IngleHOOD

Familia!

What's good fam?! This past week was a blast! It's fun being back on
bike, even though it kind of stinks to get around haha. The area is
full of hills too, so my legs are definitely getting a good workout.
I'll just give you a rundown of the past week.

Monday we went and drove around Hollywood and through the walk of
stars for P-day. A member gave me a hammock from the Yucatán, so I'm
going to have to get that going back at home haha. It was tough saying
goodbye to Lourdes! She had been in Mexico for three weeks, so I only
got to see her for a few days before moving. She had us over for green
chicken enchiladas for dinner (she asked what I wanted to eat) and
then said goodbye. That lady is like my Mexican mother haha. I almost
forgot to take pictures with her, so I had to come back after saying
goodbye and she was mad because she was crying when I left and then
had to come back to take pictures afterward haha. I love that lady!

Tuesday was transfer day and I got a ride to my new area with the ward
mission leader from my last ward. We had a good chat on the way there,
he served in the Durango area of Mexico and was telling me some good
missionaries stories from when he was out there haha. First day back
on bike! Friday we set a date with a guy named German Cuello from the
Dominican Republic. He's a stud! He was a professional boxer for a
while. He said he still does 1,000 push-ups every morning. Keep him in
your prayers, his date is for the 28th of February. Saturday we set
two dates with two twins who are 10 years old. We're working to get
the whole family baptized, but the parents aren't married and the dad
works all day every day, so we haven't even had contact with him yet.
Their date is for the 14th of February. Valentine's Day baptisms!
Their names are Chris and Natalia Torres. And the moms name is Maribel
Torres. Keep them all in your prayers as well and that we'll be able
to help them get married!

Maribel and her kids, as well as German all came to church yesterday!
Things are going well! I'm not going to lie though, I think I'm
picking up an accent already. And it's not Spanish.. Hahaha. I've only
been here a week and I'm already picking up on that Inglehood accent!
People here are crazy. No one stops at stop signs, so I've already
almost been hit a few times on bike haha. It's a lot of fun though.
The weather has been great lately, I'm hoping the niño doesn't hit us
haha. The hard part is finding the Hispanics. We've got some
potentials, but most of the people we talk to aren't Latinos.

This work is the greatest! There are some great members in this ward
and the Ward leadership is on top of things. I'm excited to get some
great stuff going. Keep us in your prayers! My companions name is
Elder Villanueva. He was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and moved to
Colorado when he was 10. He's 27, so he's a little older, but he's a
funny kid haha. I'll try to get you a pic of us if I can. Love you
all!

Elder Reynolds

American and Lourdes

Transfers (01-18-2016)

Familia!

Sorry that last weeks email was so short, I had to finish a couple
other things with my internet time and wasn't left with much to email.
Just a quick note from two weeks ago.. Zone Conference was super good.
We trained on teaching simply and using silence to allow the Spirit to
convert. That was the main focus of the conference. There have been
some changes in the mission lately, so we're really trying to make
sure we stick to the basics and allow the Spirit to convert the
people. There was some great instruction. We also had ward conference
last Sunday and the stake presidency spoke. The stake president (who
always wears a bow-tie) gave a great talk about the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and urged everyone to study Alma 7. I'd invite you all to do
the same!

I can't believe another transfer has already gone by. They're going
too quick. My news is that I'll be going down to Inglewood! I've
always wanted to get a chance to serve down there, so I'm excited. I
think I'm going to be back on bike, so that'll make it exciting haha.
Back to the ghetto! It should be a fun transfer. This past transfer
was a blast, I loved being up here with Elder Porter. It makes such a
huge difference when you and your companion get along well and can
just get out and work. It's tough to leave! I love this area and the
people here. I feel like each area has been getting harder and harder
to leave. I've find that it really is true that you love those you
serve. I don't think I ever quite understood how you could love
someone upon meeting them, but every once in a while, God has allowed
me to really feel just a portion of the love He has for His children.
Even though it's like pulling teeth to get these Hispanics to keep
commitments, I love serving them.

There's going to be a worldwide missionary broadcast for all
missionaries this Wednesday. Some of the Apostles and members of the
70 are going to be giving us instruction and I'm super excited. It
should be a great broadcast! We've been preparing for it for the past
few weeks by studying the fundamentals found in Preach My Gospel. It
sounds like you gave a great talk in ward conference, Dad! Did you
have someone translate for you? I got to do some more translating last
week in priesthood meeting for the first counselor in the stake
presidency haha. It's a blast translating in real time.

Well, I love you all and am grateful for your prayers! I really do
know that Joseph saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in that sacred
grove. I have had so many experiences as I share that first vision
with others that solidify my testimony and reiterate again and again
the truth of that acontecimiento. ¡Les quiero mucho! Espero que estén
bien todos. Lean El Libro de Mormón todos los días este año y les
prometo que verán muchísimas bendiciones con respecto al espíritu que
estará más presente en sus vidas. Me encanta ese libro y sé que la
promesa que contiene es verdadera. ¡No tengan miedo de compartir su
testimonio con los demás! Que tengan una buena semana.

Élder Reynolds

Sent from my iPad.

El Niño (01-11-2016)

Familia!

 

Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope you have the best day! I'm glad you get to treat yourself to a trip down to Utah to be with little Lucy. I hope you know how grateful I am for you and how blessed I feel to have you as my mother. I know the stripling warriors had great mothers, but I don't think they could compare with you! Thanks for always being there and for being the best. I love you so much and hope you know that!

 

What a week! We got hit super hard on Tuesday and Wednesday with rain. That's more than I've ever seen it rain down here, it was wild! There were tons of roads completely flooded and cars stuck in huge puddles of water in the middle of the road. It was an exciting couple days haha. That was supposedly just a taste of what is going to be coming our way, so it should be an exciting few months! Mom, enjoy your time with Lucy and give her a hug and kiss from her uncle G! Hopefully my letter makes it before you head out. I got a good laugh from that picture of Lucy with that big rib or whatever it was that she was munching on haha. Little buds!

 

I'm out of time, but this week was great! We got some great counsel at zone conference and have some great things coming this week. We'll know about transfers on Sunday, so I'll be letting you know next week. You're all the best! I love you!

 

Elder Reynolds

Happy New Year!

Familia!

 

What a great week! I think I officially realized this week that every week in the mission is the best week of my life haha. We had to be in by 6pm on New Year's Eve for safety, so we did some planning and I had a few minutes to set some goals for 2016 and review how 2015 went. IT WENT TOO FAST! I can't believe how quick that year went by! But I am looking forward to 2016 and making it the best year yet. I didn't manage to stay up to hear the fireworks go off, I was fast asleep by about 10:45 haha. It's a good night if I can manage 7 1/2 hours of sleep, so I didn't want to lose any of that time! Haha

I appreciate the Hickory Farms package! Haha that was a fun one to get. How did you remember how much I enjoyed getting those things at home? Also, thanks for the great email, Mom! You're the best! I'm getting a letter sent your way, so keep an eye out for that later this week. No opening it until Monday though! Hopefully it doesn't get lost or stolen. Sounds like Dad had a good time snowshoeing up to the cabin! I always felt like the school year flew by once we were back after Christmas, so make the most of it!

 

We taught a guy named Alexander and his wife, Claudia, this week. They are both awesome! Alexander has struggled in the past with some real tough addictions, but he is a good man. He said he remembers seeing missionaries walking around in El Salvador when he was there as a boy. They were both extremely interested in us and what we do as missionaries. We taught the restoration and the Spirit present in that small home was so powerful! It's kind of sad because they're moving this week just barely on the other side of our boundaries, but some missionaries are going to get to teach a great couple. I always get excited when we teach the restoration to someone for the first time and I get to recite the first vision and bear my testimony of it. I remember being so nervous to share my testimony in front of others, but now there is almost nothing I love more! I know that Joseph Smith really saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and that he was called as a prophet. I've seen so many blessing from that sincere prayer!

 

 We're working with some others, but still haven't been able to get anyone to church. This week will be the week though! We've got good things coming our way! We have Zone Conference this weekend, and I'm stoked for that, it's always a revelatory experience. President Weidman said something this past week that impacted me. We were at a Mission Leadership meeting and a new rule came out that we won't be having any more departing missionary firesides. Previously, at the end of ever transfer, the departing missionaries would bear their testimonies and there would be some musical numbers and things like that. With Elder Oaks being the executive of the missionary department, he has asked that meetings like that be discontinued in order to increase effectiveness. When President announced it, one of the Sisters asked, "But will we still have the one at the end of this transfer?" And he responded, "In the California Los Angeles Mission, we are immediately obedient." That removed any doubts or questions I might have had. What a hero!

 

Have the best week! MAKE it the best! I love you all!

 

Elder Reynolds

(12-28-2015)

Familia!

Well it was good getting to chat for a few minutes, even there were of course some STRUGGLES! Haha, you all sounded good though. Fun seeing little Lucy Lou! You all looked great from what I could see. Too bad Parker wasn't there though. Who was the old man that was sitting in on the video? Kind of looked like Parks, but it couldn't have been him haha.

 

It was a great week though! On Tuesday, we went out and had a great day. Every single one of our appointments fell through, but we shared the Christmas video with anyone who opened the door and was willing to listen for a couple minutes and ended up with 4 new investigators! I kind of mentioned Christmas Eve in the call, but we were able to meet with a former investigator who invited us in to eat with he and his family. This past week was packed full of a lot of Spanish, it was the best.

 

Yesterday at church, Bishop came up to Elder Porter and I just as the meeting was starting and told that one of the speakers didn't show up, so we'd probably have to speak. I was actually excited for the chance! The last time I'd been asked to speak at church was on Mother's Day. There wasn't much time to throw the talk together, but it turned out really well! (I think). I talked on hope, specifically the hope that comes because of Jesus Christ. I shared a few scriptures from the Book of Mormon and shared a quick piece from President Uchtdorf's talk from the past Women's conference where a painting of a young pioneer girl was mentioned. I just testified that we can find good in every situation and invited everyone to do so. It was one of those times where the Spanish was just flowing smoothly, so it was a lot of fun. Those are the best times.  A few of the members wanted to know where I was raised afterward and if my parents were Hispanic haha.

 

I can't believe we're heading into a new year though! I hope you all enjoy New Year's Eve together and can get some Martinelli's going haha. I'm so grateful for you all and for your love and support. The mission is the greatest. It's the hardest thing I've ever loved to do and I'm so glad to be a missionary at this time. Have a great week and start off 2016 right! I love you all!

 

Elder Reynolds

Christmas (12-21-2015)

Familia!

I can't believe that the week of Christmas is already here! It should be good to get most of the crew home and enjoy some time with them. Tell everyone hi for me! I'm looking forward to getting to see you all for a few minutes though. If there's anything you want to talk about or ask me, write it down and have it ready because 40 minutes will fly by haha.

I'm hoping it's just the busyness of the people during this time of the year, but we're struggling to help people keep their appointments. We had 12 set appointments during the week and not a single one went through haha. It's always fun getting the chance to be out and talk to everyone though. On Saturday, we had our Christmas devotional with half of the mission and it was way good. Super spirit-filled and all centered on Jesus Christ. President had everyone who had been at the Christmas devotional last year stand up and I was one of not many. Then he made a comment about being old in the mission haha. It's weird how I've slowly become one of the older missionaries in the mission without even noticing it. I see the new missionaries come in and I feel like I was just there! He sent us an email todayinforming us of the new mission president that will be replacing him in July. President Robert M. Haynie from Shoreline, WA! I won't have a chance to meet him, but I figured maybe you'd hear of him or run into him sometime between now and then.

We also got a bunch of rain on Saturday. It rolled in super quick and we got soaked haha. It was a fun day though. Our mission now has our area book and plans on the iPad and I didn't want it to get wet out in the rain, so we just put it away and tracted all night. We ran into some pretty cool people and got a lot of referrals sent off. It's tough to find Hispanics sometimes! One guy was an African-American who answered the door and kind of unpleasantly said no thanks. We continued to knock the rest of the apartment complex and before we finished, he walked back out and he had on a 49ers beanie, so I commented him on it. We ended up talking for about 10 minutes and he completely changed and ended the conversation being real nice! Some people just need someone to be nice to them haha.

On Thursday, we had dinner with a member from Oaxaca and he prepared this plate called "Tuxtepecana." Apparently, from the area where the dish comes from, pineapples grow all over the place, so they are super cheap and the people have so many that they don't even know what to do with all of them. It's basically just a pineapple cut in half and gutted, filled with black beans and rice, a fried salad made with pineapple, tomato, and onion, topped with chorizo, and then cheese thrown on top. He also topped that with some shrimp and avocado. It's eaten with tortilla chips. It was good stuff! Then to top it off for dessert, we had chapulines which are basically grasshoppers. I love getting to eat all the different foods haha. I'll send a couple pics.

Well teammates, I guess we'll be talking soon! I hope you all have a great Christmas and that you are able to take some time to sit and quietly reflect on the reason for this season. I know that He was born over two-thousand years ago in a small town. I know that He lived a perfect life and then gave that life for us. I know His sacrifice allows us to improve and change. I know that He was resurrected and that in doing so, we all too will be resurrected. I know that He lives and that He loves us. I know that wise men still follow Him. May we all be counted among those wise men and continue to follow Jesus Christ and His perfect example during this Christmas season and throughout all the year. Merry Christmas! I love you!

Elder Reynolds

Rain (12-14-2015)

Familia!

What a week! The weeks are going by too fast. I hope you are all taking time to enjoy the season. It actually rained on Saturday! We've been needing the moisture down here in SoCal, but it's always cold walking around at night in the rain haha. Makes me feel like a missionary though! I love it!

 

Elder Porter is great! We've had a great time this week and got a lot done. We've been talking with tons of people every day and have been meeting some great potentials. It's always super tough to get them to keep their appointments and go to church though, so we're going to keep working on that this week.

 

Your excitement for this week comes from an experience where we went to contact a potential who lived inside this gated property. We opened the gate slowly because it seemed like dogs would be inside, but nothing came, so we walked up to the door and knocked. A few seconds later, we see a guy peek around the corner of the house and then go back. Then we hear a gate open and two dogs come up on us haha. They were growling and snarling at us, so we tried to make it back out the gate as graciously as we could. My companion made it through, but that turned both the dogs on me, so I kicked the heck out of one of them and then shot for the door, but the other one got a hold of my heel as I got to the gate. It didn't break the skin somehow though! That was a huge blessing! But I was pretty mad that it ripped part of my nice slacks haha. I guess you can't win em all!

 

We met a real cool guy and his wife Saturday night. His name is Alexander and her name is Claudia. He said he remembers being a young kid in El Salvador and seeing missionaries walking the streets. He's real interested and has passed through some real hard stuff in his life, so we are hoping he will grab onto the Gospel. Please keep them in your prayers as well as Carlos Paz and his family.

 

The gospel is true! I know it blesses families. I hope we'll all be able to remember the "why" behind Christmas and remember Christ more fully. Sister Weidman mentioned how during all the Christmases of our lives we try to remember Jesus Christ. But for two Christmases, as a missionary, we represent Him. What a blessing it is to be a missionary and a full-time representative of Him. I love Him and am grateful for Him. Have the best week!

 

Elder Reynolds

Transfers (12-07-2015)

Familia!

 

I can barely even remember what happened this past week, but there were some great highlights! The first one is that Lourdes got confirmed! I had the opportunity to confirm her yesterday, so that was a great experience. She's so awesome. A couple of the ladies she lives with came to church as well and are both interested, so we're going to try to work with them too!

 

Every last Sunday of the transfer, there is a departing missionary fireside where the missionaries going home bear their testimonies and there are some musical numbers. My comp and I got to translate for it! It was so much fun! We had a blast translating everything into Spanish and it actually went a lot better than I had thought it would. I remember seeing missionaries sit outside the foyer at home and translate and now I realize that they probably had no idea what they were doing haha. Great experience though, I loved it. I'm hoping I'll get to do it for the next few as well. It was a weird feeling when all the Sister missionaries who came out with me got up and bore their testimonies. They all go home on Wednesday. Crazy!

 

And then for the transfer news.. My companion will be leaving and I'll be training a new zone leader! I still feel like I'm not quite sure what to do, but it'll have to be a steep learning curve haha. I'll be with Elder Porter who was in one of my districts a few transfers ago. He's a real good kid and has been having a lot of success lately, so I'm excited to get him up here so we can have a white Christmas here in Southern California. It will be a great transfer!

 

I hope you've all been able to see the two videos from the "A Savior Is Born" campaign. If not, go watch them. I really like the animated one that talks about what the world would be like without a Savior and the need we have of Him. I know He lives and loves us. I know He was born not only to die for our sins, sicknesses, pains, weaknesses, doubts, fears, and troubles, but also to give us the perfect example that we might follow Him. I hope we'll all be able to focus more on Him this Christmas season and remember WHY it is that we celebrate. I love you all! Make this week great!

Elder Reynolds

Thanksgiving (11-30-2105)

Familia!

I think this week was the most tiring, busy, stressful, longest, spiritual, anxious, rewarding, and uplifting week of the mission. It was packed! On Tuesday, we had the chance to have a conference with Elder Clark of the 70. That guy is a hero! He has 3 degrees from Harvard and was the Dean of their business school. He is just packed full of knowledge, but was able to teach in such a simple, direct way, I was super impressed. I didn't want that day of inspiration, guidance, and revelation to end! I wish I could just send you all my notes, but there were a couple things he talked about that stand out to me. He talked about how we can make a greater influence in the wards we serve in and in the missionary work in general. He gave us four things that all of the greatest missionaries have. 1-They are deeply obedient. They want to be obedient and strive to do everything they can with exactness. 2-They work hard. They are diligent in everything they do and don't stop working or make excuses. 3-They have the Spirit. They are trusted with the Spirit because of the things they do to prepare for it; mighty prayer, great studies, positive thoughts, etc. 4-They love the people. They are extremely humble and are able to understand the different circumstances of those they serve and are thus able to love them, no matter who they are. He challenged us to try to get our wards to work with us more in the missionary work in order to better move the work forward. Another thing he talked about was the wilderness. He talked about in life and especially in the mission, we all pass through a time where we are "in the wilderness." Whether it's because we feel alone, or aren't getting along with our companion, or aren't having success, or whatever it might me. But he said, "The wilderness doesn't last forever. God always comes." He shared the story of Ammon and his brothers and how much they went through, but that God always came to help them. After the zone conference, we had a special meeting with him with just the zone leaders and sister training leaders and pretty much just had a Q&A. It was such an awesome experience to just get to sit and learn from this choice servant of the Lord. 

Thanksgiving wasn't much out of the ordinary. It was cold though! We didn't have any appointments, so we just walked around all day and talked to everyone haha. A family invited us over for dinner though, so that was nice. We had chicken soup, roasted hen, and some venison. It wasn't the usual, but it was good on a cold night! I appreciate the pictures that you took for Thanksgiving! You sure are a good looking family when I'm not in the picture! Haha!

Then yesterday, Lourdes got baptized! She is so sweet! It's been so fun teaching her and helping her to make it to this point. It was a little crazy leading up to it, but it always is. But she loved it and so we'll confirm her this upcoming Sunday. I can't believe December is already upon us. I don't know if it's just because I'm with the same companion I was with at this time last year again, but it feels like I was just celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time is going too fast. We've got a new initiative called "Discover Why" on the church's websites, so you'll have to check it out. We've got pass-along cards we're handing out for it now.

Family, I am so grateful for the mission. I was reflecting last night on the people I've been blessed to meet out here and how I probably would have never met any of them if I hadn't come on a mission. Being able to see the change in peoples' lives as they learn and make changes is one of the greatest things. All the experiences and things that happen on the mission I feel like have just solidified my testimony that Jesus Christ lives, that Joseph Smith really saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and that the sacred power of the Priesthood, along with Christ's church, have been restored once again to the earth. At times, it's hard not to get frustrated because people aren't willing to simply ask God if what we share is true. But one thing that Elder Clark emphasized on Tuesday was that, "It's God's work. It's all connected." Everything that happens has it's purpose if we rely on God and do what we know is right. I'm grateful that I was spoiled to have the best family as well! I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Reynolds

Thanksgiving?! (11-23-2015)

Familia!

 

Is Thanksgiving really already coming up? I feel like we were just having Thanksgiving last year! What's up with that?! I'm glad you'll be able to get together and have a good time though. I'll be praying for safe travels to Utah and back!

 

I don't have much time, but there are a few things I wanted to touch on this week. One is that I ate chicken brains for the first time last week haha. We had chicken soup and there was a head in there, so I cracked it open and ate the brains! It wasn't bad! We also had kind of a disappointment on Tuesday when Maria called us and told us that we wouldn't be able to meet with her for a month.. We've been trying to get back in contact with her, but no luck. Lourdes is doing well though, so pray extra hard for her this week so she can be baptized this Sunday.

 

We had stake conference yesterday and it was amazing! The stake president gave an amazing talk about centering our lives on Christ through faith in Him, repentance, and serving Him by serving our fellow men. He talked about how we should do all we can to not get distracted by the things of the world and always be focused on what is really most important. There was also an area 70 there named Elder Sabin and he touched on a lot of really good points. I just want to cover a few. He talked about having an eternal perspective and testimony of God's plan before making decisions, making sure we have a sure foundation, never being discouraged, turning contention into service. He also said that when he was a stake president and interviewed missionaries as they got home from their missions, he'd tell them to make two lists: 1-all the blessings they have. The top of the list should be the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 2-things that they will never do under any circumstance. The top of the list should be forgetting who they really are. I wish I had brought my notes, but it was such a good talk! He also mentioned that just because someone doesn't believe in something doesn't mean it's not true. Then he bore a powerful witness of the restoration of the gospel and the fact that it is true.

 

I also know that the one and only true church of Jesus Christ was lost, but is now back on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet and that ANYONE who reads the Book of Mormon and asks God with real intent, with a sincere heart, wanting to know and being willing to act on the answer they receive, can know as well. I love you all and hope you have the best Thanksgiving!

 

Elder Reynolds

(11-16-2015)

Familia!

 

I don't have much time, but I'll try to fit in as much as I can! We had an awesome lesson with an investigator named Maria Bustamante and set a baptismal date with her for the 29th of this month! Keep she and Lourdes Reyes-Jimenez in your prayers as their dates get closer! President called us the other day and we were talking about how important it is to fortify those who are preparing to make covenants because that is when satan is working his hardest to keep them from doing so. It's crazy how as a missionary we are able to see just how hard satan works to keep people from going to church, keeping commitments, and even keeping appointments. It's frustrating sometimes! But it is just a testimony to me how important each of those things are. I'm so grateful to be a missionary and that the Lord has trusted me to be here at this time.

 

We have a General Authority coming to visit us this next week! Either Monday or Tuesday, we'll get to have a conference with Elder Kim B. Clark from the 70. He spoke in this past conference and gave a great talk called, "Eyes to See and Ears to Hear." Read it again when you get the chance! I'm stoked to be able to receive some great revelation from him this next week! I love you all and am so grateful for all you do! Have the best week!

 

Elder Reynolds

Tender Mercies (11-09-2015)

Familia!

It has been a great, busy week this week. We had a busy p-day, MLC (mission leadership council) on Tuesday and talked about ways that we're going to lift the mission up and get it on fire! Wednesday, we had interviews with President and received some great personal revelation and also revelation for the zone that we've been implementing. Thursday we had ZTM (Zone Training Meeting) where we trained half the zone and also met with this golden family! We had an appointment with this guy named Carlos Paz, so we got there expecting to just teach him, but we ended up teaching the whole family! We got there and he let us right in and his wife and three kids were there with him and they all listened attentively and participated in the lesson. We challenged them to read 1 Nephi 1 before we meet with them again (today) and they all accepted. We're so excited to work with them! Then Friday we had another ZTM and trained the other half. We also had exchanges with the Elders in the zone and I went back into the area I was in last time I served up here in Santa Monica! So weird going back! On Saturday we had a solid lesson with an investigator named Lourdes and set a baptismal date with her for November 29th so keep her in your prayers! She drank coffee, but committed to give it up as soon as we challenged her to. She's so solid! Sunday, she made it to church and we had a lesson after with Lourdes and she had given away all the coffee she had!

Good things coming our way! As a mission, we have being doing an exercise where we stop and vocally acknowledge the tender mercies that the Lord has given us up to that point in the day, 3 times a day (if that makes sense). So we usually do it around 3, 6, and the end of the day. It has been great to purposefully look for the Lord's hand at all times because it really is always there! It's hard to be negative when you are constantly giving thanks for the tender mercies being received haha. We've also had a huge push on using the Book of Mormon! It has been great! We've been using it a lot more in street contacts and we've also been asked by President that our zone in specific read the Book of Mormon in every lesson we have. It's the evidence of the restoration and the truthfulness of our message, so there can't ever be TOO much emphasis on the Book of Mormon. Preach My Gospel chapter 5 is a great chapter to study. Also, look up the Mormon message "The Tender Mercies of the Lord" from Elder Bednar. It's a great video.

I feel like this email is kind of all over the place, but I hope you know that I am loving it out here and that the Lord is in every detail of our lives! Have the best week! I love you!

Elder Reynolds