Feeding the homeless with the Catholics Tyler with the sister missionaries Tyler with his 5th cousin, Elder Fowers
Dear family and everyone else,
An interesting thing happened Saturday afternoon. We were looking for a former in the east side of Patterson (which is 90% Spanish) and found my FIRST name on a street. Now my full name is complete. I never thought I would ever find my name on any street sign. I did remember my camera this week so pictures will be sent. It is the time of transfer calls again and we have received word that Elder Nielsen and I will be serving together for another transfer. The other very interesting piece of news is that the Crows Landing 2nd Spanish Branch will be receiving it's own sister missionaries. Thank goodness. It feels like that ward is all ready to explode with baptisms. Hermana Porter called us Sunday afternoon right after our church got over to ask the branch President for the needed ward lists to meet the members, less actives, and Part-members. We had the lists anyways, so it worked out. She will be training 2 sisters. We had another batch of 30 new missionaries, mostly sisters that came in. It's getting ridiculous of how many missionaries are being poured into this new mission. Almost every trainer is training 2 missionaries. All the Zone leaders have been made to just one instead of 2 in a companionship. Some could be training others not. This will just be an experiment to see how one Zone Leader will handle their busy job. Sadly, Elder Fowers, my 5th cousin, is being transferred out in the middle of training Elder Wilks. Oh that poor missionary. I think Elder Ashton who came out with me will take him in. We don't know yet. President made some very interesting moves this transfer. We will be waiting to meet the new sisters tomorrow. Today we are moving back into the regular English apartment. The only thing that draws the both of us to this other one is the washer and dryer. We do not want to go to the laundromat on Mondays. We deep cleaned and moved around the desks and beds so we can sleep by the AC unit at night. All the other rooms of the place don't get cooled off very well. Also, all the floors are wood, so it echo's and it kind of makes it sound cool. Lastly, we were able to teach Jason again. We taught him the plan of salvation, and he liked the idea of claiming his kids as his own forever. Now we are planning on teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to establish the repentance process and marriage so he can meet the qualifications for baptism. That's about it. You all have a great week. Elder White Dear family and everyone else,
Not much has happened this week. We were able to talk to Caroline for just a few minutes before she had to go, so we didn't teach any investigators this week. They all seem to be very busy for some reason. We were able to pull weeds for a member down in Newman. There was a leaky hose, so the soil smelled like the beach and really muddy. We also did the regular feed the homeless with the Catholics. They sure know how to make good food. It makes me hungry every time. The other thing that happened this week was we received a call from our vehicle coordinator Elder Gilbert to say our car was due for an oil change and the tires rotated, so we went to a place in Turlock and they didn't even have the new mission account yet, so we had to call Elder Gilbert so he could pay over the phone. It was chaotic. Next time, we are going to Modesto like they usually do, and it will run more smoothly. We had dinner with the Silcox's the other night and come to find out, Brother Silcox is the grandson of Brother Silcox in my ward. I thought that was hilarious. What are the chances of that actually happening? Very little. One evening, Elder Nielsen received a letter from his friend in the Knoxville Tennessee Mission. He received a flattened penny and nickle that was ran over by a train that they found. We used it as an object lesson for a few people. The message to get out of it was Satan wants us to look like these coins. They are of no worth now and Satan wants to bring you down. However, even these coins can be melted down and molded back into shape. We too can go through the refiner's fire to become the son's and daughter's the Lord see's us as becoming. "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God." You all have a great week, Elder White. P.S. It is somewhat cloudy here in California. Not enough to rain though. Still drier than dust. Lots of fires is what President Palmer told us. Nice 80 degree weather this week again. Dear family and everyone else,
I will first start out by talking about last Monday. We went to Turlock to finally wash the car because of all the farm dust that is around here. Through a little section, you can actually smell the cows. It's always revolting. Anyway, after we washed the car, we stopped by a Big 5 to shop for some clothes. I now have a completely new getup to run in the mornings than when I first started. After all of our shopping, we worked the rest of the evening starting at 6. Nobody home though. We then exchanged with Turlock 5th ward, which is by the way the YSA. I however, got to stay in my area a second time. Oh well. Me and Elder Fowers had a great time together. Interesting thing was, we taught a less active that converted to another church called the Church of God, and he was just sharing some Bible scriptures he has been studying lately. Elder Fowers and I just listened so we could warm up to him. We talked to him about reading the Book of Mormon again but he didn't want to. His wife who converted him was reading some the Book of Mormon before and showed some interest. Old members who fall away can be difficult sometimes. Other than that, we did not have much teaching on the exchange. On Thursday, we had a Zone meeting, and we learned what we need to do for the next while--work with the less actives, part-members, and prospective Elders. This was something we already were trying to do. After the training, I took pictures of me with Elder Fowers and Elder Wilks, his companion. On Friday, we served with the Catholic's as usual in serving food to the homeless. Oh the cooking makes me hungry every time. Saturday we did some yard work for a member. The back patio is free of cob-webs and dirty wood, and the lawn is all mowed. It felt good. Then we taught Caroline the plan of salvation. {Now here comes the spiritual moment of my letter.} She loves us coming over. She was beginning to worry that we were going to give up on her because of how busy she can be. I say to myself, I will never give up on you. I feel you have been spiritually prepared for us to come over again. Then she said something to us that was just so awe striking. "I feel spiritually thirsty and starving. I feel I'm not getting enough nourishment from church (Southern Baptist). That is why I'm in my Bible studies, and Praise dancing." It was just so profound what she said. I being a representative of Jesus Christ, am here to feed those who starve from spiritual matters. We invited her to church and explained how church worked. She said she needed to find a way to get her mom there too because she can't leave her alone. We hope she will join us at church soon. Well, that's all I got for this week. Love you all. Sincerely, Elder White Dear family and everyone else, One very interesting thing happened last night. We stopped by a member named Brother West. He is fascinated with Book of Mormon History research and archeology. He has learned for himself some very interesting facts that point towards the Book of Mormon. For example, archeologists miraculously found a carving of Lehi's dream. Some names like Lehi or Sariah were also engraved. The Aztec's came around 1000 years after the presumed war with the Nephites. The other cultures matched dates with the Book of Mormon through 15 foot calendars that marked different events. Lastly, the small neck of land and the area of many waters were identified around Central America like everybody thought. It all made sense to me now. We know where the Bible took place but not so much the Book of Mormon. It's quite small really. The church however will never accept or deny evidence. We are to continue to rely on FAITH. On Thursday, we met with Elder Hamula of the first quorum of the 70. He shared some insight for the new mission and answered some of our questions. One was a concern about former mission cultures. Elder Hamula told us to repent if we are still holding onto old mission cultures. I agreed with him. We are in a new mission with new rules. It's time to change. For this week in our proselyting, we haven't had much success. We got in a couple of doors but found out that some had to go somewhere like going out to dinner, so we set up some new appointments for this week. Caroline that I have mentioned, is still very busy with her teenagers and ailing mom. We are hoping to get in contact tomorrow afternoon. We have plans on exchanging again with the Turlock 5th ward Elders again tonight. This time Elder Fowers is coming to me in my area. I have received confirmation that he is indeed my 5th cousin. Nothing closer though. Now I can move on from it. Other than that nothing new. Have a great week everyone, Elder White Elder Nielson and Elder White Diablo Grande Area
Dear family and everyone else,
Thursday, we will be having another Mission Conference with Elder Hamula of the first quorum of the 70's. He is going on a mission tour to see how the new mission is doing. We are looking forward to this. Tomorrow, the zone will be having a meeting to discuss our new mission vision and baptism goal for this year and other things like that. If I haven't told you about my new companion, I sincerely apologize. Elder Nielson is from Akron, Colorado. He is 20 and is turning 21 in October, and has red hair. ( I like to call it orange hair.) He attended Snow College for a year and left for his mission. He has been out for 15 months now. He has 4 brothers and 3 sisters. One boy is an identical twin still earning money to pay for his own mission. He also has a slight lisp from a speech impediment, but people think he just has an English accent. He even fooled the last English Elder, Elder Wain. I thought it was funny he managed to do that. This past week, there has been a little ray of hope here in the Crows Landing Ward. We were going through our list of former investigators when we came across an African American named Caroline. She is Baptist and has been facing many hardships because her mom has dementia and is slowly dying, and she is handling a bunch of teenagers. She prayed that morning that God would send messengers to her. We showed up that afternoon, and she felt her prayer was answered. I felt prompted to share the atonement with her mingled with Book of Mormon scripture. She liked our message a lot. She continues to pray for God's help. I gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, and she said we could come back and talk about it some more. We have yet to see her this week to see if she will go anywhere with her investigation again. She was also fascinated with the scriptures in the back that she could study in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. That was about the only good spiritual experience this week but very powerful. I feel the Lord has spiritually prepared her for this moment. I am here, sent from Heavenly Father to help in anyway I can. God does love each one of us. He knows us and wants what is best for us. He will never lead us astray. It is as what Isaiah has said, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Through Christ's atonement, we can all be forgiven and have our burdens made light. Always remember that the lord knows each one of us and wants to bless us. Follow his commandments, and he has a reason to bless us. Love you all. Sincerely, Elder White Dear family and everyone else, I had many awesome spiritual experiences in my last area, Modesto 3rd Ward. I have been called to start a new chapter in my missionary work. When I first heard I was being transferred out before Elder Brown, we were both very surprised. I felt confident I could handle the area on my own. However, the lord has said otherwise. Elder Ashton who came out with me is still in his first area. Now he too is training. It's funny really. Elder Brown has been called to train a new missionary in the mission. A total of 40 missionaries [including visa waiter's] have been sent here. Hopefully Julie Luna got married and baptized this last weekend. For now, I still have 6 baptisms on my hands. Maybe 7 if I hear back during this next Mission Conference. I have been sent to the Crows Landing 1st ward, for some reason,with Elder Nielson. He is a red head, and very social. As Skibby Christensen said in her recent letter, "I felt like sunshine, lollipop's, and rainbows." Then she said, "However, Lollipop's become sticky, and rainbow's fade back into the storm." That is all I will mention about that. Elder James J. Hamula of the first quorum of the 70 will be coming to the new mission on the 27th. I have had a few Mission Conferences--more than most missionaries in their entire 2 years. This will be good I think. Right now, we are coming up with the new mission statement: "We are doing the will of the father, when we are one with the Savior." This can mean many things to us missionaries, which is why we are still refining it. We are also coming up with a baptism goal for this mission. It's interesting because it is the later end of this year and we are making a goal already. I just thought they would wait for that goal when it comes around December for next year's baptism goal. I guess we will see what we all will come up with. Lastly, Elder Fowers is my district leader. I might have mentioned that he was my 5th cousin. I have a little more information from him; however, I forgot to bring my fan chart to show him where we meet. I guess there is always this Thursday the 20th. He is from Farmington, Utah, and he is the youngest of 9. He also loves all kinds of sports. He hasn't really picked a favorite. It was awesome getting to know him a little bit. We will be exchanging with him and his trainee tomorrow, so we will see what he has planned for us then. Have a great week everybody. Elder White Turlock Elder Nielson
Dear family and everyone else,
Do I have some news to tell you all!!! Saturday night, I received the call to MOVE TO Crows Landing 1st ward. It is over by Turlock. It's a really small town, so this will be very interesting for me. I would have never guessed that I would be transferred out of the Modesto 3rd ward this soon. It seems like I just got here. Elder Brown will be training for the 2nd time in the 3rd ward. It was interesting for him to receive such news. Hey, at least I was able to baptize 6 people so far. Yes, I did say 6. Cathy Rutherford was able to be baptized. Sister Hamilton was the first to teach her and was able to attend the baptism. It was the most spiritual moment I have had on my mission yet. The Rutherford's have been working hard on their family. Now, they just need to soften the hearts of Marcus's sisters. On the 22nd, they will take some family names and get them baptized. Marcus already found 4 on his line. So Cathy will witness her parents be baptized for the dead. As for Julie, we were able to rescue her date again for this weekend. However, due to me moving to the Turlock stake, I will not hear from Elder Brown if she got married and dunked or not. Whenever the next Zone Conference happens I will ask him. Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera for the goat pen. We finished it. Now Brother Brown just needs to wait so he can go get them. Dear family and everyone else,
A funny thing happened this last Tuesday. Elder Hendricks was called home because it was his normal time to go home and the mission was extended 2 weeks for all of us. When he left, Elder Quigley ,his companion, was emergency transferred to Ceres 1st ward. Therefore, the assistants to the President called us to say that they were giving us 2nd ward to work in these next 2 weeks when transfers occur, so it has been super hectic around here. Also, it ruins the teaching moment here in 3rd ward. Progress has been slowed for us right now. We are having plans to baptize Marcus' mom Cathy this Saturday. It will be difficult because she can't walk, but anything is achievable. Her caretaker hasn't moved out yet, and she fears losing something called section 8. It brings down the renting cost for people, which is really nice. So we are working with her and her family on this problem. President Palmer may need to interview her. Her situation is just confusing. We have also picked up a new investigator from a convert of ours from 2 years ago. She struggles to believe in a God and also lost a few toes due to diabetes. I see her with a 2 liter of soda, and I'm in my mind saying, that is the first thing that should go. Next to eat more meat. But that is not my calling/stewardship. Oh well. Today, we are going to play nerf gun wars. Yup, it's been reinstated into the mission. I'm excited for it. Last Monday we went to Ross, and I bought 2 new pairs of pants and a pair of blue gym shorts. I love them all already. I can't stop wearing them because of how comfy they feel. The Echo's are still working great for me. Tomorrow, we are going to help Brother Brown make a goat pen. It will be interesting for us. Love you all. Have a great week. Elder White Tyler's new shorts Dear family and everyone else, As many of you are wondering right now, I have had a great birthday. I received some really nice shoes called echo's from my extended family. They are really nice. I switched over to them this morning because my other pair just got destroyed from kicking a gulf ball. It worked out perfectly. I also received some candy, and a super sized blue raspberry gummy bear from the Zone Leaders. They are totally awesome Elders. They came over that night and we celebrated Elder Anderson and my birthdays. I picked out the chocolate cake and district meeting finished that off. It was so good. For this week, we have died down with baptisms. We are still expecting 2 more next month. As for this month, we are done. We had a less active we have been teaching come back to church. Now, we just need her husband to come with and eventually get sealed in the temple. Sometimes I can lose my patience when I get home at the end of the day, but I continue to learn and invite others to come unto Christ. Thank you all for the birthday wishes that I have heard about on facebook. Sadly, I can't see any of them. Hopefully you are all following me on my blog that my parents continue to update. Continue to strengthen your faith and repent. The lord loves us all and he wants to bless us. Have a great week. Elder White Cooking cactus.
Dear family and everyone else, I have very exciting news for you all. Athena and Jasmine Rutherford got baptized by the head of the household Marcus. It was a very cool experience seeing that event happen. I have witnessed the uniting of a family into this church. My companion made me realize that I have baptized more people in these few months than any other missionary in the entire world. I certainly love California because the field really is white and already to harvest. The night before, I gave some comforting words to Athena because she has social anxiety. I said, "HAPPINESS OVERCOMES ALL FEAR." I followed what the spirit said to me. It truly touched her to the point that she wrote it down in her notebook to remember forever. They also have their temple recommends already, so they can go whenever they get the money to go or else go on August 22nd when the ward does on a bus. We have 2 more dates set for next month. We figured out that if we baptize twice a month for the rest of this year, the ward will have reached it's goal in baptisms. One is Marcus' mom in another ward who wants to be with her son in 3rd ward. The other is Julie who we are preparing for her wedding next month. We might get one other date from an investigator that is stuck for August for a lame reason. She is not converted to push herself. I also went on 2 exchanges this week right next to each other. So I missed out a lot in my own area. I'm all caught up with information. First was with Elder Hendricks in 2nd ward. Not much goes on there. It kind of reminds me of my first area. Next was with Elder Madsen in 4th ward. I love him already. I compare him with his companion Elder Shepard. They are both studs. Especially with Elder Madsen's sun glasses. Their area is on fire like ours. This is what happened this week. You all have a great spiritual week. Love you all. Elder White Tyler's birthday suit!
Dear family and everyone else,
I want to first report that the baptism this last Saturday has been postponed for this Saturday. Athena, Jasmine, and her friend Trystin are planning to be baptized at noon on that day. They are planning on having a BBQ at their house afterwards. We found a new investigator. They recently moved in and her name is Wendy. We are going to see if she will go anywhere and soon be baptized. She did go to church Sunday. The family never stays for the other hours though. It is quite frustrating that they do that. On Saturday, we were on team ups with brother Oberlander and we decided to find my street name White Ave. I was totally amazed. I actually found my last name on a street sign. Elder Brown found his first name in Fresno. It can be very hilarious. I will shortly send a picture. Not much else has been happening. Just continuing to strenghten the less actives and find. Love you all, Elder White P.S. Make it a goal to attend the temple once a month. There are plenty of opportunities to find cousin names on family search. The work presses on. Dear Family and Everyone Else,
We had our first Mission Conference. Sometimes, Elder Brown and I think that instead of having Zone/Regional Conferences, we should just have mission conferences instead. The mission is much smaller. The farthest point is like an hour and a half drive. The Fresno mission took 4 hours the whole length. Thank goodness everything was shrunk down. The mission Presidents were spread thin with the stakes. As for President Palmer, I was able to shake his hand along with everyone else. Along the process, I just met my 5th Cousin Elder Fowers. He is from a small town in mid Utah. I was over joyous because I studied some of my ancestors. Family History work is a true blessing. The Stake is making a push for all members to attend the temple monthly if not weekly. I like that idea. Our ancestors do not need to wait for their work any longer. Let us all work together. I also found out there THERE IS NO Temple for the Modesto Mission. Oh well. I can wait for a year and a half. For the Modesto 3rd ward, we have a baptism date set for Athena and Jasmine Rutherford. Jasmine's friend sat in a lesson and wanted to get baptized. She listened to the plan of salvation. It was a miracle right there. We are teaching like crazy. Some less actives came to church as well yesterday. We are also good for the month of August for the wedding of Julie Luna, and Pierce Glynn. She is thinking small, so that is good for them and the ward. The date is set for August 14th, and the baptism on the 15th. Miracles happen everyday. I'm always learning something. May you all be inspired to go to the temple more often. Love you all. Elder White Dear Family and everyone else, At 5:00 last night, President Palmer flew into California. At that moment, the Modesto Mission finally started. It's rather chaotic around here. Some rules are up for question, and the culture that we know is lost forever. I, Elder White, am a modern day pioneer. I am starting anew in a new mission. We will now figure out a new mission culture these next coming days. I just hope the remnant of the Fresno missionaries will have more influence than the others. However, it is good to hear the other mission's ideas. Ultimately, President Palmer is the new leader. On a side note, it has been decided by Elder Brown and I that I am more tan/brown than he is. I think that's a terrible thing. I'm suppose to be white, not tan. Oh well. We have Athena and her daughter Jasmine planned for baptism for the 11th. We made it clear that if Athena does not give up smoking soon, she will not be baptized with her daughter. For the 4th of July, we are having dinner with the Van Prooyon's. Anything they make, is so good. We have to have an appointment to go anywhere after 5:00, or else we stay home and study or do something to pass the time. That's about it for this week. Oh yeah, one more thing, we are having a Mission Conference Wednesday to meet President Palmer and meet the rest of the missionaries from Sacramento. Elder Brown thinks he is going to Stockton next just because it is so ghetto. He has seen it all. I'm just starting. 5 months since yesterday have I been out. Until next week, Elder White Saying goodbye to President and Sister Clark
Dear Family and everyone else,
Shortly after the baptisms, things have calmed down for this area. We got a new investigator on Dry Creek Road. His name is Tim. We were able to manage to have 5 minutes with him. We helped answer his question about having a girlfriend and things like that. We shared with him the law of chastity. We also shared half of the restoration. We ran out of time, so we gave him the restoration pamphlet to read. We are looking forward to seeing him again. He might just be our next baptism for the month of July. Who knows but God. Like always we will wait and see. For Athena and Jasmine, Athena is not doing so well. Meth use has snuck in and got kicked right out 6 days ago. We didn't know about it until yesterday. Marcus felt truly sorry about it. We help them remember the steps to the repentance process. They need much more time to get baptized. Athena does have a testimony. Just weak in the flesh. Jasmine will not get baptized unless Athena goes as well. It's rather unfair to her. But that is the path they are choosing for now. We are still trying to find as we see the less-actives, part-members, and members during dinners. I sent my final e-mails to President, and Sister Clark. The farewell/ Zone Conference is this Friday. Also, the transfer dates have been changed for the new mission. I do not know the day though. Happy Father's Day to all you father's out there. Also, happy father's day dad. Sincerely, Elder White Dear Family and everyone else,
You have guessed right. Some of the most awesome news you will hear just happened. Saturday, we got "The Call" from President Clark. HE HAS SAID, "Elder Nielson has placed you in the California Modesto Mission." Later, we received another call that we will be in the same area for another 6 weeks together. We prayed and prayed and our prayers have been answered. We get to be in the Modesto Mission. We are looking forward in the next 3 weeks to finally meet President Palmer from Washington. We also heard that a missionary knows President Palmer somehow. I don't know who though. THE OTHER AWESOME NEWS: we had 3 baptisms this weekend. I helped baptize Angelina Lee Collins. To point her out in the picture I will shortly send, she is somewhat skinny, and is raising a baby about 1 month old. It was an over joyous weekend. We are also looking forward to this next weekend. We are not too confident this next baptism will hold out yet. I will let you all know how it goes next week. Lastly, the couple I talked about last week, well... they moved out of their mom's house recently and are looking for a place to stay. They loved talking with us and the last lesson we shared with them was the law of chastity. They have fully embraced it. But for the wedding, it has been stopped until further notice. It was the only sad news we received recently. Nothing is better than seeing somebody enter the waters of baptism. I love you all. Keep the Faith and trust in God. Sincerely, Elder White Dear Family and everyone else,
This past week has been a spiritual roller coaster. With one of our investigators (Julie is the investigator, and Pierce is the less active coming back) we got them excited for a proposed wedding. We recently taught them the law of chastity and they are fully embracing it. We brought to their understanding why it's so important to get married. They have 2 twin girls by the way. They set their date for August 1st and then her baptism August 8th which is her birthday. It was an interesting thought. Getting born again on your birthday. We also told them that the Relief Society can help out a little with the decorations. Most of the food will have to come from them and their family for the reception. I know how they feel right now. My sister had her wedding 2 years ago so I know what to expect. For the other investigators, Athena, and her daughter Jasmine, they are still good for baptism on the 20th. Athena still struggles with smoking, and Jasmine came to church for the whole 3 hours. She said she liked it. I was glad she came and to slowly get over her social anxiety. She knew one of the young women- sister Roades. That helped with the fellow ship problem. We were calling it, "The Young Women fellow ship attack"! I'm just glad things worked out. They helped some people out almost 2 months ago and kicked them out. They caused that family so much stress. The family is still recuperating with sleep. Lastly, we are still set up for baptisms for this Saturday. We don't have details yet. They are part of the Almanza family-Angelina, Virginia, and Andrew Collins. If they keep every appointment for this week, we have a done deal. We are excited for them. Oh, and I find out if I am in the new mission or not this Saturday. So we can't wait. I am really hopeful I get to stay in this area. We feel very attached to Modesto. Until next week. Sincerely, Elder White Dear Family and everyone else, Another week has come and gone and many things have happened. First off, I had Zone Conference at my ward/stake building. Many things were re-emphasized. More importantly, 3 fundamentals. 1. Revelation through prayer. 2. Revelation through the Book of Mormon, and 3. Revelation through church attendance. Over this past week, my companion and I implemented what was taught. We focused on these three fundamentals to better help our investigators with their spiritual conversion. We were able to finally teach the 10 year old in the Almanza family. He wants to get baptized, and we taught him the first 2 lessons and the word of wisdom. He had some really interesting and good questions, like who is God's father? Many people don't fully understand who the godhead really is. If you know Jesus Christ, you also know who Heavenly Father is like. Therefore, we have a total of 6 with a date for this month. We were given the council of the power of one. If every area just baptized one person a month, we could easily reach our monthly goal of 100 and the mission total of 1,342 at the end of the year. We are already almost half way done with the goal by the end of this months projected numbers. It's really exciting. We were also told that Russell M. Nelson will work with President Clark with arranging the missionaries into the new mission this July 1st. As a reminder, the new mission president is president Palmer. He is from Washington State. So I'm excited with this next transfer call these next couple of weeks. Love you all. May the lord comfort you all from the news of L. Tom Perry. Sincerely, Elder White shoes after 4 months in the mission Final goodbyes with Elder Boyes Moving from Clovis. The packed up room. Where are the suitcases? Tyler's new area--Modesto. Aren't his pictures hilarious! Tyler and Elder Brown
Dear Family and everyone else,
We have been receiving some exciting news these past few days. Although we were trying to shoot for a baptism for this month, we were successful in getting a total of 5 for next month. 4 of them seem very solid. Two of them we recently found as a referral from brother Roades. It was totally awesome. It was like Jesus Christ saying to our companionship, hey I see your are working hard, here are two baptisms. Enjoy. So for today, we didn't really need to buy stuff for ourselves. We were pretty much set with food for another week. I learned of an idea to get people out of the habit from smoking. It kind of made me think of my aunt. The idea is for the investigators to buy cinnamon flavored toothpaste, and mouthwash, vitamin C, and pure Grapefruit juice. Each has something to trick the mind that it has already got it's nicotine or something like that. It's rather cheap than using drugs to get out of the habit. We are going to share this idea with the 2 investigators we picked up from a less active family in Airport. All I can say about Airport is that it's full of crazy, and poor people. Slightly crazier than Empire. We usually only go there when we have a ride with a member. Therefore, it saves on biking time, and safer as well. One of them adopted a baby and her whole world right now is to love it. It reminded me of my younger sister with her loving babies and taking care of little children. That right there is the pure love of Christ shining in other people. We shared with them the restoration and they loved it. We continue to keep daily contact with Athena, Jasmine, and the recent convert- Marcus. Their little boy-Marcus 3rd- loved Primary Sunday. They said he was very quiet. They were amazed. He is never quiet. Lastly, we've got Zone Conference Thursday, so I will be receiving some good enlistment and to hear from President Clark. Funny things was, it's going to be at my Stake Center, so it will be interesting. With my love for you all, Elder White Dear family and everyone else,
Sorry about my late e-mail. Nobody tells me when the next temple trip is, so today I went to the temple and did an endowment session. It was beautiful as usual. So I will tell you in advance that my next temple trip should be 3 months from now in August. Anyway, this past week has been amazing. We set a date for four investigators for June 20th. The first two are Athena and her daughter Jasmine. Their dad is a recent convert, and they have seen how the atonement and the gospel changed his life. They want that happiness too and have been reading the Book of Mormon diligently. Athena started on a drug prescribed by a member in our ward to get her to stop smoking. It is slowly working. She really wants to get baptized. Her daughter still needs a little push in friendship involvement. The other two are a young couple that have 2 kids and need to get married. We are working with them, and they feel the goodness we bring when we enter their home. They say it's always chaotic there. They are always grateful when we do come. We helped them read the Book of Mormon so they too can gain a testimony of it's truth and understand that this will be the most important path they will ever take in this life. We also often go with a member from 6-9:00 each night to get our member present lessons in. If investigators get to know the members, it makes them want to come to church and know that they do have friends. The members up here in Modesto are really good with going out with the missionaries. We also find so many less active families to move their records in, so each Sunday we get those records done. As part of missionary work, we are to also help strengthen the members and less actives so they will have the desire to come back to church. I might also add brother Ewell, if you are reading this, that Brother Roades reminds me of you somehow. It might be the sound of his voice. Who knows. It's rather interesting. Other than that, there is not much to report on. I love you all, Sincerely, Elder White Dear family and everyone else,
It is done. Elder Boyes had his farewell and I got a new companion. Sadly, I was not able to go to the farewell. What happened was I was handed to the Hmong Elders and they had a very busy night. In fact, nobody in the zone was able to attend his farewell. I felt sorry for him. The good things was, most of our investigators said they would come. I didn't get to see the outcome of it all. That night was interesting. We had dinner at one of their recent converts house, and I asked if somebody had a message to share. I later found out that none had planned on it. One Elder pulled a scripture out of his hat and I suggested in giving the guy a blessing of comfort. I felt so needed, and I have seen God's hand influence that evening. Elder Brown and I get along great. Come to find out, he was a drama kid back in his high school in Denver, Colorado. I love people who were in drama. He is just hilarious sometimes. I was able to call my family back at home. I heard Elder Painter is coming home soon in my ward, sister Berrett is contacting and teaching like crazy in Bosnia area, and Elder Ruggles, through his e-mails to me, is doing just fine. My new area is very fast paced. We got 3 dates for baptisms for our investigators. Elder Shepard came up to Modesto with me. He was thrown into a baptism. That was pretty awesome for him. Well, it's been a great week and I'm looking forward to what this week will bring. Press forward saints! Elder White Dear Family and Everyone else,
These are some exciting times. The work has been hastening right at the end of this transfer when Elder Boyes leaves. We picked up a new family from Egypt. Atif (Au-tief) has read the Entire Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants for his religion class. He is a professor in biology at Fresno State University. I don't know what will happen to him. It is my PLEASURE to announce that I will be transferred to the Modesto 3rd Ward. It is a "well to do area". However, I have been told that there are a lot of crystal Meth takers in that town, so I will be locking up my bike a lot more now. It is an hour away from "The Bay area". More windy and and slightly cooler than Clovis. My companion will be Elder Brown. Elder Boyes and I laughed because of that. President Clark put two colors together. White and Brown. "White does not mix well with any other color." I said. I also learned a little bit about him from others. He is very social. I am looking forward to seeing him Wednesday. Brother Lemon gladly accepted my request in taking me up there. He has done it many times before for other missionaries. It will be an hour drive. Now is my opportunity to take a picture of those rolling hills just past Clovis. It's nerve wracking, but also very exciting. I say this will be my first real transfer in the mission field. Yesterday, Elder Boyes and I have been seeing a few members an saying our last goodbye's before we are doubled out. Many don't know it yet. Most will still be surprised this next Sunday. There are so many people to see in so little time. Hey, at least we did our best in this area. Now they really want to pick up the work if they ever want a baptism again anytime soon. Sadly, I won't know about the progress with the Van Wyhe's. They are such solid investigators. I can see them wanting to get baptized soon. I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures I send and from the members. They are such great people. The message we shared yesterday is the video of Elder Holland "Good Things to Come" and the scripture 2 Nephi 31: 20. No matter how hard life may seem, endure to the end. Things will work out in the end. You just keep going. I love you all. "My peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, but I unto you." I love you all. Sincerely, Elder White Dear Family and Everyone Else, Things have started to pick up again. We were able to teach 15 total lessons to a few investigators, less active, and other members. We had time tonight to have dinner with an investigator. She and her son know two families in the ward who are members. It was pretty exciting. However, her plans quickly changed and canceled. She is still excited to learn more about the church. We haven't had a more solid investigator in this area. This was all because of her being a name in a list of potential investigators. It was very good to hear her questions. We were able to answer most through the restoration lesson. Some more will be answered in the plan of salvation. I've never seen a person so thirsty for knowledge before. Elder Boyes has a week and a half left. It's becoming a bitter sweet situation. We are becoming evermore anxious for his farewell testimony next Tuesday. He gave his last yesterday at sacrament. Now everyone knows that time is running short for him. I will sure miss him. At least he promised me he will come back with his parents and go on a mission tour 10 days later. He was able to pull the "last week card" on some investigators. We were so close in getting Angie and Lee in coming to church. However, with Angie expecting, she has morning sickness a lot so she was unable to come yesterday. At least they had the desire to commit to coming to church. As I have reflected on this past week, I feel very happy about it and especially this morning. I woke up feeling completely refreshed. Working this hard in the mission can be tiring at the end of the day, but also very rewarding. Yesterday, we went to Brother Bybee's house and showed us how to use this new program on family search. Puzzela I think? I thought he was very helpful. He even found some distant cousin names just sitting there waiting for their work to be done. Now I know that when I get home, I've got much more work to do for the family of Heavenly Father in history work. Continue doing your part in the work of salvation, and the lord will bless you. I love you all, Sincerely, Elder White An orchard, and palm trees in Fresno
Dear Family and everyone else,
This week has been all over the place. Yesterday, we talked to Angie and Lee and shared how excited we were about them having their first child. Angie is still full force in work. She is thinking about slowing down so she can feel better. We were also able to drop off a Tagalog Book of Mormon, also known as Philippines since she is from there. One person we taught a couple weeks ago has not answered the phone or called back. We take it he does not want to talk to us and dropped. I was flabbergasted or utterly surprised. He was so open to us. I can't imagine he doesn't want to know more. He has been one of a few people I felt godly love for. I'm here to help people "come closer to Jesus Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." That is the missionary purpose in my mission. This Sunday, I have come to realize the full effect of the sacrament upon me. I want to keep this short by saying that I have felt God's love in my life. My counsel to you all is to feel the true power of the atonement, repent, and feel godly sorrow. It may be hard but it puts us in the refiner's fire and be turned into something absolutely beautiful. I have said, "I can do better, I can be a better person." Don't forget your identity. We have lived in Heavenly Father's presence and God continues to love his children. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." I can tell you that by taking the Lord's name upon you through the sacrament, the atonement can change you if you just follow what he asks us to do. I am pleased to announce that Elder Boyes had 5 interviews this past week with investigators. He has seen that they have the desire to be baptized. The next night, they were baptized and later confirmed in sacrament. The area I am still in is still trying to help out. We will wait and see a little while longer. Also, Elder Boyes borrowed a ukulele to practice for his farewell song 2 weeks from now. I will certainly be sad when he does leave. With all my love for you all, Elder White |
Tyler WhiteI am ready to serve the lord. I invite others to come unto Christ. Archives
February 2017
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