"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