24 August 2009

Thanks for all the emails. I love them. Keep them coming.

Steven, I'm impressed. I can't believe you'll be driving to school without braces. I probably won't recognize your buff self when I get back.

And Dave, good luck in Panama and with your new calling. I probably have no idea how you feel, but it makes me think of yesterday at church. I taught Sunday School about the Sabbath day. I learned I would be teaching when I entered the room, but it turned out well.

Oh, I was thinking the other day, if you ever send another photo I think I would like one of my baptism. I think that would be neat. I got some pictures from Aunt Julie in a letter today. Thanks Julie, I miss eating with you guys.

Oh yeah, I have another story where I felt unqualified this week. We needed to do an intercambio on Friday so Antonio could get a baptism interview. I was sent to a city called Trinidad and my companion was Elder Wally. One week out of the MTC. We flew to Argentina together. Needless to say, we're not the strongest speakers there are. But wow, the day went perfectly. We were lost for a bit, but used our map and we learned a lot. I was able to share some of the tricks I've learned with Elder Wally.

We also went to Paso de los Torros for a baptismal interview for the sisters and I met Sister Wirthlin's friend, but I'm sure she told you that before I did. Oh, and I was wearing my glasses because we were traveling. I sleep well on the buses and don't wear the contacts. On regular days I wear contacts and they work well.

So the trial of the week was we didn't have power from Monday until Friday. There was a miscommunication with the offices in paying the bill. No micro wave, no fridge, no hot water and no lights. We managed. Our neighbors are a member missionary couple. They wired us a light and we showered at their house, but it got worse before it got better. Then I got sick with a cold because it rained all day Wednesday, but thanks to my Nyquil I survived and I'm feeling better. We got our lights back and we had a baptism. I'm happy again. Antionio is 18 and his story is cool. He's one of those people who stopped smoking in one day. Then 2 days before the baptism he was having doubts, but we resolved that through the help of the Spirit and he's doing well.

So Brad met the sister of my companion this week. That's awesome. (And to Brad, yeah, my comp dies [goes home] this change [transfer]. So I don't know if you'll meet him. You'll be leaving when he gets there.)
Good luck with school Steven and Michelle and Mom. I recognized a lot of the teachers you'll have. I set a really high standard for you guys to follow ... yeah right.

Thanks for your prayers. Thanks for everything. I hope this letter was a little more interesting than last week. Love ya lots.

Elder Jeffrey Bryan Whitaker

17 August 2009

Thanks for all the emails. This reply will have more errors than usual because the “y” key doesn't work well, so I'm boycotting it. [But Mom is fixing all the errors.]

This week went well. I'm still in Sarandi del Yi with Elder Calarco. We had a baptism on Saturday. Romina is 8. Her grandma is a member, but her mom isn't. We're working with her mom a bit.

So I gave my talk yesterday. It went well. I was a bit nervous because the topic was members and missionary work, but it went well. I found a quote from President Hinckley that when you save one little girl you save generations. I then told then about all the missionaries we've had in our family as a result of our first ancestors that joined the church. I counted 13 missionaries, but I know I was missing some. You can never know the effects of missionary work. We are all members as a result of some missionary we've never met. That's something to think about.

Well, sorry, I don't really have anything entertaining, or a good story to tell this week. I'll try to do better next week.

Oh, and Dave, congratulations. I'll be looking for that gold trim next time. That sounds awesome.

Oh, yeah. When people ask how I'm doing you have permission to say I'm doing well. I remember people would always ask about Brad and my thought would be, “How should I know? I haven't seen him in 2 Years.”

But okay, we gotta run. We're in Montevideo for a dentist visit and our bus leaves soon.

Thanks for everything. The church is true. I love the people and I love that everyone loves the missionaries.

Me

12 August 2009

Hey everybody, thanks for the emails. And just so you all know, I haven't figured out how to receive or send pictures. Maybe one day I'll figure it out and be able to see them. I have some good photos on my camera, maybe one day you'll be able to see them.

I'm glad the missionaries are exciting the ward about the work. I'm speaking in sacrament meeting next week about missionary work. I'm excited for this.
The temple last week was awesome. I loved it. I thought they would give me headphones but they never came, oh well. We went to the distribution center. I bought their last little hymn book for Laura; she'll be baptized this transfer. We also bought a picture New Testament for Jose's family. I baptized Jose; his dad needs to get divorced and married still. We'll have another baptism this week. Romina is 8 and her grandma is a member; her mom has some things she needs to work on still.

Transfers are today, but Elder Calarco and I are staying. I'm happy for this. At zone conference President da Silva said the new mission goal is a baptism every week. That's what were working for. I really don't know how many lessons we teach a week. Yesterday we had like 8, including converts, less actives, and new members.

It's interesting to me the little things that the Lord blesses us with, the things that don't really matter. For example Elder Calarco got a new suit because his old one was getting too small. I offered to buy it from him and it fits very well. Impeccable. I always wanted a pin striped suit and now I have one. Another thing is we now have bikes. They were donated to us by the Bonefon family. There are so many little things that always fortify my testimony on the mission.

Oh, yeah. Michelle I'm happy for your purple shirt. I bought 1 purple tie this week. It made me think of Aunt Holly. I love my purple ties.
So my group from the MTC arrived today. Wow. I'm so glad I took Spanish all those years.

Well, thanks for everything. Thanks for the prayers. Thanks for the gospel.

Elder Whitaker

3 August 2009

Hey everybody. Thanks for all the emails.

Unfortunately, we don't have much time this week and I don't have time to read any of them. Tomorrow were traveling to Montevideo as a zone to go to the temple. I'm really excited about that.

But the work is progressing. This week we'll baptize Jose de Brum. He's 8 years old. He comes from a humble family. I love visiting them. This Wed we're going to have family night with them. I'm excited.

I finally saw fruits of the ministering angels I've been promised for years. A mad drunk uncle threw what was basically an iron pencil at me the other day and missed. So good.

I'm keeping busy in the work and I don't miss you at all. I'm happy. I see blessings in my life every day.

But I gotta go because we have a discussion in 13 minutes. Love you all. Stay beautiful Michelle.

jef