7/28/15

My son Alex came home today and it was one of the best days of my lilfe.  It was so great to see him again.  We told him there would be only 4 of us there but there were really about 30 of us there.  Lori's family was there along with the Iversons.  My sister Scotti was there as well as Jack.  He was speechless when he first got off the plane but it was a priceless moment.  This is the end of his blog.  It was a fun ride!!!

7/27/15

hola padre mio,

Bueno, in about a few hours, there will be nothing that separates us from seeing each other.  Dad i have always admired your courage and your example that you have always given us.  i can only imagine how much stress and anxiety at times you may feel especially because there are no girls in the home.  you can always count on my being the nephi of the family doing what ever it is that my father lehi (you) needs.  it has been my pleasure and always will be...an example to my younger brothers.  you are not alone when you feel the weight of being a good example.  

it really has been 2 years of very memorable moments.  moments i will never forget, moments that will be there when i am stuck in a decision on what to do, moments that have changed my life forever.  if there is one thing that i would like to tell you dad, is that i can not go back to my old way of living.  i not only have to be a good example to my brothers and those around me but to those i helped come unto the lord.  there might be some things that i will not do, but that is because i have ingrained in my heart, the importance of following  living and loving prophets of god.  i will need all your help to continue spiritual growing, not just personally, but as a family as well.  

i am very excited to see you guys.  it feels like just yesterday that i was saying goodbye.  i hope that you have waxed up my surf board a bit for me! ;) as long as you guys are there in the airport that is all that really matters to me! it for sure will be hard to say goodbye...quite a few converts will be heading toward the airport to say goodbye. will be harder than stepping back on that plane.  

bueno, just for the sake of time dad, i would like to share my testimony with you.  i know from my head to my toe that this work and gospel is true.  that a young man named Joseph, saw the father and his son and they spoke with him. they even called him by his name.  and if it wasn't for the restoration of the gospel we would not understand that we are children of god.  so thankful to have come to a knowledge of how important it is to live the gospel. so grateful to have the most perfect book belong to our family, a book that has changed my life forever.  i feel nothing but gratitude to have been born in a family knowing that i will one day return and be with Him and the ones that i love most in this life.  half of my heart will for always belong to the people of peru.  people who have helped me come to know better my savior. i love the man who gave his life.  how honored are we to know all this. there is nothing that i want more in this life and i will never feel satisfied, until i make it back to his presence with all those that i love. 

see you soon dad! your son,

Elder Macdonald  

On Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 11:59 AM, Keith & Lori Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Alex;

As a father of four boys I have always felt a great responsibility to set a good example for my boys.   Whether or not I've done a good job is open for debate.   But I am thankful for your help in being a good example for your brothers.   They all look up to you and your influence for good will always be appreciated.  I am so looking forward to seeing you.  There are some cousins/family coming to town mid week but won't make it to the airport.   Kyle is in the middle of school and won't be here until Thursday night.  Mom, hake , Josh, and I will be there.  It will be a small group but it will be awesome nonetheless.  We are so excited to see you.  I know it will be hard to say adios to Peru.   But, the good old USA awaits.
Love you.   Dad

Sent from my iPhone

7/20/15

hola mis padres! como estamos?? 

bueno i didnt know how many days exactly i had til i saw mom had written 8 days left!! it feels just like yesterday when i was greeted by the ones i love most in the celestial room, walking down that terminal to a country i knew nothing about, kissing the surfboard goodbye and having my eye single to the glory of god.  all this stuff seemed like yesterday and i can not believe that i am knocking on the 5 yard line on the football field.  many say that their mission was a dream. a sweet dream that seemed to never have an end.  bueno, it definitely has been a dream come true to stand side by side with the savior in his quest to bring the immortality and eternal life of man.  what a pleasure and satisfaction it has been for me to come to understand him and what he did for me.  what a blessing for me to understand that if life was never easy for our savior, how could we expect anything different? a blessing to have such wonderful and great people help me through my quest to gain a testimony, to walk in his shoes, to do his will,  and for once in my life put my own life for the sake of others.  

this week we will have the baptism of the family malliqui... their 21 year old son will be baptizing his parents this week! we are all super excited... their son is going on his misison in cusco Peru and it will be a great testimony to say that he was able to baptize his parents.  we are very excited along with the ward. most likely they will be the last ones i will help come unto Christ unto baptism in my mission but they are super awesome.  we have a family home evening with them tonight.  

i had the pleasure yesterday see some of my converts that came to church to say hi to me! next week they are going to come back because it will be my last Sunday in Peru...... for now! its crazy what small things can do... when it talks about small thigns bring about big things even the salvation of many... i have seen it. it is true.  i look forward seeing you all.  what a joy it will be for me.  but an ever bigger joy for me knowing that we will one day, all be together in his presence. this work is true, the book is blue, and i love you! 

Elder Macdonald 

On Sun, Jul 19, 2015 at 11:38 PM, Keith & Lori Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

Yo Amac;

How's it going Alex.  You are quickly running out of time and I'm stoked about that.   Time to come back to the good old USA.   I hope things are going well for you.   There is a hurricane out in Baja and it's been raining in Cbad for the last course days.  When you come home I will be there but I do have to fly out that night and work s couple days.  But I will be back Thursday.   We are all looking forward to your safe return.   The truck is finally fixed.  It was very expensive.   Love you bud.   See you soon.

Dad

7/13/2015

Hola mis padres! que tal como estamos?? i am quite jealous of the waves that you guys were riding... looks like the classic July swell came in like always! but for reals it doesn't seem real and it is really hard to understand.  like many missionaries say, it appears to have been all a dream.   

thanks for the advice dad, its much needed.  i am going to need your help for sure... its going to be nice to have you  and mom  as my companions again.  and don't worry i am already making arrangements with all the stuff that i am not going to take and make sure that it gets to people less fortunate.  and no way i am going to speaking with Gygi... how much time are they giving me? do they have a topic? am i allowed to speak in all spanish ;) hahaha... bueno... i have been thinking lately and it struck me real hard, how fun it is to be on the lord´s errand... and it was funny to receive a quote from uncle Brent about how doing tasks and if they are fun tasks, it makes the time go by fast.  i think that if we see the gospel as a blessing to live it, in the end it will be just fun.  but i think our problem so many times is that the gospel starts to be something casual in our lives... but one thing i have learned is that the atonement should never ever be something casual in our lives and if the atonement can not be something casual, then neither can the gospel because they go hand in hand.  

the family malliqui that we found by miracle all came to church this Sunday and the dad came in his suit... it was a beautiful sight seeing all them because they are a family of 6 but their kids are already members and we are helping out the parents! they are awesome too we are doing a noche de hogar with them tonight as well! hopefully all goes well for the baptismal dates that they have... they will be the last people i help get baptized on the mission.  hopefully el hermano felipe as well... he could get baptized this week, he just doesn't feel ready, wants to learn more but there is a doubt that he is having and we have to help him out with it.   its quite funny, everyone comments me on how good my spanish is... they think that i am a peruvian that no longer has the north american accent! i really do love the spanish language and testify that reading the book of mormon is the key to learn a new language... and i really hope you guys grab a book of mormon in spanish and start reading it and by the time we go to peru in a year, you will be able to talk to the descendants of lehi!  someone stole my camera which i am quite upset about but its all good. anyways, i love you guys mucho! espero que esten bien y que todos les vaya bien en todo! les amo mucho! 

su hijo,

Elder Macdonald 

On Sun, Jul 12, 2015 at 10:42 PM, Keith & Lori Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

To Amac;

How's it going buddy?   I'm at the Airport waiting to fly back to phx to work.   Always rough to leave everyone and go to work but somebody's gotta do it.  It was a great weekend because the surf was pumping.  Great surf on Friday and Saturday and I had my fair share of great waves.  Teramar on Friday and cherry street on sat.   The triathlon was today but none of us did it.

We have a couple of weeks left and then your home.   It's hard to imagine.   You've been gone so long.  It almost doesn't seem real.

I hope things are going well for you.  Do yourself a favor.   When you leave the mission don't look back.  Continue to look forward and embrace new experiences and new adventures that will surely come.   Be patient with us less than perfect people and love us for who we are.   I can't wait to catch some waves with you.  Give most of your clothes away to those in need.  You are speaking in church with Jared Gygi who is leaving for Argentina.  We need to look for a car for you when you get back. I'm gonna wait for you to get back so we can look together.   I'm very proud of your service.   Be good.  Be safe.

Love. Dad.

Sent from my iPhone

7/6/2015

Hola mis amados padres! que tal como estan? how was the fourth of july for you guys this year? is there no good swell this year? how was cherry street! bueno, this week was a rough one until sunday! there was some awesome miracles that happened on Sunday! but this week we had hermano felipe come to church for the 4th time.  his family are all members.. he is the dad and his daughter has just went out on the mission a few months ago... he started coming to church and we are helping him get ready for the 25th of july! we also have another person who is not member and the rest are and she has fecha for the 25 as well.  

but this entire week really was a struggle for us to find people to teach... we did almost everything possible but nothing was really working... we came down to domingo and we went to visit a few recent converts with some of the leaders of the church to help them continue in the gospel. and when we finished... the president of the elders quorum asked if we could do division... i felt good about it and so we spilt up and did division with some members... me and the president went off to visit some of the less active members who have been flaking out on coming so we went to visit them.  we got to the family manrique but they werent ready to let us in so we asked him that we would come back in an hour and i asked him if there was any members close by... he told us there was the family malqui so we went over there... the president remembered that the parents weren't members and that they had listen to the missionaries and all their kids are members and the best thing is that the parents are married too! and i told the president lets go and see how the intentions are... maybe the lord has humbled them.  as we got there, they were just about to leave in their car when we showed up! after several minutes of talking i convinced them to sit down with us for a second and he brought the whole family in on his couch... we started talking and the president remembered the goals that he had left with this family a month or so ago... they father started opening up and in the end, he said, hermanos... estoy dispuesto a hacer lo que el señor quiere de mi ( i am willing to do what ever it is the lord asks me to do.)... right after hearing that, i didn't hesitate to ask him and his wife to get baptized... he looked at his family that were all seated down and said, si lo voy a hacer. (yes i will do it).  his wife had always wanted to but couldn't with out her husband... you could see that the lord really did some work with this family.  his son as well just got his mission call to go to cusco peru! he will be able to baptize his parents before he heads off as well... they will be getting baptized on the 25 of July! it went from a terrible week to a great week in a matter of minutes.  working hard and trusting in the lord that the things will all work out in the end really are true. it was a great testimony builder not only for me but for the elder quorum president! they have 4 kids too so it is going to be a great addition to the ward and the lord! 

right after that we went to teach another less active family and helped them and encouraged them to stay strong in the church.  after that we decided to go look for another family that was on the border line of going in active and in the process, we mistakenly found another little family of three that let us in to teach them about us... it was quite funny so we were talking for like 15 minutes at their door and i just wanted to get into the house to teach them and so i cleverly said to them... would it be okay if we could continue talking in your home, our legs hurt and it would be so much better to sit down and talk calmly... they invited us in... we taught them lesson 1 and we left and they committed to pray, read, and get baptized when god answers their prayer and the best thing is that they knew that god would already answer their prayer and with out fail, the promise in moroni will work every time.  all this stuff happened in one day... it was a day very uplifting and awesome to see the lord doing HIS work and letting me work with him.  i am going to miss these moments.  

hope all is well! i miss you guys mucho! love your son,

Elder Macdonald 

On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 10:18 AM, Keith & Lori Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear AMac

How's it going elder Mac? I am loading up with uncle Alan to go for a morning surf. Maybe Tamarack;  Maybe Teramar.  Not sure.    It is lightly raining outside or maybe just misting....perfect for surf.   We spent 4 July at the beach and then went to the firework show at Avaira.   It was a fun day.  Josh loved it.  Time to surf.  Cherry street it is......   More later.
Sent from my iPhone

6/29/15

Hey dad! que tal? 

bueno, i am sorry to hear about the email that got lost into cyberspace! i bet it was good! you will have to write me another one soon then.  and CONGRATS on 25 years of marriage! my companion says congrats as well! and you sure did score! i hope that i get married to a girl as fantastic as mom! one of the things that kind of worries me is making that decision, but i know that the lord will help me out. 

this week we had a baptism! her name is aholiva campos.. she is a girl who hasnt had much support from her family and she was working with a member making pants and she presented us and we started teaching her and she ended up loving the gospel and what it does to people... it was awesome to help her come unto Christ and be part of her conversion... now the real conversion starts for her.  but she is a great person and grateful for all that the lord did for us there.  we have a dad who is not a member and we have been teaching him and he has come to church 3 times already and we are working with him to get baptized on the 25th... his daughter is in the mission as well which is really helping out.  its quite sad to see the division of members when their husband or wife is not a member and how sad it is... the attitude is like this... you go and do your things and i will go and do my things... that really is not the way the family should be... definitely have learned a good lesson about that... as of right now it really hasn't hit me the time that i have... i feel like i just had turned the one year mark and i feel like i am missing alot of time but in fact it is the opposite... it makes me sad that i wont be able to have the power and authority to invite people to come to baptism... i will have to settle with sharing, being a good example, and having the missionaries do what i wish i could do for all my life.  i think the saddest part about leaving and not being a missionary how close you get to the savior and how he works through you towards his children.  it will be hard to say goodbye to this life, but i hope to find myself one day back in his full time service.  i look forward to some good surf and i think it would be cool and if you could dad... reserve a session in the San Diego temple with you, gramps and whoever wants to go. something i would like to do when i get back and do it quickly.  when does Michael head off? this week?? i didn't get to write him or anything.  and how is Kyle's experience going? is he going to be in cali when i get home? anyways, got some awesome photos to send! haha... i hope all is well! i love you too dad! 

Your son, Elder Macdonald 

On Mon, Jun 29, 2015 at 2:07 PM, Keith Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Alex;

I am so bummed because I drafted up this cool email to send to you last night and then today at work I noticed it didn't go through for some reason.  So, I ran home at lunch to send you so mething.

Mom and I were in CBAD for the weekend for our 25th wedding anniversary.  What a lucky guy I am to be married to such a beautiful, and fun person.  I remember back to walking down Hukulau beach and Heavenly Father letting me know that this was the girl for me.  I will never forget that...I will always be grateful to him for this confirmation..  And He was right.

How is your new companion.  Finally a gringo...  How is the new area?  I am so proud of what you have done with the time that the Lord has given you.  You have been an excellent missionary.  But, missions come to an end and you need to be ready to accept that.  Heavenly Father Will accept your sacrifice and your work on his behalf and then He will want you to move on.  He has plenty of things in store for you.  You will be free to pursue your education;  Free to date:  Free to surf and Shred; Free to travel where you want.  I hear guys come from their missions and say that it was the best two years of their life.....that is a shame.  It is a great two years....but life has some much to offer.  There are so many great things ahead of you.  A mission is a great foundation to build the rest of your life on.....centered in Jesus Christ.....but be ready to move forward with your life.

Jake & Josh are in Palo alto hanging with their cousins.   Kyle drove down with cousins this weekend to st. George to listen to Michael Wade's farewell.  I hear he did a great job.  He is such a solid kid.  Kyle is loving BYU.  Sounds like he has made some awesome friends.  I am happy for him.

I love you son.  I have a hard time thinking about your return because I get excited.  I hope you will enjoy some decompression time in CBAD where you can paddle out on your board and think about all the blessings that have come into your life from this experience.  BE safe....

Love;  DAD

TWO GREENIES AND A GRINGO

                                               
                                          Alex with his two "sons"..... in other words he trained them.