Elder Mackey's September 26, 2011 E-mail

Dear Mandy,

 

So we found General Conference 2008 on CD in the apartment so we have been listening to that all the time in the car. It was great! So the Weather here "I think" is getting a little cold. The people here say it is really nice and great but I think it is cold. They laugh at me. I thought I was ready for the winter but then I am remembering that my toes froze a lot. :/ I do miss the one season state. Its easy to prepare for that...shorts or shorts. :D

 

I am finding out that my companion is very different than I am. He is too laid back and tells me that I need to be more "loose". He is just a green bean though haha. I just laugh. Anyways this week was pretty hard, we received a lot of discouragement. I mean we got a huge package with the sender Satan, Lucifer. (that was a dumb joke hehe) That's the thing though. We can be interested and open it up and get the surprise or just leave it alone and still have a positive attitude and receive the blessings from God.

 

Its hard for me to write right now because my feelings are going all over the place. :/ Thank you for your prayers Mandy. I love you very much. I read the letters you gave me before I left on my mission this morning. Thank you so much for those letters. :) They are great council for me to follow. I think I am being a worry wart. ha


--

 

Love,

Elder David Mackey

Elder Mackey's September 19, 2011 E-mail

Whaaa Hannn!!!  This is the funniest saying that I have heard. My district leader, Elder Dillard whom I will love forever, made it up when he was young and been saying it since then. It means "whats happenin?" There is this special way to say it and its just great. He got the Mission Presidents Wife to say it now. She calls us the Whaa Hannn club. haha Its just silly. Anyways....

 

Yesterday was the Presidents Fireside and I was called to do the musical number. She wanted me to sing "Redeemer of my Soul." This meeting was so good and the Spirit was strong! This Fireside is where a few recent converts are chosen to speak about their conversion. There is a missionary from Ohio, the big time hood part, who told his story. He joined like two years ago and then went on a mission. He is 26. He got shot twice, he was in a gang. But anyways, then there was this guy who found out the church to be true during trial and then went to jail for 10 years and read the BoM, Jesus the Christ, Bible, Miracle of Forgivness, and a bunch of other stuff 10 times. He got out and then got First Presidentcies approval to be baptized. It was so good! It was a good Spiritual day yesterday. I will put in here my letter to the president.

 

Dear President,
Thank you for the opportunity to attend the Presidents Fireside. That was a very spiritual meeting and I was able to participate and even contribute to the meeting. What a blessing! I think it was good for Elder Van Orden to experience that to boost his enthusiasm. We are going to be running chapel tours on Tuesday at 6:30 pm to help with the members in inviting their friends in missionary opportunities. This will help them invite their friends to something a little less overwhelming and help them get into the church to feel the Spirit, see the Christ center pictures we have and to have a lesson from the missionaries all at the same time. I feel that this will be a good experience and will hopefully bring success into this area. Elder Van Orden is doing great! He is a really good companion in helping the investigators in their individual needs. We are on tract with the training guide and I am helping him learn the lessons. I am trying to work with helping him talk to everyone no matter what situation he is in. He is a little shy about that but he is working on it.
We found this couple while tracting and they said they have been meeting with the mormon missionaries for 28 years. They said to stop by another time and so we did and we caught them working on their yard. We dropped our bags and went straight to work. They were impressed and felt bad we were working in our "nice" clothes. They let us "fellowship" with them and I learned how to take the conversation and environment and direct it all towards the plans which we have made (which was restoration) and we were very bold and testified powerfully in te Book of Mormon and about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I invited the wife to be baptized and she accepted. I then invited the husband and he declined saying he was already baptized. So then the wife backed down. :/ She said she will read and pray about the Book of Mormon and so did the husband. The Spirit was so strong in the house and I learned how important it is to point out the Spirit and then TESTIFY! This Saturday a member will be coming with us to help with their yard and also teach. I am trying out here. I hope it is what Heavenly Father wants. I just dont see baptisms. I know thats not how you measure success but I would like to have a baptism. I love you President. :D
Love Elder Mackey

Thank you for all your love and prayers. Pray that I will get a baptism!! I really want one really bad!!
--

Love,

Elder David Mackey

Elder Mackey's September 12, 2011 E-mail

Dear Family,

 

It is a lot of work being a trainer! I have never ever thought about someone and worried about someone so much. Thank you so much Grandma Flaherty for the e-mail! I am actually not serving in Blaine. I did serve in New Brighton just under Blaine. I am still in Farmington. My new companion is Elder Van Orden who is from Blackfoot, Idaho. He is the youngest of 5. He works really hard and wants to be a great missionary.

 

I have been playing the piano a lot at random peoples homes because it helps us get into their home. But I really like it because I don't play piano that much so I get my practice at random peoples homes. Whoa, a missionary just walked in who has both legs cut off. He has two prosthetic legs!! Man its so cool.

 

Anyways....umm well I am just working really hard trying to train my "boy" so he doesnt go down the deep end.

 

Missionaries want to use the comp so I got to go. I love you all.....
--

Love,

Elder David Mackey

Elder Mackey's September 5, 2011 E-mail

Dear family,

 

The weather here is turning cold! :/ My feet get cold now when I study. It feels great though. I am a little excited for  the winter to come but I am getting a little nervous because I am not use to it. The leaves are changing a little but not to big of a change.

 

So this transfer ended a week early because the MTC did a mistake about the scheduling. Next transfer will be a week longer. Anyways, Elder Waller will be transferred to Blaine, just north of New Brighton, and I will be staying. They called me to be a trainer so I will be training a new missionary!!!! I am pretty excited about that!! I hope I do a good job. I am pretty nervous! Laurens sister said a quote that I really like and applies to me at this point, "The Lord doesn't call the qualified but He qualifies the called." When you train you usually train for two transfers so I will be here in Farmington during the winter months. Luckily its a car area but I love biking so I want to use it at the least except for big trips. You can talk to more people on a bike and do more work than in a car I think.

 

This week I have been studying about goals. I want to really focus on working towards the goals I have set and not only that but pray and have my goals be the same as Heavenly Fathers goals. I feel this is a way of submitting my will to the Fathers will. Its gonna take a lot of work because I want to see some outstanding miracles here.

--

Love,

Elder David Mackey