FINAL WEEK IN THE MTC--MEXICO CITY

Hey this is my entry for my last week at the MTC!!!!

T minus 6 days till this Elder is being shipped off to Tennessee!!!! And might I say i am so happy to be able to come back to the Greatest country in the world. This week once again was a roller coaster, especially for me personally!

Having the opportunity to email and receive emails is like Christmas morning every single week. I look forward to this day so much! My emails havent been crazy interesting just because of the MTC experience and I am trying my best to keep it interesting! Once I get to the field it is going to be so much fun! Having a great time here but I am ready to move on. Memories from the week: 

Aug 17: I finally got my mission haircut on this day, and to say the least it was nothing short of atrocious hahahaha There were two haircut ladies and one of them was really good and the other was terrible hahaha and when the lady who was good at giving haircuts finished my companions she had to leave so i got stuck with the other lady. My hair has never been so short but hey....Memories!! 

Aug 18: We received chips and queso in a package from multiple sources (including mama, LOVE U) and we decided to get very innovative with making the queso for delicious. Therefore we used the iron to heat up the queso...so prime..

Aug 19: within the last few days in the MTC it is very hard to stay focused and to contineously work hard, but my companions and I made a pact that we would consecrate  this remaining time we have hear to the people we will be teaching. Btw teaching in Spanish has become to easy and fluent for me it is amazing. Cant thank the Lord enough for helping me, however, i still have a lot more to go!

Aug 20: The food here is.....lets just say very....unique.....and then a mircale happened! Our teacher Hermano Celis bought us all churros and in my journal i wrote: "Hermano Celis personally provided my most spiritual experience of the week: devouring, yet enjoying, the perfect sugar coated crisp feeling bread stick thingy from the Celestial Food Court".

Aug 21:   So today i was told that i would be receiving ANOTHER NEW COMPANION. His name is Elder Morris and he was supposed to leave this week for Lima Peru but he got his appendix taken out last week so he has to stay another week (just wait there is a twist) 

Aug 22: A few things, so Elder Morris came in and then announced that he wasnt my companion anymore, but he was to be Elder Wenglers, one of the Elders in my trio, so NOW Elder Orgill and I are companions!!! We immediately ran out of the classroom and did this absurd celebration in the hallways in front of a ton of people....doesn't seem that exciting but let me tell ya Elder Orgill is probably my best friend here ahahaha. Also i decided to bring my Hawaiian Lava Lava on the mish and everyone loves it. Gotta keep it Wade style

Aug 23: Two things!!!! I saw Elder Birgham Dayton from Mesa on his first day and i will be with him for his first week!!! gave each other the biggest hug hahahaha great guy. He will be a stud missionary! and also I taught the First Vision for the first time today for Hermano Celis and it was the most spiritually filled lesson Heavenly Father has bestowed me with!. I truly believe that Joseph Smith was a prohpet of God, and that through him the fulness of the everlasting gospel was restored to the Earth! 

Aug 24: Today has been incredibly rough. Last night I was super sick and caught some type of virus. Pretty sure I have lost 10 pounds just from that....my last week here in Mexico and it happened to me. It is very common here, but  this is the first time i have been this sick in probably 6 years. But I know that when I overcome this challenge the Lord will bless me! Elder Vellinga (District Leader and is going to my mission) gave me a blessing today as well. Twas a good experience.

Now I just want to end my LAST MTC email with my excitement about 1. Having the opporutnity to come back to the US 2. Sharing the Gospel with other people. I know that through this Gospel you can be most happy in this life. Even though it is difficult to continue to strive to be like Jesus Christ, it is the best thing we can do. And i know serving a mission is the best thing I can do, and others of course!!!! Love yall and I keep all of you in my prayers!!!

Scripture: Alma Chapter 32

Challenge: Pray always, for everything and for everyone, every day and build a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the best way we can get to know the One who loves us MOST!

Hasta Luego y Buena Suerte durante sus semanas!!! 

 

FINAL WEEK IN THE MTC--MEXICO CITY

Hey this is my entry for my last week at the MTC!!!!

T minus 6 days till this Elder is being shipped off to Tennessee!!!! And might I say i am so happy to be able to come back to the Greatest country in the world. This week once again was a roller coaster, especially for me personally!

Having the opportunity to email and receive emails is like Christmas morning every single week. I look forward to this day so much! My emails havent been crazy interesting just because of the MTC experience and I am trying my best to keep it interesting! Once I get to the field it is going to be so much fun! Having a great time here but I am ready to move on. Memories from the week: 

Aug 17: I finally got my mission haircut on this day, and to say the least it was nothing short of atrocious hahahaha There were two haircut ladies and one of them was really good and the other was terrible hahaha and when the lady who was good at giving haircuts finished my companions she had to leave so i got stuck with the other lady. My hair has never been so short but hey....Memories!! 

Aug 18: We received chips and queso in a package from multiple sources (including mama, LOVE U) and we decided to get very innovative with making the queso for delicious. Therefore we used the iron to heat up the queso...so prime..

Aug 19: within the last few days in the MTC it is very hard to stay focused and to contineously work hard, but my companions and I made a pact that we would consecrate  this remaining time we have hear to the people we will be teaching. Btw teaching in Spanish has become to easy and fluent for me it is amazing. Cant thank the Lord enough for helping me, however, i still have a lot more to go!

Aug 20: The food here is.....lets just say very....unique.....and then a mircale happened! Our teacher Hermano Celis bought us all churros and in my journal i wrote: "Hermano Celis personally provided my most spiritual experience of the week: devouring, yet enjoying, the perfect sugar coated crisp feeling bread stick thingy from the Celestial Food Court".

Aug 21:   So today i was told that i would be receiving ANOTHER NEW COMPANION. His name is Elder Morris and he was supposed to leave this week for Lima Peru but he got his appendix taken out last week so he has to stay another week (just wait there is a twist) 

Aug 22: A few things, so Elder Morris came in and then announced that he wasnt my companion anymore, but he was to be Elder Wenglers, one of the Elders in my trio, so NOW Elder Orgill and I are companions!!! We immediately ran out of the classroom and did this absurd celebration in the hallways in front of a ton of people....doesn't seem that exciting but let me tell ya Elder Orgill is probably my best friend here ahahaha. Also i decided to bring my Hawaiian Lava Lava on the mish and everyone loves it. Gotta keep it Wade style

Aug 23: Two things!!!! I saw Elder Birgham Dayton from Mesa on his first day and i will be with him for his first week!!! gave each other the biggest hug hahahaha great guy. He will be a stud missionary! and also I taught the First Vision for the first time today for Hermano Celis and it was the most spiritually filled lesson Heavenly Father has bestowed me with!. I truly believe that Joseph Smith was a prohpet of God, and that through him the fulness of the everlasting gospel was restored to the Earth! 

Aug 24: Today has been incredibly rough. Last night I was super sick and caught some type of virus. Pretty sure I have lost 10 pounds just from that....my last week here in Mexico and it happened to me. It is very common here, but  this is the first time i have been this sick in probably 6 years. But I know that when I overcome this challenge the Lord will bless me! Elder Vellinga (District Leader and is going to my mission) gave me a blessing today as well. Twas a good experience.

Now I just want to end my LAST MTC email with my excitement about 1. Having the opporutnity to come back to the US 2. Sharing the Gospel with other people. I know that through this Gospel you can be most happy in this life. Even though it is difficult to continue to strive to be like Jesus Christ, it is the best thing we can do. And i know serving a mission is the best thing I can do, and others of course!!!! Love yall and I keep all of you in my prayers!!!

Scripture: Alma Chapter 32

Challenge: Pray always, for everything and for everyone, every day and build a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Prayer is the best way we can get to know the One who loves us MOST!

Hasta Luego y Buena Suerte durante sus semanas!!! 

 

8/17/2016 MISSIONARY CONVICTS?

8/17/2016

Wooooooo what a week here in the CCM!!!! I´ll jump right into to it since there´s nothing crazy out of the ordinary with my schedule. 

Aug 11: So i heard that someone discovered a temple in Belize that had some relation to the Book of Mormon? someone confirm this for me please hahaha

Aug 12: So i think my favorite memory from this day was when me and my dude Elder Harrast had a long talk about our parents. Our parents are so in common, especially our dads, but it is crazy how much more appreciative and thankful you are (I still was before the mish ;)) for the people that love you most when they are not here! Miss yáll so much and I challenge all of you to make sure you express your love and appreciation for those people you love everyday!!! LOVE YOU PADRES and tambien mi familia y mis amigos amores!!!! 

Aug 13: MTC Splash Bros ........our district absolutely took over basketball today, and if you know me you probably know how competitive and fun it is for me. Elder Orgill made like 8/11 3 pointers and i had a similar number haha the Elders we were playing got so mad at us...... if any of you didnt know here in the MTC we usually spend around 10 hours a day in classroom so when it comes to gym time, it´s a big thing haha. 

Aug 14: I had the opportunity to give my first church talk in Spanish about Charity, or the pure love of Christ. My main message was that if may have this Christ-like attribute for everything and everyone in our lifes everything will fall into place for us. Though it is irrational to be able to develop charity to that degree, i know that if we strive every day to have Christ like love we will be blessed and others will be as well. 

Aug 15: Anyone seen that commercial of that dude who tries to fold that sheet that goes over the mattress? "There are no corners!!!" haha anyways ya i learned how do fold one today with the help of the locals here haha! also after a long day of hard work we walked into the Casa to find a dozen latinos having a massive pillow fight, so instinctively I joined in the barrage and we suffered many casualties. I remember many of our Elders yelling "America!!!!" several times....classic. Also one of my Elders here ran his own shoe shining business in Idaho so he taught me how to do that haha

Aug 16: Today was unreal, and mostly because of the lesson My companions and I taught......after the lesson our fake investigator....knowing this was just practice....felt the Holy Ghost confirm the words (in a different language) of 3 19 year old young men. I was beyond happy. The MTC is teaching me so much, and one of the best things i have learned is that we as missionaries are just instruments in the hands of God attempting to convey the truths that we know through bearing the Holy Ghost. Our lesson became his lesson. 

Now since I have been on a pattern of sharing classic memories, i want to share briefly a little bit about a few members of my district. 

Elder Hunt: The shoeshiner from Twin Falls Idaho is serving his mission in Houston Texas. This guy always has smile on his face and is definitely one of my best friends here. He is also unreal at basketball!! His voice sounds like Kronk from Emperors New Groove!!!

Elder Keeler: This Elder is from st george utah and is serving in Long beach califronia!!! He is Elder Hunt´s companion and probably 5 times a day he asks "where is my companion??" He´s a good guy, prefers to read over anything

Elder Harrast: Best soccer player i have ever seen! Serving in Long Beach as well and he is from Maryland! This guy is one of the more laid back Elders so we get along really well! 

Elder Poulson: The Elder from South Jordan Utah serving in Long Beach Cali also has the nickname of Nemo (he gave it to himself) because one of his arms is shorter than the other. Kind of cool, he loves it. Such a nice guy though and he has a lot of knowledge about the Gospel. 

Scripture of the Week: 2 Nephi 4:28, open those scriptures and go read it!!!

Quote: "Welcome to the Work of Angels"

T minus two weakness until I am in Tennessee doing this marvelous work!!!! I cant express my appreciation enough to all of you! I know it sounds repetitive but for real the love you all give me means so much to me! I am working my tail off and getting better every single day! Hope everyone can do the same! We are here on this Earth to learn and progress for such a short time! Lets not waste it!!!! Love all of you!!! have the best week! 

Adios

Elder Macdonald 

8/10/2016 MEXICO CITY MTC PIX

8/10/2016

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!! The Mexico MTC is a thrill ride for real tho!.....not really! but still it was a great week. I am going to go ahead and jump into my favorite moments from each week, but to begin with i want you all to know how great I am doing. I am loving life here. The weather is fantastic, the people are fun, the facilities are top notch, the food is BOMB, and the gospel is just beautiful!!!

Aug4.This day is what is known as the P Day Blues, for obvious reasons. We had the best pday and then the very next day you just have to jump right back into it! for those of you who want to know my daily schedule, i wake up at 6 am every morning, get fed 3 meals a day, get an hour and a half of gym time, and then for the remainder of that time i am sitting in a classroom trying to gather all of my attention and focus to learn the language of spanish and also gosepl principles! EMBRACE THE GRIND

Aug 5: On this day we read the story in Alma about how the people of Ammon buried their weapons of war *anti nephi lehis* and so our teacher made paper swords and we each buried habits and thoughts that we would get rid of in order to become better missionaries. Also Elder Hunt and I decided to stand on chairs to where our heads would be showing in the windows and a bunch of latinos thought we were insanely tall. Classic

Aug 6: We started our fast for fast Sunday on this Saturday and that's when things got really weird and cranky. For example Elder Wengler wouldnt stop using his umbrella as a lightsaber and by the end of the night I had created a game to where we could toss markers into the tray of a whiteboard and created a point system and related it to Spanish somehow. Even got my teacher to participate and he beat me in the championship.. The game probably made no sense by the way i just explained it but it was fun. Hermana Sanchez is one of our new teachers and she is an angel. We gave a lesson to her about the restoration and she was in tears and the spirit was pretty awesome. 

Aug 7: Today was the sabbath day and definately the best day of this week. I had the opporuntity to stand up and bear my testimony in sacrament meeting and also give my first public spanish prayer which was kinda cool. We had an amazing lesson in sunday school with my district and one of the key things that stood out was how if we have charity all else will come with it *Moroni 7: 45/46* We also had several devotionals starting with a devo given by president call on the Atonement of Jesus Christ "as your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase". I know thAT to continue to progress as not only as a missionary but as a person i need to constantly seek the love and forgiveness of my Savior and God. The best thing of this day was the video we watched on Elder Bednar giving a talk at the Provo MTC on Christmas Day one year ago about THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST. He identified how there was not a single instance in the Saviors life in which he wasnt reaching outwards to others. Love my Savior. I invite all of you to listen to that talk if you can find it

Aug 8: Today i was feeling my love for my Savior so much that i wrote my entire journal entry about him which I will share: The Spirit of God is upon me as i am writing this. Even though I had a great day and we had some great memories I just have to share my testimony of this absolutely beautiful gospel. My heart is full. Full of gratitude for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Redeemer. The Mediator. The Lamb of God. I know that he walks uprightly with me. I feel his influence in everything....beautiful. Because everything beautiful was created by him and every witness i have of his creations is a witness of him. And then I marvel that he would want to safe a rebellious soul such as I. a soul who has made countless mistakes and even mocked his greatness in reality in this lifetime, and he still extends his hand to me. To pull me back.....back to him...back to where I and countless others may be most happy in this life and the life to come. I know that my Savior broke the bonds and loosened the chains, and carried the cross on my shame! I know that he loves me. I know he believes in me and if i am faithful and diligent unto his will and the will of the Father; I will be blessed in my life, allowing me to bless the lives of countless, precious souls. My love and knowledge of the Savior has never been this exponential and I cannot wait to share it in Tennessee and hereafter. 

Aug 9: We watched another devotional given by Elder Andersen at the Provo MTC, and the mmain quote that stuck with me was "Do NOT let that fire die" the fire referring to out testimonies and desire to share them

Aug 10: And today I am privaledged to be writing all of yall and also I get to attend the Mexico City Temple again today! 

I want to again thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for me as I embark on this great service! I love all of you and I love the church and this restored Gospel. I am continously in prayer for all of you as well! Have a great week.   Here is the scripture of the week: MOSIAH 3:19.

Elder Macdonald 

8/03/2016 PIX FROM MTC

BLOG POST #2: THE ROLLER COASTER 8/03/2016

 

Thank you everyone so much for writing me it means so much! I only get an hour every Wednesday to write emails so if I don´t email you back just know I didn't have enough time!! I appreciate the support so much and I miss all of you but I know that being here is the best thing I could possibly be doing. 

This week I can say was probably the craziest, most stressful, yet exciting week I have ever experienced. I can now say I am adjusting to the missionary life extremely well!!! Being a missionary in the MTC is much more different from the field. Most of your problems and stresses are usually about yourself, especially when you study for so long every day. In the field, most of the stresses and concerns are more about the investigators i am assuming, so thinking about the field in Tennessee is what keeps me going honestly. I love my district so much. This week was so hard because my companion Elder Deteige was dealing with some personal issues and after about a week of stressful contemplation and waiting he was ultimately sent home yesterday from the mission. I am going to miss him but I know he will be a better man for fixing his problems and an even better missionary!!! I will see him in the field in Tennessee so it wasn´t too bad of a goodbye for me. Such a great guy though. I am going to share my favorite memories from each day, and sometimes they may seem lame but hey, it is so easy to get bored in the MTC hahaha. 

July 28: Elder Detiege and I gave our last lesson with one of our fake investigators (Alejandra) and honestly we treated the scenario as if it were real. Our lesson plan was to go in there and assess the needs of her and just to let her know how much god loves her and how much we love her. The Spirit was so incredibly strong and it was the first time I really felt that way teaching in Spanish, I was in tears expressing my testimony of the gospel, because honestly it is the greatest thing we have and I love it so much. 

July 29: I want to talk a little about one of my companions (i am in a trio now) Elder Orgill. He has the mot absurd and hilarious stories known to man!!! this guy never fails to make me laugh or smile or cry or any other emotion in the book! he´s the coolest dude! He is from Oklahoma and will be serving in Modesto California, he´s definitely one of my best friends right now, other than that my patience on this day was tested immensely and I honestly did really well I think. The Lord has really been helping me out

July 30: Today we decided to pass the day by faster by saying those long riddles everyone does. I am so bad at them, but here is one of the more easier ones for example (these are all given by my other companion Elder Wengler): A cowboy rides to town on a Friday and stays for 3 days and 3 nights and rides back on a friday, how did he do it?...........pretty simple......but i never got it. Answer: the horses name is friday lol

July 31: Today was a Sunday and on this day I had never been so proud to be a missionary, representing men such as Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith is the best thing in the world. I feel so blessed to be here. I felt this way because we watched the movie The Restoration and our MTC president gave the coolest testimony about how lucky we are to be members of the church.

Aug 1: So i think everyone back home knows how much I hate soccer....well it has caught on for sure...because everyday we play cage soccer and it is so intense. Our district has 2 teams called Dinero Facil and Las Savejes. Dinero Facil has all the good soccer players from the district on it (lame) and my team Las Savejes (the savages) has all the decent or bad players on the team and today during gym time we had the most wins out of everyone. The underdog element plus winning is so much fun haha. This day is the day Elder Detiege went back to his home in the States as well.. 

Aug 2: I had lost one of my gym socks and couldn´t find it for a solid week, and all of the sudden I walk in on my district leader (Elder Vellinga, who is going to my mission) and he is using that sock for some sort of puppet show entertaining everyone else. Had a prime laugh out of that hahaha we get so bored here haha

Aug : and today my favorite memory is emailing all of YOU!!! so thanks again so much!!!!

Id like to end this post with testimony that I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he is the Son of God and he repented for all our sins so that we may be able to return back with him and our Heavenly Father again!!! I know that what I am doing here is His work and Glory, and that I need to work as hard as I can to bring souls unto Christ. I love this gospel so much

Scripture of the week: Alma 26:12 

"Yea, I know that I am nothing, as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myselñf, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things yea, behold, many mighty miracles have we wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. ​