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