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Week 3: Oct 3rd - 9th

Hello all - 

Ethan wrote this email Sunday night, but wanted me to add that they got to meet the Chairman of the Government Committee on Religious Affairs (for Vietnam), Mr. Vu Hoai Bac. He came the Monday after general conference, so the missionaries' P-day was a little fuller than usual, but Ethan said it was a lot of fun. Mr. Bac observed the missionaries (or volunteers, as they call themselves for political purposes) in class. Ethan said the meeting went as well as it could have, short of him passing out Visas to everyone on the spot :). Here is everything else he has been up to:

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Hello everyone, hope you have had a great week!


This week marks the first full week of Vietnamese language immersion - I can tell you it is certainly different than Mandarin/Chinese. It has been strange learning a language where you actually have to read/pronounce letters, instead of just memorizing the symbols/characters. With time and lots of practice, I am certain I will improve little by little. 


We had our first practice lesson in Vietnamese, it could have gone better. Funnily enough, the person we practice with is someone from my homeward in Meridian, Idaho named Joel, who served in Houston Texas Vietnamese speaking. He and I were just far apart enough that we weren't typically in the same church classes, but we definitely know each other. 


This week we had a visit from a researcher in Vietnam, looking to learn and write more about the church. He told us there are many books in Vietnam about the catholic church, protestants, and other forms of Christianity, but nothing about the Mormons. He will be here for the next month studying the church.


People have gotten creative and created their own chess board. I am excited to see what will develop in 5 weeks. 


Thank you all for your kind messages and emails. I can email back and forth anytime on Mondays, so always feel free to reach out. I love hearing from friends and family.


-Elder Reynolds

Anh Cả Reynolds



Ethan's district with Mr. Vu Hoai Bac and various MTC leaders, including the MTC President and his wife. One of the attendees was one of the first members of the church in Vietnam and has done a lot for the church's recognition there, so he came to the meeting as well - and his daughter is a sister missionary in Ethan's district, so Sister Le got to see her Dad :)


Makeshift Chess



Researchers from Vietnam in Utah to study the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for a month

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