Email 7/23/2012

Hey Mom and Family!

Yeah it was crazy for me but I'm glad to be here - it's great here in Cristo Rey!  Super crazy and just full of people waiting to hear the gospel - so lots of work to do but I'm loving it here as well!  It is a great privilege to be here with my new comp.  He really is a great missionary!  The way things worked out wasn't his fault - it was mostly his comp, unfortunately, but he is ready to work hard and and is super easy to get along with.  He is really cool - I like him alot!  He is a bit goofy just because we are opposites but he is super funny and fun to be around so no big deal on my part - the lord continues to bless me so much - i love it!  We have a lot of people progressing but have now figured out that its going to take alot of work to get them to enter the waters of baptism.  We have a lady named Yolanda that is progressing very well.  She is a reference from a ward member and the only problem is is that she works super hard and hardly has any time to share!  She always goes to church and loves it alot!  But she starts early in the morning and doesn't get home until around 8:30 or 9 so she is exhausted but still finds time to read a little and share with us - she is awesome!  She is a single mother - her husband left her but she has 3 sons and she is working to support the family!  It's really sad at times just because her little boy that is super young always comes in to ask for 5 pesos and she has to tell him no because they are so tight on money and the little boy is so young that he doesn't understand.  But she has great faith!  We also are teaching a little family - a mom and dad and 2 girls and so it's been great!  The mom and girls are super interested and progressing but the father is a hard working man as well to pay for the family.  He isn't home the entire week until Saturday and Sunday so it's hard to get a hold of him but we do what we can!  Then we have a lady named Estefanie that is doing great as well.  She attends church and she is golden because she accepts everything and has an answer.  The problem is she has a problem going to church but she promised us that she will go this week so we shall see where that goes!  Then we have another family that is doing great and progressing - it's a mom and 3 daughters and a son.   They are doing great!  This week was a great week to gain their confidence for us.  The mom had knee surgery so she has been down a little and can't do much so we got to give her a blessing and she was super scared before the operation and after the blessing and after the surgery she told us how she was calm and wasn't scared at all - she felt peaceful and that everything will be just fine which it was - so that was great for her to see the power of the priesthood and to gain more confidence in us and the lord and his gospel so they are doing great!  Then we have a lady that knows everything and has a testimony and wants to be baptized she just has a problem because she has a man that she can't get rid of because he supports her and her family and she can't get married so she has a problem right now with that but she is super strong i'll keep you updated on her and the rest of these people.  They are our main people that are progressing! We have other people right now but those are the main ones!  So it's been great thus far in the big old capital and in Cristo Rey!  Tell Clayton that's a great idea!  I'll try to put it in practice but i might just be talking to myself just because they probably won't want to talk Spanish, haha!  But no big deal I've really felt like i have progressed with the language as of late!  I've learned alot more so no worries there!  But that my family is what is going on in the life of Elder Reidhead right now!  We are also getting into the rainy season so it has been pouring like everyday!  It never really rained in Bani but it's everyday here, haha, but its been great!

Sounds like you all have been doing great and had another full and eventful week!  What happened to all the reunions when i was home?  It sounds like you guys are always having reunions now that I'm gone, haha, but that's cool to hear about that gal that Clayton took out he should tell her that she is going to meet a ton of Dominicans there!!!!!  They are all over in the east and Florida!  It's everyone's dream to get to the states but yet it's weird because they think this country is the best ever and its better than the US but yet everyone wants to go there, hahaha, they are funny people!   They always make fun of us when we do service - for example when we went to help out a lady named Lucia - the lady that had knee surgery - we were washing dishes and clothes and cleaning her house and they were just making fun of us because we don't know how to wash dishes i guess, haha.  There is a specific way that like it i guess haha!   They are funny people but you got to love them!  That's cool you got to see good old Jordan Holt!  I miss that kid!  He is super cool and a good missionary -or was a good missionary!  Tell him i say hi!   Tell everyone in the family i say hi and love them!  I'll let you all go for this week but know that i love you all so much! thank you for writing again it was great to hear from you all!  hope you all have a great week! love you all so much and miss you all!  I'll be hearing again from y'all soon!

Love Elder Reidhead