Pictures from the Field

Elder Rau with Elder Grassi (his "favorite latin") who is from Argentina.

A group picture of 2 zones that had come together for zone conference. 

A candid shot of President and Sister Villalba.

Our Elder with Elder Redmon - a friend from the MTC. 

Here's part of Elder Rau's letter home on December 1st:

Our Thanksgiving was pretty exciting. We had a long zone conference, and with studies, we didn't really get to go out and work, but zc was a blast! The talks from President and his wife were awesome as usual. I think a major theme was about sacrifice and blessings. The turkey lunch was amazing! I think I told you the hermano that cooks is in my ward so we got to do a little preview on the gravy. It was really good, but instead of pie, we had pan dulce...I would rather have pie. There were a lot of competitions and we watched the Christmas dvd, which is a slide show of pictures from all over the mission. It was really cool. I had almost forgotten that there are other areas in the mission, not just mine. It feels like I have been here forever, but the time is still flying...I know, that probably doesn't make sense, but that's what it's like.

So yesterday, Sebastian asked me to be the voice for his priesthood ordination. Needless to say, I was pretty stinkin nervous. I think I was shaking and grabbing our elders quorum president's shoulder pretty hard. The words came and the spirit was absolutely guiding, but I still think I was a little to nervous to be as in tune as I should have been. I guess that will just come with more faith and time. It was a very cool experience that I hope I never forget.

So Edgardo is back! He is the guy that was progressing really really well, then had to leave for work on a fishing boat. He is back in town, and we talked to his wife and left a note on Saturday, but haven't been able to amke contact with him yet. I am really excited to see how he is doing.

the Lord answers prayers. I told you last week about how hot it is here. Well, we prayed for rain, and it came. It has been raining off and on for the last three days. I'm actually kind of cold right now and it actually feels like fall. The bad news is that Argentines are made out of sugar and if they go out in the rain they melt. We had a terrible turn out for church Sunday morning. Something about separating the wheat from the tares comes to mind...

We also had prayers answered in other ways. We have been doing lots of looking but not so much finding. That changed this week. We found a bunch of people that let us in, among which are two small families, one of which is part member. 

So yeah, the work is going forth boldly, nobly, and independent. Satan is good at his job, but he can't win as long as we have the spirit. I hope you are all having plenty of missionary opportunities, they are pretty cool.

Elder Rau