ELDER WHITE LOVES TEACHING

March 30, 2011

Week 5

Hola,

Man I love Guatemala. I study outside in the morning everyday with my companion. The climate is awesome. It was a good week pretty slow to start off but picked up. Sunday was testimony meeting and that was so awesome. I love the Spirit of the Latinos. Their testimonies are so strong and amazing. It really blows me away. They are so humble and really gave so much to come out here on a mission.

On Monday we got to go proselyting!!!!!!! I went with my 2 Latino companions, Elder Gonzalez from Bolivia and Elder Lue from El Salvador. We went out for 2 hours to just get references. It was sooooo fun!! I loved every minute of it and I didn´t want to come back to the MTC. We handed out 3 Book of Mormons and got 2 references. It was definitely an eye opening experience. The people here are so friendly, but in the city they are always in a hurry. I cant wait to get out of the city to teach.

After lunch we got to go out again for an hour and this time with our American companions. That was definitely a lot more difficult because my comp is still working on his Spanish. It ended so awesome though, we ended up finding a 21 yr old waiting at a bus stop and we talked to him. We told him about the BoM and that we have prophets today. His eyes lit up and he was so excited, he loved how the BoM tells of Christ´s coming to the Americas, such as Guatemala. We got his information and gave him a BoM and it was so amazing. We had a really good feeling about him, and I am glad the Spirit was able to touch him through me and my companion.

I love sharing the gospel and the happiness that it brings, I can´t wait to do it full time. I know the Lord will bless us if we are striving to be righteous and to follow all of his commandments.

We watched a MTC devo from last year with Elder Bednar and that was awesome. It talked about how the gospel can be broken up into 3 categories. 1) Doctrine, which is truth 2) Principles 3) Applications. He repeated so much how the truth is always in the Doctrine and the answer is always the doctrine. He urged us to answer application questions with principles, to teach people to be spiritually dependent. I really liked that. Another thing he mentioned was in Mosiah 24:13-15, in here it talks about people with burdens or afflictions and how God will make up the rest if we give it our all.

An interesting thing I noticed in there was about covenants and how they bless us. I really felt prompted to make a covenant with God, that if I put in all my work, he will help me to make up the rest. We have the power to make Covenants with God, but it is up to us to put in the work.

I have 4 more weeks in the MTC bla, but I know that it is a blessing because that is more time to learn for the investigators. I love this opportunity and I love the gospel. I love the people of Guatemala and I know the Lord is preparing people right now for missionaries. I know that through the Atonement we can be comforted. I know that God loves us and for this reason he wants to bless us with blessing beyond measure. All we have to do is put in a little work, and in return he gives us so much.

I hope everything is awesome up there, I pray for everyone every day. I love you guys and know that God loves every one of us. Hasta luego.

Love, Elder David White

ELDER WHITE LOVES GUATEMALA!

March 23, 2011

Week 4

Hola,

I am so excited to finally be in Guatemala! It is so amazing here. The food is so much better than in Provo, which is awesome. Here we are paired with a Norte Americano comp, mine is Elder Smith from Fredericksburg Virginia. Then I get 2 Latino comps who I am always with outside of class. It is awesome!!!! I love it so much. I love Spanish so much; it’s the greatest language in the world. The Spanish has come so fast here. The Latinos consider me fluent now. It is so fun talking to them. I noticed that Americans are just super stuck up, but Latinos are the most humble, amazing people ever. I love each one of them so much. I only talk Spanish here, and it is the most fun I have had in a long time. I have become really good friends with a lot of the Latinos.

Early this week, maybe Monday, we went to the Temple for 45 min to just talk to the people there. It was SO fun. I was on a roll talking to everyone there. It was so amazing. People here are just so friendly its awesome. There were a bunch of kids there too and they all had Future Missionary placas on, it was so cool. The members here are so strong it’s amazing.

We had the Area Seventy here last night for a devotional. His name was Elder Falavela from the 1st quorum. It was so cool listening to it without having to use a headset. I have been really blessed to be able to understand Spanish so well and to be able to speak it. There are probably around 50 Elders and Hermanas here. I am bummed I have to stay here for 5 more weeks but in 2 weeks I get to be in a Latino district and learn with them.

I am so excited to get into the field and share this wonderful blessing we have. I love talking to random strangers when we walk to and from places around the CCM. We are gonna be able to go the plaza in 2 weeks with Latinos to contact, I am so excited for it.

I think I will still be able to get Dear Elders in the field since we have a CCM here in Guatemala, so that is cool.

I am so excited to hear about the Elledges and Jordan Schmucker. Tell them that it really the greatest thing in the world right now even though I’m not in the field, I still believe it. I play soccer every morning with the Latinos, it is so fun. I am always the goalie because I’m so big.

I love the atmosphere here, and the weather is BEAUTIFUL! It is so awesome, every day me and Elder Smith study outside. It is so fun here and I love learning new stuff. I can´t wait to get into the field, but I know that I need more work. I get to go the Temple today, I am so excited to see the inside. I can´t wait. I love you all so much and will email again next week.

Love, Elder White

Elder White In Guatemala

March 16, 2011

Hola!

I made it safe, and man I am so excited. It is amazing here. I am super tired from the travel and lack of sleep, but oh well life goes on.

The MTC here is awesome, we are right next to the temple it is so beautiful. The weather is beautiful; I have fallen in love.

I was supposed to be in a North American district for all 6 weeks, but they decided to put me into a Native district after 3 weeks. I feel that my Spanish is doing awesome so I am really excited for this opportunity!

I’m so glad to finally be here. People are all amazed at my height. It is hilarious.

We speak nothing but Spanish here. It is awesome. There are 13 other Elderes y 5 Hermanas who arrived with us. They are all from beginning Spanish so their language is pretty spotty. There was one guy who I roomed with in Provo who is here also.

I am so excited in 2 weeks they will start letting us loose out into the world, haha. We will get to do contacts in plazas, I can´t wait. I am so excited and am so ready to learn more. The food here is delicious, so much better than Provo. My last American meal was a Big Mac meal from McDonalds in the LA airport. haha. Delicious.

While here we all going to have a English Companion and a Native Companion. It´s gonna be so awesome. We are gonna be learning Spanish so quick.

My MTC address here is Boulevard Vista Hermosa 23-71, zona 15 Vista Hermosa I. Guatemala, Guatemala C.A. Don´t address it to Elder David White, just my name.

I love it here and look forward to being immersed in the culture and the language. I wanna share a quote that was on the back of our bus that took us to the MTC here. It said

" Don´t tell God how tough your problems are, tell your problems how tough your God is."

I love that quote. Well, I love you all and will talk to you next Wednesday.

Love,

Elder David White.

Elder White FINAL WEEK IN PROVO MTC

March 15, 2011

Week 3

Well today I leave for Guatemala, woohoo!!

I am a little nervous about it but I know that I will be fine. Yesterday we watched a talk that Jeffrey R. Holland gave in 2000 at an MTC Devotional. It was amazing! He talked about how influential his mission was to his entire life. I really love the way Jeffrey R. Holland talks, unapologetically strong and to the point. The main message I got out of it was about how hard it is going to be.

He asked the question, ¨Why does the mission have to be hard¨ He went on to answer it saying that salvation isn´t cheap. How true is that. I have such a strong testimony of Christ´s atonement now. It´s amazing to think about the pain he suffered for us. He conquered both physical death and spiritual death for us. He felt every pain that ever was or ever will be, because he loved us.

"How dare we ask to not even feel a fraction of what Christ felt for us!" is another thing he said. How true is that! Life is hard but it is easy with the help of the Lord. We all suffer, and it is through that suffering that we can grow. I love that message.

Another quote from the talk was "Welcome to the big time, welcome to the church, welcome to the gospel, WELCOME TO THE LIFE OF THE SAVIOR" I cap that because it is true. Life will always be hard but with the help of Christ and Heavenly Father all things are possible.

Tomorrow morning I will be in Guatemala City and in Guatemala for the next 2 years. I am so excited for this opportunity and know that I will grow tremendously. I know that in the 3 weeks I have been here, I have grown by leaps and bounds. I cannot even begin to measure it.

I know that the Lord blesses his children if they work hard. The Lord won't bless those who sit on their butts and feel sorry for themselves, but if we are feeling down that is the time where we need to work the hardest. I am so thankful for the example of my family. I took it for granted, but now I realize how amazing this gospel is. It truly is the true gospel.

I love the opportunity to serve the Lord. 2 years is a long time but I know that it will fly by if we all work. I am so excited to share the Gospel and its many blessing with those in Guatemala. "We are dealing with the salvation of a human soul" -Jeffrey R. Holland.

I know that the Lord prepares a way for the gospel to be shared. We are all missionaries in this Church and I know that we don't have to be scriptorians who know the scriptures backwards and forwards. Truth is not words; truth is revelation. We don't need to know every little aspect of the church to teach. We just need to be a vessel for the Spirit. I can say whatever words I want, but if the Spirit isn't in the room nobody will be converted. I know that that is true. We teach by the Spirit, not by our knowledge. The gospel doesn't have to be big and complex, why make it? We need to be simple in the Gospel, through small and simple things great things come to pass. The Lord will make up our weaknesses I know it.

I have grown to love my companion here in the MTC. Elder Bockelman is a great man and has pushed me to become better. It is awesome, and I know it was inspired

I love each one of you, and so does the Lord. We need to trust in him and have faith that he will help us. Life is hard, but salvation isn't cheap. We must work to get blessings.

Yo se que vive mi Senor, yo se que mediante la expiacion de JesuCristo podemos regresar a nuestro amoroso Padre Celestial, se que la vida esta dificil pero si tenemos fe en la Expiacion podemos tener exito, se que Dios nos ama, y porque nos ama el quiere que nosotros tenemos exito. Si obedemos a los mandamientos y oramas toda la dia va a tener el Espiritu. Digo estas cosas en el nombre de JesuCristo, amen.

Love,

Elder White

Elder White

March 8, 2011

Week 2

Hey y'all,

Man this 2nd week flew by. There is a saying that the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days. Totally true. I love it here at the MTC. I am still amazed that there are two thousand missionaries here, all for the same purpose. Last Tuesday we sang "Come Thou Fount" in the MTC choir. There is something amazing about 600 Elders and Sisters singing that song. The Spirit was overwhelming! I love the Spirit. It is so amazing here at the MTC there is never a moment that goes by where the Spirit doesn't touch in you in some way or another. I have gone to the Provo Temple twice now, WOW it is amazing, and so big. I love going to the temple and the Spirit that it brings.

Soooo, me and my companion got called zone leaders, yikes. We are in charge of over 60 Elders in our Branch, haha good luck to us. I leave next Tuesday at 9:55 PM for Guatemala, head over to LA than fly down and get to Guatemala at 5:30 AM the following day. I am so excited but I will miss my companion Elder Bockelman. We are doing so good, it is awesome. It's amazing how far I have come since I got here, just thinking back over the past 2 weeks and how much I learned has blown my mind. I know that the Lord blesses his children if they are involved in righteous endeavors. The gospel is truly amazing; I can't believe that I have taken it for granted for the majority of my life.

Me and my companion did our first lesson in Spanish last Friday in the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) We felt like we dominated it, the Spirit guided us and instead of teaching a lesson, we taught a person. We ended up inviting our investigadors to church and they accepted. I hope that I can have this success with real investigadors instead of volunteers but hey, it still felt good. The Spanish is coming a long, still stressful but definitely coming along. Me and my companion are working on the 2nd lesson, the Plan of Salvation. Man that one is a doozy, really tough to teach simply to investigadors. Every day here is so busy, but the Lord is on our side and blesses us.

In the Temple today I was reading in Alma 29? I think. Alma 29:2 is the scripture, I think. But anyways, it talks about proclaiming the gospel and it describes in there that we should be as a "voice of thunder". I know I am definitely gonna try and keep that in mind. Just be confident in our beliefs and what we know. I have realized that there is nothing better than a testimony to bring the Spirit. You can never bare your testimony enough; there is always room for more. My testimony has grown so much and I am so grateful for it. I love the gospel and the peace it brings to us.

Yo se que vive mi Senor. Yo se que nuestro proposíto in este vida es que nosotros somos feliz. Yo se que mediante el Expíacion, todos personas podrían regresare a nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo se que tenemos el evangelio restaurado en la tierra hoy. Yo se que el Libro de Mormon es un otro testemante de Jesu Cristo. Se que si tiene preguntas, puede orar a Dios y Dios va a dar un respuesto. Yo se que mediante el Espiritu Santo nosotros podemos ser todas cosas que necisitan. Yo se que Dios nos ama. Dice estas cosas en el nombre de Jesu Cristo, amen.

Hopefully it’s not too bad, it's a work in progress. Tell everyone that I love them so much and that the gospel is true.

Love,

Elder David White

ELDER WHITE

March 1, 2011

Week 1

Howdy,

I am in love with the MTC! I arrived early Wednesday morning with the 2 other missionaries from the stake. We had an opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the MTC. I immediately noticed how friendly everyone here is. This place is such a good conductor of the Spirit.

My companion's name is Elder Bockelman from Virginia. He will be going to the San Salvador El Salvador West/Belize mission. He is an amazing man and we are getting along so awesome. I believe the Lord paired us up for a reason. We have such strong spiritual experiences together it is awesome.

There is an Elder in my district of nine elders who is also going to the Guatemala North mission. His name is Elder Lapray. I room with him.

We began learning Spanish immediately the first day. By the 2nd day it was starting to come back to me. I know that the Lord is helping me with the language and it is such a blessing. I have now even begun to catch myself slipping into Spanish unknowingly. Me and my companion are making an attempt to speak nothing but Spanish. We also made a goal to teach our first lesson this Friday in Spanish, even though they recommended to teach it in English. We know that if we work as hard as we can to prepare the Lord will help us with our shortcomings.

There are four elders to a room and the rooms are pretty big. The beds are long enough, and I have begun sleeping really good. The Lord has definitely blessed me with the Spirit to keep me calm and collected. I am expected to ship out March 15th so I don't think I will meet the new MP since they come in June I believe.

We are being taught by Hermano Sparks and Hermana Staib, who are both recently returned missionaries. I have been studying both the Book of Mormon and Preach my Gospel in Spanish and am starting to get a good grasp of the spiritual language in Spanish.

We had our first MTC talk on Sunday, which was awesome. The speaker talked about how the Lord gives us challenges because he knows that we have room to grow as a result of those challenges. I love that message and the peace it brings. For the closing hymn we sang the primary hymn about the "Army of Helaman" (forgot the title). They changed a couple lines to say for example "We are now the Lords missionaries". This song brought the Spirit so much. Having 2,000 Elders and Sisters singing that song at the same time was awe inspiring.

Afterwords we had the opportunity to watch the Joseph Smith movie. WOW!! In the end when Joseph is on his way to Carthage and Praise to the Man started playing, both me and my companion broke down into tears. The Spirit was so great in that room. It was a perfect moment. At that moment the Spirit testified to me without a doubt that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord and that he was the vessel for the Restoration of the Gospel today.

I would like to testify in Spanish. Hopefully it comes out ok.

Yo sabe que Dios es nuestra amoroso Padre Celestial. El quiere que nosotros vamos a regrasar a El. Sabe que Jesu Cristo es nuestra Savior. Sabe que ay un profeta en la mundo hoy. Sabe que podemos regrasar a Dios despues de esta vida.

I love the Lord and I am so glad to be on a mission and to be able to serve the people of Guatemala. I want to share the blessings I have received due to the gospel. I love all of you and know that the Lord loves you. I hope that we may all one day feel this love.

I will write again next Tuesday on my P-Day.

If you would like to send me any messages while I am at the MTC, you can use DearElder.com and I will receive that immediately in letter form so i can read it.

I love you all,

Elder White