Thanks

Hello from Little Rock! I had another doctor's appointment so I came
down last night with Elder Heaton and Elder Doty. Anyway, this week
was so incredible. Since it was the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to
choose one thing a day to be especially  thankful for.

Monday we didn't do anything at all. Just sat around, emailed, and
went to Steak N' Shake. After that we had a pretty good day though! We
saw a really sweet old couple, A and O. They have been
investigating the church for a looooong time now, but due to some
complications they have had trouble getting a living situation
together to be baptized. (Family note: A reminds me a lot of
Evelyn. She's super cool.) We read in the Book of Mormon with her,
which she reads a lot and has really marked up. After her, we saw the
L family. They are super cool, but they hadn't been to church in a
few weeks, so we went to find out why. It turns out both of them had
been sick and had car trouble, so they had been unable to come. I had
the privilege to give them both blessings. It is something I really
love about being a missionary, having the priesthood authority to
bless people. I love being able to help people, and on top of that I
really feel the Spirit guiding me. So, Tuesday I was grateful for the
priesthood.

Tuesday we had district meeting. It went really well, and we learned a
lot about how we aren't just missionaries, but we need to be friends
too. That's one of my weaknesses as a missionary: As much Spanish as I
know, small talk kills me. I can't really even do it in English, let
alone Spanish. It's just awkward for me. So that is something I want
to work on the next few months. After some cinnamon rolls (we had 3
TUBES of cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator at home, and Peterson
never told me!) we went and saw the L girls. I met their dad,
G, officially for the first time. He is a super cool guy. He has
been to church once already and loved it, and is hoping and praying he
can get work off on Sundays so he can keep going. I got to practice my
small talk a bit, and it went better than expected and we had a great
lesson afterwards with him. Then we went out teaching with Bro. D
and his son E to go see some people. We managed to get in with
the G family and talked to the wife. I actually was the first
one to find her when I was with Elder Heaton in the summer. I didn't
think it would amount to much, but apparently she reads regularly and
is super interested! I'm grateful for missionaries being diligent and
following up. We are working on the rest of her family. Anyway, we had
a good lesson with her and then had dinner at the Hs. It was
super fun, as usual. Sister H made a ton of homemade
tortillas, and I ended up in a face making contest with one of T's,
the youngest, friends on Snapchat. T kept posting and sending
random pictures of the missionaries, and since I was next to her I
ended up having to mimick one of her friend's expressions every time
she replied. So now one of her friends thinks we're hilarious.
Hopefully we can share the gospel with her sometime!

Wednesday we couldn't catch many people at home. We did manage to
teach A again, and read Alma 32 with her. She really
understands a lot. She will make a great member someday. I am
extremely grateful for the Book of Mormon. She told us that she is not
only learning spiritual things, but she is improving greatly in her
reading ability! She taught herself to read some time ago, and the
Book of Mormon helps expand her vocabulary according to her. It is
such a powerful book. It changes people in so many ways, and all for
the better. It's great.

Thursday was great. First we went to the Ds and ate with them. They
told us to invite people, so we invited the Cs, a less active
family we felt needed more friends. It seemed to go well! The kids
were a bit shy, but E started entertaining them and hey had fun.
Immediately after them we drove to the P house to eat again. We
didn't eat as much, but we were still stuffed. They had some of their
kids and grandkids over, and we entertained them with a magic trick
they had to figure out. It was a lot of fun. We also "got" to sing for
them on the spot, which went better than expected. I am so grateful to
be here in Memphis. I love all the people here, investigators and
members alike. I am grateful they let us come by.

Friday I was grateful for all the wonderful families we visit. First,
we saw the L girls. We came by without telling them, but the whole
family was home and they fed us anyway. We had a really good time
getting to know all of them better as well as reading the scriptures
with them. Then we saw the C kids. They're a bit of a handful
sometimes (the mom rarely comes out) but we still got them to sit
still for a short lesson. Then we helped them collect pecans from the
tree in heir backyard. (Mom, you'd be jealous. Pecan trees are
everywhere here.) After seeing them we went over to the R
house. We had just missed them every day this week, so we were hoping
and praying they still wanted to be baptized this weekend. We came
over and.... THEY DID! We made plans for Sunday morning and practiced
the interview with them, which they passed with flying colors. I am so
proud of them. Then they left with a friend and we had a good talk
with J and he fixed us some turkey and bacon quesadillas about the
size and thickness of a Chipotle burrito. It took him like 10 minutes.
I need to learn that.

Saturday we had a fantastic day. I would say what I was most grateful
for was the missionaries that I serve around. Elder Wells (from
Conway, he goes home in 2 weeks! Ahh!) and Elder Butler came to give
the Girls the baptismal interview. They passed it! They were super
happy about it. After them, we went and tried to find people, but it
was raining so for a while no one opened the door. After a while, we
got in with one guy named J and his son. They are really cool. We
talked with them for a while, and he had some really good questions.
Then we saw the O family and made sure they understood that
coming to church was the most effective way they would be able to know
that this is the true church. Kinda hard to have an opinion about
something you have never experienced :)

Sunday was extremely stressful/awesome/emotional. I was grateful for
everything. We had planned to baptize D and B before church,
but J was sick and T was working. So we had to move it to
afterwards. Then, the L family had lost their car keys, and I was
stressing out like crazy that they wouldn't make it to church on time
to confirm them, and it was not good for me. But, due to a lot of
prayer on all parts, they made it and got confirmed! Church was good
today. It was the Primary program, so all the adorable little niños
got up to bear their testimonies, and it was adorable. Also, Elder
Heaton came with Elder Doty to baptize B as well as to take me to
Little Rock. Then we got asked literally one minute before if we could
teach the Youth class about missionary work. Again, a little
stressful, but it was a really good experience. I got to share my
testimony that missionary work brings a kind of happiness nothing else
does. I mean, it gets hard sometimes. Really hard. But it's worth
every slammed door, every cuss word we are called, every person who
tells me I don't really believe in who I represent, to be able to
participate and be the instrument of God in saving some of His
children. I hope it stuck with them, because it really stuck with me.
So I was grateful for that chance. Then after church D and B
were baptized and confirmed!!! Man, that was a super long time in he
making. I remember when we first really started teaching them. They
have come so far, and I am so proud of them. After that we all had
dinner together and we headed out to Arkansas!

I have a lot to be grateful for. More than anything, I am grateful for
Jesus Christ and for his sacrifice. He has made me who I am today. I
would not be here without Him.
Love you all, and have a great week!

YAY FOR THE COOL PEOPLE!

Hola hola hola! This week was fantastic! So much good stuff happened! Read on!

Monday we did about the same thing we did last Monday, just relaxed
and did some mall walking. After we did some crazy exercise though.
Elder Peterson has the Insanity workout program, and we have been
doing it for the past few days. It was good, but I totally destroyed
my calf muscles. Walking is very painful, which is great since we
walked all this week. But it was still a good P-day. After that, we
got a ride close to the L house, and biked the rest of the way. We
had a great lesson with them about the plan of salvation. I love
teaching it to kids, because they all have super good questions. And
they had great ones! Then we biked back in the rain to meet with the
others, getting soaked in the process. Always a pleasure.

Tuesday we had specialized training in Southaven, Mississippi. That
makes 3 of the 4 states in the mission I have been to now! I just need
Missouri, but it looks like I won't make it. Oh well. It was a super
good meeting! We got a lot of inspiration on what we can do in our
area with the people we have. I didn't take many notes, so I could pay
more attention to the Spirit. So yeah, it was a great meeting.
Afterwards, the Spanish zone leaders drove us all back in the transfer
van (man, I miss that thing) and we got stuck for a while due to the
freaky storm outside. We finally got out to the L house, only to
find the power in the trailer park had gone out and they didn't open
the door. So, we drove back in the crazy rainstorm. It was nuts.

Wednesday it was nice and sunny outside, which made for a good day. We
were with Elder Doty most of the day. Fist, we saw the R kids
and their mom. We had a super good lesson with them about praying to
know if this is all really true. They seem to already know, but not
deep down yet. We are hoping and praying that they do that. I love
those guys a lot. They are just so incredible. After them, we went (I
limped) to go see the P, and we met their uncle and had a near
perfect lesson with him. That guy is golden. He was answering
questions better than anything I had heard from an investigator. We
invited him to be baptized then and there and he said yes! His name is
L. He is soooo cool. After that we walked for a lot more time,
dropped off Doty and saw the Os. We had a sweet lesson with them
too! Sister H came and we had a really good talk with them and read
in the Book of Mormon. Then we walked back to the Rs' since
Sis. R invited us to have some really good pork roast. And it
was really good. We had a long talk with J about some challenges
he's been having and had a one on one with him.

Thursday we started out helping Sis. P around the house, lifting
heavy stuff and cleaning the yard and all that. She fed us some lunch
and gave us a new supply of Panera bread too. Woo! After that we went
home cleaned up, and started walking to the Rs for dinner, which
was delicious. Hey went out with us afterwards to go see the L
girls. We had a good lesson with them and figured out their baptismal
service for Sunday. Then we went to the Rs' house and had a
good lesson with B and D. We have been working super hard
with D to help her get past her concerns about getting baptized.
She has changed a lot, and it's really cool to see her progress.

Friday was pretty crazy. We found out J had to go due to an
emergency and wouldn't be back until Monday. The girls were going to
have him baptize them, so we had to postpone their baptism. The good
side though: D got her answer! She said she's ready to be
baptized! WOOHOO!! So we are super excited for her. Other than that,
we had dinner at the Ds, and read in the Book of Mormon with the
O family. We read 3 Nephi 11, which is one of the most important
parts of the entire book. It begins the ministry of Jesus Christ among
the people in the Americas. For anyone who hasn't read the Book of
Mormon before, read that part. It's sweet. They liked it too!

Saturday was cold. Like, wear-a-jacket-and-gloves-all-day kind of
cold. And it got colder in the afternoon! Our appointments canceled
for the most part, but we did get to see the L girls and finalize
everything for their baptism tomorrow with Bro. B!! It was
awesome! Those two are super cool. Then their sister will be baptized
in a few weeks once she turns eight, which is great too!

Sunday, everything worked out exactly as planned! It was freezing
outside though. Like in the 20s. Time for the coat again! But anyhoo,
C and V were both very excited! The water was a little
cold (the heater and one of the boilers went out, so the building was
pretty cold) but it went great! I haven't known them for more than a
few weeks, but it has been great seeing them progress! For example,
the night before we realized we hadn't taught them the Word of Wisdom
at all, which is usually a pretty big thing. (It talks about the whole
no coffee, tea, alcohol, etc.) Well, when we talked to them, only one
of them actually liked anything on the list, and after giving us a
pretty sad look, brightened up and said they'd drop it! Yeah, they're
the best this week. After church, we saw a couple we had met last
week. It went pretty well, and they will be reading the Book of
Mormon! Then we came over and read the Book of Mormon with the
R kids. They are still ready for this next weekend!

This week is gonna be DOPE!! Hope you have a happy and healthy (yeah
right) Thanksgiving!  Love y'all a bunch!
The L family! The older girl is C and the younger one is
V, with their mom N and two sisters Y and C.
(C has the phone. She is nuts. Also adorable.)

All the Miracles!

Good morning, everyone! (Or evening, to those of you who are WAAYY far
out there) I hope y'all's week was a great one! Mine sure was! We saw
a lot of miracles and I learned a lot.

Monday we did a lot of relaxing. Elder Peterson and I went to Target
to get him some pants and to see the Star Wars VII stuff. (we are
stoked, by the way.) Then we went to the mall and looked for some
cheap ties, but didn't find any. So, we met up with the others at
Steak N' Shake (our waitress got what I always order as soon as she
heard we were on the way, it was hilarious) which was delicious as
usual. Then we went back to the mall and hung out in Brookstone, this
store with just a ton of expensive toys. We are well known there, and
they let us sit in their massage chairs and just chill since they
don't get a lot of people. It was nice. We talked to a guy who
believes in and worships the Norse gods, which was interesting. I
hadn't heard of that before. Anyway, then we went to the Triangle and
met with the R. kids again. They are doing so well! They are
getting better at reading he scriptures and understanding it too!

Tuesday was pretty good too. We started with district meeting. The
sisters' ride didn't show up on time, so they got there about half an
hour late. It was a good meeting though! We talked a lot about using
the Book of Mormon and helping people to see why it's so important.
And it's a good question! A lot of people hold a high respect for the
Bible, to the point that they believe it is the only word of God. We
also believe the bible is the word of God, and its worth is immense.
But it honestly doesn't make sense that it would be the ONLY word God
gave the world! The Bible even mentions other books and writings by
the prophets and apostles in the Old and New Testament that aren't
found in the Bible. So, obviously there is other scripture out there,
the Bible proves it! And the Book of Mormon is a large collection of
books that are only not mentioned in the Bible because the people who
made the Bible didn't know about them! All you have to do is read it
and you will know it's the word of God. No, it's not the bible, and we
don't pretend it is. But it is still the word of God, and nobody can
deny it. So anyway, it was a great meeting. Lunch was provided by Sis.
H, and it was good stuff. Then Elder Spencer and I set off for the day.
We only managed to see one of their investigators, S. She is
super cool, and is really good at understanding what we teach. I am
excited to see where that goes. Then we had dinner at the Gs,
another one of the huge get-togethers they do all the time. It was
fun, as usual.

Wednesday we unexchanged. It was a pretty slow day. It was
cloudy/rainy for most of it, and both of us were dead tired. Plus,
nobody was home in the afternoon and our evening appointments
canceled. To be honest, nothing really happened. So, we ended up
buying a pizza and going home at the end of the night.

Thursday was a lot better. We had a super awesome lesson with the
O family. We didn't know too much about them, but it turns out
that the wife's mom loved having "Los Elder" over all the time back in
Honduras! Also, she is reading the book of mormon and is coming to
church Sunday! We are stoked! Then we saw the C kids (you
may remember them from the last time) and checked up on them really
quick before heading off to the Vs for dinner with the other guys.
The rest of the day was spent walking around. We also had a few of our
investigators drop us, which is always super sad. Hopefully they
invite us back, though. To finish the night, we saw the R kids
and read some more with them.

Friday was great too! We did some really great weekly planning (in the
car, since it was so nice outside) and then saw the C kids, which
was great! They were really hyper today, so we spent a lot of time on
the trampoline talking to them. It was fun. Almost fell off a few
times, but it was fun. Then we had a MIRACLE happen! Elder Peterson
had the idea to go try some former investigators in some apartments.
It turns out that they had moved, but the new people told us that
there were Hispanics next door. So, we met the R-P family.
The wife instantly let us in without us speaking, which was different.
Then, as we started talking, we found out her story: She was BAPTIZED
in Honduras but moved two years later and lost contact with the
church. For 11 years she just kinda lived her life, and moved here
about two years ago. She had no idea a church was nearby! So now she
is coming to church and bringing her kids too! WOO! So after that
miracle, we had dinner with the D family, which was also great.
Then I served as the translator for the zone leaders for a baptismal
interview for one of South's investigators. That was cool too! The
person being baptized is the wife of a member in the branch, and she
is super cool.

Saturday was a great day! We had a "mini mission" activity with the
youth in the morning. We went with Sister H and her grandson
M. We saw the L-G family and had a great lesson with
them about their daughters' baptisms Sunday! Then we saw the
Os and got to meet her other kid, G. She's quiet, but nice.
We had a good lesson with them too. They didn't make it to church, but
they will this week! Then we went back and had some lunch, and got
ready for 2 baptismal services. Y GOT BAPTIZED!! Woo!! It was
super cool to see him get baptized, I am so happy for it. Then, an
hour later, A, the lady I interviewed (sort of) got baptized
too! It was great! Then we went and visited with the R girls
and made sure they'd come to church.

Sunday was also really cool! We had 5 of our investigators come to
church, which was a miracle. S, the lady I visited with Elder Spencer,
came too! The R-P family didn't come due to a last second
problem, which was sad. But church was still good! We had a missionary
farewell from C, Sis. H's grandson. He is going to Provo and
then to Mexico City for his mission this week, which is awesome! Y
and A got confirmed, which was sweet too.
After church we went back to our place, got changed, and headed out.
This week is bike week, so we were walking most of the night. We met
some people, and then had dinner and a lesson with the Rs. We
had a really good talk with them.

Cool part of the lesson. D, who has already been baptized, shared
his testimony, and it was sweet. When I left, he still hadn't gotten
an answer to his prayers about it that he had told us. But now he can
bear a strong witness that this church is God's church. I felt the
Spirit very strongly. That kid is the best. He is truly converted.

Well, that was my daily report! I love being a missionary here in
Memphis. I love the investigators, I love the members, my companion,
and all y'all. But I especially love my Savior, Jesus Christ. He has
changed my life for the better. I love Him for His sacrifice, and for
who He is. I realized I haven't been telling y'all much about that in
my emails home. So let me make it clear: I love this Gospel. I love my
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I love the gospel that They
gave us. It gives me so much hope.
Love you guys a ton, and I hope you have a great week!

-Elder Andrew Reay
2250 Meadow Glade Lane
Memphis, TN 38134

Funny Pic from the Zoo

My Triumphal Return

Hey guys! It's been a great week! I moved, so here is my new address:
2250 Meadow Glade Ln
Apt. 1
Memphis, TN 38134

Sound familiar? Keep reading and find out :)

Monday we had a ton of fun at the zoo, as you all know. I sent some
pictures and video already. It was super great, and we all had a ton
of fun! It's a pretty good sized zoo, and there are a lot of animals.
The polar bear and bonobos were hilarious, and the gorilla tried
multiple times to kill us. Also, on the way out we met the sisters
(they came too but we got split up a lot of the time) talking to the
zoo director, and he loaded us up with bags of Halloween candy
leftover from the weekend. We didn't make a dent in what they had
left. It was a marvelous sight. After that, we got picked up by Bro.
B and went to Family Home Evening at the G's house. It was
super fun, and they had a lot of people. The Gs had some family
that had just moved in from Mexico, and so we talked to them for a
while. They are awesome.

Tuesday I took a bit of time to pack and then we went out. Elder Moore
was borrowing Elder Peterson's bike. We made it about two miles down
the road. Then, for reasons as yet unknown, Elder Moore's foot went
into the spokes of the front tire and stopped it dead. He and the bike
did a full flip and destroyed the front wheel. So, we carried it (the
wheel couldn't turn) the few blocks to the bike shop. They really like
us now :P So we got a new wheel, and then fixed the new wheel. By
then, we had barely enough time to go to the H's trailer park
for dinner. It was great, as usual. Then we went out teaching with
Bro. I. We saw a referral we had gotten last week named
Z. We had a good long talk with him. Then, R from Jackson came
and picked us up for a goodbye dinner.

Wednesday was great! We all came to transfer meeting. Elder Moore got
his trainee, Elder Jorgensen, who is learning Spanish too! It's crazy!
As for me, I am..... BACK IN EAST!! My companion is Elder Peterson,
the other English "convert" we have. Elder Salazar took Elder Heaton's
place down south, and Elder Butler got put in the Impact Elder
position. They don't really have an area; they go wherever
missionaries need help finding people or covering teaching
appointments and help out. It's a cool position. So that happened!
After that, we went With Moore and Jorgensen to Olive Garden to
celebrate. It's funny, since Peterson trained Moore, Jorgensen is
technically his "grandson." Three generations in one district haha.
After that, we went and saw some of my new investigators. We have a
lot going on here! Four people are committed to be baptized this
month, it's great.

Thursday was pretty good as well. We started of visiting a sort of
less active family. Their son is a really good cook, so he invited us
over for lunch two days in a row! It was super delicious. After that
we taught them about the Book of Mormon and committed them to come to
church. Then we ditched the car for a bit. We did a lot of walking, so
we talked to a lot of people. There is this really cool girl we are
teaching named M. She is super open to our message, and she is
reading and praying! She has some crazy kids though haha. That night
we also went to Bro. Rs' house to teach his kids! It's great
being able to do that again, I love those guys. After eating what he
made for dinner (he ALWAYS makes us dinner) we read in the book of
mormon with them and set up a plan where we are goi to go over every
night and read a chapter with them. They seem excited about it!

Friday we went over and had lunch with A (that's his name) again.
He made double decker steak sandwiches. It kind of looked like the
fanciest Big Mac you will ever see, except it tasted a million times
better. After that we went to go see some more people, but they
weren't home so we found some more to teach! Then we ran back to our
car, picked up the other guys, dropped them off at dinner and went to
give Bro. V a blessing. Then we came back to dinner at the Ds
with the others. It was really good, and we had a good talk with Bro.
jD. Then we went to the Rs' again, and had another dinner
before reading again. They really seem to like it! They are all
learning something from it too, which is great.

Saturday was purely mental. We were volunteered to do the translation
for the stake leadership training meeting. We had planned to do it in
shifts, but with transfers I was the only one up here who spoke enough
Spanish. So, that meant 4 hours of rapid fire Spanish and scripture
finding. People used quotes from a lot of stuff I couldn't find too,
so that was fun. That took up the vast majority of the day. They
talked about good stuff though. This stake has a lot of really strong
members, and they have big goals they can achieve. Then we had dinner
with the Rs. It was a really good soup with an Italian name I
can't pronounce. They are really fun, I always enjoy going over there.
The Rs' kids went skating, so that left us out of things to do
for the night.

Sunday was GREAT. We had one of our families show up, which was great!
Y came too, which was awesome even though I am not teaching him
anymore. He is getting baptized this Saturday! Woo! I did more
translating, which was also good. After church we went out teaching
with Bro. R to go see the same family that came. The wife is a
recently returned member, and we are teaching her husband and kids. It
was the husband's first time at church, which was a miracle since he
works ALL THE TIME. They just approved Sundays off for him! So we had
a really good lesson there. They are set to be baptized  on the 21st,
so we are praying for them! Then we went back to his house and had
some dinner and played with his dogs (he has the most adorable
chihuahua I have ever seen, I will send a picture) and then taught his
kids. We set a date for his daughters for the 21st too! Oh, I don't
think I mentioned this, but his son D got baptized when I went to
Little Rock! That was cool! So we are working really hard with them so
that they feel ready to be baptized.

So, at was my week! We have a lot going for us this month, and I am
super excited! The mission has set the goal of baptizing 100 people
this month, which is a huge step above what we have been doing. But
last year we tried and got 92, so we can do it this time!! I love you
guys! The Gospel is true! It will help you with literally anything. It
has changed my life. Let it change yours. :)

Gorilla at the Memphis Zoo

Memphis Zoo