Photos from Sept. 23

Smores with members with stale pink marshmallows

Made bread with investigators because they were so stressed out and would not listen. 

Got orange jiuce from this lady with black salt mized in... interesting. way good. dad would love.

We went to El Rio de San Juan en Aguacatan or something like that and it was sweet. Started naturally out of a moutain spring into a waterfall and then down the river.

Harder and Happier!

Familia!

I love you. I am so grateful for your letters and support. How blessed are we to get to be together forever??? Every single day in the mission is harder and happier! It is the weirdest thing and I do not understand it but I just laugh and smile and sing and walk and talk despite all the rotten pumpkins we eat, heat and sweat that come, bugs that bite your legs off during lessons outside, and everything else. I love it. 

So I found a bacon avacado sandwich at this place and almost died of happiness. Then the lights went out so we ate it in the restaraunt by candle light. That was romantic. Then we got locked out of our house and went to get the keys from the guy who owns it and his wife needed help washing vegetables so we started helping and then I got a little freaked out about the stuff I was washing out of the lettuce... but oh well. It softened their hearts and they listened for a bit! Then we hung laundry for forever and I had to hang it all because the other ladies couldn´t reach... hahaha and then we carried GIANT logs from the top of a mountain down to this lady´s house.

I love to serve. It truly does bring such happiness. And as President Hinckley said, "our kindness might be the most convincing evidence of the things which we believe". 3 Nephi 12:16 - ¨Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.¨ We serve and shine our light so that they may come to know our Savior and what His work is really about. The glory is always His and we have the privilege of being vessels and bearers of His light.

Mom, your prayers legitimately = miracles. Fabi came back. She is here! SO grateful. However... while she was in Chimaltenango with her pueblo they put tons of bad things in her mind and heart and stressed her out so bad. She is a little shaken up and super confused but we are working and praying. We invited her to be baptized again and she said not right now... that was hard. But the thing is that she is here and we will help her remember all that she felt and all that happened before. I was reading that section in PMG about a Successful Missionary and realized once again that even though people know it is true, have felt the power, and have a testimony... sometimes they still reject the commitments. That is so hard. ¨And they who reject this glad message shall never such happiness know.¨ That is why it is hard! I know the peace and happiness that they are missing out on! But one day they will know... turning them back to the Lord for further preparation. Makes me think about how many times I know something is true, I know the blessings that it will bring, and yet I still fail to do it. There is a big difference between wanting to change and wanting to be changed. That is one way we can really tell if investigators are prepared or not. I want to change. No matter how hard it is. Agency... poco a poco we will all learn.

So this Sunday was psycho. We are teaching a family that is really progressing, slowly but surely, and we saw some real miracles with them this week. They are reading the Book of Mormon together and feel the power and spirit that it brings into their home. We talked about the importance of going to church for almost 40 minutes with them and she would not commit. She lives so far from the church and has little kids and no money to pay a bus or a micro. I felt so bad and wanted to give them the money but knew that is was more important for her to learn faith and obedience than for me to pay the passage. We testified of blessings and promised that they would have the strength and time to do everything they needed. We did divisions in the morning because we had two other families to pick up for church also. (Truly our endless prayers to find families are being answered.) We were running around, sweating, so hot, and getting everyone up and ready to go. Once I had collected all my people I walked into the chapel and almost burst into tears. Mayra walked the 2 miles from Terrero Alto to church with her 11, 9, and 6 year old children. Despite the rain that was wetting her drying laundry, with all the work waiting at home for her to do, and even though her husband wouldn´t come... They were sitting so reverently and smiling so big.

Then I looked up at the Sacrament table and Antonio was sitting there in a white shirt and tie, ready to pass the Sacrament. Hermana Castaneda was with one family and I was with another... A la gran! Miracles. We were so so so happy. I couldn´t even stand. I just had little tears streamy down my face, expressing such gratitude to my Father in Heaven. These people have such great faith in the blessings that will come from obedience. They are truly willing to sacrifice everything for the gospel.

My training ends next week so I have been doing some reflection in everything I´ve learned and how I have progressed. SO grateful that I have kept a journal and it has been so fun to go back and read and learn from all the things I have experienced and have yet to experience. I sat in that little Sacrament room and realized that I can basically understand everything going on in the meetings. I can understand the talks and prayers and scriptures and even feel impressions from the Spirit coming to my mind in Spanish. What a blessing that is. 

I shared the thought in District Meeting about temple covenants. Although we are not able to go to the temple very often right now, we can still enjoy those blessings and promises every single day. There is such power in covenants. The Lord truly is bound by His promise to bless, prosper, and protect us. I am so grateful that I could go so often before my mission. Sometimes I recite parts in my mind that I can still remember and it brings such strength into my heart and mind. There is a lot more to these covenants than only that which we see on this earth.

Miralces are real. Prayer is so powerful. The Lord is waiting to bless us. Sometimes we just have to put our heads down and work. But there is always light ahead and we have the promise of eternal life we complete joy and complete peace. I live for that! So blessed to be here with these incredible Chapin people. Love this work, love the gospel, and love my family.

All my faith and prayers,

Hermana Jane McGill

Hills and Hope

Ah! Mi Familia!

Ah la gran... I love you guys so much. Love the pictures and messages everybody sends. Thank you so much! There are such a great support and lift for me just when I need it. I adore you guys. 

Basically Satan hates missionary work and his largest tactic is making people go out of town and never return...  Fabi is still not back from her pueblo yet but this has given us a ton of time to work with her family and I just hope that she can come back this week and they can all progress together. Fer's mom is difficult and we are still trying to get a hold of her because she is out of town too. Dulce moved to Xela and is going to the universtiy there... oh man. Heavenly Father takes care of each of His children and I am so glad that he can keep track of them because sometimes it is super hard to remember their names let alone their ages and problems and struggles and commitments and boyfriends and schools and everything... hahaha I love it. Heavenly Father blesses us with powerful memories to remember all the things. And planners.

We walk up this vertical dirt path a few weeks ago and found an inactive family. I adore them! They have infinity people living in one house and I still haven't met everyone but we are working mostly with 2 girls named Espiranza and Rosio. They are both young women and even though they never ever come to chuch they absolutely love Personal Progress and are working on it together. Rosio is so solid. Hna Castaneda was working with Espiranza and I was helping Rosio. She is a gem. So real and truly desires to learn and change. She has these gorgeous eyes too. Turns 18 in April and wants to get her medallion before then. I made a schedule for her to read the Book of Mormon every day so she can do the virtue project and work on the rest of the experiences while she is reading. I loved working on it with her! There was such a powerful spirit there and she wants to come back to church. She wants to read the Book of Mormon and said she feels feels the difference in life from before since she is not taking the Sacrament. We went over that and she is hopefully going to come this Sunday.

We found an awesome family in Terrero Alto this week and hopefully we will see some progression with them... still looking for more investigators.

I've been thinking and praying a lot this week about how we can find more people to teach and how we can work with the ward members more effectively. I know that success comes when the missionaries and the members work in complete unity together. I know that is also how we can keep our converts active and preparing for the temple. So, as I was pondering these things this week I came across my favorite quote in Preach My Gospel... "As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase." If we need members with an increased desire to share the gospel, we need to get them to feel and understand the power of the Atonement. So we called the Sunday School president and got permission to teach Sunday School yesterday. It was awesome. I prepared this lesson on the life of the Savior, shared a little video about the Atonement, and then had a few people share the grateful that they feel for the Atonement. It was powerful. The two hermanas that shared were both just crying. One's cousin had recently passed away and she bore such a beautiful testimony about our need for a Savior. After that I shared a few scriptures...

 8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, ^asave it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah"

The Savior lives! We have this precious knowledge and hope of salvation. It is our duty and responsibility to share this with others. It is the most sincere desire of my heart that I may be able to help another person feel of the same joy and peace that I have found in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the verses in 3 Nephi after the destruction before the Savior came.

 13 O all ye that are ^aspared because ye were more ^brighteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may ^cheal you?

 14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will ^acome unto me ye shall have ^beternal life. Behold, mine ^carm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

 15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. 

I then asked them to think of who they know that needs to be healed. That needs a knowledge of the Savior and needs to be be lifted up and supported by the powers of His Atonement. They each had a little paper and I had them write down the name of whoever was in their mind. Hopefully some of the names we recieved will be positive and these members will continue to ponder on the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I love Him. I love my Savior. I am so grateful to be one of His chosen representatives in this precious section of the vineyard. I have such great hope in my Savior and His power. I have no doubt that He can do anything, at anytime, with anyone. Miracles. Faith. Prayers. We are truly in the last days and all that matters is giving our hearts and souls to the Savior for Him to have and to hold and to help and to heal. These Guatemalan souls and faces are so precious to me. They are my friends. Our spirits know each other and I love it! Nothing matters as much as brings ourselves and those we love and serve back to our Father in Heaven.

All my love and prayers,

Hermana Jane McGill

Soggy Cereal

Zone Activity - Paintballing

Happy Birthday Jane!

Familia!-

Soggy cereal is the defintion of a mission.

A. You pour your cereal and barely take one bite before your comp yells, ¨my shower head just burst. Can you come help me fix it?¨ By the time you take it apart, scald your hand, get electricuted, and get crusty things from the shower in your eye, and return to the table... it´s soggy.

B. Eating cereal while you read the Book of Mormon and all the sudden you find the sweetest scripture for an investigator so you have to mark it, take 40 notes in your journal, cross reference every footnote and then all the sudden... you forgot you were eating and it is soggy.

C. You are eating in peace, looking out the window, pondering where the Lamanties would have camped in the mountains of Huehue... when all the sudden the garbage man starts pulling up and you realize its garbage day and you can´t forget again because your house REAKS... collect all the garbage and sit back down to soggy cereal.

D. The renter owner lady knocks on the window to collect the monthly payment and then starts telling you all the problems of her house and pets and children and tortillas... and this time is the worst because you didn´t forget about your cereal but you just have to witness it sog from 5 feet away while she talks 100 miles per hour for 100 hours.

E. You accidentally poured the milk before you blessed it, kneel down, and then remember the 5 things you needed to talk to Heavenly Father about and by the end of the prayer... you just make some pancakes for you and your comp because you can´t eat one more bowl of soggy cereal.

There are infinity more but I love it. I love every single minute of this blessed life. We washed dishes for a member this week. Oh my...I love serving. They use volcanic rock to scrape food off the dishes and it doesn´t hurt them. Don´t worry momma, I am bringing some home for you :] 

We had quite the experience this week. We were headed down the mountain to the lower part of our area and my comp asked which of the two routes we should go. I just randomly chose one and thus we went... we passed through the little ally and through the gate where some members live with their non-member 80 year old grandma that does witchcraft. Legit. So we passed through the gate, turned and saw her sitting on the bench. My comp said ¨hola abuela¨ as we all call her, and she turned, stared at us in the eyes, and then started convulsing and fell over as if dead. My comp ran to tell the house and I grabbed Abuela´s limp hand and started praying my soul out. She started gasping for irregular breaths after a bit and then reopened her eyes, looked at me and said ¨Ore. Ore por mi. Estoy muy mal...¨ She kept kissing my hand and trying to put my hand on her head to give her a blessing. I just kept praying as she started regaining breath. Her family came out and we worked it all out but let me tell ya... that was one of the most stressful 5 minutes of my life. It is amazing how somehow we are always in the exact right place at the exact right time. Heavenly Father truly is aware of each of His children, and if we listen, we will always be led to someone who needs help.

After that all happened I offered a prayer with the family and during the prayer there was an earthquake tremor and the pans started banging the walls and the water was splashing around... what else could happen in these few mintues? The tremors have stopped but there were are about 4 different ones last week. Hopefully everything is still again.

The gospel is so amazing. It truly changes people from the inside out. Antonio was sustained as worthy to recieve the priesthood this Sunday. Never felt so happy in my life. Another investigator told us that we were glowing with a huge light around us the whole time we were talking and that we saved her life by coming to visit that night. Sayra is teaching her brother the gospel. This darling family in the ward are working to go to the temple. Every time we testify I can just feel the power of these things. I can feel the truth and the eternal nature of these things. As people become converted to the gospel their lives and actions truly do start changing. 

I love Alma 60:23 que dice, ¨God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then the outer vessel shall be cleansed also.¨ 

This life, this gospel, trials and trimuphs... it is all about purification. We are just being taught and molded into the people that the Lord wants and needs us to be. Each of these tests and struggles are a blessing. Truly. They are. Because they point us to the Savior. They keep us humble. They give us experience that will lead us to exaltation. It is much more about the condition of our heart than anything else. I want to have a repentant heart.

1. 1. Jesus once was a little child,
   A little child like me;
   And he was pure and meek and mild,
   As a little child should be.
   
   
2. So, little children,
   Let's you and I
   Try to be like him,
   Try, try, try

 I want to ¨try, try, try¨ every day a little bit harder to be a little bit more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. He lives. I know it with all that I am. He is waiting to help us and lift us and love us. I am so grateful for His infinite goodness and mercy. I do not deserve all that I have but I will pour my heart out to Him everyday for blessing me with the gospel and a family that is centered upon Jesus Christ. What glorious hope we have because of His sacrifice. Because we have been given much, we too must give. I am giving it all I have and finding joy in greater and greater abundance as I do so. So grateful. SO so so eternally grateful.

Love you guys with all my heart. In my thoughts and prayers always.

Hermana Jane McGill.

PS the exclamation doesnt work again... haha :]

Bugs, Mice, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Making peanut butter

The flood. haha I love when the roads are like this. everyone is at home and we can visit. then we go home and get our boots and everyone loves mine and wants to steal them. 

Familia. Mi amoroso familia.

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes :]  We are going to have a party all day long tomorrow for my birthday. Like we're probably going to walk 10-15 miles through some weeds preaching the gospel,  and then eat some cow brain and fix the broken sink so our kitchen doesn´t flood again... hahah I love it so so so much. This is the best ever.

We had a few adventures this week. We were washing dishes at a member´s house after lunch and my comp leaned over and said ¨don´t freak out just let me flick it off¨ as she removed the giant spider off my neck... that was interesting. And then she bit into her beans and there were a few little bugs in there... oh man! and then we were teaching this brand new,19 yr old investigator in a member´s house and in the middle of the Plan of Salvation, she pointed out this giant mouse that was started to climb up my bag on the floor. I remained calm as we called in the brother who owns the house who cannot hear and barely makes a few sounds but is always smiling, despite his lack of teeth. He walked in, looked at the mouse, looked up at me, and then with this huge no teeth smile STEPPED ON THE MOUSE. That was one of the most disturbing experiences of my entire existence...  oh my sicky sick. Oh well. The mouse was gone, our poor investigator was traumatized, and we carried on with the lesson- testifying of death and the resurrection.

What a life :] We are so blessed to be members of this church. I think I am addicted to the Book of Mormon. I cannot put it down.  I love the peace and spirit it brings into lessons and how it truly does soften the hearts of the people. We were having a lesson with a lady that always asks questions without the intent of listening for an answer. She is super stubborn and doesn´t want to be told anything unless it is straight out of the Bible. So we use the Bible a lot in lessons with her but we are working on the Book of Mormon with her. She was super distracted one lesson and wasn´t willing to listen. She wouldn´t respond or ask questions or comment but she wasn´t gaining anything from us talking. So I just asked her if we could read out of the Book of Mormon together. We read one chapter, explaining verse by verse, drawing Lehi´s family tree, and detailing every single possible thing she didn´t understand. By the end of the chapter I looked up at her face and she was different. There was peace in her face and she was truly listening and trying to understand. I asked if she had any questions and she paused and said ¨My thing with the Book of Mormon is that I don´t understand how there are still prophets today or in the Americas when Christ was the last and greatest prophet.¨ Finally. We finally understood her problem and question even though we´ve been over that 100 times. After sharing many scriptures and teaching about everything... she said ¨I believe that there is a prophet today. And I believe this book is true.¨ Oh man. I love the Book of Mormon. I love the Spirit that is brings each time we read. There is no possible way to read that Book, with an open heart and mind, without the Spirit testifying of it´s truth.

Mom said something in her last letter that I´ve been thinking about a lot this week. She said that the plain and precious truth that was lost in the midst of the Great Apostasy was the knowledge of who the Savior really is. That is so true. The thing that all other churches do not fully understand is who Jesus Christ really is. Antonio, our blessed little angel and best buddy, is just doing so great and soaking up all he can of the gospel. His mom called and asked him why he was going with the Mormons and why he was trying to change God. Antonio responded ¨Mom, I am not changing anything about God. I am just figuring out who He really is.¨

Wow. That hit me super hard. Like Momma and Antonio both testfied, we have this knowledge of the Savior. We know who He is. We know what He is like and how we can become like Him. What a precious treasure that is. Hold it close to your heart. It brings such peace in hard times, just to ponder on the Savior and think of His love for us. His infinite and truly unconditional love.

¨I feel my Savior´s love in all the world around me. His spirit warms my soul through everything I see. He knows I will follow Him, give all my life to Him. I feel my Savior´s love, the love He freely gives me.¨ 

Hermana Castaneda teases me all the time that I literally talk to everyone. I see someone, walk up to them, and just start talking. I usually don´t waste any time and just throw the gospel in right at the beginning of the conversation... haha this week we were walking up to Terrero Alto and we were on the hugest, longest hill. It was so hot and we were dead out of breath. But I saw this beautiful little lady ahead and wanted to talk to her so we walked faster and faster until we caught up...and then, panting between each little spanish word I could mutter, we had a great chat all the way up the mountain. Her mother passed away a year ago and she lives alone with her father. They live each day in sadness because of the loss of their mother. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and the joy and healing we can receive with this knowledge of life and love after death.

I was reading in the Alma 40s this week and learned so much about the Plan of Salvation and how glorious and wonderful it truly is- To know that we are literally children of God, to have a purpose on this earth, to have a knowledge of the Savior, the ability to repent and become clean again, to overcome death and see all your loved ones again... man. You cannot read those chapters without being filled with love and gratitude and excitement for the days ahead. And then the very last verse of Alma´s huge discourse on the Plan of Salvation says:

And now, O my son, ye are called of God to ^apreach the word unto this people. And now, my son, go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest ^bbring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them. [Alma 42:31]

I love that. I was totally filled with joy and gratitude as I reflected on everything I just read, on how I felt and the hope I recieved in learning about this plan, and then remembering how many people are desperately seeking to find the same comfort in their lives. I have been called to bring them to this glorious knowledge of the Plan of Mercy, the Plan of Happiness, the Plan of Salvation that Heavenly Father has waiting for them. Oh how great is my joy :]

The Savior lives and loves us SO much. He is just waiting for us to come to Him, to cast our burdens at His feet, and feel of His healing and helping hands. I love Him so much. I love the Book of Mormon and I am so grateful for Jospeh Smith. I adore that blessed prophet and I cannot wait to thank him for sacrifice.

I love my family. I love the gospel. The church is true, and is where true joy is found. Trust in ¨the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness¨ [Alma 44:5]

Have a wonderful week. Enjoy your time together.

All my faith and prayers and love,

Hermana Jane McGill