Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone, Merry Christmas!  

This week was awesome, Monday we had a mission Christmas conference, the whole mission met at the stake center in Richmond. Sister Sherri Dew came and spoke to us about the atonement and about our divine orbits, then we had musical numbers and it was so spiritual. The highlight of it was a musical number by 3 sister's one on the piano one singing and Hermana Clark, who I went to high school with, (Abby Clark), anyway they sang an original musical number and it was amazing, there was a frog trying to jump out of my throat the whole time haha, but I shared it on my face Book so you can all watch it. 

Then on Tuesday we met the sister's at the mall, they found a guy at the bus stop and we met them for a hand off lesson, his name is Gregory and he already knows everything about the gospel it's awesome we committed him to baptism on January 20th in the first lesson! Then yesterday we went and handed out pass along cards stapled to candy canes at the mall, but this week has been awesome, Christmastime is the best. Then of course I Skyped my family earlier today! And they surprised me with some of my best friends that were there too, shoutout to Allie, Maddy, and Hunter. 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

Charlie Brown Christmas tree

Our white Christmas

Thanks for the Christmas cards 

Entire mission

Another Week!

Well another week has come and gone out here in C-Ville,

This week we actually had a lesson! Which is one more than last week, so thats pretty exciting. We also found a super nice guy named Derek. However, seeing as its the Holidays and all we don't have return appointments until after new years with either of them, so all bets are off as to whether or not they actually keep their commitments. Since literally nothing else happened its STORY TIME! Woohoo everyone hold on to your pants cause this is a good one, or at least I thought so.

We were tracting and across the street were two delinquent youths messing with some car I (wrongly) assumed was theirs. I couldn't tell how old they were from across the street, so we kept tracting. When we came to their house the car (it was a VW Golf) was halfway down the really steep driveway and halfway on the grass. We decided to skip over them and move onto their neighbors. No one was home, but the whole time we watched these two idiots try to figure out how to move the car. So we went back to them and I asked them if they needed any help. To which the kid, who was probably 13 or 14 reluctantly replied yes. I motioned for him to get out of car and I noticed it was stick shift lol. The car wasn't even running, they couldn't figure out how to start it. haha! So I pulled it up the driveway and parked it, turned it off and put the E brake on. Then I asked the kid if he lived at this house. Yes. then i asked him how old he was and he hesitantly replied "16" which was an obvious lie. So i asked him if he had his license, "no but I’m getting it in January" another lie. If he was getting it in January he would've already done drivers ed. and at least known how to back down a drive way haha. After I parked the car the kid hopped back in and started fiddling with the gears and wondering why the car wasn't moving. (the E brake was on) (he didn't know where the E brake was lol) 

So I pulled out my best buzzkill dad voice and said, "Look, you're obviously not 16, nor do you have your license so I don't recommend you go for a joyride nor do i condone it, you obviously don't know how to drive, much less drive stick shift, so don't do this. I’m not your parents, or the cops, so I cant make you do anything, but don't do this." so the kid got out of the car and we left.

BUT WAIT THERES MORE!

Approximately 7 minutes later and a few houses down, the car is at the bottom of the driveway and its running! So he figured out where the E brake was and how to start it. so we stopped and watched for about 10 minutes while he proceeded to kill it 5 or 6 times. Twas a good laugh indeed. So we went back over and as we were walking, the kid, obviously distraught at this point, gets out and starts trying to push the car up the hill. 

So me and Elder Replogle decide to be charitable and came up with a plan. I walked back up and said to the kid, " I’m willing to cut you a deal, when your parents get home and see the car at the bottom of the hill they're going to be ticked right? (he nodded) So I’m willing to drive the car back up the driveway and park it. IF..... you promise me that when I do, you wont get back in and go for a joyride today. Can we make that deal?" Once again in my best buzzkill dad voice. 

The kid agreed so I drove it up the hill parked, turned it off, and tossed the kid the key and told him not to do anything stupid. As we were walking away again either his mom or his sister pulled up to the house. We saved his bacon haha and potentially his life or at least a huge ticket haha. Anyway thats my story, sorry if it wasn't what you were expecting or if I hyped it up to much. Merry Christmas!

till next week, Elder McArthur

The sky's on fire

Biking in a Winter Wonderland!

Howdy everyone, I am officially done training, so thats pretty neat.
I am staying in Charlottesville for the holidays as well. I will probably be here until mid January or so.

My new companion is Elder Replogle from Orem Utah, he has been out 1 transfer (6 weeks) longer than me, and its been interesting, to say the least haha. Neither of us really knows what were doing but I'm sure we'll figure it out sooner or later.
This week we had blitzes with the zone leaders, and Elder Replogle and Elder Turner found an awesome young family who let them in and they taught the restoration and they are about to have a baby so they said to come back after Christmas but before January 11th when their baby is due, and then they gave them a whole bag of caramel popcorn as they left. 

Elder Galloway, Elder Payne, (the zone leaders are in a trio) and I ran into a man named Larry who was recently fired from his job, when we ran into him he said, "God sent me three angels!"
we left him with 2 Nephi 2 to read and got a return appointment but he lives out of our area so the other Elders will get to teach him.

It snowed! literally the day before it was so hot, I was biking without my jacket and the next day it snowed, what the heck Virginia! And as it turns out its really hard to bike while its snowing because the little flurries pelt you in the eyeballs. then the day after all the snow melted,  but its supposed to be 17 degrees for the high this coming week and snow some more. Yay!

Thanks for all the love and prayers
Elder McArthur

Rotunda in the snow

Elder Replogle and I doing our best white girl pose, some random girl photobombed

New comp

Hello All

Hello family and friends,  

Pretty much nothing to report on this week, Elder Willis is getting transferred, so I'm staying In Charlottesville. So I'm officially done with training yay🎉 transfers are Wednesday so he'll find out where he's going and I'll get my new companion then. 

We spent most of our time finding this past week, and the people here are just not very receptive, either that or I'm really ugly, one of the two...... But NO ONE wants to listen to us, or even watch the light the world video. So we're really trying to figure out how to get the work going here in C-Ville. 

This Saturday Chris, a man me and Willis tracted Into my very first week, was baptized, we only met him for the first contact and taught him the restoration, then we had to hand him off to the second ward sister's because we realized he's out of our area, (we didn't know it wasn't our area it was our first week in C-ville) but the sister's have worked with him these last two transfers and he was baptized just in time for Elder Willis to see it, that was pretty cool. 

I know if I keep working and being obedient then something will happen sooner or later, 

Love you all thanks for the support

Elder McArthur

Chris is the tall one with black hair, and these are the sister's who taught him

The sunsets remind me of home and lake Powell, nothing like home, but still good.

Crazy Lady

Hello everyone, this week was pretty drab, we spent a large portion of the week tracting with no success. Also Helen, our most investigatory investigator told us she “couldn't do this anymore" so were just fresh out of luck this week lol. 

We biked 19 Miles on Thanksgiving because the bus system wasn't running for the holiday so that was pretty rough on the old thighs. However we did find a few potentials last week that we are going to see tomorrow so its not all grey skies. But for now we are really trying to find people to teach because as of right now we have no one. The comment box is open for anyone who has finding ideas besides tracting because we do a lot of that and it isn't very effective ( go figure)

interesting things for the week

-we knocked on the door and the lady asked us who we were with so we said the CoJCoLDS and she said, "I Hate Jesus, I hate him and his Father" Oookkay crazy lady haha before she slammed the door we said He loves you!

- another lady opened the door and jumped about a mile, she said "You scared me I wasn't expecting you" it was hilarious, its 7 o'clock on a Wednesday who else would it be? 

Zone P day

Cool field on UVA grounds built in 1913

Zone P day again 

Dope sunset

Scott stadium the night before UVA vs VT