3 February 2014 - Happy February!

Hola! How's it going! This week was great! The Spirit was really strong this week...always a great feeling! 

Well, the good news is...I haven't been quite as worried about the house situation. The bad news is...I still live with bats. But after 4 months of it, I'm used to it...haha. We were actually able to find a few options...but the problem is that Sister Russell has to approve our new house...and the zone leaders STILL haven't sent the pictures. But we didn't have to change areas this week...so that's good! I really love El Rosario and the possibililty of changing areas with the elders was really sad.  

So we've entered clementine season here! Yaaay! I remember when I was at BYU, I'd buy a ton of clementines and at one point, the orange-y smell stuck to my hands for a week...I may be in danger of that happening again, because the beauty of living in Nicaragua is that every other tree produces some kind of fruit...and luckily for me, the majority of members have mandarina trees in their yards! And as they love the missionaries...they all give us bags full of mandarinas!! Yaaaaaaaaaay! Happy day. But the weird thing is that the mandarinas here have a green peel...but inside is orange like normal. Same with oranges...the oranges are green...how ironic. 

I turned 8 months this past week! I ate baby food appropriate for 8 month old babies to celebrate...hahaha. There's this stuff called Nestum that tastes sooo good! But it's technically for babies....yup. Hermana R got me hooked on it. Don't knock it till you try it! haha 

On Friday, we went to Managua yet again! This time it was a multizona with Elder Amado from the area seventy. He is super intense, but I learned a lot! It was awesome! In the beginning, he talked about how we needed to be focused on the impressions we received while he talked, and that we should continuously pray in our hearts to learn the things we needed to know. The capacitacion was supposed to end at 3 pm...but ended at 6 pm because he kept saying...''i can tell you're still praying to learn more, so I'm going to keep talking until I say everything that you need to learn!' It was awesome. I learned a lot about the basics about the gospel, but he also kept branching off into random topics that were completely unrelated...like marriage. Yeah, he gave marriage advice to a bunch of missionaries...haha. 

But while he was talking, I realized how much I love my mission. I really do love being a missionary. I LOVE being able to teach the gospel and watch how it transforms into the people that God wants the to be. I know that I am supposed to be here in Nicaragua at the time. The work I'm doing now definitely isn't easy, but it is SO worth it. I'm grateful for the time I have to be able to share my testimony with my lovely Nicaraguans. I can't believe I only have 10 months left! But I'm so excited to see what these next months have in store for me! 

It was great to hear how life is going up north! Congrats to Byron and Erica! Sounds like it was a good time! I hope you all have an awesome week! Love you all! 

Hermana MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)

27 January 2014 - What a crazy week...

Buenas Tardes! 

Wow I can't believe next time I'll write, I'll have 8 months...and it'll be February! How did that even happen? Cambios are next Wednesday, but I won't know the cambios until the day after I write next week. This 8 week long cambio has felt eternal...but really it's only 2 weeks longer than the normal cambio! I have a feeling that my district will change a lot this cambio...so sad. I love my district. There are a lot of unique personalities which make meetings more interesting. But cambios happen and life goes on. It's the circle of life...well...the mission life...haha. And yes I just sang the song from Lion King in my head. Good stuff. 

Well this week was great...lots of good things happened. But also...some things that brought intense stress into our lives happened as well. But I just keep telling myself that it's all good and whatever happens is what is supposed to happen...I think my attitude is annoying my comp, but it's keeping me sane...haha. But anyway... 

This week started out like normal. We worked really hard and were able to see some results...nothing too dramatic, but its the little miracles every day that make everything worthwhile. Little by little we are finding people to teach, though it's a process!  

On Thursday, we had interviews with President Russell. When we arrived, the zone leaders asked for our house keys...we (and the other missionaries waiting with us) were all really confused, until Sis. Russell told us that she and 2 elders would go check all of our houses...supposedly our district leader had told us, but...that didn't happen. So that was kind of embarrassing...but at least I'm tidier than I used to be. So they headed out to check our houses while Pres. interviewed us. It went really well.  

But the stressful part came when Hna Russell came back and said Hna R and I have to change houses. Apparently she didn't find the ladder leading to the loft where we sleep acceptable...nor the inevitable bat droppings...So she told us we had a week to move. But the issue is that there really aren't any houses for rent in El Rosario. So we've been pulling out our hair trying to find a place...and if we don't be Thurs, we have to switch houses with the district leader and possibly change areas. NO!!! So I guess we'll see what happens next week...and if I still have hair...haha. 

But Friday was awesome! We went to Managua for a conference with everyone from both the North and South missions in Nicaragua! Elder Soares (who spoke in General Conf. in May) from the Seventy came and spoke to us. He passed on a message from Elder Cook, who was supposed to come, but couldn't. He talked a lot about establishing the church here in Nicaragua, because it's still really young here. It was awesome! And afterward, our zone went to McDonalds...so lovely...but the funny thing is that one of the side dishes they sell in McDonalds is GALLO PINTO! haha it was rather hilarious.  

Well, not much else has happened! Just lots of house hunting mixed into the usual routine of the missionary work that I love so much. I know that whatever happens is part of the Lord's plan. Sometimes it's difficult to accept that I don't know what will happen, but that's when I start singing ''don't worry be happy''...haha. Life is good. I love being a missionary. I love Nicaragua. I love life!!! And...I also love my family! Thanks for all your support! 

Love you!

Hermana MacKay

(Posted by her Mom)

20 January 2014 - Hola!

Hey! I hope everything is going well on your end! This week was great! Honestly, I can't really remember what happened, but I don't remember any really bad experiences, so that's a good sign!

This week, we had divisions once again...but this time I switched over to Rosario 2 and worked with Hna V, who only has about 2 months in the mission. It was pretty weird working with someone with less time than I have in the mission. I guess I'm growing up or something...weird...haha. But it was really good. The funny thing was that last week, Hna V and Hna G were attacked by a swarm of bees...and so when I found out I'd go to Rosario 2 for the day, I was joking about how I'd need to be careful because Hna V attracts the bees...but I didn't think it'd actually happen! When we were waiting for someone to answer at the door, a swarm of bees came out of nowhere and attacked! Luckily, I survived with only one sting. But apparently the next time they visited that house, the person said she'd be baptized! Sacrifices bring blessings...haha. 

I now have a new nickname here...aside from gringa, chelita, eldera...yup. Now I can add gatita to the list. Gata means cat. I met a woman who started saying ''Hi pretty kitty'' and things like that...it was pretty funny. According to Nicas, I have yellow hair and my eye color is like cat eyes...haha it's great.

P, T, and J are doing great! T has some challeges because her grandma still isn't supporting her, but we're trying to figure out how to help her continue to progress. P is doing really well. She has plans to go to the temple with her daughter when she gets home from her mission! Awesome! We weren't able to find J to teach him this week and remind him about church...but he showed up right on time! That boy is pilas.  

We visited F again this week. She is great...the problem is that going to church will be a struggle because of her house repair issues. The builders always deliver the supplies on Sundays and she has to be there. But she's awesome. We were talking a little about how we all lived with God as spirits before we came here and Hna R asked F if she'd ever felt as though she'd already met someone even though it was the first time she'd met the person...she said yes...and that she felt that way with me! That was a cool surprise. I do feel like a had an instant connection with her. It's really cool!  

We had a really good zone conference this week. We talked about Peter and his change after Christ's death. At first, he didn't know what to do, so he returned to what he knew how do do and went fishing...but when Jesus appeared, Jesus told him ''feed my sheep'' various times. It's so important that we avoid the norm and do what the world usually does. We are here to do what the Lord wants to do. Right now, I'm a representative of Jesus Christ. I am here to feed the sheep of Nicaragua...good thing I was raised to like sheep! Haha jk. But I really love seeing the change that happened within Peter...and after the Day of Pentecost, he became a bold missionary...that's my goal! 

That's so awesome about Anna's mission call! Zambia?! Wow. Craziness. Any other recent mission calls? Jodi went into the MTC this past weekend. Wow. The work is definitely hastening!!! That'll be fun to have the Mackays staying at the house for a while.  

Well, I know that la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos dias es verdadero. I don't have a single doubt. I know that It was restored through Joseph Smith, and that he was called to be a prophet of God. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life! 

I hope you have an awesome week!

Love, 

Hermana MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)

13 Jan 2014 - Wherre do I even start?

Well, this week was awesome! It seriously flew by...yet I feel like Tuesday was forever away. I feel like I really progressed as a missionary this week. It was pretty great. But I can't believe that we're already almost halfway through January! How did that even happen! 

So my crazy week started on Wednesday, when we had inter-district divisions...and as usual, I stayed in my area and Hna R left. Hna C came to Rosario. She is really fun! I learned a lot from her. I felt kind of bad because we had to walk a ton that day...we had a lesson with F...I don-t know if I've mentioned her, but she's an investigator who lives really far away. She's really positive, but she has had a ton of challenges lately and we haven't been able to teach her very much. For example...her house collapsed. As in...literally collapsed. It is no more...yep. Luckily no one was hurt. She's living in a large tent with her family right now. It makes me so sad to see her circumstances but she's a trooper! We had to end divisions early because half our district had to go to a meeting in Managua in the morning...but it was a good experience.  

But then on Friday...we had divisions AGAIN! And once again, I stayed in my area! This time, we had divisions with the sister training leaders (the equivalent of ZLs, but specifically for hermanas). This time, Hermana A came to El Rosario...she's awesome! And it was so weird...and fun...being with another gringa! Haha. She goes home this cambio. People are "dying" in the mission left and right!! But I learned a ton from her. And she made sure that I was the one who took control in the lessons...I feel a lot more independent now. It's a good feeling. But we saw a ton of miracles that day! First of all, we found 3 very positive investigators that day...and all three accepted fechas bautismales!! But also, we were walking through the woods...more or less...and passed a group of drunks that started calling out and saying who knows what to us...and we just walked really fast...but a man in a bike caught up to us and said ''God must be protecting you...because they were waiting to assault the next person who passed''. Wow! Maybe we have some angel stripling warriors protecting us! Haha. When we arrived in the center of our area, there were a ton of people there...and a marching band...and lots of beer cans. And we managed to get caught in the middle of a Catholic procession. Yup. I was kind of scared for my life...there were tons of people dressed up as devils and who knows what else...and of course a ton of people were carrying a huge Catholic statue...it was...interesting...haha. But aside from all the crazy things that happened that day, I was really able to feel the spirit and follow the guidance it offered...and because of that, we were able to find new people to teach. The Spirit is AWESOME!  

So on Saturday...J was baptized!!! Although preparing for the baptism was super stressful...oh man. The caretaker of the stake center in Jinotepe called us to say that there was no water in Jinotepe and that we needed to go to the chapel in Diriamba for the baptism. So we were super freaked out, but were able to figure everything out...and just when everything was worked out, the Hermanas from Jinotepe called to say that the font in Jinotepe was filled...and that the water had come back earlier. It was pretty embarrassing when we had to call everyone to tell them the plans were back to normal. But the baptism went really well. I felt the spirit so strongly. J is going to be a powerful member. He isn't too talkative, but he has a strong testimony. I feel like he's my little brother! He was confirmed yesterday and all went well! So happy for him!

Yesterday was the rodeo part of the Rosario days celebration. In the morning when we were walking to church, we seriously saw thousands of beer cans being arranged to sell later on. Usually, there are men who go around with little trollies selling ice cream....but yesterday, they filled the trollies with beer. It was disgusting. I seriously wanted to go up to every person and teach them the Word of Wisdom. Ugh. I hate alcohol and how it influences people...and how it makes the people here even more flirty with us during the day. Gross. But we survived! 

And that was my week. It was great. We taught a lot of great people and felt the Holy Ghost...and also saw Satan's attempts to ruin people's lives. How sad. One day, I hope they all receive the Gospel in their lives. I know that this gospel blesses the lives of everyone who receives it and applies it in their lives. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I am a daughter of God with a divine purpose here on this earth.  

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I loved seeing some of the pictures from the wedding...and our house! Wow. Everything is so different, but great! I love you all! 

Love, 

Hermana MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)

6 Jan 2014 - Bring on 2014!

Hey!! I can't believe we're almost a week into 2014! It'll be a great year! 

Well, this week passed by quickly, as always. I can't think of anything too crazy that happened, though! This week, las fiestas del Rosario started, which means that there is an increased amount of drunks hanging around and lots of rodeos and a few carnival rides. It makes life a little more interesting.  

Our New Years Eve was pretty uneventful. We worked as usual, although it was difficult to find people in their homes. I learned about a Nicaraguan tradition...on New Years Eve, they make life sized dolls stuffed with hay...kind of like scarecrows...and put them out in the street all day...and then at midnight, they burn them! It's like they're burning their old selves and starting over in 2014...cool, but kind of creepy. The first dolls I saw that day freaked me out because I wasn't expecting it. Hermana R and I bought a few sparklers and lit them in the little courtyard type place in our house. And that was the extent of our celebration...haha. Apparently at midnight, there were tons of fireworks and noise, but I was dead asleep...typical...haha. 

T is doing well. We're still trying to integrate her into the social aspect of the church...it seems that no matter where you go, the teenagers stay the same...haha. J is progressing also! He has changed a ton...and his mom gave him permission to be baptized (way easier than the battle we had with T's family), so if all goes according to plan, he should be baptized on Saturday! Woohoo! 

This week, we discovered lots of areas that we'd never gone before. Our area has some beautiful places...the bummer is that I never have my camera with me when we find them! There are lots of hidden rural areas with little tiny houses...the funny thing is that Hna R is scared of cows...and there are constantly people taking a herd of cows to pasture...haha. I'm trying to help desensitize her, but it isn't working. The perks of growing up in Virginia...haha. 

I hope everything goes well with the open house! I expect pictures...even if you have to rob Jennie's camera! Haha. It'll be fun to come home and have another sister. My brothers have good taste....Stacy and Jill are pretty great!  

This week, I've been thinking a lot about goals. I made my New Years Resolutions...and made me think about last year. My goal was to go on a mission...and hey, guess what? I did! Haha So this year, I plan on being the best missionary possible. I want to love the people more and help them recognize the truth! And then, I'll return with honor at the end of this year, but I'm not focusing on that. I've still got lots of work ahead of me! How did all the family resolutions from last year end up? 

Well, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one and only true church. There is so much confusion in the world because Satan wants to ruin the lives of as many people as he can...but when we stay close to the teachings of our Savior, and heed the warnings of the prophets and scriptures, we have no need to fear! I love this gospel so much and am so grateful for it in my life! 

I love y'all! Have an awesome week!

Love,

Hermana MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)

30 Dec 2013 - Wrapping up 2013

Hey!! Happy...day before new year's eve! Haha I hope all is well in Virginia!!! I am so jealous that y'all are there, although I don't want to leave Nicaragua quite yet so I guess it's all good! It was so fun to see and talk to you all! Everyone looks great! And wow...Mark is married now. That is pretty crazy! I feel like the puzzle pieces are slowly filling in the blanks in our family...we now have the sisters in law...next come the brothers in law...and nieces and nephews...yaaaay. Pretty awesome. Thanks for sending some of the pics from the wedding! Jill looks beautiful...and I guess Mark looks pretty good too. Congrats you too! Welcome to the family, Jill!  

Well, this week was great. It was interesting celebrating Christmas here, that's for sure. Basically, hardly anyone was home or in the streets for half the week...apparently here in Nicaragua, they celebrate by going to the beach...which makes sense. That's what I would do if I lived close to a beach. Well, I guess I do right now, but that doesn't count. One day...haha. We ended up visiting a ton of members. 

Well, the best news of the week is that T was baptized on Saturday! It was great. We had to go to Jinotepe, since our chapel is under construction, so only a few people were there. But it went really well. She is excited to progress and doesn't care that her family isn't very supportive. She's awesome. She keeps talking about how she wants to serve a mission. Asi es!!! 

The Mulizona on Friday was super fun. We were with zonas Managua, Universitaria, Juigalpa, and Los Pueblos. The only bummer was that Hna V had cambios and isn't in Managua anymore. But it was really fun seeing what's left of my old zone...and Hna E. We had to wake up super early to arrive in Managua before 8 am...but it was worth it. First, Pres and Sis Russell shared messages, and we watched a slideshow that Hna Russell put together of pics of baptisms that we've been sending her. It was so awesome! I'm so proud of the people I've helped come closer to Christ! I love missionary work! But anyway, for the rest of the day, we ate gourmet food and played games and had a gift exchange. At the end, we watched a different slideshow of pics of all the families of the missionaries in the mission. It was awesome to see our family pic on the big screen! haha. Sooo yeah, all in all, it was a great day.  

So on Saturday, I taught my first district class! Ahh I was so nervous! But it went really well. I started with a dynamic that required 2 volunteers to eat a doughnut without their hands...so that was pretty funny. I thought that I would be super nervous teaching the whole time, but it was actually kind of fun! Yesterday, we worked with LB, the returned missionary who was in Brother L's mission. He gave us a referral that came from one of his converts in Chile...what a small world! We couldn't find the reference, so we ended up walking a tonnnnn...I felt bad for him, although he was a good sport! 

I forgot to tell you last week, but we had a pretty interesting little miracle happen last week. One day, we were about 45 min away from our house in Rosario walking on a bumpy dirt path when the sole came off of Hna R's brand new shoes! She was super upset and we had to sit down on a rock for a minute to inspect her shoe...when a man walked by us, but stopped and turned around to talk to us! He asked what happened to Hna R's shoe then asked if he could see it. We were kind of worried, because there was a beer can in his pocket, but he started taking things out of his backpack and sewed those shoes back together! It turns out that he's a shoemaker and was on his way to work when he saw us! He was our angel. We talked about the church a little bit, and though he doesn't want us to visit him, maybe one day he'll change his mind...and for now, he served as proof that the Lord is always mindful of us! 

Well, I hope that your trip in VA is going well! Tell everyone hi for me! I expect lots of details and pictures next week! When does school start up again? The kids here are on their summer vacations right now...it's pretty funny how everything is in reverse here. I can't believe that we're heading into 2014!! I come home in 2014...weird! But for 11 months of the new year, I'll be here working hard to share the true message of the restored gospel. I know it's true and I have a lot of work to do and people to meet! Who knows what 2014 has in store for me, but I plan on working hard and focusing on serving the Lord. It's pretty great.  

I love you all...and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Love, Hna MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)

23 Dec 2013 - Feliz Navidad!!!

Hola! Wow I can't believe Christmas is this week! Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat! Please put a penny in the old man's hat! That was always one of my Christmas favorites when I was little. I don't really know why...maybe because it talks about a goose. Haha Anywayyyyyyyyyyy. 

This week was full of crazy events. Well, at least this weekend. But we'll start from the beginning. The beginning of the week was pretty normal. Our ward mission leader is finally working with us again, so that's good! But he's a total flirt, which makes things awkward every once in a while. But he is a good teacher, so that's all I can ask for. But he helped us out this week. He was the one who gave us the reference to teach Jorge. We're starting to have a little more success with finding new investigators, so that's always nice! 

So on Thursday, things started to get a little crazy. This weekend turned into battle of the religions, seriously! We went back to visit the contact that lives in the quinta, Idaho. He is super evangelical, but listens to everyone and is really nice. So we were talking to him outside his house when his wife came out in a rage. She started talking to us and said that ''I know your religion! I've know about it for 50 years! You can't fool me! You believe in polygamy, you worship saints like the Catholics...'' among other things that were absolutely FALSE. She even scratched Hna R's nametag with her crazy long fingernails. My comp wasn't too happy about that. It's sad how blind can be. I understand if people don't want to accept us (although it still makes me sad), but when they decide to trust the lies that people spread, it's just sad. Then, after a different cita, we contacting a cute elderly couple...although the way they spoke to us was not so cute. It was irritating, but hey, I put my message out there...what more can I do? Since everyone has their free agency, there's nothing else I can do. But yeah, it was pretty funny after the fact. People get riled up about religion, that's for sure. We also ran into a pair of Jehovah's Witness missionaries. They tried to pick a fight with us. Arg. I respect people from other religions, but I wish they would respect us as well! Oh well..humility and patience are virtues that are very important to develop. It's a process! 

So on Friday, we had Zone Conference, but this time instead of going to Jinotepe, we went to Rivas, which is about an hour and a half away. We were crammed into a little van and had to leave super early. I wasn't too excited about that part though. Zone conference was good...although oh man! I'm a little worried about the future. President Russell upped the numbers for all of our daily goals (lessons taught, new investigators, contacts, etc). We are going to have to work really hard, but it's really good for us. The scary part is that the ZLs said that right now, we're living ''the law of tithing'' and that next comes the ''law of consagration''...which means soon we'll be working even harder. I know whatever happens will be good for us, but still...oh dear. But the crazy part of Zone conf. is that Hermana R got reaaaaally sick. Apparently a scab on her leg scraped off and she started bleeding...but when she starts to bleed even a little, her body reacts and she gets really weak. So basically, everyone was freaked out. But we made it back to our area...just couldnt leave that day. But we made up for it on Saturday! We worked doubletime. It was pretty awesome.  

We had our ward Christmas activity on Saturday. It was more of a devotional...honestly it wasn't very exciting, but they handed out tacos at the end, so that was a perk! And they played ''Feliz Navidad'' by Michael Buble about 5 times because it was the only song they had, so that was funny. Here, Christmas isn't as big of a deal. Christmas carols are an English tradition. We sang Christmas hymns in church but that was about it. Here, dancing is a bigger tradition.  

J is doing awesome!!! He came to church on his own on Sunday. Ever since the first time he came to church, he has been different. He's more animated and participates more in the lessons. And that, my friend, is why church attendance is so important. It's a really different experience for people who haven't gone to church before. The Spirit is strong and learning with a big group of people helps too! He was talking to his friend (a recent convert) about how he is going to be baptized on the 4th! I was surprised he remembered since we hadn't really talked about it for a while. Basically, he's awesome! And T is doing well! We talked to her grandma for an hour when we went to ask her for her written consent for T to be baptized. Basically, it was a war. But in the end, she signed the permission form...but still doesn't really support T. Her whole family makes fun of her. It's so sad! So I'm not sure if she'll be able to be baptized this week, but if not, I know it'll happen soon. She is trying so hard! 

Well, I ran out of things to say, but I guess if I think of something, I can tell you on WEDNESDAY! Woohoo! That'll be fun! I hope you all have an awesome time with all the extended family! Enjoy the snow for me! It's...less hot...right now, but nothing like Utah!  

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He loves us so much, and because of that, he accepted his role to come to this earth and suffer for our sins. I am so grateful for his life and sacrifice. I've been studying in the New Testament lately and wow! 1. He was an awesome teacher and 2. He really is the Son of God. He came to this Earth on his Father's business. And now I'm here one the Lord's errand to help other people understand the importance of our Savior Jesus Christ.  

I love you! Talk to you soooon! 

Love, Hermana MacKay

 

(Posted by her Mom)