Elder McKay

Hi Mom!

 

It sounds like you have had a very busy week - that's a lot of traveling for sure.  It feels good to come home aftering living out of a suitcase for so long.  Sounds like Jake is going through a lot of the same sort of stuff this summer with his selling.

Hahahaha, I know exactly where I picked up my photo phobia!  Hearing about Dad dodging photos at the funeral reminds me of me trying to do the same thing at Jaclyn's wedding until Aneladee Milne picked me up and dragged me into them.  I'll probably try to dodge the photos on my own wedding day as well...

 

Hmmm, which reminds me, no, I have not received anything from either Paul or Tati!  I know I'm far away, but hopefully they haven't entirely forgotten who I am.  =P  I presume both of their weddings are this summer as well?  Guess who else is getting married - Jessica Halling!  Lol, all of my friends will be long gone by the time I return.  I'll have to entirely recreate my friendship base - except for Terry, I'm sure.  (Terry, if you read this, then "Long live Kartarkle".  Also, what do you think of Mr. Purple Inc as a name for a business selling pencils?  =P )

 

Time flies.  5 years of school and Joe will be gone and you can "retire" for good and have this cake making expedition in full swing!  We have one of our recent converts out here who is a professional chef/baker and he is doing quite well, so I have no doubts that it can be done.

 

Well, we haven't had too many unusual experiences this week.  We did hear a few gunshots down the street during a contact in the ghetto and a cop came by to ask us questions to see if we knew anything.  Umm, it has also rained a LOT!  It's no wonder the missionaries here all have t-shirts that say "Servin' in the Swamp"  - we have had standing water all around the yard at our apartments for the past few days.  I like running around barefoot in it.  =) 

 

Elder Holland will be coming to the Kingsland Stake Conference in a couple of weeks, and then we'll be having a mission conference with him there as well, so August 13 and 14 is going to be really fun.  All of the missionaries here LOVE Holland!  Mostly because he is very bold and "dominates their faces off" (as mission lingo goes) in his talks to missionaries.  I'm convinced that I could become a mega millionaire by developing a small device that I would call "The Pocket Holland" which would have 3D videos of some of his speeches that missionaries could whip out during District Meetings or teaching appointments with investigators.  =D

 

I just have one thing to say: member dinners are ridiculous.  Ok, so on Friday, Elder Jensen and I finish our weekly planning, and eat a quick bite to eat before heading out. I had a potato and a PB&J  (I know, I know, it's a weird combo).  5 minutes before we leave the house, we get a call from an older sister who had planned to feed us later that night, "can you come over now?  I moved the time from 5 to 1pm"  Urgh...,"Sure thing, sister Floyd!"   It is no joke when I tell you that she made a MOUNTAIN OF FOOD for the four of us missionaries in Brunswick.  To start off with, she gave each of us a ginormous steak (16-17 ounces easy), baked potato, and bowl of salad.  It was impossible to say no, or take a smaller size so we dug in.  Then came the rolls, and corn...  Then the cobbler, then the ice cream....  I can honestly say I have never felt so FULL in my entire life!  The steak alone would have been more than enough for a small guy like me (e.g. Remember my first ever steak, Chantel?), but all of this on top of the lunch I'd already eaten probably made me gain 10 pounds!  I weighed in at the disgustingly high weight of 140 lbs - a new record high! Lol,  I didn't eat again for about a day and  half. 

 

Well, the work goes on!  It's a lot of fun and by far the best experience I've ever had in my life.  It's impossible to be down or unhappy when you talk about Jesus all day long with everyone you see. The only sad part is seeing how little most people care about spiritual matters.  It is an absolute wrestle getting the majority of our investigators to pray daily (even if it's not about the Book of Mormon) which is really odd considering everyone here in the South considers themselves to be Christian.  Good luck, Benji!  I know you'll do awesome!

 

Sorry, no photos this week.  I pulled the camera out of my backpack early on and it just sat on my desk all week, so nothing new to show.

 

I love you!

 

Elder M