Transfers - Marble Falls Week 14

March 21, 2016

Well I am going to be staying in Marble Falls another transfer!
Woohoo! Tomorrow I will be dropping off Elder Greene and picking up
Elder Trent. I'm excited. I've heard a lot of good things about Elder
Trent.

This week was pretty great. There was a lot of rain which was pretty
crazy. We got soaked a few times. There was some pretty big hail too.
It was a crazy storm.

Patti is still doing really good. It is hard for her to come to church
because her son, Angel, is always sick. He is going through
chemotherapy right now so doesn't feel too good. But at this point she
said they are going to wait till his next treatment and then see how
he feels afterwards and pick a day for their baptism. So we just need
to keep helping them out until then!

We had a lesson yesterday with this lady named Yolanda. We had taught
her like 2 months ago but then she disappeared. But we finally found
her again! But she was saying how she doesn't feel right with God
because she never goes to church even though she knows she needs to.
We asked her if she had the desire to start following God and she said
she does but she doesn't want to do it alone. She said how she feels
deep down inside that what we were telling her was right and it's what
she should do. But she wants her family to go with her. She didn't
feel ready to change because her family isn't ready to change. The
lesson was definitely guided by the spirit cause I can't remember half
the stuff I said, but basically I just told her that the feeling she
had was the spirit telling her that this was the truth. And that if
she followed it she would be happier than she has ever been, then her
family will see that change and follow her example. The spirit just
flooded the room and we just sat there in silence for a minute. Then
she said that she will talk to her husband and see if he will let her
attend church.

It was just incredible to see the spirit touch her heart. The spirit
is such an amazing thing. It can change lives if we are willing to
listen to it.

Have a great Easter! Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Most awkward district photo of all time!

Happy St Patricks Day - Marble Falls week 13

March 14, 2016

We had a pretty wet week. It was interesting. It would rain super hard
one day then be nice and sunny the next or some days it would rain
super hard then be nice and sunny a few hours later and then rain even
harder. So we got soaked a few times.

On Tuesday we got to meet a less active member that we have been
trying to get a hold of for a very long time. So it was really good to
finally meet him, hopefully we can meet with him more often.

We had a really good lesson with the other Daniel as well. (we are
teaching like 3 Daniels) We hadn't met with him in a while, the last
time we had an appointment he texted us and said him and his wife were
arguing so he said it would be better if we came when she was at work.
Well we had lunch with him and his wife Yeseña last Saturday, and it
turns out that she doesn't hate us. We just didn't realize that the
appointment we had was on Valentine's Day and she didn't like that.
But now we are all good again so we can teach them more.

On Friday we had a great lesson with the Hernandez again. They are
doing super good. She grew up in the church so she is loving coming
back, it brings back old memories I guess. And he grew up in Idaho so
he has heard all about the church but he has really enjoyed it as
well.

We had a really good day on Sunday. Church was pretty good, there was
a linger longer after which had a lot of really good food. That's
always fun. Then Sunday night we got in contact with one of our
investigators that we hadn't seen since like Christmas. I was excited
about that. She had been reading the Book of Mormon off and on the
whole time. It was amazing to see how even when we couldn't get in
contact with her, God was still helping her learn more that whole
time.

The new Easter video came out, and it's super good!
followhim.mormon.org

Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

We made some amazing quesadillas with some Mexican cheese that Sis. Nix gave us
And we had to join a Zone Meeting through FaceTime because we weren't invited...

March! - Marble Falls Week 12

March 8, 2016

We had a pretty good week this week! The weather still can't decide
what it wants to do but that's alright!

I started writing stuff down that happened so that I can remember them
better. So we'll see how this goes.

On Tuesday we met this lady and taught an awesome lesson to her. She
was super excited to read the Book of Mormon and stuff. So we were
excited cause we had someone new to teach. But it turns out she is a
little crazy and she texted us like 5 times and left 3 voice mails
telling us that she loves her pastor too much and doesn't want to
change. But we planted the seed so that's alright.

Wednesday I had exchanges with Elder Aguila. It was an exciting day.
We were walking down the street then Elder Aguila said he had the
feeling that there was someone on that street that we needed to find.
So we started knocking on every door. Well we had a lesson with this
young guy named Jimmy. And at the end of the lesson he told us how he
has been praying a lot for help and just needed to talk about God with
someone so bad. That was a big witness that God hears and answers
prayers.

Then that night we were teaching English classes and Patti and Daniel
were there. They were leaving early because Patti's leg was hurting
super bad. But when they were leaving they started asking questions
about the pictures on the wall. Daniel said he really liked the
picture of Christ being baptized. And so Patti asked if we could show
him the baptismal font. Well there was still 2  people in the class
but we didn't want to miss this golden teaching opportunity. So we set
the 2 people in the class up with Duolingo on their phone and then had
a great lesson with Patti and Daniel by the baptismal font.

That's the most exciting stuff that happened this week.

Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Elder Aguila and I
And a giant moth we found

Marble Falls is awesome - Week 11

February 29, 2016

We had a great week this week. Marble Falls is just great. It's a
really fun place to be, hopefully I can stay here a lot longer!

This week I had exchanges with the Zone Leaders and so I got to go
with Elder Black and walk around downtown Austin for a day. It was
pretty fun. Austin is just a crazy city.

But this week was pretty fun. We've had to walk around a lot because
it's the end of the month so we don't have any miles. Luckily the
weather has been super nice.

We are teaching some great people right now. Patti is still doing
well. She wasn't able to make it to church because her son was sick,
but she is still progressing very well. We also finally got in contact
with Brother and Sister Hernandez again which was great. And they both
came to church this Sunday!

Lots of good things are happening!

Have a great week!

Elder Mackay

We had a pizza with unlimited toppings so we put everything on it.
Exchange apartment selfie!

Church is good - Marble Falls Week 10

February 22, 2016

We had a great week this week.

On Tuesday we did exchanges. Elder Hall came here with me again, so I
had the chance to practice my Mario sounds again. That night we gave a
church tour to Patti and her 8 year old son Ángel which went really
well. They enjoyed it a lot. Ángel was super excited because he went
to church with his grandma a few times in Utah so he was really
excited to see what the church here was like. The spirit was very
strong as we showed them the baptismal font. We just sat in that room
and talked for like 20 minutes because Patti didn't want to leave
because she felt so peaceful.

Then on Friday we talked to Patti again. Turns out Ángel has had
cancer since he was a baby and went through chemotherapy and stuff
before. But they went to the doctor and he has to start chemotherapy
again. They were pretty torn apart. Patti asked us to give him a
blessing, I have never given a blessing in Spanish before but it's a
good thing the Gift of Tongues is real. After the blessing Ángel was
just saying how peaceful he felt. They were saying how they always
feel so peaceful when we and how they really want to come to church to
feel even more peace.

Well on Sunday they came to church! Patti quit her job so that she
could come to church. It was a great day at church. We started a
Gospel Principles class in Spanish. We only had 3 people there but the
spirit was so strong. Sis. Nix and Alejandra were just bearing there
testimony non stop, they said they never get the chance to because
they can't express themselves in English so they were just going for
it. It was awesome.

That was basically our week.

The spirit provides peace and happiness to all!

Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Happy Valentine's Day - Marble Falls week 9

February 15, 2016

We had a great week this week. The weather has been super nice and
it's supposed to be even better this week! Yay!

I had exchanges with Elder Smith this week. It was only his 6th day in
the mission. It was a pretty fun day. It was a really nice day so
there was actually people outside to talk to which was really nice. We
met a couple of awesome people. We haven't been able to talk to any of
them since that day but we are working on it.

We finally got a hold of Paty again, and we asked her if she would be
able to come to church on Sunday. She said she had talked to her boss
and he told her that she could choose between church and work. So she
went home and was thinking about it and then she decided to read the
Book of Mormon, then said a prayer. And she was really tired so right
after her prayer she fell asleep. And she said she was sleeping
holding the Book of Mormon, kind of like a teddy bear or something,
then she had a dream and God answered her prayer in her dream. So she
told us she is going to come to church and just leave the money
problem up to God.

So Sunday comes and Paty didn't show up to church. That night we went
and talked to her and she told us that Saturday night she had a really
bad head ache and was really tired and so she took some medication
which just knocked her out until noon. So that was disappointing. But
we still had a lot of people that we have been working with show up to
church.

A member just moved here from Mexico and so she doesn't speak any
English. And there are only like 7 people who speak Spanish in the
branch. 4 of them are just white guys, 2 are less active and the other
1 was out of town. So we were super worried that she wouldn't make any
friends and wouldn't like it, but 1 of the less actives came and they
became super good friends! And the less active really enjoyed church
and is now starting to take the temple prep classes.

Moral of the story: Everything happens for a reason.

Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Some cool decorations we saw!

Super Bowl - Marble Falls week 8

February 8, 2016

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl. I heard the Broncos won. It
turns out that in Texas when the Super Bowl is on nobody wants to talk
to you. But we heard all about what was happening in the game!

We had a pretty great week. We started eating with Sis. Nix every
Monday. She is so awesome. She is on a mission to feed us every kind
of Mexican food that she can think of. And it gives us more chances to
practice Spanish which is great. While we were eating she started
telling me how Elder Greene used to be a lot skinnier and how he has
gotten a lot bigger since he's been here. Then she saying how he was a
cachetón, chanchote, and gordito. Which means chubby cheeks, big pig
and little fatty. It was super funny.

We realized the other day that we have gone up and down every street
in Marble Falls. So it's been a bit of a struggle to think of where we
should go and stuff, but we have still been able to see many miracles.

We started an English class last week. We had 8 people show up which
was great. It was pretty fun to teach English. Hopefully we can turn
it into an opportunity to teach people.

Well last night we were with the Curlee's, they are a less active
family, and we were just talking to them then Elder Greene started
saying how I needed to try Satan's Blood. So I was super confused but
then Bro. Curlee pulled out these 2 hot sauces. One was called Satan's
Blood and the other was Mad Dog 357. And he said I just needed to try
1 drop of one of them and then later I can try the other. Well I tried
Satan's Blood first and that stuff is like 800,000 scoville. Super
hot! I thought I was going to die. My eyes were watering, my nose was
running and my mouth was just on fire. It was crazy. Then once that
wore off it was time for the Mad Dog. It wasn't quite as bad but it
had similar effects. I definitely would not recommend it, it does not
feel good.

That's basically my week. Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Here is the Mad a Dog stuff. I didn't get a picture with Satan's Blood :(

Transfers - Marble Falls week 7

February 1, 2016

Well we are at transfers once again! Nothing is happening though. I'm
going to stay here another transfer with Elder Greene. It's going to
be lots of fun!

I did exchanges with Elder Aguila this week. He is from Guadalajara
Mexico, so he is learning English. It was lots of fun, he is really
funny. It also turned out that all of the people we talked to that day
spoke Spanish so it was super helpful to have him there because he can
speak Spanish a lot better than us white people can.

But yeah I had some weird stuff happen this week. Elder Aguila and I
were eating at this BBQ place before we exchanged back and this lady
there was asking about what we do and stuff. Then while we were eating
she left us a note that said she wanted us to pray for her. Then
before we left she came and talked to us again and we asked if we
could have her number so could help her out more. Well when she went
to write the number down her tooth fell out and bounced off the table
onto the floor. So that was pretty strange. And then the very next day
we were eating lunch with the High Priest Group Leader and he picked
up this white thing from his plate and asked if we knew what it was.
We told him we didn't know, and then he asked if he was missing a
tooth. And sure enough his tooth had fallen out. So he stared at his
tooth for a few seconds and just looked super confused and then he
said 'well ya win some ya lose some, I'll super glue that back later'
then stuck it in his pocket. I have never had that happen before...

We have been having success though! We met this lady named Yolanda and
she let us right inside. As soon as we got in the rest of the family
scattered but we got to talk to Yolanda. She went off for like 10
minutes about how she doesn't believe in churches because she thinks
that you can talk to God wherever. Totally true. And then she went on
for another 10 minutes about how families are falling apart and all
that. So finally when we got a word in we told her how the church is
their to help families become closer, that is part of the reason we
have church. Then her daughter walked in and so Yolanda told her
everything that we just finished explaining to her then asked if she
wanted to go to church with her. So that was sweet. Unfortunately they
didn't show up but that's alright. There is always this week!

I'm excited for another transfer here! There is lots of people who
need the Gospel!

Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Some nice BBQ, Elder Aguila and I (good thing my eyes were closed, oops)

Hola Hola - Marble Fallls week 6

January 25, 2016

This week was great. The past 2 days have been super nice. It hasn't
been cold or hot so that's been awesome.

I had exchanges with Elder Hall this week. We had a really good day. I
definitely learned a lot from him and he is super funny so it was a
pretty fun day. I have never met anyone who could make as many Mario
sounds as he can haha.

Paty and her family are still doing great. They have been able to
recognize the blessings from living the gospel and they have a very
sincere desire to change. There is a few things that we will need to
help them work through but they are stilling strong.

This week there was a worldwide missionary broadcast. So we got to
hear from a lot of church leaders. They had a very big focus on going
back to the basics. Sometimes we complicate things and so it was a
good reminder that we need to stick to the basics and show people the
pure and simple doctrine of Christ.

Have a great week, love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Selfie above a lake with Elder Hall!

Crazy Dog - Marble falls week 5

January 18, 2016

This week was pretty good. The weather is having trouble making up its
mind. It will be freezing one day and then super nice the next day.

This week I did exchanges with Elder Hansen. It was a pretty fun day.
He is a great missionary. We met a lady who didn't have time but then
she gave us her friends name and address because she thought she could
use some help. So we went and met her friend and had an awesome
lesson!

We also ran into this dog that just really does not like missionaries.
This dog tried to kill us when we were walking down the street last
week and so we fended him off. Then with Elder Hansen we were walking
down the same street at night cause I totally forgot about the dog. We
were just walking when I heard a big dog bark and then I looked at
where the sound came from and recognized the house. So the dog tried
to kill us again but luckily we were able to get away. Probably going
to start driving by that house from now on.

Right now we are just trying to help everyone keep their commitments
so that they can learn in progress. We have one family that we are
really focusing on right. The mom is super sincere and just wants her
family to be happy, so we told her that this is the way to do that.
She is really pondering baptism right now. The husband is a little bit
more difficult. He has some interesting beliefs and his Spanish can be
hard to understand sometimes but he is awesome.

That's what's going on in Marble Falls. Have a great week! Love y'all!

Elder Mackay

Exchange picture with Elder Hansen!