Feeling Better, Charity, and Learning About Obedience.

Elder Reinhold with his companion, Elder C.

Well this week was kind of a bummer but finished out good. We were very sick almost the entire week. When we were finally feeling good enough to really dig down and muddy up our shoes we visited our investigators that are really positive and we were so happy.  They are all positive. The family From El Salvador that we thought disappeared off the earth, one of the kids assisted this week and we have a promise from his brother to assist the next week and I think that his mom is going to assist as well.  

This week I had a really cool experience. We were doing weekly planning and normally we pray for all of our investigators but this week I decided to pray for every investigator individually.  As I prayed for the family from El Salvador, 1 Corinthians 13 came to my head really fast and so I was thinking and asking myself 13 what like what verse but nothing came so I ran for my Bible and read the chapter heading and it says Paul extols the high status of charity.  Charity, a pure love, excels and exceeds almost all else.  A bit of background: this family has nothing and is in dire need. When we leave the 10 year old asks us for a couple of quets to buy some bread because the parents are out looking for work and the kids have not eaten in 2 days. It just rips your heart in two. So after reading this chapter heading I am thinking we need to serve them but we need to get the ward involved.  I then read verse 1 and 2.  "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass of a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing.  I just got machetied by God. "Macheting" here is like chewing out, criticizing... kind of like that.  So I learned a lot and am taking another approach with reaching and serving this family. 

The quote for this week is a great one if you truly understand the gospel and its purposes.  If I even understand the gospel and its purposes. haha. "We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see." Boyd K. Packer. True saints are not trying to be obedient so people think good of them or because they were raised to be really obedient, they are obedient because they can really see the blessings that it brings.  One saying in the mission is "Obedience brings blessings, obedience with exactness brings miracles."  I really do have a testimony of this.  I want to tell you guys that I know with all my heart that Christ lives and that he restored his gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that Christ is the head of this church and that only through this gospel and through certain covenants can we return to the presence of our Heavenly Father and live with our families for eternity.  If you are reading this and are thinking that you would love to live with your family forever ask one of your friends that is a member of the church what it means to them to know with a unshakable testimony that they are going to live with their family, not only in this life but the one to come as well. I love you guys and thank you for all the support that you guys always give me.

Elder Reinhold

P.S.  In a separate email. "Love you guys so much and I am having the time of my life and I can not believe that I almost have 9 months in the mission.  Where is it going?"

Going paint balling on preparation day.