Alex mail 01-13-2025: "Opposition in All Things"

 

Que ondaaaa how we doing everyone?? Hope it's been another fantastic week for you guys! Winter weather finally started to hit this week it got a little chilly! 🥶 We had a good amount of rain and cold so at times it was a little hard to find people out in the streets, but hey it was a nice break from the heat!  It was a solid week out here in Jesus Maria!  Definitely lots of times just had the vibes of ‘put your head down and grind’ haha, but at the same time those tough moments were followed by so many miracles that make it all so worth it! I really learned that there truly is opposition in all things but that's such a blessing that we can never take for granted!

Started the week off on Tuesday with Zone Conference, my first one in Aguas! It was super good as always and I felt a major theme that stood out to me was to recognize opposition will come but that we have to let our trust and confidence in the Lord be greater than any trial that comes our way!  Hermana Webb talked about 2 Nephi 4, (phenomenal chapter y’all should study it 😉) and the eternal blessing of God's grace.  President talked about the Savior's 2nd coming, the importance of preparing the world for His return, and the trials that we will face and overcome in preparation for it! Finally, my Dawgs Elder Hunter and Navarro, our APs, talked about the importance of Spiritual power and urgency in this great work of saving souls! Super grateful for the blessing of Zone Conference every transfer, and all the revelation that I'm able to receive as I seek the Lord's counsel!

On Wednesday, I had an exchange with Elder Guerra, my ‘brother’ in the mission! We both were trained by the same missionary in Mexico, so it was fun to finally run it up on an exchange! He's an amazing missionary with only 8 months in the mission and he taught me a ton about the joy and power that comes from truly showing interest, love, and care for every single person we meet!

Finally, the second half of the week is where the opposition really started to hit, haha. We had a ton of lessons planned for Friday and Saturday, had members lined up all day to accompany us, and were ready to go teach and serve everyone we met. However, on those days, almost all of our lessons fell through and almost all the people we met just didn't have a desire to listen or progress. I won't lie, it definitely can be frustrating when we feel like we are doing our best to follow the Savior, and we end up facing lots of trials and struggles. However, what I learned from this experience is that if we are going to overcome the Craziness, opposition, and trials of this world, we have to learn how to completely rely on the Savior in all things and trust in His plan - more than our own! As Elder Valencia and I humbled ourselves and seek to turn our all over to the Lord, and do our best, we began to align our view with the Lord's and see Miracles! 

Two of those big miracles were Jorge and Carlos and his family! Jorge sent us a reference from Facebook and he is easily one of the most prepared people for the gospel that I've ever met! He kept asking great questions that led us from one point of the restoration to another and he's been looking for the truth for a very long time! And then Carlos and his family are actually our neighbors, who, without much convincing needed, came to church on Sunday! I can truly testify there's nothing greater than seeing a family of 5 walk into the church for the first time.  I was filled with so much joy and love for these amazing people! I testify that whatever opposition you might be facing, whatever trial or sorrow or fear stands in your way, there truly is light at the end of the tunnel! The Savior is right beside you and has a plan that is so much greater than you can imagine! Give your all to him and all things will be consecrated for your gain! Keep your head up, keep smiling, and keep following the Savior! I love you all and hope it's a great week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: échame porras (hype me up) We went bowling with Pres. and Hermana Webb today, and let's just say there was lots of trash talk going down haha!

Invitation of the Month: THE ONGOING RESTORATION!! Something Elder Navarro mentioned in Zone Conference that really stuck out to me - is that Satan has a very good testimony that Christ is the Savior of the world. That's why he works so hard to stop us and stop His work from progressing! Do we have an even stronger testimony of the Savior and what are we doing to help His work roll forward?

*Zone Conference*

**Rosca de Reyes/ McDonald's feast & Wendy's frosty**

**Distrito Jesus Maria**

**Cerro de muerto**

#missionnotes #18

#missionnotes #18  "Oh how lovely was the morning..."

 

Alex mail 01-06-2025: "Pabellón!!"

What’s good everybody happy 2025!!! Hope everyone had a great new year and is off to a great start in all your goals and dreams this year! We had a super awesome week in the area and in the Mission as a whole, we found almost 700 new people to teach as a mission which is by far a mission record! It's amazing to see that the Lord's work continues to roll forward and that He is preparing more and more people to receive the blessings of His gospel and of the covenant of baptism!

I got to start the week off with an exchange up in Pabellón! It's a little pueblito about 30-45 minutes north of Aguascalientes.  There are 2 sets of Elders out there who are a part of our zone! I got to spend the day with Elder Wadsworth from Nevada, and he's super awesome! Definitely one of the most sweet and loving people I have ever met, I learned a ton from his example of Christlike love! We had some really good lessons, we helped an older lady who was trying to get to the hospital, walking by herself 😳, and we had some fire food with a recent convert family to celebrate New Years Eve! It brought back vibes like my Matehuala days, so you already know I was loving it!

Saturday was an awesome birthday!  My comp Elder Valencia and the APs, Elder Hunter and Elder Navarro made the day super special for me! We got some fire chilaquiles for breakfast and then we did a quick blitz in the AP’s area to help them find a lot of people, which went really well! I gotta run it back with my boy Elder Hunter for a couple hours and we just had a bunch of good laughs and saw a lot of miracles! Then for food, an awesome member took us to eat and then drove us around the whole rest of the day, going to different lessons with us! A lot of ‘em fell through, but we found a lot of really cool, prepared people - by not giving up, knocking random doors, and just persevering when plans changed! I think that is one of the biggest lessons I've learned on the mission: a lot of times, our plans fall through, and things just don't happen as we would have hoped.  However, as we continue to focus on the Lord and keep trying to press forward, He will direct us to what we truly need, and all we be ok! Thanks for all the birthday wishes this past week and for all the love and support you guys give to me.   I couldn't do it without you! Hope each one of you has an amazing 2025 and keep smiling! Love you all!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Chilaquiles (salsa nachos) basically it's a plate of nacho tortilla chips but covered in green salsa, cream, cheese, beans, eggs, and carne asada, it's soooo good hahaha

Invitation of the Month: THE ONGOING RESTORATION!! This week as we started studying the restoration and Come Follow Me, I was super amazed and grateful to know that the restoration of Christ's church continues today, and we are a big part of it! What can you do this month to share the message of Christ's restored church with everyone you meet? 

**Birthday blitz with my dawg/ Chilaquiles with the boys**  

**Mordida 💀/ Birthday lunch**

** Jesus Maria Navidad**

**New Years Surprise 💀/ Huge dog/ Making cement**

**Elder Wadsworth / Coconaranja**

Alex mail 12-30-2024: "Navidad Mexicana"

 

What's good everyone.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and lots of fun with family and friends during this time of year! I cannot believe this week we start 2025! I will officially finish my blackout year of the mission (entire year away from home) which is wild! Time is going way too fast, but just gotta love every minute I've got left!

This last week was awesome, and we had a ton of fun for Christmas down here in good old Mexico! Work-wise it was a little bit tough with lots of people being out of town and lots being busy with the holidays, but we were able to spend lots of really good time with members and still get in a couple really good lessons! The biggest day they celebrate down here is on the 24th, so that day we visited like 5 different member families and pretty much ate with all of them haha! We had all the good stuff, tacos, tamales, ponche, chicken, and more! It was super special to be able to spend the day getting to know the amazing members here and seeing their family traditions! We also went caroling as a district and President and Hermana Webb made a surprise appearance and joined us! 

And then on the 25th we visited some more members, talked to the family, and spent the afternoon over at the mission home with a lot of missionaries and President again! That's definitely one plus of being here in Aguas, we get to see and do a lot more stuff with the Webbs, which is super cool! It was a super special Christmas and even more so through some really special personal studies and coming to know my Savior on a way more personal and deeper level! I am so grateful for His atoning sacrifice for me and for all that He continues to bless me with daily! I know my Savior lives and I invite each one of you to share His light, not just during this time of year, but in every single moment throughout the entire year!

I'm starting to get the hang of the new area which has been good! We've got some really cool people in teaching and we're excited to help them progress towards making covenants with God! Even though there are lots of wealthy people who aren't super interested in listening to us, we've still seen lots of success in finding those who have been humbled and realize the need for change and something more in their lives! It's so special to see the gospel fill those gaps in people's lives and help them find that light and joy they've been searching for! Also, random fun fact, there are a tonnnn of people who speak English here - I think since it's a wealthier area - it's been so weird haha.

This past year has been such an amazing experience as a missionary, especially getting to study the Book of Mormon, along with Come Follow Me! I had the opportunity to write own my testimony of that life-changing book and of my Savior this past week.  It was such a spiritual experience! I invite you all to do the same, reflect on how the Savior has changed your life and how much of a blessing the Book of Mormon is to you personally! I love y’all tons and hope it's a fantastic New Year for you guys! Nos vemos in 2025!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Sobres (My friends) directly translated this word means "envelopes" hahaha but it's a greeting in the northern part of Mexico, there's a member who always says it and it's the best! haha

Invitation of the Month: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?? What has Jesus Christ done for you personally this last year? Take time this week to reflect on who He truly is to you and more than anything thank Him for all that He has done!

**PICS**

**Christmas Eve Caroling!/ Christmas Day at Pres**

**Pres and Hermana Webb!/ My Dawgs** 

**District birthday surprise/ Christmas feast**

**My Dawgs// "Padel" (Mexican pickleball)**

Alex mail 12-23-2024: "🎄MERRY CHRISTMASSSSS!!🎄"

 

Merry Christmas everyoneeeee!! It's the absolute best time of year and I hope it's an amazing Christmas for each and every one of you guys! I'm so grateful for this amazing time to celebrate and remember our Savior Jesus Christ.  All he has done for us including his atoning sacrifice and resurrection, and the amazing joy, hope, peace, and light that can be felt and shared because of Him! While it's definitely different not being home for Christmas like usual, I'm so, so grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity to be a direct representative of my Savior and help others come unto Him during this amazing time of year! I cannot believe this is my second and last Christmas on the mission, but I can truly testify that these last 2 have been the most spiritual and life-changing Christmases of my life! My personal connection and relationship with Christ has been strengthened and deepened so much and I know that He lives and is with us today, every step of the way! I hope you can all find so much joy, peace, and happiness this Christmas season, regardless of your circumstances, as you choose to give your all to Him and personally seek Him and come to know Him! I know as you do so, it will be a Christmas never to be forgotten!

Now for the highlights of the week, I finally made it to Aguascalientes!! It's definitely been a lot of change and lots of new and different vibes compared to the last year in San Luis, but so far, I'm loving it! My area is called Jesus Maria, and my new comp is Elder Valencia from Chihuahua, Mexico! He's super cool, chill, and just a super hard worker and so I'm excited, it'll be a fun transfer! He also lived in Arizona for a bit and has been taught English since he was a little kid so he's basically fluent, which is awesome! We share our ward with a set of Sister missionaries and it's been fun to get to know the area and the members! It's kinda crazy ‘cuz we have both extremes in our area; areas that are extremely wealthy and other areas that are super poor, so we meet all types of people, haha. It's been awesome to see the Lord direct us these last few days to those who are ready to hear us and while change has been a little hard, I've felt so much peace and comfort as I've put my trust completely in the Savior and his plan and chosen to rely on Him! I know we're going to see so many miracles in this area and can't wait to see what comes next!

Something that really stood out to me from preparing for Christmas this week is how critical and how much of a blessing a personal testimony of the Savior is. I was studying "The Living Christ," the personal testimony of the 12 Apostles and the First Presidency, and I felt just so much gratitude and love for my Savior knowing that we are blessed with the ability to know Him personally and have Him to rely on in all things! I know that my testimony of the Savior is the foundation of everything I do and everything we do in the church.  I invite you all to make it yours as well! There's no better time than right now to come unto Him and receive all that He has ready for you!

Love you all so much and have a very merry Christmas!!

Love, Elder McDonald

 

Word of the Week: festín (feast) you already know we're aboutta eat realllll good this week with Christmas haha

Invitation of the Month: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?? I hope it's been an amazing experience this month studying the life and ministry of the Savior! And I hope this last week of the year we can keep momentum going to make it a constant habit to continue to seek to know who the Savior truly is, all times of the year!

**Downtown Aguas**

**View from Jesus Maria// Jesus Maria at night**

 

**Mi HUNTER// Elder Valencia**

 **The New House // World's weirdest fruit// Just one of the huge mansions in our area**

Alex mail 12-16-2024: "Sacred Ground"

 

What's good, what's good everybody?? Hope you are all doing well and having an amazing Christmas season! It was a super great last week of the transfer, and we finally got some colder weather for a few days to make it feel more like Christmas time! All the Mexicans were acting like it was below zero when it was actually like 50 haha, but it was a nice change from the heat! Other fun facts from the week: met and taught a Messianic Jew, helped our ward Mission Leader propose in the ward Christmas party, did 3 exchanges in 5 days, heard a little bit of the Michael Buble Christmas album 😂, officially hit a year in Mexico, and most importantly helped our friend Miguel Angel get baptized on Sunday! He was so excited and happy to have a fresh start and was so willing to commit to Christ and his gospel, even dropping smoking immediately so that he could get baptized!

Sadly, we got transfer news today and I found out that my time in ‘la tierra prometida’ of Boulevard has come to an end 😭. Words cannot describe the amount of love I have for this area, this ward, and this people! I'm excited about what's coming next though, as I'm finally going to Aguascalientes! After a straight year in San Luis, I'll finally see how work in the other state is, haha! San Luis will always be my home but can't wait to see what miracles the Lord has in store!

Definitely one of the highlights from the week was getting to do exchanges in our area with ‘mi líder’ Elder Hunter!!  It was so fun to run it back just like the good old days and visit all of the people we had taught together. As we were walking down the street, he turned to me and said, "Elder, don't ever take these days and this area for granted.  This is sacred ground." And I could not agree more. I am so amazed and astounded by the countless miracles we've seen here over the last 4 and a half months! The amount of people that we've been able to meet who are just so ready to accept the gospel and make covenants with God, the amazing ward and lifelong friends and memories that I've made, and the hand of the lord directing his work. While it definitely is hard to leave and say goodbye to such an amazing place, I know that the Lord has a plan, and His work will go forward. Plus, a little bonus, Elder Hunter and I will be reunited in the same district in Aguas so stay tuned haha! 👀 

Finally, while on exchanges with Elder Canul in my hometown Popular, we saw one of the biggest witnesses to me of the power of the Book of Mormon. We were teaching a fairly older man who has been through it his entire life. He's partially disabled, living in lots of poverty, and the whole lesson just kept asking "where is God?" Out of desperation and frustration. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed the Book of Mormon out of Elder Canul's hand, opened it randomly, pointed to a couple verses and told us to read. The scripture he opened to was Alma 34:40-41 which reads, "40. And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions; that ye do not revile against those who do cast you out because of your exceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them; 41 But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your affliction."  We both sat there a little stunned as we felt the Spirit testify to us of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, as it was the exact answer the man had been looking for. I testify that this truly is the Lord's church restored on the earth today, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and can answer any question we might have, and that this work in helping God's children come unto Him is the greatest work on the earth! I love y’all tons and hope you have a great week leading up to Christmas!!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the week: Posada (Christmas party) it's not just a fiesta, it's a posada haha

Invitation of the Month: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?? How has the study of the life of the Savior been going? This week it really stood out to me just how personal and mindful Christ is of each and every one of us! Never doubt for a minute his perfect love and relentless pursuit for you personally!!

**Miguel Angel's baptism!**

**Mi Hunter// Eloisa!!// Christmas vibes**

** Paintin crew// Santa Gordo// Nike Christmas**

**Elder Suarez 🫡 // Elder Burke// Elder Ivie**

**The GOATS Mireya, Alfredo, Luyiana and Megan**

Alex mail 12-09-2024: "Legally Mexican... Again."

 Heyoooooo!! How's everyone's week been? Hope you all are doing super well and having a great start to the Christmas season! It was a little bit of a weird week, workwise here haha, but we still saw a ton of miracles and had a blast through it all! I really only got 1 and a half days in my area and doing actual missionary work which was not that fun, it felt sooo weird, haha. That's because this week we not only had Zone Conference, but I also had to go to Aguascalientes again to renew my Mexican residency which took up a good chunk. Everything went well and it went way faster than a year ago, so I've got nothing to complain about, I'm officially Mexican, again, haha!

We also had our Christmas Zone Conference which is always the best one of the year! It was so special to focus on the true gift that is our Savior Jesus Christ and all that He has done and continues to do for us! Something that really stood out to me was how much the people during that time, especially his parents, Mary and Joseph, truly sacrificed so much, because they knew it would all be so worth it! I testify that because of our Savior's birth, and his following miracles and atoning sacrifice, I and every single one of us can find true and lasting joy! Because of Him, we can have the gift of hope, forgiveness, joy, healing, and peace! I know that my Savior lives, that this is His church, and that this is the perfect time to share that light, truth, and blessings with everyone around us! It was also a ton of fun to see all the old companions, friends, and President and Hermana Webb! I could never have guessed just how much of a blessing these people would be in my life and just how much joy, laughter, and memories that they would bring!

The highlight of the week was the baptism of our friend Javier! He is so amazing and such an amazing disciple of Jesus Christ!  Six weeks ago he came to the church with his brother after being in a rehab facility for over a year, having battled for a super long time with drugs and lots of addictions. It's been so special to see how the light of the gospel has entered into his life and to see the atonement truly working and changing people's lives! Now, Javier is always smiling and looks like he's truly found his purpose and hope again. I'm so grateful for his amazing faith and the amazing blessing to help him and other children of our Heavenly Father come home to Him!

Love you guys tons and hope it's another great week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Villancico (Christmas Carols) Another favorite part of zone conference was the Christmas concert it's always a highlight!

Invitation of the Month: WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? What have you learned about the Savior this past week? How have you come closer to Him? I have seen my love and appreciation for His sacrifice grow so much!

**Paintin' a school / Elder Schmullinnnnn / Elder HARO/ Elder Whitty**

**Presidente Ramirez (Member in my first area) / HOT Weelz**

**The MTC District all together**

**Javier's Baptism**

** Lego Mariachi/ President and Hermana Webb**

#missionnotes #17

 

#missionnotes #17 - Oh Holy Night