Hola a cada miembro de la familia y a todos mis amigos!!
So. I will be transferred tomorrow. That's not the surprise. The surprise is that Elder Hansen is also getting transferred. With me! That means that we'll be white-washing an area, Cloverdale, together as father and son :) It's sad to leave this area and this ward, I've put more of myself into it than I've done in other areas because it needed more of me, but I'm very excited to continue serving with Elder Hansen and to continue to help him learn and grow. I'm also looking forward to learning and growing through the challenge of white-washing an area. I know it will be challenging, and will require much patience and diligence, but I'm excited to continue serving the Lord. It's kind-of a special assignment because President Alba said that he wants us to give an evaluation on whether he should keep the area open or to close it down. We apparently are losing missionaries over the next couple of transfers overall and so there are some areas that need to be closed down, and so we might be a deciding factor in whether or not Cloverdale stays as a Spanish area.
Like I said, it's sad to leave here though and I think this week has been an example of why. We had a great week. We taught a lot of lessons, 15!! and also set 5 more baptismal dates, 4 of them with the Aguilar family! They are sooo golden. The wife read the pamphlet and had prayed about it and felt confused about what they should do because she doesn't know what God wants her to do, to stay in the Catholic Church, or to follow what we are teaching her. It related really well to the Joseph Smith story and the First Vision and really made that a very, very powerful teaching opportunity. They really understood everything very well, better than any other investigator I've ever taught before. And they are completely willing to be baptized if they receive the answer that it's what God wants. We just have to be able to keep having lessons with them, and we've planned to do a few things to help them understand the importance of keeping their appointments with us. I'm super excited for them and can't wait to hear about their baptism!
Also, Francisco had an interview yesterday to receive the Aaronic Priesthood!!!!! Every time anything happens with that family and their progression in the Gospel it just fills my soul with immense joy :D. That's going to be the hardest part of leaving this area, but I know that Lord knows what He's doing and that He has a reason to have me leave at this time.
I love all y'all and I hope this week is great for y'all!
-Elder Whitaker
So. I will be transferred tomorrow. That's not the surprise. The surprise is that Elder Hansen is also getting transferred. With me! That means that we'll be white-washing an area, Cloverdale, together as father and son :) It's sad to leave this area and this ward, I've put more of myself into it than I've done in other areas because it needed more of me, but I'm very excited to continue serving with Elder Hansen and to continue to help him learn and grow. I'm also looking forward to learning and growing through the challenge of white-washing an area. I know it will be challenging, and will require much patience and diligence, but I'm excited to continue serving the Lord. It's kind-of a special assignment because President Alba said that he wants us to give an evaluation on whether he should keep the area open or to close it down. We apparently are losing missionaries over the next couple of transfers overall and so there are some areas that need to be closed down, and so we might be a deciding factor in whether or not Cloverdale stays as a Spanish area.
Like I said, it's sad to leave here though and I think this week has been an example of why. We had a great week. We taught a lot of lessons, 15!! and also set 5 more baptismal dates, 4 of them with the Aguilar family! They are sooo golden. The wife read the pamphlet and had prayed about it and felt confused about what they should do because she doesn't know what God wants her to do, to stay in the Catholic Church, or to follow what we are teaching her. It related really well to the Joseph Smith story and the First Vision and really made that a very, very powerful teaching opportunity. They really understood everything very well, better than any other investigator I've ever taught before. And they are completely willing to be baptized if they receive the answer that it's what God wants. We just have to be able to keep having lessons with them, and we've planned to do a few things to help them understand the importance of keeping their appointments with us. I'm super excited for them and can't wait to hear about their baptism!
Also, Francisco had an interview yesterday to receive the Aaronic Priesthood!!!!! Every time anything happens with that family and their progression in the Gospel it just fills my soul with immense joy :D. That's going to be the hardest part of leaving this area, but I know that Lord knows what He's doing and that He has a reason to have me leave at this time.
I love all y'all and I hope this week is great for y'all!
-Elder Whitaker