Miracles

Hey everyone! I hope that y'all are having a great week. I did. Tomorrow is transfers. I will be staying in Morgan with Elder Aston. I am so happy about that. He is a great missionary!

It is unbelievably crazy how fast time has gone by this past transfer. I am now going into my last transfer. It is so crazy to think that I am one of the oldest missionaries out in the Utah Ogden Mission. That is nuts. Hopefully, this transfer will go very well. I know that as long as I work my hardest, the Lord will provide. He always does. 

Last Tuesday evening was awesome. We were able to see Jasyn Jones take out his endowments and it was incredible. Brother Madeo (his fellowshipper) told me his conversion story on the way back and it was awesome. He has came a long way to where he is now. He is staying strong in the Gospel. It is always great to see that. 

The McDermott family is doing awesome! They are progressing very well. We talked to the mother last Sunday and to our surprise, they want to reschedule. The kids really want to be baptized on July 4th, not the 18th. I am all good with that. Junior and Alazae are so ready to be baptized! 

The Fairbourns are doing well. We got to talk to the family a few days ago and the father told us that he wants to go for July now. He doesn't want to procrastinate anymore. It was awesome hearing that. Hopefully, it will go through. The family has gone through a lot. They are such an awesome family to teach. 

Matt and Tana Lewis are doing awesome! Tana has a huge desire to become active in the church and go to the Temple. Her husband, Matt, isn't too interested in the Gospel. He is a nonmember and she is a member. We had a couple really good lessons with them and they both came to church last Sunday! yay!! Hopefully, things will change with Matt. He really needs the Gospel in his life!

The lesson with Kayle and Weston fell through yesterday but they still want to meet with us. We have an appointment with them tomorrow evening. I am hoping that it will go through. They are a cool family to teach! 

Last Sunday for Father's Day, Elder Aston and I were invited to eat dinner with the Peterson family in the Peterson Ward in Peterson, Utah. They are a insanely cool family. It was an awesome dinner appointment. Anyways, at the end of the dinner appointment, we shared a spiritual thought and asked for referrals. They gave us a name: Maddie. They barely gave us much information. They just gave us background information but no address and phone number. We just disregarded the referral because they informed us that they will try to find an address. 

Not even a hour later, we were visiting one of the Ward Mission Leaders in one of the Stakes. The WML and his wife were the fellowshipper for Kayle and Weston and we were planning on teaching the Restoration. Since they are very good friends, we went over and shared a spiritual thought. After sharing the spiritual thought, we handed them a couple copies of The Book of Mormon and invited them to write their testimony inside. The family was super happy to have an opportunity to do that. All of the sudden, their son (who is about 17 years old) told us that he has a friend who has been wanting to meet with the missionaries. He told us the background story and how she is a Catholic. She went to a full year of seminary and has been reading The Book of Mormon. She told him that she wants to meet with the missionaries. After hearing all of that, I asked him the name of the girl that wants to meet with us. He replied with ... Maddie. 

Right after hearing that, Elder Aston and I looked at each other and we had a huge smile. After that, he told us that he will invite her over for a lesson later this week. We are hoping that this will go through. What a miracle!

A few days ago, we stopped by the Relief Society President in one of the wards that we are serving in and we were asking for referrals. After getting some, we were about to leave and we were thanking her for her time. She responded by thanking us for our talks and we talked a little bit about the talk and people the ward. All of the sudden, she just propped right up and told us that she has someone for us to teach. It was a 9 years old granddaughter of hers, Kylee. She lives in a different ward but same stake. She is not a member but really wants to be baptized. We were able to set a lesson with her but that one fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. We are planning on teaching her later this week. 

I am super stoked with the way things are going. Many great things are happening and I am so excited to be staying in Morgan for my last transfer on my mission. I love being a missionary so much and I am looking forward to making my last transfer worth every single second. I love being able to teach others about Jesus Christ. I know that He is our Savior! He lives!

I love you all so much and stay strong!! Have a great week!! Love, Elder McGrath

New investigator

Hey everyone! I hope that you are having a great week. I did. I had an awesome week. We had a lot of ups and downs this week but it ended so well. We had a lot of great things happen. 

First things first, Elder Aston and I are going to the Ogden Temple to support Jasyn Jones. He is going to get his endowments taken out so that is awesome. I am so stoked for this. It will be a extremely exciting evening for him. He has came a long way for this and I am so happy for Jasyn. He is a good man. 

Last night, Elder Aston and I had an awesome lesson with the McDermott family. They are doing very well. They are progressing quite nicely. They are reading the scriptures, praying and attending church. We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the kids absorbed it like a sponge. It is so awesome to see kids learn and understand. It is really cool! Junior and his little sister, Alazae (pronounced: Ali-zay) are wanting to be baptized but some things came up and their baptism has been pushed back to July 18th... :( But, at least, they have a desire to be baptized and is working towards baptism. They are doing well. 

The Fairbourn family is doing well. They are consistently doing the things that they need to do. We are trying our best to help them out. They are soooo close to get there. So close. They need your prayers!!

Courtt and Chad are doing SOOO awesome! We taught them a couple times and they are progressing. They are wanting to do baptisms for the dead and the Bishop has an interview with them this Sunday. Hopefully, it will go through and they will keep progressing after their baptism. The mother also has been wanting to do baptisms for the dead. They are hoping to do some by the end of June or the beginning of July. 

Matt and Tana Lewis are doing well. They are reading scriptures but they are having a hard time with church. We talked a lot about the fact that it is not enough to know, it is in the doing. You can't just know; if you really knew, you'd do it. 

Last Thursday, Elder Aston and I started teaching a hard of hearing lady, Laura. She was raised in the Church but is not active right now. She is 31 years old and has moderate hearing loss. She wears hearing aids but even with those, she still has a hard time hearing. During the lesson, we would have to speak loud and clear so she could understand us. She has trouble following conversations. We had a really spiritual lesson with her and things went super well. I am excited to teach her.

So, I bet you are wondering what is with the title. I saved this part for the last part of my email because it is the best highlight of the week! It all happened last night. 

A few days ago, we contacted this woman, who is living with her boyfriend and we were talking. Her name is Kale (pronounced: Kay-lee) and she grew up in Morgan and went to Weber State for college. She never met with the missionaries and is not a member. We were able to set up an appointment for last night. 

We stopped by and we had an incredible lesson. The boyfriend (Weston) is not active in the church and he really doesn't know anything. Kale grew up in Morgan but knows nothing about the Church. She never grew up with religion of any sort. She doesn't know that much about God, which is AWESOME! You never really get that here in Utah. This means that Elder Aston and I will be able to teach her and help her to learn more. We won't have to explain false doctrine and anti stuff. She really wants to learn more about the church and has a desire to do so. She wants to know what's making other LDS people so happy. We told her that we have the answers for her. :) 

What an incredible experience to have. I love being a missionary. I love being able to provide answers to life's greatest questions. God is indeed our loving Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ is His Son and the perfect example. Through Jesus Christ, we can return and live in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ taught us what we needed to do. He showed us. He never said: Do as I say. Instead, he said: Do as I do. He was baptized by someone holding the proper authority of God. We should do the same. I know that by following His commandments, we can find that happiness that we all seek in life. His way is the only way; there is no other way. 

I love you all and stay strong. Be safe on the flight home and enjoy the Arizona heat for me. I love you all so much! Love, Elder McGrath

Power went out one night.

Another week gone

Hello everyone, I had a good week this past week. We had some disappointments but we also had some good things happen this past week. So, I am happy with the way that everything is going. I am super stoked to see what is going to happen for the next couple months. 

First off, Elder Aston and I have been working with Jasyn Jones. He got reactived a couple months before I came into this area and we are helping him prepare to go to the Temple. He just got a calling as a facilities manager (the guy that makes sure that all of the windows and doors are closed and locked). He is enjoying that immensely. Something cool happened last Sunday, we got a text from his fellowshipper and he informed us that Jasyn is going to get his endowments taken out later this month and he would like us to come. It will be really cool to see that happen. It is always amazing to witness converts attend the Temple for the first time. Even though I wasn't here for the majority of the teaching, I feel honored and privileged to be able to witness him making covenants with our Heavenly Father. It is amazing! :) 

Yesterday, Elder Aston and I had an amazing lesson with Courtt and Chad. They are still active and staying strong in the church. They are having the Bishop of the Ward come over to their house tomorrow and talk about getting the Priesthood and obtaining a Temple Recommend to do baptisms for the dead. 

We were able to talk a lot about the Temple with them and we told them that they can do baptisms for the dead. The mother (who got reactivated) is so excited. She has never done it before but she told us that she has been wanting to go inside the Temple. Great things are happening with the family and I am so happy about all of this. I love the Temple so much!! :) 

Last Friday, we were able to do some service for the Fairbourn family. We helped them even out the dirt on their front yard and do some sod laying. At first, it was just Elder Aston and I. After like 30-45 minutes, six people came and started helping out. It was incredible to see the father express a lot of joy and happiness in seeing the neighbors helping out. After the service, I was talking to Brother Fairbourn and we were talking about how often we see the blessings that God has given us. It was an incredible experience and I am so glad that the Fairbourn family was able to do it. 

Can you all please pray for the Fairbourn family, especially the father? Brother Fairbourn is struggling with the Word of Wisdom and he really wants to baptize Emma and Hayden. He relapsed a few days ago and because of that, he cannot baptize his kids on the 20th. We are hoping to go for the 27th and Brother Fairbourn needs a lot of prayers!!

A few days ago, Elder Aston and I started teaching a family, the Lewis family. The wife is a member but inactive, the husband is a nonmember and they had a baby 3 months ago. They just got the baby blessed last Sunday and the entire family was there. It was super cool! The husband, Matthew, isn't super interested in the Gospel but we are trying to change that right now. We are teaching about how the Gospel blesses families and the fact that families can be together forever. We are hoping that things will go well with the family. 

Junior McDermott is doing awesome. He is so excited to be baptized. He even told us that he is more excited to baptized on a holiday! He is getting baptized on the 4th of July. 

A lot of great things are happening here in Morgan. I feel very privileged to be a missionary here in Morgan. I am loving it here!!!!!!! What a great area to serve in. 

I love  you all so much and stay safe over there in Saudi Arabia. Good luck on the flight home. Stay strong! Love you!!! Love, Elder McGrath

Baptisms in Morgan

Hey everyone, I had an awesome week in the Utah Ogden Mission. A lot of great things happened and I am loving every moment of it. The Morgan schools got out for the summer so it will be a lot easier to find more people to teach because more people are at home during the afternoons. Yay for summer!! 

First things first, last Saturday was amazing. I was able to witness Courtt and Chad Stark enter the waters of baptism. It was an amazing baptismal service. Almost half of the people that came was standing because the Relief Society Room was so packed. It was definitely full of jubilant people that wanted to support Courtt and Chad. Something that made it so awesome was that Courtt bore his testimony and talked about how the Gospel changed his life. It was an amazing testimony to hear. Courtt has gone through a lot. He even signed up for seminary last year and that helped with his conversion. It was no accident that he got baptized. He, along with his brother, was definitely prepared to hear about the Gospel. 

They both are planning on getting the Priesthood within a couple weeks and hopefully, go to the Temple and do baptisms for the dead. Elder Aston and I are very excited about this whole thing. Conversion rocks! 

The Fairbourn family is a marvelous family. They are doing such an unbelievable job. They are faithfully reading the scriptures, praying and attending church weekly. The father, Andy, is so committed to the Gospel because he wants so badly to be worthy so he can baptize his own kids. Guess what? The family is not sealed so after the baptism, we hope to assist them in getting on that path to the Temple. Incredible things are happening with this family. I feel so privileged to be part of their conversion, even it is for a small part. I am thrilled for June 20th because that is the big day for the family. The day when Emma and Hayden enter the waters of baptism. Exciting things are happening! 

Last Tuesday night, we met with Junior and his family. They are an amazing family. Junior's aunt left on a mission a few months ago and his uncle, Cody, just got back on Monday (he was there for the lesson last night). The lesson went super well. Junior and his younger sister (who turns eight on July 2nd) know a ton. I was impressed with their knowledge. They are now preparing to be baptized on the 4th of July, two days after Junior's sister turns eight years old. I am pleased to be able to teach them and to help them get what they want, which is baptism. :) 

Elder Aston and I had a really good week with finding. We found a couple potential investigators that we will start teaching in the next couple weeks. We cover 21 wards and there is one ward that has 6 potential investigators that is close to meeting with the missionaries (never had this in any of my previous areas). Morgan is a FANTASTIC area with a lot of potential. I am loving my time here. I love being a missionary so much. I love the people that I teach. I love helping them become closer to Jesus Christ.

Something cool that I read in the Book of Mormon during personal study that I really want to share with you all:

Ether 12: 8-9

8 But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.

9 Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.

I know He lives! Partake of His gift! I love you all so much. Stay strong and have a great week. Good luck with the Saudi heat. Love, Elder McGrath