5/21/2018

I got a trump hat in a package this week! Classic! My boy Elder Molloy is leaving me this week to JOHNSON CITY! HA! Classic. My new companion is Elder Matis from Utah! He has been out for under a year so I will be training a new ZL while being a DL at the same time. This transfer we definitely have our work cut out for us! 

All yall need to know is I am working hard all day every day. The clock is winding down!! 

6 final weeks. I remember my first 6 I spent in Mexico. The memories are unreal. Time to make it count!! 

I went on Power Up Exchanges 5 times this week....

1. Knoxville w my main man Elder Hancock. We had the coolest “Ammon” experience where we planted like 20 plants and bushes for a lady named Maxine before a storm came. She is seriously the most Golden investigator I have found through service! 

2. Biking in Asheville with Elder Everett. He has been out for only 6 months and his greenie fire is off the hooks. 

3. Went on exchanges w Elder Ulima, who is from Laie Hawáii. All we did was talk about Pounders hahaha. Such a fun, successful day. 

4. Hendersonville Elders helped us throughout the day. I went w Elder Jennings from Hawaii! 

North Carolina got some really bad flooding this past week! There were cars underwater and mud slides everywhere! 

Love yunz les amo mucho!!! VAMOS A LA LUCHA 

Elder Mac 

 

 

 

5/14/2018

Ellooooo! Happy Mothers Day to all those wonderful mommas out there that deserve all the love and kindness in which they so freely give to everyone!! Lori Mac is the real MVP!

This week was so weird. So many random things have happened. We had several exchanges this week with the Hendersonville Branch Elders, Elder Jennings and Elder Boehme. I went biking for the first time in 7 months....

Google Zirconia, North Carolina. One of the prettiest places on this planet Earth. SO awesome. We drove all around there. Despite my circumstances, the nature here always lifts my spirits. 

We are teaching some wonderful people that I am coming to love! I have been focusing a lot of charity and loving God. As I try my best to love God I Find more joy and happiness in the work I do and with the people I am with. I do this by being obedient to the Lord. I love all yall, here are some pictures from the week:) 

Elder Mac 

1-2. SPAS-12

3. Laziah

4-5. Nature tho

6. Civil War Dip Can

7. Nazi Helmet

8. T REX Poop!!!

9. Stretching his back out 

5/7/2018

What a week! I have to say that this week was one of my favorite yet also unfavorite weeks of being a Zone Leader. I have quite the story this week honestly which will show you how not only brutally honest I am but also how much I want the success of each individual missionary, area, member, etc. I am very passionate about anything I do, if any of you know me. I am a missionary 24/7, and so this is my work and HIS glory. It means a lot to me. 

President Pickett mentioned to me last week that I was sent to this specific zone to fix it. The previous Zone Leaders were very toxic and disobedient, and even some of the filtered out District Leaders. When I came into the mission, the Asheville Zone was the highest baptizing zone for a long time! However, when I was sent here it was currently the worst zone in the mission. Plagued with gossip, discontentment, disobedience, and inefficiency. Do not get me wrong, there are a long of great people here, but integrity of heart vanished. I am thankful to the Lord for sending me here for my last two transfers. It is a compliment to me that if I try my best, he will bless me and those around me. Coming into the zone, the status was that no one was really finding people to teach. The previous transfer there was some great success in baptisms, but now the areas were flat and there were 2 baptismal dates between 28 missionaries and 14 areas!! Vamos! As of yesterday in a matter for 3 weeks the zone has sky rocketed to 21 baptismal dates and an increase in moral. Probably the biggest jump I have ever seen in a zone! Time to work. I will be honest with this too; it has been a trial of my faith to get here. The previous ZLs put quite a negative stigma on the zone, and it has been tough to rub that off. Even in my best intentions and success the Lord has blessed us with, there is still lack of missionary unity here because of the attitudes and gossip. I reflect back to what a good friend Elder Sanders told me in a time of struggle over a year ago: “Leadership is a Lonely Place”. The work is progressing rapidly here, yet there is much much more to do. Transfers will help bring in some new faces and new attitudes for sure (May 23), but as of now Elder Molloy and I are doing the best we can to follow the Spirit. Even on a phone call with my mission President this week he said, “Elder Macdonald, you are doing the right thing.especially when there are some who dislike you for it”. Christ is such a wonderful example to me of a great leader. I strive to emulate his boldness, firmness, yet compassion and love for those he serves. 

The area is great! We got two baptismal dates this week! All wonderful people. Lateicha Peak and Barbara Burrell are excellent examples of humble people who want to follow Christ. Pray for them! June 9 & June 30. Jone Briones is still looking on track for June 16. Every week for me is crucial! I love it!:) I have always retained this level of urgency and I thank the Lord for helping me throughout my mission to have that!

A scripture I shared to a broken family this week comes from Alma 4 as Alma forsakes the Judgment Seat and consecrates his life completely to the ministry to bring the people of Zarahemla back to the Church: 

19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

One of my favorite things as a ZL is going on exchanges, especially with Greenie Missionaries (New missionaries). I got to go with Elder Cox who is serving in the Asheville Ward! We just had such an awesome day. It is fun learning from them and them from you. I had a door approach lesson with him and it lasted for about 15 minutes. He then turned to me and said, “that was the longest doorstep lesson I have ever had!” It totally shocked me haha. But we ended up having a 2 hour door step lesson with a couple that is really interested!:) 

Life is going pretty well. We did so much this week. I am tired haha. VAMOS!

Elder Mac 

 

 

1. Un Huron

2. Elder Cox!

3. Thx Momma my compy loves u

4. Micronesian Homie Tamian balls up 

 

 

4/30/2018

S/O o my best friend Eli for gettin hitched!!! The man

Very unique week my goodness. North Carolina is one crazy rodeo lemme tell ya, the people here are quite awesomely odd hahaha. 

Pretty awesome success-filled week and I am stoked for this week. Seriously some awesome sauce.

I got to go on Power-Up exchanges with Elder Lopez AND Elder Fillingim this week. I trained Elder Fillingim back in Dalton, GA; and Elder Lopez in my last transfer in Lebanon! It was really fun to be able to catch up with them and to see how they have progressed as missionaries since I last saw them. Both of them were pretty quiet guys when I got them and they were talking up Gospel storms on doorsteps and lessons. 

Elder Fillingim and I tracted into a 58 year old lady who is quite disable named Jone. She is amazing honestly. She lives in one of the worst parts of town, but is quite prepared to receive the Gospel. We got some traction by putting her on date for the 16th of June. She has a lot of concerns to work through but she can do it! 

We received 6 MEMBER referrals just on Sunday!! Our goals are working in getting the ward to trust us and in two week our zone went from almost NO baptismal dates to 11 this week. We have a lot more to come as well! Seriously we are teaching some really awesome people right now I love it. 

Zone Conference was cool. Not my favorite honestly, but we had a great breakout session with the Asheville Zone to reinforce our goals and set a few more. Our zone is sky rocketing! Goals for Elder Molloy and I include:

1. Teaching and encouraging members about Ministering 

2. Finding through members 

3. Excercise Daily

4. Extend 1 Baptismal Date Invitation weekly 

A lot to do, and such LITTLE time. Pray for ya boy. Love yunz!!!

4/23/2018

What a week yall. Jam packed with action. I currently have 10 WEEKS left on my mission. I cannot believe it. I need to use every minute of it wisely for there is so much left for me to learn in these next few weeks! We did so much! 

First off we had an unreal MLC this week. I sadly said goodbye to a couple friends that I will not see for awhile.....but the highlight was definitely the Spirit felt as we talked about how we can better minister to those around us. One training they shared Luke 24:13-32 how Christ walked with the two disciples on the road of Emmaus after his Resurrection. He perfectly shows us how to minister to those in meekness and lowliness of heart. I encourage you all to read this story then Elder Bednar’s last talk on “Meekness and Lowliness of Heart”. So so so rich with greatness.

We got 6-7 people to church my 2nd Sunday here when previously here was 0-2. Elder Molloy and I are grinding!! We are going to set a few people on date this week!

We took a road trip to Waynesville, NC this week to go on exchanges with Elder Bennet and Elder Call. They are pretty dope guys. I went with Elder Bennet and we had a solid day together. I had a wonderful opportunity to minister unto him about some things he wanted to improve. I love exchanges. 2 hour talks in a parked car is not uncommon. We also met this guy who had a “Families are Forever” sign outside his door. We had previously prayed while we were in the streets to be able to give out a BOM. We were guided to his home and right when we testified to him of Eternal Families he started to break down crying on the door step. A grown 60 year old man. The Gospel folks. Hopefully he accepts it. 

We have Zone Conference this wee in Johnson City so I am stoked to go back!!! Hahaha. My recent convert Alberto received the Aaronic Priesthood last week and will be blessing or passing the Sacrament this week! 

I have a lot to do today!!! Ciao les amo

Elder Mac 

Tennessee Knoxville Mission

11320 Station West Drive #101

Farragut, TN 37934