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| Me And My Buddy Carlos |
This week was something else and it went by very fast. It
was filled with happy and sad moments, a car accident and a drawing. So I will
start with the car accident. Saturday we had a branch talent night. The
activity went great and I made some killer beans and meat, seriously almost
everyone wanted to know how to make the beans and meat. Anyway after the
activity was over one of our members was crossing the street and she got hit by
a car. The car was going way to fast and I’m pretty sure he was high. I was inside
cleaning and I heard all these screams. I was like what is happening so I started
to go outside to see what was going on and the old branch president came
running in and said, “Elder give her a blessing!” And I asked, “Who???” Then I
walk out the door and saw what had happened. A grandma and her granddaughter
had been hit by a car. The granddaughter was holding her grandma in her arms
and it appeared things weren’t so good. Everybody was crying uncontrollably and
trying to explain to me and my comp that Hermana Juana was run over. My comp
and I were trying to calm everybody down to evaluate what needed to be done. I
go and talk to the driver of the car and the branch members and my comp carry Hermana
Juana and her granddaughter inside to our beds. I walk inside to our room to
better determine the situation. I talk to the granddaughter first and she says
her knee and hip hurts but she can walk and of course she is badly shaken up. I
then talk to Hermana Juana and she tells me she is fine and not to worry about
her but take care of her granddaughter. The paramedics finally got to the
church and let me just say they looked like freshman in high school and their
knowledge was about the same. They quickly looked over Hermana Juana and her
granddaughter and said they look fine, call if you need anything. They didn’t
bother in doing any kind of tests or treat them in anyway. I was like serious
that’s it. The worst thing of all is they said you should probably get an x-ray
but we can’t take you to the hospital. The police were just as bad. Everyone
was arguing who would take her to the hospital. An hour and half later she is
finally taken to the hospital and they took some x-rays, she broke her hip. I
did give her a priesthood blessing, which I know brought her comfort and
patience. It was crazy.
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| The Good Samaritan |
On Saturday I was so frustrated because we didn’t have
many appointments that day and our first appointment fell through. I was pretty
flustered, so I sat down at my desk and was thinking what am I going to do. I
felt impressed to draw. I was stumped at that thought but I started to draw and
I ended up drawing the Savior. That picture of the Savior is the first true picture
I have drawn in 4 years. As I was drawing my anger and frustration left me and
I felt calm and peaceful. That impression was a definite tender mercy.
This week we had divisions with the Santa Ana elders. I
stayed and my comp went to Santa Ana. The elder I was with is struggling, I
mean truly struggling. He is losing the desire to serve. We had an amazing conversation
that night and the next morning. That night he was like we are going to
practice your Spanish. So we did and I was just asking him questions then I
felt I should ask how has your mission been so far and what does your mission mean
to you. He looked at me and said you truly want to know and I said yes I do. He
broke down and shared with me his struggles. I just sat there in silence which
was hard for me to do because I wanted to say something or reach out and
comfort him. But I felt I just needed to listen. I had tears coming down my
face and I listened to him and instantly I was engulfed by the spirit. After he
finished I sat there pleading to Heavenly Father to help me with what I should
say and I truly received help. I told him you have a very great blessing but a
truly very difficult blessing and he was like what do you mean. I said you are
walking in the Savior’s footsteps, you have walked somewhat of the path He walked,
felt somewhat He felt, you had a very small glimpse what it might have like to
be in the Garden of Gethsemane with the Savior. You carried your cross to Calvary.
In your own way you have walked to shoulder to shoulder with the Savior. Then I
shared with him a quote from Elder Holland, “If you wonder if there isn’t an
easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone
a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier
way. The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly
than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected,
when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are
standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and
perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the
Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The
only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to
eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” As I said those
words I looked at his eyes and could see his cries for help had been turned to peace.
It truly was a special night. The next morning he asked, “Hey what does
God see in us?” I told him he sees our potential, he also sees our weaknesses
that need to be strengthened. He sees us as his sons and daughters. He was like OK. Then it hit me, that the almighty God, the most powerful being in the
universe sees US. He sees the real US. He sees through the filth, the short
comings, and the natural man. He sees US as we can become. He never forgets any
of us, none of are forgotten. Then he says hey Mac you wanna know something I said
if you want to tell me I will listen. Again I listened and I could feel he felt
alone. When he finished talking and I looked at him with tears in my eyes and
asked him he wanted a blessing. As I was giving him a blessing I felt Heavenly
Father’s love for him. After that experience I learned and still learning what
a truly successful missionary is. It is not about the number of baptism you
have or positions you hold. It is about being like the Savior. Having your
hands become his hands. People seeing Him in you. It is bringing souls unto Him
by reactivating, baptizing, strengthening faith in your branch or ward. It is
helping your companion. It is being the one who truly listens, who rescues the
lost, the lonely, and comforts those that need comfort and mourns with those
who mourn. A truly successful missionary goes unnoticed. I believe that
the best, the most loving actions of the Savior are the things that went unnoticed,
the things that weren’t written. Honestly my mission has helped me to understand
where I am going in life and what I want to be for the rest of my life. I am grateful
for this church and my Savior. I am grateful for prayer. Prayer is the passport
to peace. Never forget to pray.
What I love about Mom is that she keeps me up to date on
mission calls. What I love about Dad is that he helps with my calling.
Ducks Forever-
With love,
Elder Mcilmoil
March 24, 2014
Tortilla count for the week: 56 (this week we had beans
every single night!! Also our dinner here always has one egg; it does get old
with only one egg with beans.)
Scripture of the week: 3 Nefi 28:11 and Doctrina y
Convenios 17:6
“Stay true to what you know to be right.” President
Uchtdorf
“Because love is not shaped like a heart. It's shaped
like a cross. And salvation is not free. It was bought with a price, and that
price was through Calvary and Gethsemane. For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son.” VIC UNGA
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Guatemalan Ninja Turtle
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