I LOVE NEW YORK!!!!!

Loved Ones,

Hello! I'm sending a beam of love in the general direction of all of you. I hope that it reaches its intended destination. Seriously though, if I love you all any more, then that's impossible. You see? My sentences aren't even logical when I try to express myself! It was so good to hear about all your adventures! I'm glad that everyone is doing so well. Just keep being happy. I have a very limited amount of time today, so I'm going to have to be tragically brief. I'm sorry! I'll get as much in as possible.

I am especially stoked out of my mind about how awesome EFY was for Jacob. I was so happy when I read your report, my brother! Maybe we could be EFY counselors together someday. That would be pretty sweet. I hope everyone else had a fantastic week as well. I definitely did. It was also the fastest week of my life. Time is just in a sprint these days. I have to be diligent or else it gets away from me. This is an important lesson for me to learn, I think. But I am loving each day, and I am being blessed immensely, with many of those blessings coming in the form of the love that you all give to me. Thank you for being such stalwart supporters. You are making a difference.

Well, folks, it finally happened. I fell head-over-heels in love with New York. The emotional breakthrough had very good timing as well. I came to realize my love on July 11, my one-year mark. It happened suddenly, but the implications of this will affect the rest of my life. It all started when my zone began a "street sweep" with the intention to make the people of New York smile. We made posters with messages like "Lookin' Good!" or "Smile - It Will Make You Happy!", and took our smiles and our love to a street corner where we commenced to exert our best efforts to induce as many smiles as possible. It was possibly the greatest missionary activity I've ever engaged in. I absolutely loved it. Countless people flaunted their smiles as they drove by, and several truck drivers honked their horns for us as well. It was such a joy to just focus on making people happy. It was amidst all of this revelry that I came to a conclusion: I am a New Yorker. I love this city, and the people here, and I decided that, in my mind, I am a local. It's difficult to describe the thought process that led me to my conclusion, but the circumstances of the moment created a perfect mixture of love and joy, causing me to fall in love with New York City. To make a long story short, I have made a decision. For the next year, New York is my home. For the time being, my home is no longer California. I am going to consider myself a New Yorker. Sure, if I ask someone on the street if they think I'm a New Yorker, their answer will probably be a firm, "No." I have heard the phrase, "You're not from New York, are you?" or something similar more times than I would like. The package my wonderful family sent is timely, because its contents will definitely help me to look the part more. Thanks for that, family. But, it's what's on the inside that counts. Home is where the heart is, and I've decided to place my heart right here in New York City. This goes along with what I came to realize about attitude. We need to love what we're experiencing right now. I know that I will be able to serve and lift others more if I give them my whole heart. I am going to follow the example of Ammon and make my field of labor my home. This definitely doesn't mean I love any of you any less. I assure you this is not the case. I am simply seeking to extend my love, and I hope that I can do so with the Lord's help. I feel that it is by grace that we can love all after we have loved all we can.

I want to share one more thing with all of you. It's no surprise that I now have more of my mission behind me than ahead of me. That's a strange feeling, and I have a lot in my mind on the subject, but I want to share a poem I wrote to express what is at the heart of my feelings. Here it is:

One year has passed, and there's a year ahead

I greet it with willing hands

How grateful I am that I made the choice

To follow God's commands

He has taught me and He has carried me
When I thought hope was lost

I'll follow Him and be a loyal friend

No matter what the cost

I am so grateful for this year that I've been blessed with. I know that I've been engaged in the Lord's work, and I have been richly blessed. I am so grateful to each of you for supporting me and strengthening my feeble knees in my hour of distress. I think that many of you don't know how much you've helped me. I want to make sure that all of you know how eternally grateful I am to each of you. I love you all so much. I cannot express it without falling hopelessly short. God is with us, and I am with each of you in heart and in spirit even while I seek to give my whole heart to this beautiful city.

Love,
Elder McDonald