I Love Me My Onions!!

I love me my onions!

The #1 boxer in Mexico.

 Hello from Mexico!

Week 53 in the field!  WOW!

This week was pretty dope.  We had a super sweet missionary broadcast to all the missionaries in the world and many Apostles spoke.  The theme was to teach repentance and baptize people who are truly converted.  I really liked it, but had a bad headache and only captured about 60% I’d say … hahah--but it was great!  We also had interviews with Prez and I sure do love my every 3 monther with him!  He teaches with stories and experiences and really helped me get pumped for this next week of work.  Also, I got to interview 3 little girls before their baptism and they were so funny.  One closed her testimony "in the name of your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, Amen" but she wasn’t praying, she was sharing her testimony with me haha.  I thought it was so cute.  I just about died laughing and she was so nervous, she was shaking like crazy.  But wow, I’m really impressed how strong the testimonies are of these 9 and 10-year old girls.  They are solid and going to do some amazing things in their lives. 

Two people actually showed up to church today, so we are really, really excited and one has been an investigator for like a year and now is finally getting ready to make the move and get into the font!  We are pretty happy!  He should be baptized in February, if all goes well.  Also, I celebrated my 1-year mark in the field!  Yes, I know I celebrate way too many different marks, but it makes things fun! 

A recent convert sent me face lotion stuff that has gold flakes in it!  I was pretty excited to use it, even though I didn’t really need it!  So I’ll send pics of that beautiful moment. 

A lady in the ward told me that if you sleep with onions, it takes your cold away.   Her husband (the man who cut my hair) has had cancer for 5 years now and he’s never gotten a cold in these 5 years and it’s all because he sleeps with onions.  So heck, I had a cold and got me some onions and man it really works!  I love me my onions!  My comp and I rescued a baby kitten.  We wanted to take her home, but that’s against the rules so we let her go free.  But she was really cute. 

And last, but not least, I met someone famous this week!   I totally don’t know his name, but he’s famous and that’s all that matters!  He’s the #1 boxer in Mexico, so yeah we totally hung out for like half an hour and got pics.  He’s way chill. 

Anywho, it’s the last week in this cambio (transfer) and I’m pretty sure my comp leaves in a week which makes me sad.  We are going to try to make it count with hard work and changes in our area! 

All is well!

Elder McClure

Face lotion with gold flakes!

Here, kitty, kitty!!

That Right There Was a Miracle!

Forgot his camera today.  This is a backup photo.  

Hello,

We are halfway through January!!!  Holy wow that went fast! 

This week was like pretty good, like ya we worked pretty good and found 3 new people to teach.  That right there was a miracle.  Also I think my Spanish is growing a lot with the help of a Spanish speaking comp, so that right there is pretty swell, too.  We are also doing really well with working with members here in the ward. There are like 40 YSA here and none of them seem to work or study (that’s a lie, I’m sure they do) but yeah lots of youth to take with us for half a day and do some visits.  We are greatly blessed to have so many young adults here.  Also, I might have mentioned it before, but there is a meat shop like 5 houses down from us and it’s owned by a Church member and so we get FREE meat like all the time!  I love free meat.  Wow.  We got some today and, boy oh boy, I like meat. 

OK, a little rundown on a few of our investigators:

Nancy has received almost all the lessons and just needs Church attendance in order to get baptized.

Bro Palafox is the man.   His wife and 2 sons are recent converts and we are working with him.  We hope that he will give us his baptismal date goal next Sunday when we see him.

Jennifer is 14 and she heard the missionaries, before but for some reason never got baptized so we are seeing if that’s an option.

Rosa is our new lady and she’s awesome, but her husband might be opposed and make it difficult.  We will see.

Rachael—she’s new and nice and we hope she will start to progress, too.

This week I did 2 more baptismal interviews for a 13 and 11 year-old.   The 11 year-old was sooo nervous that she wouldn’t talk and so I had to start off showing her pictures I had with me and then singing like a goof till she finally said words!  It was hard!  I think I’ll be doing 3 more this week for a couple of almost teenagers.

Elder Pieper was the Man!  Wow.  He speaks English, Spanish and Russian fluently and he has dedicated like his entire life to this work.  We asked questions about missionary work and he was answering them with examples of marriage and getting married and just weird stuff, but I sure loved it!  One thing that caught my attention was what he said about investigators that aren’t progressing.  He told us to drop them.  If they don’t progress, they aren’t ready.  So we’ve got to drop them and move on and find those that will progress!  Really cool.  I like it.

Two sisters from my district were put into another district where they were needed, so now we are just 6 missionaries and we all get along great.  My fear of sister missionaries is still there, but just not quite as strong.

The work is slow and we are a little bummed, but we are keeping at it—work, work, work.

Wow, It's Been a Week!

Back to Ajusco with Elder Miller for the baptism of someone we taught.

She brought me all her toys.  The lady behind me is 100 years old.

Hey y’all,

Wow, it’s been a week!

Surprisingly, a lot of people wrote me this week and now I find myself with very little time to tell you all a little about my week!  To start the week …yes, President showed up to my district meeting!  AGAIN!  It’s now kind of a habit … I’m pretty used to it.  But yeah, he showed up and we learned about obedience, which is always good to remember and as a district we decided to be 100% obedient this week-- like extra-- like we always try … but we were going to try extra and see the results.  

With that said, this week was one of the hardest weeks I’ve ever had, not especially in a specific way … but it was just hard.  Every single one of our investigators disappeared and our appointments fell through and my comp and I got super discouraged and it was just terrible.  It was one of those weeks when you have to constantly remind yourself why you are on a mission and tell yourself to just keep going.  On top of that I had the chance to do 2 baptism interviews and that just stressed me out like crazy because they were the first ones I’ve ever done and I got super stressed and I was freaking out!  AND I got a flu shot and I hate shots and I was freaking out like Crazy!!!!!!  BUT, Sunday night, at the end of a terrible, terrible, terrible week, we contacted a lady who seems GOLDEN and we have an appointment to visit her on Tuesday.  It was an awesome contact.  I hate contacting, but it was awesome.  I don’t know if she will continue as a golden investigator, but I do know that that was a little blessing from the heavens.  Even after such a terrible week, Heavenly Father let me know that He’s still there watching over me and helping me in this very work.  It was exactly what I needed and maybe it doesn’t seem that cool to y’all, but to me – wow, I am greatly blessed.

Any who, Elder Pieper is coming to our mission this week!  I‘m super jacked!  Our conference will be this Thursday.  Yay!  I got a haircut.  I look incredibly Mexican.   All the Mexicans here have this haircut.  The guy who cut it is a professional and cuts hair for politicians and famous boxers and people like that.  But for me… it was FREEEEE!  I also drank a coconut!   Yum!

This week is gonna be better!   I just know it!

Feliz Año!!!!

Sister Mecham at our District Meeting tonight (Jan 4).

Hey, Ya’ll!!

Wow.  2016.  Time flies.

I feel like nothing happened this week--probably because it was just normal and after having Christmas … it just feels bland.  But nevertheless, it has been a great week!

We worked, worked, worked and NOBODY was home because everyone was gone celebrating New Year’s so that was rough!  But we got through it with happy faces!  That’s what counts.

We are teaching a lady named Nancy and she’s really nice and we have a baptism date set for the 23 of January.  Hope it happens!  She’s awesome and is finally progressing a little bit.

No one attended church yesterday--not one investigator.  That was rough.  I think it was just because everyone’s on vacation!  Hope next Sunday is better!  My first District meeting with my new District went good--normal and good and wow, it’s a whole different scene with so many sisters.   haha   They like to talk!

On Friday we took a little trip up to AJUSCO and visited Lety and Tania!  SO FUN!  We took pics and ate tacos and visited and it was a blast!  I really did enjoy the quick visit.  Back to work we are!  Hope this week is really productive and we can find new investigators and see some progress!  I’m excited to see how it unfolds!

 FELIZ AÑO!!!!!

LOVE,

ELDER MCCLURE

New Years Day back in Ajusco!

Feliz Cumplianos!

Fire Cake, Yummmmmmmmmm!

My comp made me a homemade Nutella cake for my birthday

20 years old!!

Turns out I am writing today even though it’s not my p-day!  hahahahahahaha   We just got word yesterday that we have to write today-- super fun!  

Well, I’m not sure what to write about!  We talked like 3 days ago and nothing’s happened since then. hahahah   All is well, still.  This week we are thinking of making a trip to Ajusco on our prep day which will be Friday.  We want to hike Eagles Peak which is really famous and will let us see the whole, whole, whole city!  So we will see if it happens.  We are working hard and trying to find new investigators.  That’s the goal.

My birthday was awesome.  I got a few calls from friends here in the mission that remembered my b-day and the lady who we ate with didn’t know, but then my comp told her and she went and bought a cake. hahahaha   I feel bad about that, haha, and I also got a few presents from people in my district so it was real fun and I was happy people remembered.

Tonight I have my first district meeting with my new district and I’m real nervous, but hey I’ve been doing these meetings for over 6 months, so it’s not really anything new.  

All is well--just plugging along and trying to be a good boy.

LOVE you guys like crazy.   Keep up the awesomeness.

Love,

Elder McClure

From his Mission President's wife.

  The lake in my area - there's turtles.

Mi amigo, Elder Galindo (from Honduras).

Ho, Ho, Ho!!

Skype Call with Riley - A Great Christmas Gift!

Too fun!!!

WOW!  I apologize for not writing more on Monday!  I only had a minute to set a time for Skyping with my fam on Christmas day … which is today.  And yes, today is my p-day.  P-day on Christmas ... not bad … not bad.

I’m betting a few of you (mostly my fam) are dying to know where I am right now -- what my new area is like and who my new comp is.   Well, time to spill the beans.  My new area is called Hidalgo, in the Contreras Stake.  It’s a sweet area and the ward is the best ward in our mission with like 250 or so active people.

My new comp, Elder Cumbe, is from Equador and is a real sick-nasty awesome dude!  We get along super, super well and work good together.  He has 16 months in the mission so far and I’m so, so, so, so thankful that his accent isn’t bad.  I understand him real well!

My new district consists of my comp and I and 6 sister missionaries. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I’m not a fan. Sisters always bring trouble!  haha   But no, not really.  All these sisters are really nice and really cool and hopefully won’t be too much of a handful.

On Monday we had a mission Christmas party.  We had 3 zones there and I loved it! There was tons and tons of food and tons of sports and we watched Frozen … although it was in Español, which means it wasn’t nearly as good.  We also did a zone skit and I was a body guard for Santa and really didn’t do much, but it was really funny.  The talent show was incredible and President Mecham sang for us.  That was the only time I cried—but yes, I cried.

Yesterday my comp played guitar all morning and I sang (just in our house) and it was awesome.  I took videos and I’d love to share them, but I can’t until I get home in a year.  Then in the evening we went caroling with the zone in a huge shopping center and handed out like a million pass-along cards and 200 pamphlets of the Restoration.  It was so much fun and I took videos of that too.  It was truly a success which was cool because I didn’t think it would be.  Then at night we ate with a family and played a game involving freckles and drawing freckles on other people’s faces.  It was so funny and fun and we had permission to stay out late.   We got home at like 10:30ish--so fun!

This morning I woke up, tore open my package from the fam and then played music and sang in the shower till it was time to go to the chapel (which is like right down the street) to go play volleyball and eat hot dogs for like 6 hours with the zone!  SO FUN!  Now I’m here … waiting to Skype with my family--writing a bit and smiling real big.  I love this Christmas time and the spirit that’s here.  All the Mexicans are super nice during this time of year and everyone says “Feliz Navidad” to you in the streets!

Of course this is a time to think of and remember the Savior, what He did for us, and how, thanks to Him, each one of us has hope--hope to change, hope to be happy every moment and the hope to live again in the presence of our Heavenly Father. What a Blessing!  I love my Savior.  He’s my older brother and my best friend.  This time of year has made me reflect on my life and where I have been and where I am now.  Tomorrow is my 20th birthday.  How proud I am to say that I have dedicated the entirety of my last teen age year in my life to the service of my Lord.  This past year I have come to know Him.  I have grown closer to Him than ever before and because of that, I have grown in the most incredible ways. The mission is the most amazing experience any 18 or 19 year-old could dream of.  I am SO grateful for this opportunity to serve.

In the past few days a handful of people have called my comp and me Angels.  I cannot tell you how much I love hearing that--not because I like "credit" or because I like being recognized, but because what a blessing it is to see how they have been blessed by the Lord through his humble servants and afterword recognize it!  WOW!  I do not claim any glory.  The glory is all His. I am simply a humble instrument in His hands, and heck, I love being an instrument.  For the rest of my life I will seek to be that instrument--the one that serves and sings and is happy every day of his life.  It is only possible to achieve if we live a Christ-like life and seek to do His will over our own.  I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.  He has called me here, to the Mexico Mexico City South Mission to serve his children and bring them unto Him. I am an instrument in His hands and I will do what He commands.  I glory in my Savior and I love Him with all my heart.

I hope and pray you all have had a wonderful Christmas morning and that in this new year each and every one of you can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and help someone find their way back to Him.

I love you all,

Elder McClure

Late and Brief . . .

He doesn't really wear glasses.  Silly boy . . .

Riley didn't send much today and it came late this evening.  His Preparation Day was changed this week, but he didn't say when it will be.  He only had a moment on the internet to tell us this much:

"Right now I'm a little sick ... a cold I think.  But hopfully I can get over it.  We had our [mission Christmas] party today and it was a blast!!"

We plan to Skype on Christmas day. If Riley sends anything more, we'll update the blog.  

Just before his last haircut.