A TUFF WEEK!!!

\HOLA MI ESTIMADA FAMILIA  Y SORPRENDENTES AMIGOS!!!!!!!!

Well here I am in HUANCAYO!!! Holy Smokes it actually happened I got TRANSFERRED!   I was very excited, haha and I had no idea what was in for me!!! So I am training a new missionary again, I’m opening up the area and I have been called as District Leader!!! AHHHHHHHH… HELP!!!  So I get here and my area is called La Florida, it is GIGANTIC!!! And well the missionaries before me, they both have like 22 months in their mission and left me with absolutely nothing!!! We got to our room and it was so disgusting.  The First night we cleaned for about 3 hours, to make our room at least livable…  But now I have got to tell you about how HARD it was to leave Huanuco, Hermana Genoveva, My comp and my ward.  Tuesday night after we heard the changes, I immediately went to talk to my pensionista and her fam.  I went and she wasn’t there!!! So Wednesday morning after being up until 4 in the morning packing and writing in people’s memory notebooks, I went to eat in the house of Hermana Genoveva for the last time.  Well actually I was running really late (no surprise there) so I just went to say bye, I got there and she said breakfast was already ready.  How could I say no to that… so I sat down and it just hit me like a ton of bricks that I wouldnt be returning to eat with here until who knows when…??  She started to bawl, my comp too and of course  me…!!!  After almost 6 months of just being with her 3 times every day, talking laughing and all that it just hit me and the tears came storming out…  I won’t lie it really was almost like I was leaving my family again.  We took some pictures and we all left bawling…  MY first night here, I was just distraught.  My area is huge, my knew comp is a Chileno again, but he isn’t like Elder Encina, who was the best companion I have had yet in Peru.  I just knelt down so overwhelmed and slightly scared of failing and I didn’t have any idea how to open and area with a new missionary, I really was just freaking out.  I wont lie just typing this out is making me cry…  I miss hna genoveva, my comp, luis and ines and all of the wonderful people in the ward so much!! It was like I left my family again.  Just like that, 6 months flew by and now I have no idea when I will get to see them again.  Then I get here in Huancayo, with absolutely nothing, not one investigator, nothing in the area book, I didn’t know a single soul, my pension is great, but she isn’t  Hna Genoveva.  Huancayo, is nothing like Huanuco.  Its so much bigger and world like… There are actually cars here and big buildings, and paved roads… in the morning and in the night it is FREEZING, and in the afternoon, the sun just burns cause we are so high up! Almost 14,000 feet!!! I Think… So I just had no idea what to do.  SO ya know what I did?   I just started over, and started from square 1… CONTACTING,  and contacting isn’t the most rewarding or easiest work.  But it sure paid off.  After being here for only 4 days, we had 13 new investigators and 4 attended church!!! BOOM! Just like that!  I was walking down the street at night after contacting all day and finally we found a member to show us the area.  SO usually when your with a member you don’t street contact, but we were walking down the street and I saw a little family that reminded me of Luis and Ines, a young couple and their little boy.  I just saw em there I kinda stopped but kept walking and something hit me, that they were just like luis and ines, so I backtracked and contacted them.  Their names are Miguel and Rosario… and we had like a 10 minute lesson with them the next day, they accepted a baptismal date and a date to get married!!! WHAT!!! That never happens in a little 10 minute lesson, but the spirit was strong!!! And they attended church Sunday.  To say the least my area here is ready!!! There hasn’t been much success here in a while but we are here to change that!  Also I had to do my fist baptismal interviews yesterday since I am the district leader AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! I was soosososososo Scared! But the spirit was unbelievably strong and guiding me!  I interviewed a man and his daughter and the man… well he didn’t pass!!! AHHH!!! He and his wife had an abortion a while ago, so he has to talk to a counselor in the mission presidency… I was like Oh CRAP when I heard that! But the Spirit acted quickly, I wasn’t speaking, it was all the spirit, I could see he really had repented of it all and felt really bad.  But rules are rules, he will have another interview this week, and I still think he will get baptized.  His daughter passed though!!! SO to say the least it has been a tuff week!!!!  So, I will need a lot of letters and encouragement this month!!! I missed the fam a lot this week, I hope all is well, when is youth conference and EFY???

Okay, dad, I need some help here since you have already done your mission.  I would like to hear how your mission blessed your life??  I just need to hear some serious stuff about serving your mission and how it has impacted your life!!  I just need some serious help from EVERYONE!!!!!!!  Please pray a lot for me because I am really overwhelmed and could just use some extra help here!!!!! Don’t worry I’m not failing or thinking of bagging it, I would never ever do that; I just need to be able to do this assignment in Huancayo!  So please say some extra prayers for me this week!!!

LOOVEEE YOU ALLL SOSOSOS MUCH!!!
Elder Spencer Marty McGhie!

P.S…….Mom I’m in Hunacayo... its COLD!!! Haha !!!  I am sending some of my last pics in Huanuco ... man i miss Huanuco!!! It cut deep to leave!!! Love you guys!!!!

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HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!

FELIZ DIA DEL PADRE OLD MAN!!!

Maybe a day late and a dollar short, but hey ya get what ya get man… HAHA!  Hope it was a pretty awesome day for ya Pops, I’m sure it was hard to enjoy it without this guy there… (IM NOT PRIDEFUL… JUST SURE) haha,  just messin but don’t fret pops I was thinking about ya yesterday and I hope it was GRAND!!!  I hope ya got my father’s day letter I sent it like 2 weeks ago!  Oh and before I start letting ya know what’s going down here I gotta say, the package you sent me was AWESOME!!! But….. What happened to LINEY!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!  I cracked out the pictures and started looking at them and I just about fell off my chair and onto my face!!! SWEET DEATH MY LITTLE SISTER IS LIKE A WOMEN OR SOMETHING!!!AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  HAHA! I mean honestly,  holy crap!  I Whipped out my photo album with all my pics that I left home with and I was comparing the difference, the only words I could manage to mutter were; Holy Crap, Sweet Death, and ¡¡¡AY CARAMBA!!!  Haha but seriously everyone is changing and its freaking me out!

So, sorry I had to get that off my chest and now I can start giving ya the Down Low on what happened this week…. Well alright, let’s see, this very well could be the last email I send home from Huanuco, Paucarbama.  I don’t know we will see soon!!!  It’s a pretty exciting time here, we have transfers coming on Wednesday and we will be getting a new Mission President on July 1st.  I love President Leyva and it’ll be sad to see him go.  But that’s the mission for ya!  One day your in the mission, lost in the work and then boom, it kicks ya right back out, into the cruel reality of “real life”!!! Haha!!  So, I think it was Thursday when we stopped by to see how Luis and Ines, 2 of my converts were doing. Do you remember them? They are the young couple that got married and baptized way back when I was with Elder Rojo(his trainer).  Luis who had all the problems and he left for Lima and it was a question if she was going to leave him or not. Well you should be happy to know that they are some of the most faithful members we have in our ward!!! Hermano Luis has the Melchizedek Priesthood and they both have callings and the change in the lives is a full 180 degrees (or 360 if you’re Karl Malone!)  They are amazing!!! So we went by to see how they were doing, they said they were doing really well, but they were hungry… I was like Huh?  They said they were fasting for their first time… and do you wanna know why they were fasting? They were fasting so that I will be able to stay here for 6 more weeks and not get transferred !!! HAHAHAHA!!! I couldn´t help but laugh, it surprised me, but it also is a very nice gesture on their part!!! Haha!!

The Zone leaders ate lunch with my buddy the Stake President here in Huanuco, Puacarbamba and they were talking about the possible  upcoming transfers and they told him that it is very likely that I will get transferred since I have the most time here of any missionary in our Zone.  The Stake President said that it just couldn’t happen and that he was going to call the Mission President, Pres. Leyva and tell him that I need to stay here in Puacarbamba and keep working here for at least one more transfer! Is that nuts or what!?  I do feel loved to say the least… haha I don’t know what will happen but it will be the will of the Lord.  If I had a choice I’m pretty sure I would like a change of scenery.  I mean, I love it here but I have almost completed one third of my mission and I’m still in the same area… Haha I mean I gotta get to know more of Peru and see more things and meet more people!  But my companion is an absolute champion, we have a lot of investigators progressing so if I stay… yeah it’s alright but whatever happens is for the best!!!

Yesterday, I almost lost it on myself.  I was dead tired from working this week(We kicked BUTT) we had like 25 lessons. 13 new investigators, 5 investigators come to church and 17 baptismal challenges, I was sososo dead tired Sunday night. We were eating dinner and we had this onion potato soup with a random hunk of meat.

I tried to cut my meat and it spilled ALL OVER ME!!! I was so flippin mad at cursing myself out as I went to the bathroom to try and wash the stains out (KEY WORD TRY) and then I just looked in the mirror and I just realized, Im just a flipping KID! Hah I’m only 19 years old!  I need to have more patience with myself, sometimes I am just so hard on myself and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing but if I keep it up at this rate, I don’t know if I’ll return home with any hair on my head!  So it was just an interesting lesson that I should apply.  I dunno if someone could help me here with that????

So, I have a few questions for the “Old Man” meaning you dad!!!!  What’s your opinion on the 2nd coming and how close do you think it is? Also I need some info on the Spirit World.  Are they allowed to see what’s going on here? Just some questions that I have gotten during some of our lessons with investigators and I just thought I should find out more about it????

Well I love you all!!! Thanks for all the support, the prayers on my behalf and the letters and emails are all so great!!!  It all helps me so much!!!!

Talk to ya next Monday!!!

CHAU!

Elder Spencer Marty McGhie!

PS I hiked to the big cross again with an Elder Fogleman from California, he is my zone leader, his mom is in the Peru missionary moms group that mom is in and he is awesome! LOVE YA! BYE

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Whats the Word !!!

¡HOOOOOLA FAMILA Y MIS AMIGOS MUY MARAVILLOSAS 

¿Como le va mi estimada familia y mis amigos? ¡Espero que todo este bien para ustedes!(google translator: As you will be my dear friends and family? I hope that all this good for you!???) (Martys translation: How are you my esteemed family and friends, I hope all is well for all of you!!)!!

Well that was fun while it lasted haha.  But really, how ya all doin?  I pray for yall every day and night that all is going well!  So reporting here live from Huanuco, Paucarbamba, got some good news, i got my package today! Holy smokes that got here fast!!! Haven’t opened it yet, but I’m stoked! (my comp as well haha)  So as for now everyone can breathe a little, there won’t be any changes in the mission as of now.  They said it all depends on how Ollanta is when he is the actually president.  SO we will all just wait and see, but as for now I’m just here preaching my guts out in Perù! And I have to say I flippin Love Perù!!!  Its just too great! 

So this week has been one of the tuffest weeks of the mission.  We had a bunch of Investigators and a really high Goal for this month...  and they were droppin like flies!!! UGh it was the worst!!! I probably called all of them at least 30 times this week and they didnt answer their phone or their door!!! ¡¡¡NO HAY AMOR!!!  I was just really, really frustrated and i have this blasted head cold, i cant think straight! It’s like walking around with a cloud in my head trying to speak Spanish!!! NOT EASY! Haha but the other day I was just doing my personal study and I’m reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish, right now I’m in 3 Nephi and it is just too awesome!!! I was reading in 3 Nephi Chapter 9 and reading in Spanish isn’t the easiest thing, cause there are always new verbs and sometimes I gotta whip out my BOM in English to understand and sometimes it just frustrates me! And this particular morning (yesterday) I was in no mood to go through the translating onslaught, I just was reading “Our Search for Happiness” in English and enjoying it very much.  But the Spirit told me I needed to read my Book of Mormon in Spanish, dang I was in a personal Battle, my Natural Man did NOT want to but the spirit told me to! So I just went with what i felt, I mean what else can we do these days, and 3 Nephi 9 just spoke to me! It was just awesome.  Its right after Christ was Crucified and what happened in the Americas and the voice of the Lord just comes over all of the people and it’s just straight up AWESOMENESS!! From verse 13 till 22, he tells us what we must do to be saved.  The Lord tells us that His arm of Mercy is always extended and we just have to accept it! But how? This also refers to 2 Nephi 28, 31 and 32, some of my favorite scriptures in all the world.  But we just need to take his hand, but how... by offering a Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit.  NADA MÁS! But the question now is how to we offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit? By repenting and returning to the Lord as a small child, humble and meek.  That is what I was lacking this week, I was just losing my mind and flippin out about our investigators, then I realized, that I dont have to do it alone, I just gotta take a deep breath, Humble myself, take the Hand of the Lord as a small child and we will walk together.  We will just take it all on, and we will not lose or fail.  Because with the Lord, Nothing is Impossible.  So I did just that, knelt down and just said, I’m sorry for all the wrong I’m doing and that I had forgotten the Lord.   So, me and my comp decided to start a fast, and I have to tell you, I never really had a testimony of the Power of Fasting before my mission.  Before the mission, I fasted until after church and thought, yeah that should do it, and I would just sit my butt on the couch and watch football... I WAS SUCH A CHUMP!!! Fasting is sososososososo amazing.  If anyone out there is feeling confused, or just lost, then you should FAST!!!  But do it right, the full 24 hours, with prayer in your heart always, and dont forget to start it with a prayer and end it with a prayer and you will see miracles. 

So the bishop asked me to give a ten minute talk, 2 minutes before sacrament meeting started, and now I’m just like sure… Why not! I was TOTALLY UNFASED haha, but I got up there and I spoke on, “How we can’t wait till tomorrow to make changes, cause if we wait till tomorrow to act, Tomorrow might never come!  We have to act TODAY!” And I thought it was good, but you know me, when I get up and start talking who knows what’s going to come out of my mouth, and I just thanked them simply for their love, patience, and examples to me.  That they just accepted some Strange Gringo that doesn’t speak Spanish and they just loved me and really helped ME!!! I of course once again, you know me, THE TEARS STARTED COMING OUT LIKE A WATERFALL!  But it was sincere and real.  I love these people so much.  I can’t put it in words.  And maybe I only have 10 days more here (transfers are in 10 days) and after that who knows when I will see any of them again.  I had to tell them how it was.  I looked and the whole ward was all balling.  I closed by choking out Amen, and quickly returned to my seat, when I was ambushed by like half the ward. It was quite embarrassing, it was a Peruano Blur like 10 people were just hugging me and I dont even know what happened.  Haha it was really, really sweet. 

I love these people so much.  They are so amazing.  They just have something that isnt found very often in the USA and I think it is a pure and unconditional love for their fellow men.  If anyone ever thinks or says that they are better than someone because they are from the United States they are DEAD Wrong.  God loves us equally and Peru, here in Huanuco, they have something that we should all strive to have, especially me, a pure, unconditional love for everyone.  I love my mission i wouldn’t trade it for the world.  The Church is true.  So live it! 

Hey, I got a little trunky thinking how lucky Liney is to have visited and be visiting in Europe!!! You sly dog Liney!!!  I can’t believe your growing up sosososo fast!!! I’m jealous of ya little Liney! You will always be my best pal!!!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!  I pray for you constantly as we are apart!!!

KEEP IT REAL!!!

Elder Spencer Marty McGhie!!!

I have a couple extra seconds so i will send you a recap, I sent 2 emails home full of pics and then my normal email... hope it all worked out, also I sent a letter to Seth Tippets, Shawnie Holt, Bubba and Dad (for father’s day).  I’m sending Seth’s today and the others were sent last week... so tell em to be on the look out for my letters!!! LOVE YOU Mi MAMITA!!! CHUA!   Oh and my first photo is me and my zone on p day, second one, a returned missionary here in my ward made us tacos!!! SO GREAT!!! First time i have had a taco in like 7 months haha, that is me and my taco having a discussion before devouring it! The next picture is me and a Little Guiney Pig friend, and the next one is me eating it... HAHA DON’T HATE ME MOM!!!!  (Hi, this is Carrie/MOM and it wasn’t a funny picture at all, the poor little Guiney pig looked so scared! I totally raised Spencer to always respect animals…….Oh, he is so grounded when he gets home (in 16 months J)!! ………The picture haunts me in my dreams, just kidding but it isnt a nice picture and it wasn’t funny Spencer Martin McGhie!!)! MOM, I haven’t eaten Guiney Pig yet, so dont judge me….MOM!!! (Oh I am totally judging him J)!!!

PS, (sorry its me again!) I will send you guys the pictures in a 2^nd  email!!! But he is totally grounded when he gets home J!!! Oh and just so you know, the one picture with the Guiney Pig is not funny……….so not funny!!

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Love it while you have it

Well Hello there Family and Friends,

How we doing today!?  So first ill start out with some replies from the last emails i received... First of all a huge congrats to my boy Big Will Pavia!!! That mission sounds absolutely Awesome!!! Congrats my brother!!! Also a big congrats to Ainsley for her huge new calling in the ward, NURSERY!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! Ainsley, you stole dad´s dream calling!  So I’m interested to hear how Ainsley´s babysitting adventures turn out in the Nursery.  Also mom, thanks so much for your email last week, it was honestly AMAZING!  You were wrecking house in that email!!! My respects for sure!!! Oh, so last P Day we watched Mobsters and Mormons, and it was hilarious, and so weird to see Utah again!!! You guys should watch it for family night this week!!!

Well onto the big news, that tool, Ollanta won the election for President of Peru... oh crap! Im flippin out, I won’t lie, the rumor is that if he won then the church would automatically pull out all the Gringos as they did in Bolivia about 3 or 4 years ago! I wont lie I couldn’t sleep last night! I was just up and just thinking the whole night! I cant leave my Beloved Peru! I love these people too much! This is my mission; no other mission is my mission.  

 I dunno I was just thinking a lot and it hit me, the key to life is, ya gotta love all ya got, while ya still got it.   It is really the key to life.  Live, Love, and Laugh every single day. Enjoy every second of everything we have, because we just dont know what tomorrow will bring.  I don´t know how much time I have left in Peru.  But I will love every second of it.  Who knows maybe I will get to stay here, but it is doubtful... I have learned a valuable lesson; we must live every day, every moment and every second like it’s the last.  We must love it all, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly! When it seems like every person you talk to and contact in the street is an Evangelist that hates Mormons and just want to take you down, when the only people that want to talk to you are Drunk Guys, and Teenage Girls, and when not one of the investigators will even try to read the Book of Mormon and meditate about what it says and then pray to know if it’s true, what can or what should we do? Get on our knees and thank the Lord God above for one more day of life, another moment or opportunity to do something great.  We must enjoy every second of every day.  Life is too short, it is always changing, Time waits for No Man.  As I returned back to my room one day after having only a few lessons and the lessons didn’t go well, when I honestly can say almost every person we contacted was someone that attacked at least one aspect of the Church, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.  It is just so hard and so tuff sometimes, but it is so necessary and worth it.  And what we need to do is kneel in prayer and thank our Heavenly Father that we have this Gospel in our Lives, thank Him that we have this great opportunity to be here on the earth today.  And that there is hope in this world, we just have to BELIEVE! Just live with hope and trust in the Lord.

As I was studying I found a great scripture in D &C section 68 verse 7 (i think)  But it says ¨Be of good cheer, for I am the Lord they God and I WILL STAND BY YOU and you will preach of me, that I came, that I am, and that I will come again.”  Now I absolutely butchered that scripture but you get the picture.  It will be Terrible if I have to leave Peru and go to another country, but it’s not my will that matters, it’s the will of the Lord.  I don’t know what is going to happen, but what happens; let it happen, because I’m a Disciple of Jesus Christ.  I am his servant, Called By a Living Prophet of God, and in the end it doesn’t matter where you serve, be it Peru, Chile, The States, Canada, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, or Honduras it doesn’t matter where you serve, what is important is HOW you serve.  As the Hymn says, I´ll go where you want me to go dear Lord, over mountains, or plains or seas...  Now it’s my turn to show the Lord my loyalty to him.  And go and do, with a big old smile on my face!!! Cause we don’t know how long we got people!!! We dont know what will happen tomorrow, what circumstances will change, so we MUST enjoy all we have TODAY! Right NOW! I dont know how much time I have left here in my Beloved Peru, but I will enjoy, live, and love every moment I’ve got here in this wonderful country with these people i love.  Life is too short and too fast to be thinking of tomorrow or next week or in 2 years, let us live today with all we got, and wherever thou art, do well thy part!!! I know this is the Church of Jesus Christ.  My challenge to all today and forever, is Live today like its your last, love all around you, (even the drunk guys that just want free stuff and to bug ¨The Gringo¨)  If you could do anything for me today, just live it up today!!! Dont be afraid, cause we just never know what tomorrow will bring!!! Thanks Fam and all my great friends out there,

I LOVE YOU ALL SOSOSOSO MUCH!

And dont worry mom, all will work out for the best!

Elder Spencer Marty McGhie...

Hey……….I have a few more minutes, Oh what the bum, no email from dad!!! LAME SAUCE!!! Hey I’m sending home some letters today to Bubba, Ashley Anderson and Dad for father’s day. Tell Jordy I’m sending him a letter to his mission! So they should keep a look out for my letters, even if they are kindof short!!!! Haha   Love ya,  mom and dont worry everything will work out for the best, I’m worried but I’m not freaking out much anymore, it’s the will of the Lord, its in His hands!!! Sorry my email was a little bit crazy! Oh, when does Jake Corry leave?

I havc no idea, but he makes me laugh :)!!