Alex mail 11-04-2024: "Dia de los Muertos"

 

What's good what's good everyone! Hope y’all had an awesome week and a great Halloween! Our week was awesome this week, everyone in Mexico celebrated Day of the Dead on Friday and Saturday and lowkey, a ton didn't happen for it haha, but it was super sick to see everyone's “ofrendas” (offerings) with all the pictures and memories of their families and the orange flowers like in the movie Coco haha. The best part of the week for us though was on Sunday with 4 baptisms! We had 2 fall-through due to one working and the other only being married through the Catholic Church and not married civilly. 😭   But, we'll get ‘em soon!  However, our friends Adriana, Ximena, Beatriz, and Camila all decided to get baptized and it was such a special day! They each showed a ton of faith in their process of making covenants with their Heavenly father and they are each a huge inspiration to me! There's nothing better than hearing those simple yet powerful testimonies right after their baptism and being a part of their conversion process! I testify that there is nothing more important than making and keeping covenants with our Heavenly Father, He wants us to come home and has given us everything we need to do so!

We also had a meeting in Aguascalientes again this week, which was so good! We talked a ton about how we can help people find their motivation to come to church and receive the blessings of the sacrament! It's so amazing to see people find their own personal motivation and desire to come unto Christ!  I invite each of you to find your own personal motivation and desire to come closer to your Savior, I promise He will be there every step of the way!

We also talked a lot about becoming uncomfortable as missionaries in everything we do. Something I love that Elder Hunter always says is that "Pressure is a Privilege." Sometimes as missionaries and as members of the church we feel a little bit of weight, responsibility, and pressure, but that's a good thing! When we are uncomfortable, we are pushed, and then we are able to grow. I invite you to always seek to be “uncomfortable” in everything you do, never settle for being comfortable with where you are! Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Panteón (cemetery) Everyoneee was going to the cemetery for Día de Los Muertos - haha, actually such a cool tradition how people remember their family!

Invitation of the Month: LIVE GRATEFULLY! How's the challenge going so far? I hope you've been able to see how much the Lord has blessed each one of us, constantly look for the good and give thanks!

**BAUTISMOSSSSSS!**

**Carne Asada Tacos / Dayley with the temu tie game 💀😂**

** Elder North, Elder Summers, Elder Wilson**

Alex mail 10-28-2024: "Don't drink the Coca??"

 

Happy Halloween everyoneeee! It's so weird that it's the end of October because it still feels like July here hahaham but hope everyone has a great Halloween this week! You already know it was another week of grinding this week in good old Boulevard! It's been crazy basically this whole transfer Elder Hunter and I have only had 2-4 days maximum each week in our area due to meetings, exchanges, and other stuff like that so the days we have been in the area we've just been trying to fit everything in! We love it though there's nothing better than being busy in the Lord's work! We've seen the Lord make up the difference for the time we've lost and it's been so special to witness firsthand!

This week was no exception to the hustle and grind haha, because we had Zone Conference on Thursday and exchanges with the APs in Aguas on Friday! Zone Conference was awesome as usual, but this was a little different than normal, and that's where this week's title come in! The first half of the conference was all about health stuff, good food, fitness, mental health and stress, and all that good stuff haha. But the point of the title is that at one point the Doctor lady who was talking about nutrition basically went off for about 30 minutes about how we should never drink Coke because it's horrible for you and we should ask the members to stop giving it to us. Well, if you didn't know, Coke in Mexico is basically water - the people here have it at every meal and on top of that, is super good 😂.  So yeah, let's just say we're gonna keep enjoying the Coca haha! The second half of conference was super spiritual though, the APs talked about the power and necessity of the book of Mormon in everything we do in our lives. Elder Saurez I think delivered one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard.  That room was dead silent and the Spirit was so strong! In his words, "We have to learn how to testify with what the scriptures say is our ‘whole energy of heart’. Keep seeking, go become converted and strengthen your testimony until it is impossible to not feel its truth in every single part of your body and spirit, and then testify with that power!"  Then President and Hermana Webb followed up with some amazing talks about the blessings of covenant keeping and helping others receive the blessings of Church! Always so good to learn from them and see all the Dawgs at Conference!

And then, on Friday, we got to go to Aguascalientes and do ‘intercambios’ with the APs in their area! It was super awesome.  I got to be with Elder Suarez and he's a spiritual giant as I just mentioned above!  It was also my first day of work in Aguas - since my whole time in Mexico I've been in San Luis, haha!  It was super fun though, pretty similar to San Luis honestly, but Elder Saurez and I were able to see some cool miracles and I learned a ton from him about how to strengthen my testimony and show pure Christ-like love to others!

We also saw some crazy miracles in our area the few days we were there! We met a ton with our 6 friends, who we're hoping to get baptized this next Sunday, and they're all doing super good!  Before we taught them about the Word of Wisdom, 3 of them had drunken coffee for much of their lives, and were super worried about being able to let go of it.  However, every single one has dropped it like it was nothing and it was such a cool testament of their faith!  It's amazing to see how much the Lord is willing to help His children and pour out blessings into the lives of those who seek to keep the commandments of God! One of my favorite scriptures to share is in Mosiah 2:41, and I want all of you to consider the "blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God!" I testify that there is nothing but joy and blessings awaiting you as you give your all to Him!

Love you all and have an amazing week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Noche de Brujas (Witches night - aka Halloween) hope everyone gets some good candy this week! 

Invitation of the Month: LIVE GRATEFULLY!! Can't believe it's already November and Thanksgiving time but here we are haha! This month I want to invite you all to live gratefully in everything you do! Always seek to uplift and rejoice in the blessings that God has given us, I promise it will change your life!

**Suarez Cheffed up 👀 / Elder Smullinnnn/ Elder Johnson (los gueritos) / Guatemal Boulevard gang/ Elder Burk had me dying 🤣/  Elder Canulll/  Hermana Brown (Went to High School together) / Elder Hales aka Superman / Matehuala Fam/ Sanchez comps lol/ Trip to Aguas **

Alex mail 10-21-2024: "Nuevo Leon!!"

 

What a weekkkkkk!! Hope everyone is doing great! It was another wild week down in Mexico! haha Never thought I would be literally running to the next lesson trying to fit everything in but that's where we're at haha and we're not gonna complain! This has definitely been the most amount of miracles I've ever seen on my mission and it's moments like these that make all the tougher times so worth it! Being on the frontlines of the Lord's work preparing the world for the Savior's return is truly the greatest thing in the world!

This week, Elder Hunter and I were back up in Matehuala for exchanges for a few days and it was so awesome! Matehuala will always be a favorite area of mine it always feels like home each time I'm there! I got to go on exchanges with my Dawgs Elder Hales and a brand-new missionary, Elder Lamb! I've been around Elder Hales for a lot of my mission, but the last time we went on exchanges was back in March when I was in my first area in Mexico in Industrias! It was really cool to see how much we've both grown in the last 6 months, going from being able to hardly speak Spanish, haha to now being able to speak with anyone and teach and testify a lot more with the Spirit! I've always been inspired by Elder Hales’ humility and ability to feel joy in the work and we had a super awesome day together! And then with Elder Lamb I got a little taste of what whitewash training would be like haha, let's just say I was tired by the end of the day 😂.  However, even though Elder Lamb only has about 2 weeks in the mission, he did super good leading the area, following along with lessons, and did amazing testifying of Christ and his gospel! We had a ton of laughs, and I learned a ton from his example of confidence and desire to be all-in! Anddd to explain this week's title; on exchanges with Elder Lamb we went to a little town (Pueblito) in their area called Dr. Arroyo, which technically is in the state of Neuvo Leon, not San Luis! So yeah, I can say I've served in Neuvo Leon now, haha!

We saw a really spiritual experience this week that I want to finish with: with our friend Karla in teaching! We just barely started teaching her and she's always been pretty reserved, but as soon as we started talking about baptism and the gift of a complete remission of sins and the promise of eternal life, she really opened up and just started crying. She told us how her dad had recently been killed, and she was having a lot of doubts if God really existed and if she would ever see her dad again. The spirit was so strong as we just testified of God's plan for us and the reality of Eternal families! Then to top it all off, she came to church on Sunday for the first time - it was so special! I testify that Eternal Families are not just a possibility, but a reality and a promised blessing for those who make and keep covenants with God!

I love you all tons and hope each one of you has a super great week! Hasta la próxima!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Pan de Muerto (Death Bread) don't let the name fool you it's actually a super good dessert here that they make for Day-of-the-Dead haha!

Invitation of the Month: FOLLOW THE SPIRIT!! How have you learned to better recognize and act on the promptings of the Spirit this month? I think a big part of it for me is just trusting that I truly am being guided by the Spirit, and not being afraid to act, God will always lead us step by step! 

**Elder Edgel keeping the mission updated 💀😂 & locked in/ Pompasos (salsa infused tortas)/ Dayley struggling**

**Saira and the family of goats / Boulevard squad**

**Little Caesars run/ Elder Moulton took a fall/ Dr Arroyo ice cream**

**Elder Halesss / Elder Lamb**

Alex mail 10-14-2024: "Gorditas"

 

Howdy, howdy. How's everyone doing this week? Hope everyone is having a great October and enjoying the fall weather! It's started to get a little cooler in the mornings and nights here but still hot in the afternoon. Haha. I still don't believe it's October! I'm writing from Matehuala this week. We're back up for exchanges which will be super fun! So awesome to be back in an old area but more stories to come next week! Elder Hunter and I have just been having so much joy in the work these last few weeks it's been awesome! The Lord has blessed us with so many miracles and each day I'm just more and more amazed at His hand in this work! I can truly testify that this church, this gospel, and this work truly are JOY!! If you want to feel true and lasting joy, follow Jesus Christ! It's that simple!

This week started off by celebrating Elder Hunters birthday on Tuesday! My dawg hit the big 20, he's an old man 🫣😂.  For those of you who don't know haha there's a tradition here in Mexico where the person whose birthday it is, gets their face slammed into their birthday cake on the first bite haha. The members we ate with on Tuesday brought a cake and let's just say, I gave Elder Hunter a biggggg face full of cake🤣 check out the pics below to see, haha.

Got to go on exchanges with my boy Elder Dayley this week in Boulevard-2! Dayley and his comp share the ward with us so we're always around ‘em but it was awesome to spend a full day with my boy!  We went to work and just grindeddd all day but had a ton of fun doing it! We saw some really cool miracles and found some amazing people! We focused on just seeking to be charitable in all we did and even though we met some crazy people who had absolutely no idea what they were talking about and just tried bashing, we kept it cool, haha and just sought to love and testify and it was really cool! I promise that no matter how difficult it might be, as you seek to replace contention and frustration with charity, patience, and understanding, I promise that the Lord will be with you and help you grow and become more like Him in more ways than you can imagine!

Finally just wanted to share one of the coolest miracles of my mission that happened this last week! This is also the reason for this week's title, “gorditas” haha. So, basically gorditas are a type of food here, they're pretty much mini-Quesadillas, and we have a lady we're teaching who makes and sells ‘em for her work. We've been teaching her for probably a month, but she hasn't been able to come to church since she sells on Sunday and it's her busiest day. On Tuesday we stopped by her house, and she basically told us she wasn't super sure about the church or getting baptized, not because she doesn't like it or doesn't feel like it's right, but because none of her family is very interested and she doesn't want to be the only one who joins in her family. On Tuesday when she told us this, we just shared our testimonies of the church, of baptism, and of the power of prayer and invited her to pray that night, asking Heavenly Father directly if she should be baptized regardless of what her family decides. We came back on Thursday, asked how her prayer went, and she said "yeah, I prayed just like I do every day. But this time I asked Heavenly Father if I should be baptized and I got my answer. I know this is the true church and I will be baptized regardless of what my family decides". As you can imagine, our jaws basically hit the floor haha, it was sooo cool! I testify that the power of prayer is real and that if we truly have a desire to follow God and receive guidance for our lives, He will always deliver!  She came to church on Sunday and told her family that from now on, she won't work on Sundays so she can come to church! Eloisa truly is an inspiration of faith and trust in the Savior, and I hope we can all be a little more like her!

Love you all and hope you guys have a fantastic week!! Feel free to reach out if there's anything I can do for you, I gotchu!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Mordita (Bite) this is what they chant during your first bite of birthday cake right before they slam your face into it 😂!

Invitation of the Month: FOLLOW THE SPIRIT!!  How's it gone so far trying to listen to and act on the promptings of the Spirit? I promise that no matter what situation you find yourself in, as you seek to follow the promptings of the Spirit you will be guided in all you do!

**Happy Birthday Elder Hunter 🥳💀**

**Sock tie game / Exchanges with Dayley**

**Alfredo and Mireya the goats!**

Alex mai10-07-2024: "GETHSEMANE"

 

What's up everyone how we doing? Hope everyone had an amazing conference weekend! I LOVED General Conference, it was sooo good! So many amazing talks and I loved all the themes of Joy! Joy in the gospel, joy in repentance, and joy in the Savior! Along with that this week's title has a few different meanings. First of all, by far the best song in all of the sessions was "Gethsemane" by the children's choir! The Spirit was so strong and so cool to see that army of angels testifying of Christ! And as was mentioned several times in conference, I'm so grateful for the amazing gift of the Savior's atoning sacrifice and the joyful blessing of repentance! I want to reemphasize President Nelson's invitation to study the atonement these next 6 months! I promise you will gain a much deeper and personal relationship with the Savior as you do so!

We had transfers this last week and Hunter and I are running it back for a 2nd! We're super excited and are just hyped to keep the momentum going and keep seeing miracles! For the work though, it was a pretty weird week haha.  We only had about 1 & 1/2 days in our area which meant we were running to try and fit in the most important visits and lessons that we could. On Wednesday, we were at the bus station - literally all day welcoming and sending off missionaries for transfers (gotta love Latino bus time lol). On Thursday, we went back to the bus station to get all the new missionaries. Friday, we had a 9am-3pm zoom-meeting, and Saturday and Sunday we had General Conference! While it was a lot of time out of our area, we were still able to see so many miracles and have some awesome lessons with some amazing families! I testify that the Lord will magnify our efforts as we will just do our best to give him our all, whatever that might look like!

I just want to end by sharing my testimony that the Leaders of the church, the apostles and prophets are truly called from God.  They lead and direct us under God's watchful care today! Some of my favorite talks were Sister Kirstin Yee, Brad Wilcox the GOAT, President Nelson of course, Elder Patrick Kearon, and Elder Jorge Alvarado! I promise that whatever doubt or question you might have, as you diligently seek the words of the prophets, you will be guided and directed in all things! Have an amazing week and love you all so much!!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Pintura (painting) I loveddd the example of the painting in sister Yee's talk! I promise that God is not finished with you and has so much more in store than you can imagine!

Invitation of the Month: FOLLOW THE SPIRIT!! I hope everyone was able to receive revelation during conference, now the invitation is to act on it! Trust the Spirit and move forward in faith! 

**Trio Poderoso 👀/ Hour 12 of waiting in the bus station 😭**

** In da Streets / Ghostbusters Krispy Kreme**

**Amazing artwork**

#missionnotes #15 Light from the Windows of Heaven

#missionnotes #15

Light from the Windows of Heaven

 

Alex mail 09-30-2024: "Joy in the work"

 

What's good everyoneeeee! Hope it was another great week! We're already at another transfer day I can't believe it! Time just be going too fast I can't believe I'll hit 14 months next week 😭  Elder Hunter and I have just been grinding though and having so much fun! We should be running it back this next transfer so we're just gonna keep cooking!

 The highlight of this week was by far the 5 baptisms we were able to have on Sunday after church! Our friends Saira and her 2 sons William and Jordan, and then Diego and his brother Jesus! They all sacrificed a ton to get baptized, Saira wasn't married but as soon as she heard she needed to live the law of chastity to keep God's commandments, she basically kicked her boyfriend out so she and her sons could get baptized! And then Jesus and Diego were able to set the example for their parents Mayra and Jorge, who still aren't married, but are in the process of getting there, and their sons are amazing examples of faith! President and Hermana Webb were also able to be there which made it super special! Definitely a day that I will remember for the rest of my life! There's nothing better in this world than helping people come unto their Heavenly Father and make covenants with Him!

We got to do a couple more exchanges this week, one with my boys out in Sauzalito and one with Elder Dayley and Elder Sanchez here in our same ward of Boulevard!  In Sauzalito, I got to see my dawg Elder Horoba, from the MTC but, I went with his comp Elder Burke! I think that was one of the funniest exchanges I've ever gone on.  He's hilarious and had me laughing all day! With both exchanges we focused a lot on being direct and helping people see the blessings of baptism in all we do! I'm so grateful for the amazing missionaries we have in our zone it's been so amazing to work with them this past transfer and can't wait for what's on the way!!

Finally, just wanted to end with some Elder Hunter bars from the week! The first thing he said while we were contacting a super Catholic lady was "we're not here to change your religion, we're here to change your blessings. There's only one way to live with your family forever, don't miss your chance".  And the second was "Everyone always says, God is always with us and of course that's true, but what are we doing ourselves to be with God?"  These quotes from my comp really stood out to me and I can testify that they are true! This went along perfectly with my study in Come Follow Me this week.  I love the story of Christ's personal appearance in the Americas and His personal ministry!  I love that He invites each person to come unto him, one by one, until all had a personal testimony that He is our Savior! I testify that Christ is ready to give us the same opportunity, we simply have to do our part!  Don't miss your chance, now is the perfect time to be all in!  Love you all, and have a fantastic week and an AMAZING GENERAL CONFERENCE LETS GOOOOOOOO!! 🥳🥳 

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Peso (Weight) my dawg Elder Burke benched 315 before the mission 🤯 bros a tank lol

Invitation of the Month: FOLLOW THE SPIRIT!!  This week with general conference is a perfect opportunity to receive personal revelation and follow the promptings of the Spirit! I promise as you constantly seek to follow the Spirit in your life, greater miracles await!

**DAWGS / Elder BURKE**

*Baptism of Saira, William, and Jordan! / Jesus in the Americas*

*Baptism of Jesus and Diego! / Mayra, Jorge, Jesus, Diego*

*Bautismo con Todos!*

*Member made keychain  /Classic Mexico Vibes*

Alex mail 9-23-2024: "Best Lesson Ever!!"

 Feliz lunes a todos!! Hope everyone had an awesome week filled with joy and that you each were able to feel of God's love for you personally!! Another great week out here in Boulevard! The miracles just keep coming haha! 

This week I was able to go on a couple of exchanges, one on Tuesday in Popular with my dawg Elder Miller, and the other, in our area - with one of our APs, Elder Summers! It was awesome to see how much Elder Miller has grown since I first did an exchange with him at the start of his mission - like 5 months ago.  He taught me a ton about being more loving and to just be confident in all that we do! Super fun to go back to Popular again, that area will always be my home! Then, I learned a ton from Elder Summers in our exchange as well! He's such a great missionary.  I love how he never gets stressed or too caught up about the little things.  He's always just calm and relaxed and his example of trust in the Lord's plan is super inspiring! Definitely an awesome week of exchanges!

As I've focused on being more diligent in recognizing the miracles the Lord has given us, it's been awesome to see just how many there truly are around us every single day! This week we were able to find more people who are ready for the gospel, than I think I ever have in my mission before!  This didn't magically happen because of anything Elder Hunter and I did, but rather because God is able to use us as instruments in His hands!  As we've made a more diligent effort to look for and recognize miracles, we've been blessed to see more and help others come unto the Savior! If you're ever having a hard time seeing the good around you, pray for strength and help to see the miracles the Lord is blessing you with, I promise your eyes will be opened!

We had interviews with President this week, which was super special as always! I always learn a ton from him and just feel so spiritually refreshed haha! This time he shared the scripture Helaman 3:35 with me, which talks about how the righteous purified their hearts through their faith and diligence to the Savior! He shared with me how as we come to truly seek to do the Lord's will and cheerfully submit to His plan in all things, that is when we're truly able to become instruments in His hands and work miracles in the lives of others! So, I want to invite you all to do just that! Seek to align your will completely with the Lord's and I promise with time, your heart will truly be sanctified and purified!

And now for the title of this letter; Saturday night I think we had the greatest lesson of my entire mission haha! During interviews Saturday morning, President asked us if we had any lessons that night, where he could come with us.  We decided to bring him to a lesson we had planned  with an inactive sister, who's husband wasn't a member. The Spirit was so strong in the lesson, and the couple just kept sharing their desires to have a better marriage and stronger family with their 2 little daughters. We were able to testify about the atonement of Jesus Christ, the possibility and reality of eternal families, and how covenants bind us together as families and with God!  The Spirit was so strong.  It was an amazing experience getting to teach with President Webb! We were able to put the husband, Daniel on date for baptism in the middle of October and they came to church the next day and loved it!! Definitely an experience I will never forget! 

Love you all and hope it's another great week! 

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Chócalas! (Fist Bump!) We've had 2 times now this transfer where Elder Hunter has gone to give someone a fist bump, they haven't been looking, and so he tells em "Chócalas!" But they still don't do it 💀😂  people are ruthless out here lol!

Invitation of the Month: PREACH MY GOSPEL!! I love how Preach My Gospel is filled with invitations to act, followed by promised blessings! Pick a few invitations to do this week and I promise you will be blessed!!

**Mexicooooo**

**Strawberry Lemonade Arizona 👀//10/10 would not recommend the Oreo-Coca 😂// Elder Miller with da doggo // Some dude who wanted to take a pic with the Gueros 💀🤣

Daniel's Family - lesson taught with Pres 🥹