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