The Time of the Lord

Hey everyone!!

 So one thing that I've learned while being out here in the mission is that everything has to conform to the time of the Lord. God has a plan for us, we have to accept that and whatever happens in that plan. So this past week we only had 3 baptisms and most of our investigators fell. We're going to leave a couple of them and work with the rest of them. God has a plan. My faith has been tried so very hard this week and it was great haha. Almost lost my head a couple times but all good haha.  

So we had changes as well!! Not me and my companion, we're staying together for one more change!! I'm hoping we will baptize more people in this change than in the last change. I have the faith to do it haha. Faith I feel is the cornerstone of belief. It says in the Bible that with faith sufficient enough we can be able to move mountains right? So why not exercise some haha? 

I'm also in charge of 4 other Elders and they have to baptize too, so I have to help them out as well. Today in my workshop I talked to them about how in the mission we cannot lose a single minute not doing something to increase the Lord's work. As missionaries we have to leave all personal thoughts behind, all thoughts about family, girlfriend, new movies, everything behind. This isn't our time, its the Lords time. 

I've realized that 2 years is a very short time in the grand scheme of things and that I need to give everything I have to the Lord. That's what I'm doing. We baptized, there are more to be found. Lost souls looking for the truth but can't find it until we miraculously knock on their door and give it to them. We follow the spirit, it guides us and we save lives! 

I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures but next week for sure Ill have some to send. I left my camera in the house! Anyway, I'd like to encourage all of you once again, share the gospel. Ask a Book of Mormon from the missionaries and give it to someone!!! Help the Lord out!!!!

I love my mission, I love the Lord, and I love having the chance to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring people to eternal life. I love you guys!!!!!!!

Elder Whelan

Baptisms and Tests of Faith

Hey everyone!!! 
So this change has been a very big test of my faith haha. We're coming up on changes on the 30th and I don't know if my comp is going or I'm leaving... I hope neither of us but we will see. 

So I say that its been a test of faith because my comp is new and I have to teach a ton of lessons almost alone. But I know the importance of letting my comp talk so I let him as well haha. Its says that we have to preach 2 by 2 so I have no problem letting him talk haha. And besides he needs to learn Spanish. Anyway, so its been pretty stressful. Ill tell you why, we have about 17+ investigators and were literally running all over the place trying to get them baptized. So were getting killed over here haha. Were hoping to baptize at least half of them this week but we will have to see what happens. They're all very positive people but they all really need to gain testimonies. So if they don't all get baptized this Sunday it doesn't matter, what does matter is that they WILL get baptized. Thats a promise haha. 

I love my district. you can't help but love the people that you try to help. We get together every Monday to play some soccer. And, yeah, I'm super happy haha. We have so many investigators and have hope for more than half of them to get baptized this Sunday. 

My companion Elder Richens is awesome and I love him to death haha. We both have been testing our faith a lot out here. But we know that with faith there are always miracles that can be found. I love this work and everything that has to do with it. 

I included a picture of all of the people that we are teaching, if you could all pray for them that would be amazing. Thank you all for your support and your love. 

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SHARE THE GOSPEL!!!!!!!!!!

I'll give you an update next week! Love you all!!!!!!!!

ELDER WHELAN

Picts: Burning 12 ties for my first 12 months; a pict of the countryside, some cool clouds, pizza, and boys in trees with machetes. 

BAPTISMSSSSSSSS

Hey everyone! So Ill start out with the miracle we had this week!!

So we've been teaching this kid named Oscar for most of this change and trying to get him baptized. He always made excuses and lied so that he wouldn't have to get baptized. It turns out that he broke his arm in the church and was scared to get baptized. So we talked to him on Friday night and I told him, "hey would you get baptized if we brought a swimming pool and baptized you in you house?" 

He said, "ok when??"

I was like what the heck it took so much for this kid to get baptized and this worked? Haha so the next day we baptized him in a pool! Two elders brought an inflatable pool and we did it right there in his house!!! haha the Lord really does work in mysterious ways I have to be honest. 

Anyway I'm going to complete 1 year on the mission on the 18th and its crazy! Ill send pics for what we do next week!! 

We had pday yesterday and it was one of the funnest ive ever had here in the mission! We played a ton of soccer and then we had a huge water balloon fight!! 

More next week!! Stay smiling because you have the true and restored gospel in your life. 

Keep firm and push through your trials, the Lord has your back.

Love you all!!

Elder Whelan

A Seed

Hey everyone!!! So were doing good over here in Las Delicias. Not too much has happened in the last week to be honest. The baptisms have kind of slowed down and now me and Companion are trying to find more people to teach and baptize. 

Something I've realized while being here on my mission is that in order to find miracles we need to be willing to work as hard as we can. We need to be willing to give our all in order to find the chosen people of the Lord. My companion and I are doing just that. We have a couple people lined up for baptism but well have to see what happens with them. I know that the Lord has more people prepared for us. That includes the people in other missions. It may be a little hard to baptize in other parts of the world. But that does not matter at all. What matters is that the work of the Lord is the same in each place. We never know how a seed will grow if we don't first plant it. 

Thats something I've taught my district. We're accustomed to talking to every person that we meet here. Being friends with them and helping them get closer to God. That is planting a seed and preparing someone to be baptized for the next generation of missionaries to come in and help them take that first step. Im coming to a year in the mission. And I can honestly say that I know how important the Lords work is. We just have to be willing to open our mouths.  

Anyway I don't have much else to say other than that I love my mission, my family, all of you, and most of all, my Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ. Open your mouths and share the message of the only true gospel that is here on the Earth today. The Lord will bless you for your efforts even if a person doesn't want to listen to what you have to say. I love you guys, and thank you for all of your support.

Elder Whelan

Pics of Antigua and my comp took a pic of me in the sun. It was super cold there and I was cold hahaha

Miracles

HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

Christmas and New Years were great, but we kind of avoided members because I know how the holidays are are here. Members can get very jealous and if they had known that we spent time with one family during the holidays they would get super jealous! :)

So I'll get down to the title since I don't have too much time left. My last companion Elder Diaz called our president to see if I could go back to my last area and do the baptisms of some people over there. He gave me permission to go over to Hunapu again and on Sunday I went. We got to the church over there and I met Elder Diaz outside. The first thing is says to me is.. There aren't any baptisms... I yelled what?? Then Elder Diaz told me that Yisseña didn't want to get baptized because she was scared. She said that if she didn't get baptized neither would her 8 year old daughter Leyla. So I told him I wanted to talk to her. 

We entered the church and I called Yisseña into a room and figured everything out about what and why she didn't want to get baptized. Some of the stuff I can't tell you guys because it's personal for her and I respect her enough not to tell you guys haha. But one of the reasons was that other people were texting her and telling her a bunch of bad things about what would happen to her if she got baptized in our church. So I called Elder Diaz in the room and we talked to her for about an hour trying to get here baptized. She felt cold in her body and felt that she couldn't do anything, so I told her we're going to pray and you're going to talk with our father in heaven to know what to do. 

I knew that was the turning point for her, because 5 mins later after she prayed she said, ok let's do it. I'm so happy I was able to go back there and help her and her family make this decision to be in the church. The Lord really does guide our words and I'm so glad he was able to guide mine enough for her to make the decision to be baptized. Elder Diaz baptized her and I got to baptize Leyla. I love this family and I know why I'm here now. 

Other than that we had another baptism of an old man named Fransisco Sanchez. Hes 75 years old and was a miracle. We found him and he was able to get baptized within 1 week. I'm so happy that the Lord has given me this chance to be here in Guatemala. To bring these people the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my saviour and will never forget what he did for me and everyone else on the Earth. Other than that not much has happened in our area. Were looking for more people to baptize and I know that Lord has them prepared for us. It's a new year and one I'm sure we will see many many miracles.

Tell Simon I said Happy Birthday! I'll get him something from Antigua. 

See y'all in 1 more year!!!!!!!!!

I love you guys!!!!

Elder Whelan

CHRISTMASSSSSSS

Hey, everyone! Once again, I don't have too much to write today, but I got to talk to my fam yesterday and that was so great! The little boys are huge and my bro is going on a mission pretty soon! YES! (even though I'll end up not seeing him for almost 3.5 years!) 

Anyway I don't have time today because I spent most of the time writing thanks to some people for the Christmas stuff I got from them. haha sorry!!

We baptized a child named Alejandro this Sunday and we have two more this Sunday. We will see what happens![Editor's note: We found out from Elder Diaz, Kollin's last comp., that a widow and her daughter are also getting baptized, but it happened just after Kollin was transferred. Kollin was bummed that he couldn't stay to baptize her, but he's still so happy for her. We're excited also be emailing Elder Diaz because he'll fill us in on all of the details that Kollin forgets to tell us. :)]

I love you all!! Keep lighting the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Whelan

Picts: some gifts, my comp, a cigarrette, [Editor's note: it's a family tradition to smoke one cigarette every Christmas, so this must be Kollin's Christmas smoke. JUST KIDDING. He didn't explain why he took a picture of this, probably took it from an investigator.] macaroni and cheese with root beer. I haven't had root beer in over a year!

Elder Whelan, Are You Ready?

Hey everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I got a surprise call last week from my president. Elder Whelan are you ready to be a zone leader? Ummmm sure? Ok so you're going to an area called Las Delicias in Santa Lucia. and you'll be finishing the training of an elder named Elder Richens. Then I thought, wait that means district leader not zone leader. And then he tells me, are you ready to take that position on? "Yes president" while thinking... NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha I didn't want the position but I know that I'm supposed to be here as someone to help my district. 

It was hard to leave, especially one family. They were like my own family here in Guatemala. I didn't want to leave them. They have 3 girls and a son, the oldest is married, the son is one a mission, and then 15 and 12. My comp was really sad to see me go. As I said before, he doesn't have a family at home, and only a few friends who email him. [Editor's note: we're planning on starting to email Elder Diaz, and will be posting his emails in a blog as well. Feel free to email him if you'd like. :) ]

So I had my first district meeting and workshop and apparently everyone loved it. I talked about faith. The Elders in my district told me that it was very well done and that they learned a lot from it. So its all good!!!! 

I'll send more information about it to my family and they can put it in my blog. I don't have time to say it all. But I want everyone to know that faith is everything tying us to this church. Without faith we are nothing and we wouldn't believe that there is a Savior who sacrificed everything for us. 

Anyway...

 

MERRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYY 

CHRRRRRIIIIIISSSSSSTTTTTMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I'll talk to the fam on Monday!!!!

I love you all!!

Elder Whelan