Jonah's Semana 76 - Sometimes You Gotta Love the Mission!

Monday, April 25, 2016

Thanks nurse Jana! Haha! I wrote dad so you wouldn’t worry about me!! Haha, freaking dad. (Jonah wrote his dad and told him "I have about 15 days as of now running a 101-102 temperature.  Haha I haven't said anything to the nurses or to mom because I'm almost positive that the only thing they will do is tell me I have a disease from the mosquitoes. Besides that they won't be able to do anything for me but give me tylenol. I get super exhausted super fast and my body sometimes feels like it's made out of glass but no matter what I need to keep working!")  Anyways well I have been fine really! I think I might have this thing called chikungunya virus because I get tired super quick! (During the call on mother’s day he told us that he had some blood work done and it confirmed chikungunya virus. The virus causes a really high fever that lasts about a week and joint pain. It can come back for 2 years, yay :P)  I make sure I’m drinking like 4 or 5 liters of water a day and I think I’m doing good! Really though don’t sweat, I’m okay! 

Besides being sick this is what I have to tell you about! 

So this week I started out the week with MORE SERVICE! Haha I kinda feel like I might be killing my companion! It’s good for him though. I think some days that I could run a good Boot camp and then other days I realize I don’t like how he looks at me when I ask him to do something. It’s not like the look is one of hatred but it’s definitely a look of ¨WHY??¨ I think now at this point of our companionship I’m not dragging him around but still he tries to rebel where he can. I guess you could say he is on a super short leash. I don’t know why but I love doing service and even though we haven’t had water in the house since last Friday, the 15th of April, it always makes showering and getting cleaned up a little difficult I still love getting down and dirty in the service of my fellow man.

Later on in the week we had district meeting and it was fun. I was lucky enough to have been assigned to give the class!! Haha once I thought I was free of the District Leader duties, I got assigned to teach in district meeting again! Its fine I decided to talk about magnifying our priesthood power and I liked it a lot. I think the Elders in the district appreciated my class and well hopefully they learned something.

In the end of it all this week started coming to a close and Sunday morning we missed the ward correlation meeting and we had 5 investigators in church! One of them being Roxanna! I think this Saturday we are going to baptize her and I hope we do! She is super ready, she is just nervous she won’t be able to be the member she wants to be. I know she will but this week we are gonna be visiting her every day and helping her feel excited and ready to take a step forward. Keep her in your prayers!! 

But yeah, so after church me and my comp went home to make lunch and we ate cup of noodles! I love that stuff! It really just makes life so simple and easy. Well long story short we were at home making lunch and while we were there I decided to put the mop where it was meant to be and when I grabbed the mop there was a scorpion underneath! Me being me thought immediately that I needed to catch it so that’s what I tried to do. I grabbed a cup and a piece of paper and went to top him off with the cup and right when I did so he split running and stung me right on my finger!! My last knuckle of my middle finger is huge and feels great!

I guess in the end you could say it’s been a good week! I did some service, took bucket/wet towel showers, caught a scorpion, and I got stung by that very same scorpion. 

Sometimes you just gotta love the mission.

Love you!

Elder Jonah McKee

Jonah's Semana 75 - Service Does a Body Good

Monday, April 18, 2016

HEYYY!! So this week has been awesome! I feel like the week has just been so full and that's great because that means I have been working. Or at least I think that's what it means... 

But yea so anyway, every morning this week I have been waking my companion up at 5 in the morning so we could leave and go do some service projects before the sun was super harsh and strong! Keep in mind the service projects weren't easy ones either! But they were pretty fun. Let me tell you those services were physically tasking and well I mean the harder the better! Sometimes as a trainer you kinda need to break the kid you're training as if you were breaking a wild horse. First you make them work hard and then if they don't give results then you deprive them of something they want like sleep for example (hence the 5 o'clock alarm). Then after they are feeling deprived you make them work and work until they show the fruits of their labors. So this week was basically a bunch of that: No sleep, a lot of service, and blistered hands.

I love getting out and serving! Not to mention it's great to serve when the people you're serving are familiar faces! This Friday morning the zone I am serving in was sent to do a special project ordered by President Bowler. None of us really knew any details about the project besides the location, the time, and that we were going to be lifting heavy boxes! So we, the elders of Zona Esperanza all went into the warehouse where our awaiting project was and there stood David Sheets the very man that organized the service project that I very first came to Honduras in my senior year! It was super interesting to see so many familiar faces and then to see so many familiar things. It was a little bit of a deja vu moment for me but all in all I survived the biggest service project of my life and loved seeing those people again!

I know that God hopes that the men of the priesthood will serve to magnify our divine authority. And I know as we serve our fellow man with all our might then the Lord blesses us and makes us into the men He needs us to become. It has been a privilege to serve the people here and I can't wait for the many opportunities of service that are waiting for me!

Love,
Elder Jonah McKee

Jonah's Semana 74 - He Answers Prayers

Monday, April 11, 2016

MOM!!! I love you! 

Also I love God! I really have such a strong testimony that He truly answers our prayers when we really need what we are asking for. I have been trying very hard to teach my companion to become more selfless by searching for service opportunities. I know God has heard my prayers because this week almost every single day we had a service project to do! The only bummer is that my companion didn't help in any of them.... I know one of these days he will stop standing there with his arms crossed and he´ll help more but until that day I will gladly continue to do the service on my own. I just hope that sooner then later, he will recognize the difference in how receptive the people are to both of us and maybe then he will recognize that maybe the reason the people remember my name is because I put myself below them and serve. I truly hope one day he learns but until then I'm glad my hands aren't too soft, it makes service easier.

This week  I cooked our lunches almost everyday and I guess in the end something really positive about having a lazy companion is that I learn to cook for two and so any ladies out there just be aware that I can cook for two ;)  Also this week I was contacting and when I knocked on this one lady's house she asked us to come inside because she said she wanted to show me something. I went in and she showed me the most epic banner! Then out of no where she asked me if I wanted to buy it and so I said yes!! I bought it and now its hanging by my bed! I'll attach a picture of the banner but just know it's epic!! My spirit animal has always been a panther but the tiger will do. :)

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Jonah McKee

Jonah's Semana 73 - City Life is the Life for Me!!!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Hey Mom!!! How are you?!?! I have been working here in the capital city now for a week and it's been super fun!! I really do love the southern region of the country with all of my being but I also have city blood! I need the fast paced style of the city every once and a while! 

This week has been a really upbeat once since now I'm in an area with a whole lot more concentrated population! Since there is less distance between the people, I have less time between teaching opportunities! I truly have been enjoying my time here and I love when I'm walking around and people come out of no where and tell me they want to practice their English with me. It's super fun helping people with that! During conference I almost died when President Uchtdorf started speaking in German and said he was sorry for those who didn't speak the celestial tongue because I tell people all the time I'd be happy to teach them English because it is the celestial tongue!!! Most people think it's pretty funny when I tell them that and then we continue practicing for a couple of minutes. 

Right now I am finishing the training of a kid from Bolivia and its been interesting. He is a little older than I am; he is 21 and about to turn 22 and its been cool. Sometimes I get a little frustrated because the other Elder who began his training just turned 27 and was a lot older. Now that I am younger then my companion, I feel like sometime he doesn't listen to me just because I am younger. It's a little difficult but it's fine. I have been making a lot of changes in the work here. Before we walked a lot and I don't understand why because I know there are a ton of people we pass who have never heard from the missionaries. So lately I have been making sure we walk less and talk more!

 I don't know how long I'm going to be assigned to the city areas but while I'm here, I plan on baptizing. Hopefully I can accomplish the goals I've set because the area needs it! In the year of 2016, the area has only seen one baptism and that shouldn't be happening in a city area so hopefully I can help build the stake here. I love being here though and it's going to be very nice working in a ward for once! I love you all and I hope you keep me in your prayers!

Love forever,
Elder Jonah McKee

Jonah's Semana 72 - Leaving San Marcos

Monday, March 28, 2016

Man!!! I can't believe you wrote me!!!!!!! HAHA I'm joking!  :)

Listen I am so jealous you got to go to the Color Festival! I love that place! I think it's such a fun experience to run and throw powder at people!!! I seriously love going way too much. Thanks tons for the pictures too! You guys killed it on pictures this year. Seriously I loved seeing you all smiling and living life up! It's funny to see you all how you are now and not how I left you in the house 18 months ago. You're all getting skinny and even more good looking than before!! I'm so happy to see you all! Truly though I hope Spencer one day finds the girl he is looking for but until he does I hope he is just having fun with life and doesn't rush into anything. I would love to have the opportunity to meet the future wife of Spencer before he marries her but if that's not how it works then that's fine too.

This week was super awesome for me! This was my last week here in San Marcos and not only was it a last but it was also a first for me here. This week I had the incredible opportunity to baptize Mariela!!! She has been trying very hard to come to a decision about baptism for quite some time now and about 2 weeks ago, out of the blue, she told me that she had a dream that I baptized her in a river and that she knew it was inspired of God. In that same instant, she told us that she knew the church is the kingdom of God here on the earth and so I invited her to be baptized and only weeks later we were able to make her dream a reality and I was so blessed to have taken part in that!  

I will be sad to leave San Marcos behind but I'm excited to start my new adventure in my new area! I will be serving in the capital, Tegucigalpa, again. I'm going to be serving as a Trainer once again but now I won't be a district leader. I'm excited to have less responsibility as a leader and be able to focus as much as I can on being a trainer. I am a little nervous though because serving in the city is much different than serving here in the south and a part of me feels like I have forgotten how to teach people who truly grasp the message. I almost feel like I'm gonna be a kindergarten teacher trying to teach high school kids. I'm nervous but I know I'll be able to do it. I love the Lord and He is at my side always.

Also I had a huge gift presented to me this week!! One of my favorite drunks ever finally came to his senses and allowed me to help him!! I made a deal with him that if he went to his house and showered and shaved then I would buy him some clean clothes and cut his hair and luckily he did it!!! This week we were teaching this one friend of ours, Gavo, and out of nowhere came Chepito the drunk who wasn't drunk anymore. He had shaved and showered and he came to sing and play guitar with us. In the end it was an awesome way to spend one of my last days in San Marcos and I won't ever forget it!

It has been a huge blessing to serve here and I have learned so much! I look forward to the new adventure the Lord has in store for me, I know it's going to be great!!!

Love,
Elder Jonah McKee

Jonah's Semana 70 - I was Robbed!

Monday, March 14, 2016

Wow! Mom can I just start by saying I am so incredibly lucky to have a mom as pretty as you!!!! I am positive that its thanks to you that I'm the brown child and not only that but I have the coolest mom ever!!! I can't believe you went to Rio!!!! That's awesome!

This week wasn't the same as yours but I did have quite the interesting week. I guess you could say that at least... But hey so I guess to start off I should first tell you that last Monday for p-day my companion didn't want to go hiking but my ZL, Elder Scott and I wanted to go so we did divisions because Elder Scott's companion didn't want to go hiking either. Scott and I went hiking and it was awesome!!! Later on we met up with our comps and made our way back to our own areas. We ended p-day and went to work but then something happened at dinner and it really wasn't anybody's fault. I forgot we don't have anybody who cooks us dinner anymore because Wendy is super pregnant and she is supposed to be due in this next week and so she can't be spending a lot of time next to the open fire cooking anymore. By the way I'm gonna be the god-father of their baby girl!!!  I totally understand that she can't cook but I forgot about it and so we walked over to her house and they reminded us that we aren't going to be eating there with them. So we have to make our own dinners from here on out. 

I was chill about it but then when I was in the market buying food my comp looked to me and told me he didn't have any money and asked if I could lend him some. I didn't think anything of it so I lent him 100 lemps and then at the house after we bought food I asked him to pay me back because I thought maybe he just didn't have money in that moment. But no!!! Haha. When he was on divisions he blew all of his money on ties!!!!! We were 8 days away from the next deposit on our cards and he didn't have even 1 lempira.... Dude! I was soo annoyed about it!! But yeah, so I didn't want him to suffer for the whole week and not eat so this week I have been buying his food and everything. It kinda sucks because I feel like I should've just let him learn the hard way. But yeah so this week I have been pinching pennies and its been rough! Especially because he doesn't seem to understand that the money he spends isn't his!! Its mine... Its chill though. I just have to suffer with patience because tomorrow we get money and tonight I'm just gonna eat some bread and water for dinner.

But hey I wont lie, the whole money thing was fine really. I mean luckily I had money that I pulled out from the white card but then today something amazing happened to me!!! I got robbed!!!! Haha. The 800 lempiras I had in my wallet were all stolen!!! That left me with 100 lemps. I just so happened to be lucky enough to store the 100 lemps in my front shirt pocket last night. Haha. I won't lie, money has been a real struggle for me this week! However the week with hunger and low budgets has been one very rich in blessings! The man or woman who stole all of my money from my wallet was kind enough to put my wallet in my bag after stealing the cash out of it and so I still have my cards!!! God sometimes shows His love in funny ways I guess :) In the first instant I was shocked. I was 100% sure that my wallet gone for good because it wasn't in my pocket and I thought I was screwed for sure!! But then I was at the bishop's house turning some stuff into him and when I opened my bag to pull everything out for him I found my wallet and all of the money was gone but that's it. SO, whoever stole from me probably noticed the wallet had some sentimental value for me and gave it back. For that I'm thankful but still being robbed 40 dollars is not a fun thing especially when cash is tight in the first place.

But hey I'm glad you had a good week!! This week I might have a baptism so keep Mariela in your prayers and thoughts because she might be my first and only baptism here in San Marcos!! I really hope I can baptize her!! This area has been a real struggle for me and I knew from the beginning it was gonna be hard so it's pretty great that this weekend I might baptize! Pray for me!! Love you mom!!!

Also, hey, by the way yesterday a little girl's older sister died and that same day was the little girl's birthday and I felt super bad for her so I tried super hard to cheer her up and I was able to do it! Her name is Margarita and she just turned 8! This weekend I'm also going to be baptizing her because in her family there isn't anybody with the priesthood and truly I'm stoked about it!! I love that little girl and yesterday I was super happy to see her enjoy her birthday even though there was a pretty big complication. Anyways the family is full of members and we reminded them of the plan of salvation but not too much because they need to have time to mourn for their dead. I love God and his perfect plan. In fact I love the plan He has soo much that I was willing to forgive the person who stole from me!! I don't know who did it but I forgive them because they don't know what I know and if they did they wouldn't have done it. But hey! Everybody one day will come to know the plan and love of God.

Love you,
Elder Jonah McKee

The little girl in the purple shirt is Margarita!!! Yesterday she turned 8 :)

Jonah Semana 69 - Shaved by Elder Alonzo

March 7, 2016

Dude! I can't believe you're in RIO!!! That's so cool! Are you just with Karen on a business trip or what's up? Man I'm so jealous you get to be on such a pretty beach and eating awesome food! I haven't been to a good beach in days! And I haven't eaten any kind of fish except for whole fried fish since I've left the states! It's whack!!! I won't lie though, I love being here! This week literally flew by! I was mind blown at how quickly the week went by! If the mission keeps going the way it has been, then I'm going to be home before you can blink twice! Honestly, I'm very grateful to be here and to be where I am in my calling. I know my time here has been good and I'm trying hard to not waste any of it!

This week on Wednesday, we had a conference with Elder Alonzo. He is the second counselor in the area presidency and one of the Quorum of the 70. He came down to the mission to speak to us and it was epic! I loved the message he brought with him and I loved how frequently I got to participate. It seemed like almost every 10 minutes in the conference, somebody chose me to speak or to answer a question! It was insane! I didn't know if I was being targeted for being an idiot or if they really just felt inspired to call upon me. It was pretty fun because the 70 shaved me in front of the entire southern part of the mission which is about 100 missionaries. He shaved the crap out of me by asking why I thought we were here and then telling me I was wrong. He told me I needed to simplify what I told him into less words but I didn't know how to and then he pulled out a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants and destroyed me in front of everybody by making me read it and then tell him what I had just said in less words. I won't lie, I loved being shaved by him and I won't ever forget it because he did it so well! I felt good after he shaved mad and that's not normally what one feels after they are made into a fool in front of everyone in the mission. Things are whack! But it was cool and I won't ever forget it!

After the conference we had a pretty average week! On Sunday, my companion had his birthday and it was super funny because the water in the building we live in ran out on Saturday and it is still off. So these days we have been suffering without running water and it's awesome! Haha! He didn't shower on his birthday! SO Gross!!! But hey, the mission is dope and I'm loving life! Please send me lots of pictures of Brazil!

Love,
Elder Jonah McKee