#31!!! What Year Is It?

Hello my Friends and Family!!  I love all of You!

So…my “child Elder S. left me on Tuesday and then came my new companion.  His name is Elder P.  He is from Ecuador.  He arrived with three giant suitcases, two cowboy hats on his head, and a dumbbell in his hand.  Okay.  So, I snagged the dumbbell and the super giant suitcase and we flagged down a taxi and went back to Agua Dulce.  I have had to pay completely for all the taxi’s though lately, because he spent all of his holy monthly money on Halo action figures.  He arrived to Papantla with zero pesos in his pocket.  We chillin’.

 What a terrible picture!

This week we found some punks in the street and now we are teaching them and all 3 of them came to church and they really liked it!  You can never count anyone out when you’re a missionary.

Being a district leader is kinda crazy and it kinda makes me sad, because now I hardly have any time to play the guitar.  But that’s not important.  It’s a little hard though, because one of the companionships in my district are already refusing to work when the sun is out….

In other news in the Mexico Xalapa mission - a missionary somehow managed to get to the civil registry and get married to a member in the area.  Don’t ask me how…that guy is gone though.

The work is progressing but really slowly.  I’m trying to just enjoy it.  I hit 7 months last Friday and that was kind of weird.  It’s starting to go by a tinny bit faster now.

I love Mexico so much that I wrote a song about it.  You can add it to the little number I put on Soundcloud ;)

Whenever I hear

the song of a 3 legged dog,

or look at a banana plant.

Whenever I feel

the sweat on my back,

or smell the breath of a plastered old man.

Whenever I touch a tortilla,

or walk by a cantina,

I’m thankful I live in Veracruz

in the mission Mexico Xalapa

Enjoy…

Con amor,

Elder McBride

Here is a cat on my head…

How many dogs can you count in the foto?

CCM - 3 Weeks Down and 2 to Go!

Hi this is Elder McBride's teacher, just to tell you that he is going to have p-day on friday just for this week, he loves you, have a great day!

Hello friends and family!!

SO the reason I wasn't able to write yesterday was because our Pday this week was changed to Friday so that we could go get our permanent visas today!! We took a bus down to the consulate or whatever it’s called.  It was actually the best time ever because we were with a bunch of awesome latinos from places besides Mexico that needed theirs too. So I got to practice my spanish a TON and made a bunch of new friends. And ELEVEN of them are also going to Xalapa!! So it’s not that no one is going to my mission, it’s just I'm basically the only white kid in the entire CCM going to my mission. The hermana in my district that is also going doesn't count because she's basically just a latina who lives in the states. She already knows spanish really well and stuff. But oh well haha. I'm so excited though. Hopefully it will help me pick up the real deal spanish super fast.

I've been doing great though! I'll be honest - I had a hard time after hearing about the whole Keli thing. It broke my heart. I wish I could've gone to her funeral and played at the benefit shows they're doing for her and stuff. But it's all okay and I just hope her family is doing alright.

Also, isn't my teacher awesome?! I was all worried that you would be expecting an email from me on Thursday, but hermano Zamudio saved the day with his facebook. so funny.

Also, the how are you doing without music question... Yeah that's a rough one. I miss my guitar oh so much and it makes me kinda sad to see my calluses fading and stuff. I miss my spotify as well and all my favorite bands. But at least I still get to sing here. Word kinda spread around here that I can sing well and now it sounds like someone in my zone signed me up to sing in church on sunday. haha oh well. 

Elder Cook is coming to speak to us tonight! I'm super excited about that and I'll probably get to shake his hand which is cool. 

So I'm not gonna bash on the provo MTC or anything, but I'm actually sooo glad I'm at this one here in Mexico City. It’s such a cool place. The teachers are all awesome and it’s so fun talking to the latinos and the city is so crazy but cool. It’s so much nicer than I thought it would be here but I think I've already said that. Plus we're cool and we get apostle visits too! Apparently my generation had just missed Elder Oakes. But cool story - we were watching a broadcast from a month ago from the Provo MTC from Elder Rasband and during the closing hymn I saw my best friend HOLDEN GREENE singing! It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was super cool for me because it’s a lot easier to put your life on hold for two years when you take a step back and realize that tons of your friends are all around the world doing the same thing. cool stuff. Also to answer your question mom, I'm pretty sure that there's only like 200 kids here in the CCM but during the summer apparently it can hold up to 1000 because that's when most people start going on missions. 

Well anyways I love all of you guys so much and I'm so grateful for all of you who have written me! Never underestimate the power of a short letter to any of your missionary friends. You guys are all great. Keep the faith!!

Elder McBride

Me and my good bud from Guatamala!! Elder Arroyo is the man. I teach him English and he teaches me spanish. We were pumped because we got some coke.

Mah boysss

La Ciudad

Me and my good buddy hermana Clawson from BYU!! We took this same exact picture in my dorm lobby and told each other we would re-create it at the CCM. Money.

WEEK 2: - Changes

Hello world!!

First of all I want to express how heartbroken I am for Keli rutledge and her family. She was an amazing person, and she may have been one of the most talented singers I've ever known in my life. It's such a shame that something as quick as a car accident can bring such drastic changes. I always told her to remember me when she got famous... because it's very likely that she would've. She was starting to get the big time gigs in Arizona that I could only dream about.  Her and I would always joke around that I was gonna be the one to 'turn her into a mormon...''

But I do know one thing and that's that if anyone asked her what the one thing she loves more than music is, she would without a doubt say Jesus Christ. We may have belonged to different religions but her faith and love for Him was always an example to me. I like to imagine that He welcomed her with the biggest hug ever. May God be with her family during this hard time.

Another sad thing, sorry guys... My companion had to go home on Monday. His anxiety was getting too bad and he just wasn't mentally able to focus. He just needs some time home to figure things out and better prepare himself for the demands of a mission. I was there with him through the thick and thin, but sometimes it's hard not to have feelings of "could I have done more?" and stuff like that. I love that guy and I wish him the best. He has a lot of faith. It would be so hard to go home early.

So now because he had to go home I've been paired up in a trio with the two other elders in my district. They are like best friends so it's been a little bit hard to just join in... but it's okay. One of them came to the CCM with a suitcase full of ONLY protein powder. He used to be a legit body builder and model. So... that means there's been a lot less volleyball and futbol and a lot more weight rooming. oh well.

Alright enough of the sad stuff. I am physically mentally and everything still doing great. I feel really good still. The spanish is still going awesome... I don't understand why everyone says that the spanish that you learn in high school doesn't help at all, bc since I have that under my belt, I've been able to start ahead and stay ahead and focus on the harder stuff. Different for everyone I guess... Big thanks to good ol melinda hoopes for that one. #1 spanish teacher. 

ALSO connections... So the medical doctor that my companion had been talking to before he left his name is Elder packard. (I can't remember his first name)... but anyways he is blair packards brother! He used to live in Gilbert and has been to mozambique with care for life and both him and his wife think that they remember meeting you at a dinner or something, dad. crazy. He's such an awesome guy and talks to me all the time and has really developed my interest in the psychology field. Smart man. NEXT one of the hermanas in my district, Hermana Garcia, was in Ginna and Larry's ward in Aztec NM!! crazy. 

So today's been our first full P day since we didn't get the first one and we were at the temple for most of the day last week. It's been nice. I got a fresh cut from a nice mexican lady and we played some ball. Not bad.

Seriously though the CCM is such a fantastic place. The teachers here are the coolest dudes ever and are actually super super good teachers. The food is great and the latinos are the funniest/friendliest guys ever, not to mention they really help with the spanish. Every time they see my body builder companion, they yell SUPERMAN!!!! and run and give him a hug. He's basically Elder Superman instead of Elder Mendez. It's hilarious.

Anyways I love all you guys so much and I hope you're all doing well!! Someone please update me on real world stuff like politics and sports and music and stuff!! You guys are great!!

Love,

Elder McBride

p.s.

please add the fact that you can email letter@mtcmexicocarepackage.com with ELDER MCBRIDE DISTRICT 13C in the subject line and i will receive the letter the next day!! also it might be worth it to check out or google missionarypresents.com mom and dad because it might be worth your time ;)

WEEK 1: Adjusting

FRIENDS AND FAMILY! Wow it feels like it's been forever since you dropped me off at the airport!!! 

Thank you to everyone who wrote me it was so good to hear from you guys!!

SO so much has happened and so i'll do my best to keep my thoughts straight and not ramble too much.

First of all I'm doing absolutely great!!! Like really. I was really nervous about having to adjust and everything but I've been lucky and i honestly feel great. I'm so happy. The CCM is such an awesome place!! I expected it to be kinda crappy but it's super nice. Like hot showers and good food and all that... when you get here everyone is just like 'make it to sunday we promise it gets better from there' but sunday came and went in the blink of an eye and i'm still alive and feelin good.

So we thought that i was going to meet up with some missionaries at LAX, but that actually didn't happen and i flew by myself. some guy named alfredo picked me up (pretty sweet name if you ask me) he didn't speak any english so we had a good time trying to figure out what each other was saying. 

My good friend hermana larson from BYU left a letter at the ccm for me because she was leaving like three days before i got there. so i got that letter on the first day and it totally made my day. Also cool story i was feeling a bit nervous about everything but when i walked up to the entrance doors of the ccm i pulled out this note card from my suit coat pocket that said 'have faith, never fear.'it was like perfect timing. I don't even remember where the note card came from. 

Also gym time is legendary. The latinos always ask me to be on their volleyball team... but sometimes it gets confusing because they always like to use their feet instead of their hands lol.

So i have the awesome privilege of being the district leader of the best district at the CCM!! We have such a great group of folks and they're all super determined and working hard. I've had the opportunity to give some lessons and some priesthood blessings and its really been great so far.

My companion is from salt lake. He is also going to xalapa, along with one hermana in our district. they're the only people that i've met that are going there so far though. basically everyone at the ccm is going to either mexico, the states, or chile. I've got like a ton of random friends from both arizona and college so thats pretty neat.

So yes everything is going great, classes are awesome, and my spanish is actually coming along way better than i thought it would be...

So here's where i get to the hard part. My companion has really been struggling lately with things like anxiety and homesickness. He's never really been away from home before. I remember one time i was driving with mom and dad and you guys asked me what i was most nervous about, and i said 'having a companion' for sure. To be honest, i selfishly came into the CCM just mostly worried about keeping my own head above the water and making sure I make it out alive. 

So much has changed since then. 

I honestly feel like the Lord put me with this elder for mulitple reasons: 1) thanks to my whole crazy bout with shingles and anxiety and stuff, I know exactly how he feels. And now that i've learned to control it and now that it's far behind me, I can better help him learn to deal with it. 2) I think that the Lord just really wanted to teach me the whole patience thing right off the bat. 

This whole thing started on saturday night when he asked me if i could fast with him. I had no idea that he was struggling and accepted but totally went into it with a terrible attitude. I was doing fine, and next week was fast sunday anyways. But thats when he told me that he was struggling, and so i decided to fast seriously for his well being and that I would have the patience to be able to be there for him and comfort him.

That night he woke me up and was really having a hard time. I was able to give him a priesthood blessing that night and it really brought us together.

I've spent a lot of time in the waiting room in the clinic while he sorts things out with the mission doctors. And yes sometimes it is hard to make sure that you're always being loving and compassionate. For example, today we went to the temple for p day but me and him didn't get to do the session because he had a panic attack on the bus ride over there. But sitting in the clinic and stuff has also given me a lot of time to think... and I realize better now that the mission is not about me at all. Its about my future investigators and people that i talk to, and it's about my companion, but more importantly its about helping myself and others learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's saving capabilities. Do yourselves a favor and look up Ether 12:27... I am doing my best to humble myself before the Lord and let him refine me and make my weaknesses into strengths. I would like for that scripture to be on my plaque please mom! I've learned to understand that even if my companion ends up having to go home, things will be okay and i'll feel fine if i just make sure I'm always doing my best to help him. 

I love all you guys so much!! I hope you're not worried about me because I honestly feel so good and i'm lovin life right now!

Elder McBride