6-1-15
Hello, I only have about 10 minutes of emailing time this week because we are having a "Summer" Christmas party for the mission in just a little bit. I'm not sure how to arrange the bike thing so that you can pay for it online. I will probably pack the bike this weekend in a box that I got and then take it in Monday morning. Sorry, I can't really tell you much about my week right now. I will when I get back. I will have a really short emailing block next Monday as well so include any last things that you need to let me know. Thanks! Love you all!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Monday, June 1, 2015
Pushing Hard to the End!
5-28-15
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Sorry, I forgot to tell you all this last week, but I wasn't able to email on Monday because we had a temple trip today! So, they just moved our P-day to Thursday as part of the trip. It was so amazing to be able to go to the temple again after so long. Elder Pond and I got to go with a group of other missionaries that are going to be headed home with us soon. We woke up at 3:30 AM in order to be at the temple to do a session at 8 a.m. I can't believe how much has slipped my mind since the last time I have been. I'm excited to go a lot when I get back.
I got a bike box today and will probably end up shipping the bike Monday morning before we leave to the mission home. I heard that there is a website called shipbikes.com and it makes shipping bikes through FedEx cheaper. Maybe you could check into that and see if that is real or not an dif it would be cheaper that way or just sticking with Premier. Please let me know by this upcoming Monday.
We didn't get in a whole lot of trouble for the apartment, but Elder Reynolds ended up getting moved to another area with the Zone Leaders because I think that President Cusick is going to have him be a Zone Leader this upcoming transfer. So now it is just Elder Pond and I working in Riverview. It has been so hard to stay focused, but we are doing our best to keep pushing ourselves hard to the end. I have so many mixed feelings between the excitement of being home and the sadness that I am going to be leaving the mission soon. I'm doing my best to make the most of it. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Happy Birthday Mom!!
Sorry, I forgot to tell you all this last week, but I wasn't able to email on Monday because we had a temple trip today! So, they just moved our P-day to Thursday as part of the trip. It was so amazing to be able to go to the temple again after so long. Elder Pond and I got to go with a group of other missionaries that are going to be headed home with us soon. We woke up at 3:30 AM in order to be at the temple to do a session at 8 a.m. I can't believe how much has slipped my mind since the last time I have been. I'm excited to go a lot when I get back.
I got a bike box today and will probably end up shipping the bike Monday morning before we leave to the mission home. I heard that there is a website called shipbikes.com and it makes shipping bikes through FedEx cheaper. Maybe you could check into that and see if that is real or not an dif it would be cheaper that way or just sticking with Premier. Please let me know by this upcoming Monday.
We didn't get in a whole lot of trouble for the apartment, but Elder Reynolds ended up getting moved to another area with the Zone Leaders because I think that President Cusick is going to have him be a Zone Leader this upcoming transfer. So now it is just Elder Pond and I working in Riverview. It has been so hard to stay focused, but we are doing our best to keep pushing ourselves hard to the end. I have so many mixed feelings between the excitement of being home and the sadness that I am going to be leaving the mission soon. I'm doing my best to make the most of it. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Temple Visit |
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| Orlando Temple |
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| Orlando Temple |
Getting ready to Come Home!
5-18-15
I'm sorry that I forgot to send you the lesson. I have it all in my notebook, but I forgot it this week. I will do my best to remember next week and get that to you. I have just felt so busy with working in the area and having to work on some things to prepare to go home. Our mission President is having us do a Post MTC training where we have to outline our goals in life and do some other things, so I have been focusing on that a lot lately. We actually just did a little devotional on the Book of Mormon last night. The comment that I made was that the Book of Mormon is physical evidence of god's love for us, his children. I think that that is a very central point and all other blessings simply tie back to it.
Sorry, but I only have a few minutes left. We have been cleaning our apartment for the last little while and we are going to go fishing with an investigator in a bit, so I will sum everything up really quick.
We set a baptismal date for June 7th with Alan's friend this last week. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he has already read to 2 Nephi 11 in just one day. Yesterday we got in trouble because our apartment was kind of a big mess and we had an inspection from someone in the mission presidency. We usually clean everything up Mondays on P-day, but they decided to do the inspection on Sunday. We will have a Zone Conference tomorrow, so we will see if President Cusick says anything to us about it. But as of right now, everything is spic and span.
I hope that you all have a good week and that you all are safe.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I'm sorry that I forgot to send you the lesson. I have it all in my notebook, but I forgot it this week. I will do my best to remember next week and get that to you. I have just felt so busy with working in the area and having to work on some things to prepare to go home. Our mission President is having us do a Post MTC training where we have to outline our goals in life and do some other things, so I have been focusing on that a lot lately. We actually just did a little devotional on the Book of Mormon last night. The comment that I made was that the Book of Mormon is physical evidence of god's love for us, his children. I think that that is a very central point and all other blessings simply tie back to it.
Sorry, but I only have a few minutes left. We have been cleaning our apartment for the last little while and we are going to go fishing with an investigator in a bit, so I will sum everything up really quick.
We set a baptismal date for June 7th with Alan's friend this last week. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he has already read to 2 Nephi 11 in just one day. Yesterday we got in trouble because our apartment was kind of a big mess and we had an inspection from someone in the mission presidency. We usually clean everything up Mondays on P-day, but they decided to do the inspection on Sunday. We will have a Zone Conference tomorrow, so we will see if President Cusick says anything to us about it. But as of right now, everything is spic and span.
I hope that you all have a good week and that you all are safe.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Zone Conference inspections! Elder Reynolds, Whaley, and Pond |
Fantastic Week! A lot of Blessings!
5-4-15
Well, this last week was fantastic! We had some great weather throughout the week and we saw a lot of blessings and miracles in the work. For some reason, there has been almost no humidity in the last 4 or so days and it has made biking and traveling around so much nicer and bearable. We did not run into a lot of people on the streets to talk to, but we were still able to get a lot of work done. We didn't have any issues with our bikes this week and that helped out a lot.
This last Saturday we were invited to go with a member family to their son's baseball game to support him and meet some of their friends who are not members of the church. It was the first game that I have been to in over a year on my mission and it was a lot of fun. After the game we went over to the member's home for brunch and had crepes. They were so good! We got to know the family better while we were there and I found out that one of their children is going to be going to BYUI this coming Fall for school. After brunch, we sat down and watched "Joseph Smith, The Prophet of the Restoration" with their nonmember friends. You could definitely feel the Spirit during the movie and we had a great discussion following it.
On Saturday evening, we ran into a dog that was like the dog on the movie "The Sandlot". It was absolutely huge and had a deep bark! We were trying to contact a less-active member of the church, but we didn't really get much further than the gate. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it.
Sunday was the baptism for Alan, and everything worked out great. We almost made it to the service late because we were stranded at a birthday party at a park for one of the members and we were waiting for our ride to the baptism. We managed to make it there about 5 minutes before, though, and everything went very smoothly. One of Alan's friends did the talk on baptism and I gave the talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Pond was the one who baptized Alan and he almost did it backwards with his left hand raised to the square. I think he was a little tired that day, so he wasn't thinking completely clear. Haha. We corrected him, though, and it was a great experience for Alan. Right after the baptism was performed, we talked to Alan's nonmember friend that he invited to the service, Cory, and asked him what he thought about it and he said that he wanted to get baptized, as well. He said that he loved the way he felt as he watched Alan being baptized. So, hopefully, we can start to teach him, as well, and possibly the whole family!
This last week has been really great and I am looking forward for this next week. I hope that all goes well for you this next week and that you make the most of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Well, this last week was fantastic! We had some great weather throughout the week and we saw a lot of blessings and miracles in the work. For some reason, there has been almost no humidity in the last 4 or so days and it has made biking and traveling around so much nicer and bearable. We did not run into a lot of people on the streets to talk to, but we were still able to get a lot of work done. We didn't have any issues with our bikes this week and that helped out a lot.
This last Saturday we were invited to go with a member family to their son's baseball game to support him and meet some of their friends who are not members of the church. It was the first game that I have been to in over a year on my mission and it was a lot of fun. After the game we went over to the member's home for brunch and had crepes. They were so good! We got to know the family better while we were there and I found out that one of their children is going to be going to BYUI this coming Fall for school. After brunch, we sat down and watched "Joseph Smith, The Prophet of the Restoration" with their nonmember friends. You could definitely feel the Spirit during the movie and we had a great discussion following it.
On Saturday evening, we ran into a dog that was like the dog on the movie "The Sandlot". It was absolutely huge and had a deep bark! We were trying to contact a less-active member of the church, but we didn't really get much further than the gate. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it.
Sunday was the baptism for Alan, and everything worked out great. We almost made it to the service late because we were stranded at a birthday party at a park for one of the members and we were waiting for our ride to the baptism. We managed to make it there about 5 minutes before, though, and everything went very smoothly. One of Alan's friends did the talk on baptism and I gave the talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Elder Pond was the one who baptized Alan and he almost did it backwards with his left hand raised to the square. I think he was a little tired that day, so he wasn't thinking completely clear. Haha. We corrected him, though, and it was a great experience for Alan. Right after the baptism was performed, we talked to Alan's nonmember friend that he invited to the service, Cory, and asked him what he thought about it and he said that he wanted to get baptized, as well. He said that he loved the way he felt as he watched Alan being baptized. So, hopefully, we can start to teach him, as well, and possibly the whole family!
This last week has been really great and I am looking forward for this next week. I hope that all goes well for you this next week and that you make the most of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Alan's baptism |
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| Elder Whaley (on the left) and Reynolds raking the mounds/bases to help out! |
Sunday, May 3, 2015
First Flat Tire!
4-27-15
This week was very hot! We are getting closer and closer to summer and it just keeps getting a little bit hotter every day. We biked about 140 miles this week and we had quite a few bike repairs take place because we have worn our bikes into the ground. I got my first flat tire on my mission last week. Luckily, it was right in front of a bike shop, so I just bought a new tube and then we walked home and got it fixed. The next day Elder Reynolds got a flat tire on his new road bike tires that he bought. We were about 4 miles from a shop when this happened. We ended up walking to our teaching appointment and then walking to a bike shop afterwards to get it fixed. Somehow, we were able to make it to all of our teaching appointments, regardless of the fact that we had to walk to all of them. Towards the end of the week, we replaced our rear cassettes and chains because those were worn to nothing. We had a member replace it for us and now our bikes are working great again. I think that is the first time that I have had to replace anything on my bike being out here.
We got to go to another ward's baptismal service this last Saturday and bring one of our investigators who is getting baptized this coming Sunday. His name is Alan. He has had no problems in his progress so far and his parents are supportive of his decision. Elder Pond is going to be baptizing him and Elder Reynolds will be confirming him the following Sunday. I'm pretty excited for it.
This last transfer just ended and we got transfer emails. All three of us are staying together, which I am very happy about. So, Elder Reynolds will kill us off and possibly stay for another transfer to show a new Elder around the area. I'm very excited to see what will happen this transfer as we continue to work.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
This week was very hot! We are getting closer and closer to summer and it just keeps getting a little bit hotter every day. We biked about 140 miles this week and we had quite a few bike repairs take place because we have worn our bikes into the ground. I got my first flat tire on my mission last week. Luckily, it was right in front of a bike shop, so I just bought a new tube and then we walked home and got it fixed. The next day Elder Reynolds got a flat tire on his new road bike tires that he bought. We were about 4 miles from a shop when this happened. We ended up walking to our teaching appointment and then walking to a bike shop afterwards to get it fixed. Somehow, we were able to make it to all of our teaching appointments, regardless of the fact that we had to walk to all of them. Towards the end of the week, we replaced our rear cassettes and chains because those were worn to nothing. We had a member replace it for us and now our bikes are working great again. I think that is the first time that I have had to replace anything on my bike being out here.
We got to go to another ward's baptismal service this last Saturday and bring one of our investigators who is getting baptized this coming Sunday. His name is Alan. He has had no problems in his progress so far and his parents are supportive of his decision. Elder Pond is going to be baptizing him and Elder Reynolds will be confirming him the following Sunday. I'm pretty excited for it.
This last transfer just ended and we got transfer emails. All three of us are staying together, which I am very happy about. So, Elder Reynolds will kill us off and possibly stay for another transfer to show a new Elder around the area. I'm very excited to see what will happen this transfer as we continue to work.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Mini-MTC Experience
4-20-15
This last week was great! It was cloudy most of the week, so it wasn't extremely hot, but the humidity definitely was kicked up a notch to make up the difference. We did a whole lot of biking, I think around 180 miles this week. I think all it does is make me eat more because I get super hungry from it.
This last week we were able to set a baptismal date with one of our investigators who is super solid. He is 17 years old and he is extremely smart. He actually understands what he reads in the Book of Mormon and he has kept every single commitment that we have left with him to keep. The first week he came to church he showed up in a button shirt and jeans, and this last week he bought 3 pairs of shirts, a tie, and some shoes and slacks to use. He loves all of the young men and he is just a great kid. His baptism will be at the beginning of May.
This last Saturday our Stake held its annual Mini-MTC for all of the youth in the Stake, ages 14 and up. It was such an amazing experience. It started at 8 a.m. and went to 7 p.m. In the morning we received our group of 7 missionaries and assigned their companions. Throughout the day we went over chapters of Preach My Gospel and talked about a number of different things that would help prepare them for their missions. At the end of the night they had to teach a member family the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" from P.M.G., so all of their studies were centered around that. Many of them were pretty nervous, but they all really enjoyed it. They all did their lessons in the cultural hall with their families. They had an hour and a half long visit with them where the family member that served in the mission that they were called to talked about their mission and the culture and other things, and the last 30 minutes was given to the youth to teach their lesson. We didn't get to sit in on the lesson, but they said it went great. Everyone in our District had a call to the Philippines. These are pictures of our district. They are all studs!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
This last week was great! It was cloudy most of the week, so it wasn't extremely hot, but the humidity definitely was kicked up a notch to make up the difference. We did a whole lot of biking, I think around 180 miles this week. I think all it does is make me eat more because I get super hungry from it.
This last week we were able to set a baptismal date with one of our investigators who is super solid. He is 17 years old and he is extremely smart. He actually understands what he reads in the Book of Mormon and he has kept every single commitment that we have left with him to keep. The first week he came to church he showed up in a button shirt and jeans, and this last week he bought 3 pairs of shirts, a tie, and some shoes and slacks to use. He loves all of the young men and he is just a great kid. His baptism will be at the beginning of May.
This last Saturday our Stake held its annual Mini-MTC for all of the youth in the Stake, ages 14 and up. It was such an amazing experience. It started at 8 a.m. and went to 7 p.m. In the morning we received our group of 7 missionaries and assigned their companions. Throughout the day we went over chapters of Preach My Gospel and talked about a number of different things that would help prepare them for their missions. At the end of the night they had to teach a member family the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" from P.M.G., so all of their studies were centered around that. Many of them were pretty nervous, but they all really enjoyed it. They all did their lessons in the cultural hall with their families. They had an hour and a half long visit with them where the family member that served in the mission that they were called to talked about their mission and the culture and other things, and the last 30 minutes was given to the youth to teach their lesson. We didn't get to sit in on the lesson, but they said it went great. Everyone in our District had a call to the Philippines. These are pictures of our district. They are all studs!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Mini-MTC Elders |
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| Mini-MTC Elders |
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Loving his new are/Companions!
4-13-15
Thank you for writing me and letting me know about what is going on at home with Grandma and you guys. Things are going great for me here.
This last week has been a lot of work and a lot of fun! Throughout this last week we biked about 150 miles to get around our area. The entire mission is on full bike right now because President Cusick feels that we are missing too many opportunities to talk to people and teach them on the street, so no one is allowed to use their car for the next 3 weeks, except for shopping on P-days and going to meetings.
We have found a few new investigators this last week that we have been teaching and two of them are working towards baptism. They are both youth and they are completely solid in the Gospel and keeping commitments. The only obstacle would be to make sure that their parents are supportive of their decision.
Elder Reynolds and Pond are great! I talk a lot about hunting and doing outdoor stuff with Elder Reynolds and I talk about a bunch of random other stuff with Elder Pond. Elder Pond's main source of food is rice and he eats a ton of it. He got really use to it in Africa, so that is all he eats here. He has a giant 20 lb. bag of it and he always eats some for lunch and dinner.
Yesterday, Elder Pond and I were asked to give talks in sacrament about the temple and about why they are important and how we can work towards the Temple. I'm glad that I was given this topic because I honestly haven't thought about the Temple that much since I haven't been able to go to one for such a long time. I learned so much and both of our talks ended up very well. It's pretty much a tradition for me now that whenever I go to a new ward, they always have me speak within the first couple of weeks that I'm there.
Tomorrow we have a Zone Conference in Tampa and I will get to see Elder Baumgartner and my other trainee, Elder Swallow to see how they are both doing. I'm excited for that. I hope that you all have a great week. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Thank you for writing me and letting me know about what is going on at home with Grandma and you guys. Things are going great for me here.
This last week has been a lot of work and a lot of fun! Throughout this last week we biked about 150 miles to get around our area. The entire mission is on full bike right now because President Cusick feels that we are missing too many opportunities to talk to people and teach them on the street, so no one is allowed to use their car for the next 3 weeks, except for shopping on P-days and going to meetings.
We have found a few new investigators this last week that we have been teaching and two of them are working towards baptism. They are both youth and they are completely solid in the Gospel and keeping commitments. The only obstacle would be to make sure that their parents are supportive of their decision.
Elder Reynolds and Pond are great! I talk a lot about hunting and doing outdoor stuff with Elder Reynolds and I talk about a bunch of random other stuff with Elder Pond. Elder Pond's main source of food is rice and he eats a ton of it. He got really use to it in Africa, so that is all he eats here. He has a giant 20 lb. bag of it and he always eats some for lunch and dinner.
Yesterday, Elder Pond and I were asked to give talks in sacrament about the temple and about why they are important and how we can work towards the Temple. I'm glad that I was given this topic because I honestly haven't thought about the Temple that much since I haven't been able to go to one for such a long time. I learned so much and both of our talks ended up very well. It's pretty much a tradition for me now that whenever I go to a new ward, they always have me speak within the first couple of weeks that I'm there.
Tomorrow we have a Zone Conference in Tampa and I will get to see Elder Baumgartner and my other trainee, Elder Swallow to see how they are both doing. I'm excited for that. I hope that you all have a great week. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
New Area and Companionships!
4-6-15
Hello,
I'm sorry that it has taken so long to update you all on everything that has been happening the past few weeks, but most of it is irrelevant compared to what happened this past week, so I will just talk about that.
On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Cusick in Sarasota and that was kind of interesting and on Wednesday we received a call from him telling us that both Elder Baumgartner and I were getting transferred to new areas with different companions. There wasn't necessarily enough work going on in the ward to keep two companionships in the mission. Elder Baumgartner got reassigned to serve in Sarasota, and I got reassigned to serve in the Riverview ward up in Brandon. The zone leaders took us to our new areas on Friday morning and I got to ride with Elder Nelson, my MTC companion and talk with him for a while. It was fun. I met my new companions, Elder Reynolds and Elder Pond around 2p.m. that afternoon. Elder Reynolds is from Vernal, UT and Elder Pond is from Pennsylvania. Elder Pond goes home with me, but he did not come out with me. He started his mission in Africa, but was transferred here because of the whole Ebola outbreak over there. Elder Reynolds has been out 8 months and he is a really outdoors kind of guy. I talk about hunting and camping and all of that stuff with him. Both of them are really fun companions.
My first night here we had an awesome ward Easter party where I got to meet a lot of the members. The following day we went to a member's home for the morning session of General Conference, and before the session started we got to try their "salmon ladder" that they had made in their backyard. That's what the video is of. We didn't film my first attempt, but I managed to make it up two rungs successfully, but in the video with this second attempt, I fell pretty hard. The cards in my pocket went flying everywhere. I think I might try out for the American Ninja Warrior show when I get home-haha.
This whole weekend was great with the talks that were given and the people that we got to spend it with. I think that I am really going to love this new area, and I am going to do all I can to strengthen it and to work diligently through the remainder of my mission.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Elder Whaley trying the Salmon Ladder
Hello,
I'm sorry that it has taken so long to update you all on everything that has been happening the past few weeks, but most of it is irrelevant compared to what happened this past week, so I will just talk about that.
On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Cusick in Sarasota and that was kind of interesting and on Wednesday we received a call from him telling us that both Elder Baumgartner and I were getting transferred to new areas with different companions. There wasn't necessarily enough work going on in the ward to keep two companionships in the mission. Elder Baumgartner got reassigned to serve in Sarasota, and I got reassigned to serve in the Riverview ward up in Brandon. The zone leaders took us to our new areas on Friday morning and I got to ride with Elder Nelson, my MTC companion and talk with him for a while. It was fun. I met my new companions, Elder Reynolds and Elder Pond around 2p.m. that afternoon. Elder Reynolds is from Vernal, UT and Elder Pond is from Pennsylvania. Elder Pond goes home with me, but he did not come out with me. He started his mission in Africa, but was transferred here because of the whole Ebola outbreak over there. Elder Reynolds has been out 8 months and he is a really outdoors kind of guy. I talk about hunting and camping and all of that stuff with him. Both of them are really fun companions.
My first night here we had an awesome ward Easter party where I got to meet a lot of the members. The following day we went to a member's home for the morning session of General Conference, and before the session started we got to try their "salmon ladder" that they had made in their backyard. That's what the video is of. We didn't film my first attempt, but I managed to make it up two rungs successfully, but in the video with this second attempt, I fell pretty hard. The cards in my pocket went flying everywhere. I think I might try out for the American Ninja Warrior show when I get home-haha.
This whole weekend was great with the talks that were given and the people that we got to spend it with. I think that I am really going to love this new area, and I am going to do all I can to strengthen it and to work diligently through the remainder of my mission.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Elder Whaley trying the Salmon Ladder
Friday, April 3, 2015
Favorite/Hardest part of Missionary Work!
3-30-15
I would say that my favorite part of missionary work would have to be the opportunity to study the Gospel every morning, when we have big Zone or Mission Conferences, and especially when I get to see others gain a testimony of the Gospel message and act upon that and see it change their lives. The hardest part of missionary work is when my faith and patience is being tested in a number of ways. It's difficult when I feel that I'm trying hard and nothing is happening, but something always eventually does and I understand that I am not going to witness the results of most of the work that I am a part of out here. That will come down the road at some point.
Luckily, I feel the Spirit most of the time, but the last time I felt it very clearly and strong was Saturday when I actually received a package from the ward with the Easter eggs. I read the scriptures in the New Testament that lead up to the Atonement of Christ and opened the eggs that held the little memorabilia symbolizing it all. When I got to the last scripture that said, "He is not here, for He is risen" and opened the egg and found nothing in it, I don't know why, but it really sunk into my heart that He lives and that he is literally somewhere. It's not just a message of hope, but it is the truth!!!!!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I would say that my favorite part of missionary work would have to be the opportunity to study the Gospel every morning, when we have big Zone or Mission Conferences, and especially when I get to see others gain a testimony of the Gospel message and act upon that and see it change their lives. The hardest part of missionary work is when my faith and patience is being tested in a number of ways. It's difficult when I feel that I'm trying hard and nothing is happening, but something always eventually does and I understand that I am not going to witness the results of most of the work that I am a part of out here. That will come down the road at some point.
Luckily, I feel the Spirit most of the time, but the last time I felt it very clearly and strong was Saturday when I actually received a package from the ward with the Easter eggs. I read the scriptures in the New Testament that lead up to the Atonement of Christ and opened the eggs that held the little memorabilia symbolizing it all. When I got to the last scripture that said, "He is not here, for He is risen" and opened the egg and found nothing in it, I don't know why, but it really sunk into my heart that He lives and that he is literally somewhere. It's not just a message of hope, but it is the truth!!!!!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
:(
3-30-15
Sorry, I know that I have not really said too much in my emails lately and I will do better next week, but I ran out of time. Some cool things happened this week, but I will have to let you know next week. Love you!
Love, Elder A. Whaley
Sorry, I know that I have not really said too much in my emails lately and I will do better next week, but I ran out of time. Some cool things happened this week, but I will have to let you know next week. Love you!
Love, Elder A. Whaley
Short Update!
3-23-15
I haven't heard anything as far as a release date yet. Yes, I got brown shoes just to be stylin' and I use the black ones when we bike because they are pretty scuffed up. Things are going alright for us here. We have started doing the Insanity workouts again, and it has been helping, especially since Elder Baumgartner hates working out in the morning. I don't think I need anything.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I haven't heard anything as far as a release date yet. Yes, I got brown shoes just to be stylin' and I use the black ones when we bike because they are pretty scuffed up. Things are going alright for us here. We have started doing the Insanity workouts again, and it has been helping, especially since Elder Baumgartner hates working out in the morning. I don't think I need anything.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Elder Austin Whaley's ties! |
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| Elder Austin Whaley with his ties! |
Experience With Fasting
3-16-15
Topic: Fasting
Why: Because
A few weeks ago during fast Sunday, we were working and walking around after church in the downtown area. We ran into a young man that we have seen pretty often wandering around town looking for help from time to time. We had helped him out before by giving him a few dollars. He asked us if we had a few more dollars that we could give him for some food, and I told him that we didn't, even though I knew that I had at least something. I felt that since we had helped him before that we can't really keep helping him every time that we see him since we are told not to give others money. So, he went on his way, and we went on ours. Right after we finished talking to him though, I immediately felt very guilty, and there were a lot of things that were brought to my mind's attention. First off, it was fast Sunday and I just remembered that I had forgotten to give my offering to the Bishop at church that day, and helping that man was probably Heavenly Father's way of saying that I could give my offering through this means. Second, King Benjamin's council (Mosiah 4: 16-22) was running through my mind and I felt that it was directed specifically at me at that point because I was saying all of those things in my mind while talking to this guy. I told my companion that we needed to find him and help him before we did anything else. So, we spent about 10 minutes looking for him and we finally ran into him again, and we simply gave him a few dollars and he was pretty surprised and grateful. I wish I could say that this lead him to want to hear our message and come to church and what not, but it didn't. I was just very grateful that we were able to find him before that opportunity slipped away. This experience was something that I really needed to help strengthen my testimony of fasting because I have never really had any profound or big experiences with it before.
I hope that this experience is useful and the what you need at this time. It is something that just popped up in my mind.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Topic: Fasting
Why: Because
A few weeks ago during fast Sunday, we were working and walking around after church in the downtown area. We ran into a young man that we have seen pretty often wandering around town looking for help from time to time. We had helped him out before by giving him a few dollars. He asked us if we had a few more dollars that we could give him for some food, and I told him that we didn't, even though I knew that I had at least something. I felt that since we had helped him before that we can't really keep helping him every time that we see him since we are told not to give others money. So, he went on his way, and we went on ours. Right after we finished talking to him though, I immediately felt very guilty, and there were a lot of things that were brought to my mind's attention. First off, it was fast Sunday and I just remembered that I had forgotten to give my offering to the Bishop at church that day, and helping that man was probably Heavenly Father's way of saying that I could give my offering through this means. Second, King Benjamin's council (Mosiah 4: 16-22) was running through my mind and I felt that it was directed specifically at me at that point because I was saying all of those things in my mind while talking to this guy. I told my companion that we needed to find him and help him before we did anything else. So, we spent about 10 minutes looking for him and we finally ran into him again, and we simply gave him a few dollars and he was pretty surprised and grateful. I wish I could say that this lead him to want to hear our message and come to church and what not, but it didn't. I was just very grateful that we were able to find him before that opportunity slipped away. This experience was something that I really needed to help strengthen my testimony of fasting because I have never really had any profound or big experiences with it before.
I hope that this experience is useful and the what you need at this time. It is something that just popped up in my mind.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Future Bee Keeper?
3-9-15
This last week's highlights were being able to do some service and the church's hog roast!
Saturday morning, we went up to the top of our area to go and help one of the members with a service project for a non-member relative. We were digging out lines in their backyard for the septic tank. (Don't worry, it didn't stink). We were there for about 3 hours and we got acquainted with two of the member's nephews. The older one catches his own snakes, lizards, and tortoises and breeds and sells them. He showed us his little zoo and I asked if he knew the member out in Port Charlotte that did the same thing as him. He did. It told him that I saw him all the time when I was in Port Charlotte. After we were done with the project, we invited them to come out to the hog roast and they did.
We had about 5 investigators show up to the event, but many of them came as we were finishing up and cleaning everything. While we were there, I was talking with one of the members who is a beekeeper. He was telling me all about how he got into bee keeping and how he was the President of two bee keeping associations in Utah before moving to Florida. He told me that I should get into it when I get back to Idaho and that he would set me up with Jay Miller, who owns Miller Honey in Idaho. From what he told me about it, it sounds like a really fun thing to do, so who knows. I might look into it when I get back. Haha.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
This last week's highlights were being able to do some service and the church's hog roast!
Saturday morning, we went up to the top of our area to go and help one of the members with a service project for a non-member relative. We were digging out lines in their backyard for the septic tank. (Don't worry, it didn't stink). We were there for about 3 hours and we got acquainted with two of the member's nephews. The older one catches his own snakes, lizards, and tortoises and breeds and sells them. He showed us his little zoo and I asked if he knew the member out in Port Charlotte that did the same thing as him. He did. It told him that I saw him all the time when I was in Port Charlotte. After we were done with the project, we invited them to come out to the hog roast and they did.
We had about 5 investigators show up to the event, but many of them came as we were finishing up and cleaning everything. While we were there, I was talking with one of the members who is a beekeeper. He was telling me all about how he got into bee keeping and how he was the President of two bee keeping associations in Utah before moving to Florida. He told me that I should get into it when I get back to Idaho and that he would set me up with Jay Miller, who owns Miller Honey in Idaho. From what he told me about it, it sounds like a really fun thing to do, so who knows. I might look into it when I get back. Haha.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Hoping to slaughter a Hog!
3-2-15
We had some ups and downs this past week. This last Thursday was pretty event-packed with another mission meeting and later the church open-house. We had our Zone Conference from 10 a.m.-4p.m. with Elder Zwick from the Seventy again. All of the training was great and I pulled a lot away from it. However, we did not expect it to go as long as it did. As soon as it was over, we drove back to the church as quickly as we could for the open house that started at 6p.m. We were suppose to be tour guides for the groups. We arrived at 6:30p.m and we saw that only about 6 people had showed up. Our Ward Mission Leader's wife and the Bishop had taken them on a tour and all that was left to do was basically stand in the gym to talk to them and answer any questions. A few of the people who took the tour seemed to show some interest in learning more, so we will see what happens with them.
The rest of the week following Thursday was extremely slow for us. From Thursday to Saturday, we managed to teach one lesson. For some reason all of our appointments kept falling through and we had to drop just about every one of our investigators because they were not progressing.
Today we have an appointment scheduled with someone that we met at Dairy Queen a few weeks ago. We are going to be showing her around the church building and having a lesson with her. We are going to try and set a date for baptism with her, so I hope that it goes well.
This weekend we have the ward's annual "hog roast", and I am going to see if we can help with the butchering of the hog. I did it last year when I was in Port Charlotte, but we had to leave early because the sisters crashed the car and we had to go help. I don't think that Elder Baumgartner is too thrilled to do it, but we will see.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
We had some ups and downs this past week. This last Thursday was pretty event-packed with another mission meeting and later the church open-house. We had our Zone Conference from 10 a.m.-4p.m. with Elder Zwick from the Seventy again. All of the training was great and I pulled a lot away from it. However, we did not expect it to go as long as it did. As soon as it was over, we drove back to the church as quickly as we could for the open house that started at 6p.m. We were suppose to be tour guides for the groups. We arrived at 6:30p.m and we saw that only about 6 people had showed up. Our Ward Mission Leader's wife and the Bishop had taken them on a tour and all that was left to do was basically stand in the gym to talk to them and answer any questions. A few of the people who took the tour seemed to show some interest in learning more, so we will see what happens with them.
The rest of the week following Thursday was extremely slow for us. From Thursday to Saturday, we managed to teach one lesson. For some reason all of our appointments kept falling through and we had to drop just about every one of our investigators because they were not progressing.
Today we have an appointment scheduled with someone that we met at Dairy Queen a few weeks ago. We are going to be showing her around the church building and having a lesson with her. We are going to try and set a date for baptism with her, so I hope that it goes well.
This weekend we have the ward's annual "hog roast", and I am going to see if we can help with the butchering of the hog. I did it last year when I was in Port Charlotte, but we had to leave early because the sisters crashed the car and we had to go help. I don't think that Elder Baumgartner is too thrilled to do it, but we will see.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Loving Missionary Training
2-23-15
This last week was really great! We got to play volleyball with some of the other missionaries in the District for P-day. One of the Elder's is from Mexico and he use to play a lot back home, so it was a pretty good match-up between he and I. We were able to stay fairly busy throughout the week working, but the best part was this last Friday.
We woke up at 4:30 AM in order to make it up to Tampa by 8:30 AM for a mission-wide conference that we were having. It was 32 degrees when we woke up. I think that is the coldest it has ever been since I've been here in Florida. The meeting started at 9 AM and we had Elder Zwick from the Quorum of the Seventy and Brother Hemingway from the church missionary department. We received about 2 1/2 hours of training from each and it was all amazing!!! Everything that I came with a question about was answered, and the spirit was so strong. Even when the meeting had closed and everyone was filing out of the building, no one spoke or broke the silence. It was really neat. When the meeting was over, we only had enough time to drive home, have a quick dinner and then go to the church for the movie night. We did this in the gym and had a bunch of chairs and couches set up. We had about 18 people show up and I absolutely loved it. The movie was really great and inspiring and at the conclusion of the movie, we did a question and answer segment where anyone could ask a question to the missionaries about their missions or missionary work.
On Saturday morning, all of the missionaries met at the church with the Ward Mission Leader to go over the outline for the church open house that will be going on this coming Thursday. Hopefully, that will be a good turnout for us.
I hope that you have a great week and that all goes well.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
This last week was really great! We got to play volleyball with some of the other missionaries in the District for P-day. One of the Elder's is from Mexico and he use to play a lot back home, so it was a pretty good match-up between he and I. We were able to stay fairly busy throughout the week working, but the best part was this last Friday.
We woke up at 4:30 AM in order to make it up to Tampa by 8:30 AM for a mission-wide conference that we were having. It was 32 degrees when we woke up. I think that is the coldest it has ever been since I've been here in Florida. The meeting started at 9 AM and we had Elder Zwick from the Quorum of the Seventy and Brother Hemingway from the church missionary department. We received about 2 1/2 hours of training from each and it was all amazing!!! Everything that I came with a question about was answered, and the spirit was so strong. Even when the meeting had closed and everyone was filing out of the building, no one spoke or broke the silence. It was really neat. When the meeting was over, we only had enough time to drive home, have a quick dinner and then go to the church for the movie night. We did this in the gym and had a bunch of chairs and couches set up. We had about 18 people show up and I absolutely loved it. The movie was really great and inspiring and at the conclusion of the movie, we did a question and answer segment where anyone could ask a question to the missionaries about their missions or missionary work.
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| Post movie night! |
I hope that you have a great week and that all goes well.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Monday, February 16, 2015
Mr. Positive!
Things are going well with me and my companion. He had a trial mission to see if he would be able to manage the day to day life and stressors of missionary work, and to see if he really wanted to serve for the full two years. Even though he has gone through the training before, we are going through it again. The most difficult thing is just to keep him on task and focused. A lot of times I just have to stop him in the middle of whatever it is that he is saying and tell him to focus. He has been improving, though. He still isn't a big fan of getting up in the mornings and exercising, but I still get him to do it. My companion is pretty obedient in the work, but he lacks some motivation for certain things that he feels aren't important like waking up and exercising in the morning. I am trying to convince him to shop and eat healthier because so far all he has been living off of is microwave pot pies and Tostino's pizzas, and that is basically it. He is a good Elder, I think that a big portion of my purpose is to help him with sociality and life skills. :)
The most rewarding thing of this week was my personal studies. For the last few weeks, I have been focusing on the Plan of Salvation and I have learned so much from the scriptures and P.M.G. The hardest thing this last week was me eating a ghost chili pepper that a member gave us. That was SO hot!
So what exactly happens when a missionary returns and is released? Does he just have an interview with the Stake President and takes his name tag off, or is that when he reports in front of the whole High council? Shad gave a talk in Sacrament two weeks in a row?
This week we will be having a mission wide conference and a movie night for the ward. We will be watching the Saratov Approach. I'm excited for that.
I hope that this week goes well for you! Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
The most rewarding thing of this week was my personal studies. For the last few weeks, I have been focusing on the Plan of Salvation and I have learned so much from the scriptures and P.M.G. The hardest thing this last week was me eating a ghost chili pepper that a member gave us. That was SO hot!
So what exactly happens when a missionary returns and is released? Does he just have an interview with the Stake President and takes his name tag off, or is that when he reports in front of the whole High council? Shad gave a talk in Sacrament two weeks in a row?
This week we will be having a mission wide conference and a movie night for the ward. We will be watching the Saratov Approach. I'm excited for that.
I hope that this week goes well for you! Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
2nd Son/New Companion
Sorry I don't have much time, so I will give you all a watered down week. We had transfers Thursday and I got my new companion that I am training, Elder Baumgartner. He actually served a trial mission in Arizona, where he is from, so he has already gone through the training process once. He is very different from all of the other companions that I have had, but I'm sure that we will still work well together. He does not like getting up in the mornings and working out, so I have to turn on the light and tell him to get up sometimes. He also gets sidetracked very easily because he has ADHD. He works hard and wants to be obedient, so that's good.
I am no longer the District Leader because Pres. just wants me focusing on training Elder Baumgartner, so I'm good with that. I loved being a DL, but I'm glad that I don't have to do both at the same time now.
I should have some more things to mention in the upcoming weeks because we will be having some mission conferences and big ward activities that will be coming up here soon. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I am no longer the District Leader because Pres. just wants me focusing on training Elder Baumgartner, so I'm good with that. I loved being a DL, but I'm glad that I don't have to do both at the same time now.
I should have some more things to mention in the upcoming weeks because we will be having some mission conferences and big ward activities that will be coming up here soon. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Elder Whaley with his 2nd son, Elder Baumgartner |
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| Elder Baumgartner and Elder Whaley getting the bike ready for missionary work! |
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Learned A Lot, But Have a Lot to Still Learn
2-2-15
Most of the beginning and middle of this week was nothing special, but the weekend had something really big about it. This last Monday for our preparation day, we played volleyball at the church with some other missionaries and some of the members. We haven't had too much work going on lately, so we have been trying to implement activities to get members to invite their friends to like volleyball. We actually have a lot of ward activities coming up that should be good for missionary opportunities. We have a county fair going on this next week and we will have a booth at it to hand out material and talk to people. On the 20th we will be having a youth movie night where we will be watching the Saratov Approach. On the 26th our ward is going to be having an open house for the community and we are trying to invite as many people as possible to come.
On Tuesday, we had District meeting and it turned out really good. I focused the majority of the training on setting goals and having the vision to achieve them. For the last part of the meeting, we discussed obedience and how we can become the Fourth Missionary (it's from a talk called the Fourth Missionary). The Spirit was strong and all of the missionaries in the district were excited and committed to be an exactly obedient missionary. After the meeting, I went on an exchange to the Wauchula area with Elder Brossa. He is from Spain and he is super blunt and funny. Throughout the exchange, I asked him questions and Spain and what everything was like. He told me that practically no one uses a car because the public transportation will get you anywhere that you need to go. In Spain, they usually eat lunch around 2 p.m. and they have dinner around 10 p.m. The thing that shocked me the most though, was that everyone takes a nap on a daily basis from 3-5 p.m. because it is too hot to be out at that time. The streets are completely empty during those hours. Spain sounds like it would be a really neat place to visit.
The rest of the week following the exchange was pretty normal. We struggled quite a bit to find people to teach, so most of our days were spent either finding on the streets or trying to work with the members as much as we could. Nothing else exciting happened until Sunday morning when we got transfer emails. We found out that Elder Dardon is going to be transferred this coming Thursday, and I am going to be training a new missionary again! I am not as nervous about it as I was the first time, but I am wondering how I am going to balance everything I need to do as a District leader and train at the same time. It's going to make it difficult with things like exchanges, but I'm sure that it will all work out. That means that I am going to be in this area for the next two transfers and I will only have one more left, so I'm guessing that I will just die in this area. I was hoping to serve in one more area, but now it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
This last transfer has felt so long because of all of the things that have happened with being a District leader. There are so many fun aspects to it and I love, but also so many things that I wish I didn't need to do. I know that it is all good, though, and that it has a purpose. I know that I have grown a lot this last transfer because of the responsibilities that I have been entrusted with, and that I still have a whole lot to learn. I hope that you all have a great week and that everything goes well with Elder S. Whaley's return.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Most of the beginning and middle of this week was nothing special, but the weekend had something really big about it. This last Monday for our preparation day, we played volleyball at the church with some other missionaries and some of the members. We haven't had too much work going on lately, so we have been trying to implement activities to get members to invite their friends to like volleyball. We actually have a lot of ward activities coming up that should be good for missionary opportunities. We have a county fair going on this next week and we will have a booth at it to hand out material and talk to people. On the 20th we will be having a youth movie night where we will be watching the Saratov Approach. On the 26th our ward is going to be having an open house for the community and we are trying to invite as many people as possible to come.
On Tuesday, we had District meeting and it turned out really good. I focused the majority of the training on setting goals and having the vision to achieve them. For the last part of the meeting, we discussed obedience and how we can become the Fourth Missionary (it's from a talk called the Fourth Missionary). The Spirit was strong and all of the missionaries in the district were excited and committed to be an exactly obedient missionary. After the meeting, I went on an exchange to the Wauchula area with Elder Brossa. He is from Spain and he is super blunt and funny. Throughout the exchange, I asked him questions and Spain and what everything was like. He told me that practically no one uses a car because the public transportation will get you anywhere that you need to go. In Spain, they usually eat lunch around 2 p.m. and they have dinner around 10 p.m. The thing that shocked me the most though, was that everyone takes a nap on a daily basis from 3-5 p.m. because it is too hot to be out at that time. The streets are completely empty during those hours. Spain sounds like it would be a really neat place to visit.
The rest of the week following the exchange was pretty normal. We struggled quite a bit to find people to teach, so most of our days were spent either finding on the streets or trying to work with the members as much as we could. Nothing else exciting happened until Sunday morning when we got transfer emails. We found out that Elder Dardon is going to be transferred this coming Thursday, and I am going to be training a new missionary again! I am not as nervous about it as I was the first time, but I am wondering how I am going to balance everything I need to do as a District leader and train at the same time. It's going to make it difficult with things like exchanges, but I'm sure that it will all work out. That means that I am going to be in this area for the next two transfers and I will only have one more left, so I'm guessing that I will just die in this area. I was hoping to serve in one more area, but now it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
This last transfer has felt so long because of all of the things that have happened with being a District leader. There are so many fun aspects to it and I love, but also so many things that I wish I didn't need to do. I know that it is all good, though, and that it has a purpose. I know that I have grown a lot this last transfer because of the responsibilities that I have been entrusted with, and that I still have a whole lot to learn. I hope that you all have a great week and that everything goes well with Elder S. Whaley's return.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Working Hard!
1-26-15
So, I can't think of anything too exciting that happened this week in the mission. There was definitely a lot of fun and weird things that happened, but no huge events or occurrences.
Last Tuesday for District meeting, I had one of the other companionships in the District take about 10 minutes to give a training on working with members and they did a really great job. For the remainder of the meeting we talked about ways in which we could more effectively find in our individual areas studying from chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel. After the meeting, I went on an exchange with one of the Spanish Elders in the Lake Placid area. He is originally from Mexico and so English is his second language. It was kind of hard to understand him, but he is so funny! On the exchange in the evening, we went to an investigators house who is watching one of the member's dog while she is gone on a trip. We helped her walk the dog to the members home for the night to tie her up to sleep, but we had to coax her with hot dogs because she kept growling at us. It was a fat pit bull. After we took care of the dog, we had a lesson with the lady, but she only spoke Spanish, so I just sat there for most of the lesson.
When I returned from the exchange, the next day Elder Dardon told me that they had to break into the apartment again because they couldn't get the key that we had left. (We had stopped by to grab something from the apartment on the way to Lake Placid and we left the key under the door). So, they had to climb up the patio and break in through the sliding door like I did a few weeks ago when we locked ourselves out.
On Wednesday night, when we were on our way home, the road was completely blocked off right at the intersection that we needed to turn at to get to our complex. There was a really bad car wreck a few hours earlier and they were still cleaning everything up. The next day we found out that one of our new investigators was in that wreck. We had given her a blessing a few days earlier for some upcoming heart surgery. The person that we found this out from lived with her and she told us that she was just bruised and banged up, but nothing severe.
On Saturday we had a super awkward and uncomfortable lesson when we were trying to contact a media referral that we had received. The person had requested a Bible for her daughter, and so that's what we came by to do. When we pulled up and got out of the car the mom was outside in the backyard and she asked who we were. We told her and asked if we could share a message with her. She said, "Ya, that would be great! Let me go grab my daughter and niece and I will be right back." I was surprised that she even said yes. When she came back out with them, she said, "Now these two gentlemen are going to teach you about God's word and I am going to be out back making dinner." So she just left us alone outside with her daughter and niece, who were both in 9th grade, and she didn't even really know who we were. So we quickly shared a message about the restoration of the Gospel and asked if there would be a time that we could come back when the mom could sit in on the lesson and listen to what it was that we were teaching them. It was all super awkward? I just couldn't understand how some mom would just trust two men that walked up to their door to talk to her girls alone.
This Sunday we had a big ward Conference and a lot of the members from the Port Charlotte ward came to church and it was nice to see them again.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
So, I can't think of anything too exciting that happened this week in the mission. There was definitely a lot of fun and weird things that happened, but no huge events or occurrences.
Last Tuesday for District meeting, I had one of the other companionships in the District take about 10 minutes to give a training on working with members and they did a really great job. For the remainder of the meeting we talked about ways in which we could more effectively find in our individual areas studying from chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel. After the meeting, I went on an exchange with one of the Spanish Elders in the Lake Placid area. He is originally from Mexico and so English is his second language. It was kind of hard to understand him, but he is so funny! On the exchange in the evening, we went to an investigators house who is watching one of the member's dog while she is gone on a trip. We helped her walk the dog to the members home for the night to tie her up to sleep, but we had to coax her with hot dogs because she kept growling at us. It was a fat pit bull. After we took care of the dog, we had a lesson with the lady, but she only spoke Spanish, so I just sat there for most of the lesson.
When I returned from the exchange, the next day Elder Dardon told me that they had to break into the apartment again because they couldn't get the key that we had left. (We had stopped by to grab something from the apartment on the way to Lake Placid and we left the key under the door). So, they had to climb up the patio and break in through the sliding door like I did a few weeks ago when we locked ourselves out.
On Wednesday night, when we were on our way home, the road was completely blocked off right at the intersection that we needed to turn at to get to our complex. There was a really bad car wreck a few hours earlier and they were still cleaning everything up. The next day we found out that one of our new investigators was in that wreck. We had given her a blessing a few days earlier for some upcoming heart surgery. The person that we found this out from lived with her and she told us that she was just bruised and banged up, but nothing severe.
On Saturday we had a super awkward and uncomfortable lesson when we were trying to contact a media referral that we had received. The person had requested a Bible for her daughter, and so that's what we came by to do. When we pulled up and got out of the car the mom was outside in the backyard and she asked who we were. We told her and asked if we could share a message with her. She said, "Ya, that would be great! Let me go grab my daughter and niece and I will be right back." I was surprised that she even said yes. When she came back out with them, she said, "Now these two gentlemen are going to teach you about God's word and I am going to be out back making dinner." So she just left us alone outside with her daughter and niece, who were both in 9th grade, and she didn't even really know who we were. So we quickly shared a message about the restoration of the Gospel and asked if there would be a time that we could come back when the mom could sit in on the lesson and listen to what it was that we were teaching them. It was all super awkward? I just couldn't understand how some mom would just trust two men that walked up to their door to talk to her girls alone.
This Sunday we had a big ward Conference and a lot of the members from the Port Charlotte ward came to church and it was nice to see them again.
I hope that you all have a great week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Monday, January 26, 2015
Changes in the Mission
1-19-15
Well, we had a pretty crazy week that was full of surprises and some changes. On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Cusick over in Sarasota, and that actually turned out to be pretty nice. We were about 40 minutes late, however, because the Elders that gave us a ride there got stuck doing some service in the morning for one of their investigators. Elder Dardon and I ended up having our interviews, but because we were running late the other Elders had to reschedule theirs for another day. By the time we got back from interviews the day was practically over.
On Thursday, we had another big meeting up in Tampa with all of the missionaries. This meeting also took most of the day and we didn't get back until the late evening. The purpose of the meeting was to provide training, but also to inform everyone of changes that had occurred in the mission. The first one that they told us about that was really unexpected was that they changed the boundaries of our mission. The bottom zone of our mission, Ft. Myers, was absorbed into the Ft. Lauderdale mission along with the 30 missionaries that were serving down there. So Wednesday, we had 169 missionaries in the mission, but as of last Thursday, we now have 139 missionaries. When I first cam out, we were at about 235 missionaries. So, my first area that I served in is no longer a part of this mission. The second big change that they made was with our iPads. Everyone of the missionaries had their own devices that they were using, but they decided to take half of them away so that there is now only one per companionship. I think it is a pretty good change to help us be more focused and unified as a companionship, but it also makes it difficult because all of my notes and tasks and other reminders were on my device, and now I don't have any of it.
This last week we found a new investigator named Carl who has shown a lot of interest in the church and baptism. We set a date for hime for the 14th of February and he is really excited about it. He is doing a great job reading in the Book of Mormon and keeping all of the commitments that we leave with him to do.
I hope that everything goes well with the demolition and remodeling of the bathrooms and that you all have a great week. Love you!
Elder A. Whaley
Well, we had a pretty crazy week that was full of surprises and some changes. On Tuesday, we had interviews with President Cusick over in Sarasota, and that actually turned out to be pretty nice. We were about 40 minutes late, however, because the Elders that gave us a ride there got stuck doing some service in the morning for one of their investigators. Elder Dardon and I ended up having our interviews, but because we were running late the other Elders had to reschedule theirs for another day. By the time we got back from interviews the day was practically over.
On Thursday, we had another big meeting up in Tampa with all of the missionaries. This meeting also took most of the day and we didn't get back until the late evening. The purpose of the meeting was to provide training, but also to inform everyone of changes that had occurred in the mission. The first one that they told us about that was really unexpected was that they changed the boundaries of our mission. The bottom zone of our mission, Ft. Myers, was absorbed into the Ft. Lauderdale mission along with the 30 missionaries that were serving down there. So Wednesday, we had 169 missionaries in the mission, but as of last Thursday, we now have 139 missionaries. When I first cam out, we were at about 235 missionaries. So, my first area that I served in is no longer a part of this mission. The second big change that they made was with our iPads. Everyone of the missionaries had their own devices that they were using, but they decided to take half of them away so that there is now only one per companionship. I think it is a pretty good change to help us be more focused and unified as a companionship, but it also makes it difficult because all of my notes and tasks and other reminders were on my device, and now I don't have any of it.
This last week we found a new investigator named Carl who has shown a lot of interest in the church and baptism. We set a date for hime for the 14th of February and he is really excited about it. He is doing a great job reading in the Book of Mormon and keeping all of the commitments that we leave with him to do.
I hope that everything goes well with the demolition and remodeling of the bathrooms and that you all have a great week. Love you!
Elder A. Whaley
Learning some Spanish!
1-12-15
This week was pretty slow for our area. We have just dropped most of our investigators and have been doing a lot of finding through the members and out on our bikes.
For our last district meeting, Wednesday, we had some of the sister training leaders come and present a short training on cleaning and maintaining our temples (apartments, cars, etc.). For the rest of the meeting I gave a training on becoming converted. We discussed what a testimony was and what conversion was. Then, we talked about what the Gospel was and our purpose in helping others receive it. The purpose of the training was focusing on how, by being converted ourselves, we can better help our investigators and others we work with become converted to the Savior and His Gospel.
After the meeting I went on an exchange with one of the Spanish elders in the district and served in his area for the day. At the beginning of the exchange, I probably knew about ten words in Spanish, but now I probably know about 30. I know how to give a card to someone who speaks Spanish and how to get their telephone number for them to call the Spanish speaking missionaries. It's pretty fun! In the evening we went to the church to coordinate activities and plans with the members and for their youth activity they were playing volleyball. There were about 20 nonmembers that showed up too!
On Friday evening our Zone leaders came to our apartment to stay the night and help us gut out our apartment. For the first two hours of our day after studies, we did nothing but de-clutter and wipe down everything from top to bottom. It felt really weird when it was all done because it looked like no one even lived in our apartment besides a few desks and some beds.
On Sunday, our Gospel Principles teacher didn't show up, and so one of the members in the class took over and taught the lesson and it was awesome! He use to be an area 70 and he is a very bold and spiritual man. We talked about our heavenly family and what our Heavenly Father wants for us more than anything. During our third hour, he also taught Elders Quorum and that was just as good.
This coming week we will be having interviews with our mission President as well as a Zone Conference up in Tampa. That will be nice seeing that we haven't had either in a while. I hope that all is well for you and that you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Whaley
This week was pretty slow for our area. We have just dropped most of our investigators and have been doing a lot of finding through the members and out on our bikes.
For our last district meeting, Wednesday, we had some of the sister training leaders come and present a short training on cleaning and maintaining our temples (apartments, cars, etc.). For the rest of the meeting I gave a training on becoming converted. We discussed what a testimony was and what conversion was. Then, we talked about what the Gospel was and our purpose in helping others receive it. The purpose of the training was focusing on how, by being converted ourselves, we can better help our investigators and others we work with become converted to the Savior and His Gospel.
After the meeting I went on an exchange with one of the Spanish elders in the district and served in his area for the day. At the beginning of the exchange, I probably knew about ten words in Spanish, but now I probably know about 30. I know how to give a card to someone who speaks Spanish and how to get their telephone number for them to call the Spanish speaking missionaries. It's pretty fun! In the evening we went to the church to coordinate activities and plans with the members and for their youth activity they were playing volleyball. There were about 20 nonmembers that showed up too!
On Friday evening our Zone leaders came to our apartment to stay the night and help us gut out our apartment. For the first two hours of our day after studies, we did nothing but de-clutter and wipe down everything from top to bottom. It felt really weird when it was all done because it looked like no one even lived in our apartment besides a few desks and some beds.
On Sunday, our Gospel Principles teacher didn't show up, and so one of the members in the class took over and taught the lesson and it was awesome! He use to be an area 70 and he is a very bold and spiritual man. We talked about our heavenly family and what our Heavenly Father wants for us more than anything. During our third hour, he also taught Elders Quorum and that was just as good.
This coming week we will be having interviews with our mission President as well as a Zone Conference up in Tampa. That will be nice seeing that we haven't had either in a while. I hope that all is well for you and that you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Whaley
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| Elder Austin Whaley back from Port Charlotte |
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| Lake Jackson outside of apartment |
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| Elder Austin Whaley |
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| Motivation/Goal board |
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| Doing missionary work at a restaurant |
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| First baptism interview with a lady he started teaching in Port Charlotte (love the photo bomber) |
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| Little Free Library with a Book of Mormon in the front |
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Loves Conducting Baptism Interviews
12-29-14
Herro!
This last week was somewhat difficult to work with since many of our investigators and members were gone for the holidays, so we didn't have too many people to see. We did quite a bit of finding on the streets, but didn't have too much success there, either. Christmas was great, though. After our Skype call, we went to a member's home for lunch and afterwards just hung out at our apartment. I took the time to study the scriptures and to ponder about the Christmas season and reason. During this time, we also watched a bunch of church videos and got to relax a bit.
I think my favorite thing about being a district leader is conducting baptismal interviews. The spirit is so strong in them and I am so excited for the people I get to interview! Tuesday morning we drove over to Port Charlotte to give an interview for Angela, one of the Elders' investigators. I actually was teaching her with Elder Lawless for a bit and with Elder Swallow before I left, and she finally decided to be baptized! The interview was pretty quick, but I was just so happy to see that she received answers to the things that concerned her when i was teaching her and that she was taking this step. The other interview that I got to hold this week was for one of the sisters' investigators in our ward. Her name is Sylvia and she had investigated the church for an entire year before deciding to be baptized. She was completely ready, though. The interview went really well, but at the end of it she asked me how someone can get excommunicated from the church. She was curious because someone she knew had been excommunicated. I told her the process in which it happens and I told her that those people are always invited to join the church again after a period of time through repentance.
Saturday was her baptism and it was probably the most spiritual baptism I've been to out here so far. For the intermission they had Elder Dardon and I go up and relate the restoration to the people attending. It was such a cool experience! At the end of the baptism she got up and bore her testimony with us all.
I hope that all is going well for you and that this next week turns out to be a great one!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Herro!
This last week was somewhat difficult to work with since many of our investigators and members were gone for the holidays, so we didn't have too many people to see. We did quite a bit of finding on the streets, but didn't have too much success there, either. Christmas was great, though. After our Skype call, we went to a member's home for lunch and afterwards just hung out at our apartment. I took the time to study the scriptures and to ponder about the Christmas season and reason. During this time, we also watched a bunch of church videos and got to relax a bit.
I think my favorite thing about being a district leader is conducting baptismal interviews. The spirit is so strong in them and I am so excited for the people I get to interview! Tuesday morning we drove over to Port Charlotte to give an interview for Angela, one of the Elders' investigators. I actually was teaching her with Elder Lawless for a bit and with Elder Swallow before I left, and she finally decided to be baptized! The interview was pretty quick, but I was just so happy to see that she received answers to the things that concerned her when i was teaching her and that she was taking this step. The other interview that I got to hold this week was for one of the sisters' investigators in our ward. Her name is Sylvia and she had investigated the church for an entire year before deciding to be baptized. She was completely ready, though. The interview went really well, but at the end of it she asked me how someone can get excommunicated from the church. She was curious because someone she knew had been excommunicated. I told her the process in which it happens and I told her that those people are always invited to join the church again after a period of time through repentance.
Saturday was her baptism and it was probably the most spiritual baptism I've been to out here so far. For the intermission they had Elder Dardon and I go up and relate the restoration to the people attending. It was such a cool experience! At the end of the baptism she got up and bore her testimony with us all.
I hope that all is going well for you and that this next week turns out to be a great one!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Elder Austin Whaley |
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| Elder Whaley and ? |
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| Elder Whaley at living quarters in Port Charlotte |
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| Elder Dardon, Elder Whaley, and ? |
District Leader
12-22-14
This last week has been crazy busy and crazy crazy! At the beginning of last week we had three baptismal dates originally set to happen this past weekend. One of the interviews was done Sunday and the other two were done Wednesday. All of them passed their interviews, but we ended up having to cancel one of the baptisms because of some information that we found out about. Long story short, we ended up having two baptisms this past weekend. The first was with Ellis and the second was Ressie.
I had the privilege of baptizing Ellis and it was a little difficult! Everything went fine with the prayer, but he did NOT want to go under the water. So, I had to tell him to just bend his knees and we did the prayer again. I felt really bad because I had to basically shove him under the water and he started to panic when his head went under. It was good that I got him to go all the way, though, because when he came up, he said, "I am not doing that again!"
Our bishop baptized Ressie and everything went very well with her baptism. She was so happy the entire time. She had been waiting to be baptized for a while.
On Sunday, Elder Dardon did the confirmation for Ellis and our bishop did it for Ressie. It was pretty neat.
The other thing that happened this week that was crazy and scary is that I was made the district leader! We had transfers this past Thursday and I found out that my MTC companion, Elder Nelson, is my new Zone leader and he ended up calling me to ask if I would serve as the DL for our district. I've never been the district leader before! I don't even know everything that I am suppose to do. I've been pretty stressed out the past couple of days. I want to just make sure that I do a good job. Our first district meeting is coming up this Wednesday and I have to figure out what I need to present training on. I never thought that I would have been made DL.
Love,
Eler A. Whaley
This last week has been crazy busy and crazy crazy! At the beginning of last week we had three baptismal dates originally set to happen this past weekend. One of the interviews was done Sunday and the other two were done Wednesday. All of them passed their interviews, but we ended up having to cancel one of the baptisms because of some information that we found out about. Long story short, we ended up having two baptisms this past weekend. The first was with Ellis and the second was Ressie.
I had the privilege of baptizing Ellis and it was a little difficult! Everything went fine with the prayer, but he did NOT want to go under the water. So, I had to tell him to just bend his knees and we did the prayer again. I felt really bad because I had to basically shove him under the water and he started to panic when his head went under. It was good that I got him to go all the way, though, because when he came up, he said, "I am not doing that again!"
Our bishop baptized Ressie and everything went very well with her baptism. She was so happy the entire time. She had been waiting to be baptized for a while.
On Sunday, Elder Dardon did the confirmation for Ellis and our bishop did it for Ressie. It was pretty neat.
The other thing that happened this week that was crazy and scary is that I was made the district leader! We had transfers this past Thursday and I found out that my MTC companion, Elder Nelson, is my new Zone leader and he ended up calling me to ask if I would serve as the DL for our district. I've never been the district leader before! I don't even know everything that I am suppose to do. I've been pretty stressed out the past couple of days. I want to just make sure that I do a good job. Our first district meeting is coming up this Wednesday and I have to figure out what I need to present training on. I never thought that I would have been made DL.
Love,
Eler A. Whaley
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| Elder Dardon, Ellis, Elder Whaley, and Ellis' little brother |
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| Elder Whaley, Ressie's family, Ressie, Elder Dardon |
Ninja Status!
12-15-14
This last week was really great for us. We had our mission Christmas party and we still got a lot of work done.
The party was on Wednesday at Bradenton beach. It ended up being pretty windy and cold all day, so we couldn't do much of anything except kick a soccer ball around and throw a football. Later in the evening, we had an ugly sweater contest and sang some Christmas songs. It's crazy to think that it's been an entire year since the last Christmas party that we had.
As of right now, there are three of our investigators who are planning on getting baptized this Saturday. Their names are: Ellis, Ressie, and Julie. Ellis has already had his baptismal interview and is ready to go, and the other two are going to be having their interviews Wednesday.
A fun experience that I had two weeks ago that I forgot to tell you about, was us breaking into our apartment because we locked ourselves out. We tried to pick the lock with a card at first, but it didn't work, so I had Elder Dardon lift me up onto our balcony so I could climb up it and try to get through our sliding glass door. The door ended up being locked, but I had an "idea" to move the door in a circular motion to try and unlatch the lock. After about two minutes of doing this, the door unlocked and I got in. Now I am Ninja Status!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
This last week was really great for us. We had our mission Christmas party and we still got a lot of work done.
The party was on Wednesday at Bradenton beach. It ended up being pretty windy and cold all day, so we couldn't do much of anything except kick a soccer ball around and throw a football. Later in the evening, we had an ugly sweater contest and sang some Christmas songs. It's crazy to think that it's been an entire year since the last Christmas party that we had.
As of right now, there are three of our investigators who are planning on getting baptized this Saturday. Their names are: Ellis, Ressie, and Julie. Ellis has already had his baptismal interview and is ready to go, and the other two are going to be having their interviews Wednesday.
A fun experience that I had two weeks ago that I forgot to tell you about, was us breaking into our apartment because we locked ourselves out. We tried to pick the lock with a card at first, but it didn't work, so I had Elder Dardon lift me up onto our balcony so I could climb up it and try to get through our sliding glass door. The door ended up being locked, but I had an "idea" to move the door in a circular motion to try and unlatch the lock. After about two minutes of doing this, the door unlocked and I got in. Now I am Ninja Status!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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| Elders at Christmas party on Bradenton beach |
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| Elder Chamberlain and Elder Whaley |
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| Elder Whaley 5th from the left. Christmas party at Bradenton beach. |
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