April 3rd 2012
So to start off before i forget, i need to get a new inhaler so yeah just a heads up. I should be good on my breathing treatment medicine. I did get sick so i was taking them more frequently but i still have like 60 vials and i don't have more than 60 days left so i should be good. Well it sounds like some exciting things are going on back at home. You don't know how jealous i am that you all have seen Hunger Games and i haven't and that the Avengers will come out before i come home. How did Grandmas song go "Jealousy your eye balls are popping out" or something about the color green or something? That’s all i can remember. But yeah my eye balls are popping out. That was super cool that Porter hit a home run! Way to go man! Keep it up. And that’s great about Ellie and all the kids in the ward. We represent! The three little pigs all look so different! And the chain is classic and it would be Jamie who made it. Her and those paper chains. I loved the story about Dad meeting Elder Allen. I am going to find him when i get home and take him out to lunch. That would be super cool. I'll take Hudson and Jackson with me when i do it too. But yeah that’s awesome. So this week was good. Honestly i can't remember a thing we did. We did help the ward finish up some home teaching. They had been challenged to reach 100%. They did it back in December but the following months, January and February they only got like 11% done and the Stake President didn't like it so he challenged the whole Stake to get it in March because Elder Koelliker from the Seventy is coming to our Stake Conference this month and they want to show off to him and show that 100% is possible. Now that i have a little different of a perspective of life and God and the church i look back and see how crappy i was. The people we go see with the Elders Quorum are mean to us and Less Active and don't want us to be there at all but we still do it because we’re asked to. Back at home we had some of the easiest families to home teach. Not only were they active but they wanted us over there and they were great amazing people that were fun to visit with. I wish i had done more. But we did get everybody visited and stuff. It was good. So as you all know we did have transfers. We thought for sure Elder Fitt and I would stay together and he would send me home and then go home 6 weeks later. It made sense and we were excited. But that’s not what happened. I am staying here in Carmichael to finish out and Elder Fitt is being transferred to the Sacramento Zone to be with a newer zone leader as well. It’s going to be best for him. When i was with Elder Manukailea it was hard for me to learn a whole bunch because he did everything and didn't need my help and i couldn't see where i could help so i just kind of went along for the ride and had a good time working hard and baptizing. Well it’s a similar situation with Elder Fitt and I. When we have to do trainings and stuff i like to prepare for them well in advance so that i can work out things. A lot of times he just sits down and listens with everyone else so being with someone that is pretty new themselves should help him grow and become a better leader. I am ecstatic about my new transfer though! Elder Heaton is coming in to be my companion. He will be a brand new zone leader after only being a District Leader for one transfer which isn't too common. He was in the North Sacramento zone with me for three of the 4 transfers i was there and we got to know each other pretty well. He was just kind of puttering along but Elder Jones and I saw a lot of potential in him and he really has stepped it up and is an awesome, hardworking missionary. I really have had the strongest desire to finish strong. I think about my feelings quite often and i think about how i will feel after certain events take place and I just do not want to live the rest of my life regretting the last few months and weeks of my mission. It’s kind of funny that you shared that analogy with me because Sister Jardine would use the same one but as i have gotten into leadership and had more challenging things i have realized that it really is like running. Except it’s not on a track or even on flat land. It’s like running up a mountain and at first your kind of jogging real slow and it’s pretty flat but then something comes and you have to start picking up the pace with the mountain slowly becoming steeper. The steeper the mountain gets, the Faster your expected to run. That’s how i have felt as i have been a Zone Leader. I felt like my responsibilities have grown but they expect me to produce more. And then more and more things come up and it gets harder but you still have to run fast and you get real tired. But then you get to the point where you realize two things. 1. I can just sit here and kind of putter along and be average and just ride out the rest of my mission because it’s such short amount of a time that not too much could happen and then feel like crap the rest of my life or 2. Work my butt of till the end because like the running analogy so clearly implies, you'll be done running in just a little while and while yes it is hard, you'll be able to rest up some when it’s over and then you will feel great that you served God to the end. And then you have to choose one. You can't choose both. There is no middle ground. Either your Great or you’re not. I didn't want to leave here. Elder Heaton works very hard and is a great missionary. And he is a fitness freak! He is insanely ripped and works out a butt load and is always on some diet plan so he will help me with this last stretch of mine. Elder Fitt and I wanted to go on a diet. We would always say that we would start the diet "tomorrow". It’s like Professor Harold Hill said, "If you keep pushing things off till tomorrow, you'll end up with a lot of yesterdays". I don't think that’s an exact direct quote but i can't look it up. I think President Monson actually quoted that once so it’s cool. So i am super excited that now we can get things rockin here! I have had a lot of thoughts on my leadership style and stuff and i don't think it was super effective. So i am revamping things this transfer. I was always trying to find the next quick fix thing that the zone could do to baptize more and be better but it’s not working. So my goal this transfer is to instill in everyone a more long term perspective that will help us all be more effective and everyone will baptize. That’s what i want to leave the zone with. So hopefully it all works out good. I was able to write down a lot of my thoughts and ideas to make more sense with scriptures and stuff so it should be good. Conference was amazing! I love President Monson. My favorite talks though were by Elder Halstrom and Elder Bednar. They were great and i can't wait to go back and read them. I loved conference though. Elder Fitt and I were thinking though, Conference makes us think about home a lot. Especially priesthood conference because we would go with our dads and then go out to eat with our families. It’s not a bad thing but it can be bad if we sit there and think about it too much. Honestly i have been doing pretty good. I usually don't think about going home till night time when I’m tired and going to sleep and i don't have as much control over my mind. But it’s all good because we’re going to work our butts off these next six weeks and baptize! We have a lot of great new additions to the zone coming this week with transfers and i really think everyone will work hard and we'll start seeing more success. I hope everything is going great! I can't forget about Jackie. She looked like she had a blast in Boston! She should tell me how it went and how she likes her new job. Oh and as for working at the bank. I would love to work at a bank especially if i had a schedule like David has had where i can work a lot and go to School a lot. Well yeah. Things are going great here! Hopefully our weather gets good and things start rocking. Everyone have a good week. Love you! bye.
Elder Tyler Pete Arnett
Just a little note about the Elder Allen that Tyler mentioned. There was the elder in Tyler’s mission that when Tyler first arrived that looked a lot like his best friend Hudson. So he went up to him and introduced himself. Long story short which we have told you about is that the elder was from the same island as Hudson and Jackson Halm and he told Tyler that he had a brother that was adopted to a family in Mesa, Az when he was a baby. He said that he had prayed and prayed that the Lord would help him find his brother and that he would be able to meet him. Tyler set him up with the Halm’s who did think they knew the family that had adopted the baby. They had since moved to Washington but they put the two in contact with each other and it did turn out to be the elder’s brother. Sometime during the summer, the Allen kid received a mission call to Arizona. Then he was able to go and serve a day with his brother in the Sacramento California mission and they were able to meet and enjoy each other. Well on Tuesday, March 27th Max had gone to the Temple early in the morning with Shawn Allen. As they were dressing to get ready for a session, Max noticed that there were missionaries there also getting dressed for a session. A couple of them looked Tongan and Max mentioned to Shawn “what are the chances of one of those Elder’s being the brother to the elder that was in Tyler’s mission?” Shawn told him to ask. So Max asked one of the missionaries if there was an Elder Allen there with them. The missionary commented “yes, right over there!” And pointed to a missionary. So Max went up to the young man and asked “are you Elder Allen?” He looked at Max strangely like how did you know my name and then said “yes.” Max asked him then “are you from Washington?” Another puzzled look and another yes answer. Then Max told him “my son is Elder Arnett serving a mission in the California Sacramento Mission.” At first he looked puzzled and then Max said “my son introduced your brother to the Halm’s.” His face lit up and he said “your Elder Arnett’s dad? And you know the Halm’s?” He was so happy to meet Max and Max was thrilled to meet him. He told him that if he was ever in the Mesa area to contact us because we have so much family and friends that would love to feed him. He is currently serving in Paradise Valley. It was amazing and so fun for Max to meet him. He went to shake Max’s hand and Max told him “no this deserves a hug!” And then gave him a big hug. Are there coincidences? I think not!
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