Family,
I actually had a super great week. However, unfortunately, it ended badly. I got changed. I am back in Guayaquil and as a district leader again. I don’t know what happened, but a whole ton of zone leaders got dropped to district leaders this change. To me, it is kind of hard to take... I don´t know what I did wrong.
I had a lot of great experiences this week that I just don`t feel like explaining because I am kind of bummed about getting dropped.
At church on Sunday, a man named Darwin showed up with his inactive wife. I remember seeing him at church my first week. He didn`t want anything to do with us when he came the first time. But this time, six months later, he came to church super excited and participating. I couldn`t believe it. God reminded me that this is His work. It is not my work. He is the only one who can work miracles in the lives of these people. Darwin`s father-in-law gave him a blessing during the week and Darwin was healed instantly. He said he gained a testimony of the church in that moment and he will be baptized on the 22nd of September.
I also felt something I never had felt before; a love for the people of Cuenca, unlike any I have experienced since being here. As we knelt down to pray with one of our investigators, I pleaded with Heavenly Father in my heart to touch the heart of this man and allow him to change. My companion was praying out loud, but I was praying in my heart. And I did it out of the love I had for this man I had never met before. I surprised myself. It is difficult for me to explain, but I just felt such a pure love for the people I taught this week. That love carried over to my personal prayers as I prayed for every investigator individually, asking that God help them to accept this gospel. I prayed for my missionaries, their sectors, their investigators, my family, my friends, Sarah and her family, with this same love that I had experienced all that week.
I am grateful for the experiences that I had in Cuenca. They have helped me grow as a missionary and as a person. I still don’t understand why I got lowered to a district leader again, and I am sorry if I let anyone down for that. But, I now have a great opportunity to be in Guayaquil as a district leader with all the experience of a zone leader.
Life can be as hard, easy, happy, or sad as you make it. Keep the big purpose in perspective and everything else doesn`t bother you. Remember that you are a child of god who loves you. That He sent his son to earth to die for us so that we all may be saved if we stay faithful to the covenants that we have made. That is actually how easy life is. Why be preoccupied with anything else? God just asks that we all try our best to keep his commandments and magnify our callings in life. And he even promises to help us and bless us if we do. What do we have to be worried about or sad about? In the end, if we are faithful, we will be saved. Nothing else matters. So do your best to forget about all the little things that happen in life that make us upset (Cleaning garages, surgeries, school, work, ect.). And I will do my best to keep that perspective in mind as well.
My new companion is Elder LLanco from Peru. We are going to work hard and have baptisms. It is about time I complete my missionary purpose to its fullest potential.
Love,
Elder McRae
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