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