In The Country Where He Prefers

7-18-2016

reece.reynolds@myldsmail.net


Hey fam,

Its weird to be at another pday. My mission is quickly passing. I feel like i was at the mtc a week ago being forced to walk slowly with elder metcalfe haha hes still on the mission and doing great by the way!

Let me tell you about the week i had, it was straight power.

We taught an entire family on Tuesday about the plan of salvation. this was a straight answer to prayers because i been needing to teach a family. They were Hispanic so i said in Spanish "how do you say.. you stink?" so i could say it to my companion and they replied in Spanish thinking i could speak and i was like.. yo howd i do that? now i have to say something else! Ive never really been around Hispanics in my life! Gift of tongues? haha i wish. Anyway we had a sweet lesson. The mom who is the only member in the family was in tears and i started to get a little teary as i bore my testimony in this little cozy home with these people all around me. I asked myself during the lesson. Is the spirit here? and then i just listened and i felt an overwhelming sense on peace fill me right up. So the answer was yes. It was there and it was strong. We invited to family to church and then baptism. They said yes. I was shocked. And then we left the home a little while after and i sat in pondering while i was driving home at how lucky i am to be doing the lords work. This is what it really is all about. Words cannot convey the feelings of joy and love i have found in being here on a mission. 

Yes i get crap for being a utah mormon. But REPRESENT! 

Then later we visited our top investigator and she said these great words that were like music to my undersized ears "I have an announcement, I want to be baptized, next month on the 27th" ... We were shocked. This is a lady who was kinda rude and prideful when we first taught her and now she was glowing! I pointed out that ive seen a change in her for the better and she was all smiling and stuff. Her husband will be the one to baptize her. we just gotta get him active again. 

Well i gotta admit i broke the rules.. i drove a tractor.. we did service on a farm and the farmer asked me to drive his ole tractor to the field haha he said "reynolds can you drive this.. my neck hurts" i didnt even blink and said sure! and then he winked because he knew how bad i wanted to drive it. But i needed a reason to.. so i hopped in there and my companion sat on the step and we drove that thing and man i was real happy haha that was a highlight of my mission just dont tell president ok? Ok if you want to you can. I had a little chat with my companion, he hasnt been talking in the lessons at all so i have had to keep blabbing on, which is fine i love the feeling i get when my head rattles from so much jaw flapping. So after that talk i realized that i love this dude. hes shy and akward and real self-conscious. But i saw him as the savior does for a brief moment and i started to get a little sweat in my eyes as i bore my testimony to him of speaking by the power of the spirit. And that we have nothing to worry about when we are worthy to teach. I then challenged him to find out whats keeping him from that and then he opened up real good. That was a hard conversation but i prayed real good before i had it with him. so it was kosher. 

Then later in the week we were in a lesson and the spirit was really strong in this one too. I was bearing my testimony that i know that god has a plan for every single one of his children. While in the middle of a powerful message i look over at my companion after i heard him gasp and move his head really quickly. I thought nothing of it and then after as we were in the truck he asked kinda nervously "Do dragonflys have poison?" i said no why? he said that one tried to bite him in the middle of me testifying and he got real scared. and he said thats all he could think about during that time was the terror of these strange flying snakes... hes not from around here.. but i had a good laugh because that explains him.. while you think hes pondering deeply the words of life hes really just wonder if he can pet the dog thats in the corner haha hes a dog person.

D&C 64:33 says

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceed that which is great."

I love this.

I love this gospel. We are in a spiritual war. The smallest decisions to do whats right can and will have a great affect on those who it will see. This church is true and when i go to meet heavenly father, i will not know anymore then, than i do now that he lives, and is at the helm. He loves us.

ps the pictures.. A 1969 mustang at a less-active guys house.

me and another elder hanging another elder upside down over water (death)

and me wrestling a goat who likes to headbutt. 

reece.reynolds@myldsmail.net

Hey Fammm

i feel our ancestors pressing it on me to have work done. Get going. that story for when i get home from the mission. we are responsible all the way back to the 14 hundreds..so much work..

Thinking about my family. Are you filling your head with things that are conducive to the spirit? if not.  CHANGE IT. because if its not of god then who is it of? and do we think those influences of the adversary will lead us to do good?dont let yourself get surrounded  with the things of the world. they will only add confusion and eventually end up like I almost did. snapchat, instagram, facebook, vine. Not Good. I was firm in this before and now i reaffirm my past thoughts. They do not help us to feel good about ourselves and that is not what our father in heaven intends. You are all in my prayers. Is everyone reading scriptures everyday? are you? if not. listen to my plead and FIX IT. the pioneers did not go through all the pain and suffering just so the message of the gospel could be put off down the road.  tell yourself. Im going on a mission and nothing will stop me. convince yourselves to center your thoughts on doing the work of the lord. and if you want to serve you cant be lazy. we do not sit on the fence. remember.. "choose ye this day whom ye will serve" We are the church of jesus christ of LATTER DAY SAINTS its almost over, this life. if you read in the book of revalations. christ is at the door. the devil is working, in your home. Do not get prideful do not get relaxed. press forward with a steadfastness in christ. to press means that there WILL be opposition. We help families all over to get through these same things. i wont let my family at home buckle under pressure. You are my support group and how can you support if you arent strong?

I only allow myself to say these things because i feel like ive personally conquered them. i would be timid if i hadnt. 

This rant is mainly for my sisters.. i feel like elder holland or something.. haha well.. im off the soapbox. 

Please have everyone ponder and read and study and dissect alma 32. 

We had a good ole week here in elizabeth kalerahdoh.

We had 5!! Investigators at church this week WUT hah one is a family!! of 3 Work is going just fine. Except we got a screw in our tire so we have to sit at the tire shop for a while later today and lose our pday...sad face.

Our members that we live with have been out of town and been in utah and arizona and been out enjoying the retirment life.. so weve been house watching for them since we live with them and we accidentally let the flowers die and we accidentally lost the cat.. for 3 days.. then we found him this morning after i used my cat mating call. bought it at cabelas 13.99 if your interested... not really haha

Dont ask us to babysit.. we will abandon the cat to teach the gospel.

I was pondering deeply this morning just about the words of life which we hear about from prophets of old and new. I realized that nowhere in this world can we find such happiness and peace than from in the gospel.

So we taught this cool lesson the other night. what made it cool was that we were on the porch and all around us in a fence was cows! and the sun was setting and furthermore the spirit was there. Strong. Probably the strongest ive ever felt it during a lesson. We taught a recent convert about faith we just read from alma 32 and dissected it for her. She was in tears because she isnt married doesnt have a job.. because she got fired.. and she works for her dad..  she is just having a hard life right now. I felt such sympathy for her. i just wanted to give her a big ole hug.. but i didnt because im saving my hugs for my family when i get home. Anyway after the lesson elder haws and i were complete opposite. he was all meek and humble and i was all joyful and giddy. we all react to the spirit differently. those are all fruits of it though so i knew we were feelin it. 

Man the members out here are phenominal. Theyre like doing missionary work just like saying hey do you go to church? to people they know like im serious these people are on fire out here.  And a lady brought us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to church because she said last time we looked super hungry.. which we were!! 9 hours of church every sunday is a LOT. I love the mission.

Ether 12 says

"..I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." verse 12 goes on to say "for if there be no faith among the children of men god can do no miracle among them; wherefore he showed not himself until after their faith.

Let us let god manifest himself to us. Let us be faithful. #nourishtheseed

#theseedwillbecomeatree

We will see that heavenly father really does care and he wants us to KNOW him. I know him and i know that he loves us. I am a son of god. What more honorable thing can we say about ourselves? 

ILY

-Elder Reynolds

PS another transfer down.. im staying here in elizabeth to baptize these people out of love. and elder haws will remain my companion.

7-5-2016
Hey fam,

It was a good week again. Im not sure that if i had a bad one that i would admit it. But this one was good.

We went on exchanges this week early on. I was with elder Brinkerhoff who was my zone leader at the very beginning of my mission Ive looked up to him the whole time. He served as an assistant to the president after he was one of my zone leaders. He knows what hes doing. Too bad he goes home in a week. I made sure to ask him for advice on what to do to enhance my mission. He said "Know who you're praying to" Simple but profound. Hes a good guy. It was a good day hes a good balance of fun and obedience. 

Our days were filled with service. Which means that since we were serving our fellow brethren we were in direct service of our god. What a great realization I had. Tuesday we did our regular service at the therapy horse ranch, and man thats a real fun time. Friday all morning we bucked hay. It was so neat i looked around as i stood in the rustic looking barn and thought, i wouldnt rather be anywhere else in the world right now but here. We were tossing those bales out the upstairs door of the barn like they were hot potatoes. It was a cool barn. 

Saturday we had a baptism! i know i havent talked too much about this one but its because i felt like we need no recognition for this anymore. It is our job. We bring people to christ. In the words of coach child at springville high school "Its just what we do" We were blessed to have sierra walk into our lives and we were blessed to be her spiritual guides as we took her on  the path that leads to our father in heaven. 

I had a good talk with elder Haws last night because ive noticed throughout our time together which might almost be over.. that he tends to beat himself up pretty harshly. Nothing wrong with that at all but i could tell it makes his days cloudy and those days turn to weeks. I talked to him and told him that the final result of the atonement is joy. We had a good talk and i mentioned some of the things that ive had to use the atonement for. He was pretty quiet, so i just told him that we are to find joy in our work and i challenged him to find whats keeping him from having that and then fix it. 

I think I finally understand just a little bit of what the savior faced as he served his mortal mission. It isnt easy. But its worth it. Alma 26:27 Says "Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold the lord comforted us and said: Go amongst thy brethren the lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and i will give unto you success".

Love ya!

PS Yesterday we went on a hike instead of email.

6-27-2016
hey fam!!

This week haha we did work!! i think that missions aren't necessarily for the people you find and teach but more for the personal growth that missionaries go through. It might sound selfish sure, but ill be honest i didnt think i was capable of loving the savior this much and his sacrifice. The proof i have to show for it is through my actions. Ive worked hard this transfer to not give in to fatigue or any other things that we face. its been real good. Studies are probably the best part of the day. seek not to declare my word ay? but first to obtain it. yas. i love reading the scriptures i feel like you know how when dogs havent seen their owners for a long time and they go all nuts when they finally do see em.. well thats kinda what its like when i sit down and read im all sorts of excited. My life has changed.

Well, we did some service on a cattle ranch. i think ive found my calling in life not gonna lie. It was real good, made me miss the ranch because it was only an appetizer. We were there for only a morning. For those of us who are interested, We freeze branded and castrated some calves. Everyone in the zone was jealous. I got money on the boots too so that was uplifting. The drive home was real nostalgic.

Then later in the week we went up to denver and spent a little bit of time in my last area. i felt weird because it was like going back to high school even though you graduated..  haha we went to go to my main man Adams baptism. i love those guys they sure do mean a lot to me. 

Then we finished the week with a busy Sunday, its real tiring covering two wards. two sacraments two ward councils and two ward correlations. every Sunday. Thats grit right there. Elder haws was fallin asleep in the second sacrament. But good news tis worth it! we have a baptism this weekend! if you want to come and see whats up then please do! 

weve been real lucky in this area. All the lessons weve taught to investigators have been in the homes of members. which is the ideal situation. 

I was reading in D&C section 50 this week and caught something real neat that the savior was saying to Joseph smith. It says

41 Fear not, little children for you are mine, and i have overcome the world, and you are of them that my father hath given me. 42 And none of them that my father hath given me shall be lost.

No matter how far gone we may feel, its never too late to repent and align our will with heavenly fathers. His arms are still outstretched, its up to us to turn around and accept the atonement. So will you?

Love ya! 

 

-Elder Reynolds

Ps my companion and i are doing real well together. Its because were not being selfish or anything were just putting in work.

6-20-2016
Yo fam,

Ah yes another refreshing week of pure unadulterated, firm and supple peace with an unequaled amount of horses. 

Man i love my flippin mission. We put in work. enough to go through Another pair of proselytizing shoes. mom send money please...

On tuesday we did service all morning at a therapy horse ranch. i was in heaven really because i wish to be an equine professional someday maybe and also the handicapped kids, that we helped ride the horses, were real funny too.. My companion is a real shy akward so he did some real funny things with the horses because he was.. real shy and nervous.. haha

i got some glasses also.. i feel as though my eyes have been taken and upgraded with x ray vision super eagle-seers. instead of my regular old dark brown pursuaders.

I feel as though we are on top of the world because the wards were working with are flippin amazing everyone is so missionary minded and willing to help us out. so our job is like really fun. 

we only had one thing this week that was dumb. we were walking up a long driveway to knock on the door for the purpose of inquiring the names of those who dwelt within. As we approached, a great amount of courage swelled within my humble heart and we saw a big scary tattooed man walking towards us haha and i said hello to him and he told us to turn around and go back where we came from. So we did without arguing because i didnt wanna see my companion get beat up because im pretty sure if that were to happen ide run away to fast.. anyway he was real mean. that was honestly the only thing that dampened the week. other than that.. it was a sweet week. Lesson wise, we have quadrupled the amount taught in a week than the last companionship who was here from the CO springs mission.. I have pride for the mission i was called to. 

Well.. no rabbits this week 

oh last night we were driving to a preconceived destination and upon arrival we found that the person that we were trying to get ahold of did not live at this house, which was way in the middle of nowhere, and so it was another big scary guy that answered the door, we chatted for a little bit about farming which he did haha. after a minute  the spirit made my fanny pack feel like it was on fire because there was a book of mormon inside of it.. so i got the hint and said audibly "hey man sorry to bother ya so late in the evening, weve gotta go but can i leave something with you that has changed my life and blessed it as well". He said sure! i was like.. woah really? haha ok yeah sure uh huh here you go!! so hes said thanks and we went on our way.. i told my companion elder haws, That was meant to happen. Because we were so far away and no one ever seems so eager to take what we have to offer. and there was lightning so we took that as a sign that god was excited just like us about what we are doing. idk.. 

Its weird how the spirit works and guides us in our lives. Its my prayer that those i encounter will be able to feel the holy ghost confirm the truths that my mouth testifies of.

Love ya!

-Elder Reynolds

PS the picture attached is for my mother to see how strong i am becoming so she knows im eating healthy and so she can she my new glasses. also for real i need new shoes i tore those puppies up.. according to my fitbit i walked approximately a trillion steps in them shoes. 

6-13-2016




Hey fam,

Well, not too much to say. if i could email my love for this area i would prefer to do that. we have 2 people we are baptizing here in a couple of weeks i guess. the cool thing is.. both of em ride horses in rodeos. 

Im still in love out here. the only thing that ruins it is the little computer thing they put in the window of the truck thatll yell at us when we speed stinkin church.. but for real its beautiful out here we wake up in the morning to gorgeous sun rises and birds chirping and we go to bed with big huge dark rolling thunder clouds with lighting crackin across the sky.  and all in between we make friends with the local cows!

Ive been learning so much of the stuff that god has to teach us. the cocept of unfolding has become real to me. i realize the more i learn when i study the gospel, the littler i know.  theres always so much that the spirit can teach us when we study the scriptures. i bore my testominy of the book of mormon to some guy workin on a tractor this week and i kinda got choked up a little because i love it so much. alma and amulek are my heroes. 

We did some good workouts this week and my companion elder haws took some of my pre workout supplements and he said the back of his head was starting to tingle which is caused by a mixture of beta alinine and caffiene.. i told him thats not good at all and we might have to go to the hospital because it means his brain is detatching and thats a side affect that will happen. he got really scared and almost started to cry and i just started laughing and told him not to be so gullible and then we started lifting haha. my companion is funny he is really akward and im not so we make a good team.

We had the chance this week to go hold down a family history booth at the local carnival slash fiesta days kinda thing in parker. my companion and two other elders and i had a cool moment. we were walking to find some dinner. we had two fine young daughters of god approacvh us and ask us why we were wearing ties.. that was.. random but we were smart and we took the conve straight into the message of the restoration.. my companion and one of the other elders didnt say much because they are akward to begin with and if you add some 18 year old girls in the mix they are stone faced haha.. anyway the one elder and i taught the message with impeccable clarity and even though we were in the middle of hundreds of people and rides and lights everywhere the spirit pricked their hearts and we could tell they felt the spirit real good. then haha we were walking beck to the car later and we passed the same two girls and they were reading the books of mormon we gave em. elder haws didnt stop talking about that all week haha.

Then yesterday i probably had the funniest dinner appointment on my mission. the son is a 14 year old down syndrome child. of course he doesnt mean to be funny but the whole family my companion and i were dying laughing we were falling off the chairs. he was telling us a story of how he was kidnapped by the democrats and the koreans threw him in the trash and he played games with himself in there haha.. idk you had to be there. 

Well yeah i love my mission i dont think im gonna come home ever. 

The members we live with love us. the granpa will just come down and talk to us for an hour and were like trying to study or plan and he just fills our ears with all sorts of goofy stories. i love it. 

We didnt have a dinner appointment this week so i killed me some rabbit. i love being out here in the country. one of the people we taught this week said theyre castrating this week and i got all excited because thats my favorite job. haha.. anyway..

Well the church is true, you can feel gods spirit in abundance in the church especially during sacrament. it hit me real hard when i looked up and saw this country man bishop with tears in his eyes. During the sacrament administartion. 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! im stayin dont come get me momma

6-6-2016

hey fam,

Im trying to keep my cool right now. Theres so much i have to write..

Well, lets start with the basics. we live with a family who is genuinely the best loving couple god placed on his good green earth. WE LOVE THEM.

Im out here in elizabeth CO, i cover two wards the running creek ward and elizabeth ward. my companion and i have the largest geographic area in the mission. I absolutely love it. it looks identical to mayfield utah. small little cozy town here in CO. I love it here. i woke up the first morning to deer right out back. man i loved it.

also all the neighbors have horses. in fact everyone has horses. and tractors. I might move back out here after the mission. 

Its polar opposite from my last area. in every aspect. 

I LOVE IT!!! my companions a good dude too.. hes not the most confident in himself but im helpin him. i have confidence to spare haha jk 

Church yesterday was great! we received a super warm welcome to the ward. even little deacons were coming up to us saying hey elders welcome to the ward! were so excited to get to work out here the bishops in both wards are super missionary minded and super willing to help. in fact both ward correlation meetings everyone in there gave us names to go teach i felt like we were being showered with blessings. this is a missionary's dream. theres even a couple people who are ready to be baptized!!! 

Well. i cant ask for anything else. I wouldnt rather serve in any other place in the worldexcept the salt lake city mission... maybe im just excited to be out of the city idk. but im serious i actually got a good nights rest these past few days. 

OH also!! we met with president on thursday he mentioned the town of elizabeth has a rodeo. so he said to my companion and myself to put our blue jeans and boots on and go out there. so we did. we went to an actual rodeo. that was a highlight of my mission. 

Also we ate dinner at some members home last week named the schmidts. brother schmidt said he served 7 months of his mission in gunnison ut and he baptized one of the bounds in fayette springs. yeah im not the best with names but hes in my ward and hes a real great guy. ill try and get a picture with him soon. small world. everyone here knows where gunnison even the bishops wife knows the redds down in southern utah. her last name is parmenter. anyway this is where my mission has really seemed close to home its kinda weird. if we have to drive anywhere it looks like the drive between gunnison and manti. 

Theres so much to talk about for example, we do service on a cattle ranch. maybe some calf wrestling will be involved that was my favorite job out on the ranch. wow, my country side is really coming out here. 

When we met with president he told our district time and time again that he sent the strength of the mission out to these new areas. i dont know if i consider myself worthy of being called strength but it was good to hear that president has confidence in us. He also mentioned that when he came out here to tour the area sister mendhall and him were wondering who they should send out here first to be the pioneers and sister mendenhall said right away "elder reynolds". ah yeah i love my president and his wife. Ive had a bunch of elders already express their envy towards us.

Anyway im reading in alma chapter 15 recently when alma and amulek go and baptize whole cities. now im not gonna get ahead of myself and say ill do that but boy this place sure has been prepared for us. just like the scriptures testify of. in fact we just had a lady come up to us 5 minutes ago and ask us to help her on her farm.. my goodness.. i dont know if its allowed to have this much fun on a mission. im hesitant to let myself enjoy it because i know itll be taken away from me soon enough and ill be back in an area like the ones up north.

I feel like im gonna like this area. its real different from downtown denver. But im motivated and ready to go to work and show these members and my president that im meant to be here and that the north mission has always been better than the springs mission. 

I love this place its pretty country.. if you havent already been able to tell.

Good week ahead. 

Love, Elder Reynolds

Months 8 and 9 and a baptism to boot!

Please write! Click on the link...

reece.reynolds@myldsmail.net


4-26-2016

Hey fam,

This week has been probably one of the best on my mission. 

First off, I have my new companion Elder Salmon, He is the man. Hes pretty quiet so our car rides consist of me talking and him listening with no response. haha Hes from downtown Las Vegas, this is one of the most humble guys ive ever met. Its honestly an answer to prayers. 

So we have our main man Ryan, he is also the man. I cant wait for his baptism. Its gonna be good. Hes so committed I cant even explain. hes like "yeah my moms not gonna be cool with all this when I tell her. and I want to own being a mormon so ... there wont be very many people at my baptism also i want to marry in the church and have children with a mormon woman" MY HEART IS SO FULL it sounds dumb I know but Im being for real. I cant explain the joy i have when I think about the promises hes so willing to make. I play it cool on the outside but inside im like a 12 year old girl at a Justin beiber concert.

Also, we were walking out of a lesson late one night this week in an apartment building and passed the room one of the less-active guys we're working with. I couldn't hear him when I walked by his room which is unusual. So I just walked in, He was drunk and in bad shape. He was holding an extension chord around his neck trying to end his pain. So without really thinking I ran into his room where he was and wrestled with him and I got the chord off and threw it on the ground and kicked it into the corner and he was crying so I picked him up and just hugged him. This guys an alcoholic and veteran and he feels like theres nothing to live for. Hes never been in love and never been successful But he is the most kind hearted, genuine, loving guy you will ever meet. Hes had a rough go at life. Hes a product of rape and was beaten and verbally abused by his mother. Although all of this has happened to him. He still loves the savior and will do anything for anyone. This is the guy who taught me how to have the characteristic of charity and Christ-like love. Anyway that was a hard situation to come out of. I cant  imagine the kind of feelings Elder Salmon had, being brand new in the area he was probably a little shocked. 

Anyway, this week was legit otherwise because it was just so smooth. I never had a frustrated moment I owe that to my ever-expanding understanding appreciation and love of the savior. Also Elder Salmon came in at the right time.

The church is home and the doctrines within bring unequaled peace in our hearts when we truly do embrace them, so im never homesick and never ceasing to improve. Shout out to brother Campbell and Brother Leatherwood. Thanks Guys.

Love, Elder Reynolds

5-2-2016

Hey fam,

Well, Yes. Just yes.

I left home 8 months ago today 1/3rd of my mission is over with.. thats mind blowing..

It was neat to open my email today to a billion testimonys, Ryan will enjoy those. But I also really enjoyed reading them its always neat to hear peoples conversions stories, they really are never the same. Because the holy ghost ministers to us all differently. Proof that god loves us.

This week went by really quickly. It snowed for some reason now its like 80 outside haha.. I was talking with my companion one night this week.. ive gotten him to open up to me a little more I think. But he said "you know elder, think about it, our end goal as missionaries is to get people to wear different underwear." I laughed for a while at this innocent yet deeply thought out comment. Yes its true we do greatly desire people to make covenants with god. Ill be honest, as we were planning the baptismal service for Ryan I was filled with such satisfaction and joy that winning two state championships does not compare. I hope everyone can feel what ive felt this past week. Be missionaries:)

We went on exchanges this week. Other then that we just grinded through the weather to find people to teach and we did!!

I try to keep the ratio of spiritual things to life things pretty even in my emails.. but were going all spirit today. For personal study this morning I read all of joseph smith history.. That man will forever be an idol of mine, through all of the persecution he faced and the trials he endured. He kept going and going. Righteousness is a lonely road for those who choose it. Anyway it was for sure a great thing to start my day and endure my mission with. I also found a new favorite scripture because it applies so well to me right now. Its in mosiah somewhere it says "Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth. 4) Nevertheless, in this I do not glory, for I am unworthy to glory in myself."

Ive been on my knees a lot lately praying for the welfare of those im in contact with, this includes family at home as well as brothers and sisters out here in the mission field. When I do this home feels a little closer then 6 hours away haha

A great week is ahead of us, Temple, Baptism, Mothers day:) 

God loves us I know this because he has blessed us with a prophet to help us today. I found that out in a very tangible way today. If you dont feel me, read the scriptures until you do.

The church is true. 

Love, Elder Reynolds

5-9-2016

Hey fam,

I got a lot of things to be thankful for. I've got a good mom and dad. 

This week was filled with big things so it flew by. It seems like the weeks are speeding up. Which is good but i kinda love being a missionary and its gonna end in a little more then a year. So that was bazaar to realize. and Cody gets home this year too so thats even weirder!

My companion is a boss. I got him to laugh so hard that he was crying which is rare he doesnt show very much emotion haha.

We went to the temple and that was sweet because we only get to go once a quarter now so those trips are cherished. Plus we had a member ask us to do baptisms for her there so we got special permission to do it. Elder Salmon baptized me and i flippin made waves so he got soakin wet haha. I also saw Elder LaRue there and he leemer hugged me haha i love that guy.

Then we had a convert baptism! that was sweet we got him all cleaned from sin and everything. i was talking to him as we were changing and he told me he feels blessed. and i had never seen him so calm. He also mentioned the spirit of sharing his testimony, which he already has, to the world. This guy is a solid convert if ive ever met one. It was a good spiritual baptism though and President Mendenhall came to visit. Its always cool to see him im glad he'll be my Pres all the way through, well he goes home like a month before me but its still cool.

Then yesterday i had to speak in sacrament.. i dont like that at all.. but it was chill. Elder salmon had to play the piano too. Hes real good at it.

At dinner I got a call from ghana africa.. that probably was a highlight of my mission because one of my real good buddies was on the other end serving his mission about 15 minutes from the coast i was real happy. Then i got to facetime the fam, that was also real neat, everyones getting real big and mom and dad youre getting old. Stop doing that i dont like it. But that was fun. Its weird how we can just easily call and see people but the rest of the year they feel so far away. These are the pictures i took this week. The old guy is Named richard we tech him and he always has his bird with him. I love that dude. The sprout if from the cherry tree seed i planted... its growin haha and im gonna carry him with me throughout my mission.

Anyway lifes good in the hood. The church is true im glad i can bare my witness because I see peoples lives change. This gospel is whats up. Jesus Christ was resurected and he lives. I know it and its my life to share that.

5-23-2019

Hey fam,

yo this week was a good one. I did almost lose my life accidentally but i am here, in the flesh. i apologize for the no show last week... 

Last week my companion and i went into the local trader joes to pick up our bannanas and some older nice looking lady came into the store and started chewing us out like yelling at us and screaming and i think she started to grow fangs.. anyway she let us know that our church is not true in her opinion and my companion and i just looked at her with blank looks because this lady was simply rude about how she was acting. I felt like everyone in the store was lookin at us.. but we just invited her to come to church next week hahaha.. although this was small compared to what Joseph smith went through, i kinda got a glimpse of the persecutions he faced. It also made me realize that city folk are hippies.

Then this last friday, Elder Salmon and I were riding down colfax ave... its gross there. But some guy walks up to us as we were stopped trying to cross a street and he yells "GENTLEMAN" and then we said hello, he said "if you can tell me who the byu softball team played today i will join your church" so i guessed nebraska out of the blue haha and i guess it was right.. his facial expression went from trying to make us look dumb and smirking to serious as a heart attack. the funny thing is theres a lot of people that sit at bars outside of the restaurants and people started laughing at the situation. So he demanded that we give him a pamphlet and then we went on our way. I got lucky on that one. 

Then we were going to an appointment at 10 am one morning and we were trying to hurry so i was riding as fast as i could and i was on the sidewalk and a car pulled out of an alleyway and i had to default to my navy seal training and use my evasive maneuvering skills and dodge the oncoming vehicle. I am proud to say that i held on to my fragile life for a little longer.

Also we taught a col guy that we found on the street walking named Dan. Dan is a less-active member of the church and he is thinking about coming back. So were here to help him along. Hes a cool guy. Cyrus is also doing really well. Hes going to the temple this week!

I think thats about it, i was sick on saturday so i took some medicine that i found and it made me sleep all day so.. i think i actually mightve died temporarily. But im here. i know that the devils workin on me because of how close i came to meeting my maker this many times this week. i guess you could say im good a cheating death.

Also im not sure if i reported this but we had the oppurtunity to go to the local high school that reminds me of the movie school of rock.. its old.. anyway we taught some kids about mormonism. Im never doing that again.. they asked us about our underwear... 

Other than all these cool stories, Elder Salmon and i worked our bootys off this week. We got a lot of good work done. Ill be sad to leave this area but im so ready.. i need to get out of this concrete jungle. 

The church is home. Whats your confidence level in approaching the throne of god?

Love, Elder Reynolds

1250 Main Street

Broomfield, CO

80020

The Church Is Home

4-18-2016


Hey fam,

This week man, this week was gooooood!

I got a new companion elder Demeres. hes from Canadian territory so ive been given him a hard time about saying ay and calling the garbage disposal a garborator. and saying tuke haha. hes a good missionary though. But im getting elder salmon on Wednesday because its transfers. I got Demers because he was waiting for his visa to come here and it finally came and then so did he.

Well we taught a lot this week. We were in a building where a former investigator lived and i decided to knock on his door. and he was like hey guys so we went in a discussed his concerns and then came to church! that was crazy. I had a feeling not to give up on him. Ryan is the reason im in this area. 

I got to see elder Eldridge. he came out with me to the mission, he and I became good buddys throughout or service. Hes getting a little chubby though. Maybe ill be his companion someday we can workout together.

Well stake conference was yesterday. That was cool. nothing really too crazy happened.. oh i took Elder Demeres to jimmy the super anti guy the first night he was here haha.. that was mean kinda but i had to welcome him to the mission. Demeres actually handled it ok. No tears came from him. well not the first night at least. I dont know if he likes me.. im a little much to handle sometimes. I walk a little fast for him and when I got something on my mind it gets done so he has struggled to keep up a little because hes still trying to get used to the schedule. He likes girls at least so thats good. 

I got a good week in though. I feel satisfied with my work this week. Everyone in the district struggled to keep up the grind with the long transfer. Sister hight is a senior missionary in my ward with her husband and when she saw me this week she was like Hey!! theres our fearless leader! haha that humbled me actually. Im sometimes daunted by the amount of things we have to do at one time. but we pull through. I look at the city and think... its all mine. kinda cool really. 

The church is home. 

Elder Reynolds.

write to him

reece.reynolds@myldsmail.net

Several good letters to catch up on!

Here is the latest of all his letters and some pics you may not see on Facebook or in letters I forward. Please send him a quick letter! He loves to receive mail.
Just copy and paste or click (if it possible) on the the email here below and just say HI! to him.
He would love it.

reece.reynolds@myldsmail.net

You can also send mail to him, I get requests for his address all the time:

Elder Reynolds
1250 Main St
Broomfield, CO 80020


2-23-2016

Hey fam,

This week was good. Time fly's when you work hard. Im kinda exhausted from all the hours were putting in. Its worth it though. 

I heard a story listen, there's three mormons visiting a foreign country that's pretty hostile towards their beliefs. One was a stake high counselor, one was an elders quorum president and the last was a deacon. they were captured and put into torture camps. When they were ready to be executed, they were asked what was the last thing they wanted to do before they died.

The Elders quorum president said he wanted to help someone move one more time. Especially someone with a real heavy piano....they let him, then killed him. then the asked the next guy.

The high counselor said he wanted to preach, uninterrupted to a congregation of members of his church, for one hour. They executioner nodded and moved on to the deacon and asked him.

The deacon said.. I just wanna be killed before the stake high councilman speaks.

Yesterday sacrament was great. I took the time to counsel with heavenly father and see if theres anywhere I can improve. Then the talk was about spiritual gifts. I realized as I listened to the talk that god blesses us with specific tools, so were allowed to use them. But they are hinged on our faith and obedience to the commandments. So I was compelled to exercise my gifts. Last night after church we met a less-active guy who was legit. Unfortunately he had been hit with all the anti Mormon bull crap in the world. He tried to pass it on to us but we shut him down with our firm immovable testimonies haha I told him i was anti-ed pretty hard early in and before my mission but I kept the faith and counselled with god. We concluded with him committing to ask god the truth. I came away from that realizing that I was literally prepared in sacrament for that lesson. 

I realized that working hard in the service of god directly blesses us. 

I've almost been out 6 months. 1/4th of my time on a mission is over. Its going too fast.

The doctrine within this church is true. Nothing but it. 

-Elder reynolds

2-29-2016

Hey fam!

I had a neat week.

On Wednesday Ulysses Suarez the president of the quorum of the 70 came to the mission for a tour. It was dope. I had to do the recitation in the mission meeting which means I read a scripture and relate it to the work or something then bear my testimony and recite our missionary purpose. I did it in front of the whole mission and the general authority.. that was a scary time of my life. 

I also found out from Sister Mendenhall that my last companion Elder Nelson went home.. I was real sad because hes a brother I made, but he is doing better back home. He let the stress and depression get to him. Thats something that missionary's constantly fight. He was also from the group that came out to the mission at the same time I did. Ill miss him.

Its transfers this week on Wednesday.. Im staying here in downtown, but getting a new companion, which is sad because Elder Larue and I get along so well. Also I got called to be a district leader here. Im in charge of the city, Im surprised that I have a leadership call being still young on the mission.

We met Jimmy again this week to help him move. Hes the dude who served a mission and stuff but now hes really super anti Mormon. Thats ok we still helped him move and he tried to shake our testimony's with some anti literature but we stood undaunted. We know with conviction who we are and what we stand for, More importantly who we represent.

We ran into Carmelo Anthony's apartment while trying to find an address haha its real nice.. and theres Lamborghini's all over the outside of it. He plays in the NBA. and you can tell.

Also I have officially gained 10 solid pounds of muscle... just thought i would share that haha... and my birthdays in a couple weeks.. dont forget.. oh and happy birthday georgia I love you!!

Lifes good. I love that opportunity I have to be spiritually fed everyday. The letters I get from you are inspiring and motivating. Thanks for your testimony's they're great.

Thats all. Another good week flew by.

The church is true.

Love, Elder Reynolds

3-14-2016

Hey fam,

this week... was crazy. 

We had to drive to the mission home and all over the mission on Wednesday because we had errands the mission office people wanted us to do. So we did them. Also I saw my best mission bud Elder LaRue.. man i love that guy. 

The rest of the week we just kept workin hard and got a lot of doors slammed in our face. no gun threats this time tho so thats lucky i guess.

Oh.. we have a baptism this weekend! thatll be cool!

We helped a lady move. Dear members, you either make our job real easy or real hard. Sorry i know none of you are members but... love thy neighbor haha

I had my first district meeting this week. I made my point very clear to my district that setting goals in life is absolutely essential. They shows the desire of our hearts and are a measurable milestone to help us see our personal progress. 

Also My companion is a real.. good guy. Pray for me.

Oh yesterday was the most interesting church session ive ever. been. to. and ive been to probably a million. Firstly we got there late because our clocks didnt change and we didnt know about the whole time changing theory.. then when we got there. one of the guys we teach showed up!! drunk!! haha that was crazy. he was.. funny. man im sorry words dont describe this guy. Hes my favorite dude. haha

I gotta go and visit some furniture stores because i like spending my PDays testing out sectionals and recliners.. deal with it im different. My companions think im weird. i cant deny what i know to be true.

Real quick i have a crazy story that happenend a week ago.

So we visited a zoo last pday and my companion and i got to go behind the scenes and look at the gorillas and seals and stuff. but we went into the lions cage!! that was crazy they guy was like be gentle theyre pretty territorial. So of course i messed up and sneezed and the freakin alpha lion witha head the size of donald trumps ego, woke up and started to growl. the guide was like oh we better leave shh be quiet. so we left and as i turned around i was tackled to the ground and i felt a huge powerful clamp go around my shoulder!! the freaking lion attacked me!! and i struggled to get it off and the guide was like whistling and trying all the tricks and there i was cligning on to the delicate thing we call life. then i woke up from my dream sweating.

Anyway have a good week. Love ya

-Elder Reynolds

A letter to his mom: 

well we spend a lot of time catering to the needs of member of the ward (relief society presidents, high priest group leaders, elders quorum presidents all the way to bishops) and that doesnt even include the non members and less actives. we have a lot on our plate and spend little to no time for ourselves. Honestly im totally fine with our workload which doesnt finish when we leave the office.. if we had one. mom blessings have come from my service. i have developed an honest love for the savior my family and those i serve. this love doesnt come from disobedience. i just wish youo could see the things we do in a day. i keep a lot out of my emails because talking about it would worry you or frustrate you to hear the disappointments and trials we face. in fact the other day things got so hard that i thought about coming home and not telling you or dad about it. but i didnt make the call to president i had the impression to "keep going". so i am. i dont want to further worry you because i really am pushing through this crap. anyway enough crying. just remember i know who i am

3-21-2016

Hey fam. 

This week was a decent one. Nothing too cool happened really..

Oh wait jk we had zone conference this week it was real good and inspiring just like always. I saw elder Larue and we didnt leave each others side because we are homies. 

We taught a lot of lessons i guess, and one of our investigators decided to blaze up right in front of us in the middle of a lesson and elder bowers said his headache went away after that haha weed is real gross haha

I would like to inform everyone reading that i have a new pair of boots on my person. 

yeah nothing really new or exciting. Ive said it once though church was interesting. President decided to join our ward today. 

3-29-2016

Hey Fam.

This week. well. We freaking destroyed it here. I and my companion went around to teach more lessons then we did last week, and im satisfied to say we did. by a lot. We set our goals high because I have to set the tone for the rest of my district. 

Good news we put 2 people on date. We haven't had that here in a long time because President Mendenhall wants us to focus on the less active list because of its size. Missionaries take advantage of that workload so they dont work as hard. Anyway we have 2 baptisms set for the latter part of April. Everyone should come! 

We get calls all the time to go give blessings because theres like some real high tech leading hospitals down here. So I had the oppurtunity to give a blessing to a guy with leukemia. I blessed him to be restored to full health. Im humbled to say that now the cancer has been 95 percent eradicated, and he is headed home. The priesthood works. because its the same power Jesus Christ had. I learned in a very real sense that god is anxiously engaged in our personal lives and our well being. Turns out this guy been investigating the church for over 2 years, and been through a lot of missionaries. His wife is a member (shout out to aunt michelle) #Memberwerk

Went on exchanges with the zone leaders this week. haha. that was good. 

I curled 60 pounds a lot of times. Im gettin my beach bod ready for summer 2018 haha we have a scheduled time that we are supposed to work out. my companion doesnt do it with me so I take that time to obtain unequaled bliss by liftin.

Anyway, this week was kewl it snowed a lot my companion was grumpy all week. oh well. but hey i have a testimony. DO YOU!?

Love, Elder Reynolds!

4-11-2016

Hey fam, 

Well uh im not sure where to start. This week was a decent average just like the rest of them kind of week.

Zone meeting was cool i didnt have to do a training which is good because i have no room to train missionaries. I am the least of these my brethren.

Oh yo conference was so sick!! D todd christofersons talk was my fav. I cant wait to be a dad... 17 months.. and be a breadwinner and pretty much love a woman.  listen to the prophets and apostles. No for real, ive re listened to conference all week as im getting ready or in the car. i perty much got it memorized. I think the main message was that we all need to repent and go to the rescue to save our fellow brethren, but remember we cant help someone out if we ourselves arent in a spiritual state to do so. SO GET IN ONE FAM! I think that its easy to become engulfed in the distractions of today, like social media, i, loath it. or other things like crafting clubs, sports, friends, tv, diet coke.. idk. But i feel it necessary to say that we gotta prepare ourselves. So im not challenging you, im demanding you to rid yourselves of all ungodliness and hold to the frickin irod rod like a milking puppy to its mother... haha

This week has been a tough one for my happiness im not gonna lie i wanted to join the people of the great and spacious building who were scoffing at us. Sometimes it seems as though it would be easier. However i remembered why in tarnation im on a mission and we got armpit deep in the work. 

Our top progressing investigator dropped us, he got into some anti mormon stuff and was convinced that the church is a hoax. Im sad to say that this is a direct result of not keeping our commitment to pray about it. I KNOW that if you ask for answers from god if this church is true. YOU WILL get one. Sadly we parted ways with our heads down. Its heartbreaking, and plain old awful when we get dropped. Even when Their baptism was supposed to be this weekend.  Its worse then breaking up with a girl... i wouldn't know about that actually..

Anyway on a happy note, transfers are next week and I might be training a new missionary.. and being a district leader at the same time.. i literally have to be on my A game at all times. At the same time i get to do all the work... well thats not gonna be any different.. But i want you to know that i can do hard things. So.. yeah just remember that i guess.. and crappy missionarys dont get this kind of responsibility.

I also want you to know that i have noticed myself maturing and blossoming into a beautiful pond Lilly, ready to harbor any frog that wants to chill. No im serious i feel like little stuff that would make me mad before doesnt bother me. Plus i feel as though My spiritual side is pretty much solid. I ALMOST cried in a lesson last week. I didnt wanna seem sensitive though. I am but.. it wasnt the time. 

Aiight im bored of talking about myself. And zan i had a dream about you.. BE GOOD!! (that was weird i had a dream that you were a missionary and i saw your daily planner and it was empty and then i woke up and got a sandwich and went back to sleep and my dream resumed and i saw your planner again and it was beat to shreds because of good use. I was proud but remember. BE GOOD AND BE STRONG!) sorry everyone that was to her.

Le church Es True.

Translation.. The church is true.

Love, Eldor Reynolds

This is a letter he wrote to his sister, I love his sweet advice. I thought I would include it here:

I love ya'll, im thinking about ya and i want you to know that sometimes life gets hard and we wanna give up and cry for 3 hours in the shower. 

Sometimes people are mean. Heres some advice. Smile at them nicely. Ask them to hang out! BE YOU! and most importantly. Read the scriptures. On your own. everyday. Imagine living with the people you dont like... haha thats been my life for the past 2 months. Heavenly father loves you and cares a lot about you. He wants to hear from you. Remember that you got a big brother on a mission who will watch out for you the rest of your life. Right now im taking care of these people here but when i get home you can come chill with me and my wife anytime you want.. 

I have a story for you. Last week i went to the hospital to give a blessing to a little baby. This baby was born with too big of a heart like honey bun and he had trouble breathing. I put my hands on his little precious head and blessed him to get better. As i was closing my eyes i saw him infront of me as a grown man. He was gonna be ok and i felt that in my heart. I realized on that day that heavenly father loves all of his children so much. even the little babys that havent been away from him for very long. Claira ive had the chance to see miracles happen on my mission and i know that if we are ALWAYS trying to grow closer to heavenly father, he will listen to us in our trials. I promise that if you pray to him to help give you the strength you need to make it through a day of school, he will be there. try it.

Love ya, Elder reynolds

5 months deep, WE WON, THA MISSION THO! Now at 6 months..(this mom is behind) and other amazing messages from Elder Reynolds in Denver North Reporting

Jan 11 2016

Hey fam.

     I had another interesting week. jake our top investigator got out of the hospital and hes on his way to baptism. That guys a freaking stud. Except his friends came over to his house with somebad drugs like.. meth and they spilled on the floor and his dog ate some so it got really sick and almost died... Our other top investigator went to jail... so we had to drop him... and we started teaching his mom in the process.... god really does work in mysterious ways.

We have this guy in our ward that ive never talked about but hes famous to all the missionaries becauase of how unique he is. hes an "investigator" that weve never taught but really wants to be baptized. Weve had to ask our mission president to interview him haha. His name is greg let me tell you a little bit about him. He is a hermaphrodite and hes very confused. hes on a lot of medication. so he says really weird things. When elder arevalo was my companion he would call us for 2 weeks straight and say that oddest things about the roadtrip he was on. apparently he was filming some nature video in cali. When he would call us we wouldnt answer because we were scared to talk to him. so he would leave us voicemails. he would say stuff like this. these are actual quotes ..."with all do respect i would like to let the devil speak through me, ......Hello this is the devil" haha then the next message "i, the devil, repent. there is no more hell." next message "hello this is jesus, this is the second coming of jesus christ, there is no more hell. the devil hath repented." he for real said this stuff. now, we feel bad for him and the ward hates him because he used a testimony meeting to ..."come out" but elder nelson and i have talked about it. Were baptizing him. haha so we had to sit down with him to figure out his knowledge and see his motives. when we asked hi the law of chastity question he said he cant do bad things because "i gave my agency back to god. so im a puppet" im sorry world but i laughed when he said that so hard that i had to leave the room. anyway were baptising him.. e en though the ward doesnt want us to haha everyone needs to be baptised. 

     on a serious note. i ripped my pants at church yesterday so that was akward. these dress pants are not made for hard working fun loving guys like myself. it was pretty funny my companion was face down on the floor laughing and i was laughing pretty hard too.. but i need more pants.. again..  But my testimony of having fun while you work was strengthened. i cant explain the week i had. but i know heavenly fathers watching out for us.. or laughing at us..idk

Anyway, this email isnt very serious because my week was anything but serious. But remember the church is true, and nothing but it.

Elder Reynolds

Attachments area

Preview attachment DSC00399.JPG

DSC00399.JPG

January 19, 2016

momma!!! IM GOING DOWNTOWN!!

i was just at the mission home dropping off an elder who is going home and i had the oppurtunity to talk with my mission presidents wife shes so cool i love her. and they have a daughter who livwes in spanish fork and another who lives in springville and im excited!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mom! Sorry. ts been a bomb week! we usually teach around 8 to 10 lessons this week we taught 18 thats hard to do in this area

guess what i walked 38,800 steps on wednesday this last week. its been snowing so we cant ride we have to walke

momma

      i want you to know that i am in downtown denver i proselite in the areas that are shaddowed from the sun because of the large buildings around me. im very not at home. i feel like im gonna get hit by a car all that time. its very loud here. and i feel uncomfortable because i could get my bike or wallet stolen. but i find peace in the work. i notice that the world around me is crazy and loud , but inside of my body i feel happiness and confidence. its an odd feeling i cant really describe. well kinda .. its like being in a fishbowl sorta.. but i realized that a place that wouldve made me feel insecure and miserable such as this. now is just another place to me. wherever i go i know that i am loved. Im so happy to be here. theres so much work to do and fun to have. My companion is a boss too. hes really chill

Love, Elder Reynolds

January 26

WE WON!

Hey Fam.

This has been the coolest week of my life. 

I got transferred to the only ward that covers all of the downtown area. There's like a billion people we could potentially teach. They're all Broncos fans. This city was LIT last night when we won... i didn't watch the game but it was hard to not know whats going on from all the cheers and large tvs in the streets showing you the game and updating the score. Also the stadium is like a couple of blocks away haha I think god wants me to be a broncos fan. Why else would he send me downtown during the playoffs and super bowl. Unfortunately ive noticed my focus has been in doing gods work so i really dont care too much even though its pretty dope.

There's also Lamborghini's and Ferrari's and homeless people everywhere.

My companion is also a real cool dude. He has quite the conversion story.

The first night here a member hands us 100 bucks for dinner and we were like... woah thats like our whole months income haha... also i woke up to 12 voicemail's from one of the poorer members in the ward who was drunk.. he said lots of bad words in the voicemail and he really hates me hahaha. This place is extreme. We hear the neighbors every night.. and smell weed everywhere we go..anyway theres lots of stories to tell but you simply would just have to be on a mission to understand how ridiculous they are.

We like riding our bikes at night through the busy streets and tall buildings but we are fortunate enough to have a car which is a blessing because ive been on a bike my whole mission which is rare here.  

Anyway, its pretty cool to be here. I feel safe even though theres gangs and stuff everywhere... maybe im just naive. But god watches out for us. Other then the aww im constantly in because im not used to the city... everything is going really well we are teaching almost all the homeless people here and a couple of rich people.. they are harder to get to humble themselves and listen.

Until next week. I gotta leave because the parking meters about to expire..

The church is true. I know

Love, Elder Reynolds

February 1 2016

Hey fam.

Yet another wonderful week here in downtown Denver.

Um i really cant remember too much about the week..

The superbowl is coming up... they announced it in sacrement haha

Its snowing.. My bike needs repair,need donations.. haha ive been around homeless people so much im starting to turn into one.. In fact im sitting next to one right now. his smile is brown and toothless yet heartwarming. 

Ive been eating real healthy too.. 

The other morning we woke up real early to go to catholic mass.. all i have to say is that their church is simply not true. they have parts of the truth but not all of it. if you wanna argue.. read the book of mormon thats all i can say haha we get in battles sometimes about our church... we always win because we have jesus at the head of us.

My companion is real goofy. we are bros.. i say that about all of them but this guy has my back and i feel that. 

thats about it...

 the church is true. rep it. 

February 8 2016

Hey fam.

In the shower this morning, I had the opportunity to reflect deeply on my lifes decisions. I came to the conclusion the god has had his hand in my life from the beginning. This may seem like a depressing start to an email home but its not. I realized that ive been blessed to know the truth for the entirety of my life. Now this statement sometimes brings me sorrow because if people only knew what happiness they could find in the gospel, they would drop their distractions and flock toward it. Members and non-members alike.

As of today im starting a 40 day fast, instead of food im putting other things aside. Things that are holding me back from being the best missionary I can be. For example. selfish thoughts, things that remind me of home, and things that distract me such as thinking about football. I feel like its time to "drop my nets" so to speak and fully be a consecrated disciple of Jesus Christ by following his example and laying everything on sacrificial alter for him.

I challenge you to do this as well. What are things that keep you from growing closer to god? social media? Money? Friends? Video games? lets rid ourselves of filth.

We cant outwardly speak of Christ if we arent inwardly heeding his counsel. 

I hope something cool comes from this. Im gonna write a brief weekly letter home and i hope you still keep me updated on things going on. But I wont read or respond to emails until my fast is over. 

The church is true. Dont believe me? ask god.

PS yes i know about the broncos winning and yes the streets were crazy. you didn't think i could go without saying that right? haha 

talk to you in 40 

Love, Elder Reynolds

February 18 2016

Hey fam.

This week was pretty neat I got to sit down with my president and his wife separately and tell them about my progression as a missionary and how the work is going. I have to admit they both love me... 

Yesterday I met a guy in another ward while i was on exchanges with another missionary. this guys son is Andrew George. if you dont know him ill tell you. he played as a tight end for BYU and later played professionally for the buffalo bills. I sat and talked to his dad about how i remember him and Ryan Denny (another former byu player who lives here on Colorado too) and also we talked about good memories that we both share of byu football. that was really neat. In fact he called Andrew and asked if he knew my dad and Andrew said he sure did.  The reason why I met Brother George is because we were sent to check on him because his wife passed away from cancer and he isnt taking it to well.

As always we offered our spiritual assistance and it was a real neat experience.

In my personal study this week i have been catapulted in spiritual strength. I have been reading in the short books of the book of mormon and i notice how prophets have personalities. like Jarom says he wasnt the most obedient to gods commandments but hes still obligated to write about his genealogy. i loved that because of his honesty haha. When we really dive into the scriptures it doesnt take long for the stories to come alive off of the page. Also the powerful witnesses of god from the mouth of prophets is so powerful that no one learned, can deny them.

This week in my pursuit of self mastery has been good. I know im not gonna be perfect ever but im glad to say im doing the best i can. ive also realized that when everything is put into perspective, mundane day-to-day problems melt away and ive turned into a genuinely happy dude.

Sorry nothing too funny happened this week. wait haha no im wrong. we went over to a less actives two days ago and there was a bike cut in half outside of his apartment haha. i asked him randomly in the lesson if it was him that did it and he said yeah it was his neighbors and they hated each other. haha... thats a story no one will ever understand because you had to be there. It was cut clean in half. 

God is great beer is bad and people are really freakin crazy.

Love, Elder Reynolds

February 22 2016

THE MISSION THO

IMG_0304.PNG

Hey fam,

This week was good. Time fly's when you work hard. Im kinda exhausted from all the hours were putting in. Its worth it though. 

I heard a story listen, there's three mormons visiting a foreign country that's pretty hostile towards their beliefs. One was a stake high counselor, one was an elders quorum president and the last was a deacon. they were captured and put into torture camps. When they were ready to be executed, they were asked what was the last thing they wanted to do before they died.

The Elders quorum president said he wanted to help someone move one more time. Especially someone with a real heavy piano....they let him, then killed him. then the asked the next guy.

The high counselor said he wanted to preach, uninterrupted to a congregation of members of his church, for one hour. They executioner nodded and moved on to the deacon and asked him.

The deacon said.. I just wanna be killed before the stake high councilman speaks.

Yesterday sacrament was great. I took the time to counsel with heavenly father and see if theres anywhere I can improve. Then the talk was about spiritual gifts. I realized as I listened to the talk that god blesses us with specific tools, so were allowed to use them. But they are hinged on our faith and obedience to the commandments. So I was compelled to exercise my gifts. Last night after church we met a less-active guy who was legit. Unfortunately he had been hit with all the anti Mormon bull crap in the world. He tried to pass it on to us but we shut him down with our firm immovable testimonies haha I told him i was anti-ed pretty hard early in and before my mission but I kept the faith and counselled with god. We concluded with him committing to ask god the truth. I came away from that realizing that I was literally prepared in sacrament for that lesson. 

I realized that working hard in the service of god directly blesses us. 

I've almost been out 6 months. 1/4th of my time on a mission is over. Its going too fast.

The doctrine within this church is true. Nothing but it. 

-Elder reynolds

The Dyreng's from Gunnison went to Denver to visit family and took time out to visit a 

sweet member of our own family.