Don't Cry For Me Argentina: FELIZIDADES

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO BLESSED FAMILY. I HOPE EVERY ONE IS SUPER STOKED ON THEIR LIVES AND ON THIS NEW YEAR OF 2016. That´s pretty weird, right? Years pass really quickly. We had to come back to the pench early on New Year´s Eve so we didn´t get attacked by any overzealous Argentines, so we took the opportunity to make a sweet Asado Yankee. Which is a barbecue. We bought ground beef, hot dogs, french fries and some killer cidro sin alcohol and killed it on the grill. Since the meat here is some how always more delicious than any meat in the US, I´m gonna be honest and say it was one of the better burgers I´ve had. Then we set off those cool little mini hot air balloon things that are in Tangled. Really popular here. Mine ran in to a telephone wire and burst in to flame, which worried us quite a lot until it went out with out further damage. Also real quick story that isn´t a big deal at all - We may have almost burned the house down trying to make the papas fritas. But like don´t worry about it at all. They were just a little freezer burned so when we dumped them in the boiling oil all the frozen water stopped being frozen and did that cool thing water does when it reacts with boiling oil and set of a beautiful fireball that that may or may not have reached our ceiling. All we wanted was some french fries and we got a bonus of early fireworks!

But this has been a week and a half, as well as a week of many opportunities to see the Lord´s hand in this work. So my papi Elder Ozcariz Choi left me to guide this area as a missionary still in training. I may or may not have been a little worried, seeing as the last time I guided my area for a day on splits with another missionary we pretty much just got lost. But how the Lord has blessed me this week! My first few days were real rough on the planning side of things, seeing as I really hardly knew where any one lived. But Elder Stuart and I got along all right. As I continued to pray for guidance and trust in my Father in Heaven, the next few days brought about some miraculous situations of me some how knowing where to go most of the day. How grateful I am for the blessings of guidance the Lord provides to those who ask! And not just physical guidance. Heavenly Father is just that, our Father. And as a loving Father, he wants to help us as His children. As we show our desire for His help through faithful obedience to His commandments and faithful prayer, He will always provide us with what we need.

So Elder Stuart is my new companion! He´s from Fresno, played water polo and we know like a couple of the same people from my short stay in Clovis. So that´s weird. As two Californians, we have some good common ground. He's super chill and also is some how ridiculously fast at learning the area, so that´s nice too. This companionship is also a good trial of my diligence in the language, because it is ridiculously hard to speak Spanish all the time when your companion is a Yankee. But the Lord continually blesses me with learning every day. There are so many things to be grateful for in this life, right? Try and tell me there aren´t. We have lives and families and friends and other loving people who surround us. Also God has given us a beautiful earth that provides really great food and really incredible things to look at with our really incredible eyes. I love to look at the great fields here and the spacious skies. Like Alma said, all things testify of a God. And all things testify of a loving God as well. He didn´t just give us an earth that has the bare necessities, He gave us an earth to wonder at, to learn about, and to appreciate the beauty of. And as for me, I am grateful beyond words to be here in Argentina, sharing this wonderful Gospel of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Love you all immensely and am always grateful for your support and example!

Chau,

Elder McDonald