OK! This week was really bad as far as lessons go. Just cause it’s Christmas and either the people are gone, or they have tons of family and don’t want us at the moment. Our main investigator is in Tegucigalpa right now proposing to his girlfriend (whom we haven’t taught yet). But he is straight up gold. He’s progressing extremely slowly by the standards of this mission (we´ve been teaching him for almost a month and a half now...) and his baptismal date is for the 10 of January, but we’ll probably put it off so we can teach the spouse and baptize them both. We have another investigator that was going to be baptized this past Saturday, but hadn’t talked with her husband about it, so we waited. Yesterday we taught the husband and mother and cousin, and they are all pretty interested so we’ll see how that plays out.
OK, houses are way, way smaller than in the states. "Big houses" here are half the size of ours (in Arizona) and I’ve only been in two that have airtight seals on the doors. Our apartment is a one bedroom with a baby sized bathroom attached. It’s a little bit bigger than Megan’s room. But in our mission its against the rules to have more than one companionship living together, so it’s a big deal when we get to have a companionship spend the night (which happens every now and again cause the bus we take for San Pedro is at 4 am and no one wants to walk from the other house in our district down to the terminal).
I can’t wait for the ties and candy.
Love you guys!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
12/23 E-mail
Yeah... about that box.. No, I haven’t gotten it yet. But every one got tons of packages yesterday (we had a multizona hence as to why I’m using email today) so I know it’s safe to send them. It just takes time. Elder Fernandez said his family sent him the package he got over two months ago. But I did get Leah´s small package yesterday, and she sent it on the 10 of December, so it’s doable. Also in that Christmas package could you put tons of Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish? They don’t exist here...
OK. So for this last week we had a baptism of two girls who are 12 and 14. The rest of the family is progressing slower. Way slower, but the girls were the reference and the rest of the family was a reference from the girls (named Merly and Mayra (pronounced my-ra)). We found a bunch of people and I’m pretty confident that they will all be baptized, but at different paces.
This last week during divisions Elder Fernandez and I were just about attacked by a pack of dogs. We were walking to an appointment and all of a sudden we were surrounded by 6 or 7 dogs all nippng at us. So we walked coolly through them and then took off. When we got to the house no one was there so we prepared ourselves (with rocks and a sling...ok no sling, but rocks) and walked back through the dogs. One of them charged and the rest followed suit. I threw my rock (which missed) and the vile dog in front decided the moment the rock hit the ground next to it that it would attack the other dogs... so we ran the heck outta there! hahaha. Yesterday was out Christmas multizona where we had a huge tie trade and all sorts of fun stuff. But it went late so we missed the last bus to Santa Rosa. So we got a p-noche in the secretaries house with our whole zone! (p-night as opposed to p-day for those of you who don’t speak español...) and on the way here this morning our bus got a flat. So the normal 3 hour trim was closer to 5. But its all good!
Love ya!
OK. So for this last week we had a baptism of two girls who are 12 and 14. The rest of the family is progressing slower. Way slower, but the girls were the reference and the rest of the family was a reference from the girls (named Merly and Mayra (pronounced my-ra)). We found a bunch of people and I’m pretty confident that they will all be baptized, but at different paces.
This last week during divisions Elder Fernandez and I were just about attacked by a pack of dogs. We were walking to an appointment and all of a sudden we were surrounded by 6 or 7 dogs all nippng at us. So we walked coolly through them and then took off. When we got to the house no one was there so we prepared ourselves (with rocks and a sling...ok no sling, but rocks) and walked back through the dogs. One of them charged and the rest followed suit. I threw my rock (which missed) and the vile dog in front decided the moment the rock hit the ground next to it that it would attack the other dogs... so we ran the heck outta there! hahaha. Yesterday was out Christmas multizona where we had a huge tie trade and all sorts of fun stuff. But it went late so we missed the last bus to Santa Rosa. So we got a p-noche in the secretaries house with our whole zone! (p-night as opposed to p-day for those of you who don’t speak español...) and on the way here this morning our bus got a flat. So the normal 3 hour trim was closer to 5. But its all good!
Love ya!
12/15 E-mail
OK. Yeah, I have lots to report. First off... the evening that you last received an email from me we got a call that Elder Flores had emergency changes... so I got a new comp. As of the 2 of December I have had a new comp. He’s from Nicaragua and speaks zero English. Well... he taught himself a lot during the course of his mission but he’s a little afraid to actually speak. So I’m on my second comp in my first change... a little strange. But it’s all good.
We worked really hard that first week and now really have the trust of the members. It was a little hard at first because Elder Mejia´s teaching style is a little different from Elder Flores, and he didn’t trust me for the first week or so, so I didn’t teach as much as I would have liked. But we’ve conquered that so it’s all good. Last p-day we went to the Copan ruins, and I have tons of pictures, but I think I’ll end up sending them another time. They were so cool though!
And after that we had an appointment where we put a baptismal date for two girls of 12 and 14 (the rest of the family isn’t so keen on the church right now...) for this Saturday, so that’s the big plan. Because we’ve been working so much with members, we’ve been receiving some serious good references of family members and friends, so this week we’ve got a lot of references to visit. Oh! Also in the emergency changes Elder Fernandez (my comp from the MTC) got moved into my district, so that’s pretty cool. Today for p-day we rented out this really sweet field to play fútbol, so the whole zone came to my area.
Well I was gonna ask for one thing from you guys for Christmas. Remember how I brought like 60 ties on the mish? Yeah, now I have like 20. So a great gift would be to buy a bag of ties form Tiedmann´s family thrift store and spend a family home evening sorting them! And then send them on down here!
This past week we found a family of 8 that is totally ready for the gospel (we had been praying to find a family of 8 that is ready), but they didn’t come to church this last week, so we´re gonna see what happenes...
Everythihg is going great! Hope you guys are enjoying a break (or soon anyway) love you!
We worked really hard that first week and now really have the trust of the members. It was a little hard at first because Elder Mejia´s teaching style is a little different from Elder Flores, and he didn’t trust me for the first week or so, so I didn’t teach as much as I would have liked. But we’ve conquered that so it’s all good. Last p-day we went to the Copan ruins, and I have tons of pictures, but I think I’ll end up sending them another time. They were so cool though!
And after that we had an appointment where we put a baptismal date for two girls of 12 and 14 (the rest of the family isn’t so keen on the church right now...) for this Saturday, so that’s the big plan. Because we’ve been working so much with members, we’ve been receiving some serious good references of family members and friends, so this week we’ve got a lot of references to visit. Oh! Also in the emergency changes Elder Fernandez (my comp from the MTC) got moved into my district, so that’s pretty cool. Today for p-day we rented out this really sweet field to play fútbol, so the whole zone came to my area.
Well I was gonna ask for one thing from you guys for Christmas. Remember how I brought like 60 ties on the mish? Yeah, now I have like 20. So a great gift would be to buy a bag of ties form Tiedmann´s family thrift store and spend a family home evening sorting them! And then send them on down here!
This past week we found a family of 8 that is totally ready for the gospel (we had been praying to find a family of 8 that is ready), but they didn’t come to church this last week, so we´re gonna see what happenes...
Everythihg is going great! Hope you guys are enjoying a break (or soon anyway) love you!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
12/1 E-mail
OK, big email time!
After I was done emailing last week, I had the rest of my p-day in a different area. It was pretty sweet! Elder Tzuban and I pretty much just wandered around and ended up at a really cool member’s house and just chilled there. The members had lived in the states for 9 years so they spoke perfect English and perfect Spanish. So I understood everything. Haha. Then we worked his area for the next two days. We had a reunion de zona and Elder Flores got back Wednesday, but was still entirely sick (and still is). So we’ve been having divisions almost every day so I don’t go crazy just sitting there. So that’s ok.
This week has flown by for sure. Yesterday before church another investigator was baptized. His name is junior and is the greatest guy. As soon as we found him he realized that he wanted to change his life. He had problems with things but dropped them all cold turkey because he knew the church is true. Love the kid. Oh, and he’s only 17.
Yesterday was elections here and as such we weren’t allowed to leave the house after church, which meant we cooked for pretty much the first time. We are pretty sure that Elder Flores is going to have a change to be closer to the capital and the doctor’s office, and we might do a week long division with one of the assistantes del presidente so Elder Flores can recoup and Dolores doesn’t die in his absence and mine. Hope everything’s good at home!
Love, Elder Arntsen
After I was done emailing last week, I had the rest of my p-day in a different area. It was pretty sweet! Elder Tzuban and I pretty much just wandered around and ended up at a really cool member’s house and just chilled there. The members had lived in the states for 9 years so they spoke perfect English and perfect Spanish. So I understood everything. Haha. Then we worked his area for the next two days. We had a reunion de zona and Elder Flores got back Wednesday, but was still entirely sick (and still is). So we’ve been having divisions almost every day so I don’t go crazy just sitting there. So that’s ok.
This week has flown by for sure. Yesterday before church another investigator was baptized. His name is junior and is the greatest guy. As soon as we found him he realized that he wanted to change his life. He had problems with things but dropped them all cold turkey because he knew the church is true. Love the kid. Oh, and he’s only 17.
Yesterday was elections here and as such we weren’t allowed to leave the house after church, which meant we cooked for pretty much the first time. We are pretty sure that Elder Flores is going to have a change to be closer to the capital and the doctor’s office, and we might do a week long division with one of the assistantes del presidente so Elder Flores can recoup and Dolores doesn’t die in his absence and mine. Hope everything’s good at home!
Love, Elder Arntsen
Thursday, November 27, 2008
11/24 E-Mail
ok let’s try this again...
Last week we had a baptism of Jason who is 12 and really tall for a latino. But he didn’t come to church the next day so we couldn´t confirm him. His mom made him do chores... but anyway!
A normal day in the life of Elder Arntsen is to wake up at 6 am (not the normal 6:30 cause we´re better in the San Pedro Sula mission) and exercise for 30 minutos. Then shower and get dressed and all that stuff. For breakfast we usually have cereal with powder milk, and then it’s an hour of personal study time. Then an hour of comp study, then half an hour of language study. Then we head out at 10-ish. We usually have lunch at members houses (it varies, but usually rice with chopped up carrots and corn, beans of some kind, fried chicken or other type of meat, always tortillas, home and handmade, and when it’s cold hot chocolate, or this some other juice or soda (usually banana tropical)). Then at 7 to 8 we go to our cocinera for dinner. And we are back in the house by 9-ish. The streets here are pretty much just dirt, or mud, and there’s a pulperia every ten or so houses (it’s like a QT). All the food is good here. Plain and simple. Well, except chichiron. It’s like pork rinds, but there’s actual pork skin in it... There are street lights here and there, but it gets pretty dark at night. The stars would be bright, but it’s usually pretty overcast. Oh our house is a one room apartment with the kitchen detached from the rest of the house. It’s pretty danky, but awesome too!
Ok now for a rundown of the last two weeks:
We haven’t had tons of lessons so we’ve been tracting lots. We have two investigators who we found my first week who are progressing really fast. If they had come to church two Sundays ago they’d be baptized by now, but something came up. They’re names are Junior and Elvis, and they are roommates. Junior is 16 and accepts everything we tell him. He’s started reading the Book of Mormon almost every day and is in 2 Nephi. Pretty good since he works 16 hours a day 5 days a week... thanks for all the letters from everyone (just mom, dad, and caitlin) but I’m sure the rest of you reading this have already dropped it in the mail and they are on their way! haha.
Last Tuesday we had a multi zone, which means getting up at 3 in the morning to be there by 8... not much fun. I got to see Elder Cahoon. His area is 20 minutes from the office... and I ordered some sweet leather scripture cases, and I also had to buy a Honduras futbol jersey. Honduras beat Mexico last Thursday, which meant we ended the day a little early so we wouldn’t get shot or thrown fireworks at (and no one was outside, or answering phones, or opening doors) the whole country shuts down when there is a game... Thursday we did weekly planning as a district and then started divisions. I was with Elder Loughton, a gringo too, in my area. And by some crazy turn of events we had divisions for two whole days instead of the normal 1. Then Elder Flores got really sick so we stayed in on Saturday (with permission), and he wasn’t much better on Sunday so we just went to church. Now he is on his way to San Pedro cause they think it’s denge, and I’m on divisions with Elder Tzuban (from Guatemala and can’t speak a word of English) while his companion who is also sick is with Elder Flores. We don’t know how long they’re gonna be gone so I may be working here for a few days.
That’s all for now!
See ya next week
Elder Arntsen
Last week we had a baptism of Jason who is 12 and really tall for a latino. But he didn’t come to church the next day so we couldn´t confirm him. His mom made him do chores... but anyway!
A normal day in the life of Elder Arntsen is to wake up at 6 am (not the normal 6:30 cause we´re better in the San Pedro Sula mission) and exercise for 30 minutos. Then shower and get dressed and all that stuff. For breakfast we usually have cereal with powder milk, and then it’s an hour of personal study time. Then an hour of comp study, then half an hour of language study. Then we head out at 10-ish. We usually have lunch at members houses (it varies, but usually rice with chopped up carrots and corn, beans of some kind, fried chicken or other type of meat, always tortillas, home and handmade, and when it’s cold hot chocolate, or this some other juice or soda (usually banana tropical)). Then at 7 to 8 we go to our cocinera for dinner. And we are back in the house by 9-ish. The streets here are pretty much just dirt, or mud, and there’s a pulperia every ten or so houses (it’s like a QT). All the food is good here. Plain and simple. Well, except chichiron. It’s like pork rinds, but there’s actual pork skin in it... There are street lights here and there, but it gets pretty dark at night. The stars would be bright, but it’s usually pretty overcast. Oh our house is a one room apartment with the kitchen detached from the rest of the house. It’s pretty danky, but awesome too!
Ok now for a rundown of the last two weeks:
We haven’t had tons of lessons so we’ve been tracting lots. We have two investigators who we found my first week who are progressing really fast. If they had come to church two Sundays ago they’d be baptized by now, but something came up. They’re names are Junior and Elvis, and they are roommates. Junior is 16 and accepts everything we tell him. He’s started reading the Book of Mormon almost every day and is in 2 Nephi. Pretty good since he works 16 hours a day 5 days a week... thanks for all the letters from everyone (just mom, dad, and caitlin) but I’m sure the rest of you reading this have already dropped it in the mail and they are on their way! haha.
Last Tuesday we had a multi zone, which means getting up at 3 in the morning to be there by 8... not much fun. I got to see Elder Cahoon. His area is 20 minutes from the office... and I ordered some sweet leather scripture cases, and I also had to buy a Honduras futbol jersey. Honduras beat Mexico last Thursday, which meant we ended the day a little early so we wouldn’t get shot or thrown fireworks at (and no one was outside, or answering phones, or opening doors) the whole country shuts down when there is a game... Thursday we did weekly planning as a district and then started divisions. I was with Elder Loughton, a gringo too, in my area. And by some crazy turn of events we had divisions for two whole days instead of the normal 1. Then Elder Flores got really sick so we stayed in on Saturday (with permission), and he wasn’t much better on Sunday so we just went to church. Now he is on his way to San Pedro cause they think it’s denge, and I’m on divisions with Elder Tzuban (from Guatemala and can’t speak a word of English) while his companion who is also sick is with Elder Flores. We don’t know how long they’re gonna be gone so I may be working here for a few days.
That’s all for now!
See ya next week
Elder Arntsen
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
11/10 E-mail from Honduras
Hey!
OK. I’m in Honduras and am in my first area! The zone is Copán and it's southwest of San Pedro Sula. It’s the coldest place of Honduras, but it’s not too cold. No worries. My area is called Dolores. My compa is Elder Flores, a latino from Peru who knows Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish sign language. And he is fluent in all 5. He’s about 5 foot 4 inches tall, so we look pretty funny walking up and down the streets.
This place is incredible! All the people are so humble and nice. We had a baptism yesterday of an investigator named Carlos. He’s pretty awesome. And we have two families that are thoroughly investigating, as well as two young guys who live together and also a 12 boy who will be baptized this Saturday.
This place is nuts. Everything is mega cheap. Like today I wanted to get some "oreos" so we went to the pulperia (QT) and I got 3 small packs of 4 and a Gatorade for 30 limpiras, about a dollar fifty. Sweet.
The one thing I’m really amazed with is how many stray dogs there are. Everywhere we go there’s like 10 dogs sniffing around and barking. They’re usually not mean, but when they are I have figured out that all you have to do is bend down like your’e gonna pick up a rock and they scamper. (Haha.) When we teach lessons (this week 14-ish), I teach just as much as my companion, but when they talk to me I don’t fully understand. I’m getting better at hearing, but talking is not bad at all.
We live in a place called Boulavard and our area is probably about 5 square miles, but we also have a “second” area called San Juan. There’s a small branch in San Juan of about 15, and in Dolores the branch (with the nice church building) has 100 people, but only 50 or so show up.
We have a cook, Sister Soreano (members, but the husband is inactive), and they have 3 kids. One is about 5 and looks exactly like the actress Raven when she was on the Cosby show. (Haha). The president of the branch in Dolores is really nice. He served his mission in Guatemala and speaks no English at all. Actually it’s super rare to find people that know English, except that we have a gringa investigator called Sarah Leng, who is 71. She has an enormous house by American standards and also owns quite a bit of land, all for less than 90 thousand dollars. She says she couldn’t afford to live in the states any more so she moved here where she is living off welfare.
All and all, I love it. The food is great, and I haven’t gotten sick yet which is supposedly strange...
See ya next week.
Love, Elder Arntsen.
OK. I’m in Honduras and am in my first area! The zone is Copán and it's southwest of San Pedro Sula. It’s the coldest place of Honduras, but it’s not too cold. No worries. My area is called Dolores. My compa is Elder Flores, a latino from Peru who knows Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish sign language. And he is fluent in all 5. He’s about 5 foot 4 inches tall, so we look pretty funny walking up and down the streets.
This place is incredible! All the people are so humble and nice. We had a baptism yesterday of an investigator named Carlos. He’s pretty awesome. And we have two families that are thoroughly investigating, as well as two young guys who live together and also a 12 boy who will be baptized this Saturday.
This place is nuts. Everything is mega cheap. Like today I wanted to get some "oreos" so we went to the pulperia (QT) and I got 3 small packs of 4 and a Gatorade for 30 limpiras, about a dollar fifty. Sweet.
The one thing I’m really amazed with is how many stray dogs there are. Everywhere we go there’s like 10 dogs sniffing around and barking. They’re usually not mean, but when they are I have figured out that all you have to do is bend down like your’e gonna pick up a rock and they scamper. (Haha.) When we teach lessons (this week 14-ish), I teach just as much as my companion, but when they talk to me I don’t fully understand. I’m getting better at hearing, but talking is not bad at all.
We live in a place called Boulavard and our area is probably about 5 square miles, but we also have a “second” area called San Juan. There’s a small branch in San Juan of about 15, and in Dolores the branch (with the nice church building) has 100 people, but only 50 or so show up.
We have a cook, Sister Soreano (members, but the husband is inactive), and they have 3 kids. One is about 5 and looks exactly like the actress Raven when she was on the Cosby show. (Haha). The president of the branch in Dolores is really nice. He served his mission in Guatemala and speaks no English at all. Actually it’s super rare to find people that know English, except that we have a gringa investigator called Sarah Leng, who is 71. She has an enormous house by American standards and also owns quite a bit of land, all for less than 90 thousand dollars. She says she couldn’t afford to live in the states any more so she moved here where she is living off welfare.
All and all, I love it. The food is great, and I haven’t gotten sick yet which is supposedly strange...
See ya next week.
Love, Elder Arntsen.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
11/1/08
My flight to Honduras leaves Monday, November 3 at 6:15 am out of SLC. We have a short layover in Dallas and then 4 hours in Miami before leaving for Honduras. I'm excited to be moving on and a little nervous. Use "Dear Elder" to send a letter through the pouch service. I don't know how long it will take to get there. We may have e-mail once we arrive, but we don't know yet.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
10/7 Letter
10/4--Hey, Family. Well I'm using some time before Conference to write a quick Hello! I am only supposed to write you on P-day, but the rumor is that on Conference weekend writing is allowable. But you can write me as much as you desire, and please do not hesitate on sending me cookies and snacks!
Well, first session is over now, and I loved every minute of it. To be honest that was probably the first session of Conference ever where I didn't fall asleep. After, I was thinking of how often Conference is, and after this weekend there are only 3 Conferences left till my mission is all done. . .It's almost scary how short an amount of time I'm giving up. Sometimes it seems like forever, but really it is no time at all.
10/7--Buenos Dias! No, I wasn't in the Priesthood Choir during Conference. I don't have time to go to choir practice, but even if I had, the guys who were in the choir were just randomly selected out of those who "applied." As much as I'd love to sing in choir (they sing every Tuesday at Devotional), I'd rather use the time to study.
So, I passed the half way point of my tenure in the MTC, and when you get this letter I'll have less than a month left here. Crazy. I've been thinking about the full 9 weeks here . . . that's 1/12 of a mission. And it drags on, yet flies by. I don't know if you understand, but it's too hard to explain.
I can now teach a rough first lesson in Spanish. The bigger problem is gauging the understanding of the investigator. Since they understand in Spanish, and answer in Spanish. But I feel ike my Spanish is around the same place as the district that is leaving for Chile on Tuesday, so that's good!
Conference: I have lots of comments to make for you, because it really did have more meaning for three reasons: 1) I'm a missionary, 2) I took notes, and 3) I didn't fall asleep in any session--first time ever. I took 19 pages (front and back) of notes. All of the talks were incredible.
Saturday Morning: I loved Elder Perry's first address when he encouraged us not to let stress get the best of you, and talked about a simplified life. I really liked Sister Allred's admonishing of everyone when it comes to writing missionaries (ha ha ha). But the best talk Staruday morning was definitely President Uchtdorf's. He talked about hope. It was incredibly uplifting and inspiring.
Saturday Afternoon: Elder Wirthlin was hilarious! And I quite enjoyed his talk. Elder Holland's was quite out of the ordinary for him, but still very good. He talked about angels in our everyday lives. I enjoyed, and have enacted, the guidelines of how to make prayers more meaningful in our lives (Bednar). It was awesome!
Priesthood Session: Elder Scott told us that we all needed to appreciate the women in our lives. Actually that seemed to be the general topic for the everning. President Uchtdorf's talk was again inspiring. His quote for the evening was "Lift where you stand." Awesome. President Eyring also addressed not feeling overwhelmed and how to help others. President Monson's first address of the Conference was awesome as always. Best quote from his talk: "The Lord will shape the back to hold the burden placed upon it." He also gave us 3 imperatives in life: 1) Learn what you should learn, 2) Do what you should do, and 3) Be who you should be.
Sunday Morning: I quite enjoyed Elder Hales' talk about "Christian Courage." But my favorite talks were Sister Dalton's and President Monson's. Sister Dalton talked about virtue. I really liked the part about spiritual training "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." President Monson gave us advice for life--Adapt to the change, review what's important, show your loved ones love, and find joy in the journey. Two best quotes from the talk--"If you pile enough tomorrows you'll find a lot of empty yesterdays," and, "Nothing is as constant in this life as change."
Sunday Afternoon: Elder Nelson's talk was good, but would have meant a lot more to me in later years since it was all about temple marriage. William Oswald's talk was awesome. He taught us how to be better teachers: show love, teach from scripture, encourage pondering. I also particularly enjoyed Elder Cook's talk (the third one about trials and feeling overwhelmed). The best line from his talk was "Sometimes the things that are best for us in this life are the most bitter."
So, it was awesome!! How was Idaho? No, I do not know Elder Reintjes, but he'll be in my travel party if we came in on the same day.
Everything is good here! Send Snacks!
Love, Elder Arntsen
Well, first session is over now, and I loved every minute of it. To be honest that was probably the first session of Conference ever where I didn't fall asleep. After, I was thinking of how often Conference is, and after this weekend there are only 3 Conferences left till my mission is all done. . .It's almost scary how short an amount of time I'm giving up. Sometimes it seems like forever, but really it is no time at all.
10/7--Buenos Dias! No, I wasn't in the Priesthood Choir during Conference. I don't have time to go to choir practice, but even if I had, the guys who were in the choir were just randomly selected out of those who "applied." As much as I'd love to sing in choir (they sing every Tuesday at Devotional), I'd rather use the time to study.
So, I passed the half way point of my tenure in the MTC, and when you get this letter I'll have less than a month left here. Crazy. I've been thinking about the full 9 weeks here . . . that's 1/12 of a mission. And it drags on, yet flies by. I don't know if you understand, but it's too hard to explain.
I can now teach a rough first lesson in Spanish. The bigger problem is gauging the understanding of the investigator. Since they understand in Spanish, and answer in Spanish. But I feel ike my Spanish is around the same place as the district that is leaving for Chile on Tuesday, so that's good!
Conference: I have lots of comments to make for you, because it really did have more meaning for three reasons: 1) I'm a missionary, 2) I took notes, and 3) I didn't fall asleep in any session--first time ever. I took 19 pages (front and back) of notes. All of the talks were incredible.
Saturday Morning: I loved Elder Perry's first address when he encouraged us not to let stress get the best of you, and talked about a simplified life. I really liked Sister Allred's admonishing of everyone when it comes to writing missionaries (ha ha ha). But the best talk Staruday morning was definitely President Uchtdorf's. He talked about hope. It was incredibly uplifting and inspiring.
Saturday Afternoon: Elder Wirthlin was hilarious! And I quite enjoyed his talk. Elder Holland's was quite out of the ordinary for him, but still very good. He talked about angels in our everyday lives. I enjoyed, and have enacted, the guidelines of how to make prayers more meaningful in our lives (Bednar). It was awesome!
Priesthood Session: Elder Scott told us that we all needed to appreciate the women in our lives. Actually that seemed to be the general topic for the everning. President Uchtdorf's talk was again inspiring. His quote for the evening was "Lift where you stand." Awesome. President Eyring also addressed not feeling overwhelmed and how to help others. President Monson's first address of the Conference was awesome as always. Best quote from his talk: "The Lord will shape the back to hold the burden placed upon it." He also gave us 3 imperatives in life: 1) Learn what you should learn, 2) Do what you should do, and 3) Be who you should be.
Sunday Morning: I quite enjoyed Elder Hales' talk about "Christian Courage." But my favorite talks were Sister Dalton's and President Monson's. Sister Dalton talked about virtue. I really liked the part about spiritual training "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." President Monson gave us advice for life--Adapt to the change, review what's important, show your loved ones love, and find joy in the journey. Two best quotes from the talk--"If you pile enough tomorrows you'll find a lot of empty yesterdays," and, "Nothing is as constant in this life as change."
Sunday Afternoon: Elder Nelson's talk was good, but would have meant a lot more to me in later years since it was all about temple marriage. William Oswald's talk was awesome. He taught us how to be better teachers: show love, teach from scripture, encourage pondering. I also particularly enjoyed Elder Cook's talk (the third one about trials and feeling overwhelmed). The best line from his talk was "Sometimes the things that are best for us in this life are the most bitter."
So, it was awesome!! How was Idaho? No, I do not know Elder Reintjes, but he'll be in my travel party if we came in on the same day.
Everything is good here! Send Snacks!
Love, Elder Arntsen
Saturday, September 27, 2008
9/23 Letter
Everyone,
Elders Lee and Murphy are leaving for Guatamala today and that leave only 7 in our District. It's an extremely small district at best. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks in the MTC. Aaron Daybell (friend from BYU) came in last week and lives on the same floor as the rest of my zone, so I see him every day! It's pretty sweet. I'm staying healthy and everything.
President Uchtdorf came a while ago and gave us all his apostalic blessing (he also gave his blessing to all our loved ones so no worries!). I am a third of the way through my MTC time, and can't wait to bounce outta here!
Thanks for the letters and stuff. Please send articles about Y football. I hear BYU is all over the media! I so wish I could see the games, but hopefully they will be just as good in 2 years.
The weeks are flying by here (which is really good because it seems I'm working hard). Thanks for all ofyour support, everyone!
Yesterday I was talking to a Honduran and I am a little scared (tengo miedo) of the "Spanish" he spoke. They drop S's in the middle of words and vowels at the end of words. So, "Como esta?" (How are you?) turns into "Com et?" (pronounced "Com eht-eu"). Tengo Meido! but now I have a renewed desire to learn the language, so that's good!
I love this Gospel so much more, and now that I have been studying the restoration and the antonment (in "Jesus the Christ"), I have a renewed appreciation for all that I have.
Love you all!
Elder Arntsen
Elders Lee and Murphy are leaving for Guatamala today and that leave only 7 in our District. It's an extremely small district at best. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks in the MTC. Aaron Daybell (friend from BYU) came in last week and lives on the same floor as the rest of my zone, so I see him every day! It's pretty sweet. I'm staying healthy and everything.
President Uchtdorf came a while ago and gave us all his apostalic blessing (he also gave his blessing to all our loved ones so no worries!). I am a third of the way through my MTC time, and can't wait to bounce outta here!
Thanks for the letters and stuff. Please send articles about Y football. I hear BYU is all over the media! I so wish I could see the games, but hopefully they will be just as good in 2 years.
The weeks are flying by here (which is really good because it seems I'm working hard). Thanks for all ofyour support, everyone!
Yesterday I was talking to a Honduran and I am a little scared (tengo miedo) of the "Spanish" he spoke. They drop S's in the middle of words and vowels at the end of words. So, "Como esta?" (How are you?) turns into "Com et?" (pronounced "Com eht-eu"). Tengo Meido! but now I have a renewed desire to learn the language, so that's good!
I love this Gospel so much more, and now that I have been studying the restoration and the antonment (in "Jesus the Christ"), I have a renewed appreciation for all that I have.
Love you all!
Elder Arntsen
Friday, September 19, 2008
9/16 Letter
Hey, everybody! Thank you for the letters. Okay, you wanted to know what my schedule is like? It goes something like this: Wake up at 6:30, get dressed, eat at 7:00 am, class until lunch (11:30), lunch, class until dinner (4:30), class until 9:30. There is an hour of gym time in there somewhere and also random other things. Tuesday is my dia de preparacion, but it ends at 4:30 not 6:00. We go to the temple at 1:00 pm and do laundry at 8:00 pm. Every Tuesday there is a fireside, and last Tuesday it was President Uchtdorf!! It's always someone from the Seventy, but not very often an Apostle. Those can be pretty awesome.
The food . . . is the Cannon Center. 'Nuff said. Thank you for the updates on football, please keep them coming. Also, how are the Rams doing (St. Louis)?
As for e-mails and letters, I can only write back on p-days. So you'll have to wait until right now for answers to your questions.
I'm not sure if I told you but two Elders in my district are going to Guatemala next week. They'll be serving in President Balwin's mission (crazy, huh?). As far as snacks go, one package is never enough. If you feel the need to bake cookies in my behalf, I would love that.
I have been studying very hard, and the language is coming fairly easily. My testimony is growing so much, and I'm learning to read my scriptures and use them as a crutch.
Hope everything is going well in AZ. Keep me updated on football, please. And don't hestiate to drop a line!
Love you guys,
Elder Arntsen
The food . . . is the Cannon Center. 'Nuff said. Thank you for the updates on football, please keep them coming. Also, how are the Rams doing (St. Louis)?
As for e-mails and letters, I can only write back on p-days. So you'll have to wait until right now for answers to your questions.
I'm not sure if I told you but two Elders in my district are going to Guatemala next week. They'll be serving in President Balwin's mission (crazy, huh?). As far as snacks go, one package is never enough. If you feel the need to bake cookies in my behalf, I would love that.
I have been studying very hard, and the language is coming fairly easily. My testimony is growing so much, and I'm learning to read my scriptures and use them as a crutch.
Hope everything is going well in AZ. Keep me updated on football, please. And don't hestiate to drop a line!
Love you guys,
Elder Arntsen
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
New Contact Information for Michael
Michael has e-mail while in the MTC. We aren't sure whether there will be e-mail in Honduras, but at least until 11/3/08 he can be reached at michael.a.arntsen@myldsmail.net.
Also, his new MTC address is:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
MTC Mailbox #308
HON-SPS 1103
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Also, his new MTC address is:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
MTC Mailbox #308
HON-SPS 1103
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I have been called on a mission to the Honduras San Pedro Sula I will be there for the next 2 years so from September of 2008 to September of 2010. If you wish to contact me, you can do it in several ways. First of all, I will be in the Provo Missionary Training Center for my first two months. My address there will be:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
Once I am in Honduras you will have to use the Church's "pouch" service. The "pouch" service will take one to two weeks to get the letter to me. To send these letters, it needs to be on one sheet of paper, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes). This is the only way letters can make it to me without any fines given to the church. My "pouch" address will be:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
If you love me enough that you want to send a package of any kind there is another separate address:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
12 Calle, Avenida Circunvalacion, S.O.
Edif. Yude Canahuati, 3 Nivel, Oficiana 4
San Pedro Sula, Cortes
Honduras
The last, final, and easiest way letters can make it to me is by using DearElder.com. This is a nonprofit organization put together by some members of the Church. On the home page, you select the "Write a Missionary" tab. From there you can select where you would like the letter to be sent. For me, you can select the "Provo Missionary Training Center" while I am in Provo, or select "Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission" when I am in HOnduras. You would then fill out all of the required information by filling in my name, etc. DearElder.com will print the letter out either in Provo or Salt Lake and send it off to me for free.
From here on out my mom will be doing this blog with all sorts of stuff so feel free to stop by!
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604
Once I am in Honduras you will have to use the Church's "pouch" service. The "pouch" service will take one to two weeks to get the letter to me. To send these letters, it needs to be on one sheet of paper, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes). This is the only way letters can make it to me without any fines given to the church. My "pouch" address will be:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150
USA
If you love me enough that you want to send a package of any kind there is another separate address:
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission
12 Calle, Avenida Circunvalacion, S.O.
Edif. Yude Canahuati, 3 Nivel, Oficiana 4
San Pedro Sula, Cortes
Honduras
The last, final, and easiest way letters can make it to me is by using DearElder.com. This is a nonprofit organization put together by some members of the Church. On the home page, you select the "Write a Missionary" tab. From there you can select where you would like the letter to be sent. For me, you can select the "Provo Missionary Training Center" while I am in Provo, or select "Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission" when I am in HOnduras. You would then fill out all of the required information by filling in my name, etc. DearElder.com will print the letter out either in Provo or Salt Lake and send it off to me for free.
From here on out my mom will be doing this blog with all sorts of stuff so feel free to stop by!
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