Welcome Back Scott we all missed you and are so glad your home.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sorry about last week, internet was terrible, i cant figure out why you didnt get one the other weeks, i have written one every week?
Well i guess this one better be longer than? haha.
So an update. I dont know if you got the email. I'm zone leader serving with Elder Mcdonald. This transfer has been pretty rough at first but things are smoothing out in the work. its been really hard because for 4 weeks in a row we found the golden standard for investigators meaning 5 new every week, but the next week it seemed like they wernt interested any more. That was kind of discouraging. Its hard to get your excitement up so much and then for them to dissapear from the map, its gets a little frustrating. But this week has been great!
We were able to get back in contact with a couple of them, and turns out they are really sweet. So i have a few stories.
So the first one happened on the 4th of July. I happened to be on exchanges with the assistants in their area, but the experience happened in our area. This guy named Javier Garcia a week before called the church and wanted a Lamb of God DVD, and he asked for representitives. So we went there, and found out all he could speak was spanish and some broken english. Well through his broken english and through my broken spanish, we were able to set up another appointment and tell him we would bring a spanish speaker with us next time. Which happened to be the 4th of july. So back to the 4th. We were on exchanges and the other elders went to teach him and brought a spanish speaking member. Well it turns out that Javier grew up right next to a LDS church in Mexico, and only had good things to say about the mormons. He said he had always been interested in learning more! Also they talked to us roomate who also wants to learn more! So we were really stoked about that!
Now number 2 story
So this lady named Sue, we tracted into her about a few months ago, with elder Dawson, and we have done service for her a few times since, but thats all its amount to be. Well so we were doing service for her agian, and again i was on exchanges when this happened, so the missionarys were at a woodchip pile filling up buckets, and all of a sudden our bishops wife shows up, and starts grilling our Sue ( whos from Thailand) about what church she goes to, and who she is. I guess just being very Blunt and Bold! Then proceeded to invite her to church. Well on the way back to Sue's house they drove by the church and showed her it. Well the next day, which was yesterday , right after sacrament guess who showed up to church?? SUE! it was sweet. We havent even taught her yet! Also it was fast and testimony meeting which is always scary as a missionary, you never know whos going to get up and say something crazy! But it happened to be a very good one. Anyways she stayed the whole time, and loved it! At the end she was talking to us, and said that this is her 4th church and that she feels something here that she has not felt in the others!!!!
So we are going back to do service for her tomorrow and going to give her a THAI book of mormon, and teach her because she wants to know more about Joseph smith.
Well amazing divine intervention right there. I'm so grateful for sister Sylvester and not being afraid to open her mouth, for if she didnt Sue may not have ever come to church. On top of that we are teaching a 7th day mormon still named Herbert. He beleives everything about the church except about the sabbath day. We found out that he finally prayed, he hasnt recieved his answer yet, but we are working with him in getting that answer. Also we have this family his name is Brian and his son is Brian that we are teaching, and hes really excited to learn. Also some others we are teaching that are sweet. So to let you know I am trunky, but i believe i am still working hard! Especially seeing that itinerary, thats enough to send a missionary in trunk mode! haha j/k
So thats whats new with me. Its so crazy the clock is running down thats for sure! what 3 1/2 weeks, but heck whos counting haha. Im excited to see you guys. Hey i was wondering, what clothes will i wear when im realeased? haha All i have is proselying cloths? Anyways thats the least of my worries haha i thought i would just ask. Well i really hope you get this email. ALso i sent the BYU thing out you can call the mission office again if they didnt get it, but i had a member do it for me. Well i love you guys and will see you in a few WEEKS~!~~~!~!~!!~~~ hahaha. Love elder whipple
Well i guess this one better be longer than? haha.
So an update. I dont know if you got the email. I'm zone leader serving with Elder Mcdonald. This transfer has been pretty rough at first but things are smoothing out in the work. its been really hard because for 4 weeks in a row we found the golden standard for investigators meaning 5 new every week, but the next week it seemed like they wernt interested any more. That was kind of discouraging. Its hard to get your excitement up so much and then for them to dissapear from the map, its gets a little frustrating. But this week has been great!
We were able to get back in contact with a couple of them, and turns out they are really sweet. So i have a few stories.
So the first one happened on the 4th of July. I happened to be on exchanges with the assistants in their area, but the experience happened in our area. This guy named Javier Garcia a week before called the church and wanted a Lamb of God DVD, and he asked for representitives. So we went there, and found out all he could speak was spanish and some broken english. Well through his broken english and through my broken spanish, we were able to set up another appointment and tell him we would bring a spanish speaker with us next time. Which happened to be the 4th of july. So back to the 4th. We were on exchanges and the other elders went to teach him and brought a spanish speaking member. Well it turns out that Javier grew up right next to a LDS church in Mexico, and only had good things to say about the mormons. He said he had always been interested in learning more! Also they talked to us roomate who also wants to learn more! So we were really stoked about that!
Now number 2 story
So this lady named Sue, we tracted into her about a few months ago, with elder Dawson, and we have done service for her a few times since, but thats all its amount to be. Well so we were doing service for her agian, and again i was on exchanges when this happened, so the missionarys were at a woodchip pile filling up buckets, and all of a sudden our bishops wife shows up, and starts grilling our Sue ( whos from Thailand) about what church she goes to, and who she is. I guess just being very Blunt and Bold! Then proceeded to invite her to church. Well on the way back to Sue's house they drove by the church and showed her it. Well the next day, which was yesterday , right after sacrament guess who showed up to church?? SUE! it was sweet. We havent even taught her yet! Also it was fast and testimony meeting which is always scary as a missionary, you never know whos going to get up and say something crazy! But it happened to be a very good one. Anyways she stayed the whole time, and loved it! At the end she was talking to us, and said that this is her 4th church and that she feels something here that she has not felt in the others!!!!
So we are going back to do service for her tomorrow and going to give her a THAI book of mormon, and teach her because she wants to know more about Joseph smith.
Well amazing divine intervention right there. I'm so grateful for sister Sylvester and not being afraid to open her mouth, for if she didnt Sue may not have ever come to church. On top of that we are teaching a 7th day mormon still named Herbert. He beleives everything about the church except about the sabbath day. We found out that he finally prayed, he hasnt recieved his answer yet, but we are working with him in getting that answer. Also we have this family his name is Brian and his son is Brian that we are teaching, and hes really excited to learn. Also some others we are teaching that are sweet. So to let you know I am trunky, but i believe i am still working hard! Especially seeing that itinerary, thats enough to send a missionary in trunk mode! haha j/k
So thats whats new with me. Its so crazy the clock is running down thats for sure! what 3 1/2 weeks, but heck whos counting haha. Im excited to see you guys. Hey i was wondering, what clothes will i wear when im realeased? haha All i have is proselying cloths? Anyways thats the least of my worries haha i thought i would just ask. Well i really hope you get this email. ALso i sent the BYU thing out you can call the mission office again if they didnt get it, but i had a member do it for me. Well i love you guys and will see you in a few WEEKS~!~~~!~!~!!~~~ hahaha. Love elder whipple
Monday, March 30, 2009
Well to start. I have decided to go to Byu Idaho, so send out whatever needs to be taken care of, and thankyou so much for doing so.
This week has really been a challange. So the day of transfers i arrived there early to meet my new trainee. His name is Elder Dawson from Pinegree Idaho. Hes way cool hes a farm boy from Idaho. Then i found out where i was going. Its called Ypsilanti area. Its right by Ann Arbor, and if you remember Ann Arbor is where i started my mission out. So the first day was way stressful. I had no idea where i was going, what i was doing, or where i was. White washing means they take out both missionarys from the area, and they put me and elder Dawson into it. So we dont know where the church is, where we are, it took us a little bit to even find our apartment haha. Then we had to find the church because we had an appointment i guess at 3:00. So a lot of getting lost and meeting new people. Also on top of that i get the opportunity to teach and train elder Dawson, and also to be steward over the district and help them grow. So thats kind of how the first few day were. Alot of stress, and you know me i dont get stressed, actually i wouldnt call it stress i would call it heavenly father stretching me passed where im usually comfortable at. I know he does this to make me stronger though and to bless others so more than willing. Its just been a tough week haha. On the other hand though, the lord is richly blessing us. We found around 17 potential investigators this week, and even had a guy named Jonathon who we talked to while he was biking show up to church. So God's having mercy on us in our situation which I am thankful for. I guess the reason why the missionarys got whitewashed is because this area has been known for Disobedient missionarys hanging out with missionarys, and the last missionarys wernt working as hard as they should be. So we dont have many investigators, but with the lords blessings we found 4 new investigators this week. So things are rolling forth. Elder Dawson is really getting the hang of things, and is going to be a great missionary. But as for my week, thats kind of how it went.
I'm grateful for this opportunity that i have, because i have to be a perfect example for this new missionary, its really helping me work and finish strong. So great things are going to happen. Its funny also about this ward. All they talk about is how they are the best ward in the mission, and that we are priveldged to be here. That we better be the best missionarys in the mission to have been sent here. Which is Hogwash, these members are so full of pride its hillarious. Its almost like a highschool football team, bragging about how good they are. Well I wont doubt them, but im not going to believe it untill i see it :-)
So otherwise summerized its a interesting ward.
Heres my new adress: 225 south Grove Apt D-212 Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Oh guess what else- It SNOWED YESTERDAY! Man, I thought i was done with winter. Crazy Michigan its so unpredictable, it may be 70 degrees outside, then drop in an hour and snow. Hopefully the real spring is just around the corner.
Other than all that not to much new here. Oh also I cant wait for General Conference, im so excited. Its like missionary Super Bowl! It should be a good one. I hope you all will be able to watch it. Well i love you all and will talk to you next week.
Love- Elder Whipple
This week has really been a challange. So the day of transfers i arrived there early to meet my new trainee. His name is Elder Dawson from Pinegree Idaho. Hes way cool hes a farm boy from Idaho. Then i found out where i was going. Its called Ypsilanti area. Its right by Ann Arbor, and if you remember Ann Arbor is where i started my mission out. So the first day was way stressful. I had no idea where i was going, what i was doing, or where i was. White washing means they take out both missionarys from the area, and they put me and elder Dawson into it. So we dont know where the church is, where we are, it took us a little bit to even find our apartment haha. Then we had to find the church because we had an appointment i guess at 3:00. So a lot of getting lost and meeting new people. Also on top of that i get the opportunity to teach and train elder Dawson, and also to be steward over the district and help them grow. So thats kind of how the first few day were. Alot of stress, and you know me i dont get stressed, actually i wouldnt call it stress i would call it heavenly father stretching me passed where im usually comfortable at. I know he does this to make me stronger though and to bless others so more than willing. Its just been a tough week haha. On the other hand though, the lord is richly blessing us. We found around 17 potential investigators this week, and even had a guy named Jonathon who we talked to while he was biking show up to church. So God's having mercy on us in our situation which I am thankful for. I guess the reason why the missionarys got whitewashed is because this area has been known for Disobedient missionarys hanging out with missionarys, and the last missionarys wernt working as hard as they should be. So we dont have many investigators, but with the lords blessings we found 4 new investigators this week. So things are rolling forth. Elder Dawson is really getting the hang of things, and is going to be a great missionary. But as for my week, thats kind of how it went.
I'm grateful for this opportunity that i have, because i have to be a perfect example for this new missionary, its really helping me work and finish strong. So great things are going to happen. Its funny also about this ward. All they talk about is how they are the best ward in the mission, and that we are priveldged to be here. That we better be the best missionarys in the mission to have been sent here. Which is Hogwash, these members are so full of pride its hillarious. Its almost like a highschool football team, bragging about how good they are. Well I wont doubt them, but im not going to believe it untill i see it :-)
So otherwise summerized its a interesting ward.
Heres my new adress: 225 south Grove Apt D-212 Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Oh guess what else- It SNOWED YESTERDAY! Man, I thought i was done with winter. Crazy Michigan its so unpredictable, it may be 70 degrees outside, then drop in an hour and snow. Hopefully the real spring is just around the corner.
Other than all that not to much new here. Oh also I cant wait for General Conference, im so excited. Its like missionary Super Bowl! It should be a good one. I hope you all will be able to watch it. Well i love you all and will talk to you next week.
Love- Elder Whipple
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Hello
Im sorry to hear about your tooshy. I hope its not broke i could only imagine how bad it hurts. Yes i do still have the disney dollars as well.
So about college, i really still dont know which one i want to go to. When does the fall semester start? I wonder if I'm even going to have time to come home and adjust haha, or if I will have to leave a few weeks after i get home. Which brings in what car Im going to use, where im going to live, etc. Hmm seems like a lot to plan for, and if I only have a few weeks before the fall semester starts, that might be kind of crazy.
I guess from this end over here, i just dont have enough information maybe to make a choice/plan of action. So i was wondering if maybe you can find out when the fall semester starts, and some other details.
Well other than that... Yea crazy 9 days and i have only 4 months left.
Wow! Thats nutz. Time is really flying. To answer your questions about the weather its been around 32-46 degrees here. Which is funny because i consider that warm now haha. We have been on bike for a couple of days now because we had to take the car in to get some work on it. So we have been biking around and i kind of know how you feel, i have had saddle bum lately ( meaning my butt hurts too haha) I havent ridden bike in a while i guess. Well update from last week is that we receieved a sweet referral from the missionarys just below us in Gross Pointe, her name is Shantel and she has been meeting with missionarys sice December. She believes the church is true. So the first appointment we had with her, we set a baptismal date with her for April 26th. She was excited and is going to prepare herself for that. So its amazing we dunk one and another is placed in our path. Also our investigator Jalil (the one that dropped us then picked us back up a couple times) well he woke up sunday morning, and i guess what tired of everything. Hes sick of saying hes going to change and not aplying any action, so he woke up that yesterday morning and threw away all his cigaretts, lighters, ash trays, and came to church saying hes never going to smoke again. So great things are happening. We found 12 potential investigators this past week, and 2 pretty cool investigators, so lots of good things are happening. Hopefully the lord will continue to richly bless us.
Ohh i just remembered something i needed to ask you about. My licence expires this May 27th. Remember that lady we asked her if we could renew it and shes like " you dont need to it will still be good". Well i think thats not the case. If there is someway you can go to the dmv some how and figure out i guess how to renew my licence, so i dont have to pay a fee, or take another test or something. I really dont know what happens if you dont renew it, but i know i need a good drivers licence to continue to drive out here. So if you could look into that for me i would greatly appreciate it :-)
Well I think thats it for us. Spring is around the corner, so is Transfers. Its coming up this sunday. It will be interesting because i could leave this transfer and spend my last 4 months in another area, or spend another here then leave. Interesting to see what happens, i will keep you posted.
Well tell everyone i love them and will talk to you next week. THanks again for everything
-Love Elder Whipple
Oh ps. Guess what i found last week in Detroit when i was on exchanges with the assistants ..... A dime bag hahaha. Which in English terms is a bag of either Cocaine, crack, or weed. It was funny He took a picture of it. The powder was still in it. We could have made a quick hundred dollars haha.
Dont worry we hid it under some grass so knowone will be able to smoke it. Just thought you guys might think thats funny. Anyways talk to you next week!
Im sorry to hear about your tooshy. I hope its not broke i could only imagine how bad it hurts. Yes i do still have the disney dollars as well.
So about college, i really still dont know which one i want to go to. When does the fall semester start? I wonder if I'm even going to have time to come home and adjust haha, or if I will have to leave a few weeks after i get home. Which brings in what car Im going to use, where im going to live, etc. Hmm seems like a lot to plan for, and if I only have a few weeks before the fall semester starts, that might be kind of crazy.
I guess from this end over here, i just dont have enough information maybe to make a choice/plan of action. So i was wondering if maybe you can find out when the fall semester starts, and some other details.
Well other than that... Yea crazy 9 days and i have only 4 months left.
Wow! Thats nutz. Time is really flying. To answer your questions about the weather its been around 32-46 degrees here. Which is funny because i consider that warm now haha. We have been on bike for a couple of days now because we had to take the car in to get some work on it. So we have been biking around and i kind of know how you feel, i have had saddle bum lately ( meaning my butt hurts too haha) I havent ridden bike in a while i guess. Well update from last week is that we receieved a sweet referral from the missionarys just below us in Gross Pointe, her name is Shantel and she has been meeting with missionarys sice December. She believes the church is true. So the first appointment we had with her, we set a baptismal date with her for April 26th. She was excited and is going to prepare herself for that. So its amazing we dunk one and another is placed in our path. Also our investigator Jalil (the one that dropped us then picked us back up a couple times) well he woke up sunday morning, and i guess what tired of everything. Hes sick of saying hes going to change and not aplying any action, so he woke up that yesterday morning and threw away all his cigaretts, lighters, ash trays, and came to church saying hes never going to smoke again. So great things are happening. We found 12 potential investigators this past week, and 2 pretty cool investigators, so lots of good things are happening. Hopefully the lord will continue to richly bless us.
Ohh i just remembered something i needed to ask you about. My licence expires this May 27th. Remember that lady we asked her if we could renew it and shes like " you dont need to it will still be good". Well i think thats not the case. If there is someway you can go to the dmv some how and figure out i guess how to renew my licence, so i dont have to pay a fee, or take another test or something. I really dont know what happens if you dont renew it, but i know i need a good drivers licence to continue to drive out here. So if you could look into that for me i would greatly appreciate it :-)
Well I think thats it for us. Spring is around the corner, so is Transfers. Its coming up this sunday. It will be interesting because i could leave this transfer and spend my last 4 months in another area, or spend another here then leave. Interesting to see what happens, i will keep you posted.
Well tell everyone i love them and will talk to you next week. THanks again for everything
-Love Elder Whipple
Oh ps. Guess what i found last week in Detroit when i was on exchanges with the assistants ..... A dime bag hahaha. Which in English terms is a bag of either Cocaine, crack, or weed. It was funny He took a picture of it. The powder was still in it. We could have made a quick hundred dollars haha.
Dont worry we hid it under some grass so knowone will be able to smoke it. Just thought you guys might think thats funny. Anyways talk to you next week!
Hello good to hear from you dad!
Congratulations mom on the book! Im excited to hear how everything pans out. ALso to read it when i get home! Maybe you will be the next harry potter author person (i cant remeber her name). That would way sweet!
So it sounds like you all are being very industrius, trying new things and stuff. Thats great to hear! I hope and pray everything continues to work out. Im still curious though, whats a krisper in your fridge? How exactly do they work? Sounds really interesting.
Also im sorry to hear about Billy Brandon, thats really sad to hear. But im sure the funeral service went well, and they couldnt have picked a better speaker. Did you teach the plan of salvation over the speaker? hehe. I wish more people new what we new, they would be alot happier at times of death.
So an update on the baptism. It happened! I didnt do the baptism, which is completley fine by me. Her friend that introduced her to the church and helped along the way baptised her. I was so excited when i heard because we didnt think he was going to be able to come, but last minute notice he was, and she was excited! So it was a great week as well. We found lots of potentials and some new investigaotrs hopefully we will begin to have more baptisms in the future, and be able to see the change come into the lifes of Gods children.
Oh also.... Disneyland huh! Sweet! I hope you guys have a blast, tell Mickey I say hi.... then try and hand him a passalong card for a free book of mormon. Tell him its from me haha. Im excited for you guys. Im also excited because its almost SPRING!!!!!!!
I can hardly wait. We had a 60 degree day this past week and i about ran door to door i was so excited! Its been a bone chilling winter, but i can see spring around the corner. Its funny missionary moral is alot higher in good weather haha.
Oh also i havent heard much from Elder Padeken about his ride status. Buts its ok i think he has it sort out, so dont feel like you need to make your plans around him, im pretty sure he has it figured out by now. It was more of a possibility than a plan set in stone, sorry i should have mentioned that.
Ok now to hop onto another subject. I cant beleive another baby! haha. Its going to be crazy to see them all, I will be honest there has been so many, i dont know if i have all the names memorized. But im excited for everyone and there new little ones.
Have i ever told you guys how many im going to have... I want 7-10 haha all my companions think im nutz!
And to the last subject. Byu. Ya I still dont know what i want to do yet. Mainly because i dont know whats out there. I want to come home and do some research. Since i have been out alone the economy has gone from pretty good to ........ nots so great. Only in 19 months! So i dont know what kind of careers will make money, what wont. Well I do know one and thats Medical, but thats something im not interested at all. So when i get home I'm banking on doing some research and checking into it. Also i ask alot of people out here how they like there job. So hopefully i will decide sometime. Oh also about the prayer thing, i have prayed soooooo much on what im suppose to do where im suppose to go (College wise) Im convinced heavenly father is not going go tell. Hes letting me make this descision. The answer i have gotten is no answer, so untill i get one im going to keep making descisions that feel good :-)
Well Things are going great out here! Sounds like things are going good out there! I'll continue to work hard, you dont have to worry about me getting truncky or given up, I'm in it for the end. Theres a scripture in D&C 58 that says somewhere along the lines
" Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall never be given again."
Im living day to day by that scripture.
I love you guys tell everyone i say Hi
I will talk to you next week
-Love elder whipple
Again tell mom congratulations and congratulations on starting a new business i hope and pray it will be prosperous!
Congratulations mom on the book! Im excited to hear how everything pans out. ALso to read it when i get home! Maybe you will be the next harry potter author person (i cant remeber her name). That would way sweet!
So it sounds like you all are being very industrius, trying new things and stuff. Thats great to hear! I hope and pray everything continues to work out. Im still curious though, whats a krisper in your fridge? How exactly do they work? Sounds really interesting.
Also im sorry to hear about Billy Brandon, thats really sad to hear. But im sure the funeral service went well, and they couldnt have picked a better speaker. Did you teach the plan of salvation over the speaker? hehe. I wish more people new what we new, they would be alot happier at times of death.
So an update on the baptism. It happened! I didnt do the baptism, which is completley fine by me. Her friend that introduced her to the church and helped along the way baptised her. I was so excited when i heard because we didnt think he was going to be able to come, but last minute notice he was, and she was excited! So it was a great week as well. We found lots of potentials and some new investigaotrs hopefully we will begin to have more baptisms in the future, and be able to see the change come into the lifes of Gods children.
Oh also.... Disneyland huh! Sweet! I hope you guys have a blast, tell Mickey I say hi.... then try and hand him a passalong card for a free book of mormon. Tell him its from me haha. Im excited for you guys. Im also excited because its almost SPRING!!!!!!!
I can hardly wait. We had a 60 degree day this past week and i about ran door to door i was so excited! Its been a bone chilling winter, but i can see spring around the corner. Its funny missionary moral is alot higher in good weather haha.
Oh also i havent heard much from Elder Padeken about his ride status. Buts its ok i think he has it sort out, so dont feel like you need to make your plans around him, im pretty sure he has it figured out by now. It was more of a possibility than a plan set in stone, sorry i should have mentioned that.
Ok now to hop onto another subject. I cant beleive another baby! haha. Its going to be crazy to see them all, I will be honest there has been so many, i dont know if i have all the names memorized. But im excited for everyone and there new little ones.
Have i ever told you guys how many im going to have... I want 7-10 haha all my companions think im nutz!
And to the last subject. Byu. Ya I still dont know what i want to do yet. Mainly because i dont know whats out there. I want to come home and do some research. Since i have been out alone the economy has gone from pretty good to ........ nots so great. Only in 19 months! So i dont know what kind of careers will make money, what wont. Well I do know one and thats Medical, but thats something im not interested at all. So when i get home I'm banking on doing some research and checking into it. Also i ask alot of people out here how they like there job. So hopefully i will decide sometime. Oh also about the prayer thing, i have prayed soooooo much on what im suppose to do where im suppose to go (College wise) Im convinced heavenly father is not going go tell. Hes letting me make this descision. The answer i have gotten is no answer, so untill i get one im going to keep making descisions that feel good :-)
Well Things are going great out here! Sounds like things are going good out there! I'll continue to work hard, you dont have to worry about me getting truncky or given up, I'm in it for the end. Theres a scripture in D&C 58 that says somewhere along the lines
" Behold his mission is given unto him, and it shall never be given again."
Im living day to day by that scripture.
I love you guys tell everyone i say Hi
I will talk to you next week
-Love elder whipple
Again tell mom congratulations and congratulations on starting a new business i hope and pray it will be prosperous!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Hello!
Guess what!!
We found a family last night. Guess how many?
A family with 7 kids!!! Thats like our family haha.
We were only able to teach the 4 kids and the parents, but they seem very sweet. We are going to go back and teach them this week i hope.
Things in Roseville, Mi are going great. We had Jalil show up to church, oh get this something amazing happened with Jalil. He let us teach him again, hes almost back to his normal self. It was crazy those past 2 weeks, satan really made it hard for him, and we almost lost him. But he was there at church with his 4 year old son Kashee, and they are both doing great. Also a status report on Marilyn (our investigator thats getting baptised March 7th) shes doing amazing. She has gone 5 days without smoking!!! She wasnt able to go to church because of an accident she had, but other than that shes doing great, and hopefully will be set for baptism in a few weeks.
Things are going really well for our zone too. We found a lot of new investigators this week, and lots of miracles are happening. Like in my old area of bloomfield hills they had a 19 year old show up to the singles ward there, and tell them hes been studying about the church for 2 years, and knows its true. So they taught him twice this week and set a baptismal date for 3 weeks from now! Also they had another random person show up to church! Its amazing the lord is richly blessing us and the work is seeming to go forward. Oh also something they have been doing lately is reducing the number of missionarys in are mission. When i first came out there was maybe 150 missionaries, now there is only 108 in our mission, and they are reducing it to 92. They are sending more missionaries to the more fruitful missions, and hopeing to do this so the members will make more of an impact in the work out here. But with the number of missionaries decreasing, we are still staying at the same average we have been at for years in this mission, so we are still pulling the same weight, heavenly father is blessing us so much.
But overall we had a really good week. Its been cold and windy weather, but we are getting through it. Man i love this work. I'm so grateful to be out here to serve the lord for 2 years, to assist him in this glorius work to help him bring to the pass the imortality and eternal life of man. Its been interesting lately i have been pondering about my other companions, and other missionarys. I have thought to myself " Why was it so easy for me to come on a mission and have a pure desire to serve"? MY conclusion everytime is: my upbringing. Because of my parents and familys example. I was raised by amazing parents who love me. Its funny you get towards the end and you just reflect on stuff i guess.
Well everythings going great. Me and Elder Maxwell are working hard, and we will continue to work hard! Hopefully lots of good things will &continue to happen, I know they will, because we have a loving heavenly father, and all though i have had some trialing areas like Bloomfield hills, I know that it only made me a stronger missionary.
Well i love you guys and will talk to you next week :-)
Love- Elder whipple
Guess what!!
We found a family last night. Guess how many?
A family with 7 kids!!! Thats like our family haha.
We were only able to teach the 4 kids and the parents, but they seem very sweet. We are going to go back and teach them this week i hope.
Things in Roseville, Mi are going great. We had Jalil show up to church, oh get this something amazing happened with Jalil. He let us teach him again, hes almost back to his normal self. It was crazy those past 2 weeks, satan really made it hard for him, and we almost lost him. But he was there at church with his 4 year old son Kashee, and they are both doing great. Also a status report on Marilyn (our investigator thats getting baptised March 7th) shes doing amazing. She has gone 5 days without smoking!!! She wasnt able to go to church because of an accident she had, but other than that shes doing great, and hopefully will be set for baptism in a few weeks.
Things are going really well for our zone too. We found a lot of new investigators this week, and lots of miracles are happening. Like in my old area of bloomfield hills they had a 19 year old show up to the singles ward there, and tell them hes been studying about the church for 2 years, and knows its true. So they taught him twice this week and set a baptismal date for 3 weeks from now! Also they had another random person show up to church! Its amazing the lord is richly blessing us and the work is seeming to go forward. Oh also something they have been doing lately is reducing the number of missionarys in are mission. When i first came out there was maybe 150 missionaries, now there is only 108 in our mission, and they are reducing it to 92. They are sending more missionaries to the more fruitful missions, and hopeing to do this so the members will make more of an impact in the work out here. But with the number of missionaries decreasing, we are still staying at the same average we have been at for years in this mission, so we are still pulling the same weight, heavenly father is blessing us so much.
But overall we had a really good week. Its been cold and windy weather, but we are getting through it. Man i love this work. I'm so grateful to be out here to serve the lord for 2 years, to assist him in this glorius work to help him bring to the pass the imortality and eternal life of man. Its been interesting lately i have been pondering about my other companions, and other missionarys. I have thought to myself " Why was it so easy for me to come on a mission and have a pure desire to serve"? MY conclusion everytime is: my upbringing. Because of my parents and familys example. I was raised by amazing parents who love me. Its funny you get towards the end and you just reflect on stuff i guess.
Well everythings going great. Me and Elder Maxwell are working hard, and we will continue to work hard! Hopefully lots of good things will &continue to happen, I know they will, because we have a loving heavenly father, and all though i have had some trialing areas like Bloomfield hills, I know that it only made me a stronger missionary.
Well i love you guys and will talk to you next week :-)
Love- Elder whipple
Friday, February 20, 2009
Hello!
Yep no email on Monday because of presidents day.
So this is going to be just a quick note.
About my friend thats fine i think he just needs to know 4 months in advance. Im still not sure if he needs a ride or not.
Oh about the economy ya its pretty bad. We were tracting today in Detroit and its soo bad. I think on a whole street there was only 3 house that werent burt out or abandoned. The bad economy is hitting hard out here, well has been hitting hard. Me and my companion were talking like how it feels like Detroit is a ghost town, and were wondering today i bet in the 60's Detroit looked pretty sweet, and was a nice place to live.
Anyways better news for this week. We had 3 people come to church this sunday, and Jalil is meeting with us again ( actually meeting with us today). Its crazy missionary work is so up and down. One day everyone may drop you, the next week you find someone who wants to just get baptised. Its amazing. Also we just had zone conference, so our zone leader instruction is over, hopefully it went good, i think it did. But its sweet i always love zone conference its like missionary energy drinks or something it pumps us up. Other than that the works doing great, were working hard, and Marilyn is still set for baptism for March 8th. Shes gone 5 days without smoking. Yeah! Shes also the most accountable Detroit person i have ever met, she renews my hope for the people.
Glad to hear things are going ok with the economy and all, well i guess if things werent going good, you would tell me they were going good anyways so you dont worry me. hehe right? But ill take it like you said, i pray things are going good for you and dad.
So Bishop Ott, thats cool, he'll be a great bishop! The lord really watches out for our family, makes sure we are behaving. First we live directly behind the Bishop, now we live right next to him....hmmm we are slowly getting closer hahaha.
Well I love you guys and hope things are going good. Thinks out here is getting better, the weather is kind of getting less cold, Spring is just around the corner.
I will talk to you all next week, possibly thurday i think we are going to move our preperation day so we can go to the temple.
Love you guys Elder Whipple
ps. Wait i just read "I got the house empty", when i read that i took it as knowone was home at the house right now so you have it all to yourself. When i read it the second time it sounded like the house is empty? I remeber you saying you had possibly a buyer? Maybe Explain further in your next email :-)
Yep no email on Monday because of presidents day.
So this is going to be just a quick note.
About my friend thats fine i think he just needs to know 4 months in advance. Im still not sure if he needs a ride or not.
Oh about the economy ya its pretty bad. We were tracting today in Detroit and its soo bad. I think on a whole street there was only 3 house that werent burt out or abandoned. The bad economy is hitting hard out here, well has been hitting hard. Me and my companion were talking like how it feels like Detroit is a ghost town, and were wondering today i bet in the 60's Detroit looked pretty sweet, and was a nice place to live.
Anyways better news for this week. We had 3 people come to church this sunday, and Jalil is meeting with us again ( actually meeting with us today). Its crazy missionary work is so up and down. One day everyone may drop you, the next week you find someone who wants to just get baptised. Its amazing. Also we just had zone conference, so our zone leader instruction is over, hopefully it went good, i think it did. But its sweet i always love zone conference its like missionary energy drinks or something it pumps us up. Other than that the works doing great, were working hard, and Marilyn is still set for baptism for March 8th. Shes gone 5 days without smoking. Yeah! Shes also the most accountable Detroit person i have ever met, she renews my hope for the people.
Glad to hear things are going ok with the economy and all, well i guess if things werent going good, you would tell me they were going good anyways so you dont worry me. hehe right? But ill take it like you said, i pray things are going good for you and dad.
So Bishop Ott, thats cool, he'll be a great bishop! The lord really watches out for our family, makes sure we are behaving. First we live directly behind the Bishop, now we live right next to him....hmmm we are slowly getting closer hahaha.
Well I love you guys and hope things are going good. Thinks out here is getting better, the weather is kind of getting less cold, Spring is just around the corner.
I will talk to you all next week, possibly thurday i think we are going to move our preperation day so we can go to the temple.
Love you guys Elder Whipple
ps. Wait i just read "I got the house empty", when i read that i took it as knowone was home at the house right now so you have it all to yourself. When i read it the second time it sounded like the house is empty? I remeber you saying you had possibly a buyer? Maybe Explain further in your next email :-)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Dec 8
Dear Family,
Seems like i just emailed, time really is flying by. I cant believe 17
more days and I get to talk to you.
Well this week went pretty good. We found some potential people, and are
just continuing to work with the ones we have now. I think marie
(britney's sister) getting more excited for her baptism on January 4th,
and we are just continuing to look for more people to teach. Thanks for
the packages, you should see my apartment i guarentee you Me and elder
Ramirez have the most decorated apartment in the mission! We got our tree
up, i bought a few lights, and used the decorations you sent out, thanks!
As well for the new shoes, hahaha i have to show you before and after
pictures of my shoes, youll laugh. My worn pare compared to the brand new
ones, dont even look the same. And as well for the coat, its been pretty
cold lately. It snowed this week, my first real time biking in snow, its
pretty crazy, good thing i wear a helmet though so im fine out there. Its
so funny though i truly am having the experience of my life, i cant think
of anytime in the future where i will have the opportunity to bike in 20
degree weather, with snow flying at me, in a dangerous city haha. Its so
much fun doing missionary work! But as always, no need to worry, when it
gets colder i throw on more clothing, i know God doesnt want a hero, he
wants me to be smart, and im always safe and protected this I know. I
always joke, i think if i was a missionary i probably would never go into
Detroit. But its such an interesting feeling, you can ask any missionary
out here and they will tell you they feel protected, its an amazing
feeling. Well other than that i guess not to much is going on right now.
Oh my phone call will be on christmas day.. just like last year. How it
works is you guys are going to have to call me. And we just got notice
that the churches cell-phone contract is not unlimited on christmas so we
are going to either have to do it at a members home, or the church. I will
let you know next week. But its between the hours of 3-5 pm or after 7pm.
And this is MIChigAN time haha. So I dont know what time it will be in
Arizona, youll have to look it up, so i dont catch you guys at an bad time
haha.
Well tell everyone Hello, and wish them a happy hollidays! And tell them i
will see them next Christmas :-) Love Elder Whipple
Seems like i just emailed, time really is flying by. I cant believe 17
more days and I get to talk to you.
Well this week went pretty good. We found some potential people, and are
just continuing to work with the ones we have now. I think marie
(britney's sister) getting more excited for her baptism on January 4th,
and we are just continuing to look for more people to teach. Thanks for
the packages, you should see my apartment i guarentee you Me and elder
Ramirez have the most decorated apartment in the mission! We got our tree
up, i bought a few lights, and used the decorations you sent out, thanks!
As well for the new shoes, hahaha i have to show you before and after
pictures of my shoes, youll laugh. My worn pare compared to the brand new
ones, dont even look the same. And as well for the coat, its been pretty
cold lately. It snowed this week, my first real time biking in snow, its
pretty crazy, good thing i wear a helmet though so im fine out there. Its
so funny though i truly am having the experience of my life, i cant think
of anytime in the future where i will have the opportunity to bike in 20
degree weather, with snow flying at me, in a dangerous city haha. Its so
much fun doing missionary work! But as always, no need to worry, when it
gets colder i throw on more clothing, i know God doesnt want a hero, he
wants me to be smart, and im always safe and protected this I know. I
always joke, i think if i was a missionary i probably would never go into
Detroit. But its such an interesting feeling, you can ask any missionary
out here and they will tell you they feel protected, its an amazing
feeling. Well other than that i guess not to much is going on right now.
Oh my phone call will be on christmas day.. just like last year. How it
works is you guys are going to have to call me. And we just got notice
that the churches cell-phone contract is not unlimited on christmas so we
are going to either have to do it at a members home, or the church. I will
let you know next week. But its between the hours of 3-5 pm or after 7pm.
And this is MIChigAN time haha. So I dont know what time it will be in
Arizona, youll have to look it up, so i dont catch you guys at an bad time
haha.
Well tell everyone Hello, and wish them a happy hollidays! And tell them i
will see them next Christmas :-) Love Elder Whipple
Dec 15
Hello,
Well this week was Brutal! Alot of tracting, with missed appointments.
Probably like 10 appointments people made and didnt keep, means alot of
tracting out in the freezing cold. But its good its all good, its expected
we were being blessed to much. About the baptisms, we have one coming up
January 18th still with Marie. Hopefully we will be setting some new
baptismal dates with other people, who know what the lord has in store.
Yes I did get the package, and the shoes fit perfect thanks so much! Its
funny because they are size 15 and my feet still expand them. Crazy! It
was cool because when i first got in this apartment I found a pair of
sneakers that fit me. A Big Polyneisian missionary left them because he
was going home, so i took them.... they are size 16, im probably the only
missionary in the mission they will fit, so i snagged them.
Oh also about you guys being able to eat Gluten, dad told me about that.
That is so amazing! I cant wait to see you guys eat a whole pizza and not
just the top :-) hehe.
So about the phone calls, we are still working that out. I think we will
have you call the church phone, and remeber i think utah is 2 hours
earliers...... i think. But i will tell you for sure next monday what time
to expect for the call.
I have to tell you mom how crazy it is to hear about the nieces and
nephews. I cant picture Ethan as a bad boy running around, and that katie
and Hailey are playing together, its funny to think i have never even seen
them and they are already playing together. Wow time does fly and it
continues to. This christmas marks my 17/24 mark. Wow only 7 months left.
Thats so crazy haha, again dont worry im not trunky i just think its funny
to think about how fast this time out here flys, and how much i have
changed and grown. My goal when i come home is to have a 6 pack hahahahah.
Funny huh! Its not really my goal, but me and elder padeken who if you
remeber is my zone leader and i have served with and was MTC companions
with and is like my favorite missionary friend out here, decided we are
going to lose lots of weight before we go home, so maybe it could happen
haha.
But anyways things are going good. The work is moving forward, slowly but
surely. Its cold, but hey thats Michigan. I love you guys and thanks for
the christmas packages, im planning on sending out a christmas card to
everyone in the family today, so look for it. I will send 2 of them to
Kathy & Steves house. Well love you guys and i will talk to you next
week.
Well this week was Brutal! Alot of tracting, with missed appointments.
Probably like 10 appointments people made and didnt keep, means alot of
tracting out in the freezing cold. But its good its all good, its expected
we were being blessed to much. About the baptisms, we have one coming up
January 18th still with Marie. Hopefully we will be setting some new
baptismal dates with other people, who know what the lord has in store.
Yes I did get the package, and the shoes fit perfect thanks so much! Its
funny because they are size 15 and my feet still expand them. Crazy! It
was cool because when i first got in this apartment I found a pair of
sneakers that fit me. A Big Polyneisian missionary left them because he
was going home, so i took them.... they are size 16, im probably the only
missionary in the mission they will fit, so i snagged them.
Oh also about you guys being able to eat Gluten, dad told me about that.
That is so amazing! I cant wait to see you guys eat a whole pizza and not
just the top :-) hehe.
So about the phone calls, we are still working that out. I think we will
have you call the church phone, and remeber i think utah is 2 hours
earliers...... i think. But i will tell you for sure next monday what time
to expect for the call.
I have to tell you mom how crazy it is to hear about the nieces and
nephews. I cant picture Ethan as a bad boy running around, and that katie
and Hailey are playing together, its funny to think i have never even seen
them and they are already playing together. Wow time does fly and it
continues to. This christmas marks my 17/24 mark. Wow only 7 months left.
Thats so crazy haha, again dont worry im not trunky i just think its funny
to think about how fast this time out here flys, and how much i have
changed and grown. My goal when i come home is to have a 6 pack hahahahah.
Funny huh! Its not really my goal, but me and elder padeken who if you
remeber is my zone leader and i have served with and was MTC companions
with and is like my favorite missionary friend out here, decided we are
going to lose lots of weight before we go home, so maybe it could happen
haha.
But anyways things are going good. The work is moving forward, slowly but
surely. Its cold, but hey thats Michigan. I love you guys and thanks for
the christmas packages, im planning on sending out a christmas card to
everyone in the family today, so look for it. I will send 2 of them to
Kathy & Steves house. Well love you guys and i will talk to you next
week.
Dec 22
Yes I did get the packages, thanks for the goodies I love triscuits &
Spray cheese Yummyyy!
But as for me this christmas we have plans to go caroling as a district on
christmas eve and a member family the Mielkes are going to have us over on
christmas day. So what i will do is call some time random durring the day
on christmas and i will tell you the time and phone number to call me back
on. So when i call i wont be able to talk really i will just give you the
information and then hang up and you will be able to talk to me then at
9;00 michigan time haha.
Guess what we got sooo much snow this past week. Theres at least more than
a foot out there. Its so funny because that whole day we probably pushed
like 15-20 cars out of the snow, and shuvvled so many driveways wooh i was
tired. And then just last night its was 2 degrees with 40 mile an hour
winds which from what i heard brought it down to -15 with wind chill
brrrr it was so cold. We drove though so we were ok, but ill tell you its
crazy trying to bike on snow, its a real adventure. Oh Also did you get
your christmas cards? Its crazy i printed them off and almost fell over
when i realized how big they were printing out as. I thought i was just
printing off the small regular ones. Tells you how electronic savy ive
become. Well i look forward to talking to you guys on wednesday its wierd
to think its come so soon. Then it will be mothers day...... then ALL THE
TIME!! haha. Well ilove you guys.. get better. I know how you feel i have
been sick and miserable my self lately. What makes it worse is biking
while having the cold, my nose has felt like a broken faucet it turns off,
plugs up, and drips. But im doing a lot better today so thats good, and i
know you guys will to. Love you and have a merry christmas and christmas
eve and hollidays -Elder whipple
ps. me and my companion the day after christmas are going to be singing
"Ill be home for christmas....you can count on me". (Were pretty excited
about that) :)
Spray cheese Yummyyy!
But as for me this christmas we have plans to go caroling as a district on
christmas eve and a member family the Mielkes are going to have us over on
christmas day. So what i will do is call some time random durring the day
on christmas and i will tell you the time and phone number to call me back
on. So when i call i wont be able to talk really i will just give you the
information and then hang up and you will be able to talk to me then at
9;00 michigan time haha.
Guess what we got sooo much snow this past week. Theres at least more than
a foot out there. Its so funny because that whole day we probably pushed
like 15-20 cars out of the snow, and shuvvled so many driveways wooh i was
tired. And then just last night its was 2 degrees with 40 mile an hour
winds which from what i heard brought it down to -15 with wind chill
brrrr it was so cold. We drove though so we were ok, but ill tell you its
crazy trying to bike on snow, its a real adventure. Oh Also did you get
your christmas cards? Its crazy i printed them off and almost fell over
when i realized how big they were printing out as. I thought i was just
printing off the small regular ones. Tells you how electronic savy ive
become. Well i look forward to talking to you guys on wednesday its wierd
to think its come so soon. Then it will be mothers day...... then ALL THE
TIME!! haha. Well ilove you guys.. get better. I know how you feel i have
been sick and miserable my self lately. What makes it worse is biking
while having the cold, my nose has felt like a broken faucet it turns off,
plugs up, and drips. But im doing a lot better today so thats good, and i
know you guys will to. Love you and have a merry christmas and christmas
eve and hollidays -Elder whipple
ps. me and my companion the day after christmas are going to be singing
"Ill be home for christmas....you can count on me". (Were pretty excited
about that) :)
Jan 5
Well lots of changes have happened. I was the only one transferred in my district. Im not training either. Im a zone leader for the Bloomfield hills North zone. Its really crazy with what happened. Because usually when you go zone leader you go into with an experienced zone leader as your senior companion, to teach you how to do everything. But that didnt happen. They have me as the senior zone leader with a crazy missionary thats been out for 9 months. Its so hard right now my companion his name is Elder Young hes from South Salt Lake. But the problem right now is he hates his mission. IM worried he may go home! Not if i have anything to say about it though. So yet another trial.. but im more than willing to go through it, i know im blessed with this challage so i can learn from it. I heard a qoute from church yesterday from elder Eyring he said" God wont get rid of our trials, rather he will helpu us go through them, and by doing so he'll change us. So i know this is how he shapes us into the children he wants us to be. Elder young is haveing a trial, because he just wants to chill and being zone leader makes is so much more accountable, which makes him mad. And my trial is that i have to deal with it and still get work done, and still be a zone leader even though i dont quite know what im suppose to do. Haha! I love being a missionary, hardest 2 years of my life so far....but best! Please I really appreciate all of the family to pray for Elder Young! Pray that he can get a strong testimony, and the real spirit of missionary work. I cant stand to see him so depressed all the time!
Well I know this letter sounds crazy, but this has been the first time i have been able to vent in a week. I really am doing good. I have served with many challanging companions but the lord always blesses me with a way through it.
I'm serving in the Roseville area. This area is sweet because it has half supberbs and half Detroit. So im still here in Detroit! I was so excited when i found out. We have zone conference tomorrow as well. We have to plan a 70 minute instruction for the zone ahh, well let me take that back I have to haha my companion i think is going to sleep. Anyways again pray for him :-)
But things are good. I love this area, it has a lot of potential. We get lots of head quarter referalls, the second most in the mission. Marvelous things are going to happen i can feel it. Well i love you guys and appreciate all that you do. Thanks for the email. I cant wait to come home and eat a Giant Burger with you both! Bun included!!!
Well i love you all and will talk to you next week, Wish me luck :-)
Well I know this letter sounds crazy, but this has been the first time i have been able to vent in a week. I really am doing good. I have served with many challanging companions but the lord always blesses me with a way through it.
I'm serving in the Roseville area. This area is sweet because it has half supberbs and half Detroit. So im still here in Detroit! I was so excited when i found out. We have zone conference tomorrow as well. We have to plan a 70 minute instruction for the zone ahh, well let me take that back I have to haha my companion i think is going to sleep. Anyways again pray for him :-)
But things are good. I love this area, it has a lot of potential. We get lots of head quarter referalls, the second most in the mission. Marvelous things are going to happen i can feel it. Well i love you guys and appreciate all that you do. Thanks for the email. I cant wait to come home and eat a Giant Burger with you both! Bun included!!!
Well i love you all and will talk to you next week, Wish me luck :-)
Jan 12
Well it was a bitter sweet week.
I will talk about the sweet first, then proceed with the bitter. The lord blessed us amazingly this week. Headquarters sent us 11 referrals mainly all bible referrals. That means 11 people saw the churches commercial and called and requested us to bring them their free bible. Well from there we took adavantage of that, and ended up getting 13 new investigators this week. It was insane! We found 2 familys and lots of other people that really could go far! So we were pretty excited about that. Also we gave our Zone conference Instruction, which i think went pretty good. Thats a huge burden taken from us. The zone improved from last week, the ward mission leader in this ward is coming out with us and putting the hammer down on members to do the work, and so things are really starting to come together.
Now for the bitter part of the week. Well my companion still has been depressed, hardly talks to me, didnt help me write the zone conference instruction, so i wrote the whole thing... etc. But hes come to a conclusion as to why hes so unhappy. He called president Rawson a few days ago and is planning to meet with him tomorrow. The problem he is having is that hes not worthy to be out here. He told me that he has a past transgression he didnt repent for before coming out. Hes been out 9 months and has kind of just faked is way through it. Hes been with disobediant companions so hes felt fine and not depressed. Untill he was called to be zone leader, more was required of him, and without the spirit to help him, he hasnt been able to handle it. So he thinks hes going to be sent home. Its been a rough week for him, lots of tears, and prayers. But he recognizes that whatever happens is for the best, and that if they let him stay hes going to work so hard! If they send him home hes going to work towards coming back. Either way these 9 months have been good for him because hes gained a testimony about the gospel. Hes is just finally decided to take the consequences for his actions. So thats kind of the rough part of the week. But whatever comes of tomorrow will be for the best. I hope he stays, but i know right now something has to change hes not happy at all.
So thats been my week. Like a rollercoaster it has had its ups and downs, but i remain to stay optimistic!
Im excited to be zone leader in this sweet area, and i will continue to work hard tell my time is up reguardless of the circumstances!
So a little more about my area. Its funny because our ward im in is sooo small. Its probably the size of a branch. The first week i got here a lady from Detroit went up there and bore her testimony on a experience that she had. She told us of a friend she had, that casted a voodoo charm on her, which she then prayed and jesus came to her and put 3 fingers on her chest, and told her to annoit herself with oil and she will be healed. Anyways it was a pretty crazy story. Those are the kind of testimonys you never here in Utah haha.
Our area like I said covers half Detroit half suberbs much like Ferndale did. We get the 2nd most referrals in the mission, which im so excited for! It really is a humble area. I see a lot of good things happening here. The cool thing is i may finish my mission here. President Rawson is trying to leave missionarys in their areas for 6-8 months. So this could be my last area. Although that would be crazy, that would be a long time to be zone leader for.
Hey about the remodeling... i wish i was there too. I miss doing that stuff. When i get home we will have to do some kind of project to fill that big whole in the back yard haha.
Hmm i cant really think of anything else. So i love you guys and hope you have a good week. Dont worry about me and my companion things will work out, whatever the lord has in store will be for the best. I will let you know what ends up happening next week.
Love- Elder whipple
I will talk about the sweet first, then proceed with the bitter. The lord blessed us amazingly this week. Headquarters sent us 11 referrals mainly all bible referrals. That means 11 people saw the churches commercial and called and requested us to bring them their free bible. Well from there we took adavantage of that, and ended up getting 13 new investigators this week. It was insane! We found 2 familys and lots of other people that really could go far! So we were pretty excited about that. Also we gave our Zone conference Instruction, which i think went pretty good. Thats a huge burden taken from us. The zone improved from last week, the ward mission leader in this ward is coming out with us and putting the hammer down on members to do the work, and so things are really starting to come together.
Now for the bitter part of the week. Well my companion still has been depressed, hardly talks to me, didnt help me write the zone conference instruction, so i wrote the whole thing... etc. But hes come to a conclusion as to why hes so unhappy. He called president Rawson a few days ago and is planning to meet with him tomorrow. The problem he is having is that hes not worthy to be out here. He told me that he has a past transgression he didnt repent for before coming out. Hes been out 9 months and has kind of just faked is way through it. Hes been with disobediant companions so hes felt fine and not depressed. Untill he was called to be zone leader, more was required of him, and without the spirit to help him, he hasnt been able to handle it. So he thinks hes going to be sent home. Its been a rough week for him, lots of tears, and prayers. But he recognizes that whatever happens is for the best, and that if they let him stay hes going to work so hard! If they send him home hes going to work towards coming back. Either way these 9 months have been good for him because hes gained a testimony about the gospel. Hes is just finally decided to take the consequences for his actions. So thats kind of the rough part of the week. But whatever comes of tomorrow will be for the best. I hope he stays, but i know right now something has to change hes not happy at all.
So thats been my week. Like a rollercoaster it has had its ups and downs, but i remain to stay optimistic!
Im excited to be zone leader in this sweet area, and i will continue to work hard tell my time is up reguardless of the circumstances!
So a little more about my area. Its funny because our ward im in is sooo small. Its probably the size of a branch. The first week i got here a lady from Detroit went up there and bore her testimony on a experience that she had. She told us of a friend she had, that casted a voodoo charm on her, which she then prayed and jesus came to her and put 3 fingers on her chest, and told her to annoit herself with oil and she will be healed. Anyways it was a pretty crazy story. Those are the kind of testimonys you never here in Utah haha.
Our area like I said covers half Detroit half suberbs much like Ferndale did. We get the 2nd most referrals in the mission, which im so excited for! It really is a humble area. I see a lot of good things happening here. The cool thing is i may finish my mission here. President Rawson is trying to leave missionarys in their areas for 6-8 months. So this could be my last area. Although that would be crazy, that would be a long time to be zone leader for.
Hey about the remodeling... i wish i was there too. I miss doing that stuff. When i get home we will have to do some kind of project to fill that big whole in the back yard haha.
Hmm i cant really think of anything else. So i love you guys and hope you have a good week. Dont worry about me and my companion things will work out, whatever the lord has in store will be for the best. I will let you know what ends up happening next week.
Love- Elder whipple
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
