Happy New Year!

People! It's almost 2016! What is life right now?! I can't even believe it!

Seeing as how I have pictures to send, this email won't be very long.

What I do have to say though is thank you to all the people that have continually written me over the last 9 months. I appreciate it a ton! Knowing that there are people who haven't forgotten about me and still love me even from thousands of miles away makes being away from home a little easier. To those of you who haven't written me, I promise I won't hold a grudge...at least not for too long haha! Kidding! 

Also, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that your New Year starts off swimmingly!

Love you all!

Sister McEldowney

I made tacos this week! I had a major pride moment.

I was reunited with my favorite companion ever!
How grateful am I to have seen her this week!

My AMAZING companion!

My HUGE Christmas box!

BATISMO!

Parabéns Vivaldo! 

A Serious Lack of Motivation...To Write

So, I've discovered that 2 hours in front of a computer is not my favorite thing. I'm not really sure how I managed to do it for so much longer before, but anyway, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to want to write. With that, I'm going to send a few pictures and say that Morrinhos is great and Sister Arévalo is my new companion and is great. Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ok, that's all for this week. Sorry people, I'll be more interesting in the week that comes!

Amo Sempre,

Sister McEldowney

Meet my companion!

Welcome to what sister missionaries find entertaining at 10:25!

I Can Be Taught

We were "tracting" this week (as much as you can do in a "downtown" type area) and we came to a building to try on the interphones. Anyway, there was a glass covering and it gave [me the chance] to see my nametag in the reflection. I think that was the first time that I actually looked at my nametag for more than just a few seconds. I started thinking about the power that this little piece of plastic has. Then I thought about it more, it't not the plastic that has the power, but me. I have the authority, bestowed upon me by a priesthood holder, to be a representative of Jesus Christ. This isn't a game, this isn't a dream, this is real life. I am a representative of Jesus Christ on the earth. 

We have a saying we repeat every morning; it's called "My Comission" from Elder Bruce R. McConckie. 

I am called of God.

My authority is above that of kings of the earth.

By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him--to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me.

My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.

My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous Latter-day work.

How great is my calling!

I just want you all to know that I love this gospel with all of my heart. I love being a missionary. This is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, but I'm so grateful for all that I'm learning. I know that I am not only respresenting Jesus Christ Himself, but I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I know that this is the same church that Jesus Christ established when He was on the earth and that it has been restored. It was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the authority to act in God's name, the authority known as the priesthood, has been restored as well. It is through that authority that we can receive the ordinances that will allow us to return top the presence of our Heavenly Father.

I hit 9 months this week and thought I would be the happiest person alive knowing that I'm halfway done, but it was a difficult moment for me. I've already used half of the time that the Lord has given me and I don't want to waste one minute of the time I have left. This time is sacred and I'm truly grateful for it.

I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

Amo Sempre/Amo Siempre/Love Always

Sister Mackey/Hermana McEldowney/Sister McEldowney

PS. I had French Toast for my 9 Month mark. I cut the pieces in half because I'm "halfway" there haha!

So behind...crazy computer viruses!

From the keeper of this blog -

We've had computer difficulties galore since Thanksgiving. This blog entry is going to include all the ones I've missed in the interim.

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Not A Whole Lot to Say 

November 23, 2015

I'm just going to send the pictures that have been backing up because this week was a lot of walking, trying to work with members, and teaching our three solid investigators. Enjoy the pictures!

1. Meet my friends...who are all home now. Weird...I miss them...

2. Meet my new companion! She's from Peru. She's really nice and a super good missionary.

Felicidade

November 23, 2015

I got a package this week and I may have felt like a little kid at Christmas!

AMERICAN FOOD GALORE! #MintOreos #CANDY #purejoy #MissingHashtags #MissingJimmyFallon Ok, I'm done now haha!

I May Have Waited Until the Last Minute...Again

November 30, 2015

So I have this problem where I'm thinking in Portuguese now, so it's really difficult to write quickly in all English. You'd think that speaking English for 20 years I wouldn't forget, but I speak Portuguese 24/7 and literally have to switch my brain. It's not an easy task!

Anyway, I saved my mass email for last...again. Sorry people!

I started a challenge (if you will) called True Gratitude leads to True Happiness. It's 110 days of recognizing something you're grateful for. It's incredible! I'm about a week and a half in and I can already see a difference.

I love the topic of gratitude, it's something I'm truly grateful for. I know that when we acknowledge those things that we are grateful for Heavenly Father will bless us with even more.

I love you all and am so grateful to be here. I love this work and I love being a missionary. It's difficult, but I know that I need to be here.

I hope you all have a great week!

Amo Sempre,

Sister McEldowney

PS. I envy those of you who ate pie on Thanksgiving. Ok, that's all.

A Chance to Cook and a Chance to be Trunky

December 7, 2015

So, I have basically no time and apparently am learning really well from my lovely MTC companion to write some real quick bullet points for everyone. (Thank you Sister Aston! Glad I'm not in this alone! Hahaha)

Anyway, I'll explain the title and send pictures. Pode ser? Perfeito!

• So the sisters in the ward where I am serving generally feed us every day for lunch. If they don't give us food, they give money. We're poor missionaries and everything they do helps us a ton! Well, this week we had a lot of the sisters not be able to receive us in their homes, so guess who cooked a lot this week! This sister missionary! The good thing is that I love love love to cook and it gave me a chance to try out some new things. This is totally preparation for when I'm a mom and have to cook every day regardless of anything.
• We found a Mexican restaurant in our area! Guess what else! IT'S AUTHENTIC! The family that owns the restaurant is Mexican! They're from Cancun. We ate there on Friday night and I was in heaven! I totally got trunky thought because they starting speaking Spanish and we talked all about Mexican things and I just cried tears of happiness because I felt like it was home. They're the sweetest little family too and I think I have new friends. It was great! 
• We baptized an incredible man who was so prepared for the gospel. I'm starting to realize that quality baptisms are much more worthwhile than the quantity of baptisms. Both are the best, but I'd rather have 1 super solid baptism, one super solid convert, than 50 more-or-less. 

Ok, I'm out of time and really need to send this! Love you all!

-Sister McEldowney

PS. 18 days to Christmas! Watch this - Christmas