January 24th 2011

January 24^th 2011

Well mother, I think you would be happy to know that instead of putting my cruise control at 10 -15 over I now put it right on the speed limit so no more tickets for me. I actually laugh when I see cops now because they can't give me tickets and I love being in the front of a long line of pissed off people ha! Everybody goes fast but I don't want another ticket and I can't afford it either... So this week was a good week. Some good things happened and things were nice.

On Monday Elder Buttars and Elder Bowman came over and we made some Salsa. It is actually really good. Elder Buttars named it "Hotter than Bawls". It is pretty hot. It has 5 habaneros in it and 4 jalapenos. But it sure is tasty. The rest of the day we didn't do much. We drove around a little bit trying to find things to do. We went to a couple of stores and just looked around and didn't buy anything because none of us have money. We had dinner with a nice family I'm sure but I can't remember who. I also can't remember what we did the rest of the night. I'm sure we visited someone.

Tuesday was a good day. We had a good morning trying to visit people that weren't home. After lunch we went out to visit a couple of people in Ione. We are really trying to find people down there because they feel neglected when were up in Jackson working with Rudy and his family all the time. So we visited a couple of less active families and had a couple of nice conversations with them. We went down to Camanche which has a lake and saw a few people. Upon returning home we noticed a sign saying lake this way so we took a detour and got some really cool pictures of the sun setting on the lake. Then we went through a huge puddle in our truck. It was cool. We had dinner that night with the Fronks. It was really good. I love it when people cook us delicious meat and then give us the luxury of having A-1 to put on it. You all know how much I like that stuff. We talked a little had our spiritual thought then they had us try out some cool puzzle things they had. It was fun. Afterwards we went to Rudy's house with a member of the bishopric named Brother Johnson (He served with Adam in Chicago) and the lesson was a hit. Two weeks in a row we had the right people come with us. They related to Dusty so well and really helped her progress. It was a great lesson. Oh we baked a cake on Tuesday as well. It was Funfetti cake with Funfetti frosting. We waited till Thursday to eat it though.

Wednesday was a day and a half. Man. We had exchanges with the Zone Leaders. I went down to Lodi to be with Elder Manukailea. He is Tongan and is from Long Beach Cali. Didn't go too far from home. We tracted all day long. I'm not even exaggerating; besides lunch dinner and the few people we visited afterwards we were tracting. It was great though. It made the whole day go so much faster. We taught two amazing lessons and got a load of returns, especially for the Spanish Elders. It was fun. We are good friends already because we served around each other down in Stockton and he was Zone Leader with Elder Carlson, my friend, later on. We had a good day but I sure was glad to get back to my truck!

Thursday was kind of a boring day. We went over to Elder Buttar's and Elder Bowman's area for district meeting. It was real good. President Jardine came over a few days before and talked to Elder Bowman. I guess he has been having a lot of struggles in his past with his family and getting hit by a car on his mission and everything and driving around all day gives him too much time to think about it all. So president decided to ET (Emergency Transfer) him to the city so he will be more busy. He only has like six months to go so he is trying to finish out strong. So Elder Buttars will be getting a new companion. After that we came back over to our area and visited some people. There are a lot of nice people up here in the sticks. We had dinner with the Stewarts. We were late because I was going the speed limit but they understood. We had a good dinner of enchiladas. They were good but not as good as my moms. I sure do miss her cooking. We went over to visit Brother Gonzales the ward missionary in Ione because our plans for the night fell through and we hadn't seen him in weeks. We shot BB guns at a target and I got a couple of Bull’s-eyes. It was fun and we got to talk to him about some of the things we were trying to do in his area. After that we went home.

Friday was a great day. We had weekly planning in the morning then at 1:30 we went and did service for Brother and Sister Watson up in the mountains. They had us help them haul some dirt and barrels and stuff, things they can't do due to health problems, and it was really fun. We helped them move some fertilized dirt into a garden area and helped them transplant some carrots and garlic then we dug up their potatoes. They thought they had all rotted but most of them were still good so they were excited. We left there about 4:15 after having a diet coke and trying to catch a fish with my hands in his above ground pond. We got showered and stuff then went to dinner with Brother Zuniga. His wife is an active member but he is not but they wanted us to come over for dinner. We had these little mini tostadas and they were amazing! He made this sauce to put over them that was just divine. It was tomatoes blended up really fine with dill pickle juice and oregano. It was tasty. I stuffy myself with seven of them and he said I did a good job on eating. He was funny but has no interest in being baptized. After that we tried to visit some Part member families in Ione. Then we went home and went to sleep.

Saturday was a boring day as well. We were both tired so we kind of lugged around getting out and then weren't too urgent going to people’s houses. No one was really home the whole day. Oh we were tired because we had to wake up early to meet with Brother Roberts our Ward Mission Leader in Ione, to discuss the missionary efforts in his ward. He said the ward is trying hard to find people for us to teach which is something a missionary loves to hear. We weren't able to see Karey that whole week so we are going over tomorrow. It was a good meeting though.. We were supposed to have dinner with Sister Skujins but we decided we wouldn't because her husband died last Sunday and the funeral was early on Saturday so we thought it would be best to give her some time. He had cancer. It was a super sad story. He retired in June of last year and then started complaining about some soreness in his throat so in October they checked it out and he had Stage 4 lymphoma cancer. He wasn't going to recover from it but they thought he'd live a little longer but the last couple of weeks he really took a dive. We had dinner over there just a month ago and he was up walking and talking and looked not quite fine but ok. You could tell he was sick but not that bad off. It was some startling sad news for the whole ward. We went over to Rudy's because we knew they would have some food for us. They did and they always do. Let’s just say A-1 doesn't taste good on everything, like rice and corn. But we visited with them for a while after dinner and made sure everyone was coming to church. Eve spent the night at a member’s house and would be coming to church with them.

Sunday morning we went to church. It was awesome. Rudy's whole family was there for the first time ever. Olga never comes but decided to this time and she really really enjoyed it. Eve came with the Uhri's the family she spent the night at and Dusty came with Sister Crowley an old lady she does in home care for. She is a member and told Dusty she should be at church and Dusty said she couldn't go cuz she had to take care of her so Sister Crowley said well let’s get me ready and go ha. She is really old and it’s hard for her to even walk so it was nice of her to sacrifice so Dusty could come. Rudy, Tristen and Jr. all came with Olga and it was real awesome to have them all there. Church was great. We went over to the Zunigas for lunch. They wanted us to come over again but just for company, I mean we are really cool guys so everyone wants to hang around with us. We had sandwiches. They were good. Then we went to Rudy's house for dinner and had lemon chicken with pasta. The chicken was really good but I didn’t enjoy the pasta as much. When Elder Byrum wasn't looking I put most of mine on his plate and he didn't even notice ha. I told him afterwards about it. The rest of the night we visited a few members in Jackson and encouraged them to make a profile on Mormon.org. Which is something all of you at home should be doing as well. All you need is your membership record number and you can get that off your temple recommend if you don't know it or ask one of the clerks or the bishop. They can get it for you. We went to bed right away last night cuz I was scared of evil spirits.

So that was our week. Not too exciting but we tried to stay busy. We are still trying to find a few people to work with. The mission goal in February is "Families our Forever February", so they want us to complete Part member families. We started visiting them before the mission told us that was our goal so we know both us and the mission were inspired. It’s neat when it works out that way. Well I hope everyone at home is doing well. I hope you enjoy reading me ramble on about my week.

Love, Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

January 17th 2011

January 17, 2011

This week was kind of a boring week so if this email is lame I am truly sorry.

So on Monday as you now know I got a speeding ticket. The cop was really nice though. I was going 73 in a 55 and he said that looked kind of bad so he marked it down to 65 in a 55 which was a huge blessing but from talking with people it sounds like it is going to be a 300 dollar ticket. That sucks. Oh well. And as for the blurry pictures... It’s not my eyes, it’s my camera. It will focus good but when it takes the picture it goes all blurry. I have tried everything to get it to be normal. So now I just take gay pictures because nothing is cool blurry. So Monday was a good day other than the ticket. We had dinner with President Hofmann from the previous stake presidency. He is an awesome guy. Tuesday was a weird day. We woke up and got all ready and I needed to do my wash and since we have a washer and dryer in our apartment I just do it when it needs it so I cleaned up all my clothes and stuff then I decided to put my shoes away and next thing me and Elder Byrum know its 12 and we had cleaned the whole apartment and rearranged all the furniture and now our apartment looks huge and we have so much space for various activities. After lunch we went and tried to visit a few people. We didn't have much luck because no one was home. We went through a couple of Potential Investigators this week that missionaries had contacted in the past but none were really interested. It was kind of a bummer but we are still working with some great people and there are a few people that we are trying to get in contact with that will be real promising. We had a lesson on Tuesday night with Rudy and his family. We are still teaching Dusty (Rudy's Wife) Eve, Olga, and Jr. and since Eve has a set date we have daily contact with her to make sure she is still reading her scriptures and stuff. So on Tuesday President Hofmann came with us and it was a real good lesson. We didn't really prepare anything so we went in blind but it was one of our better lessons with them. He was able to relate to Dusty a lot because he was a convert with a lot of the same concerns she has. Before Rudy's baptism Eve was concerned about a few things but she felt the spirit at the baptism and now she doesn't care about those things she just accepts them as truth because she’s allowing the spirit to testify to her. It’s been amazing. Wednesday we went and saw a lot of people up in the snow because we had dinner up there. It was good. Most people weren't home but we got to visit with a few nice people for a short time. We had dinner with the Hopkins and it was fun. They are old. I enjoy old people, sometimes. They got me interested in family history. When I get home I’m going to do it. I looked up the Arnett’s on family search but it only went back to 1710 in Virginia so I still don't know where we come from... but yeah Wednesday was good. Thursday was a real boring day. Nobody was home at all. We tried to see some less actives and stuff but it seemed like no one lived there it was so quiet and desolate. It was lame. We had dinner with the Hancock’s. It was good. We have had the same thing for dinner all week though! Sloppy Joes or Spaghetti. I like spaghetti but some people suck at cooking it so it wasn't always the best but I ate it anyways because I’m hungry. Friday was a good day. We had weekly planning then we went down to Lodi and had lunch at this real good Mexican food place. They had chimichangas the closest to Matta's I’ve had since I’ve been out. They were good but didn't come close to Matta's. Then we had a Zone Training meeting from President Jardine. It was really good. They trained us on how to use Mormon.org more and better and how to use it with members. It was really good and now they want us to get on it once a week to be more familiar with it. Then we got trained by Sister Jardine on how to give talks and stuff. It was real good. We drove straight home to get to dinner in time. We had it with the High Priests at their social. Then went to Rudy's for a better dinner. We had steak. It was real good. Then we shared a good message with them. On Saturday we didn't do much because Elder Byrum was sick and I was coming down with something a little bit. So we stayed in for a bit then visited some people then took it easy for a while. We had dinner with sister Miligan who is a recent convert of about a year. She had a cool conversion story. Being on my mission has given me some good ideas for books. Especially after meeting Rudy and hearing his stories. Man he's been through a lot and he's only 32! Sunday we had church. We were down in Ione. It was good. We went to Jackson for Elder's Quorum because Rudy's whole family was at church minus Olga. It was the first time and I think everyone really enjoyed it. All the kids are making a lot of friends and they like going to activities. Sunday I was sick along with Elder Byrum so we just went to a few members houses and talked with them then had dinner with the Saldate's. It was good. She likes to make different foreign foods. Afterwards we went home and took a nap because I had a huge headache. Then we visited Rudy and it was real good. Their home teachers had been over already and Eve is going to start going to Seminary. It was cool. They are doing real good. So this week was kind of a bum week. I am starting to get over this cold so it’s not bad anymore. Me and Elder Byrum are getting a long really good. We are always tired because we talk forever at night. Its fun serving with him and we both hope president Jardine leaves us both up here for another transfer. I love the people in our ward and some amazing things are happening with amazing people. I hope everyone is having fun at home and doing well. I love you all.

Love, Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

January 10th 2011-Baptism of Rudy & Tristian

January 10^th 2011

Wow it seems like the family reunion was a hit! I'm sad I missed it but in 2013 things will go down hard core! It sounds like everyone really enjoyed it. So I am pretty much out of time to email so I will tell you pretty much the most important thing that happened this week. So Rudy and Tristian had a date for the 8th. So this past week we were over there working with them every day. On Monday they got their interviews from the Zone leaders and we thought Rudy would need a second one from one of the mission presidency because of his past but the Zone leader said that he could really tell he had repented and he felt it wasn't necessary. So that was super awesome. We went over a few things with them and then spent most of the week visiting them making sure they resisted temptation all week. We also visited a lot of members this week letting them know about the baptism. We had Zone Conference in Stockton on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of good training from President Jardine and his assistants. It was good. We had to stay down there later because we had gotten a flat tire a few days before. I went around a corner a little fast and the roads are always wet and there is always fog so I slid into a bank and it popped the tire. So we had to use our spare and on Wednesday they repaired the other one and put it back on. I have learned my lesson and only go fast when its dry and I can see. Just kidding I go slow all the time now. So on Saturday Rudy and Tristian got baptized! It was awesome. The whole service was really good. Elder Brantley came back and baptized Rudy and Elder Bowman baptized Tristian. It was great. Then we played Dodge ball with Rudy and his family for about an hour after the baptism and I am paying for it still. My right shoulder is so sore. It was fun though. Later that night we went over to their house and Rudy's daughter Eve said she wanted to be baptized on Feb. 4th! It was awesome. So our numbers weren't too great this week but we have been doing the right work so it was a good week. Eve came to church yesterday and saw Rudy and Tristian get confirmed and she is still set for the 4th. Our bishop confirmed Rudy and I confirmed Tristian. It was cool and a first for me. So yeah. Sorry this week’s email was so short but I don't have much time and I read a long email but it was great. I have pictures ready to send home so be expecting them this week. I will try and email more next week. I haven’t got your letter yet but I will be looking for it. Well I’m off

Love Elder Tyler Pete Arnett

January 1st 2011 Happy New Year!

January 1^st 2011

So this week was grand. It’s weird having a p day on Tuesday then another on Saturday. Oh well I like it. Sorry I didn't tell you my emailing schedule before. I forgot. I won't be emailing on Monday the 3rd. But I will be emailing that following week on the 10th.

So this week has been good. Tuesday night we went over to Rudy's house to teach them and so Elder Brantley could say bye. We asked Tristen if he wanted to be baptized on the eighth and his mom freaked because she never knew we invited him to be baptized on the 31st but she is cool with it now, she was just caught off guard. So he accepted and then Elder Brantley was telling Rudy that he would be back to see Tristen get baptized and then he would come back when Rudy decided to get baptized and he told us that if Tristens getting baptized on the eighth then he might as well too! So it was super exciting.

On Wednesday we went to breakfast with our ward mission leader and the couple who were going to take Elder Brantley to Stockton. It was real good. Then we went back home and the Elders from the other area came over and babysat me while we waited for Elder Byrum. (BTW Hayley, Elder Buttars is writing you a letter. Don't be too surprised just go along with it.) Elder Byrum finally got here and it was good. We went to lunch with the other missionaries then we went and helped a guy load a moving van. It was good. The rest of the night we just went and saw random members and introduced Elder Byrum to them. Then we went over to Rudy’s so he could meet them. It was fun.

On Thursday we had weekly planning. We have some good things coming up for this week. We went out at one after lunch then saw a bunch of people. We were supposed to have a lesson with a lady named Tara but she canceled cuz she was in Modesto. Then we had to visit some more people. It was a random day. At night we had dinner with Bishop Jenkins and afterwards he challenged us to a game of pool. We lost... Then we had to drive down to Lodi because we were spending the night at the Zone leader’s apartment. Elder Byrum is the District leader so he had a leadership training meeting in the morning and we would have had to wake up way too early for him to make it on time.

Friday was an interesting day. I went out with Elder Swank who is another district leader’s companion. He normally serves in the Hmong program teaching and speaking Hmong (Asian) but I guess each Asian missionary has to do a little bit of English now. So he got switched over. So we went out and helped a lady move in their ward. It was the fastest move of my life. Seriously, it took 30 min and we loaded a whole huge truck full. It was good. Then we went to tract. This is where the crazy stuff happened. We knock on one door and they were not interested so Elder Swank said he wanted to try a house across the street. So we went over and he said I think these people might be Hmong because they had a Honda to drive and corn hanging from their door. So we knocked on it and sure enough they were Hmong and they let us in and he taught a lesson. Now I have been a part of lessons in Spanish and I can understand mostly what’s going on. I couldn't understand a darn thing in Hmong. I couldn't even tell they were praying! It was weird. So that was crazy. We tracted some more then went and had lunch then we met back up with our companions. We drove back and got all changed then we had to see a few members to get some info but no one was home. We had a good dinner of pizza then went over to Rudy’s house to teach them. We taught them about the Anti-Nephi-Lehis which is a name I don't understand why they called themselves it. Why would they want to be Anti them. Oh well that’s their name. We taught about how they buried their swords and weapons and then I gave them each a piece of paper and told them to write something they want to change to be better and make a commitment to God with this paper. Dusty liked the idea she even had her daughters friends who were over in another room for a new year’s party come join us and do it. We put them each in a tin can and then buried it in the front yard. In a year they plan to dig it up and see how well everyone did. It was good. Then we went over all the baptismal interview questions with Rudy and Tristen. It went pretty well. Rudy got defensive because each question has something to do with something he's done and messed up with in his life but it was good. We told them it would be better now to hear the questions then having a complete stranger ask them first. So they are both excited and firm for the 8th. Rudy might want to push it back but we told him if he's ready then there is no reason to wait so I think both Rudy and Tristen will be baptized on the 8th. And some other great news, the whole family should be coming to church tomorrow! Dusty got work off and Eve finished her community service so it is just a matter of time till the rest of them follow Jesus Christ's example and get baptized. So that is what went on this week. It was pretty good. We have a lot of people we are going to resume working with next week because they told us to come back after the New Year so we will see how that goes. I hope all is well at home.

Love Elder Tyler Pete Arnett