Family and Friends,
I feel really bad that I'm not emailing until today. Our P-day was switched this week, so I couldn't write yesterday. I hope that you didn't think there was an alien invasion here in New York or something like that. New York seems to always be the place that receives the worst of the alien invasions. Rest assured, I am fine and there was no alien invasion. But apparently there was a tornado, because everyone keeps telling me there was and asking me about it. I had no idea! I think it might have touched down on the day that I had to stay with Elder Broadbent in the apartment when he was sick, so maybe that's why I was oblivious. I was probably watching Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration while the tornado touched down. I guess ignorance is bliss, right? That's pretty crazy to get a tornado in New York City though. The weather here is actually really, really nice recently. A nice autumn crisp is starting to come into the air, and I've been able to wear a sweater a few times. Apparently the last winter it hardly even snowed, so maybe this winter will be really intense. I think it would be fun to have to survive a brutal winter. Well, maybe it would just be fun for the first week, but it would be a good experience, I'm sure. New York City becomes a lot more enjoyable when the weather is nice.
I had a good week! Elder Tremble and I get along really well and we're having a lot of fun. He is teaching me a ton, so that's been a big blessing. He is a really good missionary. Last week was a hard week for him because he received news that his stepmom passed away suddenly. I have been incredibly impressed by how well he's been handling the situation. He has been unbelievably strong and he has continued to work hard and remain positive and happy despite the sad news. I was unsure of what to say at first because I felt like he would just want to take a little time off and get his thoughts together, but he just jumped right into the work and made the decision to finish his mission instead of coming home early due to the circumstances. It's very admirable. I'm definitely lucky to have such a good companion.
I need to give an update on Qua and Floretta now! They are both progressing and doing well, but Floretta's progress has been really incredible. She quit her job that made her work on Sundays so she could come to church, and she came this last Sunday and stayed for all three hours. A sister in the branch went to the classes with her and they became fast friends, so I'm really excited about that. She has a baptismal date for October 14th, and she is totally on track to keep it. She has been feeling the Spirit a lot in her life and it's so incredible to see the change she's made. The last lesson we had with her was really good, and I just felt such a love for her and so much happiness. Qua didn't make it to church because he just got a new job that's kept him really busy. He needs to marry his girlfriend before he can get baptized, so we're working with him on that, but he has a little bit of a tendency to be flaky, so that's a challenge. He is progressing, though, and with continued effort I think everything will work out for him.
The happiness I've felt as Floretta has received the Gospel is really a blessing for me and has helped me to understand the joy of missionary work better. I'll be the first to admit that missionary work has never been my strongest talent. I have always felt a lot of happiness from living the Gospel, and especially recently I've been impressed by how beautiful and powerful the Gospel is, but I've always struggled a bit with sharing my feelings about the Gospel with others. I'm not sure why this is so, but it's just not one of the things that comes naturally to me. I had a realization this week as I was reminded of a great hymn, "Because I Have Been Given Much". I've just been thinking about how much I love the Gospel and how much it's blessed my life and my family's life, and I thought of the hymn and realized that it applies perfectly to my quest to gain a greater desire to share the Gospel. I find so much happiness and fulfillment from the Gospel, and because I've been given the great blessing of having it in my life, I need to give back and help others to have that happiness as well. Realizing this has created a big shift in my attitude and my approach to missionary work. I really felt the power of helping others to find the same happiness I have during the lesson with Floretta. I bore my testimony to her about how much happiness I've felt as I've lived the Gospel, and as I did this and saw the light in her that has increased so much recently, I felt this incredible, intense happiness. It felt like I was just overflowing with joy, and that was a really good feeling. I've realized that my happiness can't be complete unless I share it with others. It's selfish to keep it to myself! I still have so much to learn though. But, I know for sure that the Gospel can change people's lives, and I know that anyone who chooses to live it will find a lasting happiness that can't be found anywhere else.
One thing that has continued to impress me recently is how awesome the scriptures are. I never fully appreciated them before I came out, but I've learned so much from them and felt their power in a big way since I've spent more time studying them. One scripture I read yesterday that got me super fired up was in Isaiah 55. I can't remember the exact verse, but it's one of the last ones. It talks about all the trees of the field clapping their hands. You all have to look for it and read it. The happiest image came into my mind. I think it's such a cool scripture. And, I'm pretty sure there's a Sufjan Stevens song that takes it's title from this verse. I recommend that as well. There are a few other verses that I wanted to share with you all, but everyone is leaving the library, so I have to wrap things up. I'll tell you about them next week. But, I will say that the Book of Mormon is really awesome. Enough said. The Bible is very cool as well. I recommend them to all.
I love you guys so much, and I'm glad that you are all doing well. I miss my wonderful family, but it makes me happy to know that you are happy. I have so much more I want to tell you guys, but it'll have to wait until next week!
Love,
Elder McDonald
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Stranded in New York
Dearest Family and Friends,
A film needs to be made documenting the activities of my roommates and I today. When we left our apartment this morning to go switch our laundry at the laundromat, we made a grievous error: we locked our keys in the apartment. Thus began today's adventure. Until the landlord gets back from work to unlock our door, I am stranded in Brooklyn with a trash bag full of my laundry, two notebooks, my nametag, and a quarter. So, I am writing this email from the computer in the clerk's office at our church building where my roommates and I temporarily reside. After we realized that we locked our keys inside, we switched our laundry, got the number for our landlord, and then attempted to scale the fire escape to get in through the window. I was the one elected to climb, and after climbing over a van and a wooden shed thing in order to get to the back of our apartment building where the fire escape is located, I realized that the window was shut and locked. So, we all went to Subway to collect our thoughts, and there we determined that we would buy some trash bags so that we could carry our laundry and then make our way to the church building. It feels a bit like The Darjeeling Limited to me. It's actually been really fun, though. So, Mom, I'm glad that I didn't end up having to do the bank account switch today, because I don't think I could have seeing that I lack any kind of identification. Things work out!
It's been a fun first week of the new transfer. My new companion is Elder Tremble, and he's from Atlanta, Georgia. He's really cool, and he's a lot of fun. Plus, he is almost done with his mission - he leaves in December - so he has a lot of great insights and lessons to share. It's good to have the perspective of someone who has been through it all, because sometimes it's hard to see the end from the beginning when you're out tracting all day. I think that Elder Tremble and I are going to end up getting along well, and I'm excited to acquire as much wisdom from him as possible. I'm convinced that my mission president is going to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve someday. He's only in his early fifties, and he is one of the most inspired and spiritual people I've come in contact with. I just realized that he and I are the same age in mission terms. We both started our missions about two months ago! I think it's kind of cool to "grow up" with my mission president in a sense. I use the phrase grow up because everyone is born and dies on their mission. I'm sure a lot of you know the terminology, but when you start your mission, you're born, and when you go home you die. For the first few days of my mission, I was very distraught because people kept referring to missionaries and their demises. It would be like "Ya, Elder Jones, he died a few months ago." It was very disturbing to hear everyone discussing all these deaths in such a casual manner. And I was concerned to hear that the death rate was so high in the mission. I came out knowing that New York could be a little rough, but the fatality rate I was hearing about was off the charts. I felt a lot better once I someone explained the lingo to me. But, going back to President Calderwood, I think that him becoming a Seventy is a sure thing, but I am thinking Quorum of the Twelve for sure. He is the coolest.
I know that only a few of you will appreciate this, but I went to this pizza place the other day, and it is probably my favorite of all the places I've been so far. The pizza was really good (I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave New York and don't have access to New York pizza. It really is the best.), but the best part was the decorations. They have a big banner on the wall that says "Welcome New Recruits" and it has the Dharma Initiative logo on it. It's actually in an episode of Lost, season 6 I believe, somewhere around the middle when they go back in time. Anyways, I thought it was cool, and I resolved to eat their just to support such good taste, but I came to find out something that made the place go up at least seven notches in my book: The banner is the actual banner that was in the show. It was taken directly from the set. How cool is that? I touched it, of course. That pretty much made all my dreams come true for the day.
Unfortunately, Qua didn't make it to church this week. We did have a great lesson with him, though, and when he said the prayer at the end, his son sat with him and joined in, and towards the end of the prayer, his girlfriend quietly came in and sat in for the rest of it, so that was really cool! I think his little son totally felt the Spirit. You could see him light up after the prayer. And, hopefully his girlfriend could feel it too, because we need to get her on board in order to get them married so Qua can get baptized. Of course, the best thing would be to get her to start taking the lessons and become interested. But another one of our investigators, Floretta, is doing really well. She has been really receptive, but she hasn't been able to come to church because she works on the weekends. Elder Tremble and I taught her a lesson about church attendance and also a little bit about having the faith to follow God and let everything else fall into place, and a few days ago she texted us saying that no matter what, she was going to try to make it to church this Sunday, even if she has to quit her job! Elder Tremble and I were stoked! So, I really hope she makes it this week. I think she will, because she sounded pretty determined.
Are you all getting totally excited for General Conference? I can't wait. I think it's going to be like Christmas when conference comes. It's always interesting to see what the theme is. I think that this conference will have some really powerful and timely messages, and a very strong central theme. But, I suppose that you could say that for all conferences. I'm really excited.
I was just thinking of something that I think would be fun. You guys should tell me where you are on your family scripture reading, and we can pick a chapter each week that we both read, and then we could talk about it through email a bit. That way, we can still have family scripture study! What do you guys think? I loved all the pictures this week! Jacob, you are huge man. And now that you are doing water polo, you're going to be a force to be reckoned with when I get back. Keep up the good work, and have a ton of fun in school. Jase! You tackled someone! Good job! It's not that bad, right? I thought that you would feel a lot better once you just went for it. I loved that picture of my sibs with their Sonic drinks. I'm glad to see that you are carrying on the Sonic tradition that went on hiatus during our Oceanside days. I love my family so much, and I'm so grateful for you guys. Also, thanks for sharing the story about the missionary who just came home. What he said is so true. I think that the biggest thing I learned in the MTC is that without the Spirit, I'm absolutely nothing. It's impossible to do missionary work without the Spirit. I could formulate this amazing lesson plan and teach the doctrine like a Harvard professor, but if the Spirit isn't present, then it's pointless for me to teach. One thing that someone pointed out I think in the MTC was that the Spirit brings all things to our remembrance, and we already know all the Gospel truths because we learned them before we came to Earth. We've just forgotten them, and the Spirit can help us to remember them. I imagine that hearing the Gospel as taught by the Spirit for the first time is like coming home. And who doesn't love coming home after a long trip?
I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for the support you give me. I hope that everyone has the best week ever!
Love,
Elder McDonald
A film needs to be made documenting the activities of my roommates and I today. When we left our apartment this morning to go switch our laundry at the laundromat, we made a grievous error: we locked our keys in the apartment. Thus began today's adventure. Until the landlord gets back from work to unlock our door, I am stranded in Brooklyn with a trash bag full of my laundry, two notebooks, my nametag, and a quarter. So, I am writing this email from the computer in the clerk's office at our church building where my roommates and I temporarily reside. After we realized that we locked our keys inside, we switched our laundry, got the number for our landlord, and then attempted to scale the fire escape to get in through the window. I was the one elected to climb, and after climbing over a van and a wooden shed thing in order to get to the back of our apartment building where the fire escape is located, I realized that the window was shut and locked. So, we all went to Subway to collect our thoughts, and there we determined that we would buy some trash bags so that we could carry our laundry and then make our way to the church building. It feels a bit like The Darjeeling Limited to me. It's actually been really fun, though. So, Mom, I'm glad that I didn't end up having to do the bank account switch today, because I don't think I could have seeing that I lack any kind of identification. Things work out!
It's been a fun first week of the new transfer. My new companion is Elder Tremble, and he's from Atlanta, Georgia. He's really cool, and he's a lot of fun. Plus, he is almost done with his mission - he leaves in December - so he has a lot of great insights and lessons to share. It's good to have the perspective of someone who has been through it all, because sometimes it's hard to see the end from the beginning when you're out tracting all day. I think that Elder Tremble and I are going to end up getting along well, and I'm excited to acquire as much wisdom from him as possible. I'm convinced that my mission president is going to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve someday. He's only in his early fifties, and he is one of the most inspired and spiritual people I've come in contact with. I just realized that he and I are the same age in mission terms. We both started our missions about two months ago! I think it's kind of cool to "grow up" with my mission president in a sense. I use the phrase grow up because everyone is born and dies on their mission. I'm sure a lot of you know the terminology, but when you start your mission, you're born, and when you go home you die. For the first few days of my mission, I was very distraught because people kept referring to missionaries and their demises. It would be like "Ya, Elder Jones, he died a few months ago." It was very disturbing to hear everyone discussing all these deaths in such a casual manner. And I was concerned to hear that the death rate was so high in the mission. I came out knowing that New York could be a little rough, but the fatality rate I was hearing about was off the charts. I felt a lot better once I someone explained the lingo to me. But, going back to President Calderwood, I think that him becoming a Seventy is a sure thing, but I am thinking Quorum of the Twelve for sure. He is the coolest.
I know that only a few of you will appreciate this, but I went to this pizza place the other day, and it is probably my favorite of all the places I've been so far. The pizza was really good (I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave New York and don't have access to New York pizza. It really is the best.), but the best part was the decorations. They have a big banner on the wall that says "Welcome New Recruits" and it has the Dharma Initiative logo on it. It's actually in an episode of Lost, season 6 I believe, somewhere around the middle when they go back in time. Anyways, I thought it was cool, and I resolved to eat their just to support such good taste, but I came to find out something that made the place go up at least seven notches in my book: The banner is the actual banner that was in the show. It was taken directly from the set. How cool is that? I touched it, of course. That pretty much made all my dreams come true for the day.
Unfortunately, Qua didn't make it to church this week. We did have a great lesson with him, though, and when he said the prayer at the end, his son sat with him and joined in, and towards the end of the prayer, his girlfriend quietly came in and sat in for the rest of it, so that was really cool! I think his little son totally felt the Spirit. You could see him light up after the prayer. And, hopefully his girlfriend could feel it too, because we need to get her on board in order to get them married so Qua can get baptized. Of course, the best thing would be to get her to start taking the lessons and become interested. But another one of our investigators, Floretta, is doing really well. She has been really receptive, but she hasn't been able to come to church because she works on the weekends. Elder Tremble and I taught her a lesson about church attendance and also a little bit about having the faith to follow God and let everything else fall into place, and a few days ago she texted us saying that no matter what, she was going to try to make it to church this Sunday, even if she has to quit her job! Elder Tremble and I were stoked! So, I really hope she makes it this week. I think she will, because she sounded pretty determined.
Are you all getting totally excited for General Conference? I can't wait. I think it's going to be like Christmas when conference comes. It's always interesting to see what the theme is. I think that this conference will have some really powerful and timely messages, and a very strong central theme. But, I suppose that you could say that for all conferences. I'm really excited.
I was just thinking of something that I think would be fun. You guys should tell me where you are on your family scripture reading, and we can pick a chapter each week that we both read, and then we could talk about it through email a bit. That way, we can still have family scripture study! What do you guys think? I loved all the pictures this week! Jacob, you are huge man. And now that you are doing water polo, you're going to be a force to be reckoned with when I get back. Keep up the good work, and have a ton of fun in school. Jase! You tackled someone! Good job! It's not that bad, right? I thought that you would feel a lot better once you just went for it. I loved that picture of my sibs with their Sonic drinks. I'm glad to see that you are carrying on the Sonic tradition that went on hiatus during our Oceanside days. I love my family so much, and I'm so grateful for you guys. Also, thanks for sharing the story about the missionary who just came home. What he said is so true. I think that the biggest thing I learned in the MTC is that without the Spirit, I'm absolutely nothing. It's impossible to do missionary work without the Spirit. I could formulate this amazing lesson plan and teach the doctrine like a Harvard professor, but if the Spirit isn't present, then it's pointless for me to teach. One thing that someone pointed out I think in the MTC was that the Spirit brings all things to our remembrance, and we already know all the Gospel truths because we learned them before we came to Earth. We've just forgotten them, and the Spirit can help us to remember them. I imagine that hearing the Gospel as taught by the Spirit for the first time is like coming home. And who doesn't love coming home after a long trip?
I love you all so much, and I'm so grateful for the support you give me. I hope that everyone has the best week ever!
Love,
Elder McDonald
Monday, September 10, 2012
He's Back!
Ok, it's good to be emailing again. That chat fiasco was just a dead end. Thanks for sending me so many emails! It's good to have a full inbox! Due to extenuating circumstances (nothing dangerous or troubling), I don't have hardly any time to email, so I must be brief, and it makes me sad. I've got a pretty extensive build up of news that I need to tell you all, so hopefully one day I can get it all out. But, I'm being a diligent journal writer, so anything I leave out I can tell you guys afterwards. It was a good week this week! Let me try to think of the highlights... So, my district was doing a game night at the park to try to find people, and we noticed a group of college-aged kids throwing a frisbee around, and one of the elders asked them if we could play a game of ultimate with them. They agreed, and we shortly found out that these weren't just your average, run-of-the-mill ultimate players - they were on the ultimate team at NYU! And they were really good. So a team of missionaries in white shirts, ties, and dress shoes played the NYU ultimate team. It was ridiculous-looking to any passer-by I'm sure. I think we actually played admirably considering the circumstances. The final score was 10 to 4, with NYU taking the win. That was great. That same night, I also saw the two big spotlights mimicking the Twin Towers they have at the World Trade Center site, and that was actually really cool. They go up ridiculously high in the air. People take 9/11 a lot more seriously here, it seems, which is cool.
I thought of something the other day that made me think (hmm... that was a strange sentence). I was thinking about the concept of opposition in all things, and the thought came to my mind that opposition in all things is a natural law. You know, like every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When good begins to prevail, it seems like the adversary kicks things into high gear. I thought that was cool to think about because not only is it a gospel principle, but it's a universal law. Can you guys think of any other gospel principles that are natural laws as well? Another thing that I thought of that cleared something up in my mind came to me as I was pondering the difference between a sin and a transgression. I've always been a bit confused on the subject, and I've never really understood why Adam and Eve's fall was a transgression and not a sin, since they disobeyed God's commandment. I realized that since Adam and Eve were innocent before they partook of the forbidden fruit, they couldn't sin. Therefore, the eating of the fruit was not a sin, it was a transgression. It was just like when a child does something wrong, not really understanding fully. I'm sure that most of you already thought of this, but it was an a-ha moment for me, so I thought I'd share.
This week, I volunteered at a church that runs a soup kitchen with my roommates, and through talking to the pastor there, I came to know that this church was once the home of none other than the great Sufjan Stevens! Pretty cool, huh? The pastor told us that she used to be Sufjan's roommate, and he lived right above the chapel of the church for a while. She said that she thinks he recorded one of his songs at the church, too. I thought that was really cool. I walked where Sufjan walked. Of course, it's more important to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, but I still got excited :)
That's so sad that Shiloh died. He was a great dog. Send my love and condolences to the Nethercott's. I always liked to hang out with Shiloh, and every time I saw him, the Neil Diamond song would run through my mind. Those will always be fond memories.
So I'm not getting transferred, but I am getting a new companion. Elder Pulla has been called elsewhere, so I meet my new trainer tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. But I'll be in this area for at least another 6 weeks. Oh! How could I forget this... Qua came to church and he stayed for all 3 hours! It was awesome. He's such a solid guy. He just needs to do a few things to get his life in line with the Gospel, and then he'll be set. He still has a baptismal date for September 30th, and I think he can keep it. In other news, you all have to watch the CES broadcast that Elder Holland spoke on. It was so good! He said some things that definitely needed to be said. He talked about how the Church has had to run from place to place throughout it's history, but now we're done running and we're going to fight. It was great. Elder Holland strikes again.
There is so much more I want to say, but I have to run. Mom and Dad, that's so cool that you checked out the farmer's market. I'm jealous. There are some great farmer's markets around here, but they're a bit above my budget. Jase! You look like a stud in you uniform and it sounds like you had fun at your first game. Right on! Jacob, don't be too much of a lady killer. Remember that drama is only good if you're trying to make a Spanish soap opera. I love you all so much, and I want you to know that everything is going great out here, and I love being a missionary. The Church is true!
Love, Elder McDonald
I thought of something the other day that made me think (hmm... that was a strange sentence). I was thinking about the concept of opposition in all things, and the thought came to my mind that opposition in all things is a natural law. You know, like every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When good begins to prevail, it seems like the adversary kicks things into high gear. I thought that was cool to think about because not only is it a gospel principle, but it's a universal law. Can you guys think of any other gospel principles that are natural laws as well? Another thing that I thought of that cleared something up in my mind came to me as I was pondering the difference between a sin and a transgression. I've always been a bit confused on the subject, and I've never really understood why Adam and Eve's fall was a transgression and not a sin, since they disobeyed God's commandment. I realized that since Adam and Eve were innocent before they partook of the forbidden fruit, they couldn't sin. Therefore, the eating of the fruit was not a sin, it was a transgression. It was just like when a child does something wrong, not really understanding fully. I'm sure that most of you already thought of this, but it was an a-ha moment for me, so I thought I'd share.
This week, I volunteered at a church that runs a soup kitchen with my roommates, and through talking to the pastor there, I came to know that this church was once the home of none other than the great Sufjan Stevens! Pretty cool, huh? The pastor told us that she used to be Sufjan's roommate, and he lived right above the chapel of the church for a while. She said that she thinks he recorded one of his songs at the church, too. I thought that was really cool. I walked where Sufjan walked. Of course, it's more important to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, but I still got excited :)
That's so sad that Shiloh died. He was a great dog. Send my love and condolences to the Nethercott's. I always liked to hang out with Shiloh, and every time I saw him, the Neil Diamond song would run through my mind. Those will always be fond memories.
So I'm not getting transferred, but I am getting a new companion. Elder Pulla has been called elsewhere, so I meet my new trainer tomorrow! I'm pretty excited. But I'll be in this area for at least another 6 weeks. Oh! How could I forget this... Qua came to church and he stayed for all 3 hours! It was awesome. He's such a solid guy. He just needs to do a few things to get his life in line with the Gospel, and then he'll be set. He still has a baptismal date for September 30th, and I think he can keep it. In other news, you all have to watch the CES broadcast that Elder Holland spoke on. It was so good! He said some things that definitely needed to be said. He talked about how the Church has had to run from place to place throughout it's history, but now we're done running and we're going to fight. It was great. Elder Holland strikes again.
There is so much more I want to say, but I have to run. Mom and Dad, that's so cool that you checked out the farmer's market. I'm jealous. There are some great farmer's markets around here, but they're a bit above my budget. Jase! You look like a stud in you uniform and it sounds like you had fun at your first game. Right on! Jacob, don't be too much of a lady killer. Remember that drama is only good if you're trying to make a Spanish soap opera. I love you all so much, and I want you to know that everything is going great out here, and I love being a missionary. The Church is true!
Love, Elder McDonald
Jarom learned that you can't keep a plate warm on a gas stove top...
These are pictures from their district activity at Rockaway Beach. I'll bet it was painful not to be able to catch a wave or two!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
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