Praise to the Man

Happy Father's Day!! This goes out to my dad, my lovely grandpa's/ grandpa-like figures, my brothers, my wonderful guy friends, and any other dude. I hope y'all had a super Father's Day dads and future dads!! 

One of my dad's favorite song it "Praise to the Man" in the church Hymn book, page 27. In honor of him learning this song on the bagpipes, and playing it when I come off the plane (😉😉😉), that's my title for this weekly. Love you!!!

People;
*L- so she stopped smoking and drinking unhealthy beverages for four days! We couldn't be more excited for her with the progress she has made. The next day after we heard that, we saw her again. Lori expressed to us how sad she had become depressed. We found out that she had smoked a cigarette that day and was drinking. We committed her to stop drinking and smoking. I brought her the half-gone beverage of hers. She took the cup, then dumped the rest of the drink down the sink. It was a true miracle and a powerful moment. 

*T- I wasn't there for his lesson because of exchanges, but I heard that the Sisters showed the Restoration video and bore their testimonies. After that, T took his alcohol, put it off to the side, and told the Sisters that he needed to make a change in his life.

*D- I was so sure her and her family were going to come to church, we even saved them seats. I'm not sure what more we can do for D, but she definitely has a dear place in my heart. 

*R- He's amazing, but we still haven't heard back from Salt Lake if he will be allowed to be baptized yet or not. He came to stake conference!!

*Ml- He was a former investigator. We met his this past week, and we scheduled him for this coming week. We'll see if we can officially pick him up as an investigator this week.

*T and G- Sadly, we weren't able to meet with them this week.

Just so y'all know. If you ever write me a letter and I have time to send one back, know that the stickers on them mean I love you. I put a lot of thought into the letter, but man, do I put thought into those stickers. They're not just any random stickers, I seriously spend so much time debating which ones to send to specific people. Haha I'm so weird, but I love you all!!

Spiritual Messages;

This week, during a lesson, I felt prompted to look at and read Mosiah 2:19. I couldn't remember what the scripture was, or why I felt like my attention should be drawn to that scripture, but I knew not to share it with that investigator. At the end of this past week, I finally understood it.There's a wonderful little rule that I've told some of you, and a wonderful friend pushed it into the light even more through his email to me this week. You need to give 70% to those around you. There are some people I know who aren't the nicest, but I'm deciding to serve them continually. They'll be mean, I'll serve them in a way they enjoy, and they turn around and keep being disrespectful. The more I serve and love them, the more this stuff doesn't bother me as much."..ye may learn that when ya are in the service of your fellow beings, ya are only in the service of your God."

Challenge for the week;
For those of you that are members of this wonderful church: On allll your social media profiles, post a picture of you holding up a Book of Mormon. For extra bonus points, share your testimony of it. Family! This is especially for you!!
For those of you that are beautiful non-members, or for some reason can't do, or don't want to do the first one: just read the Book of Mormon please please please, and read about it. Then let me know of some things you think of. Or ask me for a specific chapter to read. If you're struggling with anything, or know someone who's struggling with, then ask me for a good chapter.
Let me know how this goes! If you do it 2 days or 2 months later, I'd love to hear it, and I'll give you a shout-out or do something for you, whatever you want :) love you!!

Extra things that happened this week;

>Sister Sauls decided to get sick on us. Sister Aversa and I took her, and ended up dropping her off at different member's houses throughout the day so we could go to our appointments and get more work done in our area.

>Sister Aversa sprained her wrist. She borrowed a brace from a member for a few days.

>Our AC has been out for about a week now. Two days ago, these members found out, and now we have two fans in our apartment. The Sister who hates the heat and sleeps on the top bunk with a bag of ice is very thankful!

>Stake Conference was yesterday. It was a little over two hours longer, and there were 8 speakers! Our mission president and his wife came, but they weren't given an opportunity to speak. All their support is amazing.

>Sister Aversa, Sister Sauls, and I "tie attacked" (Like a heart-attack, where you put a bunch of hearts on someone's door with sweet notes, but you cut out paper ties instead) our Mission President, a Senior missionary/ one of our WML (Ward Mission Leaders), and Richard, for Father's Day. I love those Father-like/ Grandpa-like figures in my life!!

>Zone Conference was this week. I always find these super spiritual, and uplifting meetings. It really hit me this time, as the missionaries going home were bearing their testimony, on what it really means and feels like. 

I don't think some of the missionaries going home really understood, but I thought to myself, "you'll understand soon enough" to those missionaries and the ones who get at least another transfer.

>If anyone has heard about the shootings in Westminster/ Scareminster/ Bestminster, know that I'm totally fine and safe :)

>We went on exchanges again!! I love those so much!!

>A week ago was Zone P-Day! It was a blast!! I was one of the more active missionaries.

Unfortunately, when we were at the church building, most missionaries were on their phones, so there is a negative side to that. I was, of course, jumping around and playing sports!! :)

Shout-outs;
-I saw the Black Bear Diner on the way to lunch one day. I saw it at a time when I really needed something uplifting. Ps. I expect you to take me there one day ;)
-Our investigator, Richard, went to go see a place with a bunch of old cars, super cool. I'm learning more about cars for those I know that are kinda into them, or knows how they work.
-At Stake Conference this past Sunday, there were 8 speakers, and being myself, I had to do something to pay attention. I pulled put some paper (that I brought for kids of an investigator to draw on, but they didn't come), and my comps and I drew squiggly lines and faces. In every situation like that, I use two faces that two dear friends showed me, and I'll forever steal, thanks! >_< and \(^.^\)
-This adorable 8 yr old member, only member in her family, made slim. I thought back to the good-ole days with my older brother and slim. Thanks for all the amazing memories.

-At Stake Conference, kids of these parents were running everywhere. This dad had to continually go catch them. Everything he did, and with what he looked like, reminded me exactly of this Hawaiian that I know.

Love you all!!!
-Sister Reynolds :) 

Missionary life is THE life

Life in Denver, Colorado is great! The weather is a killer, but the sky is always so gorgeous!! Temple Day was this past Wednesday, so life is good!

People;

Toby- He loves meeting with us missionaries and the feeling he gets, but he can't stop drinking. Not just that, he won't stop, because he loves the constant feeling of being intoxicated. He rarely ever drinks water, and goes through soooo many cans of beer each day.
Dani- We decided to "heart-attack" her door this week, super fun, and she loved it. She talked about how happy she was when her daughter got baptized. I asked her if that was something she wanted, she says she does, but then kinda shut off. She has a smoking addiction and that's her biggest barrier she's facing.
Richard- I love his so much! We still haven't heard back from Salt Lake on weather or not they will approve him getting baptized yet, but we're meeting with him twice a week and we're waiting on the edges of our seats.

Gabrielle- This beautiful young lady is moving to a different area of our mission with her husband. She will be moving on Friday, and I'm sad to see my first "Golden Investigator" leave me. She came to church again this past Sunday and it was amazing.

Fun Moments;

^With this new technology, there are some apps we can get. There was this one language called Georgian, and Sister Aversa and I tease Sister Sauls about it. Sister Sauls has this crazy accent and has these insane phrases and wordings.

^I don't know the area I'm in, but I'm the driver. Sister Aversa knows the ward pretty well. Sister Sauls knows the area around the wards pretty well. Sister Aversa speaks Portuguese, and Sister Sauls speaks an alien language. They don't know their left and rights, so it's pretty funny when they try and tell me where I need to turn. 

^Well.. As y'all know, I'm a Chick-Fil-A and Sonic girl. Sister Sauls is a Chick-Fil-A and ish Sonic girl. Sister Aversa is an any food girl. My companions like to eat out a lot. As a result, we go out all the time to these places.

^You're not allowed to eat or drink in the Mission Car. Result, our heads are sticking out of the car. ^On exchanges, I went to Downtown Denver, like the center of it all. It was awesome! There was "Sheek downtown", and then there was, "run away because this is where everyone gets shot street".  It was a crazy place, but SUPER FUN!

^On Sunday, Sister Sauls wanted me to be her "Barbie Doll", so she did my hair. I was told that I looked like Emma Watts when I took my hair down. She put 22 bobbie pins in my hair, it was crazy! Sister Sauls also dresses me up, like.. just about every day. So most of the clothes you see me wear, actually belong to her.

Spiritual Thought;

On Sunday, there were two different lessons in two different wards. My mind thought of examples, and they were both from my mom. I don't remember the first lesson, sorry, but the second was about teaching in the home. Part of the ways to do that is through example. My mom is the biggest example to me. Sorry for calling you out and saying all this stuff! I remember walking into my mom's room, before going to the temple, and I found her kneeling on the floor, by her bed, and saying a quiet prayer. She also likes to listen to her scriptures on her way to work, and this act isn't one of boasting, so it took me a while to find out about it. It's the quiet acts of good works that make her the biggest example to me, and someone I truly look up to. I promise you, that those of you who try to do their best, that their works are noticed, even if they don't think the positive things they're doing is seen by anyone. I love you mom, thanks for all you do for me!! 

Shout-outs;

-I totally rocked my real life mom's clothes, I had to take a pic to show it off
-While I was in Downtown Denver, I saw a Marine sign, I love ya!

-I have 2 furry new friends, they get hair all over me, I miss my two guys more

-In Downtown Denver, it reminded me a little bit of crazy Texas drivers, and the fun party of Las Vegas, SO FUN!

-Next Sunday is Stake Conference, so this Sunday, some kids sang for Father's Day. In one ward, the Young Women sang, and, in the other, the beautiful Primary kids sang. Happy Father's Day Dad!

-I went mini-golfing last P-Day. We didn't keep score, but Dad, just know you should be super proud of me.

-Brady! I told everyone I went golfing with that you're better than me.

-On Monday, I kept thinking of the time with the Pirate Ship haha

-Sorry for all the pictures! We have phones now, so I take about a million and one a day. I also blame my own actions on the guy who got me into SnapChat, and my mom and little siblings for helping encourage all the pictures ;p

​Sorry for all the pictures! We have phones now, so I take about a million and one a day. I also blame my own actions on the guy who got me into SnapChat, and my mom and little siblings for helping encourage all the pictures ;p

"We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails" -President Thomas S. Monson

Dear my wonderful, beautiful, and outstanding Family, friends, and everyone!

I have returned to being a missionary of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I was set apart on Monday, May 28th. I flew out to Colorado on Tuesday, May 29th. The 6 week transfers started on the 23rd, so I came out a little after it started, but not too far in. 

I'm currently serving with Sister Aversa (my 3rd mom in Parker South) and Sister Sauls in the Cotton Creek and Red Leaf wards in the Westminster Stake. I was told that I would stay here with these lovely Sisters for a week. Our mission President does unexpected things, and doesn't follow-through with a lot of things concerning where we are going and who we'll be with, so it might not happen. It's kinda a fun waiting game :)

To give you more of a background on my life, the area that I'm currently is one where you're kept busy. Red Leaf doesn't have too much action, but Cotton Creek is always so busy. It's so busy, in fact, that we don't have enough time in our schedule to do any of our studies. This week, we did some of our weekly planning last night/ Sunday night, and yet, we didn't have enough time. We are going to start doing our studies in the time we're supposed to be prepping for bed. Being in a trio is so much fun!! I love having more people, and this way, if you get annoyed with one person, you have another one to bounce off of. Luckily, I have yet to get annoyed with any one of my Sisters, I have felt tension, on and off, between the other two, so I'm glad that I can be here to tie the knot between the two of them. Please forgive me if my English and grammar gets worse the longer I stay with these two Sisters. Sister Aversa has a Brazilian accent, and knows Portuguese better than English. Sister Sauls is from South Georgia. Now, let me tell you, the way those Southern people speak isn't regular English. Sometimes, when we're with our investigators, I have to do some translating for the two of them. The reason I do this either their sentences weren't properly put together, or because they weren't really listening because of how absolutely amazing they sound! I'll try and record them before I go, it's beautiful! So, like how it was when I was in Parker, I'm driving. Sister Aversa still never got a licence, because she's from Brazil. Sister Sauls, however, can drive and she does have a tiwi card, but one day she left her wallet in the car, and it was all stolen. Lastly, if I stay in this area with these sisters for the rest of the transfer, I will be "killing" my mom. This is Sister Aversa's last transfer before her mission is complete.

Recap of the week;

Tues- I flew in to the Denver airport at about 4. Sister Savage picked me up from the airport, drove me to the church building where President Savage was doing some interviews. After the interviews, President, Sister Savage, and I drove to the mission home. On the way to the mission home, President told me where he decided to put me for a week, and called the Sisters. A member drove the three of us around, and bought us some Chick- Fil- A for dinner (I think I've gone there three times in the less than a week that I've been here, which is a super good think, except for my wallet)

Wed- A bunk bed came into our apartment. I taught a guy named Toby. Toby has a bit of an alchol problem, but he's super sweet and a bit older. Did service at a retirement home and I called bingo. We taught a wonderful person named Lori. Lori used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day. A week from that, when I first met her, she was smoking 2 cigarettes, and as of Saturday, she's down to half.I'm so thankful and proud of her progression.

Thurs- We meet with Richard. So he has had some passed transgressions, but wants to be baptized. Richard has met with our mission President and he has filled out a baptismal record. That record was sent to Salt Lake, and they will look over it and try and get it approved. As soon as it is approved, we will let Richard enter into the waters of Baptism. DM (District Meeting was awesome. It's so weird to see all of these amazing missionaries, and see the ones that once was younger than me in mission age, is now so much older than me. We taught Dani the POS (Plan Of Salvation/ Happiness). She has a super cute little daughter, Savannah, who got baptized. Dani almost got baptized, but some Elders pressured her, and it pushed her away a bit. We're trying to help her come back, if she still has that desire.

Fri- Food bank service, it was pretty cool. Sister Aversa is an STL (Sister Training Leader). This week there was  MLC (Missionary Leadership Council) that I had to take her to. While she was in her meeting, I was with some other companions of STL's, Sister Sauls, Sister Fowler (a former STL of mine), and Hermana O'Neil. I love these Sisters! I stole Sister Hermana O'Neil and talked with her. She has been out for about 9 months, was serving in Nicaragua, and is hoping to return there in July to finish her mission once all the political stuff dies down. After 1.5 hrs of MLC, SIster Savage invited the four of us to see a play/ musical called "Meet The Elders". The 5 super talented Elders put together this musical, making their own songs, and it's the best thing I've ever seen!!! They'll be preforming it at two Firesides for this mission. I'm going to invite every investigator I see to come and watch it, so I can see it again!!   

Sat- I was FINALLY able set-up my phone with our busy schedule. I'm not done organizing and downloading even half the things, but I'm slowly getting their with all that we have going on. We taught Lori again, and she got some air conditioning in her house this time. We taught Dani about prayer, and Savannah committed to coming to church (which she did). We taught Nathan, who, interestingly, is a preacher. His purpose in meeting with us is to just learn more about the Mormon religion. Surprisingly, when we met with him, he didn't try and bash with us, like I know some people will do.

Sun- This beautiful girl named Danielle came to church. She was catholic, but is now looking for a new place to go. Her husband referred her to come to this church, who was a member, but now I Less- Active. She has a 2 yr old as well, and we are going to try to meet with Danielle sometime this week. I have been over two wards before, but never have I been over two wards and hae to attend two different church buildings. Sunday was super busy, because as soon as one ward ended, we had to hop into the car and go to another church building to greet all the members. First, Red Leaf was at 9am, then, Cotton Creek was at 1 pm. After that, we atteded the Cotton Creek ward choir. Choir practice lasted less than an hour. There was a part in the song that no one could keep the beat to properly. With my terrible voice, I had to sing a little louder to keep everyone in my section on beat, it was pretty fun. After dinner, we finally had our weekly planning studies, which we couldn't finish.

Miracles;

​​​​​​​​​​​​*I came back out on a mission

*I'm in a trio

*I live in an appartment

*I love the missionaries I'm around

*I'm over a lot of investigators

*Chris

*Danille

*I'm sleeping on the top bunk

*I'm stealing food from my comps and have been eating decently

*I have been exercising each day, except Sunday and P-day, and it's intense stuff

Shout-outs:

I'm trying to make these obvious, so you should know who you are. If you want some confirmation on that, or want further info on the background story, just email me;

-A friend for giving me some materials so I can describe myself to a 14 yr old girl

-Two little people who joined me as I was driven to the airport

-A guy who owns a samsung, so I could see a super cool way of typing things on my Galaxy J3, without having to lift my finger up from it

-My beautiful baby boys. Thanks for not getting hair all over me when you were near me

-A close guy of mine for motivating me to learn a certain song that I'll play at your funeral (look at the pic for the song, you should know who you are)

-A girl who needs to take some chill pills, for emailing me right as I got back out on my mission, and for sending me an adorable pic

-A wonderful person for graduating two things in the beginning of this month, and about to embark on the greatest journey ever!

-My role model, for giving me some clothes I can show off

-Thanks to my friend who helped prepare me to be back in the habit of missionary life before I came back out on my mission.

I'm so thankful for this gospel and all that it has done for me in my life, including for my family and friends. Life may seem hard because of the different winds that come your way. Adjust your sails to follow the plan of our loving Heavenly Father, and everything will turn out perfectly in the end.

I love you all!!!!

-Sister Reynolds :)