September 20th 2010

September 20th 2010 to Ty’s blog

Man what a week. So I’ll answer the questions first this time so I don't forget. I haven't been to the temple yet. We are allowed to go every three months which is every other transfer but since I was in Stockton before it would have been too hard to find a member going up to the temple which is like two hours away. So yes we can go but no I have not gone. And also no I did not baptize the Jordan’s. The Mom, who is a member, had her dad baptize them. It was still really cool though to be there and see it and know that I helped get em there.

So this week was kind of crazy. On Monday we played a lot of basketball after emailing. We played speed and I was in the final two like three games in a row which is a miracle because I suck at basketball. And I was dying. Like everyone was laughing because I looked so dead. I haven't ran that much since football. It felt kind of nice. Me and my companion go running sometimes. Who would have thought I’d actually go running. So I was pretty tired that night. But Tuesday was a great day. Actually I would go as far to say it was a terrific day! We had interviews with President Jardine and then training from him and his wife. We learned so much from him on how to help us work more with the members to find people to teach and both he and his wife are amazing teachers. I love having interviews with him as well. I can feel his love so much as we’re talking. He told me he has high expectations for me and that he is going to stretch me to reach them. So that was real nice to hear and kind of ignited a fire in me again and has me pumped for Jesus! So the rest of Tuesday we were on a spiritual high and the day was wonderful. We had splits with some guys in the ward and we went and visited a less active family and the guy told us he wanted to turn his life around because he needs something better for him and his kids. So that was wonderful. Then we switched up for exchanges on Tuesday night and I left to go with Elder Tune (toonay) who is actually from Kiribati. Which is where elder Taritai is from and where Hudson and Jackson are from. So I went to his apartment and guess what I found there... a Ukulele! He had it without permission. So that’s against the rules but I still played it. It’s not my apartment. And it was amazing to get to play all night long. I played a little bit on Wednesday as well. He couldn't understand how a fat white kid from Arizona could be so good at it. So Wednesday was a weird day. So at home I couldn't sleep with my fan on because I would get sick. Dad taught me that one. So when I slept in their apartment Tuesday night they had the fan on which blew right on my face so when I woke up I kind of felt groggy and as the day went on it kind of got worse and I felt real stuffed up. So I just went through the day as if I wasn't sick and it wasn't too bad. It was fun being with Elder Tune. He knows like Hudson’s whole family. It was cool to talk to him about it. I want to go to Kiribati so bad some day. So I had my companion and a couple of other missionaries give me a blessing because I didn't want to be sick. Then on Thursday morning I was even more sick so I called the Lady who is on a mission here over our medical stuff and she had me get some medicine from Walgreens. The only kind they had there with all the drugs she wanted was a night time kind so I was super tired all day Thursday and pretty much dead to the world. But we still worked hard and we taught a black guy whose name is Leon. His wife died about four months ago from cancer and he was recently visiting Utah and saw the temple and was intrigued so he had us come by. I think we will see promising things from him as we follow spiriting in teaching him. Then Friday I was still a little under the weather so I kept taking the medicine. My asthma hadn't really gotten bad yet so I was fine on the bike. So we had a good day seeing a lot of people. We taught a couple of less actives and got a return with a guy who seemed real interested. It was a good day. Then on Saturday I had to call the medicine lady back and she told me to get a different kind of medicine cuz it had moved to my chest and then told me to take it easy which are words a missionary never wants to hear. And so I went and got the medicine. I didn't really take it easy. I just came home every four hours to take more medicine and a breathing treatment because by then my asthma was all jacked up. Which reminds me. MOM I need more medicine for the breathing machine and a new inhaler. So that was a dent in the day. But we got these really cool wood pens from this guy in our ward. They are made from Bethlehem olive tree wood. It was cool. Their normally like forty bucks but he gave them to us for free! One of the many joys of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. On Saturday I broke another spoke... so we had a member take us over and get it fixed and the guy charged me 26 bucks! to fix in five min. It was ridiculous but we got free pens. Then we went to a ward party/bbq. The bishop wanted us to play football with him and some young men so we did, which was probably a bad idea with my sickness. It was fun though and the ward really likes us more now and sees us as normal cool guys and they trust us a lot more now. It’s great. So naturally we had church on Sunday. It was good of course. I love church. Five hours of it is pretty hard though. Especially when you get hungry and don't have any food. So that was a good day. This morning I got a hair cut from this guy in our stake. It is a wonderful hair cut I’ll take pictures. He gave me some great gel too that actually works for my hair so that’s exciting. The medical lady called me this morning again. My asthma hasn't calmed down as much as she would like so she’s having me go to a clinic to get it checked out so maybe wait till next week to send me medicine cuz they might have me get some other stuff. I don't know. Don't freak out though. My asthma isn't that bad. It’s nothing more than I’ve experienced with football and stuff so I’m really fine. I just want it to go away so this clinic may help. So yeah. My mission president called me and told me to go cuz it could help me so maybe they will give me some miracle medicine that only people in California can get. Who knows. I have a few minutes left so I’ll tell you what I learned this week. I learned that I need to work harder. I need to work my butt off. I've figured out that it’s ok to work so hard that at the end of the day you fall into bed and pass out and wake up just as tired as before but since we are the Lord's messengers he is going to bless us. He is going to lift us up when we’re down and tired. It’s all possible. God wouldn't ask too much of us. He wants us to succeed. So I learned to give it my all. Don't be selfish and don't hold back. So this is the first day of the rest of my mission. I'm going to make the most of it! I love you all. I hope you all have a tremendous week. Until next time.

Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

P.S. I love you Mom and Dad. You are psychos but so am I. That’s why we get along so great!