October 16th

Its five in the morning.. :/ its really the only time every week we can e-mail. I don't mind:) makes me feel a little more.. healthy? Well first transfer is over as of this week:( But it has been fun and I've learned a ton!!! :) Chinese is coming along. I had one of those cool experiences where someones asks you something and respond without even thinking about what you need to say. It made me feel like maybe I can speak Chinese. :) I love the people here. We have our third baptism here next week so that will be an immersion of blessings from God in one transfer;) This week I contacted a guy by a seven eleven. His flamboyant attitude and pungent stench of old rotten barley, made it clear he had not slept much the night before and was still continuing his wild party with more beer. He said a bunch of stupid stuff like I've been to your church(everyone says that but no one really has) and stuff like that. The best part however was at the end he started to try and speak English.... wow I'm not sure where he learned his "choice" selection of words but not only was it offensive but did not make sense. Anyway I just left with him yelling at me and the whole world staring thinking of course I was the cause of this mans extreme behavior. Well I read this story over again... I'm sorry nothing sounds as funny in a letter as it was in real life. :/ SO this last week me and my comp decided to go home for dinner and make rice curry. we only have a half hour so we were really hurrying. I pulled out my rice and lo and behold... it had bugs in it:p stupid bugs. So we decided to make all of it! let me tell you I've had stupid ideas. I have done things I have regretted but making 4 pounds of rice is the one i regret most as we spent 1 hour MAKING RICE I found how much I never eat rice for the rest of my life. Sadly i still have 1 and 1/2 year left in the land of rice, and at least the next week eating rice for every meal... and maybe snacks.. and maybe while I sleep. Anything to get it out of our sushe(apartment). Well life here is good. :) my comp and I get along and have fun, we make competitions out of everything. This is exciting but I often lose. If its a physical race he is 6"8, and if its a missionary one I still am not by any means fluent so he gets that. However I always find ways to bend rules enough to put up a VERY decent fight;) His family has ten people and one on the way.. HUGE!!!!! We always fine a new way to make each week a little different. When I went on exchanges with the zone leaders we met some people form Cali who didn't really speak any Chinese. They asked where a hostel was and my zone leader had never hear that word before... I started to laugh (the one you hold in as much as possible) when he started to say that hotels were expensive here and they use the small places where a bunch of people stay. They looked at him and then asked me if I knew what a hostel was i nodded pointed to the nearest one and they smile thanked me and walked away without another word to my comp. Really awkward LoL LOVE YOU ALL!!! PLEASE WRITE SOON :)

October 9th

:) well as of Christmas day this year mission is 1/4 over. Weird. Christmas seem so far away... yet so close. I'm excited.. not because I want to leave this wondrous work but because I'm very excited to see my family again and spend the time I never really got the chance to due to my stupidity. Well this week was hard. Not a lot of success. We do however have a baptism on the 29th. He is soo cool. :) I would give you names, but new rule in field is no names can be shared:/ okay so facts My current Area: Tian mu (said tea N moo) It is about an hour out of downtown. it's big but not too "Big" city like. My companion: Elder Jed Harr He is from St. George Utah. He is 6.8 feet. He played basketball at SVU. His family home schooled:) sooo cool. He has a lot of similar views. which is nice. My mission is a very big bike mission. WE BIKE ALWAYS!!!!!!!! Food is... well I'd rather just wait to get home and share journal entries and pictures as so not to re-live all the painful experiences. ;) But a lot of fried... things? I don't know what to call nothing made to something. ;) So this last week our air conditioning unit broke. We spent all our free time switching out units fixing units and getting good old Taiwan soot all over ourselves. We decided we practically perfect in every way.. Even basketball ;) This last weekend we watched conference. Satan did not like that. He did everything to stop it. First couldn't get it at our church in English. so for hours we ran around getting lap tops, speakers, and this and that to watch conference. Then after it all started a drunk guy came running in saying. "i'm here teach me the gospel" wow Satan really hates missionaries. anyway the day continued like that. interruptions and power probs and all the above. but we got to watch it all :) the next day satan attacked everyone personally. I saw in every missionary in our district this sad and angry look. They all had several instances of anger. But I'm glad a few realized who was attacking them and turned their attitude around:) well thats about it. :) Remember to smile :) LOVE Elder Chrisrtopher M. Reynolds

October 2nd

This friday will be one month on the Island!!! :) I fell my chinese is getting better. I can at least communicate and Some people really do feel it's good (which helps my inner heart feelings that's for sure.) This week has been crazy. We had another baptism!!!!!! His name is Ricky Lee (everyone here uses and loves american names.) He is way cool and came all the way from breaking every law in the book to being the best man I've met in a long time. He even brought his girlfriend to the baptism and church:) It felt so good when after the baptism Ricky came up and gave me and my comp a giant LOONNGG huge and said "I love you guys" It made my day!!:) It's amazing to see the change God can make in someone if you give him the chance. He never stops suprising me. :) God is pretty grand if I say so myself. Last P-day we went to 101. cool but clouds were coming in fast and it costs 20 dollars (alot for a missionary in taiwan) so we didn't go up. but we got pictures from the outside and they are cool. :) well this week we didn't get to watch conference. :( lol becuase of time difference we are a day ahead of you so we would have to watch it sunday and monday.. which would mean it conflicts with work for members. So we watch it this weekend. :) (you could send me fave qoutes ect. so I can be ahead of the game;) Today were going to costco:) I;m soooo excited. It's nothing like the one in america... stock chinese food is not like stock american food. VERY different! Last P-day we also went to what we thought was a food expo... Nope! ended up being a buddist sculpture/ culture expo. ha ha we felt a littl out of place. But we found a shop that makes gaint bells. sick!!!! we wanna buy a 40 ton bell. :) This week I've been studying about life and insight. I love the word insight!!! In life everyone says share an insight about this or that. It takes a lot to share an intellectual insight. for you must be able to put yourself inside the the subject to have insight. For me personaly (dui wo geren lai shou) As i have been studying Kirk/Talmage/PMG/scripys and a very good mixture of pondering I feel my insights have becomeing more insighful only becuase I can actually put myself inside the thought and then reap understanding. This week I have studied about a few things after insight. first was will and won't versus can and can't; two totally different mind sets that are making all the difference to me. Well when I get all these thoughts organized I'll write you all about them:)

September 25th

Today is P-day. crazy... I'm in Taiwan learning Chinese. Chinese is coming along. I still have people that look at me funny because they don't know what I'm trying to say. But sometimes i have conversations where they get every word I say. The past few weeks has been really windy, so biking has been a little difficult. I'll send some pics asap. my camera broke so I'm relaying on my comps camera and he is really good about it. :) so this week I was talking to a member and He asked what i did before I came on a mission. I told him about school and work then at last said I did ballroom dance and cabaret. He looked up cabaret in a dictionary because I didn't know to say that in Chinese. In Chinese it translated to strip dancer... he look shocked and asked if when I dance I had to take my clothes off. LOL I could not stop laughing. I had McDonald's for the first time on a mission... I don't remember grease, fat and Gross veggies ever tasting like a bite of Heaven. Well truth is we got bagels at Costco and from then on nothing tastes good. ha ha Every food here is crazy. Most common pizza (and pizza is not common) is duck. pppuuuueeewwwkkkk. I'm learning how much I love American crappy food. nothing is as good as a fast food meal from any joint. Our daily meals right not consist of... food I'm not even sure of what it all is, so I won't explain until I do:) We write at an Internet cafe every week. LOL kinda ghettoly cool. I learn more and more about God's work and how to effectively do it everyday! This week I was thinking about how much I really wanna learn from this experience. I feel like my life is kinda like a lake. streams and rivers are all that keep me beautiful and alive. these streams are god's love and people he has placed in my life. Satan tries to dry up my streams and damn my rivers so as to stop my full potential. every day when I read, pray and ponder I am hiring rangers to watch over my grounds and stop any invaders from destroying my life source. :) I feel the days when I don't do these or they are not good then My rangers STOP working for me. It's like I stop paying them. I feel it's easy to get tired and a little sad here. But I hope as I focus on God and his work I can remember what The whole idea for life is, and how I can better share that with God's children. I'd love to hear what everyone is up to.

September 18th

Hm... life is pretty crazy right now. So this week we had some crazy circumstances where we got to do some cool things. Last Tuesday we got to take part in a clean the world day. It was sick if I say so myself. We really only cleaned for about a half hour, the rest of the time was spent listening to a lady yelling in Chinese about a million different things. I had a day this week when God really blessed me, for a day straight I actaully had a little success helping people come unto God. Way cool... and definitely testimony growing. We have a baptism soon, his name is ricky Lee and is probably the coolest man you'll meet. He has had a lot to go through and I'm grateful we got this far. So i totally spaced my new comp thingy:) His name is Elder Harr. He is from St. George utah and went to SVU. He plays basketball and and is 6.8" way tall!!!! it's fun though. We have a lot in common and he is cool with what we don't so life here is grand:) Well Taiwan is probbably the most different place I could ever go. I love it but not in the way I thought I would. everything is fun and just like china, but there is this... I guess missionary spirit. I love it but yet it does make me miss my old life somehow. But thanks to God he has taught me what is really important this week.

This is my first preparation day in Taiwan. We had our first baptism last weekend. It was really cool. I'm surprised at how much I understand yet also at how much I do not get. It is so... crazy here. Nothing like the china i went to. My first night I met a Chinese man who studied English in Cali. He and I talked for like an half hour then I said he would meet with us Saturday. I got moved to a area further out but I hear he met with missionaries and is doing grand. Second. MY last two weeks. Last week at the MTC was normal I guess. not much to report. I ate little because the food is.. less then desirable LOL. The Tuesday We left we didn't get to e-mail because our flight left early in the morning, we just woke up ate and got on the bus. Then traveled to the airport. we flew to los angy where a stake pres. saw us at the airport and payed for our lunch. Right now its five in the morning, we had to get up early for prep day because we have a third member of our companionship right now and he is being transferred. Crazy to think that I'm here. I'm talking Chinese and trying to spread this beautiful gospel. The hardest thing to adjust to in Taiwan is I'm never dry. It is so hot here and so humid, we never dry off and my shirts are already turning a different color. This weekend was a Holiday here so we saw thousands of BBQ's. There is a river by our apartment, all along this river hundreds of families and each family has there own little BBQ. looked so fun. We had a full moon last night so after church, personal study and starting a FHE activity for some single members we went contacting. the nights where my area is are beautiful (I'm in tian mu first and third tone.) Well today I get pizza!!!!! I think I'm actually excited to eat pizza. It is supposed to be real pizza as well. I really wish it were in-n- out. My Testimony. I am a servant of the Lord, I delight in His work and work for His delight. My capacity is small My weaknesses are many. But through it all, God is, was, and will be my Father in heave, Jesus My personal Savior, and God's chosen, His Prophets on the earth. I reserve no glory for myself, just the blessings God so kindly grants me. This is His work. This is His church. Through Joseph Smith Go allowed us to have the fullness of his truth in this mortality. I will give everything to my last drop pf blood.. (and further if allowed) for this great cause in which we battle. I stand to repeat as Jesus Christ's bold representative " not my will, But my father's in Heaven be done" I will never stop believe it is through God the Father and Jesus Christ's endless mercy, love and sacrifice we are pured and saved. I know for me, my brother...(If i am worthy to call such as he my brother) Died for me. He bleed at every pore, while at that very same time giving me life. To Man and Woman everywhere I stand as an elect of God. I will not fail him today nor ever. For I am His, so He can then be mine. Amen Love you Family song/qian zhanglao Elder Christopher Martin James Reynolds

Can you believe next letter/e-mail you get from me will be from Taiwan? I hope all is well at home. Today I am packing to go to taiwan. I feel very un.. ready? well you get my meaning. :) This week we had an awesome opportunity to teach a Chinese girl who just joined the church three months ago. IT WAS CRAZY! Thank God she understood. :) Last week we got travel plans. Here at the MTC its about the change in any schedules so it is THE most anticipated moment. I can't tell how funny it was when we walked up to get it (me and my comp are DL, but we had a missionary who left early so his comp stays with us.) and our companionship's third member (Elder Griffith), started banging on the mailbox door yelling "we got them!" my comp looked at me and we both had the same idea. We turned around and walked away from the mail room to go to dinner. Elder Griffith started screaming and saying you guys(I'll edit his language to say Elders) cannot be serious. we laughed and kept walking. Now before I go on it must be stated that Elder Griffith often breaks into random spells of miniature break downs where he cannot stop laughing or crying. At this instant one of these started he was crying/laughing so hard he could breath. everyone that passed thought he was dying (probably thought we were the cause as well.) But soon a medic arrived, who was very unhappy. people had been saying someone was having a heart attack. Well after dinner we opened our travel plans and everyone was happy and learned never to let Elder Griffith have a spasms in public.

So this week we started missionary things.. (I think were losing our minds here) for me and Atticus (from bountiful high, went to Harvard last year)started racing home after class just to hide in Elders closet and surprise them when they arrive home. It actually helps us get back and get started on needed tasks faster and give everyone a little... surprise? :) anyway I'm loving my mission and know that God is watching over me and You.

Chinese is coming. I can understand gospel conversations and the meaning of normal ones... usually. All thanks to the wonderful mercies of God. This week we got natives in our class. They have helped us improve a lot, in exchange we have helped them learn church words. This week is going to be crazy. I pray for you every day.. :) I love you all. Never forget that. :)   

wo ai ne

Quan zhanglao

08/23

I leave to Taiwan next week. I'm not even sure I can spell it right let alone speak its language. Every day I pray for you. I miss and love you. I love every word My family write me. makes my day happy and whole. 

Soooo MTC life. I realize I've done horrid at keeping up with what all is going on. so here is my report. 

This week we have native speakers join our class... I'm nervous I won't be able to understand anything they say. I think it will work out. :) I hope. This week we had an Elder leave to England. He left one week early because of transfers there. He however insisted that it was because of his advanced chinese. The younger generation believed him. In fact, day after day EVERY sister member alive in this world brought him letter of encouragement(love letters.) and wished him luck with a VERY long goodbye handshake. I think no one really cared to destroy his fame. He was a good kid and we all thought, ya know whatever we all are just here to serve God and be happy. 

This week we have had very little classes because we hosted new missionaries and had to attend "in field training"(tells you what the mission really is like.) We had this training because of the Elder leaving in our district. 

At this they had a play.. now I may not know much about acting. But I have had a lot of background in this area. The play was a crude recreation of Milo and Otis. screeching birds were the missionaries jokes, cats drowning in rivers were the investigators faith and giant bears were the wards members. I believe they were giving an example of missionary work at it's best.. but I feel I only derived what it must feel like to pluck and skin a chicken. 

This may also be described as my alarm in the morning. When I first arrived here I awoke to the LOVELY sound of my alarm (i never thought i'd miss that.) but when the new missionaries arrived we have a amazing son of God who loves to work out in the morning. I now have a new Alarm. One which I will never forget. for the cries of pain? (I'm not really sure if it is pain, joy, hate, anger, love or war cries.) I Will never again complain about alarms. NEVER! as long as they are electronic noises, and not that of man. 

Anyway Remember I love you. Remember that I pray for you. I love you. You are amazing.

Love Qian zhanglao(they changed my name)

08/16

I just erased MY whole letter.. Crazy little system. No good.

Well this week our district got to be an "example" district for some (none LDS)ford owners executive people. Weird but good. I was chosen to give my testimony in chinese.. wow It was a growing experience. After they left the head of them told their guide "when that young man talked I felt his power of what he was saying" though none of them knew chinese, I'm glad God helped them feel my meaning 

The MTc stays the same. I wish it changed. LOL we get travels plans this week:) soooooo excited.:)

I got to go to the dentist with my comp because he had some teeth stuff to fix. SO crazy. everyone asks where we're going. I also heard Real music. VERY weird. and I saw the first argument between a man and Woman in 9 weeks made me realize how much the spirit DOES drive away contention. 3 Nephi 11:29

Well sorry if it its short But since this little computer friend of mine had a bloop, I have no time and I must leave. Love, Chris

08/09

This week on monday I finally got pictures. :) I'll send them this week
This week has been crazy I think as I study and learn more I feel more and more stupid. Weeks are flying by now. Every letter and e-mail help me feel loved, secure and cared for.

So needless to say chinese is tough. But I am learning(which is good) but I need to learn faster. This week I actually felt slightly (and by slightly I mean ever so slightly) like a chinese native. why? well I have a STORY!!! So we got new elders a while ago, and this week I was talking to a new Elder who knew chinese before coming to the MTC. we started talking and I used a word that had several meanings. He didn't get the context so I started to draw the character with my left finger on my right palm without even thinking. He knew the character and we continued talking. later the zone leader came and said "good job," I said "for what?" he then talked about the experience of earlier that day. I hadn't even realized I was doing it. I felt good. :)

Everyday I''ve been running one-three miles depending on hao..(Chinese is catching up to me) how fat I feel. ;) I love the gym time here. It's the only time I can relax. I know running doesn't sound relaxing, but it really is. I miss sleep.. lol I think I have never slept this little in the summer...I think it is good for me though. 

Sometimes I wish I could come home just for one week and fix, thank, and prepare all over. I feel I could have done much better.

Well lastly Just want to say thanks again. :)

08/02

The MTC is awesome. This week i got the rain Ponchos I asked mom to send me, and me and my comp wear them to the cafeteria. Not only do we prevent the occasional spill but also are the "crazy missionaries" LOL. It's fun to have people come up and ask all sorts of questions as to why we wear them, then to walk away laughing when they find it's only to protect our ties.

Every tuesday we go to the temple. Its kinda funny because I never really thought temple food was that good till I ate MTC food for 6 weeks. I thank God for that one good meal a week. I hope as these next four weeks pass I can be prepared to teach and share this powerful and loving message of our Savior and his divine and eternal role in our lives. I thank you for all you do. Every letter and Everything recieved from you makes that day easier to smile, have love and happily teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I tore a muscle in my ankle last week, it swelled and changed colors. I shall send pictures soon. It is healing but still hurts to walk or run. I am learning Satan will do all he can to stop us. we must watch and pray for God's help in helping protect us from falling and heal us when we do.

This week we get new Taiwanese missionaries. So weird. We are already getting ready to go to Taiwan. As we get ready every sunday random mandarin missionaries are called to speak. Everyone has to prepare and not until the actual meeting are they called. It has been stressful this week with all the new things at the MTC but okay. So as of yesterday we are no longer the pilot program. 8/1/2011 was the day they changed all the mission rules and such. It is going to be interesting to learn all about these rules.

This week we are to the point teaching a lesson is more trying new harder words and less what to say. I still am not anywhere good enough at chinese, but as we allways say here "wo you xinxin" which is "I have faith!" said wow yo sheen sheen.

I am Learning a lot here. I really miss you. I dont think i ever realized how much of a blessing spending time with you was. Please be safe and know I am praying for you all.

 Love Elder Reynolds

Song