Instruments

How sweetly sings the violin,

How beautiful and free,

How deeply it can touch the heart,

Whoe'er the hearer be.



Its polished wood reflects the gleam

Of every bright-eyed tear,

Its strings are waxed and tuned to be

Exquisite to the ear.



And yet inside its hollow mind

The instrument is flawed,

Its deep maroon turns envious green

For 'tis the player they applaud.



"I create the lovely tune,"

It squeals in agony,

"Although my player holds my bow,

They should all bow to me!"



The strings then all fall out of tune

When tangled up with pride,

The music that could once fulfill

Can now only deride.



The violin always forgets

The One who tunes the strings,

Or who it is that shines the wood

And who plays everything.



All praise and glory be to He

That orchestrates the Plan,

And we are all but instruments

Within the Master's hand.



This week was crazy! Tuesday evening, we were accompanied by Brother Peterson, the head of the In-Field Representatives Department (it's a cool thing for mission presidents). He took us out to White Spot for dinner, and we took him out teaching with us (thankfully, the rest of the night was booked with appointments). As he asked us questions about missionary work and taught us about teaching, we learned so much. We really grew to love him, and it was hard having to say goodbye, which was very strange considering that he critiqued us very bluntly and tore out any pride that we may have had. Repentance can truly be a wonderful feeling.



On Friday, we had our Mission Leadership Council. Brother Peterson was there, as well as Brother Hemingway, the head of the Proselyting Department. He was the executive producer of the "District" videos and had a major part to play in the creation of the "Preach My Gospel" manual. He taught us so much, and the craziest part was that he taught us out of the scriptures and "Preach My Gospel." These are things that we read for almost 2 hours every morning, and yet there is so much that we have yet to comprehend.



Also, on Saturday, Elder Daniel L. Johnson of the Seventy visited our mission. We had a big meeting at the Langley YSA chapel, which is in none other than Willoughby! It was really nice seeing my first area after almost a year, and being able to greet so many of the members as well.



We've been working very closely this week with a man named Kushal Sra. Kushal is a prime example of the blessings of the gospel. When we'd first meet with Kushal, he was a very sad man. Seriously, very sad. As in, our early lessons with him consisted of him crying for 40 minutes. Well, Kushal is getting baptized this Saturday. Now, he holds his head high with a wide smile. Our lessons are becoming more and more enjoyable as his personality starts to shine. A few days ago, we sat for several minutes laughing because one of his light bulbs died. This is truly a gospel of happiness.



Pictures to come next week!


-Elder Reynolds

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

​

  

1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18

If the Lord be God, follow him.

But if Baal, the follow him.

Or if ye choose thy god to be

Only that which thou canst see,

Or follow all that is worldy,

These idols will bring misery.

If thou wilt trust man's will and whim,

Let man be God, and follow him.

The God that answereth by flame,

Let Him be God; praise ye His name.

 

Ye cry aloud, wail and complain,

But canst thou see thy cry is vain?

Can that which hath no power save?

Doth Babylon free from the grave?

O man, why dost thou misbehave,

And not accept the blood He gave?

O priests of Baal, ye slice thy veins

As Satan wraps thee in his chains.

The God that answereth by flame,

Let Him be God; praise ye His name.

 

My God doth not flee, nor doth He sleep.

Thy god speakest not, no, not a peep.

My God heareth all,

The great and the small,

To thy god ye call

And so thou shalt fall.

For just as ye sow, so shall ye reap,

And soon comes they day when ye shall weep.

The God that answereth by flame

Let Him be God; praise ye His name.

 

"O Lord my God, be it this day

Known to them that dwell in clay:

That these idols hath no part

In the kingdom where thou art."

The Spirit burned within our hearts

A fire that would not depart.

All they that felt began to pray

And then they heard the Spirit say:

 

"The God that answereth by flame,

It is the Lord; praise ye His name!"

That is based on the confrontation that Elijah had with the priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18; it's always been one of my favorite Old Testament stories, so it served as a wonderful muse for this poem.

 

So of you may be aware that yesterday, August 3rd, was BC Day, so our P-Day was moved to Tuesday. As such, it has been one of the most hectic P-Days I've ever had. We often have a bunch of regular appointments every Tuesday, so we last week we were trying to shift things around a bit so we could have our full P-Day. This week is also transfer week, so if we were transferred, we'd likely have to leave Wednesday morning. Thus, we made are plans accordingly.

 

So we then found out that I was getting transferred to Delta, which is an area just south of Vancouver and Richmond, right on the US border. We then received a phone call this morning that I needed to leave Salmon Arm today at 4pm. This news completely destroyed our plans today, because I needed to be fully packed by 4pm, and we were losing 2 hours of P-Day, and we have an appointment later this afternoon. So it has been an extremely crazy day as I've been trying to get everything organized.

 

Next week, I'll send some pictures of my new area and companion! I have to get going, for reasons previously stated. Love you all!

-Elder Reynolds

(photo of Elders at the golf driving range)

July

Hello Everybody!

In order to be better motivated to work out, Elder Blasko and I have bought some sweat-bands for our heads and wrists; we figured we'd be more excited to exercise if we looked like we were on some 1970's exercise show. And you know what? IT TOTALLY WORKS.

Also, just an update. Next Monday, August 3, is a "Civic Holiday" in Canada. From my understanding, it's just one of those days where people take a day off. As such, President Burt has asked that we treat that day as a normal day, so that we could talk to people who would otherwise be working. That said, P-Day will be moved to August 4th. So don't freak out when I don't write next Monday!

My mom's birthday is August 3rd, so I'm sorry that I'll miss the opportunity to email then.

Brian Gorner is a young man who returned from his mission last week; I'm very grateful for that, because we've been bringing him out with us all the time!

It's weird to think it's been over 11 months. The more I think about it, the faster it goes. I just can't get over how much I've learned in this short amount of time, and how much more that I have yet to learn.

My mind is just really jumbled and scattered today, but I can't quite figure out why. I've determined that next week, I'm writing another poem.

Love you all!

-Elder Reynolds

An Equal and Opposite Reaction‏

This week has undoubtedly the busiest and best week that I have had laboring in this small portion of the Lord's vineyard. We've talked to more people than ever before, and as a result, we are teaching more people. This week, 5 people committed to be baptized. Elder Blasko is a fun, diligent companion, and we have pushed each other to work harder than ever before.


We've also been blessed with an assortment of other miracles as well. Just a few days ago, a man approached us in a store and offered to pay for all our groceries; it turns out he was a member of the church in Las Vegas and was just passing through town when he needed to go to the store. We've also been able to contact a lot of people whom we haven't heard from in a while; throughout the week, we would feel prompted to call somebody we haven't been able to reach in a while, and they would finally answer!


However, there must needs be opposition in all things. This week, we've also had more people yell at us, try to bash with us, and give us anti-mormon stuff. It would seem that we are truly at war, and the adversary is not pleased with what we've accomplished this week. It's certainly been exhausting, but worth every bead of sweat.


But, despite it all, we try to keep things fresh and fun. We've been singing, we had a dance-off with an investigator, we've been checking out more of the stores downtown (there's a store called the Candy Vault where I can buy Yorkie bars!), and today we're going to the driving range to hit some golf balls.


The days just seem to be zipping by, and it doesn't seem like there's anything I can do about it. Elder Blasko and I were philosophizing last night: Because God is Eternal, He doesn't really exist in time, for how can there be time in eternity? That said, it would seem that the closer we are to God, the less we exist in time. That rings true in missionary work, because the more consecrated we become, the faster it goes. Just some food for thought!


Have a great week! Remember Pioneer Day: July 24, 1847.



-Elder Shane David Reynolds

Safe in the Lord's Hands

Hey everybody! I hope you were able to enjoy your free slurpee on 7-11 day, because I sure did!


This week has been crazy. In an attempt to hasten the work, Elder Blasko and I have decided to hasten our step and jog as much as we are able as we go between appointments. We also had an amazing Zone Conference with President and Sister Burt. While we were in Kelowna, we were rear-ended by a Mercedes. It was unfortunate, because the Mercedes wasn't driveable anymore. Luckily, our car just took a small dent and a couple scratches.


Elder Blasko and I were also called to speak in sacrament meeting yesterday. Salmon Arm is still just as beautiful and just as hot! Fortunately, I hear the temperature isn't going to get above 30 C this week, so we are really looking forward to that.


Also, I just discovered that the church has released a musical! I've been listening to a bit of the soundtrack, and it sounds like it was really well done. The music, script, and everything can be found online, so I imagine anybody with the resources would be able to produce it.

https://www.lds.org/callings/music/savior-of-the-world?lang=eng


I hate to do this again, but my email today will be cut short. We've still got a lot of things that need to get done today, and we've got a very busy week ahead of us. However, do not forget that I love you all! I'll give more details next week!




-Elder Reynolds