Week 4: Coming at You From Bideford and Holsworthy

Hello family, friends, loved ones! Sorry for the delay in emailing this week but I was a little busy HEADING OUT INTO THE FIELD! Before i get into that, ill share about my last few days in the MTC. We said goodbye to many of our friends headed to differing missions over the last few days. We also parted ways with our amazing teacher. I love him to death and am so grateful for the things he taught me. We then just tried to stay sane for the last few days in the MTC.
On Tuesday, I traveled from the training center down to the England London South mission and had a two day conference. We talked about the mission rules and guidelines but also met all of the missionaries who would be training us new missionaries. How it works is each new missionary is paired with a companion who is called a trainer. This trainer does exactly what you think: trains the new missionary on how things work in the field. My trainers names is Elder Lopiano. He's from Connecticut and is a really nice guy. Very relaxed in his personality but definitely knows what he's doing. I'll attach a picture of him below. We are over the Holsworthy branch! It's an area that is in the far southwest of England and it's the largest area in the mission. That means we get a car! I'm going to be driving on the wrong side of the road within the week! Pray for me :-) I'm excited though. 

Being in such a large area means that we do a lot of driving. Like tomorrow we have a meeting two hours away. This is fairly typical. Also, the branch just moved locations, so we now love about thirty minutes away from the area we are meant to teach people in. I'm told we basically commute to work in the mornings haha. I've also heard the people are so nice and I'm so excited to talk with them and get to know and serve the people of Holsworthy and Bideford. 

Saying goodbye to my MTC district and my companion was a little difficult, but I'm so excited to see them do amazing things in their areas. One of the Sisters in my MTC district, Sister Beardsworth, is in my actual field district! So I still have a familiar face around so that's fun! 

I'm so thankful for the chance that I have to serve people and share with them the message of Christ's gospel. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father so dearly. I'm grateful I have the opportunity to share the love God with everyone i meet.

Thank you for your emails. They are so uplifting and really help me keep a positive attitude. You all are amazing and I love you dearly. 

British word of the week: Lorries - semi trucks 

British food of the week: pasties - so I haven't had one yet but I will have one soon and they're native to this part of England. Look them up, they've got a cool history

Companion comics: so on the way down to London, an elder who was with Elder Madsen and I, Elder Hori, left his tablet in a gas station bathroom. So we stopped at the next roadstop and made some calls and found out that someone had turned his tablet in! So with a few more calls we arranged for someone to pick it up and mail it to him in his new area. It was an adventure for sure. 

Scripture for the week: Alma 36. This is a whole chapter but it's beautiful and poetic and helps me understand the mercy and love of Christ and the ability we have to change and be better regardless of our past. 

I love you guys so much. You are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Elder McKinley 
Photos: 1) my MTC room/district elders! 
2) the London Temple in all its glory 
3) My new companion and my mission President and his wife
4) My whole MTC district!









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