Valencia - Week Eighteen

HI FAMILY!

Well this has been QUITE the week. For real. Also someone in this locoturio is super stinky. It could be me. I'm sweating. TMI? Maybe.

I got transferred!! I'm in a BADALONA. it's right outside of Barcelona. The ward just got split into two recently, so I am opening the second area for the Hermanas with an Hermana named Hermana Tyler! This is her last transfer in the mission. She opened Badalona for the Hermanas about a year ago, but now that there are two wards, we're back at it for the second ward. She's actually not here yet though cuz her last comp is super sick, so they stayed in their area, and will be here tomorrow I guess? So I'm with the other two hermanas here. Im super excited! President called me on Saturday night to tell me all about it. I live with two other Hermanas as well. And our Piso.. is super cute! But TINY. literally. I don't even think there is space for four beds. And apparently the mattresses won't be in tonight either.. so that'll be fun. We are going to look for another piso though. But the area seems cute! It's WAY less hot than Valencia, so that's a plus. It was quite the adventure with all my suitcases through all the metros.. but they held up pretty well.

Anyway, my last week in Valencia was wild. It had its ups and downs. First sad moment was that Billy dropped us on Tuesday, we went by and he said he wasn't interested in meeting anymore. So that was super sad. But later that day we had a miracle with a man that we had contacted a while back that we hadn't been able to get ahold of. We met with him that afternoon and he was a golden investigator so that was really great. What else.. it was sad to say goodbye to everyone. Super sad. I really loved the members there. It was hard to leave Hermana Vance too, I love her a lot. We had SO much fun together. She's a sweetheart. I'm gonna keep this email short cuz I want to send lots of pics from saying goodbye. Oh also Matilde came to church again! She's getting baptized on the 27th of September! That will be one incredible baptism.

So yeah. That's all really, well actually there was more, but I'm keeping it short haha. I'm super excited to open this area, it'll be lots of work, but it's just like it was in Zaragoza as well. I like opening, it's a good challenge!


Anyway, I love you lots fam! I'll send some pics now!

love Hermana Reid.

Valencia - Week Seventeen

Hey Family!

Sounds like it was a good week! Glad everyone's alive! haha. We had a super good week here too. We had a bunch of miracles.

One of them was that MATILDE finally came to church!! We have been working with her for two months now and every week she has told us she would come, and every week something has come up and hasn't been able to. She sorta old as well, so I think sometimes she just forgot haha. But SHE CAME! A member brought her as well, so that was even better. She loved it! She's going to get baptized! She always tells us she wants to, but hasn't been able to because she hadn't come to church, but if she keeps it up, she'll be baptized real soon. She saw a picture of Jesus´s baptism on the wall and asked if that would happen to her too, it was cute.

As well, we found a new investigator named Frank this week. He's from Libera, 28 years old, and just moved here. He's kinda like Billy. Super tall. He lives with Billy, that's how we found him. Anyway, we set a batismal goal with him and he came to church as well on Sunday! We had one of our African members, Steve, translate for him. We asked how it was afterwards and he said "it was awesome!" haha, made my day. He will hopefully get baptized this month as well. He was a miracle.

As well, we are teaching the boyfriend of one of the young women, named Guillermo, which actually means William, FYI. He's 18 and from Spain. He doesn't have any experience with religion, only what he remembers from being a little kid in a catholic school. We had a lesson with him this week, and invited him to pray at the end of the lesson. It was his second time doing it, ever in his whole life, (the first time was a week ago with us) so he was nervous, but he said a really sweet prayer. I think that's one of my favorite things about the mission, is teaching people to pray. Most people don't really know what it is, or they think its a repetitive thing. But when they try to say a sincere prayer to their Father in Heaven, it's always a really tender experience. He came to church as well on Sunday, we were so crazy busy watching over some of our other investigators that came, that we didn't get to talk to him a whole lot, but he had his girlfriends whole family watching over him. The dad sat next to him in every class and explained it all, it was really great.

Anyway, as always, life is really good. I feel like things are really picking up in this area, we have lots of people that are really ready to be baptized, we just gotta help them take the leap of faith and do it.

Transfers are this next week. I'm sorta nervous, I think I may be outta here, but you never know. Anyway, so I'll write on Tuesday. That's all really. I love Hermana Vance a lot, she's super fun. We laugh all day every day together. It's fun having a blonde companion as well :)

love you family!

love Hermana Reid

I look super not that cute in these pics..but it is what it is. Its too hot to look cute here..

But the first is Matilde.. love the crocs she's wearing.. and the second is Juan and Lolin. they are our Spaniard parents (or grandparents) they feed us once a week, they are investigators. 

Valencia - Week Sixteen

Hey Fam! Can you believe summer is over? Didn't it just start? Holy wild.

So Valencia was like an OVEN this week. One day, we left district meeting and it was 108 outside.. for real. Super wild. I have never felt that kind of heat in my life. And it's humid. But let's get real, we love it, the weather keeps us on our toes haha.

Anyway, it was a super good week! I don't remember any of it haha, once the day goes by, I need my agenda to even remember what happened.

I'll give some highlights.

We made some progress with a part member family we are working with! Only the mom is a member, and this last week, she invited us over for dinner. It was just her and the two kids at home but it was really good, I feel like we're starting to develop a good relationship with her, so that was a really good miracle.

As well, one of our investigators, Barry came to church! Idk if I have told you about him. He's 23 and from Cuba, we hadn't seen him for a while but we were able to see him this past week and he came to church on Sunday! He seemed to enjoy it as well, so that's exciting.

I was in Barcelona yesterday for concilio and today we had a zone conference with President and Hermana Pace. It was a really great spirit filled weekend. I feel like it really gave me a whole new energy to work really hard and to use every minute I've got here. It was a really incredible time, I love being with the Paces. They are really incredible people.

Also, so something really neat is that every stake in our mission as well as all of the missionaries in the mission have a goal to start and finish the Book of Mormon together, from now until the end of the year. As we read we are going to study the attributes and testimonies of Jesus Christ. We did this last year, and it was a really incredible experience, and it helped build my testimony a ton. So I was wondering... if you, dear family, would want to join in as well? :) I'll send the attachment with the reading schedule. (have tytyb2 translate it for you) I think you only have to read two chapters a day, and we will finish at the end of December. To be honest, I would love if you joined with me. I think it would be a really incredible experience for our family, to all be reading together in unity. So I'll let you think about it :) we started yesterday, but today's not too late to start!

I love the Book of Mormon. Every time I read it, I feel my Savior´s love. I know it's true with my whole heart. I know that every time we read from it, we can learn so much. It was preserved for our days, and it should be studied frequently and carefully. It is a blessing in my life.


Anyway, I love you all lots and lots. More than you know. Keep being great :)
Hermana REID

Also the other day someone said something about how he had heard about "Hermana Reid Speed" haha apparently I walk fast..

inspector frassy legs.

haha. Nick.

One more thing

So I haven't eaten blueberries in over a year right? I know, imagine that cuz they are hard to find and when I find them they cost so much money for not that many blueberries. So I never buy them. sad life right? Like what is a life without blueberries? haha k that's weird. But you know what I mean.

Anyway, so I got back from concilio on Sunday, and my sweet companion had put a container of blueberries on my shelf in the fridge with a note that said "I love you just as much as you love blueberries" How sweet is that? So today, I ate my first blueberry in FOREVER. It was good. I took a video too. Too far? Maybe. But its fine. Anyway, I just thought that was cute and wanted to share it.

Valencia - Week Fifteen

HIIII FAMMILLY!!

I really loved reading your emails this week. I mean I love them every week. But they were real good this week.

Also dad and I are twins! We both spoke in church on Sunday. How tender. PS. if you ever get nervous about speaking in church again.. just remember, at least it's in your native language! Haha. I think it went well though. I really love speaking in church so it was fun. It was hard to prepare though cuz I didn't have much time. I used all my free time to work on it (and by free time I mean sleep time and lunch time... missionaries don't have free time haha). Maybe I'll send it to you eventually. It's handwritten, and in Spanish.. but maybe I'll copy it and someone can translate it for you. I need it here just in case I gotta speak again. I talked about how the Atonement is the reason we do missionary work. It was fun to write.

Anyway, it was a GREAT week. First off, Billy, our Cameroon friend, came to church! He knew some of the members too! He really liked it. So keep praying for him that he can be baptized on the 6th. We taught him the word of wisdom this week and he said he drinks sometimes, but told us he was willing to drop it if God commanded it. He has really great faith.

Also were teaching this Spaniard couple, Juan and Lolin. We ate with them yesterday, they are super sweet, Juan actually isn't interested, but he loves having us over. Lolin is in 2 Nephi 9! She's really incredible. We asked if she was praying to know if it was true and explained to her how she would recieve her answer. She's really great. She will be baptized one day.

Wanna hear a funny story? So when we were talking with Juan while we were at their house, all of a sudden he goes okay, I gotta go to the service. (and I'm thinking he's going to his catholic church service because he's done that before while we have been at their house) but I wanted to make sure we shared something with him before he left, so I was like wait! Can we share something before you go? And he was like, no you can share it with me after, I have to go right now, and I was like please? We have to go soon too, it'll just be really quick, 5 minutes, no more, and he was like no, I'll be right back, I have to go right now.. and I was like okay, how long will you be gone? (just thinking in my head, I guess we can wait till he gets back) and he goes I'll just be 10 minutes, maximum, and I said okay... so he leaves,.... and then wallks in the bathroom. And right then it clicked haha. He said service but he was talking about the bathroom... Hermana Vance and I about DIED laughing. It was so funny. I totally thought he meant church service because all he said was the word service.. gah. funny. But you probably had to be there to get it haha. But we were dyinggggg of laughter.

Anyway back to serious.. so a miracle this week was that a less active lady we are working with came to church! Her name is Odalia. She brought her whole family too (who aren't members). We are going to her house on Tuesday to eat, so hopefully we can start seeing them more regularly.

Yesterday we had a little miracle. We were teaching one of our African friends, and he brought another friend named Stanley. Well Stanley was very... fierce haha. SUPER sassy in our lesson. But at the end, I invited him to be baptized. I asked if God told him that this church was His church, if he would be baptized. He said absolutely! Unfortunately, he's headed back to Nigeria on Tuesday for a few months, so we won't see him for a little while. We were super bummed about that, because he will make a great member. Later that night he called us and told us he was explaining to a friend about our church and who we are, and the friend told him he had always seen missionaries but had never talked to them and was wondering if he could meet with us. YAY! So that's sweet. Miracles happen all the time. God always is putting prepared people in our path.

I love being a missionary because it has helped me to see how much God is really involved in every detail of our lives. He gives us miracles every single day. It's incredible to see how the gospel changes lives and how much joy it really brings to the people we teach. The mission is really rewarding.

Anyway, that's all for the week, short and sweet. LOVE YOUUUUU!!!

Love Hermana Reid

Valencia - Week Fourteen

 Hi family!

So the lake was crazy? Wanna know what's funny? Everyone said, I'm sure you've already heard about the lake, so I won't tell you about it..  but no one really told me what happened.. except mom kinda, thanks mom haha

Anyway, life here in Valencia is super good. It was cooler this week so that was nice. We had a really good week. Wait but first, I just got an email from Tatiana (she's the less active woman we were working with in Zaragoza) When I was there, all her kids weren't baptized, and weren't really into it, and Tatiana really suffered because of it. She felt a huge burden for the fact that her kids didn't want to be a part of the gospel. I don't know if you remember, but the week after I left, the oldest boy, Alexander (who was the most uninterested at the beginning) got baptized!! Tatiana emailed me this week saying her two other kids just got baptized this weekend and that they are planning on going to the temple at the end of this month. Gosh, it made me cry. I loved that family so much. I couldn't be happier for them, how incredible. I'm so sad I couldn't be there for any of their baptisms, but I'm glad to know that they can now be sealed together, forever. Gosh, the gospel is incredible.

So this week.. were teaching a guy named Billy. Did I tell you about him yet? Hes about 6´4 and from Cameroon. His first language is french, but he speaks English pretty well too. He's super cool. We've met with him twice now and he has read a ton in the Book of Mormon, he had even marked things he liked and things that he wanted to ask us about. The neat thing is that the elders had a baptism this week of a man from Camaroon and it turns out that he and Billy are friends! Unfortunately, Billy couldn't go to the baptism, but I'm hoping that his friend can help us with lessons and such. Billy has the goal to be baptized on September 6th!

Another neat thing is we are teaching this older Spaniard couple named Juan and Lolin. Lolin put her own name in as a reference because her daughter in law is a member. We went back this week to teach them the restoration and it went really well. Juan actually isn't super interested, he's very very catholic, but he loves having us visit. Lolin has read 20 chapters in the Book of Mormon! She's really great, it's fun to teach them. They talk A LOT. You have to be super smart about what questions you ask because otherwise they will go off haha. But we love them.

We had a specialized training this week that was super good. Only President Pace was there because his daughter just got married so Hermana Pace went home for the wedding. It was really good though. I always love when we have conferences, they are super inspiring.

I am really loving the mission. I learn so much every day. I love the Book of Mormon, it is such an inspired book. I have no doubt that it is true. I love learning about my Savior. His example is really incredible. You know, it's really incredible that I am here. My Heavenly Father really does love me. When I think about the fact that I am on a mission, I can't help but be grateful to my Father in Heaven for helping me to get here. It has changed my life. I know that I am His daughter, and that He loves me, and that is the greatest thing.

Life is really, really good.

Love you and miss you fam!

Love Hermana Reid

Valencia - Week Thirteen

Hey Fam!

Sounds like the lake has been super fun! I'm so glad, that's the best. Valencia is still the best, as always, I love it. I think its getting hotter though. For real. But that's okay, it keeps us tough.

We had a good week again. One highlight was that we contacted this kid the other day on a bench named Barry. Hes 23 and from Cuba. This last week we had a lesson with him that was so good. We taught him the restoration and he told us that he had read 13 chapters of the Book of Mormon, so that was the best. He totally understood the restoration really well. He told us he has never really believed in churches, but has always believed in God. He thinks churches are corrupt. But he said he really liked the Book of Mormon when he read it, it made sense, and he was excited to keep reading it and meet with us more.

Another miracle was that Cosby, our 15 year old Nigerian came to church this week again! We visited him during the week and it was kinda rough. I think stuff was going on with him and his family because he wouldn't talk to us and he seemed upset. He wasn't sure that he wanted to keep meeting with us. Which was WAY sad cuz last week he LOVED church and was so excited to go back. So we were super super sad. On Saturday we called him, and he brought up church first! He asked if he could come again! He came with us again, and loved it. So that was a miracle.

Another neat miracle we had was that one day this week, I think Friday, every single one of our citas fired haha. wait that's not the miracle. But that happened first. So we were passing by menos activos (I think you're supposed to stay stopping by? someone told me passing by makes it sound like youre just walking past them? idk.) anyway, as we were walking, a woman shouts at us asking if we are from England. So we stopped and talked to her for a second. Her name is Amparo and shes from Peru. She told us she has met with the missionaries before and that she really likes our church. She told us she didn't have time but asked if id write down her info and come visit her. (miracle, that never happens) So Sunday afternoon we went by and she had made us a chocolate cake! How sweet is that? We talked to her about the restoration and about baptism and she accepted a baptismal date! It really was a miracle. She was super super sweet.

After that, i just felt so blessed. God is so loving. He knew we were bummed because everything fired and we were just trying to keep going, and He placed someone in our path. It was a really incredible tender mercy.

As I've been re-reading Jesus the Christ, ive been learning a lot about the nature of Christ. He really is our perfect example. And everything He did was out of love for us. It is really incredible. I love the mission. I have really come to know my Savior. I know He knows me. I know He understands what I go through. I know He has felt what I feel. I know that I never have to feel alone, or sad, or burdened down. I have someone by my side every step of the way. The Atonement is incredible. The Book of Mormon is incredible. The mission is the best.

Life is good. Be safe family! I love you lots and lots.

Hermana Fras