Bemidji, Minnesota

Hello all!

Hope you have been having a fantastic week, and are preparing for Thanksgiving/the holiday season.

TLDR: Left MTC Thursday and flew to Bismarck. Assigned in the Bemidji Minnesota area, a 6 hour drive from Bismarck. My companion is great - the Native American reservations are a little sketchy but fun.

Thursday morning I left the MTC to my reassignment to the Bismark, North Dakota mission. It was hard to say goodbyes, but I know we will see each other again soon! We left on a private bus which dropped us off in SLC, where we then flew to Minneapolis, then to Bismark. I stayed the night at the mission home and met President and Sister Camp. They are wonderful!

The next morning, following our training/orientation I was told I was assigned to the Bemidji Minnesota area - around a 6 hour drive away from Bismarck. This mission area is massive and includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and NW Minnesota. We do lots of driving.

Within this mission area, we serve 3 Native American reservations. I've only been able to breifly vist some as of today - but there is a massive difference in living conditions. Many people are going through difficult times. Some areas remind me of what I saw in the countryside of Mainland China. There are wild dogs as well, which are not too friendly. There are lots of signs that explain how happy people would be to shoot you for stepping on their land. I would like to learn some of the language they speak - it sounds super different from anything else I've heard. I'll start with "I'm not the police " and "Sorry". A member recommended we keep tobacco on us to negotiate with if we get in trouble.

Despite this - people are very friendly! My trainer is very nice and a great teacher. I have quickly realized I "know" how to teach people who have never heard of Jesus pretty well, but not so good at teaching people who already know about Jesus.

That's pretty much it - I'm certain more stories are bound to come.

Enjoy your week and Thanksgiving for those of you celebrating! Best of wishes for everyone travelling.

Elder Reynolds

Incoming missionaries visiting the Bismarck Temple

Our Vietnamese District leaving the MTC - some of us went to ND, some to TN, and some to NY

President and Sister Camp of the Bismarck Mission

Comments

Hanoian Hamburgers

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Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

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