On Tuesday we had zone conference and president told us that because our zone is going to the new mission when we split, they are going to pump it full of missionaries! And right now we have about 160 missionaries in our mission, we lost 80 with the circumstances, but we will gain 120 in the next month, which means 2 sets of missionaries per ward! We are excited to see what they do! We got to see a few of them last night on a zoom call and that was cool! Its gonna be so cool!
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Then, that afternoon we took our sidewalk chalk and went and chalked peoples driveways! It was way fun! We did it again and the family caught us, and I think they were so excited for human interaction beyond their family, that they set up lawn chairs on their sidewalk and they sat at the top of their driveway and we drank smoothies and talked! It was fun!
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Just a fun update, our mission president informed us on Tuesday that he is hoping to let us out with phase one opening. We were all really excited, especially since we haven't left the apartment in 45 days, and we are getting more missionaries, but president told us last night that he recieved word from the first presidency that it's not the time yet. We will not be allowed to start going out again until there has been a downward trend for two weeks, and in Texas, it is still rising. So, we've got at least two more weeks, if it starts dropping today. So, that was a bummer, but it makes sense.
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So, a few months ago the housing coordinator called and asked how our Apt. Is and if we'd like to move. We were telling him some stuff going on so he called the front office and then told us we will move the end of April. This was way before corona or anything so Sister Elkins and I called about 3 weeks ago and asked if we were still moving, and the housing guy said "no". Which was fine, but then, on Wednesday the new housing guy calls us and said "hey, front office called us, you are still moving TOMORROW right? They're planning on that.” So, that was crazy. We had two sisters come help us pack all day and then we woke up and starting scrubbing the apartment on Thursday. Wow it was so gross. Missionaries had been living in that apartment for 6-7 years and I don't think anyone ever washed the baseboards.
Then, more missionaries came and helped us move across the complex and our new apartment is the exact same, just cleaner and we enjoy it! It was a crazy 48 hours though, but gave us something fun to do!
We found so much random stuff in there such as:
- a child's fishing pole with a jig and hook on it
- an entire box of old candy canes
-alcohol (for cleaning we assume :))
- a super, super old area book
- food that expired in 2008
- church themed Jenga
- a 1/10 carot diamond watch
- many shower curtains
Like what even? It was good we moved to get a fresh start. Some stuff never gets thrown away. I heard the line "we will keep in incase the next missionaries want it" like 100 times. Nope. It's gone.
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A woman asked for a Bible study and so we called and she introduced her husband to us! They asked what message we share and so we taught the restoration! They got so excited! They wanted to know everything and told us they lead a church in Pakistan, but want to create a branch of our church in their town, and they already have 300 church members! So, we found the Pakistan missionaries! I didn't know there were any and it's so awesome! I'm so excited for them!
We also had a really good lesson with Steffi and read the intro to the Book of Mormon with her and she loved it! We are going to start calling 3 times a week to read with her!
We taught a woman named Patricia last night in Missouri. As we taught the plan of salvation she kept telling us how it makes sense and how she feels like her eyes are opened! The spirit was so strong and none of us noticed it had been an hour and a half! At one point she said "so this Joseph guy, is he an image?" And I laughed outloud and said "no no, we don't worship him at all!" And she let out this huge sigh and said "good, because I've been praying to God about this, and I felt awkward praying about if I should worship someone else!" It was funny.
And she actually loved the fact that our church believes in spirits and that we believe we will see our pets in heaven. She told us her church doesn't believe either of those things but they are important to her. Patricia is amazing!!
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So yesterday was my birthday, and of course my birthday would go this way:
It was actually pretty great! Thank you for all the happy birthday emails!! Ya'll are the best!
In the afternoon we decided to go for a drive. Our car had been informing us that the tires psi was low for weeks now, but when we go to fill it, it's full. Well all the sudden our tire says "0 psi" and we are in the middle of a highway. So, we pull off and literally our tire looks like silly putty. Well, I'm only 20, what do I do? My only knowledge is to try and fill it! So, we slowly drive to a gas station with an air pump, but of course, it's out of order. So, we call the elders to come help us, and while we are standing there discussing our joint knowledge about putting on a spare tire, which I haven't even thought about doing since I was 15, a super nice man walks over and offers to help! He replaces the tire for us, which was great, because I couldn't even figure out the jack, and we drive to an auto shop. Sadly they are way too busy for us and so we are getting it fixed today. My grandpa Munoa (and probably the rest of my family) will be so ashamed. But, I could replace a tire now if I needed! Or, I know the nice guy to call and replace it for us!
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Since I've been on my mission, I was going through a hard time and during interviews with president he gave me a blessing. In this blessing he promised me that the trials I an going through will bless my future family and those around me. Knowing that my trials will bless my current and future family was a big comfort to me, and let me know that God sees the big picture. Just like then, the trials that we are all going through right now, will bless future generations! Staying in isolation, going home early, being locked inside with your family for 40+ days and 40+ nights, if we get through these and see the blessings, we can use these to bless our families. These experiences may be hard, but there are lessons we need to learn that couldn't be learned any other way. If we have a hard companion, someday our children might struggle getting along with people, and we will be able to relate and offer advice. If you came home early, some day you might have a friend who goes through something similar, and you will be able to succor to their needs. Blessings come because of trials, and inspite of trials. Look for them.
I love you all!
-Sister McKee
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