Hello! I love you all so much! I just had to say it. Seriously, you're all the best. I can't believe how lucky I am. I also can't believe that I've been away for 6 months this Friday! That feels crazy. It feels like the time has gone by really fast, but when I look back, I realize that so much has happened. I don't know how it all fit into 6 months. Missions are pretty miraculous. I get so much more than I could ever give.
This week was good. Honestly, it was really hard, but that doesn't mean it was bad. I feel like I end up learning a lot about myself when times are tough. Nothing crazy happened, it was just a week full of tracting and trying to get people excited about hearing something that will make them happy. You would think it would be easy, but most people just don't recognize the potential in the option that we bring to them. It makes me sad, but I suppose that is just the way it is. For the first time I can really remember, my heart hurt because someone turned down the gospel. I've been saddened before, but my heart actually hurt. It made me so sad! I just wish that I could help people realize how important it is to come unto Christ. I wish I could be better at showing them the happiness that comes from living the gospel. I feel like I'm starting to understand what Alma meant when he said, "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God..." (Alma 29:1). It doesn't do any good to wish for something I don't have, though. I can't forget that Alma also said, "But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me." I can definitely be better though. I just need to work! I have absolutely no right to complain. I feel like I need to give the people of New York my all if I'm going to expect them to give their all to the gospel. I need to have more love and be more diligent. Ah, but the flesh is weak! I do know, however, that with the Lord, weak things will become strong (Ether 12:27). I feel like one of my New Year's resolutions is to let the Lord make me strong, not necessarily in the way I might choose, but in His way.
I hope that I don't sound too dismal. I don't want to do that. I'm actually really excited for this week. On Sunday, the branch I'm in organized a new branch presidency, and I think that they are going to do a really good job. It seems like they are going to focus more on missionary work, so I'm excited to see the fruits of that. Member missionary work is so important. I just didn't really get it before. It has become very clear to me that the members are the key to missionary work in many ways. I would urge you all to be as supportive as you can to the missionaries. Of course, I'm sure you already are doing a great job. A member of the stake presidency said something about member missionary work on Sunday that I thought was really cool. He basically said that church is the place where we practice sharing our testimonies and fulfilling our duties so that when we get out into the world during the week, we are ready to do the same thing. He pointed out the importance of participating fully in church by saying that we cannot expect to be able to live the gospel or share the gospel out in the world if we can't even do it at church. I thought that that was an excellent point. At church, we practice (in the sense of preparing, like practicing for sports) what we preach so we can then practice (in the sense of doing) what we preach at all times and in all places that we may be in. We don't just go to church "just because". That would be silly!
There's a really good excerpt from a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in a talk by the General Relief Society President from the last conference (the whole talk is good, but I especially like Elder Holland's part). He talks about what the pioneers had deep within them that gave them the strength to press forward. He also mentioned the fact that the pioneers could only fit so much in their handcarts as they journeyed. He related this to us, saying that there may be some things that we need to leave out of our handcarts. Elder Holland says all this much more eloquently than I could, so I recommend checking out the talk. It was a very relevant point. I've been thinking a bit lately about the power in simplicity. I feel like a life centered around the gospel of Jesus Christ would be a very simple life in many ways. After all, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" in the words of the great Leonardo da Vinci. If we want the gospel of Jesus Christ to fill our lives, then we need to make room! There are so many things that can clutter our lives in this day and age, and I think that it can be easy to add a bit too much to our handcarts. I know that there are many things that I want to pursue, and I often forget that I should not be so hasty to add a lot to my plate when I haven't even mastered the basics of the gospel. Indeed, it may be impossible to master any aspect of the gospel in this life, but we can certainly do our very best. Another New Year's resolution I want to make is to simplify my life and focus on the basics of the gospel, like charity and humility. Being on a mission is a great time to simplify life. There are many reasons for the rules that we follow on a mission and for avoiding some things that we may normally pursue, but I feel like a big reason is just to keep things simple. There is so much to learn!
Have I told you all about Gisem and Yaman yet? I feel like I mentioned them. Anyway, they are awesome. They are a couple from Turkey that Elder Hooper and I are teaching. They have such strong faith and they are basically already members of the Church, they just need to get baptized. The only problem is that they need to get married first because they are living together. That wouldn't be a problem at all, but they are having some issues with getting their citizenship. Once they are able to get that worked out, they are totally ready. They are the coolest people. I want you all to meet them. They're always so happy and upbeat. They just love the gospel and let it fill their lives. It's great. There are actually a lot of people that I'm really excited for you guys to meet. Many of them are from my branch. There are so many cool people there.
Well, there is much that I have yet to tell you, but it may have to wait for a future time when I can sit down with you all and look through my journal, picking out all the stories that I haven't had a chance to tell. If this could happen by a fire place, then even better. I wish that I could say more, but there's just too much! I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you so much for the letters! I loved them. Jase, you write the best letters. You make me laugh every time. Thanks buddy. I do love reading all the letters so very much. And thank you for the emails as well. I am so grateful for all the support. When I'm having a tough day, it helps to think about how grateful I am for my family and for how much the gospel has blessed us, and then think about how it can do the same thing for all the people I try to share it with. I love you all so much. Thank you for your support and prayers. All is well.
Love,
Elder McDonald
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