TUESDAY March 24, 2015

By the Way bonny means Beautiful, Bra means nice. Just FYI 

So this past week in Oban has been miraculous.For our first full week in the area, we were able to set some great finding in and get a lot done, Unfortunately I will only be in my area for 3 hours this coming week other than church but It will be nice. We have a plan of Finding one new Friend and Getting 2 appointments in three Hours it can be done, and I know that it will if All works out. 

This week was grand, we had an appointment with this lady named Ami, She is awesome, she was brought up Catholic, and her Husband was brought up Church of Scotland, her kids aren't too religious but she has one wee boy who is looking to choose a religion for himself. We talked to her about what we share and she invited us back, We then had our meeting with her and talked briefly about our purpose in being there and some of the things we share about, and she was intrigued. She had told us that she looked through the Pamphlet of the Restoration we gave her, she didn't have the time to read it but she looked through it however, her son took the pamphlet up to his bed to read, so that is awesome, she then shared a desire to come to attend church and to get the feel for it. It was incredible. 

Throughout the week we met lots of nice new people, they were incredible. 

So on Tuesday we met a girl named Margaux, She was a little confused at first but as we talked we invited her to church, she didn't commit to coming but said she will try and see if she can make it. Then On Sunday while I was preparing my talk that I gave, we recieved a text from her( By the way we didn't have her phone number) and she asked where she could meet us as she had biked into connel that morning, We were excited by this text and we told her we would meet her in Connel, then as we were going to pick her up we talked to many people on the bus, but Also when we got to church She enjoyed it. I Gave a talk on trusting in the Lord, It was fun and that was most of our meeting, but afterwards we told her she could stay if she wanted to for the meeting or could head out, and she lended up staying for the WHOLE time. It was so cool, We spoke to her later and she really enjoyed it, Oh and by the way I forgot to mention, She is from FRANCE, It was so awesome. I got to speak in french abit with her, which hasn't happened too much throughout my mission but I realized I can still speak it. :) So that was a positive thing to do. 

On Saturday as well We were talking to people along the pier as it was a bra day in Bonnie Oban,  and as we were walking we talked to this girl named Corinna, She had met missionaries briefly in the past as they were at her work , but didn't have much time the first time to talk to them. So she acknowledged us and said, So the mormons are back in town, and we replied yep, so We are guessing you know who we are, Turns out she Goes to HOPE and what it is is a christian outreach program for youth and young adults, where ALL faiths are welcome to it.  She told us that we could come to it sometime and talk to people about our beliefs, we then asked if the man running it would be okay if we came by and she responded by giving us his phone number and saying yep. So I look forward to seeing what comes of that. We then Invited corinna to come to Church as a few weeks back with their youth group they did a Church crawl where they went to many different faiths looking at the different ways they all are done. I told her I would actually be giving a talk on trusting in God and said you are welcome to come, but please don't analyze my talk. She commited to come as well and She will be meeting with us again in the future to learn more. 

This week was full of miracles I cant count them all and Don't have enough time to write them all either, but this much is that the LORD is Hastening his work in OBAn and we get to be apart of the harvest. 

Oh and we are getting bikes next week :) I am excited for that however my calves are going to kill for the first few days but eventually it'll be amazing. 

I am currently in Dumbarton with other missionaries for the week as Elder Starr is in the Easter Choir which are touring all over Scotland, but I will be in my area for 3 hours other then church on Sunday and we have a goal of teaching two lessons and seeing our friends at church, so it will be amazing, I look forward to reporting back to you all about it. 

My studies this past week are getting good, I am in Alma 48 as of this morning, and I am noticing the different tactics that satan uses on us, It is so good to read the war chapters as they Prepare and Protect us from danger. 

Love all of you, 

I know that this work is the work of the Lord, there is nothing I could ever compare to this work. 

Be Safe, Be Careful and watch continually to escape the snares of the adversary. 

I love you

- Elder James Reece

Monday March 9, 2015

Just for fun, I don't feel like sharing where I am moving to until the end of this letter.  But To be nice I'll share it now

So I Am moving to OBAN, Scotland and If you go back to my e-mails in April you will see I was in a trio with Elder Starr when I was in Dublin, and now he is my New Companion. I look forward to serving with him.

Since recieving my Moves call my mind has been racing and many things have gone through it, as I have served here in Kirkcaldy for 6 months, I have reflected on it and Have realized how much I am going to miss it here. I love all of the members, all of the Less-actives, all of the investigators that We are teaching and all the ones the other teams are teaching as well, I love this Stake and After 9 months of being apart of the Dundee Stake, I am off to Glasgow Stake. I have seen many miracles in this area and I look forward to keeping in touch on the things in this area, many cool things have occured and Especially with the member involvement it is getting really good, Heavenly Father has a plan for this area and For this past week in Levenmouth, has been my Best week in teaching people and helping them since I was called to open this area 6 months Ago. I have experienced so much and Changed alot it is unbelieveable how much.

This has been the hardest area For me in terms of finding Prepared people, of course we have seen so many miracles and found people Who have gained witnesses from the Spirit and Feel it so strong, but Thus they have turned away to learning, and it is so hard.  As many of you know my focus on my mission is to come to love as the Savior did, and that is so Hard to do, Especially when these things happen because you love the people and it hurts you so much in all ways when they turn away from the Truth and there is nothing you can do.

Another such incident occured this week actually, But Unlike the past ones, I knew the Lord has his purposes and they will always be fulfilled, I know that so when one of the people who was GOLDEN invited us back to learn , she told us she would read the book of mormon and she would pray about it, she was so excited to learn and the gospel was causing an excitement in her life it was amazing, but When we came for our appointment She Said, Well I have looked into "mormonism" and it's not for me, It was devastating for us, and as we were talking with her just to gain an understanding to know what happened her Dad came out and Got involved which stopped us from being able to communicate with her about these things. The father treated us like we were bad people and it made me and my companion feel uneasy, because we know the desires of our hearts were to help her fill the void she was feeling, but We will be returning at another time, as they were busy that day but she said we could try by another time.

However this week has also Been great,
We had the best Week we have had in this area, we were able to teach 11 lessons with people who are looking for more, which was absolutely amazing, and we were able to work with members and build those friendships with our friends who are learning about the Truth from the Lord. We met this one man Named Herald, and it taught me something. Several weeks back I met him on the street and He came off as if he was trying to bash us, but he Invited us to come by, I was hesitant to go and teach him , but as we taught and listened to the spirit we realised that their were things he was looking for that He couldn't find, He is indeed A Christian, but he has had quarrels over doctrine and the knowledge of scriptures so he left his past church, as we have met it was so cool especially yesterday.  We were teaching him the Plan of Salvation, and we taught about how We Lived with God before we lived here on the earth and as we taught about these things he told us he had always believed those things, and no other faith teaches that Doctrine, he also said that when Learning it seems familiar, and we helped explain to him the reason these things feel familiar are because We were taught the Gospel in the Pre-Earth Life and it was amazing. He is looking for truth and it shows how we can never judge people of who will accept the message or not. We have had so many experiences with the spirit and Been able to deepen our testimonies.

I am so greatful for this priviledge I have to serve this mission for the Lord I have no  clue what the results will be I have no clue If I will be harmed at one point of not, but I love
Acts 5:41 It is so great in essence it says, " They rejoiced for being counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Savior" and that is exactly what we do each day but if it weren't for these sufferings I wouldn't know my savior, I know him much better now because Of what I have had to bear I know more of the feelings he felt when he did all he did,

I know that Jesus Christ is my savior and my redeemer, I know his sacrifice was Done out of LOVE, I know that every sight he saw, Hurt him when he was Preaching and teaching his gospel to the World. I know that He weeped over his Brethren many a time, and was drawn out in prayer for their welfare, day after day and I know He Loves Me.

The book of Mormon has helped me to understand these things, My experiences have helped me to Know these things and to feel these things, and The spirit has revealed the truth of these things to me and I say all of these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I Love all of you, And I pray that Heavenly Father will take you all into his bosom and keep you Protected.


- Elder James Reece

The caves where Picts lived

Macduff Castle

Part of the castle.

Monday March 2, 2015

Just for fun I like to switch up the names of the Weekly letter each week :P It also helps me to see things Easier if you all respond to me.

I don't have too much to talk about Right now as I am not feeling the greatest, However This coming Sunday is Moves Calls. I am quite Scared for it as I have been here in Kirkcaldy for 6 months and have been the longest out of all the missionaries in this area. So ...... But we will see.
The Work is going well, As I said last week It is a rollercoaster Ride,
This week has been hard, A lot of fall through appointments and such again. But Yesterday was one of the BEST SUNDAYS I have had on my mission.
The rest of this past week was interesting though,
Last Monday as You saw from me posting emails on the Tuesday is we had Zone Development as a zone and was good, but for myself I don't like Zone Development because I feel like I didn't work as much.
But It was well, Met some new friends, and Learnt More about playing Guitar abit. It is quite Grand Like.

Oh I forgot to tell you all, So interesting thing is in our Ward actually we have a bunch of investigators, ( who the sisters are working with) that are Deaf, so we are all learning British Sign Language which is amazing, My companion and I talk with it alot and really enjoy Learning, And one of the Deaf people named Lilly was baptised this past week, It was such a miraculous outpouring of the Spirit, and anyone there was overwhelmed by the spirit, then Yesterday she Was confirmed and she asked me and my companion to be apart of it as well, As the blessings was being said, then Interpreted the Spirit was so strong, and Right after it we had testimony meeting and The spirit there the whole time was immaculate. It was absolutely amazing. There wasn't even A Pause the whole hour during Testimonies, and many who I have never heard share their testimonies in front of the Ward got up and bore testimony, It was awesome, As we went throughout the rest of the Day we headed to see our pal John, and as we were there we were able to help him feel heavenly fathers love for him which was amazing, and We went to try by a potential named Herald, When I found him he seemed like a basher, So I was quite hesitant in talking to him but We went by and knocked on his door he invited us right in and as we were talking to him and Establishing expectations with us he stated he got fed up with the Baptist church not knowing the Scriptures very well, So He stopped going and when we asked him what he intended to get out of these meetings he said maybe you guys can share things that I do not know yet. It was incredible he said he is completely Open to reading and learning about the Book Of Mormon and The Prophet Joseph Smith. It was so Cool. His house was super decorated with Indian style things as well and Gold Plated Ceilings and walls which was so neat, His career was doing steel work so he did all of it himself. Maybe he will let me take photos and I will show you next week. We then were going to see Investigators of ours but they had to cancel so We went back with a friend of ours to theirs and they dried our coats and gave us soup then We tried by another potential who didn't seem to be interested at all but, In his home he had his Brother and his brother's girlfriend with him and they were interested the Spirit was so strong throughout it, eventhoough the Boys were both stoned, they Felt the spirit and when They were talking the spirit told us what they needed and the questions and statements that we said were EXACTLY what they were thinking, They were abit taken back but, They said that if they could feel the spirit in their Lives It would be absolutely amazing. And I was able to share my personal experiences from my life, on My search and the feelings I had as other faiths, with the absence of the Spirit and could relate alot with the guy. It was incredible.

A few days previous as well we met a lady again named Debbie, She allowed us to come in, and She was talking about how she wouldn't feel comfortablecoming out to things with having done things that others haven't done, I was able to use my experiences again to comfort and help her, As I joined  the church only a few years ago, I was able to share i was afraid as well, but that People won't judge her and she will feel the Love and support she is missing in her life. She reminded me alot like myself when I wasn't a member of the church and it was quite neat to See all these resemblances.

I know the Lord has called me and ordained me to be a missionary and to have the experiences that I have to help his children as recently I have been able to share many things About myself which have helped others, I also know that each of YOU have specific Experiences, Strengths, Talents, and Skills that will attract specific people and will be needed from you specifically to build this kingdom. The Lord loves you and he loves me . I Know it to be true ( Signed in BSL ) :P :)

I Love you all and ask heavenly father to bless you each day in my prayers, I know he will protect all of you.

My Heart be filled with gladness, Even when 1 small thing goes right, and everything else goes Wrong, 1 small miracle makes all the suffering and Pain worth it.
Trials are sent to try us and if we are  BEING GIVEN these Trials, The LORD Knows we CAN handle it, For the lord God giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he prepare a way for it to be accomplished. He giveth no Trial, or affliction in which we can't bear, So the next time we feel Pained or anguished about trials that are in our lives, I implore all of you to think about how much God must believe and trust in you to KNOW you can HANDLE it.

He Loves You and so Do I.

And I say all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


- Elder James Reece