Monday, September 28, 2009
And the Newest
Several new posts from Mom
March 16, 2009
I love you!...I don’t have much time to write but I have a letter coming to you soon.
I'm in the Arvada zone...Huron District...Elder Cazier and I are in the Savory Ponds ward.
I love you...Can't wait to here more from you!!!!
July 16, 2009
Dear Mom and Dad,
Is it really July 13th?...I can remember July 4th 2008 like it was yesterday...
My mother is 59...by the way I don't think I ever wished you happy birthday!!! HAPPY 59th Ma! Dad's 72 WOW...that young man is still cruisin’ huh?
The nieces and nephews are growing faster and faster. Grace is already 1?
I'm almost 6 months into this mission!!! I feel like I've been here for maybe a month?
I think I'm set on ties for now. I could use some socks... and a short sleeved white shirt if it’s possible. Some church music would be very nice as well...MO-TAB or not.
Gregor finally got a dog? That’s great!
Elder Leafa is awesome!...He has a very strong testimony and he loves to bear it whenever we talk to anyone. Things are going very well...we're moving in an awesome direction. In a typical week we might get one or two potential
investigators... This first week with Elder Leafa we were able to get 9.
I'm gonna try to get a letter written today for you...it takes me soooo long...I'm terrible.
I love you!
March 30, 2009
How goes it for the Clan Makechnie?
Yes indeed...I received the package with the bike stuff while I was in the MTC. I have also received the package with the ties...4 of the so far THANK YOU!!! I LIKE! Ties are good and so are cookies! (You sent me my wrangler jeans and they don't fit...they were tight a year ago... I tried to put them on the other day and they bearly fit without even buttoning them hahahahaha...my GAP jeans do fit) I do enjoy receiving packages...but not as much as receiving letters.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to write that much. I thought it was going to be a lot easier writing home. It takes me so long to write letters...very little time to do it! I'll try to do better in that department. So the work has been fun. We found some potential investigators this week.
May 26, 2009
Dear Mom and Dad,
Elder Taylor and I are moving about 15 houses down the road. We're moving in with an older couple. Their story is very interesting. Some of it is kinda "classified info" so I can't talk much about it. I hope that having missionaries in their home will be helpful. They're AWESOME people and we love spending time with them! This is the beginning of transfer 3.
Whats your favorite scripture?
Talk to you next week
I love you!
6/1/09
Dear Mom and Dad,
We love the Davis's. I think that they are one of the major reasons that I'm in this area...so that I can learn from them and that I and my companion can do some good in their lives.
We're getting farmers’ tans. On our last tracting experience we had the opportunity to place 2 copies of the Book of Mormon. Both people said that we could come back. I had an experience that proved to me that some people can be taught many times by many different people...and that will be a good thing and it will most surely make a difference in their life...but some times the right person/missionary will come along and reach them on a different level....and maybe that missionary/person will present something in a new way that will have a greater
effect on them. Some people just need a lesson put into a different perspective. Also never underestimate doing good. Sometimes you won't see the effect till much later down the road...sometimes you won't ever see the difference...but it is there!!!
I love you!
Thank you for the prayers!
Dear Sister Makechnie,
Here are some pictures we took on Sunday of your son. Thought that you might enjoy having them. We are Elder Makechnie's host family and want you to know that we thoroughly enjoy having him in our home. You can be very proud of your son. We are leaving for a couple of weeks and won't be here for his birthday, so we celebrated it on Sunday. I know he misses his family very much, but is working very hard at doing the Lord's work. I'm sure we don't have to tell you what a nice young man you raised. Enjoy and be very, very proud of the work he is doing.
May God Bless you,
Norm and Edie Davis
9/8/09
Dear Dad,
Eldow Pond with G and B's family!!! You guys are lucky! B sent me the clip. The kids are really growing up huh! Dad, Mom has been and always will be great with children. You are too!... When the kids come to the kitchen they always want to see Grampa! You are a great example to them! Does Gregor like the job? I'm glad the working environment around you is more hospitable. This was a good change for me. Work is great. We are accomplishing a lot. We're learning along the way. We're not perfect but we're slowly finding and teaching. I think that we are working as diligently as 2 weeks ago. Hope Proctor has a good feel to it still... Growing up there was great. I hope you are getting the chance to enjoy the green! And soon the foliage!
I hope that one of these days you can watch one of the football games....is Gregor still coaching that?
I love you Dad!
9/14/09
Dear Mom and Dad,
This week went well. We've been able to gain a friendship with one of our new investigators named Colleen. She is still undergoing Chemo. (She’s 37 with 2 kids and divorced) Her family is very supportive and aren't against having missionaries come over to their daughter’s home. She has agreed to come to church on Sunday and to eat with us and a member on Thursday evening.
We weren't able to see as many of our investigators this week as we would have liked but that wasn't due to lack of effort. We have been working diligently.
We were able to establish 2 new investigators this week (Kevin and Lyndsey) They want to hear all that we have to say...so we will soon be teaching them more lessons. I have been self-reflecting lately. I don't feel as though I'm the best missionary I could be. This is a great ward...a lot can be accomplished here. Thus far on the mission I've been a part of 1 baptism. I know that numbers don't mean a whole lot. I know it’s about loving people and helping them progress...but 1 is a pretty big indicator to me that I'm doing something wrong. I've been out now for about 7 months... Yes I've learned a lot... Yes I feel like I've helped people and I'm serving the Lord... but I feel like I could be doing a lot more.
Elder Escobar (Zone Leader) and I had a chat after exchanges...I told him that I feel like I need to be more sincere. I need to teach with more conviction. I need to be more bold.
I know I think too much and I just need to DO...But I feel as though when I stop worrying then I stop caring.
I know that I've made personal progress on the mission...but I want to help other make personal progress.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
9/27/09
From new converts Norm and Edie to Art and Heather Makechnie
Thought you might enjoy these pictures of your son. You have a very special spirit as a son and we are going to miss having him here in our home. We have come to love him very much. It was very meaningful and special having him as part of our baptism and confirmation as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The pictures of him in the kitchen is his baking cookies for the baptism. He said he was using the secret Makechnie family recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies. Everyone enjoyed them and they were all the more special because Elder Makechnie baked them.
Just as a side note, your son needs more mail from home. Everyday when he comes in he will ask if there is any mail for him and when we tell him no he is very disappointed.
You did a great job of raising him. You can be proud.
Blessing to you both,
Norm and Edie Davis
September 29, 2009
From Barbara Muggelston, a former Nashua Ward member, now of Aurora, Colorado,
Heather,
How are you doing? I got a phone call from one Elder Makechnie this noon-time asking me to come to a baptism this afternoon at 4pm. Apparently, the couple that the boys are living with got baptized and your son baptized Norm, and Elder Leafa baptized Edith. It was a nice baptism and i was honored that he would ask us to go!!!
I didn't realize that it was Elder M's 1st baptism, which is so cool because I also found out that he is being transferred to Ft. Collins which is about an hour and a half from Aurora. He made, from scratch, last nite, choc. chip cookies for the refreshments today. He was pretty pleased with himself and the cookies were quite tasty!!
Anyway, you should be proud of him, he is doing great. All of the elders looked so nice, they must've all got hair cuts on their p-day this week!! I have the mission office address so will try to keep in touch with him. I'm sure he will do great, his ward will miss him and so will my family!
My mom comes home from N.H. on Monday and she has had a great time. She did spend some time in Nashua last week and was amazed at how different it is now.
Well, you take care, thought you'd like to know about Elder Makechnie's day.
9/28/09
From Barbara Muggelston, a former Nashua Ward member, now of Aurora, Colorado,
Hi Heather,
So, I snuck into the Buckley Ward to hear the boys do the confirmations from last night’s baptisms. He did great! He is an awesome missionary, I hope that you will one day be able to see and feel all the good he has done so far. We will miss him,
I wrote him a good-bye letter and will keep in touch via the mail and I will of course send him some goodies from time to time.
I love all these wonderful boys and am so appreciative of the fact that they have been brought up righteously to serve missions for the Lord. I want you to know that I love your son and have been grateful to be a little part of his life!!!
One day, hopefully, we can meet. Til then I hope that we can stay in touch!
Thank you for raising a righteous young man . He is, in my eyes, a giant in the Gospel!!
With love,
Barbara