I've been on my mission 2 months already!

Oi Familia!

 

I entered the MTC 2 months ago today. I can't believe that! It seems like that was a long time ago. This week has been kinda crazy for me. I was transferred to Highland on Monday night. So far I like the area and the people. Sister Halbison and I are teaching a lesbian couple. It's kinda.. interesting haha. One of them is getting baptized this coming month! I'm hoping it works out. I'm serving in 6 wards now. Which is a lot compared to my last area where I was serving in 2 wards. I still miss some of the members down in Chubbuck.

 

Having dinner with the Bangerters was AWESOME! :) Tracy and Bart were so excited to see me. Tracy gave me a huge hug and one for you too. They still look the same but a little bit older. Their house is really nice. They live in a really nice neighborhood in Highland. It's kinda close to the mission home. I found out that I'm speaking in church this Sunday in their ward. I only have to speak for about 10 minutes. I might speak about the Atonement or about having Faith in Jesus Christ.

 

I did go to the missionary broadcast last night. I liked Russell M, Nelson's talk and Tom L. Perry's talk. I took a lot of notes! I have learned to be a good note taker since I left the MTC. Every time I go to a meeting or a devotional, I always have my journal with me. Since I have been in Idaho, I have had some interesting dinners. Last night, I went to a member's house where we had "taco in a bag". It's where you take your favorite type of chips and add beans, sour cream, beef, lettuce and cheese. And it's all in the bag. You mix it up and it's called "taco in a bag". I had it with Doritos and it was good! You should try it. It's really easy and cheap!

 

For p-day, Sister Halbison and I have a lot to do! I'm getting my hair cut after we are done emailing. Then, we are going to Jamba Juice (YES!), Winco and off to zone activity! I love going to zone activity, because I can wear pants! I miss being able to wear jeans and sweat pants. :) Oh tell Gramma McAndrew that I said Happy Birthday and that I miss her.

 

I have not heard about my visa. President Brinkerhoff said that it will come within the 6 weeks that I'm here. I'm just going to see if it comes when the transfer is over. I'm hoping that it does come! I really want to be in Brazil now. I hate how I'm starting to forget some phrases in Portuguese. I'm still working hard at trying to keep up with it.

 

I heard that you are going to NYC in August! Lucky ducks! :P That should be fun though. What are your plans for the summer? That's funny that Zach Dearing made that comment about me. It's true though, I am a mini Becky! :) The picture of all of the sisters, Brother Cannon and I is my favorite. Everyone looks great!Well, I love seeing what you have to say in my letters. It's fun to know what everyone is doing these days. Sometimes I forget that people have lives outside the mission haha. Well I hope you have a fun week! Eu amo voce!

 

Love, Sister Whitnah

Week 3 in Pocatello and I get to see the Bangerters!

Hey Family!                                                                       June 17, 2013
 

I just found out like 10 minutes ago that I'm getting a new trainer and I'm going to the Bangerter's ward! I'm so excited! I haven't seen them in a long time. I will definitely get a picture of Tracy and I. On the flip side, I'm kinda sad that I have to leave Sister McLain and Morales. But it's where Heavenly Father wants me to be right? This week was pretty good. On Tuesday, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my district. We all tried the 3rd hottest sauce on the menu. My tongue was fire for about 10 minutes haha. It was fun though. I found out that my Zone Leader is from Recife Brazil! How cool is that?! He has been helping me with my Portuguese since I got to Pocatello. My Portuguese is okay and I still say my prayers in Portuguese. I had dinner with a family this week and their son is neighbors with Rob and Tessa. I thought that was funny. Also, the members that I'm living with (the Fawcetts), their son went to Sao Paulo on his mission. We talked a little bit in Portuguese and he shared some crazy stories from his mission! He gave me advice about the food and other stuff. He recognized my last name and said that he knows Mike and Anjee. He lived in La Grande and was a seminary teacher.

I'm doing pretty good. My companions are really nice. I've been teaching a lot of less actives lately. We were suppose to have a baptism this weekend but that changed to July 6th. We have been teaching this guy named Mark. His wife and kids are members but he's the only one that's not a member. He LOVES reading the Book of Mormon and all the "homework assignments" that we give him. We had a lesson with him yesterday about baptism. It was awesome! :) Sister Loefke is going to TEXAS?! Yay! :) I'm happy for her! She will be great down there. Where in Texas did she get called to? That's exciting about Katelyn Morin! Btw, be on the look out for a package this week. :)

Well, I hope you have fun in Salt Lake! Send me some pictures! :) Have a great week! Love you lots!

-Sister Whitnah

and another email that was sent the next day,.................................June 18, 2013

Hey Mom!

 

How's it going? I got a new comp! Her name is Sister Halbison and she's from Gilbert Arizona. She's pretty cool. :) She loves to blast music through out the house like me! :) Today is kinda like a p-day because I was transferred into anew area. We had our district meeting and then went to CAFE RIO for lunch! It was amazing as always. :) I live in an apartment with just Sister Halbison. It's nice having my own place. The only sucky thing is it doesn't have AC. So we have a huge fan in our room to keep it cool.

 

Hey I have a quick question. Could you check how much money I have in my debt account? I tried to see how much I had but it locked my account because I forgot my password. Please and thank you! :)

 

I'm so dang excited to see Tracy and Bart on Friday! We are having dinner at their house. I found out that we are going to their ward on Sunday too! I'm going to see my baptism next week! It's a 9 year old boy named Easton. I'm excited.

 

Well I hope I gave you more info about today than yesterday. I hope you have a great week! Tell Molly Moose that I love her! Eu amo voce!

 

- Sister Whitnah

I'm in Pocatello, Idaho!

Oi Familia!

I made it to Idaho! :) The area that I'm in is called Chubbuck and High Line. I cover 2 wards and it’s all English speaking. There's a TON of less active members. So my companions and I are working with them to be reactivated. I'm in a trio. My comp Sister McLain is from Arizona and has been out for 3 months. Sister Morales is from American Fork and has been out for 13 months. They are both really nice and are helping me to get adjusted  to Pocatello. It's a nice small area. The houses that we contact are so nice! Everybody has a green lawn. The best part of my week was a member took us to Texas Roadhouse for dinner! It was awesome! :) I stocked up on the rolls and cinnamon butter! I also went to Jamba Juice with a bunch of sisters for lunch the other day ago.

Since I got to Idaho, I've been missing the MTC a lot. Especially my district and my teachers. I'm glad that I get to see half of them in Brazil soon! It will be great! :) The Brinkerhoffs are so nice. They did remember my last name. They asked how you were doing. Sister Brinkerhoff has a saying to her missionaries. It's "lock your heart, but keep your eyes open!" She had a daughter that served a mission and ended up marrying her district leader. She said that it could happen to anyone of us.

It's weird teaching a lesson in English now. I have a hour of language study for only 4 days. I say most of my companionship and personal prayers in Portuguese now. I found out that my visa could come within the 6 weeks I'm here. But if not, I'll stay another transfer. I really like the area that I'm in. It kinda looks ritzy. I'm living in a member's home. They are really nice. They told me that Pres.Brinkerhoff wants 70% of missionaries to live in member's homes because they want to reduce the cost of housing. It's a smart idea.

So far I'm doing good. I'm trying to get use to living in Idaho and the heat. It's always hot here. I went to a meeting in Idaho Falls with my comps and we stopped by the temple there. It is really pretty! Tell Tracy where I'm serving so she can see me! I really want to see her! Well I can't think of anything else to say. This week has been tiring and overwhelming  Hopefully I'll have more things to say next week. I hope you have a great week! Talk to you soon! Eu amo voce!

Oh I forgot to tell you. My first meal in Pocatello was a baked potato haha. I haven't had a potato since then. Enjoy this one picture of me taken at the Idaho Falls Temple.

EU AMO VOCE!

Love, Sister Whitnah

The MTC has been amazing. I leave for Idaho tomorrow. Pocatello here I come!

Oi Familia!

I got my reassignment on Thursday! My district and I were making guesses on where everyone would go. I said that I didn't want to go to Utah or Idaho. I was the first person to say where I was going. When I saw Pocatello Idaho mission on my paper, I laughed so hard. I thought it was a joke, but it wasn't. I'm really going to Idaho haha. I leave on Tuesday morning. I'm not upset that I'm going there. I've realized that it's only a temporary reassignment and not my whole mission. It's not about where I want to go, it's where the Lord needs me most at that moment. I'm grateful to have 2 missions. One in Idaho and one in Brazil. Everyone else got called to Billings Montana, Indiana, Knoxville Tennessee, and Baltimore Maryland. My companiera didn't get reassigned because of medical issues. So she's staying at the MTC for another 1-2 weeks. I'm excited for everyone's reassignments! They will be awesome! :)

This week went by so fast! I hosted the new missionaries on Wednesday. I had 2 sisters that were going to Korea and one that was going to Ohio. It's weird to think that 6 weeks ago I was one of those new missionaries. Time flies by when you are working hard and having fun. On Wednesday, I went to In-Field Orientation. It was 8 hours! I was so exhausted! One of the things I had to do was teach a lesson in English for the first time to another missionary. It was hard and it felt weird! I never realized how hard it was until I had to speak. I was thinking of more Portuguese phases than English. I can tell that the language is staying with me. I've been thinking more in Portuguese than in English. I've been reading in my Portuguese Book of Mormon more  than in my English Book of Mormon. Also singing the hymns in Portuguese has helped me with the language. I can point out and understand certain words and phases. It's SO cool! On Sunday, my district and another district sang in sacrament meeting. There's a sister in the other district that's an amazing piano player. She arranged a melody of Savior, Redeemer of My Soul and Armies of Helaman. It was so BEAUTIFUL. I wish that I recorded it when we were practicing. I went to see the foot doctor on Friday. My toe is good to go! :) It has healed pretty quickly!

Well I would like to bare you my testimony in Portuguese! :)

Eu sei que o nosso O Pai Celestial amoro voce. Eu sou grata por o Evangelho e o plano de Salvacao. Eu sei que o Livro de Mormon e verdadeira. Nos podemos feliz atraves isste Evangelho. Eu amo minha Salvador. Digo estas coisas em nome Jesus Cristo, Amem.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to be serving a mission. I've learned so much about myself and how to serve others. I'm excited for this new phase in my mission. I hope you have a great week! I hope to hear from you soon! Eu amo voce! :)

- Sister Whitnah