Accountability!‏

I can't wait for Sunday nightIt makes me want to sing!
At 9 o'clock,
The planners come out,
The telephone rings,
What is it about?
It's time to account!


That was just a little children's song I threw together. Each Sunday night, we call our mission leaders to report our results for the week. It's an activity that I've been doing for some time now, so it was about time to pay a tribute to our Sunday nights.


What a week it has been! With Victoria Day this past weekend, there have been a lot of vacationers out in the local lakes. We've felt to dedicate some of our efforts more toward the outlying areas of Prince George. We've met a lot of people out in the middle of nowhere, many people that have never met missionaries. The people out there work on what we call "Caribou Time." That is, they don't have anything to do, so some people are willing to just sit down with you for hours. We can't spend hours per person, so we've been working to balance talking with as many people as possible and spending quality time with each person we meet.


On one of these old roads in an area we call "The Sticks," we meet a pretty friendly grizzly bear. Fortunately we were protected by our furry security guards; in the Sticks, everybody owns a dog, and nobody keeps them on a leash. So as we tracted, we would befriend these guard dogs so that we could meet the people there. Well, some dogs liked us too much, and by the end of it we had a posse of 5 large dogs following us. There was no fear of bears that day!

A picture of some of the dogs:






-Elder Reynolds

Mother's Day Weekend‏

My dear mother, I must apologize.
I've not been keeping all of your advice.
I've talked to some strangers
Stayed up past eight,
Had sleepovers with friends
And never once had a date
The mission has a way of changing me
From everything that you raised me to be. :)


Sort of a tongue-in-cheek tribute to my mom, in response to the past Mother's Day.


This week we flew down to Richmond for a big missionary meeting. On the flight down, we were blessed to have the sassiest flight attendant I've ever met. It kept the flight interesting. The meeting itself was fantastic, and President Burt asked me to conduct the Accounting Session; it's a 20-minute portion in the meeting when each zone leader and sister training leader stands up to account for the work of their zone in the previous month. It was very humbling to stand before such wonderful missionaries to lead discussion on their work, offering praise where possible and correction when necessary.

This week, we will be preparing for zone meeting, which is always a great but busy endeavor. We need to convey not only the information that President Burt has given us, but also the great love and Spirit that he brings to each of the missionaries.


I'll let you know how it goes!


-Elder Reynolds

View from Teapot Mountai

From the Drive to Richmond‏

May!

What are the odds
Out of trillions of stars
So very far,
We found the Sun?

What are the odds
That millions of codes
Lined up and showed
The poems that I've begun?

What are the odds
That among the whole Earth
The place of your birth
Was planned by someone?

What are the odds
And what are the chances
Of all circumstances
These things have been done?

What if I said
That there was a plan
For each woman and man
With a prize to be won?

What if part of that plan
Was to find rest
From Hell's evil test
Through the Holy Son?

What are the odds
Out of trillions of souls
With individual roles,
That He will forsake none?

No matter the odds,
The scriptures ring clear
To each ear that will hear:
God loves us, every one.

Welcome into the month of May! There's the poem, just as promised from last week!


This past week we made the drive out to Burns Lake for exchanges (about 3 hour drive), then had our very first Skype District Meeting. We will likely be doing more of those from now on, which is exciting! On the way back from Burns Lake, we had to stop in Vanderhoof to clear out an apartment that will no longer be used by missionaries. When we made it back to Prince George, we took my first trip to the dump; there's a special feeling with carelessly chucking large furniture into a large metal bin.


To relate a brief spiritual experience this week, we received a phone call from a less-active member who told us that his brother was in the hospice and about to pass away. Apparently it seemed that the brother had been fighting his passing for about a week, though the family and doctors were certain that he should have already died. We were asked to go and pray with the brother and his family.


We received another phone call that evening, and we were told that the brother had passed away just a few hours after our visit and prayer. It was wonderful to help this man at least feel comforted in his progression through the Plan of Salvation.


Until next week!

 

Another Transfer, Another Tripanionship‏

So... I had a poem this week, I promise. But I left it at the apartment today. Now I know that's one of the most common excuses not to turn in your homework, but I mean it this time.


Transfers have, as they've always done, come and gone! I remain here with my companions Elder Nielsen and Elder Dunn in beautiful Prince George.Elder Nielsen is from Logan, Utah, and Elder Dunn is from Ogden, Utah. It's been a while since I've had a Utah companion, so I get to catch up now by having 2.


Today, we went with the Elders in the other ward on a hike up to Teapot Mountain, which is officially the furthest north I've ever been. That's up on the 54th parallel (latitude). For reference, my church in Houston, Texas is on the 30th. Bad news is, I don't have the pictures with me...


Other bad news is we got back into town late, so we're running behind today, so gotta go! Expect pictures and poems next week!


-Elder Reynolds

The Three Nechakites‏

Making travel plans

No poem time on P-Day

Enjoy a haiku


As the above haiku states, transfers are upon us this week, and we are again given the charge to oversee the travel plans for the zone. We have a good chunk of our zone that has changed this month, so we got a lot to do! (Mom note: He will be staying in Prince George, and will be getting two new companions.)


In the meantime, here's a picture of the temple from our last trip to Richmond.

Elder Reynolds

"Romance with a Clock"

"Romance with a Clock"

Your beautiful face fills me with sorrow
As a constant reminder of a certain tomorrow.
You've no piece for passion, no capacity for care,
But your captivating face catches my stare.
Oh, that I had the key to your gears
To fully understand our time these 2 years.
Some say you heal wounds, others you harm,
Yet I'd love nothing more than you on my arm.
I wish that I could take your hand
To hold you still and make time stand.
Despite my plea, you've never lost a second,
Nor did you hasten whenever I beckoned.
And so my dear clock, my diligent friend,
Please don't remind me when all this will end.


I promised an original poem this week, and I was able to find time as we drove 9 hours to Richmond and 9 hours back! I feel that this piece pretty accurately describes my thoughts this week. Haha just make time stop!

It has been a very inspiring week. The 3 of us were asked to speak in sacrament fairly last second, but we were each able to put our talks together in about an hour. The topics primarily focused on the unity between missionary, family history, and temple work. It is all the same great and redemptive work!

Time is a little short today, as it sadly always seems to be. Suffice it to say that we will be preparing for our zone meeting this Friday, and on Saturday night we will receive a life-changing phone call... That's right, transfer calls! We'll see if we've got another month or so here in beautiful Prince George!

-Elder Reynolds

Come, listen to a Prophet's voice

"Come, listen to a Prophet's voice
And hear the word of God,
And in the way of truth rejoice
And sing for joy aloud.
We've found the way the prophets went
Who lived in days of yore.
Another prophet now is sent,
This knowledge to restore."
-Joseph S. Murdock

So... again, not an original poem. Today, we had to drive out to a small town called Vanderhoof to pack up a missionary apartment, and by the time we got back to Prince George we only had about 3 hours left for P-Day, and 2 of those hours are spent typing on a computer screen. So time for writing was very slim this week.

As many of you are aware, we had the privilege to attend General Conference this week; it was exhilarating, to say the least. I still need some time to digest the beautiful testimonies that were given, but I left each session with a desire to repent and become a better person. And of course, the angelic Mormon Tabernacle Choir did not cease to amaze. It is said that the Aaronic Priesthood holds "the keys to the ministering of angels," but I am convinced that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a collection of angels that minister with their music.

We also had several unique opportunities this week to teach and testify of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we also had several opportunities to render service to others, including three independent service activities where we split wood with axes. It was a lot more enjoyable than you might think! It's just so satisfying to get a clean split in one swift strike.

As I have studied this week of the powerful witnesses born by Apostles like Peter and Paul, and as we've now been able to hear from the men that I sustain as Latter-Day prophets and apostles, I've thought about what it really means when somebody says they "bear their testimony."


To "bear" can be defined as "to support the burden of." When I speak of "bearing testimony," I recognize the burden that comes from having a testimony. The burden of all who have received a spiritual witness and a testimony of this gospel is the responsibility of sharing it with others. When I bear my testimony, I share my belief in fulfillment of my duty to share my belief. That is the difference between bearing testimony and testifying.

That said, I bear my testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. I have received far too many witness from the Holy Spirit of God that the labor that I perform is the same labor of the Saints of old, and there is nothing that I would rather be doing. I bear the witness that I have received of the Book of Mormon, and as a result, the witness that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the Earth, prepatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah. I bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Lamb prepared from the foundation of the world. This is His work.

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."


This I know of myself, independent of any other.


Until next week,
Elder Reynolds