Tu Hermosa Hijo/Hermano; 26.Sept.2011

Dear Family,

Wow. Where has time gone? Next week is already October. That's nuts.

Well it was great to hear from all of you. Kim, It's still kinda hard to imagine you pregnant. I'm excited to see you as a mom.I'm sure you'll be great!!(You too Sean:-) Mom, your Spanish was very good. I will try to send you a word of the week in the subject of each email and see if you can translate it. Amy, EFY would be fun. I dont' know if I would enjoy it. It seems like a lot of responsibility. But then again, I have been a missionary for over 20 months and I am pretty used to teaching people. It would probably be fun, especially if you, Julie, and I could all be counselors in the same sessions. Sure Mom, let us know what you find. Que piensas tu, Julie?

So this week, like every week, had its ups and downs and adventures. One down is that we didn't teach very many lessons this week. It is always depressing to think you worked hard and then look back at a day or week and see that you really didn't do as much as you wanted to. But, like always, we are discussing it between the two of us and trying to determine what we can improve on to help us have more success and help more people.

A few ups are that Reina, Rene, and Carmen Tejada came to Church yesterday!! I was very happy. Vanessa called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that she wasn't able to go to Church because she didn't feel well. She got a new job two weeks ago and she says that it has been tiring her out too much. But luckily she got a new job this week. I just hope they give her Sunday off. Church was interesting this week. We only had Sacrament Meeting because the power was out in the building. There was only a little light from the windows an doors and fro a few small lights that ran off a battery. So Sacrament Meeting was very dark and quiet and uncomfortably warm. But it was okay.

Carmen is actually progressing well. She is the one that I vented about last week that says that she's already baptized. Well Last Monday we had an awesome FHE with the first counsellor in the Bishopric about authority, Christ's organization, the Apostasy, and the Restoration. What's neat is that he was able to teach it all out of the Bible. Did you all know that the message of the Restoration is found in the Bible? This is no new message. And I think she finally got it!! She came to Church yesterday again and is reading in the Book of Mormon because she wants to know that it is true. She is progressing well and I am confident that if she continues to do what she is doing she will receive an answer and be prepared for her baptism on the 9th of October. I am excited to see it all unfold with her.

Reina and Rene are also still looking good for their baptism the 9th of October. We had an amazing lesson with them on Tuesday. Rene prayed for the first time in his life!! It was amazing. He is progressing well. I hope and pray that he is ready by the 9th of October. We just need to get them married on the 8th. Please pray for them if you can.

Well I can't think of too much else to say. One really neat thing that I learned this week comes from 3 Nephi 27. By the way, if you don't know off the top of your head what this chapter talks about, study it11 It is great. It basically gives the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church in a nutshell. I love it. Anyway, one of the great, well known verses from this chapter is verse 27 where Christ says," What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." This verse is so important. It teaches us that Christ wants us to become like him, something that a lot of church's don't fully understand, if they even believe it. But what I learned this week is what is learned by connecting that verse to verse 13 of the same chapter. In verse 13 you could say that Christ is giving His purpose statement for His life, and even His whole existence. He basically says,"I came into the world to do the will of the Father. That is why He sent me here." Connecting verse 27 to verse 13 teaches us what our life's purpose statement should be:"I came here to do my Father's will. That's why he sent me here." It is the same for all of us. We are here on earth to learn to do Gods will. And just like Matthew 7 teaches us, the only way to enter into our Father in Heaven's kingdom is by doing the will of the Father. That is why Christ came; That is why the Church was restored through Joseph Smith; That is why Amy and I are out here: To help people know God's will and invite them to do and be it.

I love the Gospel. I love my Mission. I have learned so much being out here. What a great blessing it has been.

I love you all as well. I hope you all continue striving to seek and do God's will in all that you do. Have a great week. And enjoy General Conference. Invite a friend!!!

Con amor,

Elder Kevin Reece

PS- First picture is me and Elder Lamb. He thinks he's real cool:-D The second picture is me and Elder Weese.

Pretend this says something really cool in Chinese!

Hey!

So I couldn't get the computer to cooperate with me this week to write something cool in the "subject line". Oh well. Mom, I am not sure what it was that you sent- whatever it was it was not Mandarin Standard Characters. Maybe it was simplified ba. But I understood what you were trying to say. :D

Well this was a really great week. Like Kevin, I had a lot of up and downs. This week was really interesting because it felt like we were being really productive, but when the "test" rolls around (Sunday- church) we didn't score very high. we had a lot of lessons this week not only with investigators but also with recent converts and less-active members. And most of our lessons with investigators had a member present. But on Sunday we had no investigators at Church, only 3 of our 14 recent converts came, and none of the less-actives that we have been working with. It's really disappointing to be working hard but not be immediately gratified with results. I think one thing that I have really learned as a missionary is that A) the Lord has His own time and B)people have their agency. Those are both extremely important things that are hard to remember sometimes. So there is the down side of the week. But the upside of the week comes when stepping back and looking at the little miracles.

Like- a Sister that has been meeting with the missionaries for ages is really progressing in her reading and praying. Another girl, a 18-year-old girl is really reading the scriptures and asking us really good questions. She couldn't come to church yesterday but called and asked if we could meet with her tonight. That is a miracle because she has only been able to meet with us on Saturdays because of school. We're really excited to teach her about the plan of salvation tonight. Another great miracle from the week was being able to meet with a less-active sister and having the Relief Society President go with us. The Relief Society President was able to understand the sisters situation better and the less-active sister was able to feel the love of the ward.

So while the week had disappointing times- it also had great times. As a missionary our highs and lows are VERY much different than the rest of the world, but there is still take-away for the rest of you out there: look for the good and the miracles everyday! If we want the bad and the awful, we'll find it. But that won't help anything. Look for miracles and make miracles happen! Okay, that is my motivational speach for the week! :D

Hey mom- or anyone else that has time- can you look into EFY next summer for me? I am thinking that, if possible, that would be an awesome summer job for when I get home. Is it even possible for me to do it? Can I do the application while on my mission still? What about interviews? If you could find out some information I would be extremely grateful! You can probably find it online, or by just calling the EFY office. They're really nice! (they're in the same office that I used to be at Independent Study :D) Anyway, if you could look into that I would appreciate it. Kevin, Julie, you want to do it with me? :D

Okay, I think that is all that I have for the week. I was really sad that I wasn't able to see the video of Mel dancing. I want to see my little ballerina in action! Julie, have you been doing dancing at EAC still? Mom, I am glad that you are satisfied with the fan. I thought it turned out really cool! Okay bye!

I love you all!!

Sister Amy Reece

Pretend this says something really cool in Chinese!

Hey!

So I couldn't get the computer to cooperate with me this week to write something cool in the "subject line". Oh well. Mom, I am not sure what it was that you sent- whatever it was it was not Mandarin Standard Characters. Maybe it was simplified ba. But I understood what you were trying to say. :D

Well this was a really great week. Like Kevin, I had a lot of up and downs. This week was really interesting because it felt like we were being really productive, but when the "test" rolls around (Sunday- church) we didn't score very high. we had a lot of lessons this week not only with investigators but also with recent converts and less-active members. And most of our lessons with investigators had a member present. But on Sunday we had no investigators at Church, only 3 of our 14 recent converts came, and none of the less-actives that we have been working with. It's really disappointing to be working hard but not be immediately gratified with results. I think one thing that I have really learned as a missionary is that A) the Lord has His own time and B)people have their agency. Those are both extremely important things that are hard to remember sometimes. So there is the down side of the week. But the upside of the week comes when stepping back and looking at the little miracles.

Like- a Sister that has been meeting with the missionaries for ages is really progressing in her reading and praying. Another girl, a 18-year-old girl is really reading the scriptures and asking us really good questions. She couldn't come to church yesterday but called and asked if we could meet with her tonight. That is a miracle because she has only been able to meet with us on Saturdays because of school. We're really excited to teach her about the plan of salvation tonight. Another great miracle from the week was being able to meet with a less-active sister and having the Relief Society President go with us. The Relief Society President was able to understand the sisters situation better and the less-active sister was able to feel the love of the ward.

So while the week had disappointing times- it also had great times. As a missionary our highs and lows are VERY much different than the rest of the world, but there is still take-away for the rest of you out there: look for the good and the miracles everyday! If we want the bad and the awful, we'll find it. But that won't help anything. Look for miracles and make miracles happen! Okay, that is my motivational speach for the week! :D

Hey mom- or anyone else that has time- can you look into EFY next summer for me? I am thinking that, if possible, that would be an awesome summer job for when I get home. Is it even possible for me to do it? Can I do the application while on my mission still? What about interviews? If you could find out some information I would be extremely grateful! You can probably find it online, or by just calling the EFY office. They're really nice! (they're in the same office that I used to be at Independent Study :D) Anyway, if you could look into that I would appreciate it. Kevin, Julie, you want to do it with me? :D

Okay, I think that is all that I have for the week. I was really sad that I wasn't able to see the video of Mel dancing. I want to see my little ballerina in action! Julie, have you been doing dancing at EAC still? Mom, I am glad that you are satisfied with the fan. I thought it turned out really cool! Okay bye!

I love you all!!

Sister Amy Reece

Buenos Dias; 19.Sept.2011

Dear Family,

Well Mom, Tell Preston he better look out cause when I get home I'm gonna kill him!! I'm serious. I really am very disappointed. I mean I obviously can't be too upset because that is a great thing, but really!?!? My only brother and my best friend both get married while I'm on my mission? I'll definitely get over it within the next few minutes and forgive him but I am disappointed. If you get the chance to send him a message tell him I expect a letter soon, really soon.

Well this week went pretty well. Like always there're ups and downs. The downs aren't terrible though. I 'm just trying to figure out how I can find and teach more people. I feel like I am working hard but I'm stuck right now. I think I need to do better about planning. That is so vital in missionary work. I need to be more effective with my time.

The ups are great! We had four investigators at Church yesterday! Reina and Rene came. SO did Vanessa. And so did a lady named Carmen Tejada. I don't think I have mentioned her. She was found almost two years ago, was a few days away from being baptized and then decided not to, and was then dropped. Elder Lamb and I picked her up again when I first got here and we have been teaching her off and on every since. She is a great person. She loves the Church. She loves all the members. But she is Catholic and can't understand the principle of Apostasy and Restoration. I think I have talked about that with her almost every time that I have gone over there and still every tie I invite her to be baptized she says," I was already baptized." It's very frustrating. I'm sure what you are doing, Amy, isn't very easy: teaching people that have no Christian background. But sometimes I wish that I could just start on ground Zero with these people. They are so caught up in traditions and their own beliefs that they literally can't open their ears and understand our message. They listen to us teach the Restoration and agree with everything and then when we invite them to be baptized they say," I'm already baptized." They can't rap their minds around the fact that we are teaching them something tat they don't already know. It really boils my blood. Sorry:D I'm kinda ranting right now. This is a sore subject though because we have two people right now that are really good people and like the Church and the members and everything but can't get over this barrier, and I don't know what to do. David, what is the prominent religion in Germany? Did you have to deal with these similar problems? If so, how did you have success in helping them understand the message of the Restoration?

But anyway, life is still great ad I still love what I am doing. These are just problems and concerns that come with the job :-D

Some other good news comes from the our Zone. between two and six weeks ago our Zone had only 4 or 5 people that had committed to baptism on specific dates. Last week we had 14. That was a great increase! This week we have 33. That is amazing! This Zone hasn't had that many baptismal dates this whole year. We are going to strive to have 50 by the end of this next week. President Anderson is pushing us to show more faith and invite everyone to be baptized. That is Christ's Doctrine. That is what He did and that is what we should be doing. If you haven't served a mission you might not understand why I am so excited about these numbers. These Key Indicators are how we track the progress of the Lord's work and of God's children in our Areas, Zones, and the Mission (For more information on Key Indicators, see Preach My Gospel Chapter 8).

Mom, about what you said about forgiveness, I had a really good experience with that this week. One of the Sisters in the Ward was a great example for me. Her name is Sister Bonilla. She teaches early morning Seminary for our Ward. Well last week she asked us to teach Seminary on Friday at 6am to help her students learn the Scripture Masteries. So we went in and helped them and had a good time. After the class we told Sister Bonilla that we would come every Friday to do it. Well when this Friday rolled around, we woke up at 6am to go to the gym like any other day. It wasn't until I was getting ready at about 7:30 that I realized that I had completely buffed Sister Bonilla. I felt terrible. I tried calling her a few times throughout the day to say sorry but she never answered her phone. I felt so bad. I was afraid that she was going to be very upset with me and that she would lose her trust and confidence in us as missionaries, especially in me because I had promised we would be there. It wasn't until about 7:30 that I finally got a hold of her, ready to get chewed out. To my surprise and relief she just laughed it off and told me not to worry about it. With a laugh in her voice she said," Well I thought about calling you last night to remind you, but I then thought to myself 'Misssionaries don't forget anything'." :-D All I could do was laugh with her, thank her for forgiving me, and promise to be there next week. I was so relieved that she forgave me so easily. She didn't have any kind of hard feelings at all. It amazed me. I want to be more like that. And by the way (if you haven't already figured this out), contrary to popular belief, missionaries aren't perfect. So please be patient with your missionaries. This is a stressful job. And nothing is worse than having a member get mad at you and hold a grudge for something that you either didn't do or they don't fully understand.

But anyway, we all need to strive to be more like our Saviour who said," Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Well I can't think of much else to say. David, thank you for your letter and keep up the great work with school, your calling, and Kevin. Amy, keep working hard and looking for those miracles. You're always great at seeing the Lord's hand in what you do.

I love you all so much. Please never let anything get between you and God's commandment. Nothing- not school, work, friends, or even family. Keeping God's commandments is the most important thing we can do in this life. But I'm really not too worried. You are all great examples of righteous living. Keep it up! I love you!

Love,

Elder Kevin Reece

大家!

Hello to one and all!

Kevin, I wish I could say I have just gotten that "in tune" with the Spirit on my mission. But alas, It was just coincidence. That is so fun that you two get to serve together. I am jealous! With Sisters never in Zone Leader positions we never get to serve with our MTC companions. Well, I shouldn't say never. But in my case never. Sis. Bray and I are now both senior companion, so it is pretty safe to say that it won't happen. Pooh!

Well, this week was a week full of continued adjusting. Adjusting to my new companion, being back in this area and being senior companion. It has all been a great learning experience though and despite the less-than-fantastic times, I am loving it. This has been a weird start of a move-call though because I am now on the downward slope of counting. We sisters have 11 move-calls on island and I am now on move-call six. Weird! I have been doing a lot of contemplating and thinking about my mission so far and what I still want to do. There is an activity in Preach My Gospel where we are told to imagine the end of our mission and think about what we want to say that we have done, what we have become, and where we want others to see that we have changed.. I did that activity this week and it was great. I was able to see where I have come so far and where I need to keep doing better. I still have a lot to do in the next 8 months. I love it!

Well, like Kevin, last week we had no investigators with a baptismal goal. I wish that, also like Kevin, we now had three with a goal, but I am very happy with the one that we do have. Her name is Li Ke Fang and she is 18 years old. She met the Sisters last year ish and then fell out of contact with them. Then recently she somehow got the Elders phone number, got ahold of them, and then they referred her to us. She is really great and we are so excited to help her understand her true value. She believes in God but doesn't really understand what her relationship is. I love helping these amazing people understand that Heavenly Father isn't all firebolts and damnation, but that He loves us more than any other person. One thing that I think is really hard to understand, but once understood changes lives, is how Heavenly Father's love is represented in the gift of His Son. Most people here have heard of Jesus Christ and know that He died on the cross, but they think it is just a history story. They have never heard why that happened and what really happened. I love when they are willing to hear and we can share with them. It really does change lives!

This week Sister Reid and I were able to go and sit down with the Bishop here in Nantou. We discussed what he expects of us and what we can do to help him. That man is a great man. From watching him I learn that holding a calling such as the Bishop of a ward doesn't mean that their lives are perfect, or become perfect through their service. But rather that the Lord knows perfectly what each person's situation is and what they need, and strengthens them accordingly. This man has a beautiful home, a wonderful wife and two beautiful children, but they still have their challenges. Being baptized doesn't mean that life will suddenly be all roses and daises. It takes work and dedication and faith. I know that life will still give us challenges, but through doing the best we can the Lord will give us His strength to withstand them. I love the story in the Mosiah 24 about the people of Alma. The Lord didn't just take away all of the burdens because of their patience and faith, rather He made it so that they didn't feel the burdens. He eased them. They still had the challenges and the temptations and the trials, but they also had the strength of the Lord.

I know now more than ever that the Lord truly supports us in all that he asks us to do. He will always be there. We just need to reach out for Him.

I love you all so much. Thank you for your love and support. Keep being amazing examples of the believers!

Loves,
Sister Amy Reece

Hello to one and all!

Hey Family!

 

First off- Welcome to the family Kristoffer!!! You couldn't have been more lucky than being placed in my mom's house. She is AH-MAZE-ING! And yes, please please please protect my amazing little sisters, both of them. Mel, you better not try and pull anymore of that fancy business you used to try (Yeah- you know what I am talking about. You, me, driving a boy home. Remember?)- now you'll have Kristoffer to answer too. :D Anyway- Welcome!

 

I love this area. It has really been struggling for awhile now. But as we drive down the street and meet with various people I can just feel the potential that is here. The two wards that we cover are both having challenges with their ward leadership being active in church. Because of that Sis. Affleck and I have decided to focus most of our efforts right now on building the ward from the bottom up. We went and visited with a lot of less-active members and with a lot of members that are tetering on the verge of going inactive. These people are all so amazing but somehow get lost in the shuffle of unstable ward leadership. There is one family, the Shen Family, that the mom and three teenagers have been baptized for a year and a half now and are already inactive. The Elders have tried to go visit them before but the family hasn't even let them inside the door. We went and visited them yesterday and we found the daughter outside with the dog. It was perfect because we were already face-to-face with her and she couldn't really deny us. We were able to sit down with all three kids and talk to them about prayer. It broke our heart when they said that they were baptized because they finished the lessons and the missionaries said baptism was the next step. That always breaks my heart. But we had an awesome lesson that ended with one of the daughters praying and us being able to set up a follow-up appointment. This is an amazing family that somehow fell through the cracks. A lot of the times as a missionary I feel like the search and rescue people on the boat- throwing those lost in sea their lifeline- reading, praying and going to church. It is amazing. I love seening new people come into the church through baptism, but I also LOVE watching less-active members come back and qualify once again for the Celestial Kingdom.

 

Speaking of amazing less-active members!! I found out the other day some miracles that have been happening with some less-actives that I helped bring back in Tanzi. There was one sister that Sister Howard randomly called one day and then we started meeting with her. She had been inactive for 9ish years and was living with her boyfriend. Long story short I found out that her boyfriend just got baptized and they are planning on being sealed in the temple next year!!!! And another less-active member we started teaching went to the temple a couple of weeks ago and did baptisms for the dead for the first time. And last but not least another now active sister's niece got baptized a couple of weeks ago! I love teaching less-active members. There is so much joy in helping them find what they once had again. I love being a missionary!

 

I know that this truly is the church of Jesus Christ here on earth today. I know that it is through following the teachings of Jesus Christ and His chosen leaders that each and everyone of us can have unbelievable happiness. And there is no expiration date on repentance. Jesus Christ is always there waiting for us, not matter when or where or for what reason we have been brought to our knees. There is still so much that I don't understand about so many aspects of Jesus Christ's gospel- but I know it's all true. The Chinese translation of "gospel" is "fuyin"- good news, glad message. This truly is the greatest and gladest message there ever is. Share it! Recently we have been inviting all of the members that we visit to make a list of all of their friends, aquaintances, family members, anyone they know that has not yet received this good news. And then take that list to the Lord and ask who it is that He is preparing right now to hear it. And now I am extending that invitation to you. I know that if you will do this you will see miracles. The Lord is preparing people everywhere to hear the gospel- but He needs our help. Please help us misisonaries help them!

 

Again, I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. And I know that although I am not perfect, He is allowing me to wear His name on my chest. And I am so greatful for that.

 

I love you all so much!

Sister Amy Reece