Hi everyone!
Our week was super good! We had kind of a hard time finding this week. We only
found 2 new investigators and we wanted 4 but that's OK. We are also still working with our current investigators.
There is a family that is super close to baptism! We helped the mom realize that she is ready and that she knows that
Joseph Smith is a prophet and the gospel has been restored. She said
she would talk to her husband who is super ready and has been for awhile
and they are going to choose a date to get baptized!!
We also gave a new
baptismal date for another one of our investigators for the 29th! Then we found a cool new lady who's Christian for now... ;-)
I heard that they have a new movie at the temple! I really
want to see it so it's a good thing we are going to go in October!! I am super excited can you tell?!
The
experience that stood out to me the most this week is well I lost one of the keys to my
bike lock and we were stranded. Then the hermanas missionaries helped
us out so that was good.
In reading
the scriptures this week I can't always remember everything I learned. This week all my studies are getting
messed up so right now I can't think if anything stood out for me.
They are still working on the boundary changes in the ward we are living in. They said that it should happen soon so we will see.
So what I would suggest for you to do to help Conner get ready for his mission is you should watch the Preach My Gospel
movies and teach things out of Preach My Gospel and out of The Book of Mormon. Also, be praying for and having missionary experiences that will
help him. Think to yourselves what doctrine or principle better understood
will help Conner serve a mission and the spirit and studies will do the
rest!!
I have also decided that I am going to stay the full time
on my mission. I won't be coming home early for school. I still don't have a release date yet but that's OK I don't even want to think about that!
Have a great week!
Love, Elder Reisner
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Lots of teaching and learning
Dear family and friends,
(I asked Elder Reisner if he shared an apartment with more than his companion) So sometimes we live 4 of us in a pad but usually it is just two. I think they are trying very hard to not have 4 missionaries living together because it's very easy to get distracted. In Rimgrove we lived 4 of us together but here it's just me and my companion.
Church was good Sunday! There wasn't very many people there but our investigators came so that was super good! All of our investigators are doing well we had 3 go to church. We found some new investigators and also taught some of the ones we found last week. It was really a great week!!
I went on exchanges this week with Elder Febbo. I love to do exchanges because I always learn a lot of stuff. Our 3 investigators are supposed to get baptized this next week! We are going to do all that is possible so that we can help the Lord do His work! Then there is another investigator that has a baptismal date but he isn't coming to church so we'll see what we can do for him.
My favorite experience this last week is that we found new investigators and that we are happy! There isn't a day that stands out to me as any better than the rest every day is really good though! The scripture that impacted me the most this week is D&C 6:36. I need to trust in the Lord more so that we can do the work in the way that He wants us to do it.
Funny experience that we had this week well we went to Ross and this guy just comes up to us and asks us if we are elders and if he can get baptized!!! That's not really funny I would say pretty cool huh? The only bad thing is he doesn't live in our area.
My health is good, I haven't had MRSA in awhile. I think things are great in my new area and I really like my new companion.
I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
(I asked Elder Reisner if he shared an apartment with more than his companion) So sometimes we live 4 of us in a pad but usually it is just two. I think they are trying very hard to not have 4 missionaries living together because it's very easy to get distracted. In Rimgrove we lived 4 of us together but here it's just me and my companion.
Church was good Sunday! There wasn't very many people there but our investigators came so that was super good! All of our investigators are doing well we had 3 go to church. We found some new investigators and also taught some of the ones we found last week. It was really a great week!!
I went on exchanges this week with Elder Febbo. I love to do exchanges because I always learn a lot of stuff. Our 3 investigators are supposed to get baptized this next week! We are going to do all that is possible so that we can help the Lord do His work! Then there is another investigator that has a baptismal date but he isn't coming to church so we'll see what we can do for him.
My favorite experience this last week is that we found new investigators and that we are happy! There isn't a day that stands out to me as any better than the rest every day is really good though! The scripture that impacted me the most this week is D&C 6:36. I need to trust in the Lord more so that we can do the work in the way that He wants us to do it.
Funny experience that we had this week well we went to Ross and this guy just comes up to us and asks us if we are elders and if he can get baptized!!! That's not really funny I would say pretty cool huh? The only bad thing is he doesn't live in our area.
My health is good, I haven't had MRSA in awhile. I think things are great in my new area and I really like my new companion.
I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder Reisner
Monday, August 12, 2013
Change is good
Hey everyone!
So the family that we were so sad to leave in my last area were awesome! We went over all the time and well they had been going to other churches but the hermana prayed for guidance and then we knocked on her door! The hermana was baptized and she is the mom of a member of the bishopric in Rimgrove.
My first week with my new companion was AMAZING!! He speaks better Spanish than I do since he was with a native Latino companion for 4 1/2 months. We taught A LOT!! Like more people just let us in I don't know what it was but we just had a ton of lessons with investigators and we found 6 new investigators and a family which my companion told me is a lot for this area!!
My new district has 6 of us with two hermanas so not as big and not as many exchanges so that's good. Right now we don't have a bishop or a ward missionary in our ward! They are getting ready to change the boundaries before they make all the changes. That means I could be in a new ward by the end of the month.
We actually had Stake Conference this last week and I saw most of the members I have worked with on my mission! I even saw the couple we worked with for a long time from San Gabriel!!! It was awesome!! I was super happy that that happened! All the people from San Gabriel said that I grew but I don't feel like I grew but whatever!
This week I just found out that faith and trusting in the Lord is what missionary work is about! Not saying that you have any skills whatsoever but trusting that the Lord wants you to do his work. Did I tell you part of East LA is in my new area so I am speaking much more Spanish now!!! I also am enjoying riding my bike again!
Have a great week!!
So the family that we were so sad to leave in my last area were awesome! We went over all the time and well they had been going to other churches but the hermana prayed for guidance and then we knocked on her door! The hermana was baptized and she is the mom of a member of the bishopric in Rimgrove.
My first week with my new companion was AMAZING!! He speaks better Spanish than I do since he was with a native Latino companion for 4 1/2 months. We taught A LOT!! Like more people just let us in I don't know what it was but we just had a ton of lessons with investigators and we found 6 new investigators and a family which my companion told me is a lot for this area!!
My new district has 6 of us with two hermanas so not as big and not as many exchanges so that's good. Right now we don't have a bishop or a ward missionary in our ward! They are getting ready to change the boundaries before they make all the changes. That means I could be in a new ward by the end of the month.
We actually had Stake Conference this last week and I saw most of the members I have worked with on my mission! I even saw the couple we worked with for a long time from San Gabriel!!! It was awesome!! I was super happy that that happened! All the people from San Gabriel said that I grew but I don't feel like I grew but whatever!
This week I just found out that faith and trusting in the Lord is what missionary work is about! Not saying that you have any skills whatsoever but trusting that the Lord wants you to do his work. Did I tell you part of East LA is in my new area so I am speaking much more Spanish now!!! I also am enjoying riding my bike again!
Have a great week!!
Love, Elder Reisner
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Transferred!
Dear family and friends-
Yes! I did get transferred and not only that they actually put sisters in our area so me and Elder Steffen had to go so that was sad :'-( . We had to say bye to a family that I was really close to and I cried a little bit. We said bye to them for like an hour so that was funny.
I have been transferred to Montebello. I am still serving as a District Leader. I am back in a biking area as well and I am super excited about that! This is another area that people have said it's a bad area but I know it can be good :-). My new companion's name is Elder Crosgrove. He has been on the mission for 4 1/2 months. He is cool, I think we will get along very well! He was trained by my trainee Elder Carvajal so that's kind of funny!
Our new members confirmation was a bittersweet moment being the last time I went to the El Monte ward. But hey, it's really good to leave an area with a confirmation right?! Also, on the last day Elder Steffen and I found a super prepared family that was taught by missionaries before. Oh man mom, I didn't want to go and neither did Elder Steffen. It will all be good! The Lord knows what He is doing and I just have to put my trust in Him!
So with the hermana that has been attending for the past few months she has a baptismal date for the 18th of August! We know that she can make that date so hopefully we can go back for that.
This last week was crazy! We taught like 18 lessons and 9 of them with members! We found 5 new investigators and it was probably the best week because we gave two people a baptismal date! We had a bunch of stuff going on so the sisters are basically stepping into paradise, LUCKY!!!
It was a really bittersweet week!
Yes! I did get transferred and not only that they actually put sisters in our area so me and Elder Steffen had to go so that was sad :'-( . We had to say bye to a family that I was really close to and I cried a little bit. We said bye to them for like an hour so that was funny.
I have been transferred to Montebello. I am still serving as a District Leader. I am back in a biking area as well and I am super excited about that! This is another area that people have said it's a bad area but I know it can be good :-). My new companion's name is Elder Crosgrove. He has been on the mission for 4 1/2 months. He is cool, I think we will get along very well! He was trained by my trainee Elder Carvajal so that's kind of funny!
Our new members confirmation was a bittersweet moment being the last time I went to the El Monte ward. But hey, it's really good to leave an area with a confirmation right?! Also, on the last day Elder Steffen and I found a super prepared family that was taught by missionaries before. Oh man mom, I didn't want to go and neither did Elder Steffen. It will all be good! The Lord knows what He is doing and I just have to put my trust in Him!
So with the hermana that has been attending for the past few months she has a baptismal date for the 18th of August! We know that she can make that date so hopefully we can go back for that.
This last week was crazy! We taught like 18 lessons and 9 of them with members! We found 5 new investigators and it was probably the best week because we gave two people a baptismal date! We had a bunch of stuff going on so the sisters are basically stepping into paradise, LUCKY!!!
It was a really bittersweet week!
Love Elder Reisner
Monday, July 29, 2013
Baptisms are AWESOME!!
Hi to all my family and friends!
WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!!!! :-D I tried to send the pictures but the computer froze so I will try and get them in the mail for you. The couple that we have been working with we thought she was a member and her husband was not. We could never find her records and so she was baptized again. It was basically a convert baptism because she hasn't been active for 15 years. So we taught her all the lessons again and she gave up coffee so she could be baptized! Her son is a member of the Bishopric in Rimgrove and he was able to baptize her. Her husband that we have been working with has been trying to get his own answer about being baptized. This was definitely a step in the right direction for him. I think he will be baptized soon, he felt the spirit for sure! It was so awesome! A really great baptism service with a strong spirit in attendance!
This week was awesome! We found 7 new
investigators and we taught a bunch!! So we just have
to keep going and let the Lord do His work and just be the tools that
get it accomplished.
We have transfers this Saturday. I really don't want to be transferred because there are a lot of great things that are happening in this area right now. I have only had 3 transfers so far on my mission. It seems like I go to the areas that nobody wants to go to. Then I just pray my guts out, work my hardest and then the Lord lets stuff happen! It is definitely not me - I know that for sure! I just am learning that the Lord wants us to baptize every month and we can do it if we put our trust and faith in Him and then work super hard and with the spirit.
It looks like the bishop and his wife and another couple want to come and stay with you for General Conference. They speak enough English so you should be good.
Not
really much to say because it was a shorter week. Only thing is now I
just feel like I am barely starting to understand what being a
missionary is all about. I just want to keep learning growing and
improving!
Love, Elder Reisner
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Keep the faith!
Dear family and friends-
Our investigator and his wife are doing well. Today we should find out if we have his wife's church records. If we don't she will get baptized on the 28th. Her husband is still trying to find his own answer so we are continuing to be patient with him.
We aren't changing anything about the clothing that we wear and or our backpacks. We haven't really had much discussion about the new guidelines that have come down.
This week was pretty good. We were able to find new investigators! We picked up a hermana who has been going to church for 4 months now and so that was good. Nobody told us about her so we were happy to hear from the bishop that we should go and teach her.
This week I learned that I need to put more trust in the Lord and less in my own abilities. I also need to increase my faith. I learned this through an exchange I had with the zone leaders and my interview I had yesterday with President Becerra. I had an awesome interview with him and he said some nice things about me.
We were able to help move a member family this week. They didn't move out of the ward but it took awhile to do! We had a super good day on Thursday! We taught 5 lessons and found 2 new investigators!! Also this week I did 2 baptismal interviews. It is still a little weird for me to do these but they were good! We also were trying to find a lot this week because some of our investigators were out of town so we couldn't teach them this week.
We only had 1 investigator at church but this next week we are planning to have more! We found a guy that we told him the only way to know if something is true is to ask God. So he gets on his knees and says the weirdest prayer I've ever heard! He says like ya way ya way shalom shalom father of Abraham Isaac and Noe. Then he says God says that the true religion is in your heart and he needs to follow the right things of God. Then he said so now what do we do? It was crazy! We just left and totally dropped him because he didn't want to change. The more we talked to him the more we knew he is not ready for the gospel at this time.
Some members in my ward want to know if they can stay at your house for conference in October. There would be 2-6 of them and they know how to fit in small places. They said they'd cook for you and everything! So can they come?
Our investigator and his wife are doing well. Today we should find out if we have his wife's church records. If we don't she will get baptized on the 28th. Her husband is still trying to find his own answer so we are continuing to be patient with him.
We aren't changing anything about the clothing that we wear and or our backpacks. We haven't really had much discussion about the new guidelines that have come down.
This week was pretty good. We were able to find new investigators! We picked up a hermana who has been going to church for 4 months now and so that was good. Nobody told us about her so we were happy to hear from the bishop that we should go and teach her.
This week I learned that I need to put more trust in the Lord and less in my own abilities. I also need to increase my faith. I learned this through an exchange I had with the zone leaders and my interview I had yesterday with President Becerra. I had an awesome interview with him and he said some nice things about me.
We were able to help move a member family this week. They didn't move out of the ward but it took awhile to do! We had a super good day on Thursday! We taught 5 lessons and found 2 new investigators!! Also this week I did 2 baptismal interviews. It is still a little weird for me to do these but they were good! We also were trying to find a lot this week because some of our investigators were out of town so we couldn't teach them this week.
We only had 1 investigator at church but this next week we are planning to have more! We found a guy that we told him the only way to know if something is true is to ask God. So he gets on his knees and says the weirdest prayer I've ever heard! He says like ya way ya way shalom shalom father of Abraham Isaac and Noe. Then he says God says that the true religion is in your heart and he needs to follow the right things of God. Then he said so now what do we do? It was crazy! We just left and totally dropped him because he didn't want to change. The more we talked to him the more we knew he is not ready for the gospel at this time.
Some members in my ward want to know if they can stay at your house for conference in October. There would be 2-6 of them and they know how to fit in small places. They said they'd cook for you and everything! So can they come?
I'm doing really good, my health is great! I was able to find a new suit to wear because mine is too big! Have a great week everyone!!
Love,
Elder Reisner
Monday, July 15, 2013
Realize your full potential!
Hello everyone!
It sounds like a cool experience that Conner had at E.F.Y. I'm glad that he went and I'm glad you liked the pictures that I sent you for your birthday!
This week was eventful and at the same time not.We had an investigator come to church he is progressing he is just still having a hard time accepting a baptismal date. He is worried about being baptized again. His wife keeps telling him that his baptism wasn't valid and that he needs to get baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God. He wants a sure answer for himself which is good. So we committed him to read and pray and continue to go to church. We also found out that his wife may need to get baptized again. We can't find her records but we have to try every possible way to find them so we don't have to re-do everything. If we can't find it she said she'd get baptized the 28th of this month!
We did a lot of different things this week. We continued to teach and find. One thing though that we did is we had a mission conference. What I learned is that we have to realize our full potential as children of God and as missionaries. When we have that realization that's when we can have success. Also, that we need to involve and look for families. We also had a mission activity after like last year where we played games and ate lunch and it was tons of fun!
On Saturday we did service for awhile and got super burnt! That wasn't fun the burnt part but the service was! We also were blessed to have 4 investigators at church! We could have had 5 but we didn't pick up an hermana that we found. She has been going to church for the last 4 months! We are going to pick her up this week for sure! We also had an activity where it was a plan of salvation type thing. It was pretty good.
Well that's about all this week.
It sounds like a cool experience that Conner had at E.F.Y. I'm glad that he went and I'm glad you liked the pictures that I sent you for your birthday!
This week was eventful and at the same time not.We had an investigator come to church he is progressing he is just still having a hard time accepting a baptismal date. He is worried about being baptized again. His wife keeps telling him that his baptism wasn't valid and that he needs to get baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God. He wants a sure answer for himself which is good. So we committed him to read and pray and continue to go to church. We also found out that his wife may need to get baptized again. We can't find her records but we have to try every possible way to find them so we don't have to re-do everything. If we can't find it she said she'd get baptized the 28th of this month!
We did a lot of different things this week. We continued to teach and find. One thing though that we did is we had a mission conference. What I learned is that we have to realize our full potential as children of God and as missionaries. When we have that realization that's when we can have success. Also, that we need to involve and look for families. We also had a mission activity after like last year where we played games and ate lunch and it was tons of fun!
On Saturday we did service for awhile and got super burnt! That wasn't fun the burnt part but the service was! We also were blessed to have 4 investigators at church! We could have had 5 but we didn't pick up an hermana that we found. She has been going to church for the last 4 months! We are going to pick her up this week for sure! We also had an activity where it was a plan of salvation type thing. It was pretty good.
Well that's about all this week.
Love, Elder Reisner
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