Elder Carson Reiley: Nov. 1-7, 2020

¡Hola amigos!

Well I finished my fourth week in the MTC and it is crazy to me that I've been doing this for a month, it has gone by really fast but also slow at the same time. I've definitely enjoyed every day of it though. There are good days and bad days and days that go by slow and days that go by way fast! But through it all, my motto has been "Un dia a la vez" (one day at a time). I'll start out talking about the devotional we listened to and it was by Bishop Waddell and his wife. It was really good and all the devotionals bring me so much peace. Anyway, Sister Waddell talked about the difference between a shepherd and a sheep herder. A shepherd leads his sheep and cares about their lives more than his own, and a sheep herder takes care of the sheep for his own personal gain and would save his own life rather than saving the lives of the sheep. She then went on to say that Jesus Christ is our Shepherd. He leads us, we know His voice when He calls us, and when the predators of the world come to attack us, He will give up His life to save us. A perfect scripture that describes this is in Alma 5:60. The Atonement of Jesus Christ saves all of us IF we listen to His voice and follow the path that He has provided for us.

This weekend was really really fun because my brother Jaxon and his wife Alex came up from Logan and spent the weekend with us! Jaxon had an elk tag so on Saturday Austin, Jaxon, and my dad went hunting and My mom, Alex, and me went down to my Grandma Hart's and I had the opportunity to do my classes at her house and it was so awesome! My grandma has one of the strongest testimonies of the gospel and being able to be in her house serving the Lord was really special! After class I got to go to my little cousins, Bryce's and Jayce's, basketball game and it was so cool to watch them play! Then we went to Chick-Fil-A and what a treat that was! I've been in my house in Felt Idaho and being able to go somewhere for lunch was awesome! During this time grandma and I talked a lot about family history and about what experiences both of us have had that have helped us become the person we are today and I learned so much. Then we got home and Jaxon did shoot a 6 point bull so shout out to him congrats@JaxonReiley! ;) So I can say that on my mission I've had the chance to see and help clean an elk! I only know one other missionary that can say that. (my other brother Austin)

Something funny that happened this week was in class on Tuesday. I was assigned to say the opening prayer for the evening class and I'm always a little nervous to say the prayer in Spanish but also willing to put forth the effort in trying. Anyway after the opening song, I unclicked my microphone and started saying the prayer. I was going on for about 1 or 2 minutes when suddenly my teacher said something DURING the prayer and I was startled. She said she couldn't hear me but I thought it was her internet so I didn't know what to do so I tried to continue with the prayer but then finally one of the missionaries confirmed they couldn't hear me so I basically was just saying the prayer to myself for awhile but it was pretty embarrassing but also a good laugh! I finally ended up getting my internet to work so all in all it turned out just fine.

Spending time with my family during this time has been such a blessing in my life. I love my family and I realize that I am so blessed to be sealed with my family forever. That knowledge that I have brings so much joy to me so I realize that I have to go share that with others. One of the missionaries in my district said, "we are only one person out of 16 million people who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And there are 7 billion people in the world. How can we not share what we have." It was a great reminder to me of my missionary purpose. To invite others to come unto Christ! This gospel is a message of joy and peace and during this difficult time in the world a lot of people may think "Where do I turn for peace?" The gospel of Jesus Christ is the peace that is available to all of us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love, Elder Reiley