February 17, 2014 E-mail

Yah, I can´t believe I’m on the other side of the world either. Just yesterday we passed a store that had a world map in the window and I looked from Phoenix to Buenos Aires. Far! Soooooo far! But it really doesn´t feel that far (just thirteen hours on a plane haha!) The stars are almost nonexistent here in the city-ish. We are almost outside the city but still you can’t really see the stars with all the lights and pollution. I think I might contract lung cancer from all the second hand smoke! Just a joke, but seriously everyone smokes and I think that prevents me from seeing the stars. I would imagine that they are spectacular! One day when I get transferred to provincia I’ll let you know :D

This week was the baptism of JOHAN!!!!!! His older sister, Stephanie, we found on the bus and she said she was a member and wanted us to visit. So we went by and Johan, her younger brother, hadn’t been baptized. He is so great! He always asks the best questions! He will turn 12 in March and can have the Priesthood!! In the photos Stephanie is the lady with baby, Alex, who is the cutest! Then on the far other side the man with glasses is Luis, Stephanie’s boyfriend. He’s really nice and we’ve been trying to work with him a lot, and then the Hermana in the middle is Solana, Johan’s mom. And there is another young boy who is a friend of Johan’s. The baptism was great! We had to start a little late to wait for certain people to show up. but it was great! Poor Johan got really nervous and almost threw up. He’s wanted to be baptized ever since he was little! The water was so yellow! Because we went to turn on the font to hot water (because poor Nico the other week had cold), and when we came back to check on it the water was steaming and yellow because of the rust in the pipes, I imagine. So we switched it to cool, but it was still yellow. But it doesn´t matter because Bishop and Johan just looked even whiter!

Also I sent some pictures from the Sister’s Conference last week. Every two transfers all the sister’s got together at President’s house and have a meeting and he cooks lunch for us! It was so yum! Also this week I started tramites, or the stuff I have to do to be legal! They finally got my paperwork translated. So what happens is that I came on a travel visa and instead of waiting for the real one. I can do tramites and become legal before the travel visa expires. I did one half this week, and I should do the other half soon and then it’s all set for a year.

Fun fact! There is a Sister in the ward who served in Resestencia and finished just after President Heyman got there! She says they are so great! She’s going to go visit them before they finish this June. How small is this world???!! So small!!

I'm loving life! And I want you all to love life like I’m loving it, so I have a challenge!! The reward is an overflow of the purest joy in all the universe! And I am NOT exaggerating! This is the challenge: ask the Elders who they are teaching, write down their names, pray for them every day, and on Sunday ask the Elders to introduce you to them. Be the wonderful charming friendly people you are!! That is the challenge. Will you do it? I can’t hear you-- remember I’m five thousand miles away you have to scream with all you’ve got! Well I’m certain that by next Monday I will hear your YES! Because I will be asking! :D And all of you who read this from the blog and I don’t know that you are doing this, you have my email and my cup will run over, and your cup will run over, to hear from you too!!! EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY!

I love you!! 

Hermana Arntsen

 

Hermana Arntsen, Johan, and Hermana Sanchez

 

 Sisters Meeting--she must be getting enough to eat!

February 10,2014 E-mail

Mommy,

A lot of people think that they are just fine without religion.But they are kind of like Adam and Eve before they ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, they just haven't experienced it yet so they don't really know that they are just fine. Because to experience it they will understand that before what they thought was "fine" really was miserable. But way to go with your effort to share, Mom!!!!! Don´t you just feel so great?! That is one of the trials of missionary work. There will always be a majority of people who do not accept. More than most of the people we talk to don't accept to listen or follow what we have to say. The trick is to learn to find happiness in your efforts and not rely any other's  acceptance to find the joy in the work. There is a line in Preach My Gospel that says something along the lines of: Your success as a missionary (full time or member) is based on your commitment to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel of Christ through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. This goes for ALL members, not just full-time missionaries. :D

Well, investigators: Johan, the eleven year old, is going to get baptized this Thursday which is awesome! He said he wants the Bishop to baptize him! How cute is that?! We just found quite a few new ones yesterday whom I don't know very well. Two of them I barely spoke to. So this is what happened: We went to knock on the door of a family we found earlier this week and at the door exactly next to it was a young man who was waiting for a friend or something. So Hermana Sanchez started talking to him and then the dad of the family we went to look for answered so I started talking to him. Then the mom of the dad came to the door and I was talking to two people. Then the friend of the young man came to the door so Hermana Sanchez was talking to two people. Then somehow we combined conversations for a couple minutes and then separated again, so when I finished with the dad and turned to meet the two young men the lesson was almost over. So I don't know anything about them because I wasn't really talking to them. It was such a great moment to be teaching four, well five (another man came to the door), people at once in two doors! I love my companion! It is such a privilege to have a companion who wants to work and who will work hard! Then we found the lady, Elisabet, who is the neighbor of an inactive member we found. Elisabet recently had twins, a boy and a girl, and early in December the baby boy passed away. She has really been prepared to listen to us in that aspect. Also she's never been baptized (here it's almost impossible to find someone who hasn't been baptized Catholic or Evangelist), and she understands the need to be baptized. So she accepted a baptismal date, but she might not be able to keep it because her "spouse"or the man she's living with doesn't believe in anything and probably won't want to get married. So we are praying for a miracle that she can have the hope to be with thier baby boy again but we don't know what will happen. We are working with a lot of less actives right now. It always amazes me how many members we find that are not on the records because they move from Peru or Bolivia and don't know that they have to change records or how to find the chapel so they stop going. But we find them and help them come back, and then they lead us to people who need to be baptized!

Aproveche este tiempo parar compartir el Evangelio! No un mejor tiempo como ahora! Take advantage of this time to share the Gospel! There is no better time than now!

Love,

Hermana Arntsen

February 3, 2014 E-mail

Mom,

I have discovered a love of fruit here! You would just die, Mom, if you saw me! I eat peaches and oranges and cherries and a whole bunch of stuff I didn´t eat before! Also I love juice!!!!! So yum! And this will really kill you! I drink soy juice! But it’s different here there is a soy juice that's like an orange creamsicle in liquid form. It´s delish! Veggies...we´re getting there. One step at a time. I do eat them when they are given, but I haven’t developed a love for them yet. But that could change too.

Love the photo of the temple with Grandpa! He’s looking great! So exciting! And the glass behind you looks incredible!! Can’t wait for the temple!!!!!! Speaking of temple...WE ARE GOING NEXT WEEK!!!! WOOHOOO!!!! I’m so excited!! President got it all sorted out and the whole mission is going on the 10th! Best P-Day ever!!!

The temple is the best and happiest place on earth!! That is so cool that the YW walked to the temple! [Pleasant 3^rd Young Women walked from Sister Scott’s house in Chandler to the Gilbert temple last week—almost 10 miles.] Give them my congrats! And tell them Hermana Arntsen says this: TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TEMPLE! It’s ten minutes from your homes. You can walk to it! You DID walk to it! It is such a blessing to have a temple so close! Use it to your advantage! I promise you the blessings of Heavenly Father! Happiness, pure joy, guidance, comfort, direction, help in school, help in work, help with friends and family! He will never abandon us but we must never abandon Him. SO go to the temple! Seriously, it’s incredible to have one so close. There are people here that can only go one time per year. They have a 12 hour journey to the temple. Others have to leave their country to go to the temple, and I can promise you that they would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Enjoy the temple for me! I love you all!!! Invite your friends!!!

Yep, this is the real world. I think it was Elder Holland who said that mission life is as close to the real world as it gets! Pretty cool, huh!

Well, that’s about all I’ve got for this week! We are working so hard and growing even more!! We are not just building the kingdom, the Lord is building us!! This is the best work on the face of the planet and in the entire universe!! And the most wonderful thing is that EVERYONE can participate! “The work of Salvation excludes no one!” Missionaries don’t get baptisms. The members do. We as missionaries only find success as the members help us find investigators, befriend the investigators to help them reach baptism and confirmation, and then as the members continue supporting the converts afterward. Really we barely do anything. The Spirit is the number one teacher and the members are the number one helpers!! We can’t do it without you! So thrust in you sickle with all your might!

Love,

Hermana Arntsen

Hermana Sanchez, President Ayre, and Hermana Arntsen at Zone Conference

January 27, 21014 E-mail

Mom,

Yep I was transfered a week early because normal transfers are right now but we are staying the same so no worries. Dad, from the front door of the church follow the side walk towards the road Gaona. (Church, school, plaza, Gaona). The block directly on the other side of Gaona from the church is our block. We live on the far end of that block in that corner exactly. I don´t know north south yet. Yeah it is not too far, just a stake over. But the buildings are significantly smaller, which we notice because we walk in sun all day. But it´s pouring rain right now. I´m so grateful for my boots and coat!!

YAY FOR THE TEMPLE!!!! I´m so excited to see it!!! Yep, we will probably be taking wedding pics there in quite a few years haha!

Everything here is good! We had Zone Conference the other day and it was raining. We were relying on the Elders to helps us get there, because we had never been to this chapel before, and he missed the stop on the bus and we had to walk 19 blocks in the rain in thirty minutes. We walked in just as they were singing the opening hymn! But it was great! I got to see Hermanas Dunn and Escobar again! 

A chico, Nico, got baptized on Saturday! He´s 9, and his dad just got baptized about five months ago,Hermana  Dunn actually taught his dad. Valentin, the dad, got to baptize his son! It was so special!! They are such a cute little family!!

The other day on the bus Hermana Sanchez was talking to this lady who is actually a member, and so I talked to this other lady in front of me with the most adorable baby ever! Turns out she is a member too from Peru. So his her mother and little brother. Her ¨marido¨ or the man she´s living with is not a member, but he's really cool. As well his parents aren´t members and he has a little brother and they are all in the same house. So the little brother of Estefani (the lady with the baby) is 11 and his family   stopped going to church before he could get baptized. He wants to so badly and he´s going to on the 13th of February! Then the little brother of the ¨marido¨ turns 8 in march, and he was so sad last night because he learned that he couldn´t get baptized with Johan, the 11 year old. We´re going to try and make some eternal families out of this house!!

This area is great. The members are really nice and they want to help us grow. Tony is a YSA who just knows almost everything deep doctrine. We always have cool conversations about every random little thing. But the best thing about Tony is that he always brings us Bon o Bons when he goes out to teach with us. A Bon o Bon is a little chocolate that is sooooo good!! It has a chocolate center and then a thin wafer and then it´s dipped in chocolate! Its a litle ball of deliciousness! And he always brings us one!! Woohooo!!

Oh so remember those ¨bed bugs¨? Well they actually weren´t bed bugs. I talked to the doctor because they came back and got really bad, like I couldn't sleep they got really bad. And it turns out I have an alergy to the mosquitos here. When they bite me the venom pops my blood vessels and that´s why they are so big and nasty. So I got some Benadryl and some cream and I´m going to buy permethryn which is so much better than DEET. But they keep biting. Right now I have about 21 bites on my shins calves and the tops of my feet. But what can you do? Just keep swiming swiming swiming!! (Which right now I probably could do because of the puddles in the street haha!!) Yep everything is actually really great here! 

Well, that´s this week! I love you!!

See you next time on What's New from Argentina!

LOVE YOU!!

Hermana Arntsen