"We just wanted to let you know! The gospel is really cool!"

Hey everyone! 

This week was better! We had a few referrals who came in, and one of our friends came to church today! 

We had a pass off lesson with Jacob and it was interesting. He's been passed around from a lot of missionaries, and so I think he was over having to retell us everything and said he's heard it all so many times. Well, we asked him about baptism and he said he's been baptized before and doesn't want to again. So, we asked him to pray, and decided to pray right then. The 5 of us all knelt on the cement outside in the 100⁰ heat and prayed to know if Jacob should get baptized. And if you know me, you know I have never kept my eyes closed an entire prayer, and I saw him wiping away a tear as we all took turns praying, but he still didn't want to commit. We had another lesson with him on Saturday and it went really good, and he said he really wants to pray now! So that's super cool, will keep y'all updated with that. 

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We also had a lesson with Daniel, and I think I intimidated him, which is not what we are supposed to do, but he's been trying to study the church in all the wrong places, aka, anti. So, he would read us anti and I was the one who knew how to answer his questions. We also had another lesson with him, and yes, I think he is intimidated. Dang it.

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Because we have no people to teach and we are opening the ward, we are working on going through the ward list and contacting members. A member we called didn't answer so we left a message and texted her. She called us back later that night and we talked to her and the conversation was kinda awkward but we shared Mosiah 24:13-15 and then after, it was silent for at least a minute. And, she had started crying and told us that she had been praying all day and the scriptures we read were an exact answer to her prayers! It was so incredible!

We also met Chrissy! Who was great! She wanted to find the true church and when she called us she said "well I've heard yours is true, so I wanted to try it out!" We had a really good first lesson and then she dropped us an hour before our second lesson. She said she just wants to figure some things out. Pray for Chrissy. 

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We got a referral from the elders named Brittney, who wants to get baptized but is hard to get ahold of. Well, she called us and invited us over! It was on exchanges with Sister Johnson and so we headed over and Brittney is so awesome! Turns out she has 4 kids so she isn't actually YSA, nor does she look YSA age so idk why the elders sent her, but we loved meeting her! Her roommate on the other hand, did not like us and attempted to bible bash us. He kept telling us he is a deacon in his church and then asked if I know John 3:16 and I recited it and he wasn't happy. He essentially bashed us for about 30 minutes and Brittney just sat there till finally we just said "thank you JT, Brittney would you like to read the  Book of Mormon together?" And she said yes, and that she is going to teach him and gave JT her extra Book of Mormon and still wants to get baptized. It was just a gross feeling when talking to him and he wasn't too happy with us. 

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Awkward Malena Moment: 

1. We accidentally called a member, and I thought he was less active, but turns out he wasn't. The awkward part was, I kept saying "ok we just wanted to call to see if you are interested! Just let us know! The gospel is really great!" And he was confused, and I sounded so dumb.

2. We were supposed to have a lesson with a girl named Precious. She was a referral from the elders and so I called the number on the referral and a man answered and I said "hey is this precious?" And the response I got was "no, this is Elder Driggs". Hahah, it was so funny. But, we went and got no reply so that's sad.

3. In an effort to find single people in Dallas, I joined some Facebook singles groups and I'm going to try online dating this week! Wish me luck! 🤞

4. On a lesson during exchanges I had finished talking about a point and was waiting for the other sister to say something. Well, she said nothing, so we proceeded to stand there for a full 30 SECONDS. I kid you not and it was so awkward because finally she reached over and tapped my hand and gestured for me to go, and our friend was just staring at us and it was so awkward. Oh my gosh

5. The Relief Society President told us to invite a guy named Todd to our lesson with Geo, and then I saw him walking to his car so I ran over to him and I scared him (accidentally) and asked him to come to a lesson. Kinda awkward because I just jumped out of nowhere saying "hello Todd, can you come to a lesson tonight at 6". He came, the lesson was great.

I have been reading the New Testament again. It's so good. I love the Bible, but anyways in Luke 9:62 it says: 

"And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

With the handy Institute Manual it talks about when a man ploughs a field, he has keep his eyes focused so the lines can be straight. But sometimes, we are tempted to look behind us, see the work we've done, or even mourn for what we've already done. The ground may be rocky ahead, or it hasn't ever been ploughed before. Our journeys will be hard, we all have trials and we all need them to grow and learn. I always tend to look back, to think about where I've been, how good it used to be, and dread what's right in front of me. But, as we keep our eyes focused on what's important, the Gospel and Jesus Christ, we can get through all of our rocky parts and tough times.

I love you all! Have a good week! 

Sis. McKee

She's Coming Home in November!

Sister Malena McKee

Dear Missionary Family,

While it may still seem far down the road, Sister McKee will be coming home soon.  Because there are often changes during missions, we need to verify some information as we begin to plan and make travel arrangements for her return home.

Please provide the following information by responding to this email or in a separate communication to the Texas Dallas West Mission office using the contact information below:

  - Airport that Sister McKee will be flying to.
  - Parent's current address.
  - Current home ward Bishop's name and address (physical address and email).
  - Current home Stake President's name and address (physical address and email).

Sister McKee's departure date is expected to be on or about 11 Nov 2020. That date will be confirmed as travel arrangements are finalized.  It is not recommended that you come to Dallas to travel with Sister McKee, but that she travel directly home, where she can meet with the Stake President to be released.  However, if you are considering coming to Dallas to travel home together, please call us as soon as possible to discuss your plans because we regularly purchase tickets four months in advance.

As Sister McKee's service in the Texas Dallas West Mission draws to a close, we want you to know how deeply we appreciate her ongoing contributions to the work of the Lord here.  We hope that you will continue to encourage her consecrated efforts as there is much that can still be accomplish before her release.


Thank you so much for your support.

Highest regards,
President and Sister Farley
Texas Dallas West Mission

Sister Training Leader in Dallas West Mission

It is a pleasure to inform you that Sister Malena McKee has accepted the assignment to serve as Sister Training Leader in the Texas Dallas West Mission

Sister McKee  will be responsible for the training and welfare of a number of sister missionaries in one or more zones.  Her added responsibilities will include conducting companion exchanges with sisters under her stewardship, working with local leaders and members to coordinate missionary efforts, participating in mission leadership council and reporting directly to the mission president.  This will be a great opportunity for her to continue to learn and grow as a powerful servant of the Lord.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We appreciate the opportunity to labor with Sister McKee and the sacrifice that you are making by allowing her to be here serving the people of Texas.  We pray that the Lord's choicest blessings will be yours.

Sincerely,
Duane and Kristi Farley
Mission Leaders, Texas Dallas West Mission

Training in Dallas West Mission

It is a pleasure to inform you that Sister Malena McKee has been assigned to serve as a Trainer in the Texas Dallas West Mission. We consider the position of Trainer to be one of the most important assignments in the mission. We feel that it is the Lord's will that trainers be exemplary missionaries who have prepared themselves well. Sister McKee has qualified herself for this very important and responsible position.


Sister McKee's new companion is Sister Pyper Schmutz. It will be Sister McKee 's responsibility to assist her in becoming fully acquainted with her proselyting area, in learning the missionary lessons, in mastering a number of scriptures and in developing teaching, finding and other missionary skills that will help them to fulfill their missionary purpose.

We are delighted to have Sister McKee in the Texas Dallas West Mission and we are particularly pleased that she has qualified herself for this important assignment.  We invite you to add her new companion to your prayers in behalf of Sister McKee as she embarks on this new assignment.

Sincerely,
Duane and Kristi Farley
Mission Leaders, Texas Dallas West Mission

:)

Howdy folks.

So, these past 2 weeks have been rough. Its been a lot of downs, and few ups. But, I didn't write a weekly last week, so I thought I needed to send an update. 

The mission split on July 1st, and transfers were July 8th. We got 2 new ZLs from the Texas Dallas mission to the Lewisville and Carrollton zones and it was a really hard adjustment for all of us. They are really hard working, but had a different way of doing things. We had a lot of growing pain with them. I won't go into details. 

We also had MLC which I thought was fun and not as bad as we thought it'd be. 

Menlove and I were having a blast together and had all these awesome progressing people and I really loved my zone, but President transferred me.

 So, now I am on the other side of the mission, white washing, training a reassigned missionary. It's been a rough week. I feel like I just white washed into a mission I'm not a part of, but I know it'll get better! It always does. Sister Schmutz

Ava got baptized this week! Which is such a miracle because we weren't sure she would! She has been going through a lot, and then had a seizure a few days before. We were so nervous, but she pulled through! She is awesome!  

 Quick funny story: 

Before I got transferred we went over to teach Ava and her niece brought  her pet bird out. Well Ava, a 69 year old woman, is scared of birds and pushed over Sister Menlove's chair to go hide in the pantry 😂😂. 

Also, I met a man at Braum's and turns out he is the first real life Big Tex, and it was so funny. He talked to me for 45 minutes, then went to his car and brought me back a signed pic of himself as Big Tex  It was great. 

Not much to report! Hopefully I'll have more next week! 

-Sister Mckee 

Also, Elder Paulsen bought us all tech decks so I've been practicing, but I'm still not too good. 

What Brings me Joy!

Didn't send an email this week, but put this on Facebook.  

Things that are Joyful...

Witch Hunt

Hellooo everyone! Happy 4th of July! Everyone here takes it very seriously (including us, picture included) and it was so fun to see everyone dressed up and waving flags and eating BBQ.

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This week was pretty good. We officially joined the Texas Dallas West mission this week, and had a meet the president meeting on Wednesday. It was so weird to have a new mission president and to not know anyone at the conference. THEN, President Farley started talking about Pathway and different pilot programs that we are taking from Fort Worth into Dallas and he points at me and says "tell us about your Bible studies" and I was super caught off guard, but apparently the Bible study request I put out 3 months ago, and got like 350 responses, led to baptisms all over the world and he had me get up and talk about it and then he said "Salt Lake knows about you. Those Bible studies are changing the way we are doing missionary work" WOW I WAS SHOCKED. I HAD NO IDEA THAT THEY LED TO ANYTHING BECAUSE ALL THE PEOPLE WE WERE TEACHING DROPPED US!. So, that was super cool. I didn't know I did anything. I think that is a lesson showing how we really don't know the effect we have on people. We don't know what will come from our actions.

Then, he started telling us that the mission is going to start their own virtual visitors center, and they wouldn't have areas and devote all their time to sending referrals and doing online work and I got scared I'd go there. As much as I like teaching people online, which is only a little but slightly higher than everyone else, I would be so sad not to have an area or a ward. Luckily transfers came and went, and I am staying with Sister Menlove! I'm stoked! we have a lot of good things going for us, this week we put Ava on baptismal date!

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Fun fact, we met Ava this week. She is this 57 year old African American lady, who moved in with her niece who is a member, and Ava didn't know her niece was a member, and her niece didn't know Ava was meeting with missionaries in Arizona for months! We went over and Ava was so funny, she loves to talk about the persecution of the Latta Daya saints, and how she knows it is the true church. We asked her when she wanted to get baptized and she said “How about the 11th, I'm not doing anything then" but that was only 1 week, so we had to move it because that's not enough time. So, we set for the 18th! WOOHOO!

We also taught Alaina, who is also wanting to get baptized and she is so awesome! She is currently praying on a date, and told us she has seen many signs that tell her this is the place God wants her to be! 

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On our way home from the "meet the president" a bunch of missionaries stopped at In and Out, and while we were eating a server came around and was talking to us. He told us he wants a Book of Mormon, but when we asked him again he said no, but wants to do a Bible study. He friended us on Facebook and then messaged us and set up a time to come do a Bible study with us the next day. I asked him multiple times if he was gonna bash us and he said no, but we brought Elder Paulson and Martinez anyways because they know the Bible, and I was getting weird vibes. So, we showed up and it was crazy, we barely could talk because Randall was talking too much, and Paulson did a lot of the talking and I only did a little. He kept looking at my shoes and complimenting them, and then wanted to pray for us. We all prayed and then he prayed and it was intense, and then he spent like 5 straight minutes praying for my future husband and my husband is gonna be pretty great, I know that now, who will want to study the Bible and praise with me. He said a lot of weird stuff, I was really glad the Elders came. Then, after the Elders got in their car, he followed us to our car and kept talking to us so I was signaling to the Elders not to leave.  I made Randall take a pamphlet and then we left. It was weird. 

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So, in my pursuit of Facebook finding this week I got literal witch hunted, where one woman in a group was calling all the missionaries out and posting anti and it was crazy. I got in a few really good conversations, but then it just went bad and I got kicked out. It was intense.

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On the 4th we had our weekly fishing ZLC. Me and Menlove brought leftover hotdogs for our bait and the Elders told us it wouldn't work, and they were right! We caught nothing for like an hour, even after we started using worms. One of the Elders kept catching fish RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, and I was so mad cause I'd caught zip. So, I told Menlove to pray for me and she did and then we both caught a fish at the exact same time!!!! Then, I got it off and I caught another fish! Prayer is  Real! It was so funny.

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This week as a zone we all fasted together for motivation, because corona missions are hard, and I will just include the thought I put in the group yesterday: 

Because we are fasting for motivation today, I wanted to share a thought I had on motivation yesterday after we prayed.

In Alma 26:27 it says 

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." 

I was thinking about how long we've been in quarantine, and it's been really tough for me because it stinks, and I don't know why we have to be this way. At one point I had just cried for around 3 hours straight because I was so miserable and wanted to go home. My parents, in a loving way, pretty much said "no, you are not allowed to come home, suck it up. Trust in the Lord." 

I think we all have those moments when we want to turn back, but imagine what would have happened if Ammon had turned back. King Lamoni, his father and all their people wouldn't have had the gospel! God knows it's hard. Right now, he planned for this, you're where you are supposed to be, and we just need to bare it with patience, our afflictions. It's supposed to be hard, missions are hard for a reason, and we got dealt a hard hand, but God is on our side. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and we can't lose when we are on the Lords errand! It sometimes feels menial, and pointless, because none of our missions are how they used to be, but that doesn't mean they still can't be great! It's hard, but if it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be great. Our success is coming! We just need to work hard, get creative, and let God do the rest! 💪🥳

My motto is: be bold or go home, and since we aren't going home, we just gotta be bold. So, take chances and have fun! It's hard, and it's supposed to be, so suck it up and work hard and you will be blessed.

Love yall! 

-Sister McKee

Dallas West Mission President and Wife

If you let me tell you why you're wrong, we would be best friends by now.

Sadly, this week was a little more boring than usual. 

We had exchanges this week again, and I went with Sister Peaua from Tonga to her Spanish area. It was so fun and she wanted to braid my hair so I let her and wow, I cannot pull it off like she can. I love exchanges though, they are so fun

We called a lady to see if she was interested and she said no, and then she kept talking and ended up telling us to stop by her house the next day and she will have a care package for us. It was so cute, she left it on the doorstep and it had gloves, masks, cans of tuna and sardines, instant oatmeal, and other random things. It was so cute. We called her later that day and she told us about cool stuff.

We went to drop off a Book of Mormon to our friend Vivian, and left it on the doorstep, but ended up talking to her two neighbors, Grace and Nece. They told us they want Book of Mormons so we got to have a real life in person interaction with them and give them Book of Mormons! But when we called, Graces daughter was talking really fast and she said they want to talk to us and I said "Okay! When works for you!?" and she hung up. So dang.

We had a lesson with a member referral named Alaina. She is really sweet and has met with missionaries in the past and almost got baptized, but is ready now! 

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Saturday was not fun, all of our lessons fell through. Because Dallas is a hotspot currently, and more and more young people are being tested positive, we were encouraged to stay home as much as possible. Well, we had like 4 video lessons and all of them fell through, so we literally just sat around all day and tried to text people, and practiced tracking on the bathroom door. I got bashed a ton that day, there was a post in one of the Christian groups warning the other people that Mormon missionaries are tricking and deceiving people using the Bible and aren't Christian, so of course I had to set them straight, and of course, I got bashed out of my mind and then these ladies were making mean posts and wow, the world is crazy. 

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We had another lesson with George, and we invited a member, Jerry. Jerry and George clicked so well, and George told us he likes that Jerry explains things better for him. So, we just said some stuff but Jerry did a lot of the talking and it went so good!! It was hilarious though because George volunteered to say the closing prayer, but Jerry was so confused because he said it in his head, so over zoom we were all silently mouthing explaining that he says it in his head while George was praying. Then, we all had to keep our eyes open because we didn't know when he would end. It was so funny.

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We had our "Good bye Fort Worth" zoom devotional and it was so sad. I'm so sad to be leaving, it's gonna be so weird. This week we are going to be meeting our new mission president, and when we wake up Wednesday we will suddenly be in the Dallas West Mission! Crazy.

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An awkward moment I had today was when a man thought I was Sister Menlove's mom, and I got really sad that I look old enough to have a 20 year old. I think I made him feel bad.

We did an activity with the Lewisville Zone where we offered free prayers and held up signs for people to honk if they love Jesus. It was SO fun! Although one guy videoed us while yelling "SOCIAL DISTANCE!" and an elder had a heart attack and scolded all of us for not wearing our masks even though we were all standing far apart on the side walk. Elders.

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While I was being bashed a lot, I think the thing that stuck out to me the most was the scripture saying "you shall know them by their fruits". And, while people were telling me I'm brain washed, and in a cult and a liar, it stuck out to me all the good our church does. Jerry explained to George that we all want to come closer to God, and our church family helps us do that. We encourage each other to become better people, and we all want to become more like Jesus Christ. Our church focuses on helping other people, in the church or out of it. 

Something else that strengthens my testimony is the fact that everyone decides for themselves. In some churches there is an idea of "Blind Faith" and people based their faith on someone else's knowledge, therefore they are putting more trust in that person than in God. We believe that each person must know for themselves, we can't force anyone to come closer to God, and we can't force anyone to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. It is each person's journey. There are people out there who choose not to know. They don't care if the Book of Mormon is true or not, so they never bother to read it. Each person is stuck in that middle ground until they decide to move, and I love that. I love that we all get to decide for ourselves and it's each our own testimony. And, when these women sent me anti, told me I was wrong and invited me to stop reading the Book of Mormon for 2-4 weeks to rid myself of the devil, I just knew that they can't take away my testimony, because it's mine. I've grown it, i've experienced it, and unless I let them, they can't break it down. I know what I know and God know's what i know and that's that. 

I love you all! Thanks for your support! 

-Sister McKee