Monday, December 21, 2020

Drew mail 12-21-20: "CHRISTMAS IS HERE!!! And... Covid??

 


Hi everyone! I am officially back in Uruguay!! I still can't believe I'm here, but it's great to be back. There are 24 Americans now who came back and it's been really neat to see a few missionaries I knew before. 15 of the missionaries are in my mission and 9 are in the other one. While we were traveling, I got to talk with quite a few people and have some great experiences in the airport.  One of the people was a lady from Uruguay coming back here too! So another miracle, we barely made it into the country before it had been closed down again to tourists. Literally the last plane! 

We got in to Uruguay on Saturday and we had to get tested for Corona again because Uruguay apparently doesn't accept the saliva test that all of us took so we got to do the good-old nose test! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it wasn't very fun. I was surprised again by how humid it is! In the airport it honestly felt like we were in the same room as a sauna 😂. We got to see President and Sister Dunford and they loaded all of us up on a big bus and took us over to the place we're staying in. We got assigned into companionships among us and given little districts and my companions were Elder Reeves and Elder Staheli (sounds like Staley - he’s from Saint George area 😉).  I had known Elder Reeves a little bit before - when I was here previously and I talked with him quite a bit in the airport.  I hadn’t known Elder Staheli before now. So we all got together with all those who came back into our mission and we talked with President and Sister Dunford about what's been going on.  We reviewed their goals and discussed how things have changed a bit. We also had some good old Uruguayan meals 👍.  Then got things unpacked and didn't have a whole lot to do from there so we talked, studied and got ready for bed. 

In the morning we were going to do a Sacrament meeting with everyone, but just after we got ready, the President's Assistants knocked on our door and had President on the phone.  He let us know that Elder Reeves tested positive in the airport for Covid and that Elder Staheli and I would need to move to another room and be quarantined in that room until we get tested next Saturday.  It's been weird to be stuck in this room but we've been doing good!  I am really grateful that I'm Elder Staheli's companion right now.  He is super fun and an incredible example!  I know Heavenly Father has blessed me to be with him right now!  We've been doing a lot of studying, listening to conference talks and have come up with some ideas for us to do /things to work on while we wait for more direction.

I'm so thankful to be here and want each one of you to know that I love you so much! I'm so thankful for your prayers and help and I want you to know that whatever I can do for you I will do it! I am praying for you and know that Heavenly Father loves you so much and will give you the help, answers, strength, healing and love you need as you trust in Him and in the Savior, Jesus Christ. I wish you all a Merry Christmas.  I know that you will be able to feel the Savior’s love and power come into your life as you follow Him more fully.  I love you all and want you to know that you are AMAZING!  Have a wonderful week and know you've got prayers and great blessings coming your way! 

Much love

~Elder McDonald




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