In the Rough - The Blog of Joel McDonald Jr.

Greetings and welcome to my last mission update for the year 2005! As the mission is changing Preparation Day (i.e. e-mail day) to Mondays beginning the first of the year, my next update will come to you on January 2nd, 2006!Unfortunately, I don’t have a day-by-day accounting of the past week. Things are going well here in Dodge. We had a great Christmas.Elder Adams and I did some Carol Tracting one day. We had a pretty good time doing it. People were a little surprised to answer the door and find someone just wanting to sing them a Christmas Carol. We were also a little surprised at some of the negative reactions we received. For example, we had one nice lady answer the door and say, “Well, sure, I suppose you could sing to me…by the way, who are you affiliated with?” Me: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” Her: “Oh…well…I really am busy right now and can’t listen to you.” We walked away a little confused, but not in the least surprised. Satan does work very hard…he magnifies his calling to a fault.It was great to call home on Christmas and talk with family. It’s interesting (and somewhat annoying) when other missionaries run around with arms flailing, trying to schedule their calls home (which sometimes requires a call home ::rolls eyes::). As for myself, I knew that if I called at a decent early hour Christmas morning, I would catch everyone with two phone calls (one to Florida, and one to Virginia). It worked, I’m happy. It was nice.Funny Story: We spent Christmas Day out at the Brinkerhoff’s in Montezuma. They have about 40 acres out there, some horses, and some goats. We were standing around watching and petting the horses, and the goats sounded hungry. So, I went into the feeding enclosure and grabbed a pitchfork and started shoveling food out to the edge for the goats to eat. Next thing I know, the three Elders I was with started singing “Old M’a'cDonald had a farm…” I have to admit, that for perhaps the first time, considering the situation, I actually found it funny.I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Thank you very much for your thoughtful cards and packages. I hope everyone will look to the next year with expectations for improvement, and set goals to achieve that improvement. A resolution…truly…indeed.

4 Days Till Christmas. 7 Months Till Release.

For those of you who read this update who are planning on serving a mission, I hope I haven’t portrayed a mission to be a breeze. It’s not. I read a quote last night by President Gordon B. Hinckley about this very subject. He said, “We should also build the attitude that there is nothing of a vacation, nothing of a holiday, in this great missionary service. It is hard, and at times discouraging, work…Let those who contemplate missions realize that they will work as they have never worked before”, however he went on to say, “they may expect such joy that as they have not previously known.”

It is all too easy on a mission to fall into the offenses of idleness and apathy. The Lord requires diligent and enthusiastic missionaries. He requires faithful missionaries. That is my goal: To be a more faithful missionary and follower of Christ.

So with that opening…let’s take a look at this past week…

Wednesday: Woke up with a bit of a sore throat. I hate sore throats. I had been feeling like I was fighting a coming cold, so this indicator was a bit worrisome. As the morning went on, and after a hot cup of cider, it seemed to be a bit better. First task of the morning was laundry. Second was doing the usual getting ready routine. We had our weekly lunch appointment with the Mexican Chef in our ward, Hermana Perez. I was really looking forward to her cooking, but as it turned out we went to a Chinese buffet. After lunch with the Perez’s we went to the Library where I sent out my weekly update and also discovered that Verizon has launched a FTTP service (Fiber-Through-To-Premises) called FiOS. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. My companion is also a tech geek, and we were just talking the other night about how America is behind in running Fiber cable to homes for broadband services. Now, with FiOS, we are going to be able to have internet connections three times the speed of cable with (probably) more stability in speeds! That is amazing! In essence, for the same price of cable you will be able to download about 300 MP3 songs a minute compared to cables 100 songs a minute. Anyway (stepping down for soapbox) I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be available in Virginia Beach by the time I return. Later in the evening we had dinner at the Bishops house. It was decorated with a beautiful tree and Christmas villages. I have to admit, it really made want to be home this Christmas. After a wonderful dinner we went to the church building and had a Spanish class with a few non-members, including two Mennonite girls. Elder Larson taught a great class. Unfortunately it was his last as he is leaving Kansas next Wednesday and will return home next Friday.

Thursday: Wow. What a great day this was! We started the day by finishing laundry, studying, doing some planning, and then having lunch with a great member couple (Chinese buffet…again). After lunch we rode around with Elder Larson and Rubio. I was under the impression that we were going to visit a bunch of people on the ward list. There is a bit of a problem with record keeping (and perhaps home teaching). I tried to visit random member the other day and neither lived at the address that is on the list. That was a little annoying. They decided to visit a bunch of the media referrals they had on hand, so we went to visit Kara and Lisa, who we have been teaching for the last couple of weeks. They are the best tracting contacts I’ve had on my mission. We had a short visit with them to set up a time on Saturday with them and their families for us to teach. I don’t know if their families are going to be there, but hopefully we can get them to come to church on Sunday. It is so hard to explain why coming to church is so essential to one’s progression. Elder Adams and I then tracted the surrounding apartments and townhouses around our apartment complex. We ran into a lot of Spanish speaking people. Thankfully I put together an approach in Spanish that morning, so I was prepared. It went pretty smoothly and we ended up with about seven referrals for the Spanish Elders, taught seven people, and have one return appointment for Monday. It was a little cold outside, but I am so glad we tracted the area. I think that missionaries often don’t work close to their apartments, and no one ever visits that area. I’m glad we did today. We had a wonderful time testifying. Team-ups with our Ward Mission Leader fell through tonight, who was also our dinner appointment, so Elder Adams and I picked up a late dinner at Wal-Mart (clam chowder, a crab cake, and crackers). It was pretty good.

Friday: Still fighting off a cold. Woke up with sore throat (again it subsided) and a stuffy/runny nose. Hopefully it won’t get any worse. We went to Garden City this morning for the last District Meeting of the transfer. After District Meeting we went to the Garden City Zoo. It’s a nice clean zoo. It was cold out though, and many of the animals were not out and about. We returned to Dodge and shortly after had Elder Larson’s farewell party/dinner. A couple members in the ward wanted to do something for him, so we coordinated a surprise party. It went over fairly well. Elder Larson acted as though he knew what we had been up to, but I don’t think he knew how much we had going. Unfortunately a bunch of kids playing in the kitchen knocked my digital camera to the floor and broke the plastic piece that holds the battery door in place. The camera seems to be working, but I am really upset with myself for leaving it out the way I did. There is really no way to fix it. We didn’t do too much in the way of testifying today, we tried to talk to a few people in passing, but nothing really came of it.

Saturday: Snow!!! It started snowing Friday night, and snowed throughout the night. Huge white flakes! It was cold. The snow prevented us from doing a lot as we could not drive, and walking anywhere was a mess. We ended up spending the evening at the former ward mission leader’s house where we had dinner.

Sunday: Church was almost cancelled due to snow, but we had services. Not many people came in from out of town because of how bad the roads were, but surprisingly we had a good attendance, all things considered. Church was good; we sat in on the older youth Sunday school class, which is taught by a wonderful sister. The class was great! For dinner we went out to Cimarron. After dinner we had a lesson with a young man who is dating one of the young women in the ward. We showed “The Restoration” video as part of the lesson. I asked him what he thought about what he saw, and he replied that it was a really good story. I then asked him if he thought it could actually happen (”The Restoration” is an account of Joseph Smith and the First Vision where he sees God the Father and Jesus Christ). He replied that he didn’t think it could happen. We then talked about Bible prophets, and how they were called to be Prophets of God. I then asked, “If God could do it then, why not now?” He thought for a moment and then said he thought that God could do it today. I cannot describe the feeling of the Spirit that testified to me, and I hope to all in the room, that God can call a Prophet and he did call Joseph Smith to be a prophet. By the time we had the closing prayer, I was having trouble talking as I was so overwhelmed by the Spirit of God. That night we had a Youth/Young Single Adults Family Home Evening, and this young man came. We had a great time. We’ve set January 1st as a baptismal goal for him.

Monday: We spent much of Monday running around trying to prepare for transfers this week. We had dinner in Montezuma.

Tuesday: Road Trip. The zone was invited to attend a Christmas dinner and party at the Stake President’s house in Ulysses. We traveled from Dodge by way of Guymon, Oklahoma. Elder Larson served in Guymon before coming to Dodge. He served there for nine months and had close connections to the people there, so we went to visit a few people. For me, the trip meant visiting my “native state” as I was born in Oklahoma. I don’t remember anything about Oklahoma though. Still, it was kind of neat to go and take some pictures. We were about four hours east of where I was born. The dinner/party was nice. We were all glad to return back home though, as we had been driving all day.

We received our transfer calls on Tuesday morning. Only Elder Larson is leaving Dodge (he is going home as he is finished with his mission), and I am succeeding Elder Larson as District Leader of the Garden City District in the Kansas Zone. Another six weeks in Dodge! After this transfer I will have been here for six months The longest I’ve ever stayed in an area was six months in the 9th and 10th wards in the Colorado Springs East (now North) Zone.

Christmas is in four days! Oh my Gosh! I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Please keep in mind the reason for the season. As the wise mean traveled afar to present Christ with precious gifts, ask yourself what you can give the Lord. Ask God what he wants for you and of you. Remember, “wise men still seek Him”.

God Bless,
- Elder Joel A. McDonald Jr.
Colorado Colorado Springs Mission

17 Month Mark! Today I have 7 months and 7 days left. On January 1st, 2006, I will have 199 days left on my mission!

This update is going to be a little different as I will try to break down the last few the best I can, starting with Sunday. I’ll try not to bore anyone with the minute to minute details.

Sunday: If I could describe this day in one word, that word would be “Depressing”. The previous week we focused on teaching and inviting people to church (what else would be focus on??). We “went about doing good”. By Saturday night we were expecting at least five visitors at church. Thursday and Friday I took some time to produce my latest publication which is a visitor’s guide to the typical LDS Sunday meetings. Sunday came, and I stood ready to give this new publication to the visitors we were expecting. No one showed. Not one person we expected came to church. I cannot begin to describe the roller coaster plummet that my emotions took. I was devastated. I mean, these are wonderful people we are working with, some of the best I’ve had the opportunity to teach, and not a one showed. The brighter side of the coin is that a young man came to church with a great family in the ward. It was his second time visiting. We talked with him and set up a dinner/lesson with the family he came with for next Sunday. Perhaps this was the Lord’s way of making sure we focused on him. I don’t know. I spent Sunday evening reading, being quite beside myself with the shortcomings of the day.

Monday: At first a continuation of the previous day’s depression, and then a launch into the work. I think my companion may have been worrying that I would never be focused and jovial again after the alarms went off this morning. I don’t even know if mine still works after the abuse it took from me. My companion’s attempt at cheering me with a joyful noise (that’s the best I can describe the greeting) was not met by the kindest of words from me. I sort of feel bad for that. In short, let’s just say that nothing moved quickly or joyfully this morning. It took a while for me to transition from my “What’s the point of trying” attitude to my “Let’s get back on the horse” focus. When the transition was complete, things started moving again and once again we were at work. The first item of the day: Referrals. We have been blessed to see amazing things with referrals this transfer. People are requesting Book of Mormons, videos, DVDS, Bibles, etc. We have even had the rare opportunity of seeing someone actually respond to a couple Pass-A-Long cards that we gave out. It happened twice this transfer, which brings the grand total of these occurrences to two! Anyway, I spent some time contacting/recontacting these people by phone and left a bunch of messages. Anyone want to guess how many messages I received today in return? If you guessed none, you would be right. What’s with people not returning phone calls? We ran around town visiting people and trying to get things accomplished. We finally picked up the 500 church invitations (a hit publication of mine) we ordered a month ago. We also finally met with a lady who works in the Senators office here in Dodge. We had lunch with her a while ago and she said to stop by. She asked if there was any kind of local literature she could have on hand to give to people, and I gave her a stack of the invitations we have just picked up. She placed them on the corner of her desk and said she would give them out as information about the city. We had dinner with a young man who we have connected with. Elder Larson and Rubio came along. True to character, Elder Larson used a comment made by this young man and launched into a half hour (at least) discourse. I think it was good, but it just felt long. I love the guy though; I can’t tell you how many people have been taught by him. He always finds opportunities to teach.

Tuesday: Tuesday was a good day. The morning was spent catching up on my Book of Mormon reading. I have to keep a reading schedule of about five chapters a day in order to finish by the end of the year. I fell two days behind, not including the reading I had to do Tuesday. So in the morning I had to read 15 chapters. I got caught up. I’ve never really read The Book of Mormon through again since first going through it. In seminary I slowly went through it during the school year. Reading through this time has been really helpful as I have felt that not knowing where things are in the Book of Mormon has been a weakness of mine as a missionary. I’ve also decided that I have enjoyed having a set schedule in my scripture reading and that I will read The Old Testament beginning on the first of the year and ending in March. Then I will read the New Testament, Doctrine & Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. I will be finished with them and reading The Book of Mormon through again when I return home. I’ve never read the Bible through before (Got stuck in Numbers last attempt) so I am excited to be able to do so. We did a bit of service at the Boot Hill Museum and then went over to the mall to fix the computer of a small store owner who we’ve been teaching. After that we had a bite to eat and then walked around town and did some tracting. We had more success for the Spanish Elders than we had for ourselves, but that’s still good. It is almost comical to listen to Elder Adams and I try to explain who we are in Spanish and try to set up an appointment for the Spanish Elders to visit them. We do our best, and for the most part are successful. We hooked up with the Spanish Elders for dinner at a wonderful family’s house. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful as we didn’t have any set appointments.

So yeah, that has been this week up until today. Not anything too interesting. I’m really looking into pushing our goal of visiting different local churches. We have been to only two churches since I’ve been here, The Mennonite & Nazarene churches. Hopefully we’ll visit a couple more in the upcoming weeks.

FYI: The mission office is moving to a new location sometime before the first of the year, which means my default mailing address in also changing. If you are at anytime unsure of my mailing address, please send mail to:

Elder Joel A. McDonald Jr.
Colorado Colorado Springs Mission
4090 Center Park Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80916

For now however (at least until the 22nd) my direct mailing address is:

Elder Joel A. McDonald Jr.
1213 N. 13th Ave. #1311
Dodge City, KS 67801

Please mail me at my direct mailing address. It will arrive to me faster and doesn’t make the mission office have to sort my mail.

I suppose that’s about it for now. Have fun, be safe, and have a holly jolly day.

God Bless,
- Elder Joel A. McDonald Jr.
Colorado Colorado Springs Mission

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Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance Day
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I wasn’t able to get an update off last week unfortunately. These last two weeks have been pretty busy and uplifting.

Last Tuesday Elder Adams and I were casket bearers for an elderly Sister who passed away. I had never been to an LDS Funeral before. I guess the best way to describe it (or at least this one) is “simple and quick”. I suppose it was nice nonetheless. After the funeral we had lunch and then met with Chelsey, who was baptized a couple of weeks ago. That evening we met Tray and Kristen, friends of a member in the ward. We had a great lesson with them. I really feel that if they truly seek the guidance of the Lord, they will come unto Christ and follow his example and enter the waters of baptism.

Last Wednesday we left for Pueblo, Colorado for the southern Mission Christmas Conference. It is about 5 hours from here to Pueblo. It wasn’t the most comfortable trip, but it was worth it. This years Christmas Conference was the best conference I’ve attended on my mission. President Porter from the North Colorado Springs Stake, where I served for 10 1/2 months (the stake boundaries just changed to include 9th and 10th wards). We couldn’t have asked for a better speaker. He spoke on faith, how to increase it and use it. His talk really made me think about how faithful I really am. I think the Lord really wants me to focus on that area of my life. We left Pueblo on Thursday and came back to Dodge. One of Zone Leaders became very sick on the way back and had to be left at another mission apartment. He’s doing well now.

We have had a bit of snow lately, and I think the high for today is supposed to be 12. There is a little less than an inch on the ground right now. It snowed about a week ago as well and everything turned to ice. Not too fun. I guess it is supposed to be cold out here for a while. I think I’ll pick up a hat and scarf today.

We met two ladies while tracting a couple of weeks ago and have a great lesson with them. Saturday we were able to catch one of them home again and she said that they had read what we have assigned in The Book of Mormon and have been talking about it and the church almost everyday! She then invited us to come back an answer the questions that they’ve been talking about. We were like “Sure!” We were supposed to go yesterday, but something came up and now we are going over on Thursday. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that talks about preaching the gospel and then having people no be able to sleep because of the words you said. I experienced this in my conversion, and I think we may be seeing the same thing happening with these two. I’ve never had too much success with tracting, so this is pretty exciting.

Yesterday we volunteered at the Boot Hill Museum. We cleaned the outside glass of all the displays. It is a pretty neat museum. Elder Adams and I are hoping to help put together a database of all the artifacts including photos of all of the items. We would be taking the pictures. I think that would be neat. I love history, so being able to handle stuff from the old west here in Dodge would be a neat experience.

I’ve included a few pictures. I took one of Sister Crist and Sister Aho at conference. I met Sister Crist online before I left for my mission and even longer before she was called to serve in the same mission. She said that she better see her picture on my livejournal this week, so I have included it. Another is of me with the Pettus’ who are a senior couple serving a mission here. They go home in about a week. I served around then when I was in the 9th and 10th wards as they were in the same Zone. They are wonderful people and it was great to see them at conference. It is sad to see them go. Another is of me with my last 3 companions and my current companion. The next picture is of the Windthorst Church, an old German Catholic church just outside of town. We went to a Christmas Choir concert there. As you can see it is a beautiful building. Sorry for the quality of the picture, it was one of those give and take shots. This morning before leaving, I had Elder Adams take a picture of me in the snow, so here’s the first snow shot of the year!

I hope you are doing well. Remember as this Christmas season rolls forward, the true meaning of the season - The Advent of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Christmas there would have been no Easter, and without Easter there would have been no Christmas. I bear witness that Jesus Christ lives, that He is our Savior and Redeemer, and that it is by no other name that man can be saved and return and live with our Father in Heaven.