Malipayong Pasko ug Maayong Bag-ong Tuig!

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

This past week has been great. We had a baptism on Christmas! Angelo Sinining was baptized on Christmas. He's so solid. He was confirmed and received the priesthood yesterday. He wants to come work with us on Saturday and pass the Sacrament on Sunday. He's made it a goal to finish the Book of Mormon before next August. I'm so thrilled for him!

After I skyped you all we went to our District meeting and talked about recognizing the Spirit. It is important to realize whose work this really is. We as missionaries are just the mouthpiece. We need to follow the Spirit because the words of the Lord are a thousandfold more important than the words of any 19 year old. We made it a goal to memorize more scriptures so we can help people feel the Spirit and become more converted to the Gospel.

This week was long too. We walked everywhere. We also took rides everywhere. We talked to so many people. Mostly less active families. It really showed in the Sacrament Mtg Attendance though. Normally we average 50 but yesterday we had 75! It was great that the efforts were not going to waste. There's plenty of room for improvement though. There were quite a few families and priesthood holders that were not there. It will be a real accomplishment when we can repeat this weeks results and improve continually. When Sunday night came, I truly felt weary. Every now and then I've felt tired but I was weary last night. In my personal study I came across a verse in D+C 64. verse 33. Sometimes Heavenly Father just puts the exact right verse into your path exactly when you need it.

For those of you doubting my cooking skills, We made an amazing stew for lunch on Thursday. It had carrots, sayote, potato, onions, garlic, and pork with a little bit of brown sugar. Yeah we know how to cook. It was delicious.

Just for the reminder of what I asked for during skype.... Socks, POLYESTER ties, a cheap mp3 player with hymns, children songs, anything by MoTab. Also pens; G2 pilot in the sizes of .38, .5 and .7.

Other than that I'm doing great. The work rolls on like a stone cut without hands until it will fill the whole earth.

Love you all and I'm praying for you!

Elder McGuire

Christmas in Villaba

This week has been a great one! On Tuesday we went to Ormoc for a Zone Training Meeting. and yes I finally got the package from DHL :) We have such a great zone! Everybody works pretty hard.Our Zone Leaders are awesome!

This week we invited lots and lots of less active members to the Christmas party. We ended up having around 60 people or so show up. It was a lot of fun and the food was unbelievable! Lechon Baboy (that's the pig) and Poso (the rice in the palm fronds.) Elder Cottle and I ended up doing an impromptu musical number. We sang If You Could Hie to Kolob Israel Israel God is Calling and Joseph Smith's First prayer all to the same tune. It was great. We also had some investigators who came. Overall everyone had a great time.

We went on exchanges on Wednesday. I have a lot to learn in the language still but I feel confident enough to work an area without my trainer.

On Sunday night we received a text from our Zone Leaders saying that our numbers were consistently high over the past few weeks and that they were proud we had helped so many people. It was nice to have some encouragement from them. It seems like every night we come home tired and exhausted. That's okay though. Something would be wrong if we weren't coming home tired.
We have a Baptism tomorrow!!!! Angelo Sinining is so ready to be baptized! He is prepared and excited to hold the priesthood. He has become really good friends with the Branch President's son. They both committed to prepare to serve missions. They're so awesome!

I'm doing great. We rearranged our apartment to make things more productive and give ourselves more light and space. It's surprising what little changes can more fully invite the Spirit.

We're going to Palompon on Wednesday morning to Skype and then a district meeting. We're probably going to be on around 9 am our time which i think is about 6 pm Arizona  time. I'm just going to use my old Skype so there shouldn't be any problems.

All in all I'm doing great still. Just putting all my effort into every hour and loving it out here. Thanks so much for the prayers and support! Love you all!

Elder McGuire

Monday Monday Monday

Alive for another week with some great stories from Villaba.

So Last Tuesday was the mission tour of Elder Nielsen of the Area Presidency. He is great! I learned a ton and it was basically instruction on how to teach Filipinos and not Lessons. We also went over the Fundamentals of PMG and he answered some deep doctrinal questions of some of the elders. All in all it was a very good day.

One thing that is different about the Philippines is that the Sabbath Day is not kept as holy as it should be. It's amazing that I'm here in Asia and that the Spanish brought a belief in Christ with them, However, They go to church on Christmas and Easter like most people in the US. Most people live day to day here. It's hard to get the Priesthood holders to come to church because they have to work to support their family. So this past week we obtained a copy of all the Priesthood holders here in Villaba. This week we're going to visit a lot of them and awaken them to a sense of their duty. We don't have an Elders Quorum President because the last one passed away. The 2nd counselor in the Branch Presidency is basically inactive... There's quite a bit of work to do.

However all is well. We finished teaching the lessons to Angelo Sinining. His interview is tomorrow and he is going to be just fine. He is excited that he can receive the priesthood. We also explained that this is the beginning not the end. He's going to prepare for a mission and entering the temple.

We also found a family of five that is interested in hearing about the gospel. We have an appointment this friday to finish the first lesson with them. We also gave a book of mormon to one of the Barranggay captains (Like a mayor of a city but smaller jurisdiction) He was very nice and hopefully we can teach his family too.

Yesterday we spoke in Sacrament Meeting. Elder Cottle spoke on Sabbath day and I spoke on Member Missionary Work. We want to get the members involved heavily in the missionary work here and have them excited to share the gospel with their friends.

Other than all that I'm doing great. I kinda wish we had bikes though. We do a lot of walking. Normally we take a motor to another baranggay for 10 or 15 pesos and then walk back. Yesterday we walked all the way to Mahanglad (about 3 miles) and back to make sure an investigator came to church. Later that night we walked to Bangkal (also 3 miles) to share a spritual thought with a family whose daughter gave birth on Saturday. A bike really would be helpful but this way I won't get fat.

We went to a combined FHE on Saturday night. We taught a short lesson on the blessings of the temple. There are two RMs who are endowed in our branch but that's it. There is a temple trip planned for next April. I hope most people go. It costs about 2000 pesos per person though. It's rough for some people but I know the Lord blesses those who desire to follow His commandment. (See 1 Nephi 3:7)

They also fed us. Filipinos make some amazing food! Rice and Pancit and Chicken. DELICIOUS!!!

I'm excited for this week. Things are looking great!

Love you all and hope you're doing well

Praying for you

Elder McGuire

Still alive, Still working

Hey everybody!!!!

It was another great week here in Villaba. After the FHE with the Sabarez family last week we went home and got a text from our Zone Leaders saying that President Andaya wanted everyone to not leave their apartments on tuesday. Apparently Baguio Pablo was about to hit. A Baguio is the Tagalog word for typhoon. We Stayed inside and cleaned our apartment. I read Our Search for Happiness and Our Heritage...and True to the Faith. So now i've read all of the missionary reference library. I've started the conference edition of the Liahona and next I'm going to read all of the standard works. It makes me feel weird that there are probably pages that I haven't opened in my quad. However all is well. the baguio didn't hit Tacloban like it was supposed to but instead went south and hit Mindenao. Mostly we just got a heavy rainstorm on tuesday. Don't worry mom I'm completely fine. All in one piece still preaching the gospel :)

On thursday we got up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus to Tacloban for the Mission Christmas Conference. It was really great! On thursday night each of the zones performed a skit from the scriptures. My zone (Ormoc) did David and Goliath. My favorite one was probably Biliran zone's. They did The tower of Babel. It was hilarious to see the connections they made to our mission concerning the confusion of the languages. You can literally go 20 miles in any direction and there will be a completely different language. It's insane! We also had a gift exchange. I got a tie and a picture frame. For those of you wondering about the package. No I don't have it just yet. DHL came by before I entered the country so the mission office couldn't sign for it. Hopefully, they'll contact DHL today and they'll pick it up so they can bring it to mission tour tomorrow in Ormoc. Either way though it'll be okay. I'll be too busy with more important things than recieving gifts. Giving is more important anyways. For future packages, I would say just use USPS flat rate boxes. A lot of missionaries had those. Just tape a few Jesus pictures on it before you send it.

Friday morning we played some games that had to do with developing Christlike attributes. My team took 4th out of 18 teams. After that we had a devotional from the senior couple missionaries and President Andaya. One of the Senior couples' last name is Judd. I talked to them a little and yes we are related. They come through Zadok Knapp Judd as well. Elder Judd knows Uncle Thayne. They're like 1st cousins once removed or something like that. Not sure of their first names otherwise I would say go to the Family History Lindsay hahaha.

At the Christmas conference President Andaya announced that we can use Skype for Christmas!!!! Elder Cottle and I found a internet cafe with webcams so we're good on this front. We'll probably skype on the morning of Wednesday the 26th just so you're all done with morning festivities. It will be Christmas evening for all of you back home.

Saturday we traveled back home and did weekly planning. Sunday was not quite as good for attendance. That's what happens when you can only work 3 out of 7 days in your area. Lots of room for improvement but that's life. We gave BoMs to the members to give to their friends. I'm hoping this will help involve them more in the work.

Our investigator, Angelo Sinining is progressing very well. He is very smart. My Cebuano is limited to a Gospel vocabulary for now so that's good. I'm pretty comfortable in teaching the lessons. It's great that he has the desire to be baptized and read from the scriptures daily and repent and pray and all of these great things! It really makes me feel like I'm accomplishing my purpose.

Things are great. 

Love you all and I'm praying for you 

Elder McGuire

"And we preached in their streets..."

It's MONDAY!!!!

What a week it has been. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of great experiences. First off, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE EMAILS!!!! It really brightened my day to see a full inbox. Not sure if I'll have enough time to respond to all of you because we're headed to a FHE with a less active family in about 20 but I'll give it a shot.

We got to work this week. we really got down to business. We ended up teaching 17 lesson. 11 of which to less active families, This mission is a rescue mission but it's still important in bringing souls to Christ. One thing of note is that we do have 1 investigator committed to baptism already! Elder Cottle and I first started teaching Angelo Sinining this past week and we have plans to have him baptized in the OCEAN on CHRISTMAS DAY! He's 12 years old and living with a member family. He's really smart and I can tell his faith is growing.

On Tuesday we went to Palompon for district meeting and shopping. Theres a whole lot more options because Villaba is kind of smaller than most towns. My new favorite thing is ChocoMucho bars. Theyre safe and delicious. I'll be just fine because theyre cheap like 6 or 7 pesos a bar. The fruit here is AMAZING! The mangoes are unbelievable! The vegetables are great too!

Regarding the language... My trainer Elder Cottle says I know more words than him and the members say I have pretty good grammar. However, Filipinos speak really really REALLY fast. It is very hard to understand everything especially when they abbreviate all their words. I hope it will all start making sense with time.

We've had a goal to increase church attendance. It was up to 66 this past week from 47. I'd say thats progress. I have a personal goal to get a chapel built. there's just a smaller meeting house right now. The lots already been purchased and I walk by it every day almost. It'll take 3 straight months of at least 80 people consistently attending.  KAYA NATO! (We can do it!)

And yes it's always hot here. It's rediculous really. It's always hot and I'm always sweating. I miss being dry haha. I also miss washing machines. I've done my laundry by hand for the past two weeks and probably will for the rest of my mission.

On Sunday I was feeling a little homesick (as well as tired and hungry from fast sunday) Some of the priesthood holders that were at the activity on friday werent at church. After walking to Kabungaan and back because nobody was home and we don't pay for rides on sundays I was exhausted. I knew I was doing the right thing but I had feelings of inadequacy. We went and visited the Porquiado family later that night just a few blocks away from our apartment. Nanay Porquiado said she was in Alma 32 for her reading. I opened my BoM and looked at the scripture mastery card. I didn't really have the Spirit with me for the past few hours. My eyes kind of unfocused and I wasn't really listening to the conversation. All of a sudden I felt the Spirit prompt me that there was something on that page that I needed to read. My eyes refocused and the first thing I saw was verse 1.

"And it came to pass that they did go forth, and began to preach the word of God unto the people, entering into their synagogues and into their houses yea and they did preach the word in their streets."

The Spirit filled my soul. All my feelings of homesickness were gone. I know that the Lord answered my prayer and helped me feel loved. We closed the lesson and I bore my testimony. We then went and taught Angelo the Plan of Salvation. I love being a missionary. This is the best thing in the world. It's hot sweaty hard work. But I love it!

At a Zone Meeting this morning I found out that we had quadrupled our numbers from 2 weeks previous. I think I'll be just fine here in Villaba. We have Mission Christmas Conference this Friday.

As always I love you all and I pray for each of you each and every day. I invite each of you as I invite people here, to make sure you pray morning and night and have daily scripture study. The Lord will bless you if you follow is commandments. D+C 14:7

Until next week

Hurrah for Israel

Elder McGuire

Well I'm alive and in the mission field

That's right i made it to Tacloban safely and on time! But nothing would ever be an adventure unless we had a little excitement to get your blood pumping on the way. To preface this I forgot to bring my camera to send pictures from this week and the last but I promise i will bring it next week for sure.

So monday night i called home and it was great to talk to all of you and hear your voices. Thank you all so much for your  love and support. There's no way i could do this without your prayers and love. We got on the plane from LAX to Hong Kong at 1 in the morning utah/az time. From there we just sat and slept for the next 15 hours. It was really cool racing the sun to China. It was dark basically the entire flight except the last hour. we got to Hong Kong and  I took a few pictures/ (Next week I promise) I borrowed a razor from  Elder Robertson (He's headed to Bacolod) and we waited for about an hour. We had to go through security again. and then we just waited at the gate in Hong Kong. At about 30 minutes to board, Elder Shields comes up to me and says "I can't find my passport" Im thinking you have got to be joking me... but no he really couldnt find it. I said a prayer in my heart asking for a miracle. I did not want to leave my companion in China but  the instructions on the travel plans said it is more important to not miss a flight than to wait for someone. After my prayer we  were sprinting through the Hong Kong airport back down the up escalator to security. No dice... Things were really starting to look bad. I prayed again asking for a miracle because we had been obedient all week long. We sprinted back to the gate, hurdling a janitor cart in the process (in my suit too)...the line was gone but the plane was there and the staff knew what was happening. one of the workers asked if she could go through his bag. within 20 seconds she had found it.  We got on the plane for Manila and all was well. God is a God of miracles. He blesses those who have been obedient and faithful. I still can't believe we made it, but we did.

So wednesday night (we lost tuesday cuz of the international date line) we flew to Tacloban. I tried talking to a woman on the plane but cebuano and waray are just too different. It's all good though. We got to Tacloban around 5:30 and President Andaya and the APs were there to pick us up. We went to the Mission Home and had dinner and interviews than we went to the apartment and slept.

Thursday we had more training and orientation from President and Sister Andaya. (Don't worry Mom and Jess, I now know how to  stay healthy and survive here in the Philippines)

Friday Morning we drove to Palo. That's where Leyte landing is with the MacArthur monument. It was really cool. This is where we met our trainers. It was really cool. we all got in a circle and they calledeach new missionary to the front and said their language they'd be learning, zone, area and then trainer. I'm speaking Cebuano (big thanks to the Lord on that one) in the Ormoc zone in the area of Villaba. My trainer is Elder Cottle. He's from American Fork and has been here in the Philippines since April this year. He's is a huge help to me. Even though I'm in a cebuano area its difficult to understand all the words that the members are saying. He is great at the language. Villaba is on the northwest part of Leyte. We took a bus from Tacloban to Kananga and then a van to Villaba. Our apartment is literally a stone's throw away from the ocean. (picture coming i Promise!)

Saturday we finally got to work. We went to a branch activity in the morning and then we taught the Balombao family in the afternoon. I could understand most of the conversation but I wanted to make sure I was getting the right idea and be able to answer Tatay Balombao's questions. It was great. We taught about prophets and apostles. I testified that Thomas S Monson is a prophet today. 

Church was great. I played the piano for sacrament meeting. There are a lot of less actives here in Villaba so our main focus is trying to reactivate everyone. Last weeks attendance was 47 of about 120 or so. Elder Cottle and I have made goals to really improve that this week. 

All is well and I'm excited to get to work this week. Please pray for me.

Love you all!

Elder McGuire

 

 

IT'S GAMEDAY!!!!!!

Well today's the day!

I leave the MTC at 4:30. Our flight doesn't leave until 8:30 so I plan on calling home between 6 and 7 tonight. We fly to LAX and then we have a layover until we get on the plane at 12:05 AM for Hong Kong. I'll get to Manila around 11:30 AM on Wednesday (Philippines time) so it will be around 8:30 PM tuesday night(?)...

Also I'm not sure how long it takes for DearElder's to get to the Philippines. So all of you faithful DearElder.com users please convert over to just emailing me :)

This last week at the MTC has been great! Finally got to learn some waray-waray! Sister Blonquist brought her Waray to English dictionary that she bought on her mission. If I ever see the book in the Philippines I will buy it on sight! I don't know a whole lot but I know enough to bear my testimony and say a prayer, which is really all you need right? It sounds a whole lot faster and more harsh than cebuano. There are 7 waray-waray zones and 3 cebuano zones in the Tacloban mission.(or at least there were when Brother Anderson got back 8 months ago...) Its crazy to think I'm going to be introducing myself next Sunday in some branch or ward 7500 miles away in a foreign language. That fact alone is a testimony to me that the Lord is blessing and supporting me in this. This morning in the temple I went in with a prayer in my heart, asking Heavenly Father to let me know that I will be safe. When I got to the Celestial Room I opened some scriptures and stopped on D+C section 15. I received my answer. Everything is going to be just fine and I am doing the right thing.

It sounds like everything is going great at home. Rick I'm super excited to hear about your story! I've been praying for you especially with regards to your audition. The Lord is still a miracle worker in the latter days!

I received everyone's packages last week and I have weight to spare in packing my suitcase. I actually bought another suitcase here at the MTC just because I figured out how to make it work better. Thank you Lindsay for the tape. I started to listen to it for about 5 minutes before I had to turn it off. Can't afford to be homesick right before I leave but I promise I will listen to the rest of it when I get settled in next week. Thank you Call family for all the food! Fun fact for you all... Did you know that poor people in the Philippines eat potatoes instead of rice. Also, Jess I forgot to tell you but Gakus in cebuano means "hug" Some things are just meant to be.

I am excited beyond description. Dili ko maghulagway sa mga pagbati nako. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night half expecting this to be a dream. But this is my life. This is what I have been called to do. I love my calling. I have been so blessed to be able to serve God and my fellowmen.

I know this is the Lord's work. I like other missionaries will come and go but the work will continue on until it has sounded in every ear and heard in every clime and nation, until the Lord comes again and says it is done. This is the true church. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Thomas S Monson is God's prophet on the earth today. Heed his counsel. Joseph Smith was the prophet of the Restoration. Above all, I know that Jesus is the Christ. The Holy Son of God. Saviour of all. He knows each and everyone of us personally and intimately. He invites all men everywhere to come unto Him and repent and be baptized in His name. He is our advocate with the Father. He is my elder brother and best friend. He has pulled me from misery and set me on a course that I will never deviate from. My shoulder is set to the wheel and I will not look back.

I love you all, but I've got to go now.

Fear knocked at the door, but Faith answered and there was no one there.

Onward. Ever onward.

Elder McGuire

Week 8

Hello again family and friends!

Another monday and another letter :)

This week has been great! To start things off, our district hosted on wednesday. It was so cool to relive the first day experience again! One car that stopped at my spot had twins! One was headed to Detroit and the other to Tempe. It made me think a lot about Gray and Nash. It's gonna be them in like 17 and a half years haha. Thursday was great. Elder Shields and I have been teaching this investigator, Mildred. She's a single mom who works on Sundays only to support her 2 young children. We finally committed her to going to church. Its amazing how real role plays can be and how strong the Spirit can be in some lessons. Its gonna be even crazier to get to the field in a week and do it all for real.

We also got our flight plans on Thursday. We leave the MTC at 4:30 on the 19th. Our flight leaves SLC for LAX at 8:05. We leave from Los Angeles for HONG KONG!!!! at 12;05 in the morning! When we get there we have like 2 hours until we board another plane for Manila. From there President Andaya will pick us up and we'll go to a different airport and fly to Tacloban. P.s have any of you seen the Tacloban airport on google maps? GO check it out! It's pretty gnarly. I get to call from the Salt lake airport so Mom Dad Rick and Alyssa make sure you're all home for family night and keep your phones on so I don't have to call all of your phones to get through :)

In other news, I finished Jesus the Christ. Such an AMAZING book. I know what you mean Dad. That basically could be scripture. I have learned so much about my Savior's life. He truly lived a perfect, sinless life. Always forgiving. Always helping. Always going that extra mile to make sure he did exactly what the Father wanted him to do. My testimony has been strengthened so much. I can say that I know that my Redeemer lives! He lives who once was dead. He lives and while He lives I'll sing. He lives my Prophet, Priest and King. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He suffered the Atonement to take away all my sins. He suffered so he could comfort us to each of our individual needs. He lives and because He lives, we will live again as well.

My Cebuano is maayo. I feel confident enough to say what I want to express. Now I think I'll get to start learning some Waray-waray. I know about 15 words so far. I can't really string a sentence together though. I'm not sure what language I'll be speaking in my first area but I am completely confident that the Lord will bless me and support me. I want to let you all know how real the gift of tongues is. Everything I know in another language is because the Lord has been gracious to me. Gihigugma nako Kaniya.

The most important thing I learned this week is diligence. Every second on my mission is not my own so I cannot afford to waste time. It is the Lord's time.

Also can someone forward me letters from Elder Frost and Elder Frost. I'd love to still hear their stories from their missions.

Life is great and I'm feeling awesome. I can feel all of your prayers. Pray hard this week for me. I'm always praying hard for you all. Remember that the Lord hears and answers every sincere prayer. Kada pag-ampo gikan sa mga kinasingkasing nga kasingkasing.

I love you all!

Elder McGuire

P.s. My favorite scripture this week is 3rd Nephi 5:13. Really hit me hard with the Spirit when I was reading it.

Week 7

AYO!!!!!!

Week 7 was an awesome week!!! We got a new cebuano district!! It's so crazy to see what I was like when I started. Theyre awesome though. 4 out of 5 are headed to Tacloban! It's so cool to be on the other side of things. My cebuano is really starting to improve since I can answer all their questions. I'm also reading from the Basahon ni Mormon and actually getting a lot out of it. the cebuano word for "faith" is hugot nga pagtuo which literally translates to a "tight belief." Faith is an incredible concept. Everything we do is an act of faith. we increase and strengthen and tighten our faith by exercising it. It's like a living muscle. I love Ether 12:6 and 12:12 and Hebrews 11. I'm also 10 chapters away from finishing Jesus the Christ. By faith we can move mountains. It's very significant that when Jesus Christ is about to heal someone he asks, "believe ye that I am able to do this?" He certainly had the power and capability to heal the afflicted but the blind and sick and diseased had to believe in him and exercise their faith. Another great chapter I studied this week was Alma 18. I love the exchange between king Lamoni and Ammon. I went through my scriptures and just highlighted all the actual dialogue and then the methods Ammon used to teach. First, Ammon had great faith and he was faithful unto the Lord. Because of his exact obedience he was blessed and protected from the Lamanites who tried to scatter the flocks. Because he protected the king's flocks he got the kings attention. King Lamoni wanted to know more. Ammon continued to be exactly obedient by executing every command of the king. When Ammon came before the king, because of his faithfulness and obedience, he was able to teach with power and authority. He taught specifically to the kings needs. in fact Ammon basically goes through lesson 2 of chapter 3 in preach my gospel. Such a great example.

Elder Shields and I are really coming together as a companionship. It's going to be weird in the field when we both have to go get new companions and trainers. I'm super excited though. 2 weeks until I'm on a plane over the pacific ocean!!! HALA!!! (cebuano expression for WOW!!)

Halloween kinda came and went. They don't really celebrate Halloween in the Philippines. Its called Kalagkalag. or day of the souls. Our district still celebrated a little bit. (see the picture)

Mission conference yesterday was awesome! Sundays are amazing! I'm super excited to just get out there and shout from the bukid to the tubig that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and that they can live with their family forever.

Yesterday in sacrament meeting I bore my testimony about missionary work. I know that this is His work. I love D+C 4:3 "Wherefore if ye have desires to serve the Lord, ye are called to the work." This work is to bring about the eternal life of man. How great is my calling! I am so grateful to be a laborer in the vineyard. I also love the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The Lord has called more laborers for this final hour of the day. What an exciting time to be on the earth!

Life is wonderful! We get our travel plans this week. Still hard to believe this is all happening to me. I keep thinking that I'll wake up and it will be a dream, but this is real. This is true. This is my intent and purpose because I have a testimony that Jesus is the Christ. The Savior and Redeemer of the world. He lives. He lives who once was dead. He lives and has loosed the chains that would bind us and drag us down to the gulf of endless misery. He lives and has made it possible for us to live again forever in Celestial glory. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in that sacred grove. I know that he translated the gold plates and that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that he is the prophet that opened this last dispensation and the truth will never again be taken from the earth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on the earth today. I know that He will come again and I look forward with great hope and the knowledge that one day I will see my Savior.

I love you all,

Gihigugma nako kaninyo

Elder McGuire

Week Six

Kumusta kamo akong pamilya ug mga higala!!

What an eventful week it has been. Lots of awesome things happening.

So Tuesday was a great day. We only have one class and then its the devotional. We got to usher so we got amazing seats in the second row. Larry Echo Hawk of the 70 was the speaker. He gave an amazing story about his conversion. It also included lots of football. I'll send it home in a handwritten letter (I also sent parts to Lindsay) After the Devotional we got to meet him and talk to him for a little while. His wife made the comment that mission applications are up 471%!!! 4000 applications per week. Elder Echo Hawk also said that there were going to be 50 new mission fields!!!!

Wednesday was good... We have early morning service at 6:15 and so far we've only cleaned bathrooms. It kinda sucks. It's no longer a shock to me though to see the new missionaries coming in. We can actually be hosts next week. 3 districts in our zone left for the field last week. 2 to Portugal and 1 to Cape Verde. I'm gonna miss Sister Llano. She's actually from Southern Leyte and speaks Cebuano. She gave us her parents address and told us to baptize them. I'm super stoked to get to the field!

Thursday is super fun. I love the TRC! I seriously speak my best Cebuano there. Everything just flows and I dont have to think about grammar. It's such a cool experience.

Friday was long and weird... I think everyone was a bit burned out. SYL is great though. We speak at least 10 hours of cebuano only per day.

Saturday is the best day because to me its like Friday night for the rest of you.

Sunday is the best day of the week in my opinion. Rest from classes. Going to church. Taking the Sacrament. Singing in the choir. Walking to the temple and taking pictures. Going to the fireside and watching a church film afterwards. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Sunday. Gotta love the day of rest.

I'm starting to read from the Basahon ni Mormon at least 1 chapter per day. The words are finally starting to make sense. It's incredible how real the gift of tongues is.

I'm about halfway done with Jesus the Christ. It's a tough read but I'm absolutely loving it! I know that Christ is the Savior of the world. He suffered for each and everyone of us. We can turn to Him and He will comfort us.

Thanks for the pictures and letters Kristin!

Loved the Pie and Cookies Jess! You're a Maayo Kaayong Manluluto! (Amazing Cook)

Thank you Alyssa for the Letters. I'm sorry I haven't had time to respond. I got your letter on Monday night. We got our mail after we wrote emails. I hope your presentation went well and that you went ahead and borrowed my hat. I'm okay with you borrowing my things as long as you remember that they are my things and return them :) I hope you know I love you and I'm praying for you.

Lindsay thanks for the letters and questions. I've been praying for you and I think you didn't get my letter until after you sent the second one. Isn't it amazing how God answers prayers?!

Mom thanks for the package. Voting is such a fulfilling experience. Kinda catching wind that there's gonna be a huge storm on the east coast that could affect the election.... any truth to this?

This week is kinda of the downhill week of the MTC. We get a new Cebuano district on Wednesday. Next week we get our travel plans on Friday and then the week after we have In Field Orientation. 3 weeks from today I'll be on a plane over the Pacific Ocean!!! This is CRAZY! But I absolutely love it. I know what my purpose is and I know that the Big Guy upstairs is looking out for me.

I love you all. And I can feel your love and prayers.

Until next Monday,

Elder McGuire

Number 5 and Still Alive

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttt's MONDAY!!!

We're off to a great start to a new week! We went to the Temple at 5:40 this morning! It was nuts! but now we have so much time today!

Last week was great! lots of humbling and learning experiences. Isn't great to be humbled. Then we can be taught and learn how to be better. I've been trying really hard to become a better planner. Writing down everything and having every minute planned is definitely not what I'm used to haha. It sure does make life easier though. We're starting to teach 4 investigators this week. Can't really afford to not be organized and not planned out.

Elder Shayne Bowen came and gave the devotional. It was awesome! It seems like everyone who talks in the MTC hits on Exact Obedience at least once during their talk. It's so important though. This is also the week where everyone I know is leaving for the field. My zone leaders are leaving. All my BYU friends are leaving. It's nuts to think that now I've hit the month mark that I'm one of the older ones here.

My Cebuano is coming along great. I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday in Cebuano. My district could understand me but none of the Portugal and Brazil missionaries could. Except for Sister Llano and Camillo who are both from the Philippines headed to Cape Verde.

I'm super stoked to get to the Philippines. We have a new Cebuano district coming in on Halloween! It'll be great to sort of talk to someone else in Cebuano again. Trying to talk to the Hiligaynons and Tagalogs is very difficult because the words are slightly different. They also updated LDS Maps with all the new meetinghouses in the Tacloban mission. I can't wait to get to a Waray or Tagalog area where I have to start learning a language all over again! No sarcasm at all. I loved this quote this week. "If you can, run to your appointments. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. If your hands and knees are bloody from crawling and you can go no further, then lie on your back and shout to the world that the Gospel is true."

I'll probably send a handwritten letter home today so look for it soon. Big shout out to Mom for the package and homemade rolls and jam. It was infinitely more delicious than the cafeteria food. I love you so much!!!!

My time is just about up so until next time I love you all and I deeply appreciate your love, prayers, and support.

Ayo-ayo

Elder McGuire

Number 4

Well hello everyone,

This week has been great. In fact 6 out of 7 journal entries start off with "Today was great" or something similar. First off, We got to hear from Elder Bednar on Tuesday night! He said it was funny to hear what people were saying about why they think the age limit was changed when he was on the council and actually knows why it changed. Apostolic humor haha. He said the reason for the change was #1 This is the Lord's work and He is directing it. #2 The Lord is hastening His work and needs an increase of laborers in the field. Elder Bednar then proceeded to give his talk. He really is an amazing speaker. Basically to summarize, (and this applies to all those who read this) Go back and re read the conference talks. Look for Doctrines that are being taught, Look for the Invitations being extended, and Look for the Promised Blessings from the Apostles and Prophets. When an Apostle or Prophet makes a promise or a blessing, it's not a matter of "if" it will happen, but "when" it will happen.

I sent some handwritten letters out to everyone but Flagstaff family. I promise I will write one later when I finish the family name endowments. I only have 4 left. Also can someone figure out how much postage I need to put on a letter to Lithuania? I'm trying to reply to Elder Maliwauki but I'm not sure how much to put on there haha. P.S. If you can please write before Monday. Monday is when I write. You all can email on any other day. Like Sunday or Even Saturday.

There is miracles in EXACT Obedience. You wouldn't think that 5 minutes could make a difference in your day when it's super early in the morning. The Lord has set His guidelines though. When He says 6:30 He means 6:30 not 6:35. So this week I'm getting up 5 minutes earlier. I can already notice and recognize His hand in my day. On Mondays Tuesdays and Wednesdays it's easy because We get up and go to the temple, have 6:05 gym time, or 6:15 service. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are a little more rough. Thursdays and Saturdays are especially rough. I also must say thanks to those who wrote me throughout the week. It's such a blessing to read a letter from home at the end of a long day. We don't get to read our letters til 9:20 because of a Branch rule. So send some extra letters on Thursday and Saturday or some extra prayers up for me :)

Gym time is awesome. We had a Filipino vs European Soccer match the other night. We kinda got pasted 4-1 but it was a lot of fun! We also did a Cebuano vs Hiligaynon volleyball match. Philippines East vs West. We won 3 games to 2. I also am lifting when I can. There's machines above the gym with a track around so I can lift and run and it's great. I gained 10 lbs. in the first 2 weeks so I've been really watching what I've been eating now and getting a really good work out in every day. I'm back to 170 now. I think 1 pound of it is muscle. (I hope)

Back to the obedience principle. When you do all the things the Lord asks of you, He is bound to bless you. Yesterday was one of the best days I've had at the MTC. I felt the Spirit almost every second of the day and really understood what the gift of the Holy Ghost can be. It was so peaceful and uplifting all day long. After you realize your blessings, count them! It's easier to find happiness when you recognize the Lord's hand in everything in your life. Seriously take a half hour every now and then to reflect on your life and count your blessings. Write them down. Then think of all the people who would love to have those blessings. Then go serve those people. Thats my recipe for happiness.

As always I love you all! Can you believe I'm done with my first month of my mission this Friday? I still feel new here even though I'm technically one of the old ones now.

I'll leave you all with my Cebuano testimony.

Nasayud ko nga tinuod ang ebanghelyo ni Jesukristo. Nasayud ko nga Manluluwas ug Manunubos si Jesukristo. Naa ta'y Dios sa langit mao ang atong mahigugmaon Langitnong Amahan. Nasayud ko nga propeta si Joseph Smith ug gihapon nga buhing propeta si Thomas S Monson. Nasayud ko nga tinuod ang Basahon ni Mormon. Sa ngalan ni Jesukristo amen.

Until next week,

Elder McGuire

Number 3

Kumusta ninyo!?

How is everyone! What an amazing week it has been! I finally got some photos for you all :) Also EVERYONE needs to go rewatch conference!!! Seriously so good. We have been blessed to live in a time where we can hear Prophets of the Lord with a click of a button. Go Do It NOW!!!

 It's nice to have P-day on Mondays. Its kind of like a fake weekend with Sunday. Conference was so good! President Brown let us write a letter home Saturday night so look for it in the mail all you Flagstaff folk :) Mostly its addressed to Rick and Malcolm because of the recent age change in missionary qualifications. There's also a paragraph with some things I need. If anything in the letter sounds selfish please disregard it or cross it out or something. On Sunday after I sent the letter I was spiritually humbled and called out just a little bit after I sent it. One thing that I do need for sure is my line of authority printed out and mailed to me.

  Just for you Lindsay... Everyone who reads this should go read Chapters 9 and 10 of PMG. There is no line that separates Temple Work from Family History Work. Also go re watch Elder Scotts Talk. "There is no greater protection from the influence of the adversary than doing family history work." He is so right! Doing Temple sessions for my ancestors is completely different than other temple names. Family, Do what Lindsay asks you to regarding family history work.

  This week has been great! It's hard to believe I'm a third of the way done with my MTC stay! We are teaching 2 "investigators" Mildred and Tintin. My Cebuano is continuing to improve. SYL is tough as nails. We got to go to the TRC this week for the first time. It was a really cool experience to teach RMs and answer their questions about the gospel. When all is said and done though, testifying is the surest way to bring the Spirit which is a far better teacher than any missionary ever could be. As a common theme of Conference I noticed that many speakers mentioned A mighty change of heart and that Seeing things with your heart is far more important than seeing with your eyes.

  Chad Lewis came and did the fireside last night! I'm so stoked and pumped up for my mission now! It was so cool to hear all of his stories.

  What I learned about our Savior this week is that when the natural man in us would turn in to fulfill selfish desires, the character of Christ turns out in service to others. Elder Maxwell said that the Atonement would not have been possible without the character of Christ. You will find in the scriptures that Christ always turns to serve others. That's my goal this week to serve others before my own needs are met. I would challenge you all to put the Boy Scout Slogan to work and Do a Good Turn Daily.

  You are all in my prayers

  I love you all Naghigugma ko ninyo

  Elder McGuire