Hello!
How is my family? I miss you guys so much! I had a great week this week. It was a super, super slow week. It is the first week of the transfer and my companion said they are always slow. But it is over now and I am happy! Week 2 is said to be super fast too. Wooo!
It is Christmas season here in Uganda! A super hot Christmas season though. I am super sun burnt and its far too hot to be December but I am getting used to it! How is the weather back home? Any good snow?
Well, this week I pondered hard about two quotes. One was given to me by Uncle Scott and the other by a missionary here. Uncle Scott gave me a quote by President Monson that says, "By the yard it's hard but by the inch it's a cinch." When he first mentioned it to me I didn't understand the significance. NOW I understand how true it is. When I think of my mission as a full two years, I get discouraged to see I am just starting. When I look at a transfer as a full 6 weeks I also get discouraged, but am somehow less discouraged as when I think of the full 2 years. When I go day by day, that is when the mission is SO SIMPLE! A mission truly is easy. I have learned that when I think of it yard by yard, that is when it is hard. So thank you Uncle Scott! The quote is so true! The second quote goes like this, "Be the missionary your Mom thinks you are!" Haha! I laughed when I first heard this. As I thought about it I quickly realized that it is also very true! And I am trying my best to be that missionary! My cousin Ryan said, "the hours turn into days, the days into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years." So I just need to live hour by hour and the mission will fly by. It already is!
Man, I fell sick AGAIN this week. What is wrong with my body?! Africa is beating me up! This week on Tuesday I fell sick with a head cold. I had a sore throat, runny and raw nose, cough, plugged ears and a head ache. nooooot easy to work with. I pushed through and it went away in about 4 days. Everyone asked me if I was sick when I would see them cause I had a red nose, nasally voice and my handkerchief was always in my hand. Haha. I am glad I am okay now! I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!
On Monday we ate dinner at a members house. This dinner was a really weird and gross experience. So Mama Felister is an older woman who lives with her one grandchild. Earlier Monday morning, her grandkid and his friends stoned one of her turkeys to death. We saw the turkey dead in her yard as we passed in the morning and went and told her. Super crazy. Later that night we went to her house for dinner and noticed one of her goats was missing. We went looking for it and found it laying in a shed in her backyard. It was dying and dying fast. This goat is really young and white and super cool so I was bummed out. We left it there to die and went in for dinner. Guess what was for dinner...... turkey! We asked her which turkey it was and she said it was the one her grand kid stoned. WHAT?! We were all eating a super gross turkey that laid dead for hours in the sun before being butchered. But at the same time, Sister Felister is super poor and only has like 4 turkeys so we had to finish it. We couldn't leave any food left. So that was terrible. Right as we were about to finish eating, we heard a terrible noise from the backyard. We went out to find the goat taking its last crying breathes and then watched it die. Man, it was pretty sad. Elder Nambale then grabbed the goat by the legs and dragged it out to the dirt and just slit its throat. I was super confused and grossed out. Mama Felister asked if she could eat it and we assured her it was not safe to eat. Man, Ugandans are crazy!
On Wednesday we sent Elder Nambale off the go home. He took a bus home to Eastern Uganda and gave us a call that night to introduce his mom over the phone. We are so happy for him! Nambale was a great missionary who served hard until his last day.
I am gaining weight here. Both because I am exercising and lifting every morning and I am eating like nothing. My waist is already getting smaller. Haha.
My glasses broke :( Already.... Good thing I have a backup pair. Maybe I will need to get another pair soon. Again, Uganda is beating me up.
We got two new Elders in our apartment. One is named Elder Randall. He is from Southern Utah from a small town East of Cedar City. I can't remember the name. A super duper nice Elder who plays guitar for us and loves to talk. I enjoy him a lot. Plus I am happy to serve around an Amercian. The other is Elder Osei-Tutu from Ghana. He is wild. Just another awesome missionary. They will do wonders here in Makindye. We are super happy to have them.
I want to share a spiritual thought this week from D&C. It is D&C Section 38: 7-9 "But behold, verily, verily I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me; But the day soon cometh that e shall see me, and know that I am;... Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome." Wow! I love those verses. Our Savior is in the midst of us! He is watching over us every single minute of every day. He knows our every action. We need to be prepared for the day of his coming. Not even the angels in heaven know the day or hour of his coming. So gird up your loins, go to work, serve the Lord and be prepared for his coming. The kingdom is ours!
I love all of you so much. I continually give thanks for the blessing and prayers I receive. I pray that all of us can be prepared for the coming of our Savior. He cometh quickly! Uganda is getting more and more prepared every day. I love this country and these people so much. God loves all of his children more than you could ever imagine. I am grateful to be here.
Family, I love you and miss you. Be safe and strong!
Love,
Elder McLain
p.s. I forgot to add a funny story to my email.
This week my companion and I were walking past a school graduation for 3rd grade kids. All the children and parents saw me and started freaking out. A random man ran out to us and said it would make the school so happy to have a white "Mzungu" in their graduation picture. I laughed and accepted the offer. So my companion and I stepped up in front of a crowd of about 300 people and stood in the back of their graduation picture. My companion and I will forever be in this picture when the kids look back and see that day. It made me laugh so hard. Hahahaha. They love white people here!
Last thing I forgot to add!
Last night I woke up to this noise by my ear. It was about 2 am. I was sitting still then I felt it crawl onto my ear and onto my hair so I jumped up and grabbed my flashlight and THE BIGGEST cockroach was just crawling all over me. I smacked it off and then lost it. After about 5 minutes of looking I gave up and went back to sleep. Gross!!!
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