"I woke up in the morning with well over 30 bites... and that was just after night one!"

written December 16th

The traveling life is pretty awesome! I am loving it and the pros definitely outweigh any cons. Let me just start out with one con and then I'll be sure to finish the rest of the entry off on a good note!

I slept on the floor this week and it was worse than I thought. The apartment of the elders that I visited had a little problem with ants... and I didn't know ants could bite!! When I saw the ants crawling around on the floor that I'd be sleeping on it actually didn't really phase me (maybe because I was so tired). Then we turned the lights off to go to sleep and they started crawling on me; that didn't bother me too much and I kind of expected it so I just started swatting at them. As I was falling asleep they started biting and at that point I just gave up and went off into dream land. I woke up in the morning with well over 30 bites... and that was just after night one! I didn't even bother to count after night two. 

Anyways, on to some good stuff. 

I went out with two different sets of missionaries this week. Since we had zone conference this week we had to stay close by so we were just in Mendoza and Guaymallén again. 

Every time I get together with a pair of missionaries we set some goals of what we want to accomplish in the upcoming days. They are usually things that they are struggling with or want some help on. It is amazing to see the Lord help us in accomplishing are goals. Whether it be finding new people to teach, getting into houses, better planning, etc., we always accomplish what we set out to do and therefore we are betting accomplishing our purposes as missionaries which is to bring others unto Christ. 

This week we contacted a reference that the missionaries had received a while back and everything fell nicely into place. We contacted them in the evening and they couldn't attend to us so we set an appointment for the morning. We went in the morning and the person we had set out to meet was home and let us in. I invited the rest of the family to come in and join us (that is normally where people say they can't because they are busy) but everyone who was home came and sat down with us! They sat, were engaged, were listening intently, and asking questions. Best of all they were doing it as a family which makes it all so much more powerful. We taught about the Restoration and how it could bless them as a family. The father, who wasn't the original person we went to contact, actually ended up being the most engaged. He found he had always asked a similar question as Joseph Smith when it came to which church is true. They are all very excited to begin reading the Book of Mormon as evidence of this restored gospel. It was amazing and I could see a change in them as the lesson progressed.

When we are teaching we are supposed to see people, not as they are, but as they have the potential to be. I could imagine them sitting in church as a family and participating of the Sacrament to renew their baptismal covenants.. those kinds of moments fill me with joy and I can feel them adding another block onto my foundation which is built on Christ. 

Spiritually edifying experiences and a couple weeks full of Christmas festivities and caroling... life couldn't get much better right now. Hope all of you are good back home and I am praying for ya´ll! 

Love,

Elder Rainock

"I am loving this opportunity to travel and grow as a missionary"

written December 9th

Well my first set of exchanges was on Wednesday. It was only for a day because we had to be back for the consejo de liderazgo (I don´t know what that would be called in english, leadership council?) on Thursday. So we went out to an area called Guaymallen which isn´t too far away from the offices. We came back that night, slept in the mission home, had consejo de liderazgo thursday, slept in the mission home again, and left on friday morning for a three day exchange in an area of Mendoza city call Las Heras. 

Both exchanges went really well and I am learning a ton! President Ávila really wants us to focus on getting the missionaries to get the members more invlolved. This happens to be a really good month to do it because of the invitation that Elder Ballard gave everyone in the last conference to kneel down with the missionaries and start praying for opportunities to share the gospel before Christmas. We have been going around to the member familes and reminding them of that message and then putting it into practice. Everyone has responded very well and this is definitely an exciting time of year to be a missionary. 

I am loving this opportunity to travel and grow as a missionary. I already can´t wait to have my own area again to work so I can better put these things in to practice. If you haven´t gotten started with this invitation or you aren´t familiar with the invitation that Elder Ballard gave then here is the talk that he gave it in: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/put-your-trust-in-the-lord?lang=eng. 

Hope everyone is well and you are in my prayers. May the Lord be in your heart this time of year as we remember the birth of our Savior who made it all possible. 

Elder Rainock

"I leave to become a traveling assistant to the president"

written December 2nd

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving back home this week. Home was definitely in my thoughts on thursday and I would have dropped a lot of pesos on the opportunity to eat some of mama bear's good 'ol stuffin. However, I still ate well. We bought all the ingredients and made barbaque chicken pizza... not necessarily the ideal for thanksgiving but it was still delicious and we all were really full. Then we topped it off with some peach cobbler and icecream that we made. It was a good thanksgiving and I made sure our family tradition of everyone going around and saying what they are thankful for went down.. even our argentenian roommate :)

This week was a good week here in villa del parque. Elder Rich and I finished up the twelve week training program and now it's time to leave my "son" on his own :) He is staying here in Villa del Parque and is going to tear things up here as I leave to become a traveling assistant to the president.

This was definitely a huge surprise to me and I didn't see it coming at all. I am very exciting for the opportunity to travel the mission and help where I can. I will also be reporting to President Ávila and getting to work directly with him which is going to be awesome. He is a great example to me and I am excited to be able to learn from his example just a bit more.

My blogs will start being pretty interesting now that I will be traveling for the whole mission and getting to know all of the missionaries and areas. I am pumped!! I slept a good 4 1/2 hours last night because I couldn't get my mind to rest... haha. It's going to be a pretty tiring transfer with being on the go, traveling, sleeping on the floor, etc. But I know I will learn a lot this transfer and I am exciting for the growth that I will be experiencing.

I know this work is the work of the Lord and I hope, more than anything, that what people will be able to learn from me is to Love the Lord. That being said, I know I will be learning way more than I will be able to give. There are so many good missionaries in Mendoza, Argentina and I have a lot of examples to learn from.

I hope everyone is doing well back home and my prayers are with you. Hope everyone is keeping our Lord and Savior in their thoughts in this season of gratitude and of remembering Him.

Much love,

- Elder Rainock

"There is only one eternal remedy... the Gospel of Jesus Christ"

(written Nov 25th)

Things are going smoothly here in Godoy Cruz. Elder Rich and I are on our last week here together in Villa del Parque and it´s been a good two transfers. I have definitely learned a lot these last two transfers. I had been feeling pretty down because we haven´t met success here like I did in Tupungato. However, in my interview with president Ávila last week he said some things that really calmed my spirit. Sometimes you can be working just as hard and be just as dedicated but you have to understand that everyone has their free agency to accept what we teach or not - even if they feel the Spirit testifying to them of its truth. Also, sometimes stuff like this happens because we have a lesson to learn and we won´t understand until we look back on it. Alma did not always meet success in the cities that he preached to but, overall, he was a very successful missionary. I am feeling a lot better now and have an even stronger desire to just keep on keepin on :)

The missionaries in our zone have been practicing to sing in the stake conference we have this weekend. We are singing "Hark, All Ye Nations" and "Joseph Smith´s First Prayer" and it is coming out pretty nicely. I am singing in the bass section which has been fun because I have always wanted to practice singing in parts more. 

I reflected the other day on some of the life stories I have heard while being here on my mission. It has opened my eyes to some of the struggless some face in this life. Stories that the world may never hear or appreciate. But no matter what struggles, pains, tempations, trials, heartache, these people have suffered... there is one real solace, one real remedy, one real being from whom we can find succor. People may search forever for refuge but it´s only temporary. There is only one eternal remedy and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is my responsibility to share with these people. 

I am grateful to be here serving the Lord and I know that that remedy goes for me as well. Yeah, I may have had a couple of rougher weeks but I find my strength in the grace of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hope all is well with ya´ll back home and my prayers are always being sent your way.

Love,

Elder Rainock

Pictures!

(sent Nov 18th)

Me holding an armadillo before I left Tupungato. 

The first week with Elder Rich (my current companion). 

When I was in Tupungato. A zonda had come through and I got covered in dirt because I was surrounded by dirt fields when the winds started.

My last day in Tupungato with the last lady who got baptized while I was there. Awesome family!!

The second one is of all the guys that came to Mendoza from my MTC group. We saw each other a couple of months ago when a member of the area seventy came. When I was home I dreamed of the day that I would seem them all again and the experience brought very joyful tears to my eyes. 

Me and Elder Oliveira. He is a brazilian Elder who I lived with for 3 transfers in Tupungato with. He was my zone leader there but we lived in the same house. He made a huge impact on me and is the example of humility and diligence that I aspire to be as a missionary. I learned a lot from his example and will miss him very much. He is heading home in a couple of weeks as he is finishing his mission. He is a traveling assistant right now and was in our home for a few days as he was doing exchanges with the other elders in our house. 

Us with some candy teeth things that one of the hermanas brought for our last district picture in Tupungato.

"I bought nutella and tabasco sauce"

written Nov 11

Last week we went to a grocery store called jumbo because we heard they had jiff peanut butter in their international section.. turned out it was all gone. So I bought nutella and tabasco sauce. I have been dying for some spicy/hot foods because they don´t eat those here.

This week we had zone meeting and some big things went down. They changed the way we will be counting our weekly numbers for our key indicators (numbers that keep track of what we are doing and where we can improve) every week. Also, there was a big focus on rededicating ourselves as a mission because it is in a slump right now. We were pretty pumped coming out of there.

I gave a talk in church yesterday on missionary work and the gospel of Jesus Christ which turned out well. I´ve realized on my mission how much I like to speak in chruch... it´s always been something I look forward to because it makes me grow in knowledge and testimony. 

I´d like to share something this week about a member we have in our ward. He is turning 80 years old this month. He has a old man/witty sense of humor that reminds me of some people back home. He says that he will be completing his first 80 years next month.. haha. Anyways, he is one of the greatest examples I have ever seen of true humility before the Lord and a person with an eternal perspective. He accompanies us to lessons about 2 or 3 times a week because he is always available and willing. In fact, he tries to go out with us more but sometimes we have to take other members. He struggles to walk because he has a bad leg but is always willing to walk farther than we´ll let him. His knowledge of the Gospel is profound and every time I talk to him I feel like I am only tapping the surface of what he knows. However, in lessons he can communicate with our investigators in simple, precise terms that always hit right on the head of what we want to say. Basically, what I want to get across about this man is that he is a great example of never stepping back or making excuses because of his age and abilities. He is dedicated and motivated even in his old age and I believe he will be until at least he next 80 years are over ;) 

Hope everyone is doing well back home and I am praying for you all.

Love, 

Elder Rainock

"Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Rolls were enjoyed by all"

written Nov 4

Our investigator from last week did not make it to church this week so that was pretty disappointing but we saw lots of good things happen this week. In particular, on of our zone leaders was in this area about a year and a half ago. He came to the area to do exchanges with us and we visited some old investigators of his that were close to baptism but never got baptized. We found a lot of new people that way that already have a good basis in what we teach and were well received into their homes. That was a huge help for us!

This week was Halloween! It isn´t celebrated nearly as much here as in the states but we saw a few kids in costume carrying baskets for candy. They don´t knock on doors or anything here but some people sit outside of their houses waiting for trick-or-treaters to come around and give them candy. I was very excited to see kids out trick-or-treating because I had just received a fresh supply of american candy from mom. I gave it all away within a matter of hours and it was awesome to see how happy the kids were. Parents were asking for some too because they wanted to try the american candy. Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Rolls were enjoyed by all :)

The mission is going well and I am happy. We have a large quantity of people to visit so that is great. We hardly have a moment where we don´t know what to do even if everything is falling through. Our biggest focus right now is finding who, of the people we know, is ready right now. 

Hope everything is good back home. Love you guys and I am praying for you all.

- Elder Rainock

" I AM doing what I feel is right"

written Oct 28

The internet cafe closed early last week so I didn´t get time to write a blog. Everything is good down here in Godoy Cruz and the work is plenty. The weather is really nice right now (sometimes a bit on the warm side) and lots of people are out on the streets so ít´s prime for missionary work.

 

Elder Rich and I are doing really well. There are defnitely some rough days but we just push right through them and we realize that our great moments totally make up for those rough days. As long as we keep our attitudes positive then the lows aren´t really all that low.

 

This week we had a great investigator come to church. He is an older man, 76 years old, very smart, strong belief in God, and has a mind-blowing knowledge of the Bible. He has had some pretty crazy near death experiences. He has had a stray bullet that someone shot off into the air during one of the holidays come down and get lodged in his head... it was removed and he didn´t suffer at all from it. It was inches away from either killing him or paralyzing him. He has also had throat cancer and now is perfectly fine. He has told us that, "God still has me here for a reason and I don´t know what it is yet." We made sure to take that opportunity to tell him that it´s to receive the restored gospel ;)

 

When we first started talking to him he would tell us that he admires us for what we do but would then remind us to not get held down by an "institution" when it comes to our belief in God but to follow what our heart tells us to do. That always left me with a good opportunity to bear my testimony that I AM doing what I feel is right. I have prayed and I know through the spirit that this church possesses the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and all of the blessings that come along with that. After a few weeks of our chats he has really started to open up to us and accept what we have to say. He doesn´t deny that we are doing what we feel is right and he says he has felt the spirit many times when we talk to him. He is well known in the Godoy Cruz area as a man of faith. Many people come to him for their problems and priests, pastors, missionaries from all churchs, are always coming to him to try to "convince" him to come to their church because they know he would be a very faithful member. Well, yesterday, he came to our church. He said this was a big step for him and that he wasn´t just doing it for no reason. He told us, "you guys are the first missionaries that have been able to convince me and look where I am now" as he referred to standing in our church. That made me so happy. On top of that he loved the sacrament meeting! He said his favorite part was when the people would share their testimony because he could feel that the people in our church are sincere.. He then said, "you guys should have a sunday where everyone who wants to can get up and shares their testimonies." Little did he know that that is next sunday.. haha :)

 

Anyways, things are going along nicely here. Hope everyone is doing well back home and my prayers are being sent your way.

 

Love,

 

Elder Rainock

"Our gated door was gone!!!"

Elder Rich and I are keeping ourselves pretty busy out here. I think I
mentioned last week that we have built up a pretty large teaching
people and that is always nice. It is hard when you don´t know what to
do during the day but we haven´t had that problem lately. In fact..
some days we don´t find enough time to visit everyone that we have
planned to visit. It´s a good feeling and I am really happy where we
are at. Now it´s time to start focusing in, get these people to really
progress, and help them take the steps necessary to come unto Christ.

Something kind of crazy went down last night. Elder Rich and I were
doing our nightly planning and we heard our gated door outside
rustling around a bit. We used that it was just the other missionaries
that we share a house with coming back and didn´t pay any mind to it.
About 10 seconds later when we realized that they still weren´t
opening the door Elder Rich got up to check. He opened the door and
our gated door was gone!!! Some kid had stolen it and was running down
the street with it. He ended up dropping it and running away so that
we couldn´t catch him because the door is pretty heavy. We grabbed the
door, put it back on the hinges, and everything is good now. There is
no need to worry about us and our safety, however. We live in a nice
area and it was actually our fault. We know that we need to close the
gated door and lock it every time but we figured we´d leave it open
because the other missionaries hadn´t gotten back yet.

Anyways, I gotta hop off this computer now but hope you all are well
back home. Praying for you guys and especially the Nielsen family.

Love,
Elder Rainock

"Really inspiring"

Written October 7.

Conference weekend was really inspiring and it is always a treat to hear our loving prophet, apostles, and other church leaders speak to us. As well as the Mormon Tabernacle choir that always sounds fantastic. 

 

I have never taken so much away from conference in my life and it makes me wonder how much I have missed in the past. Taking and reviewing notes is a skill that I have comed to love since being on my mission and desire to take with me afterwards. 

 

There are so many things that I would love to share from conference but for lack of time I will only be able to share a few things that I think might help all of you back home the most. 

 

1. If you missed the saturday sessions then you must go back and listen to them because they were amazing jam packed full of good stuff. Elder Dube stuck out to me as a very captivating speaker (very much do to his enthusiasm and sweet accent) and was very inspiring. It was a fun talk to listen to and his line, "never look back, look at waht we still have to do" kind of dropped the hammer on me a bit as I just completed 8 months on my mission and have been dwelling on hitting my 1/3 mark a lot. 

 

2. Missionary work is really hastening around the world and the involvement of the members with the missionaries is KEY! The talks by Gifford Nielsen and Elder Ballard from saturday are good places to get started if you need that extra kick in the pants. "Make the decision to do what Jesus Christ has asked us to do...fear will be replaced with faith when we kneel in prayer for opportunities to share the gospel." - Elder Ballard

 

3. Elder Eyrings talk in the sunday morning session was very good. I always have the desire to grow a strong love for the Lord because I know that is the first and great commandment but sometimes I don´t know how to go about doing it. He mentioned some choices that lead us to growing in our love for the Lord. 

 

One is through repentance and gaining an understanding of the atonement... that one really hit me as I reflected back on how much my love has grown for my Lord and Saviour through the healing powers of the atonement. There isn´t a day that goes by where I don´t think about how glad I am to be where I am because of the decisions I have made to apply the Atonement in my life. I am trying to be more pure every day. Like Elder Scott said in his talk: "repentence is not punishment, it is the hopefilled path to a more glorious future."

 

Another way that we can grow in our love for the Lord is through accepting calls to serve him. That one hit me hard as well as I am currently on my mission after having accepted a call to serve him continually for two years... it has truly brought me closer to the Lord. 

 

Elder Rich and I have built up a huge pool of people we can now teach after 4 weeks of really hard work. It was very challenging at first but now we can start focusing on specific people who are currently ready to take important steps in coming unto Christ. Thank you for your prayers!

My heart aches for the Nielsen family. They need everyones´ prayers right now.. please keep them in your hearts and in your prayers. Sister Nielsen lost her husband and her children lost their father due to a tragic, unexpected, turn of events. 

 

My prayers for all,

 

Elder Rainock

"O that I were an angel"

Sorry I didn´t send a blog email home last week. I tried giving good responses to everyone who emailed me for once but it left me with no time in the end. 

 

Opening an area has really been a challenge for Elder Rich and I. Starting from zero is quite the task but we have built up quite a selection of people that are willing to listen. When we first got here we were meeting with lots of members of the church to find out who they know, talking with people in the streets, and knocking on doors... but I am happy to say that most of our time now is involved in talking to the people we have met (as well, of course, finding new people). 

 

The people here are a different breed and come from very different backgrounds than the people in my last area. Adjusting was hard at first but now I have a better hang on things. 

 

We have some investigators that are very excited to listen to us and have a true interest and hope that what we have to share will better their lives. And it is true, what we teach does change lives. 

 

One thought that I have reflected on a lot lately is the fact that we, as humans, all sin. And all of these sins, now matter who you are, place a burden upon you. That´s just how it is... and most people don't know that or understand it. But what we teach, the gospel of Jesus Christ, contains what we need to healed, to feel clean, to feel relief from these burdens. As a missionary I have the knoweldge of what heals and it would be selfish not to give everyone the opportunity to listen. Through this thought method I have changed my whole approach of who I talk to. I have gone for picking out families or people that look like they would be receptive to talking to everyone. I know I could have came to this conclusion by looking at the example of Christ as he was no respecter of persons... but this is what helped me. 

 

About a week and a half ago a member of the area seventy from Chile, Elder Nuñez, came and spoke to our mission. I took notes on what he shared but the notes are back in our house. One big thing that I got from it, however, is a story he shared about about his mission. He said that he wasted 22 months of his mission just being good and obedient... at 22 months he read the scripture in Alma that says, "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!"

He said after reading this scripture he got on his knees and began praying to have this desire... a true desire to serve God and help people and it made a remarkable difference in his succes as a misionary. I have been applying this principle in my prayers as well. Though I have a long ways to go I am growing every day in my desire to teach with great power not just to have success but because I want people to receive salvation. 

 

Hope all is well back home and I am sending my prayers to you all. 

 

Elder Rainock

From Villa del Parque - "Truly amazing"

I said my goodbyes to everyone there in Tup-town and made me way up to Godoy Cruz on Wednesday to meet my new companion and to go to my new area.

We got about 25 new missionaries this transfer and 17 are straight from the MTC. My companion is from Pleasant Grove, Utah and is coming fresh from the MTC in provo. His name is Elder Rich and I can already tell he is going to be a great missionary. He is working hard and has desires to be out and about even with the barrier he has with the language. The people love to hear him talk and always listen very intently when he speaks so we are trying to take as much advantage of that as possible. 

The new area is great and we are finding lots of people to teach very quickly. We have been speaking to everyone in the streets and working with lots of members to find people that we can teach with them. The ward is not very big here but the members are very strong. There are lots of returned missionaries in our ward so that means great things for the work here. We are excited to be here and have the opportunity to gets things started again here in Villa del Parque. 

The area here is very different from my last. This is more like a city area and it is a lot smaller but with a lot more people. There are some nice neighborhoods and some not so nice ones that we have to be careful in. We have already been told many times by the people here where we shouldn´t go at night (or some even during the day) so everyone is looking out for us. The people here are really nice and many speak a bit of english so my companion can find some relief with that sometimes.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous to come to a new area, escpecially a big city, to train a new missionary and have to take the lead in everything. Because when I left Tupungato on tuesday my spanish was still not quite there. When I got here on Wednesday with my new companion we sat down and prayed for help with the great responsibilty that we had in front of us. I felt comfort that everything would be okay and that the work we are meant to do here would get done despite our lack of experience or handle of the language. That evening we went out into the streets and since that moment I have never faulted words to speak and I have understood everything... it is truly amazing.

I don´t have much more time but I´d like to send a picture so I´ll end it here. Hope all is well back home and my prayers for all. 

- Elder Rainock

"[A] time of rapid growth for me and I hope to be of great help"

Man... I just took out my camera to see if I had pictures to send home this week and realized that I did the thinking in spanish... I don´t know if I always think in spanish or not but I just realized it in that moment. Also, sometimes people have shirts or there are signs that have english and I don´t even realize it is in english.. everything just registers the same to me now. And when we sing hymns in the morning it takes me about 10 seconds to figure out which hymnal is in english and which is spanish. My english is a mess... 

Anyways, on to the news of the week!! We got transfers this week and I am super excited! 

I will be heading up to Godoy Cruz which is right next to the city of Mendoza. I will be near the mission offices and in a very populated area. My area will cover part of the city and some villas (villas are areas of people of more humble means and all the houses are small and close together). I will be opening this area as it was closed from the lack of missionaries we have had in the mission. On top of that... I will be training a new missionary!! I don´t have any idea who it will be or where he will be from so I will update you on the next monday. 

I feel very excited right now to have the opportunity to train a new missionary after just finishing my training one transfer ago... it´ll be a time of rapid growth for me and I hope to be of great help to my hijo (means son, what we call the missionaries we train in this mission). On top of that.. the responsibility of opening a new area seems pretty daunting but I know the Lord will help me do what He wants me to do. 

From vineyards and a small town to the big city. A country boy in the concrete jungle... it´ll be interesting. 

This saturday there will be two baptisms here in Tup-town that I will miss since I am leaving on Wednesday. However, I am very excited for this couple and they are already very happy with the blessings they are seeing from living in accordance with the gospel. They will be getting married on Friday and getting baptized on Saturday. They say that their relationship has bettered tremendously and they are truly happy together now. The husband has also quit smoking.. he went from 40+ cigarattes every day down to zero! 

Last night I said goodbye to the woman who got baptized a few weeks ago and her family. They have been very faithful with coming to church and participating in the classes. They are very exciting about sharing what has brought them such great joy. It was great seeing her in church today helping the investigators that we had there feel welcomed and comfortable. On top of that... they are preparing to go to the temple in a year to be sealed together for time and all eternity. Just the thought of that makes me stir with happiness inside. 

It is truly a blessing to be a part of this work today. Thank you for your prayers that help keep me going every day. 

- Elder Rainock

"So grateful to be here"

Last p-day we went on a small hike to a giant statue of Christ that stands on some hills (we´d call them mountains in virginia) looking over Valle de Uco. The view from up there was beautiful and the statue was pretty impressive. I have only seen it from a distance as you can see it from Tupungato.

 

This week I went up to Mendoza for a special training that everyone gets from the mission president while they are being trained. I finished my training 5 weeks ago but I was still invited because President Ávila didn´t do the training then (everyone who came in at the same time as me already had their training in the states while waiting for their visas). It was very inspiring.. just the basics but President Ávila has a way of inspiring and getting us all motivated. Elder Quadros and I left rejuvinated and firing on all cylinders.

 

While I was there I saw Elder Hurley. He was there because right now he is training a missionary from Chile. Wow!! He has lost a ton of weight! 40 pounds!! I´ll attach a photo of us together and you will hardly recognize him as the missionary that I was in the MTC with. He was the only missionary from my MTC group that I hadn´t seen yet and it was a very special day for me. When I was home from my mission I dreamed of the day I´d see those Elders again.. we became so close but by returning home I did not get to enter the mission field with them. Tears filled my eyes many times that day and as I type just because I am so grateful to be here.. to be worthy... to be ready. It is hard to think that I´d be going home with them in April of next year and when they leave I will still have 10 more months but that´s okay.. I have had so many experiences so far that have spoken to me that this is where I need to be right now.

 

The work here in Tupungato is going well. I will find out on Sunday what happens to me since this is the last week of the transfer. Hope all is going well, my prayers and gratitude goes to all of you.

 

- Elder Rainock

"A beautiful experience"

Written August 26.

 

We had a great baptism this last weekend. What makes it better is that is isn`t just a baptism... it`s a woman who is excited to go with her husband and daughters to the temple in a year to be sealed for time and all eternity. When she told us that she wanted to go to the temple with her family I couldn`t hold back the tears from falling... it hit me very hard that I was really doing it... I was helping someone progress towards making sacred covenants in the temple of the Lord. That has been a very powerful feeling that I have carried with me throughout the week and it has given me an extra pep in my step. 

Her baptism was a beautiful experience for their family and it was so nice to see how happy they were. Her husband recently came back to the church a few months ago and prepared himself to be ready to baptize her. 

It is great being a part of this work.. there is no where else I´d rather be right now. I feel like I have been really blessed lately with a better vision of time. I am realizing more and more that two years is really nothing compared to the time we have on this earth... and then compare the time we have on the earth to eternity... it is making it all go by very quickly and I feel myself trying to pick up the pace so I can take full advantage of this opportunity. I have been sick this week and have spent some nights awake all night with sickness... but when the day comes around I just think of how little time I have on my mission and say to myself, "I have the rest of my life to be sick, right now I got to go." Working with sacrifice definitely brings blessings.

I am happy and I am praying for all of you back home,

Elder Cordell Rainock

"It's been quite the experience teaching that family"

Last week I said I would write something from the week before so here
is one thing:
One night we had a zonda (very strong winds that come from the north)
and it was extremely loud. I could not sleep and it kept everyone in
our house awake all night. I have never heard winds so loud in my life
before and it last for hours and hours.. nature is amazing sometimes.

Now for this week:

It snowed last p-day. We ended up going out to a home of a member who
lives in the other branch to play in the snow and eat lunch. We made a
snow man, had a snowball fight, and just relaxed a bit. It was a good
time.

About two months ago a man in our ward came to church who we had never
seen before. It turned out he had been sealed in the temple with his
family when he was 15 and soon after that went inactive in the church.
When he came to church two months ago it was his first time in over 10
years. He had a dream about partaking of the sacrament and woke up the
next morning with a strong desire to go to church and partake of the
sacrament. He has come every sunday since that day and his desire just
kept growing stronger and stronger. Turns out his wife was not a
member and she was actually kind of angry when he went back to church.
We went by their house a couple of weeks ago to see how he was doing
and to get to know his wife a bit better. We ended up gaining her
confidence very quickly and she will be getting baptized on
saturday... she progressed very quickly and she is more converted than
any of the people I have baptized on my mission so far.. it`s been
quite the experience teaching that family and I have felt the Spirit
just pouring out into the room sometimes as testimonies were shared. I
am definitely looking forward to saturday.

I had an interview with President Ávila yesterday and it was amazing.
Very personal and inspired. He is a great example to me and he is one
of the people I strive to be like. Pure, humble, happy, and faithful.
That`s how I would describe him.

Anyways, hope all is well, prayers are being sent home to all of you.
Also, a shout out to anyone in the Mechanicsville ward who is reading
this! What a blessing it is to have 6 missionaries now serving in your
ward. The work is hastening and it is time for everyone to take it to
the next level and start making steps of faith. I will be praying for
all of you and hope to see some major growth in a year and a half.
Also.. don`t forget to feed them. We are poor :)

Love,

Elder Rainock