LIÑA POR LIÑA, PRECEPTO POR PRECEPTO

HELLO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD, HOT DAY. It's actually cooled down a lot this week, which has been blessed. It is supposed to keep getting cooler and rain more, so I am quite pleased. 

SO, This wonderful week, we spent half the day in a fun town called Caballito (little horse!). We were there to hear an Apostle of the Lord speak to all of the missionaries in the Buenos Aires missions. And boy was it some good stuff. First an foremost, what a blessing and priviledge it is to be able to hear from an Apostle first hand in this day and age. And we are still blessed with the technology now to hear from them every six months. Don't take our General Conferences for granted! We literally have the opportunity to receive council from prophets, seers and revelators twice a year. That is an incredible blessing. Elder Bednar did some thing a bit different and spent most of the time asking questions and allowing missionaries to answer, then expounding upon those answers. He allowed time for questions as well. However, with all of the change in subjects and questions, the main focus that I got out of it is that faith should always be a principle of action. I thought of a good example this week to translate the point that I undestood a little better. If you've been with out the use of your legs for months, and the doctor comes in and tells you that you're all set to walk again, you believe him. Hypothetically speaking, you have faith from the doctors words that you can walk once again. But is this hope going to magically lift your body from the sick bed and make you walk. Ninety-nine percent of the time, no. IT's when you take action because of our faith. You move your muscles, you stand up, and you walk, trusting in the doctor. Faith is the same. If a brother or sister is struggling, is it going to be sufficient to prayer for him or her, and hope Heavenly Father does all the work? Our Heavenly Father assuredly will do the work, but He is going to have to do it through you. You have to get up and go visit your brother or your sister. Show Heavenly Father that you trust that he is going to help that person so much that you will take your self to them and wait for Him to put the words in your mouth that you need to say. I feel like my ability to write clearly in English is struggling. Hopefully what I just wrote makes sense. To bring it home again, Elder Bednar shared the story of the Israelites transferring the Ark of the Covenant in Joshua. The Lord promised that he would part the waters of the river for them so as to cross, but they didn't stand on the banks waiting in faith for the Lord to part the waters. They kept walking, and the waters didn't part until their feet started getting wet! I love that example of active faith. And I love that I have a lot to work on in my faith! I have always been a huge fan of the concept of faith, and know that it is incredibly important. Thus, I love learning how to better my own faith! May we all work to make our faith a principle of action and trust in the Lord, and not a principle of hope with out work on our part. After all, as the Apostle Paul said, Faith with out works is dead!

Elder Bednar spoke a bit about not beating our selves up as missionaries as well. I think a lot of people have trouble (me some times included) wondering why they don't have the kind of knowledge and power that the Apostles or our even our grandparents have. He very frankly, said, "It's because I've been studying the scriptures and exercising my knowledge for decades more than you!". We can't just receive this great inflow of Gospel knowledge because we want it. We have to practice, line upon line, precept upon precept. Every thing takes practice! Don't beat your self up if you're not a master and you still have sixty more years of life ahead of you to become one!

Friends and family, I am grateful beyond words for the Saviour and His help and love in our lives, constantly. I know that as we trust in Him, and act in our faith in Him, he'll be right there ready to lift us up. I'm grateful that we have a wonderful Prophet in Thomas S. Monson and Apostles on the earth today to guide us, just as Christ and His Apostles did over two thousand years ago. LOVE ALL OF YOU DEMASIADO AND I HOPE ALL HAVE JOY AND SUNSHINE IN THEIR SOULS.

Chau,

Elder McDonald

BUEN DIA.

BUEN DIA QUE TAL CÓMO ANDA CÓMO LE VA IS EVERY ONE HAPPY. This week was a bit cooler than the last which was a blessing. Last week I think I sweat more than I every have in my whole life. It was very hot. And very humid. 

I some how have very little time all of the sudden so I apologise for the length of this letter. It will be very short. But, I hope every one knows that I am happy and excited to be in Rivadavia. It is a great little area with some great little people (because every one is Latino and shorter than me). This week Elder Ordenes and I spent a solid amount of time using our faith and finding people to teach. And there have been some great miracles. I think whenever there is work involved, there is faith. Faith to find, faith that your work will pay off. The truth is that faith should play a massive part in each and every one of our lives! The Saviour has promised us time and time again that when we exercise faith in some thing righteous, it will always be given to us according to our faith and according to His will. Thus, it is also incredibly important that we have a desire to know the Lord's will for us. Because He does have a will for us, and He cares about every aspect of our lives, even things that we would think are too small or insignificant to matter to Him, who cares for all the Universe. But that's what's so incredible about the love of our Heavenly Father for His children. He loves each and every one of us, and He loves and wants our individual families to be happy as well. We need always be watchful of where our families are in relation to the Gospel, because the adversary is working harder and harder every day to destroy the family. The home is a sacred place, and our families are sacred to Heavenly Father. I can't even begin to imagine where I would be with out the loving example of my grandparents, my parents, and my siblings. With out loving guidance from our parents and family as a whole, people suffer. It's proven, and prophets have testified of it constantly. Today I am grateful for my family, both earthly and Heavenly. And I am grateful for a loving elder Brother who loved me and all of us enough to suffer every thing on our behalf. I hope all are well in North America (and other places if that's where you are) and know that I love all of you much! 

Chau,

Elder McDonald

Zone Meeting this week

 FYI I found these little cookies that I think would make you die. They are cookies with the flavour of.... BUTTER. They're literally incredible. 

BIENVENIDOS A RIVADAVIA

BUEEEEN DIA. How is every one? Is it cold? It is very hot here. I am very excited for winter. 

STORY TIME

So, my third day in Rivadavia, Elder Ordenez and I were innocently walking down the street when a white car coming towards us swerved in to the puddle next to us and created a wonderful wave of water for us to attempt to dodge. A little peeved, we continued walking only to have the car return! Our friend rolled down his window and began yelling about Yankee old me followed by some wonderfully colourful Spanish language. I gave him the thumbs up and we went on our way!

It's a short story, but I thought it would keep every one satisfied until the next one!

So, I am no longer in Villa Posse! And I am no longer with a white man! And I'm way excited! 

Elder Ordenez is I think the most Chilean person in the entire world. He is a very patriotic fellow. When we arrived at the pench, one of the first things he did was play Chile's national anthem for me. Every thing that he can possibly make Chilean is Chilean - like the homemade flag of Chile hanging on the wall, or the background of our phone. It is pretty great. Like, he really loves Chile. 

The truth is that I am just really grateful for the amount of Spanish I'm going to be able to speak. I guess I'm always excited but I am way excited! Our ward is great, and there are some great members who love doing ward activies, which should be grand for our investigators. There's a returned missionary in our ward named Sergio and he comes out with us nearly every day, which is way great. He's a great guy who loves getting back in to the mission Spirit. 

In the interest of time, I want to cut straight to what I've been thinking about a lot this week. Scripture study! That is some thing that I have a lot of regrets about from before my mission. I did not take the scriptures nearly as seriously as I should have. But, the past is in the past! Right now as a missionary, I have never enjoyed studying any thing more than the scriptures. And I think I know part of the reason. I'm not just studying for my self, I'm studying to help other people as well. And for this, scripture study has become a literal delight. I challenge every one to try to focus your scripture study on how you can help bring others closer to Christ. As His disciples, it is all of our jobs to preach His Gospel. Thus, as you find time to study the scriptures, find time as well to think about a friend or a family member that needs your help, or that needs the help of our Saviour and His Atonement. I promise that scripture study will become more enjoyable, and a thousand times more rewarding. 

I love all of you and I thank all of you for your prayers and love. Keep pushing along, no matter the circumstances! Christ is walking by your side always!

Chau,

Elder McDonald

Last Picture from the old Pench. The crew in our nationals jerseys. eeeaaaa

¡Elder Ordenez y yo!

The Journey I took my first night in the new pench:

 

¡ME VOY!

MY STAY AT VILLA POSSE HAS COME TO AN END. I have been called to head on over to a place called Rivadavia. I´m still in the same general area of Buenos Aires, so I don´t have to take a ten hour bus ride over to campo, but I am really super excited. I´m going to another walking area, which I´m also a big fan of. I dig walking. Also, in other very exciting news, my new companion's name is Elder Ordenez, and he is a Chileno! Woo! I am incredibly excited. I am literally so excited. Iam not going to be speaking any English! Like, the only time I will speak English is during district meetings, and when talking to all of you. And I am incredibly grateful for that. I´ve got some powerful goals for my Spanish, and I know I´m not just learning Spanish for these two years. I have my entire life ahead of me, and the Lord has called me to learn the Spanish language for a reason. I can´t imagine a better way to learn Spanish than taking away my ability to speak English, eh? Man I´m excited. Every Chileno I´ve met I´ve been a fan of, so I think I´m going to have a good time. But I am way excited to work with the revitalised spirit of a new area! I adore Villa Posse, and as my first area, it will always have a nice roomy space in my heart, but I am way excited to see the outside world and work in Rivadavia with all of my heart, might, mind and strength. WOO. I hope every one is excited about life. I am real excited about life. 

This week we had a sweet Family Night with a member family and invited Angelica (just baptised) and her daughter Eleanora (who wants to get baptised!). We ate Argentine pizza and watched Conozca los Mormones! (Meet the Mormons). Which is really really good. It is beautifully made, and I mostly liked it this time because the voices of the family from Costa Rica weren´t overdubbed in English, since it was the Spanish version. Every one should go watch that movie again, or for the first time if you haven´t seen it. It´s a lot of fun, and there are a lot of really good people doing good things for the world in there. Speaking of Eleanora, she is great. SHe knows she has a testimony, and knows she wants to get baptised. As soon as she drops her little smoking habit, she is going to be incredibly ready. I could not ask for a better example than Angelica for her family. The Familia Aguado is a special family, but Angelica blows my mind. She happily accepted a calling in church as the ward librarian, and is ultimately just killing it, especially sharing the Gospel with every one around her!

The news about my transfer and getting a Latino companion was a great testimony of our Heavenly Father´s love for us. Although He ultimately cares first and foremost about what we need, as the infintely loving Father of our Spirits, He also cares about our just desires! He didn't put us on this earth to just complete our purpose as robots and then head up to Heaven; we're here to have joy! Just look around you! Take time to observe the trees, the mountains, the rain, the heavens both day and night, the innocence of a child. The Lord created this earth for us to enjoy, and He created us to have joy. Be happy with what you have, and take time to count your blessings and give thanks to our Father in Heaven. And if you want more blessings, ask Him humbly. Whether He answers with a yes or a no, He will answer, and as we follow His answers and His commandments, our Father has promised us that we will prosper. I don't have words in Castellano or in English to describe the gratitude I feel as I ponder on my life, my family, and my time as a full-time servant of my Saviour. Gratitude is so important. All that we have is because of our Father´s love for us, and if we complain about what we don't have, why would the Lord want to bless us with more? Remember also that our trials are for our learning, and ultimately always for our betterment. 

I am grateful for all of you, and I am grateful for Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope that every one is content. God bless you!

Chau,

Elder McDonald

We bought some sweet Argentine Nationals conjuntos! Jersey and shorts. Way cool! You'll see better pictures next week.

Noche de Hogar (Family Night) with the best! Familia Gaitan, Angelica and daughter Eleanora and Grace Portilla!

The District: Final Meeting

And chicken coop madness!

GALLINERO PARA EL FIN DE ENERO

HELLO ALL WHAT A WEEK. It was a sweet week. First of all, I got to head all the way over to Capital and do my papers so as to become a legal Argentine for these two years. That was pretty great. On the way back we let our chauffer know that we wanted the scenic route, and so he drove us through Buenos Aires a bit. ´Twas quite a sight to see. Buenos Aires seems like a pretty cool place, so after every one visits the Western part that is a for sure really great place I guess I would recommend checking out Capital. 

What´s more, on Saturday Elder Stuart and I helped a family build a massive chicken coop! It´s actually a sweet story. We were just walking along on the street and we saw the mother struggling to lift her buçike up, laden with slats of wood. We helped her lift it, and she said, "¡Gracias Élderes!". We were like, "How do you know that we´re called élderes?" and she said she´s been a member for a while but she hasn´t been coming to church at all. Then she said she´s getting the wood to build a chicken coop and we were like, " We´re helping!". And so we built (most of) a chicken coop. A really large chicken coop. But I don´t think a better chicken coop has ever been made by four people who have never built a chicken coop in their lives from Argentine materials and tools. Like it was sweet. We have a follow up appointment on Tuesday with them and we´re are going to finish that chicken coop and it is going to be flawless. She also said she´s going to feed us ravioli for lunch, which is exciting. 

This week was filled with a lot of disappointments, but when does that ever not happen? But then, Sunday, we had two families bring friends to church which was a miracle and that made me feel real great about the week. Both of them are really promising, and both of them have seen the benefits that the Gospel can bring to their lives, both through the example of their friends who brought them, and the Spirit there is to feel at church. I love the focus that the Apostles are putting on the Sabbath day! It really is extremely important, and some thing that the world at large, (Latter-Day Saints included) really struggles with. However, I think that we remember really simply that the Lord thought it was important enough to tell Moses to include it in the Ten commandments, and explain it that it is to be a day set apart from our six other days. I know that as we strive to make the Sabbath day a day set apart for the Lord, the blessings will begin to flow. Some thing that is really important is knowing that even though this life is difficult, and following all of the Lord´s instructions is difficult, we do have all of the Lord´s instructions! We have been given His commandments and are taught by Christ and by His prophets what we need to do during this life, and that makes it simple! Not easy, but simple. And how I love simplicity. It is the best way to learn. 

Oh! Quick scripture recommendation for every one. Book of Mormon, Mosiah 14. Also Isaiah fifty-some thing. It says it in the heading. But it is a super quick chapter that also is super wonderful. It is all about the Saviour and his expiatory work for all of us, and because it´s Isaiah speaking, it is really beautifully written and really powerful. One of my favourites for sure.

Well family, I am excited for the last week of this transfer. I´ve nearly completed twelve weeks in Argentina, and I feel really incredible. I have a feeling that I won´t be staying in Villa Posse, but I know the Lord has a plan for me that is better than any one else´s! However, Villa Posse will always have a special place in my heart. There are a lot of friends here I´ve grown to love and if it´s the same way in all of my other areas I´m going to love a lot more people by the end of my  mission. I´ve experienced so many testiments of Christ´s love here, and I´ve grown to love my Saviour so much more as I work for him and for His brothers and Sisters. I know he has a huge part in this work, and I testify that He lives and he guides this Church as His own Church. He guides our missionary efforts, and He will guide our lives if we let Him. He´s always knocking!

Con Amor,

Elder McDonald

This week we built most of a chicken coop (don´t ask me why they wanted it to be so massive, but it was MASSIVELY FUN)

I got to go to Capital to do my tramites. My papers. Become legal. I don´t know how to say that. It was way cool to see the city and some other areas! Ya´ll are gonna love it when you pick me up!