January 25, 2010 from Hermana McGaughy...

ok, so let me fill you in on this week. im still in the same area, living with 4. this change is so much more peaceful. both hna rodriguez and i are training new companions and we all get along so well. her companion is hna Castaneda from the capital and mine is hna Godoy from El Salvador. let me tell you a little bit about her. if there were two words to describe her it would be sweet and humble. she brings a gentle, peaceful spirit into the lessons and our home. if you dont remember, my trainer, hna mejia, was also from El Salvador but a different stake. my companion remembers seeing her once years ago at a single adult activity. many of her habits and mannerisms are similar...which is a good thing!! she loves veggies and we usually eat veggie soup for breakfast. she also loves chile...i've become quite famous in our area for the ¨gringo that likes chile... lol.
when i say she is humble i mean in every sense of the word. this morning i am teaching her how to use a computer...she lives with her one sister, mom, grandmother, aunt and uncle and another aunt and cousin. she is a convert of just 3 years and has a powerful testimony of the gospel. she lives in the campo...farming and harvesting. for many years she worked in a factory sowing clothes. she says that about 3000 people worked there and they were paid 5 dollars a day. crazy huh? although im sure money goes a lot further there.
she was born during the war which lasted about a year in El Salvador. many men died, including hna Mejias dad...whos body they never found. hna godoys dad abandoned the family when she was just 2 years old but she has a desire to know him someday. he is actually from Guatemala and a sister in the ward is going to help her track him down. her real love is being in the outdoors and farming etc. she knows how to grow like every kind of plant. her and bethany would get along.
her house in small and humble, for many days during the summer there is not enough water so they store it up in large barrels. the bathroom is also outside of the house and there is no shower. i think the CCM was her first time using a real shower. in her home they would heat up water but she always showered with clothes on. imagine her life.
besides all of that, she has such a great attitude. the church is helping her sister get an education in nursing and she wants to study as well when she gets home. she also loves English so im teaching her a little bit.
it is truly a privilege to be her companion.
but i was realizing the other day....out of the 5 companions that i've had. only one had a family happily together with both a mom and a dad. crazy.
well ill write a little more later. love you

January 18, 2010

January 18, 2010
Here is the latest from Elana in “sunny Guatemala”. Keep in mind that she is thinking in Spanish so sometimes we get a mix of Spanish and English.

So this week was incredibly. we had 4 baptisms and we have another one this Saturday. Yesterday, the familia Ordonez Amaya was married and baptised in the ward building. wow the Spirit was sooo strong. i invited President Lorenzana to come and he gave a brief talk on matrimonio. i even got to sign as a witness. they are such an amazing couple. Lorena has 4 children from 2 previous unions, but Sergio has taken them all in as his own. yesterday was just the beginning of an amazing life that they are going to have together. but wow is it stressful planning a wedding and a baptism, even a simple one like this. we made the cake for 100 people, put together 100 plates of tomales and enchilladas, decorated the whole chapel, did her hair and makeup (me), took pictures, arranged the agendas and smiled during it all. Sergio, Lorena and the oldest daughter, Alejandra, were all baptised by Presidente Nefi who is just sooo amazing. he was crying during the ordinance because the Spirit was sooo strong. In just one year, in March, when the temple of Xela opens, Hna Rodriguez and i will get to attend their sealing. i just have soo much respect for this family. it is not easy changing generations of family traditions for a new religion and a new way of life. i have so much respect for men like Sergio who are willing to change and care for 4 children that were not his. the day before the intravista we had to repasar las mandamientos, and i was a little nervous that the ley de diezmo was going to be a little difficult for them to except...but like everything else this family is so willing to keep all of Gods commandments so that they can have an eternal family. God blesses us sooo abundantamente when we keep His commandments. and that is a promise. i have seen it over and over again. i used to wonder why the church leaders are usually so blessed. even here, the Bishop is a lot more well to do than most members...but i am beginning to understand that they blessings promised in the BOM are still in effect: ¨if we obey the commandments, we will prosper in the land¨.

Here is a letter from Elana's mission President and his wife original and translation.

Looks like she is being the missionary we knew she could be! she is really making an impact in peoples lives!!... Here is the translation... feel free to pass it along to anyone that wants an outsiders opinion of how great Sister McGaught is doing:

Esteemed Brother and Sister McGaughy:

I want to thank you for sending your daughter on a mission. She is one of our best missionaries and now she is going to train a new comanion. Your daughter loves this work and she is working hard to bless the lives of others. She is able to do this because you have taught her well the gospel and now she is growing even more in it. Know that we as a family, watch out for and care for her in her mission and if she needs anything she can count on us.

We send our love and thanks,

Dario y Gloria Lorenzana

Estimados Hnos. Mcgaughy:

Quiero agradecerles por enviar a su hija a la mision, ella es una de nuestras mejores misioneras y ahora ella va a entrenar a una nueva compañera. Su hija ama a esta obra y esta trabajando duro en bendecir la vida de los demas, y eso lo a logrado porque ustedes le han enseñado bien el evangelio y ella esta creciendo. Sepan que nosotros como familia la estamos ciudando en su mision y si ella necesita cualquier cosa nosotros le atenderemos.

Nos despedimos con mucho cariño,

Dario y Gloria Lorenzana

Mision Quetzaltenango

some quotes from a email from Hermana McGaughy...January 4, 2010

Hey everyone!
So I got another package from the Santo family and your letter. Thank you all!!!
I do have a few things to add to what I need. There is a journal I would like. I think they sell it at Deseret Book. Its about 8 inches high and says missionary journal on the front with a small world underneath. it has a place in the beginning to put lots of misson dates etc . Ive been inspired to write more lately and I dont have much space left in the small journal I brought.
hahah hna rodriguez told me the funniest thing----theres a vegitarian club at BYU.
I was joking that i should join it ...lol.