Los Sacrifios...

Hello hello! I hope everyone is doing good as always! This week was sweet! I'm out here loving it my new area, I returned to ciudad teran en Aguascalientes! I was super sad to leave Jacarandas in San Luis Potosí but I'm loving it here! 

When I was first here there was only 2 elders in the ward and now there's 4. We switched areas so I'm not in the same area as last time. There is so much work to do here and I'm loving it. The first day I got here we taught 11 lessons it was sweet, then the next day we called someone named Juan who hadn't been contacted. We shared a scripture about the Holy Ghost and invited him to be baptized and he had some crazy questions, it was probably one of my favorite lessons I've been in! His baptism is for December 12! Another cool miracle here was we were teaching someone named Jorge and his familia when I first arrived in Mexico, he's the one I signed his Book of Mormon.  After I left they lost contact with him. The first day I was here we decided to call him and he answered and basically said he wants to start off where we left!! So crazy and we are super excited to see where it goes with Him and his family! We have a lot of people we are teaching rn so hopefully next week I will be able to tell you a bit more about some other people!

For zone council we talked about why we are here on our missions and why we fight to do what we do. I know that everyone serving a mission is making sacrifices, all of us gave up something to come out on a mission. I was reading 2 Nephi 26 (new fav chapter) and I absolutely love the last verse. 

"For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."

This was a great reminder to me that the Gospel is for EVERYONE! That Jesus Christ truly died for every single one of us. And that its our job as missionaries to find and show people the love that God has for them. To not judge them for what they are doing but to see them how the Savior would see them!

Love you all! 

Familias Eternas...

Hey hey I'm back again! Hope everyone is doing great as always, this week went by super fast and I'm getting kicked of my area... but I'm going back to my first area here in Mexico and I couldn't be more excited(that's my big news from last week hahaha)!! Im gonna be a ZL with one of my first comps here Elder Garcia, he's from Mexico city and has been a convert for about 2 years. Dude is an absolute stud and a great missionary! I'm super excited to go back and meet some of the people I taught that were baptized after I left and see the members again!

This week was super good. We've definitely had some ups and downs in this area but the Lord has always been there to help guide us. Super sad with some of the people we were teaching, left the state for a while or stopped talking to us. Especially Daniela, Maria, and José Juan. I know the Lord has a perfect plan for every single one of them. Maria has been so fun to teach because she has some of the best questions and wants to learn more. I know she will accept the Gospel one day.  I'm super sad to leave all the members and people we've taught but I'm grateful for the time I had here and all the opportunities to meet new people everyday!

This week I was thinking alot about my family (not in a trunky or homesick way lol) and how big of an impact every single one of them have been in my life. I can't express in words the amount of love I have for them all. I know God knows exactly what we need and has put us in families so we can have peace, love, help, and comfort for the rest of our lives. I know with out a doubt I can live with my family for all of time and eternity and it's through Jesus Christ and His gospel that it's made possible!

Les amo a todos! Que tengan una buena semana!!

Change is Possible...

Hola Hola! I hope you're all doing great! These last couple of weeks have been super good! We've been teaching a lot and our area is still having lots of progression! I have some big news... but you have to wait till next week hehehe

To start off I want to talk about Helena! She was baptized!!! It has been so cool to see her grow and just have peace and happiness in her life. It was not easy getting her to this point but she is a different person and I'm so excited for her! I don't have any updates for anyone else we are teaching I would just ask you guys to keep them all in your prayers!

This last district council we had, I decided to do a little activity with the district. There were 5 steps needed to be taken to receive the blessings of the Gospel or in this case DOUGHNUTS!! These steps are Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. One of the elders played the role of the investigator and as we taught him, he decided when he was ready to move on to the next step and so on, he accepted the Gospel and received the blessings that we have as members! I was thinking about this activity after and I think at times as members of the church we often take these blessing for granted. One of the blessings I've taken for granted or hadn't taken the time to understand is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I read a talk from this last conference from Bradley R. Wilcox which talks a lot about repentance, effort, and our progress. One of the things he said that I really liked is "change is possible". At times in my mission I have felt like this change isn't possible, that I can't become the missionary I want to be, and I'm still so far from who I want to become. That is discouragement from Satan himself, I know change IS possible, it's through the Atonement that I can become the missionary the Lord wants me to be. I have found so much peace and comfort through my Savior Jesus Christ and I know His Atonement is available for all. I say this time and time again but there is nothing better than being a missionary, it truly is the most joy and happiness I've experienced in my life!

Love you all have a great week!!

-love elder mckenna