E' McRae
Sunday, February 9, 2014
12.16.13
12.9.13
Hey,
So I received an email from Jared
Drake saying that he’s going to pick up Conner from Utah for Christmas and it
totally freaked me out that Christmas is coming up! I still thought that it was
summer... (probably because it’s SO hot here). Because of the heat, I don't
sleep sometimes. I just stay up going back over high school soccer, BYU soccer,
and fantasies about playing for the US National team. I cannot get soccer out
of my brain. I am right now imagining Gavin scoring his free kick and me
freaking out, running and tackling him so hard and just freaking out and
screaming and cheering and playing soccer all day long. One of the hardest
things about the mission is not playing soccer… and staying up all night
replaying club and high school games in my head don't help at all.
Something pretty awesome happened
this week. So there is this woman here named Zully and she has been trying so
hard to help her family get into the church. She and the younger half of her
family are baptized and they are enjoying the blessings of the gospel, but her
older children want nothing to do with it, and they are ruining their lives. We
just started talking to one of her daughters and she is totally loving what we
are teaching because she didn't know how strongly family-based the church was.
Zully started crying during our first lesson with her and it was a really cool
lesson. (so I have yet to leave my area so every change i give people my
facebook name and email so that they can keep in touch with me) After the
lesson, we had a little lesson with Zully, because she said she wanted to talk
with me. She couldn't stop crying to tell us what she wanted to say, and then
finally she said... I know I wasn't supposed to go on your facebook yet, but I
did it anyways. I started looking at your pictures with your friends at college
and the pictures of your mother with all of your family looking so happy, part
of the church, pictures of you playing with little children in a gorgeous house
and I just started to cry. My question, as I was looking at the pictures is... How
could you leave all of that happiness behind to come to a terrible, poor, ugly
place like this… to help people that don't even want your help, rob you and do
even more terrible things? I just can't understand how anyone could do
that...you guys are angels sent from God and I don't know how I can ever thank
you for everything that you guys have done for me and my family.” Of course I
got a little bit chocked up and told her that being here, helping other
families find the same happiness that my family has thanks to the gospel of
Jesus Christ is better than any massive house, or fast car, or riches in the
entire world. She also thinks that mom is the prettiest woman she has ever been
friends with on facebook (haha). She is a super sweet lady and we have helped
her family a bunch.
As for your Sunday school class,
there were so many conference talks about missionary work and stuff like that.
Something that will help is that members don't understand that they already
know how to be a missionary. Just by stating things that they know. Elder
Ballard gave a great talk on missionary work.
Sounds like things are going good. I
don't know what I'm doing for Christmas with the whole Skype thing, but I guess
I should start worrying about that. I'll talk to you next week. Tell Gavin and
Abbie to take advantage of their soccer playing time!
E' McRae
12.2.13
So we experienced a miracle and it
was the coolest thing ever! We were searching for a reference in a scary part
of the town and we were getting discouraged because we couldn't find the right
house. We decided we both had a feeling that we should go down this one street
and so we did. While we were walking, a woman just came out of the door and
went crazy when she saw us. She invited us over and we were a little scared
because she was like screaming, “thank you, Lord” repeatedly so we thought she
was on hardcore drugs at first. Later, she explained how she was baptized a
couple years ago in a different state. She said she moved to my area and
couldn't find the church. She had to live in my area because of work and she
said that she had been looking on the internet, asking around, and praying every
day to find the church or the missionaries. She said she was sitting, talking
to her mother, when she heard someone call her name from outside. Her mom said
she didn't hear anything but she said it was a soft voice that said her name
perfectly loud and clear from outside, and when she walked outside, she saw us…
lost. It was pretty cool, and was the first time something like that happened
to me! She went to church with us yesterday and gave her testimony about prayer
and missionary work and it was just one of the coolest things ever.
My definition of success completely
changed a couple weeks ago when we had the conference with Pres. Smith. I
seriously love Pres. Smith and every time I talk to him, he makes me feel like
crap because I realize a suck… and then he makes me feel amazing because he
loves me so much. He said that E' Bedke and I were the first change that he
prayed about and received an immediate answer. I love all of his counsel and
have found that my success increases as I do what he says. We have to work with
the bishop a bunch and with a bunch of less actives and we have found that we
are getting more investigators and baptisms (convert baptisms...there is a huge
difference between baptisms from people who just answered the questions right
during the interview and people truly converted) through working with the lists
of the bishop!
I'm definitely going to use that
story about Grandpa preparing names to take to the temple with my recent
converts this week! We're preparing them to go to the temple to do baptisms while
they wait a year to be sealed in the temple and Ana said she has been having a
bunch of dreams about her mom and about how her mom would always like to join
her in the church even though her mom died a while ago. I definitely think
they'll feel the spirit when I tell them Grandpa's story, because I did.
I completely forgot about
Thanksgiving... because obviously, they don't celebrate that here so we didn't
do anything. I'm going to tell my favorite Hna. to make us an asado (Uruguaya
BBQ...ten times better than Thanksgiving dinner) this week just because I
missed Thanksgiving. Love you!
E' McRae
11.25.13
Hello family,
Sounds like you guys had a lot of
fun. I keep struggling with the fact that our family is going to be separated
(like we all won't be living in the same house when I get back) because the
people here just live in the exact same house that they were basically born in
and I can't think that we’re going to be like Mom, Sarah, Jared, Amanda, Roger,
John, Janel...it’s just weird. Ok so I have this awesome story that my new
companion (Elder Betke) told me about The Plan of Destruction. (Much like the
Lord’s Plan of Salvation, well this is Satan's plan) SO before the world began,
Satan and his three closest devils had a meeting to discuss what the plan of
destruction is going to be. (First presidency of Satan) So the first devil
says, “I got it Satan, this is what we're going to do. We're going to tell
people that there is no such thing as God!” Satan thought and said, “No, that
won't work...some of the people will believe us but the chosen people will still
believe that there is a God.” The next little devil gave his idea saying, “This
is going to be the plan of destruction! We'll tell the people that there is a
God, but that we don't have to follow his commandments because God loves all of
us and we will all be saved.” Satan thought and said, “no, that won't
work...some people will believe us but the chosen people of the Lord will still
believe that God is just, and that they have to follow the commandments.” Now
the third devil was the most intelligent and he said, “here is what we're going
to do. We are going to tell the people that there is a God, and there is a
Devil also. We'll tell them that Joseph Smith really saw Jesus Christ and the
Father and that the Book of Mormon is true. We'll tell them that they have to
follow the commandments to return to the presence of their God....but, we will
simply tell them every day that they can obey them tomorrow, that there is no
hurry to repent and that there is always tomorrow.” Satan smiled and then
laughed and said, “Yes! That is going to be the destruction of men. That is the
Plan of Destruction.” So many people here (and in the world) believe in the
Gospel, have testimonies, want to follow the commandments, but always say, “later
in my life, I will do that...or later, I will return to the church, I need my
own time. Or, right now I just want to enjoy my life and later I will start following
the commandments, read the Book of Mormon, say my prayers...blah blah blah” but
like in Alma 34:31 Hoy es el Dia, yo salto de la cama todos los dias y trabajo
con fuerza y fe, sabiendo mediante la profecia inspirada que HOY ES EL DIA en
que el Señor esta apresurando su obra! Elder Betke is awesome and we are
working really hard. The two wards in my church building have been combined so
now instead of 70 people going to church, we have 160! So, we have than many
more people that can use our help. Oh, also, we knew that it was possible that
we were going to get a new bishop and for some reason I had just always had an
awesome relationship with our 1st counselor so I thought it was possible that
he was going to be the new bishop and HE WAS so I am super excited to work with
him this change! That’s what’s been happening around here, so hope all is well.
E' McRae
11.17.13
Hey,
So we're going
through changes right now and since E' Xavier is leaving to go home, we have
had to do a bunch of stuff today. I'm going to stay in my same area and my new
companion is named E' Betky. He’s from the states and has been on his mission
for a year. He was in the office for a while, and I hear he’s a super hard
worker and that's exactly what I need! E' Xavier was great, but by the end, he
was struggling with staying focused. Apparently there hasn't been a set of US
companions in Cerro 1 for a long time because the people in the north part of
Cerro don’t really like us, but luckily E' Betky is huge! I'm really excited
for this change because I have a lot to get better at. I have progressed to a
point in Spanish where I can get by with the words I know and I can understand
the people… I’ve gotten a little comfortable and I hate getting comfortable. I
want to expand my vocabulary and the only way I'm going to do that is by
working hard. We have been working on the fifth principle of the gospel
(perserverar hasta el fin...persevere to the end or something like that) with
the people here. I found that many of the people are willing to do the first
four (have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the spirit) but they are not willing
to work hard and stick it out to the end. I have to teach the clase de
principios del evangelio and in one of my lessons. I taught about how we are
going to persevere in this life until the end. Of course the three
basics...prayer, lecture of the scriptures, and going to church. But I taught a
fourth one which is work. If the people don't have a desire to work, they will
never have a desire to read, pray, go to the church because all the problems of
the world will so easily come upon them. In the Book of Mormon, the Lord never
just gives the people what they want. He gives them the desire to do it for
themselves through the scriptures, prayer, and church. I taught that the desire
to work doesn't come instantly and that it should be taught at a young age. I
told countless stories about how if I didn't work in the house, my mom would
lose her mind. Or how if I slept in passed 8, my mom would rip my head off. I
told them that as adults, the only way they’re going to gain the desire to
work, is through working. Just like with all of the other three. You won't gain
a desire to read unless you read...and so on and so forth. The problem with a
bunch of the people is that they just don't want to work. I know that I didn't
work that much at my house or have the desire to read or pray or go to
church...but through my parents’ desire for me to be successful and happy, they
forced me to work and forced me to read and pray and go to church. I taught
them that, as parents, if they love their children and want the most success
and happiness for them, they better teach their children how to overcome
problems, persevere to the end and work to achieve success. The people then
tried to tell me that they had the desire to work and they would do anything to
succeed and have eternal life. Success and Eternal Life go hand in hand… I
think.
There
was a video that I watched about a man who was super successful. Another man
wanted to become successful like him so man B asked man A what he should do to
become successful. Man A said, “meet me at the beach at 3 AM tomorrow and I
will show you the key to becoming successful.” Man B met the man the next day
at 3 in the morning at the beach, dressed in regular clothes. Man A walked into
the ocean to where the water was waist deep and invited Man B to come into the
water. Man B thought the guy was crazy but said that he had the desire to be
successful so he met the guy in the ocean waist deep. Man A then took man B and
shoved him under the water. Man B was struggling and trying to get up out of
the water, but man A was holding him under too strongly. As Man B was about to
pass out, Man A held him up out of the water... He said to Man B, “as soon as
you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you will be
successful.”
If we really have the
desire to get something, then the Lord will help us achieve our desires. He has
supplied us with the scriptures, an ability to talk with him, and a place to
worship to receive personal revelation. If we aren't willing to gain success or
eternal life THE LORD’S way, then we don't really want it that bad. We need to be
willing to do anything it takes to achieve eternal life...working, reading,
praying and going to church are not as bad as drowning, yet we still don't do
it.
I am so grateful for
parents who have tried everything to help me understand how to be successful. I
have also realized that I have not been working as hard as I possibly could be
this past week. It doesn't matter what my companion does, I should be able to
do everything in my power to succeed. I can't wait to get E' Betky because
every new companion that I get is exactly what I need to grow and learn. Sorry
if the message was a bit rambled but I really hate writing and have never been
able to express myself through writing like I can through speaking. Thank you
for your prayers. I'll write you next week to tell you all about E'
Betky.
E' McRae
Make sure Gavin and
Abbie are working.
11.11.13
Hey,
I can't really remember what
happened this week but on Tuesday we had a Zone Conference with President and
he totally changed my perspective on the mission. I was doing what Conner told
me to do and was focused on baptizing, baptizing, baptizing. President Smith is
completely against this mentality. He says, “What is the point in baptizing if
they won’t stay in the church? How are they going to stay in the church if the
ward and the members aren't there to help you? We must do as the prophet has asked and work as one with the ward.” So, we have been working a lot with these members and trying to strengthen the wards. It’s really difficult because we are working with all of the people that got baptized, just to be baptized. There are so many people that don't even understand why they are getting baptized and it makes me sick that I was trying to do that to people and just add more less-active people to the list for the bishop to take care of. It’s going good though and E' Xavier is leaving next Tuesday so I am excited to see what happens this next change. I am still in Cerro 1 and I will send a picture of my paradise.
I never get to play real soccer so
sometimes I just need to kick something… so I kick whatever ugly dog I see on
the street. I do however get to play golf with the bishop from another ward
because I am the only missionary who is actually semi decent at golf. Gavin
would love it. 9 holes every Monday morning...the course is really good too. It’s
a good stress reliever and the bishop wants Gavin to come play with us because
I told him that Gavin is way better than me. I'm glad Abbie is realizing that
High School is super fun. It’s also enlightening to know that college is even
better and that a mission is the best! Taylor Venturina was one of my friends
at Liberty and wrote me last week saying that she is going to get baptized this
year. I really wish that I was more of an example for people and tried to bring
them closer to the gospel. We were very selfish of our testimonies and strong-faithed
family. I don't have much time to say more because I had a long letter to write
Pres. love you and hope you like the pictures.
E' McRae
11.4.13
Tell the Nelson family I love them
and that I'm praying for Kolter. Not much has happened this week. I have been
missing soccer more than anything else. I have dreams about soccer almost every
night and it is bugging me. Also, the people in my area are starting to bug me.
I showed E' Xavier the first paragraph of your letter because we have been
talking about how every child in Uruguay is like that here! These people get
free education, can smoke all the weed they want, and get married as a
homosexual couple and basically don't have to work to survive. All they have to
do is have a child and they don't have to work. They think that with all of
these “rights and privileges” they can have an easy, carefree lifestyle! They
don't have to work and the government pays for their drug addiction. Marijuana
isn't even that cool here anymore because sooooo many people are past the
desire to smoke weed and they now want to pay for stronger, more expensive
drugs called 'pasta base' (which I believe to be like bath salts or something
insane like that). It gives them 7 seconds of a major high, then they need to
snort more in order to get high again...afterwards they just lay on the floor
and drool for hours. And this is what they think is FUN and choose to do this
instead of feed their children or raise them with the government’s money. I seriously
am so frustrated with some people who are living this life style. Also, when I
tell people that literally, the church can solve EVERY problem that they have,
they say...Oh no, the church is stupid and you are lying to people to get them
to pay tithing to your church instead of pay for more important things (like
weed, pasta base, y direct tv). These are the things I listen to. People tell
me, “I hate the bishop! He doesn't care about the people in our ward and he is
a liar when he says that he will try to help us! I don't have money to feed my
children and he never helps!” And in my mind, as I'm struggling to listen to
their excuses due to the blaring television in the background (with direct tv
and ALL of the soccer packages), I'm thinking, “yet we are sitting here, you
are trying to hide your pack of ciggs, your 5th boyfriend this week is drinking
his 3rd beer while watching the Barcelona game instead of working, you asked
the bishop last week for money (not food) after you haven’t been paying your
tithing since your activity in the church, you never go to church, your oldest
son is angry at you because you forgot to pay for his soccer gym membership,
your daughter is walking around with the finest, immodest clothing, and your 8
year-old is furious and won't get baptized because she lost the charger to her
smart phone” I have never seen this side of the church. I’m sure this exists everywhere, I just never
knew it. Also we were talking to a family. I love the mother of the household
because she always goes to church and tries her hardest to find people for us
to talk to and basically does everything for us. We were talking to her
daughter and she tried to tell us that there isn't a difference between the
people who go to church all the time and the people who are non-members. She
was justifying that if she follows the commandments or doesn't follow them,
there is no difference. She says that she used to do all of those things in the
church but stopped years ago and hasn't seen a difference. She says that her
family is still fine and that they have everything they need. I love what my
companion said... “wow, how merciful God is to you and your family. That's
incredible...God must love you so much, and what have you done to thank him for
the continuous blessings he has given you?” and I said... “And how grateful are
you to your mother who prays for you every night and battles with you to do the
right things with your life. If it wasn't for your mother and her sacrifices, I
am sure your life would be a lot different.” After weeks like this, I have
decided, like my companion, that I couldn't be God. I would want to smite way
too many people and I don't have the patience to deal with their lame
excuses.
Luckily, we have a lot of investigators
who are progressing and we have baptisms. I don't want to sound like I'm
complaining, cause I know I shouldn't be like this with my people here but
sometimes I want to just knock some skulls together...dad knows what I mean. Just
a little skull bump to knock some sense into them. Sorry, don't have much more time. I'm doing
well and I’ll write you next week.
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