Tuesday, October 18, 2016

See you soon!

Dear Family and Friends,

Not much time today. Transfers are all underway and we are geting things wrapped up! 

Tomorrow I'll be at the SLC airport there have been some lapses in Itineraries getting where they need to go, but my flight is Delta #4862 from ABQ to SLC departing around noon. From there it's truly a new begining. 

Thanks for all of you who have supported me, and encouraged me. I have gained much from you and I am so grateful for each of you!​

--
Elder McGarry



My Last Car Selfie (From this side)​

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

104


Dear Family and Friends,

This week begins my last week #104 approximately (I haven't really counted). I can say that these last two years have literally changed my eternity. The 15th of October this week marks the two year to the day that I was dropped of at the MTC by my family. I still remember like it was yesterday the feelings of the unknown and the excitement and energy. I have been blessed to serve in the greatest cause known to man and the whole purpose of the initiation of creation, to bring to pass the salvation of souls of God's children. It is hard to believe that two years have gone by so fast, but the best is still yet to come. I have learned to trust my Heavenly Father through thick and thin. Through challenges I didn't think I could possibly overcome at times, the Lord has magnified my best effort and made me a better person. 

I have had an outpouring of the spirit this past week in providing blessings and teaching people about pure simple truths that make an eternal change in people's lives and I am so grateful! I have felt the spirit confirm that thought there is much to do elsewhere my work here is nearly finished. I can feel him preparing me to make this transition and the allegory of the olive trees comes to life here when I think about being grafted into another part of the vinyard. I am excited for the change, yet still I am sad to go. I have grown to love the people here in Albuquerque and the surrounding regions so much. I will always have a part of my heart here in the southwest! 

Looking forward I have an eye of faith knowing that the challenges to come will stretch and grow me beyond what I am rigth now. I think it's perfect for me to see that 104 could be a percentage of effort that needs to be put in. I want nothing more than to please my Father in Heaven and return home to live with him again. I know he loves me, I know he is ready to support me in every trial, to help me use the gifts and abilities I've been given to help those around me wherever I am. 

To those who may be considering a mission, Do it. No questions asked I would not trade these experiences and time I have spent here for anything in this world. To those I'll see soon, I'm Excited to see you!

Mark your calendars-
My homecoming talk will be given on Octpber 30th. Chapel and meeting time:
Bridgerland Park 3rd ward, and the meeting begins at 11 am, 280 W 1200 N. Logan, Utah. I would love to see all of you there if you can make it, if not I understand and look forward to seeing you at another time. 
 
In case I don't get a chance between running around with new missionaries next week I'll say now thank you. Thank you to all of you who have supported me and given me the encouragement and love that I needed in times you may not have even known I needed it. I am so grateful to know each of you and I love you!

Have a great week! Catch you on the other side..

Elder McGarry

My companions and I this morning after our workout.

 At the Office



Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Pure, Simple, Powerful

Dear Family and Friends,

I have missed almost more weeks than I've written it seems these past few times. As you can imagine, I've had a lot of time to reflect these past few weeks on the time I've spent here in New Mexico. I am humbled and sincerely grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. This General Conference has been on of the most powerful and yet one of the most simple that I have ever been able to watch. I was very touched by the frequent and earnest invitations to make our prayers more meaningful and more faithful. How true is that? It is so easy to let the daily prayers we offer become more and more of a checklist item, especially if we are "too busy" to take time to ponder and take real consideration for the specific needs that we have, or the specific blessings we hope to obtain. At least for me I have too common taken the approach of praying for the strength to do it on my own, not considering the essiential element of Grace that enables us to do things beyond my own abilities. I have seen miralces in my life, yet if I were to go back and restart now, I would exercise greater faith in the possibility of greater and more frequent miracles. That being said, I now know that with this lifeline of prayer and with the desire to see the kingdom of God roll forth in greater haste will bring greater miracles to come as I exercise that faith from this time forward. 

We had a few minutes left after finishing planning on Sunday night at the office, so we decided we would stop by the gas station to wipe some bird droppings that had situated themselves on the front windshield with some siginifcant amount of adhesive white matter which was obnoxiously obstructing our view. As we were there we had time to talk to a few last people, and after having a few come and go, not too interested I engaged a young man who was just returning from the convenience store to his vehicle. After talking for a few minutes he opened up and asked what I had meant about the prophet and apostles on the Earth today. He asked if they perform miralces, and for some examples. I then proceeded to portray one of the most marvelous miracles of our day when a 14 year old boy, earnestly seeking to know God's will sought his council through sincere, meaningful and faithful prayer. As a result he saw God our Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, he proceeded from that time forth to hearken to the voice of the Lord in the most exact and diligent way he possibly could. Eventually that lead to the revelation of a book, some 531 pages after being tranlated from ancient reformed egyptian by the power of God, for the boy had but a 3rd grade education and couldn't hardly form a dignified sentance let alone an entire book, no matter what the size. The Book of Mormon is truly one of the most miraculous miracles of our day. As we spoke the spirit descended and he was visibly touched. A little fear came over him as he realized a couple of things. Since 4 years ago he had recovered from a heroine addiction which he had fueled daily totaling in cost of about a half a million dollars as he described, in order to do that he had to rely on the faith he had fostered in Christ and his study he regularly engaged in with the Bible. He said that there are times that he doesn't understand the bible and he wants to be able to grasp that first before he tries anything else. While the spirit did touch his heart and he did learn some important eternal truths, he was not invested and excited to accept the message. He casually accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and confirmed that the spirit had witnessed the truth of the things we had taugth him. This is something I share to imply an important point. One singular event in a persons life CAN create a pivitol turning point and lead them home. But with so many voices, and so many distractions and deceptions in the world we live in it is almost an instictive natural man kind of thing to become desensitized to the truth. To become so far removed from the sorce of light and truth that even a ray of light seems dismal and even annoying to those who may enjoy the darkness. But as with anything, if it is persistant it will always cause us to react even if we didn't choose to act in the first place. In that same perspective as someone reacts to that light and their eyes are able to adjust to see more clearly hey may catch a vision of what is awaiting them if the come to the light and allow it to envelope their lives. This is what the power of a member missionary can do. As a full-time missionary we may come in contact with some great number of people on a day to day basis teaching and testifying and shedding light on the confusion and decepctions of today's daunting world. Yet someone who has not had time for their spiritual eyes to adjust is simply annoyed or possibly just temproarily looking in the right direction but immediately they are surrounded by the same influences and confusions they had been dealing with before. But someone who can wrap their arms around that person and be with them, meet them where they are and then regularly and possitively shed that light with some gradual degree of increasing intensity will make changes that cannot be made by one singular glimer of light. I hope with all my heart that the light we hold as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will not be set under a bushel. I pray in faith, knowing that each of us KNOW already someone who can use a greater measure of that light in their life right now, that the spirit will give us the courage and the clarity to meet them where they are and to gradually shed that light in their lives so that they can recognize and partake of the joy this Gospel brings. I hope that each of you have agreat week, and that you may recognize the hand of the Lord in performing the greatest miracle of all, the miracle of conversion, each day in your lives and the lives of those around you. 

Elder McGarry