Drew mail 11-25-2019: "Give me Now This Mountain"

 Hola everyone! How are you all doing? I pray that you are all doing well and are having lots of great opportunities to draw closer to Jesus Christ, give thanks for blessings that we have, and have greater light in your lives this time of the year! I always love this time as we start to get closer to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, when we can have a fresh start! Something that I have learned is that we are able to enjoy many great things as we go throughout our lives, and make great memories as time passes, but there is something much greater that can only be enjoyed when we put in the work and  "climb our mountain."  It can definitely be a daunting task when we start and we look up at the top of the mountain in front of us, but I can testify that once we get to the top we will be thankful for the effort we put forth as we enjoy a more beautiful view.

You're probably wondering why I am talking so much about mountains in this letter. We recently had a multi-zonal conference with our Mission President, President Dunford, along with the President of the Area, President De Hoyos.  Among some of the things that really struck me was the quote from President Dunford that I used for the title of this post.  We talked about becoming true disciples of Christ and having the mindset of wanting to do hard things to become better.  This was something that really struck me. I am not just talking about climbing mountains, I have done it. I remember one mountain in particular was really difficult for me. We had gone as a youth group to hike the Seven Devils mountain range.  This hike was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I remember the first day I wanted to go home and stop going forward but when we finally reached the end of our hike, we were at the peak of the mountain and we could look out to what seemed like the edge of the world. As I sat there and looked out over the beautiful view I felt so happy and grateful to be able to have come all the way that I did and to be enjoying this greater view.

When it comes down to it Heavenly Father will never leave us alone in our hikes up "mountains." I can testify that He will give us help and strength and we will see great miracles along the way. 

Throughout this week we weren't able to spend as much time in our area as normal, and so we were a little nervous about being able to share lessons and find new people to teach, but we have been blessed and have been able to find people who truly are interested in learning and who have great potential to progress! We were looking in the area book (which has records of people who have been taught in the past) and we found Juaquin and Paula who have a small family and have lots of love and want to learn! We also found a family who is from Cuba who have only been in Uruguay for 4 months - same as me!  They are really wanting to come to church and learn more as well. I am grateful for the blessings and help I have seen as we have put our trust in the Lord and tried to climb our "mountain" this week.

Les prometo que cuando les esfuerzan a subir sus montañas, cualquier tipo que sea, que van a disfrutar más luz, más gozo, y más amor. Al comienzo va a ser difícil, pero puedo testificar que va a ser vale la pena. Sé que Jesucristo y Dios estén con nosotros en nuestras pruebas y que vamos a ver sus manos en nuestras vidas cuando les confiamos. (I promise you that when you put forth the effort to climb your mountains, whatever type they be, that you will enjoy more light, more joy and more love.  Beginning the climb may be difficult, but I can testify that it will be worth it.  I know that Jesus Christ and God are with us en our trials and that we will see their hands in our lives when we put our trust in them.)

Elder McDonald

Scripture of the week: 1 Nephi 3:7

Quote of the week: ¨Quien va a subir esta montaña conmigo¨ Presidente Dunford 

Drew mail 11-20-19: "Tender Mercies Abound"

 Hola everyone! How are you doing? I hope that everything is going well, and that you are having great opportunities to have joy and are able to feel of Heavenly Father's love for you. Something that I love being able to see is that everyday we truly can see so many things that remind us how much Heavenly Father loves us and that we can feel joy each day. There are so many great experiences we can have that can help us to be able to know that he is mindful of us and that things will get better. 

This week we had transfers! So I am staying here in San-Fernando, but now I have a new companion! His name is Elder Loperena and he is amazing! He is from Texas and his parents are from Mexico so he is ¨latingo¨ which means he speaks Spanish and English! He is very calm and even headed and has a lot of understanding about the Doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is incredible! I am super excited to work with him and to be able to work together to improve ourselves and help the people in our area get closer to Jesus Christ and make promises with Him.  So at the start of the transfer I was pretty nervous, as I realized I would have to direct the area all day. Where to go, who to talk with, lunch, everything. I was nervous thinking that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I saw lots of tender mercies this week, and was able to feel more and more comfortable as we went through the week. Yes, there were some times where I made mistakes, missing buses, walking in the wrong direction, or changing appointments, but it's all a learning experience and I know that Heavenly Father is aware of our efforts and is right with us.
Throughout the week I have been able to have lots of experiences that have reinforced this truth, and helped me be able to find peace and strength in my efforts to direct the work. 
So first... the weather here the past few days has been HOT, HOT and HUMID. I have sweat more than ever before in my life!  At times it can be a little hard to find the motivation to keep walking and working in the heat. We were contacting one house and a man came out, and we asked him if we could have some water, and he came back out with a liter of juice which was a tender mercy! 
Another experience we had was on Thursday night. We had to go to a different area so we could be with the other missionaries in the morning to go together early to go and complete a step in the process for my visa. We had gone to the bus station, and we waited for the bus to come. The first bus came, I didn't think it was the right one so we let it go. The second bus came and we asked if it would take us to where we needed to go.  The man said no, so we let it go. (it really was the right one,) but we weren't able to take it. Then the third bus came and we knew it was this one.  We tried to signal to stop it, but it wouldn't stop!  Sadly, right now the microphone in our phone doesn't work, so we can only send messages. We decided to go to the house of the zone leaders and ask them what to do. They told us there was one last bus arriving in 5 minutes, and to catch it we would have to run. So we ran about 3 kilometers in like under 5 minutes to make it to the bus (angles helping!) Which we did! So then after being on the bus for 5 minutes, the bus driver told us we had to get off and he would come back in 15 minutes. The tender mercy of this though was that a father and daughter got off as well.  We were able to talk with them a little which was neat! Then finally we got back on the bus and were able to talk with another man which was another tender mercy. Finally, all said and done we got to the area and I was able to do what I needed to do for my visa. An adventure full of tender mercies - am I right!
I want to testify that I know that Heavenly Father is in the details of our lives and will not leave us alone. Even when we make mistakes or when it is hard to keep going, He will put tender mercies in our day that help us remember he is mindful of us, and will give us greater strength and happiness. I promise that each one of you can see these tender mercies in your lives and that you will realize Heavenly Father truly loves you and is concerned about you and your experiences. I invite you to look for these moments when you can see His hand in your life.  I promise you will see them! When you do, make sure to give thanks for them and as you do this more and more will come. 

Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 13: 33

Much Love - Elder McDonald

#missionnotes Month #5

Month #5 - Keep up the good work!

Drew mail 11/12/2019: "CAMBIOS (Changes)"

 Hi everyone!! It is so remarkable how quick the time is going! I can't believe that tomorrow I am officially finished with my training! I am going to miss my companion, Elder Letelier, but am excited for the new chapter! My new companion`s name is Elder Loporena, and I will be able to tell you a little more about him once I get to know him, but I know he is from Texas, and has family from Mexico.  So he is "Latingo" which means he speaks both English and Spanish which will be a blessing! 

This week I have been thinking a lot about the things I have learned and about the experiences I have had.  I am so thankful to have been so blessed to have Elder Letelier as my trainer. He has helped me understand how important it is to be able to give everything you have from the heart and to always seek improvement.  It is really strange to think of events that have happened over the past three months here in Uruguay but I feel like they happened years ago. I am really grateful for the things I have been able to learn and of course, there have been some rough times but looking back I can see how much I have grown and changed.  I realize that everything that has happened has been for my benefit.  I had the opportunity this week when we were contacting to find a man who spoke to us entirely in English. It was really strange to see that I struggled thinking in English and had a hard time trying to say what i wanted to because I was so accustomed to think and answer questions in Spanish. Thinking about this experience I realize that it shows how much I have progressed and changed in regards to speaking Spanish. It is something incredible to realize that when I first got here, I could understand very, very little Spanish.  Now I feel weird speaking or thinking in anything other than Spanish. I can testify that this is how all things are in life.

Before, I really didn't like change (even now I struggle with it.) I liked being comfortable in my routine and knowing that I could do the things I was doing. But now as I realize this, I understand how dangerous this can be. The truth is that we need to have changes in life. We need to be able to stretch ourselves, have trials, and cry in order to grow and to have a fullness of joy. I love looking back, I can see where I started, and how far I have come.  I know that this is how it will be when we are called to stand before Heavenly Father again.  It will be something incredible to understand how much we have grown and learned.  We will be able to understand that everything happened for a reason.  We are who we are today because of all the experiences we have had. I promise that if you work to do everything you can each day to be able to be just a little better than you were yesterday, you will be able to one day look back and see how much you have changed. We are here to learn and improve, but this can't happen if we don't change or accept changes when they come. It can seem scary at first, but I know Heavenly Father has His plan in motion.  He will help us through all things. We just need to be humble, have faith and love, and help others out along the way. 

Quote of the week: ¨Caminar en la senda del discipulado requiere práctica, cada día, poco a poco, gracia sobre gracia... Lo importante es que no se den por vencidos, que sigan intentando hacerlo bien. Con el tiempo, llegarán a ser mejores, más felices y más auténticos.¨ Elder Uchtdorf  MissionaryWork: Sharing What is in your Heart

Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 31: 20 (favorite scripture of Elder Letelier)

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-Elder McDonald

Drew mail 11-4-2019: "Serving with a Smile"

Hola Todos!! Como estan? Espero que esta semana tuvieron un poco más gozo y paz en su vida! Me encanta que cada día tenemos la oportunidad a ver bendiciones y sentir gozo. Siempre podemos tener gracias por algo en el dia, y estoy muy agradecido por las experiencias que he tenido esta semana. He recibido un testimonio más fuerte de una de las mejoras maneras en que podemos recibir verdadero gozo en nuestras vidas. Servicio!  (Hello all!  How are you?  I hope that this week you had a little more joy and peace in your life!  I love that each day we have the opportunity to see blessings and feel joy.  We can always be thankful for something each day, and I am grateful for the experiences that I have had this week.  I have received a stronger testimony of on of the best ways that we can receive true joy in our lives, Service!)

So this week Elder Letelier and I have been able to have quite a few opportunities to give service to the people here in our area of San Fernando Bis. It has been a really big blessing for us, because we were kind of stalling out in working the way we were and were needing a different approach.  One experience in particular was really awesome. The last change we had found a man and his wife contacting who had said they were interested in talking with us, but because they have a rough schedule we had not been able to find them again. On Wednesday though we found them!! We started to talk with the husband whose name is Alfredo, and we found out that some of his kids and he were working in the back of their house to dig a BIG hole to construct a bathroom (basically a big cement tube will go in the ground where the waste can go). We offered to help, and when we got back to where they were working we jumped right down into the hole and started digging with them. They were really surprised by this, but soon we were all laughing, talking, and getting to know them really well. When they were more comfortable with us they started to ask us questions about the Church of Jesus Christ and we were able to teach them a little. They invited us back to help again the next day and said that if we came back we could have lunch with them on Sunday... which of course we did! Who can say no to free food? But this was really a neat experience as we saw the power of service to bring smiles and open hearts (and fill stomachs ;) )

We were able to have a few other service opportunities throughout the week as well, for which I was really grateful. Each time when we serve we can feel greater happiness, greater peace and just have greater comfort in our lives. It doesn´t matter what we´re doing; cutting wood, lifting the beds of trucks, or just offering a smile or kind word to others. I know that each one of you can feel these things as well and can have greater happiness in your lives when you are of service to others. I promise that this will open your eyes to the relationship we all have with God, as His children.  You will feel greater love for those in your life, and will find a peace and joy that doesn´t come from anything else. The way you can know this for yourself is to try it! So that´s my invitation for you this week, work to find ways you can serve others.  It doesn´t have to be anything big, but I promise you will see a change when you do it! I have seen it, and you will too.

Quote of the week: ¨Quizás nos preguntemos cuál será la mejor manera de prestar servicio, pero el Señor lo sabe, y por medio de Su Espíritu seremos guiados en nuestros esfuerzos."  Tal como Él lo hizo- Obispo W. Christopher Waddell

Scripture of the week:  Mosiah 2: 17