I Love the Temple!!

Elder McClure and Elder Crawford

I love to see the temple… but going inside is better!  WOW!  Talk about AWESOME!  Temple sessions in Spanish are really, really cool.  We got to go to the temple on Wednesday last week and rocked it with our Assistants who went with us.   It’s been pretty much a year and a half without being able to go to the temple and oh how I have missed it!  I do admit that I had forgotten much, but I don’t blame myself too much because it was a year and a half of stinking waiting and I’ve learned a new language since the last time I went!  So....  haha, it was amazing.  While waiting for the temple session to start we were waiting and reading the scriptures.  I turned to a random page and just started reading.  I believe it was D&C 76:21 but it’s when the brethren are bearing testimony that Christ lives.  It hit me so hard.  The Spirit slapped me in the face, but in the best way ever.  It was a great reminder and really boosted my spirit.  Through that temple experience my testimony grew of the Savior as His love embraced me.  I love the temple.

This week we set the goal to teach 40 lessons which is the mission norm, but is always really hard to reach.  We wanted it.   Even with almost a whole day spent at the temple, we worked our bum-bums off and got it!  Sunday night we finished at 8:57pm with 40 lessons and 3 minutes to run and make it to the house!  We did it!  What a blessing!  It seems that the whole mission is really struggling right now, at the very least my zone and my district.  We are really being attacked and disappointment really follows us around just about where ever we go.  Teaching 40 lessons and going to the temple was just what I needed in order to be able to stay positive and be able to lead the district along these bumpy paths. 

Other fun events from the week were rescuing our former bishop’s dog that escaped and being given an awesome leather love seat for the house!  I haven’t had a couch my entire mission ... and let me say, I’ve sure missed couches. 

All is well.  Times are hard, but we just keep going.  The key to success is simply to just keep working.  We are healthy and happy and doing amazing things.  

And one time more might I say, “I love the temple!”

Love,

Elder McClure

Our free couch!

Twinzees

Sisters from the other district who share our chapel.

All Be Super-Duper Wellzers!

Entire Mission Conference to hear Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Seventy.

Hatz

Hello World!

Wazz Up?

All be super-duper wellzers here in my little world of Hidalgo.  We had a great week of work and, of course, the best part was our mission conference with Elder Clayton and Elder Valenzuela of the Seventy.  We’ve been dropping all our investigators that aren’t progressing and that’s been the hardest thing ever, but it’s what’s needed in order to find people who are really ready to accept the gospel. 

Big News!!!!  My comp is going home soon so we have permission to go do a session in the Mexico City temple!!!!! We are planning to go Wednesday!  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, yayayayayayaayayayaya!!!

The mission conference was amazing!  It was my first time to be with the whole mission at one time!  I saw all my friends and old comps and hugged so many elders and I loved it!  I learned a lot of stuff, but really the thing I want to share is that if we start something good, we should finish good.  For me, that can be my mission.  I started really good with faith and lots of prayers of faith and I really worked my tail off to learn the language and be a good missionary.  Now that I’m in my final months, it’s my time to continue good and then finish good without falling or lacking, just stay good.  I love this concept and we are right now trying to apply it in each and every lesson we teach.  Start it good and end it good so the Spirit can do His part.  I love my leaders and the things they have to teach me so I can be a better me and a better instrument in the hands of the Lord.

I also had my every-3-month interview with Prez.  He talked about a vision.  I need a vision and my investigators need a vision.  My job is to get that vision of who we can become by applying the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.  I love it!  Goals are a big part of that and I’m still not too good with goals and all, so I’m gonna start working harder on that.

We sang at a baptism this Saturday and it was fun!  I’m hoping a friend will post the video on FB so you all can see it.

One more week of the change (transfer period)!  We gonna finish it good!

Love you all,

Shoe shine for $1.

My new friend!!

Yay!! Papa Palafox Was Baptized!!

Papa Palafox's Baptism

Papa Palafox and his family.

It’s been a week--a hard but good one!  We fought all week long with the adversary.  It’s so crazy how hard he works to drag down these gospel hungry investigators that we have.  It truly is a fight but I know we will win for we have the Lord on our side.

We finished the week off with a great baptismal service for Brother Lorenzo Palafox.  I call him Papa Palafox. His wife and kids joined the church one year ago and he has now finally joined them as members of this great church!  It was a wonderful service and we had a special musical number that we did with the sisters and our ward mission leader.  The Spirit was super strong and the other investigators that attended the service cried.  It was awesome.  We sang the primary song "When I am Baptised" or whatever it is in English.  What a wonderful experience. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a baptism--too long.  I’m glad the streak is over.  I want more. 

Life is good--too good.  I am so blessed.

Love,

Elder McClure

P.S.  Elder Clayton comes this Saturday!  I’m so excited!

Brother Aviles (and his wife) baptized Papa Palafox.  

I'm a Happy Boy!!

Saying goodbye to Elder Gomez!

She kept me company through the sessions of General Conference!

Hey guys!

Let me tell ya, I’m a HAPPY BOY even though some rough stuff happened this week like throwing up ALLLLL night. Let me explain.

Tuesday I got a call from the APs (assistants to the president) and I was informed that my companion was going to be Special changed out of my area and that I would be receiving someone else.  This made me nervous.  I don’t like surprises like new comps out of the blue.  Well, that’s what I thought … until I found out who my new comp was!  His name is Elder Crawford and he’s my buddy ol’ boy!  He was the neighboring district leader and we have become good friends over the past month or so.  Long story short, he goes home in just about a month and I believe I will be with him till he goes home.  It was like a dream come true ... the only thing that could have made it better is if I had been made junior comp and he be the District Leader.  But it’s ok, I’m just happy!  

SO, with a new comp, we started working our little bum-bums off and after a sweet zone conference with President, we decided to set a high goal for baptisms that we will have together before he goes home on May 10.  With a high righteous goal in mind, we have continued working and at the moment we have 6 people with a set baptismal date!  WOOOOOOOO!!!!!  Let’s just hope it keeps getting better!  So yeah, we are pretty excited!  We work really good together and have the Spirit with us and with that we have seen awesome things this week!  Papa Palafox passed his interview and will be baptized this Saturday at 5pm. YAY! 

Oh, so the fun part, my good old ZL Elder Condie from ID came with us and we stayed as a trio for all of General Conference so he could watch it with us in English!  We had a good ol’ time and he slept on our huge beanbag that we have at the house.  CONFERENCE WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!  The bad part is that the night before I got super sick and threw up alllllll night long with other little surprises thrown in there every couple hours.  I almost died.  But back to conference, IT WAS AMAZING!!!!  I love them talks we heard!  Being a missionary during conference is so different and so much better!  As you hear the talks all you do is think about your investigators and each thing that is said is an answer you know they are needing!  All you do is hope that they are taking good notes and understanding the message the same way you are. Oh yeah, and they all took real good notes!  We had 6 investigators at the conference and I saw many pages of notes in all their hands as they left after the session!  I love General Conference!

There’s so much to say but really, just like always, time keeps me from going into the juicy details.  But it was good--love it.

I’m excited for this week.  We are just gonna keep being awesome.

All is well. All is well.

Zone meeting with new companion, Elder Crawford.