Mar. 5th, 2018 update

[Pictures first!]

"Hello everyone!

I am doing quite well in this wonderful area of Centralia. This area is quite large, which is why we have a car. But we continue to walk for most of the day, way fun.

We did see a deer one day, that was way cool. We also spotted a raccoon in a tree, and I think we scared it because it started to power up its laser eyes and was going to shoot us. So we ran away. 

There has been some serious sickness going around the area, and so everyone in my companionship got varying levels of sickness which made for a fun week. Thankfully we have all become better, at least a little bit, and are going to live. I hope that we did not make anyone else sick as we went out each day, but who knows. 

Not much else really happened besides making sure our smoke alarm works. That is about all that I will say about it, make it seem like it was something very intense :)

Hope you all have a great week!

--

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"

Feb. 26th, 2018 update

[There was no updated from the 19th because Elder Reed ran out of time - so here's this week's update!]

I do apologize for not having emailed last week, but the time was again limited. Now I will get one out. Just for you all. :)

I am glad to say that I am now in a new area in the Great WA-TAC! Centralia. I am in a foursome now, which means that I am in a companionship of four. We all cover one area. The reason for this is that we needed a spanish missionary (Elder Carling) along with another zone leader (Elder Dearden, with Elder Burton) and because threesomes are not very good idea (imagine three people on a doorstep) they needed a fourth, and Elder Reed just happened to be the best choice! Plus, President Leishman told me that he was going to transfer me out of Bremerton, having stayed there for 7 and a half months. So we all cover the same area and just switch between each other whenever we get tired of the other. Another plus, because it is a zone leader area, we have a car!!! A Chevy Equinox, white, 2014. Pretty exciting. Although we ran out of miles recently so we walked for quite some time in order to get to an appointment and knock around the area. 

Not much else has happened this week, but this is all of us!

In order, Elder Carling (from Idaho), Elder Burton (from many places), Elder Reed (oh yeah) and Elder Dearden (from Ohio, yeah).

[Until next week - remember to count the blessings!!!]

Feb. 12th, 2018 update

"This week has been another very interesting experience, like all of them are. 

On Monday, a couple of us missionaries checked out the Navy Museum that is here in my area, and it was very fun. One of the other Elders likes airplanes and is familiar with them, so him and I were having fun in the gift shop which had some tiny model airplanes like the Blackbird or the P-51. We were having a grand ol' time. I ended up trying to read everything in the museum but everyone else was not, so I had to speed up my reading in order to keep up with them. 

Tuesday, we tried to visit a list of people that are members of our church, but don't ever come to church, just to make sure that they still live in this area. We ended up only talking to one person, and it was not the person that we were looking for. Later, we had our weekly Book of Mormon class with the missionaries in the Manette area. They had this family from Nigeria that came. As we read the scriptures and talked about what it meant to us, the mother was really into it and contributed a lot to the discussion. During the entire time, I was so excited for this family because of the changes that they are making in their lives and how they are seeing it bless them as well.

Wednesday, we had a different district meeting as it was combined with the other district and our stake president was there as well as the first counselor in our mission presidency. Later, our mission president arrived and we had interviews with him. And I will be getting transfered to a different area next week. He told me that it was time to get me somewhere else.:)

Thursday, not much. Although reading the scriptures was a plus. I suggest a daily dose to all. 

Friday, I found a dead raccoon and saw a tiny possum in some ones yard. Not in the same place though. 

Saturday, just a bunch of knocking. 

Sunday, met a really cool recent convert with an amazing testimony. So share your belief of Jesus Christ with everyone you can and be thou and example of the believers!!! 

The pictures are of a very old calculator. And of a ferry ride from Port Orchard to Bremerton. 

--

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"

[Note that there isn't an update for the 19th, as Elder Reed didn't have much time.]

Feb. 5th, 2018 update

[Pictures first this week!]

"Let me see......

This week started with helping someone move. I thought that meant boxes, but it ended up being a couch, a bed and some cabinets. It was not that bad really and did not take too long. Got to get that exercise in somehow right? 

On Wednesday, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Seattle Temple as half of a mission, and that was once again a wonderful time. For the ride there, we were all singing songs. It is interesting because an Elder Rose and I were singing by ourselves for fun, and then somehow everyone else was wanting to sing as well. We sang a bunch of hymns and some children's hymns as well, and the bus driver was really feeling it as well. It was way cool because he isn't a member so it was a good missionary experience. 

Fun Fact: The Seattle Temple is one of five Temples that has the angel Moroni on the top that is holding the golden plates. Way cool stuff. 

Friday, a Sister got back from her mission in Japan and her mother had been talking about it since I got here and I never thought that I would actually get to meet her, so when she got home, it was way cool to get to see her and say that I have been here since her year mark. That is way interesting in missionary time, because you see everything differently. It is quite fun.

That is pretty much it for right now. Hope you all do great in whatever it is that you are doing!

And some pics of the bus ride!

--

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"

Jan. 22nd and 29th, 2018 update

[From the Jan 22nd update, there wasn't a lot, so I just put them both together...]

From Elder Reed's Jan 22nd update:

"Sorry folks, I got preoccupied with other things that needed to get done and I was not really able to write a very long letter this week. Besides getting sick and taking our bikes to get fixed, nothing else too exciting happened.

Oh, the First Presidency message was very good though.

I love you all!!!"

From Elder Reed's Jan 29th update:

 "Finally, I think that I will be able to get out a relatively normal length email out!

This week in review:

We had a Mission wide cleaning day because there have been some missionary apartments that really needed some cleaning. Ours has been kept pretty clean, but still, we had some stuff to remove. The fireplace in our apartment looks like it has never been cleaned so I ended up doing that. And we had three bags of ash that we took out. Very gross. We had apartment inspections a couple days later so that was good. 

This Sunday was our regional broadcast from the church, so every building in the northwest and west watched the same thing. We were privileged to hear from Elder Nattress of the Seventy, Sister France of the Primary Presidency, President Kearon of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Christofferson of the Quarom of the Twelve Apostles. It was way cool because I have met President Kearon when he came to our mission, so I got to hear from him again, and all of the other talks were way good as well.

This weeks weather has been very interesting. There have been a couple of days in which it was rained a bunch and one that was particularly bad. I ended up changing my pants four times because they got soaked every time that I went out. My feet however have remained very dry, which I am continually grateful for. I hope to be able to keep it that way.

Today is about halfway through the transfer and we will be doing an activity with all of the missionaries in the zone, which will be fun. It will not involve flour this time, only some volleyball and some other games. It will still be fun though. It has been interesting spending so long in one zone and getting to see how everyone moves in and out and how quickly new friendships can be made as we are all unified in the purpose of spreading the message of the Gospel to anyone that we can. Way awesome. 

I hope that you all have a fantastic week and find some awesome new truth that you did not know about before!

--

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"

Jan. 16th, 2018 update

[Time is flying by! Here we are in 2018 already!!.... The following is from Elder Reed - pictures first this week. :) ]

"So because of another holiday, the libraries here try to close their doors for whatever reason they can, so another short letter here. 

let me just describe some of these pictures for you...

The first two are of me, after the flour fight that we had as a zone, very white. and fun :)

Then of some of the other missionaries, lots of more fun.

Then of a pig that I found on someones front porch. It had a water bowl and a food bowl as well. Interesting......

A leaf that I found. Very spiky and dangerous looking.

And the two missionaries with our zone leaders now that are temporarily reassigned to this mission as their mission is closed right now due to the resent storms that were over Puerto Rico. (that was there mission) 

Also, last night I got to knock in the Southworth area, and we knocked for an hour, and only knocked on 7 houses. A very spread out neighborhood, and it was quite fun. 

I will try to get more for next week! just hold tight!

--

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"

Jan. 8th, 2018 update

From Elder Reed:

"Hello to you all!!!

I am sorry that I did not email last week, most libraries were closed Monday do to the New Year. So we got to email on Tuesday for only a hour and I did not have too much time to email, and this week again, we are running short on time so I will just keep it pretty basic.

Transfers are this week, and (drum roll please)

I am staying in the Bremerton area for a fifth transfer! (oh! awe!)

Here are some pics!

Just some missionaries making blankets! 

And more shoes!

-- 

Love from Elder Reed

Hymn 152"