01-04

Good Afternoon Family & Friends,Hope you all had a great New Years! WOW 2010!! I can't believe it's already been a decade since the whole Y2K shinagan! Well seeing some of the new years pictures from the family - it looks like you had plenty of fun - that fondu party sounded really yummy! As for our New Years Eve we played Life and Balderdash (so Fun) then my lovely mom sent me some fun little party blowers and poppers and so our appartment stayed up till 10:30 and shot them off. (It was sooooo hard to fall to sleep at 10:30, I felt like an old foggie!)At district meeting this week I had myself and Elder Cason train. Elder Cason trained on making our companionship studies more effective in the mornings. Sometimes it is just hard at 9:00 in the morning not to just play around, but to be serious. When Elder Kenneth Johnson came and talked with us he said that one time (this either happened to him or the prophet/appostles, I can't remember) in a companion study there was a hole in the wall and one day a lady came over and said that every morning she listened to them study together and practice teaching and she wanted to get baptized... haha I wonder to myself if someone was listening to my companionship studies if they would want to convert...I trained on getting more investigators and my training was called "Where's Waldo" mauahaha! Get it? Anyway, our district is not doing so hot on finding investigators and keeping them progressing so I taught on ways that we could do so. Sometimes I think the spirit is offended and can't be with missionaries--because of immaturity. Really I can't believe some of the things that get said in our appartment! So an invitation to repent; to change and be better was addressed and so hopefully everything will be better :) We all did a special fast on it too. Did you know that if you don't pay a fast offering your fast is pretty much meaningless!? -learned that from Elder Williams.It's funny how testimonies of the gospel are often not totally lost, but hidden deep inside. This week we had a lesson with one of the less-active families that we have been working with. They seemed to not be getting anything that we were teaching. But this time Brother Louck had a friend over and Sister Louck invited him in and so this guy sat in on the lesson and it was crazy, every principle that we taught the louck family testified of it! Then at another less-active house; Sister Truelock. She told of earlier in the week how a lady was dissing mormons and how she was like "I could never change, it means so much to me!" Gordon B. Hinkley said that 'if we don't exersize our muscles they weaken'. I think to myself how strong these less-actives can be if they only would exersize their testimonies often!Haha, so funny things that happened this week: We were invited to one of our elderly sisters house. She had said to us to "come and see her snow in her window" so I was like OK, snow right - sounds great to me! [Christmas is no Christmas without snow] So we went over and I looked in her window and ...... cotton balls and vassaline all over her window shapped into Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus (all might I add had halo's over their heads.) I was so bummed! She couldn't make that out of real snow?? Haha, while we were there she showed us all these albums of pictures and she brought out a 'pornagraphous' picture of little baby butts..lol old ladies...what can you do with them??? Yesterday I had some drugs offered to me FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!! Ya cool huh! But I said no :) Haha, we were talking to a couple of punk kids out on the road and the kid flashed me a little bag of them and asked if I wanted it ... golly! Missionaries and moving people in and out seem to go together like speghetti and meatballs out on the mission! This week we got to help a older sister in the ward move to another same size appartment in her same appartment complex. We were very wrong to think that since she was living single she would not have too much stuff.... Oh how we were mistaken.. we forgot the 'old factor'! Piles and piles of crap! And it didn't help that she wanted everything perfectly PILED into her next appartment... haha silly old California people!Oh and so I got to have lunch with a couple of people this week! Brother Kenn Young from Lake Elsinore called and took me, Elder Cason and Brenda Franklin to an expensive Italian restaurant. It was really cool to find out that Brother Yound actually was one of Brenda boss's at work.. Then also this week my convert Rubi Bonilla and her boyfriend Allo came down from Corona and had lunch with me and Elder Williams. Me and Elder Williams told them that they had to get married SOON!! She was pregnate when she got baptized and so they need to get married! I will send pictures of her - I don't think you have any of them.Well I love you all so much! Stay safe! have a great week, thanks for the blog updates and pictures! Christmas & new Years looked like a blast and CONGRATULATIONS MAGGIE ON THE BAPTISM!!!! I am so proud of you!!!Love Forever Elder McBrideOh PS... They are getting a New Elder McBride in the mission so the mission has told me to have everyone know to WRITE ELDER PATRICK or P. MCBRIDE on their letters :)P.P.S Holy, not to be "of the world" but Brittany Murphey died! All the stars are dying!!

12-28

Hello Family & Friends!Hope you all had an AMAZING Christmas and will have a Great New Years!Haha, so since I have been waiting for my computer in the library I have made a new friend Michael Miles.. haha he is a little 3 year old who keeps coming up to me and saying he got a "fire iPod" for christmas... iPods make fire now... goll, I am missing so much! haha He asked me my name and I said Elder McBride.. and so he keeps saying "Elore, Elore..." and I look at him and he says "what, I didn't say anything.." haha He asked me if I worked here and I pulled out a picture of Jesus Christ and said "nope, I work for Him" I was like "oh". I told him it was Jesus Christ and so now he is going around to everyone in the library and asking them if they want a picture of Jesus.. haha It's so funny! This week we have been very busy [ya, you think we would be less busy and get to relax... NOT THE CASE!] But one things for sure, we had fun! So these unknown parents of a missionary out here gave each missionary in the mission a $50 gift card to Walmart as a Christmas present... which is about $10,000 total!!! They said that we could spend it on ourselves.. OR we could be selfless and spend it on those who need help in the ward... so Elder Cason and I thought of some people who needed help and went shopping for toys ... also I bought a visa gift card so I could go to the Ensign store to buy scripture stickers to Brenda F. (which she loved) haha.So my Zone Leader out here in Riverside is Elder Williams! And on Wednesday we got to go on a companion exchange. It was really fun! We went around caroling to houses with his guitar and singing to people. We had a miracle experience of going into this appartment building that Elder Williams had always wanted to go into (but his companions had not). So we went and asked people if they knew anyone who would want us to sing to them. We talked to a couple of people and were lead to this one couple who rad to their door and the wife was like "oh my gosh, this is the first time that I have ever had carolers!" And in the middle of the song the man was like "oh, it's the Elders!" This man had friends in the church who had told him that he needed to come check our religion out... AND WE WERE LEAD TO THEM! They greatfully took a pamphlet and told us to come back... too bad it is in Elder Williams area; so I won't be going back.Christmas Eve we made some cookies for our Less actives and Recent Converts (we are running out of investigators, but we would have made cookies for them too.) We delivered them and shared a Christmas message and then went over to our dinner at the Jorgensens. You would have never guessed what we had for dinner....Tomallies...Ya, so not a Christmas tradition, but it was good... no complaining :) They gave each of us a huge gift basket for Christmas after we played Scattagories and sang happy birthday to Jesus.. haha just a little weird???Calling home was seemed like a dream... so WEIRD! I dialed the number and just starred at it on the phone for like 5 minutes before calling... kind of scarry! haha, but I was so glad that I was able to make it throught the calls with no "allergies" or tears... all except for a couple of times ;) I love all of you soo soo much and it was so great to hear ALL of your voices! That hour and a half went by FAST!Well I love you all so much! Thanks for all the Christmas presents! I loved them all so much! I might just gain a couple of pounds, but it will be worth it! haha Hope you all have a great New Years! Stay safe, keep the Christmas spirit, and love you again!Love Elder McBridePS. Brenda said that you can call her anytime to chat :)

12-21

Dearest Family and Friends,MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Oh my gosh - this month has flown by sooo fast!! Already the 21st of December... Christmas Eve's Eve Eve Eve!! WOW! I hope you have all had a great month and the seasons caoticness hasn't dampered the spirits. Myself & Elder Cason went shopping today at Walmart and it was CRAZY! My mind was like AHHHHH, get me out of this store! There were so many people (don't people know that only missionaries shop on Mondays?! Oh, maybe that's why everyone was there..) goll. So this week was filled with exchanges between me & my district. First on tuesday I went with Elder Ross. Well this exchange was something a little different than what I had ever been on before. Elder Ross is deaf. He could just hear barely in his left ear and so the exchange was rather quiet - but really benificial to me. Sometimes it takes looking at someone without something to be thankful for the things you have! Sign language is so awesome to look at - wickedly fast! [hah, do you like my Harry Potter word.. mauahaha - oh, I saw the dvd on the shelf ..AHHH.. jk i'm good with it]Next I went with Elder Proffit. We had a great day in which we had a lesson with one of our investigators Keith. Right before the lesson me and E. Proffit were talking and we decided to just commit him for baptism. Also being a little different than any other investigator, Keith is a paraplegic (his arms don't function) & he has to be hooked up to his oxygen system 24/7. He is so humble that when we committed him he said "well I feel the spirit and I will pray - and if God says so, I will do." How Nephi-like!My last exchange for my district was with Elder Blackett. We had some pretty awesome experiences! we first went to visit a less active and when we knocked on the door there was no answer so we turned around and right next door and man and his wife was pulling out of the parking lot and so we ran over and caught them. At first they told us that we needed to look and read into our scriptures more.. we talked for like 20 minutes about scripture and then myself and Elder Blackett got bold and the spirit just took off. We shared with them about the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation and comfounded them! At the end we asked if they wanted to take a Book of Mormon.. they nodded there heads up and down and said.."yahhhh". Afterward me and E. Blackett were talking and we found out in the middle of the conversation when it wasn't getting anywhere we both said a prayer that the spirit would be there and that they would except! 10 minutes later we were tracting on another street and a guy answered the door and asked us to hold on for a second.. seconds later he brought out his bible (and we all know what this meant... BIBLE BASH) well we answered his questions and comfounded again and he let us in excepted everything we said and we knelt and prayed with him and he invited us to come back! That night we went up to this park and walked up a hill and saw a young boy and girl probably in their early 20's looking at the view of the city lights. We talked with them and they both got kicked out of their churches. After hearing a lesson they too excepted a Book of Mormon! Wow! What a great day and testimony builder!Oh before I forget.. Happy Birthday Maggie McBride! I love you so so much! Happy 8th birthday! I can't wait to see pictures of your baptism!Brenda Franklin (our recent convert) loved you mom! She was so greatful that she got to talk to you! She took my hand and started tearing up and told me that I was to never forget what we did for her and all the experience we had. It is crazy the impact a person can have on another persons life. I heard this quote from one of my favorite talks from Elder Bill Carpenter. He speaks on how 'the desision of a missionary not choosing to serve a mission does not just effect him - but the life of those whom he would come into contact with'. While on his mission he taught and baptized this lady and when she had received her patriarchal blessing it said that she would have joined the church 10 years earlier if the missionary then would have excepted his call to serve a full time mission. I am so glad that I have chosen to serve my Heavenly Father on a mission and bring the gospel to those that I am called to.The gospel is perfect, full of imperfect people. Our Heavenly Father has a plan and we have a "get out of jail" free card - our Savior! As we choose to use the card our lives can progress and have the happiness that our Heavenly Father wishes to give us, but as we choose to keep our burdens the blessings he wishes to give us can't come. I am so greatful for the gift of repentance and am trying to use it. I am so greatful for my Savior and especially around this Christmas season it is such a great time to re-commit our selves, and then, like our beloved prophet Thomas Monson declared "may we have Christmas all year round" the true Christmas - the spirit of it, the commitment of a new life formulated around the gospel of Jesus Christ.I love you all very very much. I am so happy that I will get to talk to with my family - I am so happy my Heavenly Father gave me each of you! Stay safe for the Holidays!Love, Elder McBridePS. I believe I will call at 1:00 here... and so 2:00 there. Oh, and President Reeves said that you should each prepare questions that you want to ask so we can make the use of our short time ;] & Hopefully we can get a word across this time... haha ;')

12-14

Hello Family & Friends!Hope you are all having a great Christmas season! I am glad to say that people actually do lights down here.. goll, if it wasn't for that I wouldn't know it was December! Haha, we even got a ton of Aprils showers - - I think Miss Mother Nature is a little confused.. but now all too soon it's back to hot weather... anyone want to send me some snow for Christmas?? haha Oh my gosh, isn't December going soo fast! I can't believe it ... we are almost 2 weeks down! Going from my home in Lake Elsinore (where I had so much work & investigators) to Riverside is kind of ... humbling?? Me & Elder Cason are trying our hardest to find new people to teach and talking to everyone... but seriously the fish arn't biting! I guess I should look at the glass half full - we do have a couple of investigators and we just baptized one of them on Sunday.That lady who I wrote about last week (Brenda Franklin) got baptized. Elder Veater and Cason found her tracting one day when they were trying to talk to this one lady she yelled at them ... so they went around the corner quickely and found Brenda who was having a very rough time in her life (her mom and brother just died). She excepted the invitation for the elders to come back and teach her. They taught her for a month and then I came. She is such a great lady and I have never seen the gospel change someones life so much as it has changed hers! Really the term of true repentance and godly sorry is Brenda. On Tuesday we had a meeting with her and at the last of the meeting we brought up standards.. well Brenda said she wanted to live the gospel fully so she asked about the 4 earings she had in one ear and 3 in the other. So I told her right out that the church had proclaimed that they just want girls to have one set of earings... she started bawling and said that each hole had a reason for it... but at the end said that I would never see her with more than one set in her ears ever again. WOW!! She knows it's not for me - that it's for her Savior.. but she is just soo great and wants to do everything she can to follow our Heavenly Fathers commandments! She says that I am "brutal" with her.. but her moto is "keep it real" and says that's what I do .. haha... I'm brutal with love :)The service for her baptism was wonderful! Elder Veater even got to come back and see... so we had a fun reunion! Brenda was so scared that she was going to have to do it twice... haha and the funny thing is ... lol, her leg came up and she did. I told her it just goes to show how meaningful that we need to have such a sacred saving ordinance performed corectly! Oh & mom, Brenda said that she is going to call and talk to you - so be expecting a call sometime or another :) Tell her to slow down when she speeds ;)I even got to go back to Lake Elsinore this week to go to one of my investigators baptisms. It was for Maria Saucedo. Haha, but I just didn't get a free ticket to watch it... I had to give the talk.. haha, the first thing I thought of was the talk that I did for Brackens baptism... with the props... but considering I didn't have the stuff I would have to just use my words. It was a very good talk if I do say so myself... maybe I will right it up for you.. I swear the Spirit helped me write it!Good luck Kolten in the mission field and MTC, you'll love it and see you in 2 years buddy!Happy Birthday again Cami hope you had a great 20th!!! And Happy Birthday to you Shawn and Mom again I love you all!Well I hope you are all doing great and are remembering the reason for the season! Stay safe, I love you all so much. I may not write that many letters, and I am sorry but that does not mean I love you any less! God bless & LoveElder McBride

12-07

Hello Family & Friends How are you!I hope all is well and you are having a great first week of the Christmas Holidays! I can't say there is a lot of snow here.. but I believe I said this before.. I think I am comforming to California's "cold" weather... I have to wear a sweater... haha (I think your right mom, I am going to die when I come home to feet of snow!) Is there a lot of snow yet down there?My new home is good and I live with two other missionaries besides myself and Elder Cason (Elders Fairbanks & Blackett) and I am the older in the mission than all of them - I really just feel like I got out here! My district that I cover is bigger than usual I have: Elders Cason, Fairbanks, Blackett, Rutland, Ross, Roesbeck, & Proffit. I have not yet got to train them ... but will next Tuesday i believe... goodie goodie.. haha it will be good. I have faith.Elder Cason is a good guy, we have had a lot of fun and he is a talker! He is from Virginia too... and Elder Veater is training again and is training another Elder that came in from Virginia... so pretty much .. we are going to have a lot of connections there..hahaSo a neat experience: Elder K. Johnson said that we needed to (in our discussions) ask our investigators if they feel the spirit... so me and Elder Cason was in a discussion with this black lady named Brenda Franklin and we commited her for baptism. She is so ready and started bawling because the spirit was so strong [oh my gosh - I have never literally seen "godly-sorrow" like that] She was really scared, but I stopped her and asked her if she felt the spirit... she stopped and she said "yes"... Later on sunday she bore her testimony and said that she never knew what the spirit felt like until that time! Sometimes it just takes a little noticing.. stopping.. pondering - then we can take some time out of our busy caotic lives to feel the spirit.The Christmas devotional was so great too. Don't you just get a stronger testimony when you see our beloved propet speak! awh, I love it! I know that this gospel is true and that it can change lives, I've seen the miracles that our Savior Christs atonement has brought on peoples lives!I love you all so much! Stay safe in the snow! Love and live the gospel!FYI my addresses are :-3233 Arlington Ave. Ste 107 Riverside, CA 92506-3246 (mission office)-5200 Canyon Crest #75 Riverside, CA 92507 (my appartment)Love you all so much!!Love Elder McBride

11-30

Buenos Afternoon! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are all stuffed fat with food... cause I know I am - haha, so much pumpkin pie, dessert, turkey and good stuff :) So weird to not be home though for a huge holiday! I am glad that I had the Yokshas family to hang out with and are greatful for the 6 months that I have had to get to know their family. Your gonna die when I tell ya though... NO Banana cream pie! AHHHHHHHHHH kill me now! oh great.. now I am craving it again..hahaSo this past week has been pretty good. I have been focusing a lot on what Elder K. Johnson of the seventy had to say at the Multi-zone meeting. Really it was so great! Reading over my notes there were so many things that were talked about and so many subject hit on, but when the spirit was there it all was connected into one huge topic.. well at least what the spirit whispered to me was: improvement. Harold B. Lee said, "The gospel of Jesus Christ was not only intended to comfort the afflicted, but to afflict the comforted." -Meaning that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not easy and never has been. If we are just laying around and not doing anything; as the scriptures say - that is "slothful" and lazy. Sometimes as a missionary and as well as members of the church we kind of lose focus of the main thing - that the gospel is not meant to be easy. So many times are we "there" physically, but not spiritually. I know there is room for improvement with me, and there will always be room!So 6 months in Lake Elsinore & I am finally hitting the road and touring else where. Wow, it's been so long in one spot - it's funny because I really didn't like Elsinore when I got here.. but it grows on ya. Saying goodbyes are always the worst, but I told them that in the 2011's I would be seeing them again :) One of the less actives that we have been working with freaked out when I told him. He said he was calling the bishop and prophet to tell them they are NOT transfering me.. haha too funny - he said something that really made me smile though. He said that if I did nothing else in my mission besides what I did for him - my mission would all be worth it... goll. And sometimes this guy made me soo mad with his smoking and drinking.. but in the end ya gotta love each other!My new companion is going to be Elder Cason and guess what... Elder Veater just trained him ... so missionary wise: I am going to be his "mom" and "step dad" hahaha... I am sure we will have tons of fun. So on Saturday morning I got a call from president Reeves... calling me to be a district leader.. ahhh, meaning I have to give trainings to my district of missionaries every week and look out for all of them... pray for me - I will need your help and the Lords!Well I got to go.. I will send my address next week. Hopefully I can get everything packed that I need to... it's amazing the stuff that piles up when you sit in one place for 6 months!Love you all! Stay safe follow the spirit and look for improvement and progression! Love ya Kolton and have fun on your mission, good luck with everything. Remember the Spirit is KEY!Love Elder McBride

11-23

Dearest Family & Friends, Crazy to say by this time last year we were scampering all around to buy my mission clothes and get me ready for my two year cruise over to California! I have learned so much already and can't wait for more ahead! I am so greatful for everything my Heavely Father has given me. In Prayers we always say the rote "thankyou for everything that Thou has given me..." but do we really mean it? I have been trying to have meaningful prayers to my Father in Heaven and I have learned so much from doing so & how greatful I am for the many blessings which he chooses to bless my life with.I am greatful for a restoration of our Heaveny Fathers Gospel. Being born in the church, blessed, baptized @ 8, receiving the priesthood at 12 - I don't think I really stopped to smell how lucky the roses I have are. And sadly I think if I would have not gone on my mission I might have been wearing a blind fold all my life. Actually seeing and teaching people that don't have the happiness of the Gospel in their lives and then bringing it to them and seeing that change in their countenance has changed my perspective. How greatful I am for my testimony! I know with a surety that God is living and that his Son is Jesus Christ and that they answered prayers and gave revelation in the past with love and is forever going to answer prayers and give that revelation to His children in these days because of His LOVE. I know that with all my heart we have a prophet today who is Thomas S. Monson and that he loves each and everyone of us dearly and that his holy mantle was restored back to this earth to give the world His truth.I am thankful for my family. There was a talk that I believe that Jeffery R. Holland gave and he spoke about a relationship between a man and wife and how it is eternal. 'Not just because they learned to like and love each other and got cozy on earth, but it is much more than that - it is an eternal bind.' I am so greatful that me and my family are sealed together forever. That if I choose to be with them by following my promises to God - I CAN. A family is more than getting cozy - it is a bind! And there is no one else that I would love to be bound to then to my family right now and mine in the future.I am thankful for my friends that I have. "Everything happens for a reason" A term which is a little cliche - but is true. Not always has life been easy but it gives experience and "experience worketh hope and faith". I am thankful for the friends I have that have kept me going, that have given me happiness (& laughs) and that have given me a good example :)I am greatful for food... well I am :)The coming of our Savior is close at hand, It is so cool to see it too. When people come to you and want to get baptized and learn more. We tracted into a 21 year old (Justin Underwood) and we taught the first lesson on the doorstep and commited him to be baptized - and after a couple of weeks I got to baptize him yesterday. Yesterday a guy came into church saying that he had a girlfriend 4 years ago and remembered her saying that she was mormon. He said right out "I want to be baptized mormon - can you make that happen?" Today I sat down in my chair to type this message and a guy came to me Named Juan Carbs [haha funny last name] and said that he wanted us in his house to teach his family - that his boy needed God and so did he and his family. The Gospel is true and the time is getting so close!I have never been in the actual presence of a prophet, apostle, or 70 and shook their hand... and then on Saturday one came to our mission - Elder Kenneth Johnson. It was amazing! The spirit was so strong when he spoke! He spoke on how we could better ourselves as missionaries in our teaching. That it is not us that converts, it's the spirit - and that sometimes we stand in the way of the spirit getting to our investigators - when really we need to step back and let the spirit work. I will have to tell you more later about what I learned... but again, I am so greatful for a restoration of my Heavenly Fathers church, to know the simple truths He wishes to give us - all through prophets, seers, and revelators.I love you all so much! You all mean the world to me. Stay safe. "keep the faith". Love always and be Thankful!Love Elder McBride

11-16

Hello Brothers and Sisters, Hope you all had a great week! Mine was great!So this week me and Elder Fly have been teaching a lot of our investigators - we bearly have time to tract (which we are supposed to do for an hour each day.) The only sad thing is when we go over and they haven't kept their committments to read the Book of Mormon or on Sunday to go to church.We got to have a "relax" lesson @ the Flores famlies house (haha, everytime we have a baptism that Wendy Flores comes to we only show 3/4 the "Restoration" DVD so she has been wanting to see the rest of it - so we watched that) It was really fun we brought over popcorn and her husband even sat it and watched. Afterward we asked if she knew how Joseph Smith died and she was like "NO, don't tell me in a bad way.." Joseph Smith was persecuted every single day since he saw that miraculous vision. When I was with Elder Williams I got a stronger testimony in the prophet Joseph Smith. Elder Williams said that in his mind Joseph Smith and Christ went through the most of any persecution than any man had ever gone through - which is true if ya think about it - not one day was the same for Joseph after that day in the woods... Many want a vision from angels and God ...but I don't think many want that kind of persecution. So really great experience that happened.. One day while we were at dinner we got a message from this one lady that lives in Murrieta (a couple of miles away) and she said to call her back ASAP, so I did. She told me that she was a therapist and that she had a new patient come into her today. She said that never are you to mix religion with work.. BUT with this older lady who came in telling her her problems she had the strongest urging to share with this lady the Book of Mormon. She said she tried to fight it, but couldn't anymore.. She did it.. and the lady loved it and wanted to hear more. She gave the lady (Katherine) a copy of it and said that the missionaries would call her. Later we called Katherine yet another amazing part.. she said that she was in our church parking lot the other day and knew she "had" to come into our church to learn more & she lives like 3 blocks away from the church. She said that she would come to church and she DID!! and said that she felt the spirit so strongly & said that she was led here! WOW, how cool huh!The baptism for Wendy and Joey Flores was also amazing... we got some pretty good pictures I'll have to send you. I couldn't help but do a grinchly grin when I saw each of their faces when they came out of the water... oh the spirit was so sweet... and the worst part is when you congratulate ladies or children for their baptisms... This no hugging thing stinks!!! but rules are rules and I will be obedient :) I have no idea if I am going to be leaving Lake Elsinore or not... Nov. 30th will be transfers...Got to go, God be with you, be safe and I love you all!Love Elder McBride

11-09

Dear Family & Friends, Hope you are doing great! & a special shout out to my Birthday bro & sis - HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN & CASSIE!!! The cold, flu & sickness has been going around... this past week EVERYONE in our appartment caught it.. and of course all at different times. Mine was a huge migrane and runny/stuffy nose... but with the Yokshas's magical cinnamon drink I was only a couple of hours in bed (good it was a planning day!) So whats the deal with the Swine Flu now a days?? Elder Fly says his whole family has the swine flu and are trying to get over it... he told me his bro died... but then after me freaking out he said "just kidding"... golly!It is so awesome how you can feel your testimony grow. When you know something is true because everything just perfectly flows together! Elder Giles and I were talking this week about the plan of salvation and the Atonement and I guess through life I just didn't ask any questions and just excepted everything how it is ... but didn't grow and put things together. We talked about how the Atonement is so neccesary or "expedient" as the scriptures put it. It just ... (and I am going to use a word that literally describes:) bamboozled my mind on how this is the real gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so lucky that we have scripture, pray, the spirit and modern day revelation to gain more knowledge of our Heavenly Fathers plan.. so long I have taken it for granted... but now I am studying studying and praying!Sorry so short, but we have to go.. love you all and keep up the prayers! talk to you in a week and stay safe and close to the Lord!Love Elder McBride

11-02

Hello Family & Friends, Hope you all had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! And hope your November goes happy too! Goll, we can keep saying it.. this is going by soo fast! we are only like 60 days away from Christmas.. can you believe it?!! wow!Well my Halloween was good! For the day it was pretty much the same stuff we went to appointments ... well me and Elder Hulet went to appointment because Elder Fly was really sick and has been for the past couple of days :( and then at 6:00 we had to be in so we wouldn't be out with the crazy drunken people on all hallows eve. So we all had a game of Monopoly and I played the worst I have ever played in my life (goll, after all those times of beating Dustin too!) But it was really fun.. then we got to play twister.. haha 4 guys and twister...haha only pictures can tell how fun it was...Wow, Sunday was yet another great day! For church Tiffini Hoff asked me if I could confirm her a member of the church and confer the Holy Ghost... (I haven't ever done that before) so I was just a little scared - but with a prayer and my Heavenly Fathers help I was able to follow the spirits guidance and do it. And also Brett Dudly received the Holy Ghost and both him and Coley McAvoy [even though he's not a member yet] bore their testimonies in sacrament meeting, and tell ya what - SOO spititual! lol, Coley went on for 10+ minutes and telling stories too (and remember he is an actor too - so he acted his testimony out up on stage) - can a testimony be hilarious and spiritual at the same time?? hahaThe baptisms were great that night. We had one for Coley at 5:00 and one for Dylan Weare at 6:14 (time because his favorite verse in the bible is Noah made his arc out of Gopher wood, lol) One of the most rewarding parts of a baptism or even teaching someone is seeing right after the come up out of the water and the smile shine on their face! Again, I love you all and hope you all had a great holiday! Stay safe and keep up that smiling! Love Elder McBride