Alex mail 05-12-2025: "Grind Time"

 

What's up everybody, how was the week? Hope it's been a great one! Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there! Thank you all for your amazing examples to your families, your constant support and service, and pure Christlike love! Big shoutout to the GOAT - my mom for all you've done to support me and cheer me on every step of the way in my life, especially during my time as a missionary!  I couldn't do it without her and am so grateful for her constant support and love!

This week was a great one, we absolutely grinded! Elder Goodrich is a contacting machineee haha.  Every time I'd go to turn to talk to someone he was already there, goin’ to work, he's a dawg haha. We found a ton of people that we're now teaching, which has been hype since we didn't have anything when we first got here! We're starting to get into the groove of things as we've gotten to know and work with more members, explored more parts of the area haha, and just done our best to share the good news of the gospel with everyone we meet! It's been so cool to see the Lord bless us with little and big miracles constantly.  I know He's constantly present in this work and His hand truly is guiding us every step of the way!

Two of the coolest miracles that we had were when we met and taught our friends Denise and Pedro! We met Denise on one of our first days here and we were finally able to go back to teach her last Friday! We went with our recent convert Victor, and he's such a dawg.  We talked a ton about the Plan of Salvation and how much of a blessing and gift it is to be able to make covenants with God while here on the earth! Victor shared something really special, he said how if someone had told him before his baptism that in a few weeks all his pain, suffering, loneliness, and sadness would all go away, he would've acted on the invitation to be baptized so much quicker. With tears in her eyes Denise then said how much she wants those blessings in her life, and we were able to put her on date to be baptized in the beginning of June!

A few days later we were able to meet with our friend Pedro! He actually was in teaching with missionaries 2 years ago but just lost contact. However, he reached out to us and told us how he's been searching for more peace and more guidance from God in his life! We were able to explain the blessings of living the gospel and then able to put him on date for the beginning of June as well! God truly is working miracles here in Rioverde, on Sunday we had 2 completely random people just come to church on their own seeking for God's help and to come closer to Him! I love being a missionary and I love that our loving Heavenly Father truly is a God of miracles! Have an amazing week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Tepache (fermented pineapple juice) don't worry we had the non-alcoholic kind haha, it actually wasn't half bad.

Invitation of the Month: NOT MY WILL BUT THINE!! We've been focusing a ton in the mission on what consecration to the Lord truly means and something that really stood out to me is the complete desire to give everything we have and are to the Lord and His work! That desire is completely motivated by our love for the Savior and for His Atonement and truly changes our natures! How can you be even more consecrated to Him this week?

**Zona Idahooooo!/ Rioverde**

**Train time/ Chinese Buffet**

**Dysney 💀😂/ Mango Tree**

**San Luis temple 😲/ Goated recent converts**

**Pastor torta/ Enchiladas de Rioverde/ Keep the commandments**

#missionnotes #22 - Dino-ites "I will go and do"

Dino-ites

"I will Go and Do"

 

Alex mail 05-05-2025: "WILD Week"

 

Como estamossssss happy Cinco de Mayo haha! They don't even celebrate it here in Mexico but hope y’all get some good Mexican food to celebrate for me! It's been an absolutely wild week haha, but it ended up being a great one!

So, to start off like I mentioned last week, I was originally assigned to open the new area of San Felipe last Monday. Well, on Tuesday while I was getting packed, I got another call from Pres. and he told me that since we didn't end up getting two brand new missionaries from Africa like he had planned on, we actually wouldn't be able to open up San Felipe after all, since we don't have enough missionaries in the mission😭.  But it's all good because my new area has been lit, Rioverde in San Luis!! It's crazy, at the start of my mission, I actually went to Rioverde on exchanges - back when I was in Industrias with Elder Dominguez and I loved it! Me and my comp Elder Goodrich are splitting the area, so we basically still are starting from scratch haha, but we're hyped to be here.  The members of the branch are hyped to have 4 missionaries for the first time in a long time! It's the hottest area of the mission during the hottest time of year💀😂 but we aboutta absolutely grind these next 6 weeks! I know this is exactly where the Lord needs me and my comp and that He's got so many people prepared to receive His gospel here in Rioverde!

Overall, the work has been good.  It's been a lot more different than normal since when we got there, we had absolutely no one in teaching haha, so we truly got to start from scratch which has been hype! All day we've just been going around, visiting all the members we can, praying a ton haha, and we've seen a ton of miracles! We found some really cool people within our first day here and we're excited about all the good that's on the way! We hit some trials with not having a working chip for our phone and no electricity in the church on Sunday haha, but we've just turned it all over to the Lord and it's been amazing to see His hand through it all! I think this past week has been a great lesson on humility for me and I'm grateful for these experiences that truly teach me how to rely more fully on the Lord! When trials come your way, smile, give thanks to God for the opportunity to grow, and just keep pressing forward! Hope y’all have an amazing week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: La Huasteca, doesn't really have a translation haha, but that's the name of the region in the south of San Luis where we're at, it's a lot more jungle and green - it's hype!

Invitation of the Month: NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE!! This month as we've been focusing on our 40-day fast in the mission, I want to invite you all to look for ways every day to completely and more fully submit your will to your Heavenly Father! I promise that through the desire to increase in humility, faith, and trust, He will bless you forever!

**Rioverde!!**

**Ciudad Fernandez / Elder Goodrich**

**Our Warehouse church/ Oxxito/ Pizza spending spree/ Fire aguas**

**Trio poderosisimo/ Mi Burke y Dominguez/ The Goats from Del Valle/ **

**Lety and Marileth/ Salvadore**

Alex mail 04-28-2025: "End of an Era"

What's goooddddd! Hope you all are doing well and have had an awesome week! It was a great last week of the transfer here in Jesus Maria! Even though the heat seemed to hit a whole new level this week, we kept grinding and finished off the transfer with some amazing miracles! We had our friend Marileth's baptism on Friday (more on that in a sec) and had 12 additional baptisms in the Zone this last week! That set a mission record which was hype, haha but even better is to see just how many people the Lord has prepared here in Aguascalientes for His gospel and the constant miracles He's blessed us with these past few months!

We got transfer news today and it's a wild one! After 3 transfers and almost 5 months in Jesus Maria, my time here has come to an end. I'll be going to, and most likely finishing my mission, in an area called San Felipe! I'm super excited it's the first time this area has been opened in the history of the mission and it's technically in the state of Guanajuato! It's right over the boarder from San Luis, so I'll get to see my favorite state still, which is awesome! It's a group with like 4 or 5 members but they've been having a ton of momentum out there, so I'm hyped to just jump in and grind these last 12 weeks!

I've absolutely loved my time these last 9 months in being able to help out and lead a Zone of missionaries.  I have learned so much from it! I've found so much joy in helping other missionaries and ministering to all of God's children and I've grown so much in my testimony and conversion to the Savior! I know that we're going to see so many miracles in San Felipe, and it's exactly where the Lord needs me to be! Wherever the Lord has called you to serve in His kingdom, just jump all-in and He will change you more than you can imagine!

On Friday, we had Marileth's baptism and it was so awesome! She was super excited to make her first covenant with God and even invited like 15 non-member friends which was so hype! My old comp, Elder Valencia got to baptize her which was awesome to see him and my boy Elder Horoba before he goes home! It's been so cool to see the change in Lety and Marileth during my time here in Jesus Maria! They've gone from being some of the most stubborn people I've met to now being so converted to the gospel and some of my favorite converts on the mission! They also had tacos catered, haha, so you already know we feasted that night!

Also got to run some awesome exchanges with my boys, Elder Hales and the GOAT, Elder Hunter! I've been around them for a ton of time now in the mission, but each time I learn something new and am always just filled with so much joy! I'm super grateful for the people the Lord has placed in my life throughout my time as a missionary and I testify He truly does have a plan for each one of us! Keep trusting in Him, keep pressing forward, and trust that all will be well! Love y’all and have a fantastic week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Feria (Fair) "la Feria San Marcos" is going on right now here in Aguascalientes and supposedly it's the 2nd largest Fair in the world. It was pretty sick but let's just say it didn't exceed the hype haha

Invitation of the Month: SHOW GREATER LOVE! Last week of the month! How can you finish strong by showing even more charity as the Savior would to everyone you meet?

**Marileth's Baptism**

**Elder Horoba 🥹/ Elder Narvarro 🥹/ Mi HUNTER**

**La feria San Marcos & Smith found a sticker pack**

**El Distrito poderosisimo El Encino**

Alex mail 04-21-2025: "The Joy of Our Redemption"

 

Happy Easter everyone! Wow it was a special one, I think Easter on the mission has been one of my absolute favorite times during these past 2 years! I hope you all were able to have an amazing Easter celebration with family and friends and take some good time to reflect on all the Savior has done for you personally! I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ, and truly for all that he has done for me and continues to do for me! I know he suffered and died for each one of us and most importantly that HE LIVES!  He loves us, He wants the best for us, and He will be right by our side through every single moment! 

On Wednesday this week we had Zone Conference and man, it was a good one! The Spirit was so strong the entire time as we focused on how Christ truly is our perfect example; how important Christ's atoning sacrifice truly is in every single one of our lives; the blessing of Christ's true and pure love; hope, grace, and mercy; and how we can better follow His example and teachings in helping others come unto Him. Through the whole conference, the Spirit testified to me so strongly that Christ truly is my Savior and I am so grateful for His eternal love and sacrifice!

Something that Hermana Webb shared that really stood out to me was when she asked the question "how do you determine the worth of something?”  She then explained how worth is determined by how much one is willing to pay for it.  Then she related that to the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ! I testify that no matter how many times you've messed up, how far you may feel from the covenant path, or however many mistakes you have made, your worth never changes in the sight of our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ! He was willing to give His perfect and sinless life for you, suffer the worst pain imaginable, and be completely rejected by all those around Him; so that you can be redeemed no matter how many times you fall short! In the words of Hermana Webb "You are worth the life of a God."  I pray that we will never forget that amazing truth and always remember that Christ is waiting with open arms to redeem us, no matter how long that process takes!

The rest of the week, through some amazing studies and devotionals in the mission, the Spirit continued to testify to me of my Savior's love for me, and what really stood out to me was joy. The eternal and pure joy that comes because of our redemption made possible through Christ! I was able to do 2 great exchanges with Elder Lino and my dawg, Elder Nielson (we were comps a year ago.) In both exchanges, we were able to have some really great conversations about the pure joy we've felt as missionaries in helping God's children come back to Him. 

It shouldn't be possible, but I've never felt more true joy in my entire life than I have while serving as a missionary. Even in those hot days, when no one wants to listen, when everything seems to go wrong, I've been filled with so much joy and love for my Savior. It's then, in the moments when people do choose to listen, do choose to make covenants with God, and do choose to experience the life-changing joy through Christ's atonement, that make it all worth it! I've truly come to know the Savior more than I would have thought possible during these last 20 months and I can't wait to give my all to him these last 3 months as a missionary and for the rest of my life!

Happy Easter and never forget the eternal love Christ has for you and the joy of our redemption!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Ha Resucitado! (He has resurrected!)  How have you felt the joy and hope in knowing that Christ truly lives today?

Invitation of the Month: SHOW GREATER LOVE!! All week in everything we did we invited people to reflect on and show greater love as the Savior did! What can you do this week?

** La Feria San Marcos / 4 guys on a telephone pole🤣**

**New scripture case / Mi Linaso**

**Zone Conference**

Alex mail 04-14-2025: "40 Day Fast (Part 2👀)"

How we doinggggg hope the week was a great one! It was a lit one out here in Jesus Maria and I'm super excited for Holy Week this week! I've come to love Easter a ton on the mission especially as I've learned what the Savior's atonement truly means for me and for each one of us! I hope you're all able to take some good time to celebrate and remember our Savior, Jesus Christ and all the hope and joy His atoning sacrifice and resurrection give us!

If y’all remember in January of 2024 when I first got to Mexico, I did something called the 40-day fast and invited y’all to do it as well. Basically, at the start of the fast, you write down anything that pokes at or inhibits your ability to have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion, then for the next 40 days you covenant with the Lord to stop doing those things. It was incredible the first time I did it and truly changed my entire focus on the mission and helped me teach with so much more spiritual power and influence! Well, this week we decided that we're going to do it as an entire mission 👀.  I'm super excited to do it again and in preparing it was awesome to reflect on how much I've grown over the past 20 months as a missionary! It's gonna be awesome to see how much it helps us grow as a mission and I can't think of a better way to finish the mission strong! If you want to join me, you're all invited, and I'd love to hear how it goes!

I had my last "intercambio" with the GOAT Elder Navarro, one of our APs, this week before he goes home at the end of the transfer! I've learned a ton these last few months being around him.  A lot and what really stood out to me this time was the love and desperation he had in sharing the gospel with every single person! Even with almost 2 full years of serving every day as a missionary, he didn't hesitate or slow-down in any aspect of the work.  Rather, his desire and motivation were probably the highest they had ever been! To me it was an incredible example of a disciple of Christ, giving his absolute all, no matter how long he has already served, or all that he's accomplished as a missionary. I promise that wherever you are on the covenant path, just give your absolute all and the Lord will take care of the rest!

We also saw a lot of really cool miracles in the work this week! We were able to put a couple new people on date who are so prepared for the gospel.  It's always the best when for so long, people have questions about the true church and about God, and they have just been waiting for the restored gospel! We should hopefully have a couple of baptisms to end-off the month as well!  Jania, the daughter of Claudia (got baptized like a month ago) is doing really well and has already gone a few days without smoking which is huge! Marileth, the daughter of Lety (our other recent convert,) has changed so much since I first met her and has overcome so many trials to get to where she is now, super comfortable in the church and super excited to get baptized! God truly is a God of miracles and doesn't ever stop! Keep trusting in Him and all will be well!

Love y’all tons and hope you each have a great Easter Sunday this week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Semana Santa (Holy Week) make it a special one this week and take advantage of this great opportunity to come closer to Christ!

Invitation of the Month: SHOW GREATER LOVE!! Who needs to feel the Saviors love through you this week?  Who can you lift, comfort, and strengthen as the Savior would?

**MI NAVARRO / Hales found a dog**

**Wendy's with the Boys / Hunter lost the pocket tag 💀**

**Dog backpack 👀 / Eduardo the Goat**

Alex mail 04-07-2025: "Confidence Before God"

 

What's good everyone, happy Monday! Hope you guys all had a fantastic General Conference weekend! Crazy, it was my last one in the mission 😭.  I've come to love General Conference so much while being a missionary! It's taught me how to receive personal revelation so much more and has strengthened my testimony of our living prophets and apostles more than anything else could! I hope you were all able to have receive revelation from your Heavenly Father as well and I invite you to act on whatever promptings you received these next 6 months!

I loved all of the focus on joy, the gift of repentance, humility, charity, service, and God's willingness and ability to help us endure through trials! I loved President Nelson's talk, especially his invitation to develop our confidence before God right now! As I thought more about that invitation, I realized that every other message shared and everything we do in the church is done with that end in mind! Every little thing we do to follow the Savior and His gospel, helps us develop our confidence before our Heavenly Father and I've been a witness of that as a missionary! Like Sister Runia testified, God doesn't need a perfect people, he just needs a people who love him, who want to keep trying and improving, and seek to give him their all! I testify that these are the most important focus we can have if we truly want to be prepared, right now for the Savior's return! Regardless of when He comes, choose to make the efforts and sacrifice required to be completely confident before God! I promise He's ready and willing to help in every step of that process and will never leave our side!

Overall, it was a solid week in the work! We had exchanges with my Dawgs Elder Nielson and Elder May out in Pabellón, and it was sick! I was with Elder May and he's such a goat! Even though he doesn't have a ton of time in the mission he stepped up a ton and killed it, leading his area! We found a ton of really cool people, had a lit doctrine talk with a Christian for like 30 min (no bashing don't worry 😁) and put one of their friends on date! Later in the week, Elder Smith and I had a super cool experience, we were walking and decided to knock the door of a lady we could never get in contact with and had stopped teaching a couple weeks ago. She answered and we were able to teach her, and she came and watched Conference on Saturday! She kept saying how we were an answer to her prayers and that we're here to give her a second chance at life!  I love the mission and that every day, as followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to be miracles in the lives of others, answers to their prayers, and witnesses of the goodness of God! Keep smiling, keep loving life, and keep giving our all! You got this! Love you all and have an awesome week!

Love, Elder McDonald

Word of the Week: Enlace (link) the amount of times I texted this to people for conference haha

Invitation of the Month: SHOW GREATER LOVE!! Right in line with President Nelson's talk, focus on how you can show greater charity and integrity this week for your love for God!

**Mexican Top Golf*

**Presi is wild for this 💀😂// Gorilla Me and Smitty**

**Lety and Marileth**

#missionnotes #21 "Why Weepest Thou?"

 

"Why Weepest Thou?"