Transfers!!! (Semana 30)

Saying goodbye to the familia Garcia

Que tal!!! Last night we got the call that we're gonna have transfers here in Andalucia 1.1. I'm going to be heading out to Apodaca to an area called Santa Rosa! It's gonna be super awesome!!! We about to get work down out there!!

This week we have been having some good times and working hard!!! We have been focusing on some of the investigadores that we have and preparing them for baptism. We have also been working a lot with less active members and helping them, which really paid off because quite a few of them went to church with us this week!! I am really going to miss this area and all the people in it! I love all of them and they have all been so kind to me.  Andalucia really has felt like home these past 6 months! 

Ok so something really cool that happened this week that shows that the Lord is always helping us and there are no coincidences. We were walking to comida last week and we got half way there and we were like "yo did we lock the door??" and we couldn't remember so we went back and on our way back we ran into this dude named Alberto. We started talking to him and you could tell that he was pretty drunk. We talked with him and walked him home and taught a little bit and he told us he really wants to change. He doesn't live in our area but we told the other missionaries and then invited him to church. The other missionaries started teaching him and he actually came to church!! It was so cool and he actually speaks some english. It was a cool experience that an impression to go back led to us finding someone! Oh and btw our house was locked lol. 

I have been studying the New Testament a lot and one of my favorite verses that I have read this week is Juan 17:3 "Y esta es la vida eterna: que te conozcan a ti, el único Dios verdadero, y a Jesucristo, a quien has enviado." It says that this is eternal life, to know God and Jesucristo. We should always continue learning about our Padre Celestial and Jesucristo because that is how we come to know them. I love it in Spanish because there are two ways to say "to know": saber and conocer. Saber just means to know about them but conocer means to actually know, to be familiar with them!  

Well, I got to go but hope all is well!!

les extraño y les amo!!

con amor

elder mcclellan

teaching Cesar

Semana loco (Semana 29)

This week has been one crazy brazy week!

On Tuesday we had our conferencia de zona which was pretty good as always. Talked a lot about Jesucristo and His life and works. We focused a bunch on the final week of His life and it was really really spiritual. It just makes me think of how much the Lord loves each and everyone of us and knows us personally! After the conferencia there was a baptism so we stayed and helped them set up and stuff.

On Wednesday we had a bomb junta de distrito and we brought youth from the church to help us out with it. We taught each other as in a youth and missionary compañeros. It was pretty fun and we learned a lot from each other. The rest of the day we worked really hard and found some really good people! We had a dope lesson that night with la familia Lopez de Arce. We talked about the Plan of Salvación and how it's the Plan that God has for us. They are 3 girls that all play futbol americano and so I talked about how this plan is like a game plan in football. The purpose for a plan is for us to win. The Plan that God has for us is so that we win, or in other words that we can some day return and live with Him! After the lesson we threw the football around a bit which was super dope! This girl Wendy has an arm. 

Well then Thursday happened....so....Thursday started as your normal Thursday in the mission. Wake up, do some exercise, eat a "healthy" breakfast, and study. Well we were halfwway through studying when we get a call from the lideres de zona saying "hola elderes pues tenemos algo muy especial para ustedes...hoy tienen que ir hasta apodaca a la capilla en bosques para recoger cosas para la zona y su celular....pues buena suerte." (basically that we had to go somewhere far to get stuff for the zone). 

So we went to the street to catch a bus. First let me say this, mi compañero y yo have only ever been in the same area, so we don't know how to get there. Second, we didn't have a phone that worked so we were basically 100% sure gonna get lost. And just like that, we did haha. We ended up having to take about 3 buses and 3 hours to get to the church there. We got there and our mission president gave us what we came for then we had to go back. (hey shout out my dude elder Schenck cause I saw him and talked for a bit). We took the 3 buses back and we finally got back to the area...but there was a catch. So the bus was super full and we had to push through the people standing and so I got off, turned around, and just as I did I watched the bus drive away with my comp still on it hahaahaha. Well I just started walking that way praying that he would get off soon. About 10 mins later we found each other. So that was interesting....Then that night there was another baptism in a different ward and we had special permission to help them with it and it started at 9:30. We didn't end up getting home till almost 11 haha. Crazy day.

The rest of the week has been tranquilo and full of work. Carlos and Jennifer are doing good and progressing. We challenged them to read the Book of Mormon and when we got back they had already read half of the first book and came with questions! We taught them the word of wisdom and they promised to live it! Even Carlos who has battled with drugs in the past tiene ganas para cambiar su vida!!! 

Well I got to go!!

les extraño y les amo!!!

con amor 

elder mcclellan

my dude Evan and yo

"healthy breakfast"= spaghetti tacos

echele los kilos (Semana 28)

So hows everyone doing????

Hope all is well!!! Mexico is pretty dope and pretty hot hahaha.

First off I would like to invite everyone to "siga echándole los kilos!!!" or in english, keep trying your best. This frase has been stuck with me ever since the beginning of this week and has helped a bunch. When we get hit with a rough patch or things are just not going your way you just got to echele los kilos!

This week we have been trying our best to get people to come to church, it has been one of the harder things to do in our area especially because Sunday is a family and friends day here. We have been working with the investigadores and with the less active members to help them to go to church!

This week we also had divisions with youth in the ward, Omar y Daniel! they're super cool and are about to get their mission calls! We went with them to contact people and it was pretty cool and successful. Omar and I found a new investigador that has a bunch of questions and wants to learn more. We talked with him and invited him to read the Book of Mormon. He said he was going to try to read as much as he could before we come back! His name is Frank and he is a really down to earth funny dude. He was a soldier in the Mexican army and has NOT ever shot a a guy (he told us he has never killed or even shot at a man like 5 times in the lesson hahah). So I will keep y'all updated on that haha.

Lastly this week Elder Delcid and I had to eat a serrano chile which are supposed to be pretty hot haha. SO we ate it as a dare and WOW it was pretty spicy. I survived at it wasn't too terrible but my dude Delcid was dying hahaha. It was not good! Next up is a full habenero soo I'll tell you how that goes. Oh and for all y'all that are trying to learn Spanish the best way is by eating super hot chilis!

Well thats all for this short email folks!!

Hope all is well!!!

echele los kilos!!!

les amo y les extraño!

elder mcclellan

actividad de zona hoy

laundry day

just biking home

Ya soy viejo (Semana 27)

Parque Fundidora

I am old...Well not really but I have 6 meses en la mision!!! Time is flying by!

Also I have 6 meses in Andalucia... which is super awesome!! Andalucia is amazing and the members here love me mostly cause they've had to put up with me for 6 meses jajaja!!  

This week was pretty good! We have been working a lot with investigadores that we have and have been really focusing on trying to help them progress and increase their faith in Jesucristo. The best way that we can increase our faith is through action! Praying, going to church, serving, and reading the scriptures are some great ways to do it!! We have been helping a lot a people with building their faith! 

This week we had intercambios with our district leader Elder Piña, one of the coolest dudes I have met on my mision. So I got went with him to his area and Elder Delcid got to lead the area with another missionary that arrived with him, Elder Chavez. It was pretty fun and Piña and I were on bicicletas all day and we just contacted! It was so awesome! Piña goes home next cambio and is super smart and funny and I have learned a lot from este vato!

We also had an awesome youth activity this past week and we were able to bring some investigadores to it! It was a competencia between the girls and the guys. They had to see who could iron a white shirt the best and who made the most rico tortillas de harina! And we (the missionaries) were the judges! First, it was funny because neither team knew how to iron a shirt. Second, homeade tortillas de harina are so so good!! Our youth are so great and are helping us a lot with our investigadores!! Just another reason why this ward is amazing!!  

I don't have that much to say today. A lot has happened this week but I cant remember them all jaja. Today we went to this dope park called Parque Fundidora! It was so cool and pretty!!! 

Solo quiero compartir un poco de mi testimonio con ustedes en español. Sé que Jesucristo es mi Salvador, es mis Ayuda, mi Apoya, y mi amigo! Nunca estamos solos. Siempre tenemos un amigo. Aún cuando sentimos que no podemos seguir adelante tenemos alguien con nosotros. Sé que Él nos ama y que Él vive. 

pues nos vemos!!

les amo y les extraño

con amor

elder mcclellan

queme una corbata porque ya tengo 6 meses

I put the FUN in fundidora 

EL ARBOL DE LA VIDA