Turkey Day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! It would seem that good ol’ Turkey day back home was a huge
success and that the meal was quite delicious, especially the GIANT free range
Turkey which seems to have been quite a highlight of the day :). Thank you for
letting me know all the hip happenings and I am glad to hear that I was able to
make a surprise appearance (even if it was in cardboard form).

The meal sounded intense with 24 people attending, Meghan being forced to sit at
the little kid table and Chelsey’s Mike’s mom attending; but what seemed to be
the most scrumptious was the delicious desert of ‘humble pie’ that was served
out on the Tennis courts where apparently Jeff and Max dominated in a round of
tennis (I was sad to hear that no Volley Ten Soc Pong Ball was played but we’ll
just have to make sure we do that next year). After Thanksgiving the Zurfluehs
ran off to Palm Springs were they celebrated their wedding anniversary while the
St. George McKenna’s dominated in some tournament football games over the
holiday. Timette is still prego to the max and everyone seems to be enjoying
the ‘becoming like him’ activity. In answer to some questions that were asked…
I don’t really know how Jaryn is doing because he has gone to the land of
endless P-days and when missionaries go to the land of endless P-days THEY NEVER
WRITE YOU AGAIN! So, if you do see him tell him that I say hi and that he
should write me a letter… Rachel and Phil are still undecided on when they want
to get married (Rachel wants to get married but she has to wait for Phil to ask
her, so while she waits Phil is living with his parents so that Rachel can be
living the law of Chastity) but we’re all pretty certain he is going to ask her
at Christmas or the New Year. Overall life seems to be splendid back in the
good ol’ USA.

This past week has been pretty crazy. On Thursday we had a ‘sports day’ in the
mission to celebrate Turkey day and so the mission got together and played some
football, American football, basketball, ping pong, and croquet. It was an
amazing day, it was a lot of fun, and it brought to my realization how horribly
out of shape I have become on my mission (I was doing all right until I came
here to Chorley, where the members feed me like I’m an 8 foot giant! My
stomachs like a small bucket not a bottomless pit!). Louise and Jane were hit
with the Swine flu and have been relaxing at home for the past few days, Elder
Atkin broke his tooth on some cracklin at a members home, Louis Villoing was
sustained to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, Rachel ran out of church crying
(don’t worry, it’s no big deal, she is just so pregnant and her emotions are so
up and down), and the Lord has blessed us with some new people to teach who seem
very promising! It has truly been a rollercoaster of a week. Like always I
have so much that I want to share with you and only time and means to share a
little bit, so today I decided that I would share with you the amazing lesson we
had with Rachel on the law of tithing. Last Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Elder
Atkin, Brother Tilley, and myself went to Rachel’s house at about 7:30 PM to
teach her a principal of the Gospel that I was perfectly aware would be the
hardest of all for her to keep. Rachel has been struggling financially for some
time now, she has had to take out emergency loans and such to keep food on the
table and heat in the house… I knew that Rachel had already sacrificed so much
for the Gospel: She had given up living with Phil, coffee & tea, going to the
football matches on Sunday, and so much more! She has suffered persecution from
family and abandonment from friends and now I was suppose to tell her that God
wanted her to give his church ten percent of her income! It was a daunting task
to say the least and I had prayed many a times in preparation so that the lesson
would be presented to her with power, love, and by the Spirit. We began the
lesson by describing what the commandment was and how it was a principal which
God had used even during the times of Abraham and that through modern day
revelation it has been restored along with the true teaching of Christ. We
explained how the money is used, the lay ministry, and the blessings of having a
chapel to worship in. We discussed about faith, the widows mite, and the
blessings that come from obedience. We exhausted our knowledge of the
scriptures and yet all these things didn’t seem to bring her any comfort, she
just kept shaking her head with tears forming in her eyes saying there is no way
she can do it. As I looked at her and thought about all the sacrifices she has
made, and the pain she has gone through all I could think about was how much I
just wanted her to be happy I began to pour out my heart to God for strength and
for knowledge of what to say. There was a moment of silence in which no one
spoke, I looked at Rachel who was sitting on the ground with her knees to her
chest and her chin resting upon them, I looked to brother Tilley and Elder Atkin
who sat in silence looking at the floor, I thought about what to do and say but
nothing came, and then I just opened my mouth… The Spirit was so strong, the
hope of Christ and for things better then this world filled our hearts, and the
peace of the Spirit rested upon her as well as all of us. Rachel then knew then
that she could live the law of tithing, she didn’t know how, but she knew she
could…

How eternally grateful I am for a Father in Heaven who loves his children and
answers our prayers, it wasn’t me or Elder Atkin or Brother Tilley who gave
Rachel courage and strength, it was the comforter which Christ promised he would
send, it was the Holy Ghost that filled her with faith and courage. This church
is true, the commandments are real and are of God, Heavenly Father does listen
and he does care, and I am so grateful to be a part of his work.

The weak servant of an empowering God,
Elder McKenna

P.S. the photo is me, Elder Atkin, and Elder Kingsley (who came out with us) at
Sports day (he is going to be going home January 13th 2 weeks before me and
Elder Atkin because of his visa) just thought I would let you know :).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HELLO! Well, today is an exceptionally cold day and this morning was worse
because we didn’t have ANY HOT WATER, and our shower broke, so I had the
blessing of an adrenaline pumped morning in a freezing cold bathtub :). But
your E-mails always seem to make everything better and I am grateful for your
love and support, as always.

Things back home seem to be falling into full swing for the holiday season
coming up. Between getting everything ready for a 22 person meal at
Thanksgiving and running around from store to store for some Christmas shopping
everyone back home seems to be quite busy. Madisyn is just ridiculously good at
gymnastics she can now do a round off and four back handsprings, Utah has been
hit with two snow storms and snow is still on the ground, and apparently Glee
and Modern family is a really good show. I can’t believe that the new temple
president for Las Vegas is Doctor Ballard! I met him loads of times over here
and you’ll have to ask him if he remembers my companion Elder Atkin because
about a year ago he got these horrible hives and everyone was worried that he
might die and I’m sure that his condition cause Doctor Ballard quite a bit of
stress :). Football continues to be dominated by the McKenna clan and I have to
say that I received a letter from Ellyse about two days ago which had a picture
of her at homecoming and at the time I received it me and Elder Atkin were
staying with some missionaries and all of them wanted to get your address so
that they could send you a letter, but I let them know that you were far out of
their league so you wont have to worry about any random missionary post :). In
answer to some questions… NEW MOON is ridiculously big over here! All I see on
buses and on bus stops are posters for that movie and all any girl ever talks
about is that movie and all I ever here about from the members is about that
movie! Needless to say the British people are big fans of the Twilight series…
Yep, I know were the Isle of Mann is (to be honest I was close to serving there,
It’s a long story and there’s just no way I can write it down so I’ll have to
just tell you some time :), but it’s way funny) and The Isle of Mann is were
everyone in the mission wants to serve (its across from Liverpool). Overall
life is great, as it always is in the Service of God :).

It seems that every time I approach this part of the E-mail I am stuck thinking
about what it is I want to write, and this week is no different. There is just
way too much I want to tell you! But I just don’t have enough time :(. Any
who, I decided that this week I would bring you up to speed on the progress of
four of my favourite investigators: Phil & Rachel and Louise & Jane. Rachel is
doing amazing! She got a hold of the Joseph Smith Manual and now all she does
is use her study journal and go through each chapter of the manual looking up
the cross references, answering the questions in the back, and writing down her
impressions (she’s better then most members). They both feel that they need to
be living the Law of Chastity and so Phil has moved in with his parents so that
Rachel can be living by herself and they’re going to be keeping it that way
until they get married (were almost positive that Phil wants to propose on
Christmas and get married in January). Rachel is dated for the fifth of
December and is super excited! Phil is still trying to give up the fags and is
therefore struggling a bit with the Word of Wisdom but he is still way
supportive of Rachel and is still reading, praying, and coming to church. The
two of them are amazing and I just want them to be happy! Louise and Jane are
doing extremely well! Louise just recently got a new job which makes it a bit
harder to see them but we still see them at least once a week and we found out
last Wednesday why Louise is so worried about baptism… for the longest time we
were trying to figure out why she didn’t want to get baptized; she had felt the
Spirit, knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet
but she always got really weird when we talked about baptism. It ends up that
she had a near death experience where she almost drowned when she was a little
girl and now she can’t so much as take a bath because she is so deathly afraid
of water! This whole time I thought it was some deep doctrinal thing but it was
just being afraid of water! Well, I know that over time she’ll get over it and
she as well as Jane will get baptized!

You know, when I was back home I don’t think I ever truly understood the concept
of ‘a heart being full of gratitude’ but as I see the blessings of the Lord in
the Chorley area and as I continue to reflect on my mission experience my heart
is ‘full to the brim’ of gratitude for my Father in Heaven and for his great
plan for all of us! I am so grateful for a family who have taught me in my
youth these things and I know that these things are true. The Spiritual
experiences I have had over these past two years have taken root in my heart! I
have seen the fulfilment of Alma 32, I have planted the seed and it has grown
and it has bore fruit! I love the Lord, my Savoir and redeemer and pray
everyday for your happiness and protection.

With a heart full of love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. you'll have to tell me all about Thanksgiving next week!

P-DAY

How nice it is to receive so many wonderful E-mails and to feel your warm love
on an exceptionally cold P-Day. Thank you so much for your support, and the
Halloween package was amazing!

Home is stupendous as always… Max and Jenni are leaving soon to celebrate their
16th wedding anniversary AKA 16 years since wee little Tristan was blamed for
losing a wedding ring that he didn’t lose at all and we could even say its close
to the 14th anniversary since wee, little, innocent, and loving Tristan was left
outside on a cold, dark, night when the moon was full and werewolves were
roaming because of the lack of love and consideration by two people whom he
trusted so much (The emotional scars still haven’t fully healed :), by the way
that was Max and Jenni)… any who they will be heading to Palm Springs to
celebrate. Meghan was a celebrity over in Japan with here blonde hair, while
Irelynn had fun on Catalina Island. Chynna is getting ready to swim with the
dolphins for her Birthday in January, while ma and pa continue to prepare for
their amazing cruise. It would also seem that my card board cut out has made a
few more appearances and will be making a surprise appearance at the massive
banquet happening this Thanksgiving at the Patriarch and Matriarch of the
family’s home (So happy that I don’t have to help prepare that, on a scale of
‘mom yelling at me in my life’ Gwyn visiting ranks number 1 and thanksgiving
preparations rank number 2). In answer to some questions… No it hasn’t snowed
yet in England but I kid you not I can’t remember what it is like to be warm
anymore :(… Rachel and Phil are planning on getting married at the start of the
New Year so they haven’t gotten married yet and Rachel is officially 3 months
pregnant with his kid. Overall life is great back home and I have to say that I
feel very similar to mom and dad in the idea that our family totally rocks and I
am grateful that I’m able to be a part of it.

Well, the time has come yet again to think of what I should share with you
pertaining to the past week and what has taken place. There is so much that
happens every week it seems almost impossible to decide what to put down and
what to leave out. Phil and Rachel are doing well. She found out that she was
pregnant about a week and a half ago; the doctors thought she was just having
some hormonal issues but realized that nope, she’s actually pregnant and has
been so for about 3 months, the father is Phil (thank goodness) and so they are
making plans to get married and she is still excited to be baptized all though
her baptism will have to be moved to after the marriage because Phil is now
living with her again. Louis is doing well so are the Harris’s, Ann Rudd is out
of hospital and doing better, but what I’m going to share with you today is
about Louise, Jane, and my exchange with Elder Davis. Louise and Jane have been
doing extremely well these past few weeks and last Tuesday we had the chance to
see them. We were originally going to go with Brother Reynolds but he had to
take care of his wife in hospital and so we had to take Elder Curgenven and
Elder Sherard to be our fellow shippers (they are the missionaries serving in
Chorley 2 and 3) so that we could see them that night. There we all were
sitting in Louise’s house teaching about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Endure
to the End when Louise asks if Elder Davis (who has only been out for about 3
months) has ever strayed from the path… He told her that when he was about 10
years old he stopped going to church and even though he didn’t do the ‘really
bad stuff’ he explained that he would go shopping and occasionally attend the
cinema on a Sunday which he said ‘was still pretty bad’. Now you need to bear
in mind that we haven’t told them anything about the Sabbath day, so when they
heard that both of them shouted ‘what!’ and looked at me with a face full of
questions. Elder Curgenven and Sherard both had expressions of surprise and
amusement while my eyes became penetrating as I glared over at Elder Davis who
looked as though he was turning so red his face would burst into flames! He was
so embarrassed! Luckily Louise and Jane have felt the Spirit more and more and
a commandment like that being sprung on them ended up alright we were able to
explain briefly what the commandment was, why it was so important, and the
wonderful blessings that come from living it. The lesson ended in a great
success with a wonderful Spirit but Elder Davis will never forget the night he
completely and utterly botched up the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson.

It’s so funny how once the Spirit is really felt and understood people have
absolutely no problem doing what God would have them do… If you have not the
Spirit you shall not teach is the truest scripture for missionary work. This
work is Gods! Louise and Jane aren’t going to give up their Sunday hobbies
because of Elder McKenna, or President Monson they’re willing to give them up
because they know that is what their Father in Heaven would have them do… I know
God lives and that he loves all of us and that his commandments are there for
our safety. The Church is true and I am so grateful to be a missionary in it!

With all the love I possess,
Elder McKenna

P.S. WE NEED TO HAVE A HUGE GAME OF VOLLEY TEN SOCK PONG BALL IN FEBURARY!

P.P.S. I don’t think I will be able to find any good places to get a nice suite
in were I am serving so don’t worry about me having a good Christmas, I’ll be
fine :).

Picture Time!

I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to E-mail this past week but Elder Larson was
transferred… He has been transferred to serve in Manchester, Stretford and I am
now with a really good friend of mine Elder Atkin (Elder Atkin and I came out
together and have been around each other almost our entire missions!) needless
to say we are getting along just fine and these next six weeks are going to fly
by!

Thank you for all of your E-mails! It sounds like everything back home is well
good! Halloween was enjoyed by one and all! Irelynn was a bumble bee, Kai was
Iron man, and Chynna was a Goddess… Madisyn was going to be a bumble bee and
Aidan was going to be Iron man but for the ward party they all decided to just
be a family of Yankee fans… Jackson was a greaser, Carson was a roman
gladiator, Meghan was Alice from Alice in wonderland (not the Alice I taught in
Wrexham with some ‘interesting’ hobbies :) ), Ellyse was to cool for school and
didn’t dress up as anything, and Jeff dressed up as good ol’ Uncle Billy Ray
(I’ll let him describe it to you sometime :) )… Jackson and Carson won an award
for pumpkin carving… and the most exciting thing of all is that I missed having
to help prepare the house for Gwyn! Which is worth freezing over here in
Britain anytime :)! Meghan is in Japan, Tatum celebrated her 9th birthday in
Hawaii, Kai is getting ready to celebrate his eighth birthday by requesting some
chocolate sheet cake, Madisyn dominated in her gymnastic performance, Ellyse has
a nice scholarship for Snow college, is unsure what she is going to do, and is
looking for a job, while Irelynn is all about her trip to Catalina! Overall
life seems to be cruising along back home at ludicrous speed! In answer to some
questions that were asked… Yes, they celebrate Halloween over here in Britain
but it isn’t nearly as big as it is in America only a couple of people go out
trick or treating… I don’t know if I’ll die in this area or if I will be moved
for my last transfer but in any case send all post to the mission office from
now on because they will distribute it on the 23rd… YES! When Michael Jackson
died it was a huge deal over here and for about 10 days all I could hear walking
the streets or knocking on doors was Michael’s greatest hits… I don’t know, it’s
hard to say how I feel now that I approach the end of my mission, I suppose the
best way to describe it is when you leave for your mission; your full of
excitement and yet you get pretty depressed to think about what you are going to
leave behind.

Well, another transfer has come and gone, I have a new companion, the same drive
to find and teach as before, wonderful people to teach, a great ward to work in,
and yet I feel like things are moving too fast :(. It seems like yesterday I
was in Middleton celebrating Thanksgiving dinner with Elder Newson, Hyde, and
Driscoll… watching as Elder Newson drank a goblet of gravy because he was dared
by the member and almost starting the members house on fire as I tried to fix
their Christmas lights and crossed the wires in the cord shooting sparks all
over the floor and Christmas tree. And now Thanksgiving has almost hit and
Christmas is just around the corner! Time really doesn’t wait for no one… Any
who, these past two weeks have been ridiculous! Rachel wants to get baptized
but has just found out she’s pregnant with Phil’s child! Nicky’s family has
threatened to have the police called on us if we ever talk to her again! Louise
and Jane came to church the past two Sundays and have loved it! Rachel bore her
testimony during fast and testimony meeting! Louis is loved by all the YSA in
the ward! Ann Rudd had a heart attack and was rushed to Preston hospital!
There is just way too much to talk about so I decided that I wouldn’t talk about
it and just send home some pictures :)…

The first picture is Elder Driscoll and Elder Larson when they both had the swine flu and were stuck in the flat…


The second is a picture of me and Elder Eichelberger who is now back home in
California…


The third is a picture of me, Louis, and Elder Larson at his
baptism…


The fourth is a picture of the pumpkins that Elder Larson and I carved
for Halloween (look at how amazingly awesome that bat is :))…


The fifth picture is the Chorley zone with President at the end of last transfer…


The sixth picture is Elder Larson, me, Rachel, Phil, and Jordan…


The seventh picture is me and Elder Atkin on transfer day…


The Eighth picture is me and some people who came out with me at President’s house.


The Lord is truly blessing the Chorley area and I’m so grateful to be a missionary here in the EMM!

Love ya tons!
Elder McKenna

P.S. Thank you for working on the charts and for keeping me updated on what is
happening :)