Tuesday, January 28, 2014

January 27, 2014

Hey Mom and Dad,

  It sounds like you had a crazy week:) I bet the temple is beautiful. That's good that there were a lot of people that went to the open house. Maybe they will be interested in the church now:) That's great Karlee had her baby and everything went good :) I saw some pictures on Facebook. He looks like a big boy! I am surprised he didn't come out hairy, haha. Well, I had transfers today and I lost Fakaua and gained Elder White. He is from south west Utah. He has only been out 7 months, kind of young. He is my district leader and is a pretty cool guy! So my week went flying by and we had some good lessons and some great exchanges!! So Sunday we gave Bro Hamilton a blessing to quit smoking. I really believe he will!! It was really spiritual. We also had sports night and invited a ton of people and we had a great turn out!!
  Well, thank you for the birthday package and thank you for the wishes. Oh, and yes I get my driving privileges back:) finally:) Well, I will talk to you next week.

Love ya, Elder Reed

January 20, 2014

Hey Mom and Dad,

  It sounds like everyone is doing well and Karlee is having her baby:) Is she scared?? Good for them! That's awesome you're at the temple. Send me lots of pictures of the temple. I didn't know that the gilbert temple is the biggest temple that has been built in the past 17 years. That is super cool. I bet it's so pretty inside:) Up here in Oregon everything is going well. The family we are working with is doing great. The dad said Sunday was his last day to smoke a cigarette. So pray for the Hamilton family! We had a good turn out friday night for sports night. A lot of people came to it! Right now we have been trying to find a new family to teach the gospel to. So hopefully we can find them!! That is awesome Rebecca Arnett got married in the temple! I hope they are doing good!! Um, I don't know what I need for my birthday but I always like ties:) haha and candy. You need to get over and invite Mark and his wife to the temple. Tell Hannah Brown that she will do great on her mission!! That's so exciting that Wes is coming home. I bet he looks great and I bet his family is super excited!! Yea, Keno is in our mission, it's kind of by Eagle Point!
  Well, everything is good here. Transfers are on the 27th of this month. I think I am staying here again!! So I have been here for awhile!!! I love this area as there are so many good people here!!:) Well, not sure what else has happened. I hope Karlee has her baby and everything goes well:) I love you and hope you have a good week.

Love Elder Reed

January 13, 2014

Hey Mom and Dad,

  It sounds like you had a busy week. That is cool you taught Brittany how to make some branding iron:) I bet her arms were tired. I bet she knows how you feel now! You will have to let me know how Karlee is when she has her baby!!:)This week has been really busy for us!!! This week flew by, I don't know what happened to the week! Me and my comp did a church tour with our gators. You could really feel the spirit when they came into the sacrament room. It was awesome! Friday night we started up a sports night for our gators and members. We had a good turn out as a lot of people came and had lots of fun! We are teaching the Hamilton family. It's going great. We had a picture of a plane that was about to crash so we gave everyone a piece of paper and said to write their last words that your loved ones will read and we would put it in a black box. So they wrote what they were going to say and we collected the paper and ripped them all up and threw them on the ground. We ask them how they felt and they said not good. We said that this is how the prophet's feel in the Book of Mormon because in certain parts in the book of Mormon is says that these are my last words. We bore our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and how it is so important that we read and take care of the scriptures.
  Well, I am jealous you get to go through the temple. I am sure that will be a great missionary experience this week. That is sweet you can be a cop at the temple tours and see your old friends!! You will have to take pictures of it and send it to me!! I hope you can play your fiddles as that would be freaked sweet!! I am so thankful for Joseph Smith and our Savior for what they completed. I love you and thank you for everything you do for me. I love you so much and I hope you have a full and exciting week.

Love Elder Reed

Sunday, January 26, 2014

January 6, 2014

Hey Mom & Dad,

   That is cool that Pres. Young called you yesterday!!! Ya, I bore my testimony on tithing and the atonement because I had a cool experience. I started to cry in it. I don't know why I cry all the time now. I guess the Lord is humbling me. We have been working hard with a less active family, the Hamilton's, and he had a dryer that wouldn't turn on. He has been going through financial times and he didn't know why it wasn't turning on. He went and bought a breaker for it but didn't have time to put it in. Then we came over and he said he found a $100 bill in his pocket. We kept teaching him to always pay his tithing so that same day he went and paid his tithing. That same day we went over and ate lunch with him and I said, "Let's go look at the dryer." So we went and looked at it and he flipped the breaker on and we went inside again to look at the dryer and that stinker thing fired right up and worked like a champ. So that strengthened my testimony on tithing and how if we just keep his commandments the Lord will guarantee us blessings.
  This week went by really fast. So Saturday morning we started a sports day where we invite the people we are teaching and less active families and active families to come and play sports in the morning. Last Saturday was the first time we tried it and it was a good turn out. When we are done we share a message. It was cool. We are still dining a lot of service which is good and we are trying to find new people to teach the gospel to. A lady in the ward ask me every time to fix her truck and I will fix it. So now every time someone needs their car fixed I will help them. I am glad dad taught me how to wok on trucks cuz people now days don't even know how to change a belt on their car. It's crazy to me.
  Well dad, I am sorry you have the flu. I am right with you though as I am having the flu also. A member told us swine flu is going around in Lane county and that is right where Florence is. But I don't  have that, just the flu.  I am starting to feel better but I still have a nasty cough and stuffy nose. That is scary you didn't get enough oxygen to your brain. That is good you went to the doctor. I am glad you are starting to feel better. Mom, I hope you don't get sick.
  Send me a picture of Karlee and tell John to email me. I emailed him but I don't know if he got it. That's super funny about the chickens. Just shoot them and bury them:) I hope Brooke gets moved in and I will pray for everyone to feel better.
  Well, I love you guys more than anything and I miss you guys and the family. I hope you have a good week. Oh, and did you read Vanessa's letter, that was really cool.

Love you, Elder Reed

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

December 31, 2013

Hey Mom,

  It was nice to hear everyone's voices. You guys sound super awesome and it sounds like everyone was happy. Sorry I called super late. Thank you for the pictures and the presents. I can't wait to wear the scarf. That's nice of you to go out and see the Brittany, James & Briana's families. I hope Brooke gets moved in okay. Call the missionaries to help with the move. Right now I am sick. I have a cold. I am glad you guys are getting blessings. That really made me happy.

  I am going to print off that talk by Pres Packer about lighthouses and share it with the members out here. Yes, I did receive the book from Grandpa. I thought it was really funny that grandpa was scared of the dog. I really liked that book. So, tomorrow we get to watch a movie and then have a zone p-day. So hopefully that goes good. Today a guy in our ward is suppose to take us hiking. I will try and take some pictures of that. Did you set any goals for the new year? Well, I love you so much and have good week and a wonderful new year.

Love you much, Elder Reed

December 24, 2013

Hey Mom and Dad,

  Merry Christmas:) This year flew by. It's crazy how fast time goes by!! That is awesome that you had a baptism:) I bet mom did an amazing job at the piano. I had a great Sunday. The people sang all sacrament meeting and its was good. I hope you take pictures of your Christmas nativity party:) I wanna see them. I bet it will be great.  Jamie Alston sang in sacrament meeting, dang it, I wish I could have been there. Oh, I got a Christmas card from Bishop Evans. He is a nice guy. It is really good to be out here serving the Savior and bringing people to Christ. I love this work and I am so glad I came back out:) I love this Christmas season and telling people about Christ and what he did for us. So last Monday we had a FHE and I made apple cobbler for this family. It was really good and they never had a FHE before so I told them how to do one. Then Sunday night we went caroling and we had a really good turn out and it was pretty fun. A lot of non-members showed up. We are still teaching some gators but we are trying to find new people to teach!! We are working with a lot of less active though which is just as good to reactivate them. We have some sisters in our district but they weren't in our picture haha. I live with Bro Huppolo and Sis Bruner is the one that sent you the pictures. Well, I am very excited to talk to you tomorrow at 6 which is probably 7 for you guys. I can't wait to talk to the family. That will be the highlight of my day!! Well, I love you and I will talk to you tomorrow. I have got to get going as we are going to get trained to do Facebook!!! Have a good Christmas eve.

Love Elder Reed

December 20, 2013

I hope you are doing great and I hope you have a great rest of the week














Wednesday, January 8, 2014

December 16, 2013

Hey Mom and Dad,

  It's so crazy how time seems to fly by. I got your package and sweet, I will open it and pass out candy. Transfers are today and I am staying here in Florence which is great. I love this little town. There are so many wonderful people here. We are teaching a less active family right o and we are focusing on getting them to the temple so they can be sealed. Tonight we are going to have a family home evening with them which is going to be fun:) They too in a homeless guy and he is starting to read the Book of Mormon. He said he doesn't have any questions yet. We are also building a house for a lady and this guy, who is a non member. We were all standing out by the trash can and there was a red bull energy drink and I picked it up and I said "Jerry, did you drink this?" He said, "No, I don't drink that stuff." Then the guy said, "Mormons can't drink that?" and we taught everyone there the work of wisdom. It was awesome as there were like 5 people there.
   Dang mom, you need to get your Christmas tree up and decorated. That's sweet you got new lights, that's awesome. I am so excited to call you guys for Christmas. You will have to send me pictures of Brooke's house. I want to see how it is coming. That is good the work is coming along. I like Brig and am glad he is home. I wonder how he is doing. That stinks about Ashley's boyfriend but I really didn't like that guy she was dating. Tell the Lunds I said Hi. I am glad you are staying busy with work. That's crazy that you saw Savannah. Good for her dating that guy. She news a guy like that and I am glad she found one. Can you send me more horseshoe key rings. I want to give one to my landlord. He is a really nice guy. It's truly amazing what the gospel can do for people.
  Well, I love you and hope you have a good Christmas.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

December 9, 2013

Hey Mom & Dad,

  It's so crazy up here. It snowed here Friday which is crazy because it's not suppose to snow here in Florence. All the water is frozen and some of the lakes are also frozen. That is good Brooke will move in soon. I am excited for her. I am glad you are staying busy. I love talking about Christ and His atonement. I cry all the time when anyone talks about that. I did see the Christmas devotional. It was really good. We had a zone meeting and we are going to get iPads and Facebook in January. So that will be pretty cool. That is sweet Karlee is getting ready to pop our her baby. I bet she is getting really excited. I couldn't open up Weston's gymnastics so can you send it again. Thank you for my boots, that will help me since we are doing so much service. That is crazy about Lindsey Davis kids. I am glad they are doing all right. That's crazy Sam Calhoun just had another baby, good for her! Scott Reheis is getting married to Rhondalee Jones! That's weird but it's also good news. It sounds like Warren Solomon is doing the 4 step program with you. Have you guys picked a date yet?
  So a crazy thing happened Sunday. We had stake conference and we sat by this lady I didn't know and some member from the Florence Ward. So I started talking to her and her name is Sister Allen. I asked if she had any relatives from Arizona and she said yes but not from her husbands side. She ask me where I was from and I said Queen Creek and she has a cousin Micah Rogers. I said "dang, I know that guy, I like him." I told her Bro Rogers had a grandma that lives somewhere up here and she told me she lives in Yakats which is just north of Florence. So that was really cool that I got to talk to her. It's crazy how small the world is:) Well, that's about all that has happened this week.
  So I got Vanessa's email and she sent me a photo of her. She looks good and happy. She took a picture of her in front of an oregon sign:) She said in Illinois there is a town called Oregon. haha isn't that sweet. I sent her a birthday present and she seemed really happy to get it:)
  Well, I love you and hope you have a good week. Tell the family that I love them. Could you send me some more horseshoe key rings? Thanks for everything you do for me.

I sure do love you