Valencia - Week Two

Hey family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STUDDA AND TYTYB22222!!!! Your letters are in the  mail. Sorry I was a little  late. I hope you two  have a super super fun boating birthday!! Eat lots of chocolate dessert for me. Man that stuff is good. Spain doesn't have pudding. Wait actually I think it does. Scratch that.

So this week was really good! One miracle we  had was  with this girl named Desiree. She's  21 and from here.  She's super cute. She contacted the Hermanas a couple weeks ago because  I guess  she lived with a Mormon family  as their nanny a few years back so she knows a lot about the church. We had a visit with her for the first time this week, it was way cool. She is super religious which is rare for the youth here in Spain. Most of them are atheist.  She's  really cute. She told us she would try to come  to church with us on Sunday but ended up not coming. We were bummed, but I think it's because she had to work late Saturday night so she slept in.  She told us she really wants  to read  the Book of  Mormon though so we are excited to help connect her with some of the YSA here and get her more involved and hopefully BAPTIZED. That would rock.

We had a visit with Monday and Loveith this week, best  names  ever  right? They are a cute little nigerian couple that just got baptized. I think they are the most humble people I have  ever met. They live in one tiny room of an abandoned apartment. They literally have nothing, but are the happiest people I have ever  met. They are a true  testimony of the fact that the gospel is what brings true, lasting happiness. they have no food, they hardly have a place to live, but they have the biggest smiles on their faces all the time. I just love them.

We did a lot of  member  visits again this week and we are really seeing good stuff from it. Members are  starting to get more excited  about the work and we are finding more and more  potential  friends  and  family members  to work with. I'm pretty pumped about this area. It's blossoming. Is that weird to say? haha sorta.

We just  got  back from Concilio and it was SO GOOD. I love  meetings in the mission more than anything,  they are so inspiring. Hermana Blanco and  I are super ready to just  do work here. This place has so much potential and  we are  just excited to get back at it. President talked about the importance of being examples and doing everything we can to become converted ourselves. It was really inspiring.

Also I got to see Hermana Findlay which was the  best thing ever, I love  that girl. I've been blessed with super  sweet companions my whole mission.

Anyway, that's the basics of it. Life here is good. I am loving the mission so much, time is flying! Anyway, have fun at the lake! Love you all!

Love Hermana Reid

Valencia - Week One

hey family! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOOOOONNN TO TYSON AND AUSTINNNN!!!! LOVE YOUUU! 

Sounds like everyone is way pumped to be back together! Eat some blueberries for me in memory of me or something okay? haha

So life here in Valencia is good! I heard Valencia was pretty.. but its not haha. Well at least where I am isn't really. Its kinda ghetto. But our apartment is pretty decent.  I like ghetto areas, keeps it interesting. We live with two other Hermanas again too, which I love. One is from Spain and she's trying to learn English so we talk in English in piso, its cute. And the other is Hermana Munns, who was one of my BEST FRIENDS in the CCM. We are so the same. So we were pretty pumped when we found out we were living together. My companion is SO FUN. She's chatty. Which I love, she just chats your ear off all day long. She was born in Madrid but has lived in the states since she was five. Shes got one transfer left in the mission. She's 27 and super cute. We have fun together. Also she loves to run. So its been way fun running together in the morning! 

So this week was crazy. I always forget what its like starting all over again. Its been interesting trying to learn the area and get to know all the members and stuff all over again. Its fun to have a fresh start again as well. 

One woman we are teaching is named Maria Pilar. She's a spaniard woman, about 60 and has long white hair. She's really artsy and is INCREDIBLE. She's so ready to be baptized. And she wants to. She just has little doubts here and there, so were hoping to solve them soon to help her feel ready. She's really great. She loves the book of mormon and Joseph Smith. She's fun to teach because she's really animated and expressive about everything. So cross  your fingers she will get baptized soon. 

Other than that, we don't really have any investigators at this point, were starting fresh again. I'm excited for the challenge though. We spent the whole week meeting with members so I could get to know them. The good thing is we have really seen some miracles from it. Members keep telling of people that we can visit and try to teach. We really really want to work through the members, i know its the better way to work, it just takes more patience. But I am very excited about this place. Valencia is way fun, and its a very desired place to serve among missionaries. So it'll be fun. I love new adventures.

PS MIRACLE. Hermana Findlay told me that Alexander (who is the son of Tatiana, the menos activa we worked with in Zaragoza) wants to get baptized this week!!!! When we first met him, he wanted nothing to do with it. so that's a huge miracle. I am super super sad I am missing it though. Gah. it kills me. I loved that family. Tatiana and I cried when I left there. But its okay, I'm glad I was able to help them. His baptism will be an incredible blessing for them in their family 

Also we went shopping today. I bought four pairs of sandals. they were 6 bucks each. Judge me. Sorrynotsorry? SUMMERTIMMEEEE!!! 

I love you family!! 

love hermana reid 

Zaragoza - Final Week

Hi FAMILY!!

Que guapos sois! (you're the cutest is basically what that means) it was so good to talk to you this week!! I loove you all a whole lot. I don't have time to email cuz I'm on my way to VALENCIA! I'm pumped its gonna be a blast. but I wanted to send a quick note to say hi and I love you! Hopefully I'll have time later on to get back on, but if I don't, I'll talk to you next week! You're the best family in the world! Thanks for everything, you mean the world to me. Also don't worry mom, I had Hermana Findlay give me all the pictures from her camera that I haven't gotten yet.. so were golden. I'll be better at taking pics in my next area. I'm super sad to leave. I love Hermana Findlay and this area a whole lot. I feel like I didn't get much time here.. but it'll be fun to have a new adventure! I'm so so happy. I love the mission. life is soo good!

have a great week!!

Love Hermana Fras 

Also I tried to send pics home but it wouldn't let me today.. sorry. I love you!! 

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Zaragoza - Week twelve

HIIIIIII! Who's excited to talk this Sunday? PICK ME. I AM SO EXCITED! Doesn't it feel like it was just Christmas time? Say yes, because it does. Time flies!

So this week was good. To be honest, I don't have a whole lot to say, and were all gonna talk on Sunday anyway, so I'll keep it short.

So something that's been cool is we have been really having a lot more success working with members! This last week, we had a lesson with Tatiana (a recently reactivated less active) her family, and another menos active lady and her son. We talked about The Plan of Salvation, and talked a lot about who we are and our divine potential. We watched the Mormon message called our earthly father, our Heavenly Father, and it was so good. The dad, who is completely inactive, got really emotional after watching it. The last few lessons we have had with their family have been super good, and the spirit has been super strong. We are hoping to be able to help him get back to church soon. We think that when he starts coming, the kids will want to as well. It's hard to come back for the first time for a lot of people. They worry how people will look at them, or that people will judge them. The thing is, none of that matters. It doesn't matter what people think. We go to church for God, and to renew our covenants with Him. And that's that.

Yesterday, one of the cute YSA girls told us we can come over this week to meet one of her friends. The missionaries had met with her in the past, and I think she was close to baptism, but never did. So I'm excited to meet her and hopefully start teaching her!

So yeah, that's all for this week really. It flew by. We were hardly here, Hermana Findlay and I both did intercambios again this week. I went to a place called Terrassa. It was super fun! I love getting to learn from other Hermanas in the mission

Sorry its a short email, we will chat it uppp on Sunday! LOVE YOU!!!

Also tell Allie and Sadie bear happy birthday for me!

love Hermana Reid

Zaragoza - Week eleven

HI FAMILY!

So this week was WILLLD. We had great stuff happen. First off, Monday night we had a lesson at our branch presidents house with a less active lady and her family. Her name is Tatiana, we've been trying to get her husband to come back to church since we got here. Anyway, she brought another less active friend, Raquel. We taught a lesson on the Atonement. I think it was the most powerful lesson we have had in a long time. The spirit was really strong, it was incredible.

Then this week I got to do another intercambio. Man intercambios make time fly. Hermana Findlay and I left to two different cities on the same day, and came back at the same time the next day. It's really fun to work with other Hermanas, but I always really miss Hermana Findlay. She's the best.

Okay so we had some wild lessons. On Thursday, we taught this lady from Portugal and her son. I didn't know they were evangelists until we started the prayer. Beforehand, I explained how we pray in our church and what not, and then offered to give the first prayer. Well I don't know if any of you have ever prayed with an evangelist, but let me tell you things get wild! Haha, as I started, the both started whispering loud prayers of their own along with me. It caught me off guard. But luckily I made it through the prayer. It was funny. Now ya'll know. Anyway, they are real great, hopefully we are going back to see them today as well.

Then on Friday, we went to visit Ester, who is doing so well. She wants to be baptized. And luckily she just moved out of her boyfriends house so she can! We taught her the restoration and she really liked it. She loves meeting with us and always calls us her sisters. Also after the lesson she gave us some food... SHE FED US COW STOMACH. So gross. And no I didn't eat it. We've gotten really good at avoiding weird foods without them knowing. Let's just say Hermana Findlay was a Saint. She saved us. But anyway, we love Ester. She's doing super good, reading and all. She's really sweet and I'm excited to see her keep progressing.

Yesterday we had concilio in the mission home, it was super fun! We got to sleep there Sunday night and when we got there Hermana Pace had made food for us Hermanas. We love staying with them and spending time with them. In Concilio, President Pace talked about how he needs us to be the best we can, and to be the best examples we can to all the other missionaries. It was really good to hear, to help us to keep motivation to do everything we can to be exactly obedient. It was a really incredible meeting!

Also, a miracle we had this week. We called Raquel on Sunday morning inviting her to church, and she was like well, my family isn't ready to go yet, and I don't want to go alone, so we told her to call Tatiana. She was like, that's a great idea! I'll come! So Raquel  and Tatiana walked in the church doors together Sunday morning, and Raquel brought her son (who isn't a member). It was really neat. Tatiana had been inactive for so many years and finally decided to come back, and as she's been reactivated, she's been helping other people come back in the process. It was really a tender mercy for us on Sunday.


Anyway, life here is so good. I love the mission. I love my companion. We have transfers in two weeks and are really praying we get one more transfer together here. I really feel blessed to have her, we have fun together. I love this work, I love my Savior, I love this gospel. Love you family!!

Hermana Frassypants



COW STOMACH!

Birthday morning fun! 

Hermana Findlay's birthday 

Here's  panoramic of the cute roofs of this pueblo, super antique 

and the other is a birthday excitement pic! 

This is at a menos activos house in a cute little pueblo, we ate there for hermana findlays birthday! super fun 

f

Zaragoza - Week ten

Hey family!! HAPPY EASTER

Also THANK YOU SO MUCH for the Easter package! I got it this week! It was way fun to open, and I loved the letters.... and THE CADBURY EGGS. you know me so well.

So this week flew by!

Tuesday I went and did an intecambio with a Hermana in a cute little pueblo called Sant Cugat. It was way fun. Also they have it good in their apartment. It's two levels. You're all sensitive too, I know it's fine. Also they have heated floors. Is that even real? Apparently.

Anyway, after the intercambio, I was back in our area for a day, and then on Friday we went to the islands!! Hermana Findlay and I were pummmppeed! We took a train down to Barcelona and then from there we took a plane to the islands. It was only about a 45 minute ride, but it was GORGEOUS. Holy cow, all the way there you could see the entire island from the sky. And then the islands were just gorgeous. Sorry I don't really have pictures though, I realized I'm terrible at that. I'll work on it. So then on Saturday, Elder Evans, who is the executive director of the missionary department for the church (He works directly under Elder Bednar) came to speak to us all.

I'll be honest, his message was kinda fuerte haha.. like really bold... that's the best way to describe it in english.

He talked about how he thinks that there will come a time when missionaries won't contact in the streets or knock doors anymore, because it's been doing more harm than good. For now we will still do it because the 12 apostles haven't come to an agreement on it yet but he really stressed the importance of working with members, and how that is the best way to do missionary work. So that's something we are really going to try and work on. Limit street contacting, and try to work better with the members in our area. He really stressed teaching our investigators what repentance means, and how when they have a change of heart, they are more likely to stay active because they have been converted. He said how missionaries have a tendency to skip from faith straight to baptism, and then people fall away easier. He said a lot of really bold comments about little things we can do to improve. Soooo we have lots to work on haha. But it was really good. It made me really excited to see how we could work better in our area.

Also he told us we have the best mission president in the entire world. So that was a big deal. It's so true though, we are so blessed to have him.

We also got the opportunity to watch that Because of Him video. It made me cry. This week I hit my 9 month mark in the mission, halfway. It's really made me think a lot about everything. As I watched that video, I really thought about what my Savior has done for me. Because of Him, I am here on a mission. Because of Him, I really know that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me. Because of Him, I know that every trial and hardship we have is to strengthen us. When I think about the fact that I am on a mission, I am filled with so much gratitude for my Heavenly Father that I'm here. The mission has really changed me, it's the most incredible thing I have ever done. And I'm so grateful to be here. I can't wait to see what the next 9 months have in store!

So this week, we still struggled to find, but as we work more and more through our members, and help strengthen them, I know the Lord will bless us with more people to teach. We found this one lady the other night (actually, I had bought some chocolate (I was inspired I think haha) and then I contacted the first person outside the store) her name is Ester, shes from Guniea, she's way cute. We taught her once, and she came to church with us on Sunday! She loved it. She's been taught before, but she said now she's in a better place in her life than she was last time, so she's ready for it. I'm excited to see what happens with her.

That's all really for this week! I hope you had a fun Easter!! I love you family! Thanks again for the package!!

Love,
Hermana Fras

We played pin the tail on the donkey for hermana porters birthday last Monday haha. I look like a fool, its fine.