"I testify that the Book of Mormon is the truth..."

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

How is everything back home? All is well down here, im just only a little bit jealous that summer is starting for all of you and im beginning to get cold! Its going to be weird to have the cold after almost a whole year of continual summer and spring! I was on the beach eating lunch with my district a week ago in short sleeves and then randomly it got super cold and i had to start bundling up. Now i know why they told us to bring sleeping bags instead of sheets and stuff. Its a good thing our pench has a fireplace and stuff. 

Luckily we had a warm day yesterday for P-day because we went to the beach with all the missionaries from La Costa and we played beach volleyball and frisbee and it was super fun! It made me remeber the days of playing with my brothers at newport beach! It was awesome! and for the first time i saw big waves in argentina that you could actually ride! it was a temptation haha.

Well the work is going good down here. I have been learning a lot about how to work in spite of whats happening all around me. The things here are kinda slow. There arent a lot of members that go to church and there arent a lot of investigators but I have been developing my christ-like attributes hahaha. With my old comp, Elder granados, we always joked that we got sent to La Costa to develop christ-like attributes, but in truth i have actually seen a change. I´m becoming a lot more patient, and have felt my charity for others growing. And one of the things that i think is most important of all is that I´m becoming more humble. I know that sounds like an oxymoron talking about how i am more humble but looking back i can see that i was an idiot sometimes always trying to show off but my time down here is really teaching me to let go of that and rely on strength thats not my own to become something better. I have noticed how now im not working for my own reputation, but to do what i was sent down here to do. Its slow here but I have seen results. We are focusing a lot on bringing people back to church and helping them be active and this week we went from 19 people at the beginnging of sacrament metting to almost 40 and like 15 of them were people that hadnt been to church in a good period of time. 

One of the things we are focusing on is the Book of Mormon and helping people feel the special spirit that comes with it. Before we were sharing verses and stuff but now we are going over to peoples houses and based on listening and observing them we feel inspired to read a certain stroy with them and we read chapters together and it has gone really well. We have had some really powerful expiriences from doing that. Before my mission i read a chapter from the book of mormon in 10 min now in my studies in the morning its hard to finish the chapter in an hour. I learn so much that i didn´t know before. The book of mormon is filled with knowledge that can help anybody. I want to extend the challenge to whoever is reading this, member of the church or not, to go and not only read, but STUDY, the Book of Mormon, and i promise that the spirit will help you find answers to the questions about life that you have. If you aren´t a member and don´t have a book of mormon, no pasa nada (it doesnt matter), you can write my mom and get my email address from her so that you can write me and I will help you out.  I testify that the book of mormon is the truth and that i have recieved the answers i have needed from that book and have felt the spirit burn inside of me that its true. 

Well, thats my week for ya.

Elder Whitaker

In Argentina (where he is) they get the sunrise looking at the beach.  Beautiful!

Ty & his companion from Honduras