Smoothies

OK first of all que chafa that the 49s lost!  Now I first want to say no I did not watch the game but I did see the first touch down at an investigators house because he was watching the game.   You know it's because of that first foul is why they lost.

Mom I can't answer silly questions about shoes and stuff.  Just don't stress and have fun!!!

Hey so this week was super good and super bad at the same time. We reactivated an inactive family and we are going to baptize there two kids at the end of this month.  I believe  we have another baptism this 17th.  So in this way its super good, but super sad about the family Escobar.   I am super confused with them because they're reading the book of mormon, they are keeping all their commitments and going to the church.  I am super burdened with this, because I don't know if my lessons were bad, or they don't understand what they need to do, besides reading the book of mormon and praying as a family and everything. But Sunday I was super sad and mad because we woke them up at 7 to get ready for church and they said they would be ready at 9 so at nine we came by and they said they would be there, then when church started at 10 no family Escobar. So confused and bumbed out about this family.

I love my companion but at the same time he is a bit pride full and he told me I shouldn't talk because the people don't always understand me and I am just wasting our time to teach them. He still doesn't understand all the 42 principles we need to teach and when he teaches he just confuses them.  He uses words like atonement and stuff and the people here have never heard that word before. They don't understand and he brings like 80 different doctrines in at once that even I get confused.  So yeah my spanish sucks but at least I just focus on one thing at a time and secondly its not spanish that converts it's the spirit.   Like the family Solis that I baptized in my  second month, they said they never understood a word I said but they felt the spirit so strong tell them it was true.   He is still cool and he is a good missionary, just needs to lighten up a bit and have fun.  Today he is mad that I am ending p day 1 hour early because there is an investigator who has no food or anything so I am going to go there and cook for her and teach a bit.  He is mad about that but oh well, don't care I am having fun and feel good.

So Hansen (from the MTC) is in my zone so it's pretty chill, he is so funny.   It doesn't matter what he says I just have to laugh he is so funny!!!  But he doesn't really say anything funny, he is just a funny guy, he is like 6 5 but just a funny guy!!  But it really shows having latino companions helps spanish a lot because before in the MTC he knew way more then me and now I know way more then him.  I feel bad he has only had gringo companions and he has had a new comp every change.  How crazy is that? I have only had 2 he has had 5.

 Learning a language can be difficult and living with a companion from a different culture, also difficult.  But life is an adventure so I just have fun!!!  Speaking a different language is so fun, especially when they don't understand a word your saying and even myself have no idea what I'm trying to say. Life is like a puzzle you only can see the next piece,  but God can see the whole picture of who he wants you to be.  So if you just go to him and ask him for his help he will help you find your puzzle and not just your piece.

 

OH and how is the snow there?? I miss snow so much!!!  I heard 4 people died from being cold?  Here people die from to much dust. How strange the world is.

 

So this week was a little slow I felt good though I had a family home evening activity on Friday.   I had about 30 people attending I would of like to have more, but got to work with what I got. Two people we reactivated are starting there papers for the mission so I felt super happy this week about that!! For once I feel like I actually did something that made a difference.

So some funny things this week:

1. In spanish in mexico pisto is alcohol and here it's money.  So my companion always thought when I say pisto (money) I was saying alcohol so I thought that is funny.  What a mexicano!!  That's actually what the people here call drunks; mexicano or bolo. hehehe poor guy.

2. Second thing is I realized people here think we missionaries look like my favorite animal; penguins!!

3. I make smore's every night, I don't know why that is funny but I am laughing right now.

4. So I decided I have been so deprived of smoothies.  So we went on a hunt to find a place and we found one in my area. I didn't don't know if it was safe because it's in some persons house, but smoothies are smoothies, right. So I go there like once a day, some times twice.  But the other day she didn't have milk so because I am a missionary when someone needs help you help.  So I went on a hunt for milk so I could have a milkshake.   Yeah, so I milked a cow!!!   But apparently milk directly from a cow is not clean, so the person who sells milkshakes went and bought milk for us.  So today were going to blow up the cow milk that is not good.

5. Today we found two kiddy pools like you fill up with water, so we made a pool room in a elder's house and today were going to chill in the kid pools.

So my Pdays are becoming successful and in the week we're working really hard!! and having fun!!!

IMPORTANT

Mom  I need the recipe for the Mango Rice because right now they are in season 1 buck for 5 mangos and the milk of the coconut is super cheap too so I am ready to make the goodness!!  So please send for me the week next!!!

love you all!! have a great week

Spanish!

Hey!!

So this week was super chill!! Except one of my investigators I don't understand because he refuses to speak spanish to me because he wants to practice his english because supposedly he lived in the states for like 5 years. But his english is spanglish and I don't understand a word he says, but he comes to church with us and today were going to teach his whole family.  I don't know if he is married or not because in spanish he said yes but when I asked in english he said no and gave me a whole long story that I ddn't understand one word.

I am getting to the point where I am forgetting a lot of words in english. and I decided I am not mexican anymore I am Salvadorian.  Because when my companion asks for something or ask what a word means here it's because spanish in mexico is completely different, I was asking for a straw and the word for straw is completely different here. and he always says no monches and here they say va querer and they pronounce there Y and LL with the sound Y in english but here the Y and LL is a J in english a soft J.  So some times I feel bad because he asks me what something is,  in mexican spanish, but I can't give him the word in spanish here cause I only know salvador spanish. I have gotten to the point where I can speak vos pretty well.

Something funny is we have 3 new families we're teaching and these 3 new families all know each other and they know the leader mission.  So I invited them all over for a family night and we made s'mores and everything and bonbons in mexico is marshmallows and here its marshmallos but i just say marsh and they understand because they know I like to cut my words in half sometimes. Anyways back to my story, so he was like hey were going to cook bon bons in the fire and bon bons are lollipops here so they were all looking at him funny and of course I didn't correct him because its just to funny.

So we're doing really well right now!!  We're having a lot of fun!!  Mom I had to use a lot of money this week because my backpack got stolen and shoes too. and Elder Gotschalk's too. So we both bought buslighter new backpacks today, I used the debit card for that but he payed me back just this minute while writing you.  Yeah, I really have hit my 6 months because I had to fix a lot of my pants and shoes and everything, sorry mom.

 

Love all you guys!  Elder McKenna

New Companion

Hey

So this week was a lot of fun!! My sons name is Elder Martinez and he is from Mexico and I have learned that Spanish in Mexico is completely different then spanish here.  He is always asking me what some spanish words mean here and I feel bad because I don't know the spanish mexican word. So I am sad for when I talk to Jacob after the mission because he didn't get the chance to learn the cool spanish. I like the El Salvador spanish words more then a lot of the spanish words in mexico, sorry fam!!

So my companion is super cool because he wants to work but he is a little over bearing with the rules and stuff. During study time and everything we study all we are supposed too and we are obedient with exactness.  I even teach him English for one hour every morning but when I talk to the other elders in 'tu" form or in "vos" he corrects me and is always like, rules are rules, we only can talk in "usted".  It's getting really annoying because when I talk to the zone leaders they even speak to me in tu and vos.  I want to be able to speak really well in tu, usted and vos and transition really well but he always corrects me to speak in usted.  Then when we are working and have lessons and teaching he is super lazy, he won't walk worth a darn!  The other day we were in an area 45 min away from where the bishop needed us to go to teach.  My companion walked as slow as a turtle and I was like running because we had 3 lessons in the next two hours and these are 3 families really important.  Here if your late they don't want to receive you.  (but it's okay for them to be late)  So I was running and he refused to even speed walk and this really bugged me because its not okay for me to speak in tu with missionaries but its okay for him to be lazy.  The other thing is he is racist, a little bit, because the zone leaders need to work in my area to know my investigators and to have an interview with them, so he had to work with the other zone leader and he is a gringo and he was so mad saying all these bad things about gringos.

Other then that I really am learning from him and I am glad he has the desire to be obedient. He was mad the other day because I had an idea to door contact with cake in my hands because everyone here likes cake.  So I thought it would be a good fun hard way to work and it was super fun knocking doors with a giant cake in my hands and it actually really worked, the people here loved us and invited us in.  It was super fun.  My companion thought it was disobedient and called the zone leaders and all they said is "hey that's a good idea I want to contact with cake".

Yup!  Having lots of fun!!! love you all!! love the snow pics you sent.  Elder McKenna

Trainer

Hey guys

I had an interview with the president this week and I am now a trainer.  I am both nervous and happy.  I think I will learn a lot and it will be fun but I am also nervous because I saw the pictures of all the new missionaries coming in and they all look mad.   All the Latinos; not one of them smiled in the pictures and the gringos didn't smile either.  Only one person was smiling in the pictures and he is Chinese.  I want him as my comp because he was the only one that looked happy.

So how crazy is that, my first companion was my trainer and my second companion I'm going to train.  How crazy is that? I am still in the same area though and now that I am going to be training I  am going to be here for 2 more changes (12 weeks).  That's going to be 5 changes in one area. I am excited about that but also sad, that's a lot of time.  So tomorrow I am going to receive my new comp, crazy, I am going to train, please pray for me I can't do this on my own.

Other great news, out of everyone I have baptized all are still active.  But the family Escobar and the family Mandandez need your prayers they are all having family problems.   This week was super crazy.  So this week was super hard for one of our recent convert families because  there grandma died and second she accidentally locked her nephew inside the house.  Here the locks are on the outside of the house so they couldn't get out, so he was super mad and broke all her stuff, took a video and sent a video to her aunt that she is a slob and all this stuff and sent the video to her.  Super crazy and then he threaten to kill her and then the cops came and now he can't live there any more but super crazy week.

Well I'm loving the mission.   Spanish is coming along really great.  I can pretty much have a conversation about anything, I can understand pretty much all gospel doctrine in spanish, but other stuff no.  Hey so I think I know what I am going to do when I get back home.   I am going to study languages and go in to linguistics.  I think it is a good  idea to learn the languages of the world so I can talk to the world. and plus I think it will be super cool to be able to talk to my 2 best friends, Savannah and Martin in different languages.  That will be so chill to just be making fun of people with them in spanish and dutch. Yes of course I am going to learn dutch so I can talk to my bro.  Oh mom whenever you can, please send me book of mormon in french.

have a great week!!!

Working Hard

Hey everyone!!

 

So this week we didn't get very much news but we have 4 new dates for baptism this month!!  My companion and I are working so hard!!    So we had one date falloff for this 22nd only because the mom didn't know how old there kid was and she said he was 8 years old but he was born in 2005 so its not possible that he is 8 years old.  But yesterday my companion and I set a date for the 26th for a family to be baptized, so I am excited for that date!!!

 

I'm so grateful for my dad teaching me to work hard even though I never tried it out in my entire life, but because he taught me I knew what hard work was.  But you all knew I couldn't try working, because my favorite hobby is being lazy.  Unfortunately I have had to sacrifice that hobby  for these 2 years, but don't worry guys when I get home I'll pick up my hobbies again and be lazy!! hahaha but thanks dad for teaching me the knowledge of hard work and now I am actually applying it in my life and yup I have started to be actually able to tolerate work.  Only tolerate it though.  I am not going to say I like to work,  just can tolerate it now.  So don't worry mom when I get home in a year and half I'll be sleeping on that couch tell 4 in the afternoon just like good old times!! 

 

Hey Ry guy and Jacob thanks so much for your example to me to come and serve a mission.  I can't even image how hard that had too of been for Ryan to be the first in the family to serve a mission.  I don't think I could of done that, actually probably wouldn't of done that to be honest.  But because of your example and faith to put the tag on I learned a lot from you. and Jacob thanks for your example to do the same thing and learn a language and live in a place that doesn't have all the same blessings we have.  I never realized how blessed and lucky I was to be born in the states!!   Man like carpet!!  Who would of thought I would dream about carpet!! and putting my bare feet in it every night and day!! well some times in the day.

 

So the other day proselyting (knocking doors)  this guy thought we were CIA and was like take out your bible so I took it out and oh boy was he scared he was sweating and everything.  I know this is kinda mean but I couldn't stop laughing because people think I am CIA, little old me!! hahaha so funny!!!

 

So the other day a baby was crying, she was like 2 years old and the mom told me to get her and oh my gosh she was 120 lbs the same as me, oh man I could not even pick her up I was like trying so hard man I almost just fainted!!!

 

Elder McKenna

Happy!

Hey Everyone!!!

So I am pretty much having the time of my life!!!  I  talked to my companion about everything.  I shared with him my goals and talked about how I can't complete them without his help and talked to him about how I know that if we are really obedient we will have more success.  I just decided to be myself again.  When I wake up, I just tell myself today is going to be a great day!! And now I am my happy self all the time again!!  I have never been happier, this last week has been amazing just everything makes me happy!!  My companion came to me the other night and said  I don't want to be a regular missionary anymore, I want to be the missionary that I used to think missionaries were angels, can you help me!!  Man I love my companion, we are having so much fun, but working so hard!!  This last week we had 30 lessons with members and this week we're shooting for 60!!  We really have got our ward working hard and my companion is super chill, and now we are talking non-stop, joking around, goofing off, but of course we play hard and work hard!!  Yesterday my companion helped me be obedient!!  Because as you all know, I love sugar!!!  Apperently the coke here is made with real sugar cane so when the member offered me some I said yes, but then my companion said no not today!!  Saved me from that crave I have for sugar all the time!!!

So on a cooler side my converts of last week bought me 3 live ducks!!  I am going to kill them and cook them this christmas with there help!! super cool!! Except I kinda don't want to kill them, there cute and it's not true what people say about ducks not being friendly!!  Its a lie they are so friendly and fun to play with!!

Okay I need you guys to pray for family Hernandez still, we are going to baptize 3 of them on the 30th but the parents can't be baptized until Carlos wants to get married and its super sad because the kids and the mom pray every night for him to want to get baptized.  I'm also baptizing a family Dec. 30th too!

Supposedly I am going to be made district leader and training  this next change but as of right now its just rumors and the zone leaders suggested that for me. But honestly I don't want any of that!!! I just want to be minor comp my whole mission, I mean jr. its nice!  I get to work hard and don't have to worry about others! perfect!!  I especially don't want to train, especially if it's a gringo not knowing spanish because I myself don't know spanish well enough.

I hope I get to go to Belize and learn creole though that would be legit!!  But I have a feeling I will have the opportunity eventually, because even before I got my call I always felt I was going to serve in 2 countries!! But it turns out part of Guatemala is in my mission also, so we have 3 countries and 2 islands in my mission.  I want to get sent to San Pedro, the island super cool
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Well see ya guys, I am going to go play volley ball.

Loving the Mission

Hey Family & Friends,

So I have a question how come lots happened in the world after I left it? All the good movies are coming out, Soccer:  Messi has more goals then Pale now, Christiano Ronaldo had 2 hat tricks, American womens tean won the gold medal and The Giants won the world Series.   I'm darn good at soccer and speak the romantic language but no girls to impress!! Even my mission got ten times better except peanut butter that is not better that is super expensive here!! Oh one more bad thing I had to take more money out because I had to work with eveyrone in the district and while I was gone my companion was I guess on the phone for long times in the night and the bill was $155 so I had to pay it, because he has no money, so I payed all my mission money for the month that I had left and had to pay some of my personal money.  I'm sorry mom and dad about that, I should be reimbursed in December!

 

So the hardest thing still for the whole mission is not having candy, especially mike and ikes and red vines.  Can you guys believe I have not had candy for like 4 months!!! Man it sucks, I used to not be able to go a minute with out some delicious mike and ike's in my mouth!!!  But honestly you all know me how I always was the goof ball, so every one liked me and I  was just super friendly with people.  Well, candy is now not the hardest thing for me in the mission, it's knowing I am living with people for 2 years that absoluletly hate me!!  Only because I won't do the disobenient things they want to do.  They are not really bad things, but we commited to the lord not to watch any movies or do any of that for 2 years so I am trying to do my best and yes I am hated for it.  But  just like the scriptures say, " love casteth out all fear" so that gets me through it. But I can see how some disobidience affects the whole mission. Even when other missionaries are disobident in other areas, my members and stuff talk to me about it!!  So it's more than a little frustarting.  So we had a couple baptisms drop, I'm super sad about that.  But we have some baptisms tomorrow, so that will be good!!  This december were having a christmas recording of baptisms for the 22nd or something like that.  Changes is the 5th of december I am going to get a new companion. I have been really praying for an obident companion wanting to work hard,  because I have a lot of goals I want to accomplish, but its hard to accomplish if I have a  lazy companion.

But I am working hard and loving my  mission.  Oh and Elder Van Camp (Chris) my soccer buddy from American Fork is now in my zone.  Remember him Jacob and dad!

So while I have been out here I have remembred that god works though people and revelation works though people!! I remember when I was in seventh grade and i just remember sitting down stairs thinking and remembering mom and dad always telling us to pray if this gospel is true! So one night I decided to pray and I got a feeling to go look in my scriptures and as I went to my scriptures on the front cover there was my mom´s testimony taped to it. I don't know when my mom taped that there or when she got the feeling to put her testimony there. But because god knows all of us and we are his children he gave my mom the feeling to do that!!  Now I don't know if my mom thought at the time that was the spirit telling her to do that or not but i know that was revelation from god for my mom to put that there because god knew I was going to pray and ask. So for this email I am here to tell you guys to stop worrying and just focus on being our selves and doing what's right.   God is going to use us and put us in the path of his children because god knows each and everyone of us more then we do! So like Nephi if you just go and do and be your self and be a good person your going to be guided by our father in heaven to do what's right! That right there is revelation! We might not see it as revelation because we might think I just did that to be nice but god knew you were going to do that and that's why he put that person in your path.  So just remember be like Nephi and go and do and focus on whats right and the lord will bless and magnify you!!!

On another note!!!  So you all know I like change and P-days are supposed to be fun. I feel like I do the same thing every p-day.  I have to write home and do stuff and now its starting not to be fun. So is it okay if I don't have to write every week? I mean I'll call on christmas and when not writing home is not fun no more I'll start writing again maybe we can compromise one month I write next I don't, what do you guys think?

 

Love all you guys!  Elder McKenna