures. But suffice it to say that I am doing well, trying to do my best, and loving what I am doing, even through the hard times. I hope you are all doing well. I am excited to get the Conference edition of the Ensign and be able to study more in depth the things that God has written there. I would encourage you all to do the same.
I love you all. Keep being great. This is the work of the Lord. We are all in the work of the Lord, just in different places with different callings. My faith grew this week that there are people prepared to hear the Gospel. You and I just need to get out there and find them.
Have a great week,
Elder Reece
This letter will probably be really short because I only have ten minutes. Sorry. And I probably wont get a snail mail letter written because Elder Robles wants to do something fun today. But I will try.
This week was challenging for me as well. I love Elder Robles but we don't always get along as well as I would like. Having differing opinions and ideas is very hard to deal with. But that is one of the great things learned while serving a mission. This last week we didn't get very much done in terms of numbers which is hard to accept, but we are going to do better this next week.
I also loved Conference.It is interesting watching it in Spanish because the mouths don't move to the words. But I still really enjoyed it. A fun fact I didn't know until yesterday was that Elder Scott translates his own talks into Spanish before hand and then they play it while he talks. So while you all heard him speak in English, I heard him speak in Spanish. It was pretty neat. The timing was a little off though.
Yesterday after the last Session, President had the whole mission get on a big conference call. He called us all to tell us that he has a tumor in his lower back. He said it is a very dangerous place to have a tumor. He will be flying to Provo on Monday to have surgery. They don't know if it's cancerous yet. They will find out once they operate. He will be gone for about three weeks if everything goes well. We are fasting as a mission starting Wednesday evening. You are invited to join. But even if you can't fast, please keep President and Sister Hale in your prayers. We are confident everything will go well and President will be back here in a few weeks to finish off hims last few months as our President. That was very depressing news for us to hear as a mission, but the work will continue on unheeded.
Well that's about it for this week. Sorry its so short and I didn't send any pictures. But suffice it to say that I am doing well, trying to do my best, and loving what I am doing, even through the hard times. I hope you are all doing well. I am excited to get the Conference edition of the Ensign and be able to study more in depth the things that God has written there. I would encourage you all to do the same.
I love you all. Keep being great. This is the work of the Lord. We are all in the work of the Lord, just in different places with different callings. My faith grew this week that there are people prepared to hear the Gospel. You and I just need to get out there and find them.
Have a great week,
Elder Reece
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