12-24-12

Dear Family,

    Well the holidays are here and we have all been working like crazy here in our district! So for the past two transfers me and Elder Makaya have had the goal of teaching 20 lessons in a week which is the mission standard of excellence.  That is a super high goal and we had yet to have a week that we taught more then 14 or 15. We decided that we were not going to stop or be happy until we did it! We wanted to do it before one of us got transferred and so we have been working like crazy to get more investigators so that our number of lessons would go up! We have been trying so hard and praying even harder that we would be blessed enough to be able to turn in 20. Well this week has been a week to remember here in the mission field! Over this last week we have found 4 new investigators and have really been super blessed! By Saturday night we had taught 19 lessons!!! We only needed one more on Sunday so we didn't think that that would be a problem. We usually teach at least 2 or 3 on Sunday so we were super prepared to exceed that goal! Well on Sunday at 830 we had been dropped by so many people that we were getting a bit discouraged  because it didn't look like we were going to be able to get to 20. Well we were running around going door to door asking to share Christmas messages with people just to be able to get that final lesson. No one would open the door though. We were on our way home when we both just looked at each other, ha honestly didn't even say a word but flipped the car around and went to one last house of a less active guy that hadn't let us in in like 4 weeks.. We went up to his door and he opened and was just like "Elders merry Christmas! Come in come in!" We taught our last lesson of the week at 910 and pulled into the apartment at 929 right in time to not be late. The District together found 10 new investigators which is over double what the entire zone found!!! I was so proud of our district and ourcompanionship. But obviously it was not us at all. The Lord had blessed us more then we could ever imagine and we are so thankful!

     Well family I got your boxes and so did Elder Makaya. We are both so thankful for such an amazing family and want everyone to know that we have a testimony of the gospel and that we love you all! Thank you so much and I will see you over the computer tomorrow hopefully if all works out! haha I will check my emails tonight around 11 while Elder Makaya skypes so please give me the final time of when I need to get online to talk to you and Kailei. I will be getting offline after that to go visit a family and will come back on to talk to the family for my hour at 3 oclock my time. Not sure what that is your time. Please give me all the times that I need to know though so that I can be sure to be on and ready! Thank you all so much and I love you so much!!!

Love,

Elder Mackay Shelley

pictures: 1. Mackay in front of the of the Oakland, California Temple

              2. Mackay and Elder Makaya with their tree and stockings