Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Ben's last mission email

Hola familia,

Zone Conference / Elder Ringwood

Our Zone Conference yesterday was amazing. I felt so uplifted and ready to go work afterward. Four of us that were leaving bore our testimonies at the beginning. I felt impressed to talk about my own conversion throughout my mission. It amazes me how the spirit speaks directly to our spirit what we should say in the very moment that we need it. Following that Sister Greer spoke to us and then President Greer. They are both great teachers. As they were speaking I had many thoughts come to my mind that I quickly recorded. It was more the spirit teaching me than them. Following their talks we heard from Elder Ringwood. It was cool to watch him follow spiritual impressions that came to him. You could see that he was teaching to our needs without knowing what they were except through the spirit. He spoke a lot about getting lost. Getting lost in the sense that we lose our lives as missionaries. That we give up all distractions and dedicate our lives to the work. It was kind of a continuation of President Greer's talk.

Eddy y Blanca

We continue to have spirit filled lessons with Eddy and Blanca. They both came to church this last Sunday. The coolest things about teaching them are the changes that are taking place in their lives and the added happiness they are finding. I love it. It's the best part about being a missionary.

Rigo

Yesterday all of our plans fell through. All of our backup plans fell through. We prayed. We tried hard to listen to the spirit and go where the Lord wanted us to. We ended up in an apartment complex off of St. John's visiting a few trybacks. Next door to the door we were knocking on there was a guy and woman that was a little older than him sitting outside talking. We walked up to them and introduced ourselves. His name was Rigo and Maria was his mom. We talked to them for about five minutes about different churches, the purpose of life, and why we obey commandments. Then Maria got up and left. She didn't seem very interested obviously. As soon as she left Rigo opened up. As he spoke to us and explained his life situation it felt like his spirit was crying for help. He wants to know how to find happiness in this life and he wants to know how to solicit God's help. Again the spirit guided us in what to say. He had never prayed before. We taught him how to pray and what prayer really is. He said he would pray every night and we're going to see him on Thursday.

Have a great week
And I'll see you all soon
Elder Ben Arnold

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

August 11, 2010

Hola familia,

Temple

I had my exit interview with President Greer this morning. I think the purpose was for him to get a feel for what our plans are for after our mission. It's nice that he's so worried about what happens to us for the rest of our lives. I really do feel how much he loves us. Right after he interviewed three of us we went to the Portland temple. It was beautiful and a very sacred experience for me. I learned so many things by the spirit. I felt such a peace and didn't want to leave when the time came to. The temple is so symbolic and has much more meaning than it first appears.

Eddy and Blanca

Eddy and Blanca were found just as I left Vancouver a year ago. Eddy came to church a few times and then as happens with many investigators they dropped off and weren't being taught for some time. Well, recently they were found again and Elder Bair and I have begun teaching them. They are both such amazing people and really are ready to accept the gospel. In our last lesson Elder Bair started out by talking about the Book of Mormon. They realize the importance of it and committed to start reading and praying again. Another cool story: Eddy the morning that we had our last lesson completely quit drinking. He called up Blanca and told her to throw out the rest of the beer. She ran to the sink and dumped it all out. He is committed to live the gospel and is going to be very blessed.

Meeting in the Tri-cities

The meeting went well over the four days we were in the tri-cities. I got to go and work in Pasco during the evenings and had some amazing experiences. I forgot how much I missed Pasco and the people there. I don't have any more time so I'll tell you some other day about all the stuff that happened in those days.

Love you all and have a great week

Elder Ben Arnold

Wednesday, August 4, 2010


August 2, 2010
Hola familia,

Tri-cities
This week, starting tomorrow, there is a meeting in Kennewick. It's going to be going until the 6th. We're going to be going over all the new PMG lessons. I'm pretty excited about that. There is a lot of stuff to learn. Hopefully I'll be able to hop into Pasco in the evenings and do some missionary work over there.

Eddy
The Zone Leaders found this guy tracting and taught him a lesson. He was apparently really cool and was very excited about coming to church. They talked to him about being baptized and he was excited about that so they set a date for him in August. They referred them to us because his wife only speaks spanish. We're still trying to get a hold of him.

Juan
Juan is a friend of Arturo, who is a member. Arturo invited him to come to church and he came dressed up in a suit. He really enjoyed church and we're scheduled to go teach him this week. Isn't it amazing how things just work out. The Lord's hand is in everything.

Jorge
We had a Family Home Evening with Jorge and two of his kids this last week. We watched a video at the church and played a little ball with them. They all really enjoyed it and built some good father son relationships. Then Jorge came to church yesterday. He's a really good guy and I'm glad that I've been able to know him.

Break the fast
The branch had a big dinner after church since it was fast sunday. It had actually been a while since we had had one. Whenever there is food involved extra people always seem to show up. Whatever gets them to church. It's fun to try all of the different kinds of food that the various people bring. There's always a big variety. Especially with all of these people from different countries.

Lumbermen
Elder Bair and I have become lumbermen. We've been helping Hno Woodland debark some huge logs at his house. After we get all of the bark off then we sand it with an electric sander and stain the logs. He's building an entry way over his driveway. It's a project that he's been wanting to do and now with our help he's getting it done. Along the way I'm learning how to work with wood. The other day I learned how to pour concrete. That was an experience.
Love you all. Have a great week
Elder Ben Arnold