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