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