A family we stayed with
BOMB cake
Tavirus and his mom
How about this Rock, Dad?
Elder Steele
Elder Mosley
Awesome car
Dear Family!!
Vern and Jess you better watch those bunnies. haha Thank you everyone
for the cards and the gifts! Thank you Shirley for the movie, it was
awesome! I liked Wes's and his brother (I forget his name) wrestling
match! That was very sneaky Luke. Zane you are getting so big now keep
your hair as long as you can before you turn out like your dad. :D Hal
and Whit are cute plus their younger brother. I am forgetting names.
Brandon's kids thank you and Carter and Gavin it was so cute watching
you guys sings. :D Ella, Caden, and Tay Tay plus Jill and Zack are
really good at singing. haha Where was Jeremy? Val thank you very much
for the sweet card and for the chicken making some macaroni. Did he
get deported? haha Thank you very very very much Sister Tryon and
Rachelle for the letters you send me and for the Easter package.
Sister Johnson and Lauren thank you so much for your presents and
candy and your letters! :D THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! Plus for mom and dad
for your love and prayers for me!!! I LOVE EVERYONE! (even when I dont
remember your names)
So this week was awesome! We had great success! So on Saturday I kinda
should of shut my mouth but we were talking to some kids that came out
of the house right after we talked to the mom. I asked if the adults
in the house were doing bad stuff because they were cussing at us and
ya. Well we got a voice mail of this lady yelling at us for telling
their kids that they were doing drugs. I felt so bad. :( That day too
I prayed to have a trial to follow Elder Christoferson's counsel. Well
I got through it.
On Wednesday we had a dinner with a member where a
non-member is living with them. I did not know this. So she walked in
during dinner and got some dinner and sat down and I started teaching
her. She knows the
Book of Mormon is true and love the Mormons because
she was raised around Mormons her whole life. Her only problem was
that she was already baptized in the
Catholic church. We were going to
give the Sister that lives there a blessing and I asked her if she
would like one because she was going to have surgery the following day
and she was really scared and nervous. She wanted one.
The Spirit was
so strong in there and right when Elder Holmes started the blessing
she started crying. After the blessing she said that she had a lot of
fear and nervousness before the blessing but right when it started she
felt it all leave and then the Spirit come and give her peace and
comfort, it was so cool! Very spiritual.
I didnt get any mail on my birthday but that was ok. :) I had a lot of
mail before and after. What I have written in my Journal is about a
handicap black boy. He is so funny and I love him so much. We tracted
into them and the mother became an investigator. We go on bike rides
up and down the street with him for like 10 min 2-3 times a week. He
loves it as do I! His name is Tavirus.
On Thursday we went by to go
bike riding and we caught them just leaving and Tavirus was asking us
when we were going to come over again (he asks us that every time we
meet with him) and I said tomorrow at 4 and his face lit up and his
smile was so heart melting. I love this kid. As we were riding down
the street (this whole street is 90% black) he was asking/telling
everyone to come to church with him. We asked him to come to church
Sunday. (He didnt make it because he forgot. His mom had to work in
the morning.
Friday was awesome! The Spirit was with us the whole day. Cool
experience: So I learned that every street we pray to tract during
planning the night before, there is always at least one person there
that Heavenly Father wanted us to meet or talk to. We were tracting
this one street, Peters PL NE, and we knocked on a few doors and then
came up to an apartment where you had to buzz in but the buzzers were
on the other side so we skipped it and went to the next building. The
next one was apartments where you had to buzz in and I felt or the
Spirit taught me to look at the number or names and buzz one that you
feel you need to talk to. So I felt like I should push 106.... nobody
answered so I pushed 203 and the door opened right away. I didnt know
who opened it so I went to 106 and the kid was walking down the hall
and I acted like we have already met before and he acted like he was
waiting for us. He wanted us to come in and we taught him a short
lesson and we invited him to be baptized on
6-4-11 and he accepted but
with the intent on when he finds out. His name is Juan and he is 19
living with his girlfriend. His gf is a Jehovah Witness and was having
them come over and teach him but he wasnt really into it. I could see
some of his answers were similar to the JW's teaching. He works at the
Marriot and said that he could read the BoM there (we didnt have
anymore on us at that time). So we learned that when we come up to an
apartment with a buzzer to look at the names/numbers and feel for
which one you should buzz. So the next one I tell Elder Holmes its his
turn to receive revelation at which one to buzz and a lady came down
that looked really depressed. I offered to give her a blessing and she
accepted and so today we will be going over to give her a lesson and a
blessing. Then the next apartment was my turn and we find another guy
who wanted to come to church (never did) and learn more. The day was
very Spirit led. Then we had a sesson planned at night and we were
going to do a Restoration chapel tour and it was awesome and we
invited the investigator to be baptized and he accepted for 6-4-11.
His name is Nate. He is 22 years old and we contacted him while he was
walking drunk. He didnt want to meet with us but gave us his brothers
address and told us to talk to him. We stopped by and he was there and
we taught him a lesson. (he lives there as well)
The next day was awesome as well. I am guessing it was for my birthday
but I hope not. I want it to be awesome for the rest of my mission. We
read the Bom with a member who as Alzheimer's in a rest home and he
wasnt there
on Saturday. One of the workers there knows I play piano
so asked if I could play for them. So I just played for 45 min then
taught the worker. (she is so awesome! he three year old son is always
asking questions about Jesus so I gave him a Jesus picture) Then we
helped on of our investigators move (she is going to Wisconsin) and
had a great lesson. Then went to Tavirus to ride with him and then
teach his mom which was a great lesson and invited her to be baptized
and she said when she knows but she also said that she felt really
good about the lesson. Then we came home a little early so I wanted to
go to the apartments behind ours and check up on an investigator and
stop by a potential. Well the Investigator wasnt there but we stopped
by the potential and her whole family was there. They believe in the
rapture I didnt know what that was and they told me. (its bogus, I
didnt say that but something similar) I told them that when the
tribulation has come and she is still there to give us a call. They
laughed A LOT about that and they said ok. On our way out we were
stopped by a lady (everyone in the apartment building is black) who
see's us all the time and didnt want anything to do with us but then
all of the sudden she wanted to know what we do, why we do it, and
whats so important about it. We gave her a BoM and told her to read
it. Then we wanted to have a pot-luck lunch and have it be mexican, we
got chicken for really cheap, then everyone was like ya lets do it and
all the blacks there became our friends. The only thing is we dont
really know how to cook the chicken in a crock pot but it will work.
Then Sunday we had another Spiritual day with many blessings. We did
the same thing while we were tracting and found a new investigator and
then we taught a kid who felt shameful and bad about drinking the
night before and then we met another black kid who does wrestling in
college and has three really cute kids and we taught them and it was
just awesome! We taught 21 lessons that week and our numbers were so
high. The Zone Leaders called us wanting to know what we are doing and
how so they can apply what we are doing. :D it was cool. :) I love you
all! I need to write my Pres. Letter. I got some pictures here. One of
me and my trainer, my new companion, a picture for dad with me on the
rock with the question, "How about this rock dad? You think we can get
this one?" haha one of the family in the last area we stayed with.
Tavirus and his mom. Elder mosley. One crazy thing....BYU Idaho was
here doing a singing thing and Jordan Curtis was in the Choir and I
though he looked familiar. Me trying to make the BOMB cake and failing
at it. haha and another one of me and this awesome car i wanted to
buy.
My shoes are great and I dont wear my jackets in a bike area. but no
we dont have to anymore.
--
Love,
Elder
David Mackey
