December 28th 2010

December 28^th 2010

So this week’s email might not be as long as emails in the past. I apologize for that.

Christmas was great. I have to say that it is definitely different being on a mission for Christmas but it’s not as bad as I had anticipated. After we talked to you on the phone at the Robert's house we stayed there for a while and had some good lunch with them. It was fun and then my companion volunteered us to do the dishes, I told him to speak for himself from now on. After the Robert's we went over to Bishop Jenkins, in the Ione ward. We had spent some time with them on the night of Thanksgiving and they really enjoyed it so they called us on Christmas Eve and told us if we had time on Christmas to come by and visit with them. We went over there and we had a real fun time. We visited for a little while and then played some pool. Sister Jenkins thought it would be a good idea to take some pictures and send them to our moms. I guess she was right about that idea. Then we took off and went to dinner at the Chronis family. It was really good but we had to take off early because Rudy and his family were having us over for a bon fire and to have some treats and stuff. It was pouring rain so we weren't sure if it was going to happen but we went over anyways and no one was home... so we went over to Brother Gonzales' house. He lets us come over when we don't have anything better to do.

On Sunday we had a good day. This 18 year old kid gave an amazing talk! It was about missionary work and it was super good. After church we talked to this kid who had been coming for 6 months but was a nonmember. We asked him if he would be interested in the lessons and he said he thinks he would so we will be teaching him now. I think me and him will get along good. We played the same positions on football and he wrestles so we have a few things in common. Then we taught a lady named Tara. After that we just visited some random people for the night then had dinner at the Skujins. It was super fun. They are an older couple with kids that are all grown up. The youngest were in their mid to late twenties. It was a lot of fun and I feel like we all really connected. I guess I like hanging around with people that age because of having older siblings as well as freaking old cousins. It was fun though. Then we went home.

Yesterday was a weird day. Elder Brantley knew pretty sure he was leaving so we went and said bye to a few people. We met with some old guy who is less active and his house made me smell like cigarettes the rest of the day. Then we went over to the Chronis' house. They said they were slaughtering one of their cows and that we could come watch. We got there about an hour after they shot it and it was hanging up on a fork lift by its back legs and they were sawing it in half. One of the daughters shot it and they said it took her a couple of tries cuz she wasn't a good shot. They said the first shot was to wound it, second was to wound it some more and the third was self-defense and it gave the death blow. We got some good pictures and then we went and had lunch... how appetizing. The rest of the day was kind of bum. We saw some people and tracted. We had dinner with the Uhris. They are super cool converts of about 4 years. Since their baptism they have been sealed in the temple and are super strong members. We had a real fun time with them. They are way cool. Then we went and taught Rudy and Dusty and their son Tristen, the rest of the kids weren't home. We talked about obedience to the commandments and then about random gospel topics answering some of their questions. We realized Tristan won't be baptized on the 31 because we haven’t taught him everything but we are shooting for the 8th for Rudy and Tristen. Then we got our transfer calls. Elder Brantley is leaving to go follow-up train in Stockton. He is excited for that. I am staying and my new companion will be Elder Byrum. He is a really cool guy. I met him at our temple day a few weeks ago. Him and Elder Buttars are super good friends so we all hung out a lot. He is going to be the district leader. I'm not going to be a senior companion just yet. President said he thinks I’m ready but that according to circumstances, we needed a district leader and this made the most sense. It makes sense and honestly I don't even care cuz that’s less stuff I have to worry and stress about. But Elder Byrum is awesome and I think we will get a long great and have a lot of fun. Well I'm out of time for today. I wish the best for all this upcoming New Year. May God bless you all.

Love, Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

Christmas Day!

December 25^th

Well even though I will be calling today I thought I would quickly give a report on what I did this week.

Monday was a good P-Day. We went over to Brother Gonzales' house and we had some lunch and just hung out. The Elders from Calaveras County came over (Elder Buttars and Elder Bowman, my old companion). It was a lot of fun. We just talked and watched the Testaments, twice. It was fun. The rest of the day was kind of a bum day. We had dinner with the Johnson’s. Or however you spell their last name. They went on a mission to Chicago. I thought it might be a possibility that they knew Adam so I asked if they knew an Elder Krummenacher. Their faces lit up and they ran and got their scrap book and showed me a picture of him. It was funny and quite the coincidence. The rest of the night was just kind of driving around trying to see people. Tuesday was a weird day. We were supposed to have a lesson with this guy named Johnny but he didn't really want to meet with us. So we hauled some stuff to the dump and cut some wood for Bro Gonzales. It was good. Then we went tracting with a bit of success and then we just saw a lot of random people throughout the day until night time. We had a lesson scheduled with Rudy and his family but his wife was the only one home. We had a good lesson with her and it was real nice. We helped her understand more what the Book of Mormon is really about and she expressed some other concerns but it was a good visit. Then we got ice cream and went home. Wednesday was another weird day. Elder Brantley had leadership meeting so I just sat there and ate for a half hour then took a half hour nap. Great combination huh? Then we went out and did some service for this guy in the Ione ward. He is slowly remodeling a house and it looks amazing. We helped with some heavy lifting and stuff then they took us out to lunch for all you can eat pizza. It was tasty. The rest of the day was slow. We tracted a bit and stuff then we had dinner. We helped clean the Church that night. Normally we wouldn't do that but Rudy signed up to clean it so we thought we would go along so we could visit with him a bit. It was good. Then we tried to see some people then went home to meet the Calaveras Elders cuz they were sleeping over. It was a fun night. Me and Elder Buttars are good friends so it was a party. On Thursday we got our Christmas packages. Boy do i love my Yo Yo. Who’s ever idea that one was good job. The oranges from Spence and Debbie are great. They have been helping me fight the colds off. We then had district meeting and then lunch later that morning. After lunch we did exchanges. Elder Bowman came to my area. It was a lot of fun. We had a great lesson with a lady named Tara. It was quite enjoyable. Then we went and had a wonderful lesson with Karey. He is almost over the cold but it’s still keeping the hole in his throat open longer than it should but it should heal faster now. We taught him about obedience and the Ten Commandments. He enjoyed it. He told us that he was praying often and that he could really feel something warm inside when he prays. We told him that was the spirit and he was like yeah but I can't feel it all the time so we explained the promise that he can feel it all the time after he is baptized and receives it. It was good. We then helped him understand more what the difference is between the Bible and The Book of Mormon. He was confused on that. SO it was good. We saw a few people then had dinner. Then we went over to Rudy's house so Elder Bowman could see them then we had to drive an hour to meet up with our companions. Thursday was a good day. Friday was a random day. We had weekly planning in the morning and then after lunch we went out and visited a few less actives. We had dinner at 6 with a family named the Saldates. They are really nice and have a bunch of kids. One of their sons is on a mission. He is supposed to be in Brazil but he is waiting for his Visa in Georgia. So it was fun evening. We had a Christmas Eve program and it was nice. It didn't compare to grandmas though. I missed that last night. Then we didn't have anything to do at eight because our mission president wanted us to be with members all night so we went over to Brother Gonzales' house and helped him set up some Christmas presents. It was fun.

Well I think that’s it for my weekly report. I will be emailing again on Tuesday but it won't be a lot because of how short of time it will be till then. I'm excited to call home in a half hour. Have a great Christmas Season!

Love, Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

December 20th 2010

Well now this week was something. It doesn't really seem like its Christmas. This year it has been more Christ centered than ever so it isn't as familiar but it is a change for the better. It was a really good week. At the end of each day I thought to myself, man I can't wait to email home. I think it’s what keeps me sane being around Darrell’s all day.

So on Monday after we emailed and went shopping we went home and I took a long much needed nap. It was nice to catch up on some sleep. My companion can't get up real fast in the morning and after the alarm clock goes off he goes back to sleep so president Jardine told him to set one 5 min. early every morning and then another one on time so it wakes him up. Well as Jackie and Hayley know too well, when I wake up, I don't lollygag. I just get up. So I have been getting up five min. early every day for the past month. Which means I have been losing 35 min. of sleep a week and 140 min. which converts to 2 hours and 20 min. a month. But then I realized that that clock is 2 min. slower than every clock we have so I have actually been losing 7 min. a night, 49 min. a week and 196 min. a month which is three hours and 16 min. You can see how unhappy it makes me that I took the time to figure out the math. So in conclusion, I sleep a lot on p day to make up for his lack of effort in trying to get up on time. So that night we had a nice dinner and then taught a black guy. That’s a miracle in itself. There are only like 10 black people in the whole county I am serving in and that’s not an exaggeration. The real miracle is he came to church with his white member girlfriend. (They are in their 40's.) We stopped by her house just to say hi to her and he happened to be there. He said he wasn't interested but thanks us for the offer. Two days later some old guy called us and said the black guy told his girlfriend to have us come back and teach him. So we did! It went really good. He said he is more curious about what we believe but that’s all it takes for the spirit to touch his heart and then for him to get baptized. It was awesome. Tuesday was kind of a lame day. We didn't do much while the sun was out but the night time was good. We got to go over and teach Rudy and his family again. The lesson was really good. We taught them about tithing, which is usually a scary thing because it turns people off when they have to give someone their money but the great part was Rudy’s wife Dusty said she is a firm believer in donating a percent of her pay check to the Lord, she just hasn't had a church to give it to. So that was cool. Rudy has quit smoking and its going awesome. He asked us at the end of the lesson what it would take for them to join the church! That was the right question that we most definitely have an answer for. We told him he needed to be baptized and he said he'd think about some stuff and he'd talk to us more about it on Friday when we met again. It was funny that night because for a few weeks now they have all been calling me teddy bear which isn't the first time I’ve been called that. No one could give me an explanation of why they think that until Tuesday night when Rudy’s youngest son, Rudy Jr. said that it’s because I am so big but am short so I look like a bears body and also my face looks like I’m always grumpy but so happy at the same time. It made us all have a good laugh and everyone agreed with him on it.

Wednesday was an ok day. We mostly just drove around and visited people so Elder Bowman could say bye cuz he was getting transferred the next day. There is a really cool family named the Uhri's. We were there probably a little too long but it was a lot of fun just visiting with them. We really didn't do much on Wednesday.

Thursday was an amazing day! We had to wake up at 530 because we had to a take our truck in to get a liner in the bed so we can use it. Then we went over to the chapel that is next to the Sacramento temple and we had a mini zone conference and lunch. It was real good. This Tongan girl who was going home sang a solo and it rocked! Then after lunch we had a sermon on the temple by president Jardine. It was really good. Then we all went over and did a session in the temple. It was really fun being in there with all the missionaries. It was only a third of the mission though. President Jardine said it’s the best picture for a mission president to see all his missionaries dressed in white in the celestial room of the temple. He said that in itself was a white Christmas for him. Then we all took pictures and chilled for a little bit outside the temple. We barely got home in time for dinner with some expert driving by myself. Then we just saw a few people in our ward.

Friday was a swell day too. We had weekly planning in the morning. Then we had lunch and my companion is the district leader so he did transfer reports while I took another much needed nap... Then we went over to Karey's house to teach him. He was about to fall asleep because on Tuesday he got the tube out of his throat and usually people come down with a cold after getting it out. So he had been up all the night the previous night and had been to doctors all day and was ready for some sleep so we just prayed with them and then left. But it was awesome to see the tube out of there. They said the hole should heal up within a week so that’s awesome. We went tracting for a while after that. It was raining so it wasn't too fun. It has rained nonstop all week and will go on until next week. There are creeks that didn't have water in them a month ago that look like rivers we have gotten so much rain. They said we should be getting about 10 inches this week. It’s crazy. Luckily we have a truck to keep us dry and on the wet roads. I have had to slow down a bit for fear of death. Then we went and had dinner with President Lyman, a member of the stake presidency. It was a nice enjoyable time with them. They are a nice couple. Then we zoomed down to Rudy’s for another lesson with him. We talked about the Sermon on the Mount because that was something he was confused about after reading. He gets confused when he reads. So he is the miracle of the year. When Rudy was younger his friend got shot and was paralyzed. Rudy was mad and went and shot that guy and that guy is now a quadriplegic or however you spell it. He went to jail for 3 years for that. Well when I first got here we would talk to him about repentance and not doing the sin over again. Every time we brought it up he would just repeat over and over again that he would do it again in a heartbeat. He wouldn't even think twice about it. Well we have been working with him and we haven’t brought that up and on Friday we asked him about it and he said, "Knowing what I know now I would not even think about doing it again. I know where the guy is and I’m going to go talk to him and apologize for what I did and just talk to him about why I did it". Now is that now the biggest miracle in the world! He has changed and turned around completely 180 degrees. It was great to hear. He also said he was thinking about being baptized. So that night ended with an air of euphoria.

Our Saturday was super busy. We had breakfast with our ward mission leader in the Ione ward and his wife. It was super good. We talked to them about the work we had been doing in the area. Then we went and studied then had lunch. At one we went over to a family’s house and helped them move. It was a good move. We worked for 3 hours straight and man did it ware me out. Then we went home took a much needed shower after moving in the rain and then went out and visited people for a while. We had dinner with Dennis Anderson who is the Bradford’s good friend. What a small world. It was a delightful evening. Then we went and saw a couple of people and then went to see if Rudy was going to come to church. And they were so we went home.

Sundays are always a fine time on the mission. We had some meetings in the morning then went and saw Rudy. Usually him and his son Triston are the only ones that come but Rudy Jr. had bought some new Sunday clothes and wanted to come so that was awesome. We had an amazing sacrament meeting. There was a load of musical numbers. They had a couple solos and duets and then the 29 year old bishop gave an amazing talk on Jesus and how Christmas can't be celebrated with just his birth but with his suffering death and resurrection as well. It was really good. Classes were real good as well. We invited Rudy and Tristen to be baptized on the 31st and Tristen said yes and Rudy said he'd think about it and let us know on Tuesday. So that is real exciting. Then Rudy Jr. ran up to us after church and said he was coming to our church forever because he had so much fun. It was awesome. Sunday night was good. We saw a lot of people.

So Christmas calls. I should be calling around 11 California time so I don't know what time that is in Arizona. So yeah on Saturday sometime after eleven is the time. I'll probably just call the house phone in hopes someone will answer it and it won't die. If it dies I’ll just call moms cell phone. So yeah that’s how it will go down. The area code of the phone with be 209 so just a heads up for you to get excited when you see it. Well Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

December 13th 2010

December 13^th 2010

Man it sounds like everyone is busy back at home. That is grand. This past week has been a way busy week. I am just exhausted. We have been blessed more than we can handle sometimes and it has been amazing.

So on Monday last week, after emailing and shopping, we came home and just sat there for a while. I put all my Christmas cards in envelopes and it was good. I ordered 115 cards but they only gave me 92 envelopes so I only sent out 91 cards. I kept one envelope just in case I have one more person I think needs one. It was fun though. I hope you all enjoy them and don't think I’m too much of a retard. I took a little nap and kind of chilled for a bit. We are a half hour away from any other missionaries so it gets kind of boring on Pday but it sure is nice to relax. We went bowling in the afternoon. I suck at it but it was still fun. It’s probably one of the only things in life that I’m ok losing in. Then we had dinner and saw a few people. I mailed my cards off at night at the post office because they wouldn't all fit in the apartment mail box.

Tuesday was a good day. We had to go to the mission office to get one of our side mirrors fixed. Before I got here Elder Bowman hit it against a pole and tape was the only thing keeping it on. So we had to drive a good hour to get there. We finally got it fixed and came home. We went and saw a lot of people and tracted a lot. Then at 5 we went to our investigator named Rudy’s house. He wasn't home. Him and his wife had taken off out of town for the day spur of the moment so we were bummed they weren't there but we were happy they were together because they have been having some problems lately. Then at like 6 we went to the church and met up with the Bishop, Ward mission leader and the Elders Quorum president and went out and delivered cookies to our investigators and less actives we had been working with. It was a good time. Then we had to drive down and meet the Zone leaders for exchanges. Elder Bair came with us. He is from Iowa and has never seen Music Man...

On Wednesday we went and saw a guy named Don and found out he is the uncle of Karey, the guy we have been working with who is injured. It was fun to hear some stories about them. Then we went and saw a less active lady who believes the government is hiding aliens and killing people and all this weird stuff. It was fun ha. We had lunch then tracted for a while. We went and saw a few people up the hill where just a few weeks ago was under 2 feet of snow. Now you wouldn't even know it snowed. Oh yeah, It has been raining like crazy mom. I think we have gotten over 10 inches since I’ve been here. We had dinner later with some old people and it was a good time conversing with them. Later that night we had a lesson with a guy named Kyle. It went really well. We will be seeing him again tomorrow. Then we went over and had a lesson with Rudy and his family. It was just Rudy and his wife, Dusty, but it was possibly one of the more spiritual lessons I’ve been in. They were both crying and it was really good. Not them crying but the lesson. Me, Elder Brantley and Elder Bair all realized how true the church is. I don't know of very many people that could give marriage counseling like that at the age of 19 or 20. It was completely led by the spirit. It was amazing. It was too late to switch back up from exchanges so Elder Bair spent the night again.

Thursday morning we had a good district meeting. Afterwards we went out to lunch and Elder Buttars challenged me to eat 12 tacos. I did but it was hard and I felt sick the rest of the day. The zone leaders asked me to not accept his challenges because he is over 300 lbs. and is gaining weight. So that was a bummer. We went and switched up with the zone leaders to get Elder Bowman back and upon returning home we received a phone call from one of the assistants to the president. He told us to meet him in Lodi so he could give us our brand new 2011 Chevy Colorado! It was awesome! We met them down there and got the truck. I was super excited to be driving a truck. It is really nice. Kind of small but I don't know what else I’d expect for a mission vehicle. We had snow in our area and a lot of dirt and mud so they gave us something that had 4 wheel drive. I like it a lot. I think my companions are jealous they don't get to drive it. They always ask if I’m too tired or sick to drive and I just laugh and say nope. When we got it, it only had 51 miles on it. They drove it from the lot to us and now I have put over 300 miles on it. It’s a great vehicle. I hope I don't break it. So that was super exciting. Later that night we went out with one of the Ward Missionaries in the Ione ward and it was fun. He is a cool guy. He has really bad back problems and they put him on new medicine so he took it before we left and he got pretty loopy. We aren't supposed to drive anyone in our car but we couldn't let him drive, he was too loopy. It reminded me of Jeff a little how he gets all tired and says funny things. It was funny.

Friday was a good day. We had our planning in the morning and then took off for a lesson with our investigator Tarra. It was really good. We took it slow and she soaked it all in. She wants to be baptized more than we want to baptize her but we are taking it slow. We went and saw a lot of people and then went tracting. It was fun. Then we had a lesson with the Peters. We found out the husbands name is Anthony. His wife wasn't there but a family friend who is like 18 was there and she sat in on the lesson. It was good. We taught him the plan of salvation. At the lesson before he told us he was only doing this for academic reason so he could know what we believe but at the end of this last lesson he told us that what we taught was different than anyone else’s teachings but that most of it he had come up with on his own with his own logic. It was cool. He said he doesn't think he will convert but it seems more possible than before. It was crazy. The spirit totally worked on him to get him to change. I think as we keep meeting with him he will come around. The spirit does some great things. After that we went to the Jackson ward Christmas Party. It was a fun evening. The food was ok and the program was kind of weird but when Santa came it was a real fun time. Rudy and his family came and we sat with them. Rudy has a son named Rudy Jr, and he is eight but is as tall as Porter. He is a big boy. He still believes in Santa and he was going crazy. He had a ball with all the little kids and with Santa. He was so happy. He and Elder Bowman really connect so that was good too. Too bad he is leaving this Thursday to go to another area. Elder Brantley surprisingly connects with the dad and I connect a lot with the kids and the mom. It was a lot of fun. We all sat on Santa’s lap and the guy playing Santa is hilarious. I got some good pictures. Even Rudy sat on his lap! It was amazing to see a guy who, just a few years ago was into gangs and stuff and was in jail, sitting there now and singing Christmas carols and sitting on Santa’s lap. He has changed a lot.

On Saturday we met with our ward mission leader in Ione. It was good. Then we studied at the church down there. At 11 we went to a funeral. A guy in our ward wanted us to be a part of the service. I had to say the opening prayer and Elder Bowman dedicated the grave. I bet not too many people have to do that on their missions. It was good. Then we had lunch. After lunch we went to see Karey. Brother Gonzales came with us. It was a good lesson. We finished up the Plan of Salvation. Bro Gonzales really related to him about his injuries cuz he himself was injured and was told he would never walk again and now he is walking just fine. It was really good. Then we went over to Rudy’s house to talk to them about church. He told us some really funny stories. Then we went to the Ione ward Christmas Party. It wasn't as fun as the Jackson one and I had the biggest head ache ever. I thought I was going to pass out or throw up from the pain. And I had taken medicine for it. The food was better though. We sat with old people and they just about talked our ears off. It was fun though. Then we went home and I passed out on the couch at like 9 and woke up at 2 and went to my bed.

Sunday was a random day. We had church. No investigators came so that was lame. Rudy was out looking for a job. We got a real Christmas tree from brother Roberts, the ward mission leader in Ione. We didn't have room for it so we hauled it in our truck all day looking for someone who needed it. We finally gave up at like 7 and took it over to Rudy’s house and gave it to him. He said on Christmas we can come over and he will have a huge bon fire for us with the tree. They have a big back yard. We talked to them about the scriptures a bit then went and saw a few more people then went home. The fog has been sooo bad in our area the past few nights. It’s hard to drive. Sometimes I just go over a hill with faith that a cliff won't be on the other side, and that’s hard because we drive on dirt roads a lot with cliffs. But we are always safe. Sometimes I can't even see the cars ahead of me. It’s fun though. A thrill. Well that might be all I have to say. We were busy this week so I am pooped. I can promise I will take a nice nap today. Well I hope all is well with things at home. I love you.

Love Elder Tyler Pete Arnett.

P.S. - Assuming you are going to send me a Christmas package, if you are putting anything perishable in it write on the box, forward immediately or they will hold it till Christmas, if you want them to hold till then, don't put perishable food items in it. :) Just a heads up.

December 6th 2010

December 6th 2010
This week has been just grand. Monday was a great day. We didn't go anywhere because we only had about 50 miles left for the month so we had to save up. We just sat in the apartment all day. I ordered my Christmas cards and picked them up from Wal-Mart, another good thing about Wal-Mart. I think they turned out very good. I was kind of sad about spending so much but what did I expect making a 115 of them. But they included the envelopes with the pictures so in the end I might have saved money on them. I probably could have saved even more if I did them where I print them out myself right there but the machine was broken so I had to have them do it. I think they did it on purpose so everyone would spend more money. I took forever making them though. I looked back when I was finished and there was like 4 people in line behind me to use the machine. So you should be expecting a Christmas card this week. I didn't make enough to send them to everyone and I don't have the addresses of some older people that are family friends (Scott, Juice, ect...) so when you get mine you can just copy it on the computer and give one to anyone who wants one. So I have all the labels on the envelopes now and so today I just have to put the pictures in and then stamp em and send em off.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. We saw a few people and tracted a bit. We found a nice lady who invited us to come back on Friday so it was a successful tracting time. It’s more productive to tract up here than it is in the city which is weird because everything is so spread out up here. But it is good. We went and saw a couple of cool people and it was a nice day.

Wednesday was an awesome day! We went out in the morning and saw a lot of people. We had planned on doing service but the guy wasn't working that day so we had to fill in about three hours of time but it worked out pretty good. We saw some people that we really needed to see. Then we tracted some more. We didn't find anyone but we had some good conversations with people and I feel it was productive. Then we came home at about 5:30 so I could change into my suit and my ride could pick me up and take me down to Elk Grove because Abigail, a nine year old girl, was getting baptized and I taught her and set the date for her to get baptized so I got to come back and see that. It was awesome. Her dad baptized her which was a big surprise because he didn't want her to get baptized before. But he cleaned up just in time for it. Her Mom got baptized a little bit ago and I had met with her a bunch too, and she was making a scarf before I left for me and then when I came back she gave it to me. It was real nice and I like it a lot. It was nice of her. I got to see a lot of the members in the ward and it was real nice. I talked to the bishop for a good while and we have become pretty good friends. That’s the best part of missionary work is getting to know so many awesome people. Then I came home and ate cuz I hadn't had dinner.

Thursday was a day. We had district meeting in the morning with the other district that is up in the Hills as well and they cover a whole other county. Elder Buttars, who I was in the MTC with, is up there and we get to see each other a lot. It’s fantastic! After district meeting we went to subway. Elder Buttars challenged me to see who can eat 2 foot long subs the fastest. He won. But I did finish them. He went back for a third sub... (He’s over 300 lbs.) and I went back and got a personal pizza. It was delicious. I have had a stomach ache since ha. Then we went and visited Karey. This time was amazing! His speech has improved ten times more and he is starting to get his personality back. He is beginning to re-learn how to use the muscles in his face again and when we were visiting with him we saw him smile and laugh for the first time since his accident 6 months ago! It was amazing. I seriously almost cried. It was one of the most beautiful things to see. He has been through so much but he keeps on going. He told us he feels the spirit a lot and we helped him understand what to use prayer for. He is very self reliant and feels bad to ask God for anything. He is scared of what is going to happen with the world, because he thinks it’s going down fast and the worst part for him is he feels like he can't do anything to make it better right now. But once he is better he will be the greatest man ever. So that was awesome.

On Friday we had our weekly planning. That went well. We saw a few people all day then tracted in the afternoon. We went back and saw Tia, the lady we found tracting that said we could come back, and it was awesome. Their last name is Peters and I can't remember her husband’s name but he is awesome too. We taught them the restoration because he had questions about the book of Mormon. He said he would read it. The lesson went really well. They are a really nice young family. Then we went and saw Rudy and his family. It was a nice time to sit and talk with them. We taught them the 10 commandments and it was a lot of fun. We talked to Rudy by himself afterwards for about an hour and he is going through some tough times. Satan is working full force on their family so it’s been a struggle for him to keep all the commitments we have been giving them. But we talked to him about the adversary and he seems up to take the challenge and fight it out. They are real nice.

On Saturday, we just saw a lot of random less actives and people we’re working with. It was a slow day but was good. We had a fun dinner with the Ward family (last name not the area) and it was good. We went and saw a few nice people after dinner then went to visit Rudy and his kids to see if they would be at church. We stayed longer than we thought we would but it was a lot of fun. They are a fun family and it’s a lot of fun just to joke around with them.

Yesterday was a long day. We had church which was great. Rudy and his son Tristen came and they really enjoyed it. An investigator named Tarra came as well and we had a good lesson with her after church. She talks a whole bunch and we now know her whole life history. We had dinner with Brother Roberts, our ward mission leader in Ione, and it was real good. His family is super nice and it was a real fun time enjoying the meal with them. We told some jokes after supper and I told dads joke about the Jewish, Catholic, and Mormon couples dying and going to heaven. Ask dad if you don't know it. They thought it was real funny. Then we finished the day off with seeing a lot of random people in the wards. It was a long day but it was good.

So that brings my week to a close. I plan on sending pictures home soon, I'm just trying to figure out best how to do so. People steal the cards out of the envelopes if it’s not secure enough so I have to tape in nice and sturdy so it can't be taken. My companions aren't bad. It’s fun most of the time. Elder Bowman is quiet but he has a good sense of humor. It’s weird being in the Christmas season not being at home. It’s nice being on a mission though. Everything is so much more Christ centered and it’s great. Well I got to go. Love you all.

Love Elder Tyler Pete Arnett