Sister Kendra Reynolds: Episode 4: WEST VIRGINIA!

West Virginia Charleston Mission

February 13, 2019 - September 4, 2020

Hello Everyone!
I am alive! My journey the past week and a half was eventful. On Friday, March 1, I wasn't feeling too well and that evening I had super bad sharp pains in my lower abdomen. After 3 hours of trying to endure the pain, I finally told my roommates. It was funny to see the Sisters hustle and bustle around me doing their individual doctor exams on me lol! One Sister's Dad was a doctor and a couple of other Sisters' Mom's were nurses so they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me! Meanwhile my companion, Sister Salter, calls and reports that I am sick and in pain. They come up and examine me. They call the doctor who is on call and he says to get me to the ER because it sounds like appendicitis. So off to the ER we go at 11:00 pm. They did several tests and couldn't find anything! Meanwhile they give me morphine! I was a bit loopy lol. My companion now had her hands full taking care of me!!! They sent us back to the MTC and we got in about 3:30 am. What a night...that I didn't remember lol. The MTC asked if I wanted to call my Mom at 3:00 am or wait until the morning. I slurred as I said "I'll call her now (which was 3:00 am) but my companion was like "um, no she will call tomorrow!" I didn't wake up until like 11:30 the next morning. Still feeling groggy. Ugh I don't do well with pain meds. My companion and I were talking and we both said "there aren't many missionaries who can say that their companion was on morphine lol!" I called my Mom about noon the next day and told her what happened. I don't remember much of the conversation due to the drugs haha. Everything is ok. No appendicitis and not sure what was wrong!! Just so glad to be off morphine!

I was able to celebrate my 21st Birthday in the MTC (March 5th)!! Just like my brother Kyle haha. He was in the Mexico MTC when he turned 21. It was weird to celebrate a birthday without family but they were thoughtful and sent me a birthday package!! Yay, I finally received a fun package lol!!!! I felt so loved by my family.

Wednesday, March 6
We were scheduled to check out of the MTC at 4:00 am which meant to wake up at 3:00 am to make sure we were all ready to go! There were 16 total leaving the MTC that morning. I was a bit nervous to travel because I had 2 huge suitcases and 1 carry-on. I thought there would be Elders who would help me but as I looked at everyone else, they all had the same amount of luggage as me! We walked to the bus station then took the tracks to Salt Lake Airport. Yep 4:00 am! I must be crazy. I am never up this early for anything!! We made it to the airport safely. Out of the 16 missionaries, 14 of us were flying to West Virginia. That was comforting to travel with lots of missionaries! Our flight left at 8:40 am and we were stopping in Houston, Texas and then switching planes. In the Houston airport, I see some military men who were in the Army. I got a little teary eyed as I thought of my brother, Colby, who serves in the Army. I wasn't able to say good-bye to him because he is serving in San Antonio. I did go up to these men and thanked them for their service. They were so nice and appreciative of my support. This made me miss Colby even more. We then flew from Houston to Charleston, West Virginia. We stayed the night at the mission home. They next morning I met my companion, Sister McKendrick! She is so nice and sweet. She is from Highland, Utah. I will be with her and in this area for 12 weeks! I am assigned to the Parkersburg 2 area. I live in Vienna, West Virginia, which is on the border of Ohio. Our area does go into Ohio which is like 30 minutes away. Vienna is an hour and a half north of Charleston. We are over one ward with a set of Elders. Our ward is like 30-40 people. The Elders cover South Parkersburg and we cover North Parkersburg. We drive a 2017 Chevy Malibu. It's a blessing because our area is huge. There are a few ward members who know exactly where New Mexico is. They have either driven thru it or have lived in Southern New Mexico! How crazy is that!! So that's my "in" when I talk to people haha.

The second day there, a member takes us to eat at Wendy's. Her name is G. Allen. During our conversation, she talks about BYU and Provo. I tell her I use to live in Orem. She asks if I know any Reynolds up there. I tell her yes. She asks if I know Susan Reynolds. I tell her SHE IS MY GRANDMA!!! She tells me that she use to live up the street from her many years ago and use to babysit for them. She said that all she could remember is a girl named Amy. I ask her if she remembers Jason and she said yes! I tell her THAT IS MY DAD!!!! What a tender mercy from the Lord. I know I am suppose to be serving here!

We had a referral for someone who lives 30 minutes away. We get there and park the car. We walk up the street and find the home. We see cars parked in the front and see 2 men, one younger and the other older. We walk up and almost immediately my companion is super nervous and uneasy. The men looked a little rugged and were a lot bigger than us. They walk up to us and are like 2 feet from us. That was a bit intimidating to have two men walk pretty fast toward you. They begin questioning us, where are we from, why we are here, how we got there, what our names are, etc. Sister McKendricks' voice was shaky and I sensed that she was super scared because she kept getting closer and closer to me. I felt okay when we first started talking but then they were asking weird questions. I could tell my companion was trying to find a way out of there. The thought ran through my mind, could we out run them? How could we make an escape. I then felt I needed to pray. I said a quick prayer and immediately I felt comforted. I then had a prompting to talk about cars. Since I use to work at a car dealership and my Dad and Colby would work on cars a lot lol. This worked!!! The younger guy's name is Josh and the older guy's name is John--who is the Dad. Josh walks away and we talk to John. Immediately after saying a prayer and talk about cars, his heart softens. We give him a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet to read!! He accepts both of them!!!!! He even gives us a referral and asks us to visit his daughter! We are to follow up next week. Wow, I am witnessing miracles!

I'm learning that all the things we do should help us focus on our purpose. Anytime we get on our phones, is it going to bring us closer to Christ? Will it help someone else come closer to Christ? It's great! It allows the spirit to constantly be with me and helps keep me focused on my purpose as a missionary. I love being a missionary! I love this gospel. I am thankful for the miracles I see each day. I know the power that the Book of Mormon holds. It is my favorite book!
Sister Reynolds