Pictures

New House

Ok well Bednar is actually coming on the 19th. Not the 16th. I typed it wrong.

We found a new house and we are moving in today. When we looked at the house, it was really nice. It had cabinets and an oven and stove. The whole house was really nice. But when the lady started moving out she took all the cabinets and the oven, stove, curtains, shelves, the bars to hang your clothes on, everything!!. The house looks like crap now. Especially the kitchen, because the cabinets were made for it. And half of them were the counters too. Me and my companion were pretty mad. He said that that is just what it’s like in Mexico. But we do have a stone wood oven on our roof. We are never going to use it though. I would be too scared to try.

Nothing much happened this week. We had a lot of investigators to take to the church this week. And It looks like we are going to break 300 baptisms again. There is a rumor going around that Monson is going to visit if we keep it up. I don’t believe it though.

I don’t know if you have heard but the most correct bible in Spanish was translated in 1960 and that’s the one we have been using. But they have just released a new King James Version in Spanish with cross references to the BOM, PGP, and the D&C. And the rumor is that the first presidency wants us to have it for free. (You hear a lot of rumors when your so close to the offices.)

Oh and in our new house we don’t have hot water at the moment. But that’s ok. I have taken a shower with cold water for a month before this change.

Elder Gonzalez sends his love. I really don’t know what else to talk about. Imagine visiting 25 people every day in the hot sun of Mexico. That’s what I’m doing. Enjoy life.

Elder Whetten

Bednar is coming!

Well we finished off the month with 355 baptisms. With another month of hard work ahead of us. Bednar is coming on the 16th and the best part of it is the building that he is going to speak to us at is in my companion and my area. So we don’t have to travel far and we will have more time to work with the spirit that he gives us. This area is a lot different. You have some popsicle stick houses on the outside of our area but when we knock those, they aren’t as humble as the people living in the rich houses. It’s very confusing because I would think it would be the opposite.

I think that was Bednar that said that the first principle of the gospel is faith in Jesus Christ. And I totally agree. We can have faith but faith in what? We can have it in many things but probably the most important is Jesus Christ; for if we have faith in him, we are doing the works necessary that we need to help us spiritually and eternally. Such as reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, and enduring to the end.

I taught my companion how to play rummy last night. It was kind of hard to remember how to play it but after a little while we got it and were having fun. He also taught me a game called Con Quen. Its kind of like rummy but a lot more cut throat and shorter. Too bad we can only play one day a week.

About my hair cut. I think it makes me look older because it shows off where I’m balding. Ha ha!!

Spanish is coming along a lot easier now. I’m feeling like I’m using a lot of my own words and I really don’t have to think that much at all anymore. Just speak.

I got your package and everything got here fine. But you forgot to send me my photo card! It would be nice if you could send it. And the insoles are working great and so are my feet.

Well I have to go. Tell Galen happy birthday!! I’m writing in my journal. Praying, working hard. Having a good time here. Be safe and enjoy life.

Elder Whetten

In a New City (Leon)

Well I’m in my new area. My new companions name is Elder Gonzalez and he is a good Elder. Very spiritual and nice. A lot different from all the other native missionaries here. He jokes around a lot and he is from Puebla. He has been learning English since he was ten so he knows pretty good English and prefers to speak it. But we only speak English at home. And Puebla isn’t as bad as you made it sound like.

Here in Leon, my area has all the best parts of Leon in it. It has centeral, where the governor is, all the old catholic cathedrals. It’s pretty sweet. The people are a lot richer here. And all the houses are bigger. Which makes it a little harder to teach to people because there is a little more pride. But it’s all good! Believe it or not I’m experiencing a lot more culture here. One member has and plays a bunch of instruments from Mexico and Southern America and he is making me a type of bamboo flute from Bolivia right now.

Well those stamps have been working so I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to use them. And for my package, They usually take four weeks to get here because the president takes the packages to our areas when he comes to visit. But since I live so close to the offices I can just drop by to pick it up.

Yah so I’m not living in the offices, We have our own house. The houses are a little more expensive here. In Aguascalientes they run around 120-150 dollars a month, but here there about 200-220 a month. And we are having problems with our land lady right now so we are looking for a new house yet again. Transportation is a little more expensive here too.

Salmon tacos with mango salsa sound good right now. You can’t find many fish tacos here. They have them more around the border of Mexico. And speaking of food, the members serve us better food here. Most of them cook American too!

Well I didn’t bring your letter of how to write a good email with me today to give me ideas so this is the best I can do for now. Love you all. Read the scriptures and pray every day. It really helps.

Elder Whetten

Elder Toutai and I on the way to the bus station. :(



Elder Gonzalez and I. :)

300 Baptisms!

Ok well I have some good news and some goodish-bad news. The good news is that we broke 300 baptisms this month! And my companionship was the one to break the 300 with four baptisms yesterday!! So Bednar should be coming sometime soon and Elder Schow has the opportunity to translate for him.

The Bad news is its time for changes again and we got changed. I am very sad right now. I don’t want to leave my companion. Elder Toutai and I have seen many miracles together and we don’t want to leave each other yet. But we all have to get changed sometime. Elder Toutai is getting a kid as is Elders Hatton and Schow. We still haven’t found a house and since Elders Hatton and Schow are zone leaders they have to live in the same house together. So this coming week they will have six Elders in one house.

But I am actually leaving my area to a different state. Tomorrow I will be leaving to Leon to work in the area of the president and all of his assistants so it’s pretty exciting too.

The language is coming along just fine. I can understand people and they can understand me. Sometimes it is hard for me because I can’t quite teach in my own words sometimes. But when I really need to talk in those special moments, I have seen many miracles with the gift of tongues and I am thankful for all of your prayers. I really need them sometimes.

I don’t really have any Ideas for you but we do role playing in our meetings a lot. We give everyone a doubt or problem while one person is prepared then one missionary tries to find the prepared. The prepared has a doubt too but you have to get past that doubt to find them.

Tell grandma Happy Birthday. Ill Talk to you guys next week.

Love you all!

Elder Whetten

Busy Missionaries

Our experiences aren’t really that easy most of the time. People never just come up to us and ask about our faith. Although we did have something pretty close to it this last week. We found this woman who told us that she had a dream that she was at her church listening to the pastor and everyone around her was singing and praying, but she was crying. She had another dream that she was in a room and someone was just talking to her, but she was crying again. She had both of these dreams twice, and she interpreted it as God telling her that this church that she was in wasn’t the right one for her and she needed to find the true church. We have been having some really good conversations with her and we brought her to church yesterday and she made some good friends. She has some great potential and we have a baptism scheduled for her on Saturday.

Yah living with the zone leaders has been a real learning experience. We definitely have learned a lot that we wouldn’t have if we were just learning on our own. Also Elder Schow knows Spanish better that the natives so he has been a lot of help. We still haven’t found a house though.

More-ron-knee is how it’s pronounced over here. Just like neff-fee.

I am trying really hard to write in my journal. It gets hard sometimes when you get four tired Americans in one house after a long day. But I am doing it. I hope everyone is having a good time and making the best of life. Keep the spirit and appreciate the things that you have.

Elder Whetten

Amazing Experiences

Ok sorry if I scared you by not sending you an E-mail yesterday but we were really busy and we didn’t have time to go to the internet. I enjoyed talking to you guys yesterday. Reminded me of home a little.

Anyway I’m going to start off with an experience that I really like. One day I think it was the first week that me and Elder Toutai had together, we were just walking to another part of our area and we felt the impression to go knock on this door at the end of the street. An old lady answered and we asked if she wanted to hear our message. She told us that she didn’t have time right now and we made an appointment to come back later. (This usually means that their not going to be there and their not interested.) But we came back anyway and much to our disappointment she was not home. We were confused and didn’t know what to do. But we knew we got that impression for a reason so we kept coming back. After the fourth try she answered the door and let us in. We taught her and her grandson of 9 years who was present at the time. She accepted our challenge to pray about our message just like anybody else would, but the lesson wasn’t that significant. The next day we came back and she let us in and she was very excited as was her grandson. They got an answer to their prayers and I don’t think that anything could have impeded on their testimony then, that this gospel was true. They were since then totally receptive to what we taught them and if they had a problem contrary to what we were teaching them, they would change that part of themselves immediately. Rosalia and Soulo were just two of the prepared souls that God has lead us to.

Rosalia and Soulo

There is another story that I want to tell. One day my companion and I were not having any success at all. It came to the end of the day and we were tired and discouraged. It was almost the end of the day and it didn’t amount to anything. I started thinking "Please God just give us someone to teach, give us something to do, Bless us with references or something." (Later I found out that my companion was thinking the same thing at the same time as me.) At that moment a lady came down the street yelling "Elders, Elders! I have references for you!" My companion and I looked at each other and practically fell over laughing. One because we knew we were both thinking the same thing and two because the lady said it in English. She wanted us to teach her boy friend and her neighbors. The neighbors have since then been baptized but we had to let the boyfriend go.

The neighbors

We weren’t able to go looking for a house yesterday because we were so busy. But some time this week we should be able to.

I love you guys. Enjoy life and get your food storage ready!

Elder Whetten