4-18-16

Hello the people. The week was swell.

Events I experienced:
Monday was pretty good. Nothing interesting to report. I'll have an interesting p-day eventually.

Tuesday! Tombez-vous the whole day. But we still got to have a good lesson with San! She's awesome. We were contacting afterwards, and the lady stopped us mid-sentence asking, "do you have pre-marital sex before marriage?" and of course we said "no" then she laughed and said "well that doesn't interest me" and walked off. Lots of people probably agree with her, but they usually aren't as bold about it haha. Right after, we contacted this guy who was uninterested in the end, but a Tahitian guy came up to us, he had been listening to us preaching! His parents are members of the church in Tahiti, and he's in the military in France. We got his number and set up a rendezvous for Saturday! His name is Jo, he's 7th day Adventist and he's super cool. Then an American family who's been here for a few weeks on vacation flagged us down as we were walking and invited us to have ice cream with them! They're cool. The ice cream was even cooler. Hahaha. I'm funny. We closed the day with a RDV w/ Nes. We watched "The Sabbath is a Delight" by President Nelson. It was a great time, I think it really helped. At least Nes knows how much we care about him, that we're his friends.

Wednesday, a blitz in Limoges! I was with Elder Swanson, it was a good time. We got to see Mon, a recent convert, and after that (and a meat pie chez lui) he took us to teach his friend Hap (great name), because she wants to start studying the Bible. A very typical request of Africans. But once they get the Book of Mormon they love reading it!

Thursday, district meeting! In Poitiers. I taught everyone about the Sabbath day and extending invitations to get our Amis to church as best we can. Not only inviting them, but preparing them and the ward to come to church and have a great experience. After the meeting, I had one of the best experiences of my mission. I have a baptismal interview to the Poitiers sisters' Amie, Am. She was found last transfer, and I remember hearing about when she was found, this it was really cool to put a face to the story. She was very well prepared and the interview was very touching. I imagined her changing herself as she met with the missionaries, all that she's gone through, and the feelings were indescribable. It was very fun, getting to do the interview. Just a big testimony meeting. I could feel my own testimony growing as I testified to her about baptism and the reality of what she was doing with her life. Best day ever!

Friday, we left from Limoges to Brive, got back, did some quick prep, and went to Tulle to do my legality. Luckily, it went well without problems. Only problem is, now I need to get my legality at Tulle. So if I leave next transfer (likely, since I have done 4 in Brive) I'll have to come all the way back here. Oh well. Free vacation as they say. After we got out of the prefecture, we passed lots of old Amis and less-actives. We found a TJ family to teach! We're coming back next Friday so we'll see where that goes. We got back to Brive and went directly to see the Ob family! The dad was there, so we took advantage of the opportunity to teach the Retab again. He loved it! And they're coming to church on Sunday, all 7! Baller. "Beeeeest daaaaay eeeveeeeeeer!" ~SpongeBob

Saturday. We got bodied. Two tombez-vous and delays. Weekly planning and baking stuff for birthdays and the ward meal tomorrow. I started a daily scripture text to send out to everyone, and we got a few old Amis to respond! Well worth it. Some members and less-actives expressed gratitude as well. It took lots of time because the phones here suck. Limited functions and just....not user friendly. Mais bon. A good day quand même.

Sunday was great, we went to Bordeaux after church for our zone p-day tomorrow. We had 7 Amis at church, but got dropped by our family of 7. Ouch. Really unfortunate, but that's all we can do. Ça va alors.

Monday was super fun! We went to Arcachon, to the Pilat Dunes, the tallest dunes in Europe. They were sick! Really beautiful and super fun. I didn't get burned either. There are sand cliffs you can jump off of and it's super fun.

Lessons I learned:
All we can do is all we can do. No more, no less. When bad things come, continue to do your best and don't worry about rest. President Benson put it his way: "The great test of life is obedience to God. The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. The great commandment of life is to love the Lord." No more, no less.

(free) Advice I have:
ALL OF GENERAL CONFERENCE. SERIOUSLY. But more specifically, "Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You" by Jeffrey R Holland.  I love Jeffrey R. Holland. His talks are the best. But this talk is special. I'm not sure if I have ever heard a better talk in my whole life. If you read this talk and don't like it, "check yourself before you wreck yourself" as a wise man once said. All jokes aside, an exceptional talk. If you want a morale boost, look no further.

Love you all! Stay classy.
Elder MacArthur

Ben & Elder Storti with a cool American family on vacation in Brive

Elder Kimball and a double rainbow

Bordeaux Zone P-day at Pilat Dunes

4-11-16!

Hello hello the people! This week was good. Repetitive but true. Always good weather where you are!

Events I experienced:
Monday was a great day. Nothing special, really. Moving on!

Tuesday. My mom's birthday and Elder Richmond's birthday! Happy birthday!

Wednesday! Exchange with Elder Thangaraj. Super fun! We did a lot of good stuff. He told me some of his story, getting active in the church again. What an inspiration. His companion Elder Walker is awesome too! Blitzing them was fun.

Thursday! Zone training. Role plays with the Book of Mormon. We had to find a scripture from the Book of Mormon to answer the ami's question. I'm grateful that I read it everyday, it helps so much to have scriptures at your disposal. I got to meet Elder Swanson and Elder Dunn in my district as well, and they're awesome. Elder Swanson would have been my best friend if he went to SEHS I swear.

Friday was incredible!! Exchange with Elder Richmond. I love that man. Our whole day fell through, but it was still a blast.

Reading Moroni 7 w/ Mil...
Mil: Why are there only ever men in the scriptures? Why does it always say "brethren"?
Me:......Because Mormon's talking to his brothers.
Mil: Oh, ok.
*Elder Richmond loses it*
Haha false doctrine! But I didn't really have a good answer for her, I'll have to tell her on Sunday haha. We went to see Nes, he's not doing too well. He just lacks motivation to go to church. I love him so much, it really hurts to see him like this. Patience man. Mosiah 23:21.

Saturday. More Mosiah 23:21

• I realized my foot pain was an ongle de pied incarné. Ingrown toenail. It hurts. So I tried to take it easy on my foot. Which I hate doing. Grrr.
• We saw San, and she's not doing well. The government told her this week that they're keeping her daughters for another year. It's completely unjust and preposterous. One of her other kids doesn't like church, and so she prefers to be with her kids rather than go to church on Sunday. It's pretty difficult.
• Our RDV with J-L fell through, because it's the second time this week he's gotten stung by a bee. Why was he stung, you might ask? He was trying to save it from drowning. As admirable as that is... At least put gloves on!!! Once again, his various health problems might keep him from church. Frustrating. I'm thinking about making him sign a contract, promising to never try to save the life of another bug, ever again. Uggg.

I was very stressed and frustrated. Perplexed. Vexed. Still am, if you haven't noticed by my writing. But I prayed a lot, and eventually I felt better. Prayer works! "Anyone who esteems himself capable of navigating the emotional mires of life without celestial correspondence understands neither God nor His divine qualities, plan, and love- to say nothing of himself." Bonus points if you can figure out who said that. It might take some searching!

Sunday! Church. Lunch with J-L, Mil, Mama Brig, and Elo right after church. A good day.

Lessons I learned:
"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" ~1 Peter 2:2 I laughed inside when I read this scripture. Sometimes the Bible has funny ways of saying things. This scripture makes sense. I suppose the translation is alright enough. But am I correct in saying that the imagery is a little unorthodox. Peter said "ye...are a peculiar people." You're right Peter, that is a little peculiar.

"As you consider the question of what kind of  person  you will become, you must understand the dynamic process of life. You not only can change but  you  do change all of the time. Sometimes people do not believe this. They excuse their failures and weaknesses by saying: "That's just the way I am." "I am just short tempered, impatient person." I  can't  get up in  the morning. That's just the way I am."  "That's my nature." Or, "I'm just shy. That's all. That's just who I am." "I am not really a spiritual person." To believe that weaknesses  and deficiencies in your character are unchangeable is to reject the central truth of the plan of salvation." Lawrence Corbridge lays it down! We can all change, we all should change, we all must change.

(free) Advice I have:
"To the Bishops of the Church" by President Hinckley, Oct. 1988 Gen Conf. President Hinckley says: "You have been called, ordained, and set apart as shepherds to the flock. You have been endowed with discernment, judgment, and love to bless their lives. In the process, you will bless your own."
Really good talk. Directly to bishops, yes, but just as applicable to us who are fortunate  to not be bishops!

I love you all! Thanks for the emails! Peace be unto you.
Love, Elder MacArthur

Zone training!

I finally got the speculoos....it was amazing

Me with R and A! R is adorable.

4-4-16!

Hello hello! A good week this week!

Events I experienced:
Monday was solid. Because of Easter, we had to walk the hour to church and back for emails, so that was fun. We had a good FHE and dinner at Frere Vil's house, our ami J-L was able to come so that was cool. Frere Vil made burritos. Nothing like real burritos. If French people offer to make you burritos, say no. Just say no. I still get sick when eating chili due to a chili dog incident a few months ago, so that made things worse.

Tuesday was great! We saw Elo, and our amie San. Her boyfriend was there! The key? Fix RDVs a few hours before coming, and show up unannounced. We invited Ped to be baptized 3 times, he said "maybe, I'll think about it" all three times. We'll get him soon. They're coming to general conference, so that always helps! Hopefully they understand ok, they speak Portuguese better than French. Our RDV with M fell through (he was working) so we contacted, had dinner, then ported. Talked to a lady who was super paranoid, thought that Brive was the most dangerous place in the world. She was convinced her neighbors were spying on her so she whispered the whole time.

Wednesday! Incredible. We had nachos. Real nachos. Frere Ben made them with Fran, and it was amazing. And what's more, he gave us root beer. A&W root beer. Maybe y'all in the USA don't understand how amazing that is. In France, that's a big hairy deal. Finding that stuff is more rare than anything. I'm serious, actually. Not even joking here. Voilà. Then we taught Sar! Did we invite her to be baptized? Heck yes. Did she accept? Heck yes!! Awesome. Hopefully 2 baptisms this transfer. The retab went flawlessly, really natural and she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Perfect. Then we contacted for a while, taught SD, and met Nes to read the BoM. We read Mosiah 5 and he loved it! Then the Stake President picked us up and we had dinner chez lui. Chicken curry. Fabulous. And he gave me the best present ever...Skippy Superchunk peanut butter. Again, maybe Americans are saying "psshhhh big deal," but in France, big deal. If you can even find it (good luck) you'll be paying an arm and 2 legs. President Brignard said "I don't like crunchy, so here ya go." His American relatives were just visiting, and thank goodness. They brought the Skippy for him, and now it is in my stomach. Ahh. So blessed. I almost fainted I was so happy.

Thursday was good. We contacted, passed old amis, potentials, you name it. Helped Elo do some genealogy, read the Book of Mormon with her and Mil. Then it started to rain hard. Got completely soaked. Went to M's house. Got called a false church. Had an amicable discussion, but realized that there was nothing more to discuss. We're dropping him, which is too bad, cuz he's a great guy! But he's not ready, he loves being Catholic. He's super practicing (really rare believe me) and can't believe that we don't pray to Mary. Oh well.Maybe later!

Friday...lessons learned. RDV with J-L fell through, so I consoled myself by buying a chorizo baguette. Get to the caisse to pay and...no wallet. Freak out, take the bus, not on the bus, get back to the gare, not there, wait for other bus, and...it's there! Wedged between the seat and the wall next to the window. That could have been really tricky replacing things, being outside of the United States. Truly, there is a God, and He is a God of Miracles. Had I not prayed, I'm not sure I would have found it. Prayer saves many things: lives, relationships, shaky lessons, the outcome of golf shots, all other sports events, even wallets. Then we saw Nes, and afterwards gave a blessing to sister F. Then we got picked up by Frere Coj to teach his wife who's getting baptized in September. It went really well! We talked about the temple and gave her the Mon Parcours pamphlet to help her track her progress. Then she fed us. Well. Very well. Yum.

Saturday! A good day. Helped the Hubs with getting wood, taught San, and had general conference.

Sunday! Awesome. Cool note: my old mission president Blake Roney was called to be an area 70! Go P-Rones. And more general conference. Jean-Luc came! He loved it. He also gave us a lot of food. A lot. And he gave me magnetic foot insoles. For my shoes. More on that next week...

Lessons I learned:
Hebrews 11 explains faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen...But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (v. 1,6) A faithful disciple is the biggest joy of God's heart.

Alma 37:6 teaches "that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." Small prayers make all the difference. 5 minutes of the Book of Mormon each day can change our entire heart. A smile might just get you a date with that one girl-a ring might get you a wife. Ok maybe not just like that but you get the point. I have gotten many free pastries here just by complimenting more than anyone else that day. Delightification, baby. It works.

(free) Advice I have:
"Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon" by President Benson, Oct. 1988 Gen Conf. What it's all about for missionaries! A great talk that is even more relevant today. EVEN MORE RELEVANT. Seriously. Please read this talk and evaluate your personal efforts to flood the earth with this book.

Thanks for listening, all you that follow my life on a week to week basis. What commitment. Love you all! Have a good week!
Love, Elder MacArthur

General Conference!

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Two rarities

3-28-16!

Hello hello! This week was incredible. Possibly my best week ever.

Events I experienced:
Monday was awesome! Lots of baptismal prep, district meeting prep, and starting an exchange with Perigueux! Really fun. We got to do FHE at the church and I met Mag, a really cool member that I have heard a lot about.

Tuesday was more exchange with Elder Little. We did a lot of tracting, and area book work. He was so excited to be on exchange with me it was cute! Haha he's a great guy who really seeks to improve.

Wednesday was a blitz in Limoges! Elder Quinn was with me for the day. It was so fun! He's the funniest guy ever, and he's a great missionary. 15 transfers under his belt, he's got a lot of good advice and taught me lots of things. We saw K, a Nigerian ami, and a cool Nigerian named Mon! They're awesome. They gave us cake. Mmmm. We invited everyone in Mon's house to listen to our message, and now they have a new amie! Africans are wonderful.

Thursday...district meeting! The only one of the transfer. I was pretty nervous beforehand, but just before I walked in, I said a little prayer and all fear left! It went very well, we discussed Alma 26 at length, the Book of Mormon, converting people by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We painted a shirt! Time to paint. We talked about Elder Christofferson and what he taught us, and about the apostolic blessing he left with us. It was a really uplifting meeting, and I think everyone liked it! I was relieved, it turned out better than I had expected.

Friday! Transfer calls!! I get to stay in Brive and get a 2nd shot at last transfer haha. I'll be able to become a better district leader and a better companion. My thesis is this: if you aren't able to really love someone in one transfer, the Lord gives you another haha. After calls in the morning (which was messed up, President always starts with Bordeaux zone on the west and works over eastward, but he had to call Swiss first due to borders closing, so we were waiting like scared idiots. Lamentable)

I had an exchange with Elder Haskin! It was great. We came back to Brive, and J-L had his interview with President Brown. He passed! P Breezy said he had been "extraordinarily prepared," which was a big SPARC. We taught J-L afterward, then went home, dinner, and went back to the church for a RDV with the O'M family, Fr. and Sr. O'M. We asked them if they wanted to be married in the temple. It went a little something like this:
Me: So have you thought about this? What are your thoughts?
Frere O'M: it is something I would love very much.
Sister O'M: *talks for 20 minutes straight, including every marital complaint she has ever had, every church complaint ever, a third of Ireland's history, one relevant anecdote, two irrelevant ones, and three expressed opinions of what the French are doing wrong* then says "So that's my opinion on that."
Me:.....So, is that a yes, or no? I didn't, uhh, really...umm...get it all, there, ya know.....
And by then we had to go to be home on time. Hilarious.

Saturday! I had an apricot eclair. Incredible. Weekly planning and lessons with Elo and Mil, Nes, and SD. Great day!

Sunday was good too. Did Sunday calls, gave the sacrament to Frere Cal, and ate crêpes. Good day. 10 month mark. Scary...

 Lessons I learned:
I'm staying! That means I have unfinished business. I'm excited to stay and improve on my last transfer. If the Lord ever gives you a second shot at something, that's because you need to improve! Take advantage of second chances.

(free) Advice I have:
"Trust in the Lord" by Elder Scott, April 1989 Gen Conf. Wow! G-Scott lays it down! An inspiring, personal, and powerful talk about being rigid in our resolve to emulate the Savior. Even if we are ostracized because of our beliefs, it doesn't matter. Never has. Never will. Talk to Job, he'll tell you.

Going into transfer #8! Ahhhh I'm getting old. Love you all! Thanks for the support!
Love, Elder MacArthur

Elder Quinn and Mon and CAKE

Quell homme, our zone leader Elder Rellaford 

WE PAINTED A SHIRT WITH THE PARIS TEMPLE

3-21-16!

Hello hello! This week was one of the best weeks of my mission! Maybe the best!!  Events I experienced:

On Monday, we got up, did some groceries, studied, and got on a train to go to Bordeaux. Met up with the Lormont Zone and flew over to Lyon! Lots of people went to Master Tacos so I tagged along, although I was fasting. That was hard. Master Tacos is amazing. Oh well. Next time. We got back to the office elders' apartment, where we roomed with the Lormont and Toulouse zones, 40-ish elders in all I think. Fun! I got to see a lot of old friends, old companions, it was great.

Tuesday...it's the one and only T-O-double D, DTODD!! It was an amazing conference, he spoke many things that are too marvelous to be written. More like my memory is as reliable as Bill Buckner's glove. A Red Sox allusion to the baseball fans out there. I did take notes though:

Elder Dyches:  The central purpose of life is change -strength and struggle are traveling companions -our mission will clarify who we are and refine who we will yet be -we see the full picture as we become changed missionaries

Sister Christofferson:  The devil is really mad at us, so we've done something right -they who are with us are more than those against us

Elder D. Todd Christofferson:  "What can I say if they have read all my talks? I'll have to re-read them myself!" He's seriously so funny you have no idea -write down spiritual insights -we are assigned to a mission partly because of the president and his wife -we help lead them in the path of repentance -true repentance includes a baptism, the commitment of obedience "30 seconds before death" is the best time to be baptized (a funny joke) -nobody says they wished they had found the church later -the best time to be baptized is now, as early as possible -virtue is the truth that Jesus is our Savior, that will help them change -the key to solving unbelievers is reading the Book of Mormon -you don't have any hope of them listening to your arguments, but if they read the book or Mormon, the Lord will argue with them -we don't need a separate missionary life, our normal life should be our missionary life -with out a dependable law, neither us nor God could cause anything, just "random chaos" -we offer justice to people, through repentance and mercy and grace, fallen men can rise up to be with Christ, entrance into the kingdom of God -we carry the kingdom of God in our hands -grâce takes away the sin and the stain, leaving us sinless and spotless, whole and holy -we can't always sustain success, so when we fall... -be quick to repent -be able to recognize the Lords's voice, His spirit, what he's telling you -that's our test, hear it and follow it -thank the Lord for your ability to follow his voice, and pray for an increased capacity to follow -this is all real, Jesus is the Christ, the resurrected Christ, and that makes all the difference.

It was an incredible conference, he did a Q&A like he did when I saw him at the MTC. Very instructive, very easy going. When I got to shake his hand, I had no idea what to say. He said "Elder MacArthur, it's good to shake your hand." And I probably said something dumb like "you too" I don't remember. All I remember is that I was too scared to compliment him on his tie (and he'd say I like yours too and I'd offer to trade and then I'd get Elder Christofferson's tie and I'd instantly win life). Haha it was awesome. Afterwards, we broke our fast and I got to catch up with everybody! It was super fun. Afterwards, we took a plane back to Bordeaux and stayed in the zone leaders' apartment.

Wednesday, I woke up and went back to Brive on exchange with elder Kimble! He replaced me in Carcassonne, and I replaced him in Brive. I love him! We had some great things happen. We were accosted by a man who claimed to be Jesus. He told us to find a hill (any hill) and wait there because the earth would be flooded. He had no idea who Thomas S. Monson was so we're safe. Yeah he was interesting.

Thursday was great, we got to teach S and J-L. Both lessons went really well. P, S's boyfriend, keeps hiding when we come over, we'll need to fix that. But how...interesting. We taught J-L at the All's house. We had lasagna afterwards, it was heavenly.

Friday was good! We saw Nes, who is struggling a little bit, but he's coming to church on Sunday so that's good news. We also ate dinner with Frere Lab, who cooks really well and critiques even better. He's interesting. He loves the missionaries! I ate a hot pepper and it kinda spoiled the meal for 20 minutes but I regained my taste eventually.

Saturday was good! We helped the Hubs get wood, Elo went with us too. We got done so early that we were able to take a 30 minute walk/hike in the woods, and it was beautiful! I really enjoyed that. It's getting warm in Brive, it feels almost like summer. We saw S again too! Our two other RDVs fell through, but that's ok. We realized that J-L's baptism needs to be this Saturday, and we know he's ready! He just needs to realize it also. Pray that things go well, please!

Sunday was incredible as well! An old ami of a member came to church and wants to get baptized! We got a referral from HQ, we went out to deliver a BoM and find a family of 7! They want to get baptized too! Incredible miracles! We have 3 exchanges his next week but we'll do our best to see them.

Lessons I learned:
See Tuesday. I can't fit it all in there, sorry...but I will say this. Faith+obedience+diligence=miracles.

(free) Advice I have:
Read Alma 26. I think everybody in the world should read this chapter frequently, once every few months at least. One of the best chapters in the Book of Mormon.

Ahh I could only write a fraction, not even a hundredth part of the things that were written, for it suficeth me. Love you all!
Elder MacArthur

Ben & Elder Richmond after the conference in Lyon

Ben and Elsers Thangaraj, Steadman, Kahn & Bentley in Lyon

Ben and the BIG croissant

Ben re-unites with his transfer 109 group at the Lyon conference

3-14-16!!!

Hello hello!!! In less than 24 hours I'll be personally meeting Elder Christofferson. I'm stoked for that!! But first, the week...

Events I experienced:
Monday was great!

Tuesday was good too. We had dinner with the bishop. He's a huge Star Wars nerd and loves Legos. He has more Legos than anyone I've ever seen. It's pretty cool. We got them to make a family mission plan!

Wednesday was good. It hailed and rained, so that stunk. We taught Sam D., and did some tracting. Everything else fell through. We even tried to volunteer at the Red Cross, but they said they didn't need us. So we can't even get a job volunteering. Ouch.

Thursday was great, I went on exchange with Elder Richmond, one of my zone leaders. We got to talk to a lot of people and we saw P so that was awesome. P is a hilarious less-active member. I love Elder Richmond! I replaced him in Carcassonne, so we got to share Elder Garside stories. And, back in Brive, Elder Rellaford and Storti invited San to be baptized...and she said YES to April 16th! Such a cool miracle. Yes!!!!

Friday was good! Very busy. We got to have a lesson with Elo, Nes, and Mau. They all went well, Mau is not super open still but he's reading the Book of Mormon and giving it a chance, so that's cool. We'll see where that goes. We also met a new potential who has met with us before, we got her number so hopefully we'll see her soon. We had a lesson with Had too, we found him a few weeks ago. He started talking about how he is the rightful prince of Arabia. Yeah so it got very obvious very quickly that he's "interesting." Nice bloke, but...

Saturday was great, we had a good lesson and delicious lunch with J-L.

Sunday was good too, we found a new potential amie and fixed a RDV with a less active, so very productive! Our zone has 17 new engagés this week (investigators with a baptismal date). Our district has 16 total. Like Daniel's vision, the stone is rolling! Our engagé prayer list quadrupled in the past couple months! Up,to 4 pages! It's nuts. At last count, we were at 177 new engagés as a mission in the last month. Our goal was 187, the last numbers aren't all in, but we totally got it, no doubt!

Lessons I learned:
3 Néphi 8:7 in French: "7 Et il y eut des éclairs extrêmement vifs, comme on n’en avait jamais connu dans tout le pays." Haha it's perfect because it talks about the Brive eclairs!

Alma 16:16,17 describes France, really the whole earth right now: "And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming-That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God." Our mission has been prepared by Jesus Christ for the coming of one of His Apostles. Of that I am one hundred percent sure.

(free) Advice I have:
"The Divine Gift of Repentance" by Elder Christofferson, October 2011 Gen Conf. An excellent talk for everyone, since we should all make repenting our business. Elder Christofferson wisdom right here: "In reality, the best way to help those we love--the best way to love them--is to continue to put the Savior first. If we cast ourselves adrift from the Lord out of sympathy for loved ones who are suffering or distressed, then we lose the means by which we might have helped them. If, however, we remain firmly rooted in faith in Christ, we are in a position both to receive and to offer divine help."

I love you all! I'm off to see an apostle, a wonderful servant of God (sing that to "off to see the wizard" tune). Ciao ciao :)

Love, Elder MacArthur

Brive countryside

Elder Richmond, Ben and eclairs!

Ben, Elder Storti, and an enormous chocolate bunny.

3-7-16!

Hello hello every person who reads this. Only a week left before we see Elder Christofferson! Here's what happened in my neck of the woods, channeling my inner Al Roker.

Events I experienced:
Monday was great! Got a bad haircut, at least it was cheap. That's about it.

Tuesday was better. We visited a less-active, and we saw our new ami Mau. He's very skeptical and very Catholic, but he'll read the Book of Mormon so that'll change his mind. We also got tracted...by Jehovah's Witnesses! They didn't stick around for too long after discovering who we were. They were very nice and respectful, which isn't always the case. Then we headed up to Perigueux for an exchange!

Wednesday, I was with Elder Underwood (ancien sous-bois) and it was great! We got to teach their family of 6, and four of them are getting baptized in April! The G family is really cool. After that, we ported in the rain! It was a little miserable but anything with ancien sous-bois is fun. We got back and ate tacos (French tacos are American, ok Mexican, burritos) with Elders Little and Storti.

Thursday, I had an exchange with Elder Thangaraj! We were in Brive. It was super fun! He's a really cool guy, loves sports, soccer, we have a lot of the same interests actually. Comes from Sri Lanka, well his dad does at least. We had dinner with members at the end of the day so that was cool!

Friday was pretty good, we got to talk to Frere O'M at the end of the day about some of his non-member kids, that was instructive and helpful.

Saturday was great! We got to have Skype interviews with President Brown. He just asked me what I wanted to talk about, and I asked him to tell me a story! He told me about the first baptisms in Brive, and even had a 40-year-old picture to show me! It was really cool. I told him the apostate ex-branch president lived right next to us (literally, right next door) and his eyes lit up and he started taking notes. So I hope he comes to visit Brive soon haha! He'll at least come for the new chapel dedication in September. He used to be the Montpellier branch president back when it first opened, and he went back a week ago for Aur's baptism (who I have taught 3 times!) so that was a cool experience, he was really touched to see the ward doing so well. He also asked me about my driver's license, so that freaked me out. It was a great interview!

Sunday was good, we taught J-L after church, and we had 5 Amis at church: Sr. Coj, J-L, San, her boyfriend P, and Sh O'M. It was packed for the second hour! We went to give the sacrament to Frere Cal, and they fed us crêpes and cookies afterwards so it was a win. We engaged them to make a family mission plan!

Lessons I learned:
I learned stuff I promise. I just didn't write anything down...well here's something. We can learn just as much from great examples as bad ones. I got to see lots of different missionaries of different capacities this week and I learned that I can learn just as much from the best missionary as the worst missionary. It sounds weird, but it's true. When I was young and had comps that I idolized, they taught me how to be a missionary, I thought they taught me everything. But during rough times, I have learned patience, long-suffering, meekness, charity, and lots of other things. It's a different kind of learning, but it's equally as important. Without adversity, I would become a lopsided missionary. It takes good and bad, opposition in short, to make us whole.

(free) Advice I have:
"When Thou Art Converted" by Elder Christofferson, April 2004 Gen Conf. This talk is all about being converted to the gospel, going beyond just having a testimony. It's a fabulous talk that I recommend.

"The Light of Hope" by Sister Dwan Young, October 1986 Gen Conf. One of the best talks I have ever read by anyone. I'll be darned if this isn't one of the best talks ever. I am studying hope from PMG chapter 6, and this is a must-read for anyone studying hope! It clearly defines hope, and sister Young speaks fluently and eloquently about how we can have hope and what it allows us to become.

It was a great week. Thanks for your interest and your prayers and your love. I love you all! Until next time. Ciao ciao.
Love, Elder MacArthur

The zone, getting hyped for Elder Christofferson...I'm proud of my work!

Angouleme gare, with old Comic Con ads!

President Brown's photo of the first Brive baptism!  (Shown to Ben during his Skype interview.)