Zumba = more investigators!!

Hi family and friends!

So this week has been really really good! On Thursday we had Zone Training. We learned about how we can better apply the things that we have learned from Zone Conference and going to find. 

Friday we did Zumba haha! Our investigator is the instructor! The mom of the Gonzalez family. Then we helped her move some things and then she bought us lunch! So basically the Gonzalez family are super awesome! Also, through Zumba we were able to find another new investigator!! That was cool! The Gonzalez's said they would come to our soccer activity that we have every Saturday. (we have this activity to get more investigators and less actives to come to church) The Gonzalez family didn't come but we had a lesson with them Sunday and they are going to come to the Noche de Hogar that we are going to have today!

Also on Saturday we just tried to find as much as possible in the rain. It was cold but good!

Then Sunday we sang in the choir and we taught the Gonzalez family and Diana a recent convert. 

I had some MRSA but I put bleach and honey on it and it went away! (we are trying some natural honey to see if it will help to rid Elder Reisner of MRSA permanently so this is good news!)

This week I learned more about the Atonement and how we have to have it! Only by mercy is salvation possible because based on justice alone nobody could pay the price of our sins. But because mercy overcomes justice we can use the Atonement not just for sins but to be better to use it so that our ideal becomes real Alma 34 and D&C 93. You should read those!

Also, I'm reading the Book of Mormon again but this time in Spanish. I understand it all but it's taking longer than I want to read it but that's ok.

I sent dad something for his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my AWESOME dad!!

Well that's all I have for now.
   
Love, Elder Reisner

I love Zone Conference's!

Hello family and friends-

I'm e-mailing you today because we didn't have a car on Monday and yesterday we were too busy. We are to e-mail President Becerra once a week along with our families so I'm not skipping another week! Although I was super close to doing so.

Zone Conference last week was AMAZING!! We actually had a little video segment from Russell M. Nelson about the Book of Mormon and the gathering of Israel. The Book of Mormon is so important! If I got anything out of our Zone Conference that we had last week it's that we need to use the Book of Mormon more and in the right way. It was so great! 

We also learned about how we can talk to people in a better way. It's a 7 step process. When we teach certain doctrine including the restoration, the atonement, the power of the holy ghost, sin, and others we need to explain why it's important to them. Then we can give them a Celestial experience so they are more likely to want to listen to our message.  **Mom note - If this paragraph doesn't make sense it's because I am trying to interpret what he is saying. Sometimes I need an Elder Reisner Urim and Thummim!**

We learned that really it's the end of days. We read about a prophecy that is being fulfilled right now in D&C 49:24. It talks about how the Lamanites will flourish in the desert like a rose. Sorry in the wilderness in Spanish it says desierto which means desert and wilderness. We know that the place of gathering now is not Utah that it is all over the world! Now is the time of the Lamanites aka the Latinos and President Becerra taught us that we need to use this to our advantage! This is a book for them, it's their history and us white folks are just borrowing it. It was super awesome!!

The Gonzalez family are great! You want to know why? It's because Heavenly Father loves us and answers prayers! Because not kidding this last Monday we went over because something canceled and they were all there! That is when we were able to talk to them and really teach them and really get them to love us! I love this family and I hope they get baptized. I think they will. We even went over yesterday as well.

Anyway, I got to go I have no time left!!! I love you! 

Love, Elder Reisner

More pictures when Elder Reisner was in San Gabriel

Hna Esquerra - Stake President's wife

Ojeda family

Ruiz family were less active but not any more!!

Becceril family

Elder Carvajal and I in our manly moustaches!

Part 2

Temple trip

Halloween

Sister Juarez's baptism

Keep rolling along!

Hi all my family and friends!

 

I'm doing pretty well as of right now. I didn't hear anything about the 58 new missions that are being created. That's super cool!! I don't think we will be affected because we are a super small mission unless they are going to say something about it tomorrow in Zone Conference. I sure hope not because President Becerra is awesome and I don't want to change Mission Presidents! 

 

Yes, I'm still District Leader and not training. I am still with Elder Markham! It's really weird for two missionaries to be together for three transfers but we know how to work hard together and will  make the most of it! 

 

The Gonzalez family are still super awesome! We went by to help them put in sprinklers but they ended up not doing it. Then we found out that the dad is actually a member and was baptized when he was 15! So he's been inactive for about 20 years. The rest of his family aren't members but he told us not to be strangers and to come by whenever we wanted! That was super cool! They are just a really awesome family and we are really hoping that they will progress! 

 

Also, we had a really crazy thing happen this week. We were going to visit a less active when all of the sudden we hear this lady like screaming and crying. We thought she was getting beaten or something but we walked a little closer and she said I'm Mormon, help my baby give him a blessing!! So we went into the house to see that the baby was having a seizure and it was pretty scary! The other family members were with 911 and following their instructions. Right about when we were going to give the blessing the paramedics come in and take over. Then they took the baby out to the ambulance so that was pretty crazy! 

 

Other than that we are just trying so hard to find to teach and to baptize. We are having troubles there it's been hard recently and I have no idea what we are doing wrong or bad or what's happening. We knock on doors, talk to people in the street and we ask everyone for referrals. We will keep trying though, keep pushing and keep serving so that we can find teach and baptize! 

 

Our investigator Ashley is progressing kind of. She is a 13 year old foster girl and she actually said she wanted to be baptized after telling us she didn't want to meet with us. She has been to church like 4 or 5 times so we'll see where that goes. 

 

So I am excited for Zone Conference tomorrow! I will let you know how it goes and what we talked about this next week!

 

Love, Elder Reisner

Still in Rimgrove

Dear family and friends-

Since the library was closed yesterday today I get to write you an e-mail!   

With Ignacio this last week we contacted him in the restaurant that he works in and he is still good. He just is so desperate for work. He got a little job substitute working from 6 at night until 10:30 so he can't meet with us anymore until the guy comes back from vacation.    

We had our taco night on Saturday. It turned out the best that it could. I think we had a lot of success! We got several names of potential investigators!  We are excited to follow up with everyone!

Transfer weekend................ Drum roll please ;-)..................... I am staying in the same area with Elder Markham! That's 3 transfers together which is pretty unusual. It's cool because we know each other so well and are synched so we can do a lot of good work this next transfer!! 

I was able to buy some pants this week at a goodwill store.  I was able to get 2 pair for $12!! They fit well and one pair still has the tag on it like its brand new! 

We found an awesome family last night! They know some members from San Gabriel and really want us to help their daughter. They are the Gonzalez family and there are 4 of them. The mom the dad and two kids 7 and 14. If you could put them in your prayers that would be great! They seem so cool we have an appointment to see them tonight so hopefully everything goes really well!! 

I have noticed that we don't know anything about the gospel. We really have to study and study well every day so that we can get our line upon line and precept upon precept. When we think we know enough we really don't! We have to humble ourselves and learn more and literally and I mean literally everything revolves around the Atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!! I know this to be true!! We have to know Him, we know of Him but we need to really know Him! If you can get your hands on The Meaning of the Atonement by W. Cleon Skousen it'll blow your mind!!! 

I want you to know that now I know how to be a missionary. I know this church is true and I know that Jesus is the Christ our Lord and Savior and I leave that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love, Elder Reisner

Ripped pants won't keep me from the work!!

Dear family and friends,

I am doing great! Everything is going better now. Ignacio didn't get baptized this last week. We haven't been able to meet with him so its been tough on us this last week. However, we have a lot of stuff set up for this week so it is looking good! Hopefully we can find Ignacio at home. He has been coming home late like 11 p.m. which is too late for missionaries and been leaving at 6:40 a.m. which is 10 minutes after we get up. We might wake up early one of these days to try and talk to him to see what's up.

Two missionaries this past week had their bikes locked up with their U-locks and somebody came and cut the locks and stole the bikes! I fell again and ripped my pants but at least the only thing I did this time was rip my pants! I need to get to the goodwill store so that I can buy some new pants since I have ripped like 3 pair from all my falls!

Let's see honestly this last week was really weird. Like nobody was home. We didn't teach much and we didn't really find because we have been trying so hard to teach Ignacio and our other investigators aren't progressing. We are trying really hard to get the members to invite their friends to go to the taco night. So hopefully things will all work out and the work will progress along! I'm not sad or discouraged I just don't like weeks like this. I know that sometimes we have less success when we need to learn something so I am trying to figure out what the Lord is trying to teach me!

One of the things that I have learned this week is that in missionary work we can't just spend all of our time with people who won't progress or grow in the gospel. We have to be constantly sifting the wheat from the tares and helping them progress as we progress. We can only help somebody be as converted to the gospel as we are. Because as we know conversion is a process and not an event. We are constantly trying to become like our Savior.

This week I want you to read the article in the February Ensign about the hesitant missionary. Then I would invite all of  you to share the gospel with somebody. I promise you that if you do you will be happier, you will receive the same joy that I feel each and every day and you will really learn the love that our Father in Heaven has for us!



Have a great week everyone and pray for missionary experiences!

Love, Elder Reisner

The work rolls on!

Dear family and friends,

 

Unfortunately the last 2 weeks we have been passing sickness around in the mission. I was no exception, of course!  I was sick on Saturday and had to stay home :-( I was not feeling good at all so I bought some tissues and drugs to help. I think it was just a bad sinus cold so nothing too bad I just know I was not well enough to go out and work which made for a day of sleeping. I am feeling lots better now! 

 

The taco night we are working so hard on is the 16th of February. We are planning and asking and recruiting all the members to go and bring their friends so that is going along good. I kind of wanted it to be bigger but I have to remember that there are budgets and stuff. :-) 

 

Ignacio is a freaking miracle!! He went to church this past week and said he had some doubts about getting baptized this next week. I asked him if we could pass by that night to talk about them and he said yes. He also told me that he stopped drinking coffee!! Then he told us that night that he wasn't sure if the Book of Mormon was true or if he was ready to be baptized this next Sunday. We talked to him and told him about the promised blessings from being baptized. Then all of the sudden he's like OK lets do this!!! He asked after the appointment so where are they going to baptize me? It was just AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

So I learned from my companion this week that it's better to take a day off than to be sick for a month! I hope I taught him that weekly planning is important and that all we need to do as members and missionaries is to open our mouths.  

 

Everything is good with me and Ignacio is looking to be baptized this Sunday!!! WOOT!!! So pray for him please!  We contacted a LOT of people this week and taught a lot of lessons as well. I hope that everyone has a really good week! 

Love, Elder Reisner