10/26

Hello again!
Goll, another week has flown by so fast once again! We are almost done with October! And then you know the Holidays will go by so fast! Haha, so when ever an Elder goes home they go on a huge diet so they can look good when they go home... but I was thinking about it and what the ... I have the three Holiday strikes in my way of eating eating and eating... so basically I am going to come home fat because how can you say no to candy, turkey and chocolate!!! muahhhaha!It has been another busy week for me and Elder Fly! Being a trainer is fun - - but hard work! We have to be doing something every second of the day - but the cool thing is it is paying off soooo much! Seriously we are having so much sucess over here! Haha... it's funny to think back in the day I used to be a quiet person - but certainly broke out of that shell - and it's something I am so greatful for! Now just hopefully I can break Elder Fly out of his quiet shell. But thinking back, I was probably quiet at the first of my mission too??? But other than that we are doing pretty good as a companionship.One of my investigators (Wendy Flores) called me on Saturday. It was right before our appointment and she was bawling. She is such a sweet lady, but has a lot of health issues and problems with her back (she doesn't have marrow in some parts of her spinal column, so the bones rub together and pinch the nerves) She said that she almost called 911 in the night but didn't want to wake the neighbors and startle her family... haha she always thinks about others first [I think I would have not had a second thought if I was dying in pain!] So anyways we talked for (literally) 30 minutes over the phone and had a discussion with me and her. And the next day she showed up to church still in a ton of pain, but she said that she wasn't going to let this stop her!The baptism for Tiffini Hoff went great! President and Sister Reeves even got to be there! I was so happy to show them all my investigators! The spirit was so strong at the baptism too! And even after the baptism Tiffini's grandpa (who isn't a member) came up to me and asked if he could have the Joseph Smith movie that we watched at the baptism - he said that he had been pondering over "things" and needs to get answers for himself... so we might see something there in the future??? Haha, after the baptism my bishop was like "Elder McBride I told your mission president that I am going to keep you here till the end of your mission" and I was like- "I have only been out 9 months!" haha, he was like "ohh... well..." haha, He is a good bishop [oh oh, and as a side note - he created the Utah arches lisence plate and has a HUGE one up in his garage - I will have to take a picture and send it to you, way cool!]So last week we were knocking on this one door and talked to this one guy named Justin Underwood. We shared a little bit about prophets and asked if we could come back and share more. He said that we could just share it all with him right there.. haha, so we did and we just got into his house this week again and he was like "now what about baptisms.." So we committed him then and there to be baptized and he excepted! I have never got a baptism out of tracting before.. COOL! Oh oh, and another cool experience is when we went tracting on saturday morning. This guy opened up the door and we shared the message about the restoration and you could tell the spirit was there and so strong! At the end he was like "ya know, I had the weirdest feeling when I opened the door.. I usually just slam the door, or say I am busy.. but I just had something tell me that I had to listen to this message.. so I did and I love it." We were like WOW! haha So we are going back this next week! Well I hope your Halloween Holidays are fun and you all get loaded up with sugar! I have to be in by 6:00 pm ... so no candy loads for me.. maybe at the ward parties??? haha Alright everyone, be safe and follow the commandments at all times, I love you and the Lord loves you so much more!Love Elder McBride

10-19

Hello! Hope you are all having a great monday! Life is going great here! I survived yet another transfer in Lake Elsinore - which means that will be a whole 1/4 (6 months) of my mission here!! WOW! This is going soo fast, can you believe it!? I am really happy though because me and Elder Fly are going to have a lot of exciting things coming up this transfer...so stay tuned for the adventure!So I was going on splits with one of the High councilmen in our ward/stake (Bro. McBride [Sr.]) and he was talking to this guy who we were teaching and he was like talking about how there were just some missionaries who they wanted them to stay and some to hitch a ride out and how he would miss me soo much like a son... haha a good hence for the name - so I thought that was pretty nifty - - haha or maybe just a good white-lie.. hmmph, well anything makes my happy :)We had Brett Dudley's baptism this Sunday right after stake conference. It was really great.. sadly not a lot of our members showed up for it - but still really peaceful. & a happy ending to his 3 and 1/2 year path to getting baptized!! And yet again - what a blessing to be able to have the priesthood authority of God to be able to perform that oordinance for someone! Just makes you just want to keep doing our Heavenly Fathers work to help more of His children make that dicision!As for our other investigators... Coley McAvoy is doing great [a little side note: we are supposed to have daily contact with our investigators every day - which is kind of hard. Well since Coley reads Preach My Gospel - well he calls us every day and has his daily contact!! haha great man I tell ya!] Oh, and Coley is an actor/singer he has so many awards in his house and has been asked to play in so many lead roles! I will have to video tape him for all of you! sooo funny!! The Florez family (Wendy and Joey) are doing great - we just had another lesson with them and she started crying about the Plan of Salvation saying it was so true! Haha, we were talking about their baptism and she was like .. "WAIT, I can get baptized too! I am not too old??" haha we of course said that she was just under that age limit but better not procrastinate too long.. haha jk! I swear I am a good missionary.. I think???Things are going great and can't wait to tell you what's going to happen within the next couple of weeks. Thanks for your prayers of faith - I tell ya, they are working! I am being so blessed! I know this gospel is true with all my heart!Stay safe,Love Elder McBride

10/12

Hello Family & Friends, Well this week has pretty much been amazing and we are working really really hard! I have really gained a stronger testimony in prayer this week... We have been praying that our investigators would progress and (as our zone focus is on getting our investigators to progress to a baptismal date) that we could set up a lesson where the spirit could be there that we could invite people to come unto Christ by helping them to receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. ...One of the greatest things to complain about in the missionary life is being busy... and let me tell you complain complain complain (but in the best way) Me and Elder Fly have had so many lessons this week and have talked to everyone that we could see out on the streets. Our lessons with our investigators went great and we can really see that Heavenly Father is blessing us here in Lake Elsinore too!We had a lesson with Wendy Florez with her two sons Joey and Ryan. We went over the first part of the Plan of Salvation and they loved it! And are excited to learn the rest. At the end of the lesson we asked if the family if they would all be baptized and they were so excited they of course shouted a yes... haha They are such a fun family - and she is so spiritual because she has had so many of her prayers answered by getting to this very moment in her life. Their date is set for November 8th... Happy Birthday Cass!At the priesthood session of conference the two Elders from the singles ward came up to me and said that they were gonna give us one of the people that they had taught the first lesson to and that he was single - just too old for the singles ward (36) haha. So on Friday we met this guy whose came is Coley McAvoy. We went over to his house and we got to meet him and let me tell you WOWWY - he is so smart and if there is any word that I could use: ELECT to the MAX! We were going to teach the plan of salvation but one of his friends tipped him off to printing out a preach my gospel off the internet - so he did and read, hilighted and applied... He taught us the whole Plan of Salvation EVERY SINGLE piece of it! The crazy thing is that Coley is writing a book and he has been going religion to religion to find the true church and gospel and he prayed before he started the book that it would be a book of God... Well Coley said the when he picked up and started reading Preach My Gospel... THAT WAS HIS BOOK! Obviously not word for word -but it had the same basis and so Coley knew that this was the right thing to do and said that he had found the right church! The next day Coley called and was like "When we get to church can we schedule a baptismal date for me" haha - and all through church he leaned over and whispered "we are going to set up a baptism date right???" haha YES!!!!!! lol -Let me tell ya - best question an investigator can ask! Coley had the best time at church too - I think I am going to have to video-tape him for all of you [he sings and acts and for the girls - he started singing PERFECTLY the elephant love medley to our other investigator Tori Vargis in the hallway at church] haha WHAT A GREAT GUY!!!! We set up a date for November 8th... then he called and said that it wouldn't do and it was going to have to be earlier... so the 1st of Novemeber! hah! He just called today and was like thankyou thankyou - and I'm sending invitations out right now!! hahaThe only bad thing about having 9 people on date is having 9 people on date when you might get transfered!! AHHH Transfers are coming up this next monday and I have been here for 4 1/2 months! Chances are pretty good that President would keep me in Lake Elsinore for at least one more transfer to make 6 months - wow a 1/4 of my mission!! But I just don't know??? haha - if I get transfered we are just gonna have to move all the baptisms to one day so I can come back and have a line-up!! hahaThis recent convert whose name is Pam Lopez; who we have gotten really close to in the past couple of months, well she fell back into her smoking habbit and just will not quit. Last Saturday I went to her house and she was talking to us and in the middle of the conversation she asked her friend for a smoke... WHAT! - I was like: Can't you do that at least when I am not looking!! So I told her friend to NEVER give her a ciggarette again and she was ticked that I told him that. Then I told her that I wasn't leaving till she gave me the ciggarette! We sat there for like 30 minutes talking back and forth about how she needs to stop and I bore my testimony to her. She said that it was the best thing that she had ever heard come out of my mouth... but still that she was not going to give me the smoke.. that broke my heart. It's amazing the grasp that Satan has on some people through things such as drugs. Even when God is speaking they choose to use their God-given agency and choose Satans way :( So we told her that we would come and pray with her every morning that she wouldn't smoke and that she could stay away from it... but still she has her agency to choose right from wrong.Well things are going great - keep the prayers up and I hope everything is working out for the best for everyone and the everyone is safe and sound. I got a letter from my convert Jan Judd and I was so excited haha and [*and Jan I am so proud of you for going to the temple!!!] Well love you all very much!LoveElder McBride!

10/05

Hello and Gud' Morning! Hope everyone had a great week and even a greater weekend watching conference! I am such a dork - I didn't even bring my notes with me! golly, I know - so now your just gonna get the stuff I remember... and the memory bank in Elder McBrides head is not too full ;) hahAnyways this week has been really good. Oh so last week I forgot to tell you that I had such a bad cold and my nose was runny, stuffed and just congested... but still being a missionary I went to all my appointments taught lessons and testified of truth... Haha, then this week a lot of our appointments canceled on us because... they had colds with runny, stuffed and were congested... sound familiar -- What a good sharer I am!!!Everything with my all of my investigators are still going great! We (so far) have 6 baptisms lined up and happening within the next couple of weeks. One, I don't know if I mentioned: but, this guy that me and E. Veater was teaching right when I got to Lake Elsinore (Brett Dudley), well we read the BOM with him but then he just kind of left without telling us... but like a week and a half ago he called me up and was like "I'm coming back and I want to get baptized!!" haha So we met with him on friday night and set up his program and he is getting baptized this Saturday! haha what a blessing.. a quick blessing - haha, the funny thing is - he has been investigating the church for over 2 plus years!! Also a girl named Tori Vargis we set a date with! She is friends with so many of the young women in the ward and has been to so many activities! She pretty much knew everything we taught her - so when we committed her she was like "Yup". haha and then all of her friends that were there at the meeting got up and dog-piled on her giving her hugs! haha And We are going to be setting up a couple more baptism dates this week! So keep praying - Heavenly Father is really blessing us right now! Conference was again a blessing to watch... haha for the 2nd time I got to watch it all the way through!! haha I think my favorite parts of conference though was everytime that Thomas Monson would walk in the room...I don't know why - but I could just feel the Spirit so strong that he is a Prophet of God! And after conference when he came and shook the little kids hands... all I could do was smile - what a great man our Heavenly Father called to lead the people! I have no doubt in my mind at all that he is called by God to lead the people right now and that he speaks to God - If everyone would just search his words, ponder his words, and pray about his words ... like the scriptures say "knock and you shall RECEIVE!"Gotta give it to Elders Holland and Hales! They were so bold! Haha, I think Elder Holland has been getting some anti.. lol. But it's so true! - Why would Joseph Smith die for nothing? Why not just say - 'sorry this book is a lie, don't kill me'??? He wouldn't because it is TRUE! and just like Christ knew that his Gospel was true and their was no denying it - well that was the same gospel that Joseph Smith was teaching - so there was NO denying it!! And I will never deny it!I will share more about what I like next week... when I have my notes.. Love you all so much! Listen and heed to the prophets words! Stay safe and NO GETTING SICK! Love Elder McBride

9/28

Dearest Brothers and Sisters,(haha, thought I would give you a different into...) Hope you are doing great and had a good week! I heard the last puppy just went to someone in Colorado - oh, how sad... I tryed to get people out here to buy it ... but no! haha.So the starting of my good week on last Sunday ("Best Sunday Ever") set a start of a great week! On Monday night we had a lesson at a less actives house in to ward: the Mayo's (who fyi drive Harrison Ford and his mom around - I told them that they can drive them to Lake Elsinore anytime they want... that would be a cool missionary lesson - would Harrison Ford except the gospel??? haha) Anyways, when we were giving the lesson one of the family members: Dylan who is 10 years old was like "I want to be baptized!!" haha, so we talked about them bringing him to church so he could get baptized!Tuesday was really fun! After our District meeting Sister Teter came up and had lunch with Elder Fly and I. It was so fun getting to see her again and to catch up on whats been going on in both of our lives! I seriously love that lady, so many good times we had (haha, didn't we Sis. Teter! Sorry no eggs all over your kitchen though)Oh and this week one of our past investigators that moved called and said that he was moving back and wanted us to baptize him and that he knew everything was true that we taught him and that he wanted to have the true gospel in his life! Haha, it was way cool - something I was never expecting! What a blessing!Oh here's an update for you and my investigators in Corona: if you remember telling me about Rhoda Clark - she was an investigator and really great lady who had a boyfriend in the church - well I just heard that she was getting married to him and that in a couple of weeks going to be baptized! And for my recent convert Rubi Bonilla - she I think had her baby and is doing great! And hopefully I will hear back from the Judd family soon!So that one family I met at Ana Meltons baptism (Wendy Florez and her family). Well we met with them on Friday and we had a great lesson with her. We went through the first lesson and the spirit was there so strongly! She never knew that Jesus Christ was even baptized - so when we mentioned that she was like "WOW, now I see why!..." haha, so pretty much she and her family are going to join the church! Oh, so yesterday we were out talking to these teenagers and this car pulled up and the guy started swearing at these kids and asked them if they hit their kid on his bike and that they couldn't find him. The teens said that they didn't but saw him bleeding a lot and the people in the car started swearing at them then spead away. So we then bore testimony and were about to leave when they spead back again and got out of the car (We power walked away) and they parents started beating up the kids - then this one guy that we talked to before them came out with a gun [just to scare them] (haha, wow - it was like a movie) so we got in the car and we drove away... haha fun cool story... nothing to scary but crazy people! Well Everything is going great over here (promise and didn't mean to scare ya mom). The people in Lake Elsinore are seeming to soften their hearts and tons are just coming to us to get baptized! The Gospel is true I tell ya and it make me just want to smile when people choose to heed to it!Well got to go and love you all so much. Remember to choose the right and follow the spirit! Stay safe and love ya lots!Elder McBride

9/21

Hello Everyone!

How is everyone! Hope you are all doing great! Haha, it looks like the family had a great time at Grandma Edna's 96th birthday party! I love that lady... Hopefully I can get one more lipsticky cheek - that means she'll at least have to make it to 97 and a half!!! Thanks so much for the blog/email/picture updates I love to get them!So this week has been a major busy week... which is of course good for a missionary ;) . We have had meetings meetings meetings, missionary discussions, baptisms and more! Monday was kind of a sad day... We had a meeting with Geo and he said that his dad no longer wants him to take the missionary discussions and for him to look more into his "roots" - talking about how his family is all catholic and how he needs to see what they believe first. So he is going to compare and contrast and then make his dissision of which church he will join. We still plan on hanging out with him at the Yokshas's though! He is a great kid... & the better part - after we drove off he turned to Sis. Yokshas and said that he just felt empty inside and sad that it was all over.. Sis. Yokshas said "well, that's the Spirit!" So at least he felt something - hopefully he will remember that!Tuesday we had an early morning "trainer-trainee" meeting at the mission-home. We learned how to be better trainers and what President was expecting from us. Then as trainers we bore our testimonies. I thought I would bear my testimony about talking to EVERYONE. As missionaries we are expected to talk with EVERYONE we come into contact with - and if we don't we cannot have the Spirit with us because we are not being obedient and if we didn't talk to everyone then who knows if we would miss that 'one' person who would except our message. I told of this one story of this thing that happened the other day: Me and E. Fly were at this one less active members house and the less-active person roomed two men in her house so we came up to the door step and the two men were out on the porch smoking. I passed them and knocked and they said that the member wasn't home so I said thanks and walked back down the sidewalk. Then I felt the spirit whisper that I needed to talk to them.. I thought.. hmm no no, there smoking silly.. haha, but listening I turned around and asked them a couple of questions about what they believed and then started into the first discussion about the Restoration and one of the guys stopped us in our talking and said "hey.. can you guys come with me for a second" so we said "sure" and followed him down the sidewalk to the front of the garage. When we got there he said "I just wanted to bring you over here to tell you that I believe you and felt that your message was true and want to have you come back when my friend is not here because he is not interested, can you come back and teach me?" ... haha, we were like ... UHHH YA! haha, but that was just a cool story that we had about talking to EVERYONE and not judging anyone before you talk to them.Wednesday we had a Multizone meeting in a city named Hemet and I had to go really early in the morning to watch a "defensive driver video" ... golly - I put that I got in a crash on my record when I got into the mission field.. and now had to watch an hour pressentation of how to drive... haha BORING! The funny thing is last night I had a dream I wrecked the mission vehicle... haha, I like totalled the car while backing it into a stall... When I woke up I was like Glory Haleluah!!! That didn't just happen!!! haha The multizone was really great too! Pres. and Sis. Reeves both gave a training together on "Honesty" and how lieing directs the spirit to leave (of course obvious - but the training was soo good.. hmmm, well at least it's in my notes). Oh and guess what the Hemet Relief Society women made us for lunch... Meat ball Subs!!!! I had like 3 of them! haha SOOO good!! Jealous??On Friday I ate dinner at Chili's again! ... just thought ya ought tah know.. I am really making myself hungry..am I making you? No Molten Lava cake though...:'(And on Sunday I had a great day at church! This girl named Hannah Fardig is a member and I went over to her house to have dinner with her family. And I don't know if it's weird, but just with some members I'm like - I really need to get a conection with this family - and I had that with theirs. So I told them that they needed to invite their friends so we could come teach at their house. So everyweek at church when I saw her I would ask how her friends were doing, and then on Sunday she brought 4 girls to church with her and they had a great experience..( to be continued..)@ 5:00 on Sunday we had a baptismal service for Ana Melton! It was really good! There were so many people there, and even her non member father who doesn't like mormons was there to support her! She was so excited and her smile just eluminated the room! Then after the baptism I went up the Hannah Fardig and asked her how her friends liked church and she said that they LOVED it!! and that 3 of them want the missionary discussions and one even said they wanted to get baptized!! haha, how cool huh! I was so excited! and then one of the members pulled me away and took me to Sis. Meltons neighbor who was there at the baptism; Wendy Florez. And Wendy started crying and said that she was so thankful for the church and said that she wanted her and her 3 kids baptized - that through all the years Satan had been working on her and that nothing would stop her know-- she was going to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints!!! Then we gave her a blessing of healing and comfort for her back, because she had been in the hospital a number of times from the pain it gives her. THEN we just found out that the girl that lives with the Meltons: Tiffini Hoff (who is the same age as Ana [12]) can get baptized too - that she had got permission - so basically we are going to be setting up A LOT of baptismal dates! haha, wow can you say BEST SUNDAY EVER! Last night Sis. Reeves called to congratulate us on the baptism and I told her all about our day - and (being the angel and sweet spirit she is) she started crying and saying how greatful she was! It was a way cool experience - I love that lady!And as for today I played at the Yokshas's house all day and had fun with the family! Haha, Susan said she is coming down and going to see what this "muttin-bustin" is... I told them about the kids riding sheep and they never had heard of such a thing... haha, they think we are crazy up in Utah..haha We will show them!!!Well I love you all sooo much! Miss you like crazy! I am having a great time with E. Fly and we are working like crazy! Goll, I don't even think we got a hour to spare in our schedule this week! - Crazy! The Gospel is true everyone and it is so awesome that you get to see all the people that just go to a simple event like church or a baptism and then they feel that spirit that is there and know it - THERE'S A TESTIMONY FOR YOU!! Stay strong, be Safe, Hold True to the iron rod!!Love you sooo much!Elder McBride

9/14

Hello Family and Friends!

How are you all doing? Hopefully well! Well I had a pretty good week here in California - oh and I just have to tell you... it's like 70 degrees outside.. AHHHH feels so good! What a relief from the 105 degree weather!! haha, soon I might be needing to take out my jacket again.. what do ya think...still no snow though :( [I think my hopes of snow this Christmas are a little too high...]
So on Monday Elder Giles moved into the appartment with me. He is a pretty fun kid (he is like 16 months out on his mission). And then on Tuesday Bro. Yokshas picked us up and took us to the "Train the Trainer" meeting in Riverside (in which the AP's taught us how to by good trainers). The meeting was pretty cool, I got to see some of the elders that I have served around. One elders name was E. Potter - and he lives in Logan..hmm small world.. and great last name if I do say so! And then also E. Bosswell was training (I am his mom in missionary lingo terms) he is only 3 months out on his mission too! cool huh!
So after that meeting we went to the mission home to get companioned up with our new missionaries! It was a pretty big incoming (a lot like my incoming) there were 14 new missionaries that came in! We sat in the other room (before we met the missionaries) while President Reeves was finishing his interviews and getting revelation of who to put each missionary with. Then after we all came into their huge living room and had a testimony meeting and got paired up with our new missionaries. My new companion is ELDER FLY! haha and as my mom noted: i get some companions with the weirdest of last names (ex: Veater) haha. After we all received companions we had a great dinner that Sister Reeves made and then went home to Lake Elsinore.
Wednesday we went shopping early in the morning for E. Fly and E. Giles companion (E. Hulet)s stuff. Haha, there was a guy unloading grocieries in the parking lot so we went up to him and the very FIRST person that E. Fly got to talk to the guy was like "You guys are crazy and Nuts!!" haha.. I told E. Fly that that was not what everyone was like.. haha, kind of sad that was his first contact, lol. Then I got to show him around the trailor park to Bro. Gragson and Sis. Lopez.. haha they both shared their stories to him of how they were drug adicts on the street and homeless and how that impacted their life... he was like "uhhhhhh" - maybe I should have saved them for week 2??? NAH!! Then we went to E. Flys first dinner in the mission at the Divines and we had planned a "greenie meal" for E. Fly and so she had dyed EVERYTHING green : chicken, corn, mac and cheese, butter, punch, and the only thing that wasn't dyed green was the broccoli.. haha pretty fun!!!
This week me and E. Fly have talked to so many people. I think with being Senior Comp. and Training someone it gives me the extra push to go and talk to everyone we see! Haha, I asked E. Fly if he thought anything would be different then what it was in the mission already... and he said well I didn't think that I would have a trainer who was as excited and happy as you... haha ... haha, I believe that's a good thing?? haha
So we are going to have a baptism this Sunday! Anna Melton is going to get baptized! I am so happy for her, she is a great girl.. She does have a little teenage girl syndrome.. but can we judge her for that.. haha wish her luck!
Everything else is going good, I am loving Lake Elsinore better. We had a fun luah on Saturday with the ward! Stay safe everyone, love ya soo much!
Love
Elder McBride