No More Blog

Sadly we will no longer be posting on the blog. If you'd like to stay up to date on Mackenzie and her mission, please leave your email address in the comments and I will send you her email and pictures. Thank you to everyone for you love and support for Mackenzie!  

Week 4 - Leaving for Uruguay next week!

 

Hi fam!! 

 

I feel like my weeks are so uneventful but then I go and think back and I feel like I have so much to tell and so little time to tell it in!! So proselyting this week was hard. I mean really hard. No one wanted to talk to us. It was really frustrating because the week before we had 60 contacts and this week we got 4! In five hours we were only able to talk to four people. So you could imagine how disheartening it would be to be walking around for five hours (feeling like you are melting by the way, literally it was so hot on Saturday our nail polish on our toes melted off onto our socks and shoes) and not have much success. Well we had about 45 minutes left before the bus would be coming to get us and Hermana Harpole and I decided to go back towards the shops since we weren´t having much success clapping doors. So we walked to the street and sat on a wall to get a drink of water and we see this man walking up and Hermana Harpole felt impressed to talk to him. So when he walks up she starts with- Hi! I´m Hailey!! (In English I might add) So when she turns to me I start talking to him in Spanish and tell him that I am Hermana Rich and then it registered what she said. It was pretty funny. But we talked to this man and he had played rugby and had a lot of friends from Utah! Well it turns out he absolutely loves the Book of Mormon but his wife hates it and so she threw his out and he doesn´t attend church. So we gave him another Book of Mormon, left him with Alma Chapter 32 and wrote the address of the church inside. He just kept saying how Joseph Smith was his friend and he felt so good talking to us. It was then I knew we had been assigned this new area to talk to this man. I decided even if my entire mission I only talk to 4 people that would be okay with me because I know that just by talking to those people or in this case that man, that I was easing Christ´s pain in Gethsemane just a little bit.  

 

So funny story... yesterday Hermana Harpole and I went outside to actividad fisica and we were just messing around right? Well we have this trick where she gets on my back for a piggy back ride and then I squat down really far and she flips over, more like rolls off of me. So we went to do it and the first time she landed it! So we went to do it again but tweak it a little bit and bad news. We got a little over ambitious and Harpole was sitting too far up on my back so when she when she flipped she ended up falling and dragging me down with her! Well she dislocated her finger and once again we are a broke companionship hahaha. But we just laugh about it and yes we realize we sound like we are five!  

 

Also, last night an elder from Brazil came into our district room because he needed a blessing and wanted one of the elders in my district to do it. So we were able to sit in and after his blessing he asked if he could talk with us so we said yes of course! And he just told us how back in Brazil everyone thinks North Americans are not very good people but because of us he knows the truth and how the North Americans here are his favorite people and how he knows we will be fantastic missionaries. It was so precious and cool to see how we can change people´s opinions! We actually hang out with the Brazilians a lot, especially since the only time we don´t speak in Spanish now is at breakfast and right before bed!  

 

This is the last email before I am out in the field and I am so excited!! I love all of you so much and can´t wait to talk to you all next week!  

 

Love,  

Hermana Rich

The church building in the area

 

Her new proselyting area

 

Hermana Rich & Hermana Harpole with her dislocated finger

 

 

 

Christmas & New Year (Week 3)

 

Hello my dear family and friends! 

I hope all is well and you had a fantastic christmas and new year! It is so crazy that it is 2016 already!! My Christmas was great! I just hung out with my district all day. We played this game called signs and we got some brazilians and latinos to join and we were able to explain the game in spanish to them which was really cool! We are learning the language so fast! But I still do not feel ready to leave for the field. But I keep reminding myself that faith and doubt cannot dwell in the same mind and just rely on the Lord! 

Christmas here was really great even though we had the worst meal ever!! It was this potato salad thing with cold imitation roast beef meat (in other words horse meat) so Harpole and I had banans and rolls haha. We just laugh and know it could be way worse and appreciate what we do have! They celebrate Christmas here like the fourth of July! There was not an empty spot in the sky! It was so amazing to watch the fireworks behind the temple! They did the same thing for  New Years but I must say missionary work, even in the CCM is exhausting, so I was not awake for them. I just woke up to them and rolled over and went back to sleep hahaha.  

I have to say thank you so much for the letters I got for Christmas! They made me feel so close to home and it really felt like Christmas because of it!! This Christmas made me really appreciate all of the things I don't have with me right now like my family and friends. The Lord really did bless me with the most amazing people in my life!! 

Proselitismo this week was a lot more difficult. But I must say every time I got discouraged or frustrated I would just start singing primary songs and would instantly feel so mcuh better. No one really wanted to talk to us! We were able to teach two lessons and hand out two Book of Mormons within the first hour of proselyting but nothing the rest of the day. But I was determined to meet my goal and just walked around talking to people while I was waiting for the bus and was able to hand out my last two book of mormons and teach two more lessons! I was so happy. 

I want you to know that I have a strong testimony of this gospel AND I  KNOW that it is through the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can be with our families forever and be forgiven of all our sins. I love you all so much! Happy New year! 

Love,

Hermana Rich

Funny Christmas Pajama Picture with the district

District Picture

Tags at the temple

Hermana Rich and Harpole in front of the temple

Hermana Rich & Harpole in front of the CCM

At the Temple 

With the Brazilian roommates

The group at the CCM

 

Week #2

Hey Fam! 

Semana 2!

 

I went to proseltismo yesterday and it was sooo awesome! We taught three lessons, gave out three book of mormons, all our pass along cards and we got six return visits! It was really hard work but so worth it. I couldn't understand much but when my companions told me what they were saying I did most of the talking. Which worked out well. We got a lot of cat calls but we just ignored all of them. When we drove into the city which was like an hour away I saw this restaurant bringing their meat into the store and it was a cow cut in half!! It was really crazy and gross. For proselyting they just give you a map of your area and drop you off on the side of the road and say go. It was pretty intense. The Lord is so amazing though. He has blessed me so much since I have been there. It was really easy to tell who needed the gospel more than others because I would look around and it was like one of my companions was talking to me and it said go talk to them or go to that door and each time someone would take something with them whether it was a pass along card or book of Mormon. Oh YEAH. It happened. Their was hair in my meat the day after I emailed you, and today! To say the least, I became a vegetarian for that meal. But on the bright side we have had chicken three times since I emailed last week which was great! CCM stands for Centro De Capacitacion! It was pretty crazy, one night there was a massive party across from the CCM it was really funny. All the English districts had to sing in Sunday school last week and now Hermana Willis has asked me and Elder Childs (my district leader from Virginia) to close her Sunday class lesson this week so you can tell sister Mills I am singing This is the Christ in the ccm or mtc. Also, I am singing in sacrament next Sunday and I get to teach relief society this Sunday! We watch a movie or video every Sunday with the Americans and we watched the Christmas devotional last week! They sang carol of the bells and it reminded me of AJ! I did get AJ's email. We got our new set of Americans and Latinos today. For three days there was only 9 of us in the CCM. So the day before all of the Americans left Hermana Willis made cookies for everyone. Well Elder Anderson is deathly allergic to all nuts and the cookies were peanut butter. Well he took one bite and swallowed. His lips swelled up so fast and his tongue, but it worked out. It was just kind of scary, which reminds me. We figured out that I am allergic to the mosquitos down here and they love me. I get a few new bites every day and they swell up to the size of golf balls, so Hermana Willis is going to get me cream today when she goes into the city. Also, we have a pet. Me and my companions wake up early so we can study before breakfast and every day there is a bird at the window and when we walk by he starts flying into the window non-stop. We named him Bobby lol. Also, we got a new pet INSIDE today. Someone left a window open and there was a bat asleep on the wall right outside our door this morning, pretty exciting huh? But the story that takes the cake I think is about my roommates, the Brazilians. We came down from planiemento (planning at 9:30) and the three girls came running out of our room and said we were in big trouble. We finally got them to calm down and they said that there are bad spirits in our room. They said they see it  in their body and it gives them bruises (we think its just from soccer). But we said it was okay and we could go back in and they kept pushing us away from the door and then started crying and ran away. So we had to go get someone to come pray in our room and give them blessings and then we were fine. But we told them they probably feel the bad spirits cause they don't go to bed on time. They are up until like 11:30 ironing clothes, showering, etc. Well I have never seen them get ready for bed so quickly before ahahaha.  I talk about this a lot with Hermana Harpole but even when we have super hard days with the language or whatever else at the end of the day when we write in our journals we still say it was a good day.

We went to the temple today and last Thursday and it is SOOO beautful inside. They have the most beautiful chandeliers I have ever seen! Hermana Harpole and I (we are like super close btw) decided to pray about what to teach our investigators next, because last week we were super stumped. When we came out and talked about it we had received the exact same answer. It was so amazing and it really strengthened my testimony. Also, Hermana Ostler had gotten sick while we were proselyting and started throwing up on the side of the road. It started to get stressful because people were coming up to us and asking us questions but we couldn't focus on understanding them and helping her. Then out of no where our Elders showed up. They said someone in a car drove up to them and told them where we were and said something was wrong with their chicas. It was such a huge blessing to have them there to help. I love my elders so much. We are like a family. It was a pretty hard week because one of my companions doesn't like to follow the rules and one night in the middle of the night she disappeared for over 30 minutes so we talked to her and it did not go well. It really upset me and we had been having contention no matter what I did she would have something snarky to say or just wouldn't cooperate. So I was pretty upset and I was really nervous to proselite so I asked my elders for a blessing and it was one of THE most spiritual blessings I have ever recieved. Elder Paulson gave it to me. He is from Utah. The prayer was very simple but I could feel the love of my HEAVENLY Father so strongly as I was surrounded by three boys who gave up two years of their lives to dedicate themselves to the Lord. I am so grateful for the priesthood, it is such a huge blessing out here.

 

I have never been so happy before. I just love everything out here and the people are so friendly and nice! That or they just completely ignore you haha. I just want you all to know how much I love this gospel. It is so amazing. The Lord knows each one of us and what we need and are feeling. If we turn to him for help He will help us to find the answers to any problems or trials we may be having as long as we put in the work. I am loving the mission and I am so happy that I get to devote 18 months of my life to serving the Lord because without him I would have nothing. I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week! 

Love,  

Hermana Rich

  

 

 

Mackenzie's companion Hermana Harpole is the one on the far right.

The First Week

Hey Fam!  

So Aunt Tamie´s house was really good! Yes, there was someone there to pick me up when I got there. The first thing I did when I got to the mtc (missionary training center) was unpack, then lunch, and then straight to classes. My spanish is getting there. I don´t really have a choice. We started teaching three lessons a day on our fourth day and it had to be all in Spanish. I have two companions, Hermana Ostler and Hermana Harpole. Hermana Ostler is from Florida and is 20 and then Hermana Harpole is from Herriman and she is my age. You know me I sleep just fine! I am learning alot during class time. The weather is crazy! It will be really hot and then it will start raining. So yes it does get humid but it isn´t bad. I have three other roommates besides my companions. They are from Brazil. We talk to them in Spanish but they also know english so we help them with english and they help us with spanish! I don´t think I need anything at the moment except if you could forward me the email addresses from my old email! I have no idea about fedex but I will find out. I don't have an exact date when I will fly out to Urugauy yet, just six weeks. Avalon is here for another three days then all the north americans are leaving. The mtc is really small so we are all super close. So the food here is okay, we always joke about who´s bread is harder. It is literally like a rock so you have to crack it open and eat the inside, well what is soft. The milk here is alot sweeter which is pretty cool. The biggest meal of the day is lunch. We always have meat with lunch and dinner but no one knows what kind of meat it is...we don´t really ask. As long as it doesn´t have hair on it I´m good (which it hasn´t thank goodness). I say all my prayers in spanish and we teach all our lessons in spanish. We go out next Saturday and start talking to people. I bore my testimony in spanish on fast sunday and we fasted for a whole 24 hours which was pretty cool. I thought it was going to be really hard but it wasn´t. The Lord really pulls his weight out here. He always answers my prayers. We were sitting waiting to teach a lesson and all of us felt very strongly we needed to change the topic. SO we prayed about it and went into the lesson. It went really well and we didn´t have trouble speaking. When I say investigators I mean our two teachers who are playing ivestigators they had on their missions. It´s cool though because even though they aren´t real investigators the spirit still teaches you and helps you. So a couple days ago it was a big holiday in Argentina. Me and my companeras were studying in our classroom and started to hear alot of gunfire so we look out and we see all these people hanging out of buses waving flags running around on the freeway shooting off fireworks and just shooting lol it was pretty crazy. We are on temple grounds so we see the temple every time we look out a window or go outside. we actually get to go today so I´m excited!  My district is a companionship of three elders and then my companions, it´s really small but we are all really close. They call me white girl because they say I have a valley girl accent, but I disagree. Oh yeah, there is a girl here from Burley named Hermana Christiansen. She says she knows Jackson! We had devotional yesterday and we listened to the talk Elder Anderson gave that Andrew mentioned in his email and i actually saw Dane and Andrew in the video! Like I said I see Avalon everywhere. The Lord just has a way of knowing how to make you feel comfortable and at home even in a different country. The flight here was like something out of a movie. I had a lady falling asleep on me, I was right next to the bathroom and someone would use it every two seconds. I felt like i was just missing the chicken on my lap. We play soccer here alot and it is always the Latinos against the gringos. We actually hold our own for the most part. But we also play on less then half a field so who really knows. The accent about Uruguay is very reall. Instead of ellas its pronounced esha or instead of yo it´s sho. That makes it a little bit harder to understand but we work hard and get there.  I showed Hermana Harpole my tongue joke that dad thinks is so funny and she cracked up, so I think that means everyone else has a poor sense of humor because it wasn´t a pity laugh either. We played this game with our teacher where she took our name tags and just took off running and we had to chase her. When we caught her she had hidden our tags all around our distrit room. It really put things into perspective though because I didn´t want to take my tag off and when I finally put it back on I felt so much happier and closer to the Lord. It just made me realize how much I wanted to be out here. We committed one of our investigators to baptism yesterday and she accepted. It was totally awesome! Oh yeah, the power goes out here ALL the time, probabaly five times a day. I am just loving the CCM (that´s what they call it here not sure what it stands for, i will find out though). I just want you to know that I know our Heavenly Father loves us and knows us. He answers your prayers if you will truly rely on him. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and it is through the atonement that we get to be with our families forever. I know that the book of mormon is true. In Elder Andersons devotional he said if you want to talk to God pray if you want to hear him talk back to you read the Book of Mormon and it is so true! I love and miss you all and I am so grateful for all of you!  

love, 

Hermana Rich

Delays

Well, this is how it started...4:30am on Wednesday,

December 2nd, we got a text message telling us Mackenzie's flight out of Ontario Airport was delayed.  We called the Church Travel Services and they instructed us to head to the airport as planned to see what our options were.  When we got to the airport our only option was to reroute Mackenzie to fly out of John  Wayne Airport in Orange County.  So we headed to John Wayne only to find out that her new flight was also being delayed.  So we waited with her and watched her flight be delayed a second time.  Then she went through security planning to board her flight at 1:30pm and fly directly to Atlanta to make her 9:00pm departure to Buenos Aires.  Well unfortunately she sat on the tarmac for nearly two hours and finally left John Wayne Airport at 3:00pm and arrived in Atlanta at almost 10:00pm.  LUCKILY, Aunt Tamie lives about 30 minutes from the Atlanta airport and she was able to pick Mackenzie up and have her spend the night!!!  The next day(Thursday) Aunt Tamie took her back to the airport where she was able to catch her 9:00pm flight to Buenos Aires!  Better late than never!  So Aunt Tamie snapped this picture and sent it to us!  It was so comforting to know that Mackenzie was able to be with family and to know that the Lord was watching out for her!  Now we wait as Mackenzie is flying over South America as we speak, expected to arrive in Buenos Aires Friday morning at 9:30am.  We pray for your safe arrival Hermana Rich!

See you in 18 months!

Hi everyone! I am going to be having my mom upload all of the pictures and emails I will be sending her to this blog! So if you want to know what's going on with my mission, this is the place to be! Love all of you and I will see you in 18 months!
Love,
 Hermana Rich