Farewell pictures

My dying breath was a visit with the one and only Gary Whynot. He's a
pentecostal convert :D

The James family was my final dinner appointment :)

Last time street contacting in downtown Bedford

Owen, a recent convert

Brother Harris

So many lakes in NS. I'll miss the scenery a lot

Last time in Liverpool, NS

Two years

Nova Scotia the home of nuclear mosquitoes

Last district meeting 

The many faces of Elder Garrett Thomas Batley

I repented and made Elder Batley legit waffles and bacon for his birthday

Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit

                    

Brother Muggah

Dear Family,

Well here we are. I somewhat feel like Nephi or Moroni giving their
final words. If I could leave you with anything I would say here are
the top five things I have learned on my mission.

1. I have learned how important it is to be genuinely humble. I came
out very fake with the gospel. My depth of conversion was no where
near what it needed to be. Through trying companions, areas, and
people everyday.

2. I have learned how important it is to study the scriptures. We meet
so many different people with so many different views and opinions.
The first time I went street contacting we met a returned missionary
who got his name removed from the church. He had just gotten back from
the Book of Mormon musical in New York. He slammed us with temple anti
and Joseph Smith anti. I went back to the mission home crying. I was
determined to study until everything made sense. It wasn't until about
a year into my mission that I got a testimony of God.

3. I have learned how important it is to be patient. I have had some
very challenging companions on my mission. I have had companions with
autism, asbergers, psychopathy, and chronic depression. Many of you
have made lots of mistakes and told me about them. It's been
challenging to deal with that on my mission. I have learned that it's
just better to understand people and not let pride get in the way. I'm
still working on this one.

4. I have learned that hard work is the key to success. There have
been many weeks we hit the pavement every hour of the day looking for
people to teach. There have been multiple weeks we didn't teach a
single lesson or people just didn't want to listen to anything we had
to say. Only the missionaries and returned missionaries understand how
it goes. I appreciate the empathy some of you have expressed towards
me. If you ever want to know what it's like, go live with the
missionaries for a week.

5. I have learned that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored
through the prophet Joseph Smith. This has been what has been the most
challenging to gain a testimony of for me. I have testified and taught
this truth to thousands of people. I have been mocked, taunted, and
spit on. A mission is the best way to understand the life of the
saviour. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I can't wait to see you all. You all have waited so patiently. I have
two rules for when I get home.

1. I could seriously care less about the movies, the internet posts,
and pokemon go. Don't try and get me to be involved with them. I want
to talk with you all more than anything.

2. Don't make any jokes about missionaries. I have literally fought
for two years to gain respect from people. I just want respect at this
point.

The church is true. The gospel is true.

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Elder McGuire

Like and Army with the Gospel Flag Unfurled

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters! You only get one more next week so make it
a good one! P-day will be next week on Wednesday. Tuesday is my last
full day of proselyting. It really doesn't seem like the end to me. I
feel like I will be a missionary forever. It's all I have done for the
past 24 months. I thank you for your prayers especially in these last
few moments. It means a lot that you've all been so diligent with your
letters. You're going to have to forgive me, I forgot my camera this
morning at the apartment, so no pictures today. Sorry about that.
Greenie mistake.

I have been thinking a lot this past week about humility. I'm not too
sure what I am going to do my homecoming talk on. If you have any
thoughts, let me know. One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is
found in the first epistle of John. Though we don't actually know if
John wrote these epistles, the style is his.

 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in
us. (1 John 1:8-10)

Frequently we confuse the statement "well no one is perfect" with a
rationalization that we shouldn't even try to improve. Elder Holland
puts it this way:

"Well, that’s just the way I am.” If you want to talk about
discouragement, that phrase is one that discourages me. Though not a
swearing man, I am always sorely tempted to try my hand when I hear
that. Please spare me your speeches about “That’s just the way I am.”
I’ve heard that from too many people who wanted to sin and call it
psychology. And I use the word sin again to cover a vast range of
habits, some seemingly innocent enough, that nevertheless bring
discouragement and doubt and despair." (For Times of Trouble is the
speech name)

Every one makes mistakes (everyone has those days), and we shouldn't
overreact when people fail and disappoint us. I have committed that
mistake too often. Something to work on. There isn't one of us that
hasn't sin. We are expected to sin, but that doesn't make sin okay or
give us a reason to commit transgressions, even minor, over and over
again. The purpose of the gospel is to make bad men good and good men
better. We aren't asked to be perfect, but we are asked to acknowledge
our problems. A problem won't be solved if it remains unidentified. I
have a testimony of repentance and the atonement. No prospective
missionary is perfect. We shouldn't expect young people to be perfect.
The best part about the gospel is that it provides us peace. We repent
and change. We forgive and forget. I've done it. I've taught it. I see
the people that are humble and work on their mistakes and I see the
people that are uncomfortable at the temple or the sacrament table or
with a Book of Mormon in their hands. And I have talked to thousands
upon thousands of people. True colours are shown when religion is
brought up. The atonement is real. Restitution is real and possible.
Forgiveness and freedom from guilt are possible. That is the number
one lesson I have learned on my mission.

This past week was a real break through for teaching Mark. We had a
lesson with him about the temple because he had lot of questions. I
don't know if I mentioned it or not, but the church just made these
new pamphlets to teach lesson 5 of Preach My Gospel. We discussed
baptism for the dead and the endowment. He had a lot of questions
about temple garments which we cleared up. He is really drawn to the
idea of eternal families. Probably the best part about the lesson is
that Sonja, his wife, came in the last 15 minutes and sat in on the
lesson. To add to that, Mark and Sonja did an FHE last Friday!!!!!
He's so close to baptism it's unbelievable. So much prayer and work.
He's going to make it. Whether before I leave or after, he's going to
make it.

We moved apartments last Saturday. Our new apartment is just up the
street and is a lot nicer. Missionaries had been in our old apartment
for about 10 years. Missionaries and yours truly can do a lot of
damage in 10 years. It was a lot of work, but we moved everything. It
was 35 and 90 percent humidity. Nothing like a hot humid day to move
some heavy desks. A lot of the metro missionaries helped out though
which was nice. It took basically the whole day and we were dripping
with sweat and mosquito bites by the end. The only downside is that we
don't have power until Friday, so we took an extension cord and a
power strip and plugged in the fridge and a lamp and one fan for the
time being. (Can I come down and flip it?!).


HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

See you next week

Love,

Elder McGuire

A Family is Forever

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters. I love you all. Your prayers are really
making a difference in the work here. Things are picking up and I
think that I'll have a very successful end to my mission. I really
feel like I've given my all to my mission. It's been the hardest thing
I've ever done. The rejection, the mockery, the companions, the
members, the demand to talk with every last person about the
gospel-it's all been very challenging. I have learned a lot on my
mission about life. I have learned a lot about people and the gospel.
I have learned a lot about myself. My mission has not been the best
two years. I don't say that in a melancholy tone. Every day has been
so hard it's hard to put into words. I would say that my mission has

The final time I'll ever ride a bike on my mission :(

been the best two years for my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I would certainly be less-active if I hadn't of gone.

This past week in the Halifax metro was Pride Week for the LGTBQ
community here. Halifax and the Maritimes in general have many people
that are gay and lesbian. I have talked to many people that are of
this persuasion and I have talked with many people that aren't gay but
what one would consider an ally to the LGTBQ community. I have even
had gay and lesbian investigators. Atlantic Canada is very different
than other parts of the continent. Often our exchanges are respectful.
Sometimes there are misunderstandings of the other sides point of
view. I think both sides of the coin judge each other too much.
Talking with literally thousands of people I have learned much from
Elder Holland's statement "More important than speaking is listening."
Knowledge strengthens patience. We had somewhat of a bitter exchange
with a woman this past week. Religious freedom still needs to be
defended just as much as rights of the LGTBQ community needs to be
defended. This woman made a poor judgement against us for believing in
God and believing in eternal families. Walking to the next house we
made poor judgements about her and about the people she affiliates
with. Our first reaction ought to have been like Pahoran who said "It
mattereth not." Let the water roll off your back. I think the Spirit
could be better maintained in our conversations with people that
believe in same-sex marriage if we listened more and talked less.
People want to be understood not rejected no matter what they believe.

I like how Elder Oaks puts it "While we may disagree we should not be
disagreeable." This doesn't mean we believe in eternal families when
we're at church and then believe in same-sex marriage when we're at
work or school. The truth needs to be defended but shouldn't be
presented to offend. We all have the right to speak given to us by
God. One of my favorite scriptures that sums this point up is 2 Nephi
26:33. All are alike unto God. Above all the Family is Eternal.
Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. Anything else
is not.

Tried to make Elder Batley waffles for his birthday and failed

This past week was challenging with the people we met day by day, but
we did manage to find two new investigators. The first one fell from
heaven. Tom is a young father from Ontario that has been living in
Bedford for the past couple of years. One of the recent converts here,
Gary, gave him a Book of Mormon while they were taking the bus to
Halifax. They got to talking and it turns out that they live on the
same street! Our ward mission leader, Brother Dicks was doing some
work on the apartments that Tom lives in and they got to talking about
the church. Then Brother Dicks gave us a call and we taught Tom later
that night. Tom was very accepting of the restoration and took the
invitation to pray about the Book of Mormon. He is on date for baptism
for the 20th of August! Pretty exciting eh?

Mark is doing a lot better. We taught him about the temple and
families this past week which was really eye opening for him. He said
that his wife thinks FHE is a good idea! That one statement made my
whole time here in Sackville! He came to church this past week and a
family in the ward is going to invite Mark and Sonja over for FHE.
Slow and steady we will get there with Mark.

I love you all

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!
Elder McGuire

Not saying that I would ever get a tattoo, but this drawing sums up my mission 3 And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A ^a! A Bilble! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.

Nothing like a birthday on a P-day!

Sons of Thunder

Final fast and testimony meeting of the mish

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters! And your prayers! It's been a ride having
you all write me these past two years. Letters are good for the soul.
There's something about writing everything down and getting it on
paper that's therapeutic. I feel like I have come to know each of you
more as you have told me about your good times and your bad times. I
admire Lindsay for calling all the time back in the day on Sundays.
Communication keeps a family strong. I love you all.

This past week was very rainy. Normally the Maritimes don't get
thunder storms, but we do get a lot of rain. It sort of puts everyone
in a depression. My personal theory is that the ancestors of the
Maritimers would always get lost at sea when the rain was particularly
bad and so that made the family depressed. Now Maritimers are just
depressed whenever it is raining. I'm going to miss the rain in these
provinces. For this purpose, I entitle my letter "Sons of Thunder."
Rain is somewhat symbolic in the scriptures. Rain covering the earth
at the time of Noah and the Ark. The gospel sweeping the earth as with
a flood. The rain coming down on the wise man and the foolish man.
Rain often symbolizes trials and tribulations. It has rained most of
my mission both literally and figuratively. I have been at some very
low points, with high stress and bleak hope. Perhaps the most
difficult thing about a mission is having the grit to talk with
everyone you see about the gospel. In a way I have felt like Joseph
Smith in a world with "war of words and tumult of opinions." For this
cause, I find it necessary to share a scripture with you that will
help during times of "rain."

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our
Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your
foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds,
yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his
mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to
drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the
rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation
whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12).

Only through following the Saviour do our trials have meaning and that
they will work together for our good. When we disconnect from his
teachings, the rain will come, and we will be washed away. Most likely
into the river that leads to the Great and Spacious Building which
will eventually fall.

This past week was a huge finding week! I have knocked on literally
thousands of doors. I still have more door approaches left in me.
Knocking builds character. I have discovered that just some good ol
fashioned proselyting is the best way to prevent from as the
missionaries say "dying." We found lots and lots of potentials this
past week. The sisters here don't have any investigators so we spent
the whole week looking for people for them to teach. Anyone that was a
woman we gave to them as a referral. We were out knocking in Fall
River one day and we met Robin. Robin is pretty solid. She said that
she had just moved up to Fall River to get out of a bad situation and
had been praying that someone would find her and help her. It was a
very spiritual contact. I would love to teach Robin, but the sisters
don't have anyone to teach right now. It's all about sharing!

We met with Mark again this past week and taught him from Ether again.
He is just about as solid as they come. He told us that he went into
visit some members the other night. He's already ministering. I bet if
we gave him home teaching he would do it. Please keep praying for his
wife Sonja. Mark is already to go, we just need to get her approval.

So funny story. I realize that I don't tell you all nearly enough
about what's funny that happens to me. It happens all the time out
here. Elder Batley and I were street contacting down in downtown
Bedford and the route we usually take goes underneath a bridge by a
river through a park. When we got underneath the bridge we noticed a
perfectly good bike just tossed into the river. We don't have bikes
here in the Metro but we thought it would be a good idea to pick up
the bike and take it back to our apartment because it was like brand
new. So what do we do? Well. After hopping the fence to get to the
river, Elder Batley took off his shoes and socks, moved out across the
rocks, tried to grab the bike, slipped, fell into the river, and cut
his foot on a rock. There was blood everywhere! Meanwhile, people
walking or running on the trail look over at us probably more
bewildered than they usually look. Elder Batley was all soaked after
his swim and blood was all over the rocks. We thought for a minute
that I might have to go get the car by myself because I didn't fall
in. But being the trooper that he is, Elder Batley wrapped up his foot
in his sock and we street contacted the 30 minutes back to the car.
Then we drove back up to Sackville to clean out his foot with hydrogen
peroxide. Nothing like that to lighten up the mood haha!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Elder McGuire

Driving to district meeting!

If ye are prepared ye shall not fear

Had this name tag since the MTC

Elder Batley just killing it with nightly planning again