Week 65: "He really taught us the importance of the Book of Mormon and the necessity of it in conversion."

This week was a great week! We had the opportunity to do division with the APs Monday and Tuesday. It was such a great experience because we learned a lot from them! On Friday we had another great experience to go down to Paysandú to do a zone conference with 5 other zones. We listened to the president of the area named Elder Walter Gonzalez. Such an amazing man! He really taught us the importance of the Book of Mormon and the necessity of it in conversion. It really was a great experience and I learned a lot! These past few weeks we have been working really hard with the familia Zapata. They went inactive a long time ago but are now coming back to church. Two of their kids, Mateo 14 and Victoria 12, are not baptized but have a baptismal date for the 28 of Dec. Also, Samanta, the daughter of Carlos, is also preparing to be baptized that day as well. We are waiting for her dad to receive the priesthood so he can perform the baptism! I love you all and have a great week! 

Elder Arbon 

Baby Jantz

Week 64: "filled up the font with buckets in 40 minutes."

This week was a really great week! On Thursday we had the opportunity to go down to Montevideo in order to listen to President Smith. It was truly incredible! We learned a lot of amazing things and I´m really excited to teach them to our zone. Saturday we had a great day.  We have a companionship that was having difficulties in getting along with each other. So we went and had an interview with the two of them. It was a great experience to see the spirit work through us in order to help these two missionaries. After that we got a phone call from some hermanas that were going to have a baptism that night and they said the baptismal font didn´t have running water. So we told them to come to our church. We got there about 6 o´clock and the baptism started at 7:30. The font usually takes about 3 hours to fill up. So my companion and I, and another companionship of Elders, and the hermanas filled up the font with buckets in 40 minutes. It was so much fun!!! 

I don´t have a lot of time today because we don´t have a Pday. The assistants are here in Artigas and we're doing divisions with them today and tomorrow.  I want you to know that I know this is the one, and only true church of Jesus Christ. I know only through the priesthood power in this church can we be saved. I know through the holy sacred ordinances of baptism, the priesthood, the temple, and the sacrament we can partake of the effects of the atonement. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, he restored the true church to this earth so we can obtain eternal bliss.  I hope you have a great week!

Elder Arbon

Baptism of Carlos

Baptism of Carlos

Week 63: "By far, hands down, the best week of my mission!"

By far, hands down, the best week of my mission! Tuesday and Wednesday we did a choque de fureza (I don´t know how to say it in English) with one of the companionships in the zone and it really helped them out. But Saturday was absolutely amazing! It was the baptism of Carlos. We had the baptism at 7 but he showed up a little bit late because he was waiting for his daughter. The beginning part of the baptism was amazing. Then he and I went into the font and as we were waiting there one of the doors to the font was stuck. So he asked me if he could say a prayer. So we sat there in the font just us two and he said a prayer. It was such a powerful and sincere prayer. The baptism was amazing! After Carlos got up and gave his testimony. It was by far the most amazing testimony I have heard from a recent convert. It was incredible! During the baptism his 17 year old daughter cried almost the whole time. She came to church the next day and is preparing to be baptized by her father in 2 weeks! I love you all and I am so grateful to be in instrument in the hands of our Lord. 

Elder Arbon

Week 62: "Another amazing week!!!"

Another amazing week!!! My new companion is Elder Lopez, from Washington state. Such a great guy! He and I served in the offices at the same time and were really great friends so we hit the ground running as soon as he got here. This week we had some great lessons with Carlos, he is super excited for his baptism this coming Saturday. I can´t wait! Now we have started to work with his daughter, Samanta. But we had a really great experience this Sunday. We went out to Quaraí Brazil for a stake conference. The stake president asked us to be his support. It was great to listen to him and the mission president from the Brazil mission. I really felt the spirit super strong because I was able to understand almost everything. It was an amazing experience! I know God talks to us through the spirit and through the Holy Spirit we can receive the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretación. I love you all and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving week! 

Elder Arbon

Hulk Masacrando Artiguenses

Gauchos

Elder Arbon with Presidente Bueno and Elder Brown

Week 61: 2 Corintios 3:3.

This week was another incredible week! On Wednesday we had the great opportunity to help an older couple of missionaries go around the zone doing house checks. It was really fun to help this couple and be with them for the day. They are truly incredible people, so faithful and full of love! On Saturday we had a talent show as a ward! It was probably one of the funnest nights of my mission! There was about 70 people there! The whole ward was clapping, singing, and dancing! I´m so grateful to be able to see the power of the Lord help this ward come together as one. Man, I love this ward so much! In the show de talentos the 4 Elderes dressed up as gauchos (Uruguayo Cowboy) and danced an Uruguay dance. It was so fun! But our investigator Carlos Falco is really gaining a testimony. We have his baptismal date for the 30th of this month. He is such a great man...God is truly sending his angels to prepare the hearts of the children of men. But this week, my companion goes home and my new companion will be Elder Lopez. I can´t wait, he and I are really great friends so it´s going to be a great change where we will see a lot of miracles! But this week during studies I found a scripture that I have come to love....2 Corintios 3:3. I would like to bear my testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is engraven on my heart. I know Jesus is my Lord, Savior, and Redeemer. I know only through him and his teaching he can be my advocate with the Father. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Elder Arbon 

Purple Pday

Week 60: "The Book of Mormon is truly a book of miracles."

This week was absolutely amazing! Monday we had a noche de hogar with a family that just recently moved here from Maldonado. They are a menos activa family so we have been working really hard on getting them back to church. They came last week and this week during the noch de hogar the husband told us something that really hit me pretty hard. He said that the wife has truly changed. Before they knew each other they she was a drug addict and a prostitute. But due to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the amazing power of the Book of Mormon she was able to have a change of heart. It really showed me that the Book of Mormon is truly a book of miracles. Also this week we had tri-zone conference with President Smith. It was the first time in mission history that we had it here in Artigas. President said he wanted to have us show the other zones so that they could implement the things into their zones. It was such a great experience! The spirit was so strong and everybody was uplifted from it! Also this Sunday was a lot of fun! There was a huge storm that cancelled church! The streets were flooded and a lot of the houses of members we flooded as well. So we told all of the hermanas in the zone to stay home and all the elders to get to work. It was so humbling to see the way people live here. It really showed me the blessings of the Lord that I have in my life. I love you guys, have a great week!

Elder Arbon

Week 59: "This truly is His work and He is speeding it up."

This week was by far the best week of my mission! It first started off with this menos activa familia. They have been inactive for a long time and their 11 year old daughter isn´t baptized. We dropped by one Sunday to invite them to church and found out that their daughter was sick. So we went in and gave her a blessing. After we left they went to the hospital and the president de la estaca works there and gave her a blessing. It turns out that she had Meningitis. But everything turned out well and the family said it was because of the blessing she had that God protected them. The whole family came to church this week. Also this week we have been working really hard with the family Betancourt...they have been inactive for awhile. But all 7 of them came to church this week. It was absolutely amazing in the church. We had 110 in church. We have almost tripled the attendance in 3 months. This truly is His work and He is speeding it up. During church Carlos and a few other investigators came to church...Carlos has a fecha for the 16 of Noviembre. He is an incredible man. But Mario...one of our recent converts got up and gave his testimony this week. It was truly powerful and it brought tears to my eyes. Also the zone is doing amazing! Three months ago we started with 241 people in church in toda la estaca. Yesterday...we had 514!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also we had the second most baptisms out of all the zones of the mission. It is truly amazing! All of  the elderes y hermanas are working so hard, obeying, and listening! I know without a doubt this is the true church. I love you guys and I hope you have a great week! 

Elder Arbon

Week 58: "noche de hogar"

This week was an amazing week! I don't know if I told everyone but last Sunday we had stake priesthood conference and we set a record with the amount of people in the history of Artigas! After that my companion and I received a call from the president of the mission saying he had talked to the president of the area about Artigas and the president of the area was stoked! He will be coming to the mission and is really excited to come to Artigas in December! Our area is doing really well and so is the zone. We have the best missionaries in the mission here in Artigas and they’re obeying, working, and listening like there is no tomorrow. On Friday we had a ward activity that ended up in a flour fight! Also this week we had a great lesson with one of our main investigators Carlos! We invited him to the church and preached to him the Evangelio de Jesucristo using the baptismal font and the sacrament. It was super powerful and he is really animated for his baptism the 16 of Noviembre! When my comp and I went down to Montevideo we got to stay in a huge apartment all my ourselves. We had an older couple come to the mission but they went home because of health conditions so we got to use their apartment for the night. It was so much fun!!! But the truth, I can't even tell the difference now between the living conditions now and from when I was home! Everything just seems normal now! People here in Artigas are very loving and a very accepting people. I really have grown to love these people. Have you had the opportunidad to talk with the missionaries? Have you been able to go out and work with them or have you had a noche de hogar with them? God is speeding up his work right now and we all need to play a part in it. The missionaries need your help so please help them out...even if it's just a reference or an hour a week, or one noche de hogar with a family that is investigating the church. Please help them out! NOW is the time that God is speeding up his work...it's close!  Also this week we were going to have a zone activity on Saturday, we were going to go out to a place called Piedra Pintada and hang out with the stake president and play a bunch of games as a zone. But it rained so we had to cancel it. But we went to the church and cooked hamburgers for the zone. It was so fun....I truly love the missionaries in my zone. They are all such amazing missionaries. I want to bear my testimony that I know this is the one and only true church on the face of the Earth. And it is the church of Jesus Christ, the same church he established when he was on the earth but was restored by our beloved Prophet Jose Smith. I know the priesthood keys have been restored to this earth so we can gain access to the atonement of Jesus Christ through the sacred ordinances. I know that Jesus not only died to cleanse us of our sins but to know how to succor his people. Through him we can have strengths through our most desperate times. I know the plan de salvation to be the perfect plan of God made possible by his Son. I know that he is our Savior, Redeemer, and our Advocate to the Father.

I hope you have a great week!    

Elder Arbon

Week 57: "I know Today is the Day!"

This week was a great week! We weren´t able to proselyte for 3 days because Tuesday we had to finish buying the things for the new hermanas and on Wednesday I was asked to go down to Montevideo to help fix all the finances of the mission. On Thursday we had concilio, this is where all of the zone leaders get together with President to talk about the mission. But we did see a lot of miracles this week. It was amazing! I got to see Santi and Kati, Willy, and the family Ruiz. It was a lot of fun seeing Kati and Santi. They took out all of their piercings and are going to church. It was so amazing to see. As a zone we´ve doubled the assistance in the church and we´ve had 10 baptism this month compared to last month with only 3. Also, we were blessed with an investigator named Carlos Falco, he set his own baptismal date for the first of November and one of the menos acitvos that we helped reactive brought a family member and now she wants to listen to the missionaries. I know Today is the Day! hope you have a great week!

Elder Arbon

Missionaries of Artigas

Week 56: "We´re going to change...everything!"

These past two weeks have been amazing! We had interviews two weeks ago and President came up and was really impressed with the work we have been doing. Our goal as a mission is to double the assistance in the church in Six months for every ward. As a zone we doubled it in a month in a half. It was truly amazing! President Smith said if we keep doing this it is going to change everything here in South America. So that is our goal this change as a zone, "We´re going to change...everything!" Also this week we were blessed with the baptism of Mario. This man is incredible. He has read the Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price, and the Gospel Principles book. He is truly amazing! He has truly changed and become truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I bear testimony that through the Book of Mormon lives are changed, the spirit is felt, and miracles are brought to pass. Also this month as a zone we put the goal of 10 baptisms. As a mission our goal is 100. We have been usually getting 2 to 3 baptisms every month as a zone but this month we have already had 6 and are planning on 5 more. I know this is the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I know that Hoy es el Día that He is speeding up his work. Have a great week!
Elder Arbon

Week 55: "I don´t have any time to write today."

I´m really sorry but I don´t have any time to write today. We have to go buy everything and get everything ready for the 4 new hermans that are coming into our zone. I love you and I hope you have a great week.  

Elder Arbon  

Week 54: "Hoy es el Día!"

This week was an amazing week. We have been working really hard with this guy named Mario. He is so prepared for his baptism! He has been investigating the church for about 12 weeks now and about two weeks ago we asked him to pray about when he should be baptized and he told us that he received an answer for this Sunday. He is so prepared and is going to be such a strong priesthood leader that will help edify the rieno de Dios here in Artigas. Also we have been working with this guy named Carlos. One day he just showed up in the capilla. It was truly a miracle and he was prepared before we even talked to him. We´ve talked with him and his daughter and they are both ready to be baptized the 13^th. But Thursday I had the opportunity to do divisions with Elder Berry, he just recently came into the mission. This kid is such a capo! It was awesome to work with him and see how blessed these new missionaries are. But this week in church we started to giving a class for the obra missional to help animate the members. Also in church we had another miracle. We had 95 people in church and the rest of the zone is catching the mentality that "Hoy es el Día!" I know that God is my heavenly father because he loves me enough to listen and answer my prayers. I know he sends the Holy Ghost to testify of him and of his Son, Jesus Christ. I know that  Jesus is my savior and redeemer. I know he arose the third day and broke the bands of physical death. I know he fulfilled the law of justice with his infinite sacrifice and is willing and wants to give us his mercy. We receive his mercy when listen to the Holy Spirit which helps us rid ourselves of the natural man through the power of the atonement. I love this gospel and I love this work! I know this is His work! Have a great week!

Elder Arbon

Week 53: "We are really focusing on the rescate (rescue) of the lost members of the ward!"

This week was a week filled with miracles. Last Sunday I talked with an Elder that said he has wasted his 21 months as a missionary by being disobedient and not giving it his all. I told him we would have a two day divisiones and it was amazing. He made a 180 degree turn. We found a lady that stopped us on the street that said she wanted to get married and be baptized. It was such a great experience to be an instrument in the Lord`s hands changing the mission of that missionary. Also we were blessed with some great new investigators. One of our investigators, Mario, invited one of his friends to church and he came in shirt and tie. When we first saw him we thought he was a member. But we passed by his house and he and his daughter are now looking forward to their baptisms. Also, Saturday we had another choque de fuerza with the leaders of our ward. It is making a huge difference in our ward. We are really focusing on the rescate (rescue) of the lost members of the ward! We are being blessed with so many milagros. This week we had 79 in church...we started with 40. In our apartment there are 4 in total. My companion and I live with an oro (brand new Elder) and an Elder de España. I have grown such a strong testimony of Joseph Smith and the trials he went through. I know without a doubt in my heart that José is the prophet of the restoration and he saw the Father and the Son and he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of the Holy Ghost. My companion and I get along really well! He goes home in two weeks but we´re working so hard he doesn`t have time to think about home! Our zone is really improving. President Smith is such an amazing man and is so filled with the spirit. He changed the goals of the mission so that we`re focused on the assistance of the church and not just investigators. It´s been amazing experience seeing menos acitvos who have been active for years come back to church. I´m really enjoying my new calling. To be honest my companion and I were blessed with amazing Elders that are changing the beliefs of Artigas. They are all hard workers and all of them have a great attitude.  This week we have been focusing on having an "Ojo de la fe." Which means that we are always looking to the future with the faith that God will bless us with milagros if we be obedient, work hard, and love. And from love comes the revelation that is needed in the work. 

I hope you have a great week and I love you all. 

Elder Arbon 

Week 52: "animated"

This week was an amazing week! On Thursday we had divisions and I went with a missionary named Elder Webster. We went to this lady`s house that has been debating on being baptized for awhile now. We shared with her the lesson of the restauraciòn. After she said the prayer she said that she could see someone dressed in white when she shut her eyes. She also said after her prayer that she needed to be baptized. It truly was an amazing experience. I know without a doubt that Holy Ghost softens and touches the hearts of God`s children who are ready to receive it! As a zone leader you make sure all the missionaries are animated and working hard. Every Tuesday we make sure all of the missionaries get their letters, we do a lot of divisions to help missionaries stay animated (excited), and we prepare a capacitación every Sunday night to share with the district leaders to share with their districts. I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Arbon

Week 51: "I can`t believe it...I have a new baby brother! I`m untrunkable...but when it comes to this... I can`t wait until I get to hold him for the first time!"

This week was amazing! I can`t believe it...I have a new baby brother! I`m untrunkable...but when it comes to this I can`t wait until I get to hold him for the first time! This week was incredible though! On Tuesday I had the chance to go back to my old area and do division. We visited a menos activo family and taught them a lesson and now they are super animated to come back to church. Also one of the daughters and the aunt aren`t baptized and after the lesson on the restoration focusing on prayer they both committed to baptism and came to church this week. Also this week we had the opportunity to go down to Montevideo for a reunion with President! It was truly amazing! Coming home the bus broke down and it ended up being a 12 hour ride! It was a super fun experience! This week was amazing in the church! We have been focusing a lot on menos activos and Saturday the stake president came up with us and in total we had 90 people in the church, and last week we only had 45. It was truly a miracle! I love this work with all my heart and I`m so grateful to share the mesaje of our Lord and Savior! 

Elder Arbon 

Week 50: "the power we have to promise blessings."

This week was an awesome week! My new companion is such a stud. Elder Mármol from Spain. He only has one change left until he goes home so it`s been a great experience to learn from him. The only problem with him is that he speaks with a lisp because he is from Spain and I`ve began to pick that up! But this week was crazy but fun. It was really crazy with changes but we still got a lot of time to work in the field. We had a really cool experience with a guy named Robert. He`s been a member for about 2 and a half years but he went inactive because he got into debt gambling so he has to work a ton to pay off all the debts. His job is a taxi driver so he works a lot of hours and doesn`t get a lot of money. But we visited him and after we left his house he got a call for a new job that pays a lot more. It was a great experience that shows the authority that missionaries have and the power we have to promise blessings. I love this work and I hope you have a great week.

Elder Arbon

Week 49: Enos 1:4

This week was amazing. This week we helped as a whole district move the hermanas to a new house and also I had the opportunity to do 2 divisions. One of those with the elders that share our ward. They have been struggling a lot lately with people in church and lessons. This week they had 3 investigators in church, it was such a great blessing from the Lord. The most they have had in months. Also, Saturday we had a ward activity. I played football with all the little kids of the ward. It was so much fun. I attached a picture of it. But my companion and I have been changed. I am going to a different barrio in Artigas as a Zone Leader. I can`t wait. My companion is such a stud. His name is Elder Màrmol from Spain. He only has 1 more change left before he goes home so he has a lot of experience and has had a lot of success so I get the opportunity to learn from him. I`m going to make sure he sprints until the end. No trunkiness allowed. I can`t wait to start working. The zone of Aritgas is going to blow up here in a few weeks. We`re going to be right next to the city of Enoch in los cielos. Jaja. Yesterday we were trying to find an ex investigator and we knocked this door and we met a lady from the church evangelica. The spirit was so strong and we were testifying our hearts out. She opened her heart and listen to us. I truly gained my testimony of the priesthood. She said that a church doesn`t save us, Jesus does. She was correct but at the same time wrong. Jesus established his church because only through his church do we have the priesthood power. It is only through Priesthood power can we access the power of the atonement through the saving ordinances of Baptism, temple work, and la santa cena. But it has to be His priesthood, not any, but His. His will, His way, and His timing.  We had a lesson with this guy named Fierrera. He is about 40 years old and he is having some really hard times in his life. We shared a lesson and to be honest it was horrible. But we came back the next day and that day we studied the story of Enos and his prayer of forgiveness. We shared that with him and he said that he had said the same words Enos said and he said he felt his sins lifted from him. He was trying to explain the holy ghost but couldn`t. He kept saying an overwhelming peace. This was an answer to one of my prayers. I have been praying so hard to gain such a strong testimony that Jesus is my savior by receiving a forgiveness of my sins. In that lesson it showed me that Jesus has forgiven me of my sins. I want to share the scripture that hit me really hard. Enos 1:4.....hunger (desire), kneeled down (humility), cried out (prayed), and all day and all night (paciencia). I know without a doubt in my heart that Jesus is my Savior and that he has paid that price for my sins. I love him and I am grateful for him! I love this work and I know without a doubt in my heart that this is His work....and "Hoy es el Dia" that God is apresurando su obra (D&C 88:73). I know this is the one and only church of Christ. I know that through the holy priesthood power we can access the cleansing power of the atonement through sacred ordinances. I love His work and I love my Lord and Redeemer.

Elder Arbon

Futbol with the barrio boys

Week 48: Experience, belief, actions, results.

This week was an amazing week. It started off with a blessing from a teenager named Franco. We were having our weekly ward activity and he came with a member. We were playing futbol and he came up to me and asked how he could be a part of this church. It was amazing, such a blessing! He saw the blessings that come from this Gospel and now he wants it in his life. Also, this week we were blessed with zone conference and stake conference. Such a spiritual experience! President Smith is such an example to me. I know he holds the keys to this mission. He changed the entire mission. How we teach, how we plan, everything. One thing he taught was a pyramid with four words. Experience (Bottom), belief, actions, and results (Top). A lot of people try to change results by changing actions. He taught that we change our results by changing our experiences, which change our beliefs, which change our actions, and then it changes our results. How we`re changing that is our lessons have always been 45 minutes long. He told us that after 20 minutes people lose interest and the spirit leaves. Our lessons are now 20 minutes long filled with the spirit. We leave them wanting more so then we come back the next day and then the next day. Also he read us a scripture 2 Nefi 32:8 that talks about Prayer. But he went deeper. It says if we hearken (listen and obey) to the spirit we will know that it will be good for us. We can apply that to our lives by listening to the whispers of the spirit, acting upon them, then we will know that it is good for us, and then we can testify with power. I want to bear testimony with power that this is the work of our Lord and Savior. My goal is to become his servant and an instrument in his hands. I love you all and I hope you have a good week.

Elder Arbon

Week 47: "Success in the mission field, whether it be findings or lessons, depends solely on your mindset (Vision)."

This week was amazing! By far one of the best weeks of my mission! I had the opportunity to do divisions twice in order to help the elders in my district. I helped them realize success in the mission field, whether it be findings or lessons, depends solely on your mindset (Vision). That is something that my companion and I have learned. It doesn`t matter your area, zone, or mission. If you truly believe you will be successful, it will come. Just need to believe in it and trust in God that he will fulfill his part when you`ve done your part to the best of your ability. But this week we had 4 investigators in church with the church attendance up to 60 people. It was amazing! The most we`ve had in the last year at least. The second counselor from the stake came and said if we keep progressing as a ward like we`re doing, they`re going to get us a new chapel! I love this work and I know it`s His work! I love you all and have a great week!

Elder Arbon

The foto is a "service" we did with Fabricio. He asked me to show him some lifting techniques. I knew I lifted for a reason! Jaja

Week 46: "Quiere agua, quiere un beso."

Super solid week this week! We`ve been working super hard to try to get the ward animated in the obra misional. Saturday we had a ward activity where we all came together and we had the whole ward go out and contact all of our old investigators. It was an amazing experience for the ward because they got to see the joy that comes from missionary work. After the missionaries played futbol with the barrio and cooked tortillas paraguayas. It was awesome, we had about 50 at the activity. But this week we have been working really hard with Rosario and Santiago. Rosario is the esposa of a recent convert and we`ve been really focusing on the importance of the family. They have a 2 year old son named Axel, it was super fun because one day we were walking down the street and Axel comes running yelling Elderes. Such a good experience! Also, Santiago is the nephew of Rosario and Fabricio. We found him one day when he went to visit Rosario. He`s 13 and has a lot of Fe in Jesus Christ. He has already read to 1 Nefi 11. Without a doubt in my heart I know it is the word of God given to us as another testament of Jesus Christ. Funny story, my comp had another bad dream and woke up screaming so one of the Latino Elders in the house woke me up so  he didn`t get beat up and I guess I woke up speaking in Spanish to my comp and some of the things I said were, "Quiere agua, quiere un beso." After I said that he went right to sleep. The next day when one of the Latinos told me that I laughed the whole day. But this week I`ve been studying a lot about the atonement and the priesthood. I`ve been reading in D&C 84 that talks about the only way we can access the ordinances of this gospel is through the priesthood and only through these sacred holy ordinances can we access the power of the atonement. I know this church is the only church on this Earth that holds the keys and the power to use the holy priesthood power for the saving of the souls of men. I love this gospel and I love this work. I love you all and have a good week.

Elder Arbon 

Week 45: "Obedience brings blessing, exact obedience brings miracles, and exact obedience with hard work brings miracles daily."

This week was an amazing week, we were so blessed in the work! A few things that happened this week: we had to take an hermana to the hospital because she had an allergic reaction at 10:30 at night, we have been searching for new houses for the hermanas that will be opening up an area, and my companion had a night terror and beat up a latino Elder that slept next to him (I laughed the whole next day). But his week was truly amazing. We could truly see the hand of God in the work. We have been focusing really hard and strengthening the barrio because last Sunday we had only 25 people attend church. This week we had our first consejo de barrio and our first activity as a ward in 6 months. In church we had 50 people in church, that was truly a miracle. Also we were blessed with success as missionaries. We had a lady named Elida Renee and a kid named Nico. With Elida Renee we took a less active member to her house and asked to come to church and she came. With Nico, we play futbol every Wednesday with all of the kids of the barrio and we have gotten really gotten close with a lot of them so they`ve started to come to church. But I learned a great principle this week, "Obedience brings blessing, exact obedience brings miracles, and exact obedience with hard work brings miracles daily." I know this is true and I saw it this week. I love this work and I know it is His work. I know that the priesthood, the same priesthood that Christ held while on the Earth has been restored, through our Beloved prophet Josè Smith. I know it is only through this priesthood that we can access the cleansing and strengthening power of the atonement through the saving ordinance only performed by the priesthood of God. I love you all and I hope you have a great week.

Elder Arbon

Week 44: "I`m super excited for the challenge!!!"

This week was an awesome week. It was rough leaving my old area because I gave everything I had into that area. I`m so excited to work in this area. Tuesday when I was leaving another Elder living in our house slept with the new missionaries and he had forgotten the keys were in his pocket to our apartment so I left to Artigas without anything but my scriptures and suit coat. It was a lot fun but really tough at the same time. It has been really cold the last few days and we live 4 elders in a house so there is little to no hot water. The first night I slept in my suit pants with a tiny blanket my companion gave me, man it was rough but fun! I didn`t shower for 3 days because I didn`t have a towel or a change of cloths. But I`m super excited to work here in Artigas.  President loves Artigas because this is where he served when he served here so he said he sent me here to pick up the zone by my example and help my comp learn Spanish. I`m super excited for the challenge!!! We have a lot of work to do!!! But our area is right next to Brazil. I`m super excited to work here because the ward I`m in only has about 25 people that actually go, our zone is really lacking, and my comp knows no Spanish so I was asked to train him again. I`m super excited for this opportunity, there`s a lot of work to do! I hope you all have a great week. Les quiero!

Elder Arbon

Week 43: ¡Muévete!

Faw, this week was an amazing week. It started off with a meeting with President where we learned so much! He talked about the word, "manso" or "meek." I always thought that it just meant humble but he taught us what it really meant. He read us a scripture in DyC 19:41 that says, "Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me? Yea, come unto me thy Savior. Amen." How easy would we come unto the savior? How easy would we "move?" This is what it means to be meek: To be easy to be moved! And our perfect example is Jesus Christ. He was with the Father in Heaven with all the glory and he came to the Earth (he moved) to suffer and die for us. It wasn´t easy, it was hard and in reality is the hardest thing that was ever been accomplished on this earth. But Jesus was easy to be moved by God, like we should be. ¡Muévete! But this week was great. Kati and Santi left this week, I´m going to miss them so much. But before they left they promised me Kati would be baptized in a few weeks and that they would name their baby….Jantz!!!! Man I love them! But this week we have been working really hard with Fernando. We couldn´t find him the first part of the week but we went back and he told us that he had read almost all the way to chapter 12 of 1 Nefi and he says every time he reads he feels a peace. I can´t wait until his baptism but I won´t be here, I got transferred to Artigas 4 as a district leader! Can´t wait! Love you all!

Muévete!

Elder Arbon

Week 42: "impacted him"

This week was an awesome week! It started off a little rough but it ended really good. We´ve been teaching Kati for about 4 months now and we had Kati´s baptismal date for this Saturday because she leaves Monday to live in Rivera. But while teaching her we both realized that she wasn´t ready to make that covenant. So we decided to cancel her baptism. It hurt super bad because we had gotten so close to her and Santi. But we were blessed with our investigator named Fernando. We found him one day when we were walking and passed him and his wife so we turned around and walked up to him and started talking to  him. He is a really good guy. But this week we went to his house to see if we could have a lesson with him but he had family over so we didn´t have a lesson but we invited him to read the Book of Mormon, that night he fell asleep reading it. He said that it had “impacted him.” It was so awesome, now he´s coming to church manana. It was such a great experience. Also we´re working really hard with Willy and his family. We had Willy´s kids and Fabian´s baptism planned for next week but Willy´s kids won´t be here this weekend so we won´t be able to make their fecha for next week but we´re going to work really hard with Fabian to make sure he´s prepared for his baptism next week. I love you guys and I hope you have a great week.

Elder Arbon

  

Week 41: "goodbye to President and Hermana Heaton"

This week was a really great week. We worked really hard this week on preparing for the new President. He came in today and the office Elders had the opportunity to pick him up from the airport. It was so awesome to be able to see him and his family when they got off the plane. It was really hard saying goodbye to President and Hermana Heaton though. I have learned so much from them. Their amazing examples and their love for the work. President taught me to work, to have confidence in the Savior, and to rely on the power of the Holy Ghost. Hermana Heaton taught me that regardless of the trials we face, kindness and service are always the best way to open the windows of Heaven and the divine help will pour over you. But I´m really excited to work with President Smith. He´s such a great man and I´m excited to learn from his teachings and from his example. This week we´re working super hard with Kati, we´re having a lot of problems with them not being married but still living together. Please pray to help us receive the revelation we need to find a solution to this problem. Also, we´ve been working a lot with Fabian to try to help him realize that he doesn´t have to have the knowledge of an apostle to become a member of the church, only a desire to excercise his faith and follow the savior. I love this work and I´m grateful for this opportunity I have to be a missionary of our Lord and Savior. 

Elder Arbon

We made tortas fritas con Santi y Kati.

Week 40: "Have your focus on the One but your heart to everyone."

This week was a really good week! We didn´t have as many in church as we wanted this week but one of them was Kati. Faw, I love her and Santi So much. I cannot wait for her baptism. We´ve worked so hard with her and we´re going to have her baptism here in a few weeks. But this week we were working a lot with the family of Willy. On Wednesday we had a great lesson with the bishop. We talked about the restoration. He is a really good teacher. But please, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ your calling is to share your testimony and nothing more. Your calling isn´t to share Lesson 1, 2, 3, or the law of chastity or tithing or the word of wisdom. Your calling is to first be an example through your actions, and then it is to share what you know to be true, your testimony. Don´t try to say what the missionaries would say, sometimes and a lot of times that scares away people and it´s the missionaries job. We have been set apart to teach those things, we have the power and authority to teach. Please, be an example to those around you and then when you get the chance to share the Gospel, share the "soft things". Share how the church has blessed your life, how families can be together forever, or your love for the savior. But this week we had a capacitación about the importance of families and not just individuals. That families are the purpose of the church and this gospel. Families are where true joy and peace are and they are truly the kingdom of God on this Earth. I know this to be the one and only true church. I know that the only way to return to live with our Heavenly Father is through the sacred ordinance of baptism, the covenants we make in the temple, through the Holy Priesthood of God, and through the weekly participation of the sacrament and the renewing of our covenants. I know the windows of Heaven are opened. I know God listens, talks, and answers the prayers of his children through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know we can receive this divine relation through the keeping of our covenants, obedience to the commandments, diligent studies, honest prayer, and service. I know the atonement has the power to heal, to cleanse, to empower, and to change. Have your focus on the One but your heart to everyone.  

Elder Arbon

People at Work

Week 39: "I´m so stoked!"

This week was an awesome week! We were blessed in church, a guy came we had never taught before named Carlos. His family either passed away or had moved away so he was left here alone, he says he wants to start a family. We had a lesson with him on Wednesday and we taught him the restauración. After we gave him a Book of Mormon and gave him a fetcha and he accepted. It was such a blessing. Also we went to Kati´s house for Sati´s birthday on Wednesday. Elder Gudmundson bought him a cake and I gave him one of my p day shirts. While we were there we showed them the video about the guy whose family was killed in a car accident by a drunk teenage driver and forgave him. We showed that to Kati and after we invited her to be baptized again and she accepted. It was such an amazing experience. Also we were walking in the street one day and we saw this couple outside of their house so we stopped by and talked to them and gave them a Book of Mormon. We went back this week twice and taught the Book of Mormon and read with him 2Nefi31. After we gave him fetcha and he said he wants to but he´s moving in 15 days to Ecuador. So that will be a great reference for those Elders. Also one day we were walking home and decided to stop by Nahuel´s house to see how he was doing and his mom came out crying saying she´s having some hard times right now. We talked to her a little bit and then after she said she´s going to come back to church. That will be super good for Nahuel. Also we´ve been working really hard with the family of Willy. Yesterday we taught the plan of salvation and said that the only way to enter into the Celestial Kingdom is to be baptized and then we invited Fabian to be baptized next week and he accepted. I´m so stoked! I know this church is the one and only true church with our Lord and Savior directing it through a living prophet who contains the priesthood keys. But it was a great week this week with a lot of blessings, I love you all and I hope you have a great week. 

Elder Arbon

Week 38: "I'm not looking back."

This weekly was an amazing week! It was a little rough because it was changes week so Tuesday and Wednesday we didn´t get anytime in the field to proselyte. But Tuesday we gave a presentation to all of the new missionaries about the finances. Wednesday we had to make sure everyone took the right bus and ended up in the right place. Wednesday we had to make sure everything was ready for when the new missionaries met their trainers. On Thursday we took all of the missionaries to the airport. Faw, I´m so glad that I have 16 months left. But my testimony grew again this week, God blesses those who serve him. We didn´t get a lot of time in the field but one of our investigators got an answer to his prayers, Luis. His brother has had a hard time with alcohol, but after he asked our Heavenly Father if José Smith was a real prophet of God, his brother got better that day. It was truly a blessing. I know God answers prayer, but we must pray with fe and we must be willing to act on the answer, even if it´s not what we want to do. But funny story...we are teaching this family that the dad is a menos activo. We´ve gotten really close with them. The girlfriend of the dad was asking me yesterday what my type of girls were. I told her I could not date on my mission, but she didn´t stop, she insisted. She said when we go by tonight she´s going to have one of her friends waiting for me. It was super funny! But this week I read a talk written by Elder Jeffery R. Holland called Remember Lot´s Wife. Such a power talk, I challenge all of you to read it. But I would like to bear testimony that I know this church is the one and only true church of Jesus Christ. It was restored through the same priesthood keys that He held while on the earth. I know the priesthood is the power of God. I know the Book of Mormon to be the perfect word of God without fault. I know I can return to live with my Father in Heaven, but only through His Son Jesus Christ the his sacrifice. "I´m not looking back."

Elder Arbon 

Nahuel's Baptism

Week 37: "I`m grateful to be a bearer of this Holy Priesthood."

This week was amazing. It was crazy! On Monday we got a call from Buenos Aires saying that there would be a guy coming to audit our mission. So my companion and I didn`t sleep at all Monday and Tuesday night. We got maybe 2 to 3 hours a night sleep. We had to go through and make sure everything was organized right. It was really good though. The guy that came was really impressed. I was a little upset we didn`t get any time to work in the field that day but I know He will bless us in the future. Also we had an investigator try to leave us on Monday, Kati. Her and her boyfriend tried to leave to Rivera to escape her mother. They ended up getting caught in terminal and brought back home, it was a blessing in disguise. But on Monday we went to their house to say goodbye and as we were leaving Santi began to cry, faw. I haven`t felt like that since I came to the mission, it brought tears to my eyes. It`s going to be so hard leaving the people of Uruguay. But on Thursday we had an amazing conference by Elder Maynes. By far the best conference I have ever been to. He and his wife spoke, I learned a lot and my testimony grew so much. She talked about putting on "Full Court Press" against Satan. He talked about God and Jesus Christ being the first companionship of this dispensation and Josè Smith as the first investigator, talked about a true conversion to the gospel is to truly repent, which truly means to "change." Give our will to him. I love it! But this week was a good week with investigators tambien. We`re working really hard with a man named Luis, he`s a super really nice guy and has a lot of fe but right now we need to help him gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I want to bear testimony that I know the Book of Mormon to be the perfect word of God. I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon was translated by Josè Smith only through the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that the Book of Mormon contains the instructions for life. I know that it testifies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know it`s true and I will never deny it. It is the evidence that Josè was a prophet and the holy priesthood was restored to this earth and I`m grateful to be a bearer of this Holy Priesthood. I´m doing so well! I can´t express to you in words how much I´ve grown a love and an appreciation of the atonement of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. When it comes down to it, it is the ultimate answer to all our problems. Christ suffered and died for each and every one of our sins. But he didn´t just suffer for our sins, he suffered for our sickness, heartaches, and our challenges. He did this not just to satisfy the law of forgiveness, but he did this so he could carry us through our trials. Not just walk along side us. He´s here to carry us, plead for us, and fight for us. He just asks one thing. Give it all to him. He loves us and wants the best for us, that´s why he gives us these trials. Only from the greatest trails are the greatest things brought to past. Put your faith and trust him, he´s waiting with his arms wide open not just to embrace you, but to carry you and fight for you. I want to bear my testimony that I know this church is the one, and only true church of Jesus Christ. He restored the keys of the priesthood to the first Prophet of the last dispensation and of the restoration and I carry that power. I`m grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know it to be the perfect word of God. I know God loves us enough to give us the perfect plan for us so we can return to live with him and and family again.

Les quiero.

Elder Arbon

Week 36: "I love this gospel and I´m so grateful to wear my Savior´s name."

The baptism was amazing! Nahuel didn´t want a lot of people there so we just had few but the spirit was so strong. Elder Gudmundson hasn´t had the opportunity to perform a baptism so I had him do it. It was a really good experience for Nahuel to make that first covenant with the Lord and see Elder Gudmundson´s confidence grow. This week I want you to study 1 Nefi 8 about Lehi´s dream. I studied about that a lot this week and my testimony for the Savior and his sacrifice and also for the scriptures grew by leaps and bounds. I really learned the significance of his dream. First of all, the tree of life. It´s the love of God, but what´s the love of God? The love of God is his Son and our Savior and Redeemer. God so loved the world he gave his only Begotten Son. And more specifically it´s the blessings of the atonement. Through the atonement we can receive a remission for our sins, the cleansing power, and also we can receive the power to overcome our faults and follow our Lord and Savior, the enabling power. But how can we receive the love of God, the only way is through the word of Christ or the Scriptures. But in this chapter it says we need to hold to the rod (the scriptures) continually, with all our might. Only then can we overcome the temptations of the devil. I know scriptures to be the word of God, and especially the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith who translated it only by the power of the Spirit. I know God loves us enough he sent his perfect son to suffer and die for us. I also know that the one and only true church, the church of our Savior, has been restored to this earth through the priesthood keys, the same keys that Jesus Christ held. I know that ordinances and covenants are truly blessings in our life. I love this gospel and I´m so grateful to wear my Savior´s name. Even though we´re in the offices, we´re serving the missionaries and God knows that. The greatest among them are those that serve and I´m learning that now. The more we obey and the more we serve, the more blessings we receive.

Elder Arbon

Week 35: "We went there an hour early and we didn´t know why but God needed us there at that moment to help that family."

Hola,

It was so good to see you! I loved it! It made me miss you so much more!  We have the greatest family and we have the responsible to help others. We have been blessed with so many blessing; we´re financial stable, we have a family that loves each other, and above all we have the knowledge of the gospel of Jesucristo. We may have been blessed with all these things but these blessings come with a responsibility, we must give these things to those who are in need.  This week was a crazy week. We had two elders go home early so we had them stay with us for a few days and we had to take them to the airport.  Also, our financial system went down so we won´t be able to pay anyone for 10 days. So we were busy running around making sure everything was paid and making sure the mission had enough money for the next 10 days. So Sunday, when we were picking up an Elder at 4 de la mañana a family came up to us and said they had been living at the bus station for a few days because they came to Uruguay just a few days ago to live with the family of the guy but they kicked him out because he was investigating the church. We went there an hour early and we didn´t know why but God needed us there at that moment to help that family. The ward that they´re in now really pulled through, they got them a house, food, and now the guy has a baptismal date for the 1st of June. Such a testimony builder.

But from now on I´m going to describe one thing from Uruguay that´s different from the states. I know you want to know more about my area, the people, and the norms here so every week I´m going to tell you something new. The food here is changing, in summer they eat milanasas (thinly breaded chicken or beef) and ensalda de rusca (chopped up potatoes, carrots, peas, and a ton of mayonnaise) and now they eat more of soup now that it´s getting cold.

I love this Gospel. I know Jesus lives, I know he suffered and died for each one of us individually. He knows our weakness and knows our strengths. When he paid the price for our salvation it wasn´t easy, but he did it. If it was hard with him why wouldn´t it be hard for us. But he didn´t quit so I won´t. I want to testify that I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, that José Smith was a prophet of Lord, he restored the same priesthood keys that Jesus has. I love this gospel. I love my family with all my heart, and above all I love Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Elder Arbon