Merry Christmas everyoneeeee!! I hope
you guys have all had a super fun day! Our day was really fun here even though
it was a little different than Christmas in the past haha. I Got to talk with
my family for a while this morning which was awesome! Loved seeing them open
presents and be able to celebrate with them, super grateful for that blessing!
This afternoon we went to downtown San Luis Potosi and it was super cool!
Awesome to see some of the old Cathedrals and buildings and there were some
awesome Christmas decorations! Also got to play some soccer with the district
which was fun! Overall it was a really great Christmas and I'm so grateful for
the opportunity to serve as a witness of Christ during this time of the year, He
truly is the reason we celebrate and why we can feel so much joy during this
time and always!
This week has been really solid! Each day is a little
better than the last when it comes to adjusting to Mexico and I'm so grateful
for the many miracles and blessings I've seen from the Lord! I truly know this
is His work and that he is walking beside me every step of the way! Also
shoutout to my comp Elder Sanchez he's been a huge help, super patient, and an
awesome teacher to me I'm really grateful for his love and support! I also
forgot to mention last week that he's a crazy good singer he even produced some
songs and music before the mission! Dude is a tank haha he's awesome.
We weren't able to have a ton of lessons with our
friends this week because a lot of people have been gone or busy because of
Christmas but we were able to meet a lot of really cool people while walking to
and from our area each day! We also had one really cool lesson with our friend
Juan. He and his girlfriend want to get baptized but they're not married so we
worked to help explain why marriage is necessary and the blessings that will
come from it so hopefully they will receive that witness for themselves!
I got to go on exchanges one day with one of our ZL's,
Elder North from Utah and this dude is legit! Super hard worker while still
having fun and it was really good to just get his advice about a lot of things
and hear from someone who's been exactly where I'm at! We had some cool lessons
in their area and some money member food, super blessed!
Speaking of food I've loved it so far! The members here
are so awesome to feed us every day and they don't disappoint its been really
good! It's also so funny to me how famous Idaho is for its potatoes, actually
like half the people I meet when I tell them I'm from Idaho, they bring up the
potatoes 😂 Always makes
me smile! haha.
We had zone conference this week! We do it a little
different in this mission from DC instead of each individual zone having their
own like we did there, each State is combined. So all 3 zones that are in San
Luis were combined for this one but the zones are a lot smaller here so it felt
pretty similar in size! We had some amazing trainings on how we can keep
momentum rolling into the new year and some super powerful thoughts on
Christmas from President and Hermana Webb! They are so awesome and I'm super
excited to get to know them more and keep learning from them! Had some money
food, and then did a Christmas concert with each Zone doing a few songs! Super
fun first conference here and I'm really excited for what's to come this next
year!
We had our ward Christmas party this week too which was
awesome! Got to do my first piñata here in Mexico (which are a huge thing for
holidays) and it was crazy fun! Super good to get to know the ward more and
share some good laughs!
Christmas Eve yesterday was so much fun! I honestly
feel like people celebrate more on Christmas eve here than on actual Christmas
day which is different but cool! For church we were combined with 2 other wards
for sacrament and had a really good meeting! After we had lunch and played
games with an awesome family in our ward, and then directly after had a dinner
with a different family in the ward! We ate a ton yesterday haha but it was so
much fun! These families definitely know how to party we played some fun games,
did some more piñatas, and sung a song in a Christmas program. Super grateful
for these families who welcomed us in and showed us so much love during this
past week! These people are truly amazing and so grateful for their kindness,
love, and generosity!
While it's definitely been a little weird and tough at
times being so far away from home during this Christmas season, I've really
been able to strengthen my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ and really
ponder and reflect on why we celebrate him each year! I'm so grateful for his
atoning sacrifice for every single one of us and to know that because of him,
we can overcome any trial, heartache, pain, sorrow, or sadness and truly find
ever lasting joy! I know he loves each one of us so much more than we can
imagine and I invite you all to continue to make him the center of your lives
always, not just during Christmas! Love you all and hope you had a wonderful
Christmas! Hasta luego!
Love, Elder McDonald
Word of the Week: Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) I feel
like a lot of people know the word Navidad for Christmas but one I didn't know
before the mission was Nochebuena! Kinda cool especially since it's such a big
celebration here!
Invitation of the Month: LIGHT THE WORLD! Just because Christmas is past doesn't mean the world no longer needs your and the Saviors light! Lets finish the Month strong and keep blessing and lighting the lives of those around us! We got this!
**Professional Pinata destroyer / Christmas Eve Family Dinners**
No comments:
Post a Comment