One more week! 9/1/12

So great news I get to leave in one week to El Salvador (fist bump with elder Ashcroft even though he isn’t going there but we just still fist bumped).  I am so excited to go teach and tract. Tracking is so much fun! I love doing it here. I get to go this Monday again.  I’m so excited. I have a new favorite song "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing".   I love it!!! It’s so funny, here there is a street sign that says "don’t read the book of Mormon it’s how they get you" of course it says that in Spanish though.  Hahaha so funny!!!  Since I have gone on a mission I have been thinking about what I want to be and for some reason I have a got good feelings about joining the military or being an ancient world history major.  They are two very different things and I don’t want to join the military, but I have a good feeling about it.  That sucks. So I know I talk about the language being the hardest part a lot but I have been a liar. Don’t get me wrong it is hard and I feel like I am behind everyone else but honestly there are 2 harder things.  1. Not having any candy or snacks. I have a harder time being awake and focused because there is no candy or snacks all day!!!  I pretend like my vitamins are candy sometimes.  Now that my pee is a different color though I decided maybe I shouldn’t take 2000 milligrams a day.   So I went back to only taking 500 milligrams a day. I never realized how good vitamins were until I got here. The 2nd thing is, and I am sure you all knew this before I came out here on the mission, self-discipline.   I will always plan to study something at certain times of the day but when the time comes I change that to something else because I would rather study something else. I feel really good though, my teachers tell me I understand the gospel very well and that I should just worry about the language and not stress. This is funny though because the only time I get stressed here is when we have to watch the videos on how to have good stress while we are out here.  I start getting stressed that I am not stressed.  Then I worry I am not growing or working hard enough.  When the video is over I feel good again and not stressed anymore hahahah.  Really I am most excited about leaving in a week because then I can have snacks and track my two favorite things!!! Well I miss you all and love you all!!!  I want to wish Savannah and Martin a happy birthday. I am sorry that I am two days late saying happy birthday Savannah and 1 day late Martin!!  I love you guys!!!!!

Adios

Adventure! 8/25/12

This week was a big adventure!!! On Monday we went to town and it was so much fun!!! Everyone here is kind of lame though.  They said their favorite part was eating at Wendy's, but no it was definitely the market!!!! Because of my mom, great mom, I ran a hard bargain to the market people.   I got a Mexican poncho for 75 ketz that’s like 10 bucks. They were trying to sell it to me for 150 ketz, but nope I won’t be scammed! Nope nope nope. It was funny, I understood more Spanish than ever before at the market bartering.  Like I was telling you my shoes ripped in half from all the calle soccer, so I got my new shoes at the market!! They tried selling them to me for 300 ketz that’s about 40 bucks but I bought them for 200 ketz which is like 26 bucks.  These shoes are nice! Don’t worry mom these ones won’t rip!! I won’t play soccer in them; I’ll just play bare foot!! Hehe.  Lately for pday and free time we play volleyball!! The 3 biggest sports here are well of course football, by a long shot then surprisingly, its baseball and third volleyball. So I chose the better second choice, volleyball!! I got a pretty good spike going on.  On pday and free time I spend most of my time with Elder Ashcroft y Elder Anderson.   Elder Ashcroft is from Colorado and we are so much alike. We are always laughing non-stop and having the best of times. He is super chill!! We both work really hard and of course have fun while were working and get a lot done!! We have the best of times.  He loves to relax, laugh and have fun. I know Elder Ashcroft is here to help me through the CCM with the companion I have. My companion is Elder Jones and we are complete opposites!!! I don’t think he has ever laughed or smiled in his life. I thought I was emotional but not compared to him.  So the other day I was talking to him and I asked him if he was ready.  I asked him in Spanish of course and the only way I know how to ask that in Spanish is listo. He said yeah he was ready, so we start going to class and he exploded.…… I mean exploded. I was like what’s wrong and he was yelling at me that he wasn’t ready and he was super frustrated that I asked him if he was ready. By this point I couldn’t help it I just started laughing because if you weren’t ready why didn’t you just say you weren’t ready?  He was like you need to ask it a better way. So then I asked him how he would like me to ask and do you know what he told me? He doesn’t know how to ask it a different way. Well how does that help me, help my companion, it doesn’t.  That is just one example. Here’s another one.  We were sitting down talking and when he stood up there was red stuff on his pants and I was like elder you got something on your pants.  He started yelling at me because it’s not nice of me to point flaws out. I was just trying to let him know so we could go change his pants.  His anger doesn’t help me because it just makes me laugh. Don’t get me wrong my companion is a very smart guy and he knows so much more Spanish then I do, and I am learning a lot from him on staying organized and focusing. I know god put me and him as companions to help me learn to focus more and use time more wisely. It’s hard because when I try to help him he won’t humble himself. But it’s all good. I am having a great time here!! Loving the work!! I love my investigators. I just got Marisol to commit to baptism.  We set a date this September 24 or something like that but sadly I won’t be here for that day!!!
Elder McKenna

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

Pictures from Provo MTC

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

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.