Goodbye CCM

So now that I'm finally leaving the CCM I suppose it's only fair that you hear in painstakingly sufficient detail what it's like to be here.

Every day is the same except Sunay and Tuesday so we'll just pretend it's a Thursday.

My companion´s alarm goes off at about 6:25. After a blessed 5 minute snooze I climb off the top bunk and say my morning prayers. I groggily gather up all my stuff and head to the bathroom. Depending on how early everyone else is up, I usually have to wait about 5 minutes for a shower(there are about 30 of us on our floor that have to use the 12 or so showers.)

After I finish getting ready my companion and I get to our classroom at about 7:30. The first four weeks we had only 30 minutes of personal study, with another hour right before bed, but these last two weeks we´ve had a full hour in the morning and none at night.

The food here is amazing. But it can be strange at times. Breakfast is usually the strangest of the meals, with some variation of sausage, fried bananas, beans, burritos, nacho cheese, and mixed peppers; occasionally we'll have pancakes.

Then we head to our class. Our first teacher is Hermana Cuque. She teaches us until about 2 o clock. She´s really fun, but her english isn't always the best, so sometimes I get to translate for the rest of the class:) With her we teach América, who is a mother of 4 kids who is very receptive of the Gospel. She was supposed to get baptised last week, but she backed out last minute and, turns out, all of a sudden
has a bunch of doubts. We are really focusing on works with her and trying to get her to realize what the spirit is asking her to do.

When we're not teaching her we are either in class, or teaching another district in role plays, or working on the infamous TALL language system. 

Sports. Every day besides Sunday since we've been here we've had time to go out to our little enclosed, netted, concrete play yard and play either basketball or volleyball. My districts really good. We can´t keep score, so its always just a blast and it doesn't matter how good or bad of a day you have, you just have fun.

Last Pday my district got 4 and 2 (I was on the team that got second!) in the MTC basketball championship.(which was sanctioned by President, so he let us keep score just that once) It was a ton of fun, but I definitely understand why we  dont keep score, it just gets too competitive.

Well, we had sports in the middle of the day for the first four weeks, so I got some pretty good sun those weeks, but these last two weeks we've had night sports, which are different, but WAY cooler because the sun isn´t there.

In the afternoons, we have Hermano Bajan.

Hermano Bajan is my hero.

He has only been back from his mission 6 months (probably actually 7 now that we've been here so long...) He always pushes us so hard, but makes it so much fun. He seems so much older than us, but he is only about 5 months older than one of the Elders in my district. It just goes to show you how much a mission can change you, and make you so
mature. I want to be like him when I grow up.

Grammar is awful(But i still love it). I've literally beaten TALL. I finished all the grammar and I´ve done several hundred words since I've been here. Every time we learn grammar in class, the likelihood that I learned it a couple of years ago is extremely high. I try my best to help everyone else in the district understand, I feel like its one of the reasons that I'm still here right now. Needless to say I´m very excited for the field.

With Hermano Bajan we have taught Pablo, Max, and Pedro. Pablo died. Max got baptized. And Pedro is a blind man, so I guess you could say that We've had some pretty amazing teaching experiences with him. the funny thing is how all three of our investigators look like they could be quadruplets with Hermano Bajan...

I love teaching. you really do feel the love of God when you do it right. It has become one of my favorite things to do. ¡¡¡I can not wait to teach real people!!!

Lunch and dinner are so great. They have some pretty amazing food here. It would take me too long to explain it, but you should probably be jealous. At lunch we get some ice cream. I like the ice cream.

The days literally race by. It only takes about 3 seconds to get from Personal Study to sports at night, I swear. I´ve only been out here like 5 minutes... Right?

No. I´ve learned far to much here. From my teachers, from my district, from my Latino friends, and, most importantly and abundantly, from my Lord. My testimony has been strengthened, and my ability to share it in Spanish has increased tenfold, if not more.

I know that the Atonement is real. Healthy people don´t go to the Hospital to be saved. Sick people do: people with injuries, some life threatening, some not, but all seeking to be succored. Jesus Christ´s Atonement is not for perfect people. Those who are whole need no physician. We are all hurt spiritually, and we all need to be succored by Christ's Infinite and Everlasting Atonement.

We can all be healed through His Love.

We can all be strenghthened through his grace.

Yo  SÉ que eso es verdadero. Estoy seguro que todos de nosotros pueden regresar a vivir con Dios si seguimos Su Hijo, y hacemos las cosas que Él nos ha preguntado.

I know that He loves you. YOU. You, me, and every other person on this Earth. I think If we understood that better we wouldn´t be so hard on ourselves. He WANTS you to turn to Him. He WANTS you to believe. He will help you overcome ANYTHING, but we have to ask him. The promise is ASK, and ye shall receive. WE HAVE TO ASK.

Please ask Him.

A week from today I will be in the mission field.

I can´t wait.

Nos vemos.

Elder McFarland