Transfers

Well, we had a lunch appointment and so we were late getting to the cafe!  I had recorded a recording of my week, but unfortunately it is too large to attach..it was 40 min though, so I will have a shorter one ready to send next week! This week has been great! We finally got a ward mission leader! We have coordinated with him so much and now we can finally get organized! We have found 6 new investigators this week! It is amazing how if we just open our mouth, we'll be surprised at who is ready to hear the gospel.  We have been busy with trying to find a new house.  We found one that we are most likely moving into if we both stay! Our housing has been a nightmare! But, we have stayed positive! This week I also used a cardigan! What the heck?! haha. Who would've thought.  It rains consistently here by the bucket fulls! We have had so many progressing investigators and recent converts this week! We have had three youth, two sisters and one elder working with us helping share their testimonies in the lessons! There were just a few funny stories this week.  Walking to one appointment there was a group of ten kids that ran up to me and clung to my body! They wouldn't let go and so Sis Molino and I counted to three and ran! hahah Scary! Not really, but it's crazy what an American brings! haha. Then, another funny thing is all the Filipinos tell me they want my white skin..yes, it's still white! haha Actually I have tan lines on my feet!! and I'm proud of them :) But here, they use whitening soap! hahahahahah I died laughing! There isn't much to write about other than we are finally getting organized and making progress with those we are teaching and are excited to teach those investigators we found! I can truly testify once more that the church is true! No matter how bad we think we have it, for example with Elizabeth Smart, she had it rough, but its how we handle those situations that molds our character and who we are! I am thankful to have served in the Bacolod 6th ward this transfer and whether I stay or go and whether Sis. Molino stays my trainer or not, I am willing to go and do! Thank you for all the love and support that you all have given me! I pray for you daily and remember that the gospel is true and when life gets too hard to stand, kneel.  That's what I do. And I can testify that the Lord will bless you! Enjoy more pictures!

Halong po kag palanga kita!

Sister Arnold

Another week has gone bye

Maayo-ago pamilya!

 Last Monday was a turning point for me! Like I said last week, my companion and I were kinda all business until Monday. We finally got adjusted and used to each other and we have hit it off since then! It's not just business, but we've gotten to know each other personally and I know that our success in the field starts with the unity in the home and with the companionship.  I did my laundry for the first time on Monday, too. I got up at 5 and I worked on it until 7..so time consuming and my hands were extremely sore. I wondered if my clothes were even getting clean, but you learn to not care here. haha That night, we had ward FHE..it was so much fun and I can finally say I tasted some WEIRD food..I had shrimp eggs (I choked it down, but it was DISGUSTING!), the dried fish I always gagged over every time we went for Filipino food (it was actually not the bad), an ostrich egg, and other funky things!!

Tuesday was District Meeting where we gave stats, asked for suggestions, learned about the Book of Mormon and practiced..(speaking of district meeting, I have to present a 3-5 min presentation in Illongo tomorrow! I guess that's one way to learn the language! haha) We learned that with 1+1 always equals two. Thus paralleled, reading the Book of Mormon and pray always equals true conversion! If an investigator isn't progressing, we can find the problem and troubleshoot from there! We have had Michael who is 12 yrs old move his baptism date up because he is progressing so much! Yet, there are investigators here who are having a hard time keeping the commitments..actually, a lot are. It's frustrating because we know how the gospel will help them, so we've been working on how to better help them and find their root problem because we can't keep building on an unsturdy foundation. It'll fall.

Wed-Today most of our appointments fell through.  Most weren't home or some claimed to be "busy".  That was the first time that I felt discouraged. Yet, we have to remember to keep having faith and being persistent and the Lord will make way for them to be prepared.  My lessons are coming more and more with the Illongo as I use the words I know all the time and keep adding to them.  If I don't know Illongo, I resort to Tagalog before I speak English. Although most people speak English to me still when I"m trying to learn Illongo..those tempters haha.  We also went over to a lady in our ward who makes porcelain figurines and I bought a spider man for one of the boys..They are dirt cheap. What are some characters (Two more ideas) so I can get them one. She hand paints them and I got my name, mission, and years on them.  That night my companion (ps she cooks for me because I don't know what or how to cook their food)  but it was a tomato and duck egg topping...I gagged. Its going to take a while to get used to this food. haha. 

Thursday-We had better success! I love personal study!! I feel my faith and love for my Savior grow each day.  I am starting the book of Mormon and am already 1/3 done! I love it. We taught quite a few new people  today and we have a 17 yr old girl Kriscella who comes with us  and helps..she wants to serve a mission! On the streets I always get called gwapa and there are people who try and speak illongo to me and I don't' understand so they ask in English "well do you know gwapa??!" haha I feel conceited saying yes, but I do. haha I also have gotten eaten alive by mosquito's that have turned purple and blistering..I have an appt with the doc tomorrow because I think I'm reacting to them.  All the kids also surround me.  I finally got a picture! I also got a pic with goats! There are goats around everywhere! We still have baptisms set for the next 5 weeks and one this weekend of Jay-ann who is 12, also! But, funny thing for the day, my comp is Filipino and she struggles with English and she always calls girls "him" and it throws me off all the time! It's so funny! 

Fri-Today I felt the gift of tongues! It was awesome. I was inspired to challenge the ward with reading 3rd Nephi Ch. 11-26. We are struggling with the members and we need their help the most. So we want them to center their study on those ch's this month so that we can get excited about this gospel and be more willing to get out there and do missionary work! I need ideas if anyone has anything! I set goals for myself this week and have met most of them! We also have been focusing on teaching keeping the sabbath day holy to our investigators because they are always working on Sundays and can't come to church! We hope that teaching them that, they will get more motivated and realize and rearrange their priorities! 

Sat- I swear I am going to come home hunchback! I am so tall everywhere I go.  Today I got in a tricycle and had to hang my head out the window because I didn't fit. Then, a bug flicked and went in my eye and it hurt for forever! But, it gives good stories to tell! haha. We have continued working with those investigators getting them ready for their interviews for baptism! There is a boy that was just baptized that reminds me of Matthew. He is so funny! I also, finally saw a Downs girl here..I loved her and it made me miss Tyler and his hugs, kisses, and excitement! PS.I still haven't bitten my nails. I finally kicked the habit. They have no polish on them and I finally don't have a desire to bite them! There also was a lady we visited Sis. Impan. She is older with no money who has a desire to go to church, but we are going to talk to bishop to see what we can do. She made my day with her smile and laugh and she told us that she was glad that the missionaries came to visit her because the others were always so serious and looked terrified, but us, we were always smiling and laughing..of course! We love the mission! So, I have gotten that I look  1/2 Filipino and American and today I got I looked 1/2 Indian and American...what?!!!! hahahaahahhaha Also, I went and visited a less active. I introduced my self "Ako po si Sis Arnold" and she laughed and said "oh, Arnold Schwartzanegro"hahahaha I DIED! It made me think of Matthew and white chicks! She meant Schwarzenegger, oh made my week!

Sun-We had our first testimony meeting! I am grateful for the atonement in my life. Today was the day that I finally realized that we were teaching by the spirit! You always wonder and Elder Bednar says "Don't worry about it", but I can testify that we were led. All our plans ended up going other than planned, but it was what they needed! Then, in my personal study, I was directed and guided! It was incredible and I received revelation for one of our investigators who was baptized but doesn't believe in a living prophet. Don't ask me how, but we're working on her and I think I know how :)

I am grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary at this time. I always strive to be the missionary that moms think their kids are! The Lord has blessed the work in the Philippines for us and we are doing all we can to work on it! I love being a missionary and know this church is true! I miss and love you all. I pray for you daily!

I love you all!!

Sister Arnold

Well, I made it!

Welcome to the Bacolod after 18 hours of traveling, no sleep, missionary work on every flight, gave out 1 B of M, 2 mormon.org cards with 2 referrals.  Our plane rides were chaotic, Manila robbed us $ wise-we had to pay $100 each for baggage w/ no time to fight it or we would've missed our flight:  We got to Bacolod, were greeted by humidity, bathrooms w/ no TP (Good thing I had kleenex in my backpack..I was not about to start off my trip with having to wipe with my hands..not yet at least HA!),  our Mission Pres. and wife, and the 2 AP's.  We headed for the hotel where we stayed for the next 2 nights because the Mission Home was under renovation.  We had interviews that night and met some of the office staff.  We were embarrassingly tired and were falling asleep while waiting for our turn! Jet lag I tell ya! We went back and the next morning went down for breakfast and was greeted w/ rice, meatballs, fish, chicken, omlettes, fruit, and bread..where's the bagels, cereal, and pancakes?? Not in the PI! ha But, I have learned to love the rice real quick! We had orientation that day, met the rest of the Filipino missionaries that were new as well.  We had dinner with the President and others and it turned into a cultural event..they all wanted to hear from the foreigners so us Americans sang "Home on the range" (Sis kings choice, not mine ha), the Canadians sang their national song, and the filipinos got up and sang as sisters in zion/armies of helamen...huh?! that's not cultural! That's american too! haha. Friday came and we knew we were getting our trainers.  The night before I had a feeling that I was going to be sent to the Central zone which is dead center in the city...guess where I got assigned? Central zone, Bacolod 6th ward! Who told me no sisters got sent to the city?? haha Definitely wrong.  This mission is not allowed to tract, but we focus all our time on reactivation.  I was immediately humbled and grateful for what I had.  These people all have houses made out of wood, boxes, sticks, no air, no floors but dirt, trees as chairs and blankets separating "rooms".  I was taken back at how they had hardly anything but were extremely happy! You never truly understand until you see it first hand.  And this is my home for the next 12 weeks at least and I LOVE it! Day two in the field we had a baptism of the Tan family, a husband and wife.  As we walked to the church it poured on us and I didn't have my umbrella, hence why I look the way I do in thepicture.  They are the nicest family and will be great! I've already gotten close to them and seeing all that they gave up to become a member is incredible, but the Lord will bless them! Right now we have 7 families/people who have baptism dates set for the next 5 weeks.  We teach at least 30+ lessons a week and stay busy.  My trainer is good.  She's extremely diligent, obedient, dedicated and helps me be the missionary I need to be.  But, unfortunately, she keeps it all business, so we don't really know much about eachother personally..oh well! The language is tough as I've been trying to learn it.  Everything I learned in Tagalog is basically useless and I'm starting from square one.  But, I continue trying.  Our ward is in English and most people talk to me in English too, which doesn't help haha.  Whoever said this is the hardest thing I'd ever do is right, but I can already see blessings from it.  In all our lessons, never fails, we ask them who they want to say the prayer..guess who they choose?? THE AMERICAN! haha geez! That's one way to learn the language and they chuckle as they pick me too. Haha I love it! everyone comments on the following everytime I talk to someone, it's one of these: how tall I am (even president said it), or they call me gwapa which means beautiful, or they say that I look like a beauty pageant queen and should try out for Miss America! hahhaha Oh they're funny! The people are so sweet and welcoming and my love for them increases each day. On sunday,  I was called on to share my testimony..I started in english with words I didn't know, but as I started to give my testimony in Illongo, everyone was smiling and laughing as I tried my hardest! hhahaha They all laugh because I say the common words in Illongo because I"m learning doctrine words etc so I'm limited and my trainer translates most of the time as I'm learning! hahahah
But here are some random things:
-We only have running water in the apt from 5 to 8am
-We take bucket showers (that wasn't a joke)
-We eat rice for practically every meal.
-I haven't eaten anything crazy because the members/others don't feed us..we fend for ourselves.
-We've had 2 brown outs which are power outages
-I have 10 mosquito bites that turned purple..ouch!
-They have American music blaring in the streets..it's funny to see how far behind the times they are.
-We ride in those tricycles a lot because our house isn't in the area and our area is huge. I barely fit in them, the roof is on my head literally, and when we hit bumps they all laugh because I hit my head really hard.
-I have to bend down to get in through any doors in houses, etc. You'd think I'm 6'2 over here..I'm only 5'9!
-I got pecked and bit by a duck. haha
-I have embarrassing moments where filipinos don't understand me and their culture they just stare at you and drop their jaw if they don't understand. ha
-The families all want me to help them with their English and they in return help me with my illongo.
-Mothers Day we can skype!
-My singing is awful here because they aren't the best singers and soIi sometimes follow them out of habit..cover your ears! haha
-There's only 25 sisters in the mission.
-When I say I'm from Vegas, they ask if I've gambled before haha.
-We don't schedule appts here, we just drop by and tech because they're always home.
-I have a fan next to me ALWAYS!!
-Moms breast feed in the open everywhere and even during lessons..no cover up, etc.
-Lizards visit the apt.

Well, I am out of time, but I'll write home answering your emails...know I love you all and love the PI!!!

Love you!
Sister Arnold

My address is Brgy 22 Bacolod City
6100 Negros Occidental
Philippines

9 days and I am on a Plane

Family and Friends! How was everyone this week and how was your Easter!? I loved hearing all about what the family did and I wish I could've gotten some homemade Easter dinner from the Arnolds/Christiansens. I sure missed everyone and it was weird not being at home for my first holiday on the mission..and I only have more to go! But, I'm happy to be serving the Lord at this time and am just loving it!!!

Where to begin??!! Well, I know! Flight plans!! I finally got them and there are so many of my friends, etc that i've made here that leave the same day and they all leave BEFORE me! I don't fly out of SLC until 9:36pm..rough I know! But, I'm excited! It's crazy to think 9 weeks ago where I was, what I was doing, priorities I had vs others, and how I am now. The mission has changed me so much in 8 weeks than I ever imagined. And to think that I'll be in the actual mission field, with buckets for showers, no toilet paper, floors as beds, bugs surrounding me, contaminated water that I can't drink, etc. And yet, I couldn't be more excited to get there! On that note, last week I set some goals for myself on the mission as I'm leaving and one thing I wanted was to get a feel for the culture 100%. And I decided, that at holidays and birthdays, I'd prefer you to save the money you would spend on me and spend it on the boys, etc. It takes so long to get packages, there's risk of not getting it, but it's not even that. I want to experience having nothing for that year and a half. Those people in Bacolod have hardly anything and yet they are the happiest people out there! So, that's what I want, too. To appreciate it all, and put the other stuff aside. :) You can save it and put it towards the wedding, school, etc. hahahaha Thank you and I love you all!

My flight plans are as follows..

We report at 6:30 to the travel office and I'm the travel leader of 7 people.

We leave SLC at 9:36 and arrive in San Fran. at 10:55pm

We leave there at 1:10 am and arrive in Hong Kong at 6:15am

WE leave Hong Kong at 8:05am and arrive in Manila at 9:55am.

We leave Manila at 2pm and arrive in Bacolod at 3:15pm.

**Keep in mind all the time changes, etc.

So, I know it will be a late night phone call, but I hope you will be up! I'll have a while to talk to people and I don't know if I'll get to call anyone else because everyone will be asleep! (i.e. grandparents, etc)

Man, it's so unreal. None of us feel ready language wise, but that's not even a problem for us! We know the Lord will bless us like He has already!

I don't have much time, but just a few things that have happened this week:
-We are still not allowed to shake hands, etc. but I did stay clear of the flu. I don't know anyone with it anymore, phew!

-I found out Bro Howard, the 2nd counselor in my branch presidency is related, well 2nd cousins with Dod Hyre..small world!

-On Easter Sunday, Elder Packer and President Packer came and talked to us..father and son! It was so cute to see Pres. Packers personality outside of conference..he's so cute!! But they talked on the Atonement and Resurrection and it was awesome! IT wasn't the first presidency, but it was the next best thing!!

-The two new sisters that became our roommates and I have bonded like crazy..it's funny how you meet people here that you could see yourself best friends with, but they aren't going to your mission, nor are they from the states..well Sister Tivalu is from Australia. It's finally nice to have someone with my same personality who can be focused, but still have fun at the same time! She is my medicine with laughter and every night I go to bed happy because of them. But, it couldn't be awesome.

-My companions birthday was this week and we didn't really do anything, hah. Not much to do here in the MTC.

-Lastly, I just wanted to share an impression I got this week. well two! One was there was an elder in my district who sleeps in class, is disobedient, etc. I pray every night and he was so rude one day that when the teacher left, I spoke my mind. I hoped that it would hit something and trigger SOMETHING that he would think "Gee, maybe she's right" haha (I hope my husband doesn't read this haha) But, the next day, he came in, he stayed awake,and after made a public announcement to the class that he was really sorry and realized that he needed to step up as a missionary. We all just sat and gave thanks because it was the moment we've been waiting for for 4 1/2 weeks! The spirit has been in every class and we are as close as we were in the beginning! Finally..I see miracles every day, even if it is in the MTC.

-The other was I wanted to sit down as a 6 week missionary and pray and dissect my patriarchal blessing. I had a feeling that I could benefit from something in there, and as I sat down, I took pages of notes and only got half way. The blessing is only one page, but oh man, the revelation I received from it is incredible, especially with the mindset of a missionary, this work and my purpose. It was incredible!

Well, I'm out of time! But, I can't wait to talk to you all soon!! I am so excited and as my roommate, Sis Tivalu would say, "I LOVE THIS WORK!!!"

Funny story before I go about the Philippines:

If someone sneezed in the Philippines, they think it's because someone didn't shower.haha crazy!! So instead of saying "Bless you" they say "naligo ako" which means "I showered. It's not me! " hahaha

I can't wait to get out in the field and put into action all I learned and finally meet the people that I've been hearing about for over 5 months now!!

Happy Belated Birthday to J, or Elder Gifford :) And mom, Happy Birthday on Monday!! The big 40! Eat a piece of cake for me!

Mahal Kita to all!!!!!!!!

Sister Arnold

What An Awesome Week!

Kumusta po kayo pamilya?! It's a beautiful day in Provo!

Funny story. So, we were passing by a girl in the residence hall and instead of saying hello to everyone, we say Kumusta to get in routine of the language using it as much as possible. Well, so she said hello and we responded with "Kumusta" and she looked at us and said, "I'm Korean!" I about died! It was the funniest thing to me that she thought we got her nationality wrong when we were just speaking her language. We told her "We're learning Tagalog" and then she said "Oh" and went in her room. I felt bad, but my companion and I laughed for forever!

So I also have a saying for Tyler, because he always says "What the heck!" Well, in Tagalog it's "Ano biyan". The spelling might be wrong, but I just know how it sounds, and have never seen it written. It's pronounced "ah-no buy-on". Just a funny side note :)

Well, like the subject said, you probably thought I was out of cool news. Well, wrong. This week was amazing! Grif, listen up. Well, Griffin and I were always joking that we would be in the MTC with David Archuleta, but I never thought it would be true...until, he arrived!!!!!!!! He's been like a foot away from me and when he walks into the lunch room each time, all the heads turn! (including mine) I loved his music and having seen him in concert, etc at BYU Idaho..but, he's so humble here and just wants to be known as a missionary. He's nothing more than each one of us. But, there are a ton of unhappy missionaries because he just got here Wed and we perform Sat. in conference, but they're letting him in and not all the others who still had like 2 years of experience, but it just wasn't enough. They feel alot of favoritism, and I personally don't think it's exactly fair, but I'm not going to make a big deal about it..the girls are excited to have him sing with us! He's awesome! So, that was my exciting news of the week! Elder Archuleta is going to Chile I believe, because rumor had it that it was Philippines or Chile and it's not Philippines..he's so tiny, too, especially when you're right next to him!

Anyway, we perform tomorrow. It's crazy that it's here already and I'm wearing the white shirt with bow on it. It was a nightmare with the RS pres trying to coordinate colors and all these things we COULDN'T wear and we can't even have our undershirt showing. I almost called JeNeal to see if she had something, but I got it all worked out! Tuesday we practiced for 4 hours in total and all the girls have asked me to do their hair and makeup tomorrow, so it'll be a busy morning for me!

Well, for those who asked (Grandma Jolene) It's Elder Saaid and Taukei. You can just send it to my same mailbox number, or Dear Elder it to the same place, but putting their names as the person it's going to, not mine. Thank you so much. It'll mean the world to them! They loved my companion's brother's letter to them, so I know they'll love yours! Speaking of Elders. There has been a particular elder in my district who thinks it's ok to break rules, check his email daily and more than once a day, go on FB hacking the computer to get on, etc. Well, Elder "X" see's him doing it and thinks it's okay. We had a devo on Tuesday night and in it he said that if we're not helping our companion/district, etc to be obedient, then maybe we should go home too. I have never really said anything because I didn't know how, but as soon as Elder "X" getting on to check the rugby stats, I told him no. He only had two days and he could do it then. He's already struggling and being disobedient isn't going to be in his favor. I said it was disrespectful to us sisters especially, but everyone around them who is witnessing it and he got off. He later pulled me aside and thanked me for telling him not to do it. He said that he's stubborn sometimes and he needed someone to keep in check and he really appreciated it. It made me feel good to know that he took it as me saying it because I loved him, not to be rude and he hasn't done it since. I've obviously been put in their district for a reason and i'm trying to do my best to have them raise the bar. They only have 2 years to act, and the rest of their life to think about it. I've learned the important message to NOT WASTE A MINUTE! It's so vital here, especially with the resources we have that we won't have in the field!

Well, we've had lessons with both our teachers as investigators. They are JunJun and Dennis. There are NO NOTES allowed in any of the lessons or prayers. After 2 weeks, it's all in Tagalog! crazy to think about! We have to memorize 30 words a day and sometimes more if we're feeling like over achievers . All the elders give me grief because of how I memorize. I have to think of an analogy for how to connect the word with the meaning and they all laugh because they are so dumb sometimes. They give me grief, but they always tell me when they're quizzed that they think about my analogies. haha. I also wanted to come up with a game to get everyone involved in learning in language study because they all goof off and so I came up with Spin the Bottle-Tagalog style! So someone starts and we spin the bottle. Whoever it points to, the person has to give them a word to say in Tagalog. They say it helps, so we do that a lot! I want them to be excited about learning and not slack off and just complain that they aren't getting it. We have to practice hard, to play hard.

Zone leaders are two elders in my district, Sis King is coordinating sister, and I am music coordinator for the zone and permanent pianist for each Sunday. oh boy! haha.

All the other districts leave Mon for the field, which puts us as senior missionaries..we're old! We get 25 new missionaries and 3 new sister roommates.

Funny story.

The other night in a demo for companionship study, we as companionship's were split up into two rooms-one in an actual room and the other room was the observatory room. It was not engaging, so we all were sort of bored. My companion especially. I was in the room w/ 4 elders, 1 other sister, and 3 teachers. All the sudden, I see a piece of paper put on the window sneakily that we could read in the observation window. It said "Maganda po ang kasama ko" which means my companion is beautiful! haha We all died laughing because it was so random and funny and it was obvious she wasn't paying attention. Then like 5 min later another paper folded in half read" Mahal Kita which is I love you and then because I was in the room with so many guys, she flipped up the flap and it said: "Not you, I'm talking to Sis Arnold." It was so funny and we were all laughing so hard and for forever. It's the simplest things in the MTC that are so funny! love her!

Also on Tues night, our speaker said not to worry about our families and they are doing just fine and being blessed because of our service. I love hearing that and then getting a dear elder from dad that said that same thing! I am glad the family is doing so great and seeing so many blessings! It's not all because of me, but the Lord knows each and everyone of us individually! We should constantly strive to keep Christ as the center of our lives in everything we do!

I encourage you all to prepare yourselves for conference to receive personal revelation and let the Lord communicate to you individually! He may be talking, but are we listening on the other end? Don't be afraid of offending Satan.

"If it's not fun, you're not doing it right!" I must be doing something right because as I center my life around Christ, I see miracles each day accompanied with fun! I love it here and am so thankful to be on a mission. I KNOW this church is true and that it was restored through Joseph Smith. I know that we have a prophet called on Earth today to lead and guide us and I am so excited to hear from him and his apostles this weekend! I can't wait to get out and serve the people in the Philippines! Here's to another week!

I love you all and tell everyone hi for me!

Mahal Kita

Another Week Down!

Magundung gabi pamilya! Kumusta kayo?! (Good afternoon, family! How are you?!) Ps sorry for all the typos last letter, you probably thought I butchered all my tagalog words, etc..keyboards will do that!

Man, I hope you all are having as good a week as I am! Each day is the same routine, yet it's amazing how the experiences are so different. This week I am not going to do a day by day because of time and there wasn't much that was extremely exciting this week except the Tagalog is continuing! Thanks to our fast we had last Sunday, it's coming so much better! Yahoo! But, this week is full of exciting news! So I am going to do bullet points :)

-Our district is still awesome as ever!! We still laugh every minute of the day, we eat together, spend pday together when we can, etc. Everyone in our zone admires how close we've all gotten and how we all eat together etc, when they all sit boys together and girls together..but, needless to say, the pranks have begun. One elder in our zone hid an alarm clock in our districts room set for 3am, and it was screwed behind the wall, and just hearing the stories of how its all going down, just shows the fun we have in our class! I LOVE IT!

-My companion and I had some personality differences and we all know how tough that can be when we're with them all the time. I would pray for guidance and help on what to do and how it can be better, and nothing! Finally, last night, I approached Him with the question on how I can better myself to improve the companionship, and I can testify that He answers our prayers. Today, as I prayed again, we went to the temple, and that was the question on my mind! I got my answer in the temple as I read the scriptures as they spoke to me that PATIENCE was the key. I needed to improve MYSELF and patience, and when I try and improve myself instead of expecting everyone else to change, it's amazing the blessings you receive. We came out of the temple and it was amazing, because now we've gotten so close all day and I just love her and she has so much to offer! She takes interest in my life, family, and we kneel down in companionship prayer each night..prayers work wonders and I can testify that He knows us individually and what we need in our lives! I'm so glad we're companions!

-Elder Saaid, the one who ran away, many have asked if he is still here..yes he is, he's struggling, but he's hanging in here. He has a testimony of the gospel and always come out of devo's gloating about what he learned and we love it. We're just working on trying to reach out to him so he knows to stay. He made the comment last night that he finally knows that he needs to man up and teach! He can't always run away, and that's exactly what they did! So, they're improving.

-Speaking of elders, our elders are foreign and never get letters from their families. Sis. King and I thought today that maybe either our family, or their names could be given to the YW or something so that they can get letters. I got letters everyday this week and I felt bad. I wanted to give some letters to them, because they check the mail every day hoping they have something and they don't. It doesn't have to be personal, but more encouraging! They're struggling. Their names are Elder Saaid (from Australia) and Elder Taukei (from FIji).

-I have met tons of elders from Vegas, it's been fun! Another is in our new stake, mom and dad! Tippets?? In the Lone MTN stake. :)

-Our teachers are awesome and Lester who we've taught 4 lessons to is now our teacher and is so awesome! We play games for breaks to stay awake, etc and he knows how to connect with the less motivated elders. It's going to be good and we're excited!

-I listened to a devotional by Elder Bednar on Sunday called the Character of Christ and learned that the natural man wants us to be selfish and turn inward and he compared it to the Cookie Monster. He encouraged us to use the character of christ to turn outward, be selfless, love, and serve and defeat the natural man. It was incredible and so powerful!

-Another one of my friends from my last district got her Visa to Brazil this week and she left! All my friends are leaving! haha But, it's nice that new ones come in each week. So to celebrate, we had lunch with our old teachers and said a final goodbye to her, it was extremely fun!

-Well, on to the fun news! Elder Dallin H. Oaks came and spoke on Tuesday night! We sung in the choir and once again they focused in on me with the camera and it was broadcasted worldwide, so everyone was able to watch it! He talked about teaching by the Spirit. I've been amazed at how much that has been a common theme here, but it's so important in TRUE conversion vs social conversion. So, I don't know if you grandpa, were able to watch that with the missionaries??

-Speaking of choir, I hope you all are watching the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. We all had to fill out sheets on vocal talents for a special choir and from there they would choose select few to be in it. They didn't tell us what it was for, but I was accepted and we are the guest choir in conference this year! I was so bummed when I was unable to try out at BYU Idaho due to a test, and singing in general conference was on my bucket list, and my once in a lifetime chance, I GOT AGAIN! I am so excited and we've had practice everyday at 7am! So, I'm excited, I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ah :)

-Lastly, as I was preparing for my next investigator, it solidified my testimony by 100! I always knew the gospel was true, but it's when you read things that just bring the Spirit that is incredible. I was reading in Our search for Happiness because that's been one of my goals, and I'm almost done in a week :), but in there it talked about, we don't need to be billionaires or millionaires, but the gospel provides us blessings that no one can buy! We are rich in blessings. And that once we know that WE ARE A CHILD OF GOD, we never look at someone differently, we act differently, treat others better, etc. And I loved that! I KNOW that I am a child of God, and because of it, I am richer that the richest person on the earth! How grateful I am!

I just wanted to end with my testimony that I finally have memorized..never thought I'd say that , haha but i have to have SOMETHING! :)

Alam ko po na totoo po ang Simbahan ni Jesucristo ng mga Banal sa mga Huling araw. Alam ko po na totoo po ang Aklat ni Mormon. Alam ko po na totoong propeta po si Thomas S. Monson. Alam ko po na nagbayad-sala po si Jesucristo para sa mga Kasalanan natin at Salita ng Diyos ang Aklat ni Mormon. Alam ko po na walang hanggan ang mga pamilya. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo, amen!

I love you all, and thank you for the plethora of emails, dear elders and letters this week!! IT made my week! And made the things I was going through, so much easier!! I love it here and wouldn't trade it for marriage, facebook, a cell phone, or a car!! This is helping me be a better roommate, friend, daughter, wife someday and daughter!

Mahal Kita,

Sister Arnold

First Week Learning Tagalog!

Magundung umago Pamilya!

Kumusta pa yo pamily?! (How are you family?!)

I am just LOVING IT HERE! Another Pday in two days was pretty sweet, but I have so much to tell you! Well, many have asked how my companion is, the language, new roommates, district, etc. Well, they're MABUTI! (good)!

My companion is Sister King, from Washington D.C. I got talking to her telling her Darren and his family live out there and she was in their stake! Darren and Court were her ma and pa on a youth trip to Gettysburg and she thinks she was Amanda's YCL up at girls camp a few years ago..smalll world. But, she's great! We're still in the getting to know you phase and I'm just trying to help her get adjusted here, but that's what senior companions are for! :) I am senior companion once again in this ward/branch, also. The four boys in our district are hilarious, so fun, keep us on our toes, never a dull moment, awesome group! One is from Fiji, another from Australia, one from New Zealand, and one from Layton UT. You can see the diversity and such, but that's what makes it so great! They're personalities are just hilarious.

The Branch President is Brother Stott, branch 2 and their wives/counselors, etc are all awesome! I was called to play the piano for half of the sacrament meeting (oh boy!), but it'll be great!

Our new roommates are all great as well! Three are from the Marshall Islands and the other from Roy UT...needless to say, I sleep with no blankets because they keep it a sauna in the room! They like things HOT coming from there..but, we're fine nonetheless! It's nice that they're all going to the Philippines and are 3 weeks ahead of us to help us with our studies before bed if we have them!

Sige. (Alright!)

Wed- Was just PDAY once again prepping for a new companion, roommate, etc. I moved into the new room and then my companion got here. I had to do all the beginner orientation once again those two days, so that was a few easy days! We then went to class to meet our teachers who are awesome..But, I walked into class with NO ENGLISH written on the board. I thought it was just for the first day but, hindi (Nope)! That is how it is! Each day we come into class and they speak no English and it's up to us to make out what they're saying..some might complain, but I'm glad they don't because it pushes us that much further and we have learned so much already because of it! But, today we just learned the "Hi, how are you? Kumusta!" or My name is "Ako po si Sister Arnold" or Taag-saan? which means where are you from.. Taag Las Vegas". I loved it!

Thurs- Day 2 of Tagalog and we learned barely anything! Why? Well, listen to this story. We started planning when one of our elders (the one from Australia-originally from above Iraq) walked out frustrated with the language and struggling with why he was here. He ended up walking off and was no where to be found. They called our whole district of 5 up to the front desk to spread out and search for him. After an hour, he was finally found by the temple outside of MTC reign. He was without a companion and when the guys found him, he got mad at them. Because we got called up, we didn't learn much. That day it made me realize and ponder on a few things about myself: Why am I serving a mission? What am I grateful for? I found myself pondering the words to Count your many blessings. How true that song is and what peace I get from it! I have started counting my blessings every day! And this is what I came up with:
Why am I on a mission? I am not here because my parents are forcing me to or because there is pressure weighing on my shoulders. It was the night that Jared and I got in the wreck up in Rexburg when he came up and visited and how lucky we were to have not gotten hurt even though the car hit the snow bank and was totaled. I was so thankful and reflected on why I WASN'T hurt..It was then that I had the impression that the mission was for me. It was in the same conversation that I told my parents I had gotten in a wreck the night before and that I thought I was supposed to serve a mission. As I went through finding out if this was the right decision, I always got the answer yes. How grateful I am for this opportunity! There are so many reasons why I am here but ultimately to bring others the happiness I feel each DAY! But, one big part is how grateful I am to have the priesthood in my home because of a worthy father! PS dad I want you to watch the Mormon message: Fathers blessing or something alone that line??? It's a father and a Downs son and it reminded me of you and how thankful I am for all that you do, and especially with Tyler. The examples that have been set in my home, I want others to get that same opportunity!

Fri- Today we taught our first lesson in Tagalog, yikes! It went pretty well, but my companion just relied off of me as far as all my preparation and my translated sentences I wrote.. I did this as a learning opportunity for her to see exactly when we don't prepare, our lessons aren't going to go great, and the spirit doesn't reside. We came out talking about what we need to do to improve and we're ready to teach him again! I also went outside and had to bear my testimony to 3 people and 10 people ended up listening! I loved being able to speak Tagalog! And then to conclude class, I volunteered to say the closing prayer in Tagalog! Man, it's crazy how much I have learned.

When we put out trust and faith in the Lord, we are blessed innumerably! I love it here and I have already learned so much!

I hope everything is going great! And I will talk to you all next Friday!
Stay safe and Happy St. Patricks Day! Wear green because I've already been pinched twice for NOT!

Mahal Kita,

Sister Arnold