sammission: Clinton is awesome

Hola, mi amigos! Clinton is awesome! I love being in this area! Clinton West is a walking area and to be honest, I love it because I can burn off the 30 pounds that I have gained in my last area! haha.

My companion is Elder Mason Kelley and he is from orange county, California. He is a really cool guy and he is very hard-working. He has a super strong testimony and he knows why he is out here. Because of his willingness to work hard, we have been working super hard and we have seen many blessings come as a result! As Kelley says after each blessing we see, "PRAISE THE LORD!" hahahaha. That's his way of showing appreciation. He is my first (yes, my first! out of my five comps) comp who actually wants to go to the gym. We wake up at 5:45am to go to the gym and we work out for a hour. Twice a week, the zone does Insanity. During our first zone Insanity, I thought it was super easy at first but then it got harder and harder. I thought I was going to throw up at the end. Haha. My companion almost threw up too! haha! It was interesting.

Day 1 (Tuesday, February 4) - This day was the day before transfers. I was able to say goodbye to a bunch of people that I have met over during my time in Tremonton. It was an awesome day. I spent the rest of the day chilling out and packing. I never knew that I have so much crap. haha

Day 2 (Wednesday, February 5) - That day was transfers. The UOM had a shuttle that went from Ogden to Brigham City to Logan to Brigham City and then back to Ogden. I took the last leg and it was really interesting.

We were able to see Krystal Cook. She is an unbaptized single, pregnant 30 years old lady. She is a really cool lady! We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and talk about how important it is to read it and ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if the book is true. We can be answered through the Holy Ghost (Galatians 5:22).

We also got to meet Dannon Allred who is a 11 years old boy. He is a genius but he has a psycho freak mom who is a huge drug addict and is also a pathological liar. Dannon's aunt lives with the family and takes care of the 5 kids. Dannon had to go through a lot to get where he is right now. He is a great kid! Luckily, he has grandparents who are living in Bountiful and they are trying to get custody of the kids so they can grow up in a safe home. Dannon is going to get baptized this Saturday (the 15th of February!) and we were able to set up his baptismal service last night. It was really cool! He has been going to church every Sunday for the past three months with his grandparents.

Day 3 (Thursday, February 6) - We also got to see Krystal Cook again and we got to teach her the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She took it really well and she committed to baptism on March 15th! Hopefully, that will work out! :)

We also got to teach Morgan. His parents went through a temple divorce because his father broke temple covenants. He got excommunicated for the second time... Morgan is only 9 years old. It's tough for him. We were able to teach him about a couple commandments, the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Tithing. It was awesome! He also committed to baptism on March 8th!

We also got to see Dannon again! :D We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for his age, he knows his stuff. He is a really smart kid!

Day 4 (Friday, February 7) - That day was my sixth month mark. I still cannot believe how fast time is flying. I love being a missionary so much!

Our two lessons fell through that day so we were able to drop off the Book of Mormon for Kids for Dannon so he could read it at his grandparents' house. We did a lot of finding and we were able to get a bunch of TTI (Teach, Testify, Invite. one of the key indicators in the UOM.)

Day 5 (Saturday, February 8) - Elder Kelley and I were able to see James Wales who is from the Philippines. (Shout out to the Jubail Branch Filipinos!!). He is a nonmember who married an active member. They have been going to church every single week! His family is so amazing at music. They have a lot of siblings so it's like a family band and they are INCREDIBLE! We were able to teach them the Restoration and he committed to baptism on the 22nd of February. Miracles are HAPPENING! I love being a missionary!

Day 6 (Sunday, February 9) - Elder Kelley and I were able to go to a bunch of ward councils on that day and we went to one sacrament meeting. The talks were on charity and love. It was incredible. The people in the Clinton West stake is awesome! We were able to visit James Wales again because he is on the road during weekdays. We can only visit him on weekends so we visit him twice! :D We were able to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we were able to solidify the baptismal date. He is totally going to get baptized! :)

After the lesson, James issued us a challenge. We are to try a balot. Despite Elder Kelley and I being very competitive, we gave in to the challenge and to tell you. balots are absolutely disgusting. I ate an eye and Kelley ate feathers. I almost threw up. I'm never eating balots again. haha!

Day 7 (Monday, February 10) - Since Elder Kelley is a first time DL and I have to be a DLB (district leader buddy, I help him plan it out), we got to spend quite a day planning it out. Elder Kelley really wanted to do a good job because this is his first transfer being a DL. He's super cool!

We got to see Bryndee Lutz. She is a 13 years old girl who is awesome. Her family has had some bad experiences with the church so we are trying to work around that. She is interested in baptism. She was scheduled for March 1st but after we finished teaching her the GoJC, her mom came down and berated us for "pushing her" towards baptism. She kept going on how March 1st is too early and we should set a date for April-May. I was so pissed off afterwards. If everything goes according to plan, she will be more than ready to get baptized. I guess she didn't want her kid to get baptized but she will! haha.

We were able to go over to Dannon's house and set up the baptismal service that is going to be on this Saturday. I already talked a little bit about this earlier so scroll up if you want more info.

Thank you guys for the emails. It has been a great week in the Utah Ogden mission. I love being a missionary! Everything is going great. Scripture of the week! John 14: 18, 26-27:

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

I love those scriptures. Have a great week and stay strong! I love you guys! Love, Elder McGrath