First week in the field!

Hey guys! Everything is going wonderful up here in Tremonton but everything still feels like a dream. I'm usually expecting to wake up in Saudi then I would have to get ready but instead, I wake up with my companion going to the bathroom. It still feels weird haha. 

Day 1 - After unpacking, we went out and taught Jessica. She is a manly female meaning that she looks like a male but is a female. She was born with both female and male organs. Her parents decided to make her a boy because her parents always wanted a boy. Up to three years ago, she always felt that she is really a girl so she underwent a gender change surgery. We talked her for an astonishing THREE hours. My companion, Elder Zarse, kept apologizing and said that it should never be that long. We started out great and she was paying attention when we were teaching her the Plan of Salvation. After a half hour, I think she got bored and started talking about herself. My comp and I decided to listen. She went on and on about her really interesting life for 2 1/2 hours. 

After we left, we went to Favian's house. He has this weird thing that he can't produce hair. At all. He has no eyelashes, no eyebrows, and no hair pretty much everywhere. He has a really good testimony and he is a really good investigator but in the past few days, he claims to be really 'busy'. We could tell that he wasn't. I told him to read 2 Ne 31 and left. 

Day 2 - We started out our day by talking to this 13 years old boy named Kramer. He has an attention span of like one minute so my comp and I try to teach everything within that minute. So far, not good but he wants to be baptized. As we talked to her mom, she was saying nasty things about him and how he sins so much. Zarse and I decided to hold back on the baptismal date and try to change how Kramer behaves around family. After we talked to Kramer's mom, we walked back to our car and I could see this one house pretty much stick out. I told my companion that we should knock on that door. He agreed and we went up to this really nice, huge house. The two people who opened the door are two really young married couple. They were like, "Hey missionaries! Come on in!". It was really awesome. After they invited us in, they told us about their four kids and how they both want their kids to have the gospel in their lives. It turns out that the father is a cop for the town of Tremonton and he works a lot, especially on weekends. The mom has anxiety issues so in big crowds, she gets really nervous. They both were baptized as teenagers. They have a 9 years old daughter named Mika and she wants to be baptized but she literally has no knowledge of the gospel. Zarse and I quickly made an appointment with the Glovers family so we can teach Mika and her family.

Day 3 - We did a lot of service projects on this day. In the morning, we got to go to a farm whose owners' are members of the church. We harvested green onions and carrots for them then we had to get going to DLT (District Leadership Training). It was pointless for me because I didn't hold any leadership position but I had to go because of Zarse's position (he's DL). After DLT, we got to spend 3 hours for weekly planning. We planned on how we are going to help teach ALL of our investigators and made some goals (like how many BoMs to give out etc). Zarse did most of the talking. I literally just agreed on everything. After our weekly planning, we got to the burger place in the Tremonton Fair and work there. Tremonton has an annual fair, it's kinda like a carnival. The burger place is purely for charity. The owners take money to cover the costs and donate the rest to charity. They make ~25k a DAY. It's crazy. Elder Zarse and I mostly took orders and fulfilled them. We grabbed burgers that was already made and handed them out. We did that for about 3 hours and it was really fun. A lot of people were happy to be able to talk to us and ask us questions about the church. It was awesome!

Day 4 - We did a lot of tracting on this day but it was all to no avail. Despite the bad day, we had a dinner appointment with the Glovers and they had Dominoes pizza! It was crazy awesome! They had pepperoni, bacon w/ jalapenos and veggie pizzas. It was delicious. After that we got to teach the kids about the BoM and we gave them a the book called, "Book of Mormon Stories for Kids". The parents were ecstatic. They loved having us over. They wanted to do it again so we're going back there tonight. I'm excited! Tremonton on Day 5 had the best sunset I have ever seen. It was absolutely beautiful. I took a picture btw :).

Day 5 - The first Sunday for me in Tremonton. We cover one stake (Tremonton West) and with it, eight wards. We only had time to go to two sacrament meetings and guess what?! Zarse and I gave a talk in the Tremonton 7th ward. I think I did a really good job. A lot of the members approached me and Zarse and told us that we both did a really good job. I'm glad that happened, because I was able to "inspire" a whole ward. We got a lot of offers for dinner appointments which is really AWESOME! We had a dinner appointment with the Murdocks this night. We had pot roast with vegetables which, of course, is quite delicious. After that, we had dessert which was vanilla ice cream on brownies. It was "good". Of course Mom, I ate it all! 

Day 6 (yesterday) - We visited Favian and he still hasn't read 2 Ne 31 yet.. He said that he was busy and we offered to read it with him. He declined but he promised that he will read it this week. I hope he is not lying with that promise. We had another dinner appointment last night and it was with the Richardsons. Their oldest daughter just returned from the Philippines Manila mission. It made me think about the Jubail Branch (You rock guys!) We had some Filipino food and it was really good! They fed Zarse and I peaches and strawberries on the side. Again, it was "good", and yes, I ate it all, with a lot of water gone to my stomach. After dinner with the Richardsons, we had the most amazing discussion about the Atonement. The Spirit was so strong and I enjoyed every single moment of it. We talked about the Atonement for about a hour and then we had to go because the kids has their first day of school tomorrow (which is August 27). It was my favorite lesson that I have taught so far on my mission. I never felt the Spirit so strong anywhere else besides the Temple and the MTC. 

Day 7 (TODAY! :)) - It was P-Day and Zarse and I went to the Logan temple with a couple other Elders in our district tagged along with us. It was so awesome being able to see how awesome Logan is. It really reminded me of you, Mom! Then we got to go to this cafe and we got the meal for free, of course (Missionaries are like celebrities here in the Utah Ogden mission). So far in the past week, I have spent a total of 7 bucks and that was for breakfast stuff. Some strangers gave Zarse and I money which totaled up to 10 bucks each. It was awesome! 

I love you guys and I think about you every single day! I miss you guys! So much! Love, Elder McGrath
I forgot one thing to add:

The Utah Ogden mission motto is:
IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A MISSIONARY IN THE UTAH OGDEN MISSIONARY."

I begged Zarse to allow me to send this email. He finally said yes. :) I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM!

The mission field

Hey guys! I really wanted to call you guys but no one did yesterday and President Hiers never offered any of us. I almost cried last night :(. My new companion is from Germany. Yep! GERMANY! So far, all of my companions are from Germany. Crazy huh? His name is Elder Zarse and he's been in his mission for a year now. 

Last week at the MTC, we had this In-Field orientation which was all day. It basically talked about what was going to happen in the field and how to react to it. It was really interesting and informative. I'm quite glad that I got to go to it. 

Yesterday, I took a train up to Ogden and it was a 2 hour ride (the train is kinda like the Metro in AZ) and it felt like forever. I think it was due to the excitement that I had. After I arrived in Ogden with the other missionaries, I got to meet President Hiers and went to his house to have a testimony meeting (which was AWESOME), more training (sigh), and hanging out with my district one last time. President Hiers and his wife is an awesome couple. They really care for us! The motto of the Utah Ogden mission is as follows: "It's a great day to be a missionary in the Utah Ogden mission". How cool is that?! 

Today, I got to meet Elder Zarse for the first time and I found out that I was assigned to the Tremonton area. I was ecstatic! We have an awesome car and Tremonton is like a farm area. A lot of the families are pretty spread out and the next 12 weeks (the time I have with Zarse) should be quite interesting. I have my first lessons tonight and to be honest, I'm a little nervous even though I'm totally prepared and everything. Zarse and I will be teaching Kramer who is a 13 years old boy who has a less-active mother. We will be also teaching Jessica who had a birth defect when she was born. She had male and female organs so her parents decided to make her a boy. As she grew up, she realized that inside her, she was really a female. Zarse described her as a manly woman. It should be an interesting evening! :)

Tremonton also has a county fair sort of thing. Zarse and I were going to go to the fair and try to contact more people. I'm really excited for this opportunity and I'm so happy to start sharing the gospel with other people. 

I love you guys so freaking much! Not a day goes by without thinking of you. You guys are the best! I can't wait to see you in 2 long years. I'm excited to see our family reunited. :) Jake, Happy birthday! I'm glad that you enjoyed my gift and I'm sorry for missing your birthday! I love you! Mom, I almost cried when I received the package with the socks and some candy. I was lucky to have Zarse comfort me! You really are the best mother ever! I wish I can write more! 

Sorry, this is much as I can do with this short limit on time. I wanted to send pictures :). I have my lesson in about 15 minutes.

Hello from the MTC

Sorry for the LONG wait for the email. I had to wait out an ENTIRE week to write an email. This day and only is my P-day. It's so nice to be able to wear regular clothes and not have to worry about understanding certain doctrines. 

When I arrived at the MTC on Aug 7, they took me to meet my district. They are very nice people who have a burning desire to serve a mission. They then ushered me to all of these stupid orientations. One of these orientations was to practice teaching to an investigator as a big group (+- 100 missionaries). After 5 whole minutes with a new potential investigator, one Elder decided to challenge him to a baptism. The whole room literally laughed him out, I felt so bad for him but at least, he learned a lesson: don't be so overzealous with new investigators. Learning doesn't happen overnight. 

I also got to meet my teachers on Aug 7. One of them is named Brother Harward and he played basketball at BYU and he is super tall. It's crazy! The other teacher is named Brother Burgin and he loves sports but he has cerebral palsy. He and I have a really close connection. It's really cool having a connection with the teachers. They are so awesome at teaching the doctrines of the gospel!

One guy on Aug 8 approached me to say hi but the funny part was the biblical language. He was like, "How art thou, Elder?" It was super hard not to laugh but I instantly thought after that situation was that I should've talked in third person. 

On Aug 8, we had this branch presidency meeting with the new districts.They went over all of the rules which took FOREVER but I was pleased to be knowing all of the rules now. After that, they took each of one of us one by one to have an interview. I aced my interview and as a result (I think), I was called to be District Leader! I am so happy be able to serve the missionaries in my district. Some of the district members (a few days later) complimented on my ability to be a leader which was really really cool. They also said that they love how I give people free agency as long as it complies with the missionary rules.

Elder Tillett is my companion and he is a really cool guy. He is also a very short person so it was weird at first for feeling soo tall! He is a very spiritual person and he loves computers so we talk about computers so much. He also loves computer programming, specifically Java. All of that is a plus. He can be kinda up tight sometimes but he's more relaxed now. I'm happy about it. He is such a great guy. He's from Germany and he and I are the only international (but with American nationalities) missionaries in our ENTIRE zone. The Elders and Sisters kept asking us many questions about Saudi Arabia and Germany. Elder Tillett and some of my district members are going to be serving in the Missouri Independence mission so after next Tuesday (my Departure date), I might never see him again in my entire life but I hope to see him again after my mission.

The MTC is just purely awesome; the food there are okay, not the best and not the worst. It really is all you can eat but I try to limit myself to one portion to limit my weight gain. As a result of that, I can feel myself losing some weight so I'm super happy about that.Elder Gallagher and Elder Gruen are bunking in my room along with Elder Tillett. They are great people (I LOVE my district! I bet you can tell that ;))! Elder Gruen is from San Diego while Elder Gallagher is from San Antonio. They both have a burning desire to serve a mission and they both are very funny people!

Elder Tillett and I are progressing extremely well when it comes to teaching to investigators. I owe that to my teachers. They are such excellent teachers. I love them! One of my investigators is named George and he is an amputee due to some blood clot in the femoral artery. He served in the Vietnam war. He loved me because I was deaf so he and I instantly made a connection but he really didn't like Elder Tillett very much. I kinda felt bad for my companion. George is such a great guy! He really cares about the gospel!

We also got to go to the Provo temple last Sunday and it was just awesome! I love it. I also got to see Rock Shill and it was really cool.

Elder Collin Overall (he's going to Germany and he's one of my best friends) lives on the same floor as me! It was freakin amazing seeing him again! We got to play basketball together as well as some other Elders. It was so awesome getting to see him again. And yes, I saw Jordyn Alstrom at the MTC. She is a really cool girl and it was awesome talking to her again. 

Last night, my district and I got to attend the Tuesday Devotional at the Marriott Center and we got to hear from Richard G. Scott from the quorum of the twelve apostles. He is such a great guy! He talked a lot about prayer. You can't rush an effective prayer. That was my favorite line from him. I can feel the Spirit so strong. I never felt so warm in my life.I have enclosed a lot of pictures! I hope you like them a lot. Elder Gruen is the blond guy and Elder Gallagher is the ginger one. Elder Tillett (my comp) is the short one with blond hair and glasses. I hope you like them. I love it here at the MTC! I think about you guys EVERY DAY! It was kind of excruciating to hear you last Monday that you haven't received my letters yet. I wrote a LOT of them. I hope this email will be sufficient enough to last you guys for the week. 

I know with all of my heart that the church is true. The Book of Mormon is truly an another testament of Jesus Christ and is definitely a companion to the Bible. If you read it, ponder it, and pray about it, you will receive a confirmation of the truthfulness of the BofM. The Doctrine of Christ is just simply amazing. Jesus Christ, our brother, died on the cross for us because He loves us VERY MUCH! Heavenly Father sees us as his children. He sees us for who we CAN be. 

I love you guys so much! I loooove reading your emails and YES, I love the doughnuts. They were extremely delicious. Keep the letters coming! My district is a little jealous. I love and think about you guys every day! Stay strong, mi familia. I love you guys so much! :) Love, Elder Sam McGrath

P.S. Yes, I have been writing in my journal EVERY day! I love it! :)

Setting Apart of Caden Samuel McGrath as a missionary by President Kent Christensen

Caden Samuel McGrath, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold, we lay our hands on your head and set you apart as a missionary – a full-time missionary – in the Utah Ogden Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder McGrath, as a full-time missionary you have great responsibilities, and great blessings and opportunities that are yours. We bless you at this time that you might be able to feel the mantle of missionary work on your shoulders; that you might have an enlightening opportunity in your heart and your mind and your soul that will give you that opportunity to be able to experience that joy and happiness that comes from serving a full-time mission.

We bless you that you might be able to understand the full vision and opportunity that is yours. There are people that are prepared to hear the gospel. Some are prepared for you or some are prepared just to hear the gospel, but you have been called by a Prophet, by the Spirit of Revelation, to go to this mission – to be able to serve and to reach out to those people in this mission – to be able to share with them your testimony and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We bless you that you might be able to be a worthy missionary. We bless you that you will be able to be diligent and serve our Heavenly Father in a way that will be pleasing to Him and pleasing to you; that you might remember that you have two short years to serve a mission, and the rest of your life to be able to look back and remember the great opportunities and the great blessings and experiences that you will receive while you’re there.

Elder McGrath, we bless you that you might be able to continue to read your scriptures, that you will continue to pray and study, and that Heavenly Father will respond to your prayers – you will receive answers to your prayers. He will direct you as to where you should go and who you should speak to, and even at times (as we learn in the Doctrine and Covenants) that as you open your mouth, words will be put into your mouth, that you might be able to share with people what our Heavenly Father would have you share; that you will be His mouthpiece. We bless you that as you go forth in love and in purity, and in a manner that would be appropriate as a missionary, that the angels will stand by you and buoy you up. There will be days that are difficult; there will be days that are a struggle, but we bless you that on those days you might remember that your family and your friends and your branch and people in the temple every day are praying for you, and praying for our missionaries throughout the world. There are many many missionaries in the world. We need those missionaries, and we need them all to be upright and strong, and be good examples and to do what our Heavenly Father would have them do. We bless you that you might be able to be this kind of a missionary.

We bless you that you will remember to write your family once a week; that you will be able to remember that communication that way is so important for you to be able to share your testimony and your experiences, and also for your parents and your family to learn about how you’re doing and be able to be connected with you through this opportunity. They will learn and grow and have such great experiences through your experiences. We bless you that you might be able to share those things with them; that they might be able to feel of your Spirit and your growth and your opportunities that are coming your way. We bless you that as you bear your testimony that the Spirit will be strong; that people will feel of that Spirit and feel of the testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. Remember that it is not you that converts – it’s the Holy Ghost that converts people. But we bless you that you might be a mouthpiece of our Heavenly Father, and the Holy Ghost will be felt through your feelings and your testimony and your teaching – the people will feel that Spirit and the Holy Ghost and have desires to become baptized and learn more.

We bless you with health and strength. We bless you as you serve our Heavenly Father, that you might find that you have strength as you live the Word of Wisdom and continue to do so; that you might have even hidden knowledge and strength that would allow you to do things that perhaps you might even not realize you can do; that you might be able to have the energy and strength and the stamina to continue the work as a missionary. This is a hard work sometimes, but as you take care of your body and you listen to your body, and you eat appropriately and do all the things that you need to do, that your body will work well and that you’ll serve you well, that you might be able to continue your work in your mission as you need to. We bless you that you’ll keep a journal and be able to record all of these special events that will happen; that you might be able to look back on those many years down the road and feel much happiness and satisfaction and joy, and the knowledge of the gospel, and that the many little things that build your testimony and help you become the kind of future leader of the church that you need to be. We bless you with all the things that our Heavenly Father sees you stand in need of. Remember always to go to Him in prayer and to make all your decisions a matter of prayer; that He will guide you and He will direct you; that He will help you with your companions.

We bless you that you might be able to be a peacemaker; that you might be able to work well and closely with your companions; that you will be able to get along and the Spirit will be there together, as you have unity and love one with another, as you learn to work with different kinds of people and different temperaments and different personalities; that this will also be a blessing to you in your life. We bless your family through you that they might feel of your Spirit and that they might enjoy this wonderful experience along with you, as you serve and as they learn and grow and hear your testimony. Don’t hesitate to bear your testimony often. That is a beautiful opportunity to be able to share the Spirit with people. Take advantage every chance you get to do that. We bless you with all these things, and anything else that our Heavenly Father would see that you stand in need of, with calm and peace; knowing that this is the right thing to do; knowing that everything will be well. The scary and difficult and as strange as it may be, that the Lord is on their side; that He will direct you and guide you aright, that you might be able to do all that He would ask you to do. We say these things humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen