CARPET!!

Hello Family and Friends,

So, this week was super good. Saturday we went and made apple pies for the group of missionaries that are going home. That was cool. 

 

Then, on Monday we had the dinner with them, and Tuesday we picked up the new missionaries in the airport. 

 

 

 

 
Jake, Sister Louza, Sister Ancay, Sister Christensen, Elder Santos

 

 

 
Elder Rodrigues

 
Elder Oliveira

 
Sister Bahmad

 

 

Then, SLEPT IN PRESIDENTS HOUSE!! It was incredible. It’s actually clean. You can walk around barefoot. The shower works.  The shower had so much water pressure.  Nothing is broken. And there’s CARPET!  I felt like I was back in the United States.    First time in a year and 8 months I walked on carpet.  We got to stay there because the new missionaries came and they got here late, so instead of taking us back to our house we just brought our stuff and stayed at his house.  It’s huge.

 The drawing that Jake did for President and Sister Louza.

 

 

 

I ate fried fish, and by fried fish I mean they just took the guts out and fried everything and then you eat everything.

 

 

 

 The four people we baptized, this little girl is 2 years old and never stops. But when she gets upset she grabs your ear and just sits there touching it. And when she´s tired she climbs on your lap and puts her nose in your ear. They have no idea where she got this from.

Bianca

 

 

 

 

 I am out of time.   I love you all. 

Elder Jacob McKee

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling Happy!

March 17, 2017

            I really need to get back in the habit of writing.  I’ll try and give an update since last Saturday.

            Jean, Thalia, Vanda e Ava were all baptized.  Man, I was so happy.  THEN!  On Sunday we went to their house early to walk with them to church for their confirmation.  We get there, and only Jean was home.  He said the others had left to help a house that had flooded.  We go to the house, about a block away, and EVERYTHING is wet.  It had rained a lot that night and they had about a foot and half of water in the whole house.  So from 8 until 10 we worked like crazy to clean the house.  It was muddy, wet, and full of bugs.  We had to be at church at least 10:00 for sacrament meeting.  We skipped the first 2 hours to help, then called taxi’s and everyone went.  Elder Santos and I, muddy and wet, and we spend about 50 reais in taxi’s but the 4 were confirmed!!  

WOOT!  WOOT! 

            Monday we were in the office.  Wednesday we went with President to visit some of the houses of the other missionaries.  Thursday we freaken’ like a bossed it and got the whole transfer ready in one day.  Friday (Today) We sent out the transfer, then spent all day updating everything with people in the new areas  I worked a bunch on my video.  Resolving transfer problems 

but surprisingly there weren’t many.

            Our only day of real work was Tuesday because we spent so much time in the office,  we decided that Tuesday would be our day to contact all our addresses and find new people.  We want to use more then other parts of our area, because we’re very confined in one neighborhood.  So, Tuesday was a lot of contacts, knocking doors, and fallen commitments.  But, yet I still feel happy.  Sometimes I just feel so excited and I yell a little and rub my hands together real fast.  I just sit thinking how great it is to be a missionary. TO have so much to do, yet not have to worry about so many things that will come to me in a few months.  I’m happy to be a member of the church and to have the family and friends that I do.  It’s a really good life I’m living. Everyone needs to be a missionary at one point. 
This week I learned a lot about how I can really actually endure to the end.  I was studying 2 Nephi 31, and when I got to verse 13, I really paid attention to what it said.  Then I stared identifying in my notebook all the ways that it explains how to endure to the end.  I then spent the next 3 days studying just that verse, trying to catch it all.  

            Today after I talk to you guys we are going to President’s house and I’m going to make apple pies for the missionaries who are going home.   (MOM:  A little while later I got this great picture from Sis. Louza’s phone.)

 Bye, I love you all, Thanks for everything!

Elder McKee

Jake's areas and companions

 Elder Costa, Elder Olivera, Jake

 

 Elder Costa, Elder Santos, Elder Olivera, Jake

 Apple pie?

 

Baptisms and Oreos!

March 11, 2017

Hello Family,

Just so you know…no journal pages this week.  Sorry.  

This week was great. We had a zone leader conference.  The council was VERY good! :) Everyone complimented our training we gave, which was good. President also really liked it. He got super excited, saying we are learning fast.   I put out the 6 packages of different Oreos you sent.  Everyone loved the Oreos! They went crazy over them! Also the war heads and sour stuff I got. 

Then I started taking care of some stuff, and then preparing the next part, then I got our training set up on the slide, then I got a few phone calls, and then I went and picked up the trash!  I didn’t get to try any of them.  Haha. I found out President loves peanut butter.  

I got to travel to Cruz Alta for a day and then to Santo Angelo for a day.  I saw few friends.  I also got 2 of them to go on a part time mission.  They’ll start next week. Divisions were great! 3 of the young men I saw, and one of them, who’s from a really poor family, was carrying a bag with his new suit and socks and shirts and stuff when we randomly saw him in the street. And it was nice clothing too. The other one was talking about his exams and how he was going to have to talk to bishop to pull out money for his exam. 

It made me super happy.

All baptisms didn’t happen last week.  There was confusion, and the 2, Vanda and Ana, didn’t have a phone, so we couldn’t get ahold of them.   The 4 baptisms for today are all set! (Saturday)  Gean and Thalia, who were married this week as well, then Vanda and Ana, the mom and sister of Thalia. I'm super, super excited! 

Elder Santos, Gean, Thalia, Ana, Vanda, Jake, President Louza

 
This week we are in the office all week long for the transfers.  I prefer talking to people in the street and teaching, but the air conditioning is nice. 

I’m super, super happy! This week was super good. Today we cleaned the whole house like a boss, and I cut the grass out front! :)

 

I love you all!! 

Elder McKee

Gean and Thalia signing marriage papers.  

 

 

 

 Jake and Thalia 

 Elder Santos....it must have been raining a little.

 

 Enjoying their dessert pizza.

Mom:  Today my phone rang and it was a Brazil number...I spit out the food in my mouth.  I answered and someone said, "Sister McKee?"  and I said yes.  Then the phone went dead.  So I waited.  Then it rang again,  "Sister McKee"  "Yes"  "Sister McKee, can you hear me?"  "yes"  The voice had a STRONG accent, and I wasn't even sure it was Jake.  "Sister McKee, this is your son."  haha....And I started crying.  He got to call because there was a problem with the garments we sent.  They were being taxed $700.00.  UG!  But I got to talk to my boy for about 4 minutes, and it made my day!  I sure miss that boy!