Sorry I'm Late!

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