Spoke to Elder Peter last night!! It was awesome to hear his voice. Boy do I miss him. He is doing really well. He says it is hot!! He is in one of the nicest apartments of the mission and is really appreciating it, after having lived in the trailer!! He likes his companion and he says that the people in the ward are feeding them well!! He also said that he has lost some weight with all the bike riding they are doing. Way to go Peter!! He did say that because they are now in the city, people are a little rough around the edges (they had a bottle thrown at them) but he is loving all the opportunities to teach the gospel because the percentage of members is a lot less here.

We are so glad and grateful that we were able to talk to him this Mother's Day. I know he also got to Skype with my Mom, which he LOVED!! He said it made him feel so good to see them and be able to talk to them. What a wonderful miracle the Internet can be. I know he also talked with Marcy and he got to talk to each of my kids, which they LOVED!!

Peter, we love you and are so proud of you. You are an amazing young man and are doing a wonderful work. Keep up the good work and we will talk to you at Christmas!!

More pictures. Enjoy.

I love his smile on this picture!

April 18, 2011

Left: Elder Reese, Elder Patterson, Elder Earl, Elder Bingham, Elder Manumaleuna, Elder Morris

Top Left: Elder Anderson (Zone Leader), Elder Liu, ELder Bingham, Elder Morris, Elder Patterson, Elder Hall, Elder Reese.

Middle Left: Elder Jeffers (AP), Elder Tyrrell, Elder Perry, Sister Rust, Sister Curlee, Elder Grigg, Elder Shultz, Elder Griffeth (AP)

Bottom Left: Elder Pierce (Best Zone Leader EVER), Elder Holyoak, Elder Earl (My District Leader)

Okay, well, this letter is going to be pretty short because I have to upload all the photo's I have. I've been a little behind on that. Everything here in Gila is going good. Elder Holyoak and I are working hard to start using family mission plans in the homes of our members. They have been really open to starting them and following up on them. It's really good. I love and miss you all.

Love, Elder Reese

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Side note: Christy here. I am assuming more pictures are coming through later. Mom said she got some and is resizing them and sending them to me. Hopefully we will have some more pictures to post soon. Looks like they are having a lot of fun though!

April 11, 2011

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Here is a cool sunset we saw the other day!

You can't really see it in the picture but the large glowing thing in the middle is the temple. It was really cool to see.

April 4, 2011 Everything here in Thatcher is the same. We go out, we teach, we come home and we eat. Then we teach some more, then eat at members, then teach even more, then go to bed. A lot of our effort right now is trying to find people. There were a lot of talks this conference about marriage and family. I know that if you die and Ben lives, that he will talk about you just as Elder Scott talked about his wife. I love you and miss you. Give all the kids hugs for me. Love Elder Reese

Happy Green Day!
I put this little flower (and one for his companion) in Peter's St. Patty's Day care package. I told him that I wanted him to at least send me a picture with it on (and that if they didn't want to wear them all day, it wouldn't hurt my feelings!). It was so great of him to do this for me...he is such an obedient little brother!

March 28, 2011

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http:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpe-n5LdTks

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If this video doesn't work, go to youtube.com and type for Madison.

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So this is a video that the Young Women in our ward did for one of the girls. I thought you would really like to see it. it is pretty amazing.

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Another thing I wanted to share, yesterday, as I was sitting in sacrament I noticed a boy in our ward. His name is Chris. Chris is a deacon who as the priesthood and passes the sacrament. As I looked at all the deacons in our ward, passing the sacrament, they all had that frown and kind of tired look, but not Chris. Chris had a huge smile on his face. He looked like he LOVED to pass the sacrament. Chris has Down Syndrome. It is amazing to see this young man pass the sacrament. When he does, everyone that he passes too has an extra tear in their eyes. It is an amazing thing to see. Chris is the most loved kid in our ward. Everyone knows him and everyone loves him because he loves everyone.

Love,

Elder Reese

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PS, as I was typing this (Christy here) I kept typing Christ instead of Chris on accident. I am sure you can see how that would be an easy error. As I did it for the 3rd or 4th time I realized that there was almost a double meaning to it. We are so lucky to have those with special abilities come to earth and be a part of our lives. They remind of us of all the pure and good things that happen. Their smiles and innocence can bless us, if we let it. They are probably closer to Christ and Heavely Father than the rest of us and we love seeing the light of Christ shine through them! Thanks for sharing this story Peter!