It has been a pretty standard week in the life of a missionary. We had
a really cool Zone Meeting where we talked a lot about the promises of
missionary work, especially the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anyone can
feel the influence of the Holy Ghost or the light of Christ in their
live leading them to do good or comforting them. Anyone who has been
baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has
received e Gift of the Holy Ghost and if they are worthy can feel the
power of the Holy Ghost with them constantly, but missionaries are
promised a super intense version of this. We are promised that if we
invite the Holy Spirit into our lives he will help us know what we can
do each day to help the people that are ready to receive the gospel.
He will also help us reach with power, and help the people we are
teaching understand the things we want to teach them. We talked about
how the Holy Ghost is constantly with us but sometimes we drown his
still small voice out with the distractions of the world. Even as
missionaries where we spend 85% of our time thinking about the Lord
and his gospel, little things like thoughts of home, or remembering
your favorite Imagine Dragons songs can make it harder to hear the
Spirti and be led by him. I had a really hard time accepting the idea
that thinking about good things like my friends and family, or
uplifting songs by my favorite band was bad for the spirit. I spent a
lot of time studying different talks given by our modern day apostles
in General Conference and I found a really cool one by Elder Dallin H
Oaks called "Good, Better, Best." Elder Oaks is talking about how
there are many good things we could do with our time, but we can
receive more joy and satisfaction if we spend most of our time doing
the BEST things. I think our thoughts are the same way. Thinking of
family, music, fun, etc. is good but the BEST things I can be
thinking about (Christ, his infinite Atonement, my purpose as a
missionary) will help me to be more effective for the 18 months I
have to waste and wear my life out here in Ohio. I've worked hard to
find and feel the Spirit in my life this week and it has improved my
teaching and just general mood SOOOOO much. Work hard to find ways you
can invite the spirit into your own lives this week!
This week we also got to go on exchanges for the first time. During
exchanges we switch companions for 24 hours. Usually the more
experienced Sister Missionaries will switch with us and we are able to
see how they teach and learn from them. I spent a day with Sister
Crandall in the Riverside area. It's right next to the OSU campus. We
had a lot of fun together, we had a lot in common and I learned a lot
about working with members of our church not just people we are
teaching about the church. I also learned a lot about companionships
in general. Sister Crandall was definitely more quiet than Sister
Corbett and I definitely missed all of our crazy conversations we have
during the day. I'm grateful for our open relationship and her
willingness to talk and listen to me.
The people of Scioto are great. We've spent a lot of time working with
Barbara this week. She will be getting baptized on August 29, and she
is so ready it hurts. She is learning so much on her own and is SO
diligent in her scripture study! We always have really good
discussions on everything we teach and she is teaching us a lot about
the conversion process. We did some service for her over the weekend
and found out she owns the 4th largest Elm tree here. It's huge and we
had a lot of fun in her yard learning about plants and bees (she is a
bee keeper and owns 6'of her own hives and is a bee hive inspector for
the state of Ohio). I am very excited for the 29th to come!
We've also spent a lot of time working with members of the church in our area this week. We are trying to help them feel the blessings of missionary work in their own lives. The best way to teach someone is through the members of our church so they feel that they have a connection to the church already. If you love Sister Reynolds you will give the missionaries a referral this week! Pray for missionary opportunities and look for people to share the gospel with. Then ask the missionaries for help in sharing the gospel! They have tools to help you, or will even teach the people for you. There is power in the message of Christ that we share and it is the best gift you can give anyone. Any time is the perfect time to share the gospel! Help the missionaries out. My favorite missionary quote of the week is:
"Brothers and sisters, as surely as the Lord has inspired more missionaries to serve, He is also awakening the minds and opening the hearts of more good and honest people to receive His missionaries. You already know them or will know them. They are in your family and live in your neighborhood. They walk past you on the street, sit by you in school, and connect with you online. You too are an important part of this unfolding miracle.
If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart--painted, as Paul said, “not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” And returned missionaries, find your old missionary tag. Don’t wear it, but put it where you can see it. The Lord needs you now more than ever to be an instrument in His hands. All of us have a contribution to make to this miracle." (It’s a Miracle, Anderson, April 2013 )
I love you all and hope everyone is doing well!!!!!!!
Love,
Sister Reynolds
a really cool Zone Meeting where we talked a lot about the promises of
missionary work, especially the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anyone can
feel the influence of the Holy Ghost or the light of Christ in their
live leading them to do good or comforting them. Anyone who has been
baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has
received e Gift of the Holy Ghost and if they are worthy can feel the
power of the Holy Ghost with them constantly, but missionaries are
promised a super intense version of this. We are promised that if we
invite the Holy Spirit into our lives he will help us know what we can
do each day to help the people that are ready to receive the gospel.
He will also help us reach with power, and help the people we are
teaching understand the things we want to teach them. We talked about
how the Holy Ghost is constantly with us but sometimes we drown his
still small voice out with the distractions of the world. Even as
missionaries where we spend 85% of our time thinking about the Lord
and his gospel, little things like thoughts of home, or remembering
your favorite Imagine Dragons songs can make it harder to hear the
Spirti and be led by him. I had a really hard time accepting the idea
that thinking about good things like my friends and family, or
uplifting songs by my favorite band was bad for the spirit. I spent a
lot of time studying different talks given by our modern day apostles
in General Conference and I found a really cool one by Elder Dallin H
Oaks called "Good, Better, Best." Elder Oaks is talking about how
there are many good things we could do with our time, but we can
receive more joy and satisfaction if we spend most of our time doing
the BEST things. I think our thoughts are the same way. Thinking of
family, music, fun, etc. is good but the BEST things I can be
thinking about (Christ, his infinite Atonement, my purpose as a
missionary) will help me to be more effective for the 18 months I
have to waste and wear my life out here in Ohio. I've worked hard to
find and feel the Spirit in my life this week and it has improved my
teaching and just general mood SOOOOO much. Work hard to find ways you
can invite the spirit into your own lives this week!
This week we also got to go on exchanges for the first time. During
exchanges we switch companions for 24 hours. Usually the more
experienced Sister Missionaries will switch with us and we are able to
see how they teach and learn from them. I spent a day with Sister
Crandall in the Riverside area. It's right next to the OSU campus. We
had a lot of fun together, we had a lot in common and I learned a lot
about working with members of our church not just people we are
teaching about the church. I also learned a lot about companionships
in general. Sister Crandall was definitely more quiet than Sister
Corbett and I definitely missed all of our crazy conversations we have
during the day. I'm grateful for our open relationship and her
willingness to talk and listen to me.
The people of Scioto are great. We've spent a lot of time working with
Barbara this week. She will be getting baptized on August 29, and she
is so ready it hurts. She is learning so much on her own and is SO
diligent in her scripture study! We always have really good
discussions on everything we teach and she is teaching us a lot about
the conversion process. We did some service for her over the weekend
and found out she owns the 4th largest Elm tree here. It's huge and we
had a lot of fun in her yard learning about plants and bees (she is a
bee keeper and owns 6'of her own hives and is a bee hive inspector for
the state of Ohio). I am very excited for the 29th to come!
We've also spent a lot of time working with members of the church in our area this week. We are trying to help them feel the blessings of missionary work in their own lives. The best way to teach someone is through the members of our church so they feel that they have a connection to the church already. If you love Sister Reynolds you will give the missionaries a referral this week! Pray for missionary opportunities and look for people to share the gospel with. Then ask the missionaries for help in sharing the gospel! They have tools to help you, or will even teach the people for you. There is power in the message of Christ that we share and it is the best gift you can give anyone. Any time is the perfect time to share the gospel! Help the missionaries out. My favorite missionary quote of the week is:
"Brothers and sisters, as surely as the Lord has inspired more missionaries to serve, He is also awakening the minds and opening the hearts of more good and honest people to receive His missionaries. You already know them or will know them. They are in your family and live in your neighborhood. They walk past you on the street, sit by you in school, and connect with you online. You too are an important part of this unfolding miracle.
If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart--painted, as Paul said, “not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.” And returned missionaries, find your old missionary tag. Don’t wear it, but put it where you can see it. The Lord needs you now more than ever to be an instrument in His hands. All of us have a contribution to make to this miracle." (It’s a Miracle, Anderson, April 2013 )
I love you all and hope everyone is doing well!!!!!!!
Love,
Sister Reynolds
Tree hugging ... proud Mum moment!
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