Hot Days & High Faith

Hello friends and family, it's crazy that it is already another week in the books! I hope you all had a great week, feel free to email me how it was!! (nathan.reynolds@missionary.org)

Monday we played pickle ball as a district which was super fun! Then we went over to the Lee's for a good dinner. After that we stopped by a lot of people, because we're trying to get to know the area and people that they were teaching, but we didn't have much luck.

Tuesday we had district council. We focused on using the power of the Book of Mormon in our work and the impact that it can have on our friends! Then we went and helped a member take down their trampoline which went way quicker than we were expecting. We met this awesome guy named Brandon, unfortunately the phone number he gave us doesn't work... But we also met a lady named Lani. She has been trying to get closer to God and wants to go to church with her family! Then we had the Book of Mormon study group that was really fun!

Wednesday we met our new friend Irma who seems to really love the Plan of Salvation, we're excited to keep meeting with her! We met some great members in our ward, the Clevelands. Went tracting with a recent convert and he seemed to enjoy it. Then used a little bit of the Spanish I know to send some referrals to the Spanish missionaries.

Thursday we met our friend Tonya, had a great lesson with a different Irma, and had a long day of tracting, which wasn't too bad! We met some nice people that will hopefully allow us back for another lesson!!!

Friday we had a great lesson with a recent convert named Dorothea, met our friend Sergio who is super cool, then had a fun game night with our ward and we got to play Bunko, while getting to know a lot of our ward members. We also had a few missionary meetings where we learned more about technology use and how to better our missionary work!

Saturday we had an awesome dinner with the Wight family, met with our friend Ashley who loves the Book of Mormon, but is very shy so making it to church is not something she gets excited to do(so she doesn't come...). We also got to go to an Elders Quorum BBQ that was really fun and we got to get to know more of the guys in our ward.

Sunday I got to hear Elder Hobbs speak in church and talk about seeing Christ in all the covenants that we make. Had a good Elders Quorum lesson on the importance of spiritual momentum. Then we met our friend Adrian who is super cool and recognizes the need for the gospel in his life. We also had a lengthy discussion with a Muslim man about the similarities and differences between our religion and theirs which is always fun to have to learn about other religions! Then we had a great dinner with the Guido family and finished off the week and night with a mission testimony meeting!

I love this quote from last conference:

"Why do some receive their yearned-for miracles quickly, while others patiently endure, waiting upon the Lord? We may not know the why, yet gratefully, we know He who “loveth [us]” and “[doeth] all things for [our] welfare and happiness.”

I know God loves us and as we turn to Him we can recognize the good he puts in our lives and the way that he has/does work in our lives!

Hope you all had an awesome week, love you lots!!!!!

Pics: The District, Flower, Guido Family

Transfers and Simi Valley

Hello friends and family! This was one crazy week! Hope you had fun week!

Monday was the last preparation day of the transfer, we went on a small hike that overlooked looked Newbury Park! Then we had lunch as a district. I got to play more pickleball which is always super fun!!! We had dinner with the Stephens(awesome family), went and visited a couple of less active members of the ward.

Tuesday we had the last district council of the transfer. The main focus was on studying the scriptures and the importance of having a great personal study to start our days with! Then we had lunch with the Elders in our district. Then we went to James Storehouse and had a good time doing a little bit of demolition of some cribs! Then we got some Elote (Corn on the cob, mayo, cheese, and chili powder) for free from one of the Spanish Elders friends, then we went and had dinner with Sister Brittain in the ward, said goodbye to Bro. Lang!

Wednesday I went on a little split with Elder Hoschouer in the Newbury Park area. Met a lot of nice people, then a not so nice one... We tracted into him and his first sentece was, "So your here to push religion on me", we were kind and just asked if there was any service we could do. He was very defensive, but we hopefully left a good impretion of kindness on him! Then we swapped back and I went back to Agoura and we stopped by a few members!!

Thursday woke up to transfer news and found out that I would be white washing into Simi Valley(Rancho Simi ward), so I started to pack. After packing we went and said goodbye to Brother Barrus, then had dinner with Bishop Driggs, then went and said goodbye to Bro. Heimuli then went home and continued to pack a little bit!

Friday was transfer day. Went to the Stake Center and met up with other missionaries that I would be driving with. Said goodbye to Elder Brown, drove to the mission office, said goodbye to Elder Echols, hungout there til I met my new companion Elder Hobbs, then we came to Simi, met the Bystroms who took us out to dinner, tried to get into our apartment, turned out we were given the wrong keys, so we visited with Bro Baker and got to know the people the missionaries were teaching, he knew them pretty well. Then the senior missionaries over apartments showed up, gave us the key and let us in to our apartment!!

Saturday we went shopping and bought everything we need, had a great lesson with our friend Dan who super sweet and has a desire to be baptized so we're working with him to make that happen! Then started teaching Ashley who took a Book of Mormon and we're meeting with again on Tuesday! Met Curtis Solomon who was being taught the first time I was in Simi, but he's now a member which is really awesome!!

Sunday was great! Got to know a little bit of the ward and hopefully will remember everyone's names. Sacrament meeting was great and then we got to go to the Gospel Principle class that our ward stared for new members! Then we had to help some Elders out with a bike situation. Had dinner with the Guido family and met their foreign exchange students from Italy and Czech Republic. Super fun family and cooked really good Italian food!!

"Some priesthood blessings are fulfilled immediately, in ways we can see and understand. Others are unfolding gradually and will not be fully realized in this life." - Shayne M. Bowen

I love this quote because it helps me realize that answers to prayers or blessings that we are hoping for may not come now, but God is mindful of us and working in our lives to make those blessing come to pass and have our prayers be answered!!

There's my week, hopefully you all had a great week as well! Love you all, have an amazing week!!!

Pics:
Bro Heimuli, Hike, Hike, After 9 o'clock fun, Sis. Bremond @ transfers, Elder Hobbs, Exchange students, Lunch together

Interviews, Exchanges & Fun

Hello friends and family, hope you all had the best week ever, mine was pretty good I can't wait to tell you about it!!! 

Monday for our district activity we looked at the solar eclipse with 4 pairs of sunglasses on and we could see part of it!! Then we had a little ice cream party as well. We got to go to the Meiks for dinner again which was really fun, then we had a nice visit with the Armstrong family!!!  

Tuesday was district council. We reviewed our conference notes together which was really cool! Many of us got something different out of the same talk which is awesome. The Spirit works in all of us in a different way and tells us what we need to hear!! Did some service at James Storehouse, then had to take my companion to the doctor because he's been sick, but is a lot better now. Then we had a lesson with our friend Dan who shared with us a movie he is writing which was pretty cool! 

Wednesday was interviews with President Rodriguez! From him I mostly learned and was reminded that in every rich area there is a "Hill Comorah". There's an area where humble people who are ready to receive the gospel are, we just have to find it, as well as the importance of finishing strong! It was crazy when he brought up the fact I only have 2 transfers left.... After interviews we went on an exchange and I was with Elder Hoschouer. We played basketball with 2 kids at the park and one of them once we started talking about the gospel was excited because he has friends that are members! Then we met Gilberto and his son David who loved learning about the Book of Mormon, but unfortunately we only got a number and they haven't been responding... Then we got to play dodgeball with the young men! 

Thursday we had a lot of time to knock and talked to a lot of kind people who were either Jewish or just not interested in learning more about Jesus Christ... but we did meet Bob and Colleen who were super sweet and invited us back over! Then we had a great lesson with Brandon a friend of a member, then had a fun visit with the Pettit family!! 

Friday we had a lesson, but kind of a bash with our friend Jacob. He had some curious questions it was just hard to tell if he wanted to actually know the truth or if he was trying to prove us wrong. But it was a nice conversation. Then we taught Max. He loved the idea of God talking to everyone and wanted to read the Book of Mormon, so hopefully all goes well there!! Then we visited the Sheflo family and had a really nice visit with them! 

Saturday I was on an exchange with Elder Malm. I got to go back to my old area which was really fun! We stopped by the Johnsons who are amazing, then went knocking in the rain! Met some kind people, a lady who wanted to tell us what we believed, and got a lot of free chocolate milk from a family in their ward! The rain kind of killed the day, but it was a fun one and not many people wanted to hear from wet messengers from Jesus Christ... But, it wad a blast!! 

Sunday was great. Got to go to ward council, had great testimonies that were shared, and a great lesson about Elder Kearon’s conference talk. So we talked a lot about the doubts or roadblocks we put in our own minds, but as we remember who we are, our Heavenly Father can break down these walls and allow us to grow closer to Him.  But we have to find a way to keep doubt and fear out of our minds, and if we do that, God will make it to us without having to break down too many walls along the way!!! We had a fun dinner with the Taylor's, then our lesson with Max fell through....

"Many other organizations can and do make your life better here in mortality. But no other organization can and will influence your life after death."

 - Russell M. Nelson 

It's amazing to recognize that all other churches have some good, but ultimately the joy, peace, and love of God that we feel as we embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, it changes lives and I've had the privilege of seeing that first hand through my mission. This gospel changes people's lives and it has changed mine too! 

Hope you all had a great week, I really enjoyed mine. Love you all!!! 

Pics: Johnson Family, Cool study spot, Elder Hoschouer, Pretty sky, Elder Malm 

The Temple and General Conference

What's up friends and family, hope you all had an amazing week, mine was so good!!

Monday preparation day was good! We just had a picnic as a district and continued to get to know each other! I played some pickle ball with an Elder in the district which was fun as well! That night we stopped by the Forston family and had a short visit with them, awesome family and super funny!! Crazy thing: we got a call from a random number, the lady starts apologizing for not making it to church on Sunday, we had no idea who she was, but she wanted to meet up, so we set up a time for Tuesday!! She got a text from us about Easter and apparently felt bad she couldn't make it! 

Tuesday's district council was awesome. We talked about the importance of being in tune with the spirit and united with your companion. Because the more united you are the more the spirit will be there! Then we got a new truck, counted up some numbers for a stake meeting. Then we had an awesome lesson with Martha, the lady that called on Monday. She loved the idea of modern day Prophets and ended up watching conference!!! 

Wednesday we had an exchange with Elder Mansfield and Swallow. I was with Elder Mansfield in my area and we had a lot of fun! Met Grace who had a lot of good questions about our church and she appreciated the answers! We had an awesome lesson with our friend Rick who was so excited go watch conference after we talked about the need for modern day Prophets! 

Thursday was the TEMPLE TRIP!!! It was so amazing to be back in the temple, to feel the Spirit that is there! The Los Angeles Temple is so big and so beautiful. It was great to see some fellow missionaries that I haven't seen in a while. I know the temple is the house of the Lord and a refuge from the worries, rush, and craziness of the world. We got to finish the day off with dinner at the Heimuli's home and they always cook good, so that was a little bonus on top of going go the temple! 

Friday we had a large missionary meeting. We heard from President Rodriguez who talked a lot about love. How love needs to be the reason we want to teach people, the reason why we want them to come to church, the reason behind inviting them to be baptized, not just so we can get the number. Then a member of The mission presidency President Ridgeway talked about taking advantage of the time we have with President and Sister Rodriguez and learning from them, following their example, as heeding their counsel. We also learned that we're having a mission tour again, which means a genral authority is coming! They didn't say who, but it'll be in May!!! 

Saturday Geneal Conference was amazing!!! I absolutely loved hearing from our living Prophets and Apostles! We watched all three sessions at the church with a bunch of snacks they kept us awake and attentive! Between sessions we would walk around and invite everyone to conference! Email me if you want to hear about my favorite talks!!! 

Sunday General conference! We went to the Whitmans home for breakfast and the morning session, then had lunch with the Hada's and watched the second session, then had dinner with the Heimuli family. So we had a lot of food and were well taken care of! Also, got to hear from the  Prophet and hear him announce 15 new temples!!!! It's crazy that General Conference has already come and gone, but now we get to look back for the next 6 months and continue to learn from their words!!!! 

I love these three things that Brian K. Taylor talked about: 

 1. Stronger faith comes through putting Christ first.

 2. Brighter hope comes from envisioning our eternal destiny 

3. Greater power comes by focusing on Joy

I hope we all can have stronger faith, brighter hope and experience more joy in our lives!! Love you all hope you have an amazing week!!! 

Pics: 

Elder Echols and Elder Brown, Elder Norton, Elder Williams, Sister Parr and Sister Whimmer, The beautiful LA temple, Easter came late, Meeting with President

Easter Week

Hello friends and family, hope you all had an amazing Easter, and enjoyed remembering Jesus Christ a little bit more!!

Monday for a district activity we attempted to explode a watermelon with rubber bands, didn't work too well, but we all still had fun!! We were able to meet with Bro. Meadows who is such a sweet guy, just doesn't make it to church because of his wife's sickness... While we were in the gas station we met Jacob, he has a big belief in Christ and asked some really genuine questions! You can really teach people everywhere!!

Tuesdays district council was awesome! It was focused on the Power of the Book of Mormon, ch. 5 in Preach my Gospel! We worked on sharing scriptures in a way that people can understand, and the importance of sharing the love we have for the Book of Mormon. We had a great lesson with Joe, who had really good questions, but wanted to meet with us purely just to learn about the differences between his church and ours. He took a Book of Mormon though, so the spirit will work on him! We had dinner with our second ward bishop who is awesome, then went to the last emotional resilience class that was focused on seeing the improvement made and things we can focus on to continue to help ourselves and others feel more joy, peace, and love from our Heavenly Father!!

Wednesday I was with Elder Echols as usual but we got Elder Williams for the day! We tracted a lot, met a couple nice people, but none that are willing to progress in the gospel. Helped our friend Levon clean out her garage, talking with her and seeing how much she cares for Jesus Christ is amazing! We had an awesome lesson with our friend Elizabeth about the restoration, and she seemed to love it and had great questions we were able to answer!!

Thursday we had a mission zoom focused on stress management, went to a park and met some really nice Jewish people. There are so many Jewish people here, I've never seen anything like it! Had a great dinner with our ward mission leader Bro Barrus and his wife!

Friday we stopped by a lot of less active members that the ward told us to, invited them all to the Easter service and one family came! Had a tech exchange with members in our zone, so that we could learn how to do social media work better, hopefully it helps! Met Sister Brittain in the ward and she was grateful we stopped by and her kids loved having us over!!!

Saturday was full of inviting people to our Easter service! Had a good time going by all our friends inviting them, walking around parks inviting young families, and everyone was nice to us, just seemed like people either don't celebrate Easter or they already had a place to go... but it was fun to talk with them and get to know their beliefs! Went by a widow in the ward who hadn't seen missionaries in over a year and was so happy to see us and visit with us!!

Easter Sunday!!! I really enjoyed both wards Easter services! We had a lot of friends come and enjoy the spirit of the meetings and they connected well with a lot of the members! We got to go over to the Meiks house for Easter dinner. They are amazing! We had a lot of fun with their family and they even gave us Easter baskets! Then we call some of our friends and did some Social media work!!

Dale G. Renlunf said, "The marks in the palms of His hands continually remind Him of you and your circumstances. He ministers to you in all your distress."

It's amazing to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The marks in his palms make it impossible for him to forget us, he doesn't want to and never will, so we can always find peace, comfort and love in all our hard times. Easter is/was a great time to reflect on what Jesus Christ has done for me and what I can do for Him!!!

There's my week, hope you enjoyed yours! Happy April fools day, Happy late Easter, love you all!!!

Pics:

1. Watermelon

2. Lunch

3. Treat/lesson after emotional resilience

4. Fun picture

5-7 Easter

8. District council