The Best Things In Life Aren't Things

My Baby is 18!!!

2011-02-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? 18 years ago there were several women in our ward who had babies, all of us had girls, except Carla, she had Kyle!! I remember thinking how lucky Kyle would be when he turned 16 and would be surrounded by all of these beautiful young women!! And now they are turning 18, graduating, preparing for college and missions, and who knows what else!! It has been neat watching them all grow up and I am so thankful for their great examples!!!
I am so grateful for Rhegan, she is one of my best friends. She is beautiful on the inside and outside. She is very creative. I am known as Martha Stewart to the booster club and Rhegan is Martha Stewart Jr. She is a great leader, organizer, very creative, and has a very kind heart!!!!
Happy 18th birthday Rhegan, I am so excited to see what the next 18 years brings us!!

Back to My Roots!!!

2010-10-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got to go back to Tennessee!! I had forgotten how beautiful it is. The leaves were changing colors on the trees, the weather was beautiful, but best of all was spending time with some of my siblings. Take time for the things that really matter in life!!!!!

We Love Football Games!!!

2010-09-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

O'Connor has won three games in a row, wahoo!!!!! Our friend Christian says it's because his dad hasn't gone to any of the games, but we know it's because of the awesome spiritline!!! Great job Rhegan!!!!

Looking Forward to September 24th!!!!

2010-08-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

We have some exciting news!! Rees and Tracee are getting married. We couldn't be happier!! It's been so fun to see them go from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend, then a 2 year mission for Rees as Tracee waited patiently, and now the best part-a wedding in the Mesa Temple. Thank you both for making good choices in your lives and for choosing each other!! We love you!!!!!

18 Days!!! Wahoo!!!!

2010-06-07T15:37:00.001-07:00

Hey Mom,
Thanks for the dinero. I´ll let you know if I need more. I got a suit today. It came with a shirt and a tie. Good deal. Umm, things are good. Just finishing out. I cant believe there are only two more sundays. We had a great baptism yesterday. This computer I´m on is sucky and I cant send pictures from here so sorry. There is a sister in our ward and 3 sundays ago she came up to me and told me her granddaughter wanted to listen to us so we went and she had already been to church before, and her boyfriend had just got back from the mission a month before (yes she waited for him). So we taught her and she progressed real quick. She read and prayed and knew it was true and yesterday was her baptism. It was a good service. Sometimes we get into a rutine with the baptismal services and they aren´t that good. But in this one, her granny and her boyfriend were there to give talks and share testimonies and it made it real special. Umm, what else.... I think that´s about it. Next monday I am gonna go look for your purses cuz this morning we played soccer and I didnt have time to go. Love you tons mom. Tell everyone I say hi and that I am excited to see them.
Love, Rees

39 Days, but who's counting?????

2010-05-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam,
How´s things? Here things are great. The only problem is the fact that I´m from Arizona. These people want to beat the crap out of me! I just say I´m from Utah now and they dont say anything. So this week was good. We had a baptism. I´ll have to tell you guys about it later cuz it was pretty funny. I cant send the picture cuz this computer is being dumb. But next week fore sure. Today was amazing. We had a devotional with Elder Bednar. He blew me away. Bishop McMullin was there too and Elder Johnson, the area president. Overall it was awesome. We talked alot about how to help the investigators learn and experiment the changes in their lives. He said like 20 times and made it quite clear that we are not the ones teaching, but it´s the Spirit. It says in the scriptures that the spirit takes it UNTO their hearts. But they need it to enter INTO their hearts. So as we invite them to make and fulfill commitments they will excersice their faith and open their hearts so that the Spirit can enter. That is when they gain a testimony and become converted. He mentioned how he has asked thousands of recent converts what they remembered about the missionary lessons, and they all respond, NOTHING! They say that it is the most weird unlogical experience of their lives.... angels appearing to a boy, golden plates, etc... But they all feel the power of the Spirit and have that desire to know more. He taught us so much and I wish I could talk about all of it but I cant. I love you all and appreciate the emails. Tell everyone I say hi like always.
Love, Rees

Work, Work, Work

2010-05-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam,
Another good week here in Ixtapaluca. Me and my comp worked like dogs this week. I dont think I have ever been so tired in my mission. It´s so true what it says in Preach My Gospel, the key to missionary work is just that, work. We worked a ton and had a good day yesterday at church. I am excited to talk to everyone on Sunday. Can you believe next month I´ll be home?!?!! Crazy!
Love, Rees

Happy Birthday Rees!!!!!

2010-04-26T23:22:00.001-07:00

Rhegan!!!!

2010-04-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Rhegan was apparently out with Julia the other day and I received these via e-mail. Rhegan said they are a joke, if they are a joke, I would love to see the real deal!!
Thanks Julia, love them!!!!!

Monday in Mexico

2010-04-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Whats goin on?
Conference was amazing huh? I can tell by the emails that you guys loved it too. It was such an uplifiting experience. Even more amazing was the opportunity we had to take investigators. All of them left conference with smiles on their faces and told us they enjoyed it so much. How blessed we are to have the opportunity to listen to the Lord through his servants here on earth. Aren´t they so powerful? What do you think they do different than we do? I still have no idea, but we just have to keep doing our part and the Lord will bless us as well. I just thought of a talk from a while back about how every responsiblity is just as important as the other. The Lord is just as pleased with us as he is witht the prophet, (if we´re obedient). There is no greater joy than finishing a day just worn out after a full day of hard work. I love you all and am so appreciative of all the support. Gotta run.
Love, Rees

Are We Willing to Do What the Lord Wants Us to Do??

2010-03-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
What´s new back home? Things here are normal. It´s raining, which is super nice. The sun has just been burning my face these past few days. So the cloud coverage really helps. The work is moving along as well. We had four baptisms yesterday. We have had an amazing experience teaching one of our investigators. I think I might have told you guys last week but we were teaching here and she´s all, I was praying for an answer and I think you guys are it. I learn so much from the people we teach. Being baptized is really a big decision and a huge change in these people´s lives, and I admire so much the faith they have to take such a big step so fast. There is a talk, I dont remember who gave it, but it said that someone who as read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it´s true and felt and answer in their heart, will be willing to do anything the Lord tells them to be able to follow him. I have really seen that here in the mission. Those who read and pray with real intent will receive and answer and those who have an answer will do whatever they need to to follow the Lord. Sometimes I am hesitant to do the things I know I need to, but the example these new converts show is really amazing. Our faith is really what will save us. After a long period of time without progression, we dont notice that anything is wrong, and that´s when we need to reflect and think about how we can increase our faith. We need to enter into the unknown, go out of our convert zone and do those extra things that set us apart from the rest, and then the Lord will reveal his hand and our faith will continue to grow. I love you all and hope all is well at home. I gotta get goin, we have a few appointments right now. Keep me updated on all the good stuff.
Love, Rees

3 Months Left!!!!

2010-03-22T17:37:00.001-07:00

Hey fam,
Sounds like the trip to Monticello was a blast. Man I miss the cold. Here is has just been pure sun. It´s not that hot, not even close to how it is at home, but the sun burns so bad. I have one of the best neck tan lines in the mission. Today we went and played soccer and then ate pizza as a zone. It was fun but it took up all our time. Now it´s late and I dont have much time to wrtie so I´ll be quick. This week flew by. We had a baptism of a family of 4 on sunday. I´m attaching the pictures right now. They have really changed since they have been going to church. It is amazing how much the Gospel changes the lives of the people. I know I probabably say that every week but in every person the changes are different and it is such a great experience to be able to see. O how blessed we are. Tell Jager and Bubba that I´m stoked for them. O what amazing experiences lie ahead of them. I love you all. Thanks for everything.
Love, Rees

Work, Work, Work!!!

2010-03-16T08:43:00.001-07:00

Hey fam,
Wow sounds like there is a lot going on these days. I cant believe Bubba is headed out so fast. That´s gonna be awesome going to Monticello with Jager. Lots of exciting news. Here things are normal like usual. Just work work and more work. I dont think I have ever been so blessed before in my life. The truth, the Lord has blessed me with 21 amazing months. There is no greater work than this, and it´s a huge blessing to be able to work here. It´s sometimes overwhelming to think that we are the only ones in the world that can help those around us achieve salvation. And even more so to think that only two of us, here in our area, are the ones that can do it. The Lord trusts in us more than we know. Especially if he lets a bunch of teenagers do this great work. He continues blessing us with miracles each week and the gospel truly changes these people´s lives. I love you all tons. Have a great week.
Love, Rees

Lessons from Rees!!

2010-03-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

hey fam,
How´s things???? Things here are going great. We´re getting to know the area a bit better and we´ve had tons of fun. This week we found like 4 families and wow what a blessing. I learned a good lesson this week. When our motives aren´t pure, the Lord doesn´t help out that much. Sometimes I still get caught in the idea of baptizing a lot for the recognition. But I just think about some of the people I have baptized and how the Gospel has changed their lives and I realize, that´s what really matters. We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives. There really isn´t a greater feeling that helping others come unto the Lord. I think sometimes it feels so good because so many reject us and slam doors in our faces, and then when one finally accepts, o how awesome it is. This week we have our zone conference and the picture of the mission again. That should be fun. I´ll be sure to send a copy when we get it. I love you guys tons. Thanks for all the emails each week.
Love, Rees

LDS Prom

2010-03-07T11:43:00.001-08:00

Rhegan and Joel Rollins went to LDS Prom together. It was amazing!!! Isn't she a beauty????

SPIRITLINE!!!!

2010-03-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

Rhegan has had a great year on spiritline!!
Cheering at football games, basketball games, performing at assemblies, and end of the year banquet!!! Rhegan, you rock!!!!

Happy 17 Rhegan!!!!

2010-03-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

RHEGAN AND MONICA!!!!

PEIWEI WITH FRIENDS

I can't believe you have been in our home for 17 years. We were so excited to have a princess after two boys. Thank you for all the joy and happiness you have brought into our home!!! You are loved!!!!

4 Months Left!!!!!

2010-03-01T13:22:00.001-08:00

Hey Fam,
Sounds like things are good as usual. Things here are great too. Tuesday we had changes. I got my new comp Elder Cordova and we got put here in Izcalli, Ixtapaluca. Our area is awesome and there is just tons of people in the streets! We are just on the other side of the hill of Chicoloapan, where I was for 7 months. So it´s exciting to be back in the city where all the people are. On tuesday at the changes meeting I wanted to see if I could guess who my new comp would be, so I went and said hi to a group of newbies, but I didnt know which one it would be, and as I was walking away I turned the corner and saw my comp, and all I said to him was, hey your gonna be my comp. And sure enough, that´s how it was. He´s an awesome kid. I bet dad would get along with him cuz he likes to dance. = ) He´s from Tabasco, down south. We really have a lot of fun together and we get along great. On Sunday we had our first baptism and it was awesome to see him baptize on his first sunday in the mission. The only problem here is the ward, the assistance is really low and there is no bishop nor first councelor. It´s almost all pure women and they all gossip like crazy. So we´ll be working extra hard with the member to get the ward going. It´s gonna be a great 4 months here in Izcalli. I love you all and hope all is well back home. Say hi to everyone. Thanks for writing. = )
Love, Rees

The Atonement

2010-02-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam,
We had another great week. Lots of work like always. Not much to say this week. Sometimes I think I teach people just to baptize them. But this week I learned that it´s more than that. I know, after so much time you think I would have already known that huh? Everything we have and do and believe revolves (?) around the atonement and our Savior. The trick is to help others gain a testimony of Christ and what he did for us. If we dont know it or feel it ourselves, how could we ever help them to feel it. I dont know if this makes sense, but it does to me. = ) The work is going great. I love you all and hope all is well.
Love, Rees

More Miracles!!!

2010-02-08T15:56:00.000-08:00

Whats up fam,
Sounds like it was a busy week back home. I never thought I´d see the day that the Saints won the superbowl! Thats exciting. What part of Mexico was Harry in? I forgot... We had an amazing week this week. We found a family knocking doors, and when we asked if they had read the folleto (i dont know how to say that in english), they said ya and that they felt amazing about Joseph Smith and then the dad is all, hey I read something about baptism and was wondering if you guys could baptize us..., and then at the end of the lesson the dad says, when I listen to you guys I feel this burning in my chest and I feel like I´ve found what I was looking for. It was amazing. I am so grateful to be able to see miracles like that. It truly is a miracle to be able to find someone that the Lord has prepared to receive the Gospel. Then yesterday we had a couple baptism which was an amazing experiece like always. I love you all and appreciate all the support.
-Love, Rees

Thanks for the Christmas Cards!!!!

2010-02-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam,
We had a good week this week. All is going great like always. Just enjoying the blessings. I feel like I write the same things every week so sorry if it gets boring... Ok, before I forget, tell everyone I FINALLY got Christmas cards! Thanks so much everyone. I loved seeing everyone and I cant believe how everyone has changes. Those King boys are sure getting big. I couldn´t believe the Wandelts´ picture either. Congradulations Jim on no surgeries this year! = ) O, I do know Elder Rasmussen. Tell Karleah to tell his mom (if she sees her again) that he is an amazing elder and a great leader. That would be so exciting to see someone from home get their call to here. There are several missionaries that are from the same wards. Small ward huh... Anyways, I dont know what else to say... the work is great. I have really learned during this time that the blessings almost always come after the hard stuff. Sometimes we get so worn out or frustrated working so hard and not having success, but EVERY time the Lord makes it well worth it. There are so many little things that just make it impossible to deny that this is the Lords work. Me and my comp passed a street a couple times in the past weeks and felt that we should go knock it, but we never had time. And this week as we passed we decided to do it. That day we spent the whole morning knocking that one street, not because it was big, but because there were so many people who opened their doors and listened to us. We are so imperfect sometimes, as missionaries we just go out and work wherever, when the Lord wants us to go to certain areas, but He understands and always puts those elect in our path when we´re diligent in our efforts. I dont know if I said this last time, but the Lord is much quicker to bless those who get up and go to work, than those who sit around thinking all day about where they should go. The key to this work, and to life I think, is just that, work. A principle that many lack these days. But like I said, the Lord understands that we´re imperfect and is always sure to bless us when we most need it. I love you all and again thank you for the Christmas cards. Love, Rees

Happy Birthday Rhegan!!!!

2010-01-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to the most beautiful girl and the bestest friend in the world!!

Raul

2010-01-18T19:04:00.000-08:00

Family,
How´s things? Things here are great. I think I told you guys the other week about our investigator Raul. He was the kid we found when the JW´s were at his door. Well he was baptized this week and it was incredible. When we found him he was just about dead from all the drugs and other stuff he was doing. But wow, what a change. I have never seen anyone who appreciates the church so much. Today he played soccer with us and some guy made a comment about how the church was ugly (who knows why), and Raul was about the punch the guy. And after he told me, "these people dont even know what they have". It´s so true. Sometimes we really forget how blessed we are. The Gospel changes peoples lives around completely. And now, for the example of Raul, his family is interested in the Gospel. In this time the Lord has taught me so much, and mostly thru the recent converts. I have never seen people with so much faith, who leave everything from the world to be able to follow the Lord. We can all do a better job of setting examples for those around us and sharing what we have. How blessed we are to have been born into the Gospel and to know it since we were little, but sometimes those who are new in the Church are the ones who set the example for us. The Lord can change anyone, and the experience of seeing it happen is indescribable. We should all pray and desire to see that more often. I love you all and pray for you always. Love, Rees

Love the People!!!

2010-01-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

Fam,
We had a good week here. Just work like always. The Lord has really blessed us lately with finding some amazing people. I think something that has helped me a lot lately is trying to love the people more. Honestly, sometimes missionaries just see people as numbers, we´ve all done it, but the experience is 10 times more amazing when you do it because you love them and you desire to help them recieve salvation. This morning we went with two other missionaries and two brothers in the ward to Real del Monte and Mineral del Chico. They´re these two little towns in the middle of the mountains with some awesome mines and caves and rivers. It was a blast. I´ll be attaching the pictures in a minute. So ya, we´re having a great time here, as always. Me and my comp dont have changes this cycle so we´ll be together another 6 weeks. I´m excited. Like I said, we have been blessed to find some amazing people and the baptisms should be great. Love you all and appreciate all you do. Sorry this is a bit short. Look forward to hearing from everyone next week too. Love, Rees

Snow Day in Arizona!!

2010-01-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

We love Arizona!! Where else can you leave the warm desert and drive 2 hours to play in the snow!!!!

Miracles!!!

2010-01-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam,
Sounds like things are goin good at home. Sounds like it was a bummer week for the Eagles though. I´m always wearing my Vick jersey around the house. = ) I dont have my camera with me so I cant send the pictures of our baptisms yesterday. It was awesome. Tracee wanted me to tell her about the people we´re teaching so I´ll just throw it in here so you guys hear it too. We baptized one guy Miguel. He was one of the biggest miracles I´ve seen in my mission. 3 sundays ago he showed up at church and said that he had heard the missionaries before and was gonna go because he wanted to get back together with his girlfriend, who was a member. But then he decided that those werent good motives for joining the church so he didnt go. But then that day he showed up I sat next to him and we shared my hymn book and he was just belting the hymns. And then he told me his story and how his family wouldnt let us go to his house so we taught him in the church. And ya.... we taught him and 3 weeks later he was baptized. It´s just amazing how the Lord prepares his children. Then the other baptism was Ana Lidia. Shes an older lady with 3 kids and a husband. We knocked her door and she let us in and pulled out a pamphlet that the missionaries had given her before but then they never went back. She told us she had read it like 50 times and wanted to know more. So we taught her and gave her more pamphlets and she said she wasnt ready for baptism at first, but then we gave her her Book of Mormon and she read it and couldnt deny it. So like Miguel, she was baptized 3 weeks later. O and I have to tell you about this kid we found, Raul. We walked by his house and the jehovas witnesses were talkin to him outside and had the bible right up in his face (not that the JW´s are bad). But I saw him and he looked at me and his eyes just said, "save me!". So we went back a bit later when the JW´s were gone and he told us he liked what we believe in and that he wanted to go to church and he showed up alone and spent most the time crying because he loved the Spirit he felt. The Lord just teaches us so much each day through the people we find and the way the Gospel changes their lives. Love you guys and appreciate all your support. Tell everyone at church I say hi. Love, Rees

One More Day, But Who's Counting???

2009-12-24T11:05:00.001-08:00

Since our computer has been down, this letter from Rees is a little late, but amazing as usual!!! Tomorrow is Christmas, and I must say that I am more excited to talk to Rees than open presents!!! So here is his letter from Monday!!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Hey Fam!
How´s things back home this holiday season? Is it cold there? Just like two days ago, it got really cold here. It has been a bit harder to get up in the mornings too. The gas to turn on the heater to heat the water is like frozen every morining so it takes like 15 minutes just to get the thing going. But it´s much more enjoyable than the heat, so I´m not complaining. The work picked up quite a bit this week too. The Lord always knows when we need a little boost from him. I sure hope I still see miracles like these after the mission. I never understood before how much the Lord really loves us. He just wants to drown us with blessings, we just have to do the little he asks of us. We´re all pretty excited here this week. I´m excited to talk to you all. I think I´ll call between like 12 and 2. Tell the Kings to be there so I can say hi to them ( if they´re not in california). So ya, the 24th is the big day here to celebrate so this cool family invited us to go eat dinner with them and then on friday we´re gonna eat with this other family that lived in California for a long time. They´ll be sure to hook us up with some good food. And christmas morning we´re gonna go as a zone to an old folks home here in our zone and sing and play games and give them some little gifts for a couple hours. It should be fun. I cant tell you all how much I love you and appreciate you. It´s so amazing being able to be here for christmas. I cant believe its already the last one. I better get to work so I dont lose any more of the time I got left. I love you guys. Tell everyone I wish them a merry christmas. Granny and Laura, thanks a ton for the money. It´s definitely what a missionary needs most. = ) I appreciate the love and support. Love, Rees P.S. Thanks for the package mom and dad.

Thankful!!!

2009-12-15T08:10:00.001-08:00

I just need to say how thankful I am for a missionary who teaches me something each week. I am so amazed at his wisdom and I am so thankful that he has the Holy Ghost with him to teach him!! Thank you for writing him and supporting him. It is so great to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!!!!!
Love to everyone!!!!!

Merry Christmas from Mexico!!!

2009-12-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

Glad to hear all is going well at home. I thought of you guys lots this week when we went to the temple. I remember the first time I went through and I looked over and dad was snoozin! haha I always struggle to stay awake too. = ) But it was a great experience, (since we only get to go through once a year). The work has been a bit tuff lately. Never been happier though. The Lord always blesses us with miracles when we most need them. "...and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled and you shall in nowise lose your reward." (D&C 127:4) This week we plan to do much more and the Lord will be sure to answer. I love you guys and appreciate all your support. Already got the christmas package. You´ll still have time to send another one now! ; ) No jk. Thanks a bunch. I really appreciate it. Love you guys and tell everyone I say hi and merry christmas. Love, Rees

What is really important???

2009-12-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

hey fam,
How´s things? Sounds like everyone is keepin busy. Are the kids out of school yet? I think the kids here get out next week. We had a good week this week. I got my new comp Elder Magdaleno. We get along great. By buddy Elder Wright trained him so I knew him a little bit already. This week should be good. Tomorrow we go to the city to stay the night because on Wednesday we have our zone conference. Each christmas we get to go to a session in the temple so that will be awesome. We´re super excited. We had another zone leaders counsel this week and President´s wife stuffed us with food. Some pizza, country fried steak, mashed taters and gravy... it was delicious. And after the session this week we´re gonna eat some nice steaks in the temple cafeteria. It´s kinda weird, after almost 18 months in the mission, I´m finally learning what the key is to missionary work is.... There is a talk by elder holland that he gave in the MTC in like June of this year, "The Divine Companionship". Try checking it out on line. One of the hardest things, is having the Spirit all the time, but if we can learn how to have it all the time, wow is life much better. It´s such a blessing to have the Holy Ghost as our companion. There is so much power in fasting and prayer. The Lord always answers, but in his own time and his own way. There is power in making covenants and being obedient. Each day it´s a battle against Satan, but winning brings us so many blessings. Dont ever forget what´s really important. I love you all and appreciate all you do. Say hi to everyone. Love, Rees

Molango

2009-11-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam,
Things are going good here. Just busy like always. My comp has changes tomorrow so that´ll be exciting. Hope they give me another gringo so I can keep practicing my english though. = ) We had an amazing experience this week. On Saturday we went out to this place called Molango. It´s a little city in the middle of the mountains. Just in the middle of nowhere. This guy Jared from the high councel that just got back from his mission a year ago took us. It was a 3 hour drive it was beautiful. O how I wish you all could have seen this place. Try lookin it up online. We found this girl who hadnt been baptized yet so we took her down to the lake below this city and baptized her there. I´ll be sending the pictures in a mintute. It was just amazing. After beeing in Mexico City for over a year, it was just mind blowing to see such a beautiful place out where there are trees and forest and lake. Man it was an great day. Besides that all went normal this week. O, yesterday I got to eat some buffalo wings and they were amazing! = ) There is no greater joy than sharing the gospel. Thanks for all the love and support. I love you all and appreciate all you do. Tell everyone I say hi and merry christmas. Love, Rees

No Turkey Bowl!!!!

2009-11-23T19:40:00.001-08:00

Hey Fam,
I am a bit bummed that I´m not gonna be there for Turkey Bowl this year. Today we had our zone activity and it was our Turkey Bowl, but we had to play soccer because no one here plays football. But it was fun. The work is going great. We had Elder Johnson here with us this week in our zone conferences and it was great. He really taught us how to improve on having the spirit and recognizing it. The elect recgnize HIS voice (D&C 29:7). If we have the spirit with us and we just talk to people, the elect ones will recognize that it is the voice of the Savior and will accept us. It really make you think about how you can have the spirit more. Even the little things sometimes distract us and get us off track. Satan really work against us. I have never seen so many blessings and miracles in my life, but never seen the works of the adversary so present and frequent either. He knows the change this message will make in peoples lives and he does all he can to stop it. But the Lord will win the end. Sometimes we spend all day in the sun and feel like we cant find anyone, but when we go into a house and see that the Lord has prepared the people, it really makes it all worth it. I hope you all can work on making the work for the missionaries there a bit easier by sharing the Gospel with someone. The Lord uses the members and many other ways to prepare the hearts of his children. There isnt anything better than being a part in that preperation. The Lord will bless you immensly (is that a word?). I love you all and hope your all doing great. I´m sure I´ll get the package if you send it this week mom. Thanks for takin care of me. Love you tons. Love, Rees

My Favorite Veteran!!!

2009-11-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for the men and women who have served our country and who are still serving. I am especially thankful for my amazing son who served in the Army for three years and spent half of that time in Iraq!!! I am one proud mother!!!!!

The Best Meal in Mexico City!!!!!

2009-11-09T16:08:00.001-08:00

Hiking!!!!

Chili's with President Bulloch, love the ribs!!!!

Hey Fam!
How´s things? Sounds like O´Connor is doing great. That must be exciting. Things here are good. We had a good week. Work like always. On Wednesday we went with President Bulloch and his wife to check the houses of the missionaries in the zone and then after we went out for a little lunch. Can you baby back ribs? Yeah, he took us to Chili´s! We were just blown away. It had been forever since I had eaten food like that. I´m sure I´ll miss a few things from here after the mission, but man our food is so delicious! We were just in heaven. I´ll be sending the pictures in a second. And then on Sunday we had some amazing baptisms. Floro Sanchez, the dad of that wife and kids we baptized a couple weeks ago, and then this kid Rafa and Irvin. Rafa is 20 and Irvin is 15. It was an amazing baptism. Rafa and his family and been getting super trashed by all their uncles and cousins and neighbors, but his mom told us that if there are so many challanges than it must be true. I learned a lot from them this week. They were just a huge example to me of what our attitude should be when the going gets tough. Rafa was actually thinking about getting married to his girlfriend, but then she told him that she would dump him if he got baptized... but he didnt care. He´s got one of the biggest testimonies I´ve seen in a convert and already wants to go on a mission. The things the Lord blesses us with are truly amazing. All the work is so worth it. To see the way the Gospel changes lives, there is no better joy. I love you guys and hope all is well. Let me know if you ever want anything cool from Mexico. : ) Love, Rees P.S. Mom, thanks for the package, I made my own candy droor like we used to have at home! The other missionaries raid it like my friends used to do. Love you.

Tarzan and Jane!!!

2009-11-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

Pachuca Rocks!!!!

2009-10-26T15:36:00.001-07:00

Hey Fam,
What a week! Sounds like everyone is stayin busy at home. That´s awesome that O´Connor is doing good. It´s about time dont ya think??? We had a great week this week. I had changes. I am now in the city of Pachuca in the state of Hidalgo. It is a huge change from where I was. My whole time here I´ve been in pure city, and now I´m out in a smaller town. It´s super chill here tho so that´s cool. I have never seen so many rich and so many poor people in my life. Like half our area is full of rich people (we dont have much success there), and the other have is just dirt poor people (where we have quite a bit more success). We baptized this family this week, they have 6 kids and live in just a little brick room with one mattress. I have never seen anything like it before, but they are so humble out there and that makes them super receptive to the Gospel. It always reminds me of Alma 32. But this area is awesome. It´s known for not baptizing a lot but I´m sure we can change that. The members are amazing. It´s almost like being in a ward back home, with old members who know a lot and a lady who plays the piano (this is the first time I´ve been in a ward with someone who plays the hymns). It´s a great experience. And the food out here is amazing too! The members are a bit more wealthy so we´ve been eating burgers and pizza and this one lady makes a mean lasagna! So far things are going great. Today we went up to this huge Christ statue that was pretty cool. It´s supposedly the second biggest one in the world. I´ll attach a few pictures in a minute. Well that´s about it. Hope you guys know I love and appreciate all your support. Thanks everyone for writin a bunch and keepin me in the loop. Love, Rees P.S. To look up our area, just look up the Christ statue or the soccer stadium of the Pachuca soccer team. It´s kinda near those.

Hiking!!!!

2009-10-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me, knows that hiking isn't one of my favorite things to do in life, but I must tell you that I had an awesome time hiking at Squaw Peak. Thank you to the other patient, experienced hikers for encouraging me!!!!

Change!!!

2009-10-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam!
Sounds like all is super good at home. Things are great here too. We had a couple more baptisms this week so I´ll be sure to send pictures. Tuesday are changes and like I thought, its finally time to change. I cant believe how long they left me here. The members started jokin that I should buy a small piece of land and build a house!= ) That´s about all the exciting the news, changes. Everything else is going normal, just work like always. Me and my comp get along great so it´s kinda a bummer to get changed after only one cycle with him. It´s truly been an amazing experience to be here in Mexico. I cant believe how fast time is flying. The people are amazing and the food is even better! JK. Everything is great. Sorry this is so short but not too much going on. Love you guys a ton.
Love, Rees

Life is Great!!!!!!

2009-10-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

This has been an amazing few weeks in my life. I was having promptings about Bart's calling in the stake presidency, but not sure whether I should express them to him!! When I finally did, we talked about that we were inadequate(you know who puts those ideas in your head)!! I was reminded of a scripture that tells us that we are given weaknesses to make us humble and stronger. Needless to say, I am humbled. Last Monday Rees e-mailed Bart and reminded him about the talk Bednar gave in conference about the many little strokes that make up the painting, and thanked Bart for making sure we did the little strokes, prayer, scripture, family home evening, etc. We then felt a little adequacy. I too am thankful that Bart is such a righteous Priesthood holder and great example in our home. Bart and I were able to go to the temple on Friday morning, what a beautiful place the temple is. A friend was outside waiting on a wedding party so she took our picture!!! I don't like pictures of myself, but I love this picture!! I am so thankful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, I am thankful for a living prophet, President Monson, I am thankful for The Book of Mormon, and I am thankful for wonderful friends and an amazing family. Life is great!!!!!

Good Week!!!!

2009-10-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
How´s things? Sounds like a lot new is going on. You need to remind me where all those kids are goin on missions. I just remember Andrew is goin to Argentina right? Just remind me next week. Sounds like it was a good Sunday at church. That also should be exciting getting a new stak pres. Let me know how that goes. And dang, I wish I could have seen Sandra Day beat Boulder Creek. Sounds like it was a great game. So ya, things here are going great as well. This week we had 4 amazing baptisms. One had been waiting forever because the lady he was living with wasn´t divorced so they couldnt get married but we finally got all that taken care of and he was able to get baptized. The other was the wife of a convert from like 4 months ago, she didnt want anything to do with the church before, but he finally got her to just go one sunday and she read and prayed and couldnt neglect the feelings she felt. Something I have seen is that everyone has their time. Sometimes they reject us and then weeks, or even months later we find them again and they´re ready. Most the time people need some huge humbling experience to get them to listen. But those that listen and humble themselves alone, are soooo much more blessed by the Lord. The other lady we baptized too, had already heard the Gospel and didnt want anything, but then her son came from out of town to visit and told her he had been baptized and she loved the changes she saw in him and couldnt resist getting to know the Gospel. And the last guy was just a miracle. One day we didnt have much to do, so we decided to knock doors (yes we knock doors here), and we were just walking and saw this street and decided to knock it. And this guy answers and started to tell us how he had so many problems and he was waiting for us and we had got there just in time. One of the greatest joys in life is knowing you´ve been an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring others to the truth. The Lord is never hesitant to bless us if we will just do our part. There is nothing that can stop the Gospel from progressing. It has to be true if a bunch of teenagers can keep it moving forward. I love you all and appreciate all your love. Tell everyone hi like always. Love, Rees

Conference Rocks!!!!

2009-10-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

HEY FAM!
What a great weekend huh? This was the first time in my mission that I got to watch conference in english and I have to say that it was so much better! Every message was just amazing. Like you said mom, that message from Holland just blew my socks off. It is so true what he said about the Book of Mormon. It really does change people´s lives. A lot of people dont want to change or obey some commandments (which is normal) but when they read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they cant help but have a burnign desire to do what´s right and join the church. It really is the best tool we have as missionaries. We have been so blessed in the past months to be able to find so many prepared people. I was reading the Ensign the other day the message about baptism. It says that 1 out of every 1000 doors that is knocked by missionaries gets baptized. But that 600 out of every 1000 references from members gets baptized. That is so true. President Hinckley told us years ago to duplicate the number of convert baptisms. I promise you that the only way to do it is through the members. I hope you all enjoyed conference as much as I did. I cant believe that I´ll only be here for one more! Time is flying and I´m sure it will only keep going faster. The work is amazing. I have been so blessed. Of course there are trials and difficulties, but one miracle overshadows those moments so much. We are so blessed and we have a great responsibility to share this Gospel. I love you all and appreciate all you do for me. Keep on writing and tell everyone I say hi. Love, Rees

Homecoming!!!

2009-10-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a FUN week!!

Winning football!!!!

Getting flowers from #5!!!!!

Decorating the school for the big game!!!!

Having friends come watch the parade!!!!

Making a poster for our favorite football player!!!

Making tutus and tie dying shirts to match!!!

It doesn't get much better than that!!!!

By Small and Simple Things are Great Things Brought to Pass

2009-09-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam,
We had a great week this week. Sounds like things at home are going great too. On Tuesday was the Noche Mexicana in the church and that was fun. We had to leave early because those parties here dont finish until like 2 in the morning. But the food was great so like dad always says, we just had to eat and run. = ) And then we had a zone leaders meeting the mission home on thursday until friday so that was fun too. The week went super fast and it gets harder and harder to keep track of time. We had 3 baptisms on sunday that were awesome. It is ridiculous to see how much Satan will do to keep people from getting baptized. But afterwards, it makes the feeling of being clean just that much better. Sometimes I take for granted being able to baptize each week and forget how special it is. But the Lord is always reminding us of his power and that we need to recognize his hand in all things. And like mom and Rhey, I too am feeling a bit sick. We wash our clothes with family in the ward, but they´ve got a cat, and I am super allergic to it and now I´m not feeling that great. I´m sure it will pass quick though. Each week I am reminded even more of the importance of the members in the missionary work. Without them it would be impossible. Always remember that our example can sometimes be the most effective tool. When the people see us, and recognize the difference, it really makes them think and want to know more. The Lord always has his way of preparing his children to hear the Gospel, and we never know when we will be a part of that. There is no greater joy than knowing you´ve been an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I know that the Lord needed me here, and that he has a plan for each and every one of us. Our job is to be obedient, so that we can experience all the blessings he´s got prepared for us, but if we dont do our part, we´ll never know of the blessings we´re missing out on. I love you all and appreciate all you do for me. Love, Rees P.S. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass

Viva Mexico!!!!!

2009-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,
I´m happy to hear all the good news. Sounds like all is great at home. All is great here too. On Tuesday I got my new comp, Elder Valdez. We knew eachother in the first zone I was in so it was exciting to get put with him. We´ve just been workin like crazy this week. He´s a very hard worker so thats good. That will keep us having the success we´ve already had. I´m pretty bummed though because next cycle I´ll be having changes. I´ve already been in this area over 6 months so its a sure thing that they´ll send me somewhere else. But its ok. I´ve always liked change and it´s a great opportunity to change and improve. But for the moment I´m enjoying every minute of my time here in Los Reyes. This zone is the best. I´ve been so blessed to be here sush a long time and to be able to see so many miracles. So ya, that´s about it for now. Not too much goin on. OH! I dont know if you guys know but the 16th of September is independence day in Mexico and on the 15th they throw the biggest parties ever! So tomorrow in our ward the party is gonna be a blast. They rented a bunch of moon bounces for the kids and a mechanical bull!!! I am definitely looking forward to it. I´ll be sure to take plenty of pictures. = ) I love you all and pray for you always. Sorry there isnt much news this week. Thanks for all the love and support. Love, Rees P.S. ¡¡¡VIVA MÉXICO!!!

Count Your Blessings!!!

2009-09-07T20:29:00.001-07:00

Hey Fam,
I cant tell you how great it is to hear from everyone and hear that all is well. Sounds like football season will be much more enjoyable this season! Tell Robert congradulations for me. Things here are great as usual. My companion went home on Thursday so I´ve been movin around working with different elders in the zone. It´s been a nice little change and I´ve really enjoyed it. We had 4 more baptisms this week and it was another amazing experience. A little over a month ago, we were walkin in the street and a white VW bug stops in front of us and a lady rolls down the window and says, "my dad is a member and lives in the U.S., he told me I should talk to you guys when I see you". So we went to her house and taught her and her kids and last week her and her daughter got baptized, and this week her 2 cousins and their 2 kids got baptized too. Sometimes we think miracles are crazy out of the ordinary things but its really not like that at all. When people let us into their houses, read the Book of Mormon, pray about it, go to church, or talk to us in the street, those are the miracles the Lord blesses us with each day. It has been so amazing to be able to witness so many miracles and be a part of this amazing work. The Lord has blessed us so much here and is truly preparing people every day to hear the Gospel. Like I´ve said before, I´ve learned that the majority of the elect that the Lord is preparing are friends or family of church members. I can´t even tell you all how much joy it brings to share the Gospel and be an instrument in the Lord´s hands. Dont ever be afraid to open your mouth. The worst feeling is letting an opportunity pass by and regreting it later. Dont let that happen. Make it a habit to share our beliefs with others. If we´re truly LIVING the Gospel, others will have already seen a difference in us, and want to know more. I know this the work of the Lord. It has to be if a bunch of teenagers can keep it moving forward like it is. I love you all and appreciate all your support. Always remember to count your blessing, we are so blessed. Love, Rees

Are You a Member Missionary????

2009-08-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Whats goin on fam?!?!?!
Sounds like all is great. I would have loved to see Vick in an Eagles jersey. I know your probably already doing Christmas shopping mom so just remember that Vick jersey is on my list. = ) Things are goin great here. Just the normal rutine. It is unbelievable how the Lord helps us when we do our part. This week we had 9 baptisms and it was an amazing experience. The Lord is just preparing people every day to hear the missionaries. Sometimes it gets frustrating finding them but if we´re diligent, the Lord alwas puts them into our path. Something I didnt know before the mission is that the members should and can be a huge part of the missionary work. It´s amazing to see the success we can have when the members are excited and doing their part. Something they told us in the MTC is that the majority of the elect are friends or family of members. I have gained a strong testimony of that. When friends/family of church members are baptized, they automatically have 2 of the 3 things the President Hinckley said that each convert needs... a friend and to be nurished by the good word (not sure if thats how you say it in English). It is so much more likely that those converts will stay active in the church and persevere(?) to the end. I love you guys and appreciate all you do. I´ll try to send some pics in a bit. Tell everyone hi and I love them and to keep writing me if they have time.
Love, Rees

Count Your Blessings!!!

2009-08-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

HEY!!!!
How´s everyone doin? Sounds like things are pretty exciting with football season starting. I actually miss that a lot. But there will be plenty of time for that later. I cant believe Favre is in Minnesota. And dad told me the Eagles picked up Vick! Another elder I know here is a huge Eagles fan too so I told him and he´s pretty stoked for that. We´ll see how that goes. So ya, things here are great. We had 3 baptisms yesterday and it was awesome. This awesome couple we found a while ago finally got baptized. I have been thinking nonstop this week about how blessed we are. The trials we go through are really nothing compared to the things other people go through. I think the Lord blessed us with living where we do because he knows we wouldnt be able to make it through such hard things. Sometimes it just overwhelms (?) me. So this is my comps last full week in the mission. Next friday he goes home. It´s pretty exciting but also hard to keep the balance between work and home. But things are going great. The zone is doing good and I´m just having a blast. Today in the morning we went and played soccer with some other elders in the zone. It´s nice to get some aggression out that builds up in the week. = ) So ya, that´s about it. Things are great. We´re the most blessed people in the world. The Lord will never leave us if we´re obedient and diligent. That´s something I have seen all through my mission. Count your blessing and keep me updated on everything. Love you guys so much and appreciate you more than you know. Tell everyone I say hi. Love, Rees

Pride!!!

2009-08-18T06:58:00.000-07:00

Whats goin on fam?
Sounds like all is well with vacations to the beach house and trips to india. The keyboard Im using is horrible so I`ll have to make this a little shorter than normal. Things are going great here. Like always, work work work. We have been so so blessed in this area. The Lord always prepares people and puts them into our path so they can come unto him and enter in the waters of baptism. Something I have learned from experience and something I will be sure never to forget is to be grateful for all we have. The Book of Mormon teaches continually about pride and selfishness. After a time of prospering, we let pride enter into our hearts, and then we get humbled big time, and then we repent again and we start to prosper. It just a cycle we seem to always go through. One of the hardest things when we´re having success is that, always recognizing the hand of the Lord and doing things for the right reasons and with a pure heart. The Lord is never hesitant to bless us and ALWAYS keeps his promises. We just have to do our part and he will always be sure to make us prosper. I hope you guys know how much I love you and appreciate you. Tell everyone I appreciate their letters so much and I love hearing from them. Thanks for everything. Love, Rees
Hey Fam,
Thanks for all the awesome emails and keeping me updated on all the news. Things are going great here. As usual, work work work. This week we had our zone conference and it went good. We have to train in the zone conferences and this one was one of the best we´ve done. Then after the conference President interviews everyone, and about half way through the interviews he had a kidney stone attack. His wife called me and my comp in and we gave him and blessing and they left for the hospital. It was pretty intense seeing him in so much pain. I told him as he was getting into his car that I had heard that kidney stones are more painful than giving birth and he just laughed and said "O I believe it Elder". So then on Saturday we had the Visitors Center come to our zone. The church they had it in isn´t in an area where there are much people, so me and Elder Wright (from my district in the MTC) went to the gas station on the corner and invited everyone that pulled in. Because the young men were gonna wash cars free to get people to go into the church. Overall we had a great time. So ya, that´s about it. Hope you all know how much I love you. Tell everyone I say hi. Love hearing from you guys. Love, Rees

My Amazing Missionary!!!

2009-07-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

Que Onda?
We had a great week this week. I actually dont even remember what we did because time is just going to fast. Its impossible to keep track of time now... On friday we went to the youth conference of all the stakes in our mission for the missionary activity. The youth had to teach inactive families and help them with their problems and then we evaluated them and told them what to do better. It was pretty fun. But the best part was seeing converts from my first area there participating. I always pray that they´ll stay firm in the church and continue progressing but you never really know. So it was amazing to see some of them there and know that they´re still active and doing great. Besides that, not much going on. Just work as usual. Me and my companion dont have changes this cylce so we´ll be together another 6 weeks. He finishes his mission this cycle so we´ll see how things go. We have found some of the most amazing people in these past couple weeks. On saturday we took them to the visistors center in the temple and they loved it. All of them left talking about getting baptized and cealed(?) in the temple. Every week I am just blown away by the power of faith and repentance and obedience to the commandments. It is something I have never experienced befor, seeing the HUGE changes that people make, and the power our Heavenly Father gives them to quit smoking or drinking or any other thing. There is nothing better than seeing those things, those miracles that the Lord blesses us with EVERY day. I cant even put in words how grateful I am for this time here and the experiences I´ve had and all I´ve learned. I love you all and thank you soooo much for all the love and support you give me. I look forward each week to hear how everyone is. O and mom I´m good on clothes and stuff for now but I´ll be sure to let you know if I need anything. The other day I bought socks (12 pairs) for 9 pesos a pair (you can imagine how much that is in dollars). I love cheap things in Mexico! = ) Love you guys and tell everyone I say hi!
Love, Rees

Vaca at the Beach!!!

2009-07-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Wahoo!!! We went to my sister's beach house for a week and a half!! We had a blast!!
Thank you Tammy and Andy for letting us crash your party!!

My Best Friend Turned 50!!!!!

2009-07-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Bart is slowly catching up to me, I am all of 52!! He turned 50 on June 28th, our
24th wedding anniversary!!! Bart said I was the best birthday present he ever got!! Do you think I still am??? I hope so!!!

TRUE JOY!!!!!!

2009-07-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

What up fam,
Hey sorry you guys didnt get my email last week. I sent one but not sure why it didnt get there. Hope Dad and Riley had great birthdays this year. Wish I could have been there to see dad with his diapers. = ) Things are goin good here. We had two baptisms this week. They are some of the best people I`ve ever baptized. One of them has already read the Book of Mormon from front to back, and they both sit and take notes in all their classes. It`s amazing to see how people progress so quickly when they listen and follos the Holy Ghost. I can`t even put into words how amazing this work is. It`s indescribeable to see the changes that take place in the lives of the people when they apply the principles of the gospel in their lives. Each day I enjoy more and more sharing the Gospel. There is nothing that brings greater joy than being an instrument in the hands of the Lord to do His work. I love you guys and appreciate all you do. Tell everyone to write me if they have time because I love hearing from everyone. Love you guys. Love Rees

Can You Believe it Has Been a Year??????

2009-06-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been one whole year since we dropped Rees off at the MTC. I don't know about you, but it has gone fast. Yesterday Tracee, Rhegan, and I went to Olive Garden (that's where Rees likes to eat) to celebrate!! I am so thankful for Tracee, she has been Rees' best friend for several years and I appreciate her love and support for him!! Thank you Tracee, I love you too!!! As I read Rees' e-mails each week I am brought to tears at the growth and commitment he has to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love to read his testimony because it strengthens mine. I miss him, but I am so grateful he has chosen to serve the Lord. Here is his latest letter!!

Whats up fam,
Hows things goin at home? I´m sure good cuz everyone is at camp. Things here are great as normal. Just work work work. Can you guys believe it´s been a year already?!?! It just blows my mind. Everyone says the second year goes twice as fast as the first, so that´s pretty scary to think about too. We got put in a trio this week. A new american elder who just got here last week didn´t like Mexico so he went home after 4 days in the mission. So his comp is with us for the time being. It´s so sad to see people lose out on so many blessings and so much growth. It´s a lot like what Elder Holland said once, what I was before my mission, I will never be again. It´s amazing to see the Lord´s hand in our lives daily. There is nothing better than helping others gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. During the past 90 days we have been reading the Book of Mormon as a mission and we´re gonna finish tomorrow. I have never felt so much the power of that book. There are so many people who read it, and nothing happens, but that´s not because the book isn´t good, like it says in Alma 32, it´s because the ground is barren. Some people aren´t ready spiritually so understand and apply the principles of the Gospel. I´m so grateful to my Father in Heaven for letting me be born into the Church. There is nothing that brings greater joy than living the gospel principles and seeing how the Lord blesses us and works in our lives. I love you guys and hope you had a great time at camp. Love hearing from everyone!
Love, Rees
P.S. Happy ONE YEAR!!!

Monday Missionary!!!

2009-06-16T22:06:00.000-07:00

What up fam,
Sounds like things are good at home. We had a great week this week. Lots of work work work. It´s been kinda hot lately, not compared to there, but the sun burns like crazy here. This week are changes, but me and my comp are gonna be together another cycle. Today we went to the centro. I´ll be sending pictures right now. It was awesome to see all the cool historic sites in Mexico. We went with a brother from our ward who showed us around and it was a great time. I bought some new cheap shoes too. The good shoes here cost like 40 bucks so that´s nice. But besides that, the work is going great. We had another baptism this week and it was awesome. The dad of the kid we baptized is reading and hopefully he´ll be next. The members here are kinda weird. They either love us or they hate us. They complain when missionaries don´t baptize and then the complain when they baptize a bunch. Since I´ve been here we´ve only not baptized one week and the members really don´t like it. It would be amazing to have the members from our ward at home, they´d be so stoked and would be helping and visiting the converts. But it´s all good. Just gotta keep doing our part. So that´s about it. Lots of work and but I´ve never been so happy in the work before, or so excited to share the Gospel. Every day is amazing, even when we get rejected a lot. I love you guys and appreciate all your support. Love, Rees

Where's Rees???

2009-06-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam!
Sounds like things are goin good. The super activity sounds like it was a blast. I can´t believe Jules is doing swim lessons with that stomach. I´m not sure if I told you guys, but one Sunday we baptized this pregnate lady and her son, and the next day at 5 in the morning she had her baby. It was pretty exciting. Things are going good here in Mexico. The sun has been super strong lately and I´m getting fried every day. The people tell me I´m starting to look Mexican. = ) A couple weeks ago we took the photo of the whole mission so I´ll be forwarding you guys that picture in the email of Sister Bulloch. Last week we had interviews with President Bulloch, and after, he took me and my comp out to lunch so that was fun. I´ll send a pic of that too. The work is going good. It´s always challenging but so rewarding when people go to church and read the Book of Mormon. I´m so grateful for this time I´ve had here and all the things I´ve learned and I hope you guys know how much I appreciate all your support. Love you guys. Love, Rees P.S. Dad, tell Jay I could use a few sports updates because I´m so out of the loop right now. = )

Taylor Swift with my BFF!!!

2009-05-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky!! My amazing friend Breba found us tickets to Taylor Swift at the last minute and boy was it worth it!! Rhegan and I loved the concert, I am so glad that I knew the words to most of the songs, cuz the audience sang along the whole time. It was a fabulous night!! Thanks Julya and Breba for letting us tag along.

Earthquake!!!!!

2009-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam,
Wow, sounds like all is super well at home. Tell Casey congradulations for me. It´s been so awesome hearing all the great experiences you guys are having. Things are going good here too. We had 2 more baptisms this week and they were great. My companion and I are getting along well and I´m really enjoying things here. O, I also enjoyed that earthquake we had here. Of course, I had never felt one, so I was super stoked when it happened. We were on divisions so I was with another American in his area and we were eating when it happened. It´s a pretty cool fealing. But for the people here it was pretty serious. They said it was the strongest one in long time, and everyone was freaked out thinking about the one in 1985. So ya, that´s about all. Things are going good as usual. Always remember to be humble and recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives. Sometimes we think we can do it all on our own. Something a speaker told us in the MTC was that the moment we think we can do it on our own, the Lord lets us, and we fail. We always have to search his help in all things, and remember to look to him even when things are going good. I love you guys. Love, Rees P.S. 11 Months!

Swine Flu Can't Stop the Work!!!

2009-05-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hey FAM!!
How´s everyone at home? Sounds like everyone is great. Anyways, this week was AWESOME. We baptized 6 people this week. A family of 5 and the daughter of a lady we baptized a couple weeks ago. The family is awesome. Both the parents shared their testimonies after the baptism and it was amazing. The mom can´t read but she said she knew the Book of Mormon was true because she could feel it when we taught her. It was such a great experience. It really is surprising to see how many people can´t read here. We should really be grateful for the great schooling we have and that we know how to read. It really is a huge blessing. Anyways, this week was good. The swine flu junk is cooling down. I really think it was all a lie. But since we don´t see the news, who knows. They just keep changing all the information and making up new things. But the people seem to have noticed and it´s basically back to normal. So ya, that´s about it. Can`t believe it´s already May and I´ll be calling next week. Can´t wait to talk to everyone and hear how you´re doing. That´s so awesome that Casey accepted to get baptized. Isn´t it just amazing to see how the Book of Mormon can change people? Anyways, I love you guys and appreciate all your support. Love, Rees

Happy Birthday Rees!!!

2009-04-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Rees turned 20 yesterday!!
Here is the latest from him:
What´s goin on fam? Sounds like all is well at home. How exciting to divide the ward. We´re just about to get this ward where I´m at divided too. Things are goin good here. Things have changed a ton since that stupid swine flu got here. There is harly anyone in the streets and if they are, they have doctor masks on and don´t want to talk to anyone. It sounds like it´s pretty serious, but since we don´t watch the news I don´t know much about it. Just what the members tell us. They say that like 100 people have died, who knows though... They canceled ALL church services yesterday and this coming week too. We´re basically in our own little spring break down here. No jk, we´re still working, but the members aren´t. The government said we can´t have religious meetings so we´re locked out of the chapel basically. But we´ll see how it goes. Just kinda crazy right now here in Mexico. Hopefully things will chill out pretty quick. That´s about it. Everything is going good. Ya I got my package and debit card and pin number so thank you very much for that. I love you guys. Keep a look out for that swine flu in the U.S. It travels fast. = )
Love, Rees

It's True!!!!

2009-04-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

I would like to share an experience I had yesterday! I received Rees' letter, which I am including, I felt impressed to send it to my amazing new sister-in-law Casey. I worried how she would take the letter, I didn't want her to feel pressure about the church (who puts that in our head??), but I sent it anyway, after all, it was about her!! Last night we went to her home to meet some amazing Sister missionaries and to have a lesson. Casey felt excited after the lesson. When it was over one of the sisters asked if she could add a P.S. to the lesson-She shared a scripture that came to her, Mosiah 18:10-11 "Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandmnets, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts."
The sister said she felt like clapping right then because of the joy and excitement she saw in Casey.
Needless to say, I felt the spirit testify to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I am so thankful I could experience this with my family. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life and all of the blessings I receive from my Heavenly Father by being obedient.
Thank you Casey and Todd for letting me share this experience with you!!!
Here is Rees' letter:
Hey Fam,
First off let me tell you happy birthday mom! Can you believe your 52!?!? That´s more than half a century! No I´m just kidding. Your still super young. I hope you had a great birthday. Sorry I couldn´t send you anything. There just isn´t time. It´s amazing how fast the time goes when your so busy. Anyways, just know that I was thinking of you yesterday, and I told all our investigators that it was your birthday and they told me to tell you hi and happy birthday. I still havent got my debit card. But tomorrow I´m sure it will get here because we have zone conference so we get mail. But don´t worry about me I´m doing fine, I´ve learned to live without money. So this week was good. We had two more baptisms... a husband and a wife. They´ve got 4 little girls and they are crazy. Just like tylar and kiley and brielle. But it was awesome, the dad we baptized is awesome. He is a little crazy and he wanted us to go swimming in the font with him after. = ) But ya, things are going good here. Lots and lots of work. O I was wondering, did the missionaries put a baptismal date with casey yet? If not, tell them to hurry up and do it. What did she say after the first lesson the other day? Have you guys helped her read and pray? Make sure you guys do the work inbetween the missionary visits. The missionaries can´t be there every day, but Satan can. I can´t tell you how many people I´ve seen recieve an answer but not get baptized, because Satan is there working on them daily. So check up on her and make sure she reads too. It´s really hard to get to someone´s house and teach them again if they haven´t read or prayed. Anyways, sorry about that little shpeel. Hope you guys know how much I love you and appreciate your support. I miss you guys. Hope all is well at home. We´ll be talking soon.
Love, Rees

Easter in Mexico

2009-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

What up fam,
So I totally didnt even know it was easter last week. They have a tradition much different here in Mexico. On the Friday before Easter, all the Catholics have these huge parties at their churches and the crucify people! They say that it´s to take away their sins. Kinda crazy huh? They dont kill the people, but some of them actually nail the people to the cross, others just tie them on. But its still pretty nuts. Isn´t it so great to be part of this Church, and not be so decieved and lost your whole life??? Anyways, this week was good. We had 2 bapisms so that was awesome. But the coolest thing was yesterday, we took this family to church for the first time, a dad, mom, and 4 little girls. Anyways, it was testimony meeting, and I explained to the dad, Mario, what was going on and he says, "I want to share my testimony". So I asked what he would say and told him not to say any swear words and he went up there and told everyone how he was reading the bible but didnt understand it and asking God for a sign and then he saw us in the street and asked us to explain a verse in the bible to him, and how he knows the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is a prophet and it was just amazing. First Sunday at church and he shared the best testimony I´ve ever heard. It was so cool to see that and really strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon. It really is so simple, all people have to do is read it, and ask, and they will recieve an answer. Sometimes we´re so afraid to share the gospel or give someone a BofM, but just think of how happy Heavenly Father is when we do share it, he´ll never let anything bad or weird happen if we do our part. There is an awesome part in Preach My Gospel, an activity for the missionaries to do with the members. You guys should do it with the elders there. They teach you a lesson (the restoration) or a short movie about missionary work, and you guys write your feelings down, and after, each person writes 4 or 5 people that you think could hear the gospel, and then dad can say a prayer for the family that you can all feel of one of the people on the list that is READY to accept the gospel. Then the missionaries can put an appointment with you guys to visit those people. It is really effective and something that would be good for the family to do. So if you want, give it a shot with them the next time they eat with you guys. I hope you guys know how much I love and appreciate you. Thanks for being such awesome parents and always setting such a great example. Love you guys and love hearing from you on Mondays. Love, Rees

The Most Beautiful Daughter in the Whole World!!

2009-04-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

I have the most beautiful daughter in the whole world!! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed me with her. I love her enthusiasm for life!! I love her kind heart!! I love you Rhegan!!! Thank you Julia for the beautiful pics!!

You'll Never Believe it...

2009-03-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

What up Fam!
So we had a great week here. Like I told you, I had changes again. I stayed in the same zone, just a different area. My comp is elder Flores. He´s got a lot of time in the mission so I´m learning a lot. We had 3 baptisms this week so that was awesome. I´ll throw some pictures in here for you guys. So we´ve had a few crazy couple of days. So yesterday, Sunday, we had to go to another area to do interviews and then to see other elders with the baptismal forms and receipts, so we got home at like 9, and my comp tried to open the door but something was behind it so it didn´t open, so we looked at the window and it was broken and we just thought "crap". The same guy that robbed me a few weeks ago robbed us again, only here in my new area. But, the good part is, he already robbed me so I didn´t have anything for him to rob! I´m sure he was quite disappointed when he didn´t find anything in the house. = ) So that was quite exciting. And then today, we were at some members house and we were there with two 18 or 20 year olds, and the parents had left to pick the kids up at school and all the sudden one of our buddies knocks on the door and we go outside and their Jeep had caught on fire! All the neighbors started coming out and we were throwing water and dirt on it like crazy and the the fire department got there and put it out. But it was pretty cool, I thought the thing was gonna explode. So we´ve had a couple intense days here in the new area. Thanks mom for taking care of the card. O also, my shoes broke so I was gonna see if it´s ok if I buy shoes for my b-day??? They´re much cheaper here so don´t worry. But I´ll let you know how that goes. Thanks for everything fam, hope all is well at home. Love you guys. Love, Rees

Spring Break!!

2009-03-22T20:03:00.001-07:00

We have had a fabulous spring break!!! It started out with strep throat for Rhegan (yuck), so that slowed us down for a couple of days.
Then Rhegan had an awesome date with her friend Isaac, I am stealing Julia's pictures so I can post them. Isaac called Rhegan to ask her out and treated her like a princess by opening doors for her, paying for her dinner at Pei Wei, and watching High School Musical 3. Rhegan had a great time, thanks Isaac!!!

Then we took a short trip to California for my brother-in-law's 51st birthday.
My niece Tatum went with us, we were so happy to have her to keep Rhegan company!!! It's hard when you have only one child left at home, but Riley should be home tonight!! Hopefully he will stay for awhile, we have missed him.
We went to the beach, shopping, bike riding, and had a great time!!
I love spring break!!!

What a Week!!!

2009-03-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys,
So not too much goin on this week... It´s been a week since we got robbed and the mission still hasn´t paid us the money that got stollen. Let´s just say it was a pretty rough week without money. Then to top it off, we ran out of water, (that´s mexico for ya), so that was quite dificult as well. Needless to say we were a bit bummed out this week. But I´m pretty excited, we´re gonna change houses because our neighbors aren´t the most loyal you could find. And the house we found it pretty sweet. As soon as were in there I´ll send some pics. Also, we´re having soccer jerseys made for the whole zone and they are pretty awesome. Also, this week we got to baptize again so that really made the week. We baptized a kid whose grandparents are members, and before he was really afraid of the missionaries so he didn´t want to get baptized. So me and my comp watched some church movies with him and went to the church to play b-ball with him, so he really started to like us and was super excited about his baptism on Saturday. Overall a good week. A little rough but what can you expect. We had fun and I´m ready to get back to work this week. I love you guys and hope all is well as home. Thanks mom for taking care of my card, I´ll do that when it gets here. Love you guys. Love, REES

Freakin Robbers (that was Rees' title)

2009-03-09T15:45:00.001-07:00

What up fam,
Hope everything is good at home! So let me start off my telling you guys the news... Yesterday some punk broke into our house and stole ALL our money. And he stole my comps iPod and my jump drive, which had all my pictures from the mission.... = ( So ya that was a pretty poopy way to end the week. BUT, we did get to baptize yesterday so that was awesome. But ya, just dont delete any pictures I´ve sent home ok? O, and the worse part, our neighbor totally saw the guy and didnt do anything about it. Just let him have at it. That´s the part that really made me mad. People that dont do anything to stop the robbers. Anyways, I´m good, President should give us our money back so don´t worry about that. O and mom, ya if you just want to open another account and send me the debit card that would be great. Thanks a bunch. So ya, not much else going on. Hope all is well with you guys. Looks like Rhey had a good time at prom. It just blows my mind that she´s 16. Not much you guys can do now... good luck! No just kidding. I love you guys and appreciate all your support.
Love, Rees
P.S. Mom, i dont really need anything for the b-day. A little money would be ok, just to be able to buy some random stuff here and there. Love you guys.

Rhegan's First Date!!!!

2009-03-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Rhegan went on her first date last night with Hunter!!
They started the night with an awesome dinner and then went to the LDS Prom.
Rhegan and Hunter looked so amazing!!! (I'm sure you'll agree)

MOOOO!!!!!!!!!

2009-03-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hola Mi Familia,
How´s everyone doin? I hope all is great. Sounds like things are going pretty well. Everything here is good. Not much new. Today we went and played soccer as a zone and ate pizza after so that was fun. The work here is goin great. It´s a bit harder than my other area because the members aren´t quite as involved in the work. But it´s a ton of fun. It´s always fun to talk to people and see all different types. My comp and I have been getting along great. He´s really hilarious and he´s a great example to me. So part of our area is dirt streets, and the past few days the wind has been blowin pretty hard, and we just get filled with dirt. It´s pretty funny because my companion´s last area was all dirt so he´s used to it, but sometimes I feel like I´ve been at the dunes or something. It gets in your mouth and fills your ears and you can´t see most the time because your eyes have rocks in them. = ) But it´s been really fun working here in this area. We have some nice tacos of cow head right below our house so we eat there quite often. They´re actually really good, we eat tongue and brains and who knows what. But it´s always a sure thing that you have nice thick cow hairs in your tacos. = ) So ya, that´s about all that´s goin on this week. Love you guys a ton and hope all is well. If you ever need anything from Mexico just let me know and I´ll send it right over. Love you guys. Love, Rees

Monday Missionary

2009-02-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

What up fam!?!?!
Sounds like everything is goin awesome back home. I love hearing that all is well. Tell dad to buy me something from Japan. No just kidding. So in my new area, there is this guy that sells ties and suits, so of course, I´ve been buying quite a few ties. Some ugly ones just for fun, but some really awesome mexican ones too! I´ll be sending some home for everyone soon. Also, Friday we had "special changes", and I got a new companion, Elder Mendoza. We were in the same zone before so I already knew him a little bit. He´s awesome. He´s got 18 months in the mission so he knows a lot and it´s a great opportunity to learn. We had an awesome baptism on Sunday too. A guy who had to wait a while to get baptized, but finally was able to on Sunday. It was just amazing to see the joy on his and his wife´s faces. She was already a member and they´ve got like 4 kids. How lucky we are to be able to live together forever. So ya, everything is goin awesome here. The only thing is that I only had a week in this area when my comp had changes so sometimes we´re a bit lost = ). But it makes for some good experiences. So ya, that´s about all that´s goin on right now. I love you guys.

Thank you Hunter!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-17T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hunter delivered chocolates and balloons to ask Rhegan to LDS Prom!! He is such a cutie!! Rhegan delivered balloons tied to a stuffed dog (you will understand the dog when you see the next picture) to Hunter's room saying "Yes"!!
Thanks Hunter!!!

This is Chewie!! He is Rhegan's new dog that came from Hunter for her birthday!!
Yes, we have a dog in our house, I never thought I would see the day, but Chewie is such a good dog!!
Thanks again Hunter!!!

Monday Missionary

2009-02-16T22:27:00.000-08:00

Hey Fam!!!!
How´s everything goin at home? Hope all is fantastic! So we had changes tuesday, and I packed up all my junk, went, and then President said I was goin to La Paz, in the stake Los Reyes. Well, my new area touches my old area. I was a bit bummed because it would have been easier to pick up my stuff on the way, but o well. = ) So ya, I´m just right next door to where I was. I´m district leader here too and my new comp is elder hernandez. He´s pretty cool. Kinda weird though. But everyone has their problems. We get along good, just always a bit different at first. The ward here is quite sucky. They´re great people but they´re just not involved in the work like in my other area. It´s soooooooooo much easier to baptize when the members want to help. But mom, I made some little thank-you´s like the one you sent me, so we´ll see how that goes. The sisters in relief society don´t even want to feed us. I don´t really blame them though, I know quite a few of the elders that were here before... and ya, they just weren´t so great. But we´re working our butts off and I´m sure we´ll get the ward goin and have some success here in La Paz. But wow, it is so much harder than my other area, it is like 5 times bigger. So we´re walking like crazy and my legs have been quite tired. It´s kinda nice to get a little exercize in though. O man, also, I got here on Tuesday night, and our house was a pig sty. I just don´t get how some people can live like that. Thanks mom for always keeping the house clean. Anyways, the next day I cleaned all morning and it´s not so bad anymore. = ) But ya, not much else to say. Everything is goin good. Thanks for the letters. Hope all is well at home. O and thanks mom for the package. I eat the candy for breakfrast because they didn´t have food here. = ) Love you guys a ton and appreciate all your love and support. Cuidense mucho!

I Miss My Missionary!!!!

2009-02-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

I know I've said it before, but I love Mondays when I can hear from Rees. I sure do miss him, but am so thankful for his service!!! Here is his latest letter!!!

Hey Fam,
Sounds like everything´s going good at home. Glad to hear it. So tomorrow I have cambios, or transfers. I´m pretty stinkin nervous because it´s my first time. I´ve been in this area my whole mission and I know all the members and it´s gonna be hard to adjust to another ward. The biggest worry though is the companion. You never know if you´re gonna be with someone good or bad. But we´ll find out tomorrow. I´m sure everything will work out. So this week was good, well this cycle was good. We worked our butts off and we really saw the result. It´s amazing how involved the Lord is in this work. He puts things in order so perfectly so that we can have success. So…. Tell Jules that yes, I´ve spoken in sacrament meeting, like 8 times. We have two wards and sometimes they both ask us to speak. It´s really helped me to not be so nervous in front of people. The person I really get nervous in front of is President Bulloch. I had to teach some things in the zone conference we had and wow, he really makes me feel the pressure. But ya, that´s about it. Not much new goin on here. We had another baptism yesterday and it was awesome. There is just nothing like it. Anyways, hope everything´s good at home. I´ll let you guys know next week how my new comp is and where I´m at. Love you guys!

Fireproof!!!!

2009-02-07T06:54:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to see the movie "Fireproof" for a long time so I finally rented it and Bart and I watched it together (good advice)!! I thought it was amazing!! It reinforced the importance of the gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ in my life and the part they play in my marriage!! It made me more thankful for my marriage in the temple for eternity!!! It made me grateful for my relationship with my husband and for his worthiness to hold the Priesthood. It made me think about some things that I need to work on to strengthen our marriage!!! If you haven't seen it, it would make a great date!!!

Sweet 16!!!!

2009-02-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right, Rhegan is officially of dating and driving age!! Wahoo!!!
She had a party at "Pump It Up" to start the weekend, followed by a sleepover, and ending with cake and ice cream and a dog on Sunday!! That's right, everyone knows that I am not an animal lover, so if this one doesn't work out, we can return it!!
First night was a little rough, we'll see how tonight is!!!

Baptisms in Mexico

2009-02-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
How´s everything going back home? I´m sure you´re all great. That sucks to hear that the Cardinals lost. Anyways, we had a great week here. We had two more baptisms this week and it was awesome. Me and my comp have been getting along really well so that makes it a lot more fun. Today we had a zone activity and we all played soccer and went and ate pizza after. The last one we had we played football, and I´m sure I told you guys we dominated the mexicans.... Anyways, one of them got hurt playing football so President told us we cant play anymore. So now we´re stuck playing soccer. But it was fun. Cambios are next week and I´m pretty sure I´ll be changing areas because I´ve been here 4 cycles and that´s quite a bit. So we´ll see. I´ll let you guys know next monday. What did you send in my package mom??? Just curious. If you are ever bored and don´t have anything to send me, a few short sleeve shirts would be a good idea. Not that I need them, but I gave one to one of our converts after he got the Priesthood so I´m one short. But ya,that´s about it. O ya, Rhey, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! Sorry I didn´t buy you anything.... But I hope you had a great birthday. Be safe driving please because I don´t want to have to come home early for your funeral. No JK. Love you sis and hope you had a good b-day. So ya, that´s about it fam. Love you guys and hope everything is going great at home. Keep me updated. Love you all!

Short Letter from Mexico

2009-01-27T06:02:00.000-08:00

Here is Rees' letter, so sad that the long one got deleted, but the pictures are awesome!!! I love his words of wisdom!!

Hey Fam,
Sorry if this letter is going to be a little short, but I just wrote a nice long letter and it got erased. So I´m almost out of time. So this week was good. A bit hard because everyone rejected us like crazy. But it was fun. We got to baptize two more this week so that was good. O I also forgot to tell you guys, I blessed a baby a few weeks ago. It was a baby of one of our converts and I was SUPER nervous. But it all went ok. Sorry that this is so short but I gotta get goin. Never stop doing the small things (prayers and scripture study). By small and simple things... I have seen several elders already go home from their missions and it´s just so sad. One feels invincible when he feels the Spirit a lot. But everyone can fall. Just remember the little things, and never think you´re out of the reach of Satan. He´s trying more than we think. I love you all and hope all is well at home.

Proud of My Missionary

2009-01-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

I love Mondays!! I get a letter from Rees and he is the most amazing missionary!! I can feel of his testimony and the love he has for his mission and it makes me so proud to call him my son!!! Here comes the letter!!
Hey Fam,
How´s everthing goin in AZ? I´m sure everyone there is just stoked about the Cardinals! Have you guys talked to Matt Black to see how excited he is? = ) It´s just such a surprise to hear that the Cardinals will be in the Super Bowl!!!! Anyways, this week was great. Me and my comp have been laughing non-stop this week. Not sure why, it´s just so many funny things happened. A little kid peed (?) on my comps leg so that was just hilarious. Lots of other things but it would be too hard to describe everything. Just know that I´m enjoying my time here. Everything is going good. We baptized 2 people yesterday. I have to tell you about the one. Her name is Alma, and she is the friend of a member. We taught her and gave her a baptismal date and she accepted without even skipping a beat. She was much more easy than most. And then later she told us about how when she was little she always had a dream about one of out chapels, and she was going to church there and she loved it. So growing up she always asked her mom if they could go, but like the other 99% of the people here, she´s catholic and said no. So this girl waited all her youth to be able to go to our church and get baptized. It´s just amazing to see how the Lord prepares people. He´s so involved in this work and as long as we´re obedient, he is never afraid to bless us with miracles. Well, that´s about it. Everything is going good. Also, mom, I was wondering if you could send me some sphagetti (?). I´m craving that right now. No just kidding. I love you all and hope all is well. Tell everyone hi and thanks for the letters.

Amazing Weekend

2009-01-19T07:51:00.001-08:00

We have had an amazing weekend!!
There is nothing better than spending time with you family (other than dessert when you are doing FIT club)!!
We started the weekend with a party at the Ritz Carlton which my sister Tammy and her husband Andy hosted (that was my free day on FIT club!)
We went to cheer competition in Prescott where we took 2nd in State, way to go Rhegan!!
We went to the NFC playoff game, after going to church!! We had a great time at the game, wish the outcome were different, but we're happy for the Cardinal fans!! I think that was the loudest I have ever heard fans cheer!!
We're sad it is ending because Riley has to go back to Georgia tomorrow!! We will miss him, he is an amazing brother, cousin, friend, and son!!
I am so thankful for having a wonderful family!!!

Randomness

2009-01-13T06:44:00.000-08:00

"When does FIT club begin???"

Riley and his buddies (the King boys)

Riley gave the boys camos for Christmas, I think they are ready to sign up!!!

More from Mexico

2009-01-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,
How´s everything going in Phoenix? I´m sure everyone´s stoked for the Cardinals. But I hope the Eagles slotter them. Let me know how it goes. I saw yesterday in the house of a member that the Eagles won and I was so happy. Keep me filled in on how they do. So this week was awesome. 3 weeks ago a lady in the street came over and talked to us and told us that like 10 years ago missionaries were teaching her and she was going to get baptized but she was too afraid of the water. So anyways, we´ve been teaching her and this week her and her two kids (15 and 13 years old) got baptized. It was awesome to see them all do it together. My companion baptized all 3 of them and I´m not sure why, but he baptizes (?) people really hard, or really fast. So they do like a back flop on the water and it´s really loud and the splash is huge. It´s just kinda funny, all the brothers were trying to tell him to do it slower but he couldn´t, who knows why. So ya, this week was super good. Everything is going good here. The food is starting to taste better. Or I´m starting to lose my sense of taste because of all the spicy food, but either way the food is better. My companion is good. We´ve been getting along much better lately. But the Zone Leaders tell me that they think I´ll have changes this cycle. I don´t think I´ll mind. I´ve always liked change, so hopefully I´ll get to move and know another place and more people. But we´ll see, I´ll let you guys know. Well, not much else, I would send pictures but the computer I´m on is not that great. Hope all is well with everyone there. Tell everyone thanks for the emails because I love hearing how everyone is doing. Keep me updated. Love you guys, talk to you soon.

More from Mexico

2009-01-06T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,
So this week was amazing. Me and my comp are gettin along super well and that makes it much easier to work effectively. So ya, I feel much better about the work than I did the last few weeks. We got to baptize 2 people this week. Rocio and Monse. Rocio is awesome. Her boyfriend is a member and she is already preparing to go to the temple with him. It´s just awesome to see the people who really gain that burning testimony of the Gospel. So ya, the work is going good right now. But besides that... There is guy who sells fruit by our house and he loves football so he´s been watching the playoffs so I´ve caught about 5 seconds of all the games! = ) Anyways, he filled me in last night about the Eagles and I was stoked. Hope they kill the Giants this week. So ya, not much goin on here. Just workin hard and enjoying Mexico. This week me and my comp both got a little sick. We ate some not so good looking shrimp with some recent converts and I´m pretty sure that´s what did us in. But we´re good to go now. Glad to hear all is well at home. Keep me updated on all the big news (especially if Jules is finally gonna have a girl!). Well, I better get goin. Love you all and appreciate all your support.

"Winter" from the Winters

2009-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Pretty clever title?? O.K., since I am a dork on the blogging, I am going to post and put some pics and it will probably be in no order since my blogging teacher is so busy being pregnant and dealing with 4 boys and partying it up during the holidays!!(JK,I'm sure she'd come over at midnight and help me, that's when she's up, but I am sleeping)!!
Our family was so blessed this month with Riley being able to come home on leave for a month. The whole fam along with friends met him at Sky Harbor to give him the welcome home he deserved. We are so proud of him and his service to his country! Thanks Riley!! Rhegan, Bart, and I painted a sign. Christian, Chase, and Cooper decorated the front yard with flags and ribbons!!!
We took Riley to his favorite eating establishment "Fajitas"!!
Had our traditional Christmas Eve program!! Riley was the donkey, get a load of the ears! Rhegan and her cousin, Tatum were innkeepers, I'm sure Joseph would be impressed!!
On Christmas Day we were blessed to be able to talk to Rees in Mexico City!! What an awesome missionary he is!! It was Rees' 6 month mark so Elder Heward and Rees burned their ties!!!
We had a fun time at Katie and Owen Wilson's house on New Year's Eve!! I'm sure Owen has purchased new jet skis since the party, not sure if he will loan them out or not??? Enough said!!!
We went to the snow and spent the day sledding!! Had a blast!!!
And last, but not least, the Eagles won their first playoff game!! Congratualtions Uncle Andy!!! Go Eagles!!!

Fun Family Home Evening

2008-12-19T08:09:00.001-08:00

Someone really needs to teach me how to blog, I wanted labels on pictures, it took me two times to even get these in the right order!! Oh well!!
I have found as your children get older, it is easy to forget to do the fun things that you did when they were younger!! So, we invited the Eisenhauers over to make gingerbread houses for Family Home Evening!!! Hunter wanted to turn this into a competition, thankfully we had no judges available!!! You be the judge!!!
Since I don't know how to label pictures:
House #1 is Bart and Cindy's
House #2 is Bruce and Lorene's
House #3 is Hunter, Rhegan, and Carrie's
And for the finale, some friendly pool!!

More from Mexico

2008-12-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
So this week was good. Anyways, mom, yes I´m finally starting to like the food. You get used to eating stuff you don´t like, and I´m starting to gag a lot less when I eat hahaha. Thanks for that wonderful trait mom. =) So ya things are going good. We´ve been working super hard and finding lots of new people. The only down side is the majority of the new people we find, end up not being so great. So ya, it´s easy to find people, you just really need the spirit to find the GOOD ones. Something I need to work on. This country is so crazy. I absolutely love it and especially all the amazing people. ALMOST everyone is so nice and accepting. It just blows my mind to see the happiness the members have here. Even though they don´t have much, they see that family is really what´s important, and aren´t so focused on all the wordly things. I definitely count my many many blessings every day and thank the Lord for the oppurtunity to live where we do. Anyways, I´m out of time again, but I hope you all know how much I love you and miss you. I hope you all have a great christmas. Can´t wait to talk to you guys and see how things are goin. O and I´ll send pictures next week. The computer I´m on is super slow so I can´t do it now. Love you guys, talk to you soon!

I just wanted to send you a few pictures of the last week. That´s Miguel the awesome guy we baptized. And the other ones are of "el Guarda". It´s a church owned ranch where people can go to camp and do cool stuff. They had a sweet zip line so that´s the one with the person hitting the net. It hurt really bad to get stopped by that thing. Also the elder in the green jersey is our zone leader Elder Fillerup. He´s awesome. We bought a ton of tacos al pastor to eat there so it was pretty sweet. Also the other one is of our whole zone. It´s from pretty far away but I think it´s ok. You can play Where´s Waldo and search for me. I´m the only good lookin one so it shouldn´t be too hard. = )

"Freedom Isn't Free"

2008-12-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

I hope I can adequately express my feelings that I have had this past weekend. Riley returned to the states from Iraq on Dec. 5th, after being deployed for 14 months. Bart and I felt like we should be there for the homecoming celebration!!! Our flight from Atlanta to Savannah was quite a humbling experience for us. After we took off, we were told that when we landed in Savannah we were to remain seated as an Army escort was accompanying the remains of a soldier returning home. I spent the next hour crying for a family who would not see their son alive, knowing that mine was returning safely. On the base where the celebration was to happen, they have planted a tree for each soldier who has lost his or her life in Iraq. Many of the plaques around the trees had the saying "Freedom Isn't Free". Needless to say, I contemplated the meaning of this statement. After a long wait, the soldiers unloaded the buses and marched onto a field where we all sang our National Anthem, as I sang the words and thought about them, I was brought to tears once again for the sacrifices these soldiers and others are making for us, so that we can enjoy this land that we are so blessed to live in and the freedoms that are ours for the partaking. The soldiers then sang a song and we were told to go find our soldier!!! We spent the next couple of days with Riley shopping, meeting his buddies, eating, and watching him sleep!! He hasn't shared many of his experiences in Iraq, I think he didn't want to worry his mother, thank you son, but as he opened up and shared with us this weekend, I thank my Heavenly Father that he protected my son, and I know he was protected. So to Riley and all the other soldiers serving our country, Thank You from the bottom of my heart. "Freedom Isn't Free"!!!

News from Mexico

2008-12-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!
I can´t tell you how good it was to hear from everyone this week. I´m glad everyone is doing so good. That picture of the fam at the Eagles game killed me a little bit. Also thinking about Thanksgiving dinner is making me miss home a bit right now. Not really, it´s just I would kill for that food right now! = ) They don´t have Thanksgiving here so I didn´t even know when it was. All the missionaries in the district meeting were debating about when it was cuz we really have no clue. Anyways, I´m glad you guys had a good time in Philly and got to see the Zollingers. Those kids are huge. Anyways, ya this week went a bit better than the last. I guess I just have to get used to it a bit more. That first week with the new comp killed me. I have never been so dead in my life. But this past week was better. We´re doing better and getting used to teaching with eachother. That´s probably been the hardest thing, with my first comp he did almost everything, even most the teaching, but now its the exact opposite. It´s amazing how fast you learn when you don´t have someone there to bail you out of dumb things you do. So ya, we´ve just been working like crazy. This last week was the end of the month and we´re always a bit short on money at the end of the month so we walked SO much! My comp got a nice blister so he´s walking a bit slow right now. It´s been kinda difficult to bond with him. He´s not like me at all. But we´ve talked and I think we´ll do better and be more unified this week. He just isn´t very excited and doesn´t like to have very much fun. Kinda boring actually. So it´s just hard to be myself when I´m not lauging all the time. But ya, this week we got all the references from the Open House in the temple, because all the people who aren´t members filled out their address and stuff, and we´ve been visiting all of them and the majority of them are GOLD. The experience they had in the temple really made them realize how awesome and true our church is and they´re all accepting baptismal dates like crazy. So that´s been pretty nice. Umm, what else, nothing I guess. Tell everyone I say hi and I love and miss them. Always remember that this is the Church of Christ. If we´re going to be members of his church we better be ready to face some challenges. What we go through is so small compared to what our Savior did for us. That´s something I heard in a talk by Elder Holland in the MTC and it´s really helped me accept all the hard work. Anyways, I love you all and hope all is well.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

We have had an awesome week!!! Bart, Rhegan, and I went to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving!! You all know that my brother-in-law coaches the Eagles football team!! We had amazing seats (a warm box), lots of food (ribs, wings, and dippin dots), and of course the best part was beating the Cardinals!!! Congratulations Uncle Andy for a great win, keep it up!! We also went to New York and saw "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway. I loved the show!!! We were able to stop by and see the Zollinger family, they used to be in our ward and we loved seeing them so much!!! We really miss them. Bart and I are leaving this week to see Riley arrive home from Iraq, we are so grateful that he has been protected this year while serving his country. He will be able to come home Dec. 24th to spend Christmas with us!! Can't forget Rees, he is doing an awesome job in Mexico on his mission!! We are so blessed and I am so grateful for this time of year when we stop and take time to recognize our blessings and more importantly to recognize the Lord's hand in our lives!!!

Feelin Good!!!

2008-11-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

O.K., I just have to say that I got some new jeans in a size I haven't worn for a way long time, that is definitely something to feel good about!!! It helps to have Julianne tell me that I can wear things that aren't baggy all the time!! I don't like things too tight!! It helps having Lorene encourage me to hike and eat better!! It helps to have Tara yell at me at aerobics for being a slacker!!! Not sure if it helps that Rhegan says I need a new bra to hold me up so I am not such a saggy boob!!! Gotta love the honesty!!
Other good news is that Riley called and his group is packing up and should leave Iraq at the end of the month. He will get to Georgia the first week of December and hopefully be home for Christmas, Rhegan is happy about that, she doesn't like being an only child.
This weekend I was able to go the the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. It was an awesome experience. I loved hearing from our prophet and my testimony was strenghtened. On Saturday night they had a cultual event that was amazing, I was hoping to get a glimpse of Rees when they had all of the missionaries on the field, but I didn't. Cooper kept asking me "Where's Rees?" I'm o.k. with that because I know he was there. I am including his letter from yesterday, wow, what an awesome missionary he is!!

Mom and Pops,
Hows everything goin at home? I hope all is well. I´m so glad you guys got to watch the event and rededication. Did you only see one of the sessions of the rededication? If so, which one? We got to see both and they were both so amazing. We are so blessed to have a living prophet to guide us. I can´t tell you how powerful it was when he walked into that HUGE stadium. He filled that stadium to the top with his Spirit and no one there could deny that that man is a prophet of God. That event was something I will never ever forget. And something that I will always look to for inspiration and remembrance of the Spirit of the people here in Mexico. So we got to the stadium and met up with the whole mission, and then President Bulloch gave us our ties, handkerchiefs, and ticket for the event. Then we went in and sat down and had to wait quite a while for the event to start. Everyone was so excited and so anxious. We thought we were going to have awesome seats because we were in the second to front row of the stadium, but when we sat down we realized that our seats sucked because all the props of the dances were right in front of us. And there is a huge barbed wire fence to keep the crazy fans from killing their soccer players, and that messed up our vision too. But it all turned out ok. Well more than ok. When we got to go out onto the field and sing and wave at the prophet, I was completely overwhelmed. I can´t believe that you guys didn´t see me because we were in the very front row, and directly in front of the prophet. I saw us quite a few times on the big screen so I figured you guys would have seen me. But anyways, what an amazing experience it was to be in the middle of that huge stadium, everyone cheering and singing, and the prophet and Henry B. waiving their handkerchiefs and crying. I just can´t even find the words to tell you guys how amazing it was, and how lucky I am to have had that experience. I am so happy that you guys got to watch it and see how awesome it is here. These people are so amazing. I don’t know if you saw the session of the rededication when President Monson said that it was the best he´s ever seen…. But ya, it was spectacular. I have really been reminded of how much I´ve taken for granted the prophet all my life. I should have been feasting upon his words and the words of the other leaders of the church in my youth. We have so much to learn and know in this life, and those men are how we´re going to know. The spirit and knowledge they help us gain is such a huge blessing that we have to take advantage of. I love you all so much and am so happy to hear you saw the event and rededication. I hope all is going well at home and that everyone is happy and healthy. Anyways, a bit of news from me, I will be having changes tomorrow. My companion has been in this area for 8 months and its time for him to go. So I´m quite nervous because I also found out that I´m going to train a new elder and I´m going to be district leader… My mind is just goin nuts right now. I hope I´ll be able to do a good job. I´ll let you guys know how it goes. But I´ve been thinking a lot about what it says in my patriarchal blessing about my mission. I know the Lord will help me and provide a way for me to do well. I love you all and am happy to hear all is well. Take care and keep sending lots of emails. I love hearing from everyone. Adios.

Cheer Competition

2008-11-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had a fun day with Rhegan's first cheer competition.
Check out the video. Sandra Day O'Conner High School came in 2nd and qualified for state.

Letter from Rees

2008-11-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

I am posting this for Cindy as she is gone on a cruise (LUCKY)!
-Julianne-

Hey everyone,
Mom and Dad I hope you guys are having a blast on your cruise! I normally would be jealous but I´m enjoying the poverty right now. It´s amazing to see how happy these people even though they have so litlle. So this week was pretty awesome. We got to work at the temple for the open house and it was so cool. We got to work in parking for part of the time and that was super fun! So I´m pretty excited for the upcoming rededication and cultural event. I´m so excited that you all get to watch it. Anyways, there really isn´t much to write about because we spent most of our time at the temple this week. We are so so blessed to be able to go the House of the Lord so often. I took for granted the oppurtunity to go each week in the MTC. I miss being able to feel so close to the Savior. Remember how lucky we are to have temples and remember to go OFTEN. I love you all and hope all is well. Sorry this is so short, keep emailing!

News from Mexico

2008-10-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hey,
Mom I am so happy to hear that Riley will be home by Christmas, and that Tylar got to be baptized. But I´m especially happy to hear that the Eagles won yesterday!!!! No I´m just kidding. Thanks for letting me know, I love to hear everything that´s going on. That´s awesome that you guys will get to see the rededication of the temple and the cultural event! It´s going to be so awesome. All the missionaries from like 6 missions are going to sit in 2 sections of the stadium and we´re all going to sing (don´t know what song). And we´re all going to receive special Mexico City East Mission ties and handkerchiefs (?). So it should be really cool. We don´t get to go to the rededication but we´re all going to watch it in the stake center. But I´m super excited that you guys can see it because it is gonna be sweet. This week we´re going to be working in the temple for the open house so that should be fun. My companion has been quite interesting lately. He does a lot of things that bug the heck out of me; but it has actually been a blessing because I can´t tell you how much patience I have developed = ). There is a section in Preach My Gospel about developing Christlike attributes and it says that we can´t do that without the help of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And that is one thing I have really gained a testimony of this week. When I just react before I think about what the Savior would do I end up being rude and hurting my relationship with my companion. But this week I have learned that I need to stop and think, and then act. The Savior blesses me with feelings of love and patience for my companion. Sorry that I don´t have much time, I have to go get my haircut because we´re going to be working at the temple this week. I love you all and hope all is well at home. Sorry this is so short. Love, Rees P.S. Dad when I read about you crashing on your bike I was surprised that I wasn´t laughing. My heart has definitely been softened. I hope you didn´t break any bones in that old body. = ) JK Love you dad.

Homecoming Week

2008-10-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Homecoming was this week for O'Connor High School. Rhegan had a fun week decorating the school, practicing cheers and dances, and dressing up for the dance. Her friend, Hunter, did something cute for her everyday!! Thanks Hunter!!!

I Love Mondays!!!

2008-10-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

I love Mondays because I get to hear amazing experiences from Rees!!! A special thank you to those who e-mail my boys!!!

Here is his letter: the dangerous part in the letter was a shooting near his apartment!!!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thank you all for the great emails. I love hearing from everyone and how everything is going. Sorry I can´t email everyone cuz I can only email family but I´ll try and throw in answers to some questions from everyone. This week was great. We got to baptize 3 people! Hector, Alexis, y Areli. It´s been amazing to see the changes in people´s lives. We are so blessed to be members of this Church. So ya, it it pretty dangerous, dad you said that Tracee told you about those two things. It´s not like horrible, only in some areas. Me and another american (our zone leader) did divisions the other day and the people didn´t seem to like that much. We knocked a ton of doors and everyone was super rude. They were all tellin us to go back to our country and to quit lying to the people here. But normally they are super super nice and always give us water and let us teach them. But ya, that day I didn´t feel very safe cuz two americans working together here isn´t the greatest idea, but it all went ok. O ya, I bought a really cheap watch, just in case we got robbed that day = ). But we didn´t, so now I have another watch. Ya I But ya, everything is going good. Friday we organized a family home evening for all the members. We had a couple baptisms and we made a little video for everyone to laugh at, and then we all ate tacos. We bought a ton of meat from the taco guys by our house and they were freakin good. It was super fun and I think all the members liked it. The ward here is awesome (well we have two wards). The members are so nice and so friendly. They feed us lunch everyday and always help me with the spanish. And in return I help all their kids with their english homework = ). That´s always fun. The retention here isn´t so great. That´s definitely one of the biggest problems. Missionaries are good friends with their investigators and are always helping them come to church and to activities, but when the missionaries change areas, the people stop going because they don´t get visits every week. So it´s definitely a challenge. The thing you have to think about is how you can teach them to rely on the Lord now. How to learn from the Book of Mormom and rely on the Spirit. Because when you leave, they need something to help them, and it needs to be the Lord. That´s definitely something I need to do better at, teach people to rely on the Lord and be independent. The people here are amazing I am so blessed to be able to work with them and learn from them. They are very different than us, but they are great. I love you all and hope everyone is doing good. I gotta go, sorry I don´t have time to write more. Love you all! O, tell Jules I got her photos and thank you! O, and the dear elders take about the same time as normal letters, so just do those cuz I´m sure it´s much easier.

Another Amazing Letter from Rees

2008-10-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this week was good. The weeks seriously go by like days. Before I know it it´s the end of the week and we´re in sacrament meeting again. I´m not sure if time is going fast for you guys but I can´t believe it´s already almost been 4 months! Christmas is already creeping up and that will be 6 months! So, the re-dedication of the temple here is the 16th of November, and the open house for the temple is from the 20th of this month until the 8th of November. We are going to do the tours and stuff so that should be pretty exciting. Also, on the 15th, they are going to have a big culture night in the big stadium here so that should be cool. The prophet is gonna be there and all the youth in like all the stakes are gonna do this huge dance, and 8 missions from mexico are gonna be there and we´re all going to sing. Ya, it´s gonna be pretty cool. You should see if there is any way you guys can watch it. That would be super sweet. So ya, we´re all super excited for that. Anyways, we got to baptize a kid Omar this past Sunday. He´s 18 years old and he´s super cool. He loves learning about the Gospel. He was nervous for his baptism but after, he was so happy and was saying how great he felt. I just can´t explain how amazing it is to see people receive a remission of their sins. So when Dalin H. Oaks spoke to us in the MTC, he talked about how important the sacrament is for missionaries. It has really hit me since I´ve been here, how amazing it really is. It´s just like a baptism for a new convert. All their lives they´ve had sins and problems, and each one is like putting a little rock in their shoe, and then when they´re baptized they can just dump all the rocks out. I feel the same way about the sacrament. All week we work and work and things just build up, and it is amazing to take the sacrament and just feel relieved. Elder Oaks talked about how we can´t teach without the spirit, and we can´t have the spirit if we´re not worthy, and the sacramnet is how we stay worthy. It is so true, but not only for missionaries, but for everyone. Every week we get the chance to renew our convenants witht he Lord and feel that cleansing power again; it is such an amazing gift we have from the Lord. Anyways, that´s about it. I love you all and hope all is going well at home. Check and see if you can watch the thing the night before the re-dedication. It will be super amazing. Take care. and tell everyone I say hi. Love you all.

Thoughts from Me

2008-10-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

My HOT daughter-taken by Julia

I'm not good at writing personal things, but I'm feeling very blessed today and wanted to share my feelings!! This weekend was awesome!! I loved conference so much, I think the talks were just for me. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and for His atoning sacrifice for me. I am thankful for a father who listened to seven sets of missionaries and then joined the church. I am thankful for a mother who was a great example of service to me. I am thankful for my six siblings and their examples and love for me. I am thankful for a husband, that's you Bart, who honors his priesthood and is such a good husband to me and father to his children. I am thankful for Riley, who is serving his country, so we can enjoy the freedoms that we have in the USA!!! He is an amazing person with the kindest heart!!! I am thankful for Rees, who is serving his Savior, so that others can enjoy the blessings of the gospel in their life. Rees is so right, FAMILY IS EVERYTHING-THEY BRING US THE GREATEST JOY!!! He is such a good example to me of happiness and obedience!! And last, but not least, I am thankful for Rhegan, she has so much personality, she is so committed to reading her scriptures and saying her prayers. She makes every day a FUN day!! I can't forget ALL of my amazing friends. Thank you all for being my friends and for letting us love on your little ones, we love babies!!! LIFE IS GREAT!!!!

Letter from Rees

2008-10-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Hey, how´s everything going? I hope everything is well. I´m sure it is. Thanks everyone for the awesome emails. I´m sorry that I can´t email everyone back but please keep emailing because I love to hear from everyone. So, this week was a bit different than normal. My comp was very sick monday thru wednesday, and then I was sick thursday thru saturday. It was pretty sucky. But we still had a great week. Conference was good (from what I understood) = ). We watched it in the stake center and there was hardly anyone there for both saturday sessions. But then on sunday morning there was seriously like a thousand people. They filled every room, hallway, and even set up a huge tent in the parking lot with tv´s in it. And then for sunday afternoon, no one came. So I´m guessing that the sunday morning session is the most important to them. But personally, I love the last last session. The prophet always leaves such a great testimony. I have definitely had my testimony of our living prophet strengthened this weekend. The other thing that I have really noticed lately is how important the family is. We baptised the brother of Billy, who was baptized a couple weeks ago. And their mom was just super emotional every time we visited them this week. When we invited them to conference (she´s not a member by the way), she was like, can you invite my other son too? We had never met him before cuz he doesn´t live there, but you can just tell that she wants all of her kids to have that same joy that the others do now. And then today, we were washing our laundry, and we always do it at this lady´s house, and she´s not a member either, and while we were there she was like, there is nothing good in this life... And I was just like, what? Of course there is! And she asked what, and the first thing that popped into my head was family. She has kids but no husband or anything. But it just hit me so hard, our families are everything. That´s where we experience all the joyful things in life. It´s not at work or at school or when we´re alone; it´s when we´re all together as a family. How lucky are we to be able to live with our families for eternity? Anyways, just thought I´d say that. That´s about all, I gotta get going cuz we´re gonna meet our district leader for tacos cuz he´s changing areas tomorrow. Tomorrow is cambios, or exchanges, but we´re not changing so ya.... I love you all and I hope everyone is doing good. Hope to hear from you all soon!

Letter from Rees

2008-10-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope all is well. Everything is going good here. Thanks everyone for all the emails. I love to hear how everything´s going. So this week I got to baptize another pregnate girl. In case you didn´t know the first one was pregnate too. Her name is Viridiana and her family is all members but only her mom is active. Her mom was the only one of her family at her baptism, but her joy made up for the others not being there. I can´t even describe how amazing it is to feel the Spirit during a baptism. It is unbelievable how strong it is. One thing that a speaker told us in a talk in the MTC is that the forgiveness of sins is the greatest miracle on earth. And it is so true. There is nothing more amazing than seeing someone become clean from everything. The spanish is finally coming. I can finally actually talk to people when we visit them. Before I would just sit there and listen, but now I´m actually involved in the conversation. So that´s good. It´s really fun to talk to people and then after, I try and think about what I said but I have no idea. The words are just starting to come. Everyone new I talk to always comments how they have noticed how fast missionaries learn the language, and that´s a perfect way to start teaching. Anyways, I´m rambling quite a bit. So I forgot to tell you in my last letter about the wonderful meal I ate. It´s called ´´patas de res´´. And it´s cow feet! Ya, you guessed it, nasty! haha The taste of it actually wasn´t too bad, but it was like eating rubber. I couldn´t chew it. And I knew it was something different because everyone was talking about it but I just tuned them out so I wouldn´t hear what it was. Then afterwards my comp told me. It was gross. O, and today I ate another wonderful part of a cow. The sister told me it was just meat from a cow, and when she handed me my plate, there was 4 tongues! It´s weird becuase it didn´t taste all that bad, but I knew what it was and I couldn´t finish it, so my comp ate it for me. haha Anyways, besides the food with members, I have found the best food in the world. There is a taco stand right by our house and we eat tacos al pastor there. It´s super cheap so that makes it that much better. The guys who work there are really nice and always give us discounts and some free tacos. We eat there every night on our way home. I wish I could send some home for everyone because they are seriously to die for. So ya, the food has its ups and downs. O, so something that I´ve noticed that is really funny here is the names of movies. Because they translate them into spanish, well they try to translate them. A member had the movie Wild Hogs and I looked at the title and in english is was Rebels With a Cause. And that new movie The Happening is called something like The Last Day of the World. It´s just funny how different everything is. Anyways, everything´s going good. My companion has really been studying english a lot lately and I hope I don´t sound as weird as him when I talk. But it is pretty cool cuz there are quite a few people who speak english. It´s all the people who lived in the U.S. for a while. But then they got deported = ) . Well, I think that´s about it. O, so there is a picture of the baptism, and of us painting that family´s house today, and of those delicious tacos. I love you all, and hope everything is going great. Tell everyone hi and I love them. Can´t wait to hear from everyone!

Letter from Rees

2008-09-24T01:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! How´s everything going? I hope all is well. So anyways, this week was great. It started out kinda slow but it got going. Saturday I got to baptize two people. A husband and a wife, Ricardo y Adriana. They were living together and not married, because she is pregnant, so we took them and got them married that morning, and then baptized them that night. It was amazing to feel the Spirit there so strongly. To see the smile and the happiness on their faces afterwards was amazing. You can just see the relief of all the sins, and a huge burden lifted off their shoulders. The Atonement is so amazing. Without it we´re nothing. And it´s so comforting to know that every Sunday we can have the same experience as we did in baptism. Anyways, besides that, we´ve just been teaching and working hard. Everyday we wake up and exercise, then do personal study, companionship study, and then language study. Then we´re on our way. We just plan who we need to visit each day and go, contacting along the way. It is very rare that we ever make it through a day according to schedule. Something always comes up. Someone has a problem, or we run into someone we didn´t plan on, or my companion has to stop at the chapel and take a dump. He eats so much stinkin chili that he has to go every hour. = ) It´s pretty funny because he says words in english so that people won´t understand him. We´ll be visiting someone and he´ll be like, ´´I have to crap´´. And they don´t understand him, but we just get up and leave as quickly as possible. = ) Luckily I haven´t had many problems yet. No major emergencies or anything. The toilets here are so weak that they clog almost everytime. So I don´t dare go at a member or investigators house. But ya, everything has been going good. The time is really starting to fly. I feel like I´ve been here a week. Is it going fast for you guys too? I never believed anyone when they said the time goes fast, but when you´re working hard and always busy, the time is gone before you know it. Well, I think that´s about it. I love you all and hope all is well. Tell everyone I say hi. Remember how blessed we are to be in this Gospel. One of the greatest gifts on earth is the gift of the Holy Ghost. I definitely took it for granted before the mission. We are promised so many blessings through the Spirit, and it can be an enormous help in our lives as long as we´re worthy. I love you all, and can´t wait to hear from you.

Fun weekend!

2008-09-21T17:46:00.000-07:00

Rhegan's love life update:
Hunter & Ray Ray

"We're just friends Mom"!

We had a fun weekend with Jeremy and Kizzy's girls.

Riley Update

2008-09-18T08:52:00.001-07:00

It seems that patriotism is on our minds this month so I wanted to share an awesome experience I had a couple of weeks ago. Riley has a buddy in Iraq with him, his name is Anthony. They became good friends at Ft. Stewart. Anthony's mom, Lisa, received an e-mail from her son several months ago, he mentioned that the kids at school in Iraq had one pencil to share amongst ten kids. He wondered if she could start collecting pencils to send to Iraq so he could take them to the schools. Realizing that there were things our soldiers could use also, Lisa started a charity, "Treats for Troops". She began collecting things that our soldiers needed, baby wipes, chapstick, socks, deodorant, etc. The biggest problem was the postage to send the things over. She told me of times she stood in line at the post office with many boxes and people in line just started giving her money to help pay for shipping. I am so touched by the generosity of the American people. In September Lisa held a fundraiser on the Battleship New Jersey (pictured below) and I was privileged to attend this event. My sister Tammy, who lives in Philly, donated a signed football by her amazing husband "Coach Reid" (for those of you who don't know, he coaches the Philadelphia Eagles) and tickets to a game. She was able to attend with me, thanks Tam!!! Riley's buddy was on leave at the time (he and I are pictured below). We were able to hear from a lady who lost her son in Iraq, but continues sending things on his behalf. If you would like to read her story, go to www.adamconboymemorialfund.org. Another treat was the bagpipers from the police and fire department, have you ever heard "If You Think I'm Sexy" played on bagpipes??? I have!!!!! Thank you Lisa for all that you do for our troops and thank you everyone else who remembers them in their prayers. We are so blessed to live in this beautiful country and enjoy the freedoms that we do!! Thank you Riley for serving your country, I am proud of you son.