8-26-13
It was great to hear from you today and read about what has been going on. I told you earlier that I would tell you about Maggie Martin and what happened this week. Well, she is a less-active member who lives in a nursing home and we've been visiting her every now and then. This past Tuesday though, when we went, it was so bizarre. We couldn't find her in her room, so we looked around the place for her. There was some old guy with his pants half off just walking around, and then as we were walking down the hall, we could hear a sort of screeching noise. It was an old lady grinding her teeth. We could hear it all the way down the hall-it was so loud; and she was walking like a zombie with her head tilted. It reminded me of the movie "Grudge". Anyway, we found Maggie and went to her room to have a lesson. The door was closed and locked, but right in the middle of the lesson, someone started pounding on the door extremely hard and was yelling. Maggie went to go open it and it was the half pants guy. The first thing he yells to her is, "Remember, 36 at 10:00 A.M.", and he just kept repeating that. Maggie was like, "No, go away. My church people are here and they are showing me the ways of God!" -stuff like that. I was laughing so hard and then the guy just forced his way into the room and kept repeating the same phrase. Maggie flipped out and ran by us and started screaming so loud! She was yelling, "Ahhh, he is gonna kill me! Help me!" She literally thought she was going to die. A bunch of workers ran in and took the guy out. As we continued with the lesson, neither Elder Lott or I could stop laughing. It was such a crazy experience.
Some things I forgot to mention was that you guys need to make sure that you are doing things like: family scripture study, family prayer, and Family Home Evening all the time. I know that we did this on and off, but it is so important that you always do it. We teach our investigators that it is a commandment of God, and it is! So, find the time and make it work.
Thanks for all you do for me! I really appreciate it! It means a lot to me. Also, please tell those who have written or emailed or are supporting me in other ways, that I really appreciate it!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
First Baptism
8-19-13
That's cool that Jacob Owens is heading to Atlanta soon. That's where our first layover was when heading to Tampa, and honestly, there was about 90 percent black people. hahah. We tried talking to a few of them, but they were all really strange. But, Jacob will do well there. Also, how you were talking about Brandon Somsen in australia, we also do a lot of tracting and it is pretty much the same stuff. People will look at us through their windows and not answer them, or they will yell"who is it?" and we do get doors slammed in our face, as well. It's not fun at all, but it's what we do.
I get fed by the members pretty often for dinners and we get $140 bucks on a card each month and that has been enough so far. My bike is working fine and I actually put electrical tape all over it so that it's pure black and doesn't look as good. I don't need any recipes yet. I've just been eating cereal, ramen noodles (big shocker), toaster strudles, waffles, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so far. I'll tell you some of the things I've learned in a letter sometime because there is soooo much. I don't know what my favorite thing is yet, but my least favorite thing is doing paper work and dealing with records and all of that boring stuff. I don't think I need anything from home, but I was thinking about getting a GPS because everyone says that they are so helpful out here, but I also know they are about $100-$200. So I'll think about it. I also was thinking about getting a nicer camera because the one I have now is glitching a lot and doesn't take that great of pictures. We hand out some Books of Mormon, but you don't need to send any because I'll probably just lose them. Also, you haven't told me if you ever contacted Elder Lott's mom. I'm guessing that you probably just looked her up on Facebook huh? (I actually called Elder Lott's mom on Monday and visited with her for about 45 minutes. We had a great visit about our boys! They are both so similar and work really well together!) Also, I've been putting pictures on Dropbox, so they should just be there.
This Saturday, the Arsenault's got baptized and Lance, the dad, did it. We gave him the Aaronic priesthood 5 minutes before and he did the baptisms for his wife and two boys. (He didn't say who baptized the father). Sunday, I got to do the confirmation for the mom and Elder Lott and someone else did it for the boys in Sacrament. It was an amazing experience. Also, just last night, while we were riding bikes, I just about ran into some guy who pulled out in front of me and he asked if we were Jehovah Witnesses. I told him that we were LDS missionaries. I started talking to him about what we do and then I just started teaching him about the Restoration while we were riding our bikes. Elder Lott was in front of us while I just taught the whole thing. It went surprisingly well and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he agreed to meet with us and let us teach him. That was a really cool experience for me.
I also have to tell you about Maggie Martin this week. I will include that story in the next letter I send home, but I just have to say, Wholly crap, that was the scariest and funniest thing that has happened to me out here so far. (I can't wait to hear that story)
Haha-guess what? I cut my own hair this week. I'll post a picture of it on Dropbox. I did a pretty good job, too. I just bought some $10 clippers from Walmart and did it myself.
Love you, and thanks for the letter, postage stamps and talks in that package! I really appreciate it!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
That's cool that Jacob Owens is heading to Atlanta soon. That's where our first layover was when heading to Tampa, and honestly, there was about 90 percent black people. hahah. We tried talking to a few of them, but they were all really strange. But, Jacob will do well there. Also, how you were talking about Brandon Somsen in australia, we also do a lot of tracting and it is pretty much the same stuff. People will look at us through their windows and not answer them, or they will yell"who is it?" and we do get doors slammed in our face, as well. It's not fun at all, but it's what we do.
I get fed by the members pretty often for dinners and we get $140 bucks on a card each month and that has been enough so far. My bike is working fine and I actually put electrical tape all over it so that it's pure black and doesn't look as good. I don't need any recipes yet. I've just been eating cereal, ramen noodles (big shocker), toaster strudles, waffles, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so far. I'll tell you some of the things I've learned in a letter sometime because there is soooo much. I don't know what my favorite thing is yet, but my least favorite thing is doing paper work and dealing with records and all of that boring stuff. I don't think I need anything from home, but I was thinking about getting a GPS because everyone says that they are so helpful out here, but I also know they are about $100-$200. So I'll think about it. I also was thinking about getting a nicer camera because the one I have now is glitching a lot and doesn't take that great of pictures. We hand out some Books of Mormon, but you don't need to send any because I'll probably just lose them. Also, you haven't told me if you ever contacted Elder Lott's mom. I'm guessing that you probably just looked her up on Facebook huh? (I actually called Elder Lott's mom on Monday and visited with her for about 45 minutes. We had a great visit about our boys! They are both so similar and work really well together!) Also, I've been putting pictures on Dropbox, so they should just be there.
This Saturday, the Arsenault's got baptized and Lance, the dad, did it. We gave him the Aaronic priesthood 5 minutes before and he did the baptisms for his wife and two boys. (He didn't say who baptized the father). Sunday, I got to do the confirmation for the mom and Elder Lott and someone else did it for the boys in Sacrament. It was an amazing experience. Also, just last night, while we were riding bikes, I just about ran into some guy who pulled out in front of me and he asked if we were Jehovah Witnesses. I told him that we were LDS missionaries. I started talking to him about what we do and then I just started teaching him about the Restoration while we were riding our bikes. Elder Lott was in front of us while I just taught the whole thing. It went surprisingly well and we gave him a Book of Mormon and he agreed to meet with us and let us teach him. That was a really cool experience for me.
I also have to tell you about Maggie Martin this week. I will include that story in the next letter I send home, but I just have to say, Wholly crap, that was the scariest and funniest thing that has happened to me out here so far. (I can't wait to hear that story)
Haha-guess what? I cut my own hair this week. I'll post a picture of it on Dropbox. I did a pretty good job, too. I just bought some $10 clippers from Walmart and did it myself.
Love you, and thanks for the letter, postage stamps and talks in that package! I really appreciate it!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
 |
| Another pic of the HUGE truck he thought was awesome! |
 |
| The Skyway Bridge |
 |
| The Skyway Bridge (different angle) |
 |
| Skyway Bridge |
 |
| Elder Austin Whaley (with his bobble head), their District Leader, and Elder Lott) |
 |
| The Rays' baseball field (Tropicana Field) |
 |
| Some of the LDS missionaries singing the National Anthem before the game. |
 |
| Austin's faux hawk before he shaves it off. |
 |
| Austin with other missionaries |
 |
| Elder austin Whaley and Elder Lott with the Arsenault family before their baptism. |
Friday, August 9, 2013
Written letter from Austin
8-2-13
Directions: Get a magnifying glass (with a hand drawn pic of a magnifying glass because he write very small-LOL.
Dear whomsoever readeth this notary (Mom & Dad),
Hey, sorry I haven't written to any of you yet, I have just been busy working. This week has gone by pretty slow, mainly because we haven't had any investigators to teach, so we've been doing a lot of tracting, which is always interesting. I've had plenty of doors shut in my face, but we've also had a few times where the people are nice enough to talk to us. They are not interested in the message however; they are just trying to tell us that we "have been mislead" and that they hope that we will be "shown the light." I enjoy it for the most part though because that's where all the weird stories come from.
As far as outside of missionary work goes, Elder Lott and I caught a Dino Duck in our apartment last week. They are all over the place, and are really stupid. We just set up a trail of bread that led into the apartment and it walked right in. When we closed the door behind it, it tried to fly out and slammed right into the glass door. It was pretty funny. Tomorrow on the 3rd, we are going to the Ray's stadium to watch a baseball game against the Giants, so that will be fun. Other than that, we do a lot of biking, and on P-Day we always play basketball, and Elder Lott is amazing at it. He is going to teach me how to play better since I haven't really played for years and I stink.
Also, as for letters and e-mails; if you could send a letter during the week, that would make it, so I have more time to respond more in depth replies if you want. I always e-mail you guys first and then try to respond to everyone else, but it usually ends up being like a two sentence reply. So tell everyone who wants to contact me to write me a letter if they want more than a "I'm doing fine" letter. I can write people back and let them know what's going on. My mailing address is :
3310 Bermuda Isles Circle 238
Naples, FL 34109
So far, Bro. Stewart, Corbin, Jade, Rebecca, Morgan, Allyson, Rhett, Kaleb, Kolten, Taylor, and Keeghan, have emailed me. So just let whoever you can, know about the letters, that would be great. Thanks. I love you guys and I miss you. Let me know how you are all doing and what's going on. I keep all of you in my prayers every day. Also, let me know what Shad's doing because he doesn't give me hardly anything.
P.S. I almost forgot to mention that I met Mr. Tolman's daughter. She is in my ward and her last name is Dalling. Also, like I said everyone down here is from Idaho. I'll try to get a list of those who are, so you can contact them when they move back up there once they are done with school.
8-3-13
So we went to the Ray's game today. They were playing the Giants. The whole thing was say fun. We all got a free bobble head and some drunk guy stole Elder Lott's right out of his hand. It was kind of weird. We got to go down by the dug out and take some pictures before the game. We also went over the "Skyway Bridge" and that was pretty big. I saw a bunch of missionaries from my MTC district there, so that was nice. Anyway, I really liked it and I think I'll go again next year.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
(I guess they have a "Mormon Night" every year where the missionaries get to go to a MLB game).
Directions: Get a magnifying glass (with a hand drawn pic of a magnifying glass because he write very small-LOL.
Dear whomsoever readeth this notary (Mom & Dad),
Hey, sorry I haven't written to any of you yet, I have just been busy working. This week has gone by pretty slow, mainly because we haven't had any investigators to teach, so we've been doing a lot of tracting, which is always interesting. I've had plenty of doors shut in my face, but we've also had a few times where the people are nice enough to talk to us. They are not interested in the message however; they are just trying to tell us that we "have been mislead" and that they hope that we will be "shown the light." I enjoy it for the most part though because that's where all the weird stories come from.
As far as outside of missionary work goes, Elder Lott and I caught a Dino Duck in our apartment last week. They are all over the place, and are really stupid. We just set up a trail of bread that led into the apartment and it walked right in. When we closed the door behind it, it tried to fly out and slammed right into the glass door. It was pretty funny. Tomorrow on the 3rd, we are going to the Ray's stadium to watch a baseball game against the Giants, so that will be fun. Other than that, we do a lot of biking, and on P-Day we always play basketball, and Elder Lott is amazing at it. He is going to teach me how to play better since I haven't really played for years and I stink.
Also, as for letters and e-mails; if you could send a letter during the week, that would make it, so I have more time to respond more in depth replies if you want. I always e-mail you guys first and then try to respond to everyone else, but it usually ends up being like a two sentence reply. So tell everyone who wants to contact me to write me a letter if they want more than a "I'm doing fine" letter. I can write people back and let them know what's going on. My mailing address is :
3310 Bermuda Isles Circle 238
Naples, FL 34109
So far, Bro. Stewart, Corbin, Jade, Rebecca, Morgan, Allyson, Rhett, Kaleb, Kolten, Taylor, and Keeghan, have emailed me. So just let whoever you can, know about the letters, that would be great. Thanks. I love you guys and I miss you. Let me know how you are all doing and what's going on. I keep all of you in my prayers every day. Also, let me know what Shad's doing because he doesn't give me hardly anything.
P.S. I almost forgot to mention that I met Mr. Tolman's daughter. She is in my ward and her last name is Dalling. Also, like I said everyone down here is from Idaho. I'll try to get a list of those who are, so you can contact them when they move back up there once they are done with school.
8-3-13
So we went to the Ray's game today. They were playing the Giants. The whole thing was say fun. We all got a free bobble head and some drunk guy stole Elder Lott's right out of his hand. It was kind of weird. We got to go down by the dug out and take some pictures before the game. We also went over the "Skyway Bridge" and that was pretty big. I saw a bunch of missionaries from my MTC district there, so that was nice. Anyway, I really liked it and I think I'll go again next year.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
(I guess they have a "Mormon Night" every year where the missionaries get to go to a MLB game).
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Letter from Mission President
7-12-13
We received a letter from Austin's mission president with a picture. Here it is.
Dear Brother and Sister Whaley,
Just a short note to inform you your missionary arrived in Tampa safe and in good spirits. He spent the night with us at the mission home. We enjoyed a good meal together and a personal interview. The following morning an orientation meeting was held at the Carrollwood chapel where the arriving missionaries met their new companions and were given further training.
Elder Whaley's companion is Elder Lott. They will be serving in the Vanderbilt Beach A Area 12-Fort Myers South Zone.
Sister Cusick and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve alongside your missionary. May the Lord bless you and your family as your son serves in this portion of the lord's vineyard.
Best Wishes,
Mark D. Cusick
President Florida Tampa Mission
We received a letter from Austin's mission president with a picture. Here it is.
Dear Brother and Sister Whaley,
Just a short note to inform you your missionary arrived in Tampa safe and in good spirits. He spent the night with us at the mission home. We enjoyed a good meal together and a personal interview. The following morning an orientation meeting was held at the Carrollwood chapel where the arriving missionaries met their new companions and were given further training.
Elder Whaley's companion is Elder Lott. They will be serving in the Vanderbilt Beach A Area 12-Fort Myers South Zone.
Sister Cusick and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve alongside your missionary. May the Lord bless you and your family as your son serves in this portion of the lord's vineyard.
Best Wishes,
Mark D. Cusick
President Florida Tampa Mission
Tampa Ray's game
8-5-13
Hey,
It sounds like everything is going great up there. I am almost out of time, but I am sending a letter out today that talks about what has been going on and about the Ray's game. It was so much fun, and I'll put on some pictures next week of the game and of some of the missionaries singing the anthem. I was not in it though-I am a horrible singer. (I wouldn't know because he would never sing around me-at least not serious singing). Don't get mad if I don't send an email next Monday, You'll get a better letter in a few days.
This week, we have still just been teaching that family we are going to baptize, and they have a daughter who is 14 and she has not really been interested, but she is starting to open up and wanting to learn. So, she might also get baptized sometime. Other than that, we have just been tracting this whole week, and haven't had much luck. We knocked on one door though, and some girl answered the door, and she was actually pretty interested. We gave her a Book of Mormon and we're probably going to follow up with her in a few days. The rest of the week has just been hot and a lot of bike riding. I got a little bike odometer, and I found out that we ride an average of anywhere between 15 to 25 miles a day on bikes. Elder Taylor emailed me and he said that he is serving in the ghetto, (he is serving in the Jacksonville, Florida mission)and I don't know if he was joking, but he said that they've almost been shot at and had a knife pulled on them. You'll have to ask his parents or something. He sent me a picture of a window that was shot at. I don't know if it was their apartment or what.
I haven't hard that talk on Lessons from Liberty Jail by Elder Holland. You'll have to send it to me. Oh, and I also met Mr. Tolman's daughter this week. They live in our ward. So, if you ever see Mr. Tolman, let him know because he was telling me about them.
I love you guys, and I pray for you every day.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
P.S. I'll post pictures next week!
Hey,
It sounds like everything is going great up there. I am almost out of time, but I am sending a letter out today that talks about what has been going on and about the Ray's game. It was so much fun, and I'll put on some pictures next week of the game and of some of the missionaries singing the anthem. I was not in it though-I am a horrible singer. (I wouldn't know because he would never sing around me-at least not serious singing). Don't get mad if I don't send an email next Monday, You'll get a better letter in a few days.
This week, we have still just been teaching that family we are going to baptize, and they have a daughter who is 14 and she has not really been interested, but she is starting to open up and wanting to learn. So, she might also get baptized sometime. Other than that, we have just been tracting this whole week, and haven't had much luck. We knocked on one door though, and some girl answered the door, and she was actually pretty interested. We gave her a Book of Mormon and we're probably going to follow up with her in a few days. The rest of the week has just been hot and a lot of bike riding. I got a little bike odometer, and I found out that we ride an average of anywhere between 15 to 25 miles a day on bikes. Elder Taylor emailed me and he said that he is serving in the ghetto, (he is serving in the Jacksonville, Florida mission)and I don't know if he was joking, but he said that they've almost been shot at and had a knife pulled on them. You'll have to ask his parents or something. He sent me a picture of a window that was shot at. I don't know if it was their apartment or what.
I haven't hard that talk on Lessons from Liberty Jail by Elder Holland. You'll have to send it to me. Oh, and I also met Mr. Tolman's daughter this week. They live in our ward. So, if you ever see Mr. Tolman, let him know because he was telling me about them.
I love you guys, and I pray for you every day.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
P.S. I'll post pictures next week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)