Great Week!

1-13-14

Mom,

I got the birthday package!  Thank you so much!  Things are going good and the work is picking back up from the holidays.  We worked hard this week to try to get it back up and passed quite a few of our goals and got over 20 lessons, which is awesome!!!  Semisi is getting baptized Wednesday at 5- FINALLY!!!!!  It's been like pullin' teeth and trying to catch him over the past 6 months, but finally everything is set for Wednesday!  WAHOO!!  We are working with the same people that I told you on christmas and we were able to meet up with most of them this last week, so that was good!  We're hoping to have another great week!  This morning was pretty fun.  We got up and went hiking and went off the beaten trail for a couple of hours, got to be in the forested area for awhile, and got scratched up and all that fun stuff -since we are always in the city!  Hopefully, non of us get poison ivy or oak since it's up there!  But, it was fun!  I'm excited to enjoy the rest of my P-day!  This last week, I went on exchanges with our district leader's companion in their area!  It was a lot of fun.  Elder Strauss (from Virginia) went and did service up in the Los Altos hills pulling weeds, then later that night we were contacting on University, which is like a little strip mall.  We ate at Cheesecake Factory and after that, when we were contacting, we got offered dinner by 3 other members and then one of them bought us ice cream.  It was a pretty fun day!  So, this week has definitely been good.  I'm worried because transfers are next Tuesday and I've been here for 4 transfers now and so I might be getting moved but I reeeeeaaaaallllyyyy don't want to leave this area!!!!!!!  If I do, it will stink and I'll be really mad!!!  We'll see what happens!! But, other than that, we had a really good week!  Hopefully, you guys have a great week, too!  It sounds like the new ward theme is awesome!  Hopefully, all goes well for you all this week!  Love ya!

OFA ATU
Elder Whaley

Birthday countdown from family!
Birthday present from the Powell's.

Elder Whaley

Elder Whaley

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11 months out!!!!!

1-6-13

What?  Today is 11 months out?  I didn't even realize that!!!!  It's gone by way too fast!!   DANG!!!  My nose is alright I think.  The black eye has gone away and is tender still and it looks straight.  When I got hit, there was a bump, but I set it back supposedly, but it looks straight.  :/  It sounds like a lot of things happened over Christmas break.  Our ward switched to 9:30 and a lot of people showed up late.  It looked pretty empty right before we started, but it gradually filled up as the meeting kept going on.  This last week was alright.  It was still slow because of the holidays, so I'm glad they're over so we can hopefully get the momentum going again and teach people!  I got sick of people being out of town and not being able to meet because of the holidays!  Hopefully, this week goes a lot better.  Nothing new or exciting except we found out that president Watkins and his wife are going to be going around inspecting apartments thoroughly, interviewing us, and other things the next few weeks.  We need to clean-haha.  We'll see how that goes!  Hopefully, all is going well at home.  Love ya guys.  Have a great week!

Ofa Atu
Elder Whaley

12-30-13

It was good to talk to you on Christmas.  I forgot all the questions I was going to ask, sorry.  How did you get all the pictures of the people for the Christmas message?  That was probably my FAVORITE thing!!!!  It was awesome!  I still need to take a pic of it still.  This week was super slow with Christmas.  We were really low on lessons, but we did a lot of street contacting and found 2 potential investigators, so we'll see how they pan out.  Even though it was slow, it was lots of fun this week.  right after I talked with you guys, later that night we went to the church for a Zone gift exchange and while we were waiting for people, we played basketball and it got pretty intense...and now I have a black eye!  Wahoo!...an elbow to the face always feels good!  Hopefully, my nose is ok as well.  haha
Oh, the joys of mission life!  But, it's all good.  Yesterday was good.  Elder Dalton came back and visited, so I got to see him with his little beard-man that guy!  We had to give talks in Sacrament which went pretty well I thought.  It sounds like you guys are having fun on your Christmas break.  Hopefully, all goes well for you, especially staying home with Whitney and Vanessa-haha.  Love ya!

Elder Whaley
Of a Atu

Shad's stocking with one thing in it (who knows where
everything else is).

His gifts before opened.

Zone Christmas exchange?  

Putting something frozen on the black eye.

A fun gingerbread man for the Elders

Christmas Gift!

12-25-13

You said you wanted my testimony for your Christmas gift.  Here it is:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is SO TRUE!!!!!  Being on a mission has opened my eyes a lot more to the gospel and how it works and it in action.  The Atonement is Awesome!  I'm still learning about it, but it's awesome to watch people change through the atonement and to see it when they are humbled and feel the Savior's love!  I love feeling the Spirit so much!  It just is an awesome experience to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost as we are obedient and worthy!  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet that restored Christ's church back to this wonderful earth.  Through the power of God, he was able to translate the Book of Mormon.  One of the greatest gifts to the world!  The Book of Mormon is the evidence of the true church and is amazing.  If anyone wants to come closer to Christ or just be better, they need to read the Book of Mormon!  I learn things all the time!  It really stinks when people we love don't read the Book of Mormon, because I know what it holds and what it could do for them.  By coming on a mission, I have gained a testimony of the temple, going to the temple, etc.  It's amazing the power/sacredness it holds just walking on the temple grounds!  It is such a big tool for missionary work because getting less actives or investigators there makes it so they can feel the spirit and hopefully have a desire.  It's also awesome to watch people working on going to the temple.  Satan works hard to stop them, but it's awesome to watch them change and become happier!  The temple is such an awesome place!  Strive to attend regularly.  Your lives will be much better because of it.  I love to be able to go every once in awhile and feel the Spirit and enjoy going inside!  Church is awesome on Sundays.  Even though I didn't like it much before, it's because I didn't see the importance or the real reason!  But, now I see and it makes it so much better!  Church is a great place to learn and grow and deepen your testimony with those around you that you love.  I know that everything happens for a reason and God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts.  I am grateful to have a living prophet during this period of time.  I'm grateful for you and love you!  I bear theses things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love,
Elder Whaley