6-23-14
Malo Lelei,
This week was pretty good. We went to Santa Cruz on Monday and that was a lot of fun and it was really nice! Then, throughout the rest of the week, we did a lot of service-mostly pulling weeds and moving stuff! A lot of fun! I am loving this area! The new mission president is coming in on Saturday, so we'll see what happens. Hopefully, he keeps me here or that would really suck....fingers crossed! This week we had dinner with a part member Samoan family that we'll probably start teaching the lessons to. They enjoy having us come over. They're a super cool family! So that looks pretty promising and we have another Samoan kid we are going to start teaching, too! That's kinda what's going on right now that I can remember-haha. Everything blurs together sometimes and it's hard to remember-haha! Things are going good over here. Hopefully, things are going well for you back home. Just keep pushing through. There is a reason for everything and if we pray for help, Christ will be right next to us in the same yoke, but the trial won't be taken away! He will just make us stronger through his love! I know this church is true and I have definitely seen that on the mish! I love you guys and keep the faith and keep going!
Ofa Lahi Atu!
Elder Whaley
Friday, June 27, 2014
Doing Well!
6-17-14
Sounds like you had a good nice weekend-that's good! Trek sounds like fun. I wish they did that while we were there, but oh well, life goes on! This last week was good. We hit all of our goals and had a good week! It was a lot of fun! Man, I can't believe it's already half-way through the transfer! It's crazy! It's gone by so fast. I'm picking up on the language, but slowly. It's sometimes hard to remember things, but it's always awesome when people are talking and I can pick stuff out and kinda piece it together and get an idea what they're saying. There's still quite a bit I need to learn, but I am loving it! Yesterday, we went to Santa Cruz and that's why you didn't hear from me on my regular p-day! It was a super nice, fun day! It was nice to play volleyball on the beach and just relax and enjoy the sunshine and ocean! Lots of fun! We then went to a buffet with some other missionaries after and ate a lot man (how did I know?). Just these last 3 weeks I think I've gained 10 lbs. haha
I love serving in the Tongan Samoan program! Super Awesome! Everyone is so willing to help out with anything! Things are good and this week we are going to teach our potential investigators along with a part member family that wants to feed us, so it's looking good! We'll see what happens! I love you guys and hopefully all is going well and you're doing well and you have a great week! Love ya!
Ofa Atu,
Elder Whaley
Sounds like you had a good nice weekend-that's good! Trek sounds like fun. I wish they did that while we were there, but oh well, life goes on! This last week was good. We hit all of our goals and had a good week! It was a lot of fun! Man, I can't believe it's already half-way through the transfer! It's crazy! It's gone by so fast. I'm picking up on the language, but slowly. It's sometimes hard to remember things, but it's always awesome when people are talking and I can pick stuff out and kinda piece it together and get an idea what they're saying. There's still quite a bit I need to learn, but I am loving it! Yesterday, we went to Santa Cruz and that's why you didn't hear from me on my regular p-day! It was a super nice, fun day! It was nice to play volleyball on the beach and just relax and enjoy the sunshine and ocean! Lots of fun! We then went to a buffet with some other missionaries after and ate a lot man (how did I know?). Just these last 3 weeks I think I've gained 10 lbs. haha
I love serving in the Tongan Samoan program! Super Awesome! Everyone is so willing to help out with anything! Things are good and this week we are going to teach our potential investigators along with a part member family that wants to feed us, so it's looking good! We'll see what happens! I love you guys and hopefully all is going well and you're doing well and you have a great week! Love ya!
Ofa Atu,
Elder Whaley
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Two-thirds of the Way There!
6-9-14
Wow! It sounds like you guys are busy with a lot going on! Hopefully, things get better and I would advise you to look talks up on lds.org! Why do you remind me how long I've been out???? Ahhhh, I don't want to know. I hate it when people ask or mention it because most of the time they say, "Oh really? You have been out for a while! You're on the downward slope, you're almost done...." It really stinks that it's going by too fast!!!! Things are going good! I love my new area and Elder Racule is AWESOME!!!! The language is coming, but slowly. Most of the Tongan members talk too fast and I don't understand anything. I can pick out things here and there, but I still have a lot to learn and I might not have that long in this area either! :( We'll see since there will be a new mission president, so who knows what will happen. I am loving it, though!!!!!! We just picked up 3 new investigators in the Samoan branch and got about 16 referrals in the Tongan ward, so the work is going good! Man, we get soooo much food, but really good food! We haven't eaten at our apartment for the last 2 weeks, besides breakfast. It has all been at members' houses, fast food, or buffets. I leave meals sooo full-hahah. The Tongan food is sooo good! At Hearty Man the other day, I hit 300 lbs. on the bench! I was surprised! It was super cool! These areas are awesome! The people here are so nice and friendly! It's awesome! If you could send that exercise book, that would be great so I don't get too fat - haha! On Sunday in the Tongan ward, Will Tukuafu came in and had church with us. He is super cool and a super big man. His arms are HUGE!!!!! If you don't know him, he plays for the 49ers! :) That was pretty cool! Things are going great and we're staying busy! Hopefully, things go well for you, as well. Have a great week! Love ya!
Elder Whaley
Ofa Atu
Wow! It sounds like you guys are busy with a lot going on! Hopefully, things get better and I would advise you to look talks up on lds.org! Why do you remind me how long I've been out???? Ahhhh, I don't want to know. I hate it when people ask or mention it because most of the time they say, "Oh really? You have been out for a while! You're on the downward slope, you're almost done...." It really stinks that it's going by too fast!!!! Things are going good! I love my new area and Elder Racule is AWESOME!!!! The language is coming, but slowly. Most of the Tongan members talk too fast and I don't understand anything. I can pick out things here and there, but I still have a lot to learn and I might not have that long in this area either! :( We'll see since there will be a new mission president, so who knows what will happen. I am loving it, though!!!!!! We just picked up 3 new investigators in the Samoan branch and got about 16 referrals in the Tongan ward, so the work is going good! Man, we get soooo much food, but really good food! We haven't eaten at our apartment for the last 2 weeks, besides breakfast. It has all been at members' houses, fast food, or buffets. I leave meals sooo full-hahah. The Tongan food is sooo good! At Hearty Man the other day, I hit 300 lbs. on the bench! I was surprised! It was super cool! These areas are awesome! The people here are so nice and friendly! It's awesome! If you could send that exercise book, that would be great so I don't get too fat - haha! On Sunday in the Tongan ward, Will Tukuafu came in and had church with us. He is super cool and a super big man. His arms are HUGE!!!!! If you don't know him, he plays for the 49ers! :) That was pretty cool! Things are going great and we're staying busy! Hopefully, things go well for you, as well. Have a great week! Love ya!
Elder Whaley
Ofa Atu
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Loving new area/companion!
6-2-14
I got transferred back to the Saratoga Zone where I was born, but into the San Jose 1st Tongan Ward!!!! WAHOOO!!!! Freak yaaa!!!!! This palangi is going to learn more Faka-Tonga!!!! My companion is awesome! He is from Fiji. His name is Elder Racule! Super cool guy and super good singer, player of guitar and uke, good at volleyball, rugby, and basketball! Man, it sounds like a lot of stuff to go through and do right now. Hopefully, everything goes all right! This week has been great! Tuesday, I found out I was going into the Tongan program, then we went and ate and unpacked our stuff and visited a few members. I didn't understand a lot, but I was surprised what I could pick up from what I already knew! Then, Wednesday, we did service at some tree hugger ranch and we found a snake and a Samoan elder was freakin' out, bug big guy, since supposedly they don't have snakes in American Samoa. That was his first one he's seen! We made him touch it and it was super funny! Then, we went around and tried visiting some members and they're all super nice and friendly! It's awesome! On Friday, my companion went to Pleasonton to sing at a Lu'au, so I stayed in East Palo Alto and went with some other missionaries there and on Saturday, we went and visited the Makasini's! It was awesome! I found out that another family that I used to go visit had their son get married in the temple and the father got his endowments. It was freakin' awesome to see how they were doing! Man, Redwood City was awesome! On Saturday night I picked up my comp and we went back. Sunday was very interesting going to another ward that I don't understand, but still be able to feel the Spirit so strong and it was awesome! I was going to bear my testimony and basically introduce myself, but the Tongan ward is different! There's no gaps during testimony meeting, so I was waiting for a gap since I was used to that being in an English ward, but there wasn't one. It was super cool! Then, after church we went to the Samoan branch, which we cover, too. That was a really cool experience! I have never been in a branch before, it was so tiny! It had a different spirit to it, but it was super good. I learned from the Tongan ward that you just have to go up and wait in line, so I went up and bore my testimony and introduced myself-it was really cool. Man, Polynesians are the nicest, friendliest people! I LOVE IT! IT'S AWESOME! Earlier, when we went to the Tongan ward, it started and there was hardly anyone there, so I asked my comp if this was how big this ward was and he said no...island time! It was pretty funny, but sooo true! Everyone tricked in after it started-it was pretty funny! That night we had dinner with a family and had lu pulu and ota-super good (basically lu pulu is spinach and beef with coconut milk and ota is raw fish in coconut milk with tomatoes and green onions)...man I'm going to get fat-haha! Good thing we work out in the mornings! I am so excited to serve in these 2 areas and we have full car because it's a big area and spread out. We cover a decent size of the mission! Super cool! Well, hopefully, you guys have a great week! Love ya!
OFA LAHI ATU
Elder Whaley
I got transferred back to the Saratoga Zone where I was born, but into the San Jose 1st Tongan Ward!!!! WAHOOO!!!! Freak yaaa!!!!! This palangi is going to learn more Faka-Tonga!!!! My companion is awesome! He is from Fiji. His name is Elder Racule! Super cool guy and super good singer, player of guitar and uke, good at volleyball, rugby, and basketball! Man, it sounds like a lot of stuff to go through and do right now. Hopefully, everything goes all right! This week has been great! Tuesday, I found out I was going into the Tongan program, then we went and ate and unpacked our stuff and visited a few members. I didn't understand a lot, but I was surprised what I could pick up from what I already knew! Then, Wednesday, we did service at some tree hugger ranch and we found a snake and a Samoan elder was freakin' out, bug big guy, since supposedly they don't have snakes in American Samoa. That was his first one he's seen! We made him touch it and it was super funny! Then, we went around and tried visiting some members and they're all super nice and friendly! It's awesome! On Friday, my companion went to Pleasonton to sing at a Lu'au, so I stayed in East Palo Alto and went with some other missionaries there and on Saturday, we went and visited the Makasini's! It was awesome! I found out that another family that I used to go visit had their son get married in the temple and the father got his endowments. It was freakin' awesome to see how they were doing! Man, Redwood City was awesome! On Saturday night I picked up my comp and we went back. Sunday was very interesting going to another ward that I don't understand, but still be able to feel the Spirit so strong and it was awesome! I was going to bear my testimony and basically introduce myself, but the Tongan ward is different! There's no gaps during testimony meeting, so I was waiting for a gap since I was used to that being in an English ward, but there wasn't one. It was super cool! Then, after church we went to the Samoan branch, which we cover, too. That was a really cool experience! I have never been in a branch before, it was so tiny! It had a different spirit to it, but it was super good. I learned from the Tongan ward that you just have to go up and wait in line, so I went up and bore my testimony and introduced myself-it was really cool. Man, Polynesians are the nicest, friendliest people! I LOVE IT! IT'S AWESOME! Earlier, when we went to the Tongan ward, it started and there was hardly anyone there, so I asked my comp if this was how big this ward was and he said no...island time! It was pretty funny, but sooo true! Everyone tricked in after it started-it was pretty funny! That night we had dinner with a family and had lu pulu and ota-super good (basically lu pulu is spinach and beef with coconut milk and ota is raw fish in coconut milk with tomatoes and green onions)...man I'm going to get fat-haha! Good thing we work out in the mornings! I am so excited to serve in these 2 areas and we have full car because it's a big area and spread out. We cover a decent size of the mission! Super cool! Well, hopefully, you guys have a great week! Love ya!
OFA LAHI ATU
Elder Whaley
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| Elder Racule and Elder Whaley |
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| Missionaries in the Tongan program |
Getting transferred!
5-26-14
Sorry about the late notice of the guy, Bro. M. Deakin, stopping by to drop off a card. He called us the night before and asked if there was anything he could take since he was going there the next day. Thanks for putting together something for me last minute. Well, I'm getting transferred and it stinks! I was expecting to be here for one more transfer since that would make it 6 months, so we'll see if this will be my last area. If it is, hopefully, it will be good because it will be a long time! I might possibly have a couple more smaller areas-I have no clue! Yesterday was a pretty good day. We got to church and we were about to go into ward council and a member of the mission presidency was there, President Lemon, and he said a lady had come in wanting to know more! We skipped ward council and talked with her. IT WAS SUPER AWESOME because we were seeing why she had come in and trying to figure out her background and she had just gotten out of Mass or something like that from her church. She said she just felt like she needed to come-she just needed to know more so she actually drove there and parked where everyone else parked and came in. We went and got her a Book of Mormon, since she was asking for one, and taught her the restoration and it went great. She accepted everything we said. She told us some of her spiritual gifts that she has and it was really cool! When we talked about Joseph Smith getting the plates, she asked where it was, so we told her Palmyra and she didn't know where that was. We told her up state New York, and she basically said, "Oh my gosh, I have been telling my mom that I felt like I've needed to go there for some reason!" She is pretty in tune with the Spirit, so at the end of the lesson, I invited her to be baptized and she said "yes" if she comes to know if the church it true! What an awesome lesson....AND I'M BEING MOVED.....DANG IT!!!!! We have picked up quite a few investigators this last transfer and the work is really starting to move!!!!! Shoot!!! We had a really good week this week, actually it was a BOMB WEEK! We had 500+ contacts, 23 lessons, 11 of those were non-members, 10 members present, 6 acts for 13 hours of service....just go go go! It was a SUPER GREAT WEEK! And I have to LEAVE!!! NOOOOOoooo! I guess only time will tell...right as we are finding people who are getting close to baptism! Shoot! Man, this is such a great area!
I gave a talk yesterday that went well and I had a couple of members find out I was leaving and I thought they were going to start crying. A couple of little kids said good bye and one told me I was his favorite missionary-man it breaks my heart to leave this area and the people here! I guess the Lord has something else for me to do. But man, that was one of the best weeks! Shoot! The Howard's are feeding me for my "last supper" before I leave! They are an awesome family! It should be fun! I'll let you know next week where I'm at. I get transferred Tuesday morning! Yes, I would like the book, but hold off till I get you the new info. where I'm at. Hopefully, you have a great week and enjoy the last couple days of school! Enjoy the summer! Love ya!
Elder Whaley
Ofa Atu
*Hopefully, I get transferred to the Tongan program or beach side! :)
Sorry about the late notice of the guy, Bro. M. Deakin, stopping by to drop off a card. He called us the night before and asked if there was anything he could take since he was going there the next day. Thanks for putting together something for me last minute. Well, I'm getting transferred and it stinks! I was expecting to be here for one more transfer since that would make it 6 months, so we'll see if this will be my last area. If it is, hopefully, it will be good because it will be a long time! I might possibly have a couple more smaller areas-I have no clue! Yesterday was a pretty good day. We got to church and we were about to go into ward council and a member of the mission presidency was there, President Lemon, and he said a lady had come in wanting to know more! We skipped ward council and talked with her. IT WAS SUPER AWESOME because we were seeing why she had come in and trying to figure out her background and she had just gotten out of Mass or something like that from her church. She said she just felt like she needed to come-she just needed to know more so she actually drove there and parked where everyone else parked and came in. We went and got her a Book of Mormon, since she was asking for one, and taught her the restoration and it went great. She accepted everything we said. She told us some of her spiritual gifts that she has and it was really cool! When we talked about Joseph Smith getting the plates, she asked where it was, so we told her Palmyra and she didn't know where that was. We told her up state New York, and she basically said, "Oh my gosh, I have been telling my mom that I felt like I've needed to go there for some reason!" She is pretty in tune with the Spirit, so at the end of the lesson, I invited her to be baptized and she said "yes" if she comes to know if the church it true! What an awesome lesson....AND I'M BEING MOVED.....DANG IT!!!!! We have picked up quite a few investigators this last transfer and the work is really starting to move!!!!! Shoot!!! We had a really good week this week, actually it was a BOMB WEEK! We had 500+ contacts, 23 lessons, 11 of those were non-members, 10 members present, 6 acts for 13 hours of service....just go go go! It was a SUPER GREAT WEEK! And I have to LEAVE!!! NOOOOOoooo! I guess only time will tell...right as we are finding people who are getting close to baptism! Shoot! Man, this is such a great area!
I gave a talk yesterday that went well and I had a couple of members find out I was leaving and I thought they were going to start crying. A couple of little kids said good bye and one told me I was his favorite missionary-man it breaks my heart to leave this area and the people here! I guess the Lord has something else for me to do. But man, that was one of the best weeks! Shoot! The Howard's are feeding me for my "last supper" before I leave! They are an awesome family! It should be fun! I'll let you know next week where I'm at. I get transferred Tuesday morning! Yes, I would like the book, but hold off till I get you the new info. where I'm at. Hopefully, you have a great week and enjoy the last couple days of school! Enjoy the summer! Love ya!
Elder Whaley
Ofa Atu
*Hopefully, I get transferred to the Tongan program or beach side! :)
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