hola padre! 

como estas? bueno, the rumors are true.. i am now district leader and training my first son in the misson! tengo un hijo ;) hahaha... i feel quite the pressure being a district leader and trying to train my companion at the same time... its quite the load but one thing that the president told me that really hit me was that when president Archibald got called by president Eyring to be a mission president, Archibald that that Eyring was easily mistake and that it wasnt him and that he didnt feel like he would be able to do  a good enough job.  then Eyring started to cry and told him, that is how i feel everyday.  just imagine, the first counselor to the prophet saying that.  it really hit me.  it gave me confidence knowing that even him feels like he cant do all things because we cant, Christ will help everyone do what we cant when we have done everything that we can do. about about the happiness and the obedience thing has always been something that i have wanted to improve... because i know that if i am not obedient, its hard for me to get closer to the lord and know what it is that he would have me do.  but i also need to be happy at the same time... for me is a tiny struggle but its getting better each and every day to find the median. to be happily obedient.  and i know i need to be more focused in the people and not the numbers, the numbers just tell me what is going wrong and what i need to improve.  but last night when all of our citas had fallen... we found an awesome father who has family in this church and is really interested in learning... he has 5 children and we talked for a while... it really cheer me up and it showed me how the lord does his magic right when we need it most.  the family guillen chiligano the father who had a stroke is coming home in about a week which we are pretty happy... it was awesome to hear from his wife the power that the book of Mormon gave her during that tough part of her life... she told us that she was strong when she thought that she would be weak and we told her its because of the book of Mormon. it was the source of her strength and that her faith was increased in him.  she is really excited to go to church and progress towards their baptism. we have hermana sonia as well who accepted to be baptized the 17 of enero... and hermano diego who recently was seperated from his wife who wants to get baptized on 7 of feb! these are just some of the noticias of the work! 

thanks dad for that analogy... i really needed that because its so hard to walk in the streets knowing that they don't want to accept the gospel or that they choose not to open their hearts or just finding people to teach.  but i got to turn it around and remember that at least i was not crucified and humiliated and beaten almost to death... that he went way below us, more than we have even imagined.  

thanks dad... i really felt sad and upset with myself for the lack of gratitude that i have expressed towards you guys and others.  i am really trying to focus on the love that Moroni talks about in Moroni 7 so i can be a true disciple of Christ.  i really hope that my feelings were felt of gratitude that i have towards you guys.  something i need to work on.  show my gratitude instead of locking it up.  

maybe you are right papito lindo... maybe getting out in the water and stealing some of your waves is what i need.  but i would one day like to return.  

anyways papito y mamaita gracias por todo lo que hacen...yo se que es mucho... y por eso les agradezco bastante por su amor y apoyo

les amo muchísimo  

love your son,
elder macdonald 

On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 10:23 PM, Keith Macdonald <kekelolli5@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hey Alex;

How are you doing buddy?  I just received an email from Sister Archibald telling us of your call to being a trainer and a district leader.  They must have alot of trust in you to give you both callings at the same time.  I emailed her back and asked about us coming out....and she responded quickly.  Seems like a nice lady.  You asked an excellent question about maintaining happiness and abiding all the rules at the same time.  That is an excellent question.  It is liking walking a tight rope sometimes.  It is amplified when your in a leadership position and you feel like everyone is watching you.  Remember that happiness is a choice.  It is how you choose to be regardless of the circumstances surrounding you.  As a district leader, do your best to be encouraging and loving to each of the full time missionaries in your district.  Compliment them on their positive attributes and offfer them words of constructive criticism when you feel it is indicated.
 Always remember that you are dealing with people and their lives.....numbers and stats have their place....but it is people that the Lord is concerned about.

I love teaching the priests and being able to share my testimony with them.  I want them to grab life by the balls and to work hard and achieve the goals that they set for themselves.  So many times we place barriers in our own way that stifle our progress.   I have always looked up to the way your mom decided that she was going to run the NEW YORK marathon and she trained her but off and she did it.  It was so awesome.  She set a goal and she achieved it.  Sometimes when I am running I start thinking about how much it hurts.....and I am not having fun.....But, I have found that if I turn that around and think about how lucky I am that I can run.....I don't notice the pain and I enjoy it much more.

I was very proud of the way you handled yourself apologizing to your mom.  I can tell you've grown up alot and it takes a good person to respond the way you did.  We love you so much.  Thanx for your example to mom and I as we continue to work out of own salvation.

I'm not sure what we are going to do about coming to pick you up.  I am probably leaning towards having you fly home and be released and having you spend a couple of weeks in Carlsbad.  I think it would be nice for you to decompress and spend some time with your brothers and parents on the beach.  Surfing would be good for your soul.  Then maybe we could go back prior to you starting BYU.  Love your bud....I hope all is well.

Love, DAD