No se ofenden=)

January 26, 2015

ok, so frankly, im tired, writing, doesnt sound awesome. =) 

but i owe you guys since last week i totally tanked and wrote literally nothing.... that my bad. 

ok, this week. was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

i now have a huge testimony of this, that if you just forget about numbers and go to work you will be shocked about what you will find at the end of the week. 

with this new form of working that the profet announced, we dont report our numbers to ANYONE, NO ONE; AT ALL. we are total agents unto ourselves. so we still are working with goals obviously, but youre doing it all just to help more people. and this week we taught more lessons, with more new investigators, than i have ever taught in one week of my mission. and we had NO IDEA that week were doing so well. it was one of the best week of dats all around that i have ever seen, and we did it all just cause we were looking to help people come closer to Christ. It was incredible to see what can happen when you really just put your sights on the Glory of God. 

we are finding a TON of people, so much to the point, where i am starting to think we dont have time to visit all of them. my agenda cant fit all of the people we are teaching. and i LOVE IT!!!!!! 

something i did last week. that i obviously told no one. my comp and i got to a menos activa and she was in her backyard just strugglin, she was cutting her grass with a machete.....it was tall grass

​;)  well we walked up and said, hi! were going to help you now so stop.  you have to be like that otherwise they will say its ok. and continue suffering. well we spent the next hour, in shirts and ties, machetes in hand cutting branches, weeds, and grass out of her backyard. IT WAS SO FUN!!! hahaha just a total blast. my comp did that for work when he lived with a tribe in Peru, so he was obviously way more effective than the Yankee that was just happy to be there with a large piece a sharp metal in his hands=) hahahaha but i paid the price. i took off a solid peice of skin on my hand, it was a ton of rubbing and the skin just decided it was not the place to be. but it will be a good souvenier =) 

its surprising how many scars i have gained from my mission=) and all of em have really fun stories=) thats the best part. 

but i am havin fun. as always, =) dont worry, we are going as hard as i possibly know how. =) 

love you guys, keep sending the updates. ​

​(Bryce sent this from his friend, Elder Landon Graff, who is serving in Mexico) "​

oh so crazy story! theres this member from the ward who is the leader of the family group where im at until it is a real branch. his name is eder zarate. ive known him for six months now and he is from another part of mexico but served here and now lives here. and i also knew that 

​Casey (Bryce's older brother)​

 served here. so i finally asked if he met cas

​e​

y and guess what... they were companions!!! haha he showed me a picture and everything! what are the chances right? hes a super cool member and has helped me a ton in this area

​"

​Bryce:  

HOLY COW NO WAY!!!!!! HAHAHAHA​

​ 

Casey: 

Ya he is a good guy.  Probably one of my favorite companions.​

​  

Note from Mom: This week in Stake Conference, Elder Snow said it would be hard for a member of the church to be in the "witness protection program" because someone would discover you and know who you are!  Perfect case in point!​

--

Elder Whitaker

Mision Argentina Rosario

7935 Blv Argentino

Rosario Santa Fe 2000

lo poco que yo tengo doy

January 5, 2015

lo poco que yo tengo doy

i love these people. they always are trying to give you stuff even when they literally have nothing. they always ask us if we want water, its the only thing they really have, that and crackers, sometimes, but always trying to do something. but yeah i really do love those people and am going to do my absolute best to go back down there when i go home. they are going to start saving so they can come up and visit me=) 

i am in a super tiny town, pueblito, and its actually going really well. its been a really big change for me, i was in towns like this my whole mission, they went to the city and now switching back has been quite the change. we had a lady come to church this week and actually gave her testimony, she will be baptized for sure, just a matter of when, she gets surguery this week, once recovered, to the water!!!! her husband had a dream in the hospital with Christ where he told him he needed to get baptized and that this was the true church, then he died the next day. so he left a pretty powerful testimony for his familiy. =) 

we are teaching a nun too=) hahaha she has a lot of questions but has comitted to read the book and pray, so if she will do that, not much longer till she gets baptized. it makes life easier when you know that He will answer if they will just do their tiny part=) 

new years, in the pench all day, nothing really happened, we couldnt go outside, just a lot of sleep and reading the book of mormon im about to finish it again=) my next goal is to finish DyC before i come home=) 

but havin fun, my comp is from peru, he really likes plantains, we talk about them alot, im learning a lot about farming random stuff, like huge bulls and stuff=) havin fun. 

sundays are epic, i taught praimary and the youth class, ha little branches are fun cause we get to do everything=) an elder is the branch president and all the other elders are the secretary=) hahaha we have fun. 

sweat, work, and walk.

what more can you ask for=)

love you guys

I GOT TRANSFERRED =( San Cristobal, a pueblito=)

Dec 31, 2014

I GOT TRANSFERRED =(

i loved barrio oeste with my whole heart. i seriously miss that place like my own home, honestly, no offense but i probably miss it more. =) 

i had to say bye to a LOT a really great people that i grew to love, the gomez family, Palavecino, Robledo, Gaite, Bonilla, Perez, Rivero, Villareal, and  my homie camilo, and our baptism that we had on saturday, Thiago. 

​ 

so many people there that i will love forever. it is the first area that i have had where it seriously made me cry to leave it behind. i have felt sad leaving others, but this one was way different. i gave away a lot of stuff to these people. i even gave away my dog tags to Ema Gomez, he is a really cool dude and was a really good friend down there. 

our baptism was really great. his mom cried, the messages were good, it all went really well. we had a good time. that baptism was a result of a fast my comp and i did. we told the Lord that according to our obedience and work, that he would bless us with the corresponding number of baptisms on the 27. we were very specific. and everything worked out perfectly so that we could have a baptism on the 27=) we were really pumped. he was very prepared. Thiago Barragán. 13 years old and was ready to do it. now i left my comp there to retain and strengthen him. i have a lot of faith in him. 

sunday, they gave me a few minutes to bare my testimony and so bye to the ward, which, that obviously went well.... hahaha =,) then i played the piano in sacrament meeting cause the usual lady wasnt there. everyone was impressed=) the last song of the day was god be with you til we meet again, played by me.... hahaha they were trying to kill me, i didnt cry there, others yeah, but i was stronger that time=) hahahaha

then we had to say bye to everyone. went to all my converts, Elba, Milagros, Roxana, Karina, Thiago, and called Carolina to say bye cause she was traveling, but it was a good time. left some recuerdos behind=) 

the coolest was an hermana, hermana Palavecino, active member and stud, she took the necklace off her neck and gave it to me. which was really super cool. its a really nice necklace. =) youll see it here soon. 

so i am now in San Cristobal, a pueblito=) and its different, even the way the elders walk and work is weird=) like they wait for cars to pass.... hahaha sounds dumb to say but in the city, i just walked out there, i was taking gaps way closer than they take here. hahaha but i like it. 

we live in a pench of 4. so that will be different. but its fun. my comp is from Peru, he turns 25 on, tomorrow. =) so we will do something cool. we have to be in the pench tonight at 6 and cant leave all day tomorrow. here theres no sense to that, but in other cities i understand=) 

uh, im doing good. im just a District Leader now, im going to miss ZL but it will be fun to work closely with the missionaries. i have hermanas in my district, and they just laugh and giggle during nightly calls and tell every detail of the day.... haha hermanas..... =)

but im doing good, havin fun, trying to figure out where i am=) 

have a good week everyone!! love you guys it was fun talking!!! 

saturday, 18 months in the mission!! flew right on by​

Escucháme!!

Dec 24, 2014

holy cow!!!! a ton of stuff has gone on!!! hahaha 

is that razzleberry pie??..... =) 

but freaking milaysians... hahaha but thats too fun. casey, gotta respect him. hey, do i have a spot in rain or am i going to get put in at the bottom of everyone... 

but yeah. we have a baptism this week=) that will be cool .

we will talk tomorrow=) hahaha

this is me seranading Elder Nord=)

hahaha with a solid "if you could hie to Kolob", thanks mom for sending it, i found it yesterday and had fun. im getting better at piano=)

then the other two are of the NEW CHAPEL WE GOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its SO SWEET seriously, so nice, everything. i love it. i love it here. so yeah. having fun. 

​necesito alguien que me conteste para arreglar,

just realized, ok

i need you guys to answer so we can work out tomorrow. the time and all that. i can do it after 2 or 3 ish. until 7 mi time. that would be about 11 to 4 your time. let me know!!​

dont hate me

December 15, 2014

I sent Bryce a bunch of pictures from Thanksgiving the week previously and this was his response:

"so that was great.... only problem. I DONT KNOW ANYONE THERE!!!!!!! what in the royal world is going on!!!! who were those kids with Maryn and Cathy, and was jake and nicole there?? you guys are all so different this is nuts!!

Maryn was holding Christian and Vanessa's baby Evy and Vanessa is expecting another baby in the spring.

Cathy was holding Pippa, Whitney's little girl.  Emmett is her new little brother!

but wow, i dont think i ever even met christians baby. haha"

we played socccer on monday after i wrote you guys and it was really fun. =) this

is me and one of my less active homies. he is a baller but just had a few conflicts with some other youth so we are working with that. but he is a stud=)

then the christmas service!!!!!!!!!!!! sooooooo fun.

i loved it. we made cookies

and cards and took them to an orphanage and played with the kids for an hour and a little and just had a blast, sang songs, played duck duck goose, it was really fun. =)

then just a funny pic of camilo and elder nord bein funny. camilo is on the ground and nord is actually doin work=) hahaha 

i dont have time to write. IM SORRY!!!!!!

it was a good week. we have a LOT of work to do with the zone. so we are in that. uh, oh!!!!! mis chiquitas did their primary program!!!!!!!!! and the gaite girls nailed it!!!! Karina looked like she could not be any less happy to be up there but its ok=) hahaha i love those guys so much. 

uh, matildes daughter had a dream and is going to get baptized. Tiago, referral, is getting baptized the 27. 

matildes daughter, natalia, is awesome. she is really spiritually sensitive and that makes it really easy to teach her. she cries about every time=) haha but shes also pregnant, so that could play a part... hahahaha

ok, gotta go, man im sorry i cant explain about the christmas service, but it was awesome. went to an orphange and played with them, mom, that short little explination i sent will do in the other one, HAD A BLAST

uh, having too much fun. they are splitting our mission this july, and, yeah. 

gotta go

ELder whitaker

Something inspired speaks for its self

December 8, 201

 so our zone meeting last week was incredible. really cool. the whole meeting i literally felt like i was just listening to myself as i talked. and after i couldnt remember anything i said. =) so thats always a good sign=) haha but it really was a great meeting. we watched the video at Christmas.Mormon.Org. if you havent watched it, WATCH IT NOW. its amazing. 

but the meeting ended with a spontaneous testimony meeting that we hadnt planned but at the end felt that we needed to do. and it was amazing. a lot of fun. i love those meetings. always a blast. 

i learned something though, presentation tip, if you have to give a talk or talk infront of a group of people, wear classy, nice, but plain clothing. because if its too catchy, they will spend half their time looking at what youre wearing and not at what you are saying... learned that after during the testimony of an elder all i could do was look at his tie. hahaha so i speak from experience=) 

So now the really cool stuff=) 

so we had an activity with the youth in the ward where they went out on divisions with us and some other elders and just worked. it was really fun. well the friend of a member wanted to come, hes not a member. well come on in then!!! hahaha well as he and my comp walked in the street along with a young mens leader, they committed him to baptism!! hahahaha how funny is that=) he asked when he can be baptized and they kinda let him choose the date, he chose the 27 of this month=) so we are really pumped. the 21 we are going to finally have our own church again!!!! for the last nine months they have been building it and now i get to see it!!! i got to go in last night, we are the only people he has let see it. but it is awesome!!!! all really really nice and just super cool. 

then we had yet again another amazing experience. we went to an investigator and she was saying how she wants to quit smoking but has never been quite able to do it. well we talked about the word of wisdom and starting showing her how it was going to help her in her life. well the lesson ended with this... =) we were talking about how she was going to quit and i said, so you can take this temptation out of your life, will you give us your cigarrettes right now?? and she got up, went in, and handed em to us!!!!!!!!! we threw them in a field after the lesson! but it was awesome!!!!!!!

then we had a less active who we just baptized his little sisters that bore his testimony yesterday and made everyone cry. it was amazing. he just thanked them that they say hi now with a smile because before they didnt do it and thanked us for the work we are doing. that his family is changing a lot and oh!!!!!! his mom is going to get baptized!!!!! they cant be married here until february but they are going to go to another state like 9 hours away and get married up there!!! i love that family with all my heart Familia Gaite. they are the best. =) they love and take care of us=)

gotta go!!!

Christmas.mormon.org

Elder Whitaker

Mision Argentina Rosario

7935 Blv Argentino

Rosario Santa Fe 2000

(Here’s Whitney with her brand spanking new darling baby boy!

Bryce’s response to the above email from mom…..

it already came out!!!!! i swear i just heard the first news about this little dude like a month ago!!!!)

La activiDÄDIVA de la naviDADIVA

Dec 1, 2014

so we had a really fun week this week. but holy cow, SO MANY THINGS HAPPENED it was a beast of a week that is for sure. it feels like last tuesday was forever ago. 

but we did divisions which was good, i dont really remember much, but then the mission told us on wednesday that we had consejo in rosario on Friday, so that was sweet, so we had to hurry and get all the stuff ready for that. 

friday we went to consejo at 5 in the morning. got there at 8. I got to see a bunch of my buddies again which was a total blast=) i love going to those things. but, we had to cut it short and get out of there cause we had a baptism at six thirty, we got there right on time. we walked straight from the terminal, en camino my comp broke his suitcase.... to the church, changed, baptizm, and we headed out to contact for a while. it was a really good time. i love Familia Gaite, i seriously do. when they came to church yesterday when i saw them get out of the taxi i just seriously felt soo happy. when we sent them off to primary, they were seriously so pumped to be there and the mom came who is going to get married and baptized here pretty soon. well not in my time here, but we are thinking by about february because here in argentina the civil offices take like 3 month vacations right when the elders need them..... hahaha oh well, what are ya gonna do.... 

so i dont know if you have noticed by now but there is a thing called He is the Gift. it is a really neat program the church is doing and i invite all of you to really look into it and share it. look to share it with all 900 friends you have on facebook, instagram, twitter. we put so many random pointless things on those sites, so we should not have any problem posting something about our Savior Jesus Christ. There are no excuses that we can have now to NOT share the gospel. This is an inspired message from God. He will be opening the hearts of everyone this Christmas to receive His Gift. Please share it with EVERYONE. even those who you have tried to take with before. 

I love you guys, it hit me yesterday, i have about 6 months left in the mission. time is cruising by. it scares me... =)

Take care of Dixie.

The baptism of karina and roxana it was awesome. we had an investigator there as well which was really good=) 

then we had consejo in Rosario and

Elder Hansen is now a ZL so i got to see him there. that was a blast. we have a good time together. hahajaja