Hurrah for Israel

Hurrah for Israel! The cry is heard

As two young men leave home and family

They're not afraid; they're off to teach the word,

And for two years, they serve whole-heartedly.

The stone cut without hands will fill the Earth;

The gathering of Israel is nigh.

These two Elders were called before their birth

To teach their fellow man and testify,

They work in cutting cold and summer's sun

Until the Lord shall say: "The work is done."

Life is great here with the Delta Squadron! This is a really cool area to be serving in, and that's not just because we have the only Krispy Kreme in BC!

We've been doing tons of exchanges, and as such, we are seeing tons of miracles with the Elders that we are serving with. "Have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men." (Moroni 7:29)

Also, this week, we will be visited by some of the heads of the missionary department in Salt Lake City, and Elder Kelly and I will have the privilege of spending several hours with one of them as we go about the work in Delta. And this Saturday we have a meeting with Elder Daniel L. Johnson of the Seventy. And in 2 weeks we have a special meeting with the Surrey Stake President. Awesome meetings with awesome people. 

I recommitted to keeping a daily journal; I fell behind on that for a few months. I would recommend anybody keep a journal; if nothing else, you can read it in a few years and see how far you've come. 

Elder Maloy is also teaching me some sign language. I learned the alphabet yesterday, so at least I can spell.

Finally, I doubt my mother would be satisfied if I did not mention that I've now completed my one year milestone. Honestly, it feels like so much has happened, but within so little time. It's a funny thought; I'd been looking forward to serving a mission for most of my life, and now I'm halfway through. That's a little daunting! However, I look forward to what this year has to offer. I've learned a lot, and plan to keep learning. One of the most important things I've learned would be this:

Get off the internet, go outside, and learn something new!

-Elder Reynolds

Delta Squadron

Poem of the Week:

Oh God, hear my plight,
My spirit's contrite,

There's no truth in sight,

Oh which church is right?

I'm surrounded by night,

Satan puts up a fight,

So I pray with more might,

And when my pain reached its height,

I saw a pillar of light.

Hey everyone! I write you today from one of the many Surrey libraries. This past week serving in Delta has been extremely busy, but a lot of fun. We have one of the closest areas to the Vancouver International Airport, the mission office, and the ferry port, so our week was filled with a lot of driving as we worked to make sure the missionaries were where they needed to be for transfers. We also took some time to get to know each of the companionships in the zone. I soon discovered that there are 8 missionaries in the Delta ward:

Delta 1st: Elder Maloy (District Leader) and Elder Nelson

Delta 2nd: Elder Reynolds and Elder Kelly (Zone Leaders)

Delta Sisters: Sister Holbrook and Sister Gregory

Senior Couple: Elder and Sister Hunter (an awesome senior couple from Cedar City, Utah.)

I guess you could say that makes us the Delta Squadron.

Also in our zone are the Surrey 1st West Elders, Surrey 1st East Elders, Surrey 3rd Elders, Surrey North Sisters, and the Assistants to the President (despite all the work they have to do in the mission office, President Burt still expects them to work hard in their area as well.)

Also, blast from the past! Elder Sloan is serving in the Surrey 3rd area, so I get to spend a lot of time with him again. And this is his last transfer! Fortunately, he lives in Surrey, so when he's released as a missionary, he'll still be around.

This is definitely the most diverse area I've served in yet. Since I've been here, we've heard prayers spoken in Spanish, Mandarin, Hindi, and Tagalog. The diversity is quite interesting, and I think that the Caucasian and Indian ethnicities are very closely matched in terms of population. There are several Sikh temples around as well, and another being built very close to our house. We've been teaching a diverse group of people as well; one of the most notable is an awesome man named Kushal who plans on being baptized at the end of the month.

Talk with you next week! Enjoy this picture of Elder Sloan!

-Elder Reynolds

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