1-18-16!

Hello hello everybody! This week was great!

Events I experienced:
On Monday, I wrote some letters, one to J, an old investigator, and to the Carcassonne Ward, letting them know how I am. They told me to write, so darn it, I'll write! That's about all there is that's worth to share.

On Tuesday, we helped Nes and Mil with their family history. We're trying to get them to go on the temple trip in February, and we are trying to help them to find an ancestor to bring to the temple! We also helped Frère Drem give a blessing to Elo. Whilst porting, we found a cool guy named Rach who really wants to stop smoking! We'll try to help him with that. And then we saw Sister F with Frère Four. She's a less-active who is SUPER quirky! She's awesome, she's a lot like me actually. I really hope to be able to connect with her and help get her back to church.

On Wednesday, we saw Elo and Nes! We are reteaching the lessons after baptism. We taught them the retab, and that went really well. Nes opened up and talked about his conversion, how he heard Frère All give a talk on forgiveness the first time he came to church. He was really touched, and that got him motivated to reconcile with his Heavenly Father. Then we had Ward council, and that was ok.

Thursday was awesome! I did an exchange with Elder Underwood in Perigueux! Perigueux is a beautiful French town. We went to an outer town called Vergt, did some tracting and passing. We found a Portuguese man for Elder Berry to teach, since he speaks Portuguese. We also contacted two people who asked a lot of good questions but lacked the faith/desire/both to obtain them! It was pretty sad to see, but that happens often. We came back, passed a member named Mar, and then our evening rendezvous with Ced fell through. But it was a super super fun day! Elder Underwood is super fun and has a really great spirit about him.

Friday was super fun! We got up and took a 7:32 train to Bordeaux for a zone training at 10. We talked about how we are going to achieve our goal of 250 baptisms for 2016. President Brown is pushing for families. He created an acronym for preparing to find and teach and baptize families:

Purity-being pure and capable to receive revelation for our sector
Amour-loving everyone and getting them to feel it, "for perfect love casteth out all fear"
Persevere-never quit and rely on the Lord to help us find who we need to teach about the Apostasy

Many French people hate religion. Why? They don't know about the apostasy foretold by Paul and the prophets of old. Their church is all they've known. So, we're going to ask people about religion. They'll tell us what they don't like. Then, we will offer them "a more excellent way," as the book of Ether says. We're pretty excited about it! I really think it'll help lead us to more baptisms and better missionary work.

Saturday, I was sick. We cancelled with Fernando and Roxaine and everybody else. Moving on.

Sunday! Still sick a little. Went to church, did weekly planning. Yup. Being sick stinks.

Lessons I learned:
Perfect love casts out all fear- fear of rejection, failure, others, ourselves, anything! When we fear, we lack faith, in Him and in ourselves. And we don't love people as much as we should. When I find fear in me, I rebuke myself by reminding myself that I don't have the right to do a so-so job, to pass them up, to "get it next time." If we have a perfect love for others, we will be concerned for their salvation, and we won't care about anything else, any of our other fears!

(free) Advice I have:
"See Others as They May Become" by President Monson, October 2012 Gen Conf. I often expect investigators, members, missionaries, EVERYONE to be perfect, to not make mistakes, to understand immediately, etc. Then I disappoint myself when a I realize that my expectations were unrealistic, and I look at their faults as the reason. President Monson has taught that we need to see people's potential, not their shortcomings! That is the only way to be accepting of others.

"An Attitude of Gratitude" by President Monson, April 1992 general conference. Check out this part:
"Accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative. Latch on to the affirmative; Don’t mess with Mr. In-between. Good advice then. Good advice now. This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help. We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

What more can I say? A wonderful talk about one of the biggest lessons I have learned on my mission.

I love you all! Thanks for all you do! Have a great week!
Love, Elder MacArthur

Ben & Elder Underwood on an exchange

Bordeaux zone

1-11-16!!!

Bonjour bonjour. Bonjour everyone!! This week was special. I got to see two children of God make sacred covenants! It was inspiring. But first! The week...

Events I experienced:
Monday was busy and not much of a repose haha. We'll move on.

Tuesday was great! We saw both Nes and Élo. As we were on the bus, a mid-30s, weird, strange woman kissed Elder Brill. It went something like this:
Lady: "Hey, come here!
E. Brill: "ummmm.....ok...."
Lady (leans in): "closer!"
E. Brill: (leans in, confused)
Lady then springs out and kisses him close to the mouth and says "now you kiss me!"
E. Brill then died. He is dead.

Wednesday was good! At the church, Elo tried on a baptismal gown and it fit well so that simplifies things. We saw Rox with the Fulcrands again, it was a good RDV. We're coming back on Saturday to teach the retab with Frere Allal. He used to be Muslim, so that'll be perfect since she is Muslim!

Thursday was good. We had our first ever Skype lesson with Joe, it worked pretty well! He's the friend of a member, Frère Fulcrand. Guess what? We engaged him to be baptized on April 9th! It's a ways away, but he needs to stop smoking and he preferred the spring. So exciting!

All you members out there! Us with tags NEED YOU. Members always do the best finding. They ensure high retention rates. Missionaries are TERRIBLE at finding people who are ready for the gospel, compared to you members. En plus, on the way back we found a vending machine. But it was not just any vending machine. It was a baguette vending machine! I swiped my card, paid a euro, and out popped a hot baguette. It was delicious and hilarious and ridiculously French all at the same time.

On Friday, we saw both Élo and Nes! It went very well. Élo was a little stressed about the baptism and we had to calm her down a little, but she really wants to be baptized tomorrow and she bore strong testimony of how she knows the church to be true! Nes is doing well, it'll be such a great day tomorrow!

Saturday!! They were both baptized! Incredible day. The service was beautiful, we held the baptism in the city of Limoges. It was awesome!

Frère Villain, who baptized Nes, said the following:
Me: Frère Villain, how many people have you baptized?
Frère Villain: I stopped counting after 100.

Haha he's so cool! I love that man so much. We came back from he baptism and had a lesson with Rox, and that went pretty well. She's incredibly similar to a lady named J that I taught a lot in Carcassonne. So I came to Brive prepared for her haha. We got a little deeper, figuring out why she wants to wait before getting baptized, talking about her problems holding her back, etc. then we had dinner with François Villain and his wife. They're both students and really cool people.

Sunday! Elo and Nes were confirmed by Frère Dremeaux. Church was great! Pretty normal as far as Sundays go, no Ward council though. And we had weekly planning today because we had no time on Friday or Saturday. AN INCREDIBLE WEEK! :)

Lessons I learned:
My ponderize scripture for this week is Acts 5:41,42. It says: "And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Are we happy to suffer shame for His name? Do we teach and preach and WORK as missionaries do? For we are all missionaries.

"Every missionary strives to be the missionary his mother thinks he is, the missionary his father hopes he is--even the missionary the Lord knows he can become." -President Monson. Haha so true. My mom thinks I'm a good missionary. HA! I'm nothing of the sort. Do I try? Heck yes. I love that quote. I love President Monson! What a man.

"We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect.” -President Uchtdorf. This is a wonderful quote from President Uchtdorf. He is easily one of my favorite speakers ever. Him, President Hinckley, Monson, Elder Holland, Elder Legrand Richards. The dream team. Happiness is always available to those who look for it! You just need to look in the right places! It's outside ourselves. Always.

This week, I learned the value of a soul. The value is its potential to become EXACTLY like our Heavenly Father. How valuable is that! As God is, man may become. Nes and Élo became something greater this week. They were already so much, but they became something better- even something infinitely better! I'm so grateful for the blessings that the Lord has poured upon me and Elder Brill in Brive. He has opened the windows of heaven and I feel so blessed. And the wonderful thing is, I know this "was not done in a corner." This was a collective effort of the whole mission! My trainer's trainer, Elder Nye, found Nes. Other elders found Élo. They were all taught by many missionaries. They were prayed for by our entire mission. All the heavenly hosts were rooting for them! The collective greatness of our mission, our obedience, our trust in the Lord brought to pass this wonder of wonder, miracles of miracles. If a spiritual renaissance is not a miracle, I do not know what is. Thanks to all who participated in this miraculous thing!

(free) Advice I have:
"Meeting Life's Challenges" by President Monson, October 1993 Gen Conf. An incredible talk about how we can all press forward "with steadfast faith in Christ," as the hymn says. I love President Monson's stories. If my life was one tenth as eventful as his is, I would explode.

"Of Regrets and Resolutions" by President Uchtdorf, October 2012 Gen Conf. My invitation for you all is to read this talk by President Uchtdorf and then take him up on his three engagements. We can all, as he says, avoid mistakes tomorrow by "following the Savior today."

I love you all!! The Church is true. Keep the faith! Fight the good fight. Jésus, que ferait-il? Que ferai-je? Then do it!! Awesome!

Love, Elder MacArthur

Elders Quinn & Allen, Elo, Nes, Ben and Elder Brill

Frere Villain, Nes, Ben and Elder Brill at Nes' baptism

Ben, Elo and Elder Brill at Elo's baptism

Frere Villain, Nes, Elo, Ben and Elder Brill

Elder Brill at the baguette machine

Elders Quin & Allen, Ben, Elder Brill

Mmmmm those were good

1-4-16!

Bonjour bonjour, hello hello! A new year! 2015 was the best year of my life, hands down! No comparison. 2016 will be even better! It'll blow 2015 away. It'll be like Shaq in his prime, posting up against...the neighborhood crossing-guard lady. Well here was the last of 2015!

Events I experienced:
Monday was pretty good, nothing much  to report.

Tuesday was a hassle. Our vacuum broke so we had to go get a new one. On the bus, I met a cool non-practicing Muslim man named Fern, and I gave him a Book of Mormon! He's pretty cool, we're going to call him in a few weeks after the vacation season. He's really nice and wants to learn more! Back home, an outlet broke so we fixed that. We saw Nes, we talked about the priesthood and that went alright. He thought it was an unusually grandiose thing to have the priesthood, so we had to explain that it just means you get to do certain services for others (it's the "perfect plan of service," said Stephen L. Richards). Then we got new bus passes for January. And we had to buy food for a last-minute district meeting meal prep delegation. Haha all in all, a solid day.

Awwww nuts. Here's where I stopped writing...so...really quickly...

Wednesday: district meeting!! Super fun. Our district is the best.

Thursday: went to the Cal's for New Year's Eve dinner! We're in bed by 10:30 like looters haha. Oh well.

Obedience Friday! Transfer calls! I'm staying here, with Elder Brill! Should be fun. Brive is awesome! Then we went to Tulle for legality. It was closed. Bodied. Then we visited less-actives and an old ami with the Fuls! They made us dinner too. Then English class, where our DMP tried to say "awesome" but ended up calling Elder Brill a vulgar name for your rear end. Ouch haha.

Saturday: Baptismal interviews for Nes and Elo! They both passed. The zone leaders from Bordeaux had to do 5 hours round trip on train. And they missed their train because Elo was late, so they got here @ 11 and left at....6. Another ouch. But that's how the baguette breaks in France haha.

Sunday: Church! 2 cakes from members (one was a quiche) both delicious.

Lessons I learned: I swear I did! But alas...didn't write anything.

(free) Advice I have: "For Time and All Eternity" by President Packer, October 1993 general conference. An excellent talk about the family and marriage!! This one was inspired by my sister who got married on Tuesday. Bonne chance avec tout ça.

I love all of you! Thanks for reading! Pray for Nes and Elo, please! They need all the help they can get to be protected for the adversary, this the week before their baptism. The church is true! Don't ever doubt that for a minute! Live the gospel and you WILL be happy! As President Taylor said, "That is sure and positive." Have a good week, a good month! Heck, why not a good year?

Love, Elder MacArthur

Bottom row, 2nd from left is my trainer. Like father, like son.

At the Ecully chapel! All together for Christmas!

12-28-15!

Hello hello! This week was one of the best!! EVER!

Events I experienced:
Monday was awesome! We had a little trouble getting to Bordeaux, because our train was cancelled. But we got there alright in the end. We stayed in the Talence equipe's apartment, all 24 of us! It was crammed haha, but super fun!

Tuesday: We then got up (well, never really went to bed) and arrived at the chapel at 3 am. Then we had an 8 hour bus ride to Lyon! That was pretty fun, I got to visit with a lot of missionaries and cool stuff. Got a few hours of sleep. Then we arrived in Lyon, took mission photos at the Confluence museum, and visited! I got to see all of my former comps, Elders Garside, Bleak, Hansen, and Stutz! It was the best day ever, having all of those Elders that I love with me! They're all doing super well, which is awesome. We then checked into our hotel, and went to a park for a break-the-fast lunch of domino's pizza. We had a little time after lunch to play games, and I got to play a little soccer which was always nice! Then we went to the Aquarium, which has an auditorium that we rented out. We had more games, our version of the 12 days of Christmas, an address from President Brown, and we got to watch THE LION KING!!! Super fun. That movie is incredible haha. We had dinner delivered by MasterTaco of Confluence. French tacos are like American burritos but a little different. So delicious. We also got gift bags of candy, a new mission music CD for 2016 plus an additional CD recorded by some returned missionaries of the France Lyon mission (provided by the recently-returned mission President Roney, who is currently in charge of organizing the new Provo temple open-house!) and a cool key chain with President Brown's slogan on the back: "Begin with the end in mind!" Such a good day. It felt weird to be in pday clothes the whole day but I'm not complaining haha.

Wednesday was so awesome too!! We had conference part 2 at the Ecully chapel in Lyon. We heard from our entire mission presidency. And we had a sweet lunch and got to talk to everyone! I was able to get a picture with all my comps, it was pretty sweet. And a picture with my group, transfer 109! So fun. It's so wonderful seeing everybody in one place. We also sung our arrangement of Silent Night! It went pretty well. Then we took a bus back to Bordeaux and stayed the night in the Talence Elders' apartment encore.

Thursday was great! We made cookies for the Cal family and everyone else haha. Then we ported a lot! Then we had Christmas Eve dinner at the Cal's house. We had raclette! It's basically potatoes, cheese, and meat. It was delicious. We shared a message about giving gifts to the Savior, by serving and loving our fellowmen.

Friday was ok. Haha it was Christmas, of course it was awesome! We are at the All's house. We had foie gras, castrated chicken, and some other French things. Cheese! Some dang good cheese, too. We also got to watch Mulan!! I was so happy. Then we got to Skype with our families! A very, very fun day. The best part was the introspective evaluation I gave myself. I thought about Christ's birth, and about how I am doing, what I am doing each day to give the gifts He would have me give. I cassé'd myself a good amount. I received some much-needed pieces of advice, and it really helped me to re-double my efforts and be better. That was really the best part about Christmas, getting a chance to seriously evaluate myself and resolve to be better- not next year, next week, tomorrow- but right now. Because I already promised Him I would give my best!

Saturday was pretty good! We had weekly planning, a rendezvous with Nes, and a mangez-vous chez Frere Vil. Mil made dinner, and it was a bit of a fiasco, but it still tasted good so whatever.

Sunday was awesome! I got to give a talk, which I actually love doing now. En plus, I got to reuse a talk which always feels good. It went very well. I added a story from my first transfer that the members loved. We had choir practice and Ward council after church, and got home at 14:50. Church starts at 9:30. Haha it was a long day!

Lessons I learned:
This week I ponderized John 15:27, which reads: "And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." Bearing witness, something we promise to do when we are baptized! Always a good things to do. Dare to be a Mormon, dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known! He has always been with us and always will be with us as we testify of His eternal truths.

John 3:16, Mosiah 2:17, 2 Néphi 19:6, Acts 10:38. These scriptures describe what gifts we have been given by God, and what His Gift has done for us. We can show our appreciation for these divine gifts by doing good, by following in the footsteps of the Savior. As we serve our fellowmen, we are serving God. His teachings are meant to help us reach exaltation, because they turn us into someone who loves everyone unconditionally. They turn us into disciples of Christ, even celestial citizens. May we let the Savior wash us, may we not resist as Peter once did, but let us declare, just as the same son of Simon did: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!

(free) Advice I have:
"Don't Drop the Ball" by President Hinckley, October 1994 General Conference. A great talk about living up to "Our Great Potential," as President Kimball has taught (April 1977 Gen Conf).

"There will always be a shortage of police if there is a shortage of effective parents!" ~ Neal  A. Maxwell. Hahaha this is a classic Elder Maxwell universal truth! How important is good parenting! Just like in the mission field. Good trainers usually produce good missionaries. Our training forms us, and excellent parents usually form excellent future parents.

Well there ya go. It was awesome. I love you all! Joyeux Noël and Bonnes Fêtes! Bisous.
Love, Elder MacArthur

Sleeping on the bus from Bordeaux to Lyon

Ben and all his mission companions to date

Transfer 109 Crew

Christmas Eve dinner with the Cal family

Christmas dinner with the All family

12-21-15!

Hello everyone!! Merry Christmas. I had a wonderful week this week. It was full of the Christmas spirit and sharing the gospel and just about everything you could really want.

Events I experienced:
Monday was pretty good. We had Skype interviews with President Brown! He is an amazing man, and I always feel really inspired after talking to him.

Tuesday, I had an exchange with Elder Underwood! He's a pretty cool guy, and we have a lot of things in common. We had a pretty productive day, even if I was sick for most of it. Hoping that I don't ruin Christmas for Elder Brill haha! I'm feeling better so we'll see how things go. Today, as we taught a recent convert, a drunk guy harassed us in the park. Mil was kinda freaked out, but we were protected in the end. I really felt the Lord's protection during that rendezvous. I know that He cares about us all very deeply.

Wednesday was district meeting in a really French town called Perigueux. It was awesome! That's all I have to say.

Thursday was super cool. We saw Nes, and unfortunately he isn't doing well. He's living on the street now, he doesn't want to live in Figeac where the gov told him to go so malheureusement he's homeless. I hope he can get his papers to work soon. I pray for him a lot, and the stress of trying to help him find solutions is killer. But I'm getting better at managing it I promise!

On Friday, I had an exchange with Elder Price, one of the Bordeaux zone leaders. He's a super cool guy from Layton, Utah. He has 3 sisters poor guy haha. He's got a beautiful family haha. We were able to have a great exchange and stay productive during the evening.  We passed some less-actives and old amis with Frère Hub. We got to have lots of good discussion and we really had an awesome time serving in Brive together. Elder Price is one of the coolest missionaries I've met! Super relaxed and laid back; he really helped me learn to be less stressed.

Saturday was good. Not much to report

Sunday was cool. Nes came to church when he told us last night that he wasn't coming! He's homeless right now, and that's really hard. But at Ward council, THEY REALLY ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING GREAT! Haha miracles DO happen. He's being housed by members of the Ward until he can find shelter. It was a true testimony builder to me that this is the true church of Christ on the earth. I was really touched by the way compassionate service was rendered at the drop of a hat. I love the Ward so much for what they are doing.

Lessons I learned:
Last week, I ponderized Luke 9:62. It reads: "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." During this Noel season, we have more opportunity than ever to spread the gospel light. No looking back, "no empty chairs" as my mission president says. Especially during this wonderful season, we can't slow down. Every member a missionary. We must have a sense of urgency, as Elder Holland said to our mission 20 years ago. I'm so grateful that the Christmas season lets us work harder and better and faster and stronger than any other time of the year!

This week I ponderized Luke 22:32. It says: "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." I really took his scripture to heart this week. This is the Lord speaking to Peter, and it applies perfectly to all of us. This helps motivate me to strengthen the feeble knees, to lift up those that are down. That's what the Savior did His whole life. He "wore out [His life]" in the service of others, as D&C 123:23 exhorts us to do.

During studies, I read John 13:17 which teaches us: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." If we know the commandments, we will be happy if we live them! Just as Lehi was promised prosperity in the land as long as he lived the commandments, it's all about what we do.

(free) Advice I have:
"Worship through Music" by Dallin H. Oaks In this 1994 general conference talk, Elder Oaks talks about how music is an indispensable part of our worship. He reminds us how music can invite the spirit, often more effectively than words can. A really good talk for any music lovers out there!

We-we-we-wel-wel well that's all, folks. Have an awesome Noël! Love you all!
Elder MacArthur

District meeting in Perigueux

Funny rugby statue in Brive

12-14-15!

Bonjour everybody!! This week was chouette! It happened like this:

Events I experienced:
Monday! We did groceries, chilled, then emails and had FHE with a recent convert named Mil at our DMP's house. Swell day. Our DMP talked about how everything in supermarkets is bad for you and that the food companies feed us poison so that we need to buy the pharmaceutical companies' medicine. It's all a big conspiracy, man! A fairly socialist vegetarian. Gotta love him!

On Tuesday I had an exchange with Elder Berry, my district leader. He's super cool! One of my favorite missionaries I've met. We had an awesome day, we taught Nes and Elo. Elo accepted to be baptized on January 9th! So excited! She's wanted to be baptized for a long time but hadn't gone to church, but now that's she's coming it'll happen for sure. We finished the day with teaching a recent convert Mil at the Brig home. Frère Brig is the Bordeaux Stake President, and he's really good at teaching. Plus we got delicious dinner so that always helps haha.

On Wednesday, we taught Elo and Nes again. We taught Nes the law of chastity, which went flawlessly. He agrees 100%. Which is really nice, because France isn't the best at, shall we say, keeping that commandment. I don't want to be negative, but the tabacs (the little convenience stores), they have naked photos sometimes and I HATE it. It is the worst!! But I digress. We did have a cool mangez-vous with the Drem family, we showed them the Christmas video. And we had all-organic food. It's like I never left Eugene haha!

Thursday, we taught Nes with Frère Drem, and we saw the O'Muls at the church. They are Irish, and very very funny. They talk forever. And kinda rant. But I love it. Frère O'Mul did have some gems though. I have come to the conclusion that 99% of words are funnier when spoken in an Irish accent.

Friday was a great day! We saw Elo and Nes, business as usual. We did some porting, got rejected. Got the finger waggle. I hate the finger waggle. Oh well haha! We had lots of good street conversations and were able to give out some cards for noel.lds.org/fr. And we got patisseries for dinner. Haha no parents no rules!! For dinner at least.

Saturday was great! We got to give service at the Hub's house. We helped move his sister, who is in a mental hospital. It was pretty gross to be honest, but it was humbling to see how good we have it in comparison with others. I'm truly grateful for our apartment and our life of luxury, we are truly blessed in our mission.

Sunday was good! We taught the law of chastity in amis class, and during sainte-cène Elder Brill gave a talk on unity. It was a war between him and all the toddlers running around. I'm not sure who won. Little kids are noisy, as I found out. I have come to the conclusion, as a result of said events, that the law of chastity is a good thing. We gave a blessing after church to a recent-convert named An. She's super cool!! I love her so much. Then we went to ward choir practice! It was super great. I love Ward choir! They needed a bass so I decided to join and let me say that was a good decision. The members love me for it. Afterwards, we went up to the hospital to teach Nes. He was down in the dumps so we had a feel-good lesson, and tried to cheer him up. Then we gave the sacrament to Frère Cal and had dinner with their family as usual! Such a good day :)

Lessons I learned:
One of Frère O'Mul's gems really made me think. He said that "Evil flourishes where good people do nothing." I really liked that! A lot. Now maybe "none is good, save one, that is, God," but if we follow Him, we are doing our best. Being people who follow Him who is good, we must be "anxiously engaged in a good cause," because the world depends on it. Today determines tomorrow, and decisions determine destiny, as President Monson teaches. Our seeds we sow today will determine our harvest tomorrow.

(free) Advice I have:
"That Thy Confidence Wax Strong" by Bishop Richard C. Edgley This talk is all about having confidence, where to find it, and how to go forth and work with confidence in all that we do! I suggest this especially for my dad, seeing as he has been called to be the bishop of my hometown Ward. I hope this talk helps :)

Thanks so much!! I love you all. Remember the reason for the season #onelove

Love, Elder MacArthur
Brive!

Ben and the Brig family with recent convert Mil

Brive La Gaillard panoramic view

"Creepy Trees" in Brive

Our apartment

Our apartment - again

12-7-15!

Hello everyone! This week was splendiferous. Here's a taste

Events I experienced:
On Monday, we did emails, bought stuff for our new apartment, and had FHE at our DMP's house, Frère Vill. That's about it. Productive day haha.

Tuesday we weekly planned, and had a rendezvous with Nes. We talked about the commandments, and it went very well! He expressed his strong desire to be baptized and follow the Lord, he is a great man. I'm so very thankful for him and his efforts to follow Christ. He believes that the Book of Mormon is true, and he reads each day!

On Wednesday, we visited JC Chal, a less-active who lives 2.5 hours away, at the very edge of our sector, at the border between us and Clermont-Ferrand. He is incredibly kind, and has a strong faith. He isn't doing well mentally, but he is so righteous. We got a ride from Frère Vill. That man is a saint. Dropping 6 hours out of his day for us! He is so cool. I wish every member was as helpful as Frère Vill. On the drive back, I talked to him the entire time about his family, my family, the gospel, music, career choices, and everything else imaginable. Super cool bonding time!

On Thursday, we had zone training in the Bordeaux chapel (the first building constructed by the church in France!) Our zone is pretty legit I must say. It was a great great time! We got our Christmas pass-along cards, the temple brochures in French, and we came up with ideas on how to make the Mille Membres en Decembre (1000 members in December) work. Since we have a 5:30 curfew, it's hard to do missionary work as usual. Satan thinks he's scored a victory. But the Lord has inspired President Brown to challenge us to use this opportunity to our advantage by teaching with members! We can be outside the apartments after 5:30 if we are with a member, so this is a great way to expand our member teaching pool! Just as the Fall seemed to be a victory for Satan, with God's help, we can use it to our advantage and make it a good thing. We can show Satan that terrorist attacks in Paris can only make our mission better!

Friday was a weird day. We taught Nes, it went well, got a new ami named Je, gave him a Book of Mormon, had a cool mangez-vous with a less-active and Nes. As we called Nes to confirm a rendezvous for tomorrow, he told us he was in a psychiatric hospital, because of all the stress he's enduring with his lodging situation and everything. So the day ended on a sour note, and we're really concerned for him. He's tough, I know he'll get through though!

On Sunday, we shared the new Noel video with everyone! We ate with the Cal family again on Sunday. It was a good day. We also visited Nes in the hospital, he's doing well. He hopes to be discharged on Thursday. We had 3 amis at church today, it was pretty awesome!

Lessons I learned:
President Brown called us during dinner on Sunday and we were eating, and I looked at the phone and it said "E Pres Brown" and so naturally I almost had a crise cardiaque. Turns out he was just calling to make sure we had heat in our apartment. What a nice guy. Haha I almost died. Elder Brill laughed a lot, it was a good moment. I think I'm still shivering. Lesson learned: don't freak out when your mission president calls you. It might be fine! Just kidding, it might be because he's sending you home. Ya never know.

(free) Advice I have:
"The Shield of Faith" by President Packer, from the April 1995 general conference. An excerpt: "The ultimate purpose of all we teach is to unite parents and children in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, linked to their generations, and assured of exaltation in the presence of our Heavenly Father." The perfect Christmas gift to give, the gift of the Gospel!

As Jeffrey R. Holland has taught about Satan, "...But apparently his effort to stop the work will be reasonably well served if he can just bind the tongue of the faithful...I am looking tonight for men young and old who care enough about this battle between good and evil to sign on and speak up." We do not have the right to bind our tongues, to not speak up about the gospel. Our brothers and sisters are in need of access to Christ's atonement, and we are the ones who can help them! This Christmas season, please speak up. Please share the reason for the season. What will happen if you share the gift? The Savior tells us what will happen: "Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven."

I encourage everyone to share the church Christmas videos with somebody! The Christmas videos, "He is the Gift" and "A Savior is Born" are great ways to share the gospel and give the gifts that He would have us give His children. There is no better way to thank Heavenly Father for His divine gift He gave us, His Son.

Hey I love you all! Thanks for the words of support and your prayers.
Love, Elder MacArthur

Zone training

The moving elders! They took our dresser away and gave it to Fribourg. It took a while.

Gospel Principles! I got bodied hard by Frère B haha