Almost Halfway There!!

It's unreal to think that in a couple of weeks we will have completed half our mission.  We have truly loved it here and we are so grateful to the Lord for sending us to the California San Jose Mission and specifically to Fremont.
Originally we were a little disappointed that we were not sent to a foreign country.  Little did we know we WERE.  There is so much diversity here in Fremont that I'm not sure you'd find the same in other places.  We love getting to know East Indians, Filipinos, Tongans, Samoans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Afghans, Latinos from all over and a few Caucasians.  It's been such a blessing to be able to meet with these dear people and learn about their customs and traditions.  We had a wonderful time last night with this dear family at Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.  We love them so much and pray that some day very soon they will join the church.

We have also loved getting to know and rejoice in their new membership in the church with this sweet young couple.  Bharath and Sneha were baptized about a month ago.  Their love for each other is so evident.  After the baptism, Bharath gave Sneha a diamond ring and told her that "As a diamond is forever, so will our love be."  He is such a romantic and we are so grateful that we had the opportunity to meet with and teach them the gospel and now we'll be forever friends!

Sweet Gloria was also baptized a little over a month ago.  She is just 19 and joined her twin sister Noelia as a member of the church!  Noelia was baptized a year ago and it has been such a wonderful experience to see these two strong young women grow in the gospel.

I can't forget our incredible YSA's in institute.  Sadly, I do not have a photo of all of them--I'll work on that for the blog post before we get home ;).  We love them dearly and look forward to seeing them each Wednesday night.  They truly bring a lot of joy into our lives.  Here's a picture of sweet Sariah stirring the caramel sauce for dessert one night.  Let's just say their kitchen is not very well equipped for things like this and this was the smallest pan we could find.  She was such a good sport and the caramel turned out great!

Sariah has become just like a daughter to us.  She walks around Lake Elizabeth with me, takes care of inviting the YSA's to activities, suggests people for us to visit and is my helper in the kitchen for Institute dinners.  I love this girl!!

Last but not least, life would not be complete with out these dear elders and sisters who serve in our zone.  We grow to love them so much that it is excruciatingly painful to see them go home or get transferred.  I'm so excited to get home and settled so that as they attend BYU or BYU-I or come to Salt Lake for any reason, they have a place to come.  Our family is growing by leaps and bounds because I truly look forward to spending time in the celestial kingdom with them.  They make us so happy and we learn so much from their examples and wisdom.  I don't think it will happen in my lifetime but just once I would love to be able to expound from the scriptures and teach with the power and authority these young people do.  I know how much Heavenly Father loves his missionaries because I know how much I love them!  Please pray for their (and missionaries all over the world) success.  They work so tirelessly and strive to be so obedient as they work to build the Lord's kingdom.  We are still working on our goal to add 40 new members to the Fremont Stake by the end of the year.  So far we have 17.  We appreciate your prayers in our behalf as we work diligently to bring this about.

On a personal note, we are doing really well here.  We love our landlady and enjoy a beautiful apartment.  Our health is good and we've seen a miracle--Elder McDonald has not needed any allergy medication at all.  Our family at home is doing well with a few minor bumps in the road but all in all, we know how much Heavenly Father loves us and that he is blessing us mightily.  If anyone out there is questioning whether or not to serve a senior mission, I can say with no hesitation, "Just do it."  The mission becomes what you make of it.  You can be as busy as you want to be.  There is so much work to do, most days we fall into bed and sleep as soon as our head hits the pillow.  Your love for others grows exponentially and we are having experiences here that I wouldn't trade for anything!!  We love you and look forward to the next 9 months. (Hopefully I'll post again before then!)

Sister and Elder McDonald