Friday, November 28, 2014

Nov 24, 2014

good to see you welll so i wrecked my bike!

yep it happened and hopefully wont happen again!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING eat a ton for me!

Well lets get into this week! oh and we got shot at! With a BB gun, so don't freak out mom..... but Elder Hernandez got hit in the ankle.

A.  Well here in oxnard everything is going awesome we are having a great time! And hard times. Meaning on Thursday I crashed my bike. It is all in good condition, the only thing that happened was my pants ripped and I got a good road burn on my leg it was pretty funny. What happened was I turned to sharp and my bike tire slid and I went with it. :) But it was awesome for some reason it seemed to strengthen our relationship with the recent convert in the area.

 But other than crazy bikes and teaching people we had an exchange this past week and it didn't go to well... well it was great but we never taught anyone! We went to an investigators house and they weren't there, but we found a desk and we managed to get in to our tiny car to give to a family that has nothing and noticed we were late for lunch with a member so we rushed over there ate and because we were late there, we were late to pick up the other Elders for correlation. but remember we had a desk still in our car so we ran that over to the family and set it up, and then got the Elders. Then our ward mission leader cancelled correlation and so we got more time to talk to people to find no one home and then it was time for dinner and then sat in stake conference for 2 hours. It was the best exchange and the worst exchange! But it was so fun!

C. Elder Hernandez is the best artist I have seen in a while and drew me some pictures this week they are pretty cool!

T. Well this week at zone conference I have been reformed! You could say, and I have a new desire to be a better missionary and so this week I have studied the white handbook and wrote down anything that I could improve on and to my amazement I have a 2 page paper of improvements so now I am going to start on working it down to a clean piece of paper!

S. Well the funnest service this week happened right after I wrecked on my bike and we did 70 push ups to help/motivate our recent convert Juliette do her 70 push ups that she had for gym class

Yep that was fun hope this week is twice as much fun.... well minus the bike wreck and shots fired.....

Talk to you soon!

-Elder Joshua Mackay

Monday, November 17, 2014

Another Week in the Port

November 17, 2014

Hello everyone!

well lets get straight into it

A. Well Oxnard is awesome! We worked very hard this week to get someone with a baptism date and who would have thought it worked!!! We got a little girl named Marithza with a baptism date for the 6th of December! It was awesome we are so excited!!

This week we didn't teach as many lesson as we hoped for but we had a great week none the less. It is interesting how each area that you serve in works differently, Ventura we spent a lot of time with member and they lead us to their friends. Fillmore we spent all our days running from appointment to appointment. and Carpinteria we walked and talked to our investigators, and in Oxnard we walk around and try to talk to people but they take the card and walk away.  It has been so much fun to see the difference in every area because each area shines you in a different way, makes you a better person for the next one. Like Juliette reminds me of Elizabeth, of course Juliette hasn't seen as much as Elizabeth but I can tell by being with Elizabeth prepared me to meet Juliette and this is how I know that God really is at the helm of this work everything you young kids do know it will come back to you to do something later.

This week we also had an interesting experience at the Rodriguez's house, living there is a man named Jose who was baptized in 2006 who needed a blessing of health, so we show up and we give him the blessing and went to talk to Hermana Rodriguez and she was in such a bad condition it hurt her to move even an inch and she never even thought about asking for a blessing. So we told her that she should get a blessing and she said yes, and so we located her husband in the kitchen about to jump into the shower and we told him what was going on. He didn't want to do it, so we tried to tell him again, and he finally said ok. So we walk back into the room where the hermana was lying and Elder Hernandez anointed her and Antonio (the husband) read through the missionary hand book and with out a second thought gave his wife the most beautiful blessing I have ever heard and it was awesome the spirit was so strong, after we asked him if he had given a blessing before and he said he has never given one before and that's why he was nervous at first. Now that was awesome!

But back to Marithza we taught her the restoration and the 10 commandment and she took it pretty well and then Saturday night her dad came home from work and they haven't seen him in over a month and so we taught him the restoration and turns out he was been meeting missionaries for over 3 years now! they are awesome, but just moved in and literally have nothing. We gave them a bed and so they rotate who sleeps on it the 2 boys and then the 3 girls. such a humble family when we teach them we all sit on the ground in a circle and they listen intently and quiet there children (2 girl and a boy) they are just the best thing to happen to this world. well ya.

C. Elder Hernandez is awesome, he is very good at explaining thing so people understand  and making sure that they do under stand! It is the best! 

T. Well for a zone goal we are teaching the parables of Jesus at set appointments, so I figured I better read and study the parables so I know what I am talking about and turns out I learned a ton so far my favorite is the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price! 

S. This week we had missionary landscaping and we did a great job it looks good other then we couldn't fit everything into the bin so we left the extra branches on the street in a pile, like the person directed us to do it is funny how when people tell you how to do it they are happy but when they don't they are not happy!

yep awesome week!!

hope you have a good one!
-Elder Joshua Mackay

Monday, November 10, 2014

Hello Port Hueneme

November 10, 2014

So turns out that I am not in Oxnard but the Navy base called Port Hueneme it is pretty cool!!

Well it also turns out that I have walked all week and not biked so I haven't yet lose the 15 pounds.....

But this is my awesome week!

A. I LOVE OXNARD AND PORT HUENEME!!! it is awesome here, things are really looking good here. But here is the bad news.... I am awful with names and forgot my planner.... but here is something cool that happened (well I hated it when it happened but now I am fine with it :D) so I got a new tube and lights for my bike grand total of $28 and went home put it all together and pumped up my tire and we rode off about 2 blocks when I rode over a pin and PPWWSSSSHHH (all my air gone sound) and I had a flat!! So we walked the bike home and walked the rest of the week! Turns out that was a blessing for us we had so many opportunities to talk to people we would have missed riding our bikes, at first I was mad at God. But he told me just a little longer and we had an excellent week! God really does work in mysterious ways! So turns out this week was one of the best weeks in my mission!

C. I love Elder Hernandez he is putting his sickle in with all his might and trying his best to do the work of the Lord! He is also someone who can make you smile no matter what!

T. Well this week I read something that has been very profound this week, other then flat tires are blessing... but in Jesus the Christ it talks about what we shouldn't do, talking about repenting for a sin and putting yourself in a place where you can commit the same sin, mainly talking about addictions how if we want to quit we need to build a thick barrier around it so we don't go near it. I thought that was pretty good! I also read something the David O. McKay said, prefacing he said everyday we need to take time to meditate and come closer to God through meditation, he also said that meditation is the door which Christ is knocking and we have to open it to let him in!

S. Well not much happened this week other then we helped a man fix his bike light on the corner!

And dont forget about those pictures!!

There is proof I haven't lose 15 lbs yet....... and That is Hermana Kieth and I at transfer meeting!

Hope they open up right!!

Anyways a great week LOVE YOU

-Elder Joshua Mackay


Elder Joshua MacKay with mission buds for life, Elder Thatcher Smoot and Elder McKay Parrish
Elder Smoot and Elder Parrish grew up together, and Elder MacKay adores them both.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Bye Fillmore!

November 3, 2014

Well Hello there!

Well next time see hear from my it will be from Oxnard CA. and I will have lose 15 pounds on my new bike!

Well its time for business!

A. Well i am leaving Fillmore and it is the most bitter feeling in the world, more sour then an unripened orange or something... but the lord was a plan here and I cant interfere with that as sucky as it is.

But on a good note we had a great time here I met a ton of awesome people, Bryanna, the Peralta family, Ramirez family, Bernard and his family, both the Zavala families, Lucia and her 3 boys Eddie, Salvador, and Israel.

We had a couple with Bryanna this week and she is So ready to be baptized its awesome we are going to see her tonight and have one last lesson with her before we hand her over to the new Elders to Baptize her who knows maybe i could see it! We finished teaching her the laws and ordinances and gave her the baptism interview and she passed the practice run and will definitely pass the real one in 2 weeks.

 Bernard has started to show less interest now that he is getting sicker then ever but his sister Cynthia is awesome and wants to get baptized the first week of December! We taught her a lot this week and she read a ton and is going very well towards her date she just needs to come to church and we feel that Bernard will get baptized with her! That is all the good stuff happening in our area that I can remember!

C. Well lets be honest I love elder Moreno and was looking forward to maybe having another transfer with him, but then I thought it would be cool for him to be a zone leader and leave me, but what ever. I have learned a ton from Elder Moreno and he is one of the best District leaders I have ever had. He will be missed here in Fillmore for sure and maybe even more then me!

T. well i am trying my best to learn and grow my testimony and it is working for sure I have learned a lot this week and I feel like it is only going to keep on growing stronger and stronger. It is awesome isnt it! The thing that has been awesome this week is learning about all the stuff Jesus Christ went through even before he was sold away. It is crazy to think that all the people did was tell him he was breaking the law when really he was the law!

S. Well this week we helped some people gleam some orange trees and man was it fun and tasty! Hopefully the other elders can help out as well!

Yep that is what happened here in Fillmore land of the loved! And guess what I got pictures!!!

So there is our ward mission leader acting Chinese.... Elder Moreno and yours truly :), Bernards sister Cynthia (her baby is William) and mother Carmen, that's Bryanna and Rachel, and the Peralta boys with there sister jenny

anyways i hope you enjoy and i wish you all the best of luck... and to the one person who i know reads my blog see you soon..... stalker....




-Elder Joshua Mackay












Another Fun Week

October 27, 2014

Hey everyone what is up?

So what are your Halloween costumes this year?

Anyways time for the lo down.

A. This week we had 6 investigators at church! 2 of them have never been and they loved it we're meeting with one of them tonight and are going to teach the Word of Wisdom, its going to be awesome! They also came to the Halloween/fall festival party we had on Saturday it was pretty fun but I got out eaten by a skinny man in a hot dog eating contest........ and that is all I will say on that! But Brianna helped at one of the game booths and at a trunk during the trunk or treat it was awesome, Carina the other investigator brought us a TON of questions that we answered all night and then she rode the bus to get to church it was awesome, her 2 little girls loved primary.

 All in all the party was awesome, we had 3 boys show up (1 skeleton, and 2 zombies) and they had a blast the next day we stopped by to see them and there mom hid their candy it was pretty funny. We had a couple less active families show up, and a less active young women brought her boy friend and her cousin it was pretty cool they had fun!

Back to Brianna we taught her the Restoration and when we were talking about the book of Mormon she stopped us and asked if we had a extra copy for her, and so we gave it to her to read and she said she wants to get baptized so we set her with a date of the 22 of November. So I am praying that I get more time in Fillmore. 

Carina is awesome as well her boy friend who is a less active and the missionaries found him on the street and then they went to look in Santa Paula for the starting time and ran into the Hermanas there and they gave them a tour and gave us a referral and the rest is history, the Hermanas also gave her all the pamphlets and when we went to see her 3 days later see had read every single one! She has a baptism date for the 15th of November. and that is why I must stay in Fillmore!

C. Elder Moreno is awesome we have been working hard and it feels like were hardly working. I will miss him when we do leave which won't be for a while.

T. Well Jesus the Christ is a great book and I have learned at least 3 thing everyday, I have made a goal to finish it in 3 transfers which means I must read 200 pages a transfer, which I can do for sure!

S. Well this week missionary lawn service proved to be awful....... the other Elders (Elder Lopez and Elder Simpson) found a lawn that needed work. so they got permission from the owner to work on it so they signed us up to help rip out what was left of his mans lawn. Now its dirt and the man isn't too happy..... I guess its the thought that counts.

Anyways have a great week love you all!

-Elder Joshua Mackay

Sweet Home Ventura!


Sept 20, 2014

Why hello there!

Well as you might be able to tell this week I went to Ventura, 3 times - Monday (oil change), Friday (interviews) and Saturday (exchange)

On Friday I also got to talk to an old friend who got reassigned to my mission, she lived in my ward in Provo until I  moved to Spanish fork it was awesome to share some story and to hear the other side of her stories I heard from her parents. (Hermana Kiana Keith)

But its time for some ACTS

A. Well to be honest this week felt like a long month it feels like ages ago when I last wrote/typed letters, but we had a awesome time in Fillmore this week, why because we found a new family!!!! We were looking for a lady named Dulce and knocked on her door and a girl named Sissy (sissi not sissy) opened it, so we talked about the restoration with her after she told us she had moved in 2 weeks ago! We then met her mother and had a very powerful lesson with her it was AWESOME, well minus the fact I didn't understand one word she kept using so I thought she said she didn't feel worthy to pray, but what she really said was she can't forgive someone for some thing........ oh well I am learning little by little, but we both bore powerful testimony about the book of Mormon and it was AWESOME!

And another AWESOME this week was exchanges with my Trainer Elder Fairbourne, the best part in Ventura!! I got to talk to my old investigators and some new people it was awesome and this time I didn't get hurt with Elder Fairbourne! that's always the best part! We got to talk to an investigator that I found in Ventura my first week, David Hernandez and turns out he wants to get baptized soon! So I told him that it will totally be worth it and that he should continue to listen and learn from the Elders. It was a great time in Ventura!

C. Well this week Elder Moreno and I had some fun we went to a movie Meet the Mormons and it was really good it was a great rally cry to get us to work together in more unity.

T. this week we watched Meet the Mormons and it was awesome I loved the whole thing and I hope that I can be like them and live a good live and love all those who I come into contact with my personal favorite was the candy bomber that was a very touching story and some day who know maybe I can leave an impact like that on a group of people.

S. well Elder Fairbourne and I had a great time on Saturday crushing beer cans for someone so that they can recycle them easier. It was the most satisfaction we have had in crushing beer cans.

And that my family/friends and others is how one has the best week in his/her life. Hope you have a great week and talk to you soon! And sorry I forgot my cord to get pictures on the emails.

-Elder Joshua Mackay

The fun week take 60 something i think

Oct 13, 2014

Well hello there is been 7 of the most fun days of my life.

So it time for some acts!

A. I might have said this before but business is booming here in Fillmore. The biggest thing is that it is because the Lord is at the helm, but the biggest thing we saw this week is in the Paralta family the father left town to go work somewhere in a 2 hour radius from here, so we had to cancel his baptism date for this week but we talked to his 2 boys Edward and Reuben and Reuben is a little nervous to pick a date but Edward said that he will get baptized on November 1st. They are awesome kids and they remind me of my brother and me by the way we acted and the way they are acting.

We also found Lucia she is VERY full of potential and its going to be awesome to see her this week and get to know her and how we can help her. I met her once and Elder Moreno found her on a blitz with Elder Lopez.

But that is our area in a nutshell!

C. Elder Moreno is the best. that's it no more needed to be added.  He is the best.

T. This week I have learned a very important thing. In the white handbook it says that God should be our first source of knowledge if we have questions and I have always taken that for granted and just asked my companions, and or mission leaders. But this week I had a real question that I needed a real answer too, so I studied the white handbook looking for ruling on my question but I didn't find it there, so I turned to preach my gospel again wasn't there either, and so I went back to the white handbook and read that paragraph about how God needs to be our first source for answers. so iI stood up snuck back into the bedroom and prayed, and prayed and that is where I found my answer and my new testimony. On my knees talking to God.

S. This week is the service side of things we had a awesome time helping a food share move there pantry it was very interesting. And food share run by the LDS church, held in a Methodist church, with a ton of Jewish food. That was pretty cool and now we have food we can eat over the Passover! (they gave us some food to take home after we finished)

and that is the week in a nutshell!

PICTURES!!!!

Meet the stripling warriors! aka yours truly and his companion Elder Moreno Elder Lopez and his companion Elder Simpson

have a great week i love you all <3
-Elder Joshua Mackay