Wow, really fast!

Hey!

This week was a good one. Just quick, let me tell you one cool thing that happened:

We are teaching the brother of a member, and we were at his house this week. His cousin lives in the same house, and his friend was there with him so that they could study together. They love studying English, so they naturally wanted to talk to me. Anyway, we started to try to teach them, but they had to leave before we got anywhere. We invited them to go to church, like we do with everyone. They said that they would have to see, and didn´t promise anything (basically everyone says that here). So, I honestly didn´t expect anything.

We got to church after we passed by the house of a less-active member to pick him up, and the meeting started. Halfway through, Hélio, a member, came up to us and whispered to us that his cousin and his friend were there! I was so surprised, and I hope that we get to work with them more this week. They are both young, but they seem like very nice, bright people. We´ll have to wait and see!

I love you all! Take good care of yourselves:)

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Dearest Everyone

Hey, guys!

This was another week full of events. Here磗 just a few:

A girl named Linda Vit髍ia (translated ``Pretty Vitcoria创) stopped the other elders who live with us on the street. She said, ``Hello! How are your guys doing today?创 Elder Matos said that he saw that she was very inteligent and very different from regular people. because she talked to them. She said, ``You guys are the Mormons, right?创 They said yes. She said, ``Yeah, I used to go there a long time ago.创 A young man from the ward used to be their neighbor, and brought her with him to church a few times. Elder Matos said, ``Do you want the missionaries to go to your house and leave a message with your family?创 She said, ``Sure! We live on such-and-such road, and my parents are at home usually at night or on weekends.创 Let me tell you, this is incredible! And it磗 even more incredible because she is eleven years old. So, we went there and taught the family. Her mom understood really well the message, and later she understood the importance of the Book of Mormon in gaining a testimony of Joseph Smith. They need to get married before they can be baptized, but the whole family is going to church this coming Sunday!

This is just one of the cool things that happened this week, but I am out of time and have to go. I love you all so very much. You are in my prayers, and in my thoughts. This week was a good week for me, and I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father for all that He does for me and my family and friends. Keep moving forward, and don磘 forget who you are. (And for my family in particular, ``use your road-rage if you have too!!!创

Com amor e carinho para todos voc阺,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Crazy Fast!

Hey, everyone!

So, I am running late as usual, so just to let you know a few quick things about this week:

Happy Birthday Anna and Grandma Empey! I hope that it was a great one, and that you feel loved and appreciated by all who know you. You both are blessings in my life, and I love you so very much!

This week was a bit scattered. How so? We are trying to figure out where we want to focus in our area. AKA: It磗 not very efficient to run from one end of the area to the other in the same day, because are area is quite large:) So, we are moving more towards the west side of the area, and we will see what fruits will come of our labor.

We taught a woman and her son, Rejane and Paulo. They are really great people, and Rejane is very interested. They weren磘 able to make it to church, and we felt a bit disappointed, but we will see how things turn out this week.

I have been putting forth an effort to focus more on the Book of Mormon in my personal study. I know that as we use the Book of Mormon for our own personal conversion, we will come to know, even more than we now know, that the Book of Mormon is true. If the Book of Mormon is true, Jesus Christ truly lives; Joseph Smith truly was a prophet; and this church is the true church of Jesus Christ here upon the earth. The Book of Mormon is an evidence, even a proof爐hat these things are true, because we have the promise that if we read it, ponder about its message, and ask of God, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto us (see Moroni 10:3-5). If we do these things, we will know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these things are true; and that testimony will fortify and strengthen us through whatever trial we face.

When all is said and done, the testimony that most strengthens us and allows us to keep moving forward, and the truth that the Book of Mormon most testifies of is this: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. As we ponder or relationship to Him, study His teachings, and apply His gospel in our lives, we will gain a testimony that will allow us to wade through whatever storm we may face (see Helaman 5:12). Why is the Book of Mormon so important in this? Because, along with the Bible, it testifies of His divinity, shows us His teachings, and restores the ``plain and precious创 truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and shows us, even more clearly and powerfully, the way that we must walk to return back to the presence of God. It truly was written for our day, and allows us to receive the Spirit more fully in our lives.

I know that God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ. The ``good news创of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and paid the price, that we don磘 have to be perfect to return to God磗 presence, but that through following His Gospel, His commandments, and His perfect example, we can take upon us His holy name, and His perfection, becoming ``perfect in Christ创 (Moroni 10:32-33), and receive all of the blessings that the Father hath in store for us. What a blessing it is to know of these things, and to have my testimony strengthened day by day as I seek to learn, study, ponder, and apply His word!

I love you all so very much! Read the scriptures, pray often, and seek to apply His example and teachings in your lives. As you do this, you will find the strength and the grace to meet the challenges you face. Keep pushing forward, especially爓hen its hard, 醤d you will find that things get better:) I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, as always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

The Weekly Report from Beira Mar

Hey, everyone!

So, I´m running as usual, but here´s the scoop:

I neglected to also give late birthday congratulations to my father, Kim Empey, who, for the umpteenth time, turned 13 on May 26th. I love you, Dad:)

My birthday was a little interesting yesterday. Quite unlike others that I have had. Firstly, I am no longer a teenager. Weird. I am twenty years old, and in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, and I can´t believe how fast the time has gone! Also, as a wonderful birthday present, the Manaus Brazil Temple was dedicated, and I got to watch by satellite! The first ten minutes or so didn´t   come through, they were having technical difficulties. But, they got us online, and I got a chance to sit in the Stake Center in quiet, reading my patriarchal blessing for a few minutes. It was great.

An interesting thing to note is that, during a temple dedication, the stake centers that receive the transmission become extensions of the temple, or even extensions of the celestial room of the temple. As our mission does not have a temple close by, we cannot go to the temple. It´s about 10 hours away by bus:) But, yesterday, I had the opportunity to ``be inside the temple´´ during the temple dedication. I felt the Spirit strongly, and I tried to imagine that I was really there in the celestial room. What a blessing!

Anyway, this week was good. We´re still having a bit of a challenge finding new people to teach who want to act on the message, but I know that as we follow the Spirit, our capacities will be augmented, and we will find those who are being prepared to receive and act upon the message. It is getting better and better with every week that passes!

I love you all so very much:) And, there is a new little bundle of joy to love, too! My niece was born this morning, at 4:03am in Germany:) Her name is Laci Rhiannon Johnson (I think the spelling is right). How grateful I am that technology allows me to know about this wonderful event almost instantaneously, even on the literal other side of the world! Imagine if we couldn´t use email on the mission: I would have to wait for this news until a letter would arrive. But, because the Church is divinely directed, and because technology is truly a gift and a resource given to us from a loving Heavenly Father, I can learn about my niece´s birth, and even see pictures if and when they are sent! (Which I would love, by the way:) )

Have a great, awesome week! Pray as if it were all up to Him, and then get up off your knees, and work as if it were all up to you! In this way, He will bless and exponentialize your efforts and the effects of your efforts, to the point where you can have an influence far greater than you ever imagined possible.

Love you all tons and scoops!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Birthday Wishes, Temple Dedications, and the Same Old Heat!

Hey!

I am almost out of time, but here´s a quite update for this week:

My new companion and I worked hard this week looking for new people to teach, and me showing him the area. It has been a bit of a challenge now that I need to know what street we´re on and things like that, but we were able to get things figured out fine.

Happy Birthday to Joslyn Empey, my sister who can now legally drive! And also date, which is more than a little bit weird if not scary for me....It´s crazy how fast the time flies! I love you very much, and I wish you a happy, happy birthday, and a good, fun, exciting week as you and Mom get ready to go to Germany (My older sister Geneil is having a baby girl, and Mom and Joslyn will be over there in Germany to be a support to her. And to have a great time in Europe!).

My birthday is this week, June 10, which is this next Sunday. It´s actually the temple dedication of the temple in Manaus, Brazil! So, I get to watch the temple dedication on my birthday. What a great present! I will be turning 20, which it strange....I have the personal opinion that the difference between 19 and 20 is almost infinitely larger than the difference between 18 and 19. I will no longer be a teenager! CRAZY!!!

Anyway, I really have to run now, but I love you all! Things are busy, and interesting, and always a time to thank Heavenly Father for every day, every experience that He gives me. What a blessing it is to know that He loves us, and wants to best for us, and will help us as we seek after His goodness and His counsel.

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

This Weeks Happenings from Beira Mar

Hey, everybody!

This week was pretty busy. We had zone conference, which is a meeting that we have once every three months with our mission president and the mission assistants. We learned about the importance of study, both personal study and companion study, and also about something called "Crescimento Real", or "Real Growth". The Church is really focusing on this, and the training that President Souza gave us was a translation a training given by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. So, it's pretty big stuff:) Real growth talks about where we need to focus our missionary efforts, and the activities that we should be involved in. We need to focus in areas that will actually help the Church to grow. This means that we, a missionaries, need to try to help reactivate those who are less-active in the Church, as well as focusing our proselyting efforts on baptizing men and families. In this way, the Church is established more strongly upon a basis of families and priesthood holders, with the support and infrastructure that new members need as they are growing in their testimonies and becoming converted unto the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, it was very interesting, and very important for us to understand and apply.

Also this week, a young man named Rafael was baptized. His brother was less-active, but he wanted to come back to Church, and when he did, he brought his brother Rafael with him to seminary. Rafael was very interested, and wanted to get baptized. So, these past weeks we've been teaching him, and helping to prepare him for baptism. He was baptized yesterday after Church. It is really cool, because his brother can help him learn more about the gospel, while at the same time they can both support each other as they actively participate in the meetings and activities at Church.

Anyway, my time is spent again! I love you all so very much! I was reading a talk by Elder Scott about faith, and it really made me remember some things that I have learned in the past. While I was at BYU, we had a regional conference, and Sister Julie B. Beck was there, as well as Elder Holland and Elder Packer. It was really cool, and I remembered a quote from Sister Beck that I think is important for all of us to remember: "You're doing better than you think you are, but not as well as you could be".  We need to remember that we often are very hard on ourselves, and that we are probably doing better than we think. Yet, we all have room for improvement, and we can continue to get better everyday. So, don't be too hard on yourselves! Acknowledge the good that you do everyday, and feel good about yourself. Do you best, and try to see how you can do better without punishing yourself:)

I love you all so much! Heavenly Father lives, and is mindful of us and our difficulties. He wants to help us, and has provided ways that we can receive the strength and support that we need. So, go to Him, ask Him for what you need, and remember to be grateful when He opens the windows of heaven and pours out so many blessings upon you that you don't even have room to receive it:)

 

Love you all tons and scoops,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

 

News from Beira Mar

Hey, everybody!

This week was a good week. We were able to start teaching a few new
people who have real potential, and continue working with those who
were progressing. One of these people is Kailanny, the granddaughter
of Fátima, the same Fátima who was baptized and confirmed last week.
Kailanny is nine years old, and very smart. She understood all of the
lessons, and she loved church when she went the first time. On Friday,
she was baptized! I had the privilege of baptizing her, and I am
grateful to have been a part of helping her to learn more about the
Gospel, and to enter into the strait and narrow path that leads back
to our Heavenly Father. She was confirmed and received the gift of the
Holy Ghost yesterday during sacrament meeting.

Something kind of cool happened this week. My companion and I were
walking to an appointment, and as we were walking, there was a man a
little bit further down the street from us. He looked at us, and
smiled at me and nodded his head. (As I have often said, a nod of the
head is a universal male signal of acknowledgment, whatever part of
the world you are in, and being here in Brazil has only solidified my
theory of this.) I smiled and nodded back, and he motioned toward us.
His name was Vernon, and he asked me if I knew of another missionary
that he had known a long time ago. I didn´t even understand the name
directly, but I said that I didn´t know of him. Vernon knew him a long
time ago, and he started to tell us about how he knew about Joseph
Smith, and about the gold plates, and how he tried to explain it to
his landlady once and she said that he was crazy. He said to her,
``Let me get in touch with the Mormons, and they can explain it to
you!´´ She was sort of appalled and even offended at the notion:)

Anyway, I wrote down his address and phone number, and we invited him
to Church. Sadly, he works every Sunday morning, and so he got our
number as well, and we said that we would try to stay in touch with
him when we can. (He still lives in that same apartment, so teaching
him there probably wouldn´t be a good idea with his landlady) So, we
will have to see what happens!

I know that the Church it true, and that Heavenly Father really is
preparing people to hear the message of the Restoration, that they can
be ready and willing to act upon the message that we have to share to
the world. And that message is this: After having the divine truth and
authority of the Gospel of Jesus Christ been lost from the earth for
centuries, our Loving Heavenly Father has once again extended His hand
to His children through living prophets, giving us the light and
direction that we need to be happy and joyful now, and to return to
live in a fulness of His light and love in the life hereafter, with
our families being united for eternity to live together in His glory.
What a message this is! I know that it is true, and that we can truly
receive these blessings in our lives.

I love my family:) It was so good to talk to you all yesterday, to
hear your voices, to joke around with you, and to feel truly grateful
for the wonderful family that I have been blessed to have. I also feel
grateful for all of my extended family and friends. I have truly been
blessed to know you all:)

Have a great week, everyone!

With love,

Elder Reid Powell Empey