Week 60

Hey Everyone, 

Sorry about the lack of email last week, I was kinda sidetracked. A lot has happened to me in the last 2 weeks from when I last sent anything. I was in Connell, Washington. I was there for a little bit, but not very long at all. I was shipped down to Kennewick again. If any of you recall, I was sent to Kennewick back in September of 2018 because of my broken foot. The reason for this emergency transfer was because my back has been messed up, and it's been messed up for a while. 

I reached out to my Mission President, President White, in desperation to be honest. I was at a really low point. My back was in so much pain that I had to stay in the apartment in the evenings. I told him that I didn't know what to do. What was going through my head was that I was wasting the Lord’s time, wasting my time, my companions time all because I was in too much pain to do anything. I couldn't even really stand at times. 

During this emotional struggle going on in my head, I reached out to President White and the next day I got a call at 11 am and I was told, "You're coming to the Mission Office, the Assistants will be there to pick you up at 6 tonight." That was my heads up. We had a District Council Meeting at 1. I sat through that meeting with so many thoughts racing through my head, I barely even heard what was being talked about. 

After the meeting, I went home, packed my bags, and we went to dinner at a member- owned pizza place in Connell. Then I was sent to Kennewick. I'm here with a missionary named Elder Visker. He was in the mission office for a while before I got there. He injured his leg, pulled a ligament, on his VERY FIRST preparation day. He's only on his 2nd transfer and his mission has been a major roller coaster. Then, I got called to finish his training. 

Oh yeah, a special mission fireside was held a couple days ago that Included Brad Wilcox, it was awesome. 

I hope everyone has a great week. Thank you for the prayers and support. I am feeling much better. The Gospel is true.

Elder Rexinger

Week 59

Great news! Dallin called us today and said he is feeling a lot better and his back symptoms are improving. He said he started to feel better on Saturday (we happened to go to the temple for him that day.) He also told us that the Missionary Department in Salt Lake did approve three more Physical Therapy visits, which he started today.

Thank you to everyone for your fasting, prayers and messages of support. We are so relieved that Dallin feels better. Now, hopefully he just needs to recuperate more and be extra careful with his back.

We will pass on any additional info as we get it.

The Rexingers

Week 57

Hello there friends and family,

We have some interesting things going on here in the WKM. I'm being transferred to the Pasco North Zone serving in a town called Connell. It has like.....5,000 people there. I thought that Hermiston was small (20,000.)

Now, I'm being sent to an even smaller place. President White gave me a specific assignment to get up there and help the members be more missionary minded. I'm excited to be sent there.

I've loved it here in the Hermiston Stake and Zone. It's been great to be here. I've gotten to know the members so well, and I love them so much.

I don't have too much time to email right now because we have a lot going on with me leaving. Sorry it's a short one.

Love you all. The Gospel is true.

I will have more time and news from my new area in Connell, WA next week.

Elder Rexinger

P.S. Here are some pics of a few of the awesome families in Hermiston, OR

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