Elder McKinley's Stint Across the Pond

Bom dia a todos! I hope you are well and have had a great week. Life in London is good. Every day is an adventure and so much happens. I am coming to love this city and the people I meet each day. Speaking Portuguese had it's challenges but the miracles we've seen alongside the people we have met make it all worthwhile.  This week was the first one we've had this transfer where we could really focus solely on our area. We were able to get out and find some people to teach, and I have high hopes for their future. We also taught this super cool guy named Rodrigo and he only speaks Portuguese! We were at the Hyde Park c hapel and luckily an elder from another area walked in with his companion and he was able to help us teach. Most of the time, since we don't fully speak Portuguese, we end up showing a video about the restoration that has been translated in Portuguese.  I have now seen the video "ask of God" in Portuguese about 10 times haha. It's really ...

Bom dia! Está semana foi muito louco. Eu estou aprendendo português ainda. Eu posso falar com muitos pessoas em português e eu posso entender-los. Eu agradeço a Deus por sua ajuda.  I'm so busy and have so little time to talk, but know I love you all so much.  I know that God is helping me in this work, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do what I do. If there's anything I've learned in my time here it's that God is with me in all I do.  Scripture of the week: Helaman 14:15-18 Comp comic: so this is more just a funny story. This drunk Irish guy we met on the tube told me he liked my tie like 10 times and we had a great chat about life. Apparently Jesus supported Munster rugby. Who'd have thought :-) Have an amazing week!

Wow. This week has been insane. This has been the busiest week of my mission so far. We've been in and out of the office, making phone calls left and right and speaking Portuguese with people on the street every second we can. Here are some highlights of the week: - We taught a lesson in Portuguese and I understood a lot of it and was able to respond well :-) The gift of tongues is real. - We played basketball every morning this last week with about 12 other missionaries. - I took the tube loads of times and am basically now a pro. - We had the same flash mob tube buskers (that's a thing) perform for us 3 nights in a row. - We went to church and the whole thing was in Portuguese and I understood a solid 50% of what was said. -We called everyone in the mission. Everyone. - I randomly got a call from Missionary Headquarters during the afternoon one day with a special assignment that needed to be done before the end of the night. - Purchased over 100 pounds worth ...

Hey y'all. So this week has been crazy and I don't have loads of time but, my oh my have things changed.  I'm no longer in Woodley.  Now I'm in London.  All of London.  But in Portuguese.  That's right ladies and gentlemen. I'm going to be assigned to a Portuguese ward. I don't speak Portuguese. I am going to be with an Elder who also doesn't speak Portuguese.  it gets better.  I'm also going to be working in the mission office.  If you feel like you never saw this coming and could never imagine it, welcome to my last 24 hours.  I'm very humbled and very excited. I have a lot of faith and a lot of hope. I am trusting the Lord on this one and I trust that I will do what He needs me to.  Also, my area boundaries are every person who speaks Portuguese in London.  So that means we can go anywhere. Wow.  So yeah. It's always sad to send a companion home, but Elder de Carlo's time has com...

Good morning everyone! This morning I have a bit more time to write you all than I have the past few weeks. This is where you fall under the false impression that you will finally have more to read about the mysteries and adventures of Elder McKinley. Why?  I got sick.  Wednesday morning came and I was feeling a bit meh. I did not think too much of it and we went about our normal business. We visited one family and ended up staying for a good amount of time talking about some personal challenges they were facing, reading the scriptures together and ultimately trying to understand God's opinion on the matter. After this appointment, I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I felt so weak and had a fever of 102 and couldn't really eat anything and so from about 3-8pm I slept. After a priesthood blessing and the heaven sent gift of lemsip max, the fever broke in the night. Other symptoms have been lingering since Wednesday and the week has been up and down because of...