1 week to go. Last week in the Provo MTC Dec 10th 2018

last week in the MTC

less than 7 days to go until he leaves for Korea !!!

Hello Everyone! This is a little late from me, but I thought I should give an update before I am actually in Korea for 2 weeks. In 7 days, I am leaving for Korea! I am so excited beyond belief. As much fun as it was to be here for 9 weeks, it is time to continue and further improve my speech / gospel preaching.
The reason why I said I won't be able to send anything for the next 2 weeks is because since we leave ON Monday at 2:30 in the morning, we have no time to email anyone. So this will be my final email IN the USA. Scary thought!! But at the same time, I am ready. The people of Korea need me, just as much as i need them.
This week was basically Prep for Korea. It is now on us to do our best in our own time to study and have non member TRC's (Training for what to expect on our mission). I guess in any sense, the WHOLE time has been for prep for Korea, but hopefully you know what I am talking about. It's funny, because there have been a few times so far where I have been speaking, and I either speak in Korean Sentence structure, or forgot English words. It is really funny. I have also noticed I speak in smaller sentences now. Simple Sentences. It is because we are learning to speak in very simple sentences. It is really cool. It is amazing how much I have learned in just the few short weeks I have been here. I've learned 10 Fold what I did in Japanese. Maybe it's just cause I am dedicated this time. Or ya know. Gift Of Tongues. I swear, it's real. Anyone who says otherwise just isn't trying hard enough lol. Just kidding Just Kidding.

Not much is externally different, but Internally, so much has changed. My heart is finally set on learning the gospel and figuring out this language we all must know in order to preach His word. God knows each one of us so well, He knows we can overcome anything that is thrown at us in the next 18 months / 2 Year’s.

Today is our last P Day in the MTC, and it’s feeling totes real! The fact we are leaving in a week is bewildering. Talk about the best Christmas Present ever! A trip to Korea AND a way to serve our Lord! In all seriousness though, I know we ALL can do it! We just have to do our best, and the Lord will do the rest! I hope you all are doing the best you can! I believe each one of you can do it! I know who all of you are, and I can firmly say that NONE of you are quitters. With God, anything is possible! Literally anything!

I am down 32lbs ... Needing new pants hahhaha

MY district helped to celebrate my 21st birthday here in the MTC by decorating my room..

My parents sent me decorations and also another Missionary Momma sent some fun things and birthday glasses....

Was fun to be here while having a birthday 

I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I may or not be able to send a message Christmas Eve, so just in case if I do not have time, Merry Christmas, and do your best to help others around you for the rest of the Year!!! Good bye And I love you all!

December 3rd 2018 2 weeks to go !! Birthday week

2 more weeks to go

Wow. Time flies when you are truly working hard. I can't believe that it is almost time for me to leave for Korea. It has been pretty hard the past couple of days to be honest. Our 3 Older districts left this morning. I truly became amazing friends with all of them. 22 people are now on a plane ride to their destination. (if you can't tell from the subject, there are only 17 people left in our district) It's so amazing, and I am so proud of them. I can't help but feel a little sad though. As they say in the song, "My heart will go on." Does that make sense? Sure it does.

The gospel learning side of things has been amazing! I truly love learning new things while at the MTC. I feel like I have gained such a powerful testimony while I have been here. Something I hope I will always remember. Last night, it was the Christmas Devotional, and I felt truly inspired. My favorite talk was from Sister Eubank about how she was told to the play the piano in Sacrament meeting for Christmas Eve. She lost the music book while playing, and in the end, she just started playing incorrect notes left and right. She was so embarrassed (As anyone would be) Her teacher told her something similar to this: Just know you practiced your hardest, and you did your best. People still love you for trying. That struck a chord within me. I related it to my Korean Studies. As decent as I'm doing, I know that if I try my absolute hardest to learn the language, the Lord will be by my side. It is a very hard language, and because of that, I need to focus more on working on Korean. Our teacher gave us a different way of learning, and to be honest, it sort of worked for me. I might continue learning the same way. Basically, you look at a page with over 100 words on it, and for 20 minutes straight, no distractions, no talking, nothing. Just focusing for 20 minutes. It really worked. Of course, I only memorized about 30 words, but hey, better than what I was doing.

It's so weird that I am going to be 21 in 3 days. I Never really thought I would be away from home on my birthday to be honest. I am glad that I am away though, because I am doing the Lord's work. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season. This is the biggest time for people to be caring towards one another. I invite each of you to take part in the "Light The World" event going on right now. It is all about serving others. I sadly can't get the website link, but i'm 500% sure that if you type in Light The World 2018, you'll be able to find it. I hope you all have a wonderful week and do the best you can to stay positive for the rest of the year.

Love, Elder Arrington

11/26 2018

hey mom

I am able to talk now. I just put in my laundry. I'm doing Really good! I'm writing my week to everyone. I have TONS of pictures for this week...They have told us NO google hangout or things similar. I have lost 26 pounds. It's been 20 and less degrees here! I've been wearing my thermals..I have been sleeping perfectly while I have been here. Yeah. I am leaving for the temple around 8:45 to get there. My laundry is just taking forever. Thanks for letting me know people ask about me.. really cool! I am happy they actually care about me. I'm glad! I just hope I will be able to do my best. Language ? It has been a little difficult. I am slowly learning. Def slower than mostly everyone else. I will just have to realize my pace is going to be slower than everyone elses. And I am pretty fine with that. I am not giving up, because I KNOW Satan wants me to fail. I am just going to have to try harder, but not too hard. Just the right amount. I'm sure Bishop Shaw is doing an amazing job. He is def bishop material. I love my companion but he stresses me out. He always starts stressing out, and it causes me to stress out. We're as bad as each other lol... You would like him though.. I'll have to talk later though. I have to go! Love you so much! 
Hey Mom... btw, we had Elder Uchtdorf come speak to us on Thanksgiving.. He was wonderful WOW.. powerful...I shook his hand as well! It was wonderful! I will have to send my everyone message next week. It didn’t work this morning and I lost it :( ..Sadly I have to go ..I have been so busy. Today is our first “non member” Teaching, so I have like zero time to get ready. Tell everyone I love them, and tell Joben I love the picture! I saved it. Love you so much x

week 5 at the MTC

Hello everyone!
This week, I don't even know where to begin to be honest. So much happened, but I have such little time to write while at the MTC. I guess I could start with the fact it's almost Thanksgiving. We were told that we are doing a massive service project. (I'm still not sure what it is), but our day is going to be PACKED. What is nice is that everyone on non-holidays, they keep us so busy with classes, lessons, choir, exercise time, and most importantly, food! Speaking of which, I have lost 20+ pounds while I have been at the MTC. It's really awesome! I love working out with everyone here! The food is fairly healthy (If you don't eat the desserts / only grab ONE plate), and you have common sense to know what is good or not. I have been trying to eat so much more healthy while I have been here. Most people talk about gaining weight while they are here, but I wanted to do something different.

The lesson that hit me the hardest was on Friday with Sister Oh. It started really irreverently by laughing during the prayer for petty reasons. Instead of her getting angry at us (And the amazing person she is), she showed us a portion of the video of Jesus Christ and the Atonement. When it finished, she gave us this simple, but powerful question: How do you think Jesus feels, while we are praying through him, we are laughing?  (I can't remember exact wording, but it was similar to this.) Income the waterworks. Over half of our district started crying. Words can't explain how powerful this was for all of us. I'm sure each one of our testimonies / love for Jesus Christ grew tremendously.Another thing is that in all honesty, I felt like I hit a brick wall with Korean. I felt like I was learning here and there, but not as much as I could have. I loved Sunday though. I had an Interview with Brother Bartholomew (2nd Counselor for the Korean Zone), and we talked for around 20 minutes. I explained to him my situation with Korean, and he explained how he used to be a teacher for teaching Korean. He taught me a few techniques that I feel will improve my time learning Korean. I just hope it works. I have put so much faith in the Lord since I have been here, and have received blessing after blessing. All I can say is that I am very happy I am serving the Lord and I would do anything to continue serving the people, even if I know barely any Korean. I will just continue my hardest and try even harder.

It's crazy that my 21st birthday is right around the corner! It feels like I have been here only a couple weeks, not over a month! Time has flown by. Maybe i'm just being hard on myself by saying I don't know Korean as well as I should. I just hate not knowing things lol. Well, Until next time, See you all around! Love you all, and thank you again for the messages. I try my hardest to reply, but sometimes I just miss the mark, and I apologize.

Ps, My grey hair is showing so much. I demand a brown hair dye that is the same color as my hair, just to cover it up. just kidding just kidding. Love you all!I Ran out of room on my last email. On Wednesday, we hosted internationals! (Helped people get ready for the MTC who are from not USA.) I met 2 wonderful sisters, Sister Sufrau, and Sister Liu. Sufrau was from Brazil, and Liu was from Southern China. They both spoke really good Korean! While we were hosting, we came across 4 or 5 Korean sisters who came in the same day. The 2 I talked to the most were Sister Son and Sister Lee. They both were so amazing to talk to. I picked up some Korean from them, and learned how to pronounce things differently. Believe it or not, Korean is NOT English! I will have to try my hardest to get better, and do my best!

week 4 at the MTC

Hello everyone! 

I just wanted to update you all on how my time at the MTC! I have had such a wonderful time! I have been really busy learning as much of the Gospel as I can. I have also been learning the language so much more harder than ever before. I am doing the most as I can before I go to Korea and have little to no time to study the language.

I am starting to be able to create my own sentences and being able to teach 10-15 minutes lessons for our mastery checks. I'd say that is quite the accomplishment. I also have been able to grow closer with my district. I love them all so much. Each person brings a certain attribute to the table, giving us the chance to learn from one another. My companion specifically is such a blessing to have by my side. He is able to teach me so much more than I ever thought possible. He is such a wonderful blessing.

Yesterday Was crazy. An emotional roller coaster. It snowed for the first time! I was so excited (Except for the fact it was cold.) Me being from Arizona really doesn't help me whatsoever!
Also, Yesterday, we had quite the adventure inside the MTC. 2 Districts in our zone were leaving to Korea, and it was really heartbreaking. I didn't know them as well as I could have, but It's felt like there is already such a difference within our zone. 4 of them were in a district of their own who already knew Korean, so they were able to leave just after 3 weeks. We wrote in their "Bye-Bye Book" (As they called it in English), and they seemed like such wonderful people! I already promised them I'd go and visit them when I was off of my mission. On Sunday nights, we watch a film of our choice (Between 6 different talks or movies OR 1 movie specifically in Korean), and me and Elder Sheen decided to watch "Legacy" in Korean. He is super cool! When we walked in, we were met by a few others in our zone, including the Korean Sisters. I couldn't speak much with them, but I told them (In Broken Korean) to have a wonderful time and be strong! In Korean, we put our thumb and pointer finger together in the shape of a heart to say "we/I love you" or "Saranghamnida!"

As fun as it has been here, I know this is my time to grow so much more and figure out how I can serve the people in Korea as a friend and as my brothers / sisters. They deserve to hear the Truth of the Gospel and become eternal families. I hope that I will be able to do the best I can while I am there and grow stronger as not only a person, but as an instrument in the Lord's hand.

See y'all next week

Here are the boys he met before leaving for the MTC.. Noah on left sadly didn't get to meet them in CA but Anthony then Jayce met with Jacoby for a weekend....

pictures from Jacoby.. 3 rd week at Provo MTC

Elder Arrington seems to be doing GREAT....

So proud of this young man and the fact that he is studying like crazy so that he can learn faster the Korea language.

There was no group email it seems this week so I made sure to email him and say SEND ONE OUT EACH WEEK..

although I barely got several minutes of emails from him.

He tells me he is super busy and then having fun with those he has made friends with...

Love that he has learned how to IRON !!!!  yay

week 2 in the MTC

A message from Elder Arrington

I want to start by saying I am sorry for not putting under BCC last time, so everyone was receiving emails left and right. This should make it better this time.

This week was so much better! I felt like I truly understood Korean this week. Of course, not enough to write an email in Korean, but you know. lol. I'm normally not the one to cry, but I lost it last night when I watched the film "The Testaments." Where it took place the same time Christ was alive, but in the Americas. It was truly powerful and another reason why the church is true. It was honestly so powerful. The movie was overpowering and I'm very sure it captured it close to perfection. I would truly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. It was phenomenal.

In Korea class, we have been learning still the basics, but at a much faster rate than anticipated. I had no idea how quickly I would pick it up. This wednesday, we had 4 new girls come into our zone. They are all from Korea, so they will be here for only 3 weeks, rather than the 9 weeks for me. It's hard to communicate with them because they don't really know English, but it truly drives me to learn the language so much more. They all seem like wonderful people. Although it's sad I am unable to truly talk to them, instead of feeling down, I am going to learn as much as I can before they leave. That's going to be my goal these next coming weeks. To have a conversation with them to the best of my ability.

I am so happy here, and even on the days I feel saddened/ miss home, I have to remind myself that there are people out there who need this gospel, and I was called to do the work.

BTW, my P-Days are on Monday's, so i'll be messaging people then. Of course, I can read all emails, but I just can't reply to them, so I'm just letting you all know.

Thank you, and have an awesome week! I'll message you all later!