Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Hello Everyone!!!

Hey, so this week was super cool! We started talking to this guy on the street who called us over nd found out he had met with missionaries 2 years earlier.  We were able to go over on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights and have lessons with him and teach him more about the church.  He told us some super cool things that happened to him since he had been talking to us. He has a very strong testimony on the power of prayer. He told us about one experience he had this week.  He had been having chest pain and hadn't been taking his medicine for it. He told us the next lesson the next day that he had taken his pills and then began to pray and he has not had any problems with it all week now! It was awesome!

We also got together as a whole mission on Sunday night and had a mission president devotional. There were 2 recent converts who spoke to us.  One of them had actually just been baptized earlier that day. The other one spoke about being called to a position in the High Priest Quorum just a few short months after his baptism.  He said it helped him become stronger and feel needed in the church! It was awesome. 

On Monday we went to the mission home early in the morning and had an all day thing at the church building right there next to it.  There were speakers and lots of musical numbers followed by Santa coming and a testimony meeting.  To end it we had a big FHE together which was super cool to be able to get to know everyone a little bit better! Oh, and Kaleb May, the Elder I met in the MTC who became such a great friend--I hadn't seen him in the full 5 months I have been out until this week so I was super happy to be reunited with my good buddy this week! It was awesome! 

Then, today we went to the Mesa Temple as a mission and did a session and then took a big picture as a mission! It is so cool there because there are orange and grapefruit trees all over the grounds and the gardeners said for us to go and pick some of them since they are ripe around Christmas here! It was awesome and I really enjoyed it!

There is also something that is super cool going on in January that we were told about yesterday as well. Elder Holland is going to be down here in AZ to meet with the college kids and then we were told that he wants to come to all of the AZ missions and speak to all of us in person! I am so excited, and everybody else is as well, because who doesn't love Elder Holland!

I live in a safe area now, and it is really nice. It is a little bit weird because in my last area, Maryvale, we always heard sirens and gunshots and then the helicopter going overhead, and now that I am in Ahwatukee there is none of that. CULTURE SHOCK!!! But, if we do hear sirens then we know that someone's cat got stuck in a tree or something! :) Ahwatukee isn't quite on the Reservation but if we go south of our apartment at all then we are on the reservation! I just found that out this week! But yeah! Super excited to give you guys a call soon! 

Love you all tons and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Elder Wallentine

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Hello Everyone!!!
 
Man, this week has been a little bit crazy, and I am so glad that you sent that package to my new address instead of the old one.  I was a little worried about that! :)  Thank you so much for all of the things that you and the fam does to keep my head up high and happy! The Mission is for sure not easy from what I can already tell, but I am already growing in so many ways that it is hard to count! Although it might just be that I am getting fatter! hahaha

This past week has been super fun! We went to transfer meeting on Wednesday, and both me and the last companion I trained were called again to be trainers.  We both attended another meeting on Friday for the new missionaries! At the transfer meeting I had a really cool experience! President Toone told us (the trainers) to tell something that our trainers did with us that we liked! I stood up and said that my trainer (Elder Forson) was always happy and, no matter what, he always stayed positive rather than getting down on things. Then President Toone looked at me and said that the reason he called me to be a trainer again with a special assignment is because of my positive attitude! It was really awesome for me to hear that and helps me want to live up to the reputation others have of me.  It has really helped me to be able to stay happy and positive all of the time!

Other than that, I love my new companion and know that we will become great friends throughout the time that we serve here in Ahwatukee together! Oh,  there is a family moving from the ward that I am in right now to Idaho!!! She spoke yesterday in church so afterward I immediately went and asked where in Idaho she was going and she said Meridian! So, I said for her to look out for my family up there!! It's kind of funny hearing of people moving up there because sometimes I forget that I am not there right now! hahaha  But, I am having a super good time down here and, although some people are harder to talk to than others, the gospel will be available for everybody and I know that no matter what goes on with us in life, the gospel is always here to help us out!!! Well, I love you and can't wait for all the letters and the package!
 
Love,
Elder Wallentine
 

Oh, and by the way, I HAVE A CAR NOW!!!

Friday, December 6, 2013

Hello Everyone!!!
 
Hey, so Thanksgiving was awesome this year, although it was a little bit hard being away from all of the family and friends back home.  I thought it would be a lot harder  and that I would feel homesick, but it was really good for me.  We were able to go over to some members houses for dinner and they did a really good job at making me feel right at home. One of the people that we baptized--a mother and a daughter--had us over for dinner.  The 10 year old daughter always tells us she looks to me and my companion as if we were her older brothers! It was so cool!  We also went over to the first counselor's house for dinner, and they fed us very well, too!  We had ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pie, cheesecake, and sweat potatoes! :) I did miss your famous sweet potato stuff though because that is my absolute favorite!!! But it was awesome!

The interview with the Ipads was really cool and interesting. We went in and did an assessment on how well it is working and the things that they should change to be able to make them work a little bit better in missionary work. So far I love the Ipads because it is a lot easier to be able to stay organized and then we don't have to bike all the way over to the library every day to be able to get on Facebook. Facebook is working really well for me even though some days it is a little bit slower, but I have been teaching some people online and it is really good for me to be able to have the opportunity to not only share with people that I talk to here, but also to the whole entire world!!! I am so happy about that!

Other than that it has been a pretty good week we went over to a lot of members houses and really got to know them all a little bit better! As we did that we could see miracles happening and more people began to talk to us and were interested in what we have to say. It is amazing how things happen even in the ways that you would least expect it.

So transfer calls were last night, and I am being transferred out to a new area and training a missionary who has been out for 1 transfer so far! It will be super fun and I am super excited, although I will miss all of the people that are here in the ward in Maryvale. This ward has been super good to me and I am super happy that I was able to meet so many new friends in the ward that I would have never met if I wasn't here for this time!!! That is kind of weird to think about how different it could have been if I would have been 19 out here in the field. hahaha

Well, I look forward to hearing from you guys soon and hopefully the package makes it to me okay! I told dad in his email like everything that i need for Christmas! Sweaters, Ties, my Nike socks from back home, and really anything you guys want to send me!!! Other than that, I told him that my shoes are really HOLE-EE now! :) hahaha Thank you so much for all that you guys do to help me out and I am so glad that you guys had a good Thanksgiving! I love you all tons!!!
 
Adios!!!
Love,
Elder Wallentine