10.27.13 Cerro, Uruguay

Hey,

I'm going to have the photo for you next week. I don't have much to say besides that our investigators are progressing slowly.  We have a lot of people that we’re teaching, which is good, but at times, we aren't able to meet with all of them. My companion is trying his hardest not to think about home, but with three weeks left in his mission, it is a bit difficult at times to keep him focused. The language is coming along but it still is bugging me. Everyone tells me that my Spanish is great, and that I’m learning at an incredible rate, but that doesn't change the fact that I can't say EXCATLY what I want to say. I'll have more to tell you guys next week, but it is getting really hot now and the shack that we're writing in is 100000 degrees when we write so yeah. Sounds like all is well and the household arguments are still the same;) chow

E' McRae

 

10.20.13 Cerra, Uruguay

Alma 26:36...I love that scripture and it’s exactly how I feel. I love boasting about the things I love and it is even better to boast about the person I love most and has given me everything I have. The entire chapter is exactly how I have felt. Ammon and I are twins and this chapter is how I feel here in Uruguay!

My companion, E' Xavier, wants to say hello and that I am ´´un capo´´ (stud). I don't know if I have said it before but he is going to BYU in a couple months and is ending his mission in one month. I seriously love E' Xavier because he is just so realistic and tells people how it is with the gospel. He also teaches in a way for people to think that it’s normal, funny and spiritual (which is what I have been trying to do!) We have been doing very well and he tells me that our area is the best to work in but also the hardest to work in. He was very scared at first to work with me here but now he is used to Cerro and loves that I know where to go to for success and safety. 

One day, we were walking to meet a family that has a daughter who is 9 years old and ready for baptism, but I felt like we needed to try to speak to a family who has been inactive for a long time. E' Xavier didn't want to because the family always has an excuse for why they can't listen to us. (There’s a phrase in Spanish called bajar la caña which means drop the cane of in English kind of like, lay down the law, calling people out, or just penetrating souls with the truth) Well, the husband of the inactive family came out with an excuse of why his family didn't have time to listen to us. I said; ´You don't have time to listen to what God has to say to your family to make them happy?´´ after this he let us in and we started the lesson. As we started the lesson, E' Xavier and I could just feel something wrong in the house. We looked on the faces of every member as we spoke and they just...I can't describe it any other way than by saying their faces looked like they had been soaking in sin...darkness and it just reeked like sin. E' Xavier asked the mother why she won't take her family to church. She responded with ‘because the people in the church are judgmental’...(I HATE THIS REASON!!!!!) After a while of listening to her story, yo bajé la caña and I said...´´Hna. Lopez, this isn't the reason why you aren't going to church. I know for a fact, that the reason you have no desire to go to church, is because you are stuck in your sins, and because you need to repent. You have been denying your children of blessings that they DESERVE, because you refuse to repent of your sins´´ after explaining a little bit more, she just started to ball...she sobbed and told us her true story. Her family went to church this Sunday and we had a lesson with them again...I felt like I was in a completely different house. A clean house. A house of love and a house of God. That night I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about how happy I was for that family. I hope that I never have to walk into a family's home and feel the darkness and filthiness that I felt in that house. I am so glad that Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to renew our baptismal covenants during sacrament so that we don't have to feel like that woman our entire lives. It truly is incredible...

Other than that, nothing really cool happened. I love having more Americans in my district now because I see that I am actually progressing in the language compared to the new Americans. At the same time, I get frustrated when I can't say what I want to say.

My camera stinks and I can't take off photos from it so I'll try to see what I can do about the picture. I advise that you read Alma 26 tonight because really, it’s a great chapter about Ammon expressing his feelings to his brothers. I'd also like to express my feelings to my brother and say get done with high school early so you can serve a mission as fast as possible. First, you have to do well in high school. I told my companion about some stories I have with my friends and he noticed that in a lot of my best stories, I was hanging out with my little brother. He thought it was weird that I would hang out with my little brother and I told him that I would always hang out with Gavin and that he was basically another best friend. I see how it’s not as fun since me and all of my friends are leaving on missions, but that’s why Gavin has to do well in high school so he can go to BYU with me after his mission! 

Love you all!

E' McRae

10.13.13 Cerro, Uruguay

Elder Xavier is awesome and is going to go to BYU after this so he can speak English pretty well. He loves how hard I work and how well I know the area. With Elder Camejo gone, I have to work harder, talk more with the bishop and people. Elder Camejo would do all the planning because he knew everything there was to know about our area, so now I am applying what I have learned from him.  Elder Xavier says that I am incredible and Elder Camejo has taught me really well. Also, he is shocked with how good my Spanish is. I had to go to the Center of Montevideo to sign papers for residency or something and got to see all of my pals from the CCM. It was a huge confidence builder because they are all struggling to communicate!! Also, they heard about what goes on in my area and loved all of my stories so it was a fun experience. 

Advise for Gavin...idk, work super hard in high school and take as many college courses in high school because they are so much easier than in college. Also, study the scriptures (REALLY ACTUALLY STUDY) because they help with everything. Be healthy and get used to all different types of foods. Learn to serve others and love it...the Lord will bless you more when you bless the lives of others. Don't have a girlfriend or get attached to one girl. So many missionaries have problems with their girlfriends or worry about them all the time and honestly, it’s the biggest waste of time. Idk, honestly the only things he should be worried about are school, scripture study and his sports.

Honestly our family could have done a lot more to help the missionaries with finding people to teach the gospel. Everything is going well here and starting to get hot. I don't have as much time this Monday because I was signing papers and stuff in the inner city so I’ll write more next week. Love you.

E'McRae

10.7.13 Cerro, Uruguay

Changes are today and usually, all of the new North American missionaries stay with their trainer for 12 weeks, so I thought I was going to be with E' Camejo for at least another 6 weeks, but turns out, that's not what The Lord wanted.


This is my girlfriend Lulu!

 Elder Camejo is leaving and it's up to me to take care of this area with a missionary who goes home at the next change. Elder Camejo and I were surprised and many of the people here sobbed when they found out that he was leaving. (Remember, he has been here- in the toughest area of the mission for 8 months) I was really confused and sad because I definitely don't feel ready to help lift the burdens of these people who have so many problems. With this change, I will have more responsibility. I must encourage E' Xavier work as hard as possible because these people here deserve it after having a missionary like E' Camejo.

Conference was incredible! I first want to say one of my favorite parts...So I've been wondering a lot about why this is my first area. No elder in the mission comes here until their second year. These people have their own dialect and version of 'Ebonics/Espanol' that even natives of Monte Video can't understand- so, lucky me! Furthermore, these people who have SOOSOSOSOSOSO many problems and are so difficult to keep on the straight and narrow path. President Eyring's talk really inspired me. He spoke about the old woman who lived the gospel her whole life and had a grandson who ended up in jail because of his decisions. She asked, "Why me Lord, why do I have to bear the burdens of a wayward grandson?" The answer she received was. "I gave him to you because I knew that you would love him...no matter what´´ The Lord's purpose for me is clear about why I have been given the charge to serve these people. ´´I gave them to you because I knew you would love them no matter what´´ and its totally true. I can't communicate perfectly, but I can love them perfectly. 

I definitely noticed the emphasis on women which is exactly what was needed!!! The women in this area needed to hear how the Lord and the Brethren feel about them. We have so many investigators that just loved conference because of this. Now I want to say, THANK YOU so much for raising me correctly. I know I interfered with family scripture study & I didn't understand the importance of the sacrament. But I was raised by an incredible mother who engraved the importance of the sacrament into my mind. I often questioned why you pushed so much for us to read the scriptures and to obey our leaders. I always tell my investigators (especially the mothers) the reason my mother did all of this was because she knew!! She knew how terrible the world is... she knew how important the church was... She knew if she didn't fight as hard as she did to raise her children correctly, they wouldn't understand the blessings of the church when they needed them most. My mother knew that Satan doesn't stop fighting. My mother never gave up on me...and here I am, BEGGING these mothers to come unto the church and teach their children the things my mother has taught me. Thank you so much for raising me, mom. Thank you for fighting with us to keep us safe from the adversary. Thank you for keeping an eye single to raising us to make covenants in the temple and to worthily serve missions.

 

9.30.13 Cerro, Uruguay

This week was pretty amazing. As you know, the language has been kicking my butt. This wouldn't bother me as much if I had the capability of feeling the spirit every so often, but instead I have been too focused on the language and other negative events that come with being in the scum of Montevideo. We have been doing really well with baptisms and we have the best companion results... (Elder Camejo is doing really well and carrying me along). But I don't give a flying fetch about results if I don't feel like I'm contributing to them. 

Anyways, we had interviews with the President on Wednesday. He started off by talking about how the Lord could do his work all by himself and how we are blessed to even be able to participate. He said there are a lot of people here not doing their jobs correctly and he definitely laid down the law. (supposedly, he has never done this before). He then said, if you don't love the people here, or don't want to do everything in your power to help them reach exaltation, then leave. These people don't care about your problems and neither does the Lord. You’re going to have problems and the Lord will help you through them as long as you stop worrying about your problems and start worrying about the souls of the people here. He said, Elder Camejo has been in this same area for 8 months and has continued to work hard and bless the people’s lives. You know why? Because he has so much faith. And he doesn't care that he has been put in this awful place for 8 months. He then said, Elder McRae, how do you feel that Elder Camejo has been stuck here for 8 months, waiting for a companion like you? Waiting for a companion to sculpt into the best missionary you can be. Elder McRae has been here for a month and can barely speak the language and yet, he and Elder Camejo are working DILIGENTLY. After this remark, I was just cut to the core because of my inner complaining about myself. I was engulfed in pity for myself and I had deprived the people here of my love because of my focus on useless problems. 

In my interview, I told President about this and he started sobbing and said. ‘Elder McRae, I am so glad you figured it out this early… that it is not about you... He said, ‘I was sitting in my office one day and just started crying because I knew that THIS IS JUST TOO HARD...and there is no way I am prepared for this. And it’s true. We are not prepared for this and we can't do it... That’s why we have to give everything we have and the Lord will carry you and not only meet your true potential, but pass it. Elder McRae when I saw you in the airport, I'm not lying, you stood out so much. You were glowing and I knew from that moment that you were going to be trained by the best missionary here in Uruguay. Because I know that your potential passes every missionary here. You have so much potential. My entire family just loved you. My wife keeps asking me if you are ok here in Cerro. My daughters, of course, love you. But most of all...God loves you. And you are going to preform miracles with his help. I love you Elder McRae, now let’s get to work.’

After that day, we have been working like crazy. I have one more story to tell. A and F are a couple that we started teaching the first day I got here. They are going to be baptized this Saturday and seriously, they have been so obedient to everything we have taught them. F has been searching for work for a long time to help his family. We were having a lesson with them the other day and F started rambling off on how happy he was. This is pretty much what he said, except in Spanish, ¨´You guys tell me I have to get married to my girlfriend, and I don't know why, but I got married. You guys tell me I have to stop smoking, and I don't know why, but I stop smoking. You guys tell me to go to church, read this Book of Mormon and pray and I don't know why, but I do it. (at this point he starts to cry and says) Now I see why I did all of those things... I have a beautiful wife, more money for my family because I'm not paying for cigarettes, and after praying, reading, and going to church, I have a job to feed my family. Thank you guys so much for blessing my family. You are truly angels from God. I wish I could hug you, but you guys can't hug.’    Of course, we told him we could hug him, and we did. It was just such a good lesson with them and I finally was able to feel the spirit. I missed that feeling and the Lord knew it. I have more work to do, so I will talk to you next week. 

Sorry about the dog...we watched a dog get destroyed by five other dogs and had its insides spread all over the place… so tell Abbie at least that didn't happen to her poor puppy(:

love,

Elder McRae

9.23.13 Cerro, Uruguay

Well, it’s starting to get hotter here which means that people will start coming to church again. I gave a talk yesterday. A lot of people here don't feel like they have to go to church with their family or don't realize the importance of the sacrament, so I spoke about that… but it was kind of more directed to the priesthood holders. I laid down the law and said that our children live in a difficult time, and that our children are going to need a father’s blessing and the priesthood power. I told the fathers that their children need the priesthood to get them through the trials of this time.  But, I asked them how they could give their children the blessings they deserve when their fathers have the sins of the week still on their own shoulders...or worse, the sins of two weeks...or a month. When we haven’t renewed our baptismal covenants through the sacrament, we are no longer worthy of the priesthood and are depriving our children and families of the blessings from the Lord. I said more and everyone said they could actually understand me and that it was an amazing talk so that was good. 

So these teenage kids were playing soccer behind us when we were teaching a lesson to this hermana outside, and they kept trying to kick the ball at us. One time, they kicked it at me, and I trapped it, did the trick where I catch the ball on my neck, do pushups and the worm, and kicked the ball back to them. They freaked out and were nice to us afterwards. The men here hate me because I'm white so they think I work for the CIA. The women here love me, but most of them want nothing to do with the gospel. There are so many dogs here that I just walk around with a stick to smack them if they get too close. There are so many problems here, mainly related to drugs and sex. We are having problems with these two families because a 17-year-old boy in one family is having sexual relations with a 36-year-old woman in another family. The people here just don't understand that the church prevents EVERY possible bad consequence from happening to them. It’s frustrating when people deny the one thing that will solve EVERY problem that they could possibly have. And yes, I am in the ghetto of Uruguay where people with three teeth and half a tongue are trying to talk to me and half of the time my companion (who is from Mexico) can't understand them.

My companion and I are doing good work though, and our numbers are incredible so that’s good. I struggle with the language and I really need to work on it more. There is very little time to study so I need to use every second I get to study. All is well though and hopefully BYU football stops sucking. 

E' McRae

9.16.13 Cerro, Uruguay

This week was much better. We had two baptisms and I have started to use my time more wisely to study the language and stuff like that. My area is named Cerro and is in Montevideo and it is considered the ghetto of Montevideo. A lot of the other missionaries say that it stinks that I was sent here because everyone here talks terribly and they mumble. I finally figured out why I can`t really understand everyone. It’s the ghetto, so it would be like listening to Ebonics in the hood- from people who have four teeth and who can barely talk with holes in their throat from smoking too much. Luckily, I have Elder Camejo, who has been in Cerro since February, and knows almost everyone. The members here love us and make us lunch every day, and for the most part, it’s good. There’s a lot of rice, beans, and many different types of meats. I think we have eaten dog because honestly, there are 1238765876 in this area. All of the dogs are racist towards white people and they deserve to be shot. It has been pouring all week and I’m not kidding, I have had to almost swim to get back into my house every day. I do love my area though, and there is always someone interested in hearing our message. We have baptisms almost every week, so we are doing something right. I stink at the language. I wish we had more time to study the language and stuff like that, but we constantly have appointments and things to do for the people here. A lot of the people here think that the missionaries are a source for gossip... sometimes, the only reason the people here want to let us in, is so that they can tell on other members. I do love my mission president though. He has changed this mission big time… and I suppose he has brought a rejuvenated excitement to the mission.

That’s all I can think about writing. 

Abbie better be good enough to play at BYU. Can you send photos? So many families want to see pictures of my family, but I don’t have anything. I told them to look you guys up on Facebook because that’s the only pictures I have. Thanks for everything and I’ll talk to you next week.

PS - The computer I use to write stinks so sorry for the errors.

E' McRae