El Poder de la Oraccion

Buenas Tardes!!!!!

 

Hey there!!!! So another week as flown by and i have been our for two weeks now!!! It is crazy how fast time flies here. It blows me away. But this past week has been a super good one!!! I have leared so much and have been studying my butt off!!! It's insane how much you learn when you just sit down and study the scriptures for four hours a day. I didn't know I could learn so much about the gospel! I have especially focused this week on the Plan of Salvation and God's plan for us. It is amazing!! everything is already laid out for us, we just have to be faithful and keep God's commandments. Read Genesis 1-3 and Moses with empahisis on on God's plan for us. You will learn so much!

 

Okay so some crazy things happened this week. First off, on Saturday we went and prosilited, like actual going into the feild and preaching the word of God to people who knew nothing of the gospel, in spanish!!! And we actually went to my mission!! That was super cool. The people here in Lima have abosolutely nothing and they seem to be as happy as they can be!!! In the area we went to all the houses were hand made out of bricks and cement right out the mountain slopes and most didn't have a roof. It was so eye opening to see my mission field and see the people that lived there. They werte so happy! It blew me away. Another thing that blew me away was the fact that I have so much spanish to learn. Like I could not understand a thing. But that's why im at the CCM! An awesome experience I had was that we were teaching this really old lady in her home and of course I couldn't understand a thing. So the lesson went on and the two missionaries i was with were just chatting along with this lady until they both looked at me and pointed and the lady. I had no clue what was going on until ont of them them, bendiciones. Which means blessing! I thought they wanted me to give the blessing but they just wanted to know if we should give her one so I said "¡Claro!" So there in this little timy house we gave her a blessing. Even though I couldn't understand a thing I could feel the spirit so strong. Definite highlight of my week.

 

Another awesome expericence I had was teaching this week. We got an new investigator, Victor, (who is our teacher) and me and my companion had no clue what to teach him. So when we were planning we started with a prayer and just got to work. We had no clue what to teach but the topic of prayer kept sticking out in my mind so I told him that's what we should teach. And that's exactly what he needed! He had been having trouble with his family and we told him that prayer would help him and his family so much and I think he really liked the message! I know I did! And also when we were teaching, spanish just flowed so smoothly from my mouth and I think it actually made sense! I always speak best in lessons. I guess that's that power of prayer and the Holy Ghost for ya! I have never prayed more in my life than here at the CCM and boy does it work. (Moroni 7:48)

 

Okay so before I get off I will share an awkward and an awesome

Awkward: A bird pooped in my scriptures!!!! I was just reading outside and i looked up for a second and i looked back down and there was bird poop all over the story of Ammon and King Lamoni!!!

Awesome: WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE!!!! It was so sweet!!!! It wasn't anything big but you could definitely feel it and it lasted for a good 45 seconds! Super cool.

 

I love you all and I want you to know that I am having an amazing time!!!

 

Unfortunately I learned the scored of the football game on sunday so all week I have been getting flack from this one Elder. It really sucks. I'm sending pictures!!! I love you so much!!!!

 

Poco a Poco

 

Love,

 

Elder McIff

 

Poco a Poco

BUENAS TARDES!!!!!!!!

 

It's finally P-Day!!!!! Thursday is our districts P-Day so look out! This has been the longest wait. I have been dying to hear from you!!! But I will tell you right now that I am having an amazing time. This place is so cool. The CCM is really really small but the spirit is really big. There is so much love and you can feel it everywhere you go. It is remarkable. It is about 40% North American and 60% latino but we all get along so great. We have all picked up spanish really fast so we can all communicate really well and it is so much fun. The Latinos are a woot.

 

There is so much i want to tell you but I don't even know where to begin!!!! I'll start by just telling you a normal day here in the CCM. We wake up at 6:30, eat breakfast at 7. Then we either study for an hour or we have spanish class. We have class until about 12:00 and then we go to lunch. After lunch we have personal study for an hour then recreation! Recreation is so much fun because there is a huge turf soccer feild at the CCM and so we just play futbol for an hour with the Latinos which is just a dream. It is so much fun. After Rec we study some more and more and then go to dinner. The food here by the way is ridiculously good. Like it's unreal. Some of the food is a little weird and it take awhile to get used to but its so good. Although three-quarters of your meal is rice i wouldnt want anything else. I will admit, I have put on a few pounds, but don't worry! Me and my companion are going to start running. After dinner we teach an investigator. Yes, an INVESTIGATOR. IN SPANISH. Its super difficult. But luckily the investigator is just our teacher so were not messing up someone's salvation. And then after that we have some coaching which really helps and is usually the spiritual highlight of the day. It is a very long day filled with scriptures, rice, and a language I don't understand.

 

Okay, maybe I'm not giving myself enough credit. I am actually picking up spanish really well. We have an excellent spanish teacher and when you spend all day in classroom doing nothing but Spanish, you pick it up nicely. But really though, it is all the Spirit, at least when we are teaching. When we are teaching it is really hard for me to understand what the investigator is saying but somehow I know exactly how to respond. It is so cool. I am learning so much here.

 

The main thing I have learned is humility. Before I came every told me, and I told myself, that I would be an amazing missionary, and that went a little to my head. The CCM has humbled me so much. It's crazy. I've learned that I don't now any spanish and I know a whole lot less about the gospel than I thought I did. But Tuesday night I humbled myself to the Lord and said to him, "Okay! I'm yours! You know a whole lot more than I do! Please show me the way." and that is what I have been striving to do this whole week is humble my self and leave all my trust in the Lord. He is the only way I can be successful and without his help I will just be miserable. Just like Ammon said "as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself but I will boast of God, for in his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12).

 

Oh! I also got to go to the temple today which was so amazing!!!!! It is so tiny but it is so beautiful. It was so cool to be there and see that The Church is the same all throughout the world. I loved it. It was all in spanish but luckily they had english headsets for us. I am so happy we got to go. We also got to walk around Lima!!!! This city is crazy. It is absolutely massive and jam packed. there are cars and people everywhere. Its so awesome. But you have to be careful becasue the cars do not stop´for anything so its a little dangerous but fun!!!

 

One last thing before I go. My subject. Poco a Poco. It means little by little and it is my theme for my mission. The first couple of days were really hard and really discouraging because I was trying to learn everything at once and trying to be the best I can be but it just was not working and I was having a really hard time. But then I remembered a sister gave out district some advice Thursday night and she said take everything Poco a Poco, little by little and that has changed everything. Thomas S. Monson said "Life by the yard is hard, Life by the inch is a cinch."

 

I love you so much and I wish I had more time because there is so much I want to tell you!!!! But I miss you and loved hearing from you!!!!

 

HASTA LUEGO!!!!

 

Love,

 

Elder McIff

I Made It!!!

Hola mi familia!!!!!

 

So I am officailly in Lima, Peru!!! We arrived here in Lima around 9:30 and we got to the MTC around midnight. It was the longest flight of my life. I had nothing to do but read my scriptures and I can only do that for so long. From Salt Lake there were about ten of us and then we met up with 10 more missionaries so walking through the Lima airport was a sight. The missionaries are all very nice and quite old to be honest. I am one of the youngest Elders! This is all so crazy.

 

My companion is Elder Uibel and he is from Calgary. He is a nice guy but we haven't talked much. This morning was kind of funny though. So missionaries are suposed to wake up 6:30 right? So that's what me and my companion did! We got up got all ready and headed down to breakfast. We kept getting all these wierd looks and eventually an American Elder comes up to us and is like "Elders, what are you doing?". Apparently we were allowed to sleep until 9:00!!!!!! We obviously didnt get that memo. So me and my companion went back to sleep for another two hours. I am so tired. SO TIRED. I can't even think straight. And with the language barrier I am just useless. But today is just orientation and getting us situated so hopefully I won't have to do some major thinking. I really hope I can get the hang of all this. It will be hard, but it will be worth it!!!

 

I only had like twenty minutes to write so I just wanted to say I am okay!!!! I don't enough time to answer all your questions mom but your boy is doing just fine! I love you all so much and I can't wait to hear more from you!!!!

 

Love you!!!!

 

Elder McIff