Treasure

If I were to say, “I loved every minute of my mission!” that would be a lie.

I didn’t love every minute.

But every minute was worth it.

I will say I love being home. Nothing beats spending time with the people you love most,
in the places you love most, with the food you love most, and with a phone that has
access to Siri and your favorite music (c’mon, let’s be honest here).

I would not, however, trade my mission for anything. I grew and learned so much, and I
really realized how unprepared I was for… well, life. The experiences I had were
priceless.

The funny thing about that is that I really, really didn’t want to go. Growing up, and
especially just before I left, the idea of serving a mission was terrifying and unpleasant.
Talking with people, knocking on doors, sharing the gospel with people I didn’t know (did
I even know how to share it?), and putting myself out there in numerous other possible
ways for 18 months straight was probably the most unappealing experience I could think
of at the time. 

So, I’ve been asking myself: what changed? What’s different now?

The thing is, my mission taught me to love.

Love life.
Love the little things.
Love learning.
Love myself.
Love other people (especially those who didn’t share my beliefs).
Love the gospel.
Love the Savior.

How could I trade any of that for the life and perspective I had lived before my mission?

I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I won’t.

I know that this gospel is meant for every person, because every person is loved. My
mission taught me that.

I will forever cherish the invaluable treasure God granted me when I decided to heed
the prompting He sent me to embark on a mission for Him. It has truly changed my life.

~Sister Amory

Did You Ever Think This Day Would Come?

I didn't.

It's my last week as a missionary and I'm determined to make it my best.

This week, I felt the Spirit so strong as my companion and I taught about the plan of salvation to members.

I want y'all to know that God's plan is a plan of love.

Commandments are meant to bring us joy, right? As we keep God's commandments, we feel freedom from the sadness and bondage of negative consequences as a result of our actions.

What's the first and great commandment?

Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

As we love God, we'll be willing to do anything for Him. We'll keep His commandments willingly, and everything else will fall into place: we'll learn humility, patience, charity, faith, diligence, obedience, virtue, etc.

And as we do this, we'll be blessed with understanding.

As we love God, it will become easy to love others, thus obeying the second great commandment, which is to love others as ourselves.

And as we do all of these things, we'll not only experience the freedom that comes from not being subject to the consequences of making poor choices, we'll experience the love of God, which is the purest joy.

Thus, all of the gospel ties together. The whole purpose of this life is to have joy: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). We can have joy as we obey (first law of heaven) the first and great commandments.

Loving God is wonderful. It makes everything worth it.

See y'all in 6 days!

Sister McKay

From mom:
For those interested, she will speak at our church in Herriman on July 15 at 10:30. We will stay for church until 1:30 and then have an open house at our home until whenever time that evening. You are welcome to stop by! She will also be speaking in our old ward in Sandy on August 19 at 11:00. Message me for addresses! We are so excited! -Sarah

Not Trunky

What an amazing week!

I'll tell you one thing. We haven't seen oodles of progress with anyone this week. But I've seen it in myself over the past few.

Every week we email our mission president to let him know how we're doing. He also sends an email to all of the missionaries at once to let us know of anything important and to help encourage us in the work. Sometimes he quotes missionaries in that email from what they've written to him that week or a week before. This time, he quoted me! This is what I told him in my email last week.

"I've had some of the happiest days on my mission here, even though some may not have expected the day to be called happy or good, simply because I've had a good attitude: the attitude of faith, hope, and trust."

I really have learned that to submit to God's will is what makes us truly happy. Never think that you know better than God. Because you really don't! He's omniscient. And He loves us so much that He will always help us do things that will make us the most happy.

Love y'all!!!

13 days (and super not trunky),

Sister McKay

Trunky. The attitude of being so excited to go home that you lose focus of your missionary purpose. Don't worry I really am not trunky. But there's nothing wrong with being excited to go home as long as you stay focused. ;)

Memories and the Strength of God's Arm

Every day I make memories. I live, learn, laugh, and love. And every day gets better.

Looking back at the beginning of my mission, I was an entirely different person. I remember so many good things and so many hard things. But the hard things always made my life better in the future if I made the effort to learn from them.

Lately, I've had to put in a lot of effort to stay focused. You can't help thinking about home in your last couple weeks, but you also want to make sure that's not all you think and talk about. And as it gets closer, I've found myself wanting more and more just to go now! Sometimes I do get homesick. It's kinda painful. But I've found that as I pray for faith, hope, and strength to finish strong, the days go well. The past few weeks have been some of the happiest in my life.

We all have our struggles. I have struggles that I haven't detailed here but that are very real to me. But I have learned that every, EVERY day can be a good day if I choose how I react to my situations and choose to be happy!

God is with me, and God is with YOU. He loves you. I love you.

Be a pineapple! Wear a crown and be sweet (happy!) on the inside.

Love y'all!

I Don't Like Oatmeal

Over the course of the past two weeks, Sister Morrill and I have discovered that we are complete opposites. When we compared using the Myers-briggs 16 personality types system, we noted that I am an INTJ (or close to it) and Sister Morrill is an ESFP, which are essentially polar opposites.

For instance, this morning Sister Morrill was making breakfast.

S. McKay: Whatcha makin'? 

S. Morrill: Oatmeal. Do you like oatmeal?

S. McKay: Nope.

S. Morrill (almost before I finish saying it): That doesn't surprise me.

What I don't like, Sister Morrill eats for me. What Sister Morrill doesn't like, I eat for her.

We're opposite in this and many other aspects. What I don't sense emotionally, Sister Morrill points out. What she doesn't understand logically, I explain. I love doing the dishes; Sister Morrill puts them away. I don't love vacuuming; Sister Morrill does it! My favorite thing is NOT to talk to people on their porch; Sister Morrill will talk to anyone, and we go forward together.

We support and balance each other in our differences. In district meeting yesterday, we talked about spiritual gifts and how we all have different ones so we can share our talents, strengths, and abilities for the benefit of others. Our district leader (shout-out to Elder McKinnon!) shared this scripture:

"And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal." -Doctrine and Covenants 46:16

We collectively have a "diversity of operations," or different spiritual gifts, so that we can all profit or benefit from each other's unique attributes, abilities, and strengths and create one big, balanced world. God designed it this way on purpose. We wouldn't want a bunch of Sister McKays running around! That would frankly be boring (and I think I might go crazy).

I'm so grateful for Sister Morrill and for everything I've learned from her and with her so far. We make a great team. I know we're meant to be companions. We're daughters of God. We're here to work together to build God's kingdom and use our unique gifts to bless people's lives.

I know that everyone on earth is a child of God. We are all given different spiritual gifts so we can uplift and strengthen one another, and every person is important and essential in God's plan.

What spiritual gifts do you have, and how can you use them to bless someone's life?

Sister McKay

P.S. You thought this was going to be about me upchucking oatmeal, didn't you? ;)

PICS:

1. We made a video. I'm not in it because I filmed it, but this is the picture I took of our hilarious district! If you would like to see the video find someone with Facebook and look up my profile! We've been laughing since we filmed it yesterday, and I know you'll like it! It's Spanish for, "We have a friend who loves us, and His name is Jesus!"

2. There are two elders in my district who go home with me. This is them telling me that their flight itineraries came and to hurry up and find mine!

3. My flight itinerary came in the mail! *distant screaming*

4. Laurel Bay is a military base in the Beaufort area. It's always fun to go on base!

5. Elder Smith, Sister Morrill, and I got to go fishing with the district! We saw dolphins that day!

6. A member's little boy found this snail and showed it to us before dinner. The animals and bugs around here never cease to amaze me. They are so different from Utah!

7. We had to follow this thing in the downtown area for like 5 minutes straight! But it was kinda cool.

8. There was a trailer hitch in the middle of an intersection. We were stopped at the front of the line at this intersection. Sister Morrill said, "Should I go run out and grab that trailer hitch?" I said, "DO IT!" So she threw off her seat belt, jumped out of the car, and ran into the middle of the intersection. She picked up the trailer hitch as the light turned green and someone yelled at her. She ran it over to the sidewalk (we have real sidewalks in some places here!) and then booked it back to the car. We were not able to survey the damage done to her dress until we got to the church. Mosiah 2:17 says, "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

Solid As a Rock

Well, the gospel is as true as it ever has been. It doesn't matter where you are, the truths of the gospel are eternal and can never be changed.

Here in Beaufort, SC, that is still true. Sister Morrill and I cover all of Beaufort, including at least 65 islands. There are bridges everywhere! We also cover a large island called Parris Island. This is where the recruit depot/military base for the marines is. We go there for sacrament meeting every Sunday and go to the Beaufort ward afterwards. It's the first time in my mission that I am going to two sacrament meetings! It's actually really cool!

We have met so many great people here in Beaufort so far. It's also a huge blessing to be around lots of other missionaries! 

It's been a great week, and I feel solid. Making sure that my foundation is in Christ and His gospel gives me the strength I need to go forward with faith and optimism every day.

Never forget who you are. Remember the Savior. Make Him your Rock. He won't ever let you down!

Sister McKay

New Things

I got transferred to Beaufort, SC, for my last 6 weeks. Sister Morrill and I are whitewashing.

Miracles happen, and we are going to see them here. I'll let y'all know what they turn out to be.

Coincidences are not a thing.

Don't let the devil get to you.

Love y'all!

Sister McKay

Mom! And Other Randomness

Today's post is comprised of some explanations of my pictures.

One and Two

Mothers' Day was wonderful. Talking with my family is always a huge plus!! I love them! And I know I'll be with them forever, which just makes me so excited! My family is so important to me, and my mom is a huge blessing in my life. She's always been there for me and has set an extraordinary example of gospel living for me. Everything she does lets me know that she has an unshakeable belief in Christ. She is rock solid and I know she loves me and the rest of our family. I love you, Mom!!

Three

My other pictures are less spiritual. Here we have a picture of a burned down trailer. It's amazing how little there is left of it. The neighbor across the street is a member of the church, and she told us it caught fire while the family was gone and just burned so fast. I believe it!

Four

This one is of my wonderful companion and myself. We helped unload and sort food at the annual food drive. It was fun but exhausting! We were there all day, and it was super humid. We had also forgotten to eat lunch before we left. We didn't think we'd be there as long as we were! So we took a couple breaks. It was really fun!

Five

Lastly, we have this wonderful cockroach. We found it on our floor one morning. It's hard to tell in the picture, but this thing was like over an inch long. This is a regular occurance at the "cottage," as we've nicknamed it. We find roaches upside down, dead, in the middle of the floor. I'm glad we don't have these in Utah...

My favorite part about this week is that the gospel just... I don't even know how to describe it... It feels more true every single day. I know Christ is the Savior of the world, and that God is our Father. Nothing could be more true than those two things.

Love y'all!!

Sister McKay

Slow but Steady

We haven't found a ton of new investigators lately. We also haven't had anyone new coming to church lately. And no one we've met is preparing for baptism. But! We see the fruits of our labors in other ways. The work is moving forward slowly but surely.

My favorite thing about my current situation is that, while I've been in this slow, sluggish type of situation before, I've never been as happy in a situation like this as I am now. I've just felt so chipper lately! I believe it is due to the fact that I truly feel as though I've been giving it my all.

I've been doing my best to talk with every single person I can, no matter how awkward it is. I've learned to embrace the awkward. It's more rewarding than you might think!

As a result of this, I've been happier. I've seen the blessings that obedience to Christ's teachings brings into my life. I know He's real and He wants us to be happy.

And as a result of this increased happiness, I feel more like the real me. The person God wants me to be. The person I have the potential to become. That person is joyful, confident, unafraid, and diligent. And I've been working to do what Heavenly Father wants me to so I can become so much more!

The process is slow but steady. But I'm seeing the fruits. Little ones. An apple here, a pear there. And they're yummy!

Y'all, nothing is as rewarding as seeing the blessings we're promised if we're obedient to Christ's teachings. To quote Elder Jeffery R. Holland, "Don’t give up ... Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. ... Trust God and believe in good things to come."

I know there will always be "good things to come" as we keep walking and trying.

Love y'all!!!

Sister McKay

1. My new, much shorter hair. If you didn't see my Facebook post, it was just suddenly much shorter because I kept messing up! But it's alright. It's actually much lighter, which will be nice as it gets warmer here.

2. My failed attempt to make some cheesy tuna patties as part of my keto diet thing. I kinda gave up and just ate them.

3. Vidalia. Where real Vidalia onions grow. It's famous!

2 & 3. Beautiful tree tunnel!

5. My old hair (notice how the pile is much bigger than the pile of hair was last time I cut it!)

6. This beautiful pond! With lily pads! It was at the end of a little road in a small sorority neighborhood.

Do What You Know You Should

For all the people out there who know they should be doing something (anything, really), here's some advice for you.

DO IT.

Here's why.

For a long time on my mission, I knew I should talk to people more, get out of my comfort zone, do what Heavenly Father wanted me to do so I could share the gospel (since that's the whole point of being a missionary).

But it's hard. I don't enjoy talking to strangers. It just makes me feel nervous and uncomfortable, and sometimes people aren't very nice even if you're chipper and friendly. I guess I kind of gave up trying after a while. I would do my best to plan in other missionary-like activities so I didn't have to just walk around waving at people and trying to start awkward small-talk conversations.

In other words, I didn't do what I knew I should.

But here's what happened.

One week a few months ago, I was feeling just super sad, all week long. I was feeling down on myself, and I felt like I was accomplishing nothing. I also missed my family and friends so much it was almost painful! I told my companion about it and decided to ask the elders for a priesthood blessing.

To be honest, I think I knew the whole time that I needed to be talking to people more. I was just too afraid to do it! The blessing reminded me that I needed to do what God wanted me to do. I was promised that if I did my best to talk to everyone I saw, all feelings of homesickness would be gone.

You know what I did?

I did my best to talk to everyone I saw.

You know what happened?

All the feelings of homesickness, sadness, inadequacy, and pity I felt... they melted. Disappeared completely.

And you know what I felt?

Complete and utter joy. I felt exhilarated. I felt like I could do anything. And I knew it was because I did what the Lord wanted me to.

So, for all y'all who know you should be doing something and you're not (I'm gonna pull a Nike here) - JUST DO IT!

Love y'all.

Sister McKay

Pictures

1 & 3: A fork in the road. Reminds me of the muppets. I HAD to take a picture!

Everything else: I can now say I've been to Santa Claus, GA. Yes, it is a real place. It's near Vidalia, which is the area where my district leader and his comp, Elders Hellander and Whitfield, are serving. We go to Vidalia for District Meeting every other week, and the people who drove us over there took us on a 10-minute detour. That was fun!

No Coincidences

Sister Pitchford has passed through the veil. (By which I mean she has left her "mission life" and gone home!) I stayed in Macon over the weekend with Sister Andersen, who was in my district in Tifton, and Sister DeYoung, who has been on her mission for 3 months. All three of us sent our companions home on Sunday, so we just did missionary work together until this lovely Tuesday morning when we got our new companions.

And, for the first time on my mission, I now have a companion who's younger than me!

Meet Sister Warner

She has been on her mission for about 6 months (which means I've been out more than twice as long as her!), is from South Jordan, likes Chick-fil-A and Reese's (we'll get along really well), and her favorite color is sparkles! I am so excited to get to know her. She seems amazing and so sweet and kind.

So stay tuned for our adventures together!

Y'all, I know we're meant to be companions. I was reading a talk earlier by Elder Rasband called "By Divine Design." (You should totally read it: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/by-divine-design?lang=eng) Nothing is by accident! God is in the details of our lives, and He is ALWAYS there for us. In his talk, he mentions something President Monson said: "There is a guiding hand above all things. Often when things happen, it’s not by accident. One day, when we look back at the seeming coincidences of our lives, we will realize that perhaps they weren’t so coincidental after all."

When we look at everything as if God is the orchestrator of it all, we'll start to realize how much we see His hand in our lives, because He is! He gave us the Plan of Salvation to guide our lives, which He designed Himself. He knows everything we do and is there for us no matter what.

Let Him in. He won't let you down.

Love y'all!

Sister McKay

Sunshine and Rain

Sometimes, you have to seek out the sunshine. It isn't just... there.

I mean sunshine in a metaphorical sense. Think about it. Let's say sunshine is happiness and positivity, while rain is sadness/dreary-ness and negativity.

I will illustrate a missionary example.

Say we haven't had anyone to teach for a while, and we're having a hard time finding anyone. The "sunshine" isn't just there. I have to look for it.

Rain: We don't have anyone to teach.

Sunshine: Someone out there is waiting to hear the gospel! I have a great companion, the people here are nice, and there's always something funny to laugh about during the day.

Now for an everyday person type of example.

Say you lost your job, or your grades in college aren't that great (or both, I guess). You don't have many friends, and family matters are stressful. Your car keeps having issues, gas prices are rising, you need new clothes...

Alright, imagine one of these or a combination.

Rain: A lot of things in your life are stressful and you don't see the end of the tunnel right now.

Sunshine: There are plenty of jobs out there! Grades can be improved, friends can be made, and family issues don't last forever. Cars can be fixed or replaced, gas can be conserved, and clothes will last a little longer. You got this! And on top of all that, you have the Savior. He is always there for you, and He loves you.

Pray for the peace the Savior offers. I promise He is waiting to embrace you. He's knocking on your door.

Sister McKay

Ooooohhh... Aaaaahhh...

Yes, that's right.

General Conference.

It's amazing.

I don't know if I've ever been so blown away in my life.

Let's put it this way: I know President Nelson is a prophet of God. I know the revelation the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has received comes from God. Some amazing changes have been made. I am so excited to see how they affect the hastening of the Lord's work. Please, please go watch Conference if you haven't! And if you have, study the talks! Especially President Nelson's talk on revelation. I promise you, the Lord will bring inspiration into your life if you follow President Nelson's counsel.

Update on smartphones: They are amazing and SO useful! We've been a lot more productive lately when it comes to contacting investigators and others, and using Facebook to share gospel messages is so fun!

Y'all, the Lord really is hastening His work. It's a privilege and blessing to be a part of it. I hope each of us utilizes the tools the Lord has given us.

I love y'all!!

Go spread some sunshine!

Sister McKay

Shall We Say... A Day in the Life? (But Not of Zack and Cody)

Request: Tell us what in the world you DO every day!

Response:

Well.

Last Tuesday (because I consider this the start of my week since it's P-day)

Not much! We get up, plan the day, study, write letters (last week I wrote... 8?), shop, go to the church to email for 2 hours (groceries get temporarily stored in the church fridge... we basically live here), then hang out at home. Maybe take a nap. After that we try to find stuff to do - visit someone, contact people nearby and talk about the Book of Mormon, call people about rides, etc.

Wednesday

Wednesdays here are hardest because we don't have any rock solid activities planned in except Book of Mormon Class at 7 and maybe a meal with a member (which must be at exactly 5pm). So. We invite people to Book of Mormon Class, plan Book of Mormon Class, knock on doors, visit people, and walk around (if it's not too cold, which it has been lately!).

Thursday

Two planned activities take up a good chunk of the day: RMT (Referral management Time, which is now just Sister Pitchford's time to do her online "going home" program called My Plan) and service at either the local food bank or Rebecca's Cafe. After that, we do the same thing as Wednesday - talk to people, organize rides (yes, we need lots of rides), ask people if we can come visit, actually visit, and so forth.

Friday 

This week we had Zone Conference! This happens once every 6 weeks. And this time we got...

*drumroll please...*

SMARTPHONES!

Goodbyyyyyye dinosaur phone! WHOO!

Now.

We.

Have.

Emojis.

I am so happy.

But you know why I'm most happy?

Do you know what having smartphones means???

We can now reach so many more people and see so much more success in our proselyting efforts!

There is so much potential, and it's truly amazing.

I know God made it so we could have technology so we could turn the trickle of spreading the gospel into a flood. I am so excited.

Saturday

It was weekly planning day, and since planning is on phones now, we spent most of the day trying to figure out how to plan using our planner app. It was crazy. Still is. We're working out all the kinks still as we learn how to use these Samsungs (especially being used to iPhones). But we were mostly successful! Spent a lot of time at the church using the wifi.

Sunday

Church! Then our weekly biscuits and gravy meal with the members here. Then an appointment with a new investigator! She's now on date for baptism! WHOO! Then dinner at another member's. Then picking up stuff from a member. Then we were out of miles for the day and had to go home so we worked on updating our electronic area book. *fist pump*

Finally, Yesterday

Not very eventful. We had a good new member lesson with our recent convert Stephanie about prophets and General Conference! And guess what we talk about with our other recent convert! General Conference!

Watch it. It's amazing.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/live-viewing-times-and-options?lang=eng

Today

We played frisbee golf with the elders, and we've been emailing.

Gotta go! I hope you watch General Conference because it's awesome.

Also, I love you all SO MUCH.

Okay bye.

Sister McKay