Happy Almost Thanksgiving

Hello everyone! 

We had the mission devotional and I was 

able to see some old YSA ward members

 and we took a picture with all the missionaries 

who have served in the ward :) SO FUN!

 I hope you have had a great week! I also hope you all have fun Thanksgiving plans! I love this time of year! I have tried to keep a gratitude journal and it has been really helpful to look back on hard days and see that even then, I can find something to be grateful for! I am so grateful for this gospel and the chance I have to be here on this mission!!

 As for this week, it has been a good one! We had a lesson with one of our investigators named Anika. I really like her a lot! she is super funny and I know she has a testimony. I can feel the spirit as she answers questions! She has had a few missionaries work with her and I know there are some fears involved when it comes to baptism but I have a lot of hope for her! I pray we will be able to help her with her needs and help guide her to baptism.

 We went to eat at a Part Member Families house and had dinner. As an appetizer we had artichoke with a homemade dip and then we had some shepherd’s pie and some amazing watermelon with mint, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and olive oil. It was all SOOO GOOD and then it got even better, at the end of dinner he says he threw together some dessert a few hours back and he was excited for us top try it. This wonderful man brings out some homemade crème Brulee and then BRINGS OUT HIS MINI BLOW TORCH AND DOES THE WHOLE SUGAR BURNING THING. Oh my Lanta it was so good! Sister Espinoza and I have been talking about it ever since. SO GOOD!  A highlight of the week for sure :)

IDENTITY THEFT IS REAL!
(she wanted to be sister Reynolds for the day)

We had a super cool lesson with our Ward mission leaders neighbor Zach. He walked up to our WML and asked to learn more about the church. So, Brother Poulsen had him over a few times and talked with him and then we were able to schedule a meeting for Thursday! He is so cool! He has been on a search for a while. He told us he has had some questions that no other church has been able to answer and then he said, “from what I’ve heard i already have some answers!" AMAZING! it was a powerful lesson and i thought the spirit was quite strong. I am so grateful for this restored Gospel and the way it is able to answer our 'questions of the soul'.

 It really was a good week. Those are just some of the highlights! I hope that we all can take a few minutes each day, especially Thursday, to say a prayer of gratitude to our Father in Heaven. He has given us all things and I know when we can "Live in thanksgiving daily" (Alma 34:38) our lives will be more joyful. Joy is eternal!!! So why wouldn’t we want that? I have seen the blessings of counting my many blessings and I hope everyone can see their own as well! i love you all so much and i love this Gospel! I know that Christ Lives and He loves us!! 

Sister Reynolds

It has been a good week

Hello!

we went to Legendary donuts❤ 
SO GOOD! their donuts are massive!!
its also just a cute shop

 It has been a good week. We have seen some amazing blessings! One of them is a man named Mark. He is a neighbor to a recent convert, Don. We were tracting on the day of finding and he became a potential. When we went back, we taught about the Book of Mormon and the first few points of the restoration. He told us towards the end that the reason he let us come back and talk with him was because of the change He saw in Don! It was such a powerful moment. I love seeing others actions and choices to follow the gospel affect those around them. Now the recent convert wants to invite him to church each Sun

day! (I love built in fellowship :)) it was a testimony to me the power that this gospel has in changing people’s lives! i hope that Mark continues to want to learn! Keep him in your prayers if you will.

we went to Legendary donuts❤ 
SO GOOD! their donuts are massive!!
its also just a cute shop

 Our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Poulsen, and his Family are amazing! I love them a lot. He has been a lot of help in giving us the update on the ward information, member families to see and he has also blessed us with some of the best homemade meals i have had! they invited us over for dinner for thanksgiving and everyone was chapped at first that they stole us but then they followed up their comments with, " well, at least you’re going to the best cook in the wards house." True blessings :) but I really am grateful for them and everyone in the ward. They all know how to make us feel loved!

 It might be a short email this week, I apologize for that. I do want you all to know how grateful I am for all of you. I love this Gospel and I love this call to serve. We are all having the chance to actively participate in the Gathering of Israel and it is amazing! I hope you can all find a way to share your testimony of the gospel this week! I love you all!

Sister Reynolds 

Merry Early Christmas I Guess!:)

Hey!

 our view from our apartment..hopefully
 you can tel;l it is a mini lake with ducks in it :)

 So, it SNOWED!!! It is insane! It was just sunny and then BOOM! The earth thought it would be cool to get cold enough for the rain to be even colder, sticky, and WHITE!! It didn’t snow last year till the end of December! I feel like it should be Christmas time right now but then I remember about thanksgiving and I get a little bit sad to be honest... :) But I am excited for thanksgiving! It is a great time of year and it is a fun time when you're a missionary!

 Well, this week has been quite the adventure! Being in a new area where neither of us knows anything is always a fun time! We have been making lots of U-turns and we've been using tons of miles but that’s okay it’s all in the name of salvation! Auburn is AMAZING! I love the people we have been able to meet. All the ward members have been so loving and kind. They are really excited to have sister missionaries again and to have missionaries just for their ward. It has been a couple of years since they have had their own missionaries and they said that they have been on the back burner but NOT ANYMORE :D

Sister Reynolds and Sister Espinoza

 My new companion is great! Her name is Sister Espinoza! She is from San Diego CA! She is awesome! She thinks I’m an old person though because I don’t understand all the new slang and terms that the youth use these days. I am getting old folks 😂 whenever we tell people where we are from we get lots of comments like, "oh you all must be freezing." but then they just keep us standing in the cold even though we say yes... one day someone will let us in! 

 We had our day of finding as a mission on Saturday. It went well but at one point we split off and i was in a trio for a few hours. We knocked on this trailer home and this woman answered the door and spoke to us for a bit. In the background we heard her son yelling things like "Go Lucifer". He kept going and getting louder so finally I matched his loudness with my testimony, gave her a card, and then we left. It is a testimony to me the power of the adversary. He doesn't want the spirit to be with us and he will do anything to distract us from what we know to be true. I know that we can overcome his tricks as we continue to do the little things we have been taught each and every day. It broke my heart to hear what he said but it also strengthened my faith in many ways, if that makes sense at all!

 Anyway, I love you all. I am so grateful for this chance to serve! Don’t forget to count your blessings every day!! Have a great week!

Sister Reynolds

Happy Halloween

Hello everyone!

 I hope that you have all had an amazing week!! It has been such a good week for us here in the Renton area! We have been blessed to see lots of different miracles and we have been able to get a lot of work done which is so good!! 

Halloween costume 

 We got transfer calls on Sunday... It’s like the hunger games every 6 weeks. This time I was chosen to leave :( I will be serving in the Auburn area whitewashing, meaning we both don’t know anything about the area. I will also be training again! It is kind of scary to think about but i am excited for the challenge and I know that if I rely on the Lord I will be able to do everything he needs me to do. 

On Saturday I got to go to the Baptism for Laura Martin!!! (The one I accidentally drove to last week..) Sister Tayco, my old companion and I, got to drive down together while our companions worked together. It was fun to be back together! Her baptism was amazing. She has truly turned her heart to the Lord and has been able to rely on him even through a lot of hard things that have happened to her in the past few months. Listening to her bear her testimony about the gospel and how it has changed her testified to me of the importance of this work. We are so blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who allows us to have the fullness of the gospel here on the Earth!! I love her and I love that I am able to help people like Laura come unto Christ!!

 One of our investigators Denene

  Friday evening we had the ward trunk or treat!!! Sister Morris and I dressed up as the bible and the Book of Mormon! I think I have pics I can send y’all! It was a lot of fun and the ward members loved it. We had 2 investigators there and some returning less active members there! It was awesome :D

 Last night we said goodbye to some of the ward members and people that we are working with. It was really hard to leave them. We had one lesson with a woman named Lani Fanene. She has been working on returning back to church and she bore her testimony about the Book of Mormon and man, I couldn’t stop crying! Ha ha! It was so powerful. She said many times that it is ONLY through the Book of Mormon that she has a personal relationship with Christ like she does. I love her and I am so proud of everything that she has done and worked for!

 It is always bittersweet to leave an area but I am excited for the new adventures that will happen in Auburn! I am so glad I am here and I hope I can do my best every day and work hard. Thank you for everything you all do! I love you!!!

saying bye to the Fanene's!

Sister Reynolds

Saying bye to Sarah! We served in the YSA ward and then
she was in this ward too!! saying bye the
 second time was even harder! (we tried to be like old people in rocking chairs

The Perez family! i LOVE these kids!!!​​