The only way the world is going to change is one person at a time...."

Hola mi familia y mis amigos,

como están? this week has been pretty fun. I don´t know if I already told you guys but Elder Russo got transfered to La Costa and now we have a mini missionary who is serving till the end of the transfer. The mini we got is Bryan Barretto, a guy i was encouraging to go on a mission from KM 26! Its cool to see him get involved with the work. because I´m his district leader, I got to go on exchanges with him. It was fun being his comp for the day.

We had a bunch of people show up at church the other day that are getting to know the church so that was good. One of them was a contact that we did before our friday sports activity. We stopped by and started talking with her and her family and at first she was like, "No im catholic i dont want to talk with you guys" but she ended up liking our message and came to the activity in the evening and then was at church on sunday and we still havent gotten to teach her officially yet so hopefully we can keep going with that.

I didn´t tell you guys but that one woman i baptized in my first week in romero never got confirmed a member nor recieved the holy ghost because her ex husband started threatening to kill her and other people so she escaped and disapeared. We were bummed but we just got a call last sunday from some other missionaries on the other side of the mission that she has been attending church there for the last 3 weeks and that she is going to get confirmed over there when we send them the batisimal record. she is a stud!

spritual thought: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment" - Ezra Taft Benson

The only way the World is going to change is one person at a time as the come unto Christ. I have seen it down here in Argentina

Have a good week amigos.

Elder Whitaker

My boy is sleepy from working so hard!

"It's really important to always be grateful...."

Hola mi familia y mis amigos,

Well this week was a good one! We re still working a lot to find new people but we have met some cool people that are interested. We have been working a lot with the less actives to help them out. I´m not going to lie at the beginning of the week i was a little down because i was comparing this area to Km 26 a lot and I was just kinda mad that there wasnt as much progress as in my other area. I was talking about it with Elder Altamirano the other day in weekly planning and he kinda made me realize that i was looking at things wrong. Maybe its not the same as in Kilometro but he pointed out the sucesses we have had together so far. Its really important to always be grateful for what God has done for you and I needed to open up my eyes but since that moment I have been enjoying my time here in Romero a lot more. 

Well some fun stuff... a member gave us soome milk from his cow but my stomach wasnt ready for it so i spent the morning en el baño. we also played dodgeball today and i accidentally face shotted like 5 people. it reminded me of the good old days of mutual playing dodgeball. hahaha it is the first time i have played in forever. 

spiritual thought : Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "We can choose to be grateful, no matter what. When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace.We sometimes think that being grateful is what we do after our problems are solved, but how terribly shortsighted that is. How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow before thanking God that there is rain?" 

something that has helped me a lot this week.

Elder Whitaker

"If we build upon the rock of Christ...nothing can go permanently wrong."

hola mi familia y mis amigos,

It was an awesome week! we had a bunch of stuff going on. im pretty dead from this last week but it was awesome. As far as the work goes we have been looking for a lot of new people. there are a ton of people that the elders were working with when i got here that arent going anywhere so we are trying to help them a little and mainly trying to find a lot more. We have some solid people we have found but the bummer is that nobody is married! its the worst haha but we have 2 people planning to get married this month which should be pretty legit. We had an open house for the stake center here in the city of La Plata. it went really well! open houses work super well for finding people.

The find of Ty's life...cereal.

Some interesting stuff that happened this week. We went to give a blessing to a little girl that just had to have a super dangerous surgery. I though I was super scared of hospitals but it turns out that elder altamirano and elder russo dont like them more. They both fainted in there. I was pretty proud of myself for staying on my feet. I also found a 7 pound back of corn flakes so i am set for breakfast for a while. Its probably like the best inevention of argnetina. Im so happy i got sent to a place in the world where cereal exists! Also elder russo met a bolivian lady that has super hot peppers so we have been cooking spicy. My comp from chile was eating and crying at the same time because it was too spicy for him but he was super hungry it was pretty funny but since then we have been a little easier on the picante. 

We also got to go the the temple of Buenos Aires this week! it was so awesome! it was my first time being able to go to the temple in a year! It is such a blessing to be able to go! the peace that one feels inside is incredible! 

Spiritual thought for the week: Dontrine & Covenants 6:33-37

 33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

 37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Something I was thinking about this week. I think it can help us all in whatever situation we are in to just remember this. Its one of my favorite scriptures. If we build upon the rock of christ by keeping his commandments nothing can go permanently wrong. 

Elder Whitaker

"I'm so grateful for the time I have to serve down here in Argentina...."

Hola mi familia y mis amigos,

Todo tranqui? Things are going well here in romero. We had a solid week. I started it off with an intercambio with my buddy Elder Russo, from california. It was a solid day. We taught some solid lessons and got some rocks thrown at us by some tools on the streets. We also found some chiles and we made some mexican salsa and I had real chips (the lords chips) and salsa for the first time since the states! it was legit.

We have a bunch of peole to visit but not a ton that are going anywhere so we have been looking a lot and getting a lot of references. Its been going well. One of the biggest problems down here is that people arent married and its hard to get married! There are like 5 people that could get baptized right now if they were married and not living with somebody. Its frusturating but we are helping some people get married. 

we have been doing a lot of good stuff with activities out here and a lot of people having been coming to the family sports nights. It has been a good way to help people feel comfortable at church.

Im so grateful for the time I have to serve here in Argentina. It really is the best experience. Its weird how fast it is going but im so grateful for the time I have to help these people down here. Its the best being down here. I know that this message will bring more happiness to somebody than anything else in the world. It gives you a complete sense of life and who you are. I know that many of you who are reading this have many doubts, or problems, or questions, but i know that whatever it is, the restored truth and fullness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will help. I invite everyone who reads this who arent members of the church to talk with the missionaries and find out. We dont bite. and If you are a member but stuggle to believe talk with the missionaries anyways or get down on your knees and start praying to know and studying the scriptures. My life has been tremendously blessed for doing so.

I love you all

Elder Whitaker

"We have met some very strange people...."

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

It was a solid week in Romero. Im still adjusting but it has been a fun week. My new comp is a chileano that i knew from when i started the mission which is fun. Im also living with Elder Russo and Elder Stevenson. Elder Russo and i knew eachother a little before the mission and started at the same time so we are buddies from the MTC. Its way fun to be in a pench of 4. We have a good time.

This week we had 2 baptisms! I only helped with the finishing touches to prepare them for baptism but it is awesome to see people that are ready to follow the Lord. We also have found a couple people that have accepted the invitation to be baptized in this last week so we have some good people to work with.

We have ward sports activities every friday in romero. They were playing volleyball. At first i was taking it easy but the other team was laughing becuase they were winning and they thought i ddnt know how to play so i brought out my beach volleyball skillz andwas spiking it on all of them hahaha. it reminded me of the good times in newport with my brother trent spiking it on Mom when she was bragging about her volleyball skills. (haha i love you momma) 

An interesting thing about Romero is that right in the middle there is a big mental hospital. We have met some very strange people. They let some of them out of the hospital inbetween certain hours so sometimes they want to talk with us. I have already had some interesting experiences... 

well i hope you all have a good week! Happy Birthday to my little brother Trey! he´s turning 15. So crazy how fast time flies. I dont know if im down to see my little brother learning how to drive when i get back.

Elder Whitaker

"I have really learned the true meaning of charity here in KM 26...."

hola mi familia y mis amigos!

This was one of the best weeks of my mission and also one of the saddest. It was my last week in Km 26. Mom, im sure youre happy im not in an area as dangerous anymore but i miss that branch so much. I am back in La Plata again in an area called romero. I heard its a pretty good area with a lot of work so im stoked about that, but im still going to miss kilometro a ton. 

This last week in Km was awesome. I basically knew i was leaving because i had finished training elder mamani so people knew. The youth moved the sports activity we do every tuesday to wednesday so I could play, because i was on an exchange on tuesday. It was fun playing my last game with my buddies. Its awesome because my two best freinds from Km 26 were less active when I got there and now they are filling out their papers to go on the mission! 

In a certain way leaving an area of your mission is sadder than leaving your family. I know my family will be right there waiting for me at the end of my mission But in the mission when you leave an area, especailly when that area is on the otherside of the world from where you live, its not very likely that you are going to see the people you have grown to love another time in this life. Its pretty sad. A lot of the lessons we taught this week were about how I hope that they follow firmly on the path Christ left for us so that we can see eachother again in the next life. 

It really hit me how much I have g rown to love these people when I had to give my last talk this last sunday. I was sitting back watching the congregation and got a little emotional that i was going to have to leave all these amazing people behind. (I think a lot of it was because it was hot and i was sweating from my eyes). I had a talk prepared but as I was sitting there a bunch of scriptures came to my mind on the spot and I started adding to my notes to the point where they didnt make sense so I just put them aside and went up there an spoke what the spirit had put in my heart. It was an amazing feeling because Im a terrible public speaker so its easy for me to recognize when I talk of myself or am speaking words that were given to me. I have really learned the true meaning of charity here in Km 26. I love this place and I am willing to sacrafice to help my brothers and sisters here. 

well the Lord has called me away and Im sure He has another work for me to do. Im glad to do it. By the way Im going to try to thank everybody who sent me letters for chirstmas personally but if I dont have your address I want to thank you right now because it really meant a lot to me to see how all you guys remembered of me. I love you all!

Elder Whitaker

"Feliz Ano Nuevo! This week was awesome!"

Ty being cautious on his mission...

Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

Feliz Año Nuevo! This week was awesome! We had a lot of good work and some fun. New years was sweet. We got invited over by the familia barretto and had dinner with them and talked and stuff. then we had to be in the pench at 10:30. we then climbed up on the roof to watch the fireworks in the villa but then our neighbors who are members invited us over to be on their roof. They live right next to us but there is like a 4 ft gap between the houses so the brother passed us a plank of wood and made a bridge to walk across. It was like 2 and a half stories up so it was kinda sketchy but it worked out good. The fireworks in the villa were sick. I have some videos but i cant send them yet so you guys will have to wait till i get home. It was sweet.

Another fun thing that we did was plan a movie night with the youth from our branch. It turned out awesome. we went and invited all the inactive people and also had the youth invite their friends. We watched 17 miracles whivh is about the pioneers and the trek and it was awesome. we had a good group of people and they all really liked the movie. At the end we turned it into a testimony meeting and a lot of the youth shared their testimonies. Even the inactive kids. Then the next day in church every one of them was there! it was super sick and was worth all the effort.

The work is going awesome here. Its sad that this next week might be my last week in kilometro but we will see what happens. I hope you all have a happy new year!

Elder Whitaker

Ty and ward youth at Christmas party

Ty & his comp

Ty and comp at youth Christmas party