10.26.15 A Crazy Week But No Time To Write About It

October, 26, 2015

Hey family and everyone that I love!! Right now I am in xela because my comp is becoming the new assistant to the president, he is super excited, I know that he is going to kill it!! So I am here in the church offices using the secretaries computer. Today we didn't have pday, so I only have 5 minutes to right, so i'm going fast!

                So my comp got the call, he is going to be an assistant, my new comp is elder Galicia who is a super sick guy from honduras who has just as much time as I do, he is a new zone leader so i will be training him, so excited!!

                This week our zone killed it! Everyone progressed really well in their areas and we found a ton of new families to teach that are super positive/ pilas!

               Got some wendy's today in Xela, so good

               Geronimo and Janet made huge steps this week, he finally said that he would read, he got over his pride and told us that he is going to read! His wife was so pumped that she started clapping!

               Esgar, a guy that we rarely can visit with due to his schedule, told us this week that he is going to read and pray everyday! We are excited because he wasn't even that positive, but now he is going to read and pray everyday, could be a miracle.

              We have to go, sorry guys, we are doing so good, I am happy, healthy, and working hard! I am loving the mission, I love when president smith teaches us and especially has meetings or talks with me, He is such a spiritual guy who is guided by the spirit always. Well, looks like i've got to shut off, tomorrow is changes, and by noon we will be back in Huehue working hard! Have faith and the Lord will bless you, show your faith and the Lord will bless you with what you want. Love you all, keep the faith!

Elder McLeod

10.19.15 Week 5 of "The Change"

October, 19, 2015

Hey everyone how's it going, hope you all had an awesome week! So this week was week 5 of the change, every change is 6 weeks for those who don't know, so changes are in a week from tomorrow. I think we aren't going to have changes, but my comp thinks that he is gone for sure, we will see what happens. This week was a good week with a lot of interesting things that happened.

           So before we had gone to visit eveline and carlos again, we heard from a member that they weren't very excited anymore and that they weren't interested, which kinda freaked us out. So we went and taught them the ultimate lesson, the secret weapon, temples and eternal marriages. Boom, they are back on the map and want to get married in the temple!!! They were stoked after the lesson and told us that they were going to ^^talk^^ more about it as a couple later, and then when eveline ended the visit with the prayer, she said in her prayer, God please help us so that we can become part of your...................... amen. THe thing is,before the lesson she had told us that she hadn't received her answer yet, but in the prayer she almost asked God for help so that they could join his true church!!! Needless to say, they came to church on Sunday for the full 3 hours, big blessing, and they are continuing to progress well.

          This week we did divisions with the assistants which was a blast! They are so smart and it was really cool getting to watch how they contact, teach certain lessons, plan, and do other things, it's always nice to be able to learn from them and always find ways to improve. Since we are more than 2 hours away from Xela, they both were with us in our area and ended up staying the night with us which was sick. This change we will be getting a new assistant because Elder Bryan, from payson Arizona is ending his mission, so we will see what happens.

           Jeffry came to church again this week which was awesome, he is a lot more friendly and comfortable with the members and in our principles of the gospel class. He even came with us to a baptism that the other ward was having in our chapel. He is progressing really well, his baptism is scheduled for this saturday but we are thinking that it might have to change. He hasn't received his answer yet, if anything 1 or two more weeks might be needed.

            This week Asusena and her boyfriend who is less active came to church, making it the 2nd week in a row!! THis week we taught her about eternal families also, and then she told us that she wants to be baptized!!! She received her answer and now wants to be baptized and enter the temple, but the problem is that we need to marry Mario, (her boyfriend), and her! But to make it a little bit more complicated, Mario is still married to some random lady, they both want to get divorced, but the process here in guatemala is ridiculously long........... so it might be 4 months they say............ but we will keep praying and teaching her.

              Today we don't have a whole lot of time, so this email might be a little short. I attached a picture our zone below, we love all 14 of them!!! Best zone in the mission. I am learning a lot every day and my testimony is always growing, this week my testimony grew a little bit more on the subject of eternal families and temple marriages, It's crazy how true it is and how important it is too!!!! And it's all in the scriptures which is the best part, the family is the 2nd most important thing in the plan of God, 1 jesus christ, 2 eternal families. We can not be saved, (have exaltation), without our families, it's as simple as that! I feel like I am growing so much and preparing myself for the life that is ahead of me. Like they say, right now we are in the school of how to become Gods, and right now as a missionary I am applying for external scholarships!!! I love you guys so much, keep the faith, share the gospel, and write me back, that would be awesome=) Have an awesome week, the next time I right you I will know if I'll be having changes or not.

Love

ELder McLeod

ps. below is a picture of our monthly meeting with president, the assistants, and the hermana leaders

10.12.15 Top Of The World

October 12, 2015

Hey everybody hope you had an awesome week!!!! It's crazy to think that october is almost halfway over, it's almost halloween! My comp and I were talking about that the other day and he told me that we should dress up as jehovah's witnesses for halloween................ haha not gonna happen but it would be hilarious. This week we had a bunch of cool experiences, and like the title of the email says, we went to the top of the world.

             So Eveline is progressing really well, this sunday she came with us to stake conference and she really liked it!! Her husband had to work which was a bummer, but at least she came with her 2 boys and stayed the 2 hours with us, it was awesome. She is progressing really well, she struggles with her book of mormon study because of how busy she is with her 2 little boys, but we are helping her and I know that she will receive her answer

            Jeffrey is also progressing really well, he also came to stake conference with us which was great, he, like eveline, is having a little bit of trouble keeping up in his book of mormon study, but we get him pumped and ready to go every time we visit him, he seems really excited and he really wants to get his answer.

             This week one of our investigators cousins died, so we went to go and visit the family of his deceased cousin. His cousin was the only other member of the church in their whole family, so his 22 year old deceased cousin's mom has a lot of questions. We went and visited them, they are inactive catholics, and they are a family of 5!! We explained a little bit about the family and the importance of it in God's plan and they invited us over this week to teach them some more.

              On Saturday and Sunday our mission president came up to Huehue to teach in the stake conference sessions. Saturday he came up and taught the priesthood session which was awesome, he really called all of our youth to action, there might have been a little machete, but for the most part it was great.

               Today for Pday we went with our district to the mirador, up in the cuchumatones, the highest mountains in Guatemala. It took us like 45 minutes of just pure switchbacks in a microbus to get up to the huge old wooden cabin that stands right on the top overlooking all of the valley. When we got up there we could see our breath in the air! We could see all of Huehue, and even all the way to Xela! We could see the volcanos from Xela and the other mountains, it was super fun, it really was a breathtaking sight. like i said, on the sight there is this huge dilapidated cabin overlooking the valley, so of course we climbed up in it and took some pics! I attached some below.

                  My comp and I are doing really well. We are working hard, and we are teaching a lot of families, not just single people which is a huge blessing. Miraculously, we have been able to find a lot of them just by contacting in the street, we have really seen some of the fruits of our labors. THis week was another great week for us, but it's still going to be a long process here. Thank you all for your love and your prayers, hope you all have a great week.

With love,

Elder McLeod

10.5.15 Week of General Conference

October 5, 2015

Hey everyone hope you loved the weekend of conference!!!! Can't believe we got 3 new apostles, numbers 98 99 and 100 of all time, the interview with them was awesome (right after the saturday afternoon session), they are definitely nervous, but they will be great apostles  i'm sure.

              So this email won't be super long today so I might do some important bullet points.

  .    This week Cristy, Jeffrey, and Geronimo went to church/ conference!!! Surprisingly, Cristy loved it! We were so pumped, she even came to both of the saturday sessions! Oh ya, so of course my comp and I did the gringo room again which was amazing, we did it all of saturday and then on sunday we tried it in spanish in the chapel...................... long story short we went back to the gringo room, it's just a different conference in english.

  .  This week we had interviews with President Smith, it went great. He is so happy about the progress our zone has made in this past change, it went from the worst zone that's wise to actually leading the mission!!!!! We were so pumped, our zone is killing it!

     . This week Jeffrey accepted a baptismal date for the 24th of October! We are excited for him, he has attended church 2 weeks in a row  now so he is progressing really well!

      . Oh ya and this week I completed a year!!! It was an awesome year, but there are SO many more miracles to come! (pic below)

      . So due to the crazy rain/flash flood storms we have had, we finally have enough water to have running water showers! What a blessing, something that we take for granted in the states, but here it is a miracle in itself.

       .  My knee has been healing well, it's going to be a long recovery, but at least it isn't hurting as much. I've been doing everything right, I even ice it with a tin bag of refried beans that I freeze in the freezer during the day!

         .  Oh ya, Eveline had a miracle experience happen to her this week, she is still in shock, and haha I am sure she knows the church is true now. Savin it for the homecoming talk sorry=) Her and her husband are progressing well, they love the church, and they love what we teach them!! This week I took a picture of my comp. and their kid Charlie, literally the cutest kid ever, 2 years old!

                  This week was a great week, not just for my comp and I, but for our zone as a whole. Conference was such a blessing like always, even though president monson is having a hard time standing up there, he is powerful like always. This week I watched the movie of President Monson called. On the Lord's Errand. Wow that guy has such an amazing life!!! If you haven't seen it, I recommend that you see it so that you will be able to understand a little bit more who President Monson it. The mission is awesome, I love it, I love you guys too, Thanks to those of you who emailed me this week, I honestly love hearing from you guys, it makes my day. Have a great week!!

Love,

Elder McLeod