Christmas Greetings

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN!!

 
I got the package with the pictures of Lyndy's wedding. Brandon has gotten huge! I got a bunch of letters from Nicola's primary, Am I suppossed to write each one individually?

Oh transfers came and went. Elder Melum and I are staying together here in Krefeld. Thankfully. Well, next weeks crazy so I'm not sure when our p-day will be. So I'm going to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS this week.. 


alles liebe
Elder McDonald

New Address

A googlemap of Krefeld, Germany.  Krefeld is northwest of Dusseldorf



I had asked Russell about his address for sending items from home. Here was his response to that question:

"Don't send it to the peter strasse address,
I'll try to get the address to you in the next few days.
Otherwise the christmarkets are open and I'm Loving life.
Elder McDonald

He followed through and DID send his current address.  Here it is in case anyone wants to send a card to him:

R. McDonald
Rosen Strasse 4
Krefeld, 47807
GERMANY

22 months and counting

     Well as of yesterday I've been out for 22 months. As you can imagine I'm starting to feel the vast amount of time that is behind me.

     Unhappily it's been affecting me quite a bit. I had a very interesting conversation with a missionary (also a good friend of mine)- where I realized how much the past year and a half had drained me-also how I wasn't allowing the Lord to lift me up. A trend I've noticed in this mission is that all of us missionaries are stubborn. Which is necessary, It takes a certain bit of toughness to be able to grind through the doors that one does. However, though we have determination and desire, during this conversation I realized that there's a level of humility that I lacked in that I had my idea of what was right and my desire. Although I may work hard- what's the use if it's not what the Lord wants or needs. I can be obedient but if it's not out of love for the Lord what's the use. I realized I always brought myself down because I thought I was failing at what the Lord expected from me when I realized in reality It was what I wanted and I was assuming what I wanted was what the Lord had planned. When in reality I need to focous more on what the Lord needs and requires of me and less on what I want.

      22 months and still don't have everything figured out. Guess that's what eternal progression means- it doesn't end.  Well it's not necessarily someone getting baptized or something but, for me, such a realization is just as important as anything else. 

Elder McDonald.

Looking to the Future

Note: Lee sent Russell an email informing him he is scheduled to speak in church on Feb. 14, 2010.

Dude, I really find it weird. Thinking about going to church in English again... na ja, Well I'll give a quick update.
As you know we're now the only two missionaries here in Krefeld and it's awesome. The members realize that they have to do the work. So now they're asking us to come over and help and talk with them, which really gives us a chance to build relationships of trust and respect with them.
Ok well much to do. We're going to another city on a British base with some other elders.
See ya later
Loves,
Elder McDonald

Ghosts and Goblins

Yea, so Halloween was acknowledged but not really celebrated. Germany has a similar holiday which is bigger here.

That's crazy that Nicola and Danny are going to have another kid. I imagine it's a girl. I already have a nephew, now I need a niece. What's this about them being in Visalia? Are they moving there or something? Tell grandma I wish her a "Herzlichen glückwunsch zum Geburtstag"

As far as the care package for Christmas goes, honestly it'd be rather pointless. The only thing I'm lacking is enough money to buy all the chocolate I want. Which is probably a good thing. Germany is a socialist country so even the homeless people are taken care of.

An update, we had transfer calls yesterday. Well, I'm staying here in Krefeld but moving apartments cause the one I'm in is being closed down, which means I have a new address. So here it is.
Rosen Str 4
Krefeld 47807

Now I can be mailed at that address.

My new companion is going to be an elder melum. He seems cool, soo I'm excited. I'm actually way excited to have this ward all too myself. Yes, I'm greedy like that.
Well we've gots to pack so I'll talk to y'all later.

Alles gute
Elder McDonald

Where did the time go?

sent 10/20/2009

Note: Our family was together for the Open House for Lyndy and Nik. We sent a group email to Russell. This is the "long" email Russ refers to.

Hey, Ok this was long and I'm horrible at writing reply's.

Umm mom first. My log-in and jazz at s.u.u. hahaha yea I don't remember. I'm just going to have to spend a couple of very frustrating hours on the SUU web site when I get home. But then I'll have plenty of time. If all else fails I'll just have to do school here in Germany- oh how terrible that would be- from what I hear Köln has a great fine arts department. Plus school is way cheap here. Jjkjkjk I'll worry about SUU When I'm there.

Ummm yea thanks for all the news. Things are going great here. Interesting note, they're lowering the number of missionaries in all of Europe to about two per ward. Which means that missions are getting significantly smaller. Which will help the missionary-member relations a lot. The only problem is. I'm in the oldest apartment in the mission right now (yes it's falling apaprt). Sooo, we'll see how my last couple of transfers play out. Alright, wells off we go. Talk to ya'll later
Love on everyone
Elder McDonald

P.S. Since when were Frederico (Martinez) and Jakob (Rico) and Christie (Wittwer) all in college? Where did time go?

Seasons are nice too

note: sent 10/13/20009

Real seasons are soo nice, I love it here.<3 <3

Alright so it's a missionaries birthday today so this is a quickie. Cool story though, we doored into this guy who just let us right in.(Which is always exciting.) He said he knew some of what we believed, usually that means he knows that we're not Jehovah's witnesses. So he asked him what he knew. He answered with telling us he knew Joseph Smith got the Book of Mormon from an angel and it was on golden plates...Yea, I was amazed. It was just way cool because we, as missionaries, couldn't just go on with the restoration story. He knew it and it didn't have much meaning for him. So we went straight to his concerns and questions. Asking question after question we were able to find what he understood. And finally he accepted the invitation to read in the Book of Mormon. What was cool was that the discussion was just us talking, trying to come closer to Christ together.
It was a really good week.
Till next time Elder McDonald

sent 10/6/2009

So first off, I got the packages, sorry if I never said that.

Well, first off, funny but annoying news. We're not allowed to shake hands anymore, thanks to the pig flu. It is probably a good precaution, but I'm not too thrilled about the image it'll convey. Now I get to explain why we don't shake hands while trying not to sound like a kult naja.

OK, cool story really quick. Over a year and a half ago I arrived in Germany, got paired with my trainer and sent to Darmstadt. We got there in the evening and we were both new to the area. There hadn't been missionaries in the apartment for awhile, so we went out in search for food. One lady we asked for direction also gave us her contackt. She was interested in the Book of Mormon. We were able to give her one a few weeks later. Then, she kinda fell off the face of the earth. When we'd set up appointments with her, she'd get panic attacks and cancel at the last minute. After we were able to introduce her to a member she started coming to church but didn't have to meet with us. I was able to talk to a sister who just got transferred out of Darmstadt. She was able to inform me that this lady had finally decided to get baptized, and at the end of this month even.

That just goes to show, our actions are a lot more far reaching than we expect.
Have a nice week.Tchüß

Elder McDonald.

sent 9/29/09

Man, it's the beginning of a new cycle. This time transfer calls were crazy. Things were changed three times. In the end, Elder Wildey and I are staying together, which means Elder Wildey basically just packed then unpacked. Honestly I'm glad things ended up the way they did. When we got the first call it just didn't feel right. Elder Wildey and I are excited for this cycle.

We had an interesting experience yesterday, While we were doing doors we found a Jehovah's Witness, who had a friend there. They invited us inside. We expected a good conversation, I find when people aren't in "proselyting" mode one can really have great conversations about Christ. Well, this guy just started rambling. He kept up a constant stream of scripture chains and gave us a pretty good breakdown of his beliefs. After about ten fifteen minutes we had to go and we gave them a brochure- and he said some stuff about how there can't be further scripture. As we stood up, I asked him what would happen if God told me the Book of Mormon was as true as the Bible. They just looked at me, there was about two seconds of silence, then they started to say that's not possible and what not. But during those two seconds, I know they knew that I believed it. It's not quite as good as not being able to disbelieve my words,but It's a start.

Well have a nice general conference.
Elder McDonald

Sealings and such

sent 9/22/09

Crazy to think Lyndy's married. I don't really think it'll be real to me till I'm home.

Sorry things have been so short lately, we've been busy. We just had transfers, but things aren't sure yet. It's pretty fest that I stay in Krefeld but my comp's been switched around. This was a little bit unexpected that Elder Wildey and I are getting separated, so we've got a lot to do. I'll let you know how things turn up.

Elder McDonald

21 years goes by pretty quick

9/8
Hey ya`ll, life's pretty good. My birthday was great.

I just wanted to share a cool story about timing. We went by an inactive family in a pretty small stadt-teil, but we got lost and ended up a ten minute walk away. Then we got waylaid by an old man who just wanted to talk. He was way nice. Finally, we found the house and right as we klinged, he walked up and asked us if we were looking for him. We were able to talk a little and establish contact. We just couldn't help but laugh. Because of all the delays we were able to find him. Just goes to show that the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Doing good

sent 9/1/2009
Thanks for the birthday wishes, I haven't got anything yet but it's pretty early.

Soo, cool little story, Elder Wildey and I were doing doors and we knocked into this nice old lady. She was such a typical little old German lady, with big glasses and large eye sockets that gave her the appearance of a mole. She let us in and I'll have to admit, my faith was a little low. I mean, I love talking with old people just ‘cause they're about the coolest people ever, but as far gospely stuff goes, I've heard "I'm too old to change" too much. We went in and she just sat down and listened to us. She had some really good questions. When she got the Book of Mormon, she said she would read it that night. Actually we had to forbid it- since the day before she had had surgery and couldn't read. But it's alright because we went and read out loud to her and she really liked that.

It's cool. At the moment my companion and I are focusing on just helping people and doing good. Even if they aren't in a position to accept the gospel, it's really rewarding.

Well thanks ya'll and till next week.
Elder McDonad

Where did August go?

Note: Elder McDonald turns 21 next Wednesday, Sept. 2.

I'm in a state of denial about my age. It's ridiculous.

Yea. It's kinda weird to think a year ago I was almost done in Darmstadt. Thanks for the money. I know a sweet cake place in Krefeld where I'm going to buy myself a cake. Ummmmm

My companion is Elder Wildey, He's from New York. He studied film at BYU, He's pretty young- we get along great. Krefeld just reminds me of a brid, I don't know why. The Zone Conference was awesome. We talked about member work, which I love, and finding through members. Which is something I really needed. I mean, I have nothing against doors, but ever since I got here it felt like it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. Now we're going to work with the members, which just makes life happy, so I'm excited. However, that is not to say that I won't knock my fair share of doors, but I just love the members.

Anywho I know my e-mails have been wimpy, but I hate small talk. Plus, I've just got a lot of organization stuff to do since this area was in kind of a mess when I got here. We're in the oldest apartment in the mission. It's been around since the late 70's

alles güte

Elder McDonald

Note: What is a brid? Someone has the answer, but I don't. I tried to look it up- to no avail....

Krefeld

Note: Here is information on Krefeld from Wikipedia.

Basic statistics
Area 137.68 km2 (53.16 sq mi)
Elevation 39 m (128 ft)
Population 238,031 (15 August 2009)[1]
District: Urban district

Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate KR
Postal codes 47701-47839
Area code 02151
Website www.krefeld.de


Krefeld (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁeːfɛlt]), also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located southwest of the Ruhr area, its center just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Krefeld is accessed by the autobahns A57 (Cologne - Nijmegen) and the A44 (Aachen - Düsseldorf - Dortmund - Kassel)

Krefeld is also called the "Velvet and Silk City".

In more recent decades the city has hosted an honors program in foreign language (German) studies. The program annually places thirty specially selected high school students with families in and around Krefeld for intensive German language training.[2]

Krefeld's residents speak Hochdeutsch, the standard German taught to all people in Germany. However, the native dialect is a Low German variety, sometimes locally called "Krefelder Plattdeutsch," "Krieewelsch Platt," "Plattdeutsch,," or sometimes simply "Platt." The Uerdingen line isogloss, separating general dialectical areas in Germany and neighboring Germanic-speaking countries, runs through and is named for Krefeld's Uerdingen district, originally an independent municipality.[3]

Settling In

Hey this one's short, I know. But it's all good. Krefeld is cool, pretty. My comp was a film major who really likes comics, so we get a long great. Otherwise I'm just trying to get settled in. Sorry It's so short.

Much love.
Elder McDonald

Transfer to Krefeld

I'm going to Krefeld. I know that won't mean much to you but I'm excited, though I'm way sad to leave Solingen it was awesome here.

Here's what my new adress is going to be:
Elder McDonald
Peter str 23
Krefeld 47798
Deutschland

Well here's a really cool quick story: We were doing finding time on Thursday and ran into this young girl that stopped and was willing to listen to us. She was about 18, I'm usually pretty doubtful about people under 20, usually they don't really have much interest in religion, rather, they just like to talk to us cause we're way way weird. But this girl was actually pretty open. We had a good conversation and traded contact info. Then she said that she wanted to read the whole book. I encouraged it naturally, but didn't think to much about it. Two days later I called her to see if she wanted to come to an activity.She said she didn't want to meet till she had finished the book. So I asked her how far she was- in 2 Nephi. She liked it too. She told me to call next week and she should be done.

There's a long way to go still but you never know what can happen.

Up to Date

I have now entered all of Elder RAM's emails. I hope you have time to glance through these numerous postings from the past month, and feel the spirit as you read his posts about his mission, and the love he feels for the people he meets.

This week we find out if he is transferred or not. I will update this week, for sure!

Cyndy McDonald

Short but Sweet

August 4, 2009

This is short because I'm tired.

Next week is transfers, so if you're desperate to send me anything do it now or wait a week to see if I stay.

So we had a Thailandish family come to church, and they really liked church. It felt good watching the ward get excited about the new people there.

Anywho, thanks for thinking about me

Elder McDonald

Hail and Floods

July 28, 2009

Note: Russell sent the picture to us previously and told us, “ I will explain on Tues.”

Pick out the Elders, and the German Student.

Ok. Explanation of my picture. It was actually last Tuesday. It was raining; which it is wont to do here in Solingen (this area is rumored to be the rainiest area in all Germany). We were at the church and it was raining cats and dogs, it even hailed. We waited till it stopped hailing and caught the bus. Only the two of us and the kid were on the bus, all of us being very wet. Well, the bus came down a hill and the road was flooded, there were two cars that got flooded there, so we hopped out and pushed them. The kid thought it was so cool to push a couple of cars with Americans he wanted a picture. Right now, we're trying to find an activity to invite him too. He was way nice and way laid back.

Um, you asked me what I would like for my birthday. I need a watch, my other one ticked it's last tick. Though I am relatively proud of myself, I don't think I've ever had a watch live so long. I think I'm learning to be more gentle. Amazing, the things one learns on a mission.

Umm soo I'd like to know when exactly Lyndy's wedding date is. I realized it's rather pathetic how little I know. A member asked about my family, I said one sister is married and the other is engaged...or married perhaps... I honestly don't know when the wedding is. Coolio, thanks.

Elder McDonald

P.S. So CRAZINESS! I'll be home in six months!!!! I've mathematically accepted it but in my heart, but I don't believe it and I don't really intend on accepting it till I'm on the plane.

love y'all