One Year Already

Hey errbody!

Time just keeps moving along and Thursday will be my official "hump day" haha the year has sped by and Heavenly Father is sending me a present...Elder Robert C. Gay of the Seventy (one of the general authorities in the Church) is coming to our mission on Wednesday, then we will have a Mission Leadership Council with him on Friday in Iowa City! I am really excited to receive counsel and direction from him because I know he is called of God, a servant in the Lord's hands to help us reach our full potential here in the Iowa Des Moines Mission! Quick fun fact: At a stake priesthood meeting the other night, the Stake President told us that the Des Moines, Iowa stake is the fastest growing stake right now in the North America Central Area! Super sweet to see that the Lord is blessing us with prepared souls who want to follow a living prophet and be member in the only true and living church of Jesus Christ :)

This week was great! We got permission to go to a little branch campout this weekend and boy, did I enjoy the great outdoors! We cooked carne asada over a fire and it was soo good! Then we had some smores, and I taught everyone how to make smores the Palmyra Ward way...Deluxe! (see picture and shoutout to Mikey Call, Raul Fernandez, Zack Taylor, Brother Fife, Brother Truman, Brother Taylor, Brother Call, Bro Ro (Brother Rodriguez, Brother Miller, President Nielson,the Ringers, and anybody else who was with us on that Young Men's trip to Brianhead when we mountain biked, paintballed, and etc.) That was the best trip ever and when the Deluxe Smore was born haha

The Spanish members here are the greatest! They were singing and laughing the whole time and it was a blast. The branch is growing so much with reactivations and baptisms, The Work of Salvation is pumping through every Branch Council and its so good to see everyone embracing the restored gospel. I know that I am about my Heavenly Father's business. My purpose is simple and brings me so much joy when it is fulfilled as I invite other to come, follow the Son of the living God. This is His work and His glory. Im grateful to be a participant in it! We are to save mankind from the calamity of its own self destruction, and that can only be accomplished through unity in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. His Atonement (suffering, death, and resurrection) is real and through it, we can become happy and peaceful with the circumstances we are in. God loves us. We are His children. I love you all and hope that you too are searching for God's love, b/c you will find it :) Love Elder McGinn

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Elder Seth McGinn

Iowa Des Moines Mission

8515 Douglas Ave. Ste. 19

Urbandale, IA 50322