At a Brick Wall

8-18-14

I got the "Jump" package-Thank you so much!!!!!  We hit our goal for lessons this week, but we are still working on finding people. It's been tough looking for people, I feel like we are at a brick wall, but we just got a part member list of the ward, so we'll see if that helps out with finding people.  So, Tyler is home? Man, that's crazy!  We just went to the outgoing fireside last night and all the sisters that I came out with, are going home along with a lot of Elders I got close with....man it stinks.  That means my time is coming sooner and sooner!  Flip!!!  Last night was weird...mixed emotions....but some really great testimonies!  I also saw people from previous wards like the Makasini's, Mama Smith, and some other people-ah man, I miss those guys so much!!!  It was great to see them!  They were all asking when I was coming back-I wish!  That would be a dream come true!!!  I talked with Leimana and Carla is going through a temple prep class since her year mark is coming up for her baptism from when Elder Dalton and I taught her!  So, hopefully, next month I will be going to the temple!  I'm super excited and pumped.  I hope all goes well!  It was a super good night last night!  But, now I really want to go back to Redwood City-haha!   But, I really like it here, too!  Oh Man!  There was a couple of youth I got to see last night.  One was leaving to Japan on Wednesday and another one is working on his papers.  It's so great to see people you work with progress like that in the gospel!  It's FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!!!  I love it!  We had dinner with the Tukuafus' and it was awesome!  They are such an awesome family and very missionary minded.  Will is always sharing the gospel in the locker room with him team mates and supposedly, he's working on one guy that could possibly be interested in the future!  As we were leaving, he didn't give us tickets, but he gave us some headphones and food!  He is a super cool funny guy! I'm fine on the pants.  I patched them up and they're good! I was just wondering if the place we bought them at replace them.  Don't worry about it, I'm good!  Transfers are happening Tuesday, but both my companion and I are staying. Hopefully we can push the work forward!  Thank you for all you do!!!!  Love ya!

Ofa Atu
Elder Whaley

Elder Dalton, Will Tukuafu (a 49ers football player in their ward)
and Elder Whaley

Picking out their new bikes?

Working hard to Find Investigators!

8-12-14

Everything is going well.  We did a lot of service this week-about 15 hours, and spent a lot of time going out contacting and going through referrals, but no luck yet with finding new investigators!  We just got a part member list this last Sunday, so hopefully, that will help us out!  We'll be on bikes this week, so we won't be able to get from place to place as quick.  We'll see how it works out!  This is the last week of the transfer.  It's crazy how fast time goes.  A lot of missionaries I've served with are going home this transfer along with the sisters I came in with!!!  Super crazy!!!  I heard Tyler Thueson is coming home, as well???  Wow!  Time flies!!!  The next couple transfers, a lot of missionaries I've worked with and gotten close with will go home, it's going to be weird!  This week was alright.  Just a lot of drop byes with no one home, but hopefully, this week will be better.  Something I'm excited for this week is that the Tukuafus signed up for dinner (he's the football player for the 49ers).  Wahoo!!!  Hopefully, I can practice my little bit of Tongan that I know with him.  Hopefully, it works out!
Sunday was a really good day!  I really enjoyed church!  It was kinda interesting since most of it was about families and how to have successful families, but it was really good.  The reason why I didn't email yesterday was because we were in Santa Cruz on the beach playing beach volleyball and just relaxin!  It was nice and enjoyable!  It was good to see some missionaries that I haven't seen in a while!  And some that are about to go home!  It was a good day!  It sounds like you had a fun at the Family reunion.  Don't feel bad that the girls had to buy their own school clothes-it build character-haha.
This last week I was reading in this months Ensign and it was really good!  I woke up around 2 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I read the whole thing and it was really good.  You should read it.  I think you would like some of the talks in there.  Today, during district meeting, we were talking about the priesthood and the Spirit and blessings came up.  Sometimes our prayers and blessing don't come true because the Lord has something else in store for us and somethings are just set in stone for us to go through and nothing is permanent-not even this life.  All the hardships are for our benefit to learn and grow and we don't have to worry about it in the life to come!  It was a really good meeting today!  Well, I hope you have a great week!  Love ya!  Keep the faith and the strength!  Love ya!

Ofa Atu
Elder Whaley

18 months down!!!!

8-4-14

WHY!!!!!!  Why?  I don't need that!!!! (I had reminded him that he's been out 18 months)  Ahhh-it's going by too fast!  Dinner last night at the McFarland's was awesome and delicious and yes, I ate a lot-haha....it was good!  The pictures she sent you were at a baptism and I got a cupcake to the face.  I wasn't too happy since I was in my suit!  But it's whatever.  I cut my own hair and it's going to get cut soon....I know, I know!  (I was asking him who cut his hair and that I noticed it was starting to look a little long).  We tried to go back and visit Salvador, but he didn't want to talk to us, so basically, he dropped us.  :/  So, I guess he just wasn't ready or it wasn't his time!  We had dinner with a family, the Merrifields.  They went to BYUI and they're super cool.  Brother Merrifield got up yesterday and gave his testimony and gave us some props for coming over and bringing the spirit into his home and also mentioned that we eat a lot-haha.  It was pretty funny, but he's a cool guy!  The members want to help, but this ward has a lot of people moving in and out, so it's kinda hard sometimes because they don't know a whole lot of people to invite.  You can tell that they actually want to help, though.  I have only met Tukuafu once, but he's busy with camps and practices, so we haven't been over.  A lot of the time he usually sneaks in and out of church on Sundays, so he's busy.  There is only the 2 of us that live in our apartment.  My companion and I get along fine.  He's just different from previous companions-short and a military brat-haha.  It's just a different background to work with, but things are going well!  I have been lucky to have good comps so far.  I think I had only one and he wasn't so bad either, so I'm lucky.  I think I just get crappy roommates sometimes-haha.  I am the senior companion.  We are just looking for people to teach since our last investigator dropped us.  So, we are in the process of finding right now, so it's been tricky to get lessons, but it's going good.  If you could pray for us to find investigators, that would be great!!!!!
Man, it sounds like quite a journey with everything going on at home!  Hopefully, things get better!  I really hope that medicine will help Dad!  But, like they say, it will get worse before it gets better!  There's always a light at the end of the tunnel!  Keep the faith and continue pushing forward!  Love ya!

Ofa Atu
Elder Whaley

Elder Whaley doesn't look too happy!

Giving the spiritual thought to a family!

Spray painted shirt (since they
can't burn them)

Getting Kicked Out!

7-28-14

Ya, Golfland was lots of fun...and it was the same laser tag system that they had in Logan at Fun Park!  Yes, this area is awesome.  I'm just trying to get to know the area and the members.  It's a big area and ward.  It sounds like they might split it soon, so we'll see what happens!  We have one investigator we were working with.  We taught him the Word of Wisdom and it went pretty well through most of the lesson until almost the end.  When we mentioned that his mom was worried about him and his habits, he flipped and said he was leaving and that we needed to go!  Dang it!  So, basically, we got kicked out.  We'll give him some space and see what happens!  His name is Salvador, so pray for him.  Thank you for sharing that information from your reading.  I will definitely keep that in mind!  We have actually had quite a few lessons cancel and one that the Sisters stole!  (I had shared about a mission president that challenged the missionaries he was over to not get discouraged when appointments cancel on them or are a "no show".  He challenged them to look around and open their mouth and they had a lot of miracles happen by doing that.)  Hopefully, you guys have a great week this week and things go better and you're able to get things done!  Love ya!

Ofa Atu
Elder Whaley

Golfland Lazer Tag