E-mail (2)

A new P-Day in a new land :). Thank you once again for the E-Mails and I must
give great thanks for the wonderful package which I was able to receive on
Friday and for TWO AMAZING LETTERS which I also recieved! I must say that the
TWO AMAZING LETTERS! Caused me to do a bit of a dance when I received them (they
arrived in Wrexham but were hand delivered by my old companion at a meeting
Elder Larson and I had to attend) and was a great cause of rejoicing in the
Chorley flat later that evening :)!

Sorry for all the confusion… as I said in the last E-mail I have been
whitewashed into the Chorley area which means a couple of things. First, I no
longer know what is happening in the Wrexham area… When I left Wrexham Alice and
pals were struggling quite a bit, Jamie Owen was just baptized, and we had just
taught Yestin the word of wisdom (after we did he took his kettle (which was
full of freshly made tea) poured all the tea down the drain, threw away all of
his tea bags, coffee, alcohol, and is progressing very quickly to his date
of baptism). Second, I have had the craziest few days trying to learn the area and
manage all that comes along with it… The Chorley ward is amazing! There are on
average about 150 members who attend church a week (that is the largest
congregation that I have seen in 18 months) and we not only cover Chorley 1 but
also Chorley 3 because there are two companionships covering 3 wards! But
however amazing the ward is it doesn’t make up for the fact that the
missionaries before us have left us no investigators and a horrible
dysfunctional record system, but we have things under control and are getting
out there looking for some fresh blood :). Third, Elder Larson and I have had to
attend like a million meetings this past week and I am just completely burned
out in that aspect, but Elder Larson and I get along like American peanut butter
and jelly between two delectable pieces of thick sliced white bread :). But
overall life is great.

Back home seems to be quite exciting as the summer holidays come to an end and
the wee ones are now back in school AKA: Prison :). Ellyse is now a senior so
she is feeling the joy of being ‘Queen of the school’, Meghan has taken her
rightful place as ninth grade class president, Jackson is in the fifth grade
being taught by a ‘nice’ teacher as said by Carson who is enjoying his football
development under the master sensei (Jeff McKenna) himself. Mom is enjoying her
time at the Shakespeare festival/cabin, and everyone else is living life to the
fullest. But, no one has sent me any amazing, stupendous, delectable, remarkable
photos of Connor and Ashley’s wedding… so… get on that :).

It’s interesting as I have passed the 18 month mark and have reflected on the
past months of my mission my heart is pained at the idea that one day I will be
leaving all of this behind… I miss you all something terrible but it is
beginning to dawn on me as I continue in the work that every day leads me closer
to a time in my life where this will no longer be my full time duty… As I look
around at the many wonderful ‘Brits’ whom I have made my abode for over a year
and a half I can’t help but feel the overwhelming love of my Heavenly Father for
the welfare of these outstanding people. Despite the abuse, the bad names, the
insults, and especially the weather I can’t help but feel an overwhelming love
for my brothers and sisters in this part of the Lord’s vineyard. 5 months… it
just doesn’t seem real… I know that this church is true, that Jesus Christ
lives, that Joseph Smith was his prophet, and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet
today, the Book of Mormon is a true record… The Spirit is real I feel it every
day and I thank my God for this precious20time that I have left to serve with all
my heart, might, mind, and strength.

With all my love,
Elder McKenna

ahhhhhhhh

HELLO! From ENGLAND! That’s right they must have thought that I was becoming
to Welsh so they have sent me back to England :). I am now serving in the
Chorley zone (which means that I’m in charge of the Temple :( ) I am white
washing the area with a missionary by the name of Elder Larson who is from
Florida and he is way cool, we’re going to have a bucket of fun :). And I have
heard that the last E-mails didn’t make it so I have resent them and have
requested that mom is in no way reprimanded, rebuked, and or made fun of for
losing them :).

Now, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT CONNOR IS MARRIED and even more I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU
MAKE A CUT OUT! You have to send me a million pictures of the wedding and I
have to see what the cut out looked like. It honestly fills my soul with joy to
know that you did that :). Elizabeth is coming home in the end of August! Max
is an old man :P! And Irelynn is graduating the fifth grade! It seems like
back home things are just exploding with excitement! Well, I have no time but
needless to say that it was nice to hear a ‘why hello there’ and to have a few
good E-mails, but I have to GO! There is no time, but I will let you know some
good things next P-day (which is going to be on Monday). By the way I think I
have completely forgot to mention that Jamie Owen was baptized this past
Saturday (Elder Eichelberger and I started teachings him) he

P.S. my new address is
11 Regency Gardens
Regents Park
Euxton PR7 6NW

NO TIME SORREY!!!!!!

HELLO :)

Thank you for the E-Mails! They always bring a ray of sunshine on a cloudy
P-day in Wales :).

I have to apologize for missing the last E-mail session I was down in Garewin
last Monday and we all decided that it was time for another Snowdon exhibition
(since it was so sunny that day) and so instead of risking the chance for the
clouds to return we just decided to go up the mountain in our prosylting clothes
:). It was defiantly worthy of a missed E-mail. And I will have to apologize
again because I don’t have much time to E-mail today :(. So I have decided that
I would just send lots of amazing pictures :)!

The first picture is a picture of the view at the top of mount Snowdon, it was
pretty amazing!


The Second picture is a picture of Elder Perry (my son :) ) and his companion
Elder Darrow when the clouds started to come in


The Third picture is a picture of the four of us on the top of the mountain


The fourth picture is a picture of my companion Elder McIntosh in the midst of
the fog which hit us right near the top


The fifth picture is a picture of Elder Perry and I on Exchange this castle was
just sitting next to a playground… I have never seen so many castles in my life!


The Sixth picture is a picture of me in a neighbourhood in a place called
Llandudno.


The Seventh picture is a picture of me trying to look cool in a horrible wind
storm on the Isle of Anglesey.


Overall life just couldn’t get better in the land of funny accents and I am
excited to see what this next week holds (I probably wont be able to E-mail next
week because of transfers).

All of my Love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. I CAN’T BELIVE THAT CONNOR IS GETTING MARRIED!

P.P.S. I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE THAT CONNOR IS GETTING MARRIED!

P.P.P.S. the non-writer continues to dwindle in his ways maybe in the next two
weeks he will repent :).

HELLO!

Now that is what I like to see… some people are changing there ways, I got some
emails from people that I haven’t gotten anything from for quite some time; but
there is still one non-writer out there and he knows who he is (notice that I am
getting more specific :)) and hopefully they will feel the godly sorrow that is
due, repent of their ways, and rejoice in the day of their letter writing! But
only time will tell :)…

Life back home seems to be going fantastic (as always)… The Wankiers are
enjoying the time they have with the wee ones and it would seem that Aidan is a
massive T-Rex fan and also a bit of a cheerleader (which was revealed while
watching Jurassic Park when he began cheering the T-Rex on when it was eating
the Raptors). Jeff had a successful EFY and is still the Father of Ellyse
McKenna. I received a picture of Chelsey’s new car :) and I think… it looks…
just… mank (and none of you will know what that word means :) ) but as for
Chelsey herself things seem to be going just fi
ne, she continues to gain
insights into the world of big words and funny drawings and soon, as I have
stated in the past, the cure for cancer shall be within her grasp! The
Zurfluehs are doing well with Jenni growing the property management into 300
properties! And they have hired a full time worker on the Tenet Pro program
(but we all know that there is no way that she can be as good as me… right :P).
Apparently the Transformer movie is really good and just as exciting as the
previous one so I am up for so more feed back because right now we have only one
witness for each side and as we know it is by the mouth of two or three that
these things will be established :). I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT TYSON PARKER IS HOME
NOW! I also can’t believe how close Jaryn is to coming home! It’s just
ridiculous! Tell Tyson that I say ‘Hi’. Now onto the conundrum that is Connor
Anderton… I have received nothing but a wedding invitation and THAT IS JUST NOT
GOOD ENOUGH! Tell him that I need a real letter not just some ridiculous (all
though it did look very nice) non-letter wedding invitation and kindly remind
him that all though he is in love it was matchmaker extraordinar (and maybe one
other person) that brought them together so tell him that I need a letter! In
answer to some questions that were given… no you can’t forward E-mails from

friends to me, anything from friends has to be through the post only the family
can E-mail me… yes, that last picture of me and Elder McIntosh was taken in the
flat… Mom and dad can’t pick me up because of the visa restrictions for
Missionaries in the UK… Now, in answer to these last questions, when I get home
I would love to go to Disneyland! And if you want to get me things for
Christmas don’t buy me missionary stuff just buy regular stuff and give it to me
when I come home.

Once more the moment comes were I have the privilege of giving you as much of an
insight into my week as I can in but a short amount of time and in words that
are almost always difficult for me to express. This past week something has
happened that has never happened on my mission before and it is what I will
share with you all today. Thursday July16, 2009 Elder McIntosh and I were
walking a street known as Holt… a street where a good amount of people usually
are, and we were having alright success we had met some people who set up
appointments with us but nothing to solid or amazing until we met a man walking
around the corner by the name of Yestin. Yestin is from India and when we
started talking to him about the Book of Mormon he started to get very excited
and wanted to meet with us later that day but couldn’t meet in his house because
h
e lived with like 6 other people so we made arrangements to meet him right were
we met him in about 4 hours… We went back, he was there, we walked to the chapel
(about a 10 minute walk from were we where), taught him the restoration and the
Spirit was very strong. The following Saturday a baptism was happening in the
Chester ward… we invited him to come, he came, he saw it, he loved it, and he
wants to be baptized! The next day he came to all three hours of church and
loved it! Now he is preparing himself to be baptized for the 29th of August and
is so ridiculously prepared to hear the Gospel! Once more I can not even begin
to describe the outstanding feelings that come from being involved in such a
marvellous work! It wasn’t my words, personality, or even my good looks ;) that
have caused this change on Yestin… surely it is the Spirit sent by God to help
his children understand the potential they really have! I absolutely know that
this is the Lords work, he knows his children on a very real and individual
basis, and above all I know that he loves us so much and I can I feel it within
my heart every time I speak to someone on the street… Our God is a God of love!

With all my Love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. I would still love a tooth brush head to the posh tooth brush you gave me
for my B-Day :)

Hi

Once more, bravo on the E-mails it is always nice to hear about how life is back
home and it is somewhat disappointing to hear that the new Transformers movie is
a dud (according to the movie critic extraordinar Mum) but good to hear that
everyone is doing so well. I have to say, before I begin to give a recap, that
there are those who write and there are those who non-write and with those who
write I am well pleased (you know who you are) but with those who non-write (and
you know who you are) I am sorely displeased and the time of judgement is nigh
(about 6 months), so let us remember that repentance is always available SO
WRITE ME SOME LETTERS! That includes family and friends! (CONNOR ANDERTON!)

Well, The Wankier clan is having quite an enjoyable life as they go to the New
York Yankee baseball game, in their new stadium, sitting on the front row,
behind right field! Going to Huston to spend some time playing with cousins!
Stopping in California for a day to go to Sea World! And by the end having
stayed in 4 separate time zones! The ST. George McKenna’s are doing quite well
with Ellyse heading off to EFY were the tip-top talented Jeff McKenna will be
presenting a talk and (as stated by Ellyse) this talk will determine weather
Ellyse will be known as Ellyse McKenna claiming a relation to her father or just
Ellyse the young woman with absolutely no relation with Jeff McKenna :), but we
all know that Jeff is going to knock one out of the park. As for the Patriarch
and Matriarch (mum and pa) it has been revealed that they are pleased that they
can’t come to pick me up! Due to an amazing cruise that they will now be taking
through the Greek Islands, onto Egypt and the Pyramids, and finishing in the
North of Africa, the cruise in total being 18 days beginning on the 10th of
December and ending on the 28th! The Lord is defiantly keeping his eyes on all
of us and pouring out his blessings upon us during this struggling time in the
world. In answer to some questions that were given… Yes, it will probably snow
in the winter because that is just the way my life in relation to this countries
weather is :(.

Onto life over here in now once more rainy and cold Britain (to be honest there
really is no point in telling you what the weather is like today or even in the
afternoon of today for it is liable to change even while I am writing you this
E-Mail). Life is good, as it always is when you are serving the creator of the
universe :). Our investigators are doing very well, Elder McIntosh and I are
getting along pretty well (we have quite different personalities but we are
managing just fine), and the work of the Lord is going forth boldly and nobly.
So in contemplating what I should write about this week I have decided that I
will tell you the story of a group of investigators that we have rightly dubbed
‘Alice and Pals’… Around 4 days ago Elder McIntosh and I had one of those days
that is just full of finding, we basically just walked around town centre for
about two and a half hours just stopping people and trying to share the Gospel
with them, we then began our journey back to the car feeling quite tired when we
spotted Alice and ‘pals’ (they are all about 20 years old and looked quite
interesting) but alas we stopped them and began talking to them. In the
beginning they were what you would expect 3 teenagers would be like when talking
about God but after a bit of chat they actually started listening, then asking
questions, and finally we walked to a nearby park and taught them right then and
there about the restoration and made an appointment for the following day… The
next day we got lost trying to get to her house (Alice had lived by herself in a
new part of the city that isn’t in the A to Z Maps) so we had to call her and
she handed the phone over to her house mate who gave us directions to the house
and told us that he would stand on the ‘corner’ of the roundabout so that we
would know which place to turn in he also said that he would be wearing all
black and a black beanie, we got to the roundabout, saw him on the ‘corner’,
went down the road he was standing next to, rolled down the window, and met the
3rd of Alice’s pals… When we got to the house we walked in to find out that
Alice lived there, so did her roommate (the one wearing all black), and so did
like 10,000 other people! We ended up teaching another two of Alice’s pals and
the lesson went really well, most of them that were listening were excited to
have us come back and there were some who weren’t listening who wanted to listen
the next time we came around, and even though there was a device used for
smoking Mariana and it had something in it that was defiantly not sweet tobacco
:), just lying on the floor and my companion actually tripped over it :P. It
was so amazing to share the gospel with so many at one time! It was an
experience that will not soon be forgotten. It’s so funny how you meet people
like Alice and pals and yet they listen to the words of the Gospel, truly this
is something special, truly the Spirit is a personage that can touch the hearts
of men and woman, surely this church is true, and with out a doubt this is our
Heavenly Father’s work and glory! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

With all my love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. everyone always asks what they can send me in a package… well I really need
a new tooth brush head to the posh toothbrush I got for my Birthday :)

P.P.S. Did Mimi get her Birthday present because I think something happened with
the post over on this side :(.

P.P.P.S. Someone rebuke Connor and tell him to write me a letter!

P.P.P.P.S. The picture is me and Elder McIntosh

Hi

Once more, bravo on the E-mails it is always nice to hear about how life is back
home and it is somewhat disappointing to hear that the new Transformers movie is
a dud (according to the movie critic extraordinar Mum) but good to hear that
everyone is doing so well. I have to say, before I begin to give a recap, that
there are those who write and there are those who non-write and with those who
write I am well pleased (you know who you are) but with those who non-write (and
you know who you are) I am sorely displeased and the time of judgement is nigh
(about 6 months), so let us remember that repentance is always available SO
WRITE ME SOME LETTERS! That includes family and friends! (CONNOR ANDERTON!)

Well, The Wankier clan is having quite an enjoyable life as they go to the New
York Yankee baseball game, in their new stadium, sitting on the front row,
behind right field! Going to Huston to spend some time playing with cousins!
Stopping in California for a day to go to Sea World! And by the end having
stayed in 4 separate time zones! The ST. George McKenna’s are doing quite well
with Ellyse heading off to EFY were the tip-top talented Jeff McKenna will be
presenting a talk and (as stated by Ellyse) this talk will determine weather
Ellyse will be known as Ellyse McKenna claiming a relation to her father or just
Ellyse the young woman with absolutely no relation with Jeff McKenna :), but we
all know that Jeff is going to knock one out of the park. As for the Patriarch
and Matriarch (mum and pa) it has been revealed that they are pleased that they
can’t come to pick me up! Due to an amazing cruise that they will now be taking
through the Greek Islands, onto Egypt and the Pyramids, and finishing in the
North of Africa, the cruise in total being 18 days beginning on the 10th of
December and ending on the 28th! The Lord is defiantly keeping his eyes on all
of us and pouring out his blessings upon us during this struggling time in the
world. In answer to some questions that were given… Yes, it will probably snow
in the winter because that is just the way my life in relation to this countries
weather is :(.

Onto life over here in now once more rainy and cold Britain (to be honest there
really is no point in telling you what the weather is like today or even in the
afternoon of today for it is liable to change even while I am writing you this
E-Mail). Life is good, as it always is when you are serving the creator of the
universe :). Our investigators are doing very well, Elder McIntosh and I are
getting along pretty well (we have quite different personalities but we are
managing just fine), and the work of the Lord is going forth boldly and nobly.
So in contemplating what I should write about this week I have decided that I
will tell you the story of a group of investigators that we have rightly dubbed
‘Alice and Pals’… Around 4 days ago Elder McIntosh and I had one of those days
that is just full of finding, we basically just walked around town centre for
about two and a half hours just stopping people and trying to share the Gospel
with them, we then began our journey back to the car feeling quite tired when we
spotted Alice and ‘pals’ (they are all about 20 years old and looked quite
interesting) but alas we stopped them and began talking to them. In the
beginning they were what you would expect 3 teenagers would be like when talking
about God but after a bit of chat they actually started listening, then asking
questions, and finally we walked to a nearby park and taught them right then and
there about the restoration and made an appointment for the following day… The
next day we got lost trying to get to her house (Alice had lived by herself in a
new part of the city that isn’t in the A to Z Maps) so we had to call her and
she handed the phone over to her house mate who gave us directions to the house
and told us that he would stand on the ‘corner’ of the roundabout so that we
would know which place to turn in he also said that he would be wearing all
black and a black beanie, we got to the roundabout, saw him on the ‘corner’,
went down the road he was standing next to, rolled down the window, and met the
3rd of Alice’s pals… When we got to the house we walked in to find out that
Alice lived there, so did her roommate (the one wearing all black), and so did
like 10,000 other people! We ended up teaching another two of Alice’s pals and
the lesson went really well, most of them that were listening were excited to
have us come back and there were some who weren’t listening who wanted to listen
the next time we came around, and even though there was a device used for
smoking Mariana and it had something in it that was defiantly not sweet tobacco
:), just lying on the floor and my companion actually tripped over it :P. It
was so amazing to share the gospel with so many at one time! It was an
experience that will not soon be forgotten. It’s so funny how you meet people
like Alice and pals and yet they listen to the words of the Gospel, truly this
is something special, truly the Spirit is a personage that can touch the hearts
of men and woman, surely this church is true, and with out a doubt this is our
Heavenly Father’s work and glory! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

With all my love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. everyone always asks what they can send me in a package… well I really need
a new tooth brush head to the posh toothbrush I got for my Birthday :)

P.P.S. Did Mimi get her Birthday present because I think something happened with
the post over on this side :(.

P.P.P.S. Someone rebuke Connor and tell him to write me a letter!

P.P.P.P.S. The picture is me and Elder McIntosh

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Hello from burning hot Britain!
Thank you for the E-mails and let me just say that Wales is HOT! Honestly the
weather in this country is the WORST it is either sun scorching hot or it is
pouring down rain and the humidity is so bad that you never are not sweating,
even in the buildings because no one has air conditioning here! But the worst
part is that I’m not looking forward to the wind blasting cold of winter either
which is closely approaching again! In all honesty I love the people, the
culture, the buildings, the language, everything EXCEPT FOR THE WEATHER!
AAAAAAAA! Well, anyhow, now that I got that off my chest lets talk about what’s
happening back in beautiful, sunny, warm, air conditioned US of A.

The Zurflueh clan has returned from an amazing journey through the
‘homeland’ were they navigated the small European streets with nothing more then
a horse drawn buggy the wagon was nicknamed the ‘Tinker Wagon’ and the horse was
called Charlie (Did you happen to stop by the cave of magical wonder while you
were journeying around) and basically they lived like proper gypsies! The
little Houston McKenna’s wore out Ma and Pa in an amazing few days of nothing
but fun and adventures! Including 3 movies, 2 museums, and a trip to Monkey
Business… needless to say the trip was a success. Chelsey has a new car (I
don’t know when she got it BECAUSE NO ONE LETS ME KNOW THESE THINGS) and enjoyed
her Birthday celebrations! Chynna has basically mastered the Book of Mormon
while doing the commitment left by her Young Woman’s leader to read the book in
its entirety requiring 3 chapters a day to finish in about 3 months. Irelynn
has somehow found a journal that I kept when I was younger (about 10 years ago)
and has made some interesting comments about the front cover being covered in
little flowers… All I’m going to say is that it takes a real man to have a
flower covered journal! But Irelynn makes up for her ‘flower journal comments’
because she has found a missionary who is shorter then me :). In answer to some
questions that were given… No they don’t have any celebrations for Independence
Day over here except for the clubs and pubs which seem to think that it is a
great reason to gather together and get drunk and throw things at American
missionaries :(… Yes! I’m totally serious about getting a life size cut out of
me and placing it in the main pictures so that I can be present at my cousin’s
and my best friend’s wedding! The best way to do it is to get a big cut out of
someone in a tux (like a famous person) and then get a blown up picture of my
face and place it on the cut out’s face and wa-la Elder McKenna was present for
the sealing and marriage of Connor and Ashley! You should really think about it
:).

Things over here on this side of the World are going extremely well. The
Lord continues to perform his miracles and there is one amazing thing that I
would like to share with you that I gave a hint to in my past E-Mail. Last
Monday (June 29th) Elder Eichelberger and I were knocking some doors in a little
street that we had only noticed about 2 days previous… There were only about 10
or 15 houses and we had worked quite extensively in all the areas surrounding it
but for some strange reason had never seen these houses before… The first house
we knocked on wasn’t in, the second wasn’t interested, and so it continued until
about house 9 or 10 when a little dog would not stop barking at us from the side
garden, we knocked and a woman came out the side door… at first she wasn’t
interested, she wanted nothing to do with us and talking to her wasn’t working
to well because her little dog was barking so loud that she could barley hear us
anyway! In desperation we spoke over the barking and asked if she would just
hear us for 30 seconds at the front door without the dog, she brought the dog
in, closed the side door, and then for about 30 seconds there was nothing.
Thinking that she had no intention of coming to the front door we began to walk
away when we heard the door open up and a voice saying, ‘alright who are you’…
we began talking to her about what we represented and the things that we were
sharing and learned that she had been thorough some terrible times… her daughter
had been brutally murdered many years ago, and her husband had recently passed
away… we bore testimony of the Plan of Salvation and begged her to let us see
her the next day so we could bring another man with us, she finally agreed and
the appointment was set. The next day we came by, she let us in, we taught her
the Plan of Salvation, and despite all of her hard feelings towards God and the
negative feelings that she had in the beginning of the lesson the Lord still
poured out his Spirit upon us… The Lesson was amazing and as we bore testimony
that we knew this plan was real her heart was touched, we left her the plan of
salvation leaflet to read and pray about, and set up an appointment for when we
could share the Book of Mormon with her… She agreed to20everything and has since
read the leaflet about 5 times and is so happy with what she has read. Truly
the Plan of Salvation is the Lord’s plan and truly this is his work, How
wonderful it is to know that this life actually has a purpose and even though
death is a necessary part of life it is most certainly not the end, only a step
in the plan of our Heavenly Father!

All of my Love,
Elder McKenna

P.S. Mimi’s gift is going to be a wee bit late… :(

HI

HELLO MY FAMILY

Well, I’m sorry that this E-mail is late and I’m really sorry that it is going to be so short but we have absolutely no time! Elder Eichelberger has been transferred :( and I am now serving with an elder Mcintosh from Linden Utah (another Utahan :) but he is really good). Gary Hardie (the man himself) is doing AMAZINGLY WELL! He is so solid! He is reading the Book of Mormon every day and he is planning on coming to church this Sunday! Alright well, I really don’t have any time but I must share with you an experience that happened this past Tuesday and Wednesday… Alright I can’t! There’s no time but I will share it with you on Monday! I love you all so much!

I love you all this much (imagine me stretching my arms as wide as they can go)
Elder McKenna!

P.S. Thank you for letting me know about Audrey, it is quite nice to know that she isn’t going to EGYPT FOR THREE YEARS :)

Salutations

First off, Thank you timette and the %@$*"%$ familiy for the amazing package
filled with goodies and love, it was a much apreciated supprize. Second off,
things back home, as always, seem to be going extremly well :). Ellyse is
celebrating her big 17 WHICH IS RIDICULOUS, Meghan won an intense football match
in the pouring rain, Jackson and Carson are still hunter's extrodinar with their
recent catch of toads, tree frogs, and a 3 foot long gopher snake! Jeff enjoyed
his fathers day as did papa (just so everyone knows he really liked the book
with all the memories :), so kuddos to mom) and it would seem that Zurflueh clan
has overcome their fears of mono and have kissed the Blarney stone :)! Overall
life is good back home and I apolagize for the horrible misspellings but I am in
Chester right now and these computers don't have Microsoft word so I don't have
a spell checker :(. By the way thank you for the update on Connor and Ashley, I
still can't believe that he is going to be my second cousin and I still can't
believe that he is going to be MARRIED when I get home! So, for the weading you
should totally get one of those lifesize picture cut outs of me and put me up
for some of the photos so that I can be in some of the pictures :) a lot of
missionary's families do it and it looks really good and then I can be a part of
that memeory, just a thought, or better yet just tell them to WAIT UNTIL I GET
HOME AND THEN I REALLY CAN BE A PART OF THAT MEMORY! Geeze... :).

Anywho, Things over here on this side of the world are going extremly well! Zoe
Clarke went to the temple this past Friday to do Baptisims for the dead, and SHE
LOVED IT! Astell Kirk (the person who was baptized in Barrow in Furness) got in
contact with me and is living in Scotland and is very much active in the church
up there, and Calum McNoltey (the person who was baptized in Altrincham) is
going to the temple to take out his ENDOWMENTS! HOW AMAZING IS THAT! You know,
when someone gets baptized you really think that you can never feel better in
your entire life, you feel that the joy which is in the very essence of your
soul can in no way be increased and then the Lord surprises you, when you find
out that the very person whom you were able to introduce the Gosple to is going
to the temple for there endowments and I can not even begin to describe the
feelings of exquisite joy that exceed any feeling that the world can give, it is
a feeling that burns within you like a glorious fire and send shivers and
goosebumps cascadeing through your system, it is a feeling that only comes from
God in fulfillment of his promises, it is the Spirit and the feelings of joy
exceed anything that I could ever depict to you in words. Another amazing thing
that I would love to share with you... A few weeks back I was tracting with
Elder Eichelberger (I believe I have told you this story before) and we were on
a street knocking doors for quite some time, finally, on the last neighborhood,
last street, and last door, as we were about to go home we heard a voice from
the side of the house, the voice belonged to a man, that mans name is Gary... We
taught him this last Wednsday... And the Spirit has trully touched his heart!
We are teaching him this next Wednsday and he is so excited to read the Book of
Mormon! This work is the Lords Work! This chruch is true, Joseph Smith did see
God the Father and his son Jesus Christ on a spring morning in the year 1820, he
was called to be a prophet, the Book of Mormon is a real record, the accounts of
the people in it are real, Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today, and I testify to
you that Jesus Chirst does live he is our savior and redeemer the captain of our
salvation and that it is only through his merits, mercy, and grace that we can
be saved and dwell with him and our Father in the Celestial Kingdom worlds with
out end!

With all of my love...
The weak servant of an empowering God!
Elder McKenna

P.S. mom and dad you can't come pick me up... it's against the rules, I have to
return home right after due to the visa restrictions :(

P.P.S. can someone get some info on Audrey going to Egypt... Is she really going
for three years!

WHAT THE CHECKY MONKEY IS GOING ON!

Right! So, um, ya, CONNOR IS MARRYING MY COUSIN! I have to say that first I am
so pleased that Connor is going to marry Ashley when it was the matchmaker that
brought them together :) (AKA: Mwa with maybe a little help from someone else
who gave Connor Ashley’s phone number, but alas I am still the idea man so :P)
and second I NEED TO KNOW MORE! You can’t just nonchalantly tell me that my
best friend is marrying my cousin and the wedding is in August! I NEED TO KNOW
MORE! How did he propose? Where are they getting married? Has Connor gotten my
letter and if he has tell him to respond to my last letter ASAP so if you could
just rebuke him for me and tell him that he needs to send me a letter that would
be great!

Well, moving on… Things back home seem to be going extremely well (as always)
except it would appear that there seems to be some sort of discrepancy regarding
a talent show and who should have been the winner… Let me first bring to
everyone’s mind the sort of ‘gamer’ we are all dealing with by bringing all of
our thoughts back about 5 years ago to a little game known as ‘Settlers of
Catan’. The setting was the cabin, the time evening, the game nearing the end.
Two of the three people involved in said scandal were playing with an innocent
‘missionary’ who will not be named… during said game the ‘missionary’ who was
the son of the two, up on trial, (we will hereby name them ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ for
simplicities sake) was going to win, he had all the commodities and the game was
with in his grasp. This was announced to the table that on the next turn a
winner would be pronounced and that winner would be the ‘missionary’, when the
one named ‘mom’, asked if it would be all right if the missionary would give her
a lumber card… The ‘missionary’ thinking this would be foolishness for his
victory was nigh was reluctant to give said lumber card but in a desire for this
lumber card the person said, (and now we will quote from the record) “come on,
I’m your mother and I just want to build a little settlement before the game
ends” well, the missionaries heart was softened for she was his mother and so he
gave her the lumber card. What happened next is one of the dark chapters of
gaming history… the missionaries mother built her settlement and built a few
roads as well and pulled out a hidden development card which resulted in her
gaining the win! So, in summary the ‘missionary’ was strewn down in the climb
to victory by this ‘mom’ person. Now, I have been careful in not divulging any
names in relating this story for I don’t want the past to be considered in the
judgement, but I relate this story in hopes that we will not take lightly the
situation that we are in. The gamers that we are dealing with are willing to do
what ever it takes, and they don’t care who gets in their way :P.

Now that I have born my testimony I will rest my case and allow a just judgement
to be passed by the FBI (Federal Bureau of In-Laws) in which I place my full
trust and confidence.

I am finally back in Wrexham and so I can now send you some pictures to make you
supper jealous of the amazing area that I am currently serving in :). The first
picture is the name of the city that I was staying in, and yes, that is the real
name of the city! The top word is the Welsh and the bottom is the English
translation.


The second picture is of me on top of Carnarvon castle paying my
respect to the Welsh flag.


The third is a picture of Elder Eichelberger,
Darrow, Hyde, and myself (by the way I only look short because the three of them
ARE GIANTS!).


The fourth picture is me standing in the windows of my throne
room with my two body guards :).


The fifth is a picture of me and one of my bodyguards after the castle was ransacked by the Welch, my other body guard feel in the battle :(.


The sixth is a picture of me and Elder Hyde enjoying the beauties of the area.


The seventh is a picture of Elder Eichelberger and me trying to heat up pots and pans to throw into Zoe’s freezing baptismal font.


The Eighth is a picture of Zoe, Elder Eichelberger, and I before her baptism.


The picture attached to this email is a picture of Elder Atkin, Wagner, and me
in a little blown out hole in a ruined castle in the middle of a beautiful
forest that we had to climb up to get to. Basically the area that I am serving
in is the most beautiful area in the entire world!


I Love the people, love the land, and I love the work!
Elder McKenna

HI YA

Well, I am sorrey to say that I have basically no time today to write an
E-mail... I am currently in a place called Bangor on exchanges with the Garewin
Elders and we are schedueled to visit Conway Castle this afternoon :).

Your E-mails (like always) were amazing and I am glad to hear that everyone is
doing so well despite the hardships that life can bring. The Zurflueh clan
seems excited to be visiting the 'homeland' (AKA: Ireland) and the St. Geroge
McKennas are enjoying life with the boys playing on a farm and Ellyse getting
some time with her good ol' pa. In ansewer to some questions that were given...
The Welsh are on pretty good terms with the Irish since they are so close
together (geographically) and so close to gether in the pride they have for
their country (both the Welsh and the Southern Irish almost always spit on the
ground when they talk about England even in the most casual conversations ie:
'my cousin lives in England *spit* and he says he likes it')... Simon Pigot (the
man who Elder Eichelberger and I helped clean his flat) is doing better :) he is
getting back on the horse, and he is already starting to make the changes that
are going to lead him to true happiness.

The Mission is going well, I have to apolagize because I wasn't able to connect
my camera into this computer that I am using, so I cant send the pictures of
Zoe's baptisim, and as you can tell I also wasn't able to use the microsoft word
processor which seems to save me from my most grevious gramatical errors :).
Well, like I said I don't really have too much time to write so I just wanted to
say that I love you and that I miss you but that there is nothing that would
keep me from the fun times that being with family brings other then my testimony
of the Gosple and a calling to serve from our Savior.

Elder McKenna

BAPTISIM

Well, this has probably been the best E-mail update that I have ever been
privileged to have! Thank you so much for the amazing E-mails and for the
outstanding pictures!

Memorial Day weekend sounded amazing! With mom bogey boarding (and enjoying
it so much!), Trent losing horribly in Cash and Guns (just like in chess),
Timette having one of the best vacations ever with a few stops before the beach
house, and the original McKenna’s (mom, dad, and Chelsey) coming up with the
best skit ever (which by the way, mom sent the skit and, no wonder they won it
was ridiculously hilarious)! The St. George McKenna’s are settling in nicely
for a fabulously fun filled summer with Jeff going to EFY again this year with
Ellyse having to utmost honour, privilege, and benefit, to go to the same EFY as
her Father (which we all know is what she wanted) while poor Meghan is forced to
go to the EFY a little earlier and wont have the beautiful blessing of being
with her Father but will just have to hang out with all of her friends (I hope
that you can survive the heart ach Meghan). Dad’s Seminary teaching is coming
to a close for the year with high schooler’s having an extensive knowledge of
the New Testament, because of him :). I can’t believe that Cameron and David
are heading out on their missions! If you have the chance please send them my
love and if at all possible could you get me Cameron’s address. In answer to a
question that was given… No! Of course we weren’t able to watch the Barcelona
vs. Man U game, but I obviously heard what happened and how Man U scored like
the fastest goal ever and Barcelona still beat them, but a Man U loss isn’t that
big of a deal in Wales, in fact it was more of a celebration that they did lose
because basically everyone other then the people who live in Manchester hate Man
U :(. Overall you all seem so happy and the Memorial Day (cough) ‘campout’
(cough) sounded amazing!

First off I think we all know what I am going to be talking about toady,
namely Zoe’s baptism and second off I am so sorry that I didn’t bring my camera
converter thingy for the computer and so I will have to give you pictures of the
event next week :(. It would seem that I am cursed for baptisms; I thought that
this time would be different but alas it was not. Now,
I don’t want everyone flashing back to my horrible fiasco with Christian the BFTB (Big Friendly Teddy Bear) and how horrible that was because it wasn’t THAT bad but it was still pretty intense. Elder Eichelberger and I arrived at the chapel 2 and ½ hours
early in hopes that all would go right and no problems would arise… the baptism
program was brilliant (the relief society did it and it basically looked like a
wedding invite), everyone who was part of the program had been called and
confirmed that they were going to be able to come, the chapel was nice and
clean, the rooms were all at perfect temperature, the sound system was up and
running, Zoe, her family, and some friends were all on schedule, basically we
were ‘green light’… and then it happened… THE HOT WATER IN THE BUILDING SHUT
DOWN! There was absolutely no hot water anywhere! The kitchen didn’t have any,
the bathroom sinks didn’t have any, and of course the baptismal font didn’t have
any! We had no idea what was wrong and no one who would have any idea what was
wrong was available at the time (because there was a wedding in the afternoon
the same day) so in desperation Elder Eichelberger and I went to the kitchen
turned the stove onto full blast, got as many pots and pans as the stove could
handle, filled the pots and pans with cold water, and began the slow process of =0D
heating the water up to boiling, running it to the font, and throwing it into
the freezing water which was currently filling said font! It was terrible! We
did it for about 2 hours with not much of a change in the water and then our
time was up! People were beginning to arrive and in order to keep the reverence
that should be present at a baptism we had to stop the running of boiling water
to the font. We informed Zoe and Bishop Chapman (the person who was going to
baptize her) the situation and both of them were still determined so the baptism
went on… The talks, music, video, and every other aspect of the baptism was
wonderful, it was just the baptism itself… As Zoe Clarke (who is about my
height, skinny, and very susceptible to temperatures) and Bishop Chapman got
into the icy depths it was obvious that they were cold… Bishop said the words
and Zoe was dunked back into the freezing abyss and to my utmost horror (I was
one of the witnesses) her knees popped up! Bishop looked to me for confirmation
and I had to shake my head ‘no’, Zoe needed to go down another time! Zoe looked
to Bishop with her face in pure terror that she had to do it one more time, but
it was done, this time properly and Zoe was baptized! Even though every time
Zoe looks back on the actual baptism itself she will have thoughts of death,
darkness, and absence of warmth; I will never forget how exquisitely happy she
looked when she had dried off and joined us in the sacrament meeting room.
Truly she had made a covenant with her Father in Heaven by the appropriate means
and the Spirit confirmed that in all of our hearts. The church is true!
Baptism is something that is required! And Zoe Clarke is now through the gate
and on her way to Eternal Life! WHAT GREATER CALLING CAN I POSSIBLE HAVE then
to bring such wonderful people to this point!

With my heart brimming with gratitude and love,
Elder McKenna


P.S. Thank you Timette for sharing that spiritual moment you had in Relief
Society with me, it sounded like an amazing experience.

MEMORIAL DAY!

Hello!
Once more my E-mail is a day late because of the lovely bank holidays that
both the English and the Welch love to celebrate! The libraries were closed
yesterday, so my apology for being a day late. It would seem that a blessing
has come out of me being a day late I was able to get an E-mail right from the
Beach house and it seems that everyone is enjoying memorial day (the day were we
memorial Elder McKenna :) ) with some amazing games of Family Feud, some boogie
boarding, and a dominated talent show by Mum, Pa, and Chelsey! The Memorial Day
campout seemed to be a total success and to top it all off it appears that a new
Star Trek movie came out, so basically everyone is on cloud nine despite some
challenges that needed to be overcome :(. It seems that the McKenna’s still
know how to party!

Well, over here in the EMM we have had a Transfer! I am still serving in
Wrexham with Elder Eichelberger but my zone has changed quite a bit… which is
good and bad at the same time. Good in the idea that we have some new blood but
bad in the idea that we had to make sure everyone was able to get to were they
needed to go. It was a major pain, but we were able to overcome and it seems
that everyone is settling in quite nicely. As for my self I am doing really
well especially because this Saturday we’re still ‘green light’ for the baptism
of Zoe Clarke who is still one of the most amazing investigators ever! She is
way excited and nervous at the same time! Simon is doing much better; he has
gotten back on the horse again and has thrown out his fags and alcohol willing
to give it another try! The work continues to be the Lord’s and I was reminded
of this truth yesterday… Elder Eichelberger and I were going to go to a tea
appointment at around 6 O’clock with the Edward family. But when we arrived
they were gone! They had forgotten about feeding us in all the excitement of
the Bank Holiday weekend! Normally it wouldn’t be to big of a deal, we would
just go back to the flat and make our own tea; but because yesterday was our
P-Day and because it was now past when our P-Day ends (which is at 6 O’clock) we
felt that it wouldn’t be right to go back home and make some food, so instead we
hit the doors. We knocked doors for about an hour and a half with a some what
good reception but then… on our last door, on our last street, just before we
went to our appointment with Simon, it happened. We knocked on number 2
Summerfields, at first there was no answer and so we knocked a second time,
still no answer then we heard a sound from the side of the house; we poked our
heads around the side of the house to see a man poking his head through his side
door asking what we wanted. He was about 50 years old, close to my height, with
gray hair but bright eyes. We introduced ourselves and began talking to him
about the Book of Mormon and the Plan of Salvation, our conversation was riddled
with questions and answers in the which we were able to find out that he had
been studying with the Jehovah Witnesses for an extended period of time but had
stopped because he began to feel uneasy. He said that the things they were
saying sounded good but he just didn’t ‘feel right’ about it and that he is
still looking. We bore witness of the Book of Mormon and more importantly the
Spiritual witness that he could receive through a diligent study of its writings
and a sincere prayer. He was most excited and is so prepared for the Gospel!

There was something that was said during this past general conference by the
newly called Apostle Elder Anderson which was said to him a few years back by
President Boyd K. Packer which continues to echo in my soul… President Packer
0Asaid, “I know who I am.” Then after a pause, he added, “I am a nobody.” He then
turned to Elder Anderson, sitting on the stand behind him, and said, “And,
Brother Andersen, you are a nobody too.” Then he added these words: “If you ever
forget it, the Lord will remind you of it instantly, and it won’t be pleasant.”
Those words ring truer with the ending chime of every day. This is the Lord’s
work; he knows which of his children are ready to listen and which aren’t. If
there was one thing that I have come to understand more then anything else it
would be that I am truly… nothing. I hope that all of us will always remember
the council given by President Packer so many years ago, for it applies to all
of us today. I’m so grateful for a Lord who supports me and cares about me, and
I’m so grateful for a family who rocks!

THE CHURCH IS TRUE!
Elder McKenna

MOUNT SNOWDON

Hi, Hello, and happy mothers day!!!

We all know what day it was yesterday so in honour of such a wonderful day I
thought I would start off this E-mail with a bit of wisdom from Sister Packer.
She said that one of her sons was disagreeing with a request that she had made
of him and his bigger brother hearing this disagreement walked over, smacked his
brother in the back of the head and said ‘don’t you know yer suppose to mind the
one that born ya!’ How true it is and with the tradition that comes from an
extraordinary day like mothers day I would like to apologize, to me mum, for all
the dumb things that I have done over the years to cause you grief and hope that
you will forgive me for the many more to come :); I guess I just want to say
that I LOVE YA MUM!

Now with all that mushy stuff aside lets discuss the action going on back home…
The St. George McKenna’s continue to fight for the win in the football
tournament with Meghan up against two teams in one day! The *^&(*!”’s continue
to live the good life as Madisyn continues to excel in gymnastics DOING ROUND
OFF BACK HAND SPRINGS! And Aidan has finally forgiven his mother for not
allowing him to get ‘Nana’ a monster truck which he was just certain would bring
joy to her very soul :). Chelsey is living in an upscale black community (with
Lawyers, bankers, Etc.) and is enjoying some of the most delicious, scrumptious,
and finger licken good fried chicken, though the wait for a portion is about 45
minutes :) [By the way that was from Mom not me]. Overall, life is good, and
the Lord continues to watch over our family, giving us joy and happiness in
these times of trial in the world.

Let’s see, I have been pondering on how all of you get to go to Disneyland like
every other week (which makes me a little jealous) and so I have decided that
for this E-mail I’m going to fire back by making you ‘green’ with envy by
showing you just how amazingly beautiful Wales really is so that you can see
were I get to live and work every day (so take that you Disneyland goers :P).
But I also want to share with you an experience that I will not soon forget.
Last Monday the Rhyl Distcrict (Elder Phillips, Driscoll, Hyde, Forward,
Stanger, Tonks) and ourselves decided that we were going to hike the biggest
mountain in Wales called Mount Snowdon. Now, there is just no way that I can
describe to you the amount of pain and suffering that happened on that mountain
but I will attempt to explain it in 4 scenarios: The start, The Journey, The
Climb, and the Top…

The start: it was a nice beautiful sunny day in Wales, we had arrived at Mount
Snowdon at around 0730; I was wearing about 4 shirts and 3 trousers as were some
of the other elders but Elder Driscoll and Elder Phillips came wearing nothing
but some shorts and a sweatshirt. They made fun of the rest of us because it
was hot and talked about how we were all going to melt on the hike, we talked
and laughed as we found the trailhead and started on our Journey.

The Journey: It was a fairly tall climb in the beginning but nothing to serious,
as we journeyed we would chase after sheep and talk about how out of shape all
of us ‘old’ missionaries are getting. We started to notice that it was getting
a bit cloudy and a bit chilly but we took no thought, and laughed and played as
we continued on the Journey until we got to a place called the halfway house, we
spent about 5-10 minutes there enjoying some liquid refreshment and preparing
for the next part of our hike.

The Climb: this is when things started to get a bit different on our journey,
the rocks started to become more jagged and the climb a bit steeper, it was
starting to rain pretty bad, the clouds had now moved over the mountain and fog
was thick all around us, the hot sunny day had quickly turned into cold and
rainy, and though a sense of cold was prevailing upon us all (especially on
Elder Driscoll and Phillips) we still had a determination to make it to the top.


The top: Our clothes were drenched, the wind cut through our bones like a hot
knife through butter, Elder Driscoll had snot frozen on his face but no one took
any notice, Elder Phillips hair had turned white and was beginning to freeze,
tears were running freely as the freezing wind continued to stab at our eyes.
In these conditions we held a council at about a (unknown to us) 10 minute hike
from the top there were many nominations to go back and a few to press forward,
Elder Forward in his determination to keep us moving began to climb onwards
quickly disappearing into the fog, and in a moment of desperation Elder Phillips
(epitomizing our pain and suffering) screamed, with spit spewing from his mouth,
‘Elder Forward it’s not worth it’ and began to sob. With those words lingering
in all of our minds we pressed forward having to now follow Elder Forward into
what seemed like eternity but was in reality about 15 minute. We eventually
reached the top and descended back down to safety… Truly a moment that will
never be forgotten.

Now, the pictures are just a bunch of different locations on Mount Snowdon and
one of me on a pier at the beach in a place called Llangollen.


Love ya all,
Elder McKenna

A picture of the beginning of mount snowdon



Elder Phillips is chasing a sheep


A beautiful picture of how green it is here.



Elder Phillips drinking a juice box with the rest of us



A picture of most of the group on the mountain



An awsome picture! but notice how the fog is beginning to come



A picture of the Fog



A picture of when Elder Stanger and Elder Phillips helping each other to keep
moving.



A picture of when we all took shelter in a little rock bunker



A picture of when Elder Hyde saved my life

hiya

HELLO! Thank you for the amazing E-mails! And I have to apologize for the lack of E-mail on Monday. It was a bank holiday and in Wales that means everything shuts down :(. Now I don’t have any time today because Elder Eichelberger and I had to train this past Tuesday and are now on an exchange with the Elders living in a place called Rhyl… So this will have to be quick.

This E-mail I feel needs to be one of sincere apology and one with my deepest love as I try to convey through words the comfort that I am sure only the Spirit can bring. I am sorry for the lack of recognition in my last E-mail concerning the passing of Gordon, I didn’t know if I should mention anything because I felt that if I did it would only reopen wounds that might have been healing but I obviously made a mistake. I am sorry for the loss, of the entire family, by the passing of Uncle Gordon but I send my condolences especially to a loving mother whom I would fain have the rocks fall upon me before hurting her feelings. I may not have known Uncle Gordon very well but from what I have heard in the past and from what I have read this day there is no real doubt in my mind or heart that he must have been a great man. I wish I could write something that would touch your hearts, something that would bring solace to your soul, anything that would bring you comfort and peace… but all I can really think to do is to bear my sincere testimony of our Savoir. I plead with you to look past my failings in communication and open your hearts as you read… For I know with a surety that can only come from our Father in Heaven that Jesus Christ does live! I know that because our Father loved us so much he sent his only begotten son to be the exemplar, the master teacher, the bread of life, to perform for us what we can not do on our own, for surely he hath bourn our grief’s and carried our sorrows, he has suffered for our pains our afflictions our temptations, and he has taken upon himself death that he may loosen the bands of death! There are many things that I don’t know in this world and many things that I don’t understand… but if there is one thing that shines in my soul with more clarity then the sun on a cloudless crisp day is that because of Christ’s love and because of his sacrifice we can be with our families forever. The Plan of Salvation is real, it is from God, Joseph Smith did restore these precious truths, and our families are eternal.

With all the love and solace I can convey in such a short amount of time,
Elder McKenna

PS I’ll be calling in the morning around 7 AM :)

:)

Greetings and happy P-Day! First off, thank you so much for the amazing
snackies and the NEW CAMERA, I will no longer be mocked when I pull out my
disposable camera and wind it up :)!





And thank you for the E-mails; I was most impressed by the amount of E-mails that I received this Monday. It’s always nice to receive so much information on what is happening back home; and it seems like a whole lot is happening! The family reunion sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun with the beech house, white elephant auction, and the talent show which is apparently going to be dominated by the Zurflueh clan (according to them). Ellyse’s lamb received the blue ribbon in the Jr. Livestock show (a happier day I’m sure for Ellyse then for Mr. Lamb :( ), Meghan has been elected
student body president (first the middle school and then the world :) ), Jackson
smashed a huge goal in his last football game, and Carson is reading the Book of
Mormon all by himself! Chynna, Irelynn, and Kai are still amazing and Jenni is
in boot camp mode waking up at 5:22! Every morning! To work out! The Huston
McKenna’s continue to have Star wars battles, surf, read books, and rock n’
roll! Overall everyone seems to be holding the McKenna name high and the Lord
continues to keep us safe in his hands.

Well, there has been quite a lot that has happened this week. So many
things that I could share with you… President Packer was amazing! And the
coolest thing was that he didn’t even really speak about anything in particular,
he opened it up for questions and answers, and then he just sort of talked to
us, it was so nice to see his personality (he is well clever and witty) and to
see that even though he has a commission from the Lord he is still a human being
and has a unique personality. As for the work it continues to be the Lords and
his hand is seen in it every day. One simple experience that I would like to
share with you is the finding of an investigator by the name of Tina. Elder
Eicelberger and I were stopping by on a potential investigator whom we had
scheduled an appointment with on Tuesday; he wasn’t in, but across the street a
woman was walking with a pram we went over to talk to her, scheduled an
appointment to see her that Friday at 3 O’clock. The following Friday I was in
the Wrexham area on an exchange with Elder Riddley we went to the appointment at
3 but no one was home, we left a note and continued on with the day… then at
around 8 O’clock we were waiting for our fellow shipper to arrive so that we
could see our investigator Simon (who is dated for baptism!) but while we were
waiting I had a thought come into my mind that we should stop by on Tina again,
I looked to Elder Riddley who had the exact same thought so we ran to were Tina
lived (because we only had about 5 minutes) knocked on her door once… twice… and
just when we were about to walk away we knocked one more time (really loudly :)
) and sure enough Tina answered the door and invited us in! We apologized that
we couldn’t come in right then but scheduled to see her the next day. We came
by the next day, she was in, and we taught her the restoration. The Spirit was
there, Tina was prepared, and the Lord had truly guided us! And the most
amazing this of all is that she is moving TODAY so if we wouldn’t have caught
her we would have lost her and her chance to learn about the Gospel would have
been postponed!

HOW GRATEFUL I am for a merciful Lord who works by small and simple means. How
wonderful it is to be a tool in the hands of the Lord, how amazing are the
promptings of the Spirit! How magnificent is it to be a missionary an advocate
of the truth! It truly was such a simple thing to just go try by right then,
but if we hadn’t she would have moved and who knows what would have happened but
the Lord didn’t allow that to happen! This is the work of the Lord, The church
is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet, Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today and
Jesus Christ as well as our Heavenly Father love us… To that there is no
question.

With all the love I can muster,
Elder McKenna

P.S. I’m not positive on what time I’ll be able to call on Mother’s Day but I
will let you know next P-day.

P.P.S. can anyone get a confirmation on if Audrey got her package

P.P.P.S. The first picture is of me and Elder Eichleberger, the second is me
with an ace picture of a missionary in Wales, the third is Elder Riddley and I
with the Welch flag!

life in Wales

Hi, Hello, Greetings, and salutations from the lush green and SUNNY land of
Wales! Once more I’m grateful for your E-mails and I have to express my gratitude for the ridiculous amounts of sun that we have been experiencing here, it has been sunny the last 3 days and I think I even got a tiny little burn on my nose! IT’S AMAZING

Well, back home things seem to be going amazing as well. The St. George
McKenna’s are doing well, with Jeff coaching his football team with a Skouser (a
guest coach from Liverpool) and preparing to take his team all the way to the
state cup and claiming it in just six weeks! Which if claimed then a reward
trip to the land of amazing footballers (England) will be earned. Dad really
enjoyed his birthday with a trip to Palm Springs and Jeff’s present was
apparently the highlight of the day, the most unique, and was so good that I think he should consider giving that present at least one more time :P. In
answer to mom’s question… I came to know that Sister Bullock was President
Packers daughter through word of mouth (because the Bullocks never talk about
it, it is strictly taboo to speak about) but it was confirmed when an Elder
Reidhead, shook President bullocks hand and then went on to shake Sister
Bullock’s hand and when he did he made this comment… ‘you know sister Bulloc
every time I hear President Packer I can’t help but think that you’re his
daughter’… after the deplorable words were said there was no taking it back I
stood in fear as I witnessed the most awkward scene of my life unfold, Sis.
Bullock said nothing but ‘yes…’ and then… nothing, there was nothing said fo
about 30 seconds just the two of them standing there! I half expected Elder
Reidhead to burst into flames and melt into oblivion, needless to say all the
missionaries just know that Sister Bullock is President Packer’s daughter but no
one ever mentions it. Anyways, the Lord continues to bless the McKenna family
far more then we all deserve :).

Now, onto life in Wales; there have been a few things that have happened
this week which are worth writing about… First Wales is a different country to
England and you better never make a comment that combines Wales and England
together, for they are different :) (Even though they are exactly the same)…
Second, the Welch language is ridiculously hard and even though the people born
in Wales learn the language in school and are extremely proud that they have one
of the oldest European languages, no one knows how to speak it! Except for the
occasional old Welshman… And third this is the Lords work... I would like to
share with you an experience that Elder Eichelberger and I had just yesterday
when we went to an appointment in the middle of what is called a ‘council
estate’. Now I can’t recall if I have ever explained a council estate befor
but basically think of North Las Vegas and you have what is a council estate.
We had the appointment at 1600, it was a beautifully sunny day, and when we
arrived at their house Heidi and Gareth (the two people whom we were coming to
see) were sitting in their front garden in the sun with about 8 other friends
all of which were different ages and quite angry. Our conversation started off
pretty contentious but after a bit they started to settle down, then eventually
they sat down on the grass, and Elder Eichelberger and I began to teach. The
Lord then poured his Spirit upon us in great measure. As we spoke the Spirit
was felt by all and the faces of those listening changed from anger, lack of
interest, and even hate to a greater understanding of the truths. The way I
felt as I shared the Gospel with those children of God will never be forgotten.
Their questions went from foolish and entrapping to sincere and genuine; their
hearts went from hard and unbreakable to soft and ‘squishy’ and the Love of the
Lord was felt by all present. Once more, I most proclaim who can possibly deny
the power of God or of the Holy Ghost! Here were people that were out for blood
seeking to humiliate and yet by the end they were quiet, contemplative, and
pensive. And the best part is that it had absolutely nothing to do with myself
or Elder Eichelberger it had everything to do with the Lord and the power of his
Spirit! The Church is true, the Plan of Salvation is from God, He does love us
and he truly wants us to become as he is and return to be in his presence.
These things I know and there is no power on the whole of the Earth that can
bring this witness to me or to anyone but our Father which is in Heaven! And I
will do this work, and I will have hard time, and I will do whatever he requires
of me in utmost gratitude and humility for the beautiful knowledge he has given
me of the truth!

With all the love my feeble and weak heart can give,
Elder McKenna

P.S. I didn’t ever get to see that Picture of Max and Elvis…

P.P.S. Tell Connor’s mom that she should tell him that HE BETTER REPLY!

hiya

Hello! Sorry for the late E-mail, things have been really crazy lately. This
past Monday was a bank holiday so all the libraries were closed and Tuesday
Elder Eichleberger and I had to prepare for the Zone Conference (I had to give
my first ever Zone Report and like always I totally said one of the missionaries
names wrong! In front of like 50 missionaries and the mission president! I’M
SUCH A FREAKIN GOOBER) so I have had to E-mail today (today being Wednesday) and
I really don’t know the next time I will be able to E-mail because PRESIDENT
PACKER is going to come and address the England Manchester Mission in an ALL
MISSION CONFERENCE! (By the way I don’t know if I ever told you that President
Packer is Sister Bullock’s father, can you imagine trying to go on a date with
the daughter of an apostle :P). The conference is being held this Tuesday in
the Chorley stake centre so I don’t know what is going to happen but I will try
to E-mail on Monday.

Any who life back home is just as amazing as it always is. The St. George
McKenna’s seem to be having some interesting times with Ellyse and her
‘favourite’ prom date, Meghan winning the quilting contest, Jackson taking care
of some Easter Ducks, and Carson preparing to go professional in his baseball
carer. Mom is improving on the computer (according to what Timette says, which
of course she is getting better at the computer she was trained by the master
sensa :) ), Timette and the girls were able to make a trip down to see pa and ma
and were also able to… that’s right you guessed it; go to Disneyland (by the way
I think Elder Eichleberger has been to Disneyland more times then I have!). And
I was sent an E-mail that was suppose to be some kind of picture detailing how
‘large’ Max is getting and something to do with Elvis… but I never received it!
And I am dying to know what it was, so please resend it. In answer to some
questions that I received… Yes, Wales is just as wet, cold, cloudy, and green as
England but it’s so funny because everything here is written in Welsh as well as
English, and I know have a name badge with the church of Jesus Christ written in
Welsh, but not a soul knows how to speak it!

This past week has been filled with some interesting experiences… my new
area requires that I travel to many other areas within Northern Wales and go on
exchanges with the missionaries there so many of the experiences that I will
most likely be sharing from now on will be with other missionaries in their
areas, but what I want to share with you today involves this past Sunday and an
investigator by the name of Zoey. Zoey has been taught for about 4 weeks from
Elder Eichleberger and Elder Wise (who I have replaced and he has gone home to
Germany), she is about 30 years old, and is really nice. She was able to come
to the second session of general conference the Sunday previous to last and
really enjoyed it. When she came to church this past Sunday she really didn’t
know what to expect but went on faith knowing that it was something the Lord
wanted her to do. By the end of the three hours the Spirit had touched her
heart so strong that she couldn’t keep from weeping, and through her tears she
told us that she had never felt so much peace in her life! How amazing is that!
Here she comes to a building, sits down, and listens to people talk for 3 hours
and yet she says that ‘she has never felt so much peace in her life’! How can
anyone say the Spirit is not real! The Spirit is so real, the feelings that it
places into our hearts are from God, and the blessings that come from aligning
our will with the commandments of the lord are plenteous! Honestly, were else
can you go sit for 3 hours to some people talk about stuff and leave with your
eyes brimming with tears and your heart filled with joy! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!
Joseph smith did see God and Jesus Christ (I know he did), Thomas S. Monson is a
prophet of God (with out question), God does live, he does speak to us through
the feelings of our heart and the Spirit (I know Zoey felt it and I have as
well), and Christ is most certainly his only begotten son and redeemer of the
world! How wonderful it is to invite people whom I meet on the street every day
to make changes in their lives so that they can ‘have the greatest peace that
they have ever felt’ there is absolutely nothing greater then the work of the
Lord.

With all the love my heart and soul can possible convey
Elder McKenna

P.S. I am now living at the following address

2 Langford Cl.
Wrexham
LL13 9EX
Wales

P.P.S. thanks for the update with Connor and Ashley, and tell Connor if you see
him again TO WRITE ME A LETTER! But do it in a loving way :)

P.P.P.S. thank you for the testimonies! I don’t think you will ever realize how
much I prize the testimony of my family…