OCTOBER 20, 2014

hola padre! como estas? 

yes, i never thought that i would be in a trio, but i guess that is what the lord wanted.  i am really not a big fan of it either because it is just so hard to teach with 3.  sometimes its hard with just having one companion.  but now that they all know the area, we will be doing divisions and stuff so that we will really hasten the work more in our area and have more people to teach.  these two guys don't have much self confidence and i realized with elder Gonzalez that i really gained alot of self confidence in myself and if i help people recognize the spirit in the lessons that i will be very successful.  however, they don't have much confidence and i think this is one of the many things that the lord wants me to teach them.  how to use the spirit and have confidence.  and i hope that it is only for this change.  and i know i saw the pics of the peerys trio.  i am pretty sure that he is not in it still.  i am reading jesus is the christ so i will continue to read it.  awesome the cards are doing work and ASU!!! WHOOO!  ouch another lose for doobs.  he expressed to me that he wanted to play football in college! haha... would be cool to see that after the mish for sure.  ouch even worse if his secret lover was watching ;) hahahahha... wow what color is the condo? white? and really? you sold the razor... ;( dang it... we are working with a family that is less active and who the wife isn't member and his son as well but the father is less active.  its such a shame to see how money has enveloped in their lives and has become their priority instead of the spiritual things in life.  that is a really strong lesson that i have learned here in Peru.  money is not the source of happiness.  but i love how i can share personal experience with people that were in my old pair of shoes and help them realize what is most important in life like with a young man of 29 years old named Danny.  he came to church which is awesome.  the majority of all my converts are progressing greatly.  the reactivation of Patrick is just missing his dentist appointment to put in his papers to serve a mission and his parents are on their way to preparing for the temple.  oh before i forget, my day of release from the mission is the 28 of july, the independence of Peru! hahaha... so i don't know when you guys plan on coming but that is the date.  and thanks dad for sharing that story.  i really do need to be a little bit more grateful for the things that have been give me but i sure have been given much and now its my turn to give.  i really do think along with Maxwell that gratitude is the key to happiness and i need to embrace all problems and challenges in gratitude and i will learn much more out of the situations.  i just get upset because they just like follow me around like dogs expecting me to tell them every little detail and i am not just going to administer to them but minister. how is the fam and work doing? any plans coming up for the holidays? its like right around the corner.  today we have a family home evening and we are going to make lasgana with a family! pretty stoked about that and we are going down to the beach today to play football and frisbee.  its going to make me miss Carlsbad alot but i need to get down there. haha... anything new that i must know about and that you want to know?  this next week should be better.  just really want to baptize.  anyways padre i miss you como un loco.... thanks for being the best dad out there! 

n Sun, Oct 19, 2014 at 11:39 PM, Keith Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:

Buenos Dias Alex;

I enjoyed your last letter ....sounds like it was difficult to send Elder Gonzales home and now you have two new guys.  I was never in a Trio or tripanionship.  No thanx.  They are more common now just because of the sheer number of missionaries.  I'm sure it is just temporary until you get a new missionary.  Your right.  Elder Peery (Scotti) has been in a trio as well.  It don't know much about them....other than you should try and get a lot of splits with members so that you can get more work done.  I'm sure it is a difficult juggling act to keep the peace especially when you like one more than the other.  But I have confidence in you as the senior companion to make it work.  Leadership will be important for you now.  Remember to be kind as you do your best to move the work along in your area.

 I would strongly encourage you to read Jesus the Christ!  Don't just read it lightly.....read it all the way through.  absorb it.  It is a great book.  I tried to send you some pictures this week.... so I hope you get them.  The Cardinals beat Oakland today so they're 5-1 and have the best record in their division.  ASU beat Stanford which was awesome.  On a down note....Red Mountain lost to Desert ridge like 49-24 or so....it was a tough game.  Kyle did not have a good game and was even more bummed when he heard the Jacobsons came and watched the game including Eden.  They were a good team and we just couldn't keep up.  We play Mountain View on Friday...and then the following Friday we play Skyline.

The condo in Cbad just got all repainted so it will look different when you see it next. We painted it a much lighter color to help it look lighter inside.  Should be very cool.  I sold the razor today to Lars Christiensen.....just didn't use it alot.  Too expensive of a toy to sit around.

Their was a quote on our program at church today that I thought was cool.  It was by Neil A. Maxwell.  It says:  "How can you and I expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken.  Keep me from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art!  then let me come and dwell with thee and fully share Thy joy!' "  It is difficult to go through hard things.  But hard things help make us the kind of people we need to become.  There must be an opposition in all things....if not.....you and I would be destroyed...we would fail to experience and progress.  It is so easy to forget the purpose of this life.  It is so easy to forget that you and I embraced the plan of Salvation and all of the possibilities both good and bad that awaited us when we came to this earth.  Learn to become the kind of person that is grateful for
 life.  Learn to be filled with gratitude to your Heavenly Father for the chance to come to this earth and gain a body of flesh and blood that is mortal and corruptible so that we have the chance to be like our father in Heaven.  I am convinced Gratitude is the key to a happy life.

One of the things that I am most grateful for is that I have known from a young age that Heavenly Father loves me.  When I was seven years old my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.   She was young and had 5 young kids including me.  My father was very distressed and took to fasting so that he could give her a blessing.  There was a tremendous amount of concern from the grown-ups around me and it caused me great concern as a little boy.  I did not know what to do.  I remembered that I could pray and ask Heavenly Father for help.  I had learned that from my parents and from church.  I went to my bedroom and knelt down.  I poured my heart out to God on behalf of my mother....and asked him to be mindful of her so that we could be a normal family.  As I prayed I felt a very warm feeling come over me and I felt as if my room got very light.  I knew that Heavenly Father loved me and that he heard my prayer.  It was undeniable.  It was powerful.  I
 also knew that my mother would be alright from that time on.

I have never forgotten that experience.  It taught me that God--the master of the universe, the creator of all things....was not too busy to answer the prayer of a little boy through the power of The Holy Ghost.  It is a testimony that has stuck with me no matter what I'm doing.  There have been times when I have removed myself from Him because of poor decisions or poor judgement.  Still, I knew that he was there and loving me as much as ever.  I have known from that day that he is steadfast in his love and concern.  If there is a distance between us it is I that have moved.  It is a simple testimony and I don't know why I share it with you now.  Maybe you need to hear this.  Maybe I need to hear it.  I love you son.  I miss you more than words can communicate.  I am thrilled with what you are doing.  I am so glad that you have chosen to spend two years of your life introducing people to this wonderful God that would take the time to answer the prayer of
 a little boy that loved his sick mother.  Peace be with you Son.  Good luck with your work.

Love,  DAD