Elder McKay

Hello Family,

 

Thanks for the update on Grandpa Howell;  I'm glad to know he passed quietly.  Will the rest of the family be going to his funeral, or just you and Dad?

 

How has your summer vacation in Worland gone?  Is Grandma Kimzey (the great) still up and around? We only got to see her briefly in Phoenix, but I think Jacob and I did get a photo with her while we were there. Lol, I guess she likes us though.  I'm sorry I didn't get to go to Worland with the other brothers and Kristen though - I don't really remember the town very much.  I think I was like 4 or 5 the last time I went through there.  The only memories I have of Wyoming are 1) really really cold, 2) of catching snakes, and 3) Benji being born.

 

Huzzah for Benji!!!  Haha, I'm glad that he is finally escaping the MTC campus for real work.  I was ready after 3, so I can only imagine how much he is itching to be free.  =)  Then again, I didn't have to pick up another language while I was there...

 

The Howell tradition of dominating races continues!  Maybe it's a good thing that we live in the small town of Manti though so that there isn't too much serious competition.  =P  (Only kidding, I have complete confidence that the Howells would come out on top no matter where we live - we're just that awesome!)  Congratulations to all three of you though!  Someday I may attempt to run a race again....

 

Joe, make sure you get a good bike!  Mine lasted a long long time.  I forgot to take it home, so it's probably still in Logan somewhere, but I really liked Raleigh and Schwinn bicycles.  Mom, as I recall, the experience with getting my bike back in '98 was because of your youngest child....  Just saying.  Lol, hopefully nothing tragic will happen this time around.

 

Paul and Tati both getting married....  Hmmm, I won't lie, that's a weird thought.  Tati is one of the friend pillars of my life - I have memories of growing up with her and Jake clear back to day zero and maybe even before that!  Ah well, I guess life moves on.  Or does it? I mean, the Howell brothers seem to have the skills necessary to remain bachelors for the foreseeable future.  Lou, though, might be a different story.  Hey sis, I'm sending Elder Turner's new address in a separate email so you can keep writing him if you want.  =P

 

So, I finally got a letter from Aunt Kristy that has been at the mission office for the past several weeks. It was good to hear about all of the happenings with the cousins and everyone else in Phoenix. It sounds like she is getting anxious to witness a temple marriage of one of her own kids sometime soon though...  =D

 

Ok, so my new companion is Elder Jensen from Roosevelt, UT.  He's only been out one transfer so we're both still new.  They also downsized Brunswick from 7 elders to 4. We lost 16 missionaries during transfer meeting and only gained 3, so they closed down 8 areas in the mission.  Elder Jensen definitely has a very bold approach to missionary work.  He also talks a lot, but I'm learning to work with it and am trying to help him be more concise in lessons so that people don't start losing the train of thought and twiddling their fingers and texting.  =P  We have fun though.  He seems to have more energy in the heat and humidity than I do though. That must be the real reason why they send missionaries out at 19 instead of 23!  He always wants to race me everywhere when we're on the bikes.  Oh, and good news - since they downsized Brunswick, it means that we have a car now!  Exciting!  We have very limited miles, though, so we'll probably still end up biking every other day.

 

So here's a cool experience for you.  You know how missionaries always mention that "golden" person that they found.  Well, I think I may have found mine.  Elder Turner and I tracted into this older guy (60s?) on May 31st, shared a quick message about the Restoration with him, and left him with a Book of Mormon.  We tried to visit him several times since then, but he was recovering from a heart surgery and/or at work and we never did get to talk to him again.  Last Friday night, Elder Jensen and I were on our way home and I said, "we still have a few minutes; let's go see Rocky." We pulled into his driveway at about 8:50. We knocked on his door and he came out to chat with us.

"So, Rocky, how has your reading been going?"

"It's been going really good so far."

"Yeah? That's great.  How far have you gotten?"

"I'm about three quarters of the way through it.  Well, actually, I only have 2 more chapters left before I finish."

(excitedly) "Wow, that is amazing!  Did you pray about it while you were reading?"

"Yep"

"And how do you feel?"

"I know it's true.  Joseph Smith was definitely inspired of God."

(stunned silence for a few seconds before Elder Jensen jumps in to rescue me from my shocked look)

"Well, Rocky, now that you know it's true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?"

"Yes."

 

Wow!  Usually it is a struggle to get people to read the Book of Mormon consistently let alone pray about it!  This man had read the entire thing after a 10 minute doorstep message about the Restoration and had gained a witness of it!  So cool!  I was about ready to shout praises and do a little victory dance on his front porch, but we quickly reviewed the fourth lesson on the commandments. Second miracle, he didn't have a problem with any of them - not even the Word of Wisdom, which is really rare here in Georgia. So yeah, now we have a new bap date set with him for a couple weeks out so that he can come to church a few times to check it out, etc.

 

That was definitely the highlight of the week.  Transfer and Zone meetings took up a lot of time on Tuesday and Wednesday, Turner had been saying goodbye to a bunch of people on Monday the 4th, and I was helping Elder Jensen get oriented here for the past few days, but I have a good feeling about this transfer.  Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to meet with Marie's dad (the 17 year old girl) to try and soften his heart to allow her to be baptized. James is still looking into it, but he likes what we've shared with him so far, so we have good hopes with him.

 

P.S.  Why are James, Billy, and John such popular names in Georgia?  About half of our male investigators share those three names.  It's kinda confusing during daily planning, "let's see James at 3." "James on First St or on Ellis Avenue?"  "No, the one in Roberts Court."  =P

 

Anyway, gotta run.  Love you all.  Thanks for staying in touch!

 

 

Elder M

 

 

 

                                      

 

    

 

                                                                   Elder Jensen and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The churches here have some really funny messages on their signs sometimes.  This is one of my favorites.  =D