Monday, November 11, 2013

Email & Pictures - November 11, 2013

Grüss Euch Wieder!

 What's up! Welcome back to this week’s episode of Elder McGinn is in a rush! Haha just kidding, I'm always in a rush, so it's nothing new!

It sounds like you all had some pretty solid, typical weeks! I'm way excited for Necia and Lyle and Kirt and Marcia! It's crazy how fast that time vanishes from the time you get the call and the time you realize you're walking out the front door to the MTC! I know they'll love it, and the people and missionaries in their areas will love them even more!

 I hope Grandpa is doing okay! Tell him I love him. I miss Grandma and Grandpa Mangum and Grandma McGinn very much. I hope they know how much I think about them and their examples to me!

Well, as you probably all suspected, the temple trip was better than I could have imagined. Every temple is gorgeous, but there's something about going to "your" temple that belongs to where you served that makes it even more special. I'll send pictures next week, I didn't bring my cord, but it's beautiful. We went through a whole session in German, and then did confirmations by the baptismal font! I forgot just how much I love the temple. It was so unbelievably good to be back. I felt some burden and weariness just vanish when we walked through the doors. I truly know that the temple is das Haus des Herrn, and nothing less. There is nowhere else on earth where we can be closer to our Father in Heaven, and we should never take it for granted.

 Also in news this week…Hobson and I set a baptismal date yesterday! Two weeks ago we met a Chinese guy names Zhang Xu on the Uni campus. We started talking to him and invited him to our sport night to play some basketball or soccer or ping pong or something. He agreed, and showed up! While there, he asked us questions about our church building and religion, and we had a chance to teach him the first and second lesson in the church gym! We got him a Book of Mormon, one in German and one in Chinese, and invited him to church! So he came yesterday, and while we were teaching him again, we both had the feeling to invite him to baptism. The mission is having a "white Christmas" day on the 14th of December, and they said that if possible, invite them to be baptized on that day so that there can be as many baptisms as possible on that day throughout the whole mission! So we asked Zhang if he would be willing to be baptized on the 14th of December. He paused, pulled out his phone, looked at his calendar, and said "I don't have any class that day. That works perfectly." Indeed it does, Zhang. We are so excited. We finally feel like all the work and time and effort we have been putting into the Uni is paying off, and the 14th can't come fast enough. I sure hope I'm not transferred in two weeks, because I want to see this to the end, but if I am, the new elder is coming to one of the coolest investigators ever.

 I love this gospel. I know I say that every time, but hey, that's what I'm called for two years to do. To tell people how much it means to me, how much it blesses me, and how happy it makes me, and it really does. I hope you can see it through me. The light of the gospel is something you can literally almost see through the light on someone's face or in someone's eyes. I know people you pass by every day see it and notice it, and I encourage you all to keep it as bright as ever.

 I'm short on time, so I won't have the opportunity to write everyone back, but just know that I love you all! The work is accelerating, and we're just trying to keep up! I'll write you all back next week, they come so fast at this point! Have the best weeks ever! No more being sick! It's bloody cold here!

 Tschüss!!!!

-- Elder McGinn

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