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

Eh. It was fun.

NEWS: I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED AGAIN. I will still be in Tennessee
though, so it won't be too much of a hassle. I will probably be
replacing Elder Heaton in Memphis South, so it'll even be the same
branch!
So, this week's email is going to be a little different. This week was
one of the more discouraging ones of my mission, or it should have
been. We literally taught one person. We talked to about 10 total,
which is also super low by the standards we usually have. It wasn't
that we didn't work. In fact, we tried harder than ever this week.
Since we were low on miles we biked most of the days. It was just that
no one wanted to talk to us. Some of the time it was rough, but
honestly I feel great! I know what I'm doing, and it's the right
things. So, this week I don't want to focus so much on events as much
as the stuff I have learned. But first, a little summary of the week I
guess.
Monday was fun. Since it was raining, we couldn't go out to Shelby
farms to continue our adventure like we had planned. So, we did the
next closest thing: Dungeons and Dragons. I'd never played before, and
it didn't sound super entertaining, but it was fun! Granted, takes a
looooong time, but I'll do it again.

Tuesday's highlight was district meeting. I brought no bake cookies
for refreshments again, since they were so popular (again, props to
Anjilee) and Elder Spencer brought beetles. Yep, Bro. R gave
him some so he could start his own population and he figured the
sisters needed to try some. And they did! And took some home too! Haha
it's great.

The other highlight was right after. The elders went to Olive Garden
for lunch (soup and salad woo!) and it was great. The cool part was
our waitress. She was really talkative, and mentioned how much she was
working to try and get promoted. She asked what we did, and we
explained a bit about missionary work. She thought it was great, and
commented that she hadn't gone to church for a while due to work.
Elder Peterson testified to her of the power and blessings that come
from keeping the law of the sabbath day, and she got a bit choked up
and left. A few minutes later she came back and thanked us a lot for
talking with her. She said it was exactly what she needed to hear. It
was a really cool moment.

Wednesday had a good start and good end. We got called early to go
give a blessing to the Hermosillo's daughter, who was really sick. I
am grateful that they trust us as priesthood holders to do that. That
night Bro. Benitez fed us dinner. It's always great to see him. He
just got called as branch mission leader, and he is on top of the
world. Plus his wife cooks really delicious food.
Thursday involved a lot of bike problems. Really, so did the rest of
the week, but towards the middle of the week it got fun. We ended up
changing 3 of our 4 tires, and Elder Moore's tire was flat by Saturday, 
for unknown reasons. It's been great. We also had dinner
with the Rs again, which was great. Sister R is seven months
pregnant, and it's been fun helping her. This week she called right
before studies to help her carry groceries.

Friday's highlight was  awesome. So we were biking down the street,
and I saw this Gringo mowing his lawn. I felt the prompting to turn
around and talk to him. It was suuuper awkward, but we stopped. He
didn't live there, no one was home, and wasn't interested. So,
figuring maybe God just wanted us to just stop at the house, we left a
card there.  As we were getting on our bikes, out of nowhere this
little old Hispanic guy in  a suit came strolling down the street with
a huge Bible in his bag. We said hello, and he asked "Do you preach
the gospel?" "Well, yes...?" "Do you have anything I could read?" So
we gave him a Book of Mormon, which he was excited about and promised
he would read.
Saturday was the day we actually had a lesson. It was with this guy
named Z. He is a really cool, really religious guy. He had lived
in Utah for a bit as we found out. We had a really good talk with him.
It was also the first day in months I actually got cold. When you are
riding bikes in the rainy 50 degrees with a short sleeved shirt and a
jacket that isn't as waterproof as it was before, it's not surprising.
But I am grateful for sweaters :)

Sunday we got the news that Elder Moore is training! Also we got to go
to church, which was even better! And then we were just leaving the
other elders' apartment (Moore was borrowing a bike :P) when there was
a big commotion on the roof and a sparrow fell off of it and hurt its
wing. We didn't want to leave it to die, so it is in a box in their
apartment while they get some birdseed from Bro. Rs' parakeets.

Well, that ended up longer than I thought it would be. No, we didn't
have a lot of success this week number-wise. But that's ok. I am stoked
for this week! A lot of change, but it should be good!
This week marks the beginning of my second-to-last transfer in the
mission. It is freaking me out like nothing else. But I just want to
say that for as fast as it went by, I have learned and grown more than
I have at any other point in my life. I gained a stronger testimony
that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, and that this is His
work. He has worked wonders in my life and in the lives of countless
others I have met. God is still a God of miracles. He still speaks. If
He didn't, we wouldn't have this message to share with everyone! I am
grateful that I can be His sergeant here in the South.
Love you guys and hope you have a fantastic week! Thanks for staying in touch!


The District.......

Bread, Baptism, and... Something else that starts with B

Monday was a TON of fun. We went to Shelby Farms, this big farm/nature
park by our place. The six of us had planned to go watch the buffalo
or something. Elder Heaton and Elder Spencer were late, so the rest of
us started hiking this random trail by our car. Somewhere along the
way, Lord of the Rings was brought up, and before long all of us had
found appropriately sized sticks and it was a quest. The others got
there, gave us a funny look, and then joined in. We had a pretty great
time adventuring around and stuff. There were a lot of trails that
went off the main one, so of course we went exploring all over the
place, all in character. It was a good de-stresser. Then we had some
Steak N' Shake and went back to work. We had a good lesson with Y.
We had thought his name was J, but I guess we had been wrong the
whole time. Then, we went to Family Home Evening at Bro. L's house.
A few other families came too, so it was packed. We had a good time,
and a good lesson too!

Tuesday was district meeting. We talked a lot about how to help people
feel comfortable praying. That is a common problem for Spanish
missionaries. I have no idea why, but the people we teach seem to be
very shy when it comes to saying a prayer, usually because "they don't
know how." So we focused on how to teach them that it's really easy!
We consider prayer as the way we can talk with God. We can tell him
anything we want! He is our Heavenly Father! He wants to hear how his
kids' day went! So that was good. After that, we all kind of
scattered. President Wakolo sent out both sets of other elders to go
"scout out" new areas for Spanish to go. South went to Oxford,
Mississippi, and East went to Jackson, Tennessee, which left us alone!
Before East left, R, one of Moore's investigator friends from
Jackson, came down and had lunch with us. Then he took the other guys
and we went to work. We tried a few people, and met some more. Then we
had dinner at the Hs, which was super delicious. Then we went
to W's house to go see them. It was just her husband J and
M, but we just taught them anyway. About halfway through,
J's brother A came in, so we summarized what we had talked
about and kept going. Then, about two minutes later W, her kids,
and another guy came in! So, we summarized AGAIN and finished the
lesson. They seemed really interested, so hopefully they read and pray
about it! Then we drove back down to the church to substitute for the
elders at English class. The sisters were there, too, and some members
and investigators. It was really fun! I never realized how hard
English was for them.

Wednesday was crazy. We had planned to get the oil changed, but they
were full so e couldn't. Then we took Moore's bike to the shop to see
if they could fix it. Turns out his axle was broken, and it fell apart
as soon as he looked at it. So he got a new wheel and we kept going.
We tried a few people with limited success. Then Sis. P called us
to pick up some bread. Sometimes she gets the leftover bread from
Panera (Paradise Bakery sort of thing) and gives it to us to eat and
share with people. Normally it's a garbage bag full, which is a ton.
This time it was 3 bags and a big tote box full of cookies and muffins
and stuff. It was a LOT. So we took all that home, gave a third to the
Rs to take south, and put the rest in ziploc bags to distribute.
We had about 30 gallon-size bags stuffed with dread and bagels and
muffins and Danishes and goodness like that. Our freezer is full right
now. :P We actually found a lot of success giving it out too! Bagels
are an excellent way to soften hearts. Life lesson there :P

Thursday we biked out to F's since our car had been kinda
overused, and we didn't want it to die on us due to the oil. We had a
really good lesson with him, it really stuck with him and he
remembered it, which is something we had been praying to know how to
do. Then we biked down to the Triangle again. Our plans have sort of
changed with the Triangle. When we went there to do the "breakups," a
few of the people actually got more solid than before. So, we plan on
seeing them still, just not doing much else down there unless we need
to. So, we went and saw Y, aka J. He actually committed to
come to church! Woo! Then we saw F, but she was a little busy so
we didn't say much. Then we biked back up to the Vs house for
dinner, which was super good. Sis. V can cook really well. After
them we drove out to see a recent convert that had recently moved up
to our area named E. We couldn't go in (no guys in the house)
but we did get to meet her and talk for a bit. She is really nice.

Not much happened Friday but it was good stuff! We got the oil
changed, which took a bit longer than expected, so we hurried
afterwards to go see some new areas. It was pretty successful, we
found some cool people! Then we biked down to the T's
neighborhood to contact a referral there. Neither of us had tried
going there before. We got there and started looking for the house,
but couldn't find it. Some kids asked us what we were looking for, and
we told them Hispanic families. So, they pointed out every house. It
was great. We only tried one, and it was a SUPER cool family. The wife
had listened to missionaries before. We had a sweet lesson with them.
But then it was late so we biked home.

Saturday was crazy. So, our original plan had been to go teach for a
bit, then get the other elders to have lunch with a less active lady
who wanted to feed us, then do some  more appointments. Well, about an
hour before, she texted and said it would be an hour and a half later.
When we told the others, they said they couldn't because there was a
baptism that we didn't really know about that was happening. Everyone
else in the branch was going to it too, so we felt we should go. So,
we went to the lady's house to invite her too. She actually had the
food ready, so we just ate there anyway. Then we went to the baptismal
service, which was good. Lots of kids though, it got kinda crazy. :P
Then we went back and went out teaching with President P! It was
great. We met some more cool people with him, and then he took us to
try out this taco cart. It was pretty good.

Sunday was great. Y came to church!! He seemed to like it too. We
went to the youth Sunday School class with him, since we thought it
would be in English and we'd need to translate, like usual. It turned
out they had a sub who only spoke Spanish so we ended up translating
for Bro. Rs' kids. They came to church too! It was great to see
them again! After that we went to the triangle again to make another
attempt at giving our investigators to the other guys, but no luck. We
had dinner at the Rs' house, which was really good. The girls
had bought this huge sheet of home button covers for Apple stuff, so
we all got one. Mine is pretty classy, it's a bow tie with little tux
shirt buttons underneath. #classy Then we saw F. He's been
going through some rough stuff, so pray for him please. We couldn't
talk to him much.

And there you have it folks. I will see you later! 3 months to the
day, actually. 😬😱 eew. Bye!
Pics:
The Fellowship of the Frisbee! (Feel free to Instagram this. It's
about the coolest picture out there now. :P)

Random Adventures

Monday we all got together, per Sister Reed's requests once it was her

birthday that week. We hung out, played some signs and ultimate

frisbee, and basically had a lot of fun. Then we grabbed a bit to eat

and went back up north. Then we went to the Triangle to go see why

nobody came to church. We couldn't really find anyone home, but we did

give one of our investigators a blessing, which was a cool experience.

Then we went up to Bro. I's house for dinner and family home

evening. He had invited some other families over too, so it was a full

house! We had a good time there too, and gave 2 more people blessings.

It was cool to be able to use the priesthood so much. Then we went

home and let the other elders in to spend the night, since there was

no running water at their complex for the day.

Tuesday was Specialized Training, which was super good! We have been

working a lot on presenting the lessons in a simple and short way, and

we talked a lot about that. Then, we went out to practice what we

learned with people! I got put in a pretty upper-class neighborhood.

Not many people were home, but we did manage to see a few people. We

got a surprise when we came back: Elder Reed came to visit! Elder Reed

was basically the technical genius of the mission. He was an office

elder for a year, and got everything organized for the iPads when they

came. He is also a pro beat boxer and standup comedian by trade. It

was a great skill set. So that was cool to see him again! After that,

we drove to go to some follow up appointments, but no one was home.

Then we picked up the APs truck for Wednesday, and had dinner with the

Hs. It was really good,  we had a good talk with her fiancée,

Bro. V about how he joined the church.

Wednesday was an adventure! We left early and headed off to Little

Rock. Elder Moore hadn't been there aside from meetings, so he was

pretty stoked. We made good time, and we stopped by my old apartment

to pick up Elder Diaz and my "son" (it's great, Diaz and I had a kid

together! :P) so they could borrow the car. As it happened, they were

supposed to have the truck that week but due to my appointment they

couldn't have one at all. So, out of pity we let them have it. It was

great to see them again! Moore is doing great, he and Diaz are having

a lot of fun there. So we went to the dentist. My temporary crown had

fallen out literally the night before, so it went pretty quickly. We

waited around for the other guys to bring the car back, and then we

drove to Memphis again. It was a long day in the car, but it was still

fun. Then we got to see some referrals and find some new people, which

was great!

Thursday was pretty good, but very all over the place. We saw

F. He moved the week before to another friend's house in a more

stable neighborhood, which is good. So we met his friend T 

and her 5 kids. They are super hyper, but

pretty cool. She also had a lot of cats, which set off my allergies

pretty bad. After them we tried to do some finding, but didn't have

much luck until later that night. We stopped to see W, this super

cool lady we found last week. She wasn't home, but her niece M

was! She is also really really awesome.   She is 20 and just moved to

the States a few months ago. She's going through some rough stuff

right now, but she handles it really well. We are excited to work with

them.

Friday we went back to the Triangle to continue our process of weaning

everyone off of us and onto the other guys. I don't remember a lot.

The allergies disguised a cold I was coming down with, so e next

morning I had slept about 3 hours and was dead tired. We did have a

super good lesson with L though! She is the daughter of one of our

investigators, and she is really interested. She is reading the Book

of Mormon and has a lot of questions, which we are happy to answer :)

After that we had dinner with the Rs, which was delicious. They

make some really good homemade pancakes, I will have to steal the

recipe. Anyway, then Bro. I came and went out teaching it's

us. That man is awesome. He is a huge joker a lot of the time, but he

also loves the people to death. MIRACLE OF THE WEEK: We had been

thinking of seeing this one man named D that they had met a long

time ago, but hadn't seen. Another appointment had fallen through and

we both felt we should go there. When we told Bro. I, he said,

"oh, you mean D so-and-so? I've been friends with him since I

lived in Honduras. He'll let us in." Turns out, not only were they

friends, but he had talked with him ALL THE TIME about the gospel. God

knows stuff, guys. He runs our work.

Saturday involved a lot of driving everywhere. First, we tried going

to see W and M with the H's daughter, but they

weren't home. That was sad, since we had a set appointment with them.

But she bought us Sonic for lunch, which helped.  She is really cool

too. :) After that, we went and printed some stuff off for he branch

activity that night. They were doing a Family History night, and so

everyone was told to bring a board with information on one of their

ancestors. I picked Daniel W. Jones, mainly because I already knew a

bit about him. As it turns out, he was one of the FIRST group of

Spanish missionaries ever! They went to Mexico to go set up the church

there. Kinda cool, Spanish missionaries are in my blood on BOTH sides!

:) So we did that really quick, then we went to go invite F and

T. She couldn't come, but her kids wanted to! We said that would

be good, thinking that it was an "activity" it would be pretty fun. As

it turned out, it was actually much more of an adult thing. But,

F and his 5 little friends still came! It was a good event, and

PROPS to Elder Moore for keeping 5 kids under the age of 9 entertained

for an hour with a pocket notebook and a box of Tic Tacs. I do t know

how he did it.

Sunday was good too! Four of the 5 kids came, which was great. I gave

a talk, which I had been assigned to do he night before (thanks Pres.

P) and it went pretty well. After church we saw the kids and

F again so we could get permission from their mom to teach them.

She said it was fine, even though she isn't too interested. She wants

her kids to grow up in a church, though. After that we did some

finding, with limited success. We did stop in and see M for a

minute, just missing W as she left. Other than that, nothing

really happened. Oh, and we also made no-bake cookies. Shout out to

Anjilee Amos for sending the recipe, they are SUPER good. My companion

sends his heartfelt thanks as well. :)

Hope you all had a fantabulous week! Enjoy the fall, while you can! I

sure will!

I love you all!

Elder Reay

Pic: Saying goodbye to 2 of the Konway gang! Elder Mitchell and Sister

Armstrong. It's weird seeing Armstrong go, she is he first sister I

have seen start and finish her mission.