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