Week 5

February 23, 2015

This week went by really fast! And its almost time for transfers its crazy! This week was pretty awesome. We had exchanges with our Spanish Area Leader Elder Pope. So we were a trio for a day and he helped us a lot with Spanish. That was pretty fun Elder Pope is awesome.

Best day of this week was probably Friday. We went and taught Dan and Monica again. They are doing really good. They are both really funny. Monica made beets just for Elder Jackson cause he said he likes them. And now Dan makes fun of him for that. They had a lot of questions about the Priesthood and Baptism. We answered their questions and had a really good lesson. They are really interested. Monica reads the Book of Mormon a lot and likes it but Dan hasn't actually read it yet but he said he would so hopefully that happens. But the awesome thing is he was on an airplane a few years ago and someone gave him a Book of Mormon and he still has it. We invited them both to read the Book of Mormon and come to church.

This week we had 3 Investigators come to Church which was really awesome. One was Steve. His room mates said he moved out but on Friday we decided that we should go to his house again and there he was sitting on the couch. The other ones were Michelle who we met on Saturday and then Monica came. And they all really enjoyed it which was good.

It's really amazing to see how much change happens to people when they come closer to Christ. I've seen lots of change in my life but I can really notice it in people we teach. You just notice something different about them. It really is amazing.

Love and miss you all!

- Elder Mackay

Letter to his Mom (I told him he needs to come home in a cowboy hat and boots, if missionary has a usual plan to expect for your first couple transfers and asked him his high and low of the week)

Maybe before I go home I will get a cowboy hat and boots. And the weather really hasn't been that bad. It changes a lot so one day it will be sunny then the next day miserable and raining. But yea car is nice but I really want a bike. Getting fed too much food... But I've heard in the summer it gets so hot and humid that you sweat a ton. So you have to be careful cause when you pull out a pass-along card from your shirt pocket it will be soaked in sweat. And apparently when you bike in the summer some people ask if its raining cause you are sweating so much. So that should be fun.

All I have heard about the mission president is that he is unpredictable. Some people have had 2 trainers and others have been with their trainer for 3 transfers. So not sure what will happen. Just have to wait for the call on Sunday. 

Haha in Texas there is so many big trucks. People will either have a big truck or those fancy muscle cars. Like the Chargers, Challengers those types of cars. It's kind of crazy. 

I'm definitely gaining weight haha. There is some days where I can definitely feel my shirt is tighter than before. Those are usually the days where we get fed 2 Dinners...

I can never think of any lows.. Like I'm having a great time. Sure there are days where we get a lot of doors shut or not many lessons but I have not had a bad day yet. Always have good things happen. So yea no lows that I can think of. For the high of this week. It would probably be that we had a bunch of Investigators come to Church yesterday which was awesome. 

And I have no pictures sorry... I just don't know what to take pictures of...

Love you, 

-Elder Mackay

Oh I thought of a low. It rained last night and was super cold so there is a bunch of ice now. And this morning when we were going to the care Elder Jackson said "Cuidado del hielo" which means 'Careful of the ice' but I didn't know what hielo meant so I went and slipped on the ice. And now I know what hielo means :)

And yea get fed a lot here. Maybe I'll just let myself gain 20 pounds then start working out more so I stay there :)

Week 4

February 16, 2015

Well this week was pretty interesting. The weather was good most of the week. Was kind of hot but not too bad. And it only rained once. Had to go on two exchanges which was pretty fun as well. 

First exchange was with Fredericksburg which is a pretty small town north of Kerrville. So I stayed in Kerrville with one of the Elders from Fredericksburg, Elder Hill. Everything went good. Met some crazy guy who told us how he's addicted to drugs and could go crazy at any moment. So we taught him a quick lesson. Then went to a less active members house. All I remember was when we were planning my companion told me to be careful cause her dog is crazy. And of course the dog was right next to the door... Luckily I could reach over and knock on the door and just barely be out of reach. That dog definitely would have killed us if he wasn't tied up... 

Then the next day we met some super drunk guy which was kind of funny. He could not remember anything we were saying and he just kept talking about how much he loves God. So that was interesting. 

Second exchange was with the Zone Leaders. So I went down to part of San Antonio with Elder Rasmussen. That was awesome. Elder Rasmussen is great and he showed me a lot of things that could help me to be a better missionary. We taught a family that night. We taught the restoration and so I had to do the 1st vision part. I did it pretty well, but it was hard cause I know it better in Spanish than in English. But it went really well.

One thing I've learned is how not talking a lot is kind of a blessing. Lots of missionaries tell me that I teach really simply which is good. But honestly I just don't like talking a lot so I explain what I need to explain so I can be done haha.

There's 2 pictures. One is a nuclear bomb shell. Thought it was cool. And the other one is me in front of Buccee's. A giant gas station. All those pillar's are gas pumps.. Everything is bigger in Texas...

Hope y'all have a good week! (Trying to learn how to speak Texan)

Love y'all!

- Elder Mackay

Week 3

February 9, 2015

This week was really good. It was kind of cold most of the week and rained a bit but the last couple of days have been really nice. It's getting hotter every day... 

We taught a lot of lessons this week. We taught Monica and Dan again. Dan is still trying to recruit me onto his Basketball which is funny. They told us they would have some snacks for us but when we got there it was actually a Dinner. So ate lots of food that night. They understand everything really well and were super excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. Which is awesome. 

On Saturday Isaac was Baptized. The Baptism went really well and his whole family came. They are all non-members so that was awesome. We talked to them and hopefully can start teaching them eventually. His 2 sisters agreed to meet with us later this week so hopefully they continue to take the lessons then the rest of the family joins them. 

So yea everything is going really well. Still trying to keep learning Spanish which is going really good as well. We meet Spanish people every once in a while so I get to use it every once in a while which is fun.

Anyways have a great week!

- Elder Mackay

Week Two

February 2, 2015

Well this week was pretty awesome. Start of the week was pretty much normal just going around teaching people but then Friday and Saturday is when it started to get really cool. 

So on Friday we had dinner scheduled with the Bishop in Ingram which is a little town north of Kerrville. So we planned the whole day with visiting people in Ingram. But then in the afternoon Brother Hull (96 year old WWII veteran) called us and said he had us for dinner. And he lives in Kerrville. So we decided to stay in Kerrville to have dinner with him because he spent a lot of time preparing it. So we had no plans to meet anyone. So we were driving around then Elder Jackson said he knew a less active lady who lived nearby that we could go see. So we went there and she was outside with her friend. Her friend was drinking beer and smoking but told us she was a member she was just in a really rough time right now. So we opened to 3 Nephi 18 and asked one of them to read verses 18-20. As she was reading they both started crying. Then they said that was exactly what they needed to hear and that they knew God inspired us to go there and give them that scripture. So yea that was pretty cool. 

Then Friday night we had an appointment at 7 with Monica an investigator. She said her husband would introduce himself but he wasn't interested in staying for the lesson. So we go there and I introduce myself and first thing he says is "Do you play Basketball" (There is 2 things everyone asks me. 1: If i'm related to David O. Mckay and 2: If I play Basketball) So I start talking to him about sports and stuff then he ends up staying for the lesson which was awesome. And I guess he liked us cause he invited us to watch the Super Bowl with him but we had to turn that down unfortunately. And he really wants me to play on his Basketball team that plays every Saturday haha. 

Then on Saturday it was just awesome because we had a Zone Conference and Russell M. Nelson came and spoke. So I heard him twice in MTC then once more on Saturday. But yea that was awesome. He stood at the front and said he wanted to shake everyone hand so we all got to shake his hand.

So yea it was an awesome week.

-Elder Mackay