Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

Hello all, and Merry Christmas! I hope you were on the good list this year and got all your presents!  If you got some coal, send it this way - we could use it for some heating!  This was a pretty standard week of teaching, contacting, and serving. Friday we had the opportunity to serve in the food shelf. One woman recognized me as a missionary as I was helping her shop. Her eyes lit up as she explained to her young child who we were and briefly explained all the good interactions she had with them in the past. Due to the food shelf being run by multiple different church organizations, there is a rule for no proselytizing while working. There are some other things I  technically  could have done to try and find her - but I know the Lord has a plan, and at a minimum, my small act of service was just another seed planted for the next missionaries who find her.  Alma 37:6 from The Book of Mormon puts it best:  "Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me...

Shores of Red Fish Lake To the Tune of Hawaiian Christmas: Jiikendam Niibaa-anami’aa Giizhiigan is the Ojibwe way, to say Merry Christmas to youu! ________________________ Hello, Xin chào, 你好, boozhoo, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope you are having a very Merry Christmas and enjoying the holiday. The Volkswagen  This week was full of driving and trying not to slide off the roads in the icey mornings. We got a new 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan last week and it has been interesting. Our vehicle coordinator, (the person in charge of giving vehicles to people) said although we don't have snow tires, the tires we have "should do" and "will be fine". After sliding around on the dirt snowy roads and ice, I can confirm they have done "fine".  Whenever we try to refuel the car, the gas cap refuses to open. We have searched both the manual and online. There is not button inside the car, outside, or digital to open the cap. (Das Auto). Last week when running late to District ...

Hello, Xin Chào, and boozhoo! Hope everyone has had a good week and ready for the next!  GOOGLE PHOTOS IS WORKING! Go check it out for all of my photos. Enjoy the captions.  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ KXNEyuJ6epdKQtAq6 This week was full of strange and bizarre experiences. I think those two adjectives would be the best way to describe some aspects of missionary work. The situations you find yourself in can be quite interesting. Native Taco Story: This week as we were doing contacts, there was a series of signs that pointed to a taco stand. They looked official enough, the handwriting was good, so we followed them to someone's house. On their house, past the 3 big reservation dogs was a sign on the door that said "Come on in! :)". So, you walk in. 50% chance of Tacos or 50% chance of something else.  Upon entering the house an old Native Lady was there preparing the most delicious Native American Tacos I have ever seen. They were $8 each and we only had $5 on us. Despite t...

Hello everyone! Happy December!  This past week was normal busy missionary work. We have been going into new areas and finding new people to teach, which has been fun! I really love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Some people have grown up here their whole lives here and never left. Some moved here to start a new life. Although I'm not in the most "international" part of the world, you certainly still meet people who come from very different walks of life.  I've found missionary work to be pretty unique. So far, being out just barely around 3 weeks, I have learned the importance of relationships. Both a relationship to God and those you teach is critical. As we strive to see and interact with others as Christ would, we see them as fellow children of God. I'm certainly no expert, but I strive daily to try.  I really like a scripture, Ephesians 2:19, which states:  “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the sai...

Hi Everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday for those of you celebrating. Good luck to all of you who are preparing for fall finals! You've got this. This week was great! Elder Mayne and I did a lot of contacting (stopping by and saying hi to people) and some lessons too. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some members, then visited an assisted living home for those who may need an uplifting message.  I've decided "tracting" in an assisted living home is the best because: 1). It's warm.  2). People are friendly and happy to talk.  3). Everyone has their name on their door.  4). All the doors are already open. No knocking required. On Friday we attended the Bemidji Christmas parade and lighting of the city. For being out in the middle of nowhere - they know how to celebrate! They have over 750,000k Christmas lights this year, hoping to hit 1 million in a couple years. Although the celebration was fun, I have never been so cold in my life. ...

  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.  Wi...

  Hello everyone!  I hope you all had a great week! I got to chat to lots of people this week - it's so fun to hear updates from everyone. I hope school, mission, work, or whatever adventure you may be on is going well! As said in the title, this is my final week at the Provo MTC! This Thursday I will be flying to the flatlands of Bismarck, North Dakota where I will meet my trainer and new district. I have to say I'm pretty sad to be leaving my district. They feel like my kids, hahaha. We have bonded and become very close throughout these past 8 weeks. I feel very grateful to feel this sad about leaving. I have really enjoyed serving as a District Leader as well. It was so fun to get to know everyone and serve them - each person helped strengthen my testimony in different ways. Overall, this experience taught me about trusting in God.  Once again, Heavenly Father has proven to me how I need to trust him and his process more. Truly, when I have decided to put my trust in h...