Hello Everybody!

 

Hey there! So this week was a pretty crazy week as well. It was pretty busy and it was just so stressful it felt like. But now looking back on it, it is weird because I can't ever seem to pick out what was so stressful! :) Oh well maybe that's a good thing at times. But, the baptism this week went amazing! It was a really cool experience that she chose me to baptize her and I was so grateful for the opportunity! The room had such a strong spirit during the baptism, and I am so happy that I am able to have those experiences!

The beginning of the week was pretty good and I was able to go on exchanges to a different area. It was really fun to be able to see how the other area was and how it was only 1 1/2 square miles! :) It was so much easier to get around, but I love the area that I am in for sure!

I don't remember what day this happened but it was sometime between Wednesday and Saturday that my companion's bike broke. The chain was rubbing on something so we had to go a little bit slow it would not break. That was a little crazy.  We are going to get it fixed at the next transfer meeting if we end up going. For now he is borrowing the Zone Leader's bike.

I've met some people who make me grateful for the manners I learned growing up.  Me and my companion were riding around and passed a bald man and a lady.  When I asked, "How are you doing today?" the man said, "Better than you!" If you know me at all I could not let that go and stopped and said,  "Really, how are you doing better?" Then he said, "Oh man I should have just kept my mouth shut."  He told me I was on a bike doing Mormon stuff and so I explained that I loved what I was doing.  I told him to have a good day, but it is hard for me to believe people can say rude things.  

So, my companion's mom is always sending him packages and tons of stuff since his dad used to own a sports clothes company. So this time she sent him a package with 2 Nike shirts that say "Many are called few are chosen" on the front! They are so cool and it is so awesome!!! I also really loved the package that you guys sent me with my new belt and all of the oatmeal and the candy in it! THANKS A TON! :) 

The last thing that happened this week was that last night we went over for dinner with that family again! It was super cool because the Bishop and the First Counselor and a ton of people were there as well because their daughter is heading to the MTC today to go to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! I showed them some pictures of Jason when he was in Phili and told them some of the stories that he told us when he got back and that got her super excited!!! 

Well, thanks for doing all that you do, mom, and also thanks for teaching me how to be nice and teaching me manners early so that I can see how I can change for the better! Thanks for giving me the motivation that I needed to come out here on a mission (even though I always just wanted to be at Brenden's house), thanks for always making it such a big deal to have family time and for us to go to church and do the little things right. Also, thank you so much for all of the support you are continuing to give me while I am out here!

 

Thank you and I love you tons,

Elder Wallentine!

Hello everybody!!!

So this week has been a super crazy/hard week for me as well. This week I have been having kinda a hard time with home sickness. Just like everything that has happened has made me think of all of you guys back home and I miss it a lot. I miss coming home to meals that are already made for me at night and in the middle of the day. I miss that I was always able to find snacks no matter where I went even though It didn't always seem like it back home! :) I especially miss just being able to tell all of my family and friends what happened to me right when it happened to me. 

We got some sister missionaries in the ward taking the place of my trainer and his companion. They are super good missionaries! One of them is brand new and the other one came out a transfer right after me with my companion. On Saturday the two people we have been teaching over at that family's home were baptized and then confirmed the next day! That was a super cool experience! But then to make the week even more awesome and exciting for me, Sister Hinkle (The mom of the family we eat with on Sundays) her mom has been sitting in on the lessons for a very long time and she has been progressing in the gospel like crazy! It is so awesome to be able to see people be so happy because of the gospel! Now she is going to be getting baptized this Saturday! I also received a very surprising facebook message from her this morning. SHE WANTS ME TO BAPTIZE HER!!! :) I was so happy and I am so excited to be able to baptize Grandma! That made my week!

Anyways last night was a super spiritual experience for me and also kinda a disappointing one as well. The sisters were taking charge of the lesson this time and they chose to teach the Word of Wisdom which was awesome! I was still kind of getting used to the sisters being there other than the other elders. But I figured that I would get used to it soon. While the lesson was going on the subject of caffeine got brought up. One of the sisters was talking about it and how we should not be addicted which was completely true. However, it seemed to me that it was kinda coming off as if caffeine was a sin to be drinking so I just pointed out that it was not a sin and that I sometimes drink soda with caffeine.  One of the sisters did not like my comment and was kind of rude to me.   Oh well, I am not going to hold it against her!  Anyways I am super excited that I was able to be at the baptism on Saturday and that I will be able to help with the baptism this weekend! IT WILL BE AMAZING!

This week we have definitely seen some awesome miracles! We were able to go over to one of the recent convert's homes this week and right across the apartment complex there was a man trying to move a couch into his apartment. We noticed that he was having a bit of a hard time and so we went to help him.  We found out that his wife is a member and he and the kids have been to church about 3 times! They are a super cool family and I am really looking forward to getting to know them a little bit better and become good friends!

I haven't really eaten anything weird over here! All of the food that the members make for us is super good and I am always super excited to get over and eat it! I love all of the people here and it is super hard when we get doors slammed in our face, but I think I am getting used to it! I am still in Maryvale in West Phoenix and it is for sure a crazy part of town. The ward has been very welcoming and they are really willing to help us out! Anyways I am so glad that I was able to write you today and I look forward to hearing back soon!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

 Brandon being "Dan Jones". . . one of the best missionaries ever!!!

Hey err'buddy!

 

This was a super crazy week over here because on Wednesday we had to get a ride up to Tempe to the mission home for a big meeting. We ended up getting iPads that day which was super AWESOME!!! However, now we are putting everything from the big book of people that we have taught into the iPads. It was taking forever, but we found out that when we have internet (like in the church buildings) we can just talk into the iPad and update everything.  That makes it go a lot faster! Using iPads is so much easier now because we can be talking about a video and just pull it up right there and show it which really helps us out a lot.

The day before we got iPads, I went on exchanges with the District Leader, Elder Francis, and we were in a ward called the Trailside Ward. When I got there,  we did our studies and everything and then we went out and contacted some people. Most of the people were not home so we went out and visited some members,  and they were super cool!  One of them was a professional cheesecake maker.  Another were recent converts and their daughter brought out this little baby doll that had a zombie face on it.  It was super scary.  Then we visited the ward mission leader and we had snow cones and stuff over there!  It was awesome!  

While we were there this other member, who was a body builder, said that for a while he ate nothing but spinach, mustard, and tuna which sounded really weird. So, me and Elder Francis had to give it a try. However, we decided to take it to the next level and blend it all up and then add some protein powder to it! BAD IDEA!!! We then had a little challenge to see who could get it down and both of us did it just fine, but we had a bad taste in our mouths for the rest of the night. 

We have been meeting with a family every Sunday for dinner and they are so awesome! Yesterday Sister Hinkle (the mom in the family) and a lot of her kids--including one of the family friends who is being baptized this week--got up and bore their testimony and it was super cool. That was also the first time that Sister Hinkle's mom had been to our church, and it was super fun to have her there! When we went over for dinner, we talked to the whole family with Grandma, and the two family friends and just shared a little message with them! The Spirit is always so strong in that home.  Their daughter is getting ready to leave in 2 weeks on her mission to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! Super fun! That was a super cool experience and I have loved being here and getting to know these families!

But yeah, that is about all that has happened this week other than us just,  you know, being out here on the good old mission! So it has been super fun! Well, I love you all and you guys are all awesome!

 

Love,

Elder Wallentine

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