Episode 28: HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Sister Reynolds and Sister Piekarski

Spencer, West Virginia

Hello!
So unfortunately there (again) is not much to tell because your Sister Reynolds has apparently the weakest immune system! I got sick again and was finally over it this weekend! I'm killing out here...(killing myself jk) but we had some pretty neat spiritual experiences.

Friday night I felt up to going and seeing people so we went to District Council up in Ripley, and it was awesome! We had a great discussion about sacrifice and what it means to us. Some of my thoughts were from the guide to the scriptures:
"In ancient days, sacrifice meant to make something or someone holy. It has now come to mean to give up or suffer the loss of worldly things for the Lord and His kingdom. Members of the Lord's church should be willing to sacrifice all things for the Lord." I LOVED THIS--) Joseph Smith taught that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation. In the eternal perspective, the blessings obtained by sacrifice are greater than anything that is given up."

Later that night we went to the Clayton's and what a family! I believe they are from Jamaica and have come here by the hand of God. They are Seventh Day Evangelists and just very very devoted to God. It's pretty amazing! They had us over for some yummy pea soup, with chicken, rice and beans. I was stuffed! Then we had an amazing Bible study with them! Interesting fact: before we started meeting with them on Friday, they called and told us we were more than welcome if we wanted to study from the Bible but didn't want anything to do with the Book of Mormon. So we took the invite hoping to see where it will lead and it's gonna be good! I was so impressed with the spirit that was felt there. They allow us to choose where to study from and we have been reading with them from the Come Follow Me book! So we were in James this week and man, James is one cool inspired guy! We had an hour long discussion about it all and the whole time Sister Piecarski and I were quoting from the Book of Mormon! We couldn't help ourselves! We didn't necessarily say where the thoughts came from but we felt as if they needed to still hear the words of God and we needed to still testify of the Book of Mormon in some way. It's amazing that people feel that they only need the Bible. just like in 2 Nephi 29:3-4, 7-9
3 "And because my words shall hiss fort--many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.
4 And thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye no0t that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another. Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another? And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be unto the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever."
I love reading these verses and knowing and having my testimony of this gospel, of the Book of Mormon to be solidified. I know what I believe in is true and no one can take that from me. It was sad to leave and feel that they have what they are seeking right in front of them, but they choose not to obtain more of God's word. That I feel is one of the things that makes this work hard but that is the blessing of agency. Oh the mysteries and glories of God's work! haha He keeps us on our toes!

On Saturday at 4:30 we went over to a lady we are teaching and she needed help making and mashing 40 points...I REPEAT 40 POUNDS OF POTATOES. I did not realize how much potatoes that is haha!!! She fueled us with some pizza and put us to work. Sister Piekarski was on the dishes and I was mashing potatoes and stirring in butter, cream cheese, milk and seasonings. We ran out of pots and places to cook the potatoes so we were cooking in small pots that you use for meals for 4 people haha. So this took us until 9:30 to get done. Talk about slaving over the stove! But man those potatoes were good! I was full by the time we got done haha. Pictures will show you how messy it got lol but luckily she had dogs to help with clean up! It was so fun to serve and help this woman, Vicky. She just had surgery on her wrist and crazy woman, she was going to do it all by herself! I'm glad the good Lord prompted her to ask for our help. It was a great way to be welcomed into Spencer. I love serving and using the excuse that it's the season to do so! I hope all of you have since watched the Christ Child by now and are filled with His love to give to others. Let's #LighttheWorld!!

Also shout out to the wonderful YSA branch back in my hometown, Farmington New Mexico! Bless their hearts, they sent me a package full of thanks!! THANK YOU!!! It came at a much needed time of encouragement and I truly believe it helped kick out the sickness. I love and appreciate all of those who pray and do things for us missionaries!

I hope you all feel and witness all that Heavenly Father has blessed us with this upcoming week and this next month! Get your Light the World calendars up and ready!! Start now!
I love you all!
Sister Reynolds

Sister Piekarski andVicky

40 POUNDS OF POTATOES..

Yay, she's learning how to cook!

Service :)

#lighttheworld

A care package from the YSA branch!

This came at a perfect time!!!

Socks from my Grandma Reynolds:)

Cardmaking on our down days at home

~Spencer, West Virginia~

Video chat

November 25, 2019

Episode 28: Good-bye Lynchburg, Virginia and Hello Spencer, West Virginia AND SHE IS HALF WAY DONE!!!!

Good-bye Lynchburg, Virginia!

Hiiiiiii,
Oof what a long long long loooooong week. Anybody feel me on that?? I have been transferred so all week I have been packing, saying goodbye, packing, cleaning, packing, teaching, packing and more packing! Why do I have so much stuff???? It's ok! I'll get rid of it all come time I leave the mission but it really was a stressful week for me. I felt very anxious about moving and had to say a lot of tears-filled goodbyes that I wasn't expecting! But thanks all be to God because I got through it. I love my Savior, dang what would I do without Him (probably stuck in some mud deep in a holler).

SO...
I have been transferred to Spencer, West Virginia!! Very, very, very close to my first area Parkersburg! :) So that was pretty dang cool! I have had a couple of companions who served here so I know it enough to have become nervous about coming here :) but again...here came the Lord to brush away my fears and calm my troubled soul! It's been an Elders area since the beginning of time and just last year Sisters started serving here. As we all surely know, Elders get some of the rougher areas and so this was one of them! Don't worry Mom, only tough Sisters get sent here!!! But it's a very small town that has a branch filled with a whopping 8 active members!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO I was so pumped when I heard THAT!! Seriously though, I thought that was pretty cool haha. My new companion is Sister Piekarski! And you say it exactly how it looks! Pie-kar-ski. She is so sweet and has a solid testimony of our Savior. She looks timid and mild and sweet but watch out she has a killer testimony that will put anybody in their place! I'm so blessed to be comps with her!

So bring it way back to Appotmattox, we had put Lauren on date for December 14 before I left! She is the 17 year old I have been working with since I got there and bless her soul, she is ready! Funny thing, I never actually got to meet her. She is very social over the phone though so don't worry haha. We were teaching her through phone calls and is just shy about meeting new people. Hopefully Sister Harrison and her new comp will meet her soon! Lauren will have a special place in my heart because she was the reason I came to serve. I knew it the moment I taught her the first time. It was a hard goodbye. BUT thankfully she is just as willing to move on with the crazies of life as I was!

Saying goodbye to the missionaries I served with was pretty hard too. Fun fact: one of the Elders I have served with has served in the wards with me my whole mission! He had a birthday and some members took us out to Olive Garden for dinner and had cake and gave him a little gift, so that was awesome! And of course saying bye to Sister Harrison was so hard but he she was probably excited to get rid of me. No just kidding but I love her and miss her but so excited for her to move the work along with her new comp.

So my first day in Spencer, we went to gold ole Taco Bell for lunch and I was waiting outside the bathroom holding a Book of Mormon and this (I think, looked like it but who really knows?) homeless guy taps it and says "You got your sword there?" And I said "yes sir, I do!" I had a good laugh of it but it made me ponder, do we have our armor of God on? The sword of the spirit (WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD) really to cut any false doctrine or evils of the world into pieces? Wow, I just was amazed that people are so ready for the gospel and don't even know it?? Unfortunately he walked off and I couldn't follow him outside because my comp was still doing her business, so that was a bummer. But...one day that man will have his own sword and be able to fight in God's army. I don't think we realize the power that the Book of Mormon holds. My new transfer goal is to see the tears on the plates. I got this idea from Hank Smith! I for the life of me can't remember the talk but I will find out because it's a good one! But essentially it is to see the work and effort and sacrifice told in the book itself and to gain a deeper conversion of this gospel. Our mission focus is to utilize this amazing tool/gift in furthering the work. Guys I hope we can all realize that what we have available to us, all in 531 pages. This book contains our salvation, our exaltation! Why are we not wanting to read it every spare moment we have? Why are we not wanting to know how to gain eternal life and everlasting joy? Most of all why are we being selfish with it and not sharing it with the world?? Clearly I'm finishing it up and I'm in the final moments of Moroni's life, as he is pleading with each of us to understand and to find the truth, to find everything!! If you haven't received that then start over because it's there!! You have to be willing to look for it and see it and accept it. I love this book and I am so deeply grateful for its influence in my life. Let's also start thinking of this wonderful season coming, it's Light the World time baby!! WOOOOOOOOOO
3 Nephi 18:24 "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold--that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed."
Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Let's get in the groove and use this time to share our love for our Savior and His restored gospel here on this earth today! By the way, there is a new Light the World vide released called The Christ Child.....OH MY NELLY to say it's incredible is an understatement. We missionaries have access to it now and so my recommendation is to have them over nd share it with you! Otherwise, patiently wait until November 24 when it is released to the public. Either way you NEED to see it!!
I love you all!! Have a blessed week!
Sister Reynolds

Spencer, West Virginia...Here I come!

SHE IS HALF WAY DONE:)

Smith/Bartlett Family

A less active family and now they are diligently coming!

A goat that was following us haha!!

The STRESS of packing...

Not happy about packing...

Video chat

November 18, 2019

I just had to map how far Sister Reynolds is from home!

On the flip side, this month she has been out 9 months...

she is HALF WAY DONE!!!

Episode 27: Transferred??? YES!!!!

Sister Harrison & Sister Reynolds

Hello my people from New Mexico and everywhere else lol! It has been a solid couple of weeks for Sister Harrison and I...and unfortunately our last :(  We knew it was coming but hoping it wouldn't so bummed but it's ok!! That's how life works sometimes, you have to move on to that new adventure!! I have loved Appomattox. It was become my home away from home, so many things happened here, good and bad haha! I think it will be my hardest area, but also my best! Here in Appomatox we got up to having a teaching pool of 16 people and it was so hard but it was amazing! I grew so much from it. I have had the best trainee through all of it too! I know that Sister Harrison and I were best buds in the Premortal world and we promised to come together and teach these people. I will miss her so greatly! But dang I am pretty pumped to see where I will be going next!! I am all ready to say goodbye haha. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I will find out where I am going. Then on Thursday, I will transfer to that area. So stay tuned to where I will be next and my new companion!! These past weeks were kind of slow. With all the appointments we had, nearly all of them had to reschedule or never answered. So it was a lot of finding and service work again. 

Sister Harrison had a stomach bug...poor thing but we officially over that and onto a new sickness!!!! Yay, we both feel colds coming on and so we hope it's just because the temperature is dropping lol. l love the mission guys, I am meeting so many people and making so many friends, it is hard moving around. Members thing it's hard having missionaires swap out so often, well try being the missionary! You'll forget us by the next year but we will never forget you members! I love that this work is so rewarding, that through the hardship of bearing Christ's name we can feel this immense joy. I LOVE IT! 

Fun fact: we were under a tornado watch and had no idea! The life of a missionary... 

OH!! Ok just to share a little bit of my testimony of the Book of Mormon...wow, I know with a sure knowledge that this book is the most correct book in the whole world that has ever existed. I love this book with all my heart. I know its teachings are true, that these people were a choice people chosen by God to show us sacrifice and that if we turn our will over to the Lord's, we will receive the kingdom of heaven...Isn't that insane?!? THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN! And all He asks us to do is to love Him and keep His commandments. Why do we over complicate things? Are we willing to make some sacrifices for things that Heavenly Father promises us are worth it? I AM!! SIGN ME UP!! I love this gospel so much and I am deeply and humbly grateful for this wonderful miraculous inspiring knowledge I not only have about myself but about this world and my Savior. I know this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and I will live the rest of my life knowing that and testifying of it!

Sister Reynolds

A cute family that we love!

Kendrick Sadler

A recent convert that went less active and we have been teaching him and has started coming back!!

The Elders that we serve with in the ward.

They also look after us and make sure we are taken care of:)

Doing service at the bakery!

I helped make raspberry chocolate truffle dipped in white chocolate!

before

mid -mission crisis

I dyed my hair!

after

LIK2RUN

Flu shots :/

~Virginia Memories~

JOY

I have loved doing service in this little bakery!

We were doing service at the bakery shop and they fed us dinner and she wanted us to go to the diner across the store to get some drinks, so we walk over and they ask "how can we help?" I see that there is a bar and so I'm thinking ok we gotta say we need coke products right? Well, Sister Harrison was NOT on the same page and says "ya, can we get two drinks?" I'm like oh no, oh no and he continues to talk to her about what specials they had and last call was soon and she was like so confused and so I said "No, we need like 2 cokes!" The guy laughed and said "OH those kind of drinks!" Oh my gosh, I was dying it was so funny!! LOL

The ultimate snacks for Halloween night while watching the Book of Mormon videos!

Beautiful flowers that bloom in the fall:)

Video chat

November 11, 2019