"A pretty intense story from yesterday"

I don´t have tons to say this week but I do have a pretty intense story from yesterday...

Sacrament meeting had just started (right after I had just been asked to give a talk again) when our district president (leader over a number of local church branches) came and grabbed us and told us to follow him. We followed him walking quickly out of the church building and then we just started sprinting down the street... he told us as we were running that his wife had just called them and they had been in an accident. We ran a few blocks and turned a corner to see an overturned vehicle... the vehicle of a married couple serving a mission here. We ran up and saw them (the married couple) and the district president´s daughter, son-in-law, grandchild, and wife sitting on the side of the road. The missionary couple had picked these members up to take them to church since their car wasn´t working and they got hit going through an intersection. Their vehicle did a half turn and stayed upside down.

They all had bumps and bruises and I´m pretty sure that they all suffered concussions. None of them were in the right state of mind... it was very scary. Just to add to the craziness, this is the same family that lost their child in a tragic accident a few weeks ago... they are going through a very hard time right now. Right now they are all home and trying to recover. They are in everyones´ prayers here.

The missionary work here was good this week and my spanish is coming along but I still haven´t made it over this language wall as far as speaking goes. I´ll have more to write next week but know that I am doing well and time is flying for me. My testimony of the gospel has become a part of who I am; not just something I believe. I´d be lost without the knowledge I have of the Lord and the plan He has for us. The Gospel gives me purpose and I am fulfilling that purpose more than I have in my life ever before.

Love you all,

Elder Rainock

"Touched by their dedication to the gospel"

Written July 8.

 

Let me just tell you what... I am going to need some awesome fourths of July when I get home to make up for this one because the fourth of July in Argentina just isn`t the same... my favorite holiday took a big hit but that`s okay. We were planning on some pretty cool things and a burger lunch but it all fell through because we were too busy. There were lots of big things going down this week and we didn`t even have time to cook up burgers. The extent of our celebration was singing all the patriotic hymns in the hymnal and wearing red, white, and blue ties. Fourth of July... hasta luego. 

We baptized two people this weekend. They have been waiting for some documents to go through for them so they could get married and then get baptized. They are a young Bolivian couple that have been waiting for a long time.

Last monday we had a really awesome Noche de Hogar (family home evening) with some recent converts, less-actives, and some very strong members and it went really well. It was a great opportunity for members to make friends and fortify their testimonies. We make brownies for activities like this all the time and the members go crazy over them. They have no idea how we make them and when we try to explain it they get confused (not because of our spanish but because they don´t make things like that here). 

Our one investigator who is working on his addiction went his first day totally clean this week. It´s been many years and it was great to see. He loves church and he and his wife have now been 4 times. 

We had a very powerful testimony meeting yesterday... wow. There are a few older, quieter, ladies in the branch that have such strong testimonies. I am so touched by their dedication to the gospel. A couple of them walk miles and miles in the freezing cold for hours just to go to church... what a sacrifice. I have always had a testimony of blessings coming with sacrifice but this is so much different. When I have made sacrifices I can often physically see the blessings that I have received. These ladies have so little as to physical things and they can´t even say they have a warm home to go to at night. It seems as if their blessings are all spiritual... they are so humble, so dedicated, and have immovable testimonies. 

I will be sending pictures soon but every time we plug our cards into the computers here our cards get viruses on them... so that´s why I haven´t sent any in a while. 

Hope all is going well for everyone back home... praying for many of you. 

Elder Rainock

"Their testimonies are helping them carry on"

Written July 1.

 

There was a tragic accident in our ward on Monday resulting in the death a baby girl. It has been a very rough week for the family but amazing to see how their testimonies are helping them carry on. The branch has been great in coming together for the family and it has really united them; church this sunday was very special because of that. It was also interesting to see the process here after someone dies in comparison to the states. Everyone gathers together for the whole night and day (without sleeping) and mourns together. I don´t know how I feel about it because it´s so sad but it defintely brings people together and it seemed to help the family carry on when it was all over.

 

Excuse me for moving on to more upbeat topics so abruptly but I don´t know how to transition from that last paragraph. Some things that happened this week:

1. We made tacos since we both miss Mexican food. It was good but something about them made us both feel like death afterwards.

2. I ate some fresh bread straight out of a clay oven in someones back yard and it was delicious!

3. I was asked to give a talk in church on sunday right before the branch president got up to start the meeting. A little icing on the cake was that he put me as the first speaker... so needless to say I had very little time to prepare but it turned out well.

4. I feel like I´ve hit a wall with the language. Don´t worry, I understand this happens to everyone. I´m not getting down on myself too much. I´m just trying to push through really hard because I know when I get out of this language slump that my ability to speak and understand is going to skyrocket. Get ready for me to exclaim in happiness within the next few weeks.

 

We have begun working with the some elderly parents of some recent converts and helping prepare them for baptism. They are very excited but the father needs help with an addiction that he has had for over 50 years. It´s been great to see him stepping back from this burden he has been carrying for years and seeing the real him. I´m so greatful for my personal experiences with repentence that give me an opportunity to give a sincere and personal testimony that there is no better feeling than being clean before the Lord. I can empathize with him and it´s helping me know how to help him through the Savior.

 

Sending prayers to you all! Much love,

 

Elder Rainock

The work is certainly hastening

Written June 24, 2013.

 

Mission life is awesome right now! It´s so good to be a part of the work right now. The mission is the place to be for young LDS guys and girl right now. We all got super pumped from the missionary work fireside last night where we got to hear from the prophet and his apostles! The work is certainly hastening and it´s a blessing to be considered amongst the many missionaries that are out right now. 

On Thursday we had another Argentenian holiday. Our branch had a "locro" which is kind of a cookout but with a big pot of soup. They just mixed up a big pot of random stuff and it tasted great! I´m not sure what was in it... but I´ve learned that it´s just better not to ask here. We had some investigators at the activity and they enojoyed it. 

I got bit by a dog after knocking on an investigators door this week. It heard us knock and it came running around the corner and bit both of my calves. Only one of them was bleeding, though. But don´t worry about me... they brought me into their house and gave my leg some Bolivian treatment with some mint plant or something.

I have had some great experiences with reading the scriptures this week. I am getting a better idea of the guy I want to be. I have a strong desire to continue the Lord´s work even after my mission. I hope I never lose these feelings that I am having right now. I want to be an influence for good wherever I go in life. 

Elder Egbert and I are having a great time and are keeping our spirits high. Our work defintely had some low points this week but we pulled out of them very quickly with some prayer, faith, and dilligence. 

What a blessing it is that we can communicate directly with our Father in Heaven. He knows our needs and desires perfectly. If we seek His guidance and follow it then we know that what we have done is right. In our prayers at night we can ask for a confirmation that what we have done is right and if not...  we can find out what we need to change. I am going to be a much different person after the mission because of the experiences I´ve had with this. I felt like I was immovable in the Gospel before but now I feel more firmly built upon the Rock of my Redeemer.

Love you all,

Elder Rainock

A lot of baptisms this weekend

We had a lot of baptisms this weekend including a very influential family in the Tupungato area. We are very excited about that and we saw some big miracles this week to make that happen. It´s amazing to see the work taking off here. We had transfer calls last night and I´ll be staying as well as Elder Egbert. Elder Egbert has been here for 4 transfers already so I´ll probably only have 6 weeks (the time of a transfer) left with him. We are very good at keeping our spirits high especially during the harder times like the siesta hours.  I´ll be here for at least 3 more months and I´m very happy about that. 

 

I have some really bad blisters on the rims of my heels so hopefully those will callous soon because they are getting pretty painful. 

 

I hear music from the states pretty often here - like right now some Coldplay is playing in the internet cafe but the other day I heard something very out of place. We were walking through the park in centro and some teens were drinking wine and listening to Sweet Home Alabama. It was pretty awesome. I have to admit I started walking a little slower to get my fill and take in the moment. 

 

Like I have said before.. the church here is very young and there are a lot of things that they don´t quite have down yet. If you are a male, have a calling, and are relatively active, they will call you "President" instead of "Brother" when they address you in church.. it´s kind of funny but we want to make sure they know. We emphasize the "brother" whenever it is needed. 

 

Two things that I have really found uplifting this week:

1. Reading the Book of Mormon in another language is really bringing it to life! I have never learned so much from it. 

2. The moments that keep me going from day to day are finding out the our investigators are keeping commitments. It really is amazing to hear how the Gospel is changing their lives for the better. But the only way it can happen is if they are keeping commitments that we leave with them. 

 

Live is good here and I´m excited to be here in Tupe Town (Tupungato) for the next few months. I started calling it that when I got here and it has caught on :) Even the missionaries in the mission office call it that... I might have started something that won´t stop. Kind of like what Elder Egbert and I are doing with the missionary work here. Love you all!

- Elder Rainock

Path becoming much more clear

Written June 10, 2013.

 

This week I had my first zone conference and it was awesome! Since it was my first zone conference I got to share my testimony with everyone and I felt the spirit very strongly and was able to say everything I wanted to say without any problems. Speaking a new language is really fun! It´s an adventure to find ways to express what you want to express. It takes a lot of creativity but I am really loving it, 

 

I bought a jacket on Monday and used some of my dollars. I think the Argentine peso is at about 5.3 pesos per dollar but when you use it at stores the manager will always give you more. He gave me almost 9 pesos for a dollar. That´s the only thing I plan on using my dollars for for a long time since the value is increasing so rapidly. Dollars go far here!

 

The missionary work here in Tupungato is on fire right now and the ward is beginning to fortify. Attendance is up in Sacrament meeting by about 20 (from when I first got here) people each Sunday and we have tons of new investigators.

 

The weather here is a bit on the cooler side right now but I wouldn´t say it´s cold. 

 

Since being on my mission I feel like my path in life is becoming so much more clear. Not so much with school and work stuff.. but spiritually. I´m getting a better idea of my potential as a person and what I want my life to be like. And since that stuff is being cleared up for me I feel less stressed about my temporal life... just at ease and knowing that everything is going to be okay. 

 

It´s been really cool to look back every day as I am writing in my journal and see how the Lord has guided me in every action. Mostly with things such as being in the right place at the right time. 

 

I am blessed to be in such a choice place of the Lord´s vineyard. I feel His hand guiding me and his confirmation that what I am doing is His work. 

"Working too hard to stress"

This will be a shorter entry this week because I have very little time
to write. The internet cafes here are very slow especially when a ton
of kids are here playing games on the internet. Around 11 am this
morning we tried for over an hour to access the email without success
so I´m back now with very little time to write.

I performed my first baptism on Saturday for a girl named Ithay. She
is a Bolivian girl that the hermanas (female missionaries) were
teaching in another branch here in Tupungato. She met me the day
before her baptism and asked me to be the one to baptize her; it was a
nice experience. Her full name was very difficult to say but I got
through it (butchering it I´m sure). Our branch had a baptism as well.
It was a son of one of the members. He has been waiting for some time
now to get permission from some family members to do the baptism. It
was a very special experience for him and for the branch.

This week I went up to the city (Mendoza) to get some visa stuff done
and all of that went smoothly. I didn´t realize how modern it was in
the city until returning there from Tupungato. It´s kind of funny here
when it comes to cars - there are lots of what we would call (in the
states) "classics"... but here they are just old cars that they´ve
kept running.

This week I accidently placed my hand on an open electrical socket in
our pensión and got electrocuted. I didn´t turn into a superhero or
anything so nothing good really came of it other than it woke me up a
little bit. Just so you know, they run twice as much voltage through
the wires here than they do in the states.

Church yesterday was so amazing.. I can´t even begin to describe how
good it was to see the ward progressing. The church is so young here
but it was looking a lot more mature in the Tupungato branch
yesterday. We had almost 60 people there when we normally only have
30-40! We had some investigators, some baby blessings, a confirmation,
3 newly ordained priesthood holders fulfilling their duties, and the
testimonies were strong. It was very motivating!

I will be sure to write more next week but everything is going well
here. I´ll be hitting my month mark this week so that´s pretty cool.
Time has seriously gone by so fast for me. I feel like last p-day was
just two days ago! My spanish is so much better than when I got here.
I can walk out of almost every conversation knowing exactly what was
said but my speaking ability still has lots of work but I´ll get there
:) No stress here.. Elder Egbert and I are working too hard to stress.
Love you guys!

- Elder Rainock