I chop my own wood for the fire!

Well I made it a week! Our Momita feeds us soo much food so I think I am gaining weight! But my companion and I run every morning because I cannot get fat! There is a joke here in the mission that all the girls come in looking like Barbies and then they leave looking like Barney! No bueno! 

I gave my first baptismal invitation. We met this young girl named Katy, she is my age! She keeps asking me why I am on a mission and she is very interested in why we do what we do so we had an amazing lesson and I felt so good. My spanish was awful but I use my hands to describe and I just bear my testimony over and over. She said she has already been baptized when she was little so we have alot to teach her about priesthood authority and such. I hope she can feel this truth for herself. 

We also came in contact with this man named Jose, we taught him all about the church and at the end we asked him if we could come to his house and teach him and he told us that he did not have a house! We taught a homeless man and didn't even know it! haha, oh man. We plan on teaching him at the church! It should be good. Hopefully he wants to hear more! 

They have ADT in Chile! Who would know! Vivint needs to get their act together so they can start selling down here, hahah. The people have alarm systems on their shacks. The peoples' houses are as big as my room back home! It is so crazy! I have never been so humbled. But I love them. Oh and I have yet to met anyone with teeth here. No one has teeth! They are all fake or they have one or two missing teeth. So I fit right in! #toothless

Last thing, we went to go meet with some less actives this week and people here in Chile kiss you on your cheek when you say Hello. As missionaries we cannot kiss the men but a couple days ago we were at this house and this old man comes into the room and tries to kiss me on my cheek. I just scream ¨Soy misionera¨and then I just backed up and gave him an awkward hand shake. It was SO awkward but sooo funny. 

Oh man, being a missionary is the best but the transistion is hard! I have to keep focusing on the work and I get caught up sometimes focusing on dreaming about the future and when I will be home! But then I remember I still have forever and that gets me super sad. It is hard but I know I have to have patience. I read a talk in the Liahona today and it helped me! Maybe something will help you. ¨WE may not be satisfied with our circumstances and thus spend time wondering when things will change. If we do this, we miss out on wonderful opportunities for spiritual growth.¨ Dennis Gaunt. When I read this I just started crying. My companion thinks I am CRAZY, haha. But seriously this is so hard. But I know Heavenly Father called me here for a purpose and I am still trying to figure out why! Why in the WORLD am in at the bottom of the WORLD. hahah, but for reals. 

Please pray for me and hope I get the gift of tonges and if you want I would LOVE a letter. I love you all and I will write you if you write me! 

xoxoxo 

Hermana McClary 

I chop my own wood for fire!
(Martha Stewart in the cabin)

¡Overjeria Chile!

Hola! 

I made it to Osorno Chile! My first area is Ovejeria. It is a little town in
Osorno! 
It is soo cute! Imagine Europe with a Mexican twist and that is what Chile
looks like. haha!
My trainer's name is Hermana Aquino, she is from Paraguay and speaks very

very little English so that is fun. Let's just say there is a language

barrier for sure. But I already love her. She is so amazing. We are both new
to the area so that is also really challenging. We are both lost but that
makes me feel better. haha, we are learning together. #unity haha

I made my first contact in the taxi just the first night I got to Osorno. I
just told the lady I liked her purse and asked her if she was from Chile. My
trainer was so shocked! She said I was a natural. I guess knowing fashion
and complimenting people comes in handy! When you don't know what to say
just say something nice to that person and they will open up to you. The
lady in the taxi had to leave before I could get her information but it was
good practice. I have learned to talk with EVERYONE. We don't get to choose
know needs the gospel or not so I have been opening my mouth to everyone. 

We have a mamaita here in Chile, it is so strange. We only eat lunch here.
We don't eat dinner! We work all night so I never have time to eat. I went
to the store and bought some snacks so I don't starve! But aparently
everyone gains weight here. The bread is really good I guess. I have to
watch out!! 

Our casa is HUGE but so disgusting, Elders were in our house before so it is
really gross. Hermana Aquino and I are going to have to clean it today. It
is so old and we DO NOT have hot water!! Like no bueno!! 
I had to take a shower in the ICE cold water. I have never felt so cold!!
Don't even get me started about building our own fire! It TAKES FOREVER to
warm our house up! My companion told me to take a shower today and she
doesn't understand that I HATE cold showers so I just turned the water on
and just did my hair instead. haha. We are getting it fixed though, I HOPE!
I cannot do it. 

Oh and another thing...people don't have mailboxes here. Like that is the
saddess thing I have ever heard! We don't have a mailbox either so I cannot
get mail! Just send everything to the office address that I gave you guys
and I will get stuff when we have meetings.
So I learned Spanish in the MTC but I promise you that what the people speak
in Chile is NOT spanish. It is Chilean, haha. They sound like they have a
lisp when they speak! It is so interesting! So everything I thought I knew
is changing about the language. 
We went contacting yesterday and I was able to bare my testimony to this
girl that was my age and I felt the spirit so strong. The people are SO nice
here I just wish I could understand what they are saying! But I LOVE Chile.
It is so cool. I already used my rain skirt yesterday! It rains SO MUCH! 
Well I love you all. Please pray that I get the gift of tongues. I need help
so please help me! The Lord loves you and I love you. 
More adventures to come! 
Chow chow! (everyone says that here!) 

Hermana McClary
p.s. I already broke my umbrella so I had to buy a new one today! Oh it is
so fun. It does not stop raining!

Santiago Airport, everything is Penguins!!!

President Rodrigo Obeso Chile Osorno Mission

My mission president is from Mexico City! So they do not know much of any English! So hard to communicate with anyone! 

Dear Family of Sister McClary,

We are pleased to inform that your daughter has arrived safe and sound and smiling to the Chile Osorno Mission.  It was a pleasure for us to greet your daughter upon her arrival and feel her desire to serve.  Enclosed is a picture that we took with her shortly after her arrival.  After a short period of orientation regarding mission procedures, customs of the country, etc., we assigned Sister McClary to work in the city of Ovejería with Sister Aquino as her companion.  Your daughter's address during her time in the mission will be:

                                               Sister Bryce McClary

                                      Casilla 7-0

                                      Osorno, Chile

Sister Obeso and I love our missionaries and are truly happy to have the opportunity to work with Sister McClary.  We appreciate your willingness to share her with us as she works as a missionary and ambassador for the Lord in Chile.  Sharing the gospel with these deserving children of our Father in Heaven will certainly bring great joy and satisfaction to her, and to you as well.  Thank you so much for helping her get to this point.

Please write her regularly–at least once a week.  Your love, interest, and support will be of great help to her.  Should there be any emergency or if you desire information regarding any urgent situation, please feel free to contact the Missionary Department in Salt Lake City rather than go to the expense of phoning the mission here in Chile. 

The missionary work is progressing rapidly here in southern Chile, and I hope that you will share in her exciting mission experience as Sister McClary writes to you weekly and keeps you informed of her challenges and achievements and experiences.

Sincerely,

President Rodrigo Obeso

Chile Osorno Mission

President Rodrigo Obeso

Chile Osorno Mission

Hermana Aquino, she is from Paraguay

August 2014

Last week at the CCM

Rain, Rain Rain

Well it is my LAST Pday in the CCM! So crazy!! I already started packing today! I love my district so it will be so sad to leave them! Most of the Elders are going to Ecuador and the other two Hermanas are going to Boston! I am jealous they get to go back to 'murica! But it's fine because I remember I am going to see PENGUINS in Chile and that makes me feel better. haha.

So I leave next Monday night, I fly out at 8:25 pm and my flight to Chile is 8 1/2 hours!! Then I have a 6 hour layover in Santiago before I catch my next flight to Osorno Chile! I cannot wait! The CCM has been amazing and I have learned so much but I am ready to put what I have learned to real practice! 

So funny story! This last week we taught our investigator Gustavo and he told me in our lesson that my shoes looked like bowling shoes! And throught the lesson he kept looking down and laughing at me! Such a punk. haha, I guess he also told some of the Elders about it too and everyone was laughing! People just don't understand fashion!!

This week we had the craziest rain storm!! It rained and rained! It was flooding the whole CCM. I had to take some awesome pictures of course!! This is just my trial run to prepare me for Chile. I just know it!! 

Well ¡Adios! Thank you so much for all your letters. I love my mission. The Español is coming...slowly! My investigators can understand what I am saying it just takes me FOREVER to congucate everything and then think of what else I was going to say, but I LOVE Spanish! 

"I am with you alway[s] even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20 I cannot wait to be at the end of the world! 

Hermana McClary 

more rain

my umbrella broke already

SWEEPING IN MEXICO

Well this week has been interesting. I got sick on Thursday and felt like I was going to die on Friday. So I went to the Tinda (store) here and got some mexican medicine! It was a miracle...even though I didn't know what the instructions said. I decied to ask my district leader for a blessing. So Friday right after class Elder Holley and Elder Kvarfordt gave me a blessing. I have never been so grateful for the priesthood. What they said in my blessing touched my heart. In the blessing they said "Heavenly Father is proud of you and knows this is wehre you are supposed to be." Before the blessing all I wanted to do was go home and hug my mom and take medicine from America! But I know that Heavenly Father keeps sending me little tender mercies like that blessing to keep me reminded why I am here. This work is hard but I really know that this is what I need to be doing 

"I can do hard things!"

I encourage everyone to get a blessing if they need it! This is the first blessing that I have had while being sick, it didn't take my sickness away but I was able to feel stronger so I could continue to focus on the Lord's work! I am still sick with a fever/cold but it is easier to bear the headache. I also received a BEAUTIFUL package from my mother on the day I was so sick. Mothers are the BEST!!

Another fun experience happened yesterday. We had a service activity where we had to clean the buildings. Not just the buildings but we had to acutally sweep the OUTSIDE of the buildings. So here I am sweeping the side of a building while everyone walks buy and gives us THE weirdest looks! I guess the rain gets the buildings dirty...but we didn't even have water to really clean the dirt off. We were just sweeping the dirt all around on the building. It was one of the weirdest things I have ever done! Oh 2 hours after we "swept" the building it down poured!! No joke!! So much for our "work"

Today we had French Toast for breakfast though so that made me sooo happy!! I miss you all but just know I am sweeping buildings in Mexico City and lovin life!! 

p.s. I have TWO more weeks here at the CCM!! So stoked!! We are getting so many missionaries now though! It is so crowded. #toomanymissionaries 

Until next week! 

Hermana McClary

MEXICO DISTRICT

Mexico MTC that I swept and then flooded again

leather scripture scripture case

4th of July in Mexico

Well for starters Fourth of July was the best day! I have survived one holiday away from home! Thank goodness...now only a couple more to go ;)

Here at the CCM the whole cafeteria workers decorated the comedor in red, white and blue! All the tables had table clothes, we were able to have BBQ burgers, coslaw, corn on the cob and even brownies! SO AMERICAN! haha, it was really awesome then they had us sing the Star-stangled banner and I have never felt the spirit while singing that song but I totally was so PROUD to be an AMERICAN! Like I love Mexico...but I LOVE AMERICA!! Only one more 4th of July away and I will be back in America...cannot wait!!! :)

We had Fast Sunday and that was rough, we fasted Saturday night and then didn't eat breakfast Sunday. But I was able to feel the spirit so much more that day. I NEED the gift of tongues so that was fun to fast for! I hope I continue to improve on my Español! 

I cannot wait to leave the CCM. hahah, MTC life is getting old but we went to the Mexico City temple today and it was amazing. The temple was closed but we were able to go to the visitors center. AHHH, such a tender mercy. I needed to remember why I am here. Sometimes I get so caught up in the language and so frustrated but then I watched all the wonderful movies at the temple and it made me realize that this gospel is amazing. I CANNOT wait to tell all the Chileans that they can live with their familes forever. 

We also were able to see all around Mexico City when we were in the bus and it was so eye opening! We are so sheltered here at the CCM I am grateful for the security here. I don't know if I could live outside these walls. Mexico is CRAZY! But I do love the beautiful painted houses!! 

I love the temple!! I also love each and everyone of you. 

I finally got a DEAR ELDER, I have been waiting every week! Thank you! I love letters and I love writing so write me before I leave! 

I have almost been gone a month next Friday, so crazy! Mission life is the best life! 

Haz lo  Justo

xoxxo

Hermana McClary

Sista's

Abbey Road in Mexico

I love rockin the old lady look!

My whole district was making fun of me...like I looked pretty ugly with my long skirt and my rain boots but I LOVED it!! I love rockin the old lady look! ;)

When we came out of the devotional everyone was running and screaming...end of the world status. It was THE craziest thing I have ever seen!! 

I wish I had pictures but we are only supposed to take pictures on P-DAY so all the crazy things happen when it it's P-day...of course!!

Sunday is the best day!! My companion Hermana Davis and my other sisters in the district all decided to match for church because we realized we all had teal polka dot outfits! So we all dressed up and we performed a musical number and literally all matched! The best part is that we convinced everyone that we didn´t plan it!! hahahaha, oh it was the best!!

Also if you have time you must look up the talk by Elder Bednar about obtaining the character of Christ. It was given in the MTC on Christmas...a couple years ago. I have NEVER heard a better talk. He talked about how the cookie monster is like the ¨"natural man" and WE WANT IT NOW! But he said that he Christ always turns out when the natural man would turn in and be selfish. It was amazing! One of my favorite quotes was "When you think you can´t do this, you can´t but with the Lord you can." 

I love you all so much. Thank you for your support! 

This mission is not about ME....it is about HIM. I love this gospel. 

Today I had to take some wonderful pictures. These Hermanas are also going to my mission in Chile! THEY ARE DA BOMB!! Hermana Orsos and Hermana Jenkins. They are amazing and I love them.