On our way to Bukakata.....somewhere deep in the bush

 Stop along the way at a beach at Lake Victoria. 

Looks like Georgia beaches haha.

 Typical meal here in Uganda

 At Juliet's house for dinner

 Baptisms of Kato and Kiiza Shanita. 

Branch President Sekkito in the middle.

 We are teaching Arthur in the orange shirt. 

These kids wanted to join.

 The church at night

 On our way to Bukakata. Somewhere deep in the bush.

Long road to nowhere

A pretty powerful place

Hey guys,

What a week. We had a great one and were lucky to have a lot of success. It is cool to serve in an area where people aren't so busy with work and life and are able to meet us. We can fill a full day right now with 6 or so lessons. Its a powerful place right now and we are working hard...

This week we were able to baptize Kato and Shanita! That was so awesome. They seemed as prepared as we could get them and we just hope and pray that primary and church can help them learn more too. Like all young kids, they need to know the simple things like who is Joseph Smith and what is the Book of Mormon and is it true? That's about what we get them to understand. They did great though! Our Branch President was the one to baptized them and he did an amazing job making them comfortable. A funny thing, most Africans fear water and swimming so baptism can freak people out a lot. But President gave them a good talk before and really baptized in such a caring way that they did perfect. That was a blessing! It was such a great Sunday.

We are still teaching and progressing Goreth, Ayub and Teddy. All 3 of them have been taught the discussions and are now just reviewing and polishing up for baptism. They should most definitely be baptized all 3 this coming Sunday! Goreth wasn't able to come to church this Sunday due to a family situation in the village but fortunately she has been to church enough and is for sure ready to be baptized.

We had a great experience this week. We were teaching one of our new investigators named Patricia from Tanzania. She is pretty stubborn and isn't progressing well so we planned this to be her last appointment. As we were going her neighbor stopped us. She is a middle aged woman and is Born Again. She wanted to know what we do so we set an appointment. When we went back she had a list of questions trying to confound us. For two reasons, one she thinks we worship mammon (a common misunderstanding with Mormon due to the accent. Mormon and Mammon sound the exact same with the UG accent) and the second because her husband is a pastor for soe Born Again church up the road. We did such an amazing job answering her questions. It has been a LONG time since I have had a lesson where the spirit was so strong. She ended up loving us and our teachings. We taught a lot about the Book of Mormon and also Joseph Smith. It actually left her crying a little bit and sharing a story. She said she was born Muslim and grew up till 26 as a Muslim. At 24 she had a dream and in it a man in all white came to her. His face was so bright she couldn't see it but she heard him say, "I love you. I have always loved you. I will always love you." She was confused with the dream and asked around. Many told her it was Jesus Christ and it was making her angry and she was refusing to accept it. She continued in her ways for 2 more years. When she was 26 she had another dream. The same man, Christ, appeared to her again and said, "Its your time now. Come, follow me. I will give you peace." She knew then what was the dream about and knew what she needed to do. In a few months she converted to Christianity and her family banished her. She moved from Rwanda to Masaka where she met her husband and is here to this day. At the end of our lesson she said her life has been made up of stepping stones. She started as a Muslim and took the step to Christianity and she thinks, if this church is true, this is her next step. That was a powerful lesson for the week. She is pretty amazing. Her husband is away in Kampala preaching though. That will be an interesting lesson when he comes back....

Well, today we jumped in the truck and drove far out to Lake Victoria and to a cool village on the lake. Saw some few animals and a bunch of other neat things. I sent some photos to show you the trip. It was fun! 

That's my update for the week. People feel free to email me! I get bored sometimes out here when emailing and want to hear from you guys! I hope all is well back home though. Keep it up!

Love,

Elder McLain

Too Blessed To Be Here

Hey Everyone!

Wow it was a fun crazy week for us in Masaka! It was also REALLY busy. We had sooooo much going on. Just a 90 mile an hour week from the start. We had to go to Kampala twice, a 2 hour drive each way. Then we went to a wedding on Saturday. So our only full days of proselyting were Wednesday and Friday. I'm glad its over. This transfer is flying!! We only have two weeks left before transfers. Chances are I stay in Masaka. I really hope I do!!! I love this place.

Not a lot of missionary work was done this week. On Tuesday we drove 2 hours to Kampala and 2 hours back. The drive is always worse than in the US though because they have police everywhere that try to arrest you for breathing pretty much. We went there for a new missionary training. Since I am the driver I had to go. While I was there I ran some errands like distribution and a few other things. Wednesday was a normal day but really powerful. I'll explain that in a minute. Thursday was BACK to Kampala for Zone Conference. That was a great time. Then Friday was normal and Saturday we were invited to a wedding!!!!! Weddings are so different here. They do an introduction which is pretty much where the husband brings thousands of dollars in gifts and buys the wife from the parents. Its called dowry. Retarded.... But it's fun to watch! The wife and sisters dress up nice and dance and the husband and family bring things like food and alcohol and cows and all that stuff. This wedding was fun and lasted all day. With Presidents permission we went and enjoyed big. We ate a lot too! I sent pictures. That was the highlight of the week!

Here's what happened on Wednesday. We received a call from a member named Prossy. She had a referral for us. We didn't have a ton of plans so we went and picked her up then went to the referrals house. It actually turned out to be a members daughter who had been at boarding school for a long time and never had time to join the church. She has finished her schooling now and so Prossy helped us in finding her. Teddy, the referral, is 17 years old and ready as ever for the gospel. During our first lesson she was asking very inspired questions and really showing us that she was understanding what we were saying. That can be uncommon in a lot of lessons. Most of the time we teach our best and we hope they get it all. But we could tell she really understood. That being said we gave her a baptismal date of July 2nd and she was so happy to accept! She is great. 

Our next investigator is one I have told you about, Goreth. She's the one with the brother on the mission. She is progressing really well and continuing to learn. She had a baptismal date for the 25th of June. We changed it to a later date and I will explain why. She gave us a referral of a friend named Ayub. It is her cousin I think. We went and taught him on Friday and he blew us away. He was so so so happy to accept us and even listen to our message. Like Teddy, he was insanely comprehensive. He just understood everything and was asking questions far beyond a normal Ugandans ability. It was so neat. He had been to church once and so we extended a baptismal date of July 2nd to him too. We thought it would be good for him and Goreth to be baptized together since they know each other well so we pushed her to the 2nd of July too. We then have Emmanuel. He was a referral from an RM named Joan. She is powerful and loves to help us missionaries. Emmanuel is a younger guy, maybe 18 or 19. He is super nice but also quiet. He is one of those investigators that is just almost too easy for us. He is accepting everything with no concern and coming to church every Sunday. Like the others, he has a baptismal date of July 2nd. The next are Roberts children. They are the part member family. His kids are Kato (meaning twin) and Shanita. They are great. It is different to teach kids and actually a lot harder. You have to change a lot in the way you teach so it can be a challenge for me. They are still just coming to church every week too. They were supposed to be baptized yesterday but because of our crazy week we again weren't able to teach everything and they are going to be baptized next Sunday, the 25th of June, if all goes to plan. SO... that is our crazy teaching pool. The satisfying thing is only Kato and Shanita were being taught before I came and all others were found and taught since I came. We are super lucky. I think part of it is because both me and my companion have such a positive attitude and love the area and people and work hard. It makes the work a lot more fun and easy. 

I feel too blessed to be here. It is quite the experience. I love my mission so much. It is the best ever. I hope you all have a good week. Expect MANY baptisms soon!!! We are doing really good work here. I love you all! 

Love,

Elder McLain

A wedding in Masaka

 We attended a wedding here in Masaka. 

Super cool cultural experience!

The Bridesmaids 

Me and Elder Cook at the wedding

 We took some brownies to Sister Faith's house

The brownie mix mom sent.

We made them in a unique way and took them to members in the area

Safaris and Golfing and Baptising......AND a miracle!

mir·a·cle

ˈmirək(ə)l/

noun

1. a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

   
   

   
   

There are things that happen to a missionary in the course of their mission that will remain with them for the rest of their lives and solidify their testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Powerful things that cannot be explained by any other means except a miracle. Colby experienced a miracle this week.

Hey everyone!

It was an amazing week on my mission. It was probably the most successful and fruitful week I have had in my entire mission. I really wish you guys could comprehend the missionary work here but quite honestly theres nothing like it. This week we had a total of like 28 investigators at church. Between me and my companion we had 7 investigators at church!!!! It was such a great week.

We didnt do a whole lot of finding this week. Frankly we were too busy with our current investigators. We have a lot right now. We did search through our area book for former investigators and pick a few of them back up. Right now of most importance is these some few. Timothy got baptized!!!! That was a amazing. This boy has changed so much even since I have been here. His whole family is muslim. That was a concern but his Mom opened up to us and said she has no right to control her sons life. He is 16 and felt like he needed this change. It was a great story. When he got baptized he asked us, "so now that I have been baptized will you stop visiting me? " We laughed and told  him we would visit until he was sick of us if he would like! That was the highlight of the week. We are teaching a part-member family. The father was baptized not too long ago and his name is Robert. His kids are Kato and Shanitah. They are 13 and 10. We started teaching them when I got here. They were my first lesson in Masaka. They are just great little kids and will be baptized next Sunday! Our last powerful investigator is Goreth. She is someone we tracted in to a few weeks back who coincidentally had a brother on a mission. She accepted us quick, accepted our message right away, and accepted a baptism date for the 25th. So we will be baptizing her in 2 weeks if all goes to plan. We can hope and pray!

I experienced a true miracle this week that was super cool. I had an experience with the Gift of Interpretation of Tongues. The story goes that I was assigned to a baptismal interview of some other Elders in Masaka. It was unique because Conrad, the one getting interviewed, spoke little English. He needed a translator for teaching and the interview. For some reason we couldn't find a translator for the interview. We needed someone strong enough in the church who could handle translating an interview and being trustworthy. So after no success I decided to say a prayer and hope we could get through it. In my prayer to open the interview with Conrad, I prayed that the spirit would help each of us to communicate and understand what was important. The interview started normal, I asked in English and he staggered to respond. On the second question he began to speak in Luganda. It was amazing to me because I literally understood it. I understood it exactly. I was so shocked. So I continued, asked a question in English and he responded in Luganda. We were understanding each other perfectly. I got everything he was saying. I asked him in Luganda if he was getting me and he smiled and nodded that the English was understood. I told him his Luganda was coming through to me perfect as well. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. After closing the interview, which he passed just fine, we prayed and gave thanks for the blessing of the miracle we experienced. After the interview I went back to speak some Luganda to his Mother, a non-member, and went right back to my regular self. I could hardly greet. That was it. She responded and I didn't understand a word. I laughed and continued the day. That was an experience I could never forget in my life. It was a real miracle. D&C 46 tells us that the Gifts of the Spirit are given to us when we ask in spirit. And it is only given for the benefit of his children. I believe this case was a perfect example in which we asked in spirit and received, in spirit, the gift of interpretation of tongues. 

This P Day was unique. We got special permission to go to a Game Park to see some animals. We didn't have a lot of success but got to see some cool animals! We saw zebras, antelope, springbok, warthogs, water buffalo, cranes etc. It was neat! We were far from everything. About 2 hours from all human life. It was a neat experience. Then after we continued west to Mbarara, a place never inhabited by missionaries, we were the first. There we found a GOLF COURSE. We bargained with some guys and they took us out for a good price. They even caddied and all. It was so fun and interesting. Golfing in Uganda is.... different. I started off horrible with some worm burners and duffs but after 2 holes I had 2 pars and some clean shots. On whole 8 I drove about 300 yards. We used this crappy set but funny enough they had a Titleist 983k driver. One of the best. It was soooo fun! I sent a load of pics to Google Drive. Enjoy!

Have a great week guys, much love!

Elder McLain

Mission life is the greatest. It's like nothing else in the world

Greetings friends,

I can check off another blessed week in the mission field. Not a week goes by that I don't feel so happy and blessed to serve when I am and where I am. I am too lucky! Not only is this the mission of all missions, Masaka is the area of all areas. Truly, even those not serving in Uganda would be jealous knowing I am serving in Masaka, Uganda. 

Masaka is a super cool place. Again today I realized it. We were playing football up on top of that same mountain overlooking rolling hills and villages and Lake Victoria. I just stopped and thought how crazy it is that we are doing that. It's not many missions that are like it! We find a flat area and play while villagers carry big baskets on their heads dressed in local clothes. Just super cool. And not many people speak English here so my Luganda is getting better. We can chat with them in Luganda when they pass by and they love it. I am sure from their standpoint its pretty crazy. A bunch of white guys in the village playing football and speaking Luganda.. Hahaha. It makes me laugh. After we finished we stopped a passing villager and had him go fetch us some fenne. Its a local fruit thats super good. That was brunch. And all for free! I love this place!

This was a successful week for the missionaries in this area. We had a combined 20 investigators at church and yet again it was super powerful. This branch means business. It is a lot different than most branches and wards in our mission boundaries. The people here are fully motivated by spreading the gospel to the others around them. They aren't entirely in to it for themselves. That is the cool thing. Everyone with a calling fulfills it far greater than I have seen. We can expect big things from this place in the future. 

Our missionary work continues to be fruitful. We had A LOT of things come up this week that held us back but we still managed to reach the standard of excellence with 7 new investigators and 3 investigators at church. On Wednesday we went to Kampala for interviews, that took the full day. While there, we exchanged our broken Nissan Navara for a nice Turbo Hardbody. It was a great truck and we took it back to Masaka. On Thursday I was driving and it just died. Fortunately I know cars well enough that I got dirty and found the full pump was a no good. So we called Godfrey and he got on it. That took up about half of our day. Friday was spent walking over an hour to the abandoned truck to meet Godfrey. He brought us a Non Turbo-ed Hardbody. That took about half of Friday. I have been driving it and its a tank. I think I could take over the whole country in the truck. I like it a lot though it is very slow. SO that was the majority of our week. Lots of car troubles. So Tuesday and Saturday were about the only full days of proselyting. 

Because of the crazy week we failed to meet the investigators we intended to. This set back two baptisms. And it was our fault.... We felt really bad for both Timothy and Shallot. Next week they should be baptized. I think it is all done in God's timing because I personally felt that they both needed some more time. I think it was a good thing to put it off to this coming Sunday. We found many new investigators this week. Two are very serious. We have one named Goreth. We knocked her door and she laughed and let us in. We were a bit confused but came to find out that she had a brother who was a member and even is serving a mission in Kenya! What are the odds!!! We taught her twice this week and she came to church yesterday. Last night we went to visit her and thank her for coming and she told us she's loving it. She then said "the two of you will definitely baptize me" and we set a baptismal date for the 25th of June! Golden Investigator. The other Investigator is a neighbor to a member. She is from Tanzania and speaks very poor english. Fortunately I served around many Swahili speakers in Makindye and am able to communicate with her at a very basic level. That is cool. Her name is Patricia. She couldn't come to church this Sunday for a valid reason but we have taught her twice now. We hope for her to progress.

I was reflecting back this week on the talk given by Elder Holland in General Conference some years back. I know many remember it. It is the talk on the Book of Mormon in which he held up the exact copy used in Carthage Jail. He then went on to bear the most powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I would like to attach one of my favorite parts.

As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor.9Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

I wish my testimony could be as vivid as Elder Hollands of the book. I don't deny that it has converting power beyond comprehension. It all adds up. Friends and family, the Book of Mormon is true and holds the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. In closing I would like to add two more things. A scripture and a picture.

Alma 7:19 reads, "For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight." If we are daily reading and studying the Book of Mormon, we are in the paths of righteousness. Remember, the path is narrow but it is straight. With faith and obedience we can boldly march this path to eternal salvation.

I find this picture funny. It is as if the First Baptist Church already knows what kind of power the Book of Mormon has in converting people. So take this from them, if you read the book you will know its true. It is that easy! 

Mission life is the greatest right now. I wish you could all experience it! It's like nothing else in the world.

Have a great week everybody. I love you all!

Love,

Elder McLain