Monday, March 22, 2010

Book of Mormon = Aztecs and Exodus

Wow sounds like you guys had a blast with Grammy’s party. Sure wish I could have been there. Just for the food of course. I think that’s about the only thing I miss right now. My family too, but what you guys had certainly beats beans and tortillas. Happy Birthday Grammy!!! And the cake looks awsome. Very well done.

And I’m am way excited for Sis Clark! Way to go! Yay!

This week was pretty cool with my new companion. I certainly have seen the spirit working through me this week. One day I was knocking doors and I knocked the door of this lady. She said that she had already heard the lessons and has our bible. I was like Oh you mean the Book of Mormon? Do you know what that’s about? She said no she has never read it but her friend who was there wanted to know. Then her friend came to the door and asked if it was like the views of the Aztecs about Exodus and those first four books in the bible because that is what she had heard. I kinda laughed a little bit and told here what it really is about and how Joseph Smith found it. She was quite amazed by it all so I decided to tell her more about the promise found in Moroni 10:4-5. Then I asked her Ok so if you pray and receive an answer that this book is true, What would that mean? She said that Joseph Smith translated it by the power of god. And I said And if he had the power of god to translate this book, What does that mean? She said that he was a prophet. So I asked so if he was a true prophet of god, What does that mean. and she said that through him God and Jesus Christ re-established their church over the earth once again. I just about wanted to hug this woman But I didn’t. I asked her if she would read it and pray about it and she said well right before you knocked the door I saw my friend’s copy of this book and was asking her what it was about. And then you knocked the door so it has to be for something. I then asked her if we could visit her again but she lives in a different state and was going to leave the day after. So we gave her a web address to find missionaries in her area and she is going to have them come over when she gets back home. So that’s the blessing for the week.

Elder Garcia’s new companion is Elder Martinez from Chihuahua. He knows some of the Whettens over there.

That’s about all for today. Stay safe and play hard.

Elder Whetten

Monday, March 15, 2010

Happy Birthday Grammy & Audri!

Well changes came and my companion got changed. He and Elder Aitken are going to different cities while I stay here. It makes me a little sad to see them go. I have also developed a great relationship with Elder Aitken. But now I am with two other elders waiting for my next companion. His name is Elder Alvarez, or something like that. From what I hear he has like five months. The other missionary in the house who is staying, Elder Garcia, is getting a kid too. We don’t know if it is going to be a gringo or a Mexican.

Tell Grammy Happy Birthday! Hope I could have been there.

I am not going to be able to send pictures right now because I don’t have my camera with me. But I imagine that my new companion hasn’t been to the internet yet so when I go with him I will upload some. Today, tommorrow, or sometime this week.

Oh I just remembered that it is Audris birthday! Happy Birthday Audri!

Well I can’t think of much to say right now. We still don’t have any power. But now I have my companion’s comfortable bed. I’ll see If I can write more later with my new companion.

See ya!

Elder Whetten

The Zone!


Elder Aiken with chili in his eyes!


Mario on 'shrooms!


Yogurt!








Monday, March 8, 2010

Candle Lit Atmoshpere

Well I’m here with Elder Aitken right now because my companion needed to go to the central in the city to print some pictures. It is surprisingly warm today.

We don’t have any electricity in our house right now because we didn’t have enough money to pay the bill last month. So we were going to wait till the next month to pay it because here in Mexico they are really lazy about these things. You could go three years without paying your bill and they won’t cut it. But apparently Mormon missionaries aren’t liked by the government that much so they were just waiting for us to slip. I kinda like the candle lit atmosphere though.

That girl that came to church last Sunday ended up not getting baptized because she is 16 and her parents don’t want her to get baptized. So she’ll just have to wait.

I hit 14 months on the first. I’m starting to feel old even though it feels like I’ve only been here for five months.

Yesterday morning we were about to leave to church when two Jehovah’s witnesses knocked our door. They seemed pretty surprised when four Mormon missionaries came out and they basically ran away. It was pretty funny.

Well that’s all for now. This computer doesn’t have a USB port so maybe when my companion gets back i'll go with him (Because he hasn’t written his family yet) And send some pictures, or write a little more.

Till next week.

Elder Whetten

Monday, March 1, 2010

Pictures

Elder Ditto, Elder Aitken, Elder Trejo, Elder Gartner, Elder Garcia, and Me!
Transformed...for Christ!

A dead guy in the water.

There's also a video of Jay speaking Spanish on Facebook. I tried to post it on here but it was all messed up.

We are here to reap!

Well I didn’t hear about the earthquake in Chile. But I’m sure Ill be hearing more about it soon. Well just have to wait and see.

We are going to have another zone conference this week sometime so that’s kinda exciting.

This last Sunday I was getting a little discouraged because it was starting to look like we weren’t going to have anybody in church again. Last Saturday we dropped 22 investigators and only had four to take to church. They all fell through yesterday. So with our heads down we went to church to take the sacrament. But when we got there, there was an investigator who we knew had been going to church for weeks but hasn’t been going to the right ward. We asked her if she would like to get baptized this next Tuesday and she said yes! So that is just a little miracle that happened the other day. Hope she has fun tomorrow.

I have been hearing of a bunch of missions with yearly goals of like 10 baptisms for their mission and I think that that is just wrong. I have taught a bunch of Mexicans who have come from the US and have been receiving the lessons for three or more years and have never been challenged to baptism. That just makes me sad to see that. Here we challenge in the first or second lesson. And sometimes the first time we meet someone in the street. I think that there are some missionaries that just need to suck up their fright and ask this question that will give them their salvation. We were not sent here with the main purpose of planting seeds. We were sent here with the main purpose to find and to reap. Well that’s my vent for the day. Sometimes it makes me mad. But we have had a pretty good week. Very fun but a little disappointing in the choices that people make.

Hope that everyone is doing fine and that everything is going well. Till next week.

Elder Whetten