Limones!

Family! OK, so story! this week, we had a baptism! finally! i wont yet have to break my goal of having a baptism every transfer! it was a very sad one though....so Friday we were supposed to have his interview, and he couldn't come. so Saturday we had his interview, the same day. he passed with flying colors, and then about 2 hours before the baptism, find out the branch pres is in azua (like, 3 or 4 hours away) and then it starts to rain. and i mean RAIN. a torrential downpour, probably the gnarliest i have seen yet here. so we are all freaking out thinking the baptism is going to fall. me and my comp get to the chapel, and alas, he is across the street waiting out the rain! he is amazing, really. he will be an amazing help to that little branch. but the baptism was...well, sad to say the least. it was just me, my companion, and the other 2 missionaries in our house. and that's it. that's who came. sigh. it was super sad, but with the rain and all he understood, Dominicans hate the rain! alot. so, it was all good, and now he is so much happier! after his confirmation on Sunday, he walked back to his seat with a huge smile. I'm sooo happy. but I'm gonna have to cut this one really short, sorry! i have little time and this Internet center is no good. but i have a bunch of things to tell you, but i have a list for next week. haha. but the other 2 missionaries in our house are getting special transferred tomorrow because of some other peoples dumb actions, so we gotta go and get that all figured out. but i promise a better letter next week! love you all!

It makes alot of heat!

So this week, nothing all that special happened. again. haha. man, i really need to try harder to get some good stories, eh? well, this week we should have a baptism and it will be great! his name is Jose Luis, and he is incredible. I'm so stoked. and so is he! so some news, we get our new mish pres this weekend i believe. no one is really sure yet, but that's what we have heard. we have a conference in azua this Thursday with Pres Almonte, and I'm guessing its a goodbye think. it will be so crazy to get a new pres!

So its been hot recently, like, REALLLY hot. man. i forgot that it was hotter during the summer. man alive its soo hot. and humid because we keep getting little 5 min rainstorms  and then loooots of sunshine. el diache its hot! so this is a really lame letter this week, but honestly this was a very very uneventful week. the biggest thing that happened i think is i got a letter! the first one I've gotten in like 5 months haha. make sure to tell the Britons and the Taylor's thanks for their postcards and letters. well, ill send some pics and try and be more interesting this next week. my bad.
love you! bye!
.ElderMacArthur

And now for some pictures of the different animal life in the DR:  Frogs, bees, spiders and caterpillars! 

No hay luz todavía!

Hi! so this week was a bit weird. we have just had a bunch of....well, unlucky things happen. we are very likely going to have to move, we don't have water, cholera is everywhere around here, all of our investigators familys are dying so they cant come to church and today, we haven't have had light for over 9 hours, so every ones batteries are dead at Internet centers. so, here i am writing this at the one center that has a smidge left. but i gotta do it fast, so this might be lame! OK, so right now the best investigator that we have is named jose Luis, he is like 30ish and is amazing. he is sooo interested, and our last apt with him i asked him how he felt and he simply said "i feel great. just waiting, waiting for the day of my baptism" awesome. so he will be getting baptized the 25th. so not this Saturday but the next. i am so stoked. probably the most chosen i have met, man.

Also crazy, we get a new mission pres in like 2 weeks. that is insane. i have no idea what will happen! I'm so excited but nervous. who knows! also, this week i have been super trunky. i have been thinking about home alot, but i guess that's pretty typical for guys when they hit a year. its like YAY! a year! but also, whoa, only a year?! i have to do that again?! but no worries, I'm still glad to be here, but find myself dreaming about American luxuries. man. i miss America haha. but anywho, i don't have time to send pics (and frankly, i don't have too many. ok, i have some cool ones, but you'll have to wait haha. i don't have time to send them.but i love you all, and have a good week!

Elder MacArthur

THE HUMP

Hey kids! OK, so this week was..well, a little special. so first off it has been suuper rainy. which is cool and all, i love the rain, but the 6 inches of mud and water on every-single-street really sucks. then, on Thursday, i HIT MY ONE YEAR MARK!! cool beans. and, today is the 6th, meaning one year from now i will be on a plane on the way home! crazy kids. exactly one year till you get to see me again. crazy man. i feel like i have been here for way longer but at the same time that I'm not even close to one year. man.

So my area. its really open, cooler, more...chillax kinda haha. but, waaay more mud, goats, and fewer dogs (por fin!). i am now in a branch, a pretty apostate branch. our mish pres said that the church isn't 100% true yet in the campo, and after that fast and testimony meeting, i can attest to how true that is. there was a bit of apostasy going on haha. just lots of little false doctrines. yippie. haha. that's why there are 4 Americans here i guess, that know how things should be! but i am liking it here alot.

We should have had a baptism Saturday, but it fell. she didn't come because it was raining and there was a ton of mud.(Dominicans HATE the rain, FYI). so we have to change it. she will be baptized in 2 weeks. we also contacted a guy named jose luis, he is amazing. super cool. he is like 28, single, and has a ton of interest. has come to church 2 times and is reading all the pamphlets and the book of Mormon. ill keep you updated. he has a fecha for the 25th.

So ya, that's life out here in las matas de farfan! picture time!
-Elder MacArthur

crossing the river...with all the we couldent use the stepping stones. 

gi-normous beetle. these are LOUD when they fly!

I'm over the hump!

starting to burn my 1 year shirt!

cool! fire!

AHH! its hot!!