Nov. 22, 2010

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had as awesome a week as I've had! It's been wonderful!!!

We started out with the Half Mission Tour on Tuesday. Elder and Sister Malm (from the 2nd quorom of the seventy) came and gave us some wonderful training on how to be better missionaries, better finders, and better teachers. I had to give my 4 minute talk, which was nerve wracking, but it went pretty well I thought. They had me write it out, and read it, so that it would be as close to four minutes as it could. I can send you a copy, mom, if you want it. It basically sums up the success we've been having with all the Buddhist investigators we've been teaching. It went really well. I got a lot of compliments. And a special handshake from Elder Malm, and a hug from sister Malm. It was a wonderful day.

On Friday we had to go to Trainer/Trainee, which is a full day-long training that all new missionaries and their trainers have to go to. I felt like I had just gone as a greenie myself, seriously. It was fun to have some training from President and Sister Pendleton on how to teach better together. It's definately something that we've needed to work on, since there are three of us, and not just two...

Then, the big day on Saturday! We had three baptisms! Hieu and her two kids, Ava and Harold. It was a wonderful baptism. The Spirit was awesome, and the room was PACKED! We had to set up more chairs so everyone could fit. I'm REALLY looking forward to the next time, and maybe we'll have to move into the chapel! That will be cool. Luckily, I didn't have to really do anything this time, because I got sick on Friday, and wasn't feeling well at all on Saturday or Sunday. Now I'm really battling with the Flu virus and wishing that I could have a refund on my flu shot... lol... But don't worry mom, the ward here is taking really good care of me. The bishop actually told us not to come to our usual early morning meetings on Sunday so I could get some more sleep.

Ironically, we weren't able to because we got a call from the missionaries in one of the other wards that meets in our building at 9:00 AM. It turns out one of our new investigators, that we just met this week, had showed up early to church, having got the times mixed up. So we scrambled to get there, and attended the 9:00AM ward with him. His name is Joel. He's an older widower, and he's really been prepared to meet with us. He's actively looking for the truth. Funnily enough, he heard about our church by listenting to a Christian Radio Station. They were bashing pretty hard on Mormons, and Joel wanted to find out the truth, so he looked for a church, and found us that way. We've started teaching him this week, and we're really looking forward to getting to know him better.

We've also been able to do a little tracting this week, which is the first time in almost 3 months because we've been so busy. We've met a few potential investigators, and we're looking forward to all the new possibilities we're seeing here. It's been a wonderful couple of months, and we're not letting ourselves slow down! We've had some great referrals from the members in the last couple weeks, and we're excited to start teaching those families too.

I guess that's really just about it for now. We have been invited to spend thanksgiving with Hieu and her family, so we're really looking forward to that. :) I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that I love you and I'm certainly grateful for all your prayers, love, and support. I know that I couldn't be out here without all of you behind me. It's a wonderful experience I'm having, and it's wonderful that you're supporting me in everything. Please be safe in all your travels. Mom, when you see everyone this weekend, please give them all hugs from me and tell them I miss them, and that I'm sorry to not be there.

Love, Sister Reid

Nov. 15, 2010

Hello everyone!!!

Can you believe that I've been gone 5 months tomorrow? Not me. I feel both like I've been here forever and that I just got here. It's definately hard to explain how that happens. I was talking to a member of the ward here last night, and she couldn't believe that I'd only been here 5 months. She said that it felt like I'd always been in the ward. I joked with her that I remembered when her kids were born and when they graduated from high school. But seriously, it almost feels like that!

It's been a crazy busy week. We had two baptisms, taught 15 lessons to actual investigators (this doesn't count all the dinner appointments, less actives, and tracting lessons that we taught) and picked up our new companion. Her name is Sister Christensen... maybe I'll start there. :)

On Tuesday we met Sis. Christensen at the mission office. She was late because the plane was delayed... I guess it's snowing in Utah... Here's where I brag a bit and say that it's still in the 70s most days around here. lol. Anyway. Sis. Christensen is really cool. She's happy and excited to be here and really motivated to learn as much as she can as fast as she can. She's doing great. We get along great too. Needless to say that I'm very relieved that Sis. Christensen is is a hard worker. It means we won't have to overcome anything other than a learning curve. It's definately been an adjustment, though, with three sisters instead of two. Everything takes longer (like shopping, and cooking, and getting ready to leave the apartment) but otherwise, I think we're making the adjustment pretty well. :)

Sis. Christensen's first full day was a little intense, and I feel kind of bad about it, but we had people to teach, so teaching we did. :) We taught lessons at 9:00, 11:00, 1:00. 2:00, 3:00, 4:30, 5:30, and 7:00. It was crazy, and we were all exhausted when we got home that night. Thursday and Friday weren't as busy, but we still had a lot to do. We had to finish getting Henry and Joseph ready to be baptized on Saturday. They both had their interviews and passed with flying colors, although Henry gave us a bit of a scare, because he was in with Elder Hadley (the District Leader) for almost an hour. But he came out smiling and gave us a big thumbs up. :)

Saturday was really the big day for us. Joseph's baptism was at 5:00pm. It went great. His mom was excited and the spirit was definately there. Joseph is doing great at church and making tons of friends in his primary class. Henry's baptism was at 7:00. We didn't have time to leave and get dinner, so the Relief Society brought sandwiches and set up a table in the gym for anyone who was staying for both baptisms. I thought that was pretty cool. Henry made it and we took a ton of pictures with him in white, along with him and Brother McArthur, whom Henry asked to baptise him. If you don't remember, Brother McArthur was the Inactive that we were teaching and his wife is Napa. Brother McArthur is now active, and was ordained to be a Priest so he could baptize Napa. Napa and San (Henry's wife) are really close now, so Henry asked if Bro McArthur would perform the ordinance. Also, Brett Taylor, one of the Priests in the Young Men, was asked by the bishop to be in the font with Henry and Bro McArthur, to help Henry into and out of the font, and also into and out of the water. It was REALLY cool to see the three of them standing there in white. Henry asked me to give the talk on Baptism, and I have to admit... I was more nervous than I thought I would be. But gave it I did, and I guess it went well, because I had a lot of compliments afterwards. Then Henry and Bro McArthur and Brett all got in the water. We had previously filled the font a little higher than normal, So Henry wouldn't have to bend over so far to get fully immersed. They had Henry kneel down in the font, with Bro McArthur kneeling next to him, and Brett kneeling in front of Henry. Then Bro McArthur said the prayer. Then they paused for a second to let Henry plug his nose and then they bent him forward. It was not how they regularly do it, but he went all the way under. :) After they brought him back up, they said, "Are you ready?" meaning, are you ready to stand up, and Henry said, "You want me go again?" It was pretty funny. When he came out of the dressing room, in a white shirt and tie, he held his hands up in the air, like, "Yay! I did it!" and everyone laughed. He's such a nice guy. A wonderful addition to the Antelope 4th ward. I love him so much, and I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of his conversion.

I think that's just about it for this last week. Hieu and Ava and Harold are all getting baptized on Saturday, and that will be really cool. We have half mission conference tomorrow, and Elder Mulm (I think that's how you spell it) for the 2nd quorum of the Sevent is coming. I've been asked to give a talk about the success that we're having... yikes... but otherwise, I'm looking forward to this week. We're all also looking forward to finding the next group of prepared people who are ready to hear the gospel and to make the changes in their lives that will help them be happier.

I just want to let you all know that I'm so happy to be here. This work is not easy, and it's hard to give up everything I have to be here, but it's totally worth it. It's the best thing I've ever done with my life. I wouldn't change what I'm doing for anything. And I know that the work that I'm doing here in the Roseville California Mission is meant for me to do. I know that the gospel is true, and that it changes lives. I know that with a perfect knowledge because I've seen it now. I've seen what it's done for me, and what it's done for the people I teach. I want to thank each and everyone of you who reads my letters for all the support and love that you give. Especially Mom, Dad, Jaymi, Stephen, Daniel, Cat, Kayti, and Cale. You're all the best. I love you tons.

Love, Sister Reid

Nov. 8, 2010

Hello family!!! This one has to be short, I'm afraid. We're busy trying to get everything ready for our new sister that's coming in tomorrow. That's right. We got the official call this morning. Sister Silva and I are staying here (That's a total of 6 months together, if anyone is counting!) and we're getting a third sister, and she's fresh from the MTC. I'm looking forward to it. And I'll be sure to tell you all about her next week. As for now, the only thing we know about her is that she's from Utah. We don't even know her name.

This week was great, as far as missionary lessons go. We didn't commit anyone else to be baptized. But we're doing good work getting Hieu and her kids, Joseph, and Henry ready for baptism. So we've been teaching A LOT.

This saturday we have Henry and Joseph's baptisms. So you can bet I'll have some good stories to report next week. It'll be a long one... so sorry this one is short!!!

I love all of you, and I hope you don't feel too gipped that I didn't give you much to fill your tanks for this week, so here's a good scripture I've discovered since I've been on my mission... go and study it, and think about it in terms of teaching people the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2 Nephi 31.

Thanks for everything you do and the support and prayers. I know I couldn't be here without you.

Love, Sister Reid

Nov 1, 2010

Hello everyone!

Can you believe that it's November already! Not me! October farely flew by!!! And what a fabulous month for missionary work here in Antelope California. We saw two baptisms here, and 6 more people accept the challenge to prepare themselves for baptism. 5 of which will be baptized in November! But I'm getting ahead of myself. :)

This last week we met with Hieu and her two kids a few more times. The ward is embracing them, and they're already practically members. It's wonderful. They'll be baptized on the 20th. Also, Joe, the nine year old we've been teaching will also be baptized on the 13th. He's really excited and looking forward to becoming a full member of the church.

This week we saw a crazy amount of miracles happen on Wednesday and Thursday. We had an appointment to meet with Don, and less active who just moved into the ward about 3 months ago. He ran into some of the office senior missionaries at the grocery store a few weeks ago and asked what ward he was in, since he had just moved here and hadn't been to church in 20 years. He said he was ready to come back, and could they please send the missionaries in his ward to his house... so to his house we went. It was a wonderfully spirit filled lesson. He bore his testimony and made it clear that he is ready to come back to church, which was AWESOME! The best part was that his landlady, from whom he rents a room, was also there, and sat in on the lesson. She felt the spirit and asked a few questions, and when we taught her, she asked, "so what do I need to do to become a member of your church?" "Well, Eileen, let us tell you..." lol. So we commited her to be baptized and she said yes! We haven't set a date yet, because she's not fully committed yet, but within the next couple weeks, we should have some great news!

We were pretty excited about that lesson, so we called the mission president's wife, because she always loves to hear those kinds of stories. We told her what happened, she told her husband, and then President Pendleton got on the phone. He asked how big our apartment was, and when we told him there's tons of room (because we actually live in a one bedroom house, with two bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a living room) he said that he was going to keep Sister Silva and I here in Antelope for another transfer and call us both to be Trainers. So we're going to be in a Threesom, training. He specifically said that we're training because there are so many good things happening in Antelope, and he wants the new sister to see what we're doing right. The new transfer starts next Monday, so Sister Silva and I are getting the ward and our investigators ready for the three of us. :)

The next morning, we had a lesson with San. We were going to start the New Member Lessons with her (which means that we teach the same missionary lessons over agian, but with a little more detail this time. Also, this time we only teach the first lesson. After that, the ward missionaries take over and teach the rest of them...) So we went over there to teach San, and Henry, San's husband came in and sat down with us. He had previously been pretty unsupportive of San's decision to be baptized, to the extent that for a long time, we had to meet with her at other members houses, or at the park... but he came in and sat down, and chatted with us for a few minutes. Then, out of the blue he asked, "when is my baptism scheduled?" So we ended up teaching Henry about the church instead, and committed him to be baptized, and he said yes, and we scheduled his baptism for the 13th!

A really good couple of days. :)

The work here is really moving. For a long time, we didn't have anything happening, and no investigators coming to church, but now we have 5 or 6 at church on a regular basis, and we have 5 baptisms scheduled for November, and we had two in October, and we have one on the backburner for December, hopefully. Plus, Lewis's work schedule (remember Lewis, the guy who lives with his girlfriend that we taught when I first got here?) changes in December, so he'll be able to come to church agian, and then we'll be able to move forward with him as well. Things are really going well for us here, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that Sis. Silva and I have to stay here for another 6 weeks, and to continue working with all of these people. It's going to be a great holiday season!

I love you all and I'm grateful for all your support!

Love, Sister Reid

Oct 25, 2010

Hello again to everyone! Sometimes I feel like I was just here at the library, and I just emailed you. It feels like last monday was only yesterday! All the missionaries say that the first six months of your mission supposedly drags on, and then things start to speed up. If this is dragging, I hate to see what happens when I have only four months to go, instead of just finishing four months.

I'm glad to hear that Grandma Kathy is doing okay. Next time you talk to her, tell her that she and Grandpa are in my prayers.

Also, say hi to Jean, and Kayti, and Cale for me. :) And as a side note... Pres. Rawson: Could you send me Dana and Krista's addresses?

This week week was really good here. We had another baptism on Saturday... It's official. Napa McArthur is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!!! YAY!!! It was such a wonderful day. And very busy. We had to weekly plan on Saturday Morning because we were too busy on Friday to do it. Then we went and filled the font, set up chairs, and nervously paced until 4:00 when the McArthurs arrived. We took pictures, and almost 70 people from the ward came to witness Napa's Baptism. It was really special. The spirit was so strong there. One of the coolest things, I thought, was that her sister, Ida, came, and she was very visible affected by the spirit that was there. I'm excited for the things that will come from that experience. I remember the first time that we brought Napa to the chapel, for a chapel tour (back when we were trying to convince her that church attendance wasn't going to be a hard thing). We ended the tour in the chapel, and sang a hymn from the hymn book. It was the first time Napa had heard any of the LDS hymns. Well. I can't play that many of them, so I picked a short one, since only Sis Silva and Sis Molina would be singing, really. I played "Love One Another." Since then, we've sung it once or twice in church, and every time, Napa points it out. And I always just grin and say, yep, that's the first song you heard. Well... She picked it to be the closing song at her baptism, and I was leading the music... As I looked at her while we sang, I saw that she couldn't even sing because she was crying so hard. It was amazing to see that something that I thought was a simple thing, like picking a shorter hymn at a chapel tour, could really effect her. She'll remember and love that song for the rest of her life. And I'll remember and love that song for the rest of my life too. We're learning as missionaries that when we love our investigators, we grow when they grow. And it's really true. Because of San and Napa, I'm a different person than I was 4 months ago. And I know that I have so much more growth and learning to do. I'm excited!

Speaking of more growth, Hieu and her kids, Eva and Harold, accepted the baptismal commitment this week. They'll be baptized on November 20th! They're already more active than a lot of the members in our ward. lol! They come to mutual, scouts, church, and all the ward and stake activities. They also came to San and Napa's baptisms, and they're very excited for their own day. Harold remarked in our last lesson that he wanted to be baptized when San was. He didn't want to wait. :)

We had a ward halloween trunk-or-treat on Saturday night after the baptism which was also a great success. We went, because that's what we had for dinner (chile and cornbread) and also because most of our investigators, and now our Recent Converts went too. It was great, and lots of fun. I'm glad that our ward did it, and that the investigators could see how much fun we have together.

That's pretty much all the big news for this week. Now that we're winding down with San and Napa, we've finally got some room in our schedules to find more people to teach. We're looking forward to the challenge that Bishop issued yesterday in PEC. He said that we, both as missionaries and as a ward, shouldn't let this success just be a little blip in the year... but we should continue to keep it building. We're looking forward to the challenge, and we're praying that the Spirit will lead us to more and more people who are ready to hear the gospel. :)

I know that I'm lead in everything I do and say. I can feel it. And I know that your prayers help me every day. I'm grateful for all of your support, both my immediate family, and everyone else that reads these letters. You're all amazing, and I couldn't be here without all of you. So thanks.

Love, Sister Reid

PS. More pictures from this week's baptism. Have a great week!!!