Transfers and Miracles

Dear Family and Friends,

This next week is transfer week. Some changes about that, we will be doing transfers on Mondays in our mission now, so the P-day will always be on Tuesday after transfers and you will find out if I've moved only when I get there. It's been a seven week transfer due to Christmas, and the next one will be seven weeks due to the MTC adjusting back to a 3 week schedule. In other news we had a great Worldwide Missionary Broadcast this week! It was really inspiring and motivating. 

On thing that really stuck out to me was the importance of letting the spirit guide. I have known always that the spirit is the teacher, but I often try to identify and teach what the spirit is teaching. In take away I realize that I need to be more effective at facilitating learning by asking questions to help them understand the spirit and what it is teaching them. This has been a struggle. I think in my mission I have learned very well how to teach and even teach simply in many ways. I still need to simplify a great deal in all aspects of life and I feel refreshed when I do. i think often what I can do to have the Lord's spirit more abundantly in my life. 

This week we have had three miracles, first while contacting we had just found a solid referral for the Messilla Valley Elders when walking away a van pulled to the side of the road and asked us where our church was and what time it started, they wanted to come! Second, on the very next day, we met Andrew who appeared practically out of nowhere as we turned around from walking a quarter mile down a road with no success. He was hesitant at first but eventually opened up and told us he had been reading the night before about apostles and what they are and what they do. We said a prayer with him in which he asked us to pray for his father who had passed away and he wanted to make sure he was watching over him here on the earth. Third, and again the exact day following, we met Ricky who was dressed exactly as we were only with an added a sweater. After initiating the conversation he abruptly told us he reads from only the King James version of the Bible every single day. He knew that the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith by an Angel but never had a chance to read it. We gave him a copy and he was elated to receive and have the opportunity to read it and find the additional testimony of the simple pure testimony it contains. These three of the Elect were placed in our path as we sought prayerfully to be in the right place, and to have eyes to see those whom the Lord has prepared as well as the words needed to touch their hearts and give them an opportunity to accept the restored gospel.

I love you all! Hope you have a great week! 
Elder McGarry

 Making Pizzas in an outdoor stone oven with a member

Service Project Yesterday :)​

Once Upon a Time

Dear Family and Friends,

There comes a time when you just run out of titles for a letter. This is that time. This week we we have been trying some new things that I have not tried before, and to be 100% honest tracting is one of them. I have not done much of that on my mission because most of the investigators in the areas I have served in were found through members or other more common contacting situations. Then on the reservation I was in a non-proselyting area so tracting was out of the question. Nonetheless I am finding the challenge very, hmmm enjoyable. I feel like my experience selling security systems in Detroit helps a lot with that. More importantly I am finding that prayer helps a lot. We have had a few people tell us that they are catholic and just not interested, but we offer to say a prayer with them and the whole atmosphere changes. Even though they may not invite us back, their hearts and ours are softened as we express our true feelings and desires to our Eternal Father in Heaven. Our biggest struggle this week is going to be finding, or coordinating rather, time to see all of the people that are ready and willing to accept the gospel. Personally I can't say I'd rather have any other problem in the world Being a missionary is so great! 

We did adjust a baptismal date from the 30th of January to Feb. 13th. He felt that things were going a little too fast and wanted to wait a couple of months. We had planned to go over the interview questions that day, and as we did a spirit of peace just confirmed that he was making the right choice, and he knew a lot more than he felt like he did. He then set the day for only two weeks back and we have a clear understanding of what areas his testimony needs to be strengthened in to help him be ready. Don't we all do this though? That is try to tell ourselves in some way that we are not ready yet, or that we don't know enough. STOP IT! Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things. Dispute not because our knowledge is not perfect, but act in faith because unless we do we will never receive a witness and we will never be "ready." That was paraphrasing Ether 12:6 by the way.

I guess this week is really another chance for me to tell you all how much I appreciate your support and love. I have seen nothing but good from this experience of being on a mission, and I continually change and become better from it each day. A few things that I have been thinking about lately: are we lowering our expectations or standards little by little, or are we striving to raise ourselves closer to our potential each day. God's standards never change and we can rely on that. Little by little we steadily and surely draw nearer or father away from him, and a little tid-bit that my companion always says "It doesn't matter where you are at on the path back to our Father, it only matters what direction you are facing." We sometimes overwhelm ourselves by thinking of all the ground we need to cover instead of realizing we are just the vehicle for the Spirit of God to cover that ground with us. After all we are spiritual beings having a mortal experience, not the other way around. I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Elder McGarry

 

 

 Me and My comp. heading out this morning!​

 Hottest hot sauce I have EVER tried!!​ The tip of the toothpick is all I had and it burned!