This is Michael's last e-mail from Honduras. He returns home Monday, August 9.
Today is p-day, but I'm going to work after lunch with the ZL's who don't have p-day to enjoy my last few days of preaching the gospel. I land in Phoenix at 6:20 pm (on Monday). I'm excited to see you all and a tad nervous to not be a missionary anymore. It's been an incredible 2 years, and I'm still learning how to better my teaching skills up to the last minute.
I know that the work I have done has and will be accepted by the Lord. I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that through him the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was restored to the Earth once more. I also now have knowledge that the Book of Mormon is true.
I love you guys, and I'll be home for Christmas, and for the 9th of August.
Elder Michael Alan Arntsen
Sunday, August 8, 2010
August 2, 2010 E-mail
Well, I am now in the office and I have had a crazy week. I don't have an oficial "call" but I've been rolling with the assistants. We had a sweet adventure. We had to drive to La Ceiba to get Elder Mortensen´s suit that he forgot (he's home already), so we drove to La Ceiba in two hours, a usual 5 hour bus ride. And yesterday we got back from Copan. We went to the ruins with President and Sister Veirs. So we pretty much covered the extremes of the mission. Technically I could have written you on Saturday 'cause that was p-day, but we didn't have time, so we are writing today. I don't have an area or a comp, so I am doing work for president and also working in different areas with other elders. It's the coolest assignment ever.
So I am working as hard as I can and enjoying my last few days as a misionary as best as I can. Thanks so much for your love and support shown and sent.
So I am working as hard as I can and enjoying my last few days as a misionary as best as I can. Thanks so much for your love and support shown and sent.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
July 26, 2010 E-mail
Hey mom!
Well I have a change. I’m being put in a different area with a different comp for 10 days.... not too happy about it, but the Lord says right?
We didn’t baptize anybody, but I still hope and pray that in my next area we can baptize someone on my last weekend here. I’m just gonna work my feet to the bone (instead of 'hands' because of all the walking...). Our stats weren’t too great this week, but I still feel good about the work we did. For instance, we saved a man's life. I think the Lord will justify the lack of lessons for literally saving a man’s life.
Elder brown, Osman (our investigator), and I were walking to the park where we usually teach Osman, when we saw what appeared to be a drunk man. When we saw him all three of us walked towards him instead of just passing by, and we noticed that he had dried blood all over him. He had received several deep gashes to his neck and face and was losing blood. He lives on the street, and some punks decided to cut him one morning at about 5 am with large shards of glass. The contusions were severely deep. We were amazed he was still alive. They had missed the jugular by about a centimeter (and it was visibly hanging out of his neck) and had also missed the throat by the same distance (also visible). So we did what we could and called the cops, who weren’t the most helpful really) and, after much debate, Elder Brown and I persuaded the police to take the poor man to the hospital. We didn’t find out what happened with him, but I’m sure he is fine. It was a real eye-opening experience that I don’t hope to repeat.
Everything else is going well here, but there isn’t much else I can do for the area. We have been invited to eat by all of the leadership of the entire stake pretty much, like, this afternoon with the Stake President and his councilors, tonight with Alfredo (the non-member multi-millionaire husband of a really cool sister in the ward), tomorrow afternoon with the bishop and his family, later that evening with the second counselor of the bishopric, and tomorrow night with the family from Spain that got baptized a few weeks ago. It’s pretty cool to see the effect that I caused in the ward and stake. It is a special feeling to be loved and cared for by people you hardly know. I can’t really describe it. I’m quite sad to have to finish the mission early(to get home in time for school), because I could have stayed in the area until September. But it’s time to keep on truckin’!
Love you guys! Enjoy the last few weeks without me!
Elder Arntsen
Well I have a change. I’m being put in a different area with a different comp for 10 days.... not too happy about it, but the Lord says right?
We didn’t baptize anybody, but I still hope and pray that in my next area we can baptize someone on my last weekend here. I’m just gonna work my feet to the bone (instead of 'hands' because of all the walking...). Our stats weren’t too great this week, but I still feel good about the work we did. For instance, we saved a man's life. I think the Lord will justify the lack of lessons for literally saving a man’s life.
Elder brown, Osman (our investigator), and I were walking to the park where we usually teach Osman, when we saw what appeared to be a drunk man. When we saw him all three of us walked towards him instead of just passing by, and we noticed that he had dried blood all over him. He had received several deep gashes to his neck and face and was losing blood. He lives on the street, and some punks decided to cut him one morning at about 5 am with large shards of glass. The contusions were severely deep. We were amazed he was still alive. They had missed the jugular by about a centimeter (and it was visibly hanging out of his neck) and had also missed the throat by the same distance (also visible). So we did what we could and called the cops, who weren’t the most helpful really) and, after much debate, Elder Brown and I persuaded the police to take the poor man to the hospital. We didn’t find out what happened with him, but I’m sure he is fine. It was a real eye-opening experience that I don’t hope to repeat.
Everything else is going well here, but there isn’t much else I can do for the area. We have been invited to eat by all of the leadership of the entire stake pretty much, like, this afternoon with the Stake President and his councilors, tonight with Alfredo (the non-member multi-millionaire husband of a really cool sister in the ward), tomorrow afternoon with the bishop and his family, later that evening with the second counselor of the bishopric, and tomorrow night with the family from Spain that got baptized a few weeks ago. It’s pretty cool to see the effect that I caused in the ward and stake. It is a special feeling to be loved and cared for by people you hardly know. I can’t really describe it. I’m quite sad to have to finish the mission early(to get home in time for school), because I could have stayed in the area until September. But it’s time to keep on truckin’!
Love you guys! Enjoy the last few weeks without me!
Elder Arntsen
July 19, 2010 E-mail
Hey mom!
So this last weekend we baptized two of the teenagers of the Spanish family, the mom can’t be baptized, because she needs to get divorced and remarried and hadn’t told us, and the other kid is a little rebellious. But we still have people to work with. Just that not so many went to church this week. From 9 to 2 this week we have leadership training from Tuesday to Thursday, so we'll be a little tied up, It’s sad that for my last week in my area I won’t get to work in it too much, but that’s what the area president wants.
The zone is getting better and actually worked fairly hard this last week, so at least it’s one less of a hassle to worry about. All of the missions in the world are getting new material right now so it’s a really weird transition that I have to go through to finish it all up, but I guess it’s another opportunity to learn and be a better teacher. That, at least, will most likely come in handy later on in life.
Love you guys!
Elder Arntsen
So this last weekend we baptized two of the teenagers of the Spanish family, the mom can’t be baptized, because she needs to get divorced and remarried and hadn’t told us, and the other kid is a little rebellious. But we still have people to work with. Just that not so many went to church this week. From 9 to 2 this week we have leadership training from Tuesday to Thursday, so we'll be a little tied up, It’s sad that for my last week in my area I won’t get to work in it too much, but that’s what the area president wants.
The zone is getting better and actually worked fairly hard this last week, so at least it’s one less of a hassle to worry about. All of the missions in the world are getting new material right now so it’s a really weird transition that I have to go through to finish it all up, but I guess it’s another opportunity to learn and be a better teacher. That, at least, will most likely come in handy later on in life.
Love you guys!
Elder Arntsen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
