Weekly update Oct 28 201

FROM ME TO LAUREN: So this is the update on Adler: p.s. he was baptized yesterday! “Adler is doing well.  We are moving through day by day.  Hopefully Adler will make counts on Tuesday, and so it will be his last chemo!  Three weeks after that will complete his treatment.  We will do more scans and testing, we hope to hear that he is in remission at that time.  Adler's hair is a funny thing.  We didn't know why it started coming back in, his doctors were stumped as well.  Yesterday, for no understandable reason, it started coming out in big chunks.  We are pretty sure he will be a bald eagle again soon (Adler means eagle).  He turned 8 last week and we have had a wonderful week of celebrations.  Thank you so much for all who have helped us in so many ways and continue to pray for us.  We are blessed to be loved so well.” Ok, So I've written you a bunch of letters to catch you up on stuff, so look for those in the mail. Can you send me more pictures???????? I also need your address so I can google earth your apartment. Is there anything that you need darling? I have a package coming your way this week as well. I haven't mailed it yet, so let me know if there is anything else I should put in it that you need.

 

Lauren Whitney < lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>	Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 11:49 AM
To: Pamela Whitney <p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>
That's great about Adler!! Yay yay yay!! Here is my apartment address. Feel free to send mail here as well. Also, if you do write me, make sure you put Sister Lauren Whitney because there is another sister Whitney in this mission. Crazy right?   Sister Lauren Whitney 160 W center St. Promenade #208 Anaheim, CA 92805   I would send you more pictures, but I really don't take that many. I try and do better.     Love you!!!

 

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Lauren Whitney < lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>	Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 12:40 PM
To: Pamela Whitney <p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>
Two months down. So, we're supposed to only share the spiritual stuff in our letters home, but I think this is a pretty dang great story. I went on exchanges (i was with a different companionship for 24 hours) with my sister training leader, Sister Napigkit, and her companion, Sister Mulitalo. We had a great time and I learned a boatload of stuff, but the great part of this story happened during morning exercise. I was doing some strength stuff and then I got it in my head to challenge sister Mulitalo to an arm wrestle. Ok cool, what's the big deal is probably what you are thinking. Well, Sister Mulitalo happens to be an amazing volleyball player. She's also a poly. Well, we gripped hands and braced for the combat of strengths. It was touch and go for a good minute or two, both of us at equal strength. I was starting to lose hope and thought that it was surely the end of my undefeated rein, but then a miracle happened. Sister Mulitalo gave in and I totally crushed her in our arm wrestle. That's right, I beat a poly in arm wrestling :) Haha The rest of my week has been almost as blissful l:) Our ward had a Halloween party on Saturday and we were able to help set up a spook ally and decorate for the party. For food, we had a chili cook off between the wards. Our ward actually got the prize of best chili. It was so righteous. Also, we had some investigators show up and they had a great time. So, hurray for the work:) I love being a missionary, even when it gets hard. Two months have flown by and I’m really sad to see them go, but I am so excited to see what the next 16 months have in store. I love you all and I'm sorry this week is so short. No time:( Peace and Blessings. Happy Halloween too   Love Sister Whitney [Quoted text hidden]

 

Second week in Anaheim

Second week in the field...

First off, I want you all to be jealous because I got to help a real live hoarder clean her house. It was an amazing experience being on the front line of a hoarder clean up. haha. Each week we have to do some sort of service project, and we were lucky enough to have a less active hoarder in our ward. Score! So, each week we come to her house and help her move treasures from one room to the next. I don't mind it at all one because I don't have to live there, and two, she's a really really nice lady. It made my day.

Second, I love missionary work. This week, we've struggled to find people to teach. So, we've done a lot of tracting. At first I was terrified of tracting because talking to strangers about religion is hard and weird. I mean, I would be weirded out if someone just came up to me and started talking about their church. Luckily, the knowledge that this is the true chuch helped me through it. I can't remember who said it, but one of the general authorities said that we should be bold in our teaching and not ashamed of sharing the gospel. I tried to internalize this thought as we went out tracting. It was a little rough at first, but once  I got into it, it was fun and easy. Now, I know that tracting isn't the most effective form of missionary work, but I know that it show the Lord that we're willing to work hard and that we have the faith to find those who are looking for the gospel. Plus it was good practice for me.

I still have to say that my favorite part of missionary work is teaching. On Sunday night we had a lesson with Ed, our golden investigator. He didn't come to church that day, so we were worried that he was dropping us. We went over to his house with no notice and ended up teaching him the 3rd lesson from PMG. It was so amazing to teach and testify about the gospel of Jesus Christ and even more amazing to see the light of understanding and truth go on in Ed's eyes. He's really committed to baptism, but he lives with his girlfriend. Our next lesson is on the law of chastity and I'll let you know how that goes:)

Other than that, our week has been pretty normal. Study, tract, teach, go to church. It's amazing how the time flies as a missionary. I can't even believe that I've already been out in the field for 2 weeks and almost out on my mission for 2 months. So dang crazy!!

I love you all and I hope that your week is excellent.

 

Love, Sister Whitney

Pictures from last p day. we went and walked around downtown Disney and looked around the stores. I have a Chewbacca backpack on and a snap shot of me and Gandalf.

Picture I drew of Ammon cutting off the arms of the Lamanites. it was for a lesson. The investigator likes to draw so I drew my favorite story. Don't worry, she thought the arms were funny:)

 

Sister Whitney
2500 north bristol street
Santa Ana 92706

Lauren's companions: Sister Dono from Japan, and Sister Grant from Springville.

There is no possible way that Lauren will get sick of fresh Pomegranates. Here she said that she uncovered 230 seeds. Crazy girl! 

Lauren Whitney < lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>	Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 12:40 PM
To: Pamela Whitney <p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>
Ok, Let's get down to business. THE FIELD IS AMAZING AND I LOVE ANAHEIM SO MUCH AND I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SO DANG MUCH AND I LOVE THIS GOSPEL MORE THAN I CAN DESCRIBE!!!! It's been a pretty awesome week. Once I arrived in Anaheim, we went to the mission home for some training, lunch, and naps. President Bowen and Sister Bowen are so nice and it was super comforting being around them. Then at 4 we met our trainers. I am in a trio so my trainers are Sister Dono and Sister Grant. They are amazing missionaries and I am so blessed to have them as trainers. Sister Dono is from japan and has been out for 6 months and Sister Grant is from springvile Utah and has also been out for 6 months. Once the meet and greet scene was over, we got right to work. We had a dinner appointment with some less active members. It was actually pretty fun, plus the food was good. Then we went to wal mart to get food and stuff for me. After, we set up an appointment with another less active member. Then we came home, planned, and then I crashed so hard because I had been up for 20 hours. Every day since then has a similar schedule. We get up at 6:30 and exercise, shower and eat breakfast, then begin personal study at 8. That's followed with companionship study, language study, lunch, and then because I'm a greenie, training. Our mornings are basically all study, but I'm not complaining because I need it. During the afternoon/early evening, we usually have appointments to teach lessons. When those fall through we go and visit less actives. Dinner is around 5 and we usually eat at a member's house. Then it's back to appointments. I still haven't gone tracting and its bumming me out. I really want to go tracting! MY favorite day was Sunday. We started off with a good note because the night before, we were able to commit someone to baptism. She's only 16, but has incredible faith in Jesus Christ. Also, I got to invite her! It was amazing :) Anyway, back to Sunday. First off, we were fasting. We went to a ward council (the leadership gets together and discusses the ward and potential converts) and then to Relief Society. They do church backwards here, so that was kind of neat. Then, we had our investigator, Ed, show up for Sunday school and sacrament. It was so great! The whole time in sacrament I was praying that no one would say something weird in their testimonies and luckily my pray was answered. It was a dang awesome testimony meeting. The ward here is incredible. After church, we taught Ed the Plan of Salvation. He is a golden investigator and asked lots of good questions. It was so amazing to teach him about our Father's plan for us. And, once again, I got to invite him to be baptized. HE SAID YES WITHOUT HESITATION!!!! It was so amazing and the Spirit was so strong. And, my testimony of fasting grew to the moon!! Best Sunday ever! I love being in the field, even if it is a little scary. I'm quickly getting over my fear of talking to people and I know that the Lord is helping me out daily. I love being a missionary and I know that this work is the work of the Lord. I love you all so much and I hope that today you remember that the Lord loves you and cares about you:) Love, Sister Whitney p.s. The weather here is to die for. Not too hot and I don't have frodo hair. Score

 

 

 

So Sister Whitney called us this morning at 5:29 a.m. as she left Utah to travel to
Anaheim California for the next couple of months till her visa comes. It was super early but I did manage to hit record on my cd burner so I can transcribe our conversation to share at a later date. Following are the e-mails we exchanged this morning.

I LOVE YOU SO DANG MUCH!! 3 messages   CORRESPONDENCE FROM Oct 8, 2013 after our chat on the phone before she left the MTC for California.

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Pamela Whitney < p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>	Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 10:55 AM
To: Lauren Whitney <lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>
Lauren! I can't tell you how awesome it was to hear you this morning. I was surprised at how everyone "woke up" so quickly into our conversation. I just wanted to tell you that you look so beautiful in your pictures. I'm so proud  of your mastery of that insane yogo pose. You are kinda like a dog with a bone when something is hard for you. You do it again and again until u get it. Kinda like Jumangi! Anyway, You are a spectacular beautiful smart woman who is shinning like a torch right now. Go and do what the Lord needs for you to do in his name. ILOVEYOU!!! -- Sing Your Way Home! Pamela Whitney, p.whitney.baird@gmail.com

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Lauren Whitney < lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>	Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 12:49 PM
To: Pamela Whitney <p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>
I love you too!!!  I made it safely to California!! I slept the entire plane ride to Phoenix and it was grand. The second flight to california was pretty dang great as well. I sat next to this lady named Shelly. She was a professional chef and actually owned a bunch of restaurants in several states. Also, she's written 3 cook books. I though she was pretty dang neat. Anyway, we just chatting and she asked what my tag was for. Obviously I was excited to tell her because then I could share about the gospel. So I told her and I kind of told her about the church. I could have done much better, but I left her with a pass along card and challenged her to go to mormon.org. It was so scary but I'm glad that I did it. I love california and my mission president is incredible. I know that I am supposed to be here and I cannot wait to get started in the work:) I love you all and I'm so grateful for you in my life.  -Sister whitney [Quoted text hidden]

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Pamela Whitney < p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>	Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 3:47 PM
To: Lauren Whitney <lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>
I need an address peaches!!! Good job on the plane! go boldly to proclaim the gospel!

 

Mom!!!

That package was unbeileveable! Holy cow! That shirt is the coolest thing I've ever seen! And I did the legos as fast as I could:)

 

(I made this shirt from cotton that was backed by paper so I was able to print directly on the fabric. Tee shirt compliments of Hobby Robby! I also sent her a sharpie so she could have everyone in her district sign it before they travel off to parts all across America to wait for their visas.)

(p.s. We have a family tradition of playing and creating with legos on conference weekends. For quite a few years we didn't have a television so we listened to conference and it was great to give the kids something to do with their hands as they listened. I sent Lauren a small package with superman legos for her general conference experience so that is what she is talking about.)

 

So, I'm sending a package home with stuff I don't have room for. There's also a sweater that has a hole in it. If you can fix it, great. If not, I don't care. No biggie. Also, there's a letter for Danielle's mom because she sent me a package. If you could get it to her, that would be great. 

My flight leaves at 7:10 so I'll probably call home aroun 6:15ish. I'm really not sure. Sorry that it's so early. I'm excited to talk to you though:) By 9:35, I will be a california missionary. Whoop Whoop! I love you so much:)

Last letter from the MTC!

October 7, 2013    Last letter from Lauren at the MTC.

 

Seriously? Is no one but me excited for Anaheim? Oh well, it's my mission anyways:)
This was a crazy busy week. That, on top of conference, pretty much left me no time for anything.

The best experience this week was being a part of the wednesday night experience for the new missionaries. Sister Padilla and I were asked to participate and "play" missionaries in a teaching senario. The new missionaries are split up into group and watch the begining of a first lesson with an investigator. Our first invertigator's name was Carlo. He was really interested in the plan of salvation becasue his wife had passed away. Sister Padilla and I started by asking questions about his life, his hobbies, what he likes, and then about His religious backgroud. This is all going on while a group of 30 new missionaries are watching. It was a little nerve racking, but once we got into it, it was easy. Carlo asked a question along the lines of "can I see my wife again" and right as I was about to answer, we were cut off so the new missionaries could have a shot. 

Our next invertigator's name was Hely and it was a little bit harder talking to her. She was a little stand offish and didn't really want to talk with us -the investigators are paid actors btw- but we eventually got to her 'big' question and then we were cut off. It was an amazing experience. I was surpised at how much I wanted to help these people and that they are searching for anwsers I've had all my life. It reaffirmed to me why I am serving this mission for the Lord. He wants his children back with Him and I can help that happen. I cannot wait to get started in Anaheim.

The next day (thursday) we had in field orientation. It lasted 8 hours and was basically a way to get us ready for the field (no duh). I really loved it though because we learned how to care for the investigator, appraoch people in different situations, and how to work hard thoughout the mission. I can't wait to apply this to the field!!!!

The next big activity was conference. I don't think I've ever paid so much attention to conference before, but I should have:) I think I ended up taking 12 pages of notes. Crazy. My favorite talk was by Elder Nielsen. IN his talk he said that the Body is the Temple for our Spirit. I don't know why, but I loved that! He also discused self mastery and how we shouldn't be addicted to anything, including things that waste our time. In the mtc, I've really come to apprecitate time and I try not to waste it. I would challenge you to do the same. You can just get so many activities done that way! 

I also loved Elder Holland's talk (along with every other member of the church). I know that the talk was for mental illness, but I couldn't help but think of Mom and her MS. I know that Elder Holland's words are true and I can't wait until I get to heaven and Mom and I can run together. I hope that she beats me:) Love you, Mom. 

Anyway, I have to go pack for tomorrow. I leave the MtC at 3;30 in the morning. Yay. But I get to be a california girl! (california girls are unforgetable. knee length skirts and name tags on top):)

 I love you all to the moon and back. peace and blessings

-Sister Whitney

 

 

(Lauren used to be such a good speller! So much for correct English. Haha)

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013 last week in the MTC!

Lauren Whitney < lauren.whitney@myldsmail.net>	Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 12:43 PM
To: Pamela Whitney <p.whitney.baird@gmail.com>
Hey All, ONE WEEK MORE!!! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by in the MTC. It is incredible. So, because I haven't received my visa yet (along with all the missionaries in my district), I get my reassignment on Thursday. I am dying. I want to be in the field so bad, but at the same time, I'm trying to take advantage of all the study time at the MTC. Missionary problems. Anyway, this week has been just as awesome as all my other weeks. I taught my first lesson on Chastity. That was quite the experience. I thought it was going to be hard to say the things we needed to say (you know how shy I am about that stuff), but it wasn't hard at all. I think it is because the law of Chastity is a commandment from God. He has given us this commandment so that we can be safe and happy. Once I understood that, it was super easy to teach a grown man (my teacher/investigator) about chastity.  Another cool experience this week was TRC. During TRC, we have gospel discussions with volunteer members. This week we did it over skype. AND, our volunteer was from Portugal. We were literally were talking with a native Portuguese speaker from Portugal, in Portugal. It was crazy fun, even if he was super hard to understand. In portugal, they use more of a shhh sound for their "s". As a result, we struggled though our discussion. But he, Julio (Like Shh oulio), was very kind and only laughed at us a little. I loved it. Since my district is one of the older districts here, we were able to be host missionaries for new missionaries arriving at the MTC. It was so dang fun. New missionaries pull up with their families, hug it out, and then we get to help them settle in. I was able to host 4 missionaries. ONe of the sisters, Sister Hemi, was from Australia and had a wicked awesome accent. She was incredibly nice and I am so happy that I was able to help her out. I loved being around the new missionaries because they are so excited to get to work. If you think I'm excited, you should hang out with new missionaries. Talk about Enthusiasm.    Laundry Break.  [Quoted text hidden]

Sorry about the long wait. I had a lot of errands to do.   Anyway, I think the overall theme of the past week has been trials and how to overcome them. On Sunday, I watched a talk by Elder Bednar (?) on teaching investigators. He explained why it is important to have trials and from that, I thought up this analogy in my head. Trials are like working out with weights. The only way to get stronger is to bear the weight and eventually add more. But, you have to be careful because too much weight can injure you. The only way we can learn and become stronger in this life is to go through trials. They're hard and sometimes we may think that we have too much to deal with, but we can do it. The Lord knows how much we can take and will never set us up to fail. He's our number one fan and our joy is His joy. If he just took our weight (trial) away, there's no way we'd ever be able to get stronger and progress. That's why the Lord will always help us in our trials, but never take them away completely. There's a scripture, 1 Corinthians 10:13, that states that the Lord will never put temptations in our path that we can't handle and turn down. It's the same with trials. He will never give us a trial we cannot handle. All we have to do is have faith in the Lord and ask for his help.   I know that the Lord supports us in our trials. I know that even though they suck and are hard and sometimes painful, we can overcome them with the Lord's help. I know He loves us and always wants us to succeed. I know that He loves to help us and is just waiting for us to ask for Him to do so.   Esta e a Igreja verdadera. Deus ama nos muito e quer nos ser felize. Eu sou grata por provocoes. Eu sei que eles ajudam mim com minha vida. Eu amo esta Igreja e Eu sou grata por a opportunidade servir um missao. Eu amo voces Muito!!!!!!   Sister Whitney  [Quoted text hidden]

I loved the Sweater!!! It was the best and I totally needed a long sweater. Thank you so much!! So, I'm not sure when I get to call you. I know after we get our reassignments, we get to email you but I'm not sure about calling.  Though I do get to call you from the airport if I go out of state. Yay!! So fun.  Also, this week, Sister padilla and I get to be a part of the new missionary experience. All the new missionaries gather in a room and we act out a scene. There's an investigator who is waiting to speak with the missionaries. And this week, the missionaries are me and sister padilla. Cool right? I'm really excited. It's tomorrow night.   I'm excited for my reassignment and I love you so much.  -Sister Whitney:) [Quoted text hidden]