Welcome to Salmon Arm!‏

I'm going to miss the lovely city of Langley; it was a blessing serving in Willoughby for 6 months. Now, I find myself in Salmon Arm, which is right on the border of Alberta. It's a lovely town, though this time of year it's rather empty. Salmon Arm is more of a summer vacation spot, so there aren't a lot of people here in the winter.

My new companion is Elder Tillmann, from Sandy, Utah. He's been out for 4.5 months now, so he came out one transfer after I did. He's been in Salmon Arm that whole time, so he knows the area extremely well. I've also been called to be the district leader, which places Salmon Arm, Vernon 1st Ward, and Vernon 2nd Ward under my stewardship. It's been interesting, as I'm trying to learn a new area while also trying to be a leader. I look forward to the challenges and the lessons that I'm sure to learn. It takes about an hour and a half to see the rest of the district, so we'll have to figure out how to build district unity from a distance.

At the moment, there isn't a lot to report on, as my work in Salmon Arm has just begun! I hope I can learn new lessons here while applying what I've learned in the lower mainland.
Enjoy the weather!

-Elder Reynolds

A Canadian Quarter

I am not sure how familiar any of you are with Canadian currency, but coming from America, it was a bit of a culture shock. Every single coin has a picture of Elizabeth II, as in the Queen of England. British Columbia certainly has a lot of English spirit to it.That said, with this week, I complete my first quarter of the mission. I can easily say that I've loved every bit of it! It hasn't all been easy, but it feels like it has just zoomed by. I've really enjoyed being able to serve in Willoughby, especially with Elder Sloan. Transfer calls are tonight, so it'll be interesting to see what happens there.

Several nights ago, Ray was feeling extremely depressed; he was doubting his testimony and questioning if God truly loved him. I sat there silently pleading with the Lord, as I had no idea how to address this. I felt prompted to go sit next to Ray on the couch and put my arm around him. As soon as I did so, I knew exactly what to say, or at least, I began saying things that I never would have thought of. It was the first time I truly felt like I was teaching by the Spirit. By the end of it all, Ray was extremely happy, wrote down his testimony, and threw out his cigarettes. A big theme of my mission has been learning how much God really loves us, and since that lesson, I'm starting to understand that I'm just here to show people God's love for them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ simply revolves around our Father's love. We sang some hymns, watched some Mormon Messages, and then I made some french toast for everyone. It was a wonderful evening.However, I am not yet satisfied! I still have 18 months to go, and I don't want any less. I've still got a lot to teach and even more to learn.Today was the first day in several months that I wore short-sleeves. It's a strange feeling, especially since I imagined February in Canada being much colder.Our district is going out for some sushi today. As it turns out, I really like sushi. I've been much less selective on the mission, and I'm finding lots of foods that I really enjoy. I'll let you all know next week if I get transferred!


(Picture of Langley Zone Conference)

-Elder Reynolds

Happy Family Day!

Happy belated Family Day! I write this to you on 10 February 2015, and Family Day was 9 February 2015. Family Day is a national holiday that began in Canada 2 years ago. It's one of those "take Monday off" holidays, so the library was closed yesterday.

Because our options were limited on Preparation Day, the Elders in our zone held a small barbeque by the church. It was really fun getting to know the other Elders in Langley. Elder French-Cooper, serving in Port Coquitlam, is actually from Denton Texas, which is rather neat.

The rain here has been really consistent, but at least it isn't cold out.

We've recently been watching "Treasures in Heaven: The John Tanner Story" with a lot of different people. It's a really good film, only about 20 minutes long. It's definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it. The acting isn't top-notch, but it's an excellent, true story.

Have a good week! I hope you all enjoy some Valentine's Day candy!

 (Candy in Canada)

-Elder Reynolds 

Happy Groundhog Day!

Happy Groundhog Day everybody! At this time of year, I often reflect upon the movie starring Bill Murray; if I were to live today over and over again, what would I do to make each experience different? What would I learn?


Today is going to be a great day in Willoughby. We have Preparation Day until 6pm, and at 6:30pm we’ll be watching “Meet the Mormons” at the chapel with some of our friends that we are teaching. It’s also a beautiful day outside, so that is always a plus!

Happy Groundhog Day everybody! At this time of year, I often reflect upon the movie starring Bill Murray; if I were to live today over and over again, what would I do to make each experience different? What would I learn?

This week was fantastic; on Thursday, we had a specialized training meeting with President and Sister Burt and the Assistants. We talked a extensively about stepping out of our comfort zones and the importance of effective planning every day.

Happy Groundhog Day everybody! At this time of year, I often reflect upon the movie starring Bill Murray; if I were to live today over and over again, what would I do to make each experience different? What would I learn?

Whoa, deja vu.

I’ve heard that the most recent musical at Byron Nelson was a smashing success! Congratulations to all that participated!

I was able to upload some pictures this time around, some of them as old as Christmas. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful week and an even better Groundhog Day!

-Elder Reynolds

(Vancouver Temple with Elder Winkler)

A Black and Blues Week

It’s always a great day in January when you can wear short-sleeves in Canada.


Hello all! I hope your week has been marvelous! My week has been simply splendid. One must not become too focused on the material things of the world, but I am rather pleased with some shiny new things this week.


As some of you may know, the Church recently released DVD’s containing 50 clips from Biblevideos.org which contain highlights from the Savior’s life. Elder Winkler and I received a free copy from the Distribution Center because the complimentary booklet was missing from the DVD case. We’ve been using the videos in lessons, which has been really helpful.


Elder Winkler also received an extra set of black, pocket-sized scriptures, which he gave to me. I now carry them everywhere, and they are a great resource. I’ve been highlighting my favorite scriptures so I can show them to other people that we meet.


Ray has been feeling much better; he has a subscription to a Steve Nash gym, so he’s been much more active and energized. Because of this he’s recommitted to be baptized, and he bought Elder Winkler some sunglasses and he bought me a nice Blues harmonica, which I’ve been teaching myself to play. The zone leaders asked if I could play harmonica at district meeting on Wednesday, so I need to learn fast!


I would also like to give a special shout-out to the Rawe family- Subway has become the unofficial restaurant of the Langley zone, so the gift card did not last very long. Thank you so very much!


In other news, I finally received my official British Columbia driver’s license, so no longer must I deal with the temporary paper copies that I had to use.


I’m still working out a way to send pictures, but don’t expect any photos anytime soon… Sorry!


-Elder Reynolds

5 Months

Happy Tuesday everyone! What a rare occasion this is. Our zone attended the temple today, so our P-Day for the week has been moved to Tuesday. I do not have much time today, so this week’s update will be rather short.

It’s been a great week! I’ve passed my 5 month mark now, and it has really gone by quickly.


Elder Winkler and I had several people this week yell at us, and somebody put an anti-mormon pamphlet on our car. The Elders in Brookswood had one of their car windows smashed in, but nothing stolen. Honestly, it just gets us more excited to go out and teach the gospel!


The temple was great, the work continues. Many people in our zone are going home at the end of this transfer cycle.


I recently received some more name tags, which was good because I’ve been working off of one name tag for the past 3 months now.


We’ve been doing lots of service for an older gentleman in the ward named Brother Christensen, who’s the father of Elder Christensen of the Seventy, so that’s pretty neat.


That’s about all I got for this week. We have to go out and work tonight; we’ve only got a few hours left in the day and several appointments to make.


-Elder Reynolds

The Maiden Voyage of 2015

The weather here isn’t very fitting for sailing; this cold rain really dampens the mood, but the crew is as willing as ever to ensure the safe journey of our ship.


The spirits are high and the sails have been set! If you take a look off the starboard side, you’ll see Russ, who is a very kind, older gentleman that we met several days ago. He’s never met with missionaries before, but loves what he’s read in the Book of Mormon. Looking towards the stern, you’ll notice that we are sailing away from Barnston IslAs you are all aware, the HMS 2015 has set sail this week from the Canada Vancouver Port; where the ship will take me, I know not, but I know that when I depart the vessel, I will not be the same man that climbed aboard.

and, where we spent our entire day yesterday; some very kind people and a First Nation’s reservation dwell there. If you were to hoist yourself up to the Crow’s Nest, you just might be able to see a baptism coming our way, but it is too early in the voyage to be certain.


We’ll soon be arriving at our first milestone, which is January 11th. There, I will turn 19 and become a legal adult in British Columbia.


Aye, the great sea holds many mysteries, hardships, and adventures. But as any good sailor knows, we need to simply look up to determine our course and direction. That’s the key to sailing.


I hope you all can get your sea legs soon, because this is going to be quite a ride. I bid unto all a Bon Voyage, and I invite you to never forget that with Him as your helmsman, you shall safely return to home port.


-Elder Reynolds


2nd Lieutenant of the HMS 2015, Willoughby Division