Miracles!

Hola Everybody,

I’m emailing on Saturday, because I am not going to be able to Monday. Our Zone will be busy playing in the semi-annual World Cup! We are beyond excited, and Team Comas has some serious game, so cross your fingers!

Well, I’ve got one piece of sad news, and then a bunch of pieces of good news. Sad news first. We live in the house of the Bishop, and this week their Peruvian Dog died. “Rest in peace Poffy.” He was all ugly, and had little patches of scruffy gray hair, but a great heart. I think in the after life he will have long luscious blonde hair, like a golden retriever. 

On a happier note, we are very excited because Isabel, who was baptized last Saturday told us that she wants to head out on a mission! This is going to be such an amazing experience for her.

  Remember Natalie, the awesome girl that moved to Huancayo but is going to find the missionaries there and get baptized? Well, KARMA! Because this week Isabel´s Dad arrived from the Jungle, and told us straight up, he wants to follow Christ, unify his family, and get baptized. We were like, well, okay, we can help ya with that one! AND, its a bonus, because he brought us tasty food from the Jungle! So, we sent somebody to a different part of Perú with the desires to get baptized, and Heavenly Father sent US somebody from a different part of Perú with the desires to get baptized. 

We also found about 4 more people this week who have accepted the invitation to be baptized. I’m not exactly sure what we are doing to have so much success, but we must be doing something right! Hard work is the key I suppose. 

Moreover, Joselyn is very excited for her baptism on the 30th of this month! She really is the golden investigator. If all goes as planned, we are going to have a baptism or two every week for at least five weeks.

Elder Hilario and I had to make the trek to the municipalidad (city) one last time to finish up the wedding papers. We were super nervous, because we had to collect one paper from one building, which they weren’t even supposed to have until one day later, and run over to another building a mile away and give the paper to them. AND we were on a deadline. We had to do everything before ten o’clock a.m. I don’t know how we did it, but we saw some miracles and were able to do everything, so now we can relax a bit until the 29th, and just wait to eat the wedding cake. 

Tuesday we had a really good Zone Conference with President Erickson.

Well, sorry this email was so random, but we are pretty excited for all the miracles that we have been seeing lately in our area.

Sending you all my best wishes, and I hope you have a wonderful week. I know with all my heart that the work I am doing is the work of the Lord, to help edify and establish His kingdom in the earth today. I am absolutely honored to be one of his servants, and I know without a doubt that the church is true.

Sending love to the Shire, 

Elder Reschke. 

P.S. I think they buried Poffy in the street right outside our front door.

P.S.S. We are going to win the World Cup. We have to!

                                                              Comas Zone:

                                          The different colored houses on the hill in Comas:

                                                                Working in Comas:

                                              Fish with squash soup and rice.  Very tasty:

Note to Dad:  "Remember this picture?  Well you would be happy to know, 

Father, that our Zone now has the nickname "Sonrisa Colgate" (Colgate Smile), 

because of my smile in my mission picture. 

  That pic is making it's way all around the Zone! 

 Ha Ha Ha Ha.  Have a great week, 

Love,  Elder Reschke"

Bautismo De Isabel! And CANNIBALS!

Hola Familia Y Amigos! 

This was an absolutely crazy, hectic, awesome week down in Perú. The highlight, of course, was the baptism of our Investigator, Isabel. She really is the BEST. It has been so fun teaching her, and she has prepared really well to be baptized. I baptized her, and her baptismal service was very powerful. All of the Young Single Adults sang a special musical number, and then after the baptism she gave a testimony that was SO powerful. Everybody felt the Spirit very strong. We went over to her house Sunday morning for a delicious breakfast of Pachamanka. (Traditonal Peruvian dish based on baking with the aid of hot stones, pork, chicken or guinea pig, marinated in spices.)

       We had a pretty hectic week because we were doing the wedding papers for a family that wants to get married. A process that usually requires a month, my Companion and I managed to do in ONE WEEK. It was crazy, because neither of us knew anything about the process. We had to make a lot of phone calls, and spend a lot of time standing in lines, going to lots of different buildings, and we had to sacrifice 2 P. Day’s in a row to do everything, but in the end we managed to do all the papers in a week. Wow we really saw some miracles on the Lord´s part there.

We had an interesting spiritual experience this week.  When our appointment fell through, we looked up at this house high on the hill, and my Companion and I both felt prompted that somebody in that house needed us RIGHT now  So, not really knowing why, we made the trek up to this house (it was practically the final house up on the hill) and we knocked on the door.  Inside we met a nice family, and a girl named Natalie.  We shared a really powerful message with her and the Spirit was so strong.  She later told us that she felt abandoned by God, but then we knocked on the door.  She left this morning to go to Huancayo to study, but she told us she really wants to be baptized, and she promised us that she would find the missionaries the second she gets to Huancayo.  The moral of the story is, we felt spiritually prompted and we followed the prompting.  Maybe we won’t be able to baptize her, but at least we were able to help one of Heavenly Father’s children in the time of need, that’s what matters most.

On another note, I ate cow lung. They didn’t tell me what it was until after I ate it, but it was tasty, I suppose. It reminded me a lot of the cow stomach I ate a little while back, haha.

Also, I learned this week that there are cannibals in the Jungle’s of Perú. I kid you not. This is 100 percent legit. There are these undiscovered people that have never had contact with the outside world. You can see them on the shore if you are in a boat in the river, but they shoot arrows from the shore to the boat, and if you make your way to the shore you´re done for. AND, some of them are cannibals that actually eat humans. I think I’ll stay in Comas, I feel safer here. Ha ha. 

Well, hope you all have a great week, and thanks for all you do! 

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Reschke.

P.S. LIFE IS AWESOME!!! 

P.S.S. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

Did you have any miracles this week?

Working on the wedding papers.  So many things went wrong, but we found so many solutions.  We had to go to the center of Lima` with all the witnesses, but one of the witnesses didn’t show up, so guess who the witness was?  Me.  I had a feeling about this, and decided to throw a copy of my passport in my backpack at the last minute just in case.  I know that the Lord helped us countless times with all of this!

So, I don't know how we did it, but Elder Hilario and I TOGETHER, did all the wedding papers, a process that usually requires a month, in a week.  What a crazy week, but I know that the Lord helped us out and finally we did it!

Night view of Comas:

                                                     Elders with night view in Comas:

                                          Dusty shoes of hard working Elders:

                                                                       Fruit bowl:

                                                      Welcome to Isabel's baptism:

                                                                   Isabel's baptism:

                                           Elder Hilario, Isabel, Elder Reschke at baptism:

                                                        At the baptism of Isabel:

                                                              Baptism of Isabel:

                                                  Elder Reschke baptizes Isabel:

Mi Testimonio.

Hola Amigos Y Familia!

It was good to talk with some of you guys via SKYPE yesterday! Wow all those little nieces and nephews are growing like crazy!

This week was pretty good for us. Last Sunday night we met a cool girl named Joselyn, and she is GOLDEN! We have only known her for a week, and she has already accepted to be baptized on the 30th of May. She is progressing way nicely. We are getting ready for the baptism of Isabel this Saturday. She is the best, and is really excited for her baptism. 

Ha Ha, for P. Day on Monday, we played a huge game of Capture the Flag with the Zone. It was a blast, and probably one of the first times that Capture the Flag has been played in South America.

Well, I gave you guys a good update on SKYPE yesterday, so I thought I would take a few moments to write my testimony. 

     A testimony, I decided is something that begins as a seed, and then grows and grows the more you nourish it. I have been nourishing my testimony exceedingly this last nine months, and it has grown so much.

I have literally seen miracles in my nine months here in Perú. So many miracles, that it would be impossible for me to name all of them. 

I have learned that the best way to be happy and feel peace in my life is to forget about myself, and lose myself in the service of others. I have experienced firsthand all the blessings that you can receive when you serve the Lord. I know with all my heart that this is the work of the Lord, and I am beyond honored to be one of the Lord’s chosen servants to help bring to pass the work of salvation.

I know that life isn’t always easy, but I know that the way to be happy is by having faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ and his Atonement and Gospel. I know that Jesus Christ gave his life for us so that we can be free. I know that the way we can overcome any worry or difficulty in our life is through accepting Jesus Christ and his Atonement. I know that he gave his life for us because he loves us, and little by little, day by day, we can feel the real power of the Atonement in our lives.

We are so blessed to have the fullness of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith really was a prophet, and that he was an instrument in the hands of God to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth.

I have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, a book that many people take for granted, but a book that really changes lives. I have seen this firsthand. I know that this book is a sacred volume of scripture, that really contains the words of a living Heavenly Father, and it has no place, forgotten on dusty bookshelves and nightstands. We should treat the Book of Mormon like the sacred text that it is. We should read it, discover it, and let it change our lives. It has changed my life, and I know that it can change the life of EVERY Child of our Heavenly Father.

I know that the missionary work that I am doing here in Perú is marvelous, and it is a work that will continue until the word of the Lord has penetrated EVERY continent and whispered in EVERY ear, this glorious message that will lead us to an eternal life, in the presence of our families, and our loving Heavenly Father.

This is what I have to share today, and I testify of these words in the sacred name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Love you all so much, and I hope you have a great week.

Con Mucho Amor, 
Elder Reschke

P.S. I do NOT have an accent! 

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

What was your favorite part of SKYPING this week?

Seeing you guys in real life was the best part.  Oh, and the nieces and nephews.  They are growing like crazy.  

Did you know tomorrow is Dad’s birthday?

Yes. 59, right?  And Dad is fantastic.  He really is the best Dad in the whole wide world, and I don’t know if he realizes how amazing he is!

Did you know it is Abigail’s birthday Wednesday?

Yep, and that is crazy how fast Abigail has grown up!  Ha ha.

We liked hearing you speak Quechua so well.  Do most missionaries speak it?  

Some missionaries know a phrase or two, but I would probably say that I speak it more than most.

What are you doing for P. Day today?

Well, the Zone is playing kickball for P. Day, but there is a good chance that my companion and I will have to bag that to go to Megaplaza and do the wedding papers for a family that wants to get married, but I don’t care because I don’t mind helping out.  Plus, that probably means we get to eat at Megaplaza, which is a bonus:)

                                        Cool new bean fruit I tried called pacay. 

      (Pacay, or ice-cream bean, is a tree that contains a podded fruit often cultivated for the edible white pulp surrounding large seeds.  It is a legume tree native to South America.):

                     My picture was the meme of the week that they shared with the Zone.
                                    (Important person in Comas with a Colgate Smile.):

             A good food from the Jungle that Isabel cooked for us called tacacho con cecina.
 (Roasted banana Amazonian cuisine dish from Peru.  It is usually served with grilled bits of pork.)

                                                       Peruvian dog of the week:

   Lazy dog in the chapel that WOULD NOT LEAVE.  We were nudging it and everything,
                        and it refused to get up and leave.  It is not Pablo the dog.
         Pablo is shorter and black, and we love Pablo.  He is always welcome in the chapel.

                                            Cool service project we did up in the hills:

Perros Peruanos. (Peruvian Dogs.)

¿Que Tal Familia Y Amigos? 

This week has been a solid one for us here in Comas. On Tuesday we had a Zone meeting, and I gave a good training on the missionary objective. On Wednesday, we did a way neat service project, WAY high up in the hills. Just about the highest house up, and we moved a bunch of dirt and rocks again:) haha.

Elder Hilario and I have been working VERY hard, teaching a TON of lessons, and contacting lots of people. Our Investigator Isabel is progressing really well, and is excited for her baptism on the 16th. Teaching her has been a great experience.

In all my time here, we have seen this certain cerro (hill), and we really felt the Spirit, and so this week we decided to climb up there and proselyte. It is quite the journey to get up there, you have to climb up a rocky hillside, cut through this nice elderly lady´s property, and then traverse along this rocky mountain on a trail that they have cut out of the stone. But the people up there are GOLDEN. I’m tellin ya, someday they are going to build a temple on this cerro. The people are super nice and they all opened up their doors and listen to us, and two of them came to church with us on Sunday, and then one of them accepted an invitation to be baptized in May after teaching only one lesson. I am WAY excited to work up there! 

We have been going running almost every morning, which has been awesome.

I decided I am going to make a new 2016 calender: The Peruvian Dogs. haha. We already got photos for January and February. They are pretty ugly, but they just need some loving:) haha.

  Well, the big spiritual experience of the week was when we were teaching a family that lives up on the golden hill, about the Restoration of the Gospel. The Spirit was way strong, and the Hermana told us that never before in her life has she heard that story, but she feels something, something that says it could be true. The Spirit was way strong and we are excited to return to teach her. 

I am so happy for the opportunity I have to share the Gospel with the world. Every day is just getting better and better. I hope you all have an amazing week and I love you so much. 

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Reschke

P.S. We found this scary mummified animal stuck in the fence outside somebody’s house. We later found out that it is some creature from the jungle. Nevertheless, I think I might have nightmares for weeks, and you will too after you see the picture I took!

Questions Elder Reschke answered this week:

Are you getting a tan?

I am getting a tad bit suntanned, but not bad.

How are things with your new companion?

The companion is awesome.  We are a dynamic duo, and we are way good friends and working way hard.  We talk about random stuff.  Usually you don’t see that kind of unity between comps!  

Does he speak English?

He doesn’t speak English.  Just a few things like, he can say a prayer and stuff but that’s about it.  

What are some of the different fruits you have had?

This morning at the market I bought pacay fruit.  I haven’t eaten it yet, so I can’t give the report on it quite yet.  I have also eaten carambola, (star fruit) granadilla, maracuya` (passion fruit) , cocona, (tropical fruit that is a berry.  It comes in red, orange and yellow.  It has a similar appearance to tomatoes.  It tastes like a combination of tomatoes and lemons.) bananas, pineapple, sugarcane, avocado, apples, mangos, papayas, grapes, and I feel like there are more I am forgetting.

What do you do for exercise in the morning?

I take advantage of having a companion that likes to go running.  He is a good runner, and we usually do a pretty solid big loop each day.  More and more we are running each day.

What will you do for P. Day today?
We are going to have lunch as a Zone, and then go play some "minute to win it" type games in the Stake Center.  Should be fun.

                                                                Peruvian dog:

                                                Service project up in the cerros (hills).
                                          Elder Reschke, Elder Langfoss, Elder Hilario:

                                                Service project up in the cerros:

                                                      Elder Reschke at service project:

                                                   Elder Reschke and Elder Langfoss:

                                                    Mummified animal that was on a fence:

                                                This animal is from the jungle.  What is it?

                                                                   Peruvian dog:

                                                               Palm tree in Peru`:

    This is where we live.  We live on the second floor in the house to the left of the orange gym.
                               We have a balcony, but the door is locked so we don't use it:

                                                     Street in front of where we live:

                                                           One of the streets in our area:

                                                                Up in the cerro:

                                                                The trial on the cerro:

                                                                   Hiking up the cerro:

                                                               Sunset on the cerro:

                                             The cerro has a special spirit about it: