Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

  Sin trào sin trào mui người quêo căm bác,  It has been another busy week here in Cầu Giấy with lots of traveling. The rain has been pouring and the work has been progressing. We have finally been able to get in contact with some of our friends again which has been really rewarding.  Last Preparation Day: Last Preparation day was really relaxed. With Zone Conference coming up our District wanted to have some sort of matching attire, so we went to a fashion street in Hanoi to do some shopping. The Sisters got new dresses and I got a purple tie to match. While we waited for the Sisters Elder Hữu and I did some walking around the area and found a massive street full of delicious street food near a college. I tried to take a video of it, but the video file got damaged and doesn't play now :((. As we were walking down a nearby alleyway, we also found a massive store that was selling used Doc Marten shoes for really cheap - so I know where I am coming back. They were able to f...

 Alô, Hope you are all doing well and having success in your endeavors!  Honestly - nothing much happened this week. My companion was sick for a majority of the week with a nasty cold, so we were taking things slow. I did lots of social media work which was nice and got a lot of things off my list.  Last Preparation Day: Last Preparation Day our district went to a Cat Cafe and got fancy smoothies while playing Uno. It was a good time. Sister Vy made great friends with the hairless cat who played Uno with us.  Soaked Socks We had a big rainstorm before our English club activity - leaving the sisters stranded at a restaurant down the street. Despite the road completely flooded Elder Bird and I made it to rescue.  See the rescue live on the Google Photos Album . ______________________________ _____________ Spiritual Thought: I've recently been reading through a lot of church history - specifically with the trials the early Saints faced. I think a lot about the tria...

 Alo, Good morning, noon, afternoon, or evening. I hope you are doing well and staying healthy! Life for me here in Vietnam has been pretty normal - we have just been settling into the new apartment and getting into a new groove. The random people dropping stuff off at our apartment said they were done coming, and we fixed my companions' tire after it exploded - so we are on track and ready for a fresh week. Fortunately, because many of our friends went back to their hometowns this week or are busy starting with school, this was a good time to get things fixed and prepped for the upcoming week. I've come to learn there is always a reason for our trials while being out on my mission.  Last Preparation Day: We had a pretty laid back day - went to a sushi buffet and then went to a nearby mall. We got some legos and built them together which was fun. Seeing all of the knock-off Lego sets here always makes me smile. Our District decided on getting this big robot figure. We also got...

  Alô, Wishing you a happy end to your summer break and a successful start to the upcoming semester, or whatever adventure you are onto next. If you have some spare time, send me some photos or a little update of what you have been up to!  As for me, this might be the busiest/chaotic I've been on my mission so far. I'll do my best to organize this email the best I can. The Matrix  As mentioned in the previous email, my new companion Elder Bird and I are currently in a temporary apartment, until we get to our new apartment later this week. [ The last apartment Elders were staying in got sold out underneath them, resulting in this situation ]. We've just been living out of our suitcases - just waiting to move and get settled in. The apartment we have been staying in is called "The Matrix" - and it has certainly been a fitting name, as it truly is an escape to try and enter and leave the complex. It's also resulted in me making plenty of movie references. My pers...

 Alô, Hope you are having a great week! We have been having lots of storms here in Hanoi which has made things interesting. This week felt really long - nothing too exciting happened. The slower weeks come and go, though! The most exciting thing that happened this week was our transfer calls -  I will be returning to the area I previously served in here in Hanoi, Cầu Giấy!  It will be a district of 4: My companion and two other sisters.  Our mission is saying goodbye to a group of 7 Elders, meaning our mission is getting a bit smaller. [RIP Elder Khôi- I'll miss him.] Last I checked we had a total of 16 missionaries here in the North and 24 in the south. It is going to be an interesting transfer! I will be with Elder Hữu who is a fun Elder! I look forward to seeing what happens.  I will be moving around lots! The apartment originally in the Cầu Giấy area for Elders got sold unexpectedly - meaning when we move to the area, we are going to stay in a temporary apar...

 Alo, Thank you everyone who reached out about my illness last week! I am doing much better now after eating many bananas and other diet foods. I am back to 100% and eating normally which has been a blessing. Many prayers of gratitude have been said this week. This week was just full of random stories and events - I didn't take any pictures. Sorry :(. I am going to break my regular email format and just leave some of the small stories in a series of bullet points below from the week.  Enjoy! Monday: Our district went to one of the Mega Malls here in Hanoi and played Pool and Bowling. I got a burger and Dairy Queen ice cream to test my stomach capacity. That was a mistake and I repented. Talked to a man in line at the store - he mentioned he was from France. I tried speaking a little and apologized for not speaking French. He said, in the most French way possible, "Unfortunately, for you!" [That I do not speak French]. I asked him where he was from in Paris - he asked how ...

  Alo, The answer... is E. Coli...  Apologies in advance, but this email is gonna be a short and sweet one. Mainly because I was out of commission a majority of this week due to getting a pretty serious case of E. Coli, and 2 other viruses on top of it simultaneously. It's actually a pretty common occurrence when you have E. Coli - I just so happened to get two of the least fun ones.  Long story short  -  Monday night was not fun and when it all started. If I had to describe my experience using a movie title, I would use the movie "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once". Tuesday and Wednesday I spent a majority of the days at the doctors office doing rounds of IVs. It was super boring and just involved me laying there for hours going through anti-nausea, water, and painkillers. I couldn't eat or drink anything, not even water, so I was just dirt tired. I have some nice bruises on my arms from the IVs.  I had an ultrasound which was fun (Don't worry, I'm not p...