Drew mail 8/31/20: "Reaching out"

 

 Hey everyone! How are you doing this week? I wanted to share a little bit about how Heavenly Father is always reaching out to you and looking to bless you and help you with all that is going on in your lives. We were able to do a fireside this last week with one of the wards and it was a great experience to share experiences and thoughts about how Heavenly Father always loves each one of His children perfectly and will help them as they put their trust in Him. I shared an experience there that I had in Uruguay and I feel like sharing it again so here it is. :) 

In my last area in Uruguay we met a man who was a less active member. We stayed to talk with him and help him out and one of the things that stood out to me was that he had a GIANT beehive under the front roof. Every time we asked him about why he didn't get rid of it and he just said, "I will later on." He knew it was getting to the point where it was really dangerous but he still didn't want to do anything about it, even though all it would take to fix it was one call to the firefighters to remove it. I wanted to relate that to the atonement. Sometimes we feel like it's not possible to get rid of a problem or bad decision or weakness we have (like the beehive) but I testify that the Savior is always reaching out to you and that it is possible to be healed and to have our lives made as if there never was a beehive. All we have to do is take His hand and rely on Him. I promise that no matter how hard it seems or how many concerns you may have, it is always worth it to turn to Him and our lives are so much better after we trust in Him. Thank you so much for your love and support and efforts to draw closer to God. I know that every step matters!  Take care and know that you are loved! :) 

~Elder McDonald

Drew mail 8-24-20: "Service A Full!!!"

 

Hello everyone! How are you doing this week? I pray that you are feeling Heavenly Father's love and that you know how much He wants to bless and help you! He will guide and help you as you put your trust in Him, and He is aware of all your efforts! This week has been an awesome one to be able to serve others. We have gotten to do some great things, and I know that through it all, Heavenly Father has been aware of our efforts and is grateful for all the little things we do each day. 

One of the awesome things we got to do this week was sheer some sheep. I learned A LOT of things from this experience and I wanted to share some thoughts I had. So first of all, it talks a lot in the scriptures that Christ is a shepherd and we are like sheep. I have a lot more understanding now for how difficult it is to control sheep and bring them back to where you want them to be. I thought that sheep were just little, fluffy, light animals that were really nice and didn't fight back at all, but turns out I was wrong! The sheep we worked with were about 150 pounds and were incredibly strong! It was hard to hold on to them, and to make sure they are where you want to be because they also are really quick! (Puts a different perspective on the paintings of Christ carrying the sheep ;) ). But really though, it made me think about how much Heavenly Father really loves us, that even when we go off on our own or don't want to cooperate, He is patient and always loves us. He sees us for our potential and infinite worth. We need to trust in the perfect, good shepherd and know that His will is the best for us. He wants to help us and we can always trust in Him. Another neat perspective I thought about while shearing these sheep was a story called "Shawn the Sheep". This is such a great story that has to do with the atonement, and I won't get too much into it right now, but you should look it up and know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us so much and will help us if we just trust Him. 

Anyway, I just really want to testify that Heavenly Father is aware of all the things going on, and wants to help us. He wants to prepare us for what is ahead, and the way we can do that is listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and follow Him. It isn't always easy or comfortable, and it will definitely take lots of work, but He recognizes every effort, and I can promise you that it is worth it. I know He can heal, change, guide, and strengthen us. He answers prayers and will bless you as you put your faith in Him! Just keep working hard and give your all to Him, and one day it will all be made right in the Savior! I love you all! Have a great week! :)

-Elder McDonald

Drew mail 8-17-20: "Look for the Miracles!!"

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your support and prayers! They make such a big difference! I want to share this week how when we look for and ask for miracles and blessings, they come in the Lord's timing and way! Towards the end of the week I started praying to see blessings and miracles and it was neat to see that they did come! At times I feel they are so small we may miss them if we aren't looking and paying attention, but they are there! We have gotten a lot of help from members of the church in finding those who need help, whether that's service or a spiritual thought, and that has been a great miracle. We also have been in certain places at certain times where we have been able to help those in need and meet people we can hopefully get to work with a bit more. I'll share some more info next week, but for today I just want to testify that Heavenly Father loves each one of His children and has a plan. You will see great blessings and miracles as you put your faith in Him and follow Christ! Love you all!! :) 

~Elder McDonald. 

Drew mail 8-10-20: "Getting to know others"

 

Hi everyone!! How has your week been? This week has been a good one! It seems to have gone by really quickly! We've had some neat opportunities to talk a lot with families of those who have missionaries serving, or getting ready to go and serve and I have learned a lot from it! It's been really great to get to know these incredible people, hear their stories, their testimonies, concerns and desires. I know that each one of us is experiencing different things and is needing to have individual help and answers. That is such an incredible part about the Gospel. Heavenly Father works one by one. He encourages us to minister and help each other individually and develop personal relationships with them. This is also a great pattern for what we should do to get to know our Savior, and Heavenly Father better. Sometimes it takes time, it definitely takes effort, and I know that it's all worth it in the end.  Oftentimes, Heavenly Father puts those who we can help, those who are in need close to us, because He trusts us to do it! There are a lot of different ways to help others, but some of the best ones are through small and simple means. When we really show love, and help others in their need, smile, share a compliment, answer questions, serve and lift burdens hearts are touched and we are blessed. I know Heavenly Father has a plan and doesn't want us to be alone. He wants us to help and serve others, and that we receive that help too. So this week I encourage you to reach out to one person! Get to know them better, and see if you can help them in small, simple ways. Also, if someone offers to help you or wants to get to know you, let them! I promise that as you work to develop individual relationships with those around you, you will be strengthened and better recognize God's hand in your lives. 

~Elder McDonald

#Missionnotes - Month #14

 #Missionnotes - on to Month #14 - An Ensign of  Truth - bravely bearing the standard for righteousness!

Drew mail 8-3-20: "Seeing the Fruits"

¡Hola todos! How has your week been? It has been a great experience this week to be able to see some of the fruits (results) that have come from lots of missionary's work and faith. I have been able to see that Heavenly Father has perfect timing, and that if we do our part in faith, eventually the good results will come! It can be hard to wait for them, or to keep believing that they will come, but the truth is Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and knows what to do to help us, and will do so in His timing and his way.

We got to see Vicente be baptized this Saturday! He has been wanting to be baptized for a long time, and has gotten lots of help from other missionaries, and we were really grateful to be here to see the results of all their faith and efforts come together. We also were able to see Nestor be baptized on Sunday through a "Zoom" call which was such a neat experience for me. I know that Heavenly Father really does have a plan and knows where each one of His children are, and will help them come closer to Him.

We have gotten to do some service this week as well, and we even got to speak in church on Sunday. We have seen that by doing these little things, relationships are built and good comes from every little effort we make. I promise you that as you work to do the little things, even if it may seem like nothing comes from it right away, good will come. Answers and help will come as you put your trust in God and follow Christ. 

--

-Elder McDonald

Vida Misional #8

Vida Misional #7

Drew mail 7-27-20: "Miracles and Blessings"

 Hi everyone! How was your week? I pray that each one of you is feeling the love of God in your lives and seeing His blessings each day! We have had an incredible week this week. We got to celebrate Pioneer day which was fun! Just celebrating all their sacrifices and remembering some of the great blessings and miracles God has done for them! A lot of great blessings have happened for us too this week, and I want to share some of them with you!

First of all, Elder Hafener and I went down to St. George on Tuesday to pick up two new reassigned missionaries to join us in Beaver. Since then, it has been difficult to coordinate all the work being divided between two sets of missionaries, but it has also been really good! So I have a new companion now, whose name is Elder Solano. He is from California and was serving in Guatemala (Same as my Dad!) for 4 months. I am grateful to be here with him, he does a great job at explaining principles clearly in lessons and wants to help people here in Beaver! Elder Hafener now has a new companion whose name is Elder Anderson from South Carolina and was serving in Argentina - really close to me in Uruguay! He also uses the same accent that I do which is super fun :) We all share the same house still, but have divided the stake so we each have 3 wards to work with, and we are sharing the work with Spanish speakers. It has been good to have more missionaries here, and I'm excited to see what comes from it! 

Another AMAZING thing that happened this week was that Tom got baptized on Saturday! This was such an incredible experience for me, and as we filled the baptismal font with water and got everything ready to go, I felt so happy and felt the Holy Ghost so strongly. It has been such a neat experience for me to work with Tom. He has made some big changes in his life, and has worked hard to learn and draw closer to Christ. He has been meeting with missionaries for the past 5 and a half years, and it is so incredible that I got to be here when he decided to be baptized. My testimony has been so strengthened of the importance of baptism, to keep following God and make promises with Him, and I know that it is a sign of His love for us that He enables us to do these things that allow us to have greater light, knowledge, and power in our lives. The only way we can do this is by following in the steps of the Savior, and becoming more like Him. I love that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of love, and progression. We take one step after another, and Heavenly Father helps us, heals us, and forgives us all along the way if we keep trying and looking to Him. 

The last thing that I want to talk about this week is a neat experience I got to have with teaching Nestor. Yep! Nestor from Uruguay!! So on Friday, the Sister Missionaries who are serving in the last area I was in in Uruguay messaged me, telling me they were going to have a lesson with him, and asking me if I could join in. I was so so excited and happy and it was one of the best things to see him again and help in one of the lessons. What is even more neat is that he has a baptismal date for August 2nd! I am so excited for him, and am amazed that Heavenly Father will answer our prayers and bless us as we keep doing our best. I have been praying for him almost every night since I left and it has been incredible to me to know that he is continuing forward and wants to be baptized. I know Heavenly Father touches hearts and performs miracles in today's world! I mean, how incredible is it that the sisters messaged me and that I have gotten to be a part in helping not only Nestor, but others come closer to Christ. 

I testify that Heavenly Father knows each one of us perfectly and answers prayers and will perform miracles in our lives if we exercise faith in Him! 

~Much Love, Elder McDonald

Vida Misional #6