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