Buenos Dias; 27.June.2011

Dear Family,

It was great to hear from you, especially you two, David and Rachel. Thanks for taking the time to write. It sounds like life is really exciting for you right now. It's weird seeing pictures of you two together because I still haven't even seen you two since you were married. I've never seen David that close to a girl that wasn't his Mom or sister in my whole life. It's kinda trippy;-D

Well this week was great. We had 2 Baptisms and 4 Confirmations! Two of the confirmations were from bapti

sms the last two weeks. The other two people that got baptized and confirmed were Jissel Jimenez and Jose Zafra. Jissel is the niece of Maryori who got baptized last week. Jose Zafra is an older Peruvian man that has been investigating the Church for 11 years!! His children are all members and he is here living with his daughter right now. We don't know when he is going to return to Peru. He has known that he needs to get baptized for awhile but he just wasn't doing it. Then finally miracle after miracle he decided to have his interview and get baptized. It was a great baptism. The three of us were full of feelings of triumph and immense gratitude. It really is a miracle that he got baptized. We're not quite sure what happened to make him finally make the decision, but something happened inside of him and he decided to get baptized. It was also really intense because he had his first interview on Saturday but he needed to have a second interview with a member of the Mission Presidency to approve that he could get baptized. Well the interview was at 11:40 on Sunday morning and the baptism was supposed to start right after Church at 12:30. We were stressing because up until they left the interview, we didn't know for sure if he was even going to be baptized. Because of that we didn't announce it or tell anyone; but once we knew that it was going to happen, we scrabbled to catch as many people as we could before they all went home.

Jissel was baptized Saturday night. Due to some extenuating circumstance we had to change the day time and place of the baptism the day before it was supposed to happen. There was a wedding in our chapel from the English Ward and so we had to move it to another Chapel. That was cause for a lot of stress. The baptism was supposed to start at 7. Jissel's mom didn't even get off of work until 7 so they showed up a little after 8 and we started at about 8 30. But everything turned out really well. There were only us missionaries, the first counselor of the Bishopric and his wife, and members of Jissel's family. even though it was a small baptism and it stared late, it was really good and very powerful. Most of Jissel's family are inactives from Honduras. I hope it helps them see their sister (Maryori) and now their niece (Jissel) get baptized. Maryori's mom also will be getting baptized soon. We just need to get her married first. That will be a really big help to the family.

The other big news for the week is that President and Sister Anderson fly in today!! They should arrive at 3:40 our time. Once they land, President and Sister Hale are released. I will get to meet President and Sister Anderson on Thursday at a "Meet the President" Zone Conference. I am excited for this change.

Well time's up so I got to go. I love you all. The work is so true. Remember that. It is a great privilege for me to serve here in this wonderful Mission. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I am thinking about and making plans to make sure that I take advantage of my last 7 months in the Mission Field. I love you all so much. I am so proud of you and I am and will be eternally grateful that I have each of you sealed to me as an eternal family. I love the Gospel!!!

Love,

Elder Reece

PS- The pictures are 1) Me and Elder Alger. I lived with him my last three Transfers in Hollywood Hills then I got transferred and he went home. (Amy- He is the one that wrote the sticky note) 2 & 3) Elder Lamb and Elder Owens, my two companions. I love being with them. They are super funny together. It will be weird when Elder Owen's Greenie gets here and we are just a normal companionship. 4) Jissel's baptism. Sorry the resolution isn't very good. I am going to try to get a better one from one of my companions. And I am going to get a picture of Jose's baptism from one of them too. My camera battery died:( Love ya'll!!

No clever title

Hello!

Wow, this was quite the exciting couple of weeks for everyone. I can't believe Leslie is married! I met her now husband a couple of times at the MTC and he seems like a great guy. Congratulations to them! And yes, I was very blessed to have been trained by Sis. Howard. She is an amazing missionary. Oh, and update on her- she's engaged! Yep, she was actually engaged about three weeks after she got home to a guy that she has known for years now. Crazy! I got to see her last week too as her and her parents came back to tour Taiwan. Thank for the pictures mom! I can't wait to see more next week.

Kevin! You're Zone Leader!! I am so excited and proud of you. I didn't really understand what that meant before but now I know that is an awesome responsibility and a lot of work. You will be amazing though! Look at my little brother all grown up and leading zones! :D

As for me this week I hit a car. Yep, the car did not hit me, I hit it. Last Tuesday after a meeting Sis. Gandolph and I were riding down to Tanzi in the rain when a car decided to start backing into a car despite on coming traffic (a.k.a Sis Gandolph and I :D). Sis Gandolph swerved out of the way fast enough but I had no option other than slam on my brakes and try and not hit the car going really fast. I did hit it though and left a pretty blue streak down the door from the plastic box on the back of my bike. I got some small, but pretty bruises on my knees and sore shoulders, but other than that I am okay. Sis. Gandolph looked back just in time to see me hit the pretty white car and said it was a pretty good crash. Luckily that man driving the car was very very nice and took complete blame for it. I also took complete blame and so we both left feeling satisfied it was our own fault. I had to reattach my box but that is nothing compared to the pretty blue streak down his nice white door. But oh well- all is well now!

Besides my hitting a car the week was not very exciting. All of our amazing investigators that have been progressing so well the last couple of weeks have kind of leveled out now- and not in a good way. Sis. Gandolph and I are praying, studying and pondering a lot on what we can do to help these wonderful people take the final steps into the baptismal font and start their journey of enduring to the end. I used to wonder what missionaries would study for a whole hour every morning and now I feel like even if I studied the whole day it wouldn't be enough. I cherish my personal study time and am so grateful to be making it part of my lifelong daily routine. I encourage you all to cherish your time studying the words Christ and His chosen disciples. There is so much amazing literature out there!

Okay, I think that is all that I have for this week. I don't have any fun pictures for today so the ones from last week will have to tide you over till next week :D

I love you all more than all of the trees burned in the awful wildfire! :D

Loves!

Sis. Amy Reece

Buenos Dias; 20.June.2011

Dear Family,

This week has been amazing. I have definitely started a great new chapter in my Mission. So on Wednesday I went to Transfer Meeting and was Transferred out of Hollywood Hills East and moved up north to the Lauderhill Ward. I don't know where the confusion came but I started my mission in Miami Lakes. I had been in Hollywood Hills Ward since August of last year. Miami Lakes was a long time ago. But now I am in Lauderhill. I have two companions: one is Elder Lamb and the other is Elder Owens. Yes, I am with one of my MTC companions again. We were pretty excited. And Elder Owens is only with us until his Greenie arrives from the MTC in a few weeks. He got delayed so Elder Owens just joined us in the meantime. When we split into the two areas Elder Lamb and I will be the Lauderhill West area and Elder Owens and his new companion will be the Lauderhill East area. So far it has been really fun being with these two. We all three get along really well, we teach well together, and we are always having a good time. Also, I am not District Leader anymore. Now I am Zone Leader with Elder Lamb. I am happy I'm not District Leader anymore and I am excited and a little nervous to be Zone Leader. But Elder Lamb has been Zone Leader before so I am not really worried. So overall I am very happy with the way that Transfers worked out. So far I love the Ward. They are great people. I would be happy to stay here for the rest of my Mission. But we will see. I have four Transfers left after this one ends so we will see what Heaven and President Anderson have planned for me for the next few months.

Speaking of President Anderson, he arrives in Florida a week from tonight. The way it works is that as soon as he steps foot on Ft Lauderdale soil, the mantel of Mission President falls on his shoulders and President Hale is released. President Hale will then stay in a hotel with his family for the next few days so that he is accessible for any questions from President Anderson and then he and his family are off back to Utah. This Mission will miss them greatly. I have loved being with them. But as with all changes in life, and even more so with changes made by God, I am excited to see what the future will bring and I will move foward with great faith in President Anderson.

More big news for the week is that Wednesday was the Ground-breaking ceremony for the South Florida Temple!! We didn't get to go watch it on site, but it was broadcast to our building and we were able to watch it. It is an exciting time to be here in South Florida. I am so excited for when we will have a Temple dowwn here. I am super excited to come see it when it is finished. And I am most excited for the members here, especially my members and recent converts, to be able to go to the Temple as often as they would like. It is an exciting time.

Some more great news is that we had a baptism this week! Her name is Maryori( pronounced like Margerie). She is 12 yrs old. Her family is from Honduras. Almost all of her brothers and sisters are members. Her mother, Reina, wants to get baptized as well but is waiting for her husband to want to marry her. For some reason he doesn't want to marry her even though they have been together for over 30 yrs and have 8 children together. We are working on that right now. Maryori's neice also wants to get baptized. Her name is Giselle. She is 9. We are working to get her baptized this week end.

I am loving being here right now. I wish I could tell you all about it but there is not enough time. It is always crazy getting to know so many new people. But I really am enjoying it.

I love you all. I don't have a lot of time left so I gotta saty good bye.

But keep being amazing and keep us far away Missionaries updated. I didn't even know Leslie or Ashley were getting married. Who are they getting married to?

Well love you all a ton. Keep up the great work!

With love,

Elder Reece

Pictures - I am sending some and requesting some in return!

Hello!

First things first- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JULIE!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE 18. AHHH!!!!

I can't believe how huge that fire is. The pretty Blue is no more! I am grateful now that we went out there last summer and took all of those pictures with Grandma and Grandpa. Sis. Gandolph's sister's family is living in Arizona right now and are at the other end of the fire. They said at night they can see the fire and it's glow from their house. Scary! Were you able to see the actual flames from RV or were they on the other side of the mountains?

Oh- first of all, move-call results! Sis. Gandolph and I are both staying in our area for another move-call. That makes four move-calls here which is a lot for a Sister to stay in one area. I am really excited to be able to work with Sis. Gandolph again here in my "birthplace". We are working with some amazing people that we hope will be able to be baptized over the next six weeks. I will probably move after that and will have feelings a lot like Kevin had about moving. How long were you in Miami Lakes KJ? But for now I am content yet excited to continue the good work here in Feng Yuan and Tanzi.

I keep forgetting to tell you all about the Taiwanese language. Yep- Taiwanese is an actual language. It is a completely spoken language that is way more intense than Chinese. Just to give you an idea of how crazy it is, Chinese has 5 different "tones" (ways that the voice fluctuates) and Taiwanese has at least 10, if not more. In my area pretty much everyone knows how to speak it but only the older people use it as their first language. As you go farther south down the island the more you hear Taiwanese and the less you hear Chinese. It's crazy when at church or on the street people just start speaking in Taiwanese. Taiwanese almost as foreign to me as Chinese did about 7 months ago. Almost. There are some words that are similar to Chinese. Anyway, there is your fun fact for the week.

I am amazed each day at the humility of the people that I am working with. Do you remember my recent convert Harmony? She was a three week miracle baptism. Everytime we teach her something she immediately recognize how and where she needs to improve. Not only does she recognize it, but she stops and prays to Heavenly Father for forgiveness and then never does it again. I am so in awe of her example of always improving. Whether it is something seeminglg big like not going shopping on Sunday, or something seemingly small like praying with her children each night, she is willing and eager to improve. I think we can all learn from her example that we need to not be complacent with where we are. We are taught in Ether 12 that the Lord will show is our weaknesses so that he can make them strong. If the Lord isn't currently making your weaknesses obvious to you, I would encourage you to pray and ask for Him to. I can testify that He really will. I can also testify that it will be dificult in the beginning, but getting up and over that hump will bring you closer to God and stronger than you can imagine.

It sounds like there is a lot of weddings and babys going on back home. Weird! I have been wondering when Leslie was getting married. As she and her finance are both Taiwan Taichung missionaries word has been spreading for awhile that they were getting married but no body knew when. As always, I would love to see pictures. I am a teeny bit jealous of the company mom and Kim will have in the cealing room. Again, pictures would be appreciated. :D Give all of the Dunns massive hugs for me- especially Kaylie. Oh, and who is Emily marrying? Kim, isn't it funny that your friends are finally getting married and your finally having a baby. You all are all grown up! Gross!

Okay, this is the end for me. I love you all and wish you all safety and luck in all that you do. Julie- I want to hear updates on the job hunt. Mom and Kim- PICTURES!

Loves, loves, and loves!

Sister Amy Reece

p.s. Yay! the pictures attached this week! Yes, Sis. Gandolph is putting a dead frog to her tougne. And yes, I am getting a drink from that awesome dragon fountain. Okay, the second statement is a lie, but it looks like I am, huh!?!?

Ni Hao!

Family!

I am SO happy to hear that our house is still standing! I don't know why but I let the fire distract and worry me more than I should have. Mom, you don't know how much of an answer to my prayers it was that you said you took my hard-drive with you. I should have had more faith in you! Anyway, I am sad yet anxious to hear the total damage that the fire has done. It sounds like it is not out yet, but under control? Right? If you have pictures I would love to see them.

Your week sounds like it was so much fun! Yay for family and friends and being together! Last Monday was a Chinese holiday and it was fun to drive by houses and see so many families together. The people here work so hard and the children are at school so much that there is very little family time. They don't even really have weekends here- they just work and study right through it. It is so sad! I can definitely see the effect that no family time has on the relationships in families here. I love me family! Thank you for loving and supporting me and taking the time for each other! Yay for sappy "I love you's"!! :D

Anyway- this was a great week and I can't believe it is already over and we are on to the last week of the move-call. Ah! I feel like Sis. Gandolph and I just became companions. It is really unpredictable whether or I will stay or move. So next time you hear from me I could be in a new area with a new companion or just still here in FengYuan and Tanzi.

This morning we woke up early, got on our bikes and headed up into the mountains with our zone. And when I say up, I really mean up. It was such a steep bike ride and I will definitely feel it tomorrow. And I think I lost about 10 pounds just from sweating! And it was only 8 in the morning. But it was all worth it because we got to spend time with our zone and get some awesome pictures. Taiwan is so beautiful!

This week I have been studying virtue a lot in my personal study and have learned so much! I still don't understand it really well, but I love it! Virtue is so much more than just have clean thoughts and actions. To me it is also being completely honest and true in all that we do. Sis. Dalton gave an amazing talk in the past Young Women's general broadcast called "Guardians of Virtue" that I recommend you all to read and love! :D Speaking of general broadcast and General Conference- thank you so much for sending me the Ensign mom. I am LOVING reading and marking it up. I want to give everyone I am working with copies of the whole Ensign cause it is all so good!! I loved listening to it all and I am loving reading it all again! Yay for living prophets!

Okay quickly I will tell you the miracle of the week. Sammi, one of our investigator's loves Sis. Gandolph, me and this Church. Why is this a miracle you ask? Well, because she didn't really love any of those three before. She kinda was a little ball of 'tude before but after really praying and reading the scriptures she is a whole new person. I love seeing people change through coming closer to Christ. I love, love, love the Atonement and it's power!

Now the funny story. Do you remember in the old "Parent Trap" movie when the one sister cuts out the back of the other sister's skirt? Then the poor girl walks around flashing everyone without even knowing? I can now sympathize with the sister that gave the whole dancehall a show. No, Sister Gandolph did not cut out the back of my skirt :D but yes, I did leave the apartment with me skirt tucked up in itself in the back. I didn't notice anything was wrong until we walked past our guard and he gave me really funny look. I then looked down and realized I was teaching that dear guard all about the temple. I took "stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places" to a whole new level this week! :D

As always, this letter is super long. Oops! I love you all and can't wait to hear the final report and the fire. Oh, and see pictures of little Elizalynn and the weekend in the valley.

Loves, loves, loves!

Sister Amy Reece

ps I just tried to attach some pictures but my camera won't attach to the computer. Sorry! I will try again next week. Loves!

Re: Hello from the smokey mountains

Hello!

Mom, you make the fire seem like it is forever away from the house. But Alpine, Nutrioso and Greer really aren't that far away. I will keep our home and our community in my prayers. Wow, this is really weird to think that there is a fire that close to the house. It is comforting to know that it is in the Lord's hands though and whatever happens is what He allows to happen.

Your weekend in the valley sounds like it will be so much fun! I think we should definitely do another Broadway Weekend next summer when Kevin and I will both be home! :D If the weather in the valley is anything like it is starting to get here then it will be a hot, hot week in Mesa. It cools off nicely in the evenings, but boy, the middle of the afternoons are miserable! From what I hear from an Elder whose house is really close to KJ's mission, Florida and Taiwan's weather is exactly alike. Isn't it so fun to put in a hard, sweaty days work KJ?

The miracle story Sister from last week is still amazing! She has had such a sad life though and everytime we meet with her I am more and more impressed by her faith in Jesus Christ and her desire to sacrifice everything to be baptized into His church. If there is one thing I am learning it is that it doesn't matter how eloquently (or in Sis. Gandolph's and my case- uneloquently) the Gospel of Jesus Christ is delivered, it is still true and will change people's lifes.

The miracle for this letter actually happened at the end of p-day last week. Sis. Gandolph was sick with we're not sure what and was burning with a fever during a lesson. She was miserable, not able to really say much, and we had another lesson in about 30 mins. We decided to run to the chapel and pray that the Elders happened to be there and could give her a blessing. God answered our prayers and the Elders were there, gave her a quick blessing and then we were on our way. During the 1.5 hour lesson we had after that she coughed maybe once and was completely coherant. Sis. Gandolph later told me that during the lesson she told Heavenly Father that if she could just feel well during the lesson she wouldn't mind at all being sick afterward. And boy did Heavenly Father take her up on that offer. She was fine during the lesson but was actually in bed most of the next two days. Poor girl! She has such strength and truse in the Lord. I admire her so much! But back to the miracle- the Power of the Priesthood is amazing. The blessing the Elders gave her was maybe 1 min long but was able to call down the powers of heaven. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and even more grateful for worthy men that are able to bless us Sisters. Thank you to all of you men who righteously use your Priesthood power!

Kevin- congratulations on your baptism! Give that Sister a special welcome into our big, worldwide family from me. I love seeing people come into the church! Yay!

Oh! Fun story for this week happened today. Sis. Gandolph and I decided to go to a hair salon to get our hair washed. Yes, hair washed. Sis. Gandolph has done it before and was raving about it! She said the give you a nice shoulder massage, massage your head and then style your hair really pretty. Well, we did get the nice shoulder massage, and yes, the head massage was awesome. But the hair style definitely left something to be desired. I have to give the poor Taiwanese girls a break though- they have absolutely NO idea what to do with curly hair, especially as curly as mine. I walked out of there looking like I was getting ready to go cheer at a '70's high school football game, and we're not really sure what was going on with Sis. Gandolph's hair. Yes- I took pictures that I will be attaching.

Mom, your floor looks so great! It's so dark! I love it! I bet it is so much nicer than that stinky carpet! I noticed in the picture of Kim, Sean and the girls a little dog in the background. Did you get a new dog or are you just dog-sitting? I got the Ensign this week. Thank you so so so much for sending that along with your wonderful letter. I have loved reading both. I have already started marking up the Ensign and have loved being able to share with my investigator's what I am reading. Thank you!

Kim- I want to see a picture of your little baby pooch! When do you find out if it is a boy or a girl? Or will you? Pictures!!!!

Julie and Mel- I was able to spot you two so easily in your pictures! Look at you getting the front rows you little rockstars! It looks like you two had so much fun! I am sad I never got to do that. I think they did it the summer before we moved to RV. Pooh!

Okay, As always, this letter has gotten really long. I am sure there is something I am forgetting so say though.

I love you all and hope each of you have an amazing week!
Loves! Sister Amy Reece