January 30, 2012 Two Baptisms

Wow, just wow. SO much going on and I am sooo tired, ha ha. This week has been super crazy! First of all it has been between 80 and 100 degrees farenheit every day with high humidity! On top of that, we had two baptisms and two confirmations. One was a boy named Facundo who is 10 years old and the missionaries found him before because another girl investigator they were teaching went to his house and shared the Book of Mormon with him and told him to read the introduction and pray about it. So he did it, and started listening to us. Now he was the first of all of them to get baptized and he got his parents to go to church on Sunday, and now they´ve accepted baptismal dates!

Next is Adrian, a 39 year old man. He started many months ago and actually declined getting baptized, then accepted, and then didn´t show up to his baptism and the missionaries have been trying forever to get him baptized. This week he talked with the bishop and said he wanted to get baptized. So we went with faith and did everything, and then Saturday morning he sent a text saying he didn´t want to get baptized. We talked with him and he later asked if there was still going to be his baptism that day. We told him of course and we´d see him at 6 in the church. At 4 we passed by his house and he wasn´t there and no one knew where he had gone. We went back to the church to fill the font and he would not answer his phone. So what we did is at 6:30 we got on our knees and asked God if it was his will and desire the Adrian got baptized Saturday. We felt that he needed to or he wouldn´t get baptized ever. So I felt a knew confidence that it was possible. We said another prayer asking to know the Lord´s plan to get Adrian bapatized and then started counceling to know our plan. I ended going with a member to look for him at his home or his barbershop, which he wasn´t there, and then we started heading back. As we were arriving at the church he sent us a text that said that he was in Capital and was on his way over. So we waited there until 8:45 and he showed up and got baptized. I still don´t know what changed his heart but something happened and we saw a miracle!

That´s about it for now, it´s super crazy and busy being a zone leader, any extra time in the mornings or at night are spent calling the district leaders. So yeah, I´m going to read Jordan´s email and then get back to you about West Point. Love ya!

Con amor,
Elder Arrowchis

January 23, 2012 (to Jordan in MTC)

Well that´s cool to hear that you are liking the food and the MTC.  I was kinda worried but it seems like things are going well.  You are off to a great start.  I liked your letter, just make sure ot keep that humor up because that will help with your spirits and animo.  AND I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU´D FIND A LOOPHOLE, such a schmoozer, even with computers ha ha. 

Well I don´t know what else to share since you didn´t ask any questions so I´ll just let you know what´s been going on in my life, since now you can relate a bit.  Two weeks ago I was called as Zone Leader and it´s really difficult but a nice challenge at the same time.  I have no free time, which means almost no time to eat at night or in the morning, but I´ve already been learning ton which is cool.  This week we were talking with Elder Foster about leadership and vision.  What he said about vision is not just setting goals and making plans to achieve them, but rather picture a person and what they are capable of achieving and becoming.  Vision comes from pondering what does the Lord want for his children at this time, in this place, under these conditions.  It´s like Nephi in 1 Nephi chapter 2.  Why did he obey his father and actually achieve finding the plates when his brothers didn´t do either, because he had vision and not just blind obedience.  It´s interesting to study, because he started just wanting to know the mysteries of God and in prayer he received his answer, it says the Lord softened his heart (felt God´s love for him) and He told Nephi that what his father said was true.  That gave him the vision he needed to trust his leaders (God and Lehi) to have a vision of achieving success when they gave him a commandment.  It´s interesting the order in which he received his revelations and then the commandment to retrieve the plates. 

Well, enough for now, talk more next week.  We have a special leadership training this week so I´ll probably talk about what we learn from the 8 fundamentals next Monday.  Love ya and find your vision of what God wants for Elder Jordan Arrowchis at the MTC, during these three weeks, under a super spiritual atmosphere.

January 16, 2012 Divisions with AP

So this past week went by super, super fast. I arrived and the next thing I new it was already Friday. I actually got to go in divisions with the assitants to the President this past Friday which was really cool. I learned a lot about analyzing numbers and studying the gospel to discern and meet the needs of my missionaries. So this Elder Bruce and i plan on going on divisions about 2 or hopefully three times, which means 3 days out of the area for someone. The life of a zone leader is crazy, but I pray that the Lord will bless me to be able to do it. It´s also been super hot here, so that hasn´t helped. Ha, ever since getting here I´ve been tired all the time. Good thing I had some West Point training to teach my body to keep going even when my eye lids and brain are almost turned off. Actually sometimes I think some of the best lessons I´ve had are when I´m tired and don´t really comprehend what I´m saying, ha ha ha. Luckily today I don´t feel as bad so hopefully it was just a test of my diligence and desire to serve.

Oh wow, Jordan´s letter has definitely changed since being in the MTC. Ha ha ha, before he´d write how much fun he was having and what funny things I¨ve seen and now he asked me if I have any teaching tips or great scriptures to use for teaching. It´s going to be great to see the change in Jordan as he goes through his mission. Well I´m going to read the Mission President´s letter to us right now and respond to Jordan´s email and then let you know if there´s a problem with the medical packet. thanks again for everything and the plan is to have everything turned in before Saturday. Love you.

Con Amor,
Elder Arrowchis I

January 9, 2012 Zone Leader in Jose C. Paz

Wow so this is just an exciting week for everyone. I can´t believe that kid is now the Lord´s representative of the Lord, ha i guess that means no more bad jokes about him. He still looks like a kid to me. So that´s crazy about the change too at the MTC. If Jordan writes you after this email, since i haven´t emailed him yet either, send me his email account so I can email him next week, just in case he doesn´t get around to emailing me. So now you´ve finally gotten rid of the two kids in the nest, what are you going to do now because you´ve already been to Disneyland 100 times. Anyway, enough about Jordan, "I wanna talk about me, wanna talk about my, wanna talk about numba one on, my, me, mine..." Ha I just thought of that song the other day and how we listened to it everyday taking me to Aliso Niguel.

So anyway, you´ll never guess where I´ve been sent to. I left my area yes, and Elder Lauder stayed and his new companion is actually one of the elders that was in my last district so he´s excited since he already knows him. My new companion is Elder Bruce and get this he´s from San Juan Capistrano and went to CAPO high school and his family picture is in front of the Newport Beach Temple too! He also ends a transfer after me so I definitely need to go to his homecoming in June. So yeah my new area is called Jose C. Paz and which is in the zone Sarmiento, the same zone where I started the mission! We passed by two of my old areas on our way here in the Remis, El Talar and then Grand Bourg. They looked so different. The other thing about Elder Bruce is that he is also the zone leader for Sarmiento, which yeah means that I´ve been called to be zone leader too. Whoof, when Presidente called me last night I could not believe it. I feel so humbled right now because this is such a big responsability but I know and feel the the Lord is confident in my ability to help this zone and all the Elders in this zone become better and achieve more. I feel a bit intimidated too because there have been a bunch of great Elders that have been in the area before, usually zone leaders such as Elder Martinez, and now I´m here but I also feel that the Lord wouldn´t have sent me here if I couldn´t help in some way. Also, with so little time left I figure this will be my last area too, more than likely, so I´m here to love the members too the end. I don´t know what else to share because I still have to get to know my area but I´m super excited to be working here. Hey send a line to Emerson Martinez and Alan Nelson to let them know that I´m here in Jose C Paz because I´m pretty sure they were both here before.

Thanks for all your love and help with getting me to West Point, again not possible without you. I´ll look into the DodMerb stuff because there is a mission doctor so I´m pretty sure he could do it for me, we´ll see.


Con amor,
Elder Arrowchis, The First

P.S. could you facebook friend these two, Dallin Mower from Idaho and Elder Daniel Carlson? Thanks. Also, Dallas Bruce from San Juan Capistrano?

December 26, 2011 Pan Dulce

Things here are going fine, today we went and saw the casa rosada, which is argentina´s white house, and then went down a street which is like 10 blocks long of just shopping stores. It was cool. By the way, it sounds like the missionaries there are rockin, especially if they are getting the wards help to achieve 21 lessons a week with member. We struggle here but we are managing. This last week we actually broke a record for our area and managed 14! And that was after a Sunday where all of our set appointments fodged us.

By the way, I have eaten a ton of pan dulce, or fruit cake. Apparently it´s different here than in the states as in it´s popular and supposedly it´s softer and fluffier. One of our members cooked us a whole chicken too! She´s awesome and is going to teach me how to do it because the thing was that it was de bone-ified and filled with ham and cheese and vegie goodness. She knows how to take all the bones out of the chicken so when you cook it it still has it´s main form, just no bones. Yeah, she was a professional cook for 50 years.

Other than that there´s nothing much new, just my companion is realizing that his 12 week training program is just about at and end as we start week 11 this week and it said that the "new missionary takes the initiative in all teaching and planning opportunities." He´s getting a bit nervous about if he gets transfered to a new area or changes companions. Oh the joys of growing up and getting shoved out of the nest. There are so many "padded" learning opportunities in the mission. I think the worst would be if they actually thought of calling me to be zone leader, because that would be a challenge. But I really don´t think the ywould, if anything they´d make me regular senior companion which is just fine because I´ve stopped desiring to become some great missionary leader because I realized no one really cares or asks after the mission if you were zone leader or assitant to the president and I´m still struggling with the position I´ve been given. Love you and write more next week.


Con amor,
Elder Arrowchis

December 19, 2011 Christmas Plans

okay, so we´re planning on being on at 6:00 my time, and for you at 6:30 because I´m going to talk to my dad first.  So I guess that would come out to 1:00 your time.  I also don´t really feel like talking right now either because I took the test today and I scored below the averages in all the events and didn´t even finish the mile because I started dry heaving after the second lap, so I´m not too excited right now. 

But this week we did have success in that last Saturday we baptized Carla and her daughter Erika, and this Saturday we baprtized her other daughter Paola.  They were all confirmed on Sunday which was a very special experience.  We also had quite a few investigators in church, which is a miracle.  But other than that just the normal mission life.  This week we have a special christmas devotional and I heard rumors that Elder Foster of the 70 is going to be speaking, so we´ll see.  I did get your christmas package but I´ve been so busy that I haven´t ewven opened it yet.  You can´t honestly expect me to wait until christmas, but being so busy I might not actually get around to opening it until then!  That is so great that Jordan received his endowment!  Now he needs to go a couple of extra times to really understand it.  Also tell him to be ready, because this Saturday I have a couple of things i want to share with him to help him get ready for his mission.  I guess I´ll just have my companion do it again in 2 weeks then.  That´s all for now and so just expect me to be on at 6:30 my time to talk with you.  Love ya, chau chau!

December 12, 2011 No Time for PT Test

ALright, so I´m kinda bummed out right now because the zone leaders haven´t been able to administer my PT test [for West Point readmission] these past couple of weeks, they´re busy doing zone leader stuff like paying the rent for other missionaries and stuff and they live an hour away so could you please ask the Major if my companion could administer the test or another missionary who lives closer? Thank you, this is getting really stressful and frustrating, which Preach My Gospel says is not the patience so I´m having my opportunity to develope patience from the Lord as well, so please ask and get back to me next week if at all possible. On top of that I really don´t feel like writing so here´s some pictures I promised... unless there´s a problem with the computer. Love you and I was thinking to do the call on the 24, because it´s a saturday, and so could you please check the time difference and then tell me in what schedule you´ll be available and next week I´ll tell you what time to expect me on. thanks for everything you do!


Con amor,
Elder Arrowchis