Another Transfer Done - March 17, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, I got the package and I had the most delightful belated birthday party ever. Elder Chagoya were extremely pleased with the kit kats and peanut butter cups. Also I couldn't help but burst out laughing at Paige's knock-knock joke written on the outside of the peanut butter. Also the handkerchiefs came just in time. I'm sorry to say that it won't be long before they are well used and worn. All of my old handkerchiefs have been spoiled and went from white to red and brown. A major part of our area is right next to train tracks, which sprays huge amounts of black and red dust. It's also about time I think about getting some new shirts also.

On other news I was shocked to receive a call from the Assistants the other day. When I first got the call I thought I was going to be transferred but instead he said "congratulations Elder Mackay, we're splitting the Rajahmundry district and you're the district leader for the second branch district". I was both nervous and excited. I felt like I just got over the hurdle of leading out an area and I wasn't quite sure if I'd be ready for more responsibility. But after some prayers and counsel from the zone leaders I think I can handle it. I'm really glad i get to stay in Rajahmundry because that means that I'll be able to move into the new apartment we found. It's really nice and it has sliding windows... which is a big thing for us.

I'm also glad to stay in Rajahmundry because we're once again setting ourselves up for more success. We received a referral from one of our investigators and we went to a pretty poor area called railway quarters. I've never gone finding in this area because I never suspected anyone to know English there but I guess once again I was sorely mistaken. We were lead to a family of five. The mother and father don't speak English and we never see the father because he travels so much for his work as a railway driver. But the three children are great and speak English, one of them even really well, which is like a cool breeze on a hot day. The oldest brother is Sagar, then the sister Manikiyam and then the young brother Manindra. Sagar is a play boy so he is usually out but we've been teaching Manikiyam, who is the one with great English, and Manindra who is a bit of a joker but a nice kid. The second visit they showed us their neighbor Vijay and we started teaching them altogether. Last week we set them for a baptism date in April and this week Manikiyam calls us up one night and asks us to come over to meet her friend. We go and we meet this middle aged woman with her nephew who are Hindu but have recently wanted to become Christian. Needless to say every prayer that I've ever said on my mission has been answered by this family.

Kranthi Kumar is in a strange state. We gave him the stop smoking lesson but he decided to make his own version and smoke only two cigarettes every day and then reduce it from there. I guess if it works then that's great but we explained that that wasn't the way the program was set up and that the best way to quit smoking was to follow the program exactly and quit smoking altogether. Not only that but he still can't accept why we have to follow Jesus Christ. He also feels that it's bad to offer a reward and punishment because it will become exploited and you lose your freedom your choices are based on the end result. We tried to explain consequence as an eternal principle to him but I'm not sure if he's ready to accept that idea yet.

Rinju is doing great but he's running into problems with his parents. They are devout Roman Catholic and they are opposed to him joining the church. Luckily for us one of our recent converts came from Roman Catholic background so we told Rinju we would like to bring him and have him talk to Rinju's parents. I hope it works. Rinju has a great testimony. He told us that the Book of Mormon was true and that the church was true so if nothing else works we'll build his faith in the restored gospel and hopefully his parents will see a change develop in him and soften their hearts. We run into this situation a lot and I often remember when Ammon spoke with King Lamoni's father and how Lamoni's father had his heart changed when he sawed that Ammon and know desire to destroy his son but only a deep love for him. President Nichols always tells us that parents are not the enemy, they are potential investigators.

So everything is going well and I found a new favorite roadside snack. One of our members, Prudhvi, was on exchange with us and he showed us a type of tree that grows red berries that you can eat. They look like small apples and tastes like a sweet grape. They are really good and tasty so I got myself a handful of them and had Prudhvi ride my cycle as I sat on the back eating my collection of berries. I kind of felt like the little kid at the beginning of the Restoration video who is eating the black berries.

Well that's about it for this week. I better get started on reading your letter. Also Mom, Dano's parents want to get my emails. Do you think you can put them on the list. Their email is Gunderson40@aol.com. Thank you so much. Also happy birthday in advance Dustin! I hope you have a lot of good cake for me.

Love you all a million small apples,

Elder Mackay