August 13 - August 27, 2012

August 27, 2012

Hello Family!!
I am glad to hear from you again, it is great to know all is well at home. This is the address you can send things to.

Fausto Milan
108 Cordona Street
Del Rio Texas
78840

I think he wants you to send stuff in his name, I'm sure he'll know who it’s for since its coming from Idaho. He tells me it is no problem that you send stuff, but lots of stuff would probably get annoying after a while. I don't want to be demanding but a big thing of peanut butter would be greatly appreciated.

We are doing ok; it has been a little harder than usual getting the work started in our area. I feel like I have been teaching a certain type of people my whole mission, but this area is completely different that any of my other areas. I am happy because I know the Lord is still letting me learn lots of new things. I have to deal with things that I have never had to worry about. Mariah wrote me and said something about having to change things in her way of teaching her last change, it is happening to me as well.

The Sunday school lesson was on prayer, I felt like I needed to pray more for understanding.

I love you guys!!
Elder Waite

August 20, 2012

Hello Family,

I had a good birthday. I got changed again so I didn't know anyone and I actually forgot until we had a slow moment in the day that I just remembered. I celebrated well; my comp bought me a little cake about the size of my hand. I haven't gotten the package yet, from now on you can send all the packages or letters to me at an address in Del Rio Texas, I am right across the border in a city called Acuna. It is spelled with the other n but this computer is American and doesn't have it. Next week I'll send the address, or maybe I'll be able to send a letter with it there. In this city there are two branches that make up a district. There are six missionaries here - the other elders are in the other branch and us with the sister missionaries are in the other. For district meeting we just meet in the chapel here in Acuna. We are part of the Zone Piedras Negras but we only go there for Zone conference or Interviews. I am out in the middle of nowhere, but I like it. Our branch mission leader is the police chief of Acuna, it is his house that you can send stuff to in Texas.

I'm glad you are supporting Cody and going to his homecoming. I hope to see him real soon. Is he going back to USU?

What is a Kindle? Good job on your Young Womanhood Recognition Maren!

Congrats on the fair.  We always get so lucky with selling the animals.

My companion is Elder Carrizo, I knew him before, but not very well. When I heard he was my companion I was a little worried, however now that I have been with him for a week and I know him better I like him more.  He is going home in 5 weeks, it is pretty weird that they put us two together, we were both sick last week. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to learn from him. I was thinking about how much has happened in 21 months and thought to myself "I’ve done just about everything that I have heard of happening in a mission. I guess I’ll just keep going these last three months and see how it goes..." That was before I knew they were going to change me to another area and before I knew who my comp was. The Lord is still planning things for me to do and learn. It is my first time that I have had to kill a missionary (that’s what they say when you send one home).

As far as missionary work, we are ok. We have been helping the sisters out a lot for this week, they seem to be struggling. We were able to have one investigator in church for the first time, his name is Jesus, his wife is a member (her unwise choice of marring a non member is a blessing for us). It is hard to see him because he works late. There are two other people that are possible for baptism; they have been going to church for 4 weeks, Evaristo (40s) and Carlos (son 9) we can’t figure out what is holding them back from getting baptized. On Friday we knew his wife for the first time, she works a lot but is changing her hours to be able to go to church with us this Sunday.

As a district we are studying about virtue, the quote that I keep remembering is from Pres Monson in General Conference... "My strength is the strength of 10 because my heart is pure". Hopefully in the Waite house there is the strength of 70... Thanks for all you do, and the example you are.

Love,

Elder Waite

 

August 13, 2012

Hello Family,

Glad to hear the adventures of the hike, I hope everyone had tons of fun. Was Palisades full? We have had a good week, two baptisms. Juan Daniel and his Grandma Dorina, they are really cool. We did not find them, they were found by the other Elders that were in this area, we picked them up on the 3rd visit. Dorina heals people by touching them wherever they have pain and she just massages all the bad stuff out of them. We had to check really good that she didn't invoke any spirits or anything like that, but there is no rule that she can't keep healing people like she does, she just can't use the name of the church. She's got a pretty good reputation and they pay her lots of money. I'm pretty sure I’ll just stick with the priesthood. 

Erika was supposed to get confirmed this week, however something happened on Sunday morning and they were going to be late so they didn't go. They didn't want to talk to us either so they went to visit family in Monterrey. That happens a lot, people get worried after they aren't able to do what they said they would so they make the situation worse and refuse to talk to us. Satan is super ready to make us fall in any way he can.

We went to visit a girl that has been going to church with some of our investigators that can’t be baptized because they aren't married. The girl lives out of the area and is only in this area on Sundays. She has lots of good questions and a desire to learn and make her life better. She is a niece of an investigator called Marisol. We got to the house and the whole family was there and they were having a carne asada (cook out). We were able to talk to lots of people, including Lisy (the niece). There was a girl there about 9 years old who asked when my birthday was, I told her and she went and told her mom. The mom just happened to have a cake so they sang to me, put candles (that don't blow out, you blow them and they just light again... fairly embarrassing) on the cake. Here you take a bite out of the cake and have to be fast because they shove your face in the cake... I wasn't fast enough as you will see from the pictures.

Hope you have a good week. Tell Cody hi for me.

Love,

Elder Waite