This week went real well! Things are progressing well. He is doing well. He has just that Golden fire. Just struggling a little with his Spanish. I am just trying to give him more opportunities to teach because that is what is going to happen. I just need be a little more patient with his Spanish because I just want to jump in real quick but I gotta let him take it until he gets stuck and looks at me haha.  Golden retraining was super awesome! I got to see Elder Paulsen, Winegardner, Hillstead, Lundberg and all of them before lots die (go home). Probably one of the most spiritual meetings I have ever been to. The testimony that President bore was amazing. Learned a lot there and had that same awesome pizza that we had at mine and Elder Hillstead's Golden Retraining except we are the trainers. It was just good to talk to all of them and see how far we have come. Elder Park only has one more transfer! That is weird. I would like to see him before he dies so hopefully that'll happen. We will see what happens with transfer calls coming up this Friday. The Wilsons leave tomorrow! So sad. But there is another couple coming in in three weeks. We will actually be seeing President tomorrow because he is coming for the interview for O. He is all good to go to be baptized! We are super excited. We have stake conference next week and we are just doing it right after.

I am pretty excited for Mother's Day because I get to see everyone's face. My Spanish has definitely improved from before. 

(in response to finding out his dad bought a lawn mower and other yard equipment)  I would not mind cutting the grass and everything. I did it enough with Ryan but Ryan was such a pro at it for sure. 

It has been a great experience that is for sure! About to hit those double digit numbers in months which is super weird. Does not feel like it at all. I am just loving it out here but every week goes by so dang fast! I'm almost in my second summer here. Well everything is still going great. We had 14 lessons this week missing a day and just continuing to find people. We are just trying to find some more solid investigators cause they are all kind of eh but we are looking! Well love you mom and I will talk to ya again real soon! 

Love, 

Elder McArthur 

Hey Mom!

 

I will be hitting the double digit months soon! That is not right hah. He (his Golden) is coming along good! He really struggles a little with Spanish but I really have helped him with the pronunciation and grammar. It is getting there! I hope I have been a good trainer. And this week was 11(lessons taught). We had two pretty rough days and I was a little frustrated because everyone canceled. But we said a prayer and that next day was super good. We just parked and walked around doing a bunch of finding. Since it is warmer more people are outside so we catch them like that. Ryan is super lucky. That is going to be awesome. I still have yet to ever meet any of the apostles. 

 

I just can't wait to see everyone and share so many stories about people. That will be the coolest thing. Like at least we all get back at the same time. Good stuff. We have Golden retraining tomorrow! I remember when I went to mine and now I am the one training haha. I'm trying to think if anything else happened this week. Oh we had some amazing food again because Sister Johnson is such a great cook. The Wilsons also leave soon! So sad honestly but another couple is coming in who will be here for 23 months and they are friends of President.

I had to (go to Krispy Kreme)! Haha we had Zone Training and actually rode with the Wilsons. They took us to lunch and then we went to Krispey Kreme. We had to haha. So ya know!

I never thought I could speak like I do at all. There is still so much more work to do on it but I'm just trying to studying and just continue talking. That is truly the key is you have to speak and just be around it all the time. 

Haha well time goes by quick out here. Like wow. It is almost Mother's Day though! I'm excited for that to see everyone again face to face. Well I don't have too much more time cause I got to do some stuff but I love you a lot mom and talk to ya again soon enough! I don't know how it feels for y'all there but for me the time just goes. Well tell everyone I love them! 

Love, 

Elder McArthur 

Hey Mom! 

Well this was a great week. We got lots of work done and are still continuing to do more. I did get my box and thank you so much! Love all that is in it.  Thank you for all of it and especially the ties! I have a lot more now than when I came out with. Conference was so great! I did see President Durant. You can't miss him at all haha. All the talks were amazing and they hit hard on families. That thing they went to like in Egypt was super cool and how President Eyring like bore testimony there. Crazy!  That's amazing. It was cool being able to here two of them in Spanish. The funniest was when President Utchdorf spoke in German! Haha finally.  We watched it in the church and all that. We had O come who is getting baptized on the 25th. He loved it.  But this week was great. I have a picture or two haha because we had a great Easter dinner at the F family. They are a couple in the English branch. She reminds me of Angie and even looks a lot like her. It's crazy. The Wilsons were there too. So it was great. 

 

I would say since we split the area that both sides are still averaging about 13 or so lessons. We had 13 this week but we missed time because we had Zone Conference and General Conference. I am not sure that there is too much more. But it has been a great week but gosh every week goes too fast! I had dream I was home last night but in Spanish. It was not right. 

It is just crazy how quickly the time goes in the mission. Blake emailed me again and said how crazy it is that I have almost hit my half way mark.  I'm always emailing back and forth with him though and saying stuff in Spanish haha. I never thought I would ever be able to speak Spanish. I feel like the Lord has blessed me with the gift of tongues for sure because at 9 months and the ability I have to talk as much as I can now is a blessing. I love the Hispanics.

I've definitely just learned and felt the truthfulness that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Every time I say the first vision to someone it is just super powerful. 

Well I love ya mom and I will be sending some pictures your way and talk to ya soon!  

 

 

 

 This picture has his trainer Elder Newbold to his right and now his trainee Elder Wasden on the left.  Pretty cool!

Hey Mom! 

It is going great. We had a lot of success this week with finding new people to teach. Together as a district here in Hazleton we have 7 people I believe that will be baptized on the 25th of April. The work is going well here. The service is at a Community Center and we help with a lot of little kids and helping them doing there homework and stuff. They all speak Spanish and English so I use both with them. It's funny. They love us.  Elder Wasden is doing well. His Spanish is slowly but surely getting there. Definitely have learned lots and from Elder Newbold. He is in our zone and it has been really good to see him. Elder Newbold is awesome.  

 

Some great Spanish missionaries left like Elder Minnich. He was a great missionary. This week was good. The most excited thing I would say would be that Elder Wasden felt like we should knock on a door and we started walking up then we here a lady scream at the top of her lungs, "GO AWAY!" I just cracked up, but we found some good people this week and the people that will be baptized on the 25th are progressing great. We had a bunch of less actives at church who have not come the whole time I have been here and finally came so that was a blessing. Good week. 

The time has gone by so quick. By the time I am finished training Elder Wasden I will almost be at a year.

Love my mission that is for sure and President Anderson is the best. We have Zone Conference on Wednesday. Well I love you mom and I will talk to ya real soon! Mother's Day is soon enough! 

Love, 

Elder McArthur 

P.S. I'll take more pictures soon! 

Yeah! So I actually stayed down in Philly with Elder Paulsen who Elder Hopkin just got done serving with cause now Elder Hopkin is up here too. So I was with Elder Paulsen and Winegarderner for a day and a half. It was nice because I got to go see R and A. I called and he was so happy haha so we went to see them and a couple other people. I was so sad though because one of the members that I got pretty close to died from a heart attack at 40. I have a picture with him. He was the one that took us to the mall when I got my jacket. It was sad and now R has the Melchidek Priesthood and is still the President of young men's. I see some leadership positions coming with him continuing cause he is great at it. So that it what is going on. Also saw Elder Park. I love Elder Park haha I will definitely see him after the mission. Both of Elder Kelley's zone leaders were my companions. Elder Park and Elder Newbold haha. Anyways so my golden is Elder Wasden! He is from Colombia, Missouri and has a sister on a mission. He is 18 and very smart. He skipped 11th grade and graduated early so he just turned 18. He is a bit quiet but I'm trying to get him over that and helping him with lots of stuff. He is just so ready to work though. We have been doing lots of contacting such as tracting. Ha yes we still do do it. We have had some great experiences with people yelling and saying not so great things. But we have had success. I am now just a trainer which is fine and I actually just saw Elder Weisler last night cause we had a stake thing and we are in the same stake. 

So we actually found this awesome family who now have a baptismal date for the 25th of next month. They came to church yesterday and loved it. We feel so blessed being here. A is doing well. We have not seen him this week but are setting up an appointment with him. I have definitely seen the power of it(blessings) and recently that has been kind of this big topic is staying worthy of it and knowing the sacredness of it. We did see him with Bro. J and it went so well. We are setting another date with him and we will see how it all goes. I think them and the D family. The Lord has prepared many people here.

It is still cold here basically. Which just got more snow like 2 days ago. I good 6 inches. So ya know! 

It has been so great having him (Elder Weisler aka Jake) up here honestly. He still is so I'll be seeing him soon again. We see each other a lot haha. Time has gone by fast! Like coming up again on another month by. It's crazy. I am just trying to continue making my Spanish better and better. I have seen the gift of tongues now cause it's at a point now where I just don't think about it too much speaking. It's weird. I never thought I'd speak at all haha I still don't feel like I speak that well. Well I love you a lot and I will talk to ya again soon! 

Love, 

Elder McArthur