Slow Week!

Well not a lot happened this week. We have been struggling to find, and we dropped all the people we were teaching cause they aren't keeping commitments. Our only solid investigators, Cat and Jeff, were supposed to come to church yesterday and then we were gonna have dinner at their place that night. You can see where this is going........... so I made microwave hot dogs instead woohooo. Thats about how the rest of the week went as well. One funny story, while we were tracting we met this guy who talked to us for a bit on his doorstep, and he didn't belong to a particular denomination. But he said, "One church has got to be true, there can only be one. Someday it'll come to me or I'll find it." me and Elder Baker just looked at each other like WERE RIGHT HERE YOU DUMMY AND ITS FREE!!!!!!!! of course I didnt say that but I thought it. He let us get through an entire restoration then told us he wasn't interested. So good times here in the VA. Another cooler story from "finding" (tracting) this week. We knocked on this lady's door either right after, or right before they pulled the plug on her mom from life support. So we were able to testify to her of the Plan of Salvation and how God has a plan for all of us, we shared Alma 7:11 with her and it was awesome to be able to testify to her how Christ truly can succor us when we turn to him. She accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon but wouldnt set a return appointment. In other news it has rained for like a week straight now. Fun stuff. Not much else to report on.  

Elder McArthur 

This actually took a long time, many failed attempts and many, many MTN dews to make. 

Call Me Melo!

Hey family and friends, this week was aight, on Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with Cat and Jeff, we taught them the plan of salvation and it went really well it was super cool. At first Jeff wasn't really into it but as we got going and asking him some questions he opened up, Cat is all in she was asking questions about the temple and when they could be "sealed" with air quotes as she put it. So we talked about everyting but told her to take it easy cause she needs to be baptized first. They have lots of alcohol so pray when we teach them the Word of wisdom this week. We also had exchanges with our district leader, I went with his companion Elder Lee, it was good, we didnt really find anyone exciting. But Today was fun, we went and explored Belle Isle, it was first found by the "White man" in the late 1600's and is now a city park, But it was an indian fishing village untill the white man came and then it was just land, then in the 1800's it served as a Union POW camp in Richmond, (cause Richmond was the capitol of the south) and 6000 union soldiers died there while imprisoned. then it was a nail and iron factory then a hydro electric plant, (ruins seen below) but now its a park and super cool, we hiked all around and got our pants super muddy. It was a good time. We met these 2 super high and drunk guys, who were in the process of doing both as we talked to them, I asked them for their names and the one said, "call me Mello" while laughing so I asked him how he got the name, he said "Long story short, I'm a weed dealer and I thought to myself, what will set me apart from other weed dealers?" so he came up with this super long name, that has Mello in it somewhere so he goes by Mello for short. We talked to them for a while and the one had actually been to church with us before, so we left them a card and our number. Good times  

Thought for the week, in 1st Nephi 10, Nephi says repeatedly that the Messiah, will be the kSavior of the World, contrary to the Jewish belief of the day, the Jews thought he would come and overthrow their enemies and they would just take over the world putting their enemies beneath them, but Nephi knows he will save not just the jews but EVERYONE, so that stood out to me in my sudies this week, how much more the lord revealed to his prophets in the Book of Mormon, or how much more they understood. 

Belle Isle and views of downtown Richmond, which we can't go to because it's out of the zone, (the river is the boundry)

 Cat's therapy parrot

 This week on Kayden's Critters, a little blue lizard

" Rowdy the Land Shark"

 Zone Conference

Wild Week!

Hey everyone, this week has been soo long and soo fast all at the same time, Monday and Tuesday were just normal days nothing real exciting so not too much to report on there.  

Wednesday was zone conference and it was amazing, we talked about the Book of Mormon, and how we need to be using it more in our teaching and finding and just about everything we do. We also talked about PMG and how we need to be studying it more every day. Our zone set a goal to memorize 4 of our favorite scriptures and know the context behind them so we can share them with people on their doorsteps and in our contacts with everyone. President also introduced a new study initiative where we read through PMG and then look up and highlight all the scripture references from the Book of Mormon, to make us better scriptoria's and to learn the doctrines in PMG better. (sidenote) we won cleanest van and won a chick fil a gift card. So you can catch me whipping that spotless purple 2016 Toyota Sienna around southern Richmond. At zone conference as we were leaving I was waiting in the van, when president comes up and motions for me to roll down the window, so I did, all he said was "you look like a soccer mom" and laughed to himself as he walked away. hahaha After zone conference we started exchanges with our zone leaders, so Thursday was exchanges and I was with Elder Bolanos. The day was pretty boring. But the zone leaders are Spanish missionaries so that night we ended up doing a lot of Spanish work which was awesome and I'm super jealous of them, even though I understood nothing. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were normal days, talked to a lot of interesting people. Sunday we had a musical fireside and two of our investigators came which was good because they met a lot of the ward members. Thats about it for this week, it was good but exhausting. 

Elder McArthur

View of Richmond

Favorite Families From White Oak

Some favorite families from white oak  

The Henderson's

The Dyre's

The Seages 

Brother Hartley and bisop with me and Elder Newton

Brother Hartley

I wasn't able to get one with the Lankford fam but I love you guys!!!!! I'll see you again eventually

Meadowbrook

Hey everyone, so yes I was transfered, my new area is the Meadowbrook ward, I technically live in North Chesterfield VA but really its just the outskirts of Richmond, but our area covers all of southern Richmond, So Richmond is split in half by the James river and everything south of that is my area. Its pretty ghetto but the work is promising and I love it here.  

My new comp is Elder Baker from Golden Colorado, he just fiinished being trained, he's awesome, just a big teddy bear, plus he also wrestled so we talk about that a lot. 

Monday and Tuesday was a lot of packing and saying goodbye to members, but on Tuesday we did go out finding for a while and it was insanely hot and humid. No one was interested... 

Wednesday was transfer meeting, it was sad to see Elder Willis(my trainer) and so many other awesome missionaries I've known over the last 11 or so months go home, and more to leave next transfer. But that was fun nonetheless, so I drove on down here to Richmond and unpacked and tried to familiarize myself with the area and the people were working with. 

Thursday we planned pretty much all day, trying to get to know the area

Friday was a normal day not too much happened. Saturday we found a new investigator, but he didn't keep his return appointment, (which was on Sunday) so darn. 

Sunday was awesome! As it usually is when you get transferred, meeting a ton of new people and such. But I want to tell you about Cynthia, she has been coming to church just by herself for the last 3 weeks, Elder Baker and his comp just assumed she was a member, but turns out shes not, she came  cause she has friends who are members and wanted to find out what the "light in their faces" was from, so we are meeting with her this week. She's an older black lady who hobbles around on a walker but she's super sweet.  Then on Sunday night we went to a fireside where Ahkmed Corbittt spoke, he is a former mission and stake president. but he talked about the power of exceedingly great faith, it was awesome. In Revelation 12:7-11 we learn that we overcame satan in the war in heaven by the "Blood of the Lamb" so we had faith in Christ power to redeem us thousands and thousands of years before the atonement happened. But he talked about how we can have faith like that today. Really awesome. 

Elder McArthur

 Classic missionary cornfield photo from my last area

Me and Elder Baker

The James river

Richmond skyline

Peace Out White Oak

Well I'm being transferred this Wednesday  I'm pretty mad I'll miss the fourth of July in white oak, but I'm sure my next area will have fireworks too. I don't know where I'm going yet or who I'll be with but yall will find out next Monday! 

This week we were supposed to meet with Lili all week and she kept pushing us off and rescheduling, finally on Friday we had a set lesson she pushed us off again but PROMISED she would be at church. Guess who came to church that Sunday?! Not Lili, thats who. 

Everyone else was out of town or we just couldn't get in contact with. 

Tuesday we went and visited a member in the hospital, one of my favorite members, Brother Dyre, his toes got infected and they're going to have to amputate two of them so I took a picture with his toes still attached, (see below) 

Wednesday we got the whip from Elder Uchtdorf and the mission department, not a whole lot changed for me and my comp, (cause we follow the rules) but some things that affected everyone is no more Zone P days, and were not allowed to play board games or card games on P day anymore, so I really don't understand that and I'm a little mad but theres nothing I can do but follow them. Mind you this came from headquarters to be rolled out in all missions everywhere, the north america northeast missions were just the first to get the good news 🙃. 

Anyway we found a few cool potentials this week, I also probably have zika now cause of all the mosquitos so thats fun. But we met a really cool southern baptist, ( i know right?! a cool southern baptist who was open to the Book of Mormon, it was like finding a unicorn) but we taught him the restoration and left him a Book of Mormon, he wouldn't set a return apointment but he was really nice so we'll see if he calls us. On Saturday we got cussed out by an old man, that was neat. He REALLY did not like us, and he made sure to use lots of words that start with f, as loud as he could so he made sure all the neighbors knew we were there. Then his Dog busted through the door and knocked over some of his plants as we were walking away so of course that was our fault and he made sure we knew we weren't welcomed in his neighborhood. 10/10 guy. 

love all you guys, the gospel is true, the commandments are for our benefit, God is good. 

Elder McArthur