"Don't let Satan push your buttons"

 (written April 24th)

 

Last Tuesday we had a solid devotional. Larry W. Gibbons (I'm not sure about his calling in the church) spoke on the importance of involving members in missionary work. He showed some pretty interesting statistics about how much more missionary work gets done if we involve the members. We also had our first day in the TRC (training resource center) teaching people; that was a good experience as well.

 

Wednesday was a major testimony building day for me - my companion gave a pretty good synopsis of how things go here in the MTC. "The MTC is one of the only places you can feel knock-down, drag-out stressed and discouraged all day and feel awesome by the end of it." Usually because we get a motivational talk from our teacher or we have a lesson that goes well. I was feeling sick all day on Wednesday. After dinner it got way worse and I got a pretty serious headache. Elder Marsh and I had been preparing for a lesson all day and I really felt like I was going to let us down in our lesson with the investigator Miguel. Before our lesson I couldn't remember anything we had talked about it my mind was completely fogged. We said a prayer before we went in to meet with Miguel and as soon as I stepped into the room my headache cleared and I could remember everything we had practiced in perfect clarity. We also added a bunch of things to the lesson as we were guided by the Spirit in what to say. As soon as I stepped out of the room after the lesson my headache returned and I was back to feeling pitiful, but I was happy that I was able to think clearly for those 20 minutes or so.

 

On Sunday night we had a fantastic devotional. The speaker was Stephen B. Allen, the managing director of the missionary department. He was the most engaging speaker we have had so far (in my opinion). The outline of his talk revolved around "Don't let Satan push your buttons." It was a great talk, especially for missionaries who had been questioning what they were doing here. He made it clear that there are only a couple reasons to go home early from your mission. Anything else is Satan trying to keep you from letting the work of the Lord progress.

 

Things are starting to normalize out here, I can't wait to get out in the Lord's vineyard (very fitting for Mendoza, a wine capital of the world) and get to work. The language is still coming along very promisingly. I can pretty much say anything I need to now - maybe not with perfect grammar but I can get my point across. Thank you for all of your prayers and I will continue to keep you in mine.

 

Love,

Elder Rainock

"The Lord is on my side"

Elder Marsh (my companion) and I are really starting to become great friends. After being with him 24 hours a day and 7 days a week we've gotten to know one another really well. We have an identical sense of humor and our companionship study and prayers are dynamite. We are both progressing in the language really well, but we are still far from speaking Argentine Spanish.. which is apparently blazing fast where we are going.

On Tuesday we had a devotional with Keith B. McMullin and his wife as speakers - I believe he was just released from the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. One quote that stuck out to me in his talk was, "your days as a missionary will become routine, but it's never routine for those you meet. You need to be sure to treat everyone as a special, individual child of God because that is what they are."

Wed-Thursday were pretty routine days.

Friday, our 'investigator' that we had been working with every day became our second teacher along with Hermano Salisbury. She is the granddaughter of President Erying.

Saturday was a great day. Hermano Salisbury is an awesome motivational speaker and gives great lessons. Just when the elders in our district are starting to get down, he comes out with a lesson that inspires and uplifts us. It's obvious that he is prayerful about our discussions because they are always what we need. During Hermana Eyring's lesson we practiced the full first lesson as companionships. Elder Marsh and I gave a 30 minute lesson and we were surprised to find out how much we knew how to say in Spanish. I know the Lord was with us - guiding us in what to say; I was saying things I hadn't reviewed since high school and easily saying things I had just learned. "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men." - D&C 11:21

Yesterday (Sunday) was my most spiritual day in the MTC so far. M. Russel Ballard from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to us. Before he spoke we heard a beautiful rendition of "The Spirit of God" by Elder Archuleta - all the sisters were in tears I'm sure, mainly because they knew they'd have to wait two years before having a chance with him. He sang in English and one verse in Spanish, it really was fantastic and he got pretty emotional at the end. After that meeting we sang an awesome version of "Called to Serve" as a whole MTC group. We started off basically whispering it and were standing on our feet singing at the top of our lungs by the end. My heart was pounding out of my chest, it was incredible. And then we watched "The Testaments" to top it all off.. at the end of the movie the 8 guys in our district all looked at each other.. we had tears running down our faces.. and then we just started cracking up because we like to think of ourselves as tough guys and we were the only people really crying. It was awesome and just another bonding moment to bring us closer together. I'm going to miss these guys.

I miss all of you, I wish I had more time to email here but it'll be longer once I'm out in the field. The Lord is on my side and so you guys don't have to worry. I pray for all of my friends and family so you should be safe as well ;) I can't wait to get out into the field and be a true instrument in the hands of the Lord!

- Alma 29:9

- Elder Rainock

"I couldn't stop smilling"

I am doing great here, I couldn't stop smiling when I first got here because I was so excited. I had been waiting my whole life for this and seeing myself with a missionary name tag on made it all real for me. My district is awesome and we get along really well - there are 8 of us. 5 of us are going to Mendoza, one is going to the Dominican Republic, one to Puerto Rico, and one to New Mexico. The two Elders going to Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic will be gone in 3 weeks to go to the MTC in the Dominican; I will be staying here with the other elders for another 8 weeks. My two year mark started yesterday because, technically, the mission is two years and five days, so that was exciting.. The Spirit of the Lord is strong here, and I have felt it very differently than I ever have before. Most of us are on the same level of Spanish (which is pretty good compared to the other Spanish districts around us, even the ones that have been here longer than us).

My first day in the MTC was not what I expected at all, I always thought everyone was saying the "empty sea." .. but whatever. They started us in right away with teaching investigators, but we taught as a group and not as companionships. One of the investigators (who was actually a set-up and not really an investigator) was a Japanese man. He ended up asking me the hardest question of the night. Without a Christian backing you have to start from scratch and some Elder mentioned he had to pray. He said he prayed, but it was to the Shinto God - He asked me if he had to pray to another God of the Christian religion and if he had been praying to the wrong God his whole life. I stumbled over an answer and a bunch of missionaries came up to me afterwards saying how well I did and that they were glad they weren't asked that question... so I got away with that one I guess. I'm glad I had the Spirit with me to prompt my answer.

Thursday, we began learning how to phrase prayers in Spanish and prepared to teach our first "investigator" in Spanish on Friday. We met our Branch President, he has worked for the Church all over the world and is completely fluent in Spanish - he is great and shared an awesome testimony with us on Sunday.

Friday we had our first meeting with our investigator, we stumbled poorly through it with the little Spanish we know. However, I know the Lord was with me because I was able to say things I didn't even know I could say.

Saturday we did a service project in one of the dorm buildings here on the MTC campus. It wasn't anything too exciting, we just cleaned the bathrooms.. It was the dorm that Elder Archuleta stays in though, so that's kind of cool I guess. Yes, I have seen him around quite a few times. We also met with our investigator again and it went very smoothly; we taught about prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to answer our prayers. I shared my testimony and that went well also. My Spanish has improved tenfold since being here. It's amazing what you can do when the Lord is on your side. On Saturday night our instructor, brother Salisbury, gave an improptu motivational speech. Some of the guys in our group were struggling and he said "I wasn't going to do this, but I feel like I need to." He shared the story of Simon Peter, from beginning to end. It was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, I'm getting chills just thinking about it. I would consider it a major turning point in this whole mission process. This mission is not about me, it's about our Savior and the people I need to touch by sharing His word with them. I am Elder Rainock, I no longer have a first name, I am one of many here at the MTC with the same purpose. That purpose is to bring others unto Christ, so they can have happiness in their lives.

Easter Sunday was fantastic. Elder Boyd K. Packer and his son were here. They had a great message to share. Elder Packer mentioned "fear is the opposite of faith".. so we don't need to fear as missionaries; we just need to put our trust in the Lord. I also bore my testimony during our Spanish testimony meeting, it was simple, but that's what the Gospel is. You don't have to use big fancy words and deep doctrine to feel the spirit. Christ's way is simple, and a simple testimony is enough to turn the faith of a mustard seed into a tree. After testimony meeting we went on a walk around the Provo temple. It was nice to get off campus for a bit. We took pictures which I don't have time to send because I left my cable in my room and don't have time to go get it. I will be sending them next week. The BYU Men's Chorus came on Friday night and it was nice to hear some fun, uplifting music that aren't hymns.

This morning we met with the Argentina Consul, our visas should be ready before we live here in 8 weeks so we probably won't be extended.

Basically, things are great here. The Lord has blessed me - I am getting sleep and do not feel tired like many of the other Elders in my district. We don't have any free time, but I'm really loving my mission so far. I think some Elders thought we would have time to hangout and relax and are having trouble adjusting, but we are all having a great time. Hope everyone is doing well, I'm out of time now (we only get 30 minutes in the MTC). I'll be writing letters later today.

Love,

Elder Rainock