Week 13: I had to shower out of a bucket and wash my clothes by hand.

The CCM seemed like a blink of an eye but it`s starting to slow down now. Not knowing the language is holding me back a lot. I want to take over and teach as many people as I can but I can`t because I need my companion for the language. But I know I need to be patient and it will come with time.

But this week flew by. On Monday night we got caught in a storm only a half mile away from our house but it hit us like a wall. It took us 20 minutes to get the rest of the way home because the wind and rain were so bad. The wind was so bad it would knock us off the road while we were on our bikes so we had to run along side them. The power was out for 2 days. I had to shower out of a bucket and wash my clothes by hand. It was kinda fun though!!!! We had zone conference this last week, our president came in dressed like Santa Claus, it was so funny! One of the Elders who was going home gave his testimony and said something I really liked. He said he was prideful in Jesus Christ. I think that`s awesome, pride is good if you`re prideful in the right thing or in right person. We also had divisions this week. I went and did divisions with an Elder from Brazil. He was pretty cool. But my comp has been having problems with negativity and self-confidence so we talked about it during companionship inventory and he said he`s talking to the mission psychologist. It`s been tough getting along with him but I know I was sent here to help to him, not necessary to teach. It was a pretty good week, we had another storm last night so the power is out again so I`m off to hand wash my clothes and shower out of a bucket!!!! I`m so tired by the end of the day as soon as my head hits the pillow, I am out!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for the Christmas package!!! I loved it so much!!!!! I put the tree, ornaments, and manger up as soon as I opened it! I will send a picture soon! But I really did love it so much!  I want you to listen to a talk, it reminded me of TJ and I. You`ll know it when you hear it, `He is risen` by President Monson, Sunday Morning of April 2010. I can`t wait to see you on Christmas!!!!

Your son,

Elder Arbon

Is it possible to send conference talks for my ipod? My companion and I listen to them every day during lunch and I love it. And also, could you send me those wipes? I sweat so bad here, I don`t think I`ve stopped since I stepped off the ferry! Haha

Week 12: I know you`re not suppose to focus on numbers but it doesn`t hurt to shoot for the sky does it?

Our area is awesome. It`s so huge. We get bikes so that`s been nice but my butt is just now fully used to sitting on a bike seat for eight hours a day. On P-Day we ride into town which takes about an hour and a half and then we write home at a cyper cafe, go to the store, and sometimes we`ll play soccer with our district or zone.  I miss you so much. Listen to ¨Bless my Son¨ by the Nashville Tribute Band. It made me realize I have the best mom. I cried the first time I listened to it. I`m doing really well! I love it here! We are always busy so that`s been good, no headaches but I`ve had a cough the past two weeks so hopefully it will go away soon. I haven`t used any money, we just don`t have time to buy things. But we don`t eat a lot either. We have a big lunch and then we work until the sun goes down. I love it!  This week was a fun week! People here in Uruguay think they are fine the way they are and satisfied with just getting by. That stuff makes me so mad! I have the answer to all of their problems and it will bless their life more than they can imagine, and that`s the atonement of Jesus Christ. I just wish people could see that. My companion is kind of like that too. My companion is getting on my nerves a little bit though. He`s okay with setting low goals and doesn`t care if we reach them or not. It makes me so mad!!!!! So now we set our goals the highest we can, and our goals each week are to beat everyone in our district. I know you`re not suppose to focus on numbers but it doesn`t hurt to shoot for the sky does it? I know it doesn`t. I know this is bad and I need to repent but since he`s been complaining about setting our goals so high I time our bike rides to each city and the next time we go to that city I try and beat that time. He complains so much because he`s tired, I know that`s bad but he needs to know I`m here to work. I hope he gets the picture!!!! But we had a zone meeting and I was asked to bear my testimony so that was an awesome experience. Women here are funny though, during a lesson we had two people start breast feeding right in front of us. I wanted to say, `Stop, put that thing back in your shirt` but I couldn`t. It`s tough to get people to come to church here because the church is so far away from their house and they don`t have a way of transportation. But I love it here!!! This week I want you to focus on the atonement and how you can apply it to your life. I know through the atonement we can be forgiven for our sins and forgive others. I will make you proud.

Your son,

Elder Arbon

Buenos Aires MTC/Temple

Week 11: It is so hot here, hard to sleep because it`s so hot.

How are you? I miss you! But my butt is finally getting used to riding a bike, it was killing me at first!  What is your schedule for Christmas? We need to know so we can set a schedule up. But it is Skype, I can`t wait! It is so hot here, hard to sleep because it`s so hot .  This week was a really good week. Last P-day our district got together and played soccer. That was way fun! The dogs here are crazy though. Some travel in packs and attack you if you`re not careful. I got bite right on the ankle, it broke skin and swelled up all big. It`s okay now though. We were at a members house and asked for some water and they pointed to an actual well. I couldn`t believe it. It was way cool though. I`d never seen one before. A lot of people here have never seen Americans before. Riding through some of the towns you`d think it was a parade because people stop and stare. Kind of funny!!!! We were playing soccer with the branch on Friday and we saw this guy crash on his moped (everyone has one here, most people use them to transport their whole family too, I`ve seen up to five on one). We went to help him and he was hammered out of his mind. He had a huge gash on his knee but he got up and was fine. The president of the Branch says that happens a lot here. Also,  a lot of people travel on horses here. They tie up their horses right in front of their house and everything. Love it here! On Saturday we had a branch activity where we all went over to the guy`s house we baptized last week and watched a church movie. That was a really good experience. 

Love,

Elder Arbon