5-19-14
Wow! It definitely sounds like you all have been getting hit pretty heavily with a lot of things. I think that the best thing to do is just keep doing what you know you should. Keep reading, praying, going to church and the temple, and fasting. All of those things are what help cultivate your faith and having faith in God includes having faith in His timing. Dad has been able to pull through all of these things in the past and he will continue to make it. Something that has been hard, but helpful for me, is focusing on what you can control. It's extremely easy to get frustrated or stressed over things that we have no influence over, but we shouldn't let that affect our mood or emotions. Just focus on what is in your influence to control.
This week we had a great amount of work that we were able to do and yesterday was especially awesome! Even though we have been having a lot of lessons for the past 6 weeks or so, we have hardly ever had anyone of them show up to church. Yesterday though, there were two entire less active families that showed up as well as 2 of our investigators and they all loved the Sacrament meeting. All of the talks were powerful and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yesterday, was probably the best Sunday that I have had on my mission. I honestly didn't expect for that many people to show up, because not that many ever had before. As a missionary, I think that I can kind of relate to how you feel, just in a different sense. To me, sometimes I just feel frustrated that we are doing all of this work, but nothing ever seems to be happening. We are doing all we can on our part, but for some reason things just fall through or don't happen the way you want them to. All you can do is keep trying and focus your efforts and your thoughts on what you can control and leave the rest to Heavenly Father.
I hope that this week turns out a lot better for you all and that Dad starts to get better. i love you and I'm praying for you all!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The Power of Faith
5-5-14
That picture you saw of me was Elder Lawless and I roleplaying a street contacting scenario at our Zone Development Day. We haven't had any flooding down here yet, it hasn't rained enough. The rainy season is coming soon, though.
That's awesome that you and Dad got to go to the temple. I think that that is pretty significant that you came across that scripture in the temple! That also leads into a really cool experience that I had yesterday. We stopped by a less active member's home to visit him and his family, and when we got there, the dad wasn't feeling too well. He had a terrible headache and he was light-headed and just pale and woozy. We visited with him for a few minutes and as we talked with him, he was just getting more and more sick. He asked us if we could give him a blessing right then, and we did. Literally, 5 minutes after we gave him the blessing, he was almost perfectly fine. All he had was a little headache left. It was so cool! It was simple, but clear that it was a blessing from Heavenly Father because of his faith. He told us that he has had multiple occasions where he has been deathly sick, and has received a blessing, and then within a day or two, he is perfectly fine. It was just really cool to see a blessing work that fast. I wasn't really expecting him to get better while we were there, but he did.
Noooo!!!! The Chalmer's can't move! I'm going to miss them so much! Do you know where they are planning on going after he is done with school? You should send me their mailing address so that I can write them.
I will write down some questions and things to talk about on Mother's Day. We are going to be face timing you with our iPads, so tell me what the number or username is that I need to now to call you. I think that we might plan for 7 o'clock our time-so 5 o'clock your time. Let me know if that will work as soon as possible, because I can't reply after 6 o'clock tonight because that's when our p-day ends. Have a great week! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
That picture you saw of me was Elder Lawless and I roleplaying a street contacting scenario at our Zone Development Day. We haven't had any flooding down here yet, it hasn't rained enough. The rainy season is coming soon, though.
That's awesome that you and Dad got to go to the temple. I think that that is pretty significant that you came across that scripture in the temple! That also leads into a really cool experience that I had yesterday. We stopped by a less active member's home to visit him and his family, and when we got there, the dad wasn't feeling too well. He had a terrible headache and he was light-headed and just pale and woozy. We visited with him for a few minutes and as we talked with him, he was just getting more and more sick. He asked us if we could give him a blessing right then, and we did. Literally, 5 minutes after we gave him the blessing, he was almost perfectly fine. All he had was a little headache left. It was so cool! It was simple, but clear that it was a blessing from Heavenly Father because of his faith. He told us that he has had multiple occasions where he has been deathly sick, and has received a blessing, and then within a day or two, he is perfectly fine. It was just really cool to see a blessing work that fast. I wasn't really expecting him to get better while we were there, but he did.
Noooo!!!! The Chalmer's can't move! I'm going to miss them so much! Do you know where they are planning on going after he is done with school? You should send me their mailing address so that I can write them.
I will write down some questions and things to talk about on Mother's Day. We are going to be face timing you with our iPads, so tell me what the number or username is that I need to now to call you. I think that we might plan for 7 o'clock our time-so 5 o'clock your time. Let me know if that will work as soon as possible, because I can't reply after 6 o'clock tonight because that's when our p-day ends. Have a great week! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Ten Months and counting!
4-28-14
That's great that you're going to have the sister missionaries over for dinner this week. We haven't had too many member dinners, but we are beginning to. Something that we are doing with everyone we meet is leaving the "Savior's Peace and Blessing". It is a prayer that we leave in the home by the authority of the priesthood and we pray specifically for all of those in the family. We also pray for the Spirit to be with them in their home and that they may be able to recognize missionary opportunities as they come. I love doing them because they are simple, but powerful if the setting is right.
Mom, that's great that you are studying in the Doctrine and Covenants. Something that is great to do is to study something really short and really learn about it, so that it can be embedded in your mind and your testimony, rather than reading a whole lot, learning a whole little, and not being able to recall any of it a day or two later. Going back to the basics of study and prayer is what we tell everyone we teach to do. If you are having a hard time getting much out of your reading, pray, and if necessary, fast to be more sensitive to the things that the Lord want you to learn from what you read. I have days where I will read and get almost nothing from my studies, and other days where I'm mad that studies aren't longer because I just want to keep going on what I'm learning all day. I think the time that I am the most focused and worry free is during studies. I'm so grateful for it, and I really wish that I would have used a lot more time back at home doing it. But, try and see what works for you and let me know how this week goes.
This week has been hot and exhausting, but we were still able to get a lot of teaching done. This week just seemed to float by. It was quick, had a lot of work, but nothing really crazy. Today, though, we are having a Zone training that will last the entire afternoon and night. It's going to start at 2:00 p.m. and go until about 9:00 p.m. We will have about an hour of training and the rest will be eating food, and playing games. I think it will be really fun. This is the first time that our mission president is having us do this.
Everything is going great here. Some days are slower and some faster, but it's all good. I hope that everything is well at home and that this is a great week for you. Love You!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
That's great that you're going to have the sister missionaries over for dinner this week. We haven't had too many member dinners, but we are beginning to. Something that we are doing with everyone we meet is leaving the "Savior's Peace and Blessing". It is a prayer that we leave in the home by the authority of the priesthood and we pray specifically for all of those in the family. We also pray for the Spirit to be with them in their home and that they may be able to recognize missionary opportunities as they come. I love doing them because they are simple, but powerful if the setting is right.
Mom, that's great that you are studying in the Doctrine and Covenants. Something that is great to do is to study something really short and really learn about it, so that it can be embedded in your mind and your testimony, rather than reading a whole lot, learning a whole little, and not being able to recall any of it a day or two later. Going back to the basics of study and prayer is what we tell everyone we teach to do. If you are having a hard time getting much out of your reading, pray, and if necessary, fast to be more sensitive to the things that the Lord want you to learn from what you read. I have days where I will read and get almost nothing from my studies, and other days where I'm mad that studies aren't longer because I just want to keep going on what I'm learning all day. I think the time that I am the most focused and worry free is during studies. I'm so grateful for it, and I really wish that I would have used a lot more time back at home doing it. But, try and see what works for you and let me know how this week goes.
This week has been hot and exhausting, but we were still able to get a lot of teaching done. This week just seemed to float by. It was quick, had a lot of work, but nothing really crazy. Today, though, we are having a Zone training that will last the entire afternoon and night. It's going to start at 2:00 p.m. and go until about 9:00 p.m. We will have about an hour of training and the rest will be eating food, and playing games. I think it will be really fun. This is the first time that our mission president is having us do this.
Everything is going great here. Some days are slower and some faster, but it's all good. I hope that everything is well at home and that this is a great week for you. Love You!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Easter fun!
4-21-14
I got the Easter package-thank you so much for that!! We ate through the candy pretty quick and I really enjoyed those "Last Days of Christ" papers. Those were neat! It was a fun Easter Sunday out here! The message that we shared with people this week was the church's Easter video that they put out, "Because of Him". You have probably seen it multiple times because it is all over the church's websites and they even bought out the youtube banner so that it would be on the home page and a lot more people could watch it. It was awesome to just talk about the Savior and His atonement this entire week and study it a little more thoroughly. This Easter Sunday was great, too. Everyone was super happy and nice at church. We had a few investigators show up, and they really enjoyed it. We went to a member's home for lunch and dinner, and at our dinner appointment, they had a 3 year old son, and we helped them set up an Easter egg hunt for him. When they let him start hunting for the eggs, he was screaming the entire time, especially whenever he would find an egg. He is such a hyper kid. I wish I would have caught it on my camera. He just screams when he gets excited. It was so funny. That was the highlight for the week. It sounds like you all had a nice Easter, even though the week was a little rough.
Dad, I have heard of that "Everyday Missionaries" book a lot. Everyone says that it is really good, but I don't think a lot of the members know about it here. Tonight we are going to be going to our ward mission leader's home with another family for family home evening, and we are doing a short lesson on how they can do member missionary work. We are going to talk a lot about Elder Ballard's talk in this last conference and how they can use Preach My Gospel to learn how to become member-missionaries. Hopefully, it all goes well. That is awesome that you are studying up on how you can invite others to hear the Gospel. I still feel apprehensive about approaching someone to learn about the gospel, but once you get past the first few seconds, it's easy because either they just say no and walk away, or they say sure and you just start going into your message. The key is to just grab their attention really quick and to ask them some question that really gets them thinking, in which you can provide a few quick answers.
Let me know if my letter ever got to you because I think that after I sent it off, I might have messed up the address, so it may not have gotten to you. I'm sorry if it didn't! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
I got the Easter package-thank you so much for that!! We ate through the candy pretty quick and I really enjoyed those "Last Days of Christ" papers. Those were neat! It was a fun Easter Sunday out here! The message that we shared with people this week was the church's Easter video that they put out, "Because of Him". You have probably seen it multiple times because it is all over the church's websites and they even bought out the youtube banner so that it would be on the home page and a lot more people could watch it. It was awesome to just talk about the Savior and His atonement this entire week and study it a little more thoroughly. This Easter Sunday was great, too. Everyone was super happy and nice at church. We had a few investigators show up, and they really enjoyed it. We went to a member's home for lunch and dinner, and at our dinner appointment, they had a 3 year old son, and we helped them set up an Easter egg hunt for him. When they let him start hunting for the eggs, he was screaming the entire time, especially whenever he would find an egg. He is such a hyper kid. I wish I would have caught it on my camera. He just screams when he gets excited. It was so funny. That was the highlight for the week. It sounds like you all had a nice Easter, even though the week was a little rough.
Dad, I have heard of that "Everyday Missionaries" book a lot. Everyone says that it is really good, but I don't think a lot of the members know about it here. Tonight we are going to be going to our ward mission leader's home with another family for family home evening, and we are doing a short lesson on how they can do member missionary work. We are going to talk a lot about Elder Ballard's talk in this last conference and how they can use Preach My Gospel to learn how to become member-missionaries. Hopefully, it all goes well. That is awesome that you are studying up on how you can invite others to hear the Gospel. I still feel apprehensive about approaching someone to learn about the gospel, but once you get past the first few seconds, it's easy because either they just say no and walk away, or they say sure and you just start going into your message. The key is to just grab their attention really quick and to ask them some question that really gets them thinking, in which you can provide a few quick answers.
Let me know if my letter ever got to you because I think that after I sent it off, I might have messed up the address, so it may not have gotten to you. I'm sorry if it didn't! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Companion Becoming a Woman! Haha!
4-14-14
Dad, that is an awesome story. It is definitely scary to think about how to approach someone and offer them something from the church, but that is something that just comes with practice, which I'm sure you know from your mission. That is really great that you handed the Book of Mormon to that lady. I can understand why the sisters weren't as excited when you told them that it was out of their area. That usually seems to happen a lot. We find a lot of people that are interested in learning, but they always end up being out of our boundaries. But, I've never cared so much, because as long as someone teaches them, then I'm happy with that. Now, you'll just have to follow up with her and ask her how her daughter like having her own copy next time you see her. This last Wednesday I started reading in the Book of Mormon from the beginning and I am going to read the whole thing once through because I've done it before, but not since I've been out on my mission. I've read large pieces of it here and there, but not front to back. I am going to try and finish it in 25 days. Right now I am at the end of 2 Nephi. How are your studies going? Are you getting a lot from them?
This week was a little slower for us, but we still had a lot of really great lessons. Our ward is getting more involved in missionary work and things are slowly starting to click more. The one thing that happened last week that I wanted to tell you has to do with working out. After emails last week, Elder Lawless wanted to go to a nutrition shop by our house to see if they had any good protein shakes that he could get. So, we went in and Elder Lawless talked to the guy working there and told him that he wanted a protein shake that would help him bulk up. The guy asked him what he had been taking and Elder Lawless pointed to a bottle that they had on one of the bottom shelves and told him that it was "that one". The worker started laughing and said, "You know that stuff is for women right?" Apparently, the protein Elder Lawless was taking was soy based and it was meant to boost estrogen levels. Haha! So, all he has been doing for the past month is becoming a woman! Hahaha! He was super upset when he found that out. But after that, the guy showed him another good shake and he ended up buying that. The whole thing was super funny! I still tease him about his estrogen shake. Well, I hope that everything goes well this week for you and thank you for the letters you send me! I really appreciate those! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Dad, that is an awesome story. It is definitely scary to think about how to approach someone and offer them something from the church, but that is something that just comes with practice, which I'm sure you know from your mission. That is really great that you handed the Book of Mormon to that lady. I can understand why the sisters weren't as excited when you told them that it was out of their area. That usually seems to happen a lot. We find a lot of people that are interested in learning, but they always end up being out of our boundaries. But, I've never cared so much, because as long as someone teaches them, then I'm happy with that. Now, you'll just have to follow up with her and ask her how her daughter like having her own copy next time you see her. This last Wednesday I started reading in the Book of Mormon from the beginning and I am going to read the whole thing once through because I've done it before, but not since I've been out on my mission. I've read large pieces of it here and there, but not front to back. I am going to try and finish it in 25 days. Right now I am at the end of 2 Nephi. How are your studies going? Are you getting a lot from them?
This week was a little slower for us, but we still had a lot of really great lessons. Our ward is getting more involved in missionary work and things are slowly starting to click more. The one thing that happened last week that I wanted to tell you has to do with working out. After emails last week, Elder Lawless wanted to go to a nutrition shop by our house to see if they had any good protein shakes that he could get. So, we went in and Elder Lawless talked to the guy working there and told him that he wanted a protein shake that would help him bulk up. The guy asked him what he had been taking and Elder Lawless pointed to a bottle that they had on one of the bottom shelves and told him that it was "that one". The worker started laughing and said, "You know that stuff is for women right?" Apparently, the protein Elder Lawless was taking was soy based and it was meant to boost estrogen levels. Haha! So, all he has been doing for the past month is becoming a woman! Hahaha! He was super upset when he found that out. But after that, the guy showed him another good shake and he ended up buying that. The whole thing was super funny! I still tease him about his estrogen shake. Well, I hope that everything goes well this week for you and thank you for the letters you send me! I really appreciate those! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Loved General Conference
4-7-14
You asked about going to the Ft. Lauderdale open house. No, we don't get to go because it is just barely outside the boundaries of our mission. I did get to watch all of General Conference, and I loved it! It seemed too short to me, though. I wish it would last the entire week. :)
This was another great week of work. We didn't get as much done as we did last week, but it was still good. We invited everyone we talked to and taught to watch General Conference, so hopefully they did. One of our investigators, Don, came for the last session of General Conference, and he said that he thought it was very interesting. He says that about everything. But, I thought that all of the talks were great for him to hear, because they all focused on the basics and foundation of the Gospel and the things that we have taught him. So, hopefully, it had a good influence on him. I also like Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk and how he invited every member to get a copy of Preach My Gospel and to make it a part of their studies. I'm excited for you all to take on the challenge that the sister missionaries gave you. Having members with us as missionaries is so powerful and important in lessons and fellowshipping those we teach. It's a great opportunity to be involved in the work. I honestly don't know how that referral was made, because I didn't do it. I guess it was just suppose to happen so that you all now have the opportunity and challenge to hand out the Book of Mormon and share the Gospel with someone. I'll be praying for you all to find someone to share it with, so be attentive, and take the opportunity when it arises. I will be waiting to hear what you guys have found in the future. I will continue to pray for you guys, and thank you for your support and prayers, as well. I love you and I hope that this week goes well for you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
You asked about going to the Ft. Lauderdale open house. No, we don't get to go because it is just barely outside the boundaries of our mission. I did get to watch all of General Conference, and I loved it! It seemed too short to me, though. I wish it would last the entire week. :)
This was another great week of work. We didn't get as much done as we did last week, but it was still good. We invited everyone we talked to and taught to watch General Conference, so hopefully they did. One of our investigators, Don, came for the last session of General Conference, and he said that he thought it was very interesting. He says that about everything. But, I thought that all of the talks were great for him to hear, because they all focused on the basics and foundation of the Gospel and the things that we have taught him. So, hopefully, it had a good influence on him. I also like Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk and how he invited every member to get a copy of Preach My Gospel and to make it a part of their studies. I'm excited for you all to take on the challenge that the sister missionaries gave you. Having members with us as missionaries is so powerful and important in lessons and fellowshipping those we teach. It's a great opportunity to be involved in the work. I honestly don't know how that referral was made, because I didn't do it. I guess it was just suppose to happen so that you all now have the opportunity and challenge to hand out the Book of Mormon and share the Gospel with someone. I'll be praying for you all to find someone to share it with, so be attentive, and take the opportunity when it arises. I will be waiting to hear what you guys have found in the future. I will continue to pray for you guys, and thank you for your support and prayers, as well. I love you and I hope that this week goes well for you!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Loving his area!!!!
3-31-14
Luckies!!!! I want snow!!!!!! Appreciate it while it is there. Yep, I served around Sister Partridge for about 3 or so months, I think. She is awesome! Hopefully, things go well for her at home and she can get back out here soon. (This is a Sister that went home with some heart problems) So it sounds like you had a good meeting yesterday. We deal with people asking us about the church's stance on Gays a lot! We just tell them that we believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and that we are to follow the commandments of God. We aren't against those who are pro-gay, but just like another sin like breaking the law of chastity, we believe that everyone has the free agency to choose for themselves between right and wrong. Those that claim to have no control over their sexual orientation, and were born that way, is not true. It is a temptation or trial that is given to them in life, and just like any other temptation, they are to put off the natural man and choose right. Usually people who ask us about this question just want to cause problems and argue, so they just try and anti whatever we tell them, so we usually just leave it at that.
You asked me if I need anything. The only thing I'd like right now is the Insanity workout program. Other than that, I can't really think of anything I need. I just barely bought a hard drive so that I could get talks and songs from all of my companions, since they all have some really good ones that I want. I can't wait for General Conference! It seems like it just barely happened, and now it's here again! It's weird to think that I was in Salt Lake with Keegan and Taylor and Cody for last April's Conference. It's nice to just take two whole days and listen to the Prophet, Apostles, and Church Leaders. I learn so much from it. The work in our area has been awesome! I can't remember if I said this before, but our ward is doing a Book of Mormon reading challenge and a fast to go with it, and all of the members are doing it, and there have been some crazy results. We have great people that we are working with. The members are getting involved in the work, and the work itself is hastening! The Work has been picking up and we are finding more people to teach. Those that we visit with, who have been following along with the challenge, have been seeing tons of blessings in their lives and they are just happier. It's great! I LOVE this area! I get to sleep on a nice queen mattress, we have full car, and I love serving with Elder Lawless. He and I have a lot of fun together, and I have learned a lot from him as well! I hope that your week goes well and I will talk to you later! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
Luckies!!!! I want snow!!!!!! Appreciate it while it is there. Yep, I served around Sister Partridge for about 3 or so months, I think. She is awesome! Hopefully, things go well for her at home and she can get back out here soon. (This is a Sister that went home with some heart problems) So it sounds like you had a good meeting yesterday. We deal with people asking us about the church's stance on Gays a lot! We just tell them that we believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and that we are to follow the commandments of God. We aren't against those who are pro-gay, but just like another sin like breaking the law of chastity, we believe that everyone has the free agency to choose for themselves between right and wrong. Those that claim to have no control over their sexual orientation, and were born that way, is not true. It is a temptation or trial that is given to them in life, and just like any other temptation, they are to put off the natural man and choose right. Usually people who ask us about this question just want to cause problems and argue, so they just try and anti whatever we tell them, so we usually just leave it at that.
You asked me if I need anything. The only thing I'd like right now is the Insanity workout program. Other than that, I can't really think of anything I need. I just barely bought a hard drive so that I could get talks and songs from all of my companions, since they all have some really good ones that I want. I can't wait for General Conference! It seems like it just barely happened, and now it's here again! It's weird to think that I was in Salt Lake with Keegan and Taylor and Cody for last April's Conference. It's nice to just take two whole days and listen to the Prophet, Apostles, and Church Leaders. I learn so much from it. The work in our area has been awesome! I can't remember if I said this before, but our ward is doing a Book of Mormon reading challenge and a fast to go with it, and all of the members are doing it, and there have been some crazy results. We have great people that we are working with. The members are getting involved in the work, and the work itself is hastening! The Work has been picking up and we are finding more people to teach. Those that we visit with, who have been following along with the challenge, have been seeing tons of blessings in their lives and they are just happier. It's great! I LOVE this area! I get to sleep on a nice queen mattress, we have full car, and I love serving with Elder Lawless. He and I have a lot of fun together, and I have learned a lot from him as well! I hope that your week goes well and I will talk to you later! Love ya!
Love,
Elder A. Whaley
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