Great Week On the Island

Loved Ones,

Greetings! How was the Disney trip? Turkey legs? Dole whips? Churros?
Are you all riding a wave of patriotism after enjoying some Great
Moments with Mr. Lincoln? One of the members in Bay Shore just
finished a Disney World vacation. I am biased in favor of Disneyland,
but the Epcot Center sounds pretty cool. We'll have to make our way
there someday. At any rate, I hope this email reaches the inboxes of
very happy people. I am happy. I'm healthy, too! Sure, I probably ate
too much Easter candy, but I'm only human. When you tempt me with cake
flavored Peeps, I have no defense. I thoroughly enjoyed that Easter
package! Thanks so much!

We had a great week here on the Island (I just had a random fun
thought: What would a weekly email report or journal entry from one of
the "Lost" castaways be like? "Week 2: The giant black cloud thing
continues to torment us. We still aren't even sure where we are. I
mean, we could be stuck in worse places. The scenery is great, and the
fish doesn't get any fresher! Oh, when I was walking through the
jungle, I ran into a polar bear. That was pretty weird."). I would
like to give an update and also mention one or two things I neglected
to cover. First of all, Elder Hardisty and I are teaching a great guy
who now has a baptismal date for May 18th. That would be a nice
birthday gift! It has been such a joy to teach him. He struggles with
very difficult addictions, but he has such a strong desire to come
unto Christ. He is progressing well. It's humbling to teach people who
will have to give up more than I have to be a part of Jesus Christ's
church. While studying the missionary efforts of the sons of Mosiah,
it occurred to me that they forsook a kingdom and then taught people
(Lamoni and his father) who had to be willing to do the same in order
to follow Christ. There is so much more that I can give! We also
started working with a family consisting of a mom and dad who are
less-active members and two sons who are not members. Something that I
forgot to tell you all about before is that I had an opportunity to
teach two Skype lessons. One of them was with a man I met on the
street in Midwood, and the other was with a friend of mine in Russia
who I also met in Midwood. Technology is so cool! It was awesome to be
talking of Jesus Christ to someone across an ocean and half a
continent. Both the lessons went well! I can't think of much else to
report on. Elder Hardisty and I are getting along really well and
enjoying the work here. Oh, we also had interviews with President
Calderwood last week. Those are always great. Back to Elder Hardisty,
we discovered that we have connected pasts. Not only did we both
attend the same EFY in Santa Barbara, but he was in Wyatt's group.
Maybe Wyatt will remember a Shane Hardisty. Cool, huh?

Mom, I owe you a huge thanks for finding an awesome housing situation.
It will be tons of fun to be with Elder Kitchen and Elder Yates. It'll
be kind of like our first transfers together in Bushwick! You're the
best, Mom. Thank you all for the letters and love. I really do wish I
had more time to respond individually to all of you.

I have a question for you all? Are you lovers of the cause of Christ?
Kinda interesting to think about. I am out of time, but I'm gonna
follow up on that next week. Love ya'll! Thank you again for your
endless support.

Love,
Elder McDonald

The Old and the New

Loved Ones,

Well, hello friends and family. I really do hope that Easter treated
you all well. I have really grown to love Easter. I didn't appreciate
it as much before, but it's up there with my favorite holidays now.
Also, the character of Spring in New York has given me great cause to
abound in love for Spring itself. Spring is a sacred season. The songs
of birds, the new life, the cool breeze - it is wonderful. I recall
similarly raving of the beauty of the season last year when I was in
Littleneck. I can't believe it's been a year! This Spring, I would
like to pose a question: what has sprung in your lives this Spring?
Essentially, what is new? What are you going to change? Just something
to think about.

I'll give you the update for the week. It was pretty funny what
happened. Elder Hardisty is my new companion, and all he had to do was
take a big jump to get to Bay Shore. He has been one of my zone
leaders the last two transfers. I told him it feels like we're on an
extended exchange. We just stayed in Bay Shore in the same apartment
I've been in. That was nice. It's funny how much can change while
you're still in the same place. I've seen many seasons in Bay Shore. I
guess the same concept would be true for a home. Raising a family in
one home surely must be a "multi-season" experience. And the same goes
for life as a whole. We have bitter and we have sweet. We have ups and
we have downs. If we never taste the bitter, we will never understand
the sweet. And if we never are down, then we will not be able to
comprehend what it means to be up. I'm grateful for both ends if the
spectrum, though I'm learning how to be happy and grateful through
both.

Elder Hardisty and I have had an awesome week! Oh, well, I suppose I
should tell you a bit about Elder Hardisty. He's from Santa Rosa,
California, so we're representing the Golden State here on the East
Coast. He's really fun and a very hard worker. We've been moving at an
exceedingly swift pace, but it's best that way. Another thing I
mentioned to Elder Hardisty is how it is funny how I have begun to
empathize with the elderly. I just feel tired a lot! Elder Hardisty
and I are both advanced in years when it comes to out time on a
mission, but we're still going!

As I type this, I imagine that you all are in a state of magical
bliss, drinking deeply from the fountain of glee, nostalgia, and pixie
dust that is Disneyland. I'm happy to know that my family is happy.
Truly, it is that constant knowledge that my family is a happy family,
a forever family, that is one of the most powerful motivators for my
ongoing service. Why? Well, let me expound on that. First of all, I
just have to think of all of you to want to be better and work harder.
Also, the happiness in family life that I have experienced compels me
to share with others. Even more, my knowledge of the possibility of
having a forever family drives me to keep my covenants, which are very
much connected to my missionary service. Last week, the lesson in
church spoke of the relationship between Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith,
and I thought of my wonderful siblings. How grateful I am to have your
love and support! All the books in the world and all the seven seas
couldn't contain the stuff necessary to express or explain the power
of faithful, supportive siblings. So, Family, have a happy day. Thank
you for being there. Thank you for being happy. Thank you for loving
me.

I call upon all the singing birds to join with me in telling each of
you that I love you. You are special, and not just because you're
special to me. Thank you for everything!

Love,
Elder McDonald

P.S. Thanks so much for the package love! I loved it all!

Spring Has Sprung!

Loved Ones,

Well, I have news for you all. Change is in the air. (Spring, too!
More on that later...). But, it's not the sort of change I
anticipated. I received word Thursday night that I had an interview
with President Calderwood the next day, and this news left me in a
state of great upheaval. To understand why, I must explain that on the
weekend before transfers, President Calderwood interviews those who he
is extending a call to serve in some sort of leadership position.
Since I am currently serving as district leader, and I have served as
a zone leader before, I was very confused thinking about what in the
world I would be called to do. The appointed time for the interview
came, and President Calderwood essentially said, "This might seem
strange to you, but I'm calling you to serve as a zone leader." So
that answered my first question. Now the second question was, where am
I going? Elder Booth and I proceeded through Friday and Saturday under
the assumption that I would be transferring. Then Saturday night (the
night of transfer calls) came, and to our astonishment, we were told
that I would be staying and Elder Booth would be transferring! So,
something interesting is going to happen as there is no opening for a
zone leader in my current area. All will be revealed Tuesday! I
suppose you all will have to wait until next Monday. Sorry!

But enough about all that. How are you all doing? I'm happy to hear
that Spring has sprung in beautiful Oceanside, California. It sprang
here, to! (I said I'd get back to that). It has been absolutely
gorgeous lately. The district had a picnic together today as a
farewell. Goodbyes are a natural part of missionary service, but
they're still not fun! I'm going to miss my faithful companion, Elder
Booth. What a great elder he is! We've had a lot of fun. What changes
has Spring brought to the McDonald homestead (Grandma and Grandpa, I
hope that you don't mind us calling it the McDonald homestead. We have
you outnumbered)? Oh darn! I'm so sorry! I am out of time! I have to
go, but know that I love each of you dearly. You are all like bright
Easter eggs on a lawn to me (translation: you are bright spots in my
world). I know that I am doing what God wants me to do. Over and out.

Love,
Elder McDonald

Conference Joy!

Loved Ones,

Hello! Wow. Are we blessed to have general conference or what? We in
actual fact saw the Lord's hand guiding His Church and His servants
this weekend. Just like the consistent falling of objects when we drop
them is evidence of gravity, the soul-lifting power of the words of
living prophets is ample proof that they are just that -- prophets.
That's really the test, isn't it? Does it draw us nearer to God? Does
it make us want to be better? More loving? More kind? Then it is good
and therefore from God. General conference answered my questions,
expanded my soul, and equipped me with the resources I need to be
successful and happy. I like being happy. I'm glad you all enjoyed it
as well! I was happy to hear that Mark and Becky joined you for some
conferencing. It is always a good time with them around! Love ya Uncle
Mark and Aunt Becky! My family makes me so happy. I was talking to a
man in a laundromat today who told me that he feels relieved when his
wife leaves the house. It made me so sad to hear that! I offered a bit
of encouragement and testified of the importance of family. I want
others to have the blessings of family that I do, and that alone is a
very good reason to share the gospel. Thanks for being a great family.
Let's work together so that when we all "leave this frail existence"
we can have a huge, happy family reunion on the other side.

I wish we could just talk for hours about general conference. There
was a Elder Holland's bone-rattling testimony, Elder Nelson's resolute
stand for the truth, President Uchtdorf's characteristic cheery
motivation, and, of course, President Monson's inspiring call to love.
It was all magnificent! I need to say with certainty that I know
President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. I know we have Twelve
Apostles on the earth today, and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is
directing His Church through revelation. We've received some pretty
powerful marching orders, and I'm excited to apply them. I highly
recommend reviewing your notes and looking for patterns, and then
making a specific plan of action. We find such great joy in general
conference, as we should, but I think we will find even more joy as we
live what was taught. I say that to myself more than anything.

Mom, I have to applaud you for being the valedictorian of your
Pathways group! Nice work! Can I buy that pencil from you for my
return to the halls of academia? I may need it. I know that you are
all doing great things with your lives, and you inspire me to do more!

We will find out next week, but this may well be my last week in Bay
Shore. It has been quite a journey here. I am anxious to know where
the Lord will place me for my last hurrah. But, I would like to adopt
a "middle of my mission" mindset as much as possible. I think that to
find joy in whatever phase of life you are in is to unlock one of the
great secrets of life. Like President Uchtdorf said, we need an
attitude of gratitude, not just gratitude for things.

I love you all! Thank you for being my support and my joy. I pray that
God will bless each of you in everything that you are doing. I want
you all to be happy and successful.

Love,
Elder McDonald

We get pretty serious when it comes time for deep clean.

This was Elder Booth and I's April Fool's joke for the district. We

had an iPad set up in the room where we meet for district meeting with

a feed of us tied up on it. Then, the masked figure said they had 10

minutes to find us before the bomb went off.

Spring! Maybe Not...

Loved Ones,

My internal season detector is short-circuiting right now because when
we walked outside this morning, it was snowing! It just came out of
nowhere. It's a perfectly lovely day now, though. Actually, the
impromptu snowstorm awoke me to the realization that I have grown
quite fond of snow. Even with the snow only being absent for a few
weeks, I felt a strange joy upon its return. I'm not going to realize
how much I really do love New York until I am no longer here. I have
wandered off on a tangent. And I was monologuing about the weather!
It's time to change gears.

I am really happy right now! I hope all of you are as well! You know,
I have come to strongly believe that we humans can go through just
about anything as long as we have loyal people by our side. In the
words of "The Muppets", "Life's a happy song if there's someone by
your side to sing along." That is the truth! Thank you for being there
for me and singing along. Having my family by my side bolsters me up.
This effect is strengthened by my knowledge that we are a forever
family. It's not just a few short years we have together! It's
forever! We all remember how our favorite castaways in "Lost" stuck
together even after they got off the island. I'm so happy that we can
stick together when the time comes to depart from our island. Thanks
for being there!

Forgive me for getting back to the weather, but are you all going to
start doing the family home evenings at the beach soon now that it's
warming up? Those were fun! It sounds like everyone is doing well. Mom
and Grandma, I'm happy to hear that you had a good time at the General
Women's Meeting! Just as a quick reality check, Mia will be able to
come with you in just a year and a half if I'm not mistaken. That made
me double take! I can't believe it! Mia, you are officially awesome. I
love you so much! And the same goes for each and every one of my
family members. I love you all! You all are just so special and so
wonderful.

Last week was really great! Some very exciting news is that "Jim" was
baptized! How cool is that? He transferred over to the single's ward
and found a perfect fit there. Elder Booth and I were able to attend
the baptism and participate in his confirmation. It was really
special. Jim is an amazing guy and a phenomenal missionary. He tells
everyone about the Church, and his final for his photography class is
a documentation of his faith. He was taking all sorts of pictures at
the baptism. Isn't that great? You all need to meet him for sure.
Another cool thing that happened is that Elder Booth and I found a new
investigator who is just awesome. He investigated before, and he is
married to a member of the Spanish ward here. When we showed up, we
found him totally ready to investigate the Church again. We're
teaching him again tonight. And another bit of news is that my bishop
may or may not be in Oceanside right now. He definitely was there, and
there's a good chance he still is, so if you meet a fellow by the last
name of Rathgeber, then that's your man.

I mentioned the General Women's Meeting earlier, and I want to just
talk briefly about a thought I had in relation to it. I was thinking
about how having that meeting creates an experience similar to that of
the General Priesthood Session: child and parent, youth and adult
going together to receive counsel and instruction from the Lord's
prophets and servants. I also thought of the unifying of the women of
the Church that the meeting represents. With those thoughts in mind,
let's look at a scripture from the New Testament. Paul writes:

"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth; even in him:" (Ephesians 1:10)

Not too long ago, we heard a prophet of God teaching us that we must
be one in the Lord's work of salvation. President Monson said, "Now is
the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work
together, to labor in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls unto Him."
And to add to add to that, the new vision for the work of salvation is
"We Are One". That vision works together with the recently-emphasized
teaching that the work of salvation is one. Missionary work, temple
and family history work, teaching the gospel, caring for the poor and
needy, helping new converts remain active, and reaching out to those
who have slipped from activity -- it's all one great work, and we must
be one in accomplishing it. I think that the General Women's Meeting
is another example of all things being gathered together in one in
Christ in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times. We are
living in the "most remarkable era in this history of the Church!"
I've often thought that it would be amazing to be living in the times
of the Restoration, and it would be. But, Elder Perry has compared our
time to those "days never to be forgotten." We are living during the
hastening of the Lord's work! The Lord is pruning His vineyard for
this last time, and we are watching it happen. This is a wonderful
time to be alive and to be a member of Christ's Church. Let's not
watch it happen from the sidelines! Let's jump into it! It's more fun
that way!

Well, that's all for this week. I love you all! I really do! Thank you
for being such stalwart family members and friends.

Love,
Elder McDonald