Sigue, Sigue, Sigue, Sigue, Sigue, Sigue, Sigue-Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow, Follow

Well once again you guys had a freaking awesome week!!!!! Even though you say these are the same things we do every year, I don't think so. Or it might be the fact that I'm here in Peru drowning in dirt. But anyways you guys had a freaking awesome summer and I am jealous!!!! Haha. But I just have to keep telling myself that I am on a mission and a mission beats any other vacation!!! 

Well this week was a pretty good week. There were changes and Elder W. left but Elder G. (our old zone leader) came and now he is living with us!!! It is the best I am so dang happy. This Elder is a great friend and I am so excited to work with him in our district. And speaking of districts I am now the District Leader of Valle Sagrado!!! It will be interesting because this is the last change of Elder G. and he is telling me that he is super trunky and that we will need a ton of help at the end of his mission. But I am just glad he is in our district helping us out. 

So this week was a little hard for us. We spent a ton of time knocking on doors and talking with the people looking for new investigators with little success. My comp got super discouraged and he was really frustrated but I tried to help him out and I told him, look, my first eight months of my mission were like this week, don't worry about it. We are in a great zone and we have tons of blessings to be in an awesome zone like Magnolias and we will have a ton of success. I am really excited for the week to come and I know that we will do a lot of great things in this ward.

This week we have the wedding and baptism of E!!! WOOOO!!!!!! This guys is the coolest. I am so grateful that he is going to be baptized and have the chance to start his eternal family!!!!! I am so so happy!!!!  He has really become converted and he will be a great member of the church. I can't wait for next August when they can go through the temple and I can go too!!! It will be the greatest day ever. So so happy. 

Well this week was a little slow and not much happened. We just had a bunch of new investigators come to church and a bunch of references!!! I was super happy for that. I am just praying that this week will be better and that we will have a great number of lessons and that we can set some baptismal dates! I am super excited and I have a bunch of hope for the week ahead!!!!

Thank you for the great letters you send me and all the great things you do for me!!! Jessi told me that you already sent my year package which is awesome!!!! But I did want to ask for somethings! But it's okay, I just wanted two English hymn books and my white soccer socks but that's okay! I can wait!!! :)

Thank you for everything and i hope that y'all have a great week!!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LESS AMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ELDER MCIFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Catch the wave!

Well I want to thank you for your letter today. It really helped me out. I know what you shared with me is true. This week has been a really rough one. We have been working really hard this week and I have just been beat, just super tired and when your tired that is when Satan attacks the most. I will be honest I got pretty down on myself this week, I don't know why but Satan threw a bunch of attacks my way this week and hit me hard. But your letter mom really helped me out. I love what that convert says, I feel the power and spirit resonating from his words still. I want to be able to say the same.

I left out here on the mission to serve and to really SHARE the gospel. When I think of the word share I think of a movie or a good restaurant. Whenever we go to a restaurant that we love our first impulse is to tell all the people around us how good it was or how good a movie was. That is the same with the gospel. We are like Lehi when he partook of the tree of life and it "filled (his) soul with exceedingly great joy;" We as members of the church we have partaken of this fruit, we have tasted the joy, we have felt the happiness that comes from the gospel and now we should feel like Lehi felt, "I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also" As we SHARE the gospel we should feel that desire and we should feel that love for those that we share with. I know that the gospel is powerful to change lives and make people actually happy. 

But there is a difference. When we SHARE the gospel we need to feel that love, joy, and happiness that comes from it, if no, we are just TELLING the gospel. We need to live it, we need to feel it, and we need to love it. I know that everyday I am learning more to SHARE the gospel rather than TELLING the gospel. I know that if we serve with all our heart and all our might we will feel the fruits and blessings of our works and we will know that the Lord is proud of our work and proud of our effort wherever we are, be it in the mission field or in the high school football field. We can always SHARE the gospel. 

I know that this is something that I need to work on and I need to strengthen my testimony more so that I can help more people strengthen their testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ. I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ lives. That is what really matters. If Jesus Christ lives than everything else falls into place. I am so grateful for the chance to SHARE the gospel and serve the Lord for these two years.

But big news!!! Today is 11 MONTHS in the mission!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh how the time flies. Super duper fast. I cannot believe that next month I will complete one year in Peru. I can't believe it!!!! so so crazy.

I finally got your package mom!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! The best treat was the BYU shirts. The best thing ever. I like the sweater you sent me but it does drown me. haha. super big. But it is nice to sleep in because it is FREEZING here at night time. I sleep with three blankets. Haha. Okay I never knew how good hi-chews were, they are almost  gone. haha. But I have had to hide away the goldfish and cheez-its. I need to make those last. And I like the CDs that you sent! super cool. Thank you so much for your package mom. Thank you so so much!!!! Now just waiting for one for hump day!!!! ;)

I love you so much mom!!! And thank you for all your support and love for me and the work of the Lord. I couldn't ask for a cooler mom!!!!

I love you family and JESSI! I don't get letters from you!!!! What the heck is going on in your life?????

Well I will wait for your letters of next week!!!! I love you all!!!!

Onward, ever onward

Con amor,

Elder McIff

Trabajemos hoy en la vina del Señor

GOOOOODDDDMOOORRRRNNNINNNNGGGG!!!!

Hey everyone!!! So this week has been excellente. We had a baptism and we are finding more people to teach and to baptize. It has been going great here in Valle Sagrado! I am so happy for the work we are doing here in the ward. Within the four Elders that work here in the ward we have had a baptism every week for the past three weeks and we have baptism for the next three weeks. I am so so grateful for the blessings of the Lord. 

On 22 of August we are going to baptize a family. Remember Elxxx? Well him, his daughter, and we are hoping his sister will be baptized. We are inviting our mission president to come to the baptism and participate in the success we are having here in Valle Sagrado. 

One thing I am learning is that you just need to work work, work. One of the assistants this week gave us a great training about the natural man and how we need to fight against the temptation to sleep for a little bit in our room or hang out at a members house eating or just being disobedient. He shared an awesome scripture in Alma 37:34 ¨Enséñales a no cansarse nunca de las buenas obras, sino a ser mansos y humildes de corazón; porque éstos hallarán descanso para sus almas.¨ Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls "If we are tired we just need to push on and keep doing the work of the Lord and he will give us rest."

 I am so grateful for the things I am learning here in the mission and the great life lessons I am learning as a help people find more faith in Christ and help them make covenants with our Father in Heaven. 

Here in the mission we have a goal of 32 lessons every week. My companion and I have really worked hard reach that goal and have reached it every week for 8 weeks now minus one when we had 31 lessons I am really proud of the work we are doing and I know that the Lord is blessing us in everything we do. 

I love you guys so much and I am so glad that you have had a great week at the cabin ( I miss it there!!!) It looked so much fun!!!! This summer sounds like the best summer of your lives!!! The last two summers I've had I've been in college and handicapped the summer before. The best summer ever is coming my way I just know it!!!!

Haha I hope that you guys have a great week and the next time I will talk to you guys it will be exactly 11 months since I left home!!!! 

I love you so much familia!!!!!!

Cuídense!!!!! Les amo mucho!!!!

Elder McIff

PS: The police took us home on Monday because it was super late in a dangerous area, How cool!!!!!

Corto, pero dulce-Short but sweet

I was waiting until I got your letter to write you so this letter will be a little short! But your week sounds great!!! I feel like I really miss young men's right now!! But then I realize that I am in the mission and that I was kind of alone in young men's and then I think yeaaahhhh, Peru is a little better. ;) But I am so happy that the kids had a great time at Youth Conference and that they are looking for the miracles and tender mercies in their lives.

This week I had a huge tender mercy. Jxxxxx got baptized on Saturday!!!! Woo!!!!! It was amazing and it was one of the best baptisms I've been to. It was amazing. Practically the whole ward was there and they were all there to support him. His family doesn't support him at all and his mom doesn't want to listen to us so it is really hard and he felt really bad because none of his friends or family came to his baptism but we told him that every person there was his friend and family and he was like Really? they are there for me? Of course!!!! He really is a great kid. And right after his baptism he stayed with for the rest of the night as we went around visiting our investigators and he gave his testimony in every visit and it was the best thing ever.

Then on Sunday we went to pick him up for his confirmation and he came out of his house crying. I guess his mom didn't want to go and they got into a fight about it. But he came got confirmed and calmed right down. It was amazing to see the gift of the Holy ghost work in him to calm him down and help him out. And now he is out of a camping trip with the YSA! What a champ. I know that he will learn a bunch of stuff and receive even a stronger testimony from this trip. I am so happy for him.

And this week we have another baptism!!! A young man named Exxxxx is going to be baptized after waiting like three months. It will really be super cool. His family wants to get baptized too but are going to get married in September when the husband gets back from work. But it is super duper cool that this family is going to be baptized. They are the best. 

And I love that commission!!! I have a copy of it that I carry in my missionary manual. And mom you actually sent me the copy I have for my birthday in December! Maybe you should read the stuff you send me!! ;) But I am still waiting your package!!! I want to know what it is!!! Patience, just patience. 

Thank for your letter mom!!! I love you so much and I am so grateful for all your prayers and letters!!! (but I would like physical letters).

LES AMO CON TODO MI CORAZÓN!!!!!

Elder McIff