Week #8 - Welcome to the FTM (Florida Tallahassee Mission)

This has been an awesome week.. my first official week in the Field.  

It’s been the craziest week ever!   I wish I could just talk to you about it, but I will do my best in writing.

To start it out my trainer Elder Nate is so great I love him.  The craziest part is he is a SPANISH ELDER so i`m teaching in Spanish now!! It is so helpful to be with the Spanish Elders it helps so much with my Portuguese.   

In our apartment its me, Elder Nate, Elder Barney (he was the 3rd Mozambique missionary at the MTC ( the one in the trio at the end), and Elder Meyer who is headed home in 6 weeks.

But something crazy you will have to tell Kaden is that we have banana spiders!! They are so big. In Florida they have these massive spiders, enormous.  Maybe bigger than my hand.  I saw one in the shower yesterday. 

We do tons of tracking and tons of dinners with members in the Spanish branch.  I don`t know any Spanish so I pretty much just sit in and every now and then say a few things in Portuguese.  Many understand English so that is nice. 

Tracting is pretty difficult.  My first door step was like the best English missionary story.  I knocked on the door, a lady answered and cussed us out with the real bad ones. I laughed it off.  In Tally people have not been very nice.  There are a ton of  bible bashers.   I haven't really ran into any that have gone crazy on me but they will every once and a while.  There are so many different kinds of people you wouldn't even believe it. Its also one of the coolest experiences to Tract. On Friday Elder Nate and I went up to a door and started testifying of the book of Mormon. you could almost see in this man’s eyes how he had so many questions but how he had that desire to change.  We set up a second appointment with him and he can speak some English to so that is very helpful. 

What we saw driving to Panama City

Anyway about the hurricane.. 

ya I’ve been doing service like this whole weekend.  Pretty much from 6-6 on Saturday and Sunday and at least 3 hours on Thursday and Friday. The service is mainly moving logs and I did get a yellow shirt haha. 

Kinda cool but we had sacrament meeting for like 10 minutes and then loaded in cars and went down to SERVE. 

And the service!! I`ve been moving logs for hours and hours and hours.  My arms and stomach are all scratched up!  But I can tell I`m a Rees (haha) because everyone around me waits for the trailer or wheelbarrow to come, but I am not patient so I’ll just grab the massive logs and take them by hand.   haha.

It’s really sad how bad this hurricane was.  There are forests that are flattened and tons of houses just gone. In Tallahassee it isn’t near as bad as it is in Panama City.  Cool experience: 

We cleaned a ladies yard on Thursday for like 3 hours and she broke down because God had answered her prayer the night before  about “how will I get people to come help me?” and low and behold the missionaries showed up.

She was so thankful for us she did like a hallelujah prayer after.

 

High light of my week-

Guess who came down on Saturday Night to talk to us in the Florida Tallahassee Mission?

President Oaks 

Elder Bednar 

Bishop Waddell and

Sister Bingham 

 They came to Tally and came to our stake center and talked with us about the hurricane.  I was about 20 feet from them the whole time! it was incredible! just the spirit they brought when they entered the room was overwhelming.  One of the most powerful things that has happened in my life. 

Also Elder Bednar and President Oaks are 2 of the funniest apostles I’ve ever met in person.

 Something I loved that Elder Bednar talked about was that the Trials we face and why do good people have bad things happen to them. he then said 

"Lessons of Mortality prepare you for Eternity."

One of the Most powerful quotes Ive ever heard by an apostle of the lord. 

He also mentioned about how Jesus Christ walked the path before us and his path wasn't easy and it tied into how ours wont be either. 

He then testified about how God knows each of us individually and he has a plan for us.

President Oaks Closed the meeting by testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ and How he lives today.  

Amor Voce, Talk to ya`ll next week  (the accent hear is so funny everyone says ya`ll)

Thanks for the Prayers

Elder Rees

MTC district picture - Our Teacher Irmao Dudart in the center with the white tag