The Plan of Salvation---One of My Favorite Lessons!

Dear Family & Friends,

Well, I am glad that you ended that email with that bit of funny--it made me really happy. I am going to send the SD camera chip home with Elder Pearson, so I hope that you are staying in contact with them to see how their trip was. Then you can plan everything that they say will be fun, but no matter what, it will be good.

Well, to talk a little about Grandpa. On Thursday President Smith called me. That is also when I realized that President Smith knows me better than I thought he did. He told me what happened and then guess what------I had to do an interview for a baptismal candidate. That interview was a little bit hard---okay it was really hard. I was trying to weigh out if these feelings meant that I needed to ask the candidate more questions or what---it was not easy, but we got through it okay. Through out my mission I have taught people about the plan of salvation. I know it better now then I have ever---it is one of my favorite lessons---the plan of salvation. Over the past couple of days I have thought about all of that a lot. It does make me sad that Grandpa is gone. For me it is not real and probably will not be until I come home. That is when it may be really hard, but President Smith taught us something really amazing from the Doctrine and Covenants Section 138. All of it is good, but what I will talk about is verse 30 where it talks about Christ and how he organized the spirits to teach the Gospel in the spirit world. This is why we go to the temple. Grandpa as we know served in the temple with Grandma for a long time. Now he still serves, but instead of being a proxy, he is doing the preaching so that others can change and come to the knowledge of the Gospel and that is what it’s all about. You can also all read that section, it’s truly amazing. President Smith is great!

So later that night, when we got back to the apartment, I wanted to look at a couple of pictures of Grandpa and that is when it got really hard. It’s hard to think about not seeing him again, but that is actually not true, we will meet again. To him it will be short, but to us it will be some time. That night Elder Pearson was enjoying with Elder Jorgenson so I had the room to myself for small time. I didn’t want them to know. They just would not know what to say and stuff. So I cried for a while but now I am okay. We know where Grandpa is and we will forever know. NO OTHER CHURCH CAN TELL YOU WHERE HE IS NOW OR WHAT HE IS DOING, BUT GUESS WHAT, ANYONE IN THIS CHURCH CAN!!! I’m worried about Grandma and how she is doing but I know she is strong. I love them both so much. Grandpa is happy---I know he is. He is doing what he loves talking to spirit people that he does not know. That is what I believe at least. Oh ya, I hope that you kept the funeral program---I would like you to send it to me please. Sorry, one more little thing. What I have been doing is remembering everything great about Grandpa; it’s keeping me really happy about this all.

So this whole thing just makes me want to work more. I want to do my best to work all the way till the end--till you pick me up at the mission home. That is how I want it to be and I know I can.

Well today we just went to Shoprite again. We went to print some pictures for some of the recent converts, it was really cool. We also went inside of Shoprite and guess what---they had Cheetos. I love them so much and now I get to eat some again--it’s the puffed kind though--but no worries! I also got some chocolate and some banana bread. It was really cool.

About transfers--I am pretty sure I know who my new companion will be. I have thought about it and I know. He is a cool guy. I have never served around him or anything, but I know him another way, and if it turns out to be him I will tell you more about him. Elder Pearson will be going tomorrow. That will be pretty crazy because I will not be picking up my new companion until Wednesday the 1st (my birthday). Thanks for my birthday stuff--I am very happy for all of it. This is kind of the last great event that will come before I come home. So that’s it now I will be home in no time. Tomorrow I have 2 transfers left that is the coolest part of all this.

So when you get here I do not know if you found a place to live, but I have and it’s probably the greatest place in Ghana. Elder Ahadji's son invited us to stay with them. I don’t know if it was just a nice invite, but I will talk to him more and more. They are really cool people. I don’t know lots about him, just that we sometimes go over to play basketball on Mondays and stuff. So they have a really great place--that is where Elder Pearson will be staying. I would have to officially ask them but it’s up to you. Get back to me on this by next week.

Brother Chuks kind of failed Elder Pearson. The whole time he has been saying that he will be the one that will go with them but now he found someone else to drive them around. So that kind of made Elder Pearson sad. That is even why we went over there to plan for the whole thing. So I don't think that is the way that we want to go anyway--maybe it still is. I don't know till they are finished with the whole thing. For you it kind of helps that your friends are here. So I guess we will see what you have. I am just worried like always. Oh ya, I think I took after that from Mom!

Well this week was kind of a sad week on people at church and preparing for baptism. Lots of them did not come this week because we did not have time to see them twice so that was kind of sad. We had 6 at church. All great people. The man with his two kids (they are awesome) came and they are really prepared to be baptized--nothing will stop them. Brother Samuel came and he was really happy I hope to go teach him even today but I don’t know if my companion will be too trunked out. Tonight we are having a small party thing--just with us. Anyway, Brother Samuel is sweet--we worked with him for 6 months and I would not give up on him. I just new something was holding him back, now that he has felt it he knows. Lots of people did now come though, but its okay this week we will be working extra hard to get them to come to church. So this week 2 people will be baptized--Ruth and Mary. Ruth is a part member with her sister so she will be baptized. She is cool but she does not listen too well, she is only 14. Mary is about 43, she has been coming to work for 10 Sundays (about 4 months on and off) and finally after the new teaching program came out we gave her a date and now she will be baptized.

We also had the mighty change program. I think it is something that happens all around the world but I don’t know. It was about the Book of Mormon and it was pretty darn good. We brought one of our investigators to it and he really liked it. It was about how the Laminates changed from bad to good and then the children---the 2000 stripling warriors---were not defeated, even one, when they went to war. The only bad thing is that that guy we took to it did not come to church--so sad--and we did not get a thing done the whole day. We only taught one person. So... I don’t know.

We had the Mission Tour with Elder Ounloe (the Area Seventy)--it was pretty sweet. First thing they told me was that you get to have an interview with him. That was pretty scary. He is a really nice guy. We talked about how my mission has changed my life and yours back home and also my testimony, it was pretty good. I hope there will be one more Mission Tour before I am finished here in Ghana. He also bore an amazing testimony to me, it was really cool. The tour was also about obedience and I guess it really sunk in to me and helped me to think how can I now help the others to change, because unless someone does something to help, I know nothing will change. I see the same things just keep going on, but now new companion new things will come with him and now I will be training him in how to be a Zone Leader. I hope I do a good job.

Well that is about it and now I hope that we are going to go teach some people, but I don't really know if we will or not. I love you all so much, thanks for everything and thanks for sending me emails. Sorry I did not get to email you back this week but I will be sure to next week. There was just a lot I had on my mind that I needed to write.

Love, Elder Jeremy Reid.

P.S. I would like to know how Dad is doing. I wish I could have been there to hear what he talked about at Grandpa’s funeral. I hope you can write some of it down to send to me even though I know that it will be hard. Dad, I love you tons. I am glad you have been there through it all.

Love you, bye.