One Year in Guate!!

Milkshakes

P-day with the Hermanas

Dad - you would love the clouds on the mountains here. Prettier in real life.

I love my volcano

Love the members

Singing in the talent show

We made pizza. It was so delicious.

The fattest fluffer dog.

Long story. Never mind.

Familia!

Hola, cómo están? I hope you guys had so much fun up at Hebgen :) I can`t believe that it has been a year since I was there. Best thing ever. Truly a movable feast. Kind of like the temple. Since I am completing a year in the mission this week we got to go to the temple. Once again, the most wonderful and spiritual experience. Those promises and covenants are so precious. They gave me headphones to listen to it in english but it turned out that the headphones only had Quiche and other Mayan languages so I just did it in Spanish. But it was the best. I love this country and this language and these people.

I did divisiones with a brand new hermana this week who didn`t speak much spanish at all and it made me remember so well back to my training. How wonderfully difficult those first three months are :) haha but it made me also remember what Elder Cook told us about relying more on inspiration than experience. It is so true. As President Benson says in Preach My Gospel- ¨The Spirit is the most important single element in this work. With the Spirit magnifying your call, you can do miracles for the Lord in the mission field. Without the Spirit, you will never succeed regardless of your talent and ability.¨ (pg.176)

I cannot explain the Spirit that I felt and the peace that there is in the Celestial Room. Such sacred moments. I closed my eyes after looking at all the detail around the room (my Father in me) and the words of mom`s song came to my mind- ¨Peace, peace, peace because of your faith in my Well Beloved.¨ Tears just filled up my eyes. I remembered going into the Celestial room for the first time and seeing my parents and Eric and Papa and Grandma and Jon and Amy all waiting there for me. Best day of my life. And then I pictured all of the Nephites and Lamanites gathered there, preparing to leave the temple with me to go out and teach their children. I was then reading in Omni this week, where Mosiah goes and finds the people of Zarahemla and they are so amazed and happy and trying to communicate with him to learn of the records of their people.

 18 But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates.

Basically that is what happened to me. I got here, the people taught me how to speak their language, and now I am giving them a history and genealogy of their people according to the holy record that had been kept in the Book of Mormon. I love that. I love being a missionary, and bringing the world His truth.

We had the best lesson with William this week. We taught the Plan of Salvation and it was with the family that gave us the reference. We started by talking a little bit about where he was reading in the Book of Mormon. He said ¨Well I am reading about how Nephi wants to see his father`s vision and understand the same things.¨ He is so smart. We can never believe it. The mom of the family who gave us the reference shared the most beautiful testimony about seeking Jesus Christ in the scriptures and following Him. She said ¨we rejoice in coming from a people who loved the Lord so deeply.¨ I rejoice in the same. Thanks for your faith and example, family :)

We found a miracle this week. La Familia Polío. They make tortillas and I made my companion buy 1Q of tortillas so that we could talk to them.  The things we do to talk to people... but we asked if we could return for a cita and they said yes. So we went back and had the best lesson with the mom and 2 of her daughters. They said that they have never been baptized and want to come to church. So we returned again with the ward mission leader and that time it was the mom, the dad (what the best), the 3 daughters and 2 of their husbands, a little brother, and a prima. O sea- 9 people! And they are so great! They are learning so quickly and all of them except one came to church! They loved it and want to keep learning and preparing for baptism. Pray for this family. The ward is obsessed with them. It is the best. I am so grateful for faith and miracles and families and the gospel. 

It is all true. And it is all worth it. Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God and restore the Lord`s church to the earth. I love him for it. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ and I know that He lives. He never leaves us alone. And we must never leave Him alone in this work either. ¨Look, my friend, Heaven`s at hand.¨ Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Jane

Onward

Family.

This week in all of Central America there was this huge thing called Semana de la Familia and it was super great. We loved it! We were able to contact quite a few people that members brought to the different activities and have found a new families to teach also. The mission is focusing so much on teaching families now and we are loving it. So hard to find moms and dads that live together but there are some and they are doing great! 

We sang Come Thou Fount with my comp and another girl in the ward for the talent show with one of the jovenes playing the guitar. It was so great. And then we had a million presentations on food storage and that was the best thing ever. I am literally obsessed with food storage now. My mission has taught me many things for the future- how to maintain a clean house by myself, how to take care of one million different people`s needs, and how to do food storage and family history and temple work. I love all of those things. Thanks momma for your example.

Edy is doing great and told one of his friends that he didn`t want to drink anymore because he was preparing to be Mormon. Pray that we can figure out everything for his baptism! He has been out of town and it has been a little loco this week. William is also doing so great and showed up to all the activities for the semana de la familia. Imelda and Yasari couldn`t come to church this week because all of thier family came into town and her boss didn`t let her off work... but they are still super positive and we watched the best Mormon Message- The Will of God (thank you Eric) with them. At the end we asked what they learned and the son just looked up at us and said- ¨Sometimes hard things happen to us that we don`t always understand, but God has a purpose and it is because He loves us and wants us to grow.¨ I loved that. Heavenly Father really does have a purpose for every single thing that happens to us. We are not here to understand, just to believe, and that is enough for me.

We also talked to this guy in the street named Carlos the other day and finally got into his house yesterday. I saw a lady running in the street at night and it was pouring rain so I just started running with her and held my umbrella over her head and found out she was his mom! And she let us in the house. We had a wonderful little family night and then at the end we asked if we could leave with a prayer and Hermana Gonzalez suggested that we did it kneeling. When I opened my eyes at the end of the prayer and saw this little family- father and mother and 5 children- kneeling down with their arms folded and their eyes closed, ah it just brought tears to my eyes. I loved it so much. I LOVE prayer. I love families and I love the gospel. These Lamanites really are going to blossom like a rose- just like it says in Doctrine and Covenants. I love fulling prophecies and working with all that I am.

 Jacob 4:6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.

 7 Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

I love the Savior. He is my treasure. He is our power and purpose. All things really are possible through Him. I will give up all my pride and laziness and dedicate all that I have to Him. I trust Him and His love. I love the lyrics to an EFY song...

¨You will never ever stand alone
You were never called to bare your burdens on your own
Where there's fear
Love will take control
And lead you on¨

He is leading us on. We feel such great things ahead of us. Faith in every footstep. Praying. Fasting. Reading. Studying. All of the things that the prophets have always testified of. It is the best :) A little better every day.

ALL my love :)

Hermana McGill

Happy Days

Thanks for the package. Love it!

This new 7up lemonade thing that is super good/weird

Puppet show with the family that gives us lunch on Wednesdays

Divisions with Hna Call

From the roof of my house. That is the Santa Maria volcano for Dad.

Pouring rain. We moved a homeless man out of the road and the rain under a shelter. This was his hat.

Me - right now - emailing you

Family.

Loved talking to you guys. So much. Your voices are the best. I was so happy and uplifted and motivated to keep working and trying and doing my best. Like Eric said, focusing on the Savior makes everything work out and helps us along our personal process of conversion.

We are doing super well and I am so happy to be here with Hermana Gonzalez. She is such a sweetheart. The Lord is putting miracles in our path and we found a new little family of a mom and 2 daughters this week that are super positive. The mom is named Imelda and she wants to prepare to be baptized. She doesn´t necessarily want to commit to anything right now but we will keep praying. Her daughter, Yasari, is so excited about everything. They got work off, came to all 3 hours of church, and then we had a little lunch with the Relief Society president and she helped one of the daughters get going on her Faith In God for the primary. The first lesson we had with them really was such a powerful experience. We contacted them in the street and when we went back we talked about the importance of prophets and the Book of Mormon and then had to go but the Spirit was so strong. And hna Gonzalez promised Imelda that if she talked to her boss and got off work that the Lord would bless her with food and all that she needed. She looked into our eyes and started crying and said ¨I trust God. I know He will provide. I want to follow Him.¨ It was very sweet. I love that family. 

I love that it says in Jacob 1:7- ¨Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest...¨ That is all I want that. That these precious people can rest from their cares and sins and have peace in their families. So grateful that the is exactly what the gospel does for us.

The day after Elder Clark came and talked to us about being bold and declaring the gospel before the world, I stood up in front of the bus on the way to Huehue and told everyone that we were missionaries with a special message that would change their lives. I explained a little bit about the Restoration and then we passed out a ton of folletos and little cards from the church with the Internet sites and the articles of faith and such. I think that gave me a new energy and excitement to talk to everyone. We really are preparing the world for the coming of the Lord. I love how Preach My Gospel starts off in English- 

You are surrounded by people. You pass them on the street, visit them in their homes, and travel among them. All of them are children of God, your brothers and sisters. God loves them just as He loves you. Many of these people are searching for purpose in life. They are concerned for their families. They need the sense of belonging that comes from the knowledge that they are children of God, members of His eternal family. They want to feel secure in a world of changing values. They want “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23), but they are “kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12).

The gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith will bless their families, meet their spiritual needs, and help them fulfill their deepest desires...

As an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, you can teach people with power and authority that “redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah,” and that no one “can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:6, 8). As people come to accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation by priesthood authority, they can be assured that they “are not cast off forever” (Book of Mormon, Title Page).

As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase. You will feel, as Lehi did, the “great … importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth” (2 Nephi 2:8).

I love that! It is so true! The gospel is exactly what all of us need. No matter what your sickness, worry, problem, trial is... the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer. We found another investigator this week named William and he is super cool. After teaching the Restoration I asked him why it would be important for him to know if these things are true. He said ¨Because I don´t want to live my whole life thinking I am doing what is right when God really has something else prepared for me.¨ I love that. Our deepest and most sincere desires can be our real life if we choose to follow Jesus Christ and seek to understand His precious and priceless atonement. I love studying the Christlike attributes sections. I love it because that is who He is! It is not a list of a few things that look good in the eyes of the world. Patience, kindness, love, purity, diligence... it all describes the character of our blessed brother, Jesus Christ.

We will do all we can to magnify our office to be found spotless before the Lord (Jacob 1:19). I want to work harder. I want to do more. Simply because I feel the importance of this work. No one else can do it. The time is so short and we must do all we can!

 D&C 11:20 Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength.

It is all worth it :) Immersing yourself in the work of the Lord brings nothing but eternal peace and happiness. I´m sure of it. I love you SO much. So so much! Have such a wonderful week. 

Hermana Jane McGill

Keeping the Sabbath Day - Holy

Just me.

In the rain with hermana Gonzalez. ah la gran... la loca. jejeje

Welcome to my area. Love it. Today after volleyball with the zone.

My baby turtle.

Nacho party after the lesson. 

Splits with Sister Lamont.

Edy. He is so pilas.

Violeta. That is the church way back yonder with the green roof thing.

Lunch with the best lady ever, Told us miracle stories from her mission and then made Lion House cheesecake. What!

The volcano in the background is Santa Maria.

Mi familia preciosa!

How is the summery May weather in Utah? I am DYING in Xela because it is so freezing and rainy! I serious feel like I went from summer to winter in one day. Maybe Heavenly Father is just preparing me so that I don´t 100% die and freeze when I reach to Utah. 

Area is BOMB. It is SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO different. Loved Cerrito. That place holds all my heart and growth. I adore it. I will forever cherish that little hill of corn. Hermana Gonzalez is a gem. I love her so much! We are laughing our heads off and working so hard. She always looks at me and said in English ¨You looking good, baby?¨ or ¨where we go, baby?¨ Oh how I love Latinas. A la gran... we are so blessed to be here. I seriously felt like I went from Mission West Yellowstone, Montana (huehue) to Mission Alpine Utah (xela). Xela is still rather different than Alpine but the wards are bigger and the people have cars and phones. It is so crazy. When we stepped off the pavement onto a dirt road for the first time here  I almost cried for joy. I love dirt roads and poor people and simple things. But I love this ward, Bougambilias, too. They seriously are so amazing and members call to offer help and give references sometimes. What? Is this real life?  Life is good :)

It amazes me how we always find people exactly when they need to be found. I love talking to everyone. We literally talked to everyone on the street this week. My companion keeps saying that she is so tired when she gets home because we work so hard. The best kind of tired :) We found so many wonderful people and families this week and we hope to see some good progression this week. Pray that we can start teaching families.

The work presses forward. Misión Quetzaltenango is the lowest baptizing mission in Central America. That is sad. But we are working hard to change it. We were so blessed to have all of these conferences and things right before transfers. Elder Clark talked about 4 things that need to happen in Sacrament Meeting for us and for our investigators. I LOVE these four things. They have changed my focus on church meetings and really do help investigators understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not just another option of things to do on Sunday. These church meetings have the power to bless and change and mold our lives.

1. During the Sacrament, offer a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father for the gift of His son, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement.

2. Come and repent of your sins and leave them in the church so you can walk away clean and forgiven.

3. Pray and ask to know if this is the true church of Jesus Christ.

4. Bring your problems and talk with the Lord to solve them.

I want to be better at doing those things and having the Spirit with me always. We are teaching this man named Edy and he is so cool. When we teach him a commandment he immediately applies it and starts living it. We just taught him the Dia de Reposo and he understood it so well. We read from the Guide of the Scriptures and it says:

The importance of a sacred day for man to rest from his temporal labors, contemplate the word of the Lord, and assemble for public worship is a major item in a person’s spiritual development. Furthermore, a decay in the national religious life always follows any tendency toward carelessness in the matter of Sabbath observance. The existence of a weekly holy day is a most important safeguard; it leaves a constant reminder to the individual of his need for spiritual sustenance and his duty before God, and serves as a witness to the world that there is such a thing as revealed religion.

I love that! Thus if our world is decaying or disintegrating or something, it is due to our lack of honoring the Sabbath Day. Earthquakes and hunger and problems could all be solved if people would just put our Heavenly Father and commandments before their life and chores.¨The most important safeguard¨ is centering your Sunday on the Savior, which will then center your week and month and year and life on Him, too. As we focus on the Savior and His power and His Atonement we invite and allow the Spirit to be our constant companion. If the light of Christ is like our conscience then the gift of the Holy Ghost means SO much more. That is how we unlock the treasures of knowledge, open the veil for revelation, and unleash the power of our God in our lives. The Holy Ghost really is the messenger and portal between this earth life and the Celestial world.  We must be baptized and receive that precious gift by the laying on of hands, by someone who holds the priesthood authority of God. We must be worthy of His companionship. We must follow His whispers and promptings. Not only the Sabbath Day needs to be holy, but we need to be holy. Sanctified, purified, worthy, wonderful, glorious human beings. The Gospel and the Atonement of Jesus Christ are the only things that make us such beings. So... we will be faithful.

I love this life. And Xela and this ward. We are so richly blessed, and that means we have so much that we can share! Love you with my whole heart.

Hermana Jane