Jose's First Blessing

Hey Everyone! 

2 days left in the MTC! It has gone by so fast! I am so excited to finally be leaving for D.R.! Thanks for all of the of the packages! I have received all of the workout clothes, power bars, suitcase,debit card and doterra oils. I feel everyones love and prayers! It felt like christmas errday this week. Also this week I was able to host new missionaries, finish all of my big meetings (meetings about the mission field), went to the temple and had powerful spiritual experiences with my district and zone. Here are some of those spiritual experiences. So you can have a lil taste of the spirit I have been feeling on my mission. 

So this last week of my zones stay here in the MTC has been really exciting! There is a lot of emotion that goes into preparing to be a missionary in another country and for most of the missionaries in my zone they are going to Argentina. All of the Argentina missionaries were told in their missionary call that they would be reassigned for a couple of months, so because of this, all of them were anxious to find out their reassignments. about four days ago, unexpectedly, all of the Argentina missionaries received their flight itinerary and were going crazy. All of the missionaries going to Argentina (I know at least 40 personally ,but their are a couple hundred in the MTC) received tourist visas and would not be reassigned. Literally everyone was crying, jumping, praying and some were even crying as they jumped and prayed. It was a miracle for them. Well their is one sister in my district who is going to Spain Madrid mission and was the only sister missionary in our zone going to to Spain who has not received her visa yet. I could tell that she was worried and also troubled by visa issues and other missionary worries. The morning after all the Argentina missionaries had received their visas, she asked me if I would give her a priesthood blessing of comfort. I told her that I would love to and we made a plan for later on in the afternoon during our personal study time. The entire morning I prayed for the spirit to be with us in this blessing. I prayed that I may be used to as instrument in the Lord's hand to be able to express to her what the Lord wants her to know and most importantly feel. I have never given a blessing a comfort to someone outside of my family before so I was a little nervous ,but I knew that the Lord trust's me and I had faith in the priesthood power of God. When it came time to give sister Reyes a blessing, a powerful spirit entered the room and we were all (four missionaries) able to feel a special peace . Honestly, I do not remember what I said or what I expressed, But I can distinctly remember how I felt and the tears of joy and comfort that I saw on sister Reyes face. I know that the Lord used me as his instrument to express to her what the Lord needed her to hear. It was amazing. The power of the priesthood is so real and I was able to witness the power and comfort it can have on one of His beloved children. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to be worthy of and exercise His priesthood. I know that it is one of the key tools that God uses to build up his kingdom. I know I am only one of thousands of workers in the Lord's army ,but It brings me so much joy to do my little part.   

Do you want to know why people say serving a mission is the one of the most rewarding things you can ever do? it is because you are constantly (24/7) giving your life to the Lord. Everything I do as a representative of Jesus Christ is to build the kingdom of God upon the earth. I have not even left the MTC yet and I have already experienced the blessings of this work. It is a miracle to me how when lose yourself through helping others, you actually find yourself. It doesn't really make sense untill you do it. I know this to be true and I know that Jesus Christ is at the Head of this work. I love Him and I know how much he loves all of us. I love all of you and I pray you for you all daily. Next letter I send will be from D.R! Yeah, I know! It's going to be hard living on a tropical island, eating all of my favorite foods, but someone has to do it.

IMPORTANT: I will be in the Miami airport from 6:40 to 8:40 august 26th so I will be calling family on the pay phone (with a phone card thing) at that time. I don't know everyones number by memory so please send me a dear elder with your phone number if you want a call. I hope I can talk to all of you so you need to be ready to pick up the phone. Hope to hear your voice soon through that payphone.

Love, 

Elder Rincon

Special Devotional: August 16th Letter

Hey everyone! 

I have been in the MTC for 31 days now! My mission is already flying by! Only 634 days left of being a full time missionary. How is everyone doing? Whats new? I love your letters and they help strengthen me when I need it the most. I had another great week! I truly am living my dream as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day saints! Some news from me, I received my travel plans (for D.R) today, I just got back from the Provo temple (this morning) and my Spanish is improving every day. Also I went to a devotional (Live) by Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the twelve Apostles. All of these experiences were amazing and have each strengthened my testimony of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

Also I received my travel plans. Did I mention that I received my travel plans for D.R.? Well i did! Here's the basic Info:

On August 26th, I leave Provo at 3:30 a.m and head to SLC airport. I leave SLC airport at 7:10am and arrive at the ATL,GA airport at 12:47pm (Flight 2218). Then I leave ATL at 1:40pm to Miami,FL at 3:45 pm (Flight 1951). Then I leave Miami at 6:40 pm to Santiago D.R at 8:40 pm."gee I wonder what I could do for my layover in ATL in Miami " ;) ;) Anyways I'm crazy excited to finally be in D.R. and eat platanos all day every day! 

Other really exciting news is that this past Tuesday I was able to attend a fireside here at the MTC were Richard G Scott addressed us. Here are some of the thoughts and notes that I took from the devotional: "Which was also the first ever live broadcast between all the MTC'S around the World" (15)

- to reach a goal never before attained, you must do things never before done.

- Do not rush your prayer's with God. Prayer is a privilege. We should take time to express our deepest gratitude and concerns with Him. Then we need to wait for his answer to our prayer. You cant rush an effective prayer.

- Ask God, in our prayers, "What he wants for us", this allows us to reach our full potentials as children of God.

- There are many languages that I will need to learn in my Life! Spanish is just one of them. As a disciple and follower of Christ, I am working on learning the language of His spirit, language of charity, language of humility and the language of continual love towards his children.  

I love being a missionary! I love being in the MTC, yet I am so excited to finally go back to the motherland! I know that our Lord has a special plan for all of us. I know that for these next two years, mine will be to sacrifice my all to build his kingdom upon the Earth. I pray for all of you daily and I know that our Savior loves each of you so much because I feel that love everyday. I pray that we may all be instruments in the Lords Orchestra. (I know that the last sentence was really profound, but I do that sometimes)  I love all you so much and hope to hear from each of you soon! 

Love,

Elder Rincon

P.S. Jose was sure to hashtag the photos for us...what a goofball!

#missionpics #spirit #model #mountains #elder #platanos

Visa Arrival!

Hey everyone! 

I have officially been in the provo MTC for 3 weeks and 1 day! I have loved all of it! The days are long and the weeks are short! This week I finally received my visa! This was shweet cause their was a group of 25 elders waiting for their visas (all in the same mission and all suppose to be going to the D.R MTC), but unfortunately they want us to finish out our MTC time in Provo. This was expected, but I was hoping to get a head start on that farmers tan and Platanos! Although this MTC is not in D.R, I know the Lord has a plan for all of us and I love this MTC as well. I feel my Saviors love here daily and it is preparing me for D.R.

 

Some of the events that have occurred in my Life since last email:

 

- We have lost about 15 missionaries in our zone of 40 missionaries and have gained about 10 other new ones. It's really cool when you say goodbye to fellow missionaries in your Zone. We all get together, right before10:30 at night and yell/sing/scream as loud as we can the church hymn " till we meet again" ( in spanish). It's always powerful when you get a large gathering of people together (for a great cause) and sing. (even if nobody actually knows what their singing, which seems to be the case most of the time, cause everyone is mispronouncing words). Ill attach a video of this, so you can experience it with me.

 

- Also, my spanish continues to improve daily. Everything I do inside the classroom ( which I'm in for about 10 hours a day is in spanish). We sing in spanish, learn spanish in spanish, study our scriptures in spanish, practice missionary scenarios in spanish, breathe in spanish and occasionally i even dance in spanish. The Lord is blessing me with many gifts including faith, diligence, and the strength to give my all to Him, who has given me all. Without the Lord I would not be where I am with the language now. I feel a lot more comfortable speaking spanish and my flow has become more fluid. I'm definitely not at the level were i want to be yet, but I know that day will come soon when i'll be able to freestyle in spanish ( of course a gospel freestyle) and not even realize that i'm not speaking english!

 

- One principle that I have learned this week is the importance of "doing"." We teach, to learn". When we practice whatever it is that we are trying to get better at, we learn how to become better at it. I know that the more that I practice speaking spanish, teaching by/with the spirit of god and doing all that i can to grow closer to God, i am becoming a greater missionary. I know that God loves us so much and is always looking for ways to bless our lives. I know that he wants us to be so happy, so he gives us trials, challenges and commandments, to make us stronger and bless our lives. His gospel has blessed my life tremendously and I am beyond excited to be able to invite others to come unto it through Jesus Christ. I know he has blessed me with family and friends to lift me up and help me grow closer to him. I love all of you and love hearing from you! Your letters have been great and have truly allowed me to feel like i'm back home with all of you. Hope to hear from everyone soon, " dearelder.com" is the best way to reach me, and i have a new mail box number unit # 164.

 

Love, 

Elder Rincon

 

Birthday in the MTC

Hi family!

How is everyone? I miss all of you a lot! I am so thankful for your dear elders and letters! Iv'e realized how truly special each letter/email is and how impossible it is for me to not be overjoyed with love when I read them! This week has been amazing! I have started every single journal entry, so far, with " another great day"! I truly love being a full time representative of Jesus Christ. It makes me so happy and has allowed me to constantly be under the guidance of the Lords Spirit. Some of my experiences from this week: Sunday, it was my first sabbath day with my new zone. Each Sunday you have to write a talk about a new topic, and then after sacrament, our branch president calls on two people randomly to give their talks. whether they have written one or not. I have not been called upon yet, but i know that it will happen eventually. Some of the thoughts and impressions that I was able to feel this Sunday were:
- Revelation is communication with God though the Holy Spirit. God knows us each individually and we are all different. Because of this, we all feel the spirit testifying to us differently. I just always happen to have a piece of dust in my eye when the spirit is testifying to me of truth.
- Salvation is not a cheap experience! If we are to be true disciples of Christ, we must each be going through our own Gethsemane's (figuratively). Salvation was never easy! Missionary work will never be either. It has to be difficult!
IT WAS MY 19TH B-DAY! Thanks for all of the thoughts, letters, package and emails! it was basically like any other day in the MTC except I was wished a bunch of Happy Birthdays. Also my zone surprised me by calling me into a room where they ambushed me, while screaming to me Happy Birthday! Unfortunately there was no icing to shmear on my face, BUT the song was sung out of tune and pitch, so it reminded me a lot of home and kept that tradition going strong. It was a little different having my 19th B-DAY in the MTC , but i enjoyed every second of it and it was special to me! Although i cant wait to have my 21st B-day with all of my family and friends gett'n crazy off that malta and platanos!

Also the rest of this week has been great! I'm working hard to study language, become a greater servant of the lord, and become more like my savior Jesus Christ! the days are long and then nights are too short! One of the blessings that have helped me to become a greater missionary is the spirit. The Holy spirit has allowed me to learn the language at a fast pace, understand/ know what the lord needs me to express to his children, and stay happy through the love I receive daily.  My Spanish improves daily and i am able teach full 40 minute lessons with all of my investigators. ( Investigators are basically teachers who pose as investigators they have taught on their own mission in Spanish speaking countries) all of the lessons are in Spanish. It truly helps you learn the language when you give full lessons to investigators in that language! I am becoming more comfortable with the language of my people everyday! I cant wait to re learn everything I have been taught once i get into the mission field!

Here one of the great experience I had with my companion this week: we were preparing for one of investigators Pedro, but we were struggling to know what the Lord needed him to know and what we could share with him that could bring him closer to Christ. We went into a quiet room, prayed together out loud, and then pondered for a couple of minutes after the prayer. After 5 minutes of pondering in our minds, we each received the same exact revelation of what we needed to teach Pedro.  Our prayer was answered immediately and we were able to better understand what we needed to share with our investigator Pedro. This was just one of the many spiritually strengthening experiences I have had this week.

I know that the lord answers our prayers when we have faith and humble ourselves before him. I know that we can learn the truth of all things through prayer to our Heavenly Father and then listening for his answer, that will come to us in our mind and hearts. I know that I am truly participating in the work of the Lord. I know that the Book of Mormon, as well as the bible our testaments of Jesus Christ, his prophets/apostles and contain the fullness of His Gospel. I know these scriptures to be true. I know that Gospel of Jesus Christ, makes me so happy and makes me want to share my happiness and truth with all i encounter. I testify of these things and know that they are true, because God has testified to me, through the Holy Spirit that they are true! I cannot deny the overwhelming feeling that i have felt when i feel the Holy spirit in my heart and mind. I love my family sooooooo much and i pray for them all hourly. I know that this work (missionary work) is very important and I know it will bring blessings to my family and all of the families that accept it's message.

Love Always,

Elder Rincon

Elder Rincon's First Week in the MTC

Wassup familia! 

This week has been amazing! I have so much to tell you! Sooooo since I said bye to everyone, I chilled with a bunch of other missionaries who were returning home from Argentina and on my same flight, which was shweet. I arrived at the the SLC airport fine and when I landed it felt like I was already in the MTC. There were hundreds of missionaries leaving and coming home. I was able to talk with a bunch and see where everyone was going. I then got onto my shuttle(ferrari limo), and was driven to the MTC by my chauffer (chives). That was cool because I met a Sister who is also going to my mission. When you arrive at the MTC you have to wait in a long line of other cars (filled with families) who are dropping of their kids. It's funny because all of the parents are kind of in shock. When you get dropped off there is a long line of other missionaries, all going to different places in the world who are welcoming you in their own missions language. You really feel the love in the MTC and you get even more excited about being a missionary. You and your missionary tour guide person then get all off your information including name tags,room keys, books, manuals, mail stuff and then head off to your new room. You drop your stuff off at the room( which was really fun because I was able to carry my 90 pound suitcase up 3 floors with a sketchy handle) and then your helper guy drops you off at class. This is when you start living that real real. In class I received my first ever companion (Elder Murphy, he's from Southern Cal., a volleyball player and is going to my same mission), I met two other missionaries going to my same mission, and eight other missionaries all going to Argentina. ( All of the missionaries I have met so far in my mission, have had the exact same visa problems and were suppose to go the DR MTC). I met my new teacher sister Christensen and then we got to work. So in the MTC you have schedule, which is planned out every hour of the day.( Ex: it could say like personal study, then language study, then GYM, then lunch, then classroom instruction.) The schedule is nice because it gives you a lot of freedom of what you want to study and how hard you wanna go in everything, most of the time it's just you, your companion, and your district. So for most of the week I have been learning a lot about missionary work and a lot of spanish. The spirit has been amazing and my district is really close to each other. Were all like brothers and have been motivating each other while having tons of fun. It's nice to be in a whole district of guys because you don't have to worry about holding in farts for sister missionaries. Anyways, this Wednesday my companion and I were asked to take a spanish oral test at the resource center. They then sent me, my companion (Elder Murphy), and another elder in our district who is going to the same mission, to the intermediate spanish class. We were all originally in the beginner class and were promoted to the intermediate spanish class. This was like a sad/ happy moment, sad because we were so close to our old district and were like brothers ( We even had nicknames, one missionary "Elder Merkely" we call him conejito because he only eats salad and fruit. conejito means little rabbit.), and happy because our spanish has gotten a lot better and are going to be challenged more in a harder class. We had to pack up, move out of our old building, switch classes, districts, zones and get a whole new schedule. It's been nice because I stayed with my companion and we are pretty close now. My new district has been great also. I have only been in it two days but we are all building a relationship and the teacher is great. My new district has been really spiritual and my teacher is great. My testimony is strengthening everyday! I'm attaching some pictures of both districts! My new district is the one with the three sister (who are all going to Argentina) and my old district is the one with all the guys. So heres a little bit more of what i have been doing. I have been studying my scriptures, studying spanish, teaching investigators in spanish and praying for a lot of help. I have been playing sports, eating a lot, working out, going to devotional, singing in choir at devotional, laughing and praying for even more help. My spanish has gotten a lot better and i'm learning a lot of gospel words. I can remember giving my first ever spanglish prayer on my second day at lunch. I couldn't stop smiling because I was so happy. My prayers have become a lot more sentimental since and are now all in spanish. My companion and i have been working hard. We memorized the first vision, our missionary purpose and have taught multiple 40 min. lessons completely in spanish. The Lord is helping us out a lot. Sorry about not writing back soon enough, this is because we were moved to a more advanced class and we missed our P- day and had to wait 9 days for our first P-day. to end this long e mail I wanna share with my family one more experience. On my third day I can vividly remember one night after my companionship prayer asking my heavenly father (in spanish) for his spirit and for my family to feel my love and be protected. He testified to me through his powerful, overwhelming spirit, that brought me to tears, that he loves me and that my family will be blessed because I am serving him and his children. I love being a missionary! I love representing Jesus Christ in all that I do. I know that this is his work and i am just an instrument of his to bring this gospel of happiness to the world. I know the Lord has a plan for all of us and that he loves us all so much. I also love all of guys so much! I think and pray about each one of you daily! I love reading about what is going on in your lives! My time in the MTC has been really special and i'm learning that everything I do is for my investigators and the people in DR. As for writing me in the future. If you can, please write me back through dearelder.com! This way I don't have to wait to read you letters on P-day and I can write you a hand written letter back! Mom and dad know how to do this. Receiving any kind of letter makes me so happy! I hope to hear from everyone soon! 

LOVE,
Elder Rincon.

PS: It was so weird introducing myself as elder to everyone I met, but now it has become my first name. kind of.