Happy New Year #2

Loved Ones,

Hello! Happy New Year! Where did 2013 go? I'm not sure, but it went
there fast. I trust everyone is doing well. It sure seemed like it!
What a joy it was to see your bright faces!

I'm going to jump right into something now. I have neglected some
questions you've all had, and I am going to rapidly answer what I
remember while promising that I'm going to be better from here on out.
I have a system in place. Here we go! First, I did experience a Lox
cream cheese bagel. It was delicious! Thanks for the recommendation. I
just love bagels. They make me happy. Jase, your drawing of Link was
awesome! That was very good. Well done. Jacob, I enjoyed "Angst". It
was existential and profound. You have managed to visually represent
the teenage years. Now, parents need no longer utter the exasperated
exclamation, "What are they thinking?" Dad, it is just Elder Pulla and
I in the apartment. Having more than two elders in an apartment is
becoming a rare thing in the mission. Mom, for the rest of Christmas,
we visited several people. It was really quite nice. I've just drawn a
blank. That's all I can remember, and it wasn't much. Like I said, I
have a system in place. If anyone has had any questions that I didn't
address and you would like answered, please bring them to my
attention.

I'd now like to address my favorite Christmas present -- a Skype call!
Mom, I have to say that I am completely behind your vow to never spend
another Christmas apart. I walked away from the Skype call with a
determination that I don't like my relationship with my family to be
limited by time or geography. Don't get me wrong -- I am not upset
that we had to be apart this Christmas. That is just the way it is on
a mission. I'm actually grateful, because being apart has helped me to
understand how much I like being together. I have extrapolated my
feelings into the eternities and discovered that I don't ever want
time to be a limitation when it comes to family. If a Skype call
wasn't enough time, then a lifetime won't be enough time, either.
Thankfully, families can always be together. How grateful I am for
that!

I love you all so much! Really! Thank you so much for your prayers.
They continue to be a blessing. Keep being happy!

Love,
Elder McDonald

Short and Sweet!

Loved Ones,

I'm am so sorry. I've kept you waiting, and I can't compose an email
that will be worth the wait. My time is up. I just want to leave my
testimony with you all. Today is Joseph Smith's birthday, and I wish
to pay tribute to him because the life and mission of Joseph Smith has
deeply enriched my knowledge of the Savior Jesus Christ who's birth we
commemorate this season. I wish to declare my witness that Joseph
Smith was God's chosen prophet. He restored the Church of Jesus Christ
and the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth, opening the door to the
path of salvation for all of God's children. I love him and am
grateful for him. Above all, I wish to bear my testimony of Jesus
Christ. He is the Savior of the world. I say with Joseph Smith, "After
all the testimonies which have been given of Him this is the
testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: That He lives!"

Love,
Elder McDonald

Mystery Revealed...

Loved Ones,

Hello! The time has come to reveal my location. This is the moment we
all have (maybe) been waiting for. Ok. The place where I am currently
typing this email from will be revealed in just a moment. Here we go.
I am in... Commercial break!! No, I wouldn't do that to you. I was
trying to simulate the American Idol announcement experience. I'll
tell you now. I just realized that by explaining that I wouldn't
inflict a commercial break upon you, I ended up doing so anyway. And
now, by explaining that, I have stalled even more. Before I embark on
more tangents, I will say that I have been transferred to Bayshore.
They shipped me way out to the far reaches of Long Island. I'll tell
you just a bit about the area. It's a sort of sleepy place, with a
small town America feel. Many people have the Christmas spirit here,
with elaborate Christmas lights adorning a good portion of the homes.
The town became very beautiful courtesy of a calm snowfall two days
ago. There is also a very western United States feel, with big
shopping complexes with huge parking lots. I shopped at Target to get
my dose of commercial Christmas cheer. It's fun to have the old staple
stores around. You know, I just thought that maybe I will end up
missing Wal-Mart after not being in one for two years. Then, I thought
about it for a moment and changed my mind :) More importantly than all
that, the ward and members here are awesome! I was so happy after
experiencing it all yesterday. There is great potential here, and the
work will surely hasten in this portion of the vineyard.

The next question is, who am I with? I think you'll get a chuckle out
of this one. My "new" companion is Elder Pulla. We've come full
circle! I'll be his last companion as he is finishing his mission this
transfer. Pretty interesting, eh? It will be fun! I know that I'm in
the right place, and I am excited for the next phase of my service.
Whatever happens, I know I need to make the most of every moment
because time is starting to fly. This past week was like lightning.

The first thing I want to do is deeply thank each of you for your
prayers. I absolutely know that I was blessed because of the prayers
of great faith that were offered in my behalf. A few days ago, I
realized that small miracles came about because of the prayers. I
needed them, and I am deeply grateful. My testimony of the power of
prayer has grown. I always feel so inadequate when expressing thanks.
I just can't impart to you my feelings accurately. Please accept my
meager offering! I want you to know that the prayers definitely helped
in a very real way. I love you all so much! Honestly!

I'm running low on time. I'll wait to wish you all a Merry Christmas
because Monday is still two days before the big day. Good news!
They have cheese balls at one of the stores here! You can bet your
bottom dollar I'll be getting some of that for Christmas Eve! I wish I
had more time! I have to go for now. I love you all so much! If you're
dreaming of a white Christmas, you can live vicariously through me.
Though I will only be home for Christmas in my dreams, I want you all
to know that this is where I want to be at this time. I am glad I can
serve the Savior as my Christmas gift.

Love,
Elder McDonald

Another New Adventure!

Loved Ones,

Hello! I must start off by saying how much I love you all. Honestly, I
really do love each of you. I am so grateful to have you folks in my
life. I wish I could send a package of love to let you all know how
much I care and how much each of you mean to me. I hope that my
brevity in communication is never interpreted as a lack of care and
concern. That is surely not the case. The work is moving quickly, and
I just simply don't have the time I would like to individually speak
with each of you as much as I'd like. The time will come when I will
be more available, but for now, it's important to me to consecrate
myself and give The Lord my heart. I've learned recently how important
it is to have your heart in whatever you're doing. I've spoken a lot
about love, and I continue to learn many lessons about the importance
of that virtue, but here, I am speaking more of the heart in relation
to our desire. When our desire is behind something, we work so much
more effectively. I am striving to have a greater desire for the work
of The Lord. The scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 4 says, "If you
have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work." It is our
desire that counts. I've remembered recently that The Lord judges us
based on our works and the DESIRES of our hearts. I hope that I can
put my treasures in Heaven and serve God in the way He expects. I have
been so richly blessed. I need to do my small part to show my
appreciation and help others to be blessed as well.

I want to thank my wonderful family for sending me some Christmas
package love. Those packages brought me so much joy. I am so blessed!
You all are the best! Thank you so much. My thanks seems meager when I
think of how happy I was when I received that package. I just kept
thinking to myself, I am so lucky! My family is the best! But, I say
with as much sincerity as I can, thank you so much. I really am very
appreciative of all that you all do for me.

I am nearly out of time. I'm really sorry. It makes me sad that I
can't tell you all more. So, I must focus on the biggest news. I am
being transferred. I am most saddened by this, because Elder Durkin
and I only had one transfer together, and it has been probably the
most fun I've ever had. The word that I can think of the best describe
Elder Durkin is "riot". He is amazingly enthusiastic and fun, and he
has pushed me along and helped me to learn much this transfer. Also,
he is completely dedicated to this work, and his actions exemplify
what I spoke of earlier about desire. I'm going to miss him. I've
learned so much. Also, I'm being released as a zone leader. I'm off to
a new adventure! My next destination will be announced next week!

That's all for today, folks! I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder McDonald

Cheer and Love

Loved Ones,

Happy December! I swear, someone must just fly through the sky during
the month of December, sprinkling healthy quantities of cheer and
goodwill on all the world. Maybe that's another one of Santa Claus's
roles. I guess that the elves do all the prep work, so maybe that's
how the big man spends his time before Christmas Eve. All I know is
that the happiness of the season is tangible. I'm grateful to have the
opportunity to serve the Lord during this special time. "We talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ..." (2 Nephi 25:26).
I am grateful for God's gift to the world. The other day, it occurred
to me that Christmas is the greatest love story of all time. And the
whole story can be summed up in one sentence: "For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Knowing this, I
hope to be able to love more during this Christmas season.

I am happy because I received a good report of your Thanksgiving. I'm
glad that it went well. I have to tell you guys about our Thanksgiving
over here. First of all, let me preface the report by saying that it
was awesome! I thoroughly loved it all. You all need just a bit of
background. Elder Durkin spent 7 1/2 months of his mission serving in
Belle Harbor, which is one of the areas that we spent a lot of time in
doing hurricane clean-up after Sandy. So, Elder Durkin was invited to
come back to the area for Thanksgiving. He has become very good
friends with many of the people there. We were invited to join the
Stathis family for dinner. They aren't members of the Church, but
they've become good friends with the missionaries. You saw several
members of the family in the video on Facebook. They are an awesome
family. I grew to love them so much during that dinner. It was special
to be back in one of the areas I served in. It's hard to describe
exactly why, but that Thanksgiving was one of the most sacred
experiences of my mission. I learned a lot about myself, people, and
missionary work. I also enjoyed the opportunity to bear my testimony
to them through music. In addition to "What Makes You Spiritual", I
played another song I wrote for them. The fact that I felt comfortable
enough to do that is a testament to the bond that was inexplicably
created that evening. Really, I just jumped on board the great
friendship that the other missionaries had already created. No
complaints!

Just one more quick thing! Wakar (that's how it's spelled, not Waka)
is doing really well! He has come to two family home evenings at the
church, and he came to church yesterday. We've become good friends
with him. He's awesome. The last time we were at his home, he went I
to his bedroom and came out rocking a fedora. He bought it so he could
be more American. I mentioned Indiana Jones, and then Wakar said
something like, "Ya, I'm Pakistana Jones!" We died laughing. It was
priceless.

Last thing! Some really good resources for building a mission plan are
the Hastening of the Work website, "Hastening the Lord's Game Plan",
and "Put Your Trust in the Lord". "We Are One" is another super good
one. I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder McDonald