✌🏻️Still Alive✌🏻️

We ate lunch with one of my favorite members from the Scioto this week and she told us a funny story about her grandson. He is on a mission in Scotland and when he writes his weekly emails with his sketchy adventures he signs off, Still alive. One week he talked about how he had walked about 5 miles out into the country to knock on some doors and they caught a ride back into town with a stranger in a white van with no windows and only two front doors #kidnappervan. After that

email she asked him how many other time he was going to have to say Still Alive before it wasn't true. We shall see if he stops his sketchy adventures.

Don't worry, I didn't have any sketchy adventures this week, I just thought The story was funny😂 #elderproblems

Anyway, I am in fact Still alive this week!

It was proabably the longest week of my mission, but we made it folks. And as the saying goes, all is well that ends well, and this weekend Amy was BAPTIZED! You can't ask for a better ending than that (except for maybe a temple trip but don't worry we planned that one for Nov 19🙌🏻🙌🏻) It was honestly one of my most favorite Baptisms I've been a part of of. The Mount Vernon ward really exemplified Elder Oaks' quote in his most recent conference address,

"Member missionary work is not a program but an attitude of love and outreach to help those around us." They reached out to her in her time of need. Offered her a safe place to land, reached out to us to teach her the gospel, offered up their homes, lives, talents and connections to help her build a solid foundation in Mount Vernon, and gave her the best gift they could; the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Baptism was well attended, completely planned and organized by Amy. She reached out to so many people and involved them in her spiritual experience. She brought her friends, and we had some less active recent converts come. She brought her father to her confirmation yesterday. The spirit of love was so strong there and she continues to be supported today. We also arranged a trip to the temple for her next weekend in ward council. I have felt so much peace seeing the ward work so well with her. I know that she will be taken care of and I am so grateful we all got to be a part of her conversion.

She also taught me a lot about conversion. Before my mission I assumed my job would be to bring the spirit by testifying of blessings. By hearing theses blessings, the investigators would be convinced they should be baptized. Now I know that by teaching repentance, those desires for baptism come naturally. If you teach repentance, they will ask you to be baptized. The Elders who found Amy years ago did a fabulous job of teaching repentance, she understood she needed to make

changes but was not ready to do so. She left, made mistakes, made her life harder, and finally after being brought to her low, she was ready to make those changes. She repented fully, found a fresh view of God and the desires to be baptized came naturally. In her own words "I know baptism is something I need to do, but I WANT to do it now!" I love teaching repentance, I love helping others feel the joyful message of the gospel, and I love that because of Jesus Christ we can

become what he needs us to become. Jeff came to the baptism as well. He loved the program and said he felt a lot of love and happiness. He set up his own return appointments this week so we could read the Book of Mormon with him and he was so excited to be at church this Sunday. We are trying to work with the Bishop to get an ARP program started for a few less actives and investigators, specifically Jeff. He is making so many changes in his life and doing well!

This week I want to let all of you know that Heavenly Father knows you. A lot of people I have met in my lifetime know that God exists. They can show me scriptures that point to God, they can sing songs that talk about God, and these are all really good things. I love learning more about God. The most powerful thing you can learn about God is your relationship to him. I've met people who think of him as a big bad boss in the sky. They see him as a taskmaster who points his

finger and orders us around. They see him as someone who is so high above us that there is no way he can possibly understand everything about us individually. Some people see the crazy world and argue there is no way there is anybody helping us find any goodness, no god would ever let children die or nations be destroyed. I am here to tell you that God is your loving Heavenly Father. He created each of us individually. Just like our earthly fathers, he knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to hear from us. He wants us to be close to him, and he will do ANYTHING he can to help us return back to him. He doesn't know you as random earth child number 874286439237582375832579245749579245794, he knows your name. He knows your favorite color, he knows what you want to do with your life, he knows what hurts you, and most importantly he knows what you NEED. Not only does he know what you need, he promises to give it to you. These needs can be anything as big as a safe place to sleep the night you decide to take your kids and leave behind your abusive husband, or as small as a few sentences in an email from your favorite person or a hug from your Mt Vernon Mom. He sees you and he will be there for you if you let him. Earlier this year Elder Hallstrom gave a talk about the power that comes from understanding our relationship with God; "This doctrine is so basic, so oft stated, and so instinctively simple that it can seem to be ordinary, when in reality it is among the most extraordinary knowledge we can obtain. A correct understanding of our heavenly heritage is essential to exaltation. It is foundational to comprehending the glorious plan of salvation and to nurturing faith in the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus the Christ, and in His merciful Atonement. Further, it provides continual motivation for us to make and keep our indispensable eternal covenants."

God is real. He is your father and he will help you through any and everything! Look to him and live this week. If you don't know this for yourself, Ask Him! The fastest prayer to ever be answered will always be whether or not your Heavenly a father is there for you. I promise he is. He will be there in the Good times, the bad times, and everything in between. Remember that Love this week!!

✌🏻️Sister Reynolds✌🏻️

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