Hermana McKin

 

Hi! Thank you for supporting me these last 18 months and for allowing me to experience the most life changing adventure. My mission has been the hardest but most happiest time of my life. I am sooooo grateful for the support and encouragement I received from you both. Here and in Argentina.  WE DID IT! Hermana McKinlay

  Family and Friends! This is it! This is the last email you have to see pop up in your inbox from Hermana McKinlay! You have officially survived these last 18 months! Way to go ;) Well, not sure where to start. This week Hermana Oldroyd and I were able to see two of our most favorite people be baptized and become members of La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días. Maybe you saw me post about it on Facebook or Instagram. Best day of my mission. Best day of my life. Giulianna was someone Hermana Oldroyd actually contacted through Instagram a few months ago. Once I got to the area we started teaching her pretty consistently. She was so prepared. Giulianna is the only member in her family and doesn't have a ton of support, but she knows the Church is true! She knows that God knows that she knows and there ain't no denying it ;) Andres was someone who came to church about a month ago. Previous sister missionaries had taught him, about a year ago, and they reached...

 

 

 

  ¡Hola Familia y Amigos! I can't believe this is the last week of my mission! Like what?!?! But we don't have time to talk about that.  This week was so good! As usual here in the Rio Vista ward. There's always something happening.  On Tuesday, Hermana Oldroyd and I had exchanges and I was able to be with Sister Allred! She is such a beautiful and genuine person. I love people like that. She is actually waiting to go to Russia. It was so good to be with her and introduce her to the crazy Latino YSA ward haha. She is one of my examples and she doesn't even know it! Wednesday was crazy. Lots of lessons and meetings and Instagram stuff. Andres is preparing to be baptized this Saturday and had all sorts of questions about the Book of Mormon and....fasting haha. I loved it. We also had the chance to teach the Christensen's. They are the MTC president (and wife) for the Colombia MTC but with COVID they were reassigned to the SLCW mission to be a counselor (and wife) ...

  ¡Hola Familia y Amigos! Feliz pday a todos!  The countdown has begun...this transfer has absolutely flown by! But it's not over yet. There's still a lot more work to be down. Especially in the Rio Vista YSA ward! Wohooo!! So this week was probably the most insane. Hermana Oldroyd and I have stopped breathing haha. We just don't have time to breathe anymore. This week we gave a training in our Zone Conference and it was awesome! We totally tricked all the missionaries into thinking we were unprepared and distracted (that was the topic of our training, "creating an environment where the Spirit can testify"). We even got President McBeth. I felt accomplished haha Yesterday, Sunday, we had 6 people come to church. 6 investigators :) it was awesome. That's actually pretty typical for the YSA ward. We also invited 2 people to be baptized and they accepted! One of them, Giulianna, actually responded with, "Oh ya. I've been thinking about that for a while....

  ¡Hola Familia y Amigos! So this week Hermana Oldoryd and I rapped happy birthday to an elder in our mission and it was...epic. We laugh a lot. Like.....a lot.  Serving in the Spanish YSA (Young Single Adults [trying to get married!]) ward is SO fun. I have never been so busy in my life. There is just so much to do. There have been multiple nights where Hermana Oldroyd and I haven't been able to eat dinner because we have just been go-go-goin. I love it though. I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are teaching some AMAZING people.  One of which is Javier. Javier is straight golden. He is so prepared and he came to church on Sunday and loved it. So many of the members have been present in lessons and he has lots of friends. One of which is a recent convert named Pedro. I love Pedro and he is one of the best ward missionaries ever! Speaking of recent converts, this week Hermana Oldroyd and I were able to video call Roberto! Roberto was found by Hermana Oldroyd but liv...

  ¡Hola Familia y Amigos!  I am being transferred! My last area will be the Rio Vista Spanish YSA ward! I'm super excited! In the YSA wards we get to use instagram and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that hahaha Trying to think about all the good things that have happened this week. It's all kind of a blur and I have a feeling that's exactly how these next 6 weeks will go. I feel like I just started my training in Argentina....yesterday. But Lighthouse has been such a great experience. I have learned and grown so much. The members and youth are amazing and I will miss cute Judith and her daughters.  I think more than anything, I'm just grateful. Grateful for my companions, my experiences in both Argentina and Utah, the Book of Mormon, and the gentle reminders that God is aware of each one of us. These last 16 months I have been so blessed! And it's not even over yet :) I'm excited to see what's in store for me this next transfer! Alma 29:9 - "I ...