Week 56

Hey Everyone,

We are currently driving back to Hermiston from the Tri-Cities area after our temple trip. The Columbia River Temple was a ton of fun. I love it. It is a beautiful building and of course The House of the Lord.

As always, our trips to the temple also include a visit to Fountain Books. I was able to pick up an 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, a few different CDs, and some ties. Temple trips are the best.

In teaching news, we now have two people on date for baptism! One is named Lote, the other is Logan. Logan is the oldest son of a less-active family we’re working with. We are helping them become reactivated, get Logan baptized, and eventually make their way to the temple! Lote is the younger sister of a recently returned missionary named Chy. Their mom wanted us to teach Lote the lessons because they haven't always made it to church and there might be some things she doesn't know, so we're teaching her.

The other news of course is the new Update to the Communication Policy for Missionaries. It is going to be a transition for sure, and it’s going to take some getting used to. I feel like it'll be good in the long run.

Also, in other news, my back is no longer killing me anymore! It still hurts after a while, but it's way better. I went to a physical therapist on Tuesday, and I have a return appointment on Thursday. It's already doing way better. I actually had to spend a few days in the apartment because it hurt so bad that I could hardly walk, but now I'm mostly back to normal.

Love you all and love the Gospel. It's here to help enrich our lives with all that God has in store for us, and to help us prepare for those things.


Elder Rexinger

Elder Rexinger and Elder Skinner at the Columbia River Temple

Week 55

Hello Friends and Family,

There has been a lot of snow popping up here in Hermiston and the Tri-Cities. There has been enough to get us all locked up in our apartments. As a result, we have been banned from driving...well, every once and a while. It's fun because apparently this is way more snow than Hermiston usually gets. Normally, it's a really mild winter with maybe one decent snowfall. Not this year! As a result, we've been walking and shoveling a lot of driveways. That has been fun. It takes me back to my days in West Richland, being a walking area and such.

The shoveling has had a bit of an impact on me though. My sore back has been a problem for a while now, and shoveling hasn't done me any favors. The Mission Nurse has joked about locking me up in a straightjacket and leaving me in a corner one of these days. I don't blame them, it's kinda part of my nature to get hurt a lot.

Since we've been walking and shoveling a lot, not a lot has happened as far as teaching this week. We started teaching the younger sister of a returned missionary that is unbaptized. We got in and had a lesson with them at the home of some members. They're awesome.

Hopefully the weather will lighten up this next week and we can get out working some more.

Thanks for the prayers and support. The Gospel is true.

Elder Rexinger

Elder Skinner and I in Hermiston.

Week 54

Hey Everyone,

Elder Rexinger here in Hermiston, Oregon.

We have some good things going on here in our area. Shanna was able to get a job and is now in the process of replacing all her broken appliances. We also began teaching a youth named Kira, the granddaughter of some converts in the ward. She has a lot of really good questions and came to Church yesterday. She really enjoyed it.

Speaking of church yesterday, the Sunday School teachers were out of town visiting family, and we ended up getting enlisted in teaching the Sunday School class, which Kira was in. If you're following along with the Come, Follow Me program, we were talking about John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. That was a perfect subject for us to talk about and teach.

We were also able to do some service this past week. We did three hours of digging and cement work. The next morning, I woke up with a super messed up back. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after the service we did. I got fixed up from an awesome member and it's just sore now.

This area is awesome. I'm happy to have been here for so long. I love this Gospel. I love the people here, and I love all of you.

Have a good week. The Gospel is true.

Elder Rexinger

Digging and pouring cement in the WKM.

Week 53

Hello There Friends and Family,

Elder Rexinger here in the great WKM (specifically the Hermiston part of the mission). It's been so long since I've been in the Tri-cities.

We have some awesome stuff going on here. For one thing, Elder Skinner and I haven't killed each other yet. Three transfers is a long time to spend with one companion, but we're doing really well despite that. We talked to the Jons family that we had lost contact with them for a while during the Holidays. We talked to Brother Jons last night, and we're set up to go by on Wednesday. We also found a family that has 6 kids in it! The oldest just turned nine years old on the 26th! Those kids are a crazy bunch, but they love us. Logan hasn't been baptized yet. We're planning to go in and start teaching him the lessons real quick, and we are looking forward to it.

I also had an interesting development from last week. Elder Skinner and I have been running at the local high school track, and my back was in agony. We called up an awesome member in the Butte Ward that is a chiropractor. He fixed Elder Skinner’s neck, and then he fixed my back. It was pretty messed up actually. Apparently, my pelvis twisted somehow and my right leg ended up a 1/2 inch longer than my left leg. Running was jacking it up a whole lot. He fixed it though and gave me tips to not hurt myself. He's awesome.

That’s about it for last week.

Love you all! The Gospel is true.

Elder Rexinger

Dedicated and motivated running in the mornings