Dear Friends and Family!!!

 

Christmas was awesome being able to talk to all of you guys and to see your faces again! Isn't it weird that it has almost been 6 months since I left home for the MTC? Time has flown by. Oh and by the way, if I email home in a few weeks saying that I've gained a ton of weight--that is all thanks to you guys giving me all the candy and good food for Christmas! Luckily I have been able to make them last a week so far, so I am doing good, but I am sure that I will cave in one of these days and eat them all! :)

That is kinda cool that Emily was able to give a talk on Obedience yesterday after having that experience happen to her so recently. It really helps when you are teaching people to have an experience that can go along with and kind of help you relate to the other people that you are trying to teach. My companion and I taught the lesson in Young Women yesterday at church about standing as a witness. We used a talk from 2008 and an object lesson about being in the world but not of the world. It was really cool for me because we talked about how 2 of the biggest ways that people view us is through our language and the way that we dress. So, with the language I was able to share an experience about football and how my teammates were trying to get me to swear! I'm not sure I ever even told you guys about that and what all happened.  But, that was a really good experience for me!  It was helpful to have an experience like that to share, plus I brought suckers for all of the young women, so it made it all the better! ;)

Other than that this week has been pretty busy and we were able to teach that super awesome guy again this week and he came to church with us! That was awesome! We went over to his house last night and we have been reading from the Book of Mormon with him.  We read 1 Nephi 8 and I drew out Lehi's vision and shared with him what all of it meant and it was a super awesome lesson! Not to mention he told me to sign the picture and that he is going to hang it up on his wall! hahaha MY ART IS FAMOUS!!! :)

But, yeah it was a good week and I look forward to another awesome week in the mission field! I love you guys tons and don't worry. . . I am safe here, especially now that I got my new guard dog! Oh, and I got Avengers Socks!!!

 

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Oh and by the way, the lamp in the picture is what I used as my own personal Christmas tree this year! hahaha

 

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

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!!!

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

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