FELIZ AÑO NUEVO

HELLO LOVED ONES. MAN ISN´T LIFE GREAT? It was such a privilege to be able to talk with my family on Christmas Eve! I am grateful and joyful that all are healthy and happy. I´m so grateful for my family, and have a wonderful peace in my soul knowing that I can be with them for eternity! There is no happier work than I have here in Argentina helping families receive this opportunity for eternal joy as well. 

Before I talk about Christmas festivities, I want to get things started with a story. Every one loves stories, and I haven´t had a good one to tell yet, I don´t think. Last week, Elder Ozcariz Choi and I were talking to a family and one of their friends was there with us. He shook my companion´s hand and then looked looked at me and asked, "Are you a Yankee?" I responded in the affirmitive and told him I´m from California. His eyes lit up and he immediately walked up to me, shook my hand really hard (that kind of hand shake where you use both hands, you know), got really close to my face and whispered, "Obama said that he´s going to help our president" Not entirely sure how to respond, I told him that that is great. He talked about what Obama said for a time and then shook my hand really, really hard another like five times before we left. So every one! Argentina has nothing to fear.

Also, my papi is getting transferred! Normally you have one trainer for twelve weeks but I´m getting a new one. His name is Elder Stewart. From California! I don´t know him at all! But I´m excited! Elder Ozcariz Choi was an incredible example of obendience and diligence to me, and I am grateful for his training. He is a wonderful missionary! Here´s to changes for a new year eh?

CHRISTMAS! This week was grand. On the twenty-third, the entire mission headed up to capital to go to the Buenos Aires Temple, and that was wonderful. How I love the Temple and the incredible peace and joy that always abounds within its walls! After that, we all took a giant pictures, ate milanesa sandwiches and headed to the mission offices. There we had a nice little Christmas devotional and President and Sister Robertson´s family put on a Nativity act for us all. So I got to coninue the family tradition of acting out the Nativity every year. It was just as wonderfully funny as always. After all of that, we were serenaded by a little mission choir during a video presentation about Christ and the importance of following His example during our mission work. There was a little segment of Elder Holland´s Feed My Sheep talk. Holy smokes, I forgot how incredible that talk is. It is such a wonderful example of the Christ´s loving character. After Christ was resurrected, He found Peter and company fishing again. Just as He had done at the start of their calling to the Holy Apostleship, he asked them to cast their net and just as before it was filled. As Elder Holland related the story of Christ´s thrice-asked question, "Do you love me?", I thought about how any normal man would have been annoyed, if not angry with Peter for after all that had happened, returning to his old work after Christ died, thinking it was finished. But Christ, always loving and ever-patient, calmy taught Peter that there was work and always will be work until the end. Could there be a better example than our Saviour´s? That talk was a wonderful reminder that with all the love I have for Christ, I should have a better desire to feed His sheep. That is the best way we can show our love for our Saviour is by bringing others unto him. I promise that as we focus our efforts on that, our love for others will grow, our love for Christ will grow, and the love we have for Him will as well.

I got some wonderful asado for Christmas almuerzo and got to spend it with families that I love as well. Christmas was in the four hundred and thirty thousand degree air. I love all of you and am ever-grateful for your prayers and support! This is the Lord´s work!

CHAU,

Elder McDonald

Our mission trip to the Buenos Aires temple!

Ward Christmas Cena!

Los Dos Carloses! The one with the knife is an AWESOME investigator.

Familia Discepoli! My favourites, I think. Such Argentines.

Elder O.C. and I on the tracks!

Familia Gaitan Christmas almuerzo! Wonderful family.

Carlos making some interesting thing that was interestingly delicious.

Familia Colque! Awesome investigators.

The homemade oreos do not work too great with Argentine ingredients. But they were still relatively delicious. Nothing compared to yours!

Made them with two families. Carlos with the better batch!

CHRISTMAS OR NAVIDAD?

FELIZ NAVIDAD MY BELOVED ONES. How faireth all of thee during this lovely Christmas week? I´m feeling real real wonderful. How I love Christmas. Even though it feels a little weird because I´m eight trillion miles away from my family and am constantly sweating, the Christmas Spirit is still strong here in the bowels of South America. I love Christmas. But before I talk about the blessing of this holiday, I want to come clean and confess that I did mourn quite a bit on the eighteenth. I tried not to, and I´ll probably regret it in a few months, but it was impossible not to. I wish joy and peace to all those who were able to partake in the Star Wars events this past week. 

That aside, this week was still wondrous! There´s nothing better than teaching 

about our Saviour every day, especially right now, when every one´s minds are on Christmas. One of the new videos the Church released is entitled some thing like, The World without A Saviour. I love it! This world with out the birth and life of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ would be a dark world indeed. I can´t imagine a life with out a knowlege that all of us can be free from our sins, our sadnesses and our sicknesses. Yet there are so many people who live their lives heaping up their sins and their sufferings upon their own shoulders. No one needs to! Christ already did it all. Every single piece of it. All He asks is that we accept that and ask for relief. We´re going to recieve it if we answer our doors! That´s why I´m here in Argentina. As a representative of Jesus Christ, I can´t take away any one´s sins or sufferings, but I can sure help them understand how. And that´s all I want to do. Show them how they and all of us can return in happiness to our Father in Heaven to live with him and our families forever. 

Even though it´s important during this week to have fun and spend joyous time with our families, I hope we can all remember why we´re celebrating - why a Saviour was born over two thousand years ago. I am so incredibly grateful for Jesus Christ and love Him more than I can write. This Sunday all of the primary children sang Christmas songs and read the prophesyings and stories of Christ´s birth during church. I love the primary programs, Especially Christmas ones! There are no better testimonies of Christ than those of children. Even though their knowlege is simple, their love is great. What an example our little children should be to us. They have such a pure, worldless love that I strive to have for every one every day. Even though children are on occasion a handful, Christ has commanded us to be like them. I know that in doing so, we can all better realise the pure love that Christ has for us and desire to share this love with others. 

I hope every one has a wonderfully joyous Christmas and stuffs them selves full of Yankee Christmas goodies that I may or may not miss a little bit. I´ll just eat a lot of dulce de leche. I´m not worried. I´m excited beyond words to be able to talk to my family this week! Woo! ¨That´s going to be the most English I´ve used in one sitting in over a month. I love all of you and can feel your Christmas joy from the bottom of the Americas! Peace be with you all.

Chau,

Elder McDonald

BUENAS

HEY. HOW IS EVERY ONE? Wonderful. I´m doing super well. I hope I can say every thing I want to in the time I have. I think I can. 

This week has been killeeeerrrrrrrrrrr. Like every week here. Love it all. 

Let´s start with my fun story for the week. Back up first. I´ve now realised that all of the years since my first day of elementary school being made fun of for my last name have been preparations for this mission. Never have I gotten more laughs when I introduce my self as Elder McDonald. Every one keeps asking me for hamburguesas and I can´t figure out why.. Chiste. I love it though! No better way to start a conversation. Any ways, because of all the hullabaloo about my name here, I figured I had to go to McDonald´s and see if I could get any sweet deals for flashing my missionary plaque to the cashier. I ordererd some fries, looked at the lady working the register and go, ´¡Mire!´ She barely looked up and just said, ´Mm.´ The worst reaction I have every gotten for my name was in my own restaurant. I´ve never been more offended. 

This week we had a family home evening with Flia Meza, who are all incredible. Carlos is technically an investigator but he is honestly so ready to get baptised and just needs to get married! The rest of the family have already been baptised and I love all of them dearly. And Carlos´ pizzas. My favourite part about the night was their kids´ prayers. Both of them spoke specifically about each member of their family and how grateful they were for each one. What an example that was to me. When we pray, we shouldn´t just say that we´re grateful for our family. Talk about each member to our Heavenly Father and what you're grateful for about them. Our Father doesn´t want us to be lazy while we talk to him! He loves it! As our Father in Heaven, He wants to hear from us often. What loving father doesn´t want to know how his children are doing? Our Heavenly Father is the same. Pray to Him and tell him how you are! Express gratitude for the things He´s given you, and ask for the things you desire His help with! As we continue to go to our Father in true, honest prayer, I know that we will see the difference in our lives. 

I hope every one is remembering the importance of this Christmas season! I have never appreciated Christmas more than here on my mission, where I´m not weighed down by my desires for worldly gifts in the slightest! Even though I´m far from my family, I know how much they love me, and I know how much I love them. How great is my joy as I try my hardest to teach as many people as I can about our Saviour Jesus Christ during the season of the celebration of His Birth! There´s another video the Church released about what the world would be like with out a Saviour, and I love it! With out our loving Redeemer Jesus Christ, this world would be a truly bleak place, with out comfort, and with out forgiveness. How incredibly filled with gratitude I am for my Saviour´s birth and following life. Truly, with out our Saviour, we wouldn´t have His teachings, which provide us with all of the guidance we could ever need to prepare to live with Him and our Father again. And I shiver at the thought of this world with out the blessed Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. With out our Saviour´s Atonement, all of us would be truly lost. No way to receive peace and forgiveness, and no one to understand our trials and pains perfectly. Luckily, through Jesus Christ, we have all that we could need. I know my Saviour lives, and I know that as we try to follow His example of service and love this season and always, the blessings will flow. 

I love every one here and I love every one there in the USA! I AM SO HAPPY. God bless all of you and I am eternally grateful for your support and love.

Ciau,

Elder McDonald

Putting my blow dryer to good use!

That´s Daniel Discepoli! He´s the husband of my favourite member family. So so awesome. His wife took the picture. I need one with both!

Argentina Campo

Elder Roman, sweet Chilean Zone Leader, completing his first year by burning a shirt

First Vianda--lunch to go from a member

I had to go to McDonalds and get a picture. You´ll see why in my big email.

TIME

THIS EMAIL MIGHT BE SHORT BECAUSE EVEN SHORTER IS MY TIME. BUT HOW GREAT IS THAT? I have way more time to share Christ´s wonderful Gospel with more people. Every day here is more joyful than the last! Even when things go as planned every day, some how the Lord blesses me with a wonderfully joyful spirit. Who cares when things don´t always go the right way? I don´t. Nothing can every go completely wrong when we utilise Christ´s Gospel and especially His Atonement! Please please please utilise it! And utilise the blessing our Father in Heaven has given us in the ability to speak with Him through prayer. Book of Mormon, Helaman 3:27 and 28. All I have is a Spanish copy, so here goes: 27:Así vemos que el Señor es misericordioso para con todos aquellos que, con la sinceridad de su corazón, quieran invocar su santo nombre.

28: Sí, así vemos que la puerta del cielo está abierta para todos, sí, para todos los que quieran creer en el nombre do Jesucristo, que es el Hijo de Dios.

As we kneel in prayer with real intent of soul, the Lord will pour out blessings to us! And as we accept and always remember our Saviour Jesus Christ, the gates of Heaven are always open to us! Nothing can ever go permanently wrong through this blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This week has been wonderful as has every other week. My time is short and I´m terribly sorry for how short this email is, but how I love Villa Posse and this mission! Nothing but absolute joy can come from sharing the words of Christ with people who need them. This week we had a lesson with a familia called Aguado, and all of them are wonderful. As we spoke, each one of them, even their sixteen year-old daughter, expressed their deep desire for the truth. They had been to multiple different churches and not felt completely right at any of them. How comforting it was to know with all of my heart that our message was a message of complete truth. There are so many seeking for truth and guidance every single day. I testify that Christ will bring that truth. The Book of Mormon will bring that truth. Read it! 

Much love to all and to all a good night,

Elder McDonald

HOOOLAAA

BUEN DIA WONDERFUL LOVING FAMILY. WHAT A LIFE. Villa Posse is so great. Every one here is great, even when theyre not nice. Dont even worry about it. Castellano (Spanish is not called Spanish here - not many people really understand what it means when you say ´Mi Espanol es terrible´) is still lots of fun to try and understand, but I´m pretty sure I´m getting better every day. Who knows, really. I made a goal with my self and The Lord to really focus solely on listening to what people say. It´s hard to not be thinking about how you´re going to respond in Spanish while some one is talking but as I really try to keep my mind focused on listening, I´ve slowly begun to improve. I am so grateful for the help of the Spirit in every aspect of my life! As we rely on the Spirit with faith and confidence, I know that we will be blessed with the things that we need. And nothing is more central to missionary work than the Spirit. 

This last Saturday one of our invstigators rode up to us on his moto (literally so many people cruise around in motorcycles here it´s wonderful. The only thing that out-numbers people on motos are dogs. Dogs are every where. Walking around, barking through fences, dead on the side of the road - you name it! Dogs. I love it. Love dogs.) Uh, any ways, Francisco rides up to us and says, ´Hey, are you two going to church tomorrow?´ ´...Uh, yeah.´ ´Okay, see you there!´ All in Spanish, of course. But Elder Ozcariz Choi and I were stoked on that. Unfortunately, his girlfriend, who is a member, didn´t end up going to church yesterday which resulted in him not coming either. No biggie though! Francisco is so sweet. There is another wonderful woman we´re talking to named Lita who has been looking for the right church for a long time. She is super smart and has a huge bookshelf with encyclopedias and giant books in her house, which is pretty rare in this area of Argentina. She has such a strong desire to learn and understand more about the Saviour and His teachings. We had the opportunity to do some lawn work for her on the property she´s building her house on, which is fun. I got to use her massive weed wacker that you attach on to your back to hold the weight. The grass was like waist high and thus it felt very empowering to slice huge stocks of weeds in half. Also a lot of ants here have gigantic hills which were also hidden in the waist high grass. Every once in a while I´d be destroying some weeds only to feel a mixture of dirt and ants pounding against my body as I unknowingly desecrated an ant home. But how great are opportunities to serve? There are few better ways to follow the Saviour´s example than through service of our brothers and sisters. 

I´ve recently adopted a futbol team, for better or for worse. There are two main teams in Argentina - Boca and River Plate. I chose Boca and never looked back. And since literally every one here asks you which cuadro (team) is yours I either get a lot of groans or a lot of cheers whenever I meet some one. 

I honestly love all of the people here so incredibly much. There is always laughing and good-spiritedness. Even after these two weeks I know that this is where I am supposed to be. Life is not easy for a lot of people here, and I´ve had some wonderful experiences of people opening up and just talking. What a comfort it is to have a message of a Saviour for them! A Prince of Peace. I know with every fibre of my being that the Atonement is real. It can be applied to every single part of your life. Our incredible Redeemer Jesus Christ took upon him the pains and sicknesses of every person so that He can understand perfectly every person. He does understand and He will one hundred million percent of the time help you if you come to Him. As this season of Christmas begins, always remember that the birth of the Saviour resulted in not only a ministry and church of teachings for every aspect of our lives, but in an Atonement for every part of our lives. I hope every one has already watched the new Christmas video A Savior is Born. I watched it again this Sunday at the Bishop´s house for lunch and it´s still way way good even in Spanish. 

I have two native Spanish speakers in my pench at this moment (Elder O.C. and Elder Roman) and few things bring more joy to my heart than when they try to use American phrases. Elder Roman knows much less than Elder O.C. so his heavy accented English moves me to tears often. 

Beloved family! How I love all of you! My life here is incredible and nothing makes me happier than walking down roads of dirt and mud amongst my canine friends. I love it here more than I thought I could and that love continues to grow daily. 

Ciau,

Elder McDonald

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

HOLY SMOKES.  Hello all. Buen dia. I love you. Thi week has literally been incredible I legitimately don´t have words. Also this kwyboard is horrifying weird and I have no idea how to use punctuation so if you think thats gonna happen you are wrong. Also every word I type is underlined in RED SQUIGGLY BECAUSE IT ISNT ENGLISH. Every thing is Spanish my entire life is Spanish and I love it. First thing is first. My papi (trainer) is Elder Ozcariz Choi. His father is Spanish and his mother is Korean. But hes native from Spain and is honestly such a wonderful man. Also because hes SPanish all of his ´c´s and ´z´s are spoken with lisps which means not only am I learning Castellano but I some times without thinking use his accent as well. Which is lots of fun. But Elder CHoi is really wonderful. Hes an incredible teacher and loves the work and works hard. Honestly I dont know how much time typing on this aweful keyboard is going to take so all sentence structure and grammatical rules are out the window for now. Sorry. My area is called Villa Posse and I am in love with it. Im in love with Argentina already. From what Ive gathered so far from the families weve either had almuerzo with or taught or whatever it may be every one here is super good humoured and I love it. All the members are jokesters and I dont know how to explain it but I love love love every one and am so stoked on life. My favourite family so far is Familia Discepoli. They were baptised last Feb. I believe and are such a sweet couple. Hermana Discepoli is this big wonderful woman and Hermano Discepoli is this tiny wonderful man. Hermana Discepoli is hilarious. She by far has the thickest accent of any one Ive spent an extended period of time with. Its like almost italian but the words are Spanish. I love it so much. The accent is so much fun. Its so animated and jovial and I dont know you just feel like every one i having a great day because of it. Every one is having a great day because every one has the Light of Christ in them. I literally understand a solid 12 percent of what people say at the very most but who cares literally not me at all. I know I´ll understand eventually and theres really nothing to worry about except making sure that every one I talk to knows how incredeibly much Jesus Christ loves them and their family. That is our message. It is Christ´s message of love! (Was that an exclamation point? I cant see well this screen is very bad) God is literally our father and knows us better than any one. Like any loving father He wants the absolute best for us and wants us to return to Him! The way to do that is through Jesus Christ. The only way. I am so grateful for the wonderful family that I have who taught me the ways of my Saviour so that I have a desire to share them with the world as I am! 

President and Sister Roberston are wonderful. SIster Robinson is hilarious to listen to because she is not a fan of germs, but here in Argentina it´s a bit hard to be at war with germs. But she is super super awesome and cares a lot about the missionaries. President Robertson is a wonderful man as well. He puts a lot of trust in his missionaries and is not the kind of person to breathe down your neck at all. I´m excited to get to know him better but he is definitely my mission president and I love both of them already.  

Our apartment is nice but like all other houses here it is very dusty all the time. Also, Mum, I never thought I would be the one to get serious about this but I´m definitely going to be cleaning the bathroom today. Evry thing else is fine but our bathroom needs a bit of work. SPEAKING OF BATHROOMS YEP THEY USE BIDETS IN ARGENTINA HAHAHA HOW SWEET IS THAT? Im not gonna lie bidets are a thousand times better and Im willing to bet more sanitary in the long run. Honestly when it comes down to it the whole idea of solely toilet paper is pretty gross. But yeah. Why doen´t America use bidets? Not important. 

Uh Saturday I had a baptism which was crazy. First week baptism whaaat! His name is Angel and he´s an eight year old capo (closest definition of capo is like stud I guess?) But such a cute little kid. His family is quite a mix and match. And really wonderful. Familia Meza. Angel´s mum Yanina recently started coming back to church when her boyfriend Carlos started investigating the church. He is honestly super super wonderful and is way ready to be baptised he just needs to get marry Yanina! All of them are such a wonderful families. Also all of their kids want ties for church! If you can figure out pouch mail more ties would be incredible because I only have like six and I have a feeling that that number is going to dwindle. I´m gonna look for some more to buy as well if I can. Heh heh. 

I also so far hardcore dig the food. Pretty much the only actual meal we eat here is almuerzo I´ve had some killer empanadas which I´m a huge fan of. They also eat a lot of milanesa here which is pretty much like fried chicken tenders with some seasoning and usually pasta to go with it. But yesterday I had asado for the first time at a member´s house. That´s what Ive been looking forward to and it far from disappointed. I don´t understand how a cow can taste that good but it did and it does and it´ll do it again. Today I am going to buy oatmeal for breakfast because recently I have been gagging down bread and this weird chocolate jello stuff that is not meant to be eaten in the way that I have been doing so. But hey, the rest of my food has been really, really good. No problem. I don´t have much more time but honestly I am so incredibly happy here and there is nothing I would rather be doing than serving these people and serving my Father in Heaven. I love my Saviour and am incredibly grateful for his all-encompassing teachings and sacrifice. We would be nothing and we would have nothing with out Jesus Christ. All we need to do is come to Him because He knows hw to help and love us a lot better than any one here does. And He will help us. He does love us. I love all of you so much and am continually and eternally grateful for your support! 

Ciauuuuuu,

Elder McDonald

LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE

HELLO FAMILY FRIENDS AND AMERICAN CITIZENS HOW IS EVERY ONE? I AM QUITE LITERALLY STOKED OUT OF MY MIND TO BE TALKING TO ALL OF YOU AND TO BE LEAVING IN THREE DAYS TO ARGENTINA ARE YOU JOKING. LIFE IS GOOD. Don't ever tell any one you're not doing well because even when you've got hard things happening you still have a beautiful life and a beautiful earth that has been created for you to marvel at and live in. Hopefully I don't become a hypocrite in six months when life gets hard in Argentina. But through it all I'll know I have a loving Father and Brother who are always there for me and a loving earthly family there for me as well. Oh, what joy this sentence gives: I know that my Redeemer lives! 

So last Friday after I emailed I got my flight plans in the mail which pretty much meant the rest of the night was an eruption of excitement. Then the next day. Then subsequently the rest of this week. Our teachers know the abyss of excitement that the last week is, and thus gave us a lecture on remaining focused throughout our last week. Which has been a good week! But also I have my flight plans and I'm leaving on Monday. Exciting.

Oh! Last Sunday they were playing Meet The Mormons as the movie and since I've never seen that  we decided to give it a whirl. I regret not going to see it when it was in theatres! I was surprised by how well made it was and how uplifting it was as well. I absolutely loved all of those stories and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cinematography. I recommend it to all who haven't seen it! It really felt like a documentary about really interesting people who happened to be Mormons instead of Mormons who happened to be interesting people. I honestly loved it. 

To add to the glory of this week, the MTC brought in Chik-fil-A for dinner on Monday which translates roughly to the MTC provided manna from heaven for dinner on Monday. That was a blessed change of scenery. I'm still more excited for a beef and pasta overload in Argentina though. Woo!

The rest of the week was learning more Spanish and practicing lessons, which is always wonderful and incredibly Spiritual. I am so grateful for my teachers. I would not trade them. 

Awesome. So, we finally had our in-field orientation yesterday. That was pretty incredible. As if we weren't excited enough about heading out in to the field. It was seriously great though. Lots of suggestions and ideas about adjusting and making your mission great in my actual mission.

Every week here my testimony of this Gospel grows stronger and brings me more joy! Helping bring our brothers and sisters closer to Christ through the joy and peace we can receive from Him is the best way to receive joy and peace in our own lives. I've had so many opporitunities this week to feel the Spirit and let It guide my actions and words, and how my faith has grown! The Spirit is a gift! Use it! Read the scriptures! Use them. Ponder them and I promise that as you do that you will be guided and feel our Heavenly Father's love through His Spirit. I have grown so much in my love of both the Book of Mormon and the Bible over these six weeks of studying, but I want to specifically talk about how much closer we can come to our Saviour through the Book of Mormon. It truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. With out that book I would not have the love for my Jesus that I have. No book testifies of Christ more than the Book of Mormon does! No book can be applied to our lives and our situations more than that book can, because the words of our Saviour always will apply to us. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and I know that if we will just read it it will bless our lives more than we could have thought. It has blessed mine. Jesus is the Christ. Listen to His words, and utilise His Atonement. I love Him. I think I've said that in all of my emails homes, and for good reason. None of us could ever have a better Brother than Jesus Christ.

My next email will be from within the bowels of South America! How exciting is that! I love all of you and am excited beyond words to be able to bring you along on this mad adventure with me. 

CON MUCHISISISISISISISISISISIMO AMOR

ELDER MCDONALD


Note from Jacob's mom: Now is the time to start sending letters to Argentina!! Here is a reminder of the address: 

After November 16th (it takes several weeks for mail to arrive, so you can start sending letters here now and he will get them when he gets to Argentina): 

Mission Office:

Elder Jacob Spencer McDonald

Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission

C.C. No. 92

1702 Ciudadela

Buenos Aires, Argentina

There is also a pouch service. This is nice because you don't have to use international stamps so it's cheaper. There are specific guidelines, though. It sounds complicated, but I think once you try it it won't be a big deal. You can only send postcards or one-page correspondences (no envelopes) written on one side of the page. Notebook or other light weight paper will not process through the USPS machines. Lay the letter blank side down. Fold the bottom of the letter about one-third of the way up the page and crease. Fold the top of the letter to the bottom of the first fold and crease. Secure the long side with two pieces of tape about one inch in from each end, but do not seal the ends. Write your name and complete return address in the top left corner. Affix first class postage in the top right corner. In the middle, write the missionary address:

Elder Jacob Spencer McDonald

Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150

Finally, email:
mcdonald.jacob@myldsmail.net

​President and Sister Price dressed up as Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin a few years back. I thought the resemblance of Sister Price was pretty uncanny.

Brian, our main TRC investigator. Super cool guy. He knows Jiu Jitsu

I SAW CAMERON ROMNEY DURING IN-FIELD ORIENTATION. CRAZY!

Nearing the End

Buenos Dias! (I don't know how to do the upside down exclamation mark on a Windows. Thanks Bill Gates.)

Life is so great! Even when it's not great, it's still great; let's be honest. Yesterday it was first snow which popped my happiness meter up a few notches. I've been to the snow but I've never seen it actually snow. I walked out side to do service with my district, noticed the snow falling, and instantaneously reverted to my six year-old self. Yeah, I caught snowflakes on my tongue. Don't worry about it.  How crazy is snow? I'm grateful that God thought of that one. 

A lot of the beginning of this week consisted of Elder Mattinson being ill and bed-ridden, so not a ton to report there. But I did get him to the Sunday and Tuesday devotionals which were both phenomenal. Sunday was given by... I think the director of communications at the MTC? i forgot to bring my other notebook with devotional notes so I'm not entirely sure. But his whole talk was on family, which I loved dearly. The main thing was that we are giving these two years all for family. For the families of those whom we teach and for our learning to be a better part of a future family. I loved it. 

Tuesday's was incredible as well. It was given by Elder Maynes (presidency of the Seventy) and that one had a huge focus on faith and being willing to follow the Spirit. The big new quote to go around the MTC now is "Have more faith than fear". It's scary to talk and teach people you maybe don't know or some thing, but as we continually have faith, we are promised that The Lord will open our mouths and His Spirit can guide us. Faith has been such a huge topic for me while I've been here. It's crazy. Every where I go I seem to encounter a lesson on faith, but probably because faith is every thing. Literally I think I've said this in the last three emails I've sent but all miracles and works ever wrought by any one have always been by faith. Jesus literally could not hide him self from the brother of Jared because his faith was so incredible. The blind, the leper, the man sick with the palsy, a simple touch of the Saviour's clothes, all of Christ's miracles were performed through faith. Enos cried day and night in faith, and was promised that the record of his people would be preserved. How grateful am I for that promise that has given us another perfect testament of Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon in these last days. Read that book, and keep reading it! I wish that I would have read it better before my mission. The Book of Mormon is not about any thing but Jesus the Christ. That book contains the fullness of His words, and thus what problems could we have in our life that His plentiful Gospel cannot solve? Through Christ, all can be healed. I have a testimony of that. Elder Maynes dropped a bomb and said some thing I've never thought of ever: our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son Jesus Christ were the first missionary companionship of this generation, and Joseph Smith was the first investigator of Their Gospel. I testify that Joseph Smith saw the Father and His Son, and through Them restored Christ's church again. All are invited to read the Book of Mormon. Ponder it! Pray about it! I promise you will feel its truth as you do that with genuine intent.

SO, first funny Spanish story of my mission! Elder Mattinson and I got to Skype a member from Costa Rica and teach her a small lesson (Which was super cool! Props to the MTC for thinking of that idea). Any ways, we were talking to her about her family and her kids and she goes "Estoy embarasado!". Of course, what would our poor English ears translate that to? Embarrassed. So Elder Mattinson, right before one of my district mates could clarify from across the room, goes, "Por que?" Right after he said that, Elder Maycock yells, "She's pregnant!" from like four rows down. The damage had already been done though. All of us were dying for a solid two minutes at Elder Mattinson asking this poor sister why she's pregnant. Luckily she was super awesome and laughed right along with us. Good stuff. But it doesn't end there. Some how in the next twenty minutes Elder Mattinson forgot about that experience and after like misspeaking or some thing goes "Estoy embarasado." Poor man. That put us in to another fit of laughter. It's all good though. His Spanish is like four times better than mine so I think he deserved that after all of the struggles I've had. 

I love my calling not only as a missionary but as a zone leader as well! Those who know me would understand how much joy it brings to my heart to be able to sit down with other missionaries and listen to them talk about any issues they're having. The other day I was able to reap the rewards of a talk I had with an Elder struggling with his companion a bit when he showed me the success of a suggestion I gave him. I'm in no way trying to brag about that, I hope that's clear. I only want to testify of the joy that can come from simply listening. 

I truly love all of you dearly and few things bring me more joy than getting pictures from you! Keep sending them! Know that I have a powerful testimony of my Saviour Jesus Christ in my heart and with that falls in to place a testimony of every tenant of his Gospel. I have less than two weeks until I peace out to Argentina! Man I am stoked to fall in love with the Argentine people and their spirits. I have nothing but love for all reading my emails! 

Estoy mas bien que un penguino en el desierto. 

Nos Vemos,

Elder McDonald

PS Love you

ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY. I AM HOLDING A HOME MADE OREO AND JESUS THE CHRIST

Okay so on the right is Elder Abbott who is super awesome but my favourite thing about him is that he looks like Shia Labeouf in his 'Holes' days. Elder Wakamatsu, also wonderful. He literally knows every thing about Jospeh Smith and pretty much the Gospel. If you read him a chapter heading from the BOM he can name the book and chapter.

Hello!

Querido Familia,

How are all of you? Great, I hope. I am. These weeks fly by at an absolutely ridiculous pace. I'm literally halfway through my stay at the MTC. I am so stoked to get out to Argentina. The MTC is awesome, and there is such a cool spirit here, but it's hard to not be jealous of the missionaries who are only here for two weeks. 

Guess who gave our Tuesday devotional? Elder Anderson! He gave an awesome, awesome talk. My favourite story he told was about when he was a mission president in France and his newer missionaries would come to him dejected and just not feeling it because of a lack of success. He said it was super hard for him and he wasn't sure how best to help them. As he was praying for guidance, he received and answer along the lines of, "If they want comfort and help, they will have to come to Me, not you." I loved that. May we always remember that in the dark times of our lives, our loving Saviour Jesus Christ is always ready to help us. He knows us perfectly and exactly. If we seek help from our peers or leaders, they can obviously try and many times succeed to an extent in helping you. But true healing can only come through Jesus Christ because He is the only one who suffered in Gethsemane for our lives. I hope every one who has a chance to read this can always remember that the Saviour loves us and is right there waiting for us to come to Him.

In other news which I may or may not have forgotten to share last week, Elder Mattinson and I were called as the new zone leaders here, which is exciting. It's a responsibility I am willing and excited to fulfill to the best of my ability. We got two new districts on Wednesday, so Elder Mattinson and I got to welcome them all in and get them settled and prepared for their stay here. It's weird how much experience three weeks can give you. These poor little missionaries were just like I was my first day. Elder Mattinson is the definition of some one who magnifies his calling. I have never seen some one so stoked to lead a bunch of new missionaries around on a tour of the MTC and explain every building in such great detail. He was doing the tour guide backwards walk-and-talk technique and every thing. Very impressive. But this is an exciting calling! 

OH! Funny story. So there's a missionary in my district named Elder Lewis whose claim to fame is that he can make you have a dream of his choosing by lulling you to sleep with his voice and then telling a story while you are asleep. Apparently he's done it to Elder Maycock (also in my district) but I can't take it seriously so I pretended to fall asleep and heard broke my arm in the "dream". (I was a knight fighting a dragon with Elder Elhert, who was also pretending to dream with me) As soon as Elder Elhert and I got our arms broken, we both started like thrashing a little bit because of the pain. Elder Lewis sure got excited at that. After we both woke up, we told him some of the details we remembered in our dreams and he interpreted them for us. Pretty amazing. I am a firm believer in his mastery of the dream world. 

I am way low on time but honestly this week went so quickly that I can't think of any thing else to say! Know that I love all of you dearly and words cannot express the joy I get when any of you send me letters. I know that this Gospel is real and that this is absolutely the true Chruch that Christ established him self two thousand years ago. I know that Joseph Smith saw our Loving Heavenly Father and His incredible Son and restored that church. I love my Saviour with all of my heart and need not say more than that!

MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO AMOR,

Elder McDonald

OKAY CRAZY STORY THE SISTER NEXT TO ELDER MATTINSON IS SISTER VERHOEF AND GUESS WHO HER COUSIN IS? ANNE. SHE'S IN MY ZONE! WE WERE BOTH LIKE SPEECHLESS WHEN WE MET EACH OTHER AND SHE WAS WAY STOKED WHEN I TOLD HER ABOUT MIA AND SHOWED HER A PICTURE OF HER.

HERMANA ESTRADA IS AWESOME. I PROMISE SHE IS NOT NEARLY AS AWKWARD AS THIS PICTURE MAKES HER LOOK.

Elder Langi and I (The homie. Taught me how to greet some one in Tongan)

Elder Kearns and I (Goofiest elder at the MTC)

New Zone leaders with old zone leaders

Elder Steiner and I (He could sing a song of the periodic table)