24 May 2010

So this week was really good. And I’m going to try to attach pictures again. I think it’s going to work.

So, here’s the miracle that describes the pictures. There is an old inactive man who lives in Rocha. The missionaries from 50 years ago would give him these “remember me” cards, with the Articles of Faith on the back, and a picture of the temple on the front with the missionary’s address and the mission office’s address. Well, believe it or not, I found Grandpa’s and Elder Richard G. Scott’s cards.

I couldn’t believe it at first. It’s funny, because I’ve shown other missionaries the cards and the Elder Scott card just blows their minds, but Grandpa’s card is more incredible to me. I’ve had them both laminated and I use them as bookmarks for now. I’m pretty sure if I went back I could find some of Grandpa’s companions’ cards. Cool, right? I also visited where Grandpa lived and took pictures of the house for him. I don’t know if it’s changed a lot, but the members say that’s where they lived and the remnants of the baptismal font are in the back yard still. Happy Father’s Day, Grandpa. Being able to live where Grandpa served has really taught me one thing. I’ve learned a lot about tender mercies and how God really loves each and every one of his children. In Grandpa’s journal you learn that when he was 20 years old he loved genealogy and family history. He’s loved that stuff all his life and now the Lord has been able to bless him even more. Neat, right?

Thanks for all the letters and emails. I love hearing from you all. Thanks for praying for me.

Love, Elder Whitaker

FYI, this house is now an old person home and a less-active member works there. That’s how we got in. We sang to the people there before we left. It was fun.

17 May 2010

So this week I found an incredible talk that I recommend to anyone who lives in a home, from the June 2009 Ensign, a talk by Elder Callister called Our Refined Heavenly Home. It’s a really good talk about preparing our home to be more like the celestial kingdom. This talk comes from a website speeches.byu.edu, and I’ve read a lot of good talks that reference that site. It would be cool to go look there. I think it’s where they post the Marriott Center talks.

Grandpa, apparently in your "sea sick six" was an Elder Millet. The Rocha family here knew him. And Elder Millet came back later for a second mission here. I also found the daughter of a sister in one of the photos in your journal. It was really cool, because yesterday was Mother’s Day here in Uruguay, and this sister got to see her mother at church.

So here’s a really weird miracle that happened this week. It was a tough week and our spirits were a bit down. I realized that and decided Saturday to change my attitude. Saturday I also decided for some reason to make my bed really well. I always make my bed, but I do it in my way and it wouldn’t pass anyone’s inspection except mine. It’s hard to make a top bunk bed, but I did it. I made my bed and changed my attitude, and Saturday was an incredible day. We had 6 lessons and watched the restoration movie with 3 families. Stunned in shock, I made my bed really well on Sunday too. We found 7 new investigators on Sunday. That has never happened in my mission, and 6 of them were young men within the ages of 17 and 30. There was a message sent and received. Kind of funny though. You repent and get blessed. But I repented from not making my bed well. Cool.

Hey, but I love you all a ton. Thanks for all the support, emails and prayers. This week I shared my testimony with an inactive member. I told him that what we were telling him is what Jesus Christ would be telling him if he were here in that moment. The Spirit testified to me that what I told him was true. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. It has been a huge blessing in my life. I thank you all for helping me get to this point in my life.

Love, Elder Whitaker