Russia

my final companion (sorry mom) is a Ukrainian he is from kyiv and as for myself i dont have much to say other than see yall in 3 days  i am excited. as for this week it has been packing and preparing to leave... so yea that is about it love you all.

Final Runs

man it is getting close i don't have long to email so basic rundown things are interesting we are classified as "ministering elders" presidents words not mine and things are lit more details next week as i got to go love you all in your individual ways you especially James cause i know you like to question but love mom the most!!!

hey y'all

sorry this is coming late transfers happened on Monday so today is emailing. based on that you could probably guess i was transferred i am now back in Durban here to Finish my mission i am in an area called Queensburgh an area that has been closed for 4-5 years and the attendance is 30 with 100+ members registered so that is my assignment i am working with members in re activation. should be fun my new comps are as follows:

Elder Huff: my group from Pocatello Idaho skier in my group leaving in 2 weeks

Elder Lopez-Peliaz my group from Oregon idk exactly leaving with me 3-4 weeks

Elder Tracy: not from my group from Utah leaving in over a year

so this should be interesting here we are last stretch gotta pound it hard i feel bad for the younger guy he is going to "kill" all three of us and then inherit a white washed area (freshly opened). should be fun.

well i don't know what else to say so i will say stay safe and remember who you are!!!

hi guys

well turns out that i aint going to die in stanger i am getting transfered... and before anyone gets worked up that is mission language   -birthed=coming to the mission   death=going home-  but yea i am going back to bloemfontein... but now exactly i am going to bloemanda outside of bloemfontein but yea. it is sad because we finally scheduled a 30 min trip over to the outskirts of our area to go and see a person who was reffered to us by someone in johannesburg and he was powerfull he already knew most of the stuff because they had given him the books and he read them all but yea so he is now on a date for the end of april but sad i wont be here. and here is a little shoutout to sister williams. anyway confrence was great and hopefully all yall have a good easter love you all stay well.

walking and walking

so this week was interesting a lot of walking we walked to a members house that we normally take a taxi because we where working with a pair of member boys that wanted to walk so we trackted on the way and yea we walked and walked then we walked back down then the next day we walked with the same member boys out to the members house from last week and she wasnt there so we walked back then we walked out again the next day because she was there so we cleaned some  bricks old style hammer and chisel i feel for the people that hand carved the bricks that whent into the salt lake temple cause we got through 15 bricks in like 3 or 4 hours and yes they where small bricks like the standard brick size from back home then we walked back home and yea it was hard but hey i lost weight so +++++ it made me feel good i was tired though we got home and i passed out  yep that was my week in a nutshell love you all stay safe and remember God is good all the time, and all the time God is good... peace out

hey

well this week kinda whent by way to fast... it started with a surprise trip to durban to attend their zone confrence instead of ours. so that was our tuesday kinda washed away then on Wednesday we whent to help a lady with her yard you know service type stuff picking grass leaving weeds you know not all that complicated then i saw in the corner of the yard a wall that was down and asked about it she told me that there was a tree next to the wall that cracked it so they took it down before it could fall on anybody... i said well what do plan to do she said that they will rebuild it so i whent out to take a look and most of the bricks looked salvagable so that was the rest of the day picking up bricks and stacking them for another time when we will go back with a hammer and chisel to chip off the moarter so they can re use the bricks. thursday was simple we trackted most of the day. then friday was exciting we where walking up to see a member who we where supposed to see on tuesday but rescheduled to friday and as we where walking up her hill i saw a guy walking with a tv on his head. now this wasnt a small tv it was a large flatscreen and something didnt seem right then i heard an alarm and the guy took off running about 2 min later the security came and we told him which way the guy whent and he loaded his gun and took off after him it was intense soo cool... sat was a normal day sadly i was hoping for something cool and sunday was interesting we had 3 people show up that i didnt know i thought that they where investigators but it turned out that they where just memebers from around that had just gone less active in the branch so that was exciting well till next week..........

this is weird

things have been weird this week i dont know how to put it but it was just strange. but my week other than that was great i saw that investigator that i ran into a coupple of weeks ago the one that moved back here and we where able to teach him he is incredible and loves the idea of missionary work and asked us how it worked and he said that some day he hopes to have the same opportunity best of luck to him. well not too much happened this week. nothing exciting like getting handed lunch for free or anything so yea not too much happened but we will see how the week goes love you all in your own special ways stay safe and stay out of trouble...

Hey yalll

i ran into some people tis week that asked me just to speak for them cause they wanted to hear my accent and apparently they thought that my accent sounded texan i thought they where crazy. my comp thinks that they are right so i dont know apparently wyoming shares a similar accent to texas that isnt as harsh maby i dont know. anyway we had a powerfull moment this week. we where sitting in our boarding eating lunch after church and we got a text from a guy that neither of us knew saying he wanted to hear the good word... so we told him to meet us at the chapel so we did and apparently he was a long lost investigator. one that hadent been taught since last year and still mannaged to remember our number it was cool verry spiritual lesson and cool moment well till next week... Whiting out.

hey hey hey

so this has been a crazy week but yea things have kind of settled down thankfully. this week me and my companion where talking to members that way we can find some new people to teach because the investigators that we had all moved or are in areas now declared as unsafe thankfully we got that figured out some of them said that we would be able to teach them at the chapel so yea. there is always a way. my thought that i shared this week is a lesson where i tear up a pece of paper in a certian way to reviel a cross as well as the peaces to show the death of the savior and by taking them i can spell love benieth the cross the ultimate reason that he paid the price for us.. so remember who you all are... love you all

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/missionaries-family-communication

so sorry about last week

last week we had some issues with power last week. and this week we had the same problems. that is why this is coming out so late. but yea apologies and as for this week we had zone confrence and we learned one importiant thing and that was what your motivations are is very importiant.

there are 3 motives in this world that sum them all up

1. fear, doing what you need to do because of the fact that you fear what will happen otherwise

2. duty, doing what you are supposed to do because it is your responsibility. because it is something that gives you a pourpose and this ties to number 

3. love, in my opinion the most powerfull of all the motives due to the fact of if you love doing something or you are doing something out of love there is nothing that can stop you there is nothing that can stand in your way.

taking that to a spiritual side i would say is how are we in following God and Christ? are we doing it because we fear what will happen if we dont just because we know it is what we are supposed to do or because we love doing it keep that in mind this week as you evaluate the decisions that you make i tried this and my week changed i felt more involved in what i was doing and i know that you can feel the same so that is my challange figure out what motivates you and try to make it your love... love you all in so many different ways varying on who you are because some of you dont need the same love my mother does...

saligahle. and or hambagahle

Elder Whiting,

um hi i guess

this was the most common phrase i heard this week because that is exactly what i did we where tracting going door to door trying to find new people to teach and once again the weatherman lied but this time i was prepared for it so i wasnt burnt too bad. but yea the new news is i have a new companion his name is elder King he is from australia and comes from a big family like me he is the second youngest though of 7 so he has the other end of the sibling spectrum but yea things are good and yes mom he is expecting your questionaire but yea. funny moment. my comp has had a bad toe and it is soo funny because he is nursing it like a baby but as soon as he turns his head away from it for 2 seconds it bumps into something else so yea i guess it fits the description of any baby firstly there is nothing faster than a baby once it has been asked what is in its mouth. learned that one out here when a ma chased her baby for like 4 or 5 min before it came running over to me and just spat the toy into my lap. and two as soon as you look away they are plotting some way to get into trouble my mother can probably testify that one after raising me. but yea on a spiritual note i had an incredible experience this week we walked into pick and pay (the local store) and while we where in there we where approached  by not one not 2 not even 3 but 5 people that had moved into the area and didnt know where the church was and because of that whent less active. as our mission president says "nothing happens by accident" i belive that now anyway that is it for this week i will see what i can do picture wise but until then Saligahle.

Elder Whiting,

buzzzzzzz

so only one really interesting thing happened this week and that was i got chased around the boarding by a wasp but then i reached in to my inner ninja grabbed a pencil from my desk and took one swing landed full contact and the wasp was sent careening twards the wall with a kinda sickening crunch fell to the floor dead i felt like a boss!!! i am untouchable. the other thing that happened was there was a guy that came up to me i dint recognise him but he said that he recognised me then he told me a story that brought it back... he told me about how when i was in umlazi i was the guy that was willing to help him i was walking along after buying dinner some fries and bread and this guy was sitting at the corner of the mall. i felt bad for him and gave him the fries and a copy of the book of mormon on account that he read it... he said that he had. and he said that he belived that that was the reason that he was doing well he had got a job an appartment and his life turned around. i felt good that day planting seeds really does help even if it seems helpless...

1. photo opportunity with some sugar cane

2. i got boarding skills (aka me boarding to an appointment with a member to do some service)

3. the number one gardening and roof painting service

Elder Whiting,

the weatherman tells lies!

so i whent on exchanges with the elders in my district. for those of you who dont know there are 4 of us in my district and i need to go on an exchange with each  companionship to evaluate how things are going and to see how i can help. anyway i checked the weather the day before i left and it said that it would be low to mid 20's for those using Fahrenheit that is about 68 to 75 so not too hot.. and it was supposed to be clowdy so i left the sunscrean in my boarding and traveled to the other companionship... well that was the first mistake it turned out to be 38 ish degrees which is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit and there wasnt a cloud in the sky🌞 and i got cooked pretty bad it hurt😭 and for the next 3 days i didnt sleep all that well. i am recovered enough now and yea things arent too bad... i have enjoyed being out here this week we found 2 of my investigators that i lost contact with when i was treansfered out of here the first time... that was about 15 months ago for those keeping track. but the people said that they had prayed that they would still find the truth. i didnt see either of them until now because they where with their families for the holidays but this last sunday they came back and when they came to church i was startled to find that they had been baptized and i didnt even know. so remember even if it seems that you dont make a difference in someones life one little ripple is all it takes even if that ripple is a card miraculusly thrown through an open window from 6 meters away

1.my amazing burn... fair warning shirtless elder whiting

2. me and my comp garden work day

3. my favorite go to on the go lunch schwarma!!!! only 35 rand for 2 that is less than 3 bucks

Elder Whiting,

What is up is the sky

so things have been kinda slowing down for me i wish they hadent it made the new year kinda boring made christmass seem like a drag... but that is whatever cause that isnt my pourpose for being out here... i am here for the crocodiles!!! no just kidding but yea this week i was able to go to a place called crocodile creek and there i was able to hatch a baby crocodile... sorry no photos of that... but i do have a picture of me wearing a crocodile as a hat the guy snuck up behind me while i was pulling the baby out of the egg and placed another small crocodile on my head it grabbed my head with its legs at which point the guy told me to reach back and grab the tail and then the croc whent into sky diving mode. legs out head up kinda thing. that was fun.

Elder Whiting,

Hi Hi Hi Happy New Year

sorry about not emailing yall for a while i have been so caught up this festive season seeing people round the clock. it is impressive we did a flood the world activity where we wrapped book of mormons nicely i even learned how to tie a bow!!! and we gave those to people who where working on christmas security guards the people working at a pizza place even to two police officers. that was an interesting story we walked up to them and one of them whent for his gun but i put out my hand to shake his and he relaxed a little we asked if we could talk to them and they said that they had to be somewhere. so we walked with them explaining about the book of mormon and how it changed our lives and we wanted to give it a chance to change other peoples lives. they both accepted one and the next day we got calls from both of them as well as 2 other people that we had given book of mormons the day before... it was an incredible experience... sorry i wont be sending pics till next year as i cant figure out what is happening with this computer and my memory card i bought another one but i think that it is just the computer port isnt working so i am going to get a usb converter see if that works next week till then merry late Christmas if i didnt get a chance to tell it to you yet and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! make this year a good one!!!!

Elder Whiting,

update

so yea stanger round 2 i am shocked... there has been so much change and apparently i am included in said change people say that i am taller now people say that i talk more maby a little too much ugh some people well here is the thoughts. life is like a deck of cards individually each card is worthless nothing but a piece of paper. but as soon as you bring them all together you have something great that you  can do countless things with. and on a spiritual side we each have something unique about us now we might not  e able to see it now and we might not be able to see it alone but it is there and when we find it we need to use it  because what i have found is every gift that we can get from God dosent really benefit ourselves rather it benefits others so yea spread your gift and get ready for this christmas it is going to be fun

Elder Whiting,

happy birthday to me happy birthday to me happy birthday to me ee happy birthday to me

so exciting news for those of you who either a didnt know of b didnt read the sub title its my birthday today yay meee i am so importiant but i get to celebrate with someone else not far from me there is a little girl member if you remember from a cupple o weeks back her birthday is tomorrow her name is tatum and we will be celebrating together it is so exciting i am so pumped. and more exciting news try to guess..................................................................................................... ok you have had long enough i am going back to an old area i am going back to stanger my second area from what is it now almost 15 months ago!!! that is cool in my mind i will get to see all the people i was teaching i am excited and i dont have to leave this culture of indians i have a new soft spot for indians they are dope and my companion makes some pretty good curry anyway my new companion will be a brazillian i think his name is elder andrade so fun anyway still working out the picture situation will be pics next week though promise!!! love you all in different ways depending on who you are but remember you are all importiant in both my eyes and the eyes of God

Elder Whiting,

so my memory card...

um so here it is i didnt have my memory card this week i loned it to a member to pull the pictues off of it and i left it at their house so no pictures this week sadly. this week was interesting ran into a few drunk people that had interesting things to say one of them started talking to us and as soon as he saw the badges his eyes whent huge and he was like "you one of them Jesus followers!!!" at which point we said yes we belive in Christ and his responce i thought would be leave me alone instead he said "can you help me?" so we are teaching him now and he is really interesting. i love it out here and i think that the thing that has changed the most (because this was the most asked question last year about this time) would be my faith/patience in it  see things dont happen immediatly even if we want it. faith is like a tool ment to be tested by the winds of time not a one time use. we need to try it see what it can do and then we find out miricles.. well i love you all and cant wait to talk to you soon...

Elder Whiting,

sorry gonna be short

hey guys so here is what is up this week i slammed my finger in a lock and it basically ripped the tip of my finger off (fair warning for those who look at the pictures today so i am not typing as much today as i usally do due to the fact i dont want it to rip open again. so here is the spiritual thought yesterday there was a baptism for a little 8 year old girl (not mine) but it was incredible it was from another ward but yet most of the ward made the 30 min commute to be there for the little girl and it astonishd me the fact that they where willing to make that sacrifice i guess that is the true meaning of friendship when we are willing to do whatever to support those we love and i want all of you to know that i miss and love you all.

Elder Whiting,

gobble gobble

happy thanksgiving! well not yet but hey by the time that some of you read this it might be so yay for planning ahead if you want you can open this at thanksgiving again just for the experience but hey remember what the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result so it is up to you if you are insane or not... anyway i think that i am insane or i thought i was. 

this week i have a weird experience me and my comp, or my comp and i for those who like to criticize grammar, where out tracting and for those of you who dont know that term tracting is going door to door knocking to see if anyone is interested in your message and missionarys have been doing that for well since the begining i guess but i decided to change that... instead of doing the same thing every day all day because well we now have 6 people who are interested in the church and well other than that we have time to find. i plan to do service instead. me and my companion/ my companion and i plan to go to the hospital in the area and work there as service but turns out missionarys have been doing that for ever in this area so there it goes 

I  AM INSANE!!!

other than that we had a nice week and as for the spiritual side there was a kid that we are teaching that told us that he is no longer interested but i sat next to him on the taxi ride to stake confrence and i think that i figured out why so i was talking to him and suddenly he told me that he wants to be baptized again i asked him why and he said that it was because someone was willing to reach out. the lord works in mysterious ways i didnt intend to do that but it worked out also fun fact his sisters birthday is the same as yours grandma call the day after mine!!! how exciting we are going to have a party!!! that is if i am still here hopefully i will be

Elder Whiting,