The Massive Donut

Hello all!

I hope everyone has had a great week and that thanksgiving was super good and full of yummy food! We were fed to our brim and then some! haha! I don’t know if I will ever want another piece of pie again! The people in my ward are so kind to us! 

legendary donuts. best. donuts. shop. ever. this was the size of my face!

Good news, we had transfers and drum roll please..... SISTER TAYLOR AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER!!!! yaaay! we both were super nervous Sunday night while we waited for the call. we had a few close calls but it was all good in the end! Sadly, Sister (Kaylan) Richardson got transferred out of Zone so I won’t see her as often but she is going to do amazing! Sister Taylor and I are super excited to spend Christmas together and to be in the James hill ward still! These people are truly amazing! i love them so much!

This past Sunday we received a text from our 1st councilor in the bishopric. He told us he needed a speaker because someone just called and said he wasn’t coming. I being the newbie had to plan and execute a talk on the Godhead in 30 min. I know that probably doesn’t sound to bad but I was FREAKING out! It is scary to teach something when you haven’t planned it in advance! All went well though. I didn't pass out or anything and i am here to tell the tale so overall I’ll give the experience a 7 out of 10! 

We had an amazing miracle this week! We were weekly planning and we had the thought to text one of our former investigators, the one from a while ago who i cried over 🙄... any who haha, he responded and said he missed talking with us and that we could come over! so yesterday we went and had out first lesson with him! He was so kind and said he has been reading the book of Mormon and that he thinks it might be true! The spirit was so strong! This truly was a tender mercy. we have been struggling with the work and we have tried to be better missionaries and we have reaped the reward you could say :) we are praying that he will continue to pray and ask if this is true, more on that later though.

Life here has been good over all. The days are staying in the 40's lately so that’s crazy and the rain is relentless but everything is good! I’m going to get accustomed to it one day and then when i come home ill shrivel up like a dead fish! It’s just the circle of life i guess! that you all for the conference talks! I am excited to re-read them all! I love you all so much!

Thank you for keeping me updated about your life! Have an amazing week!
Love sister Reynolds

                

                                       Sister Taylor and i have no idea
                                        how to drive in Seattle... it was a struggle in a half... 

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone!

I hope that every one of you is excited for thanksgiving! I know I am! It’s going to be fun to spend it out here with my ward members! I may gain 100 pounds in one day but I guess that’s mission life right? I miss everyone around this time but I’m grateful for my call to serve here!

I'm not sure what I want to write about this week but maybe I’ll start with talking about Shane. We met Shane while contacting a few days back. He is in his 30's and right from the get go I knew Shane was going to be a funny man. He opened the door and he was brushing his teeth. We introduced ourselves and he started to talk with us and create a conversation, all while brushing his teeth. We told him we wanted to share a message and he said he would listen, still brushing his teeth. We told him we would wait while he finished his dental hygiene regime but he declined and said he was okay so we just started to teach him! We taught, he went and spit. He would talk about Kent and how he just moved here and then we would tie it into the lesson, then he would go spit. Then we would talk about his old job in the army, he would spit and then we would try to teach him some more. (I will have you know that a normal contact is not so jumbled nor does it last 'that' long). This process went on for 30 minutes. Each time he left to go spit, Sister Taylor and I would die laughing and try to compose ourselves! Overall he committed to meet with the elders and we made our dash out to the parking lot all while he still stood there brushing his teeth. I truly hope and pray that he never has any teeth decay for he takes such good care of them....

We had another meeting with an area of the seventy this week! His name is Elder Gay. He and his wife came and talked to us about missionary work and working with the members. From 10:30am to 5 pm we sat and listened. We learned a lot of super good things and revelation was definitely received! The only problem was that I could barely sit still. Any of you who have sat with me in any meeting should know that I struggle not to move and to focus. Thankfully no one told me to leave so that’s good :) He told us to be bold with the members and to those that we are teaching. He gave us some things that we could say and all; I will tell you is that I have yet to become as bold as he is wanting us to be! Hopefully I can learn to do it throughout my mission! 

 I am sorry that this is such a short letter! I wish I could write more but time is almost out!

Thank you so much for your emails! Next week, if you’re willing, would you all send me one of your favorite scriptures of conference talks? I would love that so much! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Reynolds

Crazy Traffic and...MOLD

Hello,

It has been a super-fast week! I don’t know if that was just here in Washington or if it happened all over the world.... who knows. Anyway, mission life is good! We have been able to teach a lot of people through finding and we committed 10 people to baptism. Not all of them are for us in the YSA but we still get to plant the seed of faith in people and give them the opportunity to learn more and become converted, which is AWESOME! This gospel is so amazing! I find new things every day and they are always a testimony builder! I find that every time I read the scriptures I am filled with the desire to share what I’ve learned and guess what!? I’ve been blessed to be able to do that! 

Sister Taylor and I right before we came home!

I would like to take a brief moment to discuss Washington traffic, or at least Kent/Renton traffic. The roads here are sort of weird and crazy and the people driving are sort of weird and crazy as well.  Sister Taylor and I, almost daily, will end up sitting in a line of cars for at least 20 min. I’m sure if our area was smaller we wouldn’t care so much because we could just walk but that is sadly not a possibility. The other day we were on our way to a lesson with an investigator and we had given ourselves 10 min to spare so we thought we would be okay. FALSE ADVERTISING! We were stuck, without moving, for 30 min because the railroad had a train stuck in the middle of the tracks. At first we were kinds frustrated but then we could only laugh about it. There were people honking and yelling and hitting their heads on the head rests of their cars. You would have thought we were in New York! haha! All I know is that big city life is definitely not for me haha! 

Sunset the other day! not the best picture but it was super cool!

Our wonderful cottage on the lake is having some issues at the moment. We have been exposed to what the world would call black mold. It has invaded our personal space and is slowly but surely eating away our bathroom. Have no fear though, our wonderful house people, those in charge of our living situations are on it! We have to have our bathroom remodeled and basically gutted! But that means that we have to vacate the premises as soon as the contractor comes through the door. Where will we go you might ask? Let me answer that for ya. We will be living with the mission president and his wife for a couple days or weeks however long it takes. I have yet to decide if this will be fun or not.  Their house is in maple valley so we will have to drive quite a ways but the thought of sitting on the couch at night while mingling with those who are in charge of us is kind of a funny thought! More news on that lovely experience to come! 

Cloudy Weather

The weather here has been super weird lately! We have a few days or downpour and then that thing called the sun comes out for a day or two! It is a strange place, Washington but I have fallen in love with it! I have become grateful for coats, scarfs, and gloves! Also weather proofing spray might be the greatest invention ever made. :) 

Thank you all for your emails this week! They have made my day! I hope that you all continue to have amazing days! I love you all so much! Don’t forget to read your scriptures and pray daily! 

Sister Reynolds

this is Gerard the spider! he is our watch spider for our little Betsy( our car)

1st Daylight Savings Time

Hello,                                                                                      November 7, 2016

This week has been a whole lot better, excuse my improper English. Still had its challenges as every day does but I have seen a lot of little miracles and have recognized Gods hand in my life.

 On Monday we had a zone party for Halloween! It was weird to have all of us missionaries in our regular clothes hanging out and playing games, somehow I felt lazy.... but nevertheless we all had a blast! I’ll try to send a picture of all of us! We got to carve pumpkins that night so Sister Taylor and I went to the farmers market called Carpenitos and bought a pumpkin that was about the size of one of those beach balls, MASSIVE!, but way worth it! Our Zone has some amazing missionaries, most of which are from Utah. I think almost every missionary here is from Utah! But that’s okay because they are all amazing!

 On Tuesday, I’m going day by day this time; we had the chance to serve in the Bishops store house. It was a good experience but not a lot of people that day so we mostly talked with those who were also there. Two people were from our ward and it was good to get to know them more. One of them was our 2nd counselor in the bishopric! His name is Brother Richards, Peter I think, and he is a convert to the church. He is a spiritual giant and has the coolest family. They always try to send us home with frozen meals or things like that so we don’t wither away and die but I don’t think that will happen anytime soon!

 Wednesday we got to go to Seattle again, this time I didn’t have to drive🙌, and had our hand off lesson! The girls, Jazmine and Justine, are so cool! They have such strong testimonies and we are excited to get to know them better.

Thursday was boring so well move on. (We just had a bunch of meetings)

On Friday we volunteer at North West Harvest, a provider for food banks. It is always a good way to start our morning! the people are so kind and loving AND we get a chance to wear jeans so there is a perk, but if I’m being honest I might wear dresses for the rest of forever. They are so free... haha! 

 Skipping Saturday, a normal day, and going to Sunday. It was Fast Sunday AND the first day of daylight savings. I’m not sure how I like this whole changing the time to accommodate people. I guess I just don’t understand it but it is weird. It gets dark at 4:30ish. Night is so dark here because there is no moon or stars so you just guess where you are going most of the time! Besides that Sunday was really good! I never appreciated fasting till my mission. I have realized that we are literally submitting our physical bodies to our spirit so we can better learn from the Holy Ghost. I know that there is power in fasting and having a specific thing that you are wanting an answer to. It’s amazing how much the Lord wants to reveal to us if we are willing to listen!

 I am loving the mission life. I could pass on some of the rainy days but even then I am so grateful to be a servant of the lord!

Thank you all for your prayers and emails! You are amazing! I love you all so much! 

Sister Reynolds

Happy Halloween

Friends and family!

 This week has been different from the rest. It’s been exciting, fun, emotional and exhausting. What a roller coaster but also, what a learning experience!

Well the first of this week we had exchanges! It was cool because I got to exchange with Sister Richardson! My fellow Mesa Arizona pal and I had an entire day of serving the lord and reminiscing! What fun times! We stayed in my area, Kent and Renton, so it was fun to introduce her to people and then talk about us growing up together! What a joy! :) Because of this exchange though, I had to drive for the first time since being out here. Now, some may oppose this statement but I really am not that bad of a driver but something about Washington brings out the worse in me when it comes to navigation and driving, Must be the rain. haha! We ended up going outside our mission for point two seconds...shhhh that goes nowhere..... We took all the wrong turns, my bad, and then when we got to our destination in Skyway, that’s the tiny bit of Seattle that is in our mission, our appointment cancelled. We couldn’t catch a break. The rain was pouring more than it had since I have arrived in Washington, what a day! I felt bad that Sister Richardson had to endure this probably traumatizing event. We ended up surviving though and making it back home so really there is no room for complaints. haah!

 We also had as lesson with someone named Bebeto. Bebeto is from Haiti and when we first met him, as a hand off lesson with other missionaries, he was super solid and ready to learn the truth. He was sadly exposed to some things that really made him question everything. He had been avoiding us but we finally got in with him, as we taught him the plan of salvation we could tell he was not interested in finding truth for himself. He just wanted to have it proven to him and he didn’t want to take the time to ask God. This truly broke my heart. All we wanted was for him to come and gain a testimony and he wasn’t willing to even try. I find that a hard thing to understand. There is no harm that will happen by reading a book and praying to ask if it is real. All we ask people is to try and we testify that if they try it with the intent to know they WILL know that it is true. It just baffles me that so many people won’t try something so simple. Bebeto wouldn’t do just that. He seems to be mad at God for not just telling him without his effort. At this point all we could do was bare to him our testimonies and leave. It took me a while to stop the silent tears to stop coming. I don’t know why but this mission has taught me how to love people, even those I know so little about, and it breaks my heart to see them turn away from some of the greatest knowledge they will ever receive. I pray that he will have his heart softened and reach out to us because this Gospel will truly bless his life. 

On a happier note, we have been working with a lot of less active members and helping them to come back to church! They have all been pretty receptive to the message and have been feeling the old testimony that they once had. I love seeing people remember how good God is and to see them have the desire to return! I feel like a proud mama! haha! These people in Washington are just so amazing! I love seeing them and hearing about their lives. I know I have mentioned it before but there are so many different nationalities here it is so cool! We met two men from Kenya today and they are so amazing! They both had the sweetest accents and just wanted to chitchat and laugh! These are my kind of people! :) 

The weather is getting wetter and colder every day. I have noticed that my hair is darker and my skin is whiter, if that is even possible! I’ve noticed that certain parts of Kent like to flood and create illusions of puddles when in all reality they are huge ponds that have formed in the space of an hour! AVOID THESE AT ALL COSTS! I have had to learn the hard way but that’s life I guess!  I have been picking up on some Spanish, Arabic and Napoli words and I get to use them daily and it’s so fun! Except once you say a word they think you speak fluently and they look quite disappointed when you only know English... 

These apartments in Kent are creepy...

Halloween, being tonight, means that we have to stay in but somehow our zone leaders have gotten permission for us to have a party! So tonight we will be dressing down for once, jeans allowed, and going to hang out with the missionaries in our zone! Weird! But I am also excited to meet everyone, officially, and get to know who they were back in the days of old! Everyone be safe out tonight... these clowns are real... real scary... ha... I’m bad at these joke things now... anyway thanks for all the prayers, emails and pictures! i love you all so much and I am so grateful for all of you! Hope your week goes well!

Love 

Sister Reynolds