It's Part of His Plan

The Americans currently in my district.

Zip-lining. Good times. It was gorgeous. My comp was so terrified. 

Family!

Hey everybody it`s family night... man I am excited to have a family night with you guys again :) How is everyone? Thinking of you every time I testify of the family and praying for my precious little family always. You guys give me strength. Thanks for all your prayers. I got pretty sick this week and the work was a little difficult but I could seriously feel the love and prayers from my family and the examples of your strength during hard things and I just kept pushing on! Thanks for all that love. There really are angels all around us.

I was thinking about something Momma said to me a few letters ago about how on the mission we are just going along, pulling a handcart and picking up whoever will come with us. Sometimes they can hop out and help us pull and other times we just keep pulling them along, and carrying them in the cart with us. I was thinking about that this week. Since I was sick my darling little comp is trying to speak more spanish, work more with the leaders, and talk on the phone more. Our investigators were a little bit falling apart and quite a bit fell through and I was a tiny bit down. As I was falling asleep on the bathroom floor (wallowing in a tiny bit of self pity mixed with spiders and dirt) I was thinking of how we were going to do the next day. Who was going to pull the cart when I couldn`t do it all. My companion was trying but she is still so new. Our leaders are also helping and everyone that can... but who was pulling my part? I think had little tears run down my cheeks as the words came to my mind:

 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find restunto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

It is His cart, not mine. These are His friends, His children, His precious souls and I am just blessed with the opportunity to pull for a little while alongside my Savior. We are doing His work and it truly is so much easier when we just do it in His way. I have never pulled this cart alone. He is always yoked to me. I felt my Savior testify to me that He was pulling with me all the way. No matter how much I thought I carried or how much I believed I could do, it was really Him leading the way and walking beside the whole time. I couldn`t do anything without my precious friend, Jesus Christ. I was so grateful for that little moment of peace and perspective for me.

The work is moving forward. We are loving this little journey in Cerrito del Maiz and grateful for all the different things we are able to learn and experience. We were teaching an investigator on a little cement step outside her home. Her family is crazy and won´t listen to us but she is so wonderful and wants nothing more than to do what is right. We talked about adversity and agency and everything else... and all under the gorgeous Huehue sky. Sometimes it is a little cloudy at night so you cannot see the stars but this night... ah la gran. Absolutely gorgeous. Every star in the sky was shining so bright! And without one light around... it was so perfect. This darling Esmereda was super distaught and just walked out into the open road. She looked up at the sky and said ¨Wow. I can just feel the power of God every time I look up at the stars.¨ That was the best. I could feel Heavenly Father´s love and power all around us. He truly does have a plan for each and every one of us. 

We are teaching a family up in Terrero Alto that are super hard. They were progressing so quickly at first and were loving the Book of Mormon. Now they have a hard time coming to church, the dad doesn´t want to listen, and they are a little shut off to everything. We are praying and working with them but it is slow. Mayra, the mom, never went to school and has never left Huehue so she can´t read... that is a little difficult. But her children are learning and helping and she can pray. She says beautiful prayers and the spirit speaks through feelings, not words. Maybe just send a few extra prayers up to Heaven for her and her family. They don´t really have much but the gospel will give them all they need. I want to find families so bad! We will find them. My comp has so much faith and we are working hard together, talking to everyone, and staying obedient. Blessings always follow.

Sometimes I wonder why people have to have such hard experiences and trials in their lives. Or wonder why the work doesn´t go faster since we are fulfilling all these incredible promises written about the last days... but then I remember that we are not in charge. That we cannot see everything. We don´t know the hearts that are being touched and the messages that are shared through our example. We are all part of this incredible Plan of Salvation and we are doing the work of Salvation. It is never easy and it is so tiring but it is the BEST! I love it! I am so happy! And no matter how many steps I take and how tired I am, I just want to keep walking and keep working and keep talking because I feel the truth and power of the gospel burning inside of me! Our time truly is so short and our responsibilites are great but the Lord will always provide. He will always bless us with what we need and we will never be left alone. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I testify with all of my heart that this is the way to happiness. There is nothing better than feeling the Spirit whisper precious messages from our Father in Heaven to my heart. I love it. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and that iron rod that leads us along the path to our Father´s love. It is real. It is powerful. The gospel is restored and we are led by a living prophet. It is time to make that known to everyone we can.

All my love and prayers,

Hermana McGill.