One More Down, 23 to go!

March 16, 2015

Someone needs to slow down time a little bit please or I am not going to have fun....

Well this week was great, a lot of service and fun!

A. Newbury Park is awesome we have been seeing a lot of success here doing something a little different than before. Reaching out to the other wards we cover!! We are serving in the Los Robles ward in there Spanish unit but the Spanish unit covers the whole stake and our area is the Newbury Park wards (Los Robles, Conejo Canyon, Dos Ventos) so this week we talked to some members in the Conejo Canyon ward and asked if they had any mexican friend and they said their neighbor and then they invited us over for dinner and there neighbor came and we got to teach him and he is awesome, his name is Angel. He is just down to earth and Smith family said we could even use their house whenever we were going to teach him!

We also meet with Jenny this week and we were "startled" at the fact she hadn't read the book of mormon recently and she then said she would read 2 chapters that night and she did it!

C. Elder Berg is awesome he really has a desire to serve the Lord and to work hard!

T. This week I studied following up and really, I learned that it doesn't have to be a big grand thing, it just needs to be something basic and effective.

S. This week I took Elder Berg to meet Cristina and Omar. Omar wasn't home but we helped Cristina make Sopes it is like a Tostada but thinner and not as crunchy but it was fun and I got to use one of those tortilla presses it was awesome! Last night I also helped an old lady get into her hacked facebook and her lost email and change the ring tone on her phone.... OLD PEOPLE please write down your stuff, because that was an hour that could have been avoided......

Also on Monday we did a 20 mile bike ride down to the beach and back....

The big hill sucked.... but I biked it all the way up

The first 2 picture are of the starting point and ending point (actually starting point is like 4 blocks away)

The ocean was 24 weeks away!! and then the finishers all but Elder Passey biked up the hill... we started to call him walkey

hope you have a great week!

-Elder Joshua Mackay

Well it is time for the 6 months to Skinny

Well yesterday I realized that I only have 6 months left..... and I almost lit my pants on fire in an outrage but I didnt... 

So it is transfers and I am staying and Elder Berg is coming to be with me for the next 6 weeks or more.

But this is how my week went!

A. Newbury Park is crazy nice the people here are awesome, they love the missionaries this week Elder Passey is leaving after 6 months here and the people are just offering their homes for when he comes back with his family I think he got 5 homes that said there door is open for them and that was cool.

This week we talked to a new investigator. "New" to me but 'old' to Elder Passey. We were able to teach her a little bit this week and it was awesome! She doesn't seem to interested though but she can talk, and talk, and talk and keep talking she keep a conversation going and she was the only person to say anything for 10 minutes at least it was awesome!! 

What else happened this week.... oh so this week we were heading over to Angels and I saw a car, a car I have seen before but I couldn't put my finger on it and so we went to the door and knocked and Ali from Fillmore opened it and it was cool to see him again, I used to teach him in Fillmore and he came to visit Angel (for car parts) it was pretty cool. Turns out his mom is doing a lot better, she went into a small depression, it was sad to see, but she is finished with that. So were talking to Ali and he told us that he came to visit his friend Henry Diaz who just got back from NYC where is served his mission. It really is a small world after all.

C. Well Elder Passey is leaving me and I learned a lot with him and he well be great in Paso and he better finish strong!

T. This week I was reminded through my studies about things that happened that by small and simple things great thing come to past. It was awesome to see by the little thing we do the big change it causes in others.

S. I finally got to do some yard work this week and normally I hate wearing jeans but this week it felt so good!!

It was so awesome that I was to busy to take a picture so no pictures this week! but next week for sure!

have a good week love you long time!

-elder joshua mackay

It is March and time still Marches!

March 2, 2015

Hello there well it is March and week 6 Elder Passey is leaving and I am staying with who I don't even know. But Elder Passey has been here for 6 months so he is gone for sure.

But this is what happened this week!

A. This week we had a lot of success not on the investigator side of things but on the member side of things. We had some dinners this week with families we have never had dinner with before and 2 families asked if we could come over this week, but a member signed up for us the whole week (Tues-Sat) so were going to have to work something out. One of the families mothers came to us at church and she had asked if we could visit their son who is less active and that after we left he said that we were his favorite missionaries he has met! it is weird to learn that a crash course on etiquette in a zone conference can really go a long ways, well of course it does but i never thought it would go this far.

 One of the resent converts of Elder Passey, Omar got a calling this week to serve in the Sunday school presidency! Best part is that he doesn't speak English, but he is willing to work his hardest. and his brother moved in this week and turns out he is less active as well, baptized 11 years ago in the Oxnard 5th ward. He is awesome he came to church this week and found a job and is turning his life around.

C. Elder Passey is awesome. not much else to say.

T. this week I wrote a short poem about temperance and i would like to share it! and it isn't that good..

I am temperate in all things

of these things from my king

as his kingdom i will bring

to all nations in my passing

and of his name i will sing

as i am temperate of all things.

S. This week we helped someone move some stuff after a pipe burst in the home. And we are going to help them move back in when their done with repairs!

pictures!

so this week I figured out how to solve a rubix cube! 2 hours of p day wasted... I meant to take other picture but never got around to it.

Have a great week! See you around.

-Elder Joshua Mackay

Another Week in the past

February 23, 2015

Well Hello there it was been a pretty good week this week with lots of fun and sun... not really it rained all weekend but we need the water.

Well this is what happened:

A. Newbury Park is awesome. We had a missionary return home this week he served in New York, New York City South, and he we had a birthday/return party cause his birthday was the day of his return and we had a ton of people there, mostly English but we had a gold Spanish investigator show up her name is Reselda she is awesome! Elder Passey said that she dropped them when he first got here but her entire "heart" of the church changed and she even came to church we are going to meet her this week and maybe baptize her in 2 weeks if all goes well.

This week we also help a resent convert write a talk to give this past Sunday and it was awesome her topic was "how can I strengthen my testimony daily" it was perfect for her because she could use but it was awesome they had me bear my testimony because I am the new missionary and then her talk and then Elder/Brother Diaz the one that just got back. It was a awesome day at church Melony the resent convert did a very good job on her talk we are proud of her!

Also this week we had a weird Thursday without district meeting but it turned out to be a great day! We met with alot of people and had a couple lesson we meet with Jenny that day too and we talked about faith and enduring to the end it was awesome, but we found out she wasn't reading the Book of Mormon..... so we committed her to give it another effort and we will see what happened this week!

C. Elder Passey is awesome he is really fun to serve around and when ever our plans fall through he always has someone we can go and see.

T. This week I read about testimony vs. conversion in the ensign along with other things and it was interesting to think that were really not converted at baptism but its an on going process and we have to strengthen our testimonies daily and keep on moving forward.

S. This week we were able to help someone bring in their groceries and get a couple other more dirty projects set up for this week! I have missed working in jeans....

Well I cannot wait to dig some holes!!!!! I had to convince the person to let us do it but it wasn't that hard....

Anyways have a great week! Sorry I forgot to take pictures...

-Elder Joshua Mackay

Pictures from the Mission Presidents wife Sister Felix from their last zone conference.

Birthday Recognition 

Newbury Park

Zone Conference

Tie trade!

Another Fly by Week

February 16, 2015

Hello there!

I had a great week this week I didn't get hurt on Friday.... and Saturday I was stuffed with all kinds of goodness!

so this is what happened this week!

A. Newbury is going good. we had a great week! well this week flew by cause I can't remember to much about what happened but we did have a solid miracle here. we have been trying to see this less active lady and we could never find her but this week as it happened, turns out she is a care giver and she has work a 24 hour day and then a 12 hour day and then again a 24 hour day, you get the point she was working a ton, but her client passed away and so now she has less hours and so we got to talk to her and then she said she would be at church this coming Sunday so we will see what happens.

Then we went to a investigators house and a member opened up the door and she told everybody that she left for Mexico or somewhere but turns out she didn't go or something, I don't know all I know is we had a great lesson about going to church on Sunday and then she didn't show up so hopefully we find her again...

C. Elder Passey is awesome he is so funny this week he said he is going to lose weight and so when ever he is full or doesn't want to eat more, he waits until I and the people were eating with look away and then he will put it on my plate.. and I caught him every time he is great I love him!

T. well this week I studied the living Christ in preparation for the up coming zone conference and it was awesome after reading it again at lunch I took my lunch time lie down and this is the thing I hate about revelation it always comes when your about to fall asleep but the good thing about being a missionary is that your plan is always in arms reach! but I got my talk ready for zone conference!

S. and I don't recall any service outside of eating extra food for Elder Passey....

yep it was fun!

so we went on a hike this past week and here are some picture of the water(trickle)fall hike

Have a great week!

-Elder Joshua Mackay!

The Best Week Ever

February 9, 2015

So some of you might not know why it was the best week ever but its because a family I taught in ventura went to the temple and I got to go!!!!!! It was awesome there was 8 missionaries there for this family it was some much fun!!

But in Newbury Park this is what happened!

A. Newbury park is awesome. The people are so easy to get along with and for the most part humble, very humble!

This week was awesome we had a great miracle happen. We had 6 members present it was awesome! The best one happened last night when we were heading out the door leaving a non member walked in and she has a boyfriend on the mission so she asked us what we like to get in packages and so we talked about that for a second and ended up teaching her about faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ and we used an object lesson/trick thing and after we finished she said "that was cool do you have any more of those?" so we stay for another 20 minutes and taught her about having christ as our foundation and putting on the whole armor of god. And then a  returned missionary friend came over with her to help us teach/ he taught us a new one about faith it was pretty cool and a lot of fun. But then we had to leave so we could go see some other people.

C. Elder Passey I learned has a lot of fun dinner messages that people hate, but love because they learn a lot one of my favorites is called the game of sacrifice. Details will come when I figure out how to explain it.

T. Well this week in the spanish unit I had to give a talk about John 14:15 "If you love me keep my commandments" so I prepared my talk and I was already to give it and I stood at the table we have for our pulpit and the entire talk changed I talked about thing I had never even thought about talking about a for some reason (the spirit) I needed to say what I said and everybody loved it. It was a weird experience for me and it prove that I know spanish! 

S. We didnt have any serve this week not even trash to take out....

It was a awesome week and the best week ever its going to be hard for this week to be beat!

But pictures!

so that is the family and the missionaries with a sister from the ventura branch and the temple and my district my companion and I are the only spanish speaker in the district

anyways love you all have a great week!

-elder joshua mackay 

Week 1 with Elder Passey

February 2, 2015

hello from newbury park!

Elder Passey is awesome and the people here are awesomer!

but this is how our week went!

A. Newbury Park is awesome I love the people here! So we work in a spanish unit, so there is an English ward and then us going on at the same time. It is awesome, we had 31 people in the unit yesterday and Elder Passey said that is more then he has ever seen! But none of them are investigators because he baptized them all....

But yes the whole unit is recent converts or less active we spend most our day in a place nicked named las casitas which gets boring at times, but the people there are awesome! we have been teaching a less active named Angel. My goodness he is a talented mechanic he has people ask for his service all the time, oh ya he is also 75% blind, he relies on feeling the parts and such. He works alot of custom street race cars.

Another recent convert we have been working with is Melony she is awesome she is the niece of Angel so she is over there a ton and just a awesome person.

And the final person that we have been working with is an investigator named Jenny, she wants to get baptized but her dad wont let her. One night she asked if we have any movies, and we left them in the apartment so we had her pull up the Joseph Smith movie on her phone and watch it later and then at 12:00 midnight we got a text saying she finished the movie and loved it and thought that it was awesome how Joseph Smith never gave up even though the trials were stacking up against him.

C. Elder Passey is a hoot! He is so funny and easy to get a long with and the people we teach love him and he loves them. That the first thing I noticed about Elder Passey

T. This week I studied a little bit in ch 5 in PMG about the Book of Mormon and it was a good reminder about how we should be using the Book of Mormon as much as possible.

S. We took out Angels trash one day.... its was smelly lol!

It was pretty fun! I would love to send pictures but I forgot my camera at home so next week for sure!

-Elder Joshua Mackay