"No Half-Measures Will Do"

Dear Familia,

This week I've really learned a lot about how important change is in our lives. How much I've changed these past months, how much more I need to change, how I have the opportunity to help people change, how our fear of change often t impedes our progress.

We've been working a lot with María Virginia and Victor Hugo and have really been trying to help them change. María Virginia is a reference from some ward members and is passing through some really hard times with her family. Her daughter is 17 years old and has down syndrome, and this past month the doctors told María and her husband that due to the heart condition of her daughter, it's most likely that in the next year or so her heart will fail her. It's been a really hard time for María and she loves listening to our message, but she says that she's not ready to change here religion...she's Catholic, just like 99.9% of Chileans, and she's really been struggling with the change needed to go from being a non-practicing Catholic to being a loyal member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Victor Hugo is also Catholic, but is very faithful in his religion. He's around 70-75 years old and has been a professor of religion (Catholic religion that is) for the past 20 year. About 2 years ago his wife had a stroke and has been in the hospital ever since. Victor visits her every day and bore the sweetest testimony of how powerful prayer is and how he asks everyone to pray for his sweet wife, and thanks to those prayers, she's recovering...slowly but surely she's recovering. He asked us to prayer for his sweet wife and we offered a prayer with him in the street outside his house. We then explained how we can offer him even more, we explained the restoration and left him with a part in the BofM to read. We invited him to come to church with us, and on Sunday morning when we passed by his house, he was outside waiting for us!!! He had to leave after Sacrament Meeting because he wanted to go to the Catholic misa at 12 (hey, we'll take what we can get), but he said he wanted to talk more with us about what we believe. We're really excited to share more of our message with him and are praying that his heart is ready to except our message and he's willing to make the necessary changes in his life to be truly converted to the Lord.

There's a quote by C.S. Lewis that I LOVE that talks about how important change is. Here C.S. Lewis is paraphrasing what the Lord says to us: " Give me all. I don't want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want you. All of you. I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man, but to kill it. No half-measures will do. I don't want to only prune a branch here and another there, rather, I want the whole tree out. Hand it all over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them all over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart." I LOVE that! As a missionary I'm called to be a representative of Jesus Christ, and to do that I have to change 100%. My personality will still be my personality, ha it's what makes me, me! But my will has to become the will of my Heavenly Father. My desires have to become His desires. Before the mission I didn't understand how important that change really was. And it's not just a change for missionaries. It's a change for every member of the church. We don't just take his name upon us when we're missionaries, but rather when we're baptized, and every sacrament meeting after. I love this gospel! I love the chance I have to change! I love the help and opportunities God gives me to change! And I love the change I get to see in the lives of the people who decide to give their will over to their Heavenly Father and make this change!



Love you all!


Hermana McKenna

Sorry about the photo drought. But here's a little visual update on what's been happening these past couple of months. I can't remember what the last photos I sent were, so sorry if there are a couple repeats.

1. The YM and YW in our stake were part of a play based off the life of Joseph Smith. We got permision to go because Diego had a lead role. Diego is the young man in the front with the white shirt. The young woman sitting next to him is the member that introduced him to the church.

2. Hna. Day and I with Leontina and her daughter Matildad.  Leontina is less active and we've been working with her and her husband, who's not a member, to help them be an eternal family! 

3. The package that Timette sent!

4. DIEGO'S BAPTISIM!

5. All the non-members Diego invited to his baptism! He's going to be a rock solid missionary!

6. One of the companionships we do interchanges with. Hna. Stahley is from Kansas and roomed in Heritage up at BYU, but I don't think we ever bumped shoulders...or at least we couldn't remember. Hna. Zuelgaray is from Argentina and a VERY powerful missionary! I love these two girls!

7. When the high heels the member lent me broke...let’s face it, I may be a shoe killer, but the earth has yet to invent a pair of high heels that can withstand the mission.

8. When we helped Bishop Jimenez! He's amazing! For a long time he had some pretty high up callings in the church and got to work with Elder Holland and Elder Perry here in Chile. He's also been in meetings with Pres. Monson...needless to say, he's really helped the ward here in Olmue.

9. A NDH (Family Home Evening) we had with Gloria, Sirleny, and Sirleny's sons (Nelson and Maxi) in the house of la Familia Figaroa. The Familia Figaroa is AMAZING and I can't wait for you to meet them. They recently moved from Santiago and are a HUGE help in La Obra Misional!

We Are All Children of God

August 24, 2015

Dear Familia,

This week was filled with little reminders. The biggest of these little reminders was when we visited Hna. Cecilia and her mom. (Background: Hna Cecilia is a sweet member who is around 60 years old and her mom is around 85 years old. They live together and both of them are divorced. Her mom has listened to the missionaries a ton and we´ve had a couple lessons with her, but she really struggles with being able to remember what we teach her, she can't hear very well and she can't read....which complicates her progress. She's also very set in her Catholic ways. She's not an investigator, but she knows who we are and has eaten lunch with us a couple times.) Well, with that being said, the other day Hna. Lopez and I left our apartment and we felt really strongly that we needed to go visit Hna. Cecilia and her mom. We had no idea why we felt like we needed to go visit them...but we decided to pass by for them while we were on our way to lunch. When we arrived at their house Hna. Cecilia opened the door and just looked at as, and with tears starting to fill her eyes, tells us that the Lord sent us to her house. A little confused, Hna. Lopez and I walk in and see Silvia (the mom) lying in bed with a giant smile on her face. Silvia has been really sick these past couple of weeks and hasn't been able to leave her bed, let  alone the house, and Hna. Cecilia has been house bound having to take care of her. She has 4 other daughters besides Hna. Cecilia, but none of them have passed by to visit her or call her and she was feeling really lonely and forgotten, along with Hna. Cecilia.  She said that last night she prayed asking the Lord to send us to visit her, and the fact that we had arrived the very next morning was a miracle. We sat next to her bed and shared with her how important she is to God and how much he loves her and Hna. Cecilia. They both started crying. We talked a bit, shared a scripture, sang a hymn, and said a prayer. It was something sooo simple but it helped these sweet daughters of God remember that He is aware of them,  He listens and answers their prayers, and that they are never alone.

The second little reminder this week was the capaciatación (training) that we did with the leaders in the ward. We have been working a TON with them to try and get them involved in the missionary work in the ward and have them come with us to teach the retention lessons after baptism, because here in Chile, Ward Missionaries just don't exist. There are 4 missionaries in the ward (2 companionships) and we each took turns teaching part of the restoration. When we shared the first vision and shared our testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith, two or the four leaders started to cry as they felt the spirit of that wonderful moment. It was such a neat experience to see how much of an impact it makes to take a little bit of our time to remember how we have EVERYTHING the gospel offers us and how important it is to remember the First Vision and to strengthen our testimonies of the prophetic calling of the prophet Joseph Smith. 

I LOVE the mission and how much it helps me remember what really matters in life and how important it is to do the little things! 

And speaking of the little things, there were a lot of fun little facts this week:

1.My companion finished a year in the mission and I made her pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. Since that moment, she has eaten syrup with EVERYTHING! She'd give Buddy the Elf a run for his money in a syrup eating contest!

2. One of the members who said she would knit me a scarf (this sweet member reminds me a lot of Mema) told me that she learned how to knit by using needles and thread when she was 8 years old.

3. When I was in exchanges with one of the sister missionaries from Peru, she walked out of the bathroom with oatmeal and lemon juice all over her face. She then tried to convince me that it was really good for the skin and offered to put some on my face....thanks, but no thanks, I think I'll stick with soap and water, but if someone wants to try it she said she hasn't gotten a zit in weeks.

4. We were teaching about temples and how important they are, how temples are the most sacred buildings in our religion, and one of the sweet older ladies that was there asked if that's where Obama goes to church. We informed her that he doesn't attend the temple because he's not a member. Haha it was funny to see how shocked she was, and kept saying, "I can't believe he's not a member, I just can't believe it!" Haha!

I love you all! I love all of my Chilean! I love the Lord! And I love the mission! 

XOXO-Hna. McKenna 

Scriptures of the week: D&C 11:12  and Galatians 6:9-10 

P.S….I PROMISE I will send photos next week! The computers here take FOREVER! But next week I promise I'll send some! I love the travel dates that you sent me and I love the idea of going to Isreal in the Spring. I love you so much Mom, and am so grateful for everything you do for me! Have a great week and tell everyone at SC I say "hola"!

What's Fasting... I Now Know!

Dear Familia,

Wow, that was “Fast”!

Ha, ok so I tried to do a terrible pun with the word fast, but basically what it comes down to is that I am a STRONG believer in the power of fasting! The beautiful power of the fast has helped Esther, Rebeca, and now Diego all enter the waters of baptism! That's right folks, this past Saturday our lovely friend Diego got baptized and on Sunday received the Holy Ghost! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers for him, it truly is so powerful! Like I told you last week, Diego had the goal to talk with his dad Monday night and tell him about his baptismal date, but because his dad works crazy night shifts and Diego is in school during the day he wasn't able to talk with him. Well, as the days passed he kept having trouble finding his dad in the house, and he didn't want to talk to him over the phone about it...so he waited...and waited...and waited...until he finally called us Friday night at 10:00 telling us that he got his dad's permission, and signature! As you can imagine, Saturday morning we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to arrange everything for the baptism and inform all the members. We were pretty worried that nobody was going to be there with such short notice, but thanks to the amazing missionary skills of Diego, the place was PACKED! And over half of the people that came were non-members that Diego had invited. He's a pretty stinking cool kid, that Diego :) And although Hna. Lopez and I started the day panicked and frazzled, we went to bed as content little missionaries. Ha, that's something I've noticed about the mission. Often times we go through EVERY single emotion in the rainbow on a daily bases, but at the end of the day, I always seem to climb in my bed tired as all get-out, but as content as can be.

I love the mission and everything it's teaching me. I know I've said this about a million times, and you're all starting to think I'm a broken record, but my testimony of fasting is something I really want to share with you. Before the mission I thought fasting consisted of eating as much as I could Saturday night, not eating breakfast, going to church, and then coming back to the house as soon as possible to eat something.....ESTE ES APOSTASÍA! Ha, I had no idea what fasting was...for goodness sake I didn't even pay fast offerings and I was lucky if I started and ended with a prayer! But enough about my terribly wicked past, I now know that a fast is 24 hours, that begins and ends with a humble and sincere prayer for heavenly help, and that we have the blessing and responsibility to pay fast offerings to help those who truly have hunger and don't know where their next meal will come from. In the mission I have seen those people, I have witnessed first hand the church member's fast offerings put food on the table. Before the mission I thought it was simply impossible to function without food for 24 hours, but here in Chile I've been able to walk for hours, climb hills, study and do everything missionary work requires while keeping the law of the fast. Paying fast offerings without really fasting is just a donation...fasting without paying fast offerings is just a diet. Just like anything in life, if someone wants to see real results, they've got to go the full 10 yards. Ya it's a sacrifice, but this church has always been a church of sacrifices, the gospel and the Plan of Salvation are founded on sacrifice.

I invite anyone who has an important decision to make, that needs help with a family member, that needs spiritual strength and upliftment, that is looking for peace...anyone that needs to strengthen their relationship with their Heavenly Father, to fast....but really fast, not just a diet, not just a donation, but really fast, and you'll receive the answer you're looking for.

I love my Heavenly Father, I love this work, and I love fasting....haha somthing I thought I would never hear myself say..or write :)



XOXO-Hna. McKenna



Fun Fact:

My boots broke this week, but a member was nice enough to lend me some boots that had a pretty good sized heal...lets just say walking dirt streets with heels is something I will happily never do again. Don't worry Mom, I just bought myself a new pair.

 -All the dogs here wear these nasty sweaters when it's cold.

-Hna. Lopez is teaching me Spanish nursery rhymes (I don't know how to spell that) in Spanish to sing to my little nephew when I get home!

PS…About those pictures you sent… OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHEN DID THE BOYS GROW UP!!!!!!! Ashley looks so stinking cute and grown up!!!

I Have An Amazing Family

Dear Familia,

Haha dang!  Your weekly emails are a good reminder that life goes on without me! It sounds like so many things are going on in the ward and I can't believe I'm going to be the oldest missionary out! I still feel like such a newbie! It freaks me out seeing photos of Jack and listening to him speak! He's changed SOOOOOOOOO much physically, and from the sound of your letters, he's matured a lot spiritually too! Go Jack-Man! But seriously...can someone please tell him to stop growing up?! The photos I show to the members here don't look anything like what he looks like now. Ha, the photo I have of him is one with me and him fishing and he looks so little and still has his braces. The guy in these last couple of photos/videos is a full blown teenager! I hope he's minding his "P`s" and "Q`s" and is getting good and prepared to come out on the mission. It really is the BEST decision EVER! I don't regret for un segundo my decision to serve and feel SOOOO blessed to have the support that I do from the homefront. Last week I told you I was going to fill you in about my companion, so I hope you are all comfortably seated because her story is a good one.

Hna. L. is from Paraguay, and if you haven't googled it yet, it's a 3rd world country here in South America that is land locked...it's a lot like Bolivia in a lot of respects, and listening to her talk about how amazing Chile is compared to where she lives really makes me take a step back and count my many blessings. But her country isn't the only thing that makes a big difference between our backgrounds, she also happens to be a convert and the only member of her family. She was baptized when she was 13 years old and has faithfully attended church by herself for the past 7 years. Her parents are separated, she lives with her dad, and he was really against her decision to go on a mission. The past week she didn't get an email from anyone back home, and she said that she's gone months without getting a letter from her family! So needless to say she's AWESOME, and such a fantastic example! We don't talk a lot about the family because the contrast is striking, but this past week I got a FANTASTIC package from Timette that was such a blessing. The package had a lot of stuff to share with the people here, but the thing most precious was the Libros de Mormon that she sent with a photo of her family and her testimony inside. While I was reading the little letters from the YW I looked up at Hna. L., who was reading the testimony written in the LDM, and she was crying. She said that it was the most precious thing and that she couldn't believe I had family members that would do something like that. Together we looked through the Disney pins and she picked one to have, I told her that she could pick a pin for each member of her family too, and that we could send them in a package. She loved the idea, I then asked if she wanted to send a LDM to her family. She started to cry and said that she would really like to. So we are currently in the process of marking parts that we really like, and then we'll send it off to Paraguay.

Shout out to Timette and her family: Thank you so much for taking the time to send the package and translate your testimony. I know that it will make the difference in the lives of SO many people!

Shout out to the whole Fam-Bam: Thank you so much for supporting me, for writing me, for sending me packages and letters, for encouraging me to serve a mission, for setting the example for me, for raising me in the Gospel....thank you for EVERYTHING!

The amount of blessings I have in my life really is overwhelming! And I owe sooo many of them to the Gospel...at the end of the day having the Gospel and being able to be part of an eternal family is the blessing màs maravillosa en mi vida! And how amazing is it to share the gospel with the amazing people of Chile! This past week I found out from Hna. M. (companion in Coquimbo) that Millaray and Jesuan went and did baptisms in the temple, and Rebecca has the goal to go the end of this month with the Relief Society. Diego fasted with Hna. L. and me yesterday, and tonight he's going to talk with his dad about his baptismal date for this Saturday! Please keep praying for all of them!



XOXO-Hna. McKenna



Scripture: Mosiah 2:41

Fun Facts:

-I love riding in the metro to do interchanges because there are always crazy music performers.

-It has rained SO much this week and has been FREEZING! I have used the scarf that Mema knit me everyday! I think it'll become like the nasty scarf Dad had from Chile...I really do love this thing!

-In church yesterday we didn't have any electricity because of the weather...ha glad to know it's not just our casita that has problems here in Olmué :)

-We got permission from Pres. Dìaz to switch our casa! WAHOOO

P.S.    I haven't received your package yet :( I'll continue looking for it, I haven't lost faith yet!

Go Diego Go!

Dear Familia,

Ok, so I don't really remember how the Diego song (friend of Dora the Explorer) goes, but that's what I was attempting to replicate for the subject of this email. Please ask Carrson how the song goes :) he should know. But anywho, Diego is an investigator that we've been teaching for the past 2 1/2 months. He's attended church for the past 8+ weeks and is dating one of the Young Women in the ward. He's 16 years old and reminds me a ton of Jack-Attack! Just a cool, cute, solid, all around good kid :) He's even willing to wave and talk with us about his reading in the Book of Mormon in front of all his teenage friends…which is saying something for a teenage boy. The other day he even had a lesson with us in the plaza and said the closing prayer right there in the middle of town!

We've been really working hard to try and schedule a baptismal date with him. The other day we fasted to help him understand how important baptism is for his progression in the church. We had invited him to be baptized 2 times and he was receptive to the idea but didn't want to commit to a date. We invited him to make it a matter of prayer and really talk with his Heavenly Father about baptism and when is the right time for him to be baptized. Well, yesterday we had a lesson with him, and before we even talked with him about baptism he told us he had prayed and that he received the answer that he should be baptized!! And when we asked him why he wanted to be baptized he told us that he just feels so good and peaceful when he goes to church and that he knows that by being baptized he's doing what Heavenly Father wants him to do. He also said that he wants to be baptized so he can live in the Celestial Kingdom with his family. Ha, ya, he's a pretty stinking cool kid! I don't have a picture of him, but I'll send one next week!

Please, oh Please, keep Diego in your prayers. His parents are separated and his mom gave him permission to be baptized, but his dad (who he lives with) doesn't want him to get baptized, he's pretty against the church...not just our church but all organized religion. We invited Diego to pray for his dad, so that his heart will be softened, and we're also planning on teaching him about fasting our next lesson. I know, just like Diego, that prayer is a real power, and I'm SO grateful for all the prayers you send my way, and the prayers you say on behalf of the investigators, members, and contacts here in Chile! Thank you for everything you do!



XOXO-Hna. McKenna



Fun Facts:

-I ate rabbit for lunch with Rebecca (our recent convert)....It did taste a lot like chicken, but I couldn't stop thinking of the little baby rabbits I had as pets.

         -Fun Fact about a Fun Fact: She trapped, killed, skinned, and cooked the rabbit herself...ya she's pretty awesome!



-I also ate deep fried pig's foot! Who needs to serve in the Southern US to enjoy good deep fried food!



-I did exchanges with another SUPER blond sister with long curly hair and some random guy on the street asked if he could take a selfie with us. I'm pretty sure being a blond missionary in South America is the closest I'll ever get to being famous! Just so you know, we did not let him take the picture.



-We had cambios and I'm now serving with Hna. Lopez from Paraguay, here in Olmué. She's awesome and I'll fill you in more about her next week!

        -Fun Fact about a Fun Fact: I'm teaching her how to sing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and she loves it! Ha she's really funny!

Share the Gospel

Dear Familia,

This past week we had a conference with President Díaz and also mini interviews. It was awesome to get to know him and his wife and hear more of their life story. Something that I LOVE about Pres. Díaz is how absolutely loving and kind he is. Someone can feel the love that God has for them just by talking with the guy! That is what I want for my investigators, contacts in the street, less actives...pretty much everybody to feel when I talk with them. I want them to feel how much their Father in Heaven loves them and is aware of them. Yesterday Hna. Day and I knocked on this little cottage-looking house and this sweet old lady came out. We gave her a photo of Jesus Christ coming out of the tomb and asked her if she believed she could be with her loved ones after this life. She told us she wasn`t really sure, but that she would like to know. We testified of our Heavenly Father's love and how he created a plan that allows us to live with our families forever. She told us that her husband had passed away over 40 years ago and that she would love to listen to our message. She told us that she wouldn't be able to receive us that day, but that we could pass by on Tuesday to share more of our message. We asked if we could pray before we left and she agreed. In the prayer we prayed that she would feel peace and understand the plan that God created for her, and when we finished she looked up at us crying and said that for the first time in 40 years she really believed she would be able to see her husband again. It was such a sweet and tender moment, and such a powerful reminder of how many of God's children are living without a knowledge of his love, or have forgotten or become numb to this love.

 This week I challenge everyone to go out of their way to share the gospel with someone. I love Dad's example of writing a letter to Uncle Pat...someone who’s life so very rarely feels that love and sweet peace that comes with sharing such a simple testimony. The love and peace that everyone needs.  Obviously it doesn't have to be a letter to someone in prison, so often it's the next door neighbor that needs a reminder of this message. But make sure to go out of your way to do a little more, and I promise you, you will feel the love and peace of God working through you.

 I love you all! I love this work! I love my Heavenly Father!

 XOXO-Hna. McKenna



Scripture: John 3:16-17



Fun Fact:

I ate squid during lunch! It was actually pretty dang good.

One of the policemen stopped us while we were walking and we thought it was to see if we had our Chilean ID with us. We were both pretty scared, but he ended up asking if he could schedule a time to meet up with us. We then became very excited thinking we had a great new investigator. Only to find out that he wanted to schedule a time to meet up and have sushi and that he was asking us out on a date....awkward....

How Much Do You Want For the Birds?

Dear Familia,

This past week I've been studying a lot about sacrifice, and how we sacrifice for the things we love, but at the end of the day, we love the things we sacrifice for. (Inspirational thought from Megan Brindley :) In the Old Testament, they offered animal sacrifices. In the New Testament, it was the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ.  What God asks from us now is the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. I just LOVE that! Last Sunday in our Principios del Evangelio class, the teacher shared an AMAZING story about sacrifice that I'm going to try and translate and share with you guys.

"One day the young Bishop of the Limache Branch was walking through the park on the way to one of his meeting when he saw a little boy playing with a cage. As he grew closer he saw that inside the cage were 4 trapped birds and that the little boy was poking them with a stick. He asked the boy what he was doing, and the boy replied, "I tricked these stupid birds into coming into the cage and now they are mine!" The bishop asked, "And what are you going to do with them?" "Whatever I want," he replied, "They can't do anything! I like to poke them with my stick and see how they jump and squirm, and I'll entertain myself with them like that until I get bored or they're almost dead, and then I'll feed them to my cat, he loves birds." The Bishop looked down at the birds, and then at the boy, and said, "How much do you want for them?" "No sir, you don't want these birds. They are ugly, and they don't even know how to sing." The Bishop with a firm resolve asked again, "How much do you want for them?" "Give me 20 bucks and they're all yours." The Bishop passed over the money, took the birds over to a near by tree and set them free.

---------------------------------

Jesus looked down at Satan and the world he was playing with, and asked him, "What are you doing?" Satan replied and said, "I've ensnared this world filled with people through my tricks and cleverness and now they're mine." Jesus asked him why he had done this and what he intended to do with the world he had trapped. Satan replied, "I like to make them fight, I like to see the different ways I can make them upset and see how many wars I can cause, how many families I can destroy, how many lives I can ruin. I do it just to entertain myself. I don't really care what happens with them when I'm done, they don't matter the least bit to me. My only objective is to make sure they aren't happy." Jesus looked down at the world and asked, "How much do you want for them?" Satan laughed, and then replied, "Trust me, you don't want this world. They're selfish, and rude, and won't even appreciate you. They'll mock you, and reject you, and in the end, they'll kill you." Jesus looked at Satan and said again in a voice firm and determined, "How much do you want for them?" Satan laughed again, and then told Jesus, "Give me all your joy, all your love, all your time, all your life, and in return I'll give you all their sorrows, all their anger, all their sicknesses, and death." And with love in his eyes Jesus accepted the deal and sacrificed his life for us. 

I love that story! I love the idea of sacrifice! I love my Savior who sacrificed EVERYTHING for me...a little bird who can't even sing (ha and that's 100% true in every way!). I love that I have been able to spend the past year in Chile, sharing with this amazing country the infinite love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ! I feel so blessed and so loved, and couldn't imagine spending these past 365 days doing anything but sharing this life changing message!

 The next time you take the sacrament please think about this little story and remember the sacrifice Jesus made for you, because he loves you, imperfections and all! And all that he wants is for us to accept His sacrifice. The efforts of the bishop wouldn't have made any difference for the little birds if they didn't accept his sacrifice and fly out of the cage. I hope you have a great week!



XOXO-Hna. McKenna



Fun Facts:

I now don't just drink the weird milk out of a box that they sell here in Chile, but I've been drinking warm powdered milk at night to warm up before bed....and I like it! Who would have thought powdered milk was so good!



We went another 24 hours without light this week...what else is new?