3.6.12

1) So I didn't write the email yesterday because I switched P-day to today so that we could go to the Temple in Spokane. Which was phenomenal!!!

2) I am terrible at writing letters because by the time I get to the computer I forget everything that has happened this week so I have no stories to tell! I'll do better.

3) Transfer calls are on March 18th and I will let you know if I'm staying here in Lewiston or getting transfered the next day on Dad's birthday! Pray that I stay (or pray that the Lord wants me to stay here cuz I love it so much) haha

4) My address is 820 S. Pines Rd. Ste. 101 Spokane Valley, WA 99206 for my whole mission. Everyone should write there so that if I get transfered I will get my mail. Make sure it has that address on my facebook and not my other one.

5) I love you

okay so i'm trying to think of some stories to tell...

Okay so here is where my mind always is... on the T family. The T's were the first family I ever taught., the first night of my mission. HC the 13 year old Daughter was baptized a few weeks ago and we are working with her Step-dad MT so he can get baptized. BIG NEWS............... M and J are now officially MARRIED!!!!!! So now all he has to is overcome the word of Wisdom and he can be baptized. He wants to be baptized because he wants to have the priesthood for his family. He is such a good guy and is doing everything to raise his new family that he has just married into. I'm so proud of him and It kills me to see the cigarrettes stand in the way of him and baptism right now. It really is hard to overcome. This week we had a few lessons with them. We have daily contact with him it's awesome!!! During the lesson we read Alma 24 where they bury their swords deep in the earth and so we all wrote something on a piece of paper and burried it deep in the earth in the back yard!!! It was an awesome lesson! Compliments to Brother John Chatwin because we did that with him in Seminary! They loved it! He really is progressing so much. He called us this week two nights in a row and just thanked us over and over for bringing the gospel into his life and showing him the light. IT's not a matter of IF he'll be baptized it's just WHEN. He's going to start going to an addiction recovery class through LDS Family Services. He also has Home teachers that have both been addicted to cigarrettes in the past and have overcome it through the gospel.. THey are perfect for them. Our whole ward has really reached out to them. Every week a different family is going to have them over for family night. They are getting better at their prayers and they read their scriptures and they are coming to church.

Here's a story... so MT and JC have been wanting to get married for the last 3 weeks but they needed their tax returns to do it. They have been expecting them for the past 3 weeks waiting anxiously everyday and nothing ever came. So they planned to get married on Leap year (awesome eh?) and Elder Chambers and I prayed and prayed and prayed that the tax returns would come before that day or on that day. So it's Leap year day and we call them after the mail came and they said that it didn't come. So you know what we did?! Got on our knees and prayed... hard!

We get a text from M an hour later: "Have you guys been praying that our tax returns would come today?" we texted back "YES...... why would you say a thing like that?" he replied "They came. Would you like to come to our wedding at 2 today? We'll pick you up in 20 minutes!" 

They called the tax office and they asked if their returns were there and the lady said "We aren't really supposed to check but i'll do i just for you. Yep they're here, you can come pick them up if you'd like"

What a miracle! So Elder Chambers and I shined our shoes, put on matching ties (as close as we could match) and went and saw them get married at the courthouse!!! It was so exciting!!! We are teaching them tonight again. I'm excited!!!

Love you

Elder Whiting