3-2-14
You asked about that inactive family-well, we are actually going to have a lesson with that family this evening after p-day. They didn't make it to church yesterday, but they are ready to do what they need to in order to have Christ more in their life and get back to church. This last week wasn't as eventful, though. We still saw quite a few people, but nothing too notable. So many people in this area are willing to meet with us, and if they cancel, they usually will set up a return appointment with us. It seems like the less-active members are more willing to help us out than the active members are. We are starting to get a few people and families working on coming back to church and getting involved. I think with a little more time, we will be able to gain the trust of a lot more members and less-active members and things will really begin to pick up. We just had transfer calls and Elder Hargan will be on a plane ride home to Washington Wednesday. Elder Lawless and I will be staying together. I am trying to keep in contact with Elder Fisher to see how he is doing on his recovery, but I haven't heard back from him yet. Hopefully, everything went well and he is preparing to come back out. You had asked about taking pictures with the iPad, but we aren't suppose to use our iPads for taking personal pictures and sending them on emails. I don't want to send my SD card because I have heard of a lot of people doing that and it either gets lost or the card gets erased somehow going through the mail. So, I'm not going to chance that. Sorry.
Our ward is doing a Book of Mormon reading challenge, and the goal is to read it in 90 days. I started my own personal reading a few weeks ago and I am in 2 Nephi, and I am learning so much more as I continue to go through it. It's great! How have your studies been coming along? Well, I am a little tired right now, and I can't really focus on what I want to say, but things are going good here and I get to kill and butcher a pig this Friday for a pig roast, so that will be fun. Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Monday, March 17, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
A Miracle
2-24-14
What?! Elder Oaks is coming to your Stake Conference? Luckies!!!!! This has definitely been one of those weeks. I don't know how, but we were so blessed this week. We taught more lessons this week than I have taught in any week of my mission. We just went out and worked, worked, worked, and we got to teach a lot of lessons. We didn't really know where to go, we just picked some people and tried to go see them, and a lot of it went really great. I have been pretty tired this week, but it has been really great! The thing that I really loved this week, though, was our miracle that happened. We decided to go try a less active member that was on our roster that I had never met before, and when we got there, we just started talking to her to see how she was doing. She told us that she was at a low in her life right now and that she has been struggling with drug addiction and family problems. Elder Lawless basically told her that the three most important things that she could be doing right now was to read her scriptures, pray, and go to church. She started crying and saying, "I know that's what I need to do." So, we invited her to meet with the bishop that night and she showed up. They had a great conversation and they got help for her. Since it was mutual that night, we showed her two kids what groups they could join, so we introduced them to some of the members and got them involved in the activities. They all loved it, and by that time, they were all excited to come to church Sunday. On Sunday, they not only came, but they managed to get one of their neighbors and her kids to come along with them. We are going to start teaching their family all of the lessons and getting back on track and fully active. The whole thing was just awesome! My companions are great! I love you, and I hope that you have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
What?! Elder Oaks is coming to your Stake Conference? Luckies!!!!! This has definitely been one of those weeks. I don't know how, but we were so blessed this week. We taught more lessons this week than I have taught in any week of my mission. We just went out and worked, worked, worked, and we got to teach a lot of lessons. We didn't really know where to go, we just picked some people and tried to go see them, and a lot of it went really great. I have been pretty tired this week, but it has been really great! The thing that I really loved this week, though, was our miracle that happened. We decided to go try a less active member that was on our roster that I had never met before, and when we got there, we just started talking to her to see how she was doing. She told us that she was at a low in her life right now and that she has been struggling with drug addiction and family problems. Elder Lawless basically told her that the three most important things that she could be doing right now was to read her scriptures, pray, and go to church. She started crying and saying, "I know that's what I need to do." So, we invited her to meet with the bishop that night and she showed up. They had a great conversation and they got help for her. Since it was mutual that night, we showed her two kids what groups they could join, so we introduced them to some of the members and got them involved in the activities. They all loved it, and by that time, they were all excited to come to church Sunday. On Sunday, they not only came, but they managed to get one of their neighbors and her kids to come along with them. We are going to start teaching their family all of the lessons and getting back on track and fully active. The whole thing was just awesome! My companions are great! I love you, and I hope that you have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Stressful Week!
2-16-14
This week started out really well, but turned into a really rough week. It sounds like you're all going some rough times and I will continue to pray for you, just keep pushing through. That's the point that I'm at right now. President Cusick called Elder Fisher this Friday and told him that he needed to be in Tampa the next morning to catch a plane ride home for surgery on his knee this upcoming Tuesday. So, that leaves me in charge of the area and I still don't know it very well at all. I got two new companions, Elder Lawless and Elder Hargan. Elder Hargan goes home in two weeks and Elder Lawless has been out for 18 months. They are great missionaries, but I miss Elder Fisher. He was so much fun. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and is back out in a month or so. These past few days have been extremely stressful for me since I don't know what to do. We are just working with what I know and trying to figure out the area. Now I have to know the area and people a whole lot faster since I am taking it over. So, hopefully, this week will go well and I can manage the area. I have been doing a lot of praying, fasting, and working. I pray for you and the rest of the family daily. Thank you for your support and love and all you do to help me out! I am very grateful for all the sacrifices you make for me and I love you! Have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
*We got iPads this week and I am emailing with it right now. Unfortunately, you can't download pictures from the camera on an iPad, so I won't be able to send you more through dropbox. I'll just have to print them out and send to you. Sorry.
This week started out really well, but turned into a really rough week. It sounds like you're all going some rough times and I will continue to pray for you, just keep pushing through. That's the point that I'm at right now. President Cusick called Elder Fisher this Friday and told him that he needed to be in Tampa the next morning to catch a plane ride home for surgery on his knee this upcoming Tuesday. So, that leaves me in charge of the area and I still don't know it very well at all. I got two new companions, Elder Lawless and Elder Hargan. Elder Hargan goes home in two weeks and Elder Lawless has been out for 18 months. They are great missionaries, but I miss Elder Fisher. He was so much fun. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and is back out in a month or so. These past few days have been extremely stressful for me since I don't know what to do. We are just working with what I know and trying to figure out the area. Now I have to know the area and people a whole lot faster since I am taking it over. So, hopefully, this week will go well and I can manage the area. I have been doing a lot of praying, fasting, and working. I pray for you and the rest of the family daily. Thank you for your support and love and all you do to help me out! I am very grateful for all the sacrifices you make for me and I love you! Have an awesome week!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
*We got iPads this week and I am emailing with it right now. Unfortunately, you can't download pictures from the camera on an iPad, so I won't be able to send you more through dropbox. I'll just have to print them out and send to you. Sorry.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Learning New Skills!
2-10-14
I totally miss the snow! Not the cold, but the snow. This week was a bit more exciting than last week. I got to take a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class from a less active member where he taught us a bunch of ground fighting techniques. It was all super cool. I can't remember what style of Jiu-Jitsu we use to take, but this was completely different. I remember that we learned a lot of standing self-defense when we took it, but this was all ground stuff. He also had us do a kettle bell workout that was super exhausting. Apparently, he went to Russia and learned a lot of what he knows by having a bunch of professionals basically beat him up so he could see how they fought. He has been doing it since 2009 and he is super good.
Saturday we went to go help build a house for Habitat for Humanity and I learned a lot about construction. The Church was building this particular house and we started at 8a.m. and went till 3:30p.m. for the day. We constructed the walls and put siding on all of it. I have some pictures that I will upload so that you can see. Right after that, we went to a new move-in and helped them cut down a tree. So, I got to learn how to use a chainsaw. It was pretty fun and quick. I have some pictures of that as well.
This week was a whole lot of service and I loved it since I haven't had too many opportunities to give service for others. Everyone usually turns us down because we are dressed too nice and they don't want us to get dirty. I'm still trying to figure out this area and get to know the people, but it's coming along, and I love working with Elder Fisher. He is awesome! I may possibly end up getting a new companion, though, because he has to get knee surgery soon and so he might be heading home to do that and recover, so we'll see what happens. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I totally miss the snow! Not the cold, but the snow. This week was a bit more exciting than last week. I got to take a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class from a less active member where he taught us a bunch of ground fighting techniques. It was all super cool. I can't remember what style of Jiu-Jitsu we use to take, but this was completely different. I remember that we learned a lot of standing self-defense when we took it, but this was all ground stuff. He also had us do a kettle bell workout that was super exhausting. Apparently, he went to Russia and learned a lot of what he knows by having a bunch of professionals basically beat him up so he could see how they fought. He has been doing it since 2009 and he is super good.
Saturday we went to go help build a house for Habitat for Humanity and I learned a lot about construction. The Church was building this particular house and we started at 8a.m. and went till 3:30p.m. for the day. We constructed the walls and put siding on all of it. I have some pictures that I will upload so that you can see. Right after that, we went to a new move-in and helped them cut down a tree. So, I got to learn how to use a chainsaw. It was pretty fun and quick. I have some pictures of that as well.
This week was a whole lot of service and I loved it since I haven't had too many opportunities to give service for others. Everyone usually turns us down because we are dressed too nice and they don't want us to get dirty. I'm still trying to figure out this area and get to know the people, but it's coming along, and I love working with Elder Fisher. He is awesome! I may possibly end up getting a new companion, though, because he has to get knee surgery soon and so he might be heading home to do that and recover, so we'll see what happens. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Enjoying the area and companion
2-3-14
Things are going good for us here. Elder Fisher is such an awesome companion. I love him and I love the people here. A lot of the members here are older and they are all so nice. There is a lot more diversity to work with here and it makes working with members a lot better. Even a lot of the less active members are nice and let us come over and teach them, unlike my last area. We are just in the process of just figuring the area out and knowing what works and what doesn't. I think that this area has a lot of potential, though. We just need to rely on the Lord to know what to do in order to get it all going. I did get your letter this week, thanks. Thank you for the recipes. We made some breakfast bars for lunch and they turned out great! Elder Fisher calls them monsters because they start out nice, then they blow up into a beast thing. It makes sense to me. I don't really have any exciting stories this week to tell. All we did was go around and try to figure out what we should do since neither of us really know the area. Our ward mission leader is pushing us to reach the standard of excellence that the church has set of 20 lessons a week, and we could have made it this last week, but practically all of our appointments fell through. Hopefully, this week will go a little better. I always have and I always will continue to pray for you guys. Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Things are going good for us here. Elder Fisher is such an awesome companion. I love him and I love the people here. A lot of the members here are older and they are all so nice. There is a lot more diversity to work with here and it makes working with members a lot better. Even a lot of the less active members are nice and let us come over and teach them, unlike my last area. We are just in the process of just figuring the area out and knowing what works and what doesn't. I think that this area has a lot of potential, though. We just need to rely on the Lord to know what to do in order to get it all going. I did get your letter this week, thanks. Thank you for the recipes. We made some breakfast bars for lunch and they turned out great! Elder Fisher calls them monsters because they start out nice, then they blow up into a beast thing. It makes sense to me. I don't really have any exciting stories this week to tell. All we did was go around and try to figure out what we should do since neither of us really know the area. Our ward mission leader is pushing us to reach the standard of excellence that the church has set of 20 lessons a week, and we could have made it this last week, but practically all of our appointments fell through. Hopefully, this week will go a little better. I always have and I always will continue to pray for you guys. Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Saturday, February 1, 2014
New Area
1-27-14
I have been transferred to Port Charlotte. My new area is great! I am on full car, and the people here are awesome! I feel like a new missionary again since i don't know the people or the area at all, but I hope that I can learn quickly. We just had Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to meet too many members, but I met quite a few at the Ward's talent show on Friday night. There are a lot of older members and they are all so great! A lot of them are really willing to work with us and help us, unlike the last ward where everyone is young and in school or at work or just always has something in the way. One of the older couples even gave us each $65 in gift cards to Burger King and Chick-Fil-A. Our ward mission leader is great, too! He is completely on board and works hard to help us get lessons. In my last area, the most lessons we ever taught in a week was 13, now in this area we reach about 20 or so. People are home and willing to let us talk with them for the most part. I'm loving it so far.
My companion is Elder Fisher and he is from Las Vegas. He has been out for 14 months and he is 20 years old. Just like all of my other companions, he is super big into things like football and other school sports. I don't think I will ever get a companion that likes anything but school sports. Oh well. He is a great missionary and he is our District Leader. He and I get along great. He loves to cook and so I haven't cooked a single meal since I've been here. He cooks and I just wash the dishes. Like me, he is super clean, so we never have any messes, and I have been having really great studies in the morning since it's just the two of us and not 4 Elders that distract each other.
For family scripture study, there are tons of scriptures that I use when we teach lessons. Maybe something that you guys could do is pick a section or a doctrinal topic out of Preach My Gospel to read and look up all of the suggested scriptures that go with it. Whenever i study out of there, or choose a topic to study from the Bible Dictionary, I learn a lot more. If you are all studying the Book of Mormon right now, read, "The Keystone of our Religion" by President Ezra Taft Benson. That should help everyone understand why studying the scriptures is so great.
Saturday, we had a mission training where Elder Kapishka of the 70 and Elder Thompson of the 70 came and talked to us. Everyone thought that the training was going to be about us all getting iPads, but it wasn't. We are suppose to be getting those soon, though. But, the training was so cool and it was all just focused on being exactly obedient like President Cusick has been telling us all the time. Sunday was Stake Conference and there were 48 Stakes throughout Florida and Georgia involved in a broadcast with Elder Russell M. Nelson. It was good. We just watched it from our church building.
Well, I hope all is going well at home and that everyone is getting along. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I have been transferred to Port Charlotte. My new area is great! I am on full car, and the people here are awesome! I feel like a new missionary again since i don't know the people or the area at all, but I hope that I can learn quickly. We just had Stake Conference on Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to meet too many members, but I met quite a few at the Ward's talent show on Friday night. There are a lot of older members and they are all so great! A lot of them are really willing to work with us and help us, unlike the last ward where everyone is young and in school or at work or just always has something in the way. One of the older couples even gave us each $65 in gift cards to Burger King and Chick-Fil-A. Our ward mission leader is great, too! He is completely on board and works hard to help us get lessons. In my last area, the most lessons we ever taught in a week was 13, now in this area we reach about 20 or so. People are home and willing to let us talk with them for the most part. I'm loving it so far.
My companion is Elder Fisher and he is from Las Vegas. He has been out for 14 months and he is 20 years old. Just like all of my other companions, he is super big into things like football and other school sports. I don't think I will ever get a companion that likes anything but school sports. Oh well. He is a great missionary and he is our District Leader. He and I get along great. He loves to cook and so I haven't cooked a single meal since I've been here. He cooks and I just wash the dishes. Like me, he is super clean, so we never have any messes, and I have been having really great studies in the morning since it's just the two of us and not 4 Elders that distract each other.
For family scripture study, there are tons of scriptures that I use when we teach lessons. Maybe something that you guys could do is pick a section or a doctrinal topic out of Preach My Gospel to read and look up all of the suggested scriptures that go with it. Whenever i study out of there, or choose a topic to study from the Bible Dictionary, I learn a lot more. If you are all studying the Book of Mormon right now, read, "The Keystone of our Religion" by President Ezra Taft Benson. That should help everyone understand why studying the scriptures is so great.
Saturday, we had a mission training where Elder Kapishka of the 70 and Elder Thompson of the 70 came and talked to us. Everyone thought that the training was going to be about us all getting iPads, but it wasn't. We are suppose to be getting those soon, though. But, the training was so cool and it was all just focused on being exactly obedient like President Cusick has been telling us all the time. Sunday was Stake Conference and there were 48 Stakes throughout Florida and Georgia involved in a broadcast with Elder Russell M. Nelson. It was good. We just watched it from our church building.
Well, I hope all is going well at home and that everyone is getting along. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Love you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Getting Transferred
1-20-14
I'm being transferred. I don't know where to yet. I'll let you know next week. So don't send anything this week to my current address. I will have Elder Barnett forward the letter you last sent to me. Thanks for making those changes on the iPod.
It sounds like you all had a good FHE. that's definitely something really good to work on. (We had a FHE on helping strengthen one another in the family and also on realizing everything we do to one another is also done to the Savior). I hope that Whitney and Vanessa are getting along and things are improving. You'll have to let me know how things are going with dad's back and whatever else is happening around home. (I told him that we were really trying to STUDY the Book of Mormon)
I love studying about the power of the Book of Mormon. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the Book of Mormon in preach My Gospel and it talks all about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I love it! I have just started reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I'm learning a lot more about it. At the same time, I am also going through it slow, like one chapter a day and writing a ton of notes. After about two weeks of this, i am only in 1 Nephi Chapter 5, but i have gotten a ton out of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I'm being transferred. I don't know where to yet. I'll let you know next week. So don't send anything this week to my current address. I will have Elder Barnett forward the letter you last sent to me. Thanks for making those changes on the iPod.
It sounds like you all had a good FHE. that's definitely something really good to work on. (We had a FHE on helping strengthen one another in the family and also on realizing everything we do to one another is also done to the Savior). I hope that Whitney and Vanessa are getting along and things are improving. You'll have to let me know how things are going with dad's back and whatever else is happening around home. (I told him that we were really trying to STUDY the Book of Mormon)
I love studying about the power of the Book of Mormon. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the Book of Mormon in preach My Gospel and it talks all about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. I love it! I have just started reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon a few days ago and I'm learning a lot more about it. At the same time, I am also going through it slow, like one chapter a day and writing a ton of notes. After about two weeks of this, i am only in 1 Nephi Chapter 5, but i have gotten a ton out of it.
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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