January 15, 2014
I can't believe that a whole week has flown by! It was cold early last week but it's warmed up more and it's actually raining right now :)
Well, my testimony has gotten stronger than it was when I left or shared it with you all back on Mother's day :) I just want you to know that I know for a fact that this is Christs' Church once again established on the earth. I was looking through the scriptures yesterday, in the Doctrine and Covenants, and I came to Section 71 and it's the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdons' mission calls. And it reads in verses 3-4:
3 Verily this is a mission for a season, which I give unto you.
4 Wherefore, alabor ye in my vineyard. Call upon the inhabitants of the earth, and bear record, and prepare the way for the commandments and revelations which are to come.
I see these two scriptures explaining not only a full time missionaries call, but also a call to the members of the Church for what we need to do as we are all assigned/called to the places in which we live or where we're called to on our missions and we need to do all that we can to fulfill this call and prepare the way for future people, if that's God's will, to bring many people to the Gospel. I know that these things are true and that the Lord will place us in situations that will help us fulfill it and it'll help us grow a great amount throughout our lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior and our perfect example, Amen.
High - Being able to follow the spirit in the decisions that I've made recently and we've met a few really cool people lately that seem really legit and we're gonna start to teach them this week :)
Low - Only getting one person to church and having to drop a few baptismal dates because they didn't come to church :(
The best experience that I've had this week was meeting one of our investigators father who is a pretty devout Catholic, we started talking about the church and it turns out that he knows the stories in the Bible but not their meaning. So we invited him to church and he came! After, he said that he enjoyed it, we'll be calling him today and asking him if we can share our message, because he really likes to visit other churches and wants to know about them and what they believe, so it's gonna be an experience of a lifetime :)
Everyone that we meet is my favorite because I'm the one that is teaching them and meeting them at this critical time of their lives and when the Lord places me in their paths or visa versa ;) They're all my favorites because I'm blessed enough to see the wonderful change in them that not many people get to see, as they let go of the natural man and realize that they truly are sons and daughters of God. I love seeing the light that comes into their lives and the light that is strengthened in them :) Yeah! They closed the schools because it was TOO COLD!!!! It was like 5 degrees, and I thought to myself "They're inside all day and they're gonna cancel school for two days because of it being too cold OUTSIDE?!" Kentucky is crazy and I already know that they don't handle the cold very well ;)
Thank you so much for all the wonderful things you send me and the love and support that you give me from so far away :)
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
January 21, 2014
We had a pretty good week to start off, but during our biggest proselyting days (Sat. and Sun.) Elder Beard was pretty sick so we were unable to go anywhere for those few days, so our week didn't really have a good look to it but I really don't care about the numbers because if that's all who we were supposed to see on those days then that's who we were meant to see this week :)
We're doing all that we can to expand the teaching pool and help all of them progress right now, we're going to start teaching a lot of our investigators the 15 step program to quit smoking so prayers to help our investigators would be appreciated so that they can succeed in this journey and make their baptismal date :)
Love you and miss you all!
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
January 27, 2014
Our week was actually much better than last week, Elder Beard and I were able to stay healthy for the whole week and we made contact with some really awesome referrals, when we started contacting them it was pretty much like normal referrals who want us back because of the sisters and then they're not interested when they see us at their door ;) Anyway, we were trying another referral yesterday and his dad answered the door, we asked if the referral (David) was home and his dad said he was but asleep, and then he asked us what church we were from so we told him and just like a lot of people we meet automatically tell us that their both Catholic and that was it. So we left not thinking about it much, until this morning David gave us a call and told us that he's more of a "believer" Catholic and not a real strong catholic, and he really wants to hear us out and wants to learn more about the church from us in the next couple days :) It really just goes to show that great things come from making a little effort, no matter what the result, as you make the effort to reach out to those who seem interested in the gospel, they may turn down at first or others might try and tell you to stop trying to contact them. We must remember that Christ never gave up on anyone, and neither should we.
High - Besides my birthday ;) We also are now able to teach a really young couple who's our age! Their names are Brandon and Lauren, Brandon is 20 and Lauren is 19 :) We met with them last night, and when we knocked Brandon welcomed us right in! It was a much welcomed change :) As we talked we learned a lot, they both were raised Catholic but fell away after growing up, and they really want to get back into church, it's amazing that they both have a real solid foundation that is built upon Christ :) We'll be teaching them later this week and I know that they'll be baptized here in the next couple months :)
Low - Not being able to see everyone that we wanted this last week, also our car didn't start all day on Friday so we just planned and tried to call all our investigators that we've got numbers for :)
Thank you for all of the love and support that you give me, thanks for the hard work that both you and dad put in to keep up with everything that I'm going through right now :)
Love you and miss you like crazy!
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
February 3, 2014
There was a really big experience this last week when we had Zone Conference, before the conference the AP's called Elder Beard to help with one of the trainings. I knew what they were gonna do as soon as they asked him to do push ups for the training, so we go into the training and we both know what is going to happen but I didn't see the feeling or the Spirit that was about to come into the room...... As we began Elder Beard had to do 20 push ups for every person so that they could have a doughnut. The more that he did, I couldn't help put think of the Savior in the garden suffering for us and the Father asking Christ if He would suffer for each individual person and the response was always the same. I will, I want to do this. In the end Elder Beard did 340 push ups for the whole group.. I really thought I knew what the Atonement was but I was very wrong and I never really knew how powerful that single act was.
High - Being able to set a few more bap dates and get an investigator to church that has been struggling for a little while.
Low - Having all the dates that we had set before drop because they're not progressing very much right now.
Every day is special and I really cannot believe that 11 months has gone by this fast, but I really love looking back to see all the amazing and permanent changes that I've made in my life. Both spiritually and physically.
Love you and Miss you all like crazy! Thank you for the support and work you do on my behalf from so far away!
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
February 10, 2014
Yeah, it was really fun to be out in the snow and now it feels like winter after having a really brown December and part of January :) Sadly, we're going to have to re-set all of our baptismal dates. Why? Because nobody came to Church that said that they would!!!!!!!! I swear, getting them to actually follow through on things is like trying to get me to say more than three sentences back home ;) Now I know how you felt when I wouldn't talk. Sorry about that ;)
High - Just working with these wonderful people in Owensboro.
Low - Having to now re-set the baptismal dates with everyone because they didn't come to church
There's no really strong experience from this week, but I'll share one next week :)
Thank you for all your support and love through everything! I think my time in Owensboro is coming to a close sadly, I love it here and the people here are so much different than those from Louisville.
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
February 17, 2014
Hey Mom,
I just wanted to email you really quick, and sorry for the lateness of this email once again but we've been running around all day seeing people and saying good byes, as well as cleaning the apartment and packing up my stuff because I will be getting transferred somewhere else in Kentucky or Indiana :)
February 24, 2014
We've been able to stay fairly busy here in the area :) It's still pretty interesting to be in the same ward as President & Sister Woodbury, it's a little tough but I've been able to see a lot of my recent converts since I'm so close to Shively again :) I saw and talked with Felton on Saturday at a Stake Priesthood meeting, he's going to get interviewed soon so that he can receive the Melchizedek Priesthood in the next few months! Also, talked to some others from the Shawnee Branch, yesterday I was able to see Josh again! He was at the fireside, and he's married now and she's getting baptized at Shawnee on Saturday! I've also been hearing some really good things about Trent and that he's been blessing the Sacrament and doing his part in the Branch :) it makes me so happy that ALL of the people that God lead me to bring into the church are still very active and doing all they can to stay active!
the area is a smaller version of Downtown Louisville. There's a lot of people to talk to and the roads are a whole lot better than Shively!
We're in the process of building our area book, once again President is using me to build up an area and we're starting to see some success from yesterday, there's a lot of finding and tracting going on right now.
The weather wasn't too bad the last couple days until yesterday, before church it was warm and sunny. After church it was overcast and cold.... We started to work and it started to rain, and the rain turned into snow, regardless we continued to work. We were able to contact a lot of people and pray with them, we biked for a good amount of time through the snow, just glad that we had coats so that we were able to stay warm for the most part :)
My Spirit is good, it's strong and ready to work here in this area. We're in a Ward, but with the attendance at Sacrament it should be a branch, we got more people to church in Owensboro than here!
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
March 3, 2014
I'm really trying hard to stay positive with everything and last night I seemed to hit the end and I got really tired of doing the same things each day as well as having the same thing always happen as we get to meet and teach someone who is really ready for the gospel in their life and we go back for the next appointment a few days later and they're not there and we seemingly lose track of them and nothing really happens. Even though times are tough, we do have a bright spot with Traye Knox as he is progressing very nicely towards baptism on the 15th :) That's what makes our struggles worth it.
To look back to who I was and where I was last year is simply a remarkable turn, not only have I changed physically with the minus 50 lbs. but also, maybe more importantly, the change spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. I know that if I had not chose long ago in Primary to serve a mission, I wouldn't be out here and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to grow as close as I have to my Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. With this change I've really found the deeper meaning to the basic gospel principles and how it all fits in with everyday life. I've dove deeper into why other faiths don't see us as Christians, and I've been able to use that information to my advantage when talking to others and answering the questions that they haven't had answered by their pastor or preacher :)
High - Having someone open their doors to us last night. Like I said, I was down and didn't really have hope, but the last house that we go and visit let us in. While we were there, we testified of the importance of going to church and we shared our individual experiences with going to church and contrasting it to when we didn't go and obey that strict commandment. He may not go anywhere, but really only time will tell if now is the time for him to move forward, that's not the point though. It's the fact that we got in when seemingly all was lost, to me at least, and then to have that one spark of hope at the end of the night :)
Low - Not being able to contact anyone that we taught last week, and not having anyone to church
I now have a much stronger testimony of faith. With the last little bit being a struggle for me, and then to see just one door open and let us in when we needed it most is simply amazing and a gift from God. I've been focusing a lot on faith and what it all leads to, President Joseph Fielding Smith said “Faith is the moving cause of all action.”
Yesterday in Elders Quorum we learned that in order to move our performance up and live with the stress that is often associated with increased success, we need to be living the gospel principles and be able to apply them when the moment for us to teach someone else about it arises.
Thank you for all your love and support from so far away :)
Love your Son and Missionary,
Elder McCade Tracy
March 10, 2014
This week was ok. Actually, to be honest this week was possibly the worst week that I've had even with some bright spots through the week we didn't teach or see that many people so our numbers were cut in half from last week basically. The only thing that really made it better was finding three new investigators and they seem really solid and we'll be meeting with them this week and I'm really excited to meet with them :) Traye did not make it to church, and it was because of the time change and it hit a lot of the members pretty hard so not many people who are normally there were there. We've had to move it back until the 29th but I believe that he'll make it and he'll get baptized on the 29th.
Yeah, I talked with President about it this last week in interviews and I'm doing a lot better. I just have to remember the story of Alma, we're kinda similar right now, Alma had success in his first two cities and then was shut down in Amalikiah. I had success in Shively and Owensboro and now I have a new challenge so that really helped me to see what I need to do in order to make something happen here in St. Matthews :)
High - being able to find three new investigators and having a few more high potentials on the radar, we'll be doing all that we can to teach them and help them towards baptism!
Low - just the difficulty that we had in teaching and meeting with people this last week, it's not going to happen again.
This week has been filled with my prayers being answered really. With the difficulty of this week, it really brought me to my knees and brought me to re-evaluate myself and how I go about things. My prayers were answered yesterday with meeting a lot of wonderful people and having many people, who turned us away, say thank you and just to keep going because we're doing a marvelous work. So that was a much needed thing and it's helped to keep me going right now :)
Love you and thank you for all that you do!
Love,
Elder McCade Tracy
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