Seeing the blessings like crazy!

Hey everyone!!

Another great week here In the WA-TAC has come and gone. I am doing great and working hard here in the good ol DR ward. I love the people so much and I am finally starting to gain the trust of the members. In the past this ward has had a lot of missionaries who messed around a lot and didn't do the things that they were supposed to so they seemed super hesitant on whether to trust me as a missionary or if I was going to be messing around and not do what I am supposed to do. I have made sure that I work extra hard no matter what so that there is no question as to whether we are being obedient and diligent and I am seeing the blessings like crazy here in this ward. One of those many blessings came on Saturday when "D"
was able to be baptized. He came up to us and said I'm ready so we put him on date for the 26th and then he had two weeks to quit smoking Marijuana, and cigarettes and he stopped cold turkey right away. It was the coolest thing ever because he uses it for medical so it was really hard for him to quit but I know that he is seeing the blessings that come from living the word of wisdom and keeping the law of chastity and other commandments.

His baptism was awesome. There were quite a few members there and he has lots of friends in the ward so that was really good for him to be able to feel the love there. I definitely felt it. Then we also had Easter Sunday and when we first got there it wasn't too full and there was none of the nonmembers that we had invited there. Within the first 10 minutes of sacrament meeting there was 7 nonmembers at church. We usually have two or three and we were expecting a few but not 7. It was awesome to be able to see a family who only has one member of the church come and feel of the spirit. It is so cool to see the influence of good that this gospel brings in others lives.

Sometimes I forget that I am in a boonie area here because we work hard and are finding success and that isn't usually the case for areas like this one, so I make sure that I take some pictures of some of the places that we go just to remind myself that I am not in the city life anymore. (: I'll attach a few of them to this letter and this is just a shed that was on the side of the road where we parked our car to start knocking. Yep, I'm still in the boonies.

I hope you all have a great week!! I love you!!
Elder Reynolds
(pics of the baptism will be sent next week)

Change in Attitude and Pants

Hey everyone!!

This week here in the best mission in the world was weird!! Things seemed slower but still were pretty good. After email last Tuesday everything was weird though. The whole week we just seemed to be kind of going along with the motions and not really doing that well. It wasn't that we were doing bad just not doing the best that we could and we didn't know how to fix it just because it felt weird. So I prayed and prayed and finally on Saturday during our 5-7's things seemed to click back in to order.

I was starting to feel down and feel like I wasn't doing something right. We went throughout Saturday and the day wasn't out of the ordinary. We were working and then 5-7's came. We made sure that we were on time by rushing a little bit while we were driving...companion was speeding a little bit. Then we knocked and the people that we talked to just weren't interested the entire time. It was pretty discouraging and I was starting to feel a little bit down about the things that I was doing. Then the last door that we knocked on at like 6:55 was a man named "C". He basically quoted the Plan of Salvation and he is meeting with us again this upcoming Thursday. It was so awesome to see Heavenly Father change my attitude so quickly because at that moment I felt 180 degrees better and I was back on track. I know that Heavenly Father wants us to feel good and confident but sometimes he just has to let us get down so that we can realize how truly blessed we are.

Thursday was park day. That means that every car in the mission is parked and the missionaries ride bikes or walk. So we were riding bikes because our area is pretty spread out. In the afternoon we biked to downtown and then got home and I felt a tiny hole in the crotch of my pants. I was like ehh it'll be alright I'll just fix it later. We got outside of the apartment to get back on our bikes and I stepped over the seat and BOOM!!! My pants ripped (blew up as my companion would say.) It was so funny so we took pictures and it was fun. Things are good here. Having fun and working hard always brings blessings. I hope you all have a great week.

Love you all!!
Love,
Elder Reynolds

P.S.
Shout out to the soccer team for keeping that county cup! Now go get the bigger one and kill it in region. (:

Miracles Happen

Hey Everyone!!

This last week in the WATAC was really good. We had the opportunity to go Tacoma last Tuesday and be at the Baptism for "S". Pictures will be attached to this email. It was such a spiritual experience to see someone take the step and be baptized. Here in the Deschutes River ward we are working to find people to teach and then to help them to be baptized. A few days ago on Sunday we were at church and an investigator that has been around for a long time came up to him and started talking. He wants to wait until he moves out of the house until he is baptized and that could take a really long time. So he came up to my companion and said, You know how I said I wanted to wait until I get baptized, well scratch that I want to get baptized as soon as possible. So he is going to be baptized on the 26th of March. I know that miracles happen and that this is a miracle for this ward here.

This week we also have had a ton of rain and stormy weather. Trees were down and I guess a lot of people have been without power but somehow we were still able to find more people to teach. It isn't always the easiest to do when you are out on these boonie roads in the middle of nowhere, but we have been able to do it and it is very exciting to see people light up when they hear the message of the restored gospel.

As a companionship we have been working on being bold. That sometimes means that we have to be a little bit pushy. It is wonderful the blessings that come from being bold and declaring repentance unto children of our Heavenly Father and helping them to understand that this gospel has been restored here to the earth. I know that the gospel is true and that it has been restored here to the earth. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants the best for us always. I hope you all have a great week.

There's an awesome quote that I really love. Brothers and sisters there is a price to pay for success and there is a price to pay for failure. Whether you choose to succeed or choose to fail, there is a price to pay. As we choose to pay the price for success, miracles happen. I encourage all of you to pay that price and do what you have to for success so that you can feel joy, and in turn not have to pay the price for failure. I love you all. I hope you have a wonderful week.

Love,
Elder Reynolds

Work is the Secret-First week in Rainier, WA

Hey everyone!! So my first week here in the new area was pretty good. It is always bad when you walk in and you have a baptism your first night in the area and then a confirmation the first sunday. haha just kidding. It has been way sweet so far. I love the people everywhere I go and really do want the best for them no matter what. I know that our loving Heavenly Father allows us the opportunity to have the spirit with us so that we can not only use it to benefit ourselves but also others and I get to see every day how the spirit blesses others. It's so wonderful.

This last week I have realized that work is the secret. In Preach my Gospel there is a quote by Jeffery R. Holland that talks about the biggest secret to missionary work is work. If you are out working and putting your message out there all day then our Heavenly Father will lead you to those people. The biggest secret to any form of success is work. If you truly apply yourself to diligent work. You will find success in everything that you do. It is very special to have the opportunity to share the gospel with others here in Washington.

Thank you all for the Birthday wishes this upcoming week! Crazy how time flied for sure,
but I know that it is time well spent as long as we are serving the lord. I hope you all have a great week. I know sometimes things don't go as planned but when they don't that's when we have to turn to our father in Heaven. I love you all. Have a great week. (:

Love,
Elder Reynolds