1 Peter 5‏

My dear Elder, I exhort you
Feed the flock of God among you

The ensample of the flock is you,
The crown of glory given you

If humble, God may exalt you;
Don't worry, He careth for you.

Though Satan would devour you,
Jesus will strengthen, settle you.

The church and I doth salute you
The peace of Christ will go with you.
Amen.

Hello everybody! I apologize for not writing last week; the internet in the Family History Centre went down last week. The above poem was the poem that I wrote for Elder Kelly upon our farewell. He was transferred up to Terrace, which is the northern end of our mission. Just in time for the winter!

I have also been transferred to the Surrey 1st Ward! That is right in the downtown heart of Surrey! There's so many people here, and it's easy to find people to talk to. It's also the sketchy part of Surrey... there are some places to avoid at night. But I am still in the Surrey zone, so I still know many of the same missionaries. My new companion is Elder Asi, whose family hails from Tonga!

Sadly, time is short today. There are results and goals to be reported and things that need to be bought. I'll give more of an update next week. Happy Halloween!


-Elder Reynolds

Mary Had a Little Lamb‏

Mary had a little lamb

Who came down from above.

He came with healing in his wings,

His bosom filled with love.



God gave us a little lamb

His love for us to show.

The Lamb of God slain for the world

Will make us white as snow.



We are each a little lamb

Who's strayed off from the path.

Christ left the ninety and the nine

To give us all He hath.


At our recent zone meeting, we talked about the connections between the Old Testament burnt offerings and weekly planning as outlined in Preach my Gospel. Hence, the lamb-inspired writing.


It's been great week! I often feel spoiled to be serving the the Surrey zone; we have some amazing Elders and Sisters, and we're close enough to the mission office to make emergency trips if necessary. Elder Asi and I pray for the missionaries daily, but we aren't worried about a single one. Each zone meeting is nature changing, and the best ones that I've had on my mission. By the end of this week, our zone will have had 4 baptisms in the month of November!


Sometimes, things can often feel overwhelming because there's so many things that we want to do. We want to be out meeting new people, we really want to help the young men in the ward, we want to plan for successful exchanges, we want to prepare for Zone Conference this week, we want to study, we want to work with the members more, we want to keep in more contact with the Elders and Sisters in the zone, to name a few things. It makes we wonder how stressed President Burt is all the time. I've also thought a lot about how Jesus was able to fulfill all that His Father asked, because He certainly had no easy task.


But this has also proven to be one of the most rewarding times on my mission so far. There's a wonderful Spirit that comes when you get on your knees with an investigator as he asks in prayer, "Am I really your son?" It's been great to see how much these missionaries have changed as well, and closing a Spirit-filled zone meeting is more fulfilling than a final curtain call.


The Church is true.



-Elder Reynolds

Malolelei!‏

This week's poem isn't an original, and is a classic Tongan hymn:


Folofola mai 'a Sisu, Ke mou fou 'iate Au,

Ko ia te ne kumi hala Loi mo e kaka.

Fou 'a i, 'I he folofola,

'A mamahi hono kotoa 'I he folofola.


I can't actually watch the video because we don't have access to Youtube; I just copied the link that a good friend sent me. Elder Asi and I will be singing that song in sacrament meeting this Sunday with a Tongan family in the ward. Perks of having a Tongan companion!


Honestly, I spent a little too much time looking for this song, so time is really short. We had MLC this week, which was amazing! This mission is about to get fired up! We have some amazing missionaries in this zone.


I also found out that yet ANOTHER person I taught in Salmon Arm just got baptized! That makes three since I left. Elder Farris, my "grandson," has been been tearing it up in Salmon Arm, and it's great to see how these people have progressed. Now we just have to ignite the city of Surrey.


Love you all!


-Elder Reynolds