Elder Carson Reiley: Jan. 17-23, 2021

Hey everybody I hope you all had a great week!

It sounds like everybody had an awesome week with school and everything so that is good to hear. I am so glad to hear that basketball is opening up and they are allowing a lot more fans! Hopefully the girls and the boys can finish this season strong. Also it sounds like it was fun for you to go down to grandma's and spend some time with her.

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

I got their talks but because of the restrictions on the phone I am not allowed to open it but that is ok you can try to send it again but if it doesn't work that's alright.

For my birthday I have no idea what I want, maybe some orange slices and some country time..... I don't really know what else I would want.

The basketball film you are sending is perfect and I will if I can put this video together and thank you so much.

Cambrie's talk sounded like it was good, I wasn't able to watch it but it sounds like it was good which is so cool!

A cool message that we shared this week was with Michelle. We met with her and talked about really gaining a personal testimony of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon and I realized that the only way for any of us to gain a testimony is through the Holy Ghost and she really loved that.

MY WEEK

This week was really awesome! I can't believe that we are 4 weeks through this transfer and I feel like we still have a lot to do but I am loving the work here in Pasco. Yesterday we had 4 people come to church and it was so awesome! Michelle and her son came and they said that they loved it! The spirit was so strong during the sacrament and hopefully they can come again next week.

We had a big spike ball tournament as a zone because we reached a goal as a zone to have 10 people on date to be baptized and we accomplished it so we had a tournament to celebrate and my partner was Elder Hart and we balled up. We won the whole thing and it was pretty awesome and I had a ton of fun and our zone works really well together and I am so glad we are all good friends and working together as a zone to motivate one another really does help the work move on.

I went on an exchange this Saturday with an Elder named Elder Hendrix. He is from St. George Utah and is so cool! We got along really well and taught some really good lessons to some less active members and we also practiced our Spanish because he is reassigned from Ecuador and it was one of the best days I have had on the mission so far.

On Wednesday we took Michelle, her son Junior, and her grandson Carlos on a temple tour of the Columbia River Temple and we walked around the temple grounds and it was so amazing. We talked about eternal families and how amazing the Temple is and what a blessing it is in our life. Before we went I was really stressed with all the things we had to do and we were missing a training and it was a little rough but when I was on the temple grounds all that stress went away. I realized that our purpose as missionaries is to provide a way for families to live together forever! It was such an amazing expirience and I love being a missionary and being 100% focused on our Savior Jesus Christ.

I love your thoughts about Joseph Smith and it is so amazing what he went through and sacrificed for what he knew to be true. As long as we are obedient and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost our Heavenly Father will bless us for our faith.

I love you all so much and love that quote by President Hinkley about trying. I want you all to know that as we put forth the effort, even if it may seem small to us, Heavenly Father will smile down on us as we make a huge effort to do his will. I love this gosepel so much and also my Savior Jesus Christ. He suffered for litterally all of our sins, pains, afflictions, trials, and anything we have gone through and will go through. I know we will never be alone. Love you all so much!

Love Elder Reiley