Elder Reynolds in Hanoi

 Alo, Hope you are doing well! This week was very busy - as of writing this email my right eye has finally stopped twitching. Regardless, it was fun staying busy. For the sake of the length of this email, I'll  try to condense days into some small paragraphs.  Enjoy. - Last Monday, Elder Trường and I flew down South to Saigon. The flight was delayed for 2 hours, having us land right at 10:30pm. After getting luggage and a taxi, we ended our night at 11:45pm and slept.  - Tuesday morning we did our normal morning studies. Then for lunch, we traveled to the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Saigon where we would meet Elder Teh of the Seventy for our interview/confirmed agendas for the mission tour. We had lunch at a Dim Sum restaurant then met him in the Executive Lounge for our meeting. Funnily enough, a member I knew from Ha Dong was randomly in the lobby downstairs, so they were able to help us up the elevator and into the lounge without needing to call President or Sister How...

 Alo, I'm currently writing this email in the Hanoi Airport at Burger King, waiting for our flight to Saigon. Our flight has been delayed 1.5 hours now for: "Exploit", according to the whiteboard they wrote on outside the gate. Things are looking interesting.  This week was a lot of preparation for the upcoming Mission Tour - nothing notable. I will have plenty to write about next week with all the events going on.  __________________________ "Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible to them that believe."  One of the lessons I have learned most on my mission is "True Faith". I know as we are faithful, we are blessed and supported by Christ. __________________________ All is well in Vietnam. Have a wonderful week!  Love you,  Anh Cả Reynolds  Our district at D'Maris, a favorite restaurant here in Hanoi

  Alo, This will be a short and sweet email! We have been working hard calling through the Mission Branch and meeting members. I think the words "Xin chào! Đây không phải là..." meaning, "Hello! Is this... [Name]" will be in my head forever. Regardless, it is enjoyable to meet members and hear their wonderful stories. I am always inspired by the people we meet and the lessons we have with people. " Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings.  Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. " Doctrine and Covenants 58:3-4 I know our challenges, although difficult, are for our benefit. Heavenly Father knows what we are capable of and will give us strength to persevere. The blessings may not be immediatel...

  Alo- Hope you are doing well and having a successful start to June.  This week was exciting! We were happy to have our friend Chị (Sister) Kat be baptized last Saturday. She is one of the most proactive people I have ever taught and will be a great member to have in the branch. She has a strong testimony about prayer which she shared powerfully at her baptismal service. We are excited for her and so grateful to have helped her learn about the gospel. I also attended a baptismal service for a friend I previously taught in Hà Đông.  After eating at our favorite hamburger restaurant, we came outside to find that Elder Trường bike was stolen. We don't typically lock our bikes because theft is uncommon, especially in broad daylight at 12pm. Unfortunately, both of our bikes were parked in a blind spot between two cameras, so we couldn't see who took it.  Not that we could've done much anyways.  We just laughed and walked back to the church. The employees thought we ...

  Alo - I don't have much to report on this last week. I got to be in a trio with my old MTC companion Elder Bennett until he picked up his new companion. Thursday and Friday we did new missionary orientation and welcomed the newest Elder in the mission, Elder Phan. Him, Elder Bennett, Elder Truong and I will all be in a quad this upcoming transfer. Random Weekly Events:  -  One of our friends edited my face on Anti-American North Korean propaganda and called me an imperialist. It was my photo, a picture of McDonalds logo, PayPal, Apple, and other American brands in front of a torn American flag. I appreciate him placing my value alongside S&P 500 companies.  -  While calling one of our other friends, he sent us a picture of a handwritten report (we don't know if he wrote it himself or if someone else sent it to him) that claimed the two foreigners he was talking to were CIA agents.  Just wait until he finds out it's "The Mormons"!  -  Now I'm...

  Alo - This week was busy, which made things go by quick. The month of May has been going by quickly, which is enjoyable.  Hopefully the heat will go with it.  Last Monday the BYU Ballroom came and did their performance. The dancing was impressive, but honestly the music was the best part. It was great to hear music not from the Gospel Library App. (No shade at the Tabernacle Choir - it's just nice to mix things up). Lots of friends and members came making it a big success and a good show for the church in Vietnam.  The rest of the week was pretty typical. We prepared for transfers and have a lot of change coming up, so it is going to bring new energy to the mission. I'll still be In Ba Đình, helping with the upcoming mission tour in June. We are going to be busy preparing!  Thank you for all who sent birthday wishes - I should've emailed everyone back, but in case I missed you, thank you! I love reading updates and seeing pictures what you are up to.  ___...

Alo,  I'm really running out of opening lines to start my emails in an interesting manner. This week went by relatively quickly. We started with an exchange with our Zone Leaders from the South who came up for our MLC. We had a ton of lessons with our friends and had some time to go outside and find. Funnily enough, I was back with one of my old companions Elder Mai, who I served with over a year ago in this same area. It was fun to go back out and find together and see what has changed, and what still hasn't, haha.  MLC was productive. We ended with an action item list which made my brain happy. We have some interesting new ideas and a good vision for the coming months. Sunday we had 43 BYU Ballroom Performers come to church on Sunday, hence the title of the email. They filled up the entire room and we almost didn't have enough room for our members to sit down. It was shocking -- I told AC Trường that if people started asking the same questions over and over again I was ju...