Here Comes the Sun!

October 19, 2015

Food with Hermana Perla.  She's the bomb!

My wall is getting bigger!

Buenas tardes mis amigers, (Good afternoon my friends)

Well this week was pretty..... normal!  My comp and I both were talking as we walked into the internet cafe saying that we have no clue what to write home about.  Seriously the highlight of my week was/is a clogged toilet!  Like man, that's not much!  But thank goodness for the branch prez who is coming to help with the toilet problems! 

Oh, did I mention last week that we caught another rat?  I can’t remember which week was what. But ya, so we’ve had two rats in total but yeah it’s been real fun.  Rats make good pets.

Our investigator was at church again and so that makes 4 times!!!!   We’ve taught him the first 3 lessons and are now teaching him the commandments.  The only hard part is that we can only see him one time a week.  I don’t know if he’ll be baptized before I leave this area but even if not ... it’s all good.  As long as he makes that covenant with God and Preserverar hasta el fin ... (maintain until the end).  I‘m happy!   I bet Prez will even let me travel from my new area and attend the service!

We FINALLY got a mission leader this Sunday!  It’s about time!  He’s a convert of 2 years named Hermano Ubaldo.  He’s chill and really excited for the work, so I’m excited to work with him.  We also had a branch council thing for the first time so that was awesome and we got branch leaders to say they will help us in a few situations we have.

We had interviews with prez this week and boy do I love those! President is so clearly inspired that it’s just fun to sit down and let him teach you.  I love that man.  Also Sister Mecham told me lots of stories about her daughter who lives in Fort Collins and how she’s a crazy boxer and how her sons too are awesome fighters.  With the stories I’ve heard I don’t think I want to fight her.

Still shoppin’ for them new shoes.   Shoes aren’t the easiest to find here, but hey it’s all good. Someday I’ll find me a pair.  It’s been raining and super, super cold this week and I’ve been very miserable.  All the cold hasn’t helped my sickness, but even with all that I think I’m on the mend!

Our washing machine also broke so I’m not sure what we are going to do ... might be hand washing from now on..

All is well. todo bien. op!... Here comes the sun!

A patch of sunshine over yonder.  It looked soooooo warm!

 

Hola Mis Amigers

 October 12, 2015

He lives on a volcano.

Totally murdered a rat this week.  Woooooooo!

Well Howdy Ho, 

This week was awesome, like usual.  I totally rocked a lot of things--like killing rats and throwing up, but don’t worry they were two separate occasions.

So pretty much I feel like the Zone Leaders are like my other set of companions.  We were together all during General Conference; and then this week we had a zone conference.  Right after the zone conference Elder Baca, my zone leader, went back up the mountain with me to do interchanges and we hung out and now they might be back up here today for our district meeting ... really maybe it’s not all that much, but man I feel I’ve been around them like all week!  This week will be a nice breather I hope with just the 4 of us Ajuscoans and no one else! 

We found we had a rat problem so we took matters into our missionary hands and borrowed a rat trap from the other elders.  I had my comp set it cuz man that thing was scary and then that night ... we got ourselves a nice fat rat!  Woooo!  I will of course send pics your way! haha  So great. I’ve never had to deal with rats before in my life so really it was quite the experience and we had a blast.  I probably took tooo many pics of it dead.  But yes, we are champs.

Also this week was my 10 month mark.  Wow, it’s gone by fast!  Year mark will be here before I know it!  So anyway I’ve had a goal to not throw up once on the mission.  It was a great goal and I was really doing great till I hit my 10 month mark exactly.  Then I let it fly.  I don’t know what I ate that triggered it but my was it an experience!  I had almost forgotten what throwing up was like ... now it’s fresh in my mind. 

Our good friend and investigator Antonio went to church again (YAY) and so that makes it 3 times!!!  Only 2 more to go and he’s baptism worthy!  Can’t wait to see what happens!  We still have a lot to teach him and only can visit him like once a week so it’ll take more than 2 weeks, but he’s progressing so we are really happy!  Work is still slow but poco a poco we can see the changes that are taking place!

Hmmm, what else?  This Wednesday I have an interview with Pres!  Can’t wait!  I always walk out of them energized and edified! 

All is well in Ajusco!  I’m still a little sick...but nothing that can stop a missionary like me!

All hands on deck! 

Elder McClure over and out

Juanita the mother-in-law of our investigator. I love her. She’s one of the best members in this town!  Yum, it's called Sopes.

Life is SO GOOD!!

October 5, 2015

Cool General Conference!

We did us some cookin'.

Yum!

Hey Y’all,

General Conference was AWESOOOMMMEEEEEEE!  And my week was pretty much right up there in awesomeness, too!  We actually have an investigator--like a real one!  I still don’t know his name, but he’s for sure real and he went [to the Church to watch] General Conference even!  Sooo, yeah, I’m soooo jacked.  Having investigators is always good.

Hmm, this week was filled with anticipation for the conference!  We also had our Ajusco party this week so we got to see lots of drunk dudes in the street and also lots of masked creepy people.  I love small town Mexican parties! 

We got us a new elder named Elder Mayoral from Aguas Calientes, Mexico. He’s a cool chap and doesn’t know a lick of English.  He came straight from the CCM so he was literally at his house 3 weeks ago.  That’s so hard to even believe!  Man, oh man, I’ve been gone a LOOOONG time!  So, fun stuff really!  Elder Jarrett and I are both training and it’s just so crazy because last time I was in this situation, it was Elder Marsh, my district leader and me both training and Elder Jarrett was Elder Marsh’s son--so crazy fun stuff.   I love it all!

We had a leadership training this week and I was so, so, so, so, so, so excited for it!   I love those things.  Prez just tells us a ton of stories and we learn a ton and get all pumped to go back to our area and work!  So really it was a great meeting, but the sad part is that we left on time, but there was a huge accident on the highway just out of the mountains and so we got there really, really late.  I walked in all shameful and that was hard.   It also kept me from getting the full message of the training and feeling the Spirit as strong as I would have liked to.  It’s hard being so far away from the mission office.  It took us almost 3 hours by bus. 

Life is good!   It’s fun getting over the hill in my son’s training!  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  Five more weeks and who knows, maybe I’ll be sent to the dirty ol’ city!

Life is GOOD.   Life is SO GOOD!

Elder McClure

Bought me a new hat.

Haircut time.

Buenos Dias!

Add caption

A restaurant called La Mantana and it's close to our house and really cheap!

September 28, 2015

Howdy Y’all, 

This week has just been wonderful!   We worked and taught and finished up our cambio with a high number week and we are excited to get back at it with this new cambio! 

I had the chance to work in my area this week with my Zone Leader, Elder Peterson from Alpine, Utah and he’s a super stud!   He taught me a ton and helped with a few situations that we had here with some people.   What I love most about him is he doesn’t  act like a stuck-up ZL.   He’s humble and just wants to work and feel the Spirit and wow just his humility makes me want to learn from him even more.   Sad to say we just got word that he’s getting transferred  tomorrow-- so good bye awesome ZL Elder Peterson.

The next day I got to work with Elder Galindo in his area on interchanges and help him with the work he is doing there.   He’s a stud and one of my best friends on the mission.   He is also getting transferred tomorrow so I will be welcoming someone new in my District tomorrow and I’m excited for that.  I heard a rumor that President is giving us one of the BEST so that we can get the work going here in Ajusco.   I love that rumor! 

Ajusco Pride is a big thing going on right now.  A few days last week and all of this week has been super crazy with parties and parades and fireworks and fun!   I even found a stand that sells drug rugs!!!!   I’ve been wanting a drug rug for years!!!!   They cost about $6.... should I do it!   I’ll think about it.  I also have to buy new shoes because mine are destroyed!!!    But yeah, I think we have to be in early every night this week because of all the drunk dudes roaming the streets.   I love Ajusco! 

Awesome story ... we have a menos activo (less-active member) that we’ve been teaching and she and her 2 teenage daughters are members, but her husband isn’t -- BUT he pays tithing and lives all the commandments!  Soooooo, anywho, their daughter went missing for 2 days and they had search parties trying to find her and all and by a miracle they found her!   Well right after that, he came to Church and bore his testimony about the truthfulness of this Church and we are teaching him tomorrow! This could be the baptism I’ve been working for!!!!!!!! And in the process the family could be super reactivated and I might just be able to go to a sealing in the Temple in a little over a year from now!   OH BOY!  I’m happy.

This week we also started English classes and it’s looking like it’ll be really fruitful.   I hope, hope, hope!

But, yeah, I’m doing GRRRREAT and just pluggin’ along.   Christmas is right around the corner!

Teaching English.

Taken from my roof.  (Mexico City)

"THAT is Obedience!"

September 21, 2015

Kinda need new shoes!

Mexico's Independence Day

 

Zone Conference.  This is when we started to feel sick.

3-day stay in the hospital from food poisoning.  

Hey Y’all,

This week I have been filled with thanks as I have seen many blessings added into my life.

This week was awesome!  It started with Mexican Independence Day and I ate a bunch of tamales and had a sweet zone conference and went to the hospital!   Anywho, I’ll start with the zone conference!  It was fantastic and the assistants informed us of new rules in the mission.  We can only listen to MoTab now and we can only go to the temple at one time at the very end of our mission!  So that kinda ruins my temple excitement, but hey I’m cool with it-- rules are rules.   And then Prez taught us much about how we make the decisions in our mission and in our life.  I think he paralleled with the talk “The 4th Missionary” and it was fantastic.  He talked about obedience, too;  and then asked all who went to the Mexico City Temple Cultural Celebration to raise their hands.  My comp and I didn’t, of course, and were the only ones in the room who hadn’t gone.  Then President Mecham asked me why I didn’t go and I responded that I didn’t have investigators to take and so I couldn’t go cuz that’s the rule.  He then started tearing up and said “THAT is obedience.”   He then told me and my comp that he was SURE we were going to baptize because of this obedience and also promised us he’d find a DVD of the production and we would watch it with him in his house.   Soooo pretty much that made my life and I am very happy that I had done what was supposed to be done and wow, I love Prez.  

Later that beautiful Independence night my comp started throwing up and the other 2 in my district started doing the same.   A quick phone call with Sister Mecham let me know we needed to go to the hospital.  It was late at night and lots of parties going on and so we had a super fun taxi ride down the mountain getting to experience the real Mexican Independence Day!   It was awesome!   Anywho, us 4 ate Mexican pizza on Monday and that’s what made them sick.  I don’t know why I didn’t get sick, but wow I sure was blessed!   3 days in the hospital was pretty great as there is a restaurant there and us missionaries can eat real well.   So yeah, I was lovin’ chocolate milkshakes and club sandwiches while my district ate dried toast and terrible soup.  WOW I was blessed!   

The rest of the week went pretty normal.   We taught and tried finding new people because we just lost like everyone (investigators) we had, but it was a great week and I’m super content.   As a zone we are trying to find at least 4 new investigators in every area every week ... 4 newbies every week.

So that’s our goal and we are gonna  BAPTIZE! 

My week was awesome and I’m sure happy to be here at this time.  

  

WE ARE GONNA ROCK AJUSCO!

My new planner.  Reminder of home!

Making tamales.

View of Mexico City.  We can see the Temple.  We have some of the best views in the world!+

The Awesomeness of the Mexico City Temple Re-dedication!

 September 14, 2015

Making tortillas!!

A fun preparation day!

We hiked and explored a pyramid!!

This week has been Grrrreat!  We are talking 15 lessons for the week!  That is a record in my time here in Ajusco!  Wow, look at us go!  I feel very blessed to have had 15 in our area!  Little by little baby.  This week was filled with lessons, great views, and spiritual experiences which make it just about the best week you can ask for!

Some of the awesomeness that took place this week is the Temple Re-dedication of the DF (Mexico City) Temple, a priesthood blessing that I was able to give and a funeral that I attended.  First off is the re-dedication.  Wow!   President Eyring and Elder Holland were the ones to show up and they were amazing. (Just like always.)   President Eyring couldn’t help but beam the entire meeting and it was so much fun to watch!  He just couldn’t get that huge smile off his face!  Anywho, it was so fun to hear them speak in English and then hear the Spanish talks and understand all that was said!  And yes, the Hosanna Shout was pretty sweet too!  The thing that stuck out the most was in the dedicatory prayer how President Eyring blessed this land to where we would progress as a nation in missionary work.  That is like music to my missionary ears!  Wow!

Also on Saturday we went to visit a sister whose parents are really old-- like old, old--like 97 years old.  Her mom was sick and asleep in bed and asked that I give her a blessing.  I willingly agreed and gave her a very simple blessing.  Long story short, she passed away about 18 hours later.  With the things I was directed to tell her in the blessing I gave, I know she slipped away very peacefully and is now having a grand old time in the next world.  So yesterday we went to give support to her daughter who called us to tell us the news and we let the branch members know.  By 6:00 in the evening the whole branch was there and we held the funeral right there in the house, as we all gathered around the bed where the body laid.  It was a very sweet moment and it was so wonderful to see us as a branch in unity.  After a beautiful service we all headed outside to the lawn and that’s where the fun began!  As the van pulled in and the dudes got ready to take the body away all the extended family got in a huge fight and there was like 20 on 20 just beating each other’s faces in.  I don’t know what sparked it, but probably just a lot of emotion and maybe someone was a little offensive.   As a branch, we just stood off a distance and watched a brawl for a good 10 minutes--fists, crutches, and words were flying and it was so sad to see after such a wonderful service, but quite interesting to watch none-the-less.  I feel blessed for these experiences I have had and how I am learning little by little what I like, what I don’t like, what I want, who I hope to become, what I hope my family is like, and what my family isn’t like. 

Today we went to a “sick” pyramid in our area that has caves in it and so we hiked it and explored and just had a grand ol’ time.  I felt like a Lamanite while I was on top!

Love ,

Elder McClure

Wow! That Went Quick!

Nothing like an evening snack of moli. 

My new district!!

September 7, 2015

Well I must say this week went by real darn quick!  That’s the thing I love about the mission! Each day can feel like eternity and then before you know it, it’s another week and you’re all like “wow” that went quick!

It pains me to say that not much is happening with the actual mission work, as in investigators and baptisms and all that.   Really we have just about none of that, but we are helping some menos activos (less active members) and stuff like that and it’s still rewarding in its own way.  I love giving service--it makes for a good morning or a good day!  And what makes an even better day is going to the temple for the second time!  Man I just can’t get enough of it!  On Tuesday my comp had to go to immigration and so I hung out in the mission offices for about 6 or 7 hours and did a puzzle of the Nauvoo Temple. I was told by the office elders that no one had ever finished it before and so I made it a goal to be the first!  With about 6 hours of hard work I came SUPER close to finishing ... but still didn’t actually do it.  It kinda bummed me out, but hey it’s like the same as all my other goals.  I think I need to get better with the whole goals thing.  Maybe I should start thinking more realistically ... who knows.  But yeah, so that was a ton of fun!  Then we worked hard trying to find people to teach and then on Saturday we took off for the temple!  It was the last day of the open house and so we just had a blast!  I saw Elder Marsh, my old district leader there and that was a wonderful reunion.  He’s one of my heroes on the mission.  And really as I struggle trying to think up a plan for district meetings (Riley is responsible for training his district each week) and stuff, I always just think "What did Elder Marsh do that I can copy?"  So yeah I’ve had some pretty stellar district meetings that weren’t even my own creation!  I love that kid! 

We had special changes this week as Elder Bravo had to go home for knee surgery.  It was hard to see him go, but guess who we got?!?! ELDER JARRETT!!!!  He’s the same generation as my first son and was with me in Iztapalapa!   I love the kid and it’s so great to have him here!  What a great addition to our little Ajusco gang. 

Really it’s been a good week.  I can’t complain.  Things are slow, but hey at least I’m not to the point that the other elders here are at ... they are contacting cows, goats, and dogs.  I’m still on humans, so really we are doing good! 

Loves all around!

Elder Miller & Elder McClure enjoying the Temple Open House a second time.