3. 29.15

WAZZUP!!!!!!

They took the Sister missionaries out of our ward now...so now the ward is all ours! It's huge... but President said that we'll be getting Elders next change (which is next week). About the work...here's what I wrote to President

Hi President,

This week we had an incredible experience with our ward mission leader. We used the Book of Mormon to help explain our concern for the Leaders and the inner problems that they're having in their families/quorums that make it so they can't work as much to achieve their goals, have peace and progress in their lives both spiritually and temporally. Due to these inner problems, the leaders don't leave with us, haven't been having their meetings and slowly but surely, lose the desire to go to church. He told us that we had basically read his mind. He talked about the rebellion in his own family that has made it so he can't leave with us as much. He said that his wife and daughter have been against having family prayer, scripture study and family home evening and explained some results of those actions. He was like, “how can we pretend to be strong, faithful members, go to the temple twice a month and expect the blessings of the Lord if we're not even doing the basic things?” He said that he wanted to fast with us Saturday after lunch to ask for the Lord's help in finding the solution to our problem. We’ve been trying to get a representative of each organization to attend our correlation with our ward mission leader and Saturday morning (even after reminding the organizations many times during the week about the meeting) no one went except for us and Hermano Borja (Ward Mission Leader). We started the fast and talked about the importance of diligence with the Hermano because we saw that he was really down. He realizes the need for unity that we have in our ward and really wants to magnify his calling and help the ward grow. That night, we received a message out of nowhere from one of the assistants to the high priest leader asking if we could have a meeting before church on Sunday. We asked Hermano Borja if he wanted to do it and he was like, “CLARO!'' Then as we were walking in the street, I was writing a message to one of the counselors to the Elders’ Quorum and he bumped into us. We asked him if he could attend the meeting and he said he'd go. Sunday in the meeting, we got SO MUCH done. We got the leaders excited about the work. We asked them when they could leave with us to actually DO what we planned on doing and they set up dates, times and everything. They wanted to take copies of the Progressing Members Form and get them out to the new Home Teachers. And we set up for our next meeting. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. It's incredible how much gets done when all of the organizations are in on the plan. Things are finally getting started. We're excited to see the changes in the ward. 

We shared our experiences with the District Leaders and had a great meeting with them. Something cool that happened was when we asked for feedback on how we've been doing with Following Up they said that we do too much of it, even on the small things like if they did their workouts or not. haha. I loved hearing that because I feel like our District Leaders and we are on the same page.

Yeah...about the Grandma Seaman thing. I've thought about those kind of situations for a long time on the mission. How badly do people's lives have to suck to make them at least willing to experiment on our invitations (that really aren't from us...they're from the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY)? Happiness is so simple. People think that they can do things their way. And when they fail they just say, “well I didn't do it exactly my way... so I'm going to try to do it my way even harder this time to find happiness/quit smoking/find someone to marry/ect. I just think that the Lord looks down and shakes His head asking, “how many times does your way have to fail for you to find out that MY WAY is the ONLY WAY?”

Tomorrow we'll be having Interviews with Pte Smith so I'll have more to say. 

Love,

E’ McRae

3.22.15

Loved the email! That's so awesome that you got to go to Indian Wells.

So I wrote President about the problems we're having... one of the Sisters here got robbed and they are scared for their lives. I told them my stories of Cerro to help them see that here is like heaven compared to there, but that didn't help them at all... haha. Here's what I wrote President:

Hi President.
So we've been talking to the Hermanas in our ward about what happened. They don't feel safe in their area and also don't feel like they're entirely needed here in Barrio 7. We feel like they are needed and they make a huge difference. This ward would be very difficult to look after and work to the ward's fullest capacity with only two missionaries; however, I don't think that sister missionaries should ever feel unsafe in the mission. Hermana Baca has spoken to you and I'm sure and she's been suffering from everything that has happened. In church we spoke to all of the organizations (especially the Elders’ Quorum) to tell them that the Hermanas need to have members with them after 6 pm and someone that will take them to their house. They've been using taxis as well. We talked about how we could help the ward progress most and something we all realized is that the organizations aren't as strong as we thought they were. They aren't having their meetings and we found out that if we ask to have any meeting with them, we have to go to their houses individually because they're really busy. But the thing is, we're seeing that the ward is suffering and there is no follow-up on what we're doing because there are no meetings (consejo de barrio, comité ejecutivo...correlacion si, pero no como queremos). We compared to Helaman and Moroni when they were fighting the battles with the small number of fuerza that they had (I'll be writing in spanglish...sorry) and winning because they were trusting in the Lord and doing everything that they could. Like it says in D&C103:30-34 we need to get more fuerza to be able to achieve the maximum amount of success here in Barrio 7. We've been getting people to help us in the work and leave with us for hours and such, but we realized that our center is weak. Moroni sends a letter to Pahoran, furious that he's receiving no help from the city. We, like Moroni, didn't know that the city was being attacked and that it was weak. Our bishop's gone (which makes people think that we don't need to work hard or at all), the leaders are busy as can be with real world things like work, kids, school (I say real world things meaning things that us as missionaries don't have to worry about, thankfully!), and they finally received their counselors and visiting and home teaching companionships. So we're going to do exactly what Moroni did. We're going to go to the city and strengthen it from the inside out. Once we help (without being arrogant or condescending...but with love and respect) the ward leaders to have their meetings, and raise their spiritual level, we'll see an increase in assistance and baptisms. This doesn't mean that we're abandoning our investigators of course, but we're going to focus on the inner problem more. Once we help them and this ward starts flying ç, we're going to need 4 missionaries... maybe not sister missionaries, because they're scared and I don't think that Sister missionaries should feel scared ever (my little sister will be serving a mission and I don't want her to ever feel like her life is in danger), but 4 missionaries would be helpful and useful. This ward is incredible. It just needs a little bit more strength and we'll be able to defeat ANY NUMBER OF LAMANITES! I love that we have the sister missionaries that we do. Like I said before, our ward is so powerful with who we have working with us on the missionary side, so please don't think that I'm saying I don't want them here. It's just that based on what we all talked about, this is what we felt. I have FULL trust in you because I've already had so many spiritual experiences that make it so I can't deny what you end up deciding always ends up being what the Lord wants. I'm just writing what has been on our minds and what we've been feeling. Thank you so much for everything, though, President. We went to the Priesthood session of stake conference with Mario, some of the leaders, and some less actives.  I just wanted to say that President Ponce is a spiritual giant! I wish that I could have recorded his talk. I'm going to be studying it this week and will share it with you next week. E' Lipo and I have had so many incredible experiences with teaching ALWAYS with the Book of Mormon. I wish I could write more about what has happened this week. Thank you again, President. I love you and I can't wait for interviews.

You guys would be so proud of me (but at the same time say, ''our son is an idiot.'' I may be an idiot, but I'm YOUR idiot<3) cause today I PUT MY CONTACTS IN! It's the first time I've put them in on the mission. I did it because it was a special occasion. We played Skyrim with our zone and I had to kill everyone with my bow. E' Lipo and I made quivers and everything and when we went people were like, ''you've been practicing in your house haven't you...'' We got EVERYONE!

 

The work is going great too though. The members that are leaving with us think we're the best missionaries they've ever met because with every question or statement that our investigators/less actives/recent converts have, we answer them with the Book of Mormon. It's amazing!!! We don't talk...we just let the Lord All Mighty talk and have them receive their own revelation. 

I love you guys though! Conference is coming up!!! I know I'll be thinking of you the entire time! This work is amazing. 

<3 E' Commander High Elf McRae

3.9.15

I still can't get over how good looking Gavin is!

So today we spent the day looking for nerf guns in order to play COD in the stake center because everyone heard that we played it in T Bo and they loved the idea. So while we were looking for guns we found bow and arrows and said, ''forget about Call of Duty! We're going to play SKYRIM instead!'' It was so fun... E' Lipo was like Legolas. Also, E' Gudmonson (a missionary who served here and ended his mission like 3 months ago) took us out to lunch and payed for us. He talked about how fast time has been going since he got home. 

Stake Center Skyrim

That would be so sick for Jared to live with us in Provo! Tell Jared that we're going to do that. We're going to have so much FUN doing UNproductive things together!!! I just can't wait!!! But seriously, that would be awesome.

SO, as for stories and stuff, not too much happened. Mario (one of our investigators) accepted a baptismal date for the Saturday after conference. (Wow!  General Conference is coming up... crazy!) Mario's wife got baptized last change and all of the new missionaries went to it when they first got here. So we were thinking about doing the same thing for Mario since President Smith said he'd go. 

We did divisions with E' Tellez and E' Castillo. I made E' Tellez work out with me in the morning and he said it was the first time he had worked out in the mission. While I was with him we had some pretty awesome experiences. One was when a man waved at us on his bike and was like, ''what's up guys?!'' Usually, the Uruguayans say, ''HELLO!!! or “What the F%&@?” when they try to mock us gringos but this man said, “what's up?” I stopped him and he started talking to me in English. He said that he lived in the US for ten years and he completely loved it and would love to go back. He was like, ''you can read about it in a book, or talk to people about it but it's not as amazing and incredible as actually living there.'' He said that he has been going through rough times and so I asked him if he had asked God for help or practiced a religion. (E' Tellez pretended to know English this entire time). He told me that he believed in Christ but he believed in Him in his own kind of way. He said he probably was being punished for never going to church and that it just sucks being weak during hard moments. I read for him Ether 12:27 and then told him (in English...it was awesome!) ''You know, you talked about how you believed in Christ in your own way. What Christ is trying to help you realize, is that He wants you to believe in Him His way... which is the ONLY way. The only way that will help you come unto Him and make your weaknesses become strengths.'' He felt the spirit so strongly and said that it was a miracle that God had put us in the same place at that time when he was needing that message. He said he was going home feeling awful and that this message turned things around. I called him later and we're setting things up so that the missionaries can pass by and teach him. Oh, and about two weeks later E' Tellez called us and asked us for permission to call President Smith because his arms wouldn't move and he didn't know why. E' Lipo and I started laughing when we helped him realize that it was from when we worked out. 

Our ward is going well. The leaders need to organize themselves a bit better. Our Elders’ Quorum President still doesn't have counselors and the Relief Society President doesn't have the visiting teaching companionships done yet so we're waiting on those things. We have a bunch of leaders but they're all freaking out about school starting and work...but we're overcoming all that. 

Other things happened but I can't really remember...

E' Lipo is loving at how much work we're doing and I'm a bit anxious to do better because I know our ward is better than this. I got that one package that you guys sent in November!! Love the Christmas tie! I'll be wearing it tomorrow and saying Merry Christmas to everyone. Are there any of those green and pink CTR rings that are plain but out of rubber? 

Love the emails and the pics, keep ‘em coming! Love you all! 

E’ McRae

3.2.15

Ok, so Flores Barrio 7 is AMAZING!!!! What happened was there was a change in limits in the Flores Stake and we received Barrio 7 (which is like a normal functioning ward!!!) We have a full set of leaders, deacons go around collecting fast offerings, someone has a calling to lead the music, ward council and correlation have everyone that needs to be there... it's incredible. President told me that it is our strongest ward in the entire mission. A problem that they had in the past is that the missionaries were always truchos (fake/rule breakers) and would baptize people outside of the ward boundaries and would baptize unprepared kids because their mission is a BAPTIZE or go home mission. I love my mission! It is so much better than the others. When I met the bishop he just started talking about how much he loves President Smith and how he's focused on what the Lord wants him to be focused on. He teaches us as missionaries so well. He told me that President always sends his best missionaries to this ward so that made me feel good. I wish I could explain how awesome this ward is. I've spent so much time in helping wards function correctly and now I'm in a ward that will work together with us in the direction that we've received from Elder Ceballos and Elder Viñas.

Elder Liporada is my new companion, like I said. He is amazing!!! He's from California and his parents are from the Philippines. He went to BYU before the mission and loves playing volleyball (we went to the stake center and played today... it was awesome). We did the usual… get-to-know-each-other stuff that I always like to do in order to start off the change loving each other.  And then warning each other of things that would make us hate one another. I was sure to let him know that I hate it when people eat food like a cow and warned him that I might attack him in my sleep. We swapped girly friend stories/situations and other fun stories and expressed our love for one another (: The first day we woke up and did exercises and he was so happy that I like to work out. I brought up some things that would help out our ward and that would help these members start progressing more, raise their spiritual level and work with us by leaving and visiting with us. He loves everything I say and more than anything, he loves the desire that I have to really help the ward members and organizations magnify their callings and obtain a large variety of spiritual experiences that will help them become happier. Every night he tells me how tough the last couple of changes were and how stoked he is for this change! He and I have swapped companion and personal goals and I'm so grateful that the Lord put me with someone that'll help me achieve these goals. WE'RE ON FIRE!!!!

So, with the Zone we did a get-to-know-each-other activity and invited them to do the same thing that we did... get to know each other in and out, communicate clearly and openly and be willing to receive correction. Miscommunication is the number one cause of crappy companionships (and marriages I'm sure) and if they hate their companion, they won't work how they need to work. They need to talk things out at the beginning before their companions get on their nerves.

We also have AMAZING Hermana's in our ward. Hermana Baca is like the Sister Assistant, and Hermana Hafen was in my Zone in Tacuarembó. Our ward is so STACKED it's almost unfair for the other wards!

We talked to the Sake President about what he wants us to focus on with regards to the new direction and I LOVE IT! We had an amazing meeting and then used it in our meeting with the district leaders. We talked about their important role in this work and a lot about FOLLOWING UP. It was awesome how we all talked together and they left PUMPED to talk about the plan with their districts.

If there is something that I've learned so far this change, it is the importance of communicating and helping others have positive experiences. The reason why we started off so well is because we're talking and creating positive spiritual experiences for EVERYONE. I love this work... I'll write more about how awesome the ward is next week.

I'm so proud of Conner. I seriously jumped in the air and told everyone in the cyber that he got accepted. I'm not too trunky... I'm too pumped on this new change and soaking up what the Lord wants me to learn.

I love you all!

E' McRae

2.16.15

NICE!!! Loved the email...I couldn't stop laughing at the conversations Gavin and Dad had. I'm going to save the talk so that I can listen to it before I go home because I want to remember all this stuff.

Alright, so what's been happening here has helped me realize that my work after the mission will not be stopping at all. I'm super excited to be able to apply things I've learned with some of my family members. So, I'm pretty sure I've talked about the Espinoza family. Nestor is 25 years old, married to Sara (23) and they have two kids, Emilia (4) (the one in that pictures of the girl crying) and Vicente (2) (adorable baby boy who I've sent pictures of). So they've been progressing super well. We've been working with this Progressing Members form that has a list of goals to help people become active and endure to the end (temple attendance being the last goal). We set specific goals with them to help them receive a calling (for Sara), magnify their callings, work more in missionary work, and get to the temple. Their goal was to go to the temple before April. Last Friday they went. Sara is the new Young Women's president, and they bore their testimonies on the temple. When I first got here they were less active members and now they are just glowing with happiness. After you mentioned Jared and Dayna I definitely think I can help them with temple attendance. I want to go at least once every two weeks. If I'm in Utah it should be super easy to do. In AZ too now.

We've also used this goals’ sheet with a woman named Noelia. She too has changed completely, and this Sunday she received her first calling (Primary secretary). She's been a member for 4 years but after her baptism she never really knew where to go. Our recent convert, Daniel, received the Aaronic Priesthood and will be passing the sacrament next week. Kevin was baptized by his older brother Brahian. Kevin's elbow came up out of the water so he had to do it again. The second time, Brahian held him under for a long time and it made everyone laugh. They're always fighting but it was awesome when they bore their testimonies and thanked each other for being there for one another. The Biques family has been progressing super well also. Their two boys (also named Brahian and Kevin) started asking us about what they need to do to serve missions and made a promise that they'd serve. Things have been going so well in the ward. I'm pretty sure that I'll be changed next week...it's weird. At the beginning of my mission all I wanted to do was baptize people. Now, baptism only makes me excited because afterwards I get to help them progress to going to the temple! My Patriarchal Blessing says that I will see many go to the temple and make covenants with Heavenly Father that will bring potential for exaltation into their lives. They will bless my name for the things that I am able to accomplish for them. I can't believe how true that is and how happy it makes me helping these people progress further in their path to eternal life.

We also did service in Bonilla (the place 12 kilometers from our house). We cut a woman's forest for her...I'll send pictures. We asked a kid named Anthony to help us out. Well, we called his mom and she asked him if he wanted to go to the service and he was like, ''NI LOCO!!!'' (NO) and she was like, ''He said he would love to Elders!'' She forced him to go with us and then that Sunday the bishop needed someone to talk in church and Anthony spoke about service and how grateful he was for his mom for making him go do that service. He loved it and he loved seeing how happy the woman was after we had chopped down her forest with weird creatures in it. We also did divisions that day (when we did service) so E' Crockett came with me and got to do the huge bike ride, 3 hours of cutting forest, and getting burnt. My companion went to their ward activity in Valle Eden and got to eat churizo, drink juice, play games and have fun... E' Crockett still loved the experience! We started off pulling trees out with our hands but then Hno Perez came and chopped it all down!