Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

 Hello, xin chào, 大家好! Happy Spring Break!! I have seen some photos of people going on trips and getting ready - be safe! I'd love to see what you are all up to and any photos you have. Just don't mention anything to me about Dune Part 2! ;)  It has been another great week here in Saigon in the Tân Sơn Nhất area. The week was pretty standard, but I have some good stories. Transfer News: Yesterday was the day we are notified of transfers (when missionaries change areas/change companions they are with). I was told I will be going up to Hanoi and serving with Elder Vassantachart, who I shared an apartment with when I was in Thảo Điền. I am excited for the new adventure and new people to meet! Preparation Day: The 30 Shine Experience Last Preparation Day, my companion Elder Tolley and I really needed some haircuts. So, we hopped on our bikes and headed to the nearby barber. On the way, my bike experienced tire deflation for the 3rd time this week. We slowly walked our bikes to the...

 Xin chào mọi người, 大家好, and hello!  It has been yet another wonderful week here in the Vietnam Mission. Work was pretty productive this past week which made time fly. I don't really have many crazy stories to report as of now. Therefore, I am going to dedicate the majority of this email to answering common questions people have asked me about serving in Vietnam. Before that however, we can do a small weekly recap!  P-Day Fun:   Last P-Day our district met up at a mall to have some Texas Chicken (think of Raising Canes. Was pretty good) and then did... a horror escape room. It was really fun and not scary.  When the actor came out the first time to scare us, one of the Elders yelled "I don't speak Vietnamese" in Vietnamese. We couldn't tell if the actor was trying to play her part in doing a creepy laugh, or if she was genuinely trying to hold in her laughter. After that, the ghost never showed back up to try and scare us. We think she had a lunch break. Creepy...

 Xin chào mọi người! 大家好! Hello everyone! Hoping you had a wonderful week! I hope you are planning some fun Spring Break activities and getting through midterms and projects. Let me know what you have been up to and how life has been! This week was pretty fun. The interactions I have with people sometimes are just bizzare and so small, I forget to write it down. I absolutely love it though. Here is some of the highlight activities and stories from this week:  Independence Palace P-Day and Sushi: Last preparation day was pretty fun! We met with the district at a nice sushi place and then went to Independence Palace! This is basically the old whitehouse of southern Vietnam, when Ho Chi Minh was Saigon. It was full of very big conference rooms and cool paintings. The grounds were beautiful, I really enjoyed it. We also ran into a group of Italian tourists, so I got to speak some Italian which was fun. They were pretty surprised, to say the least.  Draco Malfoy: You know Malf...

 Dạ Xin chào mọi người, 大家好, and hello!  Hope you are having an amazing start to your March. Seems like February flew by, even with the extra day. This week was nice - we got a lot of work done and stayed productive.  P-Day Pizza Party: Last P-Day Elder Tolley, Elder Honda, Elder Neinhuis and I all made some homemade pizza. Elder Neinhuis made some dough, and we had the oven, so it was a good trade. We played some board and card games while we ate our delicious pizza. Exchanges: This week I had the opportunity to go on two exchanges, the first with Elder Vassantachart back in Thảo Điền. It was fun to go back and see the apartment and streets. We did some finding and a couple of lessons which went well!  The second exchange was with the Zone Leaders in the Thủ Đức area. The ZL and I took a 45min bus ride out to a referral which pretty much dropped us off in the middle of nowhere in this town. It really hit me that I was in Vietnam when we visited there, haha! The pers...

 Xin chào mọi người ạ!  Hello everyone! Hoping you all had a great week and are staying healthy and happy. This past week has been pretty fun and productive. I am enjoying the Tân Sơn Nhất area and serving the members here. This week, I got to get more familiarized with the area and bike around lots! Last P-Day: Had a really nice P-day spending time with the district and doing the usual shopping and preparation for the week. Elder Tolley taught me how to play Pokémon and some other card games. The funny thing here is all the cards are knock-offs, so I guess I technically learned how to play "PocketMonster". They are literally the same names of the Pokémon, same pictures, abilities, etc... except wherever the name "Pokémon" would be is replaced with "PocketMonster". It’s pretty fun - I enjoy seeing the knock-off products and funny shirts here.  Later that afternoon we met up with the district at a really good Korean BBQ place that isn't too expensive. M...

 Xin chào mọi người!  Hoping you all had a wonderful week! I'll try sending some of the warm weather from Vietnam your way. If you need a laugh, checkout the screenshot of a text message I got from a member one day.  Things have been relatively calm here the past week, which I have to admit, is a bit refreshing. I love the chaos - it certainly makes for some good stories. I guess just being the main character all the time just gets exhausting 😉😎. This email will be short and sweet!  Tết Celebration: Last Preparation Day our district went to a beautiful street full of decorations and flowers for the holiday. We took some fun photos in our Áo Dài and then went to the church building where we celebrated as a Zone. It was a super fun time! I love getting to meet everyone and see how they are doing. There has been so much success and blessings in Vietnam, only more to come!  Transfer to Tân Sơn Nhất:  Last week I was transfered! I was moved from the Thảo Điền ...

 Xin chào mọi người!  I hope you had a successful and enjoyable week. This past week has been quite a time. Let's get right into it:  Korean BBQ and Landmark 81: We started our P-Day off last week getting some haircuts and shopping. Then, we met up with the other Elders in our apartment and sisters to have some Korean BBQ! Afterwards, we went over to Landmark 81 (that big tall building outside my apartment complex, 81 stories tall) and took the elevator to the top! It was a spectacular view. We made some videos for the mission page and then returned home. It was a refreshing and fun P-Day.  Cleaning for Tết: The branch president of our ward asked us to help clean his house for the holiday. Cleaning your home for the holiday is a common tradition, as it gives your home more room for luck for the new year! When we arrived, he took us up to the third story of his home where we moved big metal bars up onto his roof and shoveled dirt that was full of cat poop. Not exactly...