Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

A lo - It has been a fantastic week here in Vietnam preparing for Tết and getting ready for the New Year. A majority of our friends are all going back to their hometowns, so it will be a slow week for a bit, but we are excited!  Nothing too extraordinary happened this week - last week we did a hike at a nearby "mountain" and then got some pizza at a nearby mall. While waiting for a taxi, we got a tour of a pagoda which has a huge cave inside of it, full of bats. Apparently Hồ Chí Minh lived there, which I'm not certain I believe but it was interesting. You could shine the flashlight up on the ceiling of the cave where the bats were hanging and make them hiss, which was funny.  ______________________________ __________ Spiritual Thought: What could I have done more for my vineyard? This week during my studies I felt an impression to share this thought about hope, patience, and humility. I know many who read my emails are not religious or are unfamiliar with the Book of Mor...

Alo- It's been an eventful week here in Hà Đông with preparations for Tết. We had a "Bánh chưng" making activity on Saturday which was enjoyable. We spent time with members and friends making the traditional Tết Holiday Food and passed out some lucky envelopes.  I'm running low on time to write more, but here are photos! (More in Google Photos).  Have a great week!  Elder Reynolds  Photos:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ KXNEyuJ6epdKQtAq6

  Alo- Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the cool weather. It has been nice here in the North having some chilly days, but Spring will soon be upon us. We are hoping for a little bit warmer weather, clear skies, and an air quality index below 250. I hope all of you are staying safe and if you have friends or family affected by the Californian fires that they are doing the best they can. A lot of people in Vietnam have been talking about it and say it looks really scary and sad. Most of the members here I have heard are worried about the temple, which is sweet.  This week nothing out of the ordinary happened. The most exciting event was our transfer call - we thought for sure some of us were going to get moved to a different area. Turns out - our entire district stayed the same! We were pretty shocked to say the least. We are looking forward to spending the Tết holiday (Lunar New Year) together and in this branch. There are going to be lots of activities to make some Tra...

  Alo -  Wis hing you all a successful start to your New Year and Winter Semester. This week was pretty mellow, but we have some fun stories.  Tuesday - Wednesday I did an exchange with one of the newer Elders, Elder Châu. He is from Provo, Utah and speaks Vietnamese very well. We had an enjoyable New Year. We saw some small fireworks and then went to bed. Things will be a lot more exciting for the upcoming Tết holiday. I've heard it is really big in the North - most streets are decorated in red and tons of trees blossom. Transfer news will be on the weekend, so we will see what happens!  Wednesday we were invited over to a member's house and celebrated the birthday of their 5 year-old son. We had some cake and then went to dinner at a Spicy Fish restaurant. Despite not being the biggest fish lover, it was actually pretty alright. With enough spice the fishy taste was gone and I could eat it just fine.  You might have seen on the news that Vietnam just won the S...