Week Ten in the Mission Field

      Tuesday I really needed to get a haircut so that was the first thing on the list to do, and that is pretty much the only thing we did other than make cold calls trying to find investigators.

      Wednesday we did service work most of the day. We helped a lady move a lot of branches off of her property so that she could burn them. We talked with her for a little bit about what we do as missionaries, and she was super cool about it.

     Thursday we had District Council and had the Zone Leaders in attendance. Later in the day we did service for someone.

      Friday we had to stay home while the other Elders went to go do service because we had the senior missionaries stop by to inspect our house, to make sure we were taken care of. They were really cool and fun to talk to, and they brought us cookies.

      Saturday the other Elders had exchanges so Elder Fusselman came up to Sebring. We did service for a lady that wanted us to find a ring in a storage unit. That was a nightmare and took way too long!

     Sunday we had our usual church that is now 2 hours now, and I had to give the closing prayer.

     Monday was Elders P-Day (which means the Sisters were out of town) so we played basketball all day, and then played some spike ball to top it off.

    Well that's about all I have time to share. I want everyone back home to know that I am thinking about you and hope you are all doing well.

Elder Waite

Weeks Eight & Nine in the Mission Field

          I completely forgot to write my last week's letter home so this is both weeks paraphrased.

         Tuesday we had service for a lady and we are panting the entire outside of her mobile home. 

          Wednesday we had service for the same person as Tuesday, and we still have a long way to go before we are done.

          Thursday we had District Council and it was fun because we got to make jokes about how we get fed almost every day.

           Friday we provided more service for the lady we are panting for. I don't really know why but she bought the thickest purple paint known to man?!

          Saturday we went over to Sister Knapp's place and had some fun lighting a big fire. Then did service for a flea market place that took forever. We left the house at 8:30 am and got home at 7:30 pm.

          Sunday was the first time we were allowed to have second hour at church. It was a different process to get to the point that we could have second hour in person, but it all went really well and we had 70 people in attendance, which is the largest congregation that we’ve had since I’ve been here.

          Monday we stayed in Sebring and went to the state park we have here. It has some small trails surrounded by swamps. It was okay, but not Oregon. We then stayed in Sebring and played spike ball and some gummy bear pig.

         Tuesday we of course had more service and did that for most of the day. We were really bored being home for the rest of the day so Elder Kelly and I are learning how to play the piano. I learned My Heart Will Go On and I am working on a few others.

         Wednesday we had Zone Conference, so we had to drive up to Orlando and learn about the new things going on in the mission. We drove home to meet with a member family for delicious street tacos.

          Thursday we did not have District Council because of the Zone Conference, so we were free for most of the day so we went to the church and practiced the piano. 

          Friday we had exchanges with Lake Placid. I went down to Lake Placid and was with Elder Fusselman. We had a good time and I was able to practice my Spanish with him and I learned a little bit more.

        Saturday we didn't have service at Sister Knapp's so we went and practiced the piano more and now I know a bit more songs.

          Sunday was Valentine's Day so that was cool but we had church and it was second hour with the Elders. We had dinner with the Mundell's and had a fun time doing that.

         Monday we went shopping and then took off for Lake Placid, we played some soccer that I am a little rusty at. We had fun playing though and I was extremely tired afterwards. Later we went back to their house and played spike ball and relaxed.

       These last two weeks have been a little difficult but it has been a lot of good work and I appreciate it. To everyone back home I wish you the best and hope you have a great week.            

Elder Waite

Week Seven in the Mission Field

        This has been the longest and hardest week of my whole mission so far, and I am surprised by how much we got done.

        Tuesday we went up to Orlando to drop off Elder Rice and pick up the two new Elders. As we got there we saw how many of the Elders they were moving. We also saw Elder Smart there, who was shipping out the next day. We met our new group who are Elder Kasparian, who has been out 18 months, and Elder Sampson, who is a greenie like me. They are cool individuals, but I don't really mix well with them.

        Wednesday was a short day. We had to do some shopping for Elder Sampson, and then show them around the area. We had a lunch appointment with a member so we went to that, and then called almost all of the active members in our church.

         Thursday we really picked it up. We had District Council with everyone in the District, and the Zone Leaders were there also. We also had a lesson, but it fell through again. After that we had dinner with the Bishop and talked with him for a while.

         Friday we did service for Sister Knapp, and wanted to see how that was going to go with the new Elders. It went almost as I expected. We stayed a little longer and had pizza. We had our mission devotional so we just watched it at Sister Knapp's and learned about COVID vaccines. Later we went home to someone feeding us BBQ.

        Saturday we had service for Brother Hernandez. He was moving out of his old house and into a new one that was not that far away. The funny thing about where he moved to in Sebring, is that all of the road names are car related; Corvette, Grand Prix, Lexus, Bentley, and Jaguar. After four trips between houses we finished and he treated us to Hibachi, which is a buffet place. After taking a food coma nap we had someone give us the largest green bean casserole I have ever seen. It was cooked in one of the big tin foil pans used for cooking a Turkey. I wasn't that hungry because of how much I ate at the buffet place.

        Sunday we had Ward Council and then church, both went fairly fast, and then we had a few things left in the day.

        Monday we played volleyball at Lake Okeechobee, but it didn't go that long because it was crazy windy.

        This week has been hard but I have seen the work here going forward.

 Elder Waite