March 26, 2012

Hey Mom,

How are you doing? Well, we had a baptism last saturday and I got to baptize him! It was so awesome!!! The spirit was definitely there!!! Oh man, I bet that was way fun to ride up in Winslow. I want to hear the stories. haha, Stetson is so awesome, I can't believe he pranced 25 miles. I wonder if he got tired? man, you had a really busy week. That is awesome Caleb and Carson hold the priesthood now and they can pass the sacrament. I am so proud of them! So, Sunday I bore my testimony for the first time since I have been in the mission field. I was scared but it was fun! So right now we are teaching Steve and Melissa Holmes and they are going to get dunked. I came to Cottage Grove because of this family! My love for that family is so strong!!! It's weird, it feels like I've known them for so long. The work is doing really well here. The days go by so fast! What I usually do every day is knock doors and teach less active families and part member families. So it is really cool. I haven't really been reading the B of M, I have been reading the Bible. I read 1st Samuel and 2nd Samuel and I read yesterday in the B of M. I am at Alma 15. So ya its awesome David had so much faith to slay Goliath. I love that story. Oh, check this out, we have been going over to the Lee families house and they are less active because their daughter killed herself with a shotgun. It's so sad and the dad has been having the hardest time because he tripped over her because he is almost blind and he is hurting so bad. That is so sad so we went over and we shared a scripture in Mosiah about the resurrection. The wife totally told the husband that it was such an awesome scripture and testified to him that he can see his daughter again and that we can all get resurrected . He started crying and said he doesn't want to talk about it anymore! It was so powerful and the spirit was so there I felt it and I know he did too. That was my spiritual moment this week and I got to baptize my investigator. It was so cool. Well, I am excited to see what the prophet has to say. I love you so much mom.

Love, Elder Reed

Hey Dad,

That is so cool it snowed there!! I bet it looks so pretty. We got that crazy snow too. It snowed so hard a lot of trees fell. How are the deacons in our ward? Is there a lot of them? Well, I love you and I went to a chiropractor up here in Cottage Grove. The main guy is in my ward and he does it for free. But anyways, he took some X-rays and he says I have a short leg and thats why I keep throwing out my back and he said he is going try to fix it! Well, love you.

Elder Reed

March 19, 2012

Hey Mom,

You guys are getting rain!!!!!! We have been getting snow! That is awesome and I hope the desert turns green, it is so beautiful when it does that!! I hope you guys didn't do crazy things cuz I know you girls can get crazy when you get together! How is the family doing? That's awesome that you got to see Elder Oaks daughter. Was she fun to talk to? Those are good ideas on charity, I like it, its an amazing topic to talk about. I had a baptism Saturday and his name was Jaden. The spirit was definitely there!! It was so cool as his grandpa got to baptize him! We also have another one this Friday!! It's really awesome . We are also teaching this couple and their names are Steve and Melissa Holmes. Melissa just doesn't get the priesthood authority and she thinks she can be a prophet but we are still trying to work with her. I want to set a baptism date with her but we will see! Well, I also did take some pictures but I don't know how to put them on here, but I will figure it out! That is cool Jeremy called John. I wonder how he got his number? What did John and him talk about? His daughter is in the hospital. How did she get a collapsed lung?Man, and also he got his finger chopped off, poor guy. That is sad. Is anyone going to go up and see them? I hope he gets to know our family! That would be awesome! He sure looks like Dad! What does James think about all of that? I hope James will warm up to him! That would be cool if he does write me. I would love to talk to him!:) My favorite scripture is Malachi 3:10. I share that one so much. Hey, could you tell Karlee to email me! She hasn't emailed me my whole mission! Well, I love you so much and I am excited to email you guys back.

Love Elder Reed

March 12, 2012

Hey Dad,

That is cool the you're in young mens haha, when is mutual? Is it on Wednesdays? Oh, I am sure you will teach them something!!! Well, I hope Stetson will do good! Did you think about taking Belle? But Stetson needs the work:) That will be super fun. I want to ride in that horse ride. I love the Lord and His gospel and I mess Ma and Pa also. Tombstone is a great place and do we have a lot of family in that cemetery? Well, I like Bro Rogers too. I liked when he was my leader:) Well, we have a baptism this week, it will be super fun!!! I love you so much and take care.

Love you dad!!!

Hey Momma,

That awesome Wes is on his mission!!! I will try to email him. Holy cow, dad finally got released. That is awesome he is with the deacons. You girls have fun and don't do anything crazy!!! Brooke is going to have a new baby, my goodness and we have more than 21 grandkids! You forgot Jeremy's kids!! I am also thankful for the priesthood and I can use it!! Well this week we have a baptism on Saturday! I am really excited for that!! Well, thanks for everything you do for me. I love you so much!!!!

March 4, 2012

hey MOMMA!!!

Hey how have you been? Well it snowed on us in Cottage Grove again but the weather is turning out really nice and I don't have to have a jacket on all the time. Well, we have a baptism coming up on the 15th and we only have one more commandment to teach him and he is ready to get baptized!! So it should be really fun and exciting!! That's to bad Bishop Caldwell got released but Reo Evans will be an awesome bishop! Micah is coming down here? That will be cool, I would love to see him if he comes up here!! I miss that old man. So where does he live again? We just had ward conference and it was really good! KARLEE won the rodeo, haha. Good for her, she can keep a collection!!!:) Stetson is so awesome!! How is Belle doing, did anyone use her? Shandy broke her arm, that is to bad. Was there a lot of people there at the rodeo? Well that would be cool if you made a breast collar for Stetson but there will be too many belt buckles on it! Oh my goodness, that is one far trail ride!! Is Dad going to use Stetson? That will be a great work out for him. I wonder why Karlee likes Stetson so bad haha. Things are going really good. Its crazy how fast time goes by!! We found a new investigator and she said she loves the Book of Mormon and wants us to come back! She is Mexican too.

My Book of Mormon reading is coming along. I am only on Alma 9 but I hope I can finish it before Brittany does!! Your in 2 Nephi, dang your catching up to me!! Well, I just visited a less active and her daughter just killed herself on 11/3/11 so it was just resent and it was really sad and they use to be our ward missionaries. I hope they will start coming back to church! Well, I love you so much. Take care.

Love Elder Reed

February 27, 2012

Hey Mom,

So that was a pretty busy week! So I hope the dodge is not broken, let me know how that goes. John and Karlee are so nice. I had a roast with potatoes and carrots too last night, it was really good!! My week has been really busy. We had tracked a lot of hours and we tracked up this guys driveway and it didn't seem that long but when we got to his house we look at the time and it took us 30 mins to get there and then he wasn't interested. It was kind of a waste of time but it good we got to talk to him! We also set another baptism date and that on March 8th at 6:00 so I am way excited for that. So that's about it. My new comp is Elder Barker. He is from Utah somewhere by Sandy. He has been out 16 months and goes home Oct 31. Laurel Mecham is getting married to who? That is way exciting!!! Elder Reddish is getting married also, that's awesome. Bishop Caldwell is getting released and who is going to be bishop? Well, I love you guys so much.

Love Elder Reed

February 20, 2012

Hey Mom,

I am sure Wes is going to love the MTC and that's super cool that he is going to Spain's MTC. That is great the Cotton is going. That will be spec nice when the new church gets done so we can just walk to church! Do you know if its going to be a stake center or what? I can't wait to go through the Gilbert Temple. That will be so awesome.

Oh yea, transfers are today and I am staying and my comp is leaving. My new comp is Elder Barker and he is almost done with his mission. I am super excited to get an older guy. We had to push back a baptism date because her just souln't come to church! So we have 2 baptism dates and one on the way I am hoping! So the work is doing just great out here but the only problem I am having is that I have treated Cottage Grove twice theses past 2 transfers and there is no other place to tract. So that is my problem and my mission president says I am going to stay here two more transfers!

Well, I hope Madison will get better, maybe Nich could give a priesthood blessing to her! So its been raining a lot and it hasn't been snowing at all but it has been helling, I think that's how you spell it. The weather is really weird, it rains and hells and then the sun is out. Crazy. But everything is going well here. I love you so much and yo se que...el libro de mormon es verbedo. I can't spell that last word, its suppose to be true and that is just my little spanish. I know I have been studying spanish so I can talk to the Mexicans that are in Cottage Grove. Well I love you and have a wonderful day.

Love Elder Reed

Dad,

That is way cool you did that blacksmith show at that place. How did it go? Was you blacksmith trailer really heavy, did your truck pull it all right That is super sad that I am the only missionary out from our ward. Those young men better get moving and get out here as the field is white and ready to be harvested. So we have 3 baptisms in March which is going to be so fun and yes we have been getting a ton of rain. So transfers are today and I am staying here. Pres Young said I will be staying for two more transfers which is fine with me as I love the people here.

That is a huge plane, was the guy mad that his plane crashed. That is funny it crashed in the horse pens. It's crazy to see Tillison getting bigger, he looks really tall in that picture and looks grown up! Where is this picture taken, it kind of looks lime the rocking r but it looks to clean to be there!! haha, well the Reed family is taking over the ranch. That funny that Karlee likes to wear your colt!! haha she is so cute. That was such good memory at the rocking r ranch when I did the ghost rider and all those bees, I hope it looked good inside. There were so many bees on Belle I felt super bad. I am so thankful she didn't throw me off that would have been bad! Well so later today when I get my new comp we have a service project and we are helping Brother Ott change his carb and front axle so we are going to get really dirty. It will bring back memories when me and you changed out the 77s rear end, that was so hard!!! but we did it. Hey, what car or truck do you drive more? Do you just dive your truck to pull the trailer? Well, everything here is going really good. I love you dad and hope you can get some rest and I hope you have a great rest of the day. I love the family and I love my mission

Love, Elder Reed

February 13, 2012

Hey Mom,

So Wes is heading to the MTC this week. Thats so crazy. I wish I could of been there for his talk. He had the same musical number as me, that is super cool. I bet the spirit was so strong there!! I pray all the time that hopefully you guys can get some rain!! Do the mountains have snow on them? I love when the desert is green, it looks so beautiful!!! Does Karlee love that horse? Has she ridden it yet. So DJ said she rode her horse the other day! Thats cool, I thought they would never ride their horses anymore. Do you guys have any new boarders? Man, I am excited to see you new chicken pen, it will look so nice. So do you have sis missionaries in you ward to elders still? Are you excited to take a girls night out? That would be good for you since yard are always so busy!! How is dad doing, is he okay? Does he still drive the tractor around? Does anyone drive the 77 anymore. is you prius still getting crazy good gas mileage?

Well here in Cottage Grove the work is doing great. We asked Taylor, one of our investigators to be baptized but she said no so we will stop working with her. And the kid that is suppose to be baptized on the 25th only came to church once so we are going to move his date back:( but I am sure he will still get baptized. One of our other families came to church for the first time and he loved it and wants to come back. The the guy that spoke in church gave a great talk on patience and how he knows the Book of Mormon was true. He said that he listened to the cds with the Book of Mormon on it and there was a chapter that skipped the word true and he looked at the cd and there was no scratches on it so he went and told his wife and so I now has a strong testimony. It was great!!! Well that's about all that happened in Cottage Grove. Well, I love you and I hope you have a great week and I will pray for rain for thou guys.

Love you, Elder Reed

February 6, 2012

WELL HELLO, MOM!!!

I had an awesome week. These weeks have been flying by so so fast!!! We have been teaching so many people now!!! Elder Hoys mom hasn't called us back so I dont know what to do there. So this year I started to read the Book of Mormon and I just finished Mosiah and I am now in Alma. Are you reading the B.O.M.? Well that is cool you are going to start raising rabbits. Hopefully no pitbulls will eat them again!!! Are you going to build the cages up high or on the ground. You should make them so they can go underneath the ground!!! Everyone is getting so big, wow. Well Larissa's baby is getting big, I mean Jayla is walking and talking, that's super crazy!!!

Elder Wesley Ashcroft is going to be such a good missionary. Mom, you can't cry when he talks okay! I wish I was there for his talk. You will have to let me know what he talks about:)

That is very interesting about Adam and Eve. I will go study about them. Well, Bro Keith had a date. Good for him. I really like him especially when I was in scouts with him. I think Dillon Keith comes home this year!!! crazy. Well, I love you so much.

Love Elder Reed

January 30, 2012

Momma,

So how is everything going for you and dad in Queen Creek? I love you, it feels weird not to be a teenager and to be 20! I don't feel that much of a difference. Thank you for having me in this wonderful family and thank you for the wonderful box and the cps. I lobed all the stuff you put in there! I love listening to the songs you gave me. I feel weird for saying that because I didn't like that kind of music before I came out here, lol. Tell the family thanks for all the prayers and wishes:) It felt super weird to be out here on my birthday. A member that feed us made a cake and the sang happy birthday. Okay, I will start taking as many pictures as I can:) That is so funny that Brogan walked up on the stage at the rocking r, he is so funny:) That is so cool that Bridget made $70 at the rocking r. That is so much money. We haven't been back to see Elder Hoys mother yet but we will tonight! Connor Lyons is the kid we are going to baptize and he is doing really well but he only came to church once!!! So we need to get him to go again. He is the only one in his family that will be baptized so we have a lot of work to be doing!!! We only serve in one ward. I am being obedient. Thanks for the Moses story. I will share that with people now for a spiritual thought, thanks. Oh, I will tell you a miracle that happened this last week. We were going to tract for 2 hours in the morning and so before we track we start out with a prayer! I said the prayer and said to please bless us with a miracle. We knocked on many doors and there were only 10 houses left and a lady answers the door. She was on the phone and said she would love for us to come back and so we went back the next day and her husband answers and said that she is really sick and if we could come back as he wanted to talk to us too. The next day we came back and they invited us in and told us that they have been looking for a church to join. We taught them the first lesson and they agreed with everything and we invited them to go to church. They said not this week but next week they would. We also set up a time to come and see them again. Its truly amazing how Heavenly Father answers prayers and there are angels preparing people out there so the they can hear and accept the gospel. So that was a cool experience that I had. Well I better be going. I love you and dad so much. Thank you for everything you do for me. Love ya lots and thanks for wishing me a happy birthday!!!

Love Elder Reed