Sister Malena McKee : PTL Saints!

Guys, this week was soooo awesome. I cant even describe it. But I'm going to try.

We had a lesson with Bobbie and she sang us church songs from her past churches. She also told us that she went to a different church where they also called themselves saints, and when they'd say hello, they'd proclaim “PTL Saints!" Try to guess what it means, if you can't, I'll put the answer at the end. But I love it and will probably say it forever.

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We met a man named Moses, and I kept messing with him and calling him Abraham, Isaac, Noah etc. But, we gave him a pamphlet and asked to come back and he was so moved by our generous offering that he asked us to please stay while he goes and gets us something. He comes out with a bag with two cans of pralines (the chocolate straws, aka my favorite)

and two cans of Pepsi. He was such a nice guy! And he said we could come back and he'd love to speak at our church sometime.

Another man just yelled through the door that he doesn't have any clothes on but is grateful that we stopped by.

A man answered the door and was looking right at us. He told us he doesn't believe in organized religion and we asked if he would like a card. He looked very offended and said "I can't read! I'm legally blind!" And slammed the door.

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Wednesday was an awesome day!!! We had a mission conference with ELDER PATRICK KEARON. He was really funny and we came in late and ended up in the FRONT ROW. And just got to look him right in the eye and also awkward eye contact with the AP's constantly because they were sitting right in front of me. But anyways, at lunch, we saw empty chairs so we ran over to his table and then I slyly said “Hey can we sit by you?" And I literally rubbed elbows with a general authority!! Oohhh so cool. And he was really funny. I told him I was glad that I sat by him because I felt like I was In a mini general conference and he looks at me and says “Yes, this all is just for you. This whole conference, President set this all up for you. He asked us to come to help you, he was actually pleading and crying a little." Now imagine it with his British accent. it was really funny. I didn't know what to say. I felt struck down with his authoritative power.

But he was awesome. I learned so much. He talked a lot about worrying and perfectionism. Something that a missionary close to me struggles with a lot. But why struggle so much for something that is literally impossible to achieve in this life. We can't be perfect in this life. We can try our best to be our best, but perfectionism is just a mask. It's something that hides how wonderful mistakes can be! I make a ton of mistakes, you all know that and I hope you all still love me despite them. I think mistakes make us who we are, and learning from mistakes makes us who we can be. So quit worrying so much! Mistakes are fun!! Don't wear yourself out trying to hide them. Everyone is thinking of themselves anyways, so no one notices each other's mistakes.

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We also had two dinners on Wednesday. Kenneth and Griselda wanted to take us out but we already had a dinner set up so we just ate two! But the Lord blessed us because we didn't feel sick at all! It was great. And Griselda gave her mom a Book of Mormon and shared scriptures with her. She told us she also has been reading a tiny little bit. But I am so excited for her because she is starting to progress!!

Also, we are still meeting with Sean and he called us one day and we were talking about the Book of Mormon and he says "I didn't bring it with me, but I have a spare 15 minutes, do y'all have an app or something I can download?" And we said YES! And over the phone we helped to download the BoM app and also invited him to stake conference. And he wanted to come to the Saturday adult session!! He told us "well if I want something I've never had I have to do something I've never done, and I've definitely have never gone to church on a Saturday night!" So he came and he said he liked it!! I am so excited. He seems to want to make a change.

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MICHELLE GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!!!! it was sooo exciting!! She did so good, went under and back up and everything. And she said she feels so clean and happy and calm. And the ward is so great, so many people came to support her. We love Michelle.

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Here's an awkward moment:

Michelle asked if I could give a talk on baptism. I told her I could and some elders told me I had to do a cool object lesson so she would remember it. So, I was talking to some members about it and one suggested that I take a cup of water, put food coloring in it, and then add bleach for baptism. He kept talking about when he saw this at a baptism and the food coloring disappeared instantly and it was so cool. So, his wife gave me some bleach and I practiced and it disappeared instantly. But I only had a little more so I couldn't try again. So I prepared a few scriptures and practiced with pretend water and bleach, it went really well. But, I stood up to give my talk, I put food coloring in the water, and added the bleach and NOTHING happened!!! So, I was trying to do anything to mix it, and then resorted to covering the cup with my hands. It was really awkward. But, over time it continuously got more clear. Super awkward though. The bishop used it as "sometimes repentance takes a while" Haha

Awkward Malena Moments:

A lady made us dinner and I was helping and she handed me two pans of vegetables. But I didn't have oven mitts and proceeded to burn the tips of my fingers off while running to her kitchen.

She also handed me a pitcher of something. I asked if it was ranch (it looked like ranch!!) And she just looked very exasperated and said “No, this is gravy! You're not from the South are you? How much ranch do you need?" She kept passing me the actual ranch for salad though and roasting me on my lack of gravy knowledge.

Remember how I spilled salsa on a member a few weeks ago? Well, I didn't tell anyone here about that, but a man was talking to us and the elders and he joked that he is nervous to have the missionaries over because he heard they break dishes. And we all were confused then he said "do you guys know who the missionary is that spilled salsa on the Andersons?" Ahh it was so awkward. I felt so bad.

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Also we rescued a stray cat yesterday, named him Gidgidoni and took him to a womans house. She has 13 pets so we just snuck him in. Haha, no not really. But she helped us clean him and now we have to find a animal shelter for him.