Umm... Gospel, Anyone?

The past few weeks have been rough, I'm not gonna lie. No one seems to realize how much the gospel will bless their lives if they just accept it! The trouble is, most of them think they've already accepted it. They just have no idea how much more truth the gospel of Jesus Christ contains.

So, I haven't taught any lessons in about a month. Not any full-length, sit-down ones, anyway. We don't have any investigators coming to church (or meeting with us, for that matter), and nothing seems to be working to get them there if we do meet with them.

Discouraging, to say the least.

But here's the amazing part:

People have agency, no?

Yes! They do. They have agency. Because God gave it to each and every person on this planet.

We all have the ability to choose.

That means we can all choose whether to follow the Savior and live His gospel or not.

That means I can't force anyone to make any decisions (which is probably a good thing, since I'm far from perfect).

It also means that I can choose whether to be positive or to give up.

Well, guess what!

I'm not giving up.

I will be positive.

You know where true positivity and optimism come from?

From joy.

And that joy comes from charity: the pure love of Christ.

As we love the Savior, we will have a desire to serve others. He'll send the Holy Ghost to help us feel His love for us and for those around us. And when we feel that love, that's what brings us ultimate joy.

Love someone near you.

I dare you.

(Did I just dare y'all to love someone? I guess I did.)

Love all y'all! ;)

Sister McKay

Pictures:

1 & 4. Southern snow!

2 & 3. I suppose I'm experiencing a selfie craze.

Positivity!

Transfers

Transfers are not fun.

Sister Lanigan and I are staying in Tifton, but one of the coolest elders ever, Elder McPherson, is leaving! We thought he would stay, but no.

I didn't realize that missionaries actually knew each other and hung out together. Turns out, some of your closest friends in the mission are other missionaries. Since elders and sisters can't email or write letters while we're in the same mission, we won't get to see the people that leave unless we happen to be transferred at the same time. So I'll miss him, and our district leader, Elder Anderson, who's also leaving. But it's alright. We'll be making more friends as the new elders and sisters in the district come into their areas.

Moral of the story: never pass up an opportunity to make a new friend! You'll thank yourself later.

The Work

You wanna know something interesting?

We didn't have any baptisms, anyone preparing for baptism, anyone at church, or any new investigators this week. It was zeroes all around.

But, surprisingly, I'm not discouraged this week, as I usually am when that happens.

We did our absolute best to find people to teach, and I feel successful. I'm doing what God asks of me, and I know something good will come of it, whether it's now or in the future. We have lots of people that have agreed to meet with us. It's just a matter of catching them at home.

If you've agreed to meet with the missionaries, whether you're a member or not, would you do me a favor and not forget the appointment? Put it on your calendar! Seriously, it helps missionaries not to be discouraged.

That said, I have high hopes for the next 6 weeks. We should have a lot of success, and people who are prepared for baptism are just going to come out of the woodwork! I know it. :)

Love all y'all!! Never forget your awesomeness.

Sister McKay

Pictures:

1. Sister Lanigan and I taking our companionship picture at the church. I never realized how much time missionaries spend at the church. It's like a second home to us.

2. A picture on the wall at the Macon sisters' apartment. This one's for you, Dad!

3. Mission office!

4. Mission office with my comp.

5. Me being goofy at Memory Ln.

6. Me being somewhat normal at Memory Ln.

7. My comp and I at Memory Ln.

8. Trying to use the camera timer to take a picture with all 4 of us Tifton Missionaries.

9. The 4 of us. Elder McPherson is the second from the left. We'll miss him!

If you can see the video, hurrah! Sending videos is rare because they take so long to load off my camera. Hope you can enjoy it!

Hurricane

From Sarah/mom: I am so late posting this. Sorry!

9-13-17

Well, I survived my first hurricane! That was a trip! And we're all alive.

Short on time since I had to catch up on 2 weeks of emails.

We stayed in the mission home for 3 days. Monday was lockdown. On Sunday I got to go out with one of the Macon sisters and a sister from Savannah who also got evacuated. My first trio! We got a new investigator and it was the BOMB. Wow. It was a super amazing experience. I cried. For the first time in a while. Let's just say prayer works. It does.

Listen, y'all. I want you to pray. Tell God everything. I'll do it too. I promise it helps.

Love y'all!

Sister McKay