baptisms and bike wrecks

Hello!

Sorry that the email is a little late this week. Pday was changed to wednesday this week because we went to the temple this morning. It will be on monday again next week. We get to go to the temple once per transfer, so about every six weeks or so and I loved it! Like I said before I can't believe how much I miss going to the temple every week and doing baptisms there but now I can baptize people out in the field! Speaking of which the first baptism of the mission is coming up on saturday and i'm way excited for that and there are two more that could be happening soon! We just need the family to come to church again and the twins (pat and anna, who are 10) can get baptized! We are teaching a couple of people who are keen on listening and continue to progress well. I have had the opportunity to go on trade offs with nearly every elder in the district because Elder Benson is the DL so there are trade offs at least once a week! It's interesting but I like having the change of pace.

So Heather and Clint seem to be having the time of their life with this move, hopefully they get settled in soon and the kids get used to all of the changes. How has work been for them?

Tell grandma happy birthday for me! Tell gramps hi too! I miss them and the cookies and being called lil boy blue haha. Tell them I love them and to not have too much fun.

How was cleaning the temple? So many people are getting married! Have you seen Carson at all since he got married? How were the receptions and all that?

Oh I do ride bikes on two days of the week. I have a car the rest of the week and it's nice to have! I already broke in the bike and carried on the family name by wrecking on the bike on the first day! Haha it was dark and I had never been down the road before. We were going down a hill and then it turned really sharp at the bottom and I didn't have time to prep for the turn or stop so I learned how to fly and then made a new friend with the road and the curb. My right tricep nailed the curb and my shirt got ripped to shreds, I should have broken my arm to be honest with you. I lost feeling in my arm almost immediately and nearly passed out from going into shock. Oh and since heather will ask, no, I didn't cry haha. The cool thing is I stacked it in front of a members house so he drove us back to the flat and we just left the bikes at his house. My arm got swollen big time and I expected a massive bruise to show up in a few days or so because of how hard I had hit the curb but a week later and nothing showed up! My garment sleeve ended right where my arm hit the curb and didn't tear at all...protection of angels? I think so! The only thing that hurts is my wrist. It is a little stiff but it's all good, I'm sure it will loosen up soon enough.

Islander members are the best, I don't even know like any of them and one brother just came up to me and shook my hand and hugged me in the library...good times haha! They also make THE HUGEST meals. We are fasting as a district tomorrow and having a fast break at an islanders home, it will be a feast. I went to the Sekona home for dinner one night and they apologized and said they wished they could have had more time to prepare the meal because they were planning on putting a pig on. For four people. It's crazy! I still weigh the same though so no worries there yet :)

We have been teaching an asian lady named Catherine and she is super awesome! She is living with a guy named Dave (who holds the world record for longest thrown object, boomerang, at least that's what I was told) but he is a total jerk! She has four kids and is super nice. He is self centered like no other and totally uses her. She is trying to find out what to do with her life. (Enter missionaries) She is so receptive and likes what we have taught so far and i'm hoping she will listen to what we have to teach because I know what she is looking for can be found in the church.

I'd like to talk about all of my investigators and potentials but I'm running out of time on the computer and still need to attach all the photos I wanna send so that will be all for now. Tell everyone to send me some mail! I have yet to recieve a hand written letter in the mailbox so someone needs to get on that haha. Well I hope you enjoy the pictures and enjoy the rest of the week! Excpect to hear from me again on sunday after church (monday here)

Love you!

Elder Reynolds

australia

Momma!

Hey how are ya?! Australia is pretty dang good, I'm using the library computer to write you right now and will do so as long as I'm in this area. My area is called Rochedale (sounds like roachdale) and I was a little worried about how the place would be when I heard the name but after getting here I can tell that it is really nice and the name is misleading for sure! It's not next to the beach or anything but I hope to go to a place like that in my next transfer or two. I will be in Rochedale for atleast the first two transfers while Elder Benson trains me and then who knows where I will go from there! So if my calculations are right you will recieve this email at about 4:30 on Sunday right after you get out of church. It is 11:30 here in Brisbane at the moment!

Thanks for taking care of my guitars, I still haven't had the chance to play one since I left and it is killing me. I think a part of me dies every day that I don't play haha.

The mission pres will send an email with a picture but you won't get it for three days or so I think. So no worries there! President Langland is pretty cool and sweet as from what I can tell.

Well I have taught a few good lessons already and we have one guy committed to be baptized on the 20th. His name is Patric and he is really keen on the church and he wants to get his sister onto it as well. We just need him to stop smoking, which he starts today, and be clean for a week to keep the baptism date on. We have all sorts of potental investigators but he is the most promising at this point. We are also teaching two others who are progressing quite well. Lisa and Glenda are their names. Lisa has a friend who introduced her to the church and we taught her the first lesson and got her to church yesterday along with Pat and Glenda. Glenda is a woman in her 60's with Parkinsons. She is really cool and wants to learn more about the church so hopefully that all goes well. It will be an interesting day if she gets baptized yeah?

Well I'm gonna try and attach some pictures right about now so hopefully that works. Oh and you can post anything on the blog that you feel comfortable with, you be the judge :) Oh and stetson asked me to have you send the pictures of him and myself to his mom but didn't give me an email. He said just to have melissa post them on facebook and tag him in them so his mom would get that notification. Well I'll be signing off with that and I hope you enjoy the pictures! I look forward to hearing how your week went and tell you how mine went too! Love you all!

Elder Brock Reynolds

P.S. Let Laurissa know that the toilets don't flush the other way, they just kinda go straight down. But the water does go the other way if you drain the sink, etc.

in ausie safe and sound

Hello Reynolds family ­- Greetings from Australia!
This is just a short note to thank you for sending your son into the mission field.We have a new tradition in our family that we take photos of the missionaries when they come for dinner and email them home, so you know your son is getting fed. J J J As you probably know, Elder Reynolds arrived here in Rochedale Ward on Wednesday night and we had the pleasure of having he and his companion, Elder Benson, join us for dinner on Friday evening. Elder Benson has been in our ward for 6 months and also trained his last companion. Elder Benson is a wonderful missionary – quite obedient – and faithfully serves. He is a great Elder to have as a first companion. I have already enjoyed having Elder Reynolds around and look forward to serving with him as part of the ward missionary team over the coming months.

Kind regards

Tony & Dominique Rolls

laundry room writing! and pics!

Hey family! I'm writing you from in the laundry room while my clothes are washing. The branch president said that us aussie boys could make today our pday and just forget the normal schedule in prep for leaving the mtc. All I need to do is finish the wash and then I can start packing! In about exactly 12 hours I will be on my way to LA for my connect to Sydney. I am gonna get some sweet pictures from up in the air, the opera house maybe? I have some pictures that I'm wanting to send you in email but these computers suck here so I'll have to do it next week in the field. I found Stetson here and we got some pictures together, he told me to have someone put them on facebook for us so maybe melissa could do that when I send you the pictures with my next email.

The mtc has been an amazingly interesting. It has been said that our missions will be the most wonderfully awful experience...I don't know how I feel about that but all I can do is hope for the best no? I have made some really good friends with the elders who were in my district 7A. Half of the guys took off this morning at 330 to go to the travel office and drive to the airport. The room I was in all woke up to say goodbye to the boys and tell them anything we wanted to say. One of the guys (elder lyons) gave me a thin sweater from thailand that is pretty sweet! You will definately think it is interesting but I will post a picture of it so you can see what I'm talking about. Everyone was pretty jealous that I got the sweater :)

How is everyone back home? Jared sent me some emails and I got a couple pictures of the car they got but I haven't heard from anyone else lately. I haven't got the dear elder letters from saturday yet because the mail room closes before they get printed out on that day so I will get them today. I'll send you my address for aussieland once I get it and I expect you to spread it among everyone! If you see any of my friends you need to kick them and tell them to write me!

Has cole tried to play my 3ds yet? Or has lane and chloe tried to play the guitars? Which by the way, I don't remember you telling me where you stored Jimmy and Emily Mae...When does school start for all the chilluns? I'm sure all of the siblings are pretty excited to have that day come. Say hi to everyone for me and let them know what I've been up to.

Well I'm tryin to prep myself for this huge day of traveling that will put me on the opposite side of the world and 17 hours ahead of AZ time (it just barely changed days to the 2nd there) but it's not something that you can really prepare for! I've just been singing 'leaving on a jet plane' in my head since I woke up and it's sticking pretty strong. Oh and I found out I can buy a calling card at the byu bookstore so I will buy one to call you with at the airport. I don't know if I'll have time to call you when I'm at the Salt Lake one so expect a call anytime between 7 and 10 because I might have to call you in LA since I'll have more time with the layover and all.

I got the shades and I'm lovin them! I can't wait to try them out in the bright Brisbane sun. I'm so excited to meet the people I'm going to teach for the next two years! I pray to have a love for them beyond what I can have myself, but it shouldn't be too hard to love all the Australians! So apparently the beaches aren't just sketchy to be by as a missionary because the water, but some parts of the beach are clothes free zones. I've been told that I'll probably see a couple nudies running around so that should be interesting :/ I'll just look away and whistle a hymn or something...Haha!

Well I'm out of time, can't wait til i'm not restricted by time so I can tell you some good stories! Bye for now, love you all! :)

Elder Brock Reynolds

catching up on brocks letters. :)

Family!

So...I hear you miss me! I also hear mom cried when she smelled my shirt that she wasn't sure about if it was clean or not. I don't really know whether to think of that as a tender moment or dissapointing, I guess it depends on the details that I didn't get...Anywho! What is goin on back in Thatcher land? Give me some news updates on crazy things happening. I hear there was another celeb OD death recently, Amy Winehouse. Oh those druggies.

Well I bet you are wondering when I leave. I have told a few people in letters that I mailed today but you guys will still be the first to know (if you open your email before jared does that is) I leave the mtc on monday the first at 530 pm and arrive in Brisbane on wednesday the 3rd at 1230 pm. I get to fly into the future thanks to the international dateline! I have a layover at LAX for two hours and also a layover in Sydney for two hours. Altogether it will take a full 24 hours to get there :/ Crazy!

Well it's spiritual experience time! So this past sunday, the 24th of july as we all know, there was a fireside. The fireside was alright, nothing too amazing but for the closing song we sang 'come come ye saints' with a recording of motab...Which if you don't remember is the same song they used for the grand finale of the tcc. I had lost my voice for some reason ( i got a little sore throat for a while) so i couldn't sing very loud but I gave it all I had. We all stood up for the last verse in the gym where firesides are held and a flood of memories came crashing down on me. In my mind I was looking up into the night sky while hearing thousands of youth sing to the prophet and feeling all the love in the world in my heart. I was the one singing along this time though. It reminded me of that night on my 18th birthday where I cried my eyes out while 'flying' in the air. We watched Legacy after the fireside and that was amazing as well. I have missed the temple soooooo much since I left because the provo temple has been closed since i got here but I found out friday that it would be opening on tuesday, my pday, and that I would be able to go! I was so excited! While at the temple I had one of the best visits I had. As I sat in the Celestial Room and prayed I started to cry because I knew that the Lord had allowed me to go to the temple once again before I left...which is something I really wanted.

I'd love to say more but I only have 2 minutes left on email! I love you all and next time you get an email from me I will be in Australia!

Elder Brock Reynolds

P.S. Look up the lyrics to come come ye saints for the last verse and try to put yourselves in my shoes as I stood up to sing the last verse with thousands of missionaries, you will know why I cried :)

first letter from brock in mtc.

Hey guys!

Well so far the MTC has been pretty crazy! I have gotten all your dear elder letters and appreciate them, you should use that the whole time i'm in the mtc because it is same day delivery and I really like to get the mail :) Mom, if you haven't yet please tell people they can use dear elder to write me while in the mtc and give them the address. Pretty much all they need to know is my mission, my name and my box number which is #229. How have things been? Don't worry about me! I'm doing just fine here and I know i'm here for a reason. I know that I should have been a little better of a son that past month at home and that I was being pretty lazy a lot of the time but I hope you will forgive me for that. I have learned so much about the spirit this past week and how I can feel it more and also how I can invite others to feel it as well.

My companion is elder paul fox. He is a pretty funny guy! We get along well and help each other to become better at being missionaries. The other elders I room with are also going to brisbane and we are most likely going to fly out on the plane together, I haven't heard anything about my visa yet so hopefully that works out well. But anyways the other two elders i room with are elder hunter hodgkinson who is the district leader and jake christensen. They are both really great guys! My district is a really good one and we all get along quite well. The first few days here seemed to be extremely long but now that I am getting used to the schedule and the load is being lightened a bit things are much better and it seems like time has been speeding up. Everyone has agreed that it seems like it has been forever since we left home, almost like we didn't have a life before we came here haha, it is really crazy but it's all good. How was going through the temple with dillan? I think i asked that in the letter i sent you a few days ago but idk if you have gotten it yet. What did you do with Jimmy and Emily Mae? (My guitars) Treat them nice because i'm sure they are really lonely and miss thier daddy :)

I have really enjoyed gym time here and being able to have time to workout in my schedule so i dont slack off. I'm gonna come home looking better than ever! haha I don't know if i have gained any weight yet because I haven't seen a place to weigh myself yet but i'm pretty sure I haven't gained anything. My pants still fit just fine so i guess we'll say the lady at the distribution center was wrong, so far at least...

I read the story dad wrote and really like it! Thanks for that experience. I have been practicing teaching and studying like no other, it is ridiculous the amount of time they have you in a classroom. I am literally in the same room for about 9 hours a day, longer than I get to sleep! Yesterday I had my first chance to actually teach someone who was in a real teaching environment that wasn't someone I knew (elder, teacher, for example...) in the TRC. It was an amazing experience and I felt the spirit hit me so hard everytime I would bear testimony with sincere love for the person I was teaching, good times for sure. But even though I am having a great time in the mtc i am so ready to get to aussieland and out in the field for the real deal.

Have my spy glasses come yet? I need a few more normal shirts and those garments you said you'd send. I don't have enough normal shirts for the gym days because we only get laundry once a week, so I'd appreciate a couple more shirts. Maybe the black nike one and then just pick out two or three more you think i'd like to have. Also can you send another two ties? Everyone else here brought like 20...haha but i'd like some more. Oh and I'm just wishing with this one but maybe you could hook me up with a mica watch? haha

Tell everyone to write! Family, friends, random people you meet on the street who might be bored and wanting something to do, and well, you get the idea. It is amazing how much I enjoy getting mail and hearing how things are back home, it isn't really distracting but I enjoy hearing how things are going all over just to unwind at the end of the day. Tell me what is new in the news as well because I have heard nothing at all and it is really weird...

Will I have 3 minutes before I get kicked off the mail server so i need to say goodbye but i really liked writing you! My pday is on tuesdays while i'm here but they go to monday when I get to aussieland. Thanks for all you have done for me!

Love you!!!
Elder Brock Reynolds