Buenas Dias!
I hope all is well at home! This week was super short, but
as always, full of awesome experiences!
I'm writing early because we had a zone study session this
morning instead of the usual personal and companionship study we do in the
house.
I think I forgot to answer your questions about the
zone. We have 2 districts, but the only hermanas are the 4 in my district.
Pretty weird to be in a room crowded with elders. there are about 5 nortes and
the rest are latino. We have zone conference every 3 weeks, which is the only
time I get letters/packages. I can't remember if ZC is this week or next week.
ZC was good last time... I learned more ways to teach, so
that was good!
The work is about the same as last week. Our only
investigators who are progressing are R and A. R is awesome! He is
fulfilling the commitments we extend and has an earnest desire to find the
truth. He is continuing to prepare for is baptismal date! And A is doing
surprisingly well also! He (and
R, actually) is reading the Gospel Principles Manual in his free time,
looking up the cross references and such! Super awesome! A showed up to
church looking very cleancut and ready to learn! He has a friend who referred
him to us, so that has been a huge help. As far as the other people we're
working with, they are really hard to track down. M is never home when we
look for her. However, we are still working with the less actives a ton! And
our efforts are starting to pay off! We've been having family home evening with
a family every week, and we've been able to see the progression in their 19 yr
old son. First, he was really shut off, but now, he's preparing to serve a
mission! Awesome! The progression with our members in our ward has been a
miracle. My ward has the lowest statistics in our stake, so it's awesome to see
improvement! The retention or members in our ward is 13%...so sad, but we're
working on it! And as we've been working with members, we've been able to have
more success with nonmembers!
Oh! When we were tracting the other day, I had my first
negative experience when we contacted a house (well, negative for her). We were
talking to the housekeeper outside and suddenly, a woman came out and was shouting
"Maria! what are you doing! Those are Mormons!" And then she ushered
Maria into the house and avoided eye contact with us. She looked at us as
though we were Satan....because in her eyes, we were. How unfortunate for her
that she doesn't understand our purpose. Oh well.
We had divisions with a different zone on Wednesday. On
Tues. night, we had planned everything that Hna R would do with the Hna
from another zone...because we assumed that I wouldn't be the one to stay in
our area, since I still don't know the area very well. I can recognize streets,
but can't tell you how to get from place to place. So when the district leader
called and said I would be the one who'd stay in our area...I thought it was a
joke. The next day, both zones met up in the stake center. It was awesome to
see Hna V! She is doing really well. Full of enthusiasm! Her trainer,
Hna V, ended up being my comp for divisions. It was an awesome experience
to see how each person has their own ways of achieving the same goals. We
contacted a ton that day...because we got lost a lot and had to ask for help,
and by doing so, we'd add, "oh, by the way, we're missionaries..."
haha. But it was awesome!
I think I've already started to lose weight here. Hna
V said that my face looks thinner, and some of my skirts are already
loose. If anyone needs a weight-loss plan, I've got one for ya: walk 7(ish)
hours a day in the sweltering heat and eat lots of beans and rice. The results
are impressive...haha. But I definitely feel healthier here. Missionary work:
the ultimate exercise...at least when you're in Nicaragua and don't have a
car...haha. As far as plantains go...they eat them here like Americans eat
potatos. Sometimes they're fried and are almost like chips, other times they're
like fries, others they're like a banana without flavor, but when they're
cooked with cinnamon and sugar, they're way good. I think my favorite are
tostones. Have fun experimenting!
As far as shopping for food goes, it's pretty similar. Corn
Flakes, oatmeal (usually just the oats and milk with a banana cut up...Hna
R got me hooked on it), and on special occasions, I make toast on our
frying pan (with our little electric hot plate). there are a lot of American
brands here. I have yet to see any mints. Only gum, but that doesn't really
help me. Chocolate is super expensive here...so feel free to send that...haha.
Hna R said that her trainer was from CA and her fam always sent chocolate
and that melting isn't a problem.
thanks for the pictures of the house! Looks awesome...hard
to believe it'll look totally different when I get back! Sounds like the
Shakespeare fest went well! did you go with the grandparents, or just the fam
(minus the majority of the kids...haha). I hope Dad feels like a shakespeare
scholar now! What's new in the world? Have I missed out on any crazy news...is
the world going to end yet again? Haha
Well, even though I have minimal contact with all of you, I
know that you are praying for me! I can feel it! So thanks for that. I'm so
glad we have the knowledge that families can be eternal. Such a blessing! We've
been encouraging our members to set goals to go to the Honduras temple. I am so
excited for them to reap the blessings of eternity! I know that this gospel is
true and I love helping others see that.
I love you all! Hasta luego!
Love,
Hna MacKay
(Posted by her Mom)
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