Goodby Elder Fong

Wow, this week was a weird one! So much has changed! For one, my companion was transfered MISSIONS, to the Huston Texas mission for anywhere from 3 to 9 weeks and so now I'm in a trio with two English Elders, Elder Frehner and Elder Boetcher. We are still split into different areas so we have all the same investigators, we're just companions. I don't really know how it will work out but it will be interesting to teach lessons to our Spanish investigators only having one missionary using MTC Spanish to teach. Yep, we will only be able to use what Spanish I know! If there was ever a need for the gift of tongues, it would be right now;)

I'm kind of sad that Elder Fong is gone because we just started having a good time. Our apartment was so stinkin nice with a full kitchen, two floors, two bathrooms and even a small garage. It was basically a small house and because we rode bikes, we would store the garage door opener in our bag and as we approached "the bat cave", we would open the garage door, zoom in while singing the batman theme song, and then close the door. We're basically Batman and Robin.

Speaking of biking, the other night we decided to go visit a member who lived about 5 miles away and so we threw on some light sweaters and started out. It dropped to about 40 degrees 20 minutes later and so we'd bike for about 10 minutes and then find a place to warm up. Bike another 10 minutes and then stop to warm up. Me being a Montana boy, I was actually fine and not really that cold but Elder Fong was dying. He wouldn't even talk to me. Later he told me that he was just focusing on surviving. What a wuss! I miss him though!

I actually have lots of good biking stories! For example, we visited a less active member and as we were biking home it started to rain hard. We were in our suits (we had district meeting earlier that day and we just looked too good to take them off;) and 5 miles later, at our apartment, we zoomed into our garage, soaked. So much fun!

Now onto the spiritual experience of the week. Just before Elder Fong was transfered, we met this woman named Sofy. We were out tracting and we stopped at this intersection and said a prayer that we would find someone ready to recieve the gospel. All night, we found nobody, so we headed back to the apartment. Once there, we decided to make some phone calls. We called a bunch of numbers in out area book but nobody answered so we started planning. Right after we started somebody called us back and was so excited to hear from the missionaries! She asked if we could come over that next morning to teach her more. We accepted and after we hung up, we just sat there and looked at each other and Elder Fong was like,"what just happened?"
"I guess that was an answer to our prayers?"

So we met with her the next morning and right after the lesson, we walked out of there in silence. That woman completely changed my life.
Without giving out too much information about this woman, her life has been so incredibly difficult and it still is. After listening to what she's been through and what she's going through now, i realize that none of my problems are really that bad. To be honest, it was a difficult adjustment these last 3 weeks but in another two years, I get to come back to my comfy cache valley, a loving family, a nice house, friends, relatives, school, a job; my life is so easy! And I think we all take advantage of that. Her story has brought me to the depths of humility and she has helped me understand exactly who this mission is for.

I can testify that the power of Christ's love is real! I can testify of it because I have felt it and because I have seen others feel it. I know that this gospel is true. I love it with all of my heart. I have been and will continue to pray for all of you and I hope that these emails will be a benefit to you in some way.

God bless you all,

Elder Arkoudas

P.S if anyone needs the address to the mission home, it is 1319 Butterfield road Suite 522 Downers Grove Illinois 60515-5621.

If you can't tell, we are dripping wet.

Chicken....

26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.
Alma 26:26

I'm going to start this week with a story. So last night (and this is why I chose the above scripture) a lady came over from our ward with some food and she asked us to pray for her. She said that she had to go confront someone later that night about something this person had done and just needed some Heavenly help. So we said a prayer with her and asked for guidance and then, out of absolute nowhere, my companion says, let's look at Alma 26:26. I don't know about any of you, but I have never really paid attention to this scripture before and neither has my companion...who gave the scripture! The lady texted us later that night and said that that scripture totally changed the evening for her. What a miracle that we were able to have the spirit to whisper that scripture to my companion.

Now onto my week. Luckily we had the car this week which helps so much! You don't really realize how nice transportation is until you have to bike everywhere you go. So we were able to do lots of stuff and move around a lot better and we actually were able to get a couple of investigators.

The other thing about this week was chicken. For some reason, all of my best stories have to do with chicken. So Tuesday night, my companion and I realized that we had absolutely no easy food to make for dinner. All we had were some potatoes and some frozen chicken. So I called upon my Maughan genes and, with some potatoes, some corn flower, salt, pepper, parmasean cheese, and some eggs, made some chicken tenders and French fries. They were so good!

The next story comes Thursday night. I was actually on exchanges with one of the zone leaders and we went to the Bishops house of that ward. They served us jalapeño chicken, spicy rice and jalapeño potatoes. Now I know why Latinos drink so much horchata...it is like milk and honey from paradise when your mouth is on fire! But that wasn't even the best part. If you know me, you know that I'm not a huge fan of chicken with bones in it. I'll eat it, but it's just not my favorite. Well this chicken had all of its fatty, greasy skin still on it and they gave me an entire leg (this thing was massive, like turkey leg massive). Something i learned really fast is to put the fatty skin in a tortilla with lots of potatoes and that's how you choke it down. Good lesson and I'm glad I learned that early on. But THAT'S not even the best part! Luckily, and proudly, I finished the entire chicken leg and put the bone on my plate in triumph. Then I noticed the bishop was EATING THE BONES! Like crunching them and swallowing them... I'd like to say that I did it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that and neither could my companion so we just took more rice and potatoes. We were invited back so I don't think we offended them.

Well it's been another great week and I'm excited to get out on the bikes again this week and stretch my legs. I've gained 12 pounds since coming on my mission already and it just keeps building and building (muscle; I'm still too skinny for fat). I love you all and know that you're in my thoughts and prayers always.

Remember that God loves you all and wants you to make it!

Elder Arkoudas

P.S. Elder Fong says "hi" and that he's the King...

Oh, and we put up Halloween Decorations that Elder Fong's family sent. We're basically normal neighbors now...

First week in the Mission Field

I don't even know where to begin! This whole week has been one crazy roller coaster and so I'll try to give as many details as I can but the days have kind of started to blur together.
Monday, we woke up at 3 in the morning and headed for the airport. By 3 in the afternoon we were in O' Hare International Airport getting our bags and meeting our Mission President. There were 14 of us new missionaries so we all hopped in a couple of vans and headed for the Mission home--about 30 minutes away.

There, we sat and we're able to relax for about an hour or so while President and Sister Griffin bought us Chicago style deep dish pizza! All I can say is that I think I'm going to like it here...
We had some in field orientation that night and then spent the night at the mission home.
The next morning we got up, had breakfast and then headed over to the Stake Center to meet out trainers and be assigned to our first area. My trainer's name is Elder Fong, and we are assigned to labor in a new Spanish area in a town called Shaumburg which means that we have no contacts, no area book, no nothing... so all week we've been tracting trying to find some people to teach. One day we actually biked 25 miles (how cool is that!?) And we've been walking about 5 miles everyday. This week we get a car so that will be really nice.

On Thursday, we went to the library to do our weekly planning and we sat down and immediately I got this sick feeling. We kept planning until it got the point where I told my companion that I did not feel comfortable and that we needed to leave immediately. So we packed up and started to head for the elevator when we just so happened to bump into a less active lady named Hermana Lucy and her non member friend Isabel. We got return appointments for both of them this coming week! The Spirit truly does work in strange ways! A few days later we were out biking and we didn't know where to go. So we said a prayer and my companion looked at me and said he felt like we were going to find someone near a busy intersection by a lot of stores. We determined that must be downtown so we started biking but soon I got that sick feeling again and felt like we needed to head home. My companion agreed and so we started home. On the way, while stopped at a busy intersection with lots of stores, we met this kid named Kiwante who seemed generally interested in the Book of Mormon! How awesome is the Spirit!!

I'll try to keep my emails brief while still including as much information as possible but I hope you all know how much I love you. Honestly, I struggled this week. I miss all of you so much and it's been really hard trying to share with people something that you know will make them happy and have them shove it in your face. It's disheartening. But with the support of all of you, and my companion, I've been making great progress. Like they said in the MTC, "There is little growth in a comfort zone, and there is little comfort in a growth zone"

I know Christ lives and stands at the head of this church and I know that with his power, we can do all things. You're all always in my prayers. Thanks for the support,

Elder Arkoudas.

I know this is a lame picture but it's the best I've got for now. I'm figuring out my camera and then I'll get good pictures, I promise!

Update October 17: We got some pictures from the mission home.

Sam and Fong pointing to Shamburg, his first area.

 New missionary training!

Arrival in Chicago

We heard from the mission secretary. The missionaries made it and they sent this picture of  all the "greenies"

Sam called this morning from the airport. They made him the flight leader so he had to make sure everyone had their seat and their tickets and be accountable for all the missionaries. He wondered why they had chosen him since he has only flown three times and two of those times were before he was 12.

It was so good to hear his voice. Now we have to wait another week to find out where he is and who his companion is. This waiting thing is hard!

October 17the update:
We received some more pictures from the mission home from Sam's arrival at the airport.

Singing at General Conference

Sam sang in the afternoon session of the LDS General Conference.

 His friends from highschool Alec Finnley and Dellan Fielding sang as well.