Hello! Long week this week but it was a great week. I arrived in Denver six days ago along with nineteen other new missionaries. We were greeted by some missionaries who looked so much older than me. They even looked older than the mission presidents. The mission presidents are so fantastic. They are so young and cool. We loaded up the transfer van, with a truck with a big trailer in the back where people throw their stuff. I rode up in the truck with one other missionary. He was super cool, and it was just nice to see a cool missionary on the tail end of his mission, still himself but changed and very hard working. Then, as I found out it was called later, draft night. It is actually just the night when all of the new missionaries find out their area and their trainer for the next 6 to 12 weeks. We go into the chapel and all of the trainers are on one side of the chapel. We all sit down. The trainers are on the right pews and we're on the left. The mission president is at the podium smiling and told us that he prays about each of these combinations and says they are inspired by the Lord. One by one, a name, a place, and a trainer appear on a screen. Elder (blah), a wide-eyed, very adrenaline-filled, scrawny missionary stands on the left. You will be assigned to labor in (blank) mission! (Here comes the money question) Your trainer for the next six weeks will be....... Missionaries from the right pew would stand with some swagger and a smile and both missionaries would meet in the middle. If you're an Elder, a classic bishop hug (what I used to call it when I watched my dad hug friends at church when I was little. This included a big hug and two strong pats on the back and then quickly out) and then sit down. For sisters it was either a high-pitched scream or just a big long hug and quiet, excited chatter while they sat down. It was pretty fun to watch. "Elder Whiteley, am I saying that right?" He was. "You are assigned to the Casper third ward, you are one of the only biking missions. You got a long drive." Yessssss! I was looking forward to a biking mission, so that is going to be great. I was hoping for CO, but honestly, Wyoming was an unknown land. So, on to what has been spoken of by the MTC teachers, your parents, your young men's leaders, everyone you've talked to in the church talks about: companions. People have been trying to get your hopes up because it might be super fun but then lowering your expectations because, apparently, if they are difficult you "have a learning experience." So, onto the money question. "And your trainer will be..." In my mind's eye, he announces it like the TV show host in the Hunger Games. "Elder Laudie!" Previously, while riding up to the temple, I was picking the older missionary's brain about how he views his mission in hindsight and asking for advice. He said he knew my companion and knew he was cool. Phew! You have no idea the smile I had on my face after that. Everyone tells you the first week is so hard and that, if your trainer is difficult, it is one of the most challenging experiences. So, that felt good. BREAKING NEWS (pun intended) During the writing of this email, I took a break and played some basketball with my companion at the church. Three plays later (I was winning), I rolled my ankle and, after hearing a very clear, loud, defined snap I am now in the ER. How's that biking sound now, huh? Lol, now, in the ER, I will continue. I'm back, just finished X Rays. "And your companion is...Elder Laudie!" I stood up, an elder across the sea of pews stood up, and we met in the middle and gave a huge bishop hug and sat down. Once the meeting ended everyone got up and introduced themselves and asked the classic question, "where are you from?" Elder Laudie is from Missouri. We had transfer day the next day. We marked our bags in red duct tape, threw them in the transfer van, and headed out. Almost 150 missionaries were transferring. We hopped in the car with another companionship. We had a long trek ahead. One by one, the mission vehicles and the transfer van lined up. We stopped to drop off missionaries in different spots throughout the trek to Casper. We met many missionaries enjoying themselves, wearing CO and WY flags and holding nerf guns. It looked so fun! Everyone was just smiling and there's a strong spirit everywhere we go! We drove the rest of the way up to Casper and I was excited. We got dropped off and our apartment was in shambles. It was filled with garbage! It had Christmas tinsel, a Santa doll, straight garbage on the floor and in the cupboards, old boots, black mold in the shower, and broken bikes. We got dropped off, they waved goodbye, and we began cleaning. 10 trash bags and a 20 gallon bin later, most trash was removed from the apartment.
You know, I'm sad, lonely, and lost sometimes but my dad shared a scripture with me: 1 Corinthians 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. I love this little town of Casper. It's actually very big. The people here are amazing and humble. I can feel my weaknesses and how the Lord has given me opportunities to share messages that comfort others and deepen their relationship with the Savior. Every morning, when I wake up, I have an hour of personal study. Today, I prayed for peace and comfort for the hectic and crazy day I was having. The first scripture I read was about how to obtain peace. But I had to read it twice over because the first time, I just read without thinking. Like Moses and the burning bush, we can skim the scriptures instead of turning twice and noticing God's hand. I have been spending an hour a day reading scriptures, and it is a blast. Scriptures have taken on a whole new form in my eyes now. And, I know it sounds insane but it honestly doesn't feel this way -- I get through about 12 verses a day. That does not sound like a lot, however I see God's light in the verses. I have to read them repeatedly and in depth. Truly ask yourself: do I understand this? what does this say about my relationship with God? does this apply to what I already know? or why does God choose to communicate this way or think it is important for this to be in the scriptures? I know this is a lot, but the first step for me was desiring deeper understanding about God. Then, pray to Him, asking earnestly what you can do and asking for enlightenment and understanding in how you can deeper understand the scriptures. You may tune me out in this part because this is such a long story and it may not sound like a lot, but "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little," it changes the foundations of one's belief and makes you feel whole and edified. Every time I go out and knock doors, walk and talk to people, or go and visit members or teach a lesson, I feel full and excited about life. There is a lightness and feather-like motion to my steps and to my daily tasks. Maybe that's something that I'll carry with me out of my mission. I may feel down sometimes; being out and on the Lord's errand doesn't cure sadness, but it replaces sadness with joy and the light of Christ. You get a lot of doors shut in your face, but the photographer and person in me just loves seeing people's faces and the quick glimpse into their lives. My companion is fantastic by the way. We get along very well. He is trying to lose weight, so he was praying for a companion that would eat healthy and, specifically, not eat dessert. How God works! I love eating with him because we both eat super well, love to workout and he's getting a pair of running shoes so he can run more. So that's super fun. *Editor's note: Henry hasn't eaten dessert since he was 7. I am so sorry I could not get to any emails this week, I love them all and thought I'd have time to respond, but then I played basketball. I have been walking on my foot and it feels easy and not broken. It's crazy. I didn't mention this, but man, this foot I could have been sure was broken. The crack we heard! Maybe it was just me or something or my mission stuff, but it feels like a miracle that this feels so amazing and they're saying it was only a sprain. I may be able to bike in a week or two! It's crazy.
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Hey ooooooo! We got up at 6:30, said goodbye to Elder Putnam and Elder Stott and finished packing. We were supposed to leave at 8, but we got there at 8:19. I had problems with my bags, and just in case I switched my running shoes from one bag to the other because I thought one would be too heavy. We got to the travel office late and headed out on our own. We took a bus to a train to a tram to an airplane. Our whole travel group, all nineteen kids, were going to FOCO. I didn't even know more than one other companionship going there. Anyway, I was pretty nervous this morning, just underlying anxiety. But it's ok. I was super excited. By the way, once we got to the airport in SLC, I weighed both bags and one was 49 and the other one was 50! Thank goodness I switched the shoes. On the way to the gate, I rolled down this little ramp on my suitcase. I just thought it was fun and stuff, but no one thought it was funny. They said, "people are watching us, you're a missionary." I know that's all true and it made me feel bad. I want to have fun and smile on my mission. I sat next to this one sister missionary on the plane and was talking to her about things she'll miss. When she asked me, I felt as though my answers were the answers given by the missionaries who are looked down on. I said "I'll miss having fun and just being able to chill." She looked at me with such disdain. I know those answers aren't bad because they're true. I'll miss making jokes and rolling on suitcases. The question is, does that stop? Do I need to change the silly, fun things about me? Anyway, that's a life long endeavour. Maybe I put it in pause for the mission. I wonder how much is me submitting to God and letting him mold me and how much is me removing clay? I wonder. Anyway, when we got picked up, there was a sign that said welcome to FOCO! I met with some of the missionaries who were there to pick me up. They seemed like good people. We loaded up the suitcases into a trailer. When we were landing, it was just a town of flat land. It looked like the straight plains. Crazy. I enjoyed how quiet it was once we were outside walking around. You don't recognize all the noise till you can't hear it. I like the stillness. It's nice. I decided to drive up with Elder Asher, the Elder who drove the trailer. I talked with him all the way up about the mission and sports and music. He's a big J Cole fan and Chance fan, so I told him about their new albums, KOD and The Big Day, and other stuff. He lived in Oakland and then in Mesa before coming on the mission. Verg good guy. I was talking with him about life and stuff and it was good to talk to such a good guy who was cool and uplifting. We went to the temple and it was great. We just stayed outside and took photos. We got to the FOCO mission office and ate some food after standing in front of a backdrop of the FOCO temple. The mission presidents seem very young and cool and great. Looking forward to getting to know them. I'll try to do that the way Brother Abidillo said to: never be a problem, be a problem solver for the mission president. I loved him. Ok. I met my trainer today, Elder Laudie. He seems super cool. From Missouri. I got called to the Cheyenne, WY area and will drive up there tomorrow in a new truck. It's a biking mission! I'm stoked on it. Apparently, my companion is a triathlete, so we'll see how that is. Maybe he'll run with me. I'm so excited to be here. I can feel the spirit soooooo strong and am alive and want to serve, so full of energy and see God's hand in the work. I love you all and know that serving this mission will lead to great things! I am excited to see the area. Also the mission president's first thing he said to me was, "you like biking don't you?" My mom sent him the questionnaire that asked for a description of me and basically she said "send him on a bike" a thousand times. So, I'm kind of glad. Good night! My new address is 924 E 21st, Casper WY 82601. I won't have wifi often, but I love your emails and I love dad's and everyone else's. Thank you so much! I'm loving it! *Henry didn't send photos this week. The star photo is from last summer in Kolob Canyon. Hey! I have absolutely loved the MTC! This place is truly something special. The spirit is so strong here and I love it. A typical day for me starts at 6:30, where my four years of practice with early morning seminary kicks in and helps. We have breakfast at 8. The food is not bad, but I've just been eating salads, wraps, and rice. We go to a class with Sister Adicari from Napal, who is a great teacher and has taught me so much. It's so helpful to have a cool, young, spirit-filled teacher's guidance in the class. After her class is lunch, then Brother Coca (from Brazil) teaches the afternoon class. He is so great. He has been especially good to me. He has gone out of his way to help me and lift me up. After dinner, we have exercise time. At first I had been running on a sky walk track thing that's 1/10 of a mile, but my district started going to a field they have open outside the MTC, so I can run a little farther now. I've run 5 miles a day every single day! "Early and often" am I right? After running is Book of Mormon, personal, and companionship studies. These last three hours total, which sounds like a lot, but I've been praying and studying in a new way now. It honestly blows by SO quickly. I'm not always one to sit, take direction and be still, but I have felt a zeal, an excitement and a rejuvenation in learning of Christ's gospel. I really enjoy it and time flies! It honestly feels like five minutes. Only by the the relationship I have built with God have I been given the strength to be able to do these things. Scriptures come to my remembrance, and I enjoy teaching soooooo much. It is more of a discussion. It is more of an opportunity to be with someone in their struggles and walk with them in their trials. We're not here to have them join the church, we're here to help them draw closer to Jesus Christ. It is so fun to be able to share some of the tools I have found for myself that help me be happy and closer to God with other people! It's such a wonderful opportunity and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm not going to lie, the MTC is a difficult transition. There a lot of crutches I have had to learn to leave behind in order to rely on the scriptures, others, Christ, myself, and God. I'd say the biggest lesson I've learned is how to rely on Jesus Christ. I have felt inadequate in so many different ways. My reluctance to give up the little habits that invite the spirit in. I fall asleep a lot. But I've learned to try to love myself, appreciate where I am, accept challenges and shortcomings, and rely on Jesus Christ. One of the great lessons we learned in Brother Coca's class is that even if we are having a bad day, or a .00001 day, or a 1,000,000 day, Jesus Christ is infinite and can bless us and fulfill our souls. I have seen miracle after miracle here already. He has calmed my mind, blessed me to be able to study, blessed me with a fantastic companion who has been an answer to my prayers. God has shown me His hand in my life. One of my favorite scriptures I have learned here is Doctorine and Covenants 123:17. Essentially, it says to joyfully give your all, and then stand still and the hand of God will be revealed unto you. It has been such a special experience to be here at the MTC. The joy is in the hardships, the blessings are in hidden places, and don't give a cat the Melchizedek priesthood if you don't want to get kicked out. Ha! I miss all of you. I miss my family. I love all of you thoroughly and ponder about each of you and how you would love it here, especially Scout, every single day. I have read the emails from HTHXC; I love you guys and I miss running with you. Can't wait to see how your seasons go! Thank you soooooo much for your updates and such kind emails. I've read all of them and they've genuinely moved me. I miss all of you with a gladness in my heart and a pep in my step, because I know if I didn't miss you that means I didn't cherish my time with you. I guess I'm happy to be sad leaving! I leave next week to Colorado, so it soon begins. I am so sorry if I haven't responded to your emails, I have read them and love to hear from you and I will find time to write you individually! Today was much busier than usual, so I'll try my best. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is to be myself and to relax and be happy. I've seen the blessings, mercy and love of God. Look for ways to smile and have fun! As my cousin Lilly Newsom said, the missionaries who look for happiness and fun often seem to find it! *Editor's note: Patty Katashima is a family friend who knits these colorful cacti planted in pots. We all believe it is physically impossible to be in a bad mood next to one of Patty's creations. They are a vortex of positivity. She made a portable one for Henry's mission--one with legs!
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