The Condensation of God

Hey everyone! 

Transfers came in and I'm staying in Arlington with Sister Wind! Which is super awesome! 

This week was crazy. We had so much happen.

On Tuesday we had a focus group for the church. It was from the research center at the headquarters and they selected our mission and us to come talk about our missions and different stuff. It was so cool!  Mom added:  it was questions about missions and men/women serving, ages they go, length of time, pro and cons of both, etc.  

On Wednesday we had this awesome, awesome lesson with Jennifer!! It was so good! We went over the plan of salvation and we were able to give her  Bible and Book of Mormon verses to back up every single point. It was so good and she was really getting it! It ended on a bad note when we mentioned temples and she didn't really understand them but the rest of the 2.5 hour lesson was amazing!! The spirit was so strong and she told us in the past her other churches had brushed away her questions but we were able to give her answers and talk about them. She is so amazing. 

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We Had 3 trunk or treats this weekend. Which was soo fun! We passed out a ton of candy and people also thought we were collecting candy so we got a lot in return Haha. It was good. Ceiara came to the trunk or treat and met a bunch of ward members! Then she came to church yesterday which was so awesome! She said she really liked it and even wanted to come to the 'Why I Believe' fireside last night and we were calling people to find a ride all day but someone finally came thru in a clutch 20 minutes before! It was such a blessing! The fireside was so good. 

We dressed up as scouters.

 Mom sent Malena the cake pan and frosting, and this is how it turned out.  Freaky.

Malena sent her Halloween face.

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A recent convert in the YSA came and spent the weekend with us! We got special permission to have her sleep over and be a third companion for Friday and Saturday! It was so fun! She had so many questions and got a kick out of all our missionary ways. I made her a badge and she wore it all day and was so sad when she had to take it off at the end of the day. 

All the missionaries in our district and the Spanish elders and hermana's were invited to Dwane's house. Dwane works at Arlington Charities with us and he told us to come over for lunch and he made us so much food! And it was so good. He also made us tea and ginger ale and none of us could drink it. It was so nice of him to do it! 

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Ok ok,  so in church yesterday a man got up and talked about the "condensation" (condescension) of God for like 20 minutes. I was cracking up the whole time. At one point he said the condescension but then corrected himself to condensation. 

Just to explain because I didn't understand what condescension meant till i was out: 

Condescension: the voluntary descent from rank or diety

Condensation: The process of changing from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state 

So now you understand. It was great. I was trying so hard not to laugh. 

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This week Sister Wind and I were talking about Joy and how we find everlasting joy and happiness. We came to the conclusion that true joy comes from repentance. Joy is change, improvement and knowing that we have a bright future ahead if we keep repenting. Joy is becoming clean from our sins. Temporary joy comes from worldly things but eternal happiness comes from repenting and feeling the love and forgiveness of God. 

I love you all

- Sister McKee 

Write her an email at  malena.mckee@missionary.org

Hat and Scarf Malena made for Bobbie.  She was so excited she was singing and waving her arms around.  

 My District

 Watercolor Malena made for Sis. Wind.  She loves Gone with the Wind.

I Bro Hugged an Old Man!

Hello everybody! 

It's Monday again!! I hope everyone else's p-day is good too!  Wait… y'all can go shopping whenever you want? What a life! 

Anyways... this week has been an adventure!! What a great week, let me tell you,

Katherine decided not to be baptized. She was scared what her family would say so she decided not to disappoint them. She really wants to read the Book of Mormon though so we got the audio for her and she sat and listened to it yesterday with us!! She's so awesome, and we love her so much. 

We had another lesson with Jennifer who really opened up and talked to us for 1.5 hours. Texas talkers, they have a gift. I love her so much. She always cooks us food when we come over and is the sweetest person ever. I just love people.

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We also started teaching a woman named Ceiara and she was a Book of Mormon request. It was amazing. She wants to learn so badly! We asked her what she wants to learn and she said "everything" She calls us to set up appointments and we fasted with her and she told us all about how she learned so much about Jesus Christ and loves him and she set a date to be baptized!! All 3 of us prayed about it and she is set to be baptized on Nov. 16th! 

One night we came for a lesson with Ceiara at 6:30 and she wasn't there. So we decided to knock some doors and then around 15 minutes later we went back and she was home! We had a lesson with her and it went really good. Not the point though. 

As we left Ceiara's we walked past a woman and waved and she yelled to us "are yall church people!?" And we went back and she said her name is Tabitha and she has a lot of tough stuff going on and needs someone to pray with. She said "when you walked passed i could just tell y'all were church people. You can tell them by their fruits and I could feel it!" so we prayed with her and it was so awesome! It was such a miracle that Ceiara was late so we could meet Tabitha.

 We had a Relief Society luncheon and the 2 women who planned it got in a little argument over who was gonna pay for us and 1 almost started crying so when the other sat down she ran to the register and paid for everyone. These southern ladies are so cute. 

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Friday was a Crazy day!! 

1. We had lessons all morning 

2. Couldn't eat lunch til 3 so we got Chick Fil A. I like Chick Fil A now, btw.

3. Got rear ended. I was driving (OK, THIS ONE WASN'T MY FAULT, I know what y'all are thinking) and we were stopped and I watched in the review (*rearview* if your Jocelyn) mirror as a woman ran into the car behind us and he ran into us. So we stopped, jumped out. And I started calling our auto advisor and the cops and Sister Wind was handing out forms and taking pictures. Nothing  happened to any cars but we had to have a police report. So the cops came and turns out, the woman In the back didn't have a license or insurance so they took her car. Which was heartbreaking. ,

4. Because we got rear ended we were an hour late to dinner and went and knocked and knocked and no one answered, turns out dinner appointment forgot and wasn't home so we went to Chick Fil A again! 

5. We had a lesson so we went and she said she was almost home and we ended up waiting for 30 minutes on her porch and she never came so we had to leave.

I mean, what a day! 

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Awkward Malena Moments. 

1. So to this Thursday at Musical Memory Singers, we were talking to this guy and he was shaking all the missionaries hands. It was me, Sister Wind, Elder Paulson, Wilkey and Thueson. So Merlin is like 85 years old and was talking and shaking and when he got to me, he kinda pulled a little, and pulled me into a hug, and so I accidentally bro hugged him, with one hand still shaking his hand, and the other patting his back. I wish you could've seen the eyes of these elders, and how awkward I felt.

2. At church yesterday there was this brother in the ward who while walking in was talking to us and he held out his arm for a hug, and I didn't want to, so I lifted my arm and shook his hand.and then turned and walked straight into the open door. Then, while trying to casually laugh it off, I ran into the door again. 

3. Locked the keys in the church again. Nbd. We only had to walk 1.5 miles this time. 

4. We were singing "I Stand All Amazed" in a sacrament and it was really slow so in an attempt to speed it up, Sister Wind belted it at full speed and no one followed suit and I cried from laughter. 

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A few weeks ago we visited a woman and she told us she has been trying so long to focus on what is important. She said that sometimes she is trying to do something important but instead does something that seems "urgent". As soon as we try to slow down and do something important, a million other things could rush into our heads that seems "urgent and necessary" and we get distracted doing those things rather than what will help us! Then in conference, Elder Stephen w. Owen said: 

"He will bring things to your attention that seem urgent but in reality aren’t that important. He would have you become so “troubled about many things” that you neglect the “one thing [that] is needful.”

Isn't that so cool! 

Sometimes it's hard for me to focus on the most important thing. Because I'm impatient and like to multitask and feel I can get these small things out of the way and then do the big thing.  So, I have been trying to focus on the most important rather than the most urgent. I invite all y'all this week to set aside time to focus on what is most important to you, and don't let other things distract you from that.

I love y'all!! Stay fresh 

Sister McKee 

A screenshot of me showing off my parkor skills for our zone talent show. Email me for this very talented video.  malena.mckee@missionary.org

Our temple pumpkin

 Saturday at a Baptism with other sisters.

It's Cold Now!

Hey yall! It cooled down this week! It has cooled down to around 60-75 and it's honestly been so nice. I love it, it poured one day so I got to wear my boots and jacket without getting looks. We also can wear our cardigans outside of the church building! I'm starting to appreciate the cold more after being in 103⁰ weather for 4 months! Sister Wind does not. It's been great!  

This week was amazing! We had Daniella's baptism! She is so awesome and so excited to be baptized!  She asked me to give the talk on baptism and I tried a different object lesson that went better. This time I put latex gloves on her and poured syrup all over her hands and we talked about how when we are baptized all our sins can be washed away. Took the gloves off. Then, I dumped more syrup on her hands and told her how she has to repent and wiped her hands off with wet wipes. It worked good and no syrup ended up on her baptism dress! It did end up all over the floor though. 

So that was exciting!! She did show up 15 minutes late to her own baptism, but I didn't freak out at all. That was a lie.

 

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Katherine is also being baptized this Saturday but she is getting nervous about what her family will think. So pray for her. 

So, on Thursday we were going to a lesson with Wilma and her lights were all off but we knocked and were standing there. Sister Wind and I were laughing about something when Wilma opened the door and let us in! Later in the lesson she told us she had deliberately turned off the lights and went in the other room so she wouldn't have to talk to us, but when she saw us through the peephole and we were laughing she let us in! That's called being the message! 

We also had an amazing lesson with Jennifer who told us all about her family and how she just wants a family oriented church. We read the family proclamation and she cried and really opened up! She had told us originally she only had 20 minutes but once the spirit hit her she wouldn't let us leave! Jennifer is so amazing. We love her. 

We went and volunteered at a fall festival on Thursday and Saturday.  We took tickets and talked to people! It was so fun!!

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We had exchanges again! It was again with Sister Simmons and I think it went better than the last time! We didn't have to walk 3 miles in Arlington city. We did, however, talk to a man who told us the following things: 

•he prays to the sky, and looks directly into the sun while he prays. (It reminded me of that Brian Reagan bit)

•he acted out bible stories to us 

•called us young queens instead of young women (I liked that) 

• told us about his witch neighbor 

• so much more that I can't explain. It was great.

We went to a woman's house and she fed us real Philippine food! It was good! She told us "you don't have to leave the country to go on a foreign mission!” She's right about that. 

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Ok readers, I've had some inquiries about why I haven't had an Awkward Malena Moments the past few weeks. It's simple really. I'm not actually awkward anymore. Jk... here you go:

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• I was on exchanges and chewing gum as we walked to someone's house. I ended up running into a tree and my gum fell down my dress. That's what I get for not being obedient. 

• While volunteering at the fall festival we were handing out bags to the costumers and a little girl grabbed a bag and her mom grabbed a bag. I didn't mean to really, but I snatched the girls bag back and said "only 1 per family!" And I didn't really realize how terrible I sounded till after. I felt so bad. This poor little girl was so excited and I accidentally crushed her spirit. Nbd.

• We went to Olive Garden with some couples in 3rd ward. Sister Wind was taking all the mints at the end and I turned to her and said “Save some mints for Scott!" And pointed to the couple across from us. He looked really confused and said “My name is Thomas... " it was pretty awkward. 

I think a lot of moments are awkward because I'm constantly crying from laughing so hard. Or we are just hilarious. Both probably.

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This week I am reading the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi. I love them. Reading them with the Old Testament institute manual really helps. Here are some verses. 

2 Nephi 12: 8, 17-18, 20

8 'their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made'

17 'and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.' 

18 'and the idols he shall utterly abolish'

20 'in that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made of himself to worship, to the moles and the bats.'

How often do we put our cell phones, cars or worldly things on an alter above God? I gtg but just think about that...

Love Ya'll

Sister McKe

Spiritual Bible Bashing

Hey everyone!!!

This week I hit 4 months, which isn't that long, but, I want to congratulate all of you if your still reading my emails!!! Woohoo! 4 months! You guys are doing so good. 

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This week was so awesome!!! First, we did a ton of service. We had met this Muslim woman who asked us to come back so we offered to help clean her house. And let's just say: bugs, bugs bugs. Cockroaches, beetles, fruit flies, ect.  We cleaned for 2+ hours and barely made a dent. But this woman was so open and asked for a Book of Mormon in Arabic! We may not have softened the mess, but it softened her heart. haha. 

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We also had interviews this week and it was super awesome! I love President and Sister Chapman. Then, while we were waiting for District Council after we got to watch the New Light The World video!! It was so cool!! We also had a really cool discussion on truth and knowledge. 

At District Council we did a role play where people would ask questions and the other would answer it with the Book of Mormon. I had so much fun. I felt like I was Spiritually Bible Bashing. The scriptures are so amazing. I always found the answers to whatever question was asked. Even if it was hard. Booyah. If any of you have questions, send them forward. I love it. It really strengthens my testimony of the Book of Mormon! 

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On Thursday we stopped by an inactive, part member family and the youngest daughter kept asking us WHEN SHE CAN BE BAPTIZED!! We didn't know, but then her mom said she would like it to be as soon as possible because she was supposed to be baptized in June but it didn't happen. So 9 year old Daniella is being baptized this Saturday!! We are so excited and Daniella is completely overjoyed!! Daniella's family also dropped her off at the church so she could come watch conference with us today and she loved it!! I love her so much! Since Sister Wind is here, we've now had 2 people in 3 weeks ask us if they can be baptized!! Arlington is amazing. 

We also had a lesson with the two girls again!! They are so sweet and so excited to learn!! They asked a ton of questions and their parents have questions too and Keely squealed when we gave her the Book of Mormon!! They are so awesome!! 

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Guys, conference was so amazing this weekend!! I feel like I had so much cool stuff revealed to me!! Something that continually stuck out to me was "Joy". I heard it in almost every talk!! The gospel is JOY!! I liked the analogy of the deer eating the hay, and while it was filling, it didn't give them the nutrients they need and they died. While there are many things in this world that will make us happy, if we aren't feasting upon the right things, we won't last. The true church is here to stay! By feasting upon the gospel, we will feel happy and full in this life and lives to come!! 

I also loved the women's session. I felt so empowered and so in awe of the powerful women of the church and the powerful women the church leaders spoke of. It's so amazing. 

And mom got this email and pictures from a family:

We just had the sisters over for General Conference Saturday PM session, and Sister Wind said to me "Are you going to send that to our Moms?" because we had told her some stories about how we often do that. So, here they are!

They have the shopping that we let them do in our food storage, as well as some more dessert for later. :)

Just wanted you to know that we love them, and are taking care of them for you!

Steven Van Gemert

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So I haven't done Awkward Malena Moments in a few weeks because I feel like I don't have any, but this week I have scrounged a few up. 

1. So, this family is going through a lot and recently had a baby. They signed up for dinner and when we called we offered to bring pizza and clean the house. Then, on our way to their apt. with the pizza Sister S. tells us that her husband is also making food. So, we show up and start cleaning and the kids start eating and the adults eat and they never fed us. It was so funny. Luckily at the end they sent us home with stuff, but we were thinking "why can't we eat with you?"  

2. At conference I brought homemade bingo boards and m&ms for the 2 girls, but the girls never showed up so I started passing cups of M&M's down the aisle. Suddenly Hermana Bogh whispers “Really? You brought tiny red solo cups! To conference?!" And we both start laughing because all we'd had is tiny shot glasses in the Apt. they were here when I got here. 😂

I love you all!! I'm praying for you!!! 

-Sister McKee 

Wearing Mom's Earrings:

 4 month celebration

 Sis. Wind's 11 month celebration