out of the frying pan and into the steamer

So I have decided that whoever thought it was a good idea to have water in the air that wasn't clouds

waaaaay up in the sky needs a firm talking to. I am just now coming to grips with the thought that i will have to sweat more than I have in my entire life. We got a call from a lady in our ward that needed help moving in. We got there in pros because we had an appointment right after. She had the largest size penske truck you could possibly rent, and it was full to the brim. We ended up having to shower afterwards because we were literally soaked through. Well, I was. Elder Davidson doesn't sweat much. Darn Canadians. :P 

But anyway, this week has gone pretty well! We found a few teenage guys that are open to the gospel, which is great! We are still having a problem getting people to church, even though they say an hour before that they will be there. I'm not going to be hard on myself about it though. If they want to miss out on blessings, then we will just keep pushing until they can figure it out for themselves. 

As far as birthdays go, this one is pretty darn awesome! i don't know if I will be able to respond to all of you in the time I have, but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EMAILS I REALLY APPRECIATE THEM!!!!! I got a free lunch today from a family in the ward, the Routts (who are super awesome, they have our sense of humor and everything) at this ice cream/burger place, the Purple Cow. Freaking awesome. Also, we got our haircuts today from the bishop's wife. She has a salon and everything, so she knew what she was doing. I don't have my card reader, so I will send the picture next time. 19 feels abut the same as 18, I guess. It's kinda weird, I only have one more birthday on my mission. It's already over for me :P 

Well, I think I will start emailing y'all personally! Have a wonderful day! I hope you're grateful I was born so you guys have a national holiday.

--

Llamado a Servir,

Andrew Reay

The Birthday Boy-Thank you Sister Charlton!

schooooooool's out! for! everyone else.

Well, I think everyone here is going on summer break this week! sounds like it will be a fun summer for them. For me, it's about the same, but hey, it's cool. 

This week was actually fairly uneventful, as far as missionary work goes. We found quite a few inactive people, which was really nice. The problem was that we found them having a party because they had just baptized their kid into the Catholic church. oy. But anyhoo, we didn't get anyone to church yesterday. That's getting a bit annoying, but i figure that we needed to have good sitdown lessons with the people we invited, which we didn't really get the opportunity for before. That's our oal this week.

So, Elder Davidson wouldn't let me take a picture of him, so I stole one off of his camera. So here he is!

The weather may actually kill me...

​Having come to the close of another bike week, I have come to the conclusion that unless its raining, water really doesn't belong in the air. Or it shouldn't, anyway. i don't think I have had more sweat in one day than I have had in about ten minutes outside. And then when I tell people how bad it is, all they do is laugh at me. I believe i have heard at least ten "you haven't seen anything yet"s from people. 

But enough about the weather! I ad a wonderful weekend down in Little Rock while my companion was busy going home and stuff. I hung out with some of his friends, Elders Castaneda, Gonzalez, Ludwig, and Ramirez, on P-day, and we had a party. Then on Tuesday, we went up to a mountain near little rock early in the morning and we had our studies up there, overlooking the valley. It was really peaceful, and really cool. i spent Tuesday and Wednesday with Elder Ramirez, since his companion was getting transferred and he had to pack. We did some proselyting, trying to find some less actives. And then on Wednesday evening, i got my new companion, Elder Davidson! He is from Toronto, Canada, and is also finishing his mission. I just keep killing missionaries. i'd send a picture, but he's not letting me. 

But anyway, that trip sort of took a lot away from this week. We got a lot of things done (well about as much as you can with no car) and taught a lot of people. We officially set a goal to have a branch running here before the end of the year, so we'll see how that goes! 

Well, that's about all I have to say. I hope all y'all are doing well, and I will talk to you next week! 

The mountain where we had our study

Left to Right: Hermana Johnson, Elder Reay, Hermana Goudie and Elder Ludwig

Elder Reay and Elder Ramirez

Hello from Little Rock! This week, I'm down here with Elder Gonzalez of Phoenix and Elder Castaneda from Guatemala, while my companion goes with all his buddies to the temple so he can finish dying. (Fun fact: When a missionary goes home, it's called dying. Ergo, I killed Elder Dalton.) but yeah, I'm going to be here until Wednesday night. Today, I'm going to go hang out with Elders Ludwig and Ramirez, two of Dalton's best friends. i will be serving with them tomorrow and Wednesday. 

Due to the fact that the APs live in Conway, we can get a bit of the inside scoop on transfers before everyone else. Elder Barney will no longer be the AP, he's getting replaced by an Arizonan from Eager, Elder Udall. (Seriously, arizonans are everywhere here.) My new companion (this will excite you, Mom) will Elder Davidson of Toronto, Canada! He was a zone leader in Memphis, but they are splitting them because neither of them can drive. Long story, but basically his companion pulled out in front of a bus. No one was hurt, but he can't drive now, and neither can Davidson, because he can't renew hi licence. Entonces, I'll be driving. Joy. 

So, on Saturday we went to Vilonia to help clean up some of the less affected areas. I am not sure why they were called "less affected," because there was nothing there. Nothing. i was speechless. Everything was just a mangled mess of metal and junk. Have a look. 

 

On a happier note, we finally confirmed Ricky on Sunday! I did it in Spanish, so it was pretty darn short, but he is now a member of the church. 

Well, that should be it for me! I hope you all have a good week, and I will talk to y'all later!

Llamado a Servir,

Andrew Reay