Monday, February 28th, 2011

CONNOR'S COMING HOME TO ME!!!! The Texas, Fort Worth mission! Yay!! Connor I was screaming when I found out where you're going! Even though I'll never see you! HOW FREAKING EXCITING!

Holy Guacomole! It sounds like you've had a fun and exciting week! WITH SNOW!!! BLAST!! I'm jealous! The weather her is for the most part still amazing, but I love snow so much!!!! I can't believe Cristi's home from the mission!!! So weird! How is she? I miss her muchly! Congratulations AUNTIE DEBBIE!!!!! and Weatherhead familia!

Funny story for the week: Elder Hunt and I were going to visit a Less Active to set up an appointment for later in the week. It was 7:30ish and we knocked on his door a couple times. After no answer we started to write a note on a pass along card to leave on the clip by his door, when all the sudden we hear "Who is it?" Really harshly behind the door. (There were no peep holes in the door for him to see us) We said we were the missionaries, and we heard a sigh of relief. He opens the door, and this LA member is in a towel, dripping, with a samurai sword! He says "Ya'll almost had a big problem on your hand!" His neighbors can get roudy and crazy so he was being prepared! CRAZY!!!

Another cool story: We were in the same neighborhood a little later that week, and we stopped by this guy who was fixing his car. He took a couple minutes to meet with us but we could tell he wasn't interested, but we just kept asking and talking. After a bit, he said he was Presbyterian, and I introduced us a Members of the Church or Mormons, he said, "That's really cool you say that proudly, like you're proud to be a member." I said thanks and felt pretty good! Cool story, although we only left him with a card. Little seeds here, and little seeds there! I starting to realize that a HUGE part of our work as missionaries, is to give people a good feeling about us if they don't want to learn more, and plant seeds EVERYWHERE!!!

Sidenote: Mom, Pineapples take 18 months to grow fully! Payden and I wanted to grow one but we wouldn't have it done by the time we left for our missions, so if you want something to do, and I would LOVE IT! Grow a pineapple, or, start it in 4ish months, so we can eat it when I get home. I thought of it and it'd be a good thing to take the time away. PLEASE DO IT! I'll remind you later.

JUSTIN: I'm putting your little section here at the middle, so PLEASE READ THIS K? I know how much you love writing letters, and how much you LOVE receiving them from me, yes handwritten letters! I thought of a deal we can make while I was riding on the bike this last week. (We have lots of time, I learned to whistle while riding my bike that I love, but now I'm memorizing scriptures in the little 10 minute sections we have while riding) So you love letters from me, and I PROMISE YOU, that if you will read just ONE chapter from the Book of Mormon everyday, for 5 out of the 7 days of the week, then I will write you a hand written letter on P-Day! Cool huh? I'll send one to you today, to get this deal under way, so you'll get it wednesday probably. A couple rules though: You must start at the beginning, and read the chapter after you read the day before! No skipping around, finding the short chapters. If you come across a short chapter, that's all you have to read. Also, if you read 5 out of the 7 days of the week for 3 weeks IN A ROW, then I'll write you a THREE page letter. So there is an incentive to not miss a week. Pretty cool huh? So just make sure you sit down for only 10 or 15 mintues A DAY, for 5 days of the week, and read a chapter in the book of mormon. I Wanna write you a letter, so please do it! I PROMISE as a missionary, if you don't miss a week, I won't miss a week! Unless you've been going for 12 weeks straight, cause I can't write a 12 page letter! DO IT DUDE! I know you can! You'll grow closer to our Heavenly Father by reading and feel his love for you. You'll also grow closer to me, because you'll be getting letters from me. PS: It doesn't matter if you're going on vacation, or tired, or at a friend's house, or traveling, or whatever. Find 10 minutes in the car to read ONE chapter a day for 5 days of the 7 in a week. Wow, hopefully I've pounded that enough in your head! I wanna write letters to you, so DO IT! It'll give me one more thing to look forward to each week!

Man, missionary work is awesome! It's hard, really hard! But awesome! I love those days where I'm just so excited to grow, and to work! Wanna hear a funny joke a Recent Convert told me? How do you make a bunny happy?..........Give him a slide ruler and a pencil so they can multiply!!!! BAHAHAHAH!

Mother of mine! Thanks so much for the package! I got it saturday night, and was kinda bummed cause of no mail, but walked to the apartment and it was outside the door! EEEH!!! So exciting! We had muffins this morning for breakfast!

Miracle of the week: While I was on exchanges (BLAST), Elder hunt and Elder Hugentobler were tracting, and they ran into a woman named Sister Martinez! She's a member, but had moved and couldn't find the church. Her husband isn't a member, her 19 year old daughter is baptized, and her 9 year old daughter isn't. She was THRILLED and had prayed that God would guide someone to her to help her find the LDS chapel her in Baytown. She came to most of church yesterday, and we're teaching and preparing her 9 year old daughter for baptism tomorrow! So exiting huh?!!!! YIPPEEE!!! God loves us so much! So So much! Remember that all of you! 3 Nephi 14:9-11

Okay, I love all of you, but now I have a goal and a plee for you! As I've been looking back on memories that I miss from home, and stuff I remember, I was drawn, as I was at our Ward Conference this week, to the memories of us reading the Book of Mormon as a family. I realized how much, although I was asleep some times, and tired and mad, how much those times as a family meant to me. I think about them a lot and miss them. WILL YOU, Family at home, Mom, Dad, Justin and Kimberly, read just one chapter from the Book of Mormon each day, maybe not everyday, but on the weekdays? I miss those times so much and I long for you to have them like I did. It's so so so important to have those bonding times around the scriptures as a family, and not that I'm not there, and Brad, Kristen and Angie aren't there, there are less people to get in the same place and time. It's only gonna get harder, so establishing the habit now is important. I remember Angie challenging us to have FHE each week while she was gone, and I remember, WE DID, mostly, maybe missed a couple, but we did really well! So please just try! You have no idea how much those memories mean to me now.

Kimberly: How is school going and your tryouts and performances! You're crazy ya know that? I saw the email you sent and just laughed and laughed! I love you and Justin so so much! Keep staying sweet and small and amazing! I love you!

Dadio: I'm writing you a letter, and am half way done, so I'll get it sent to you today.

Mom: Keep the Faith! I love you and pray for the family every single day! Love you!

Your son, Elder McKeen

1st letter from THE field

So, what's been happening? P-day is monday but it was a holiday so we didn't think the library would be open, but it was! So look for the emails on monday, except for today!

WHEW!! Well, here I am, in a city called Baytown, (not sure where it's at)! First of all I'm exhausted!!!! Every single night I just die! I have to say my prayers, and read my scriptures standing up because I'll fall asleep if I don't and I can't let that happen! It's great here! Of course if you asked me yesterday I'd say I was having the worst time of my life! It's been hard, I'm not gonna lie! Missionary work is NOTHING like I expected it to be like! I've been here for 6 days and we still haven't taught a lesson to an investigator which is SUPER frustrating! I get really comfortable when I teach and it's really the only time I feel like I'm working hard and feeling the spirit guide myself! We flew in to the airport and before we even landed on the ground I could feel the humidity! Right now though the weather is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It's only been hot once or twice! For the most part it's amazing! Right now when it's not hot I love the humidity! My companion and I (more on him later) were riding around at night, going to remind someone of an appointment we had and the humidity was so so high that we could see the water in the air! It looked like fog or mist out of a garden house but it was everywhere. When we got back to the room there was water on the bike, everywhere. One thing I love here is when I'm riding around and I can feel the little droplets of water on my face. I can't see them, but the humidity is so thick and high here that I can feel little tiny microscopic rain drops hit my face every now and then and it makes me so happy! We got of the plane, met our mission president and his wife! Wonderful nice people! We went to this Barbecue Restaurant which was a fantastic way of easing into Texas! The weather was amazing and the food was better! We then went to the mission home, took those pictures you saw and talked A LOT about what would be happening for the next two years! I met my companion and then we went to our apartment, got the two FANTASTICLY AMAZING packages i received, (Thank you SOO much) and went to bed. I loved both packages! I knew what was in the first one but I needed everything that was there. The second one was so great! Thanks mom, Kristen, Jared, Kaylee and Ashlyn! I loved loved loved the pics and the sign + letter from Kaylee (SO CUTE!) and everything else! It was so good to see you and see everyone'shandwritting! Also, I haven't had the opportunity to write since the MTC, but thank you for the rolls in the package! I was once again THRILLED to have it! I got some other amazing packages and don't worry to all! I will write you back! I was told we were allowed naps on P-Day, so I decided to best prepare me for this week I should take a nap instead of writing letters! I took a 2 hour nap and wrote one letter! (who's it too? Guess!)

Okay, so the first day! We had some appointments, that fell through, so we went tracting! Apparently, and I thank my Heavenly Father for this, I'm just good at tracting and contacting people! The very first door I knocked on was a woman named Susanne! She's Methodist and her and I just talked for 10ish minutes about what we believe, or what she believes and what I know to be true, and she said we could come back Yesterday and 7:30. Friday, we went back to remind her of her appointment, and we met up with her brother Jack! Super cool guy! He lived in Utah for a while and knows SO MUCH about the gospel! He pulled up and yelled "YEAH LDS!" He really just knows the factual stuff, and not the spiritual stuff! He knows a weird amount about our temple ceremonies which was weird! But we dropped by last night and he was super awesome and asked us to please come back! I figure that with people like that, who have taken all the lessons and don't put in the effort, it just takes the right missionary, so hopefully I can get his rear in gear! Super cool guy but very opinionated! We're on the verge of bible bashing each time but somehow leave and cheerful as can be each time! Just a cool guy!

My companion's name is Elder Hunt, funny right?! Not the same guy, but the same name! He's a red head and is just a bit older than me! He's been out serving for 8 months I think! He works hard and we're still both learning from each other which is good! He doesn't mind me suggesting ideas and stuff! Even though we're both really friendly and great, it still takes just a time until we'll be close! It was the same at the MTC! ;( I can't tell you how much I miss the elders I was rooming with! One of them called me to ask me something and I almost cried, not really! But I miss all of the missionaries in my district so so much! :(

I challenge you at home to do more member missionary work! Out here it's super frustrating to see members who can make such a difference in others lives by inviting them to do stuff and take lessons from missionaries with them but wont! It kills me cause that's such an affective way of doing it!

A bit real quick about the area! It's not beautiful, but it's not ugly either! The weather right now is amazing! Just like utah, there are churches on every corner, but they're not LDS churches! Imagine right now driving down main street in kaysville! You look to your right and you see the big building called Davis High! Here in Baytown I do that as well, but the huge building to my right is now Davis, It's The First Baptist Church, or The Church of Christ 2, or The Bible Baptists! THESE BUILDINGS ARE HUGE! EVEN bigger than Davis High! No joke! What they say is, "The bigger the church the better the minister!" During tracting, I'll be talking a lot and so many people say, "Ya'll know it's not really about the religion I got to, it's more about the relationship with God that's important!" That makes it super hard to tell them about our church! Lot's of people also open the door and after a minute say "Oh I Baptist" or "Oh I'm Catholic!" Which basically means NO! GO AWAY! But i've just learned to say "HEY I'm Christian as well! What do you believe?!" It just gets them talking and keeps the door open! Fun!!!! I must soon go!

Dad: I can't wait to get your letter! Thanks for talking at the airport! Just hearing from you in any form gives me so much comfort!

Kristen & Jared: Thanks so much for the email! I loved the pics and the visualizations I was making in my mind with Kaylee! It's so weird you're 2 hours away! Stay amazing and work hard as the WMLs! I love our Ward Mission Leader! REALLY work at your Member Missionary Stuff! The missionaries will grow to love you for it!

Brad: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! SO MANY QUESTION! That letter I sent you was when I was having a really hard time! I'm doing much better and am loving life! Don't worry about me! Question: Can you ask Nate the best way to find good investigators here in Baytown? And what you think? Also! How can I grow to love my comp. like a brother? And have fun? It's not like I'm hating him at all! I just need some help! I'm sure you know what i'm talking about!

Angie & Austin: Please keep the letters coming! ANGIE! I have a miracle I wanted to share with everyone about what you sent me that I'll try to fit in at the end! Sorry if I can't write back much cause I'm busy but I WILL make some time!

Justin: I love you dude! Keep fighting in high school! It's hard but it's worth it! Guess what? Guess who lived in my apartment complex here in Baytown? None other than Michael Reed! Yup! The BYU player a couple years ago! He lives a couple minutes away from me! Cool huh?

Kimberly: Thanks for the email and the updates on Heartland you goose bumb! :) I love you! I'd love to hear from you more! I know it's hard cause I can't write back as much! Love you!

Really Quick: Send everything to me, all letters to the mission office address you have and sent the packages to! They'll forward it to me!

Miracle of the Week: In the MTC I was wondering how I can strengthen my testimony of the atonement and Jesus Christ! I kept thinking about that quote : "You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion!" So the deeper my testimony, the more I could convert! I was really really praying and studying, when I got a letter from my dear sister Angie with her Livrette inside! (A spiritual mini notebook) I opened the front page and the first thing I read, the first entry said something like this. Angie you may remember. "Lately I've been wondering how I can apply christ's atonement further in my life and grow to love what he did for me more. After reading PMG pg 52 I learned that I'll grow to understand the depth of the Atonement more as I bring others to understand it!" Something like that! COOL HUH?! WAY WAY COOL!!! Miracle of the Week, or month! I must now go! I love you all so so much and thanks for being patient with me! I've received a lot of mail that will take me a while to write back, but funny enough, beside the packages from mom and the Cooks, I haven't received a single letter from anybody yet, while being here in Baytown! Hmmm.... :D Love you all! Thanks for your influence on me and all you do! Love you

Elder McKeen


PS (Alec you better appreciate this! I am sorry! I am endeavoring to send the journal to you stat! It's hard here! They're ALWAYS watching!)

Sorry momma! I love you more than anything in this world! I love the family and I know that what's i'm doing is hard but it's worth it! I've had some killer hard crying worthy moments out here, but also just an invite to come back and teach because I was able to teach clear enough for the spirit to testify of what I was speaking (spirit is KEY) was a fantastic feeling! Love you all!

Elder McKeen for real this time!
LOVE!

Elder McKeen has arrived!

Elder McKeen arrived in THE (Texas, Houston East) mission Wednesday, February 16th, 2011. He was greeted by President and Sister Moldenhauer, and his trainer, Elder Hunt.

The MTC

Letter #3

Hi Everyone

First of all, I learned something pretty stinkin cool! I always wondered why you don't hear much about the 12 that Christ calls in the Book of Mormon. You hear about the apostles A TON! Then I realized,they're not apostles like they are in the Bible! They're disciples exactly like me! Called to teach baptize and confirm. JUST LIKE ME! They couldn't be apostles over here in the BoM or else there would be 24 apostles! Cool!

Next thing! I have a favor to ask, From everybody who reads this! I've been trying to think of ways to further serve my companion, and I thought. He gets letters a good amount, but he's the first one in his family, besides his dad to serve a mission, so he doesn't have as much support as me! If any time you and everybody else who reads this are gonna sit down and write me a letter, instead of writing me write one to my Comp. His name is Elder Hunt and he could use all the letters he can get. He's really new to learning and stuff, he's been a member his whole life but has been surrounded by crap and filth. He's really ignorant about the gospel but has so much faith! So even if it's just a short letter could you write him? It's the same address, just his name! That would help me love him more, which takes some patience sometime. Thank you much!

Also, I have two letters I'm gonna send home but that need to be given to G-Ma (I don't have her address) and Kristen & Jared for Kristen's b-day. She didn't have an address so I couldn't get it to here without you dear momma!

You have the package down awesome! I do need just a couple more things. I had some Puritan short sleeved sunday shirts I was wondering if you could send me. No long sleeve, just short sleeved. They should be sized 16 and once again they are Puritan white dress shirts.

Here's a really cool story I feel will make you and the family proud. We were in our district here during MDT time, and one of the elders asked if I wanted to go do something that probably wasn't as productive as it should be. I was just gonna go study and was gonna respond but one of the other elders looked at me and said, "Wait, Elder McKeen doesn't like to waste time, he wont go." He said it in a really mocking way but it made me feel good. The next day the same thing happened except he said "Well we have Mr. Follow-the-rules here" which again made me feel good! I'm perfectly fine being made fun of because I follow the rules to the T!

Another funny story, we were in our District class being taught by Bro. Vallett, and these construction workers passed by and told us they'd be drilling in the next room over so it might be a bit loud. We all expected maybe a little power drill, like a fly that was annoying, but he was teaching all the sudden we hear this INSANELY LOUD NOISE! As it got louder and louder, my teacher did as well until he was YELLING about the restored gospel, trying to be heard over the loud noise! Elder Gifford and I were cracking up so so bad! We couldn't breath! Funny story! Mom, the picture of me with the other elder in for Katelyn! That's her brother and she wanted a picture of him with me so we took two, one flexing and one not. If you get a chance,could you either get it to her through an email or just a print out, what ever's easiest!

Dad! Holy Guacamole and Onions how I love your letters! (punch) Getting them in the mail allows me more time to respond in emails! Thanks for the story about the car this week! Sometimes I feel like that, I'm on the edge of collapsing but really just need a tune up. We taught at the TEC last week and that was HARD! I left almost crying because I felt like such a failure of a missionary, but I'm doing ok! By the way, if you ever want a really cool study topic, Elder Gifford and I studied and more speculated about the Adamic language that we think must have been the language at the tower of Babel and the unconfounded language of the jaredites in Ether. We also talked a lot about the Urim and Thummim that was given to the Bro. Of Jared and how it made it's way to Joseph Smith (Bible Dictionary says it's the same one) through the final battle of Shiz and Coriantumer, and made it's way to King Limhi's people in Mosiah I think chapter 8! If you haven't, look over that! It's really cool to see these two small rocks mentioned in random verses, make their way to JS, also studying the Breastplate they're in!

Momma! Thanks for being so amazing! I feel like I'm just here to tell you what I need and to have you do it, but know that I love you with all my heart and I'm glad to have you as my mommy!

Really quick, I need you to check out my America first Debit account

love you

Letter #2

Thanks for the note dad, I can understand she's busy in Texas. That's where I'll be soon and I've been asking for lots of patience from everybody else. By the way, to everybody, the BP told us only to write letters on P-Days, not at night, or at any breaks, so that's what I'm doing so the letters from me will probably be a bit scarce to be honest, but obedience bring blessings! Angie, I now know the importance of writing little notes down on stuff you can write about during the week, so on P-Days, you know what experiences you wanted to share. First, right off the back I realized I hadn't told you anything about my companion. His name is Elder Hunt, he's from West Jordan and is 21, or 22, can't remember. He's really great! I've grown to love him! After I talked with the BP, just with learning how to cope with missionary stresses and stuff, he said that he's fully convinced of the divine intervention that occurs when calling missionary companionships. He said I should try my hardest to see his short comings, as well as my own, and help each other get past those to be the best missionaries we can be. Right now, he's super, I mean really super duper new to the Book of Mormon(BoM). Also to teaching and to the church in general. This really frustrated me at first until I talked with the BP. I realized that my patience will grow huge amounts while I'm with him, as well as I will definitely get better at teaching. When we study, most of it is us going through preach my gospel, studying the scriptures associated with each section, and writing down impressions or stuff we would like to remember and discuss with each other when we're done. I'm getting better at teaching because that's what I'm doing when we study. He's new to this and so he doesn't know much so I get to share what I have with him, and it's great to see him get excited when I explain cool principles to him. Like, the scripture in Ezekial, I think chapter 3, that prophecies about the BoM by talking about the Stick of Judah and Stick of Joseph becoming one book in the lords hands. When I showed him that he immediately wanted to go share it with the elders in our district. So it's great!

Another thing: Thank you all for your letters and PLEASE keep them coming! Especially your letter dad, I loved hearing from you and your insights on the mish! People will never understand how amazing letters are until you're on a mission and that's the only means of communication between you and the ones you love! That's why I've gotten so many and feel so blessed. In my District I'm known as the missionary that gets the most mail, because I do! I'm blessed with a family that has both parents and 3 older sibilings with spouses, (except for Brad) that have all served missions. That's 7, yeah, 7 people in our family that have served, so I get lots of letter because they know how it feels when you get a letter! THANK YOU CROWLEY'S!!!!!! Thanks for the Banana Bread! I got it yesterday and was so thrilled when I saw the loaf in the box! I get the chills just thinking about it. I picked it up just before dinner, so I didn't each much of it at that time, but throughout that night I'd grab it and take a big bite out of it. It was gone in 6 hours! So delicious!

So we went to the TRC (not sure what that stands for) this last tuesday and it went so so amazing! I taught the majority of the lesson with Elder Hunt sharing his testimony and scriptures with the investigator! That's how it'll have to be for the time being, but he's got such a strong testimony! We both brought the spirit and our investigator was excited to have us back this next tuesday to teach him about seeing him wife that's passed away, again! I left the room on cloud 9 just as happy as I can be! I love teaching! If I'm prepared, it's such a rush that not a lot of things can duplicate! I always freak out when I'm thinking about going in to teach, but once I'm in there I get so comfortable and it just feels great!

So the temple is today! I can not wait! I haven't been to the temple to do a session in a month I think! Before I left we would go do baptisms, so I'm excited to talk to my heavenly father in the Celestial room for the first time in a while! I LOVE MY DISTRICT! It's sad though. We had one sister go home a couple days ago, not sure why, and another elder who has splits and fissures in his meniscus in his knee due to an excercise at the gym. Hopefully he'll be able to recover without going home! The elders I'm rooming with are like my brothers! I love them to DEATH! The other night, we were laying in bed, just talking, around 10:40, and I said, "Ya know elders, we should do a chant when we're done praying like, YA TEXAS (I said it super cheesy!) My comp. then said, "Wait I know, we can cheer, HOUSTON TEXANS!!!, Oh wait, that's a football team!" Now I know that doesn't sound funny, but we were laughing our head off for 20 minutes until the ZLs came and knocked on our door to tell us to keep it down! Man, that was the funniest moment I've had since being here!

On Tuesday, (gosh I can't believe that was 2 days ago! I agree with Alec and Payden! The days here can sometimes take a long time to get through, but once it's done, they all mesh together and go by really fast! It's some sort of time warp thing! Today, Thusday, got here so so fast! It's incredible!) anyways, On Tuesday we had a member of the seventy, Elder Duncan come speak to us! So awesome! His main message was to never think any of your efforts go wasted! You may never see the fruits of your labors, but trust me, they're there! It was a fantastic talk, although I had a hard time concentrating because of the discomfort I was experiencing from the chairs! I love all of you to death! Thanks for the letter and KEEP THE FAITH!