Hello everybody!!!

After the egg thing that happened to me everything this week seemed pretty simple and I was able to have a pretty good outlook on things. Sure it gets brought up just about everywhere we go now. . . that I am the one that got hit by the egg, but it is super funny that it happened to me. Everything always seems to happen to me out here rather than the other missionaries! We were talking to the zone leaders last week and told them about all of the things that have happened to us and they said, "Why does everything always happen to Elder Wallentine!" It was really funny!

This week though was super amazing. Something that really stuck out to me was what happened on the street when we were on our way out to a less active member's house. There was this homeless man on the street so we stopped and talked to him for a while. We started trying to share a short message with him and then he began to tell us what he believed.  He told his who he thought Jesus Christ was. . . which was very far off.  So, long story short he started to walk across the street and yelled, "I hope you know that you are paving your way to h###!" It was a big eye opener for me to know that some people think so much differently than us and it is just sad the way they express it to us. But, oh well. That is why I am here-- to find those who need help and help them!!! 

I just want you guys to know that no matter what I am going to stay out for my entire 2 years and I have no plans on coming home early or anything no matter how hard or uncomfortable it may get while I'm out here! Like you said, I never quit anything yet.  I stuck with football the entire 4 years and I don't plan on quitting for little things that happen in the next 2 years!

I am super happy that you have all been keeping me up to date on everything that has been happening back home and with Coco and Izzy! It is so cool to hear how everything is going back home so that I know that everything is good! It is strengthening to me when I get letters from you guys and know everybody is safe!!!

Oh, so last week playing basketball I landed weird on my toe and dislocated it. But I just walked off to the side really fast, popped it back into place, and then continued to play. I went to the doctor because the next 2 days it was super swollen and it was purple.  It isn't broken or anything like the doctor thought that it was but the joint is not feeling all that good when I bend it.  I cant even bend it all the way anymore. So that's a bummer.

Well, thanks for writing to me and I am super excited to hear back next week!!!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

That's funny you guys went to Disney World. So, at dinner last night I cut the onions and made them in the shape of Mickey Mouse!!! 

Hello Everyone!

 

So the belt we got is super lame because I picked it up and the whole metal part of it where it latches together just fell completely off. Super lame so then I just duct taped it together temporarily. So, it will work for a few weeks. 

This week was kind of crazy for me and my companion. We went out and visited a lot of members this week along with investigators and were able to get to know people a lot better! Also, the guy that was going to be baptized on the 26th of this month told us after a while of teaching him that he would be more comfortable with the Spanish missionaries in the Spanish Ward. Not a big deal as long as he is still being taught! We decided to go out on Thursday night and visit one of the young men in the ward and talk to his family for a little while and then we went out proselyting in the apartment complexes that he lives in. Super fun and kinda scary, but it was a cool experience getting to know him a little bit better and just talking to the people around there.

Something else kinda funny happened this week as well. Just yesterday we went to church and then went over to a member's house for dinner and a lesson afterwards. The dinner was super good and then the family and their friends and some others in the ward came there as well. It is a BLAST! Last night when we went there we had an awesome time and my trainer taught most of the lesson with a few comments from others and it was super good. I had a headache through it because I don't know if I had drank enough water throughout the day. But on the way home something funny/super lame happened. All four of us missionaries were biking down the road on the way home and this car drove by and threw something at us. I couldn't tell what it was and it kinda looked like an ice ball. We didn't really think anything of it. But, I didn't realize the care made a U-turn and came back and threw the same thing again. This time, shortly after they threw it, I found out what it was. They were throwing EGGS at us from the car window. The egg went flying from the car and hit me straight in the missionary tag and also got all over in my planner and on my white shirt. Good thing that was the last day that I was using that planner. But it just showed me how dumb people can sometimes be.  I was pretty ticked, probably because of my headache and now being covered in egg. We are all able to laugh at it now. Good thing!

I am so happy that I decided to come out here on a mission even though there are quite a few times that I really just want to go and get a ticket and fly back home. It is hard out here but I figure that it will be worth it when it is all over. Oh, and the hardest part is the money. When I heard we get $115 a month to live on, I thought it would be easy and that I would be able to do it no problem. Today we went shopping right before we got on email and I only had $4 in my mission account. So I had to use my personal funds and I only bought eggs, milk, bananas, and strawberries. But that pasta will start to do me good here soon!

Make sure you all keep me informed about what is happening back home! I love you all tons and look forward to hearing back from you!

 

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a super crazy week for me and my companion for sure. We started off the week on P-day playing basketball and I will tell you what I am for sure getting better! But always room for improvement! haha  It is super fun to have these experiences to get together as a zone and to be able to make new friends and to have better relationships with others. The zone that I am in is the best!

Then, throughout the week we had some lessons with people in our area and it was super cool. We were able to go to some of our neighbors and made some new friends there. We also have a baptism coming up on the 26th for a 22 year old guy that lives down the street from us! He is super cool! We have been over to his house 3 times this past week and every time it is a super good experience and we can feel the Spirit so strongly! It's AMAZING!!!

This morning we got a zone activity approved to go and hike up a mountain that they call South Mountain. It is a lot like Table Rock but it has cacti all over the place which is super cool. It took us about an hour to hike up, and then at the top we took some pictures and had a little devotional as a zone. That was a super cool experience because the Spirit was so strong on the top of that mountain and it was super fun to be there as friends in the zone. In the devotional we went over why we set goals and why they are important! We also talked about how every single one of us in the zone were chosen and set apart to be here in this Phoenix zone at this very time. That is super cool and it really helps me to see how I am a part of our Heavenly Father's plan for us. It's awesome to have experiences like that!

Well, I will make sure to keep writing all of you guys.  You should send me some CD's with mission music on it!!!

 

Love you tons!!!

Elder Wallentine

Hello Everyone,

I got to baptize my first person this last week on Friday and that was awesome! She has been super happy and excited for that day for the past month. So, it was fun to be able to see her enter into the waters of baptism! Our goal for a zone this month is to get 20 baptisms, so make sure you keep us in your prayers!!!

This week has been especially hard for me because I was getting a little bit homesick thinking of how we usually are watching conference with those fun games and eating our coffee cake in the morning. We have all of those traditions so it was super tough and weird when, as missionaries, we didn't do all of that stuff. We went to the stake center and watched conference there. 

Earlier this week I got kinda angry at this guy we met on the street.  He was bugging me and my companion about living the law of chastity and was telling us that we don't know anything. We started to explain to him that it is our own choice and that it is the way it is supposed to be done, but he would not listen. So, it started to get a little bit heated and I said, "Okay, we are leaving!" I grabbed my bike and the guy said to me "You can't just leave like that!" So I started to leave and then he said something else to me that I cannot remember.  I stopped right there and put my kickstand back down and just wanted to hit the guy. My companion said, "Hey,  lets go" so we did. That was a super bad morning for me. However, we didn't let it make us down for the day. 

We came to the library and worked on Facebook for an hour and then we had some lessons set up. All of our lessons fell through, but we found two other people, and we had a lesson with them. We had never met them before, but we set them to a baptism date for the 26th and they accepted. That was a super cool experience for me to be able to see how fast things can happen. The first part of the day was super hard but the Lord will bless you as long as you are doing what you are supposed to be doing!

In conference something that really stood out to me is enduring to the end. Super powerful because we know that no matter what we do we can be forgiven by God. But, we have to go through the repentance process and continue doing what is right. 

My companion's bike got stolen a week ago right in front of us and then yesterday we found out that it is super easy to break into our house through the back door because I forgot my key for lunch and we had to break in using a bike pump! hahaha super funny!!!!   

Well, that is about all that I have for this week!  

 

Love,

Elder Wallentine