How Am I Doing:
I still love it here, The charmine and wet wipes finally arrived and that was my mana from heaven for the week!! My district is now the one that everyone wants to be in because of how close all of us are and how much we all manage to make each other laugh. It's been a huge blessing to be with a group of guys that are super supportive and really helpful when learning gospel principals and tough language topics. I'm learning a lot here and for the first time ever I think that going to class is a highlight during my day, my teachers press me really hard but it's nothing I'm not used to from back home and is a welcome challenge to push my progress along a lot faster than I thought I could go.
Stuff I Need:
I'm really content with what I've got here right now, it's enough for what I'm doing everyday here. I did find out about this program called Dear Elder, I'm not sure how it works on your end but while I'm in the MTC if anyone goes on Dear Elder at home and types out a letter then submits it the MTC prints and delivers it to me same day. If you don't want to do that Emails are rad too I love reading all of the things everyone sends each week, It's a nice way to reconnect with everyone at home. That's it really I just want to hear from you guys, I make an effort to reply to everyone who emails me by Saturday!!!
My Companion:
Elder Donaldson is a stud, I talk about him a lot but I got super lucky with him. He's probably played every sport that the U.S has to offer and is super mellow and easy going. He rolls his eyes at half of the stuff I do but always ends up laughing in the end. He's helping my basketball skills right now as I am terrible at the sport and keep getting shown up by the other Elders. After only two weeks I'm able to keep up with some of the kids who played high school ball so that's super rad of him to do.
Story Time:
Now I come to the header of this email... This week my family sent me a care package in the mail that had some pictures from home, shirts, a rubix cube that I can't solve, and of course Charmine and wet wipes. The final item is an oddity though, my dad and I used to eat squid jerky and I've always enjoyed it so it was pretty rad when I found some in my package for old times sake. While the jerky tastes good it smells like dead fish that's had a few days to rot. All of the sudden I had an idea.... what would happen if we hid a piece of this rancid jerky in someones pillow case, funny right?? Well the Elder who found this in his pillow case didn't seem to think so... Luckily I had covered my tracks pretty well, I had given the jerky to another elder and told him to put it into someone else's pillow case for me. I woke up the next day to massive amounts of yelling and threats that whoever had put "Rotten disease infested meat" (squid jerky that was not rotten just smelly) in their room was going to get pounded and their district proceeded to start a man hunt for me. It didn't take them long to find the person who I had given the jerky to by methods unbeknownst to me, but he didn't rat me out, I waited until they were all in hot pursuit of this rather portly Elder running as fast as his legs would carry him in the opposite direction of the mob chasing him. I then approached the person who's case it was in as he had stayed behind to replace the stinky pillow and told him I didn't realize that it would be this big of a deal and that people were kind of blowing it out of proportion. I also told him it wasn't rotten meat and just squid. He took it like a champ and when his district came back with their now captive Elder Clark he told them he was over it and what had happened and we all had a good laugh. Our zone can be kind of crazy about dumb things sometimes but at the end of the day we all get along and are there for each other.
This is the district witht he sisters included
Spiritual Time:
We have a teacher named Hermano Manwaring and he is totally awesome. He pushes everyone really hard and get us all to see results we never though were possible out of ourselves. This past week we were looking at Lehi's vision in 1 Nephi 8. As we were reading this it was really awesome to give and hear insights about how this vision of the iron rod and great and spacious building applies to us today. In the vision there is a rod of Iron leading through a feild of dense fog and mist to a tree bountiful with fruit that fills a persons soul with joy when they eat it. Along the way to the tree many people leave the straight an narrow path the Iron rod leads down becoming lost in the mist and never finding their way to the fruit they once desired. A Little later a great building is found floating high above the earth with a multitude of finely dressed people mocking those who would choose a difficult path to a tree and fruit when they could easily leave something so simple for the "Finer things in life" Eventually this building falls along with all of those inside it leading to great turmoil while those who followed the straight and narrow path to the tree have everlasting joy that cannot be taken or fall away from them. We discussed how the iron rod is the word of god and the straight and narrow path is the commandments we must follow to obtain the fruit of his love or everlasting life through the atonement of his son Jesus Christ, and how the great building represents the worldly that everyone desires even so much that they would leave the rod and risk becoming lost in mist and desolation in order to obtain some worldly pleasure. In the end even if this pleasure was found they fall into desolation all the same never tasting of the joy that can come from following god. I love being in the service of my God and while it may be hard sometimes and require me to put my head down and trudge forward on the straight and narrow path I am trying to follow, at the end after my hands are blistered and tired from cleaving to the rod of iron and my legs are sore and no longer want to take another step that I can partake of this joyful fruit and love of that God has given me and in turn share it with others i meet. Brothers and Sisters we are all sons and daughters of a loving heavenly father that wants us to return to him, I know that as we follow his word it may be hard at times but we will have everlasting joy again someday. I love you all and can't wait to tell you all about what else the mission has in store so for now... Adios
-Elder McBride