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