Week 6: Mission Entry- He's Alive!

His District

With his teacher and companion

They are obviously ready to go!

We received quick word that Seth has arrived to the mission home.  They will be staying there tonight and getting their companion and location assignments tomorrow.

He is super happy to be there and already loves his mission president. 

Much more next week!

Week 5: CCM- Vegetarian for a Week, Singing at a Devotional, and Packing Up

1.  Do you know what time you are leaving on Monday yet?-Yep, early morning. You'll get an email when I arrive. We leave the CCM at 3 or 4 and our plane leaves at 7:25 am. 

2.  What are you most nervous about?
-Language, but I'm chillin'. It'll be alright.

3.  What are you most excited about?
-To see the area and meet the people

4.  I found a pic on the CCM Facebook page and it looked like you were singing (brown cover on a book with your mouth open).  You were sitting on a bench alone in the pic. It was great!
-Yeah, I was singing. I had to practice for my performance in Espanol and so President's wife wanted to take pics.

5.  How is the teaching going?
-It´s good. We have started doing object lessons in Spanish.

6.  What are you working on in the language as you finish in the CCM?
-Honestly have no idea.

So a lot happened in such a short time. Me and my companion had to go vegetarian, I sang for the CCM at the Tuesday night devotional, we watched a great  devotional by Elder Holland that is only shown in MTCs (It hit hard. He gets loud), and we are all packing up  and exchanging emails, which includes my passing on of the large plates of Zone 4.

This boy was being baptized that very Saturday 

So, you might be asking why is Elder McFarland going vegetarian this week? Well, it all started with one of our investigators who said she could never give up coffee and tea. So I got the idea to promise her she would see the blessings if she did. But that didn't feel like enough. So I decided I would make her a little deal. I told her, as representatives of Jesus Christ, we promise you that you will feel more strength and healthier than you ever have as you follow the Word of Wisdom. She is a vegan so we told her she could even have us do something with her. So she suggested no meat for a week and she will follow for a week and we´d talk at our next visit. It's hard not to eat meat here but we´ve done it so far so esta bien. How can we teach commitment if we aren't willing to commit am I right?? 

So I sang for the CCM this week. It was very fun honestly--especially in Spanish. All the Latinos didn´t know what hit them. It also helped that the pianist was amazing. So this devotional was amazing by Elder Holland. He explained how it is unacceptable that us as missionaries come out here, become disciples of our Savior, and turn around when we get home and leave the church. It should not be possible. He got very emotional and loud at times. He explained the importance of self conversion. This mission should mostly affect the missionary. He explains just like with Peter and Christ. The second time Christ asks them to put down their nets. He explains how Christ should not have had to ask them to put down the net again when the original 12 took up the call to follow Him and feed His sheep. It's a life calling. If we love our Savior, we will pull up our nets and feed his sheep for life--not just these 2 years. 

Our district at the temple--such a nice temple!

The six weeks at the CCM has been filled with so many great devotionals and good experiences. I have loved it I will finish this last MTC email with the explanation of the large plates of Zone 4. A long time ago, some Hermana didn't like her umbrella. So she wrote her name and district when she was here that has been passed down through every district in our zone to one chosen person. The district that was ahead of us picked me and so now it is my opportunity to pass it on to the group below us. I know calling them the large plates is a little sacrilegious but I didn't come up with the name so hey don't blame me. 

Remnants of pizza night. We were all very hungry LOL. 

Week 4: CCM- Short and Sweet

1.  Did you get the Tree of Life you wanted?  Is it out of wood?
-So I don´t know if I want to get it yet por que I don't wanna weigh my bags down cause they apparently even weigh the carry on. We´ll see.

2.  What will happen with your luggage with the overage?  What will be the fee?
-I won´t know fee stuff until next week. I will probably be able to get it down for the most part though they are really serious about it here. But the mission president reinburses you when you get there.

3.  You leave for Tuxtla on the 17th correct?
-Yeah, I believe so--the Monday after next Sunday I think.

4.  How are you feeling?
-We all feel alright now. As far as like being sick sick just like throat stuff now. Also funny story, the MTC had some issues last Friday with food and all I´m gonna say is everyone was in the bathroom for the next 12 hours at least. They told a lot of us not to fast. We still did though.

5.  How did your Saturday training go?
-It went well.

6.  What's the apartment like? How many rooms do they have?
- The apartment is pretty big-- three rooms. We make it work. There's 6 of us.

7. Is there anyone else from Texas there?
-Yeah but like Houston and Lubbock, stuff like that. Braden Ritchie was here. He´s in the field now. He was in our stake. 

Gingers in the CCM

Hey!

I need to be on the bus by noon for our trip to the temple, so this will be a short email this week. 

This week went by so fast I don´t know if that´s a good thing or a bad thing LOL.  My Spanish is improving pretty well in the ways of like understanding a little more and giving lessons. For example on Saturdays we have TRC, which is where volunteers from outside come in and we teach them. Elder Killips and I did pretty well. We got one of the members to cry. She told us she was a recent convert for a few months and we taught her the same lesson. She really began feeling loved which was about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. That is such a simple lesson but it taught me how even some of the simplest parts of this gospel can and will touch the hearts of those that are ready and open to hear it. 

So there was a devotional thing where the speaker was talking about unity and one of the pieces of advice we are taking from it is every night before bed say something you liked that they did that day and give each other a little praise.  I think it will work. 

A lot of our devotionals recently have been about companionship stuff which is good cause honestly I had no idea what to do about that for like the first few weeks but it's good now. I was being stubborn about certain things and I realized that and I really wasn't trying to serve my companion at all.

We might Skype on the 24th instead of 25th because that is when children get visits from Santa in some states in Mexico.  I am hoping to email the week before with the details. 

That is really all I have this week. Talk to y'all next week!!!