2-10-14
I totally miss the snow! Not the cold, but the snow. This week was a bit more exciting than last week. I got to take a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class from a less active member where he taught us a bunch of ground fighting techniques. It was all super cool. I can't remember what style of Jiu-Jitsu we use to take, but this was completely different. I remember that we learned a lot of standing self-defense when we took it, but this was all ground stuff. He also had us do a kettle bell workout that was super exhausting. Apparently, he went to Russia and learned a lot of what he knows by having a bunch of professionals basically beat him up so he could see how they fought. He has been doing it since 2009 and he is super good.
Saturday we went to go help build a house for Habitat for Humanity and I learned a lot about construction. The Church was building this particular house and we started at 8a.m. and went till 3:30p.m. for the day. We constructed the walls and put siding on all of it. I have some pictures that I will upload so that you can see. Right after that, we went to a new move-in and helped them cut down a tree. So, I got to learn how to use a chainsaw. It was pretty fun and quick. I have some pictures of that as well.
This week was a whole lot of service and I loved it since I haven't had too many opportunities to give service for others. Everyone usually turns us down because we are dressed too nice and they don't want us to get dirty. I'm still trying to figure out this area and get to know the people, but it's coming along, and I love working with Elder Fisher. He is awesome! I may possibly end up getting a new companion, though, because he has to get knee surgery soon and so he might be heading home to do that and recover, so we'll see what happens. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Enjoying the area and companion
2-3-14
Things are going good for us here. Elder Fisher is such an awesome companion. I love him and I love the people here. A lot of the members here are older and they are all so nice. There is a lot more diversity to work with here and it makes working with members a lot better. Even a lot of the less active members are nice and let us come over and teach them, unlike my last area. We are just in the process of just figuring the area out and knowing what works and what doesn't. I think that this area has a lot of potential, though. We just need to rely on the Lord to know what to do in order to get it all going. I did get your letter this week, thanks. Thank you for the recipes. We made some breakfast bars for lunch and they turned out great! Elder Fisher calls them monsters because they start out nice, then they blow up into a beast thing. It makes sense to me. I don't really have any exciting stories this week to tell. All we did was go around and try to figure out what we should do since neither of us really know the area. Our ward mission leader is pushing us to reach the standard of excellence that the church has set of 20 lessons a week, and we could have made it this last week, but practically all of our appointments fell through. Hopefully, this week will go a little better. I always have and I always will continue to pray for you guys. Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Things are going good for us here. Elder Fisher is such an awesome companion. I love him and I love the people here. A lot of the members here are older and they are all so nice. There is a lot more diversity to work with here and it makes working with members a lot better. Even a lot of the less active members are nice and let us come over and teach them, unlike my last area. We are just in the process of just figuring the area out and knowing what works and what doesn't. I think that this area has a lot of potential, though. We just need to rely on the Lord to know what to do in order to get it all going. I did get your letter this week, thanks. Thank you for the recipes. We made some breakfast bars for lunch and they turned out great! Elder Fisher calls them monsters because they start out nice, then they blow up into a beast thing. It makes sense to me. I don't really have any exciting stories this week to tell. All we did was go around and try to figure out what we should do since neither of us really know the area. Our ward mission leader is pushing us to reach the standard of excellence that the church has set of 20 lessons a week, and we could have made it this last week, but practically all of our appointments fell through. Hopefully, this week will go a little better. I always have and I always will continue to pray for you guys. Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Saturday, February 1, 2014
New Area
1-27-14
I have been transferred to Port Charlotte. My new area is great! I am on full car, and the people here are awesome! I feel like a new missionary again since i don't know the people or the area at all, but I hope that I can learn quickly. We just had Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to meet too many members, but I met quite a few at the Ward's talent show on Friday night. There are a lot of older members and they are all so great! A lot of them are really willing to work with us and help us, unlike the last ward where everyone is young and in school or at work or just always has something in the way. One of the older couples even gave us each $65 in gift cards to Burger King and Chick-Fil-A. Our ward mission leader is great, too! He is completely on board and works hard to help us get lessons. In my last area, the most lessons we ever taught in a week was 13, now in this area we reach about 20 or so. People are home and willing to let us talk with them for the most part. I'm loving it so far.
My companion is Elder Fisher and he is from Las Vegas. He has been out for 14 months and he is 20 years old. Just like all of my other companions, he is super big into things like football and other school sports. I don't think I will ever get a companion that likes anything but school sports. Oh well. He is a great missionary and he is our District Leader. He and I get along great. He loves to cook and so I haven't cooked a single meal since I've been here. He cooks and I just wash the dishes. Like me, he is super clean, so we never have any messes, and I have been having really great studies in the morning since it's just the two of us and not 4 Elders that distract each other.
For family scripture study, there are tons of scriptures that I use when we teach lessons. Maybe something that you guys could do is pick a section or a doctrinal topic out of Preach My Gospel to read and look up all of the suggested scriptures that go with it. Whenever i study out of there, or choose a topic to study from the Bible Dictionary, I learn a lot more. If you are all studying the Book of Mormon right now, read, "The Keystone of our Religion" by President Ezra Taft Benson. That should help everyone understand why studying the scriptures is so great.
Saturday, we had a mission training where Elder Kapishka of the 70 and Elder Thompson of the 70 came and talked to us. Everyone thought that the training was going to be about us all getting iPads, but it wasn't. We are suppose to be getting those soon, though. But, the training was so cool and it was all just focused on being exactly obedient like President Cusick has been telling us all the time. Sunday was Stake Conference and there were 48 Stakes throughout Florida and Georgia involved in a broadcast with Elder Russell M. Nelson. It was good. We just watched it from our church building.
Well, I hope all is going well at home and that everyone is getting along. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I have been transferred to Port Charlotte. My new area is great! I am on full car, and the people here are awesome! I feel like a new missionary again since i don't know the people or the area at all, but I hope that I can learn quickly. We just had Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to meet too many members, but I met quite a few at the Ward's talent show on Friday night. There are a lot of older members and they are all so great! A lot of them are really willing to work with us and help us, unlike the last ward where everyone is young and in school or at work or just always has something in the way. One of the older couples even gave us each $65 in gift cards to Burger King and Chick-Fil-A. Our ward mission leader is great, too! He is completely on board and works hard to help us get lessons. In my last area, the most lessons we ever taught in a week was 13, now in this area we reach about 20 or so. People are home and willing to let us talk with them for the most part. I'm loving it so far.
My companion is Elder Fisher and he is from Las Vegas. He has been out for 14 months and he is 20 years old. Just like all of my other companions, he is super big into things like football and other school sports. I don't think I will ever get a companion that likes anything but school sports. Oh well. He is a great missionary and he is our District Leader. He and I get along great. He loves to cook and so I haven't cooked a single meal since I've been here. He cooks and I just wash the dishes. Like me, he is super clean, so we never have any messes, and I have been having really great studies in the morning since it's just the two of us and not 4 Elders that distract each other.
For family scripture study, there are tons of scriptures that I use when we teach lessons. Maybe something that you guys could do is pick a section or a doctrinal topic out of Preach My Gospel to read and look up all of the suggested scriptures that go with it. Whenever i study out of there, or choose a topic to study from the Bible Dictionary, I learn a lot more. If you are all studying the Book of Mormon right now, read, "The Keystone of our Religion" by President Ezra Taft Benson. That should help everyone understand why studying the scriptures is so great.
Saturday, we had a mission training where Elder Kapishka of the 70 and Elder Thompson of the 70 came and talked to us. Everyone thought that the training was going to be about us all getting iPads, but it wasn't. We are suppose to be getting those soon, though. But, the training was so cool and it was all just focused on being exactly obedient like President Cusick has been telling us all the time. Sunday was Stake Conference and there were 48 Stakes throughout Florida and Georgia involved in a broadcast with Elder Russell M. Nelson. It was good. We just watched it from our church building.
Well, I hope all is going well at home and that everyone is getting along. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Getting Transferred
1-20-14
I'm being transferred. I don't know where to yet. I'll let you know next week. So don't send anything this week to my current address. I will have Elder Barnett forward the letter you last sent to me. Thanks for making those changes on the iPod.
It sounds like you all had a good FHE. that's definitely something really good to work on. (We had a FHE on helping strengthen one another in the family and also on realizing everything we do to one another is also done to the Savior). I hope that Whitney and Vanessa are getting along and things are improving. You'll have to let me know how things are going with dad's back and whatever else is happening around home. (I told him that we were really trying to STUDY the Book of Mormon)
I love studying about the power of the Book of Mormon. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the Book of Mormon in preach My Gospel and it talks all about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I love it! I have just started reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I'm learning a lot more about it. At the same time, I am also going through it slow, like one chapter a day and writing a ton of notes. After about two weeks of this, i am only in 1 Nephi Chapter 5, but i have gotten a ton out of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I'm being transferred. I don't know where to yet. I'll let you know next week. So don't send anything this week to my current address. I will have Elder Barnett forward the letter you last sent to me. Thanks for making those changes on the iPod.
It sounds like you all had a good FHE. that's definitely something really good to work on. (We had a FHE on helping strengthen one another in the family and also on realizing everything we do to one another is also done to the Savior). I hope that Whitney and Vanessa are getting along and things are improving. You'll have to let me know how things are going with dad's back and whatever else is happening around home. (I told him that we were really trying to STUDY the Book of Mormon)
I love studying about the power of the Book of Mormon. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the Book of Mormon in preach My Gospel and it talks all about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I love it! I have just started reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I'm learning a lot more about it. At the same time, I am also going through it slow, like one chapter a day and writing a ton of notes. After about two weeks of this, i am only in 1 Nephi Chapter 5, but i have gotten a ton out of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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