Monday, August 20, 2012

Feels like Spring

Hey!  I am having a great week.  Here the ties are only 1 ketzal and they are all handmade.  That’s like 10 cents inAmerican dollars, okay more like 20 but I don’t like math. My goal is to have at least 300 ties when I get home. Hahah chiestie, maybe like 150. The food here has been really great until yesterday.   As I was cutting my meat I saw a dead worm in it! Hahahaha my biggest fear here is the flies. They lay larvas on you!   They get in your skin and then you have to suffocate them out with duct tape.  I hear you can feel them crawling in you.  Lucky for me I have not had this happen, but I did have a massive spider on my notebook.  As I was teaching a lesson I smashed it in my notebook!  Don’t worry I laminated it.  I’ll try to send him home.  I named him aragog like in Harry Potter. He is huge, like the size of my hand.  I went tracking with my Latino campenero this Monday, Elder Querz, he is way legit!! In 2 hours of tracking we placed 3 Books of Mormon.  One of them he made me do all the talking to practice my Spanish!! It was way cool.  We placed 15 pamphlets about the restoration of the gospel and plan of salvation.  We also got 7 peoples contact information for the
real missionaries that actually got called to this area. It’s weird realizing how much freedom we
don't have just because we are in a different country.  When we go to CRE, that’s where we go teach inactive members, we have 2 body guards in front and behind us.  It’s fun. Everyone here has shot guns and stuff.
The ccm has cameras and guards everywhere. Last night a guy came in with a hat, sunglasses and was covering his face. He had a big coat on and he was asking us where we slept. The old me would have been scared but for some reason I wasn’t scared at all. I just thought the Nino was weird.  My roommates were scared!  They wanted to lock the door and close the windows. The weather here is amazing. It’s spring every day! It rains like every day, it’s
amazing.


Well I am having a great time!

Elder McKenna

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Learning all the time!

To family:
Yeah, I need a copy of my patriarchal blessing.  That will be super helpful! When the things exploded I lost a lot of paper stuff and that was one of them.  My shoes ripped in half from all the calle futbol so I am going to buy new ones.
So I went the Guatemala temple this week.  We had to proselyte for an hour before going in because our wait was so long!! But it was a lot of fun.  I understood like 25% of what they were saying.  And yes mom my head does start to hurt really bad from all the learning. I don’t think Jacob had it as bad, because Jacob got to take it easy at the Provo mtc. At the mtc here no one speaks English. It’s either do or die!!! In Provo you could speak Spanish outside of your classes and at lunch, here it’s Spanish 24/7. It gets super frustrating only getting like 25% of what they’re saying and what’s going on.   I have 3 investigators. Laura, I don’t really know her last name because she speaks so fast!! I have to keep telling her “Mas expacio por favor apriendido esponeol” (Sorry can’t spell Spanish words) that means please slow down I’m learning Spanish. Hahaha! She is married and has 3 kids.  We just got her to commit to baptism first thing in September.  Her husband is never there. She has 3 kids and she reads the Book of Mormon to them. The other investigator is Palmira.  She is living with her boyfriend or spouse not really sure . . .  can’t understand language. She had an accident and can’t remember things that well.  I don’t think she will remember our last lesson we taught her. Hahaha no clue what to do with that. Noe is my difficult investigator.  He doesn’t believe in anything but he loves reading history books. He loves history!  He has a hard time paying attention to our lessons because I don’t think we are really finding his needs and what interests him. My companion really wants to teach lessons, but I feel like we need to become more of a friend and we can still teach him through history. I think he would love the history of Nephi going to the Americas and the history of Moroni and all he did.  I committed him to reading those stories.  He loves to read it but he doesn’t feel anything.  He needs to have faith. It’s hard because he doesn’t believe in anything, and he doesn’t seem to care to understand.  I am confused on what to do. Classes are 6 hours every day and it’s super hard because they are in Spanish.  If you don’t understand then you are pretty much dead.   My whole district took Spanish for five years
before the mtc so they practically speak it fluently.  They know all the conjugation’s and past and future participles. I use practically only present tenses and hope they understand when I am talking in past or future. Hahaha it’s frustrating being behind but its fine we all have our own gifts right? The mission president at this mtc is super cool. I go tracting for 3 hours on Monday with my Latino campenero. I feel sorry for him because I don’t understand what people say...  This week was a lot of fun though. Elder Lundberg was my companion because we had a 3 way companionship.  His companion went home so he was paired with us.  He just got switched to another companionship which is a bummer, because he is so funny.  And you’re not going to believe it but his smile is ten times bigger than mine!! It’s great!  Except he drools a lot but still he is the happiest kid I have ever met. I’m glad he is still in my district though.

I love all of my family and friends.  I pray for all of you!! I am having a great time not understanding people and teaching the gospel best I can in a language I can’t understand!! It’s an adventure every day even though I am sitting down all day!! I love you all!!!           
Daniel

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Letter for Elder McKenna

If you would like to send Elder McKenna a letter while he is in the Guatemala MTC dearelder.com is a great way to do it.  All letters to the Guatemala MTC are free through dearelder and all you have to know is his name.  Get writing!

Guatemala!

I made it to Guatemala safely I love it here.  It feels like spring every day! I only can send letters on Saturday but I don’t really understand the system here, so sorry if don’t get my letters in good condition. The kids here, the Latinos, are so good at calle futbol.  I love it!!! So not only is my Spanish improving, muy mal, but my futbol skills are muy mal compared to theirs.  They all want me on their team because I’m white. I said Latinos because <natives> is offensive here!! My miestro (teacher) went to Peru on his mission and his el libro de Mormons cover is a real cheetah skin.  It’s so legit!!! The weather is so nice.  It rains every day but it feels so good! I got two El Salvador bags! I’ll be sending home.  Jenn don’t worry yours is in purple!! I got an El Salvador tie with the temple on it.  So sweet!!! Saturdays are pdays for me.  The system here is a bit different then the Provo ccm. We’re not allowed to sit with girls during eating times.  I don’t know why.  Maybe some boys and girls were feeding each other. I don’t know!!! The food here is so much better then in Provo.  They have a legit chef and he makes the best food!!! I don’t even know what I’m eating but it’s so good! Questionable but good. I don’t understand what the Latinos here are saying.  I might get 2% of what they’re saying and they probably only get 1% of what I’m saying because me Espanola as muy mal y gringo!! But when we're on the soccer field I really feel like we connect!  Still my biggest problem is the language, but I’m not worried about it because last night I had a dream and 1/10 of it was in Spanish.  Did I have a clue what my dream was about? Nope!! Ha but it was in Spanish.  So that was exciting! If you’re dreaming in Spanish then you’re doing something right hahaha ¿right? Sorry I know my grammar sucks but like I said this is a Spanish keyboard I don’t really know how to capitalize, space or enter on here!! So any ways I’ll be sending some stuff home!! I love you all I am having a blast!! God has blessed me so much!! I love it here!!!!! I hope you guys are all doing okay please let me know how you are doing.
 I love you all.  I’m having a great time.  The people here are amazing.  I have come to love them so much in past couple days.  Even though I have no clue what they or I am saying!! Hahaha love you all.