Hello Everyone!

I got called to serve in Tempe right next to ASU! My trainer Elder Forson got called to be one of the assistants, too, so he lives super close by me and we are actually going out to do a zone activity today as well! We are probably going to play an awesome game of basketball which is super fun because I haven’t played in such a LONG TIME! I am super stoked! But I am doing my best to get to know the area now and all of the members in it. 

My companion has been sick for the past 2 days so I have been taking care of him. But today he is feeling better and we are going with an investigator out to dinner and then to the Mesa Temple Visitors Center which will be super fun! I haven't been to the visitors center in such a long time. So I am super excited for that as well! In the past 2 days that my companion, Elder Bono, was sick I finished reading "Our Search for Happiness", and also got about 80 pages into "Jesus the Christ." Those are super good books and I am so glad that I am able to have this time of my life just to study and teach about Christ. It really helps me to get to know and love him even more than I already do. Plus "Our Search for Happiness" was the first book that I have actually read on my own all of the way through since my 6th grade year. CRAZY!!! But I think that I have finally gained some motivation to read and learn more!

Well, I will let you know how everything goes this week and I will also send you some pictures of me and my new companion next P-Day when I will have some to send! Thanks for all that you do for me mom! I love being able to count on getting a letter from you and Dad every Monday!

Love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Hello Everyone!!!

That is super cool about Riley’s mission farewell!  I wish that I could have been there for his talk, but it is good to know that I am where I am supposed to be at this time just as he is! :)  It is really fun to look back and think of the things that Riley, Brenden, and myself have done in the past! We always had super fun things going on. One thing that I will always remember us doing is that we would go out into Brenden’s back yard into the canal and go ice skating and go run up and down the canals in the winter when all of the water was frozen. We always had a ton of fun together.

This week was pretty good for me and my companion! We went out and visited a lot of people and were able to get in contact with quite a few of them! We also started up something in our ward where we are going around and challenging all of the members to have someone in their homes for us to teach within 30 days! It is a super short time period, but so far the ward seems to be reacting very POSITIVELY! :) However, just like any other time something is about to happen, someone gets moved out of the area. This time it is my turn I guess... I am getting transferred out of this area on Wednesday and so Elder McMichael will be getting a new trainer for the 2nd half of his training, and I am going out to be a District Leader somewhere else in the mission. I am betting that I am going to get called to Yuma for the summer! That would be super fun even though it is just like crazy far away.

Anyway, before we got the news earlier in the week, me and my companion were inside the stake center doing Facebook and we had left the windows to the car down just a crack so that when we got in the car we wouldn’t bake. But then when we came outside to leave we saw that on the rear view mirror there was a little picture of a bear holding a CD that said, "Thanks for the CD!" I called the Zone Leaders and said, "Hey so did you guys take my CD?" They said no but that they would send out a group text to see who did. Anyway, they ended up telling us that 2 other missionaries in the Zone had taken them and so me and Elder McMichael started to plot against them in some way. We came to the conclusion that we were just going to go and find their bikes and just barely off-set the handlebars so that they wouldn’t be completely straight. That would have been so funny! :D Then when we were just about to do it, we found out that it was indeed the Zone Leaders that had taken it and so we went and squirted them with water! :) fun stuff!

Well, that is about it for this week. I will make sure to send you guys the address that I move too so that you can tell all of my friends! Oh and tell my friends back home when you see them that LETTERS SERIOUSLY MAKE THE ENTIRE WEEK AWESOME FOR A MISSIONARY!!! Oh, and if they have any extra ties laying around they can know they can send them to me! ;)

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Mommy!!!

Sorry I don't have too much to say this week since I told you most of the stuff yesterday on the Skype call! :) It was super fun to see all of you guys though! It is super weird however that Mothers Day is already over. That seemed to come by really really fast! But it was super fun because all of the people yesterday just seemed to be super extra happy! Which is always a good sign for missionaries!

I don't remember the name of the guy that I was on Trek. But I do still have the wrist band packed away somewhere back at the house. I made sure to keep that and make sure that it stays safe for me when I get back home. That is really cool about the people that Tyler and Emily get to be this year though! That will be a super cool experience. One thing on the Trek that really stuck out to me was the Women's pull. I just remember the leaders all telling us that we were not allowed to go out and help the girls pull the wagons up the hill. But as they started Martin, a few others, and myself started to cheer them on to get to the top. I wanted so bad just to run down and help push them up. I have kind of noticed a trait that I have in my personality recently. It never really stuck out to me but I really LOVE to help people do service projects! I hate seeing other people working on something that I could so easily be helping with, but I'm not. :)

Other than that I will continue to keep a smile on my face for the remainder of my Mission and hopefully longer! I love being out here on my mission and even though it is hard only to see all of you guys 2 times a year, it is totally worth it if I can come home a better guy that when I left! I can only go UP from here! ;D I love you guys all a ton, and make sure to keep me up to date on all the cool things that happen in the next week!

Love,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Hello Everyone!!!

I have been super blessed to be in a 2 AWESOME zones so far in my mission and the district that I am in right now seems to be super awesome as well! They are all SOLID MISSIONARIES! I think that hardest thing for me is just making sure that I am doing everything that I possibly can to keep on being a good example for other missionaries and also everybody back home.

I always am trying to find out a better way to gain even more motivation than I already have (even though I am not unmotivated in any way right now). ;) I recently found a really cool way that really helps me to stay focused on the work! I grabbed a Book of Mormon and a Bible and began to find some similarities in them. I bought some little tabs for books at Walmart so that I could highlight the scriptures and then turn right to the ones that I want to go to. I found scriptures for so far every topic that it talks about in the Restoration of the Gospel and in the Plan of Salvation! It really helps my testimony continue to grow as I am able to confirm my Faith and Knowledge with scripture! Have you also ever seen the cards that people have that have "The 17 Points of the True Church" on them? I got one from Elder Erikson when I was his companion and I just went through the Bible and I began to mark all of the scriptures that tell about the 17 things that the true church must have. It was super fun to do that because it just made me think, "Hey The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has all of this stuff!!!" It was really cool! So then I wanted to do more on that subject. So I went through and got into the foot notes and also just looked through the Topical Guide to find scriptures that tell of the 17 things that the true church must have in the Book of Mormon! I was able to find every single point that was in the Bible in the Book of Mormon also! That was a huge testimony builder for me!

This week we also had something kind of funny happen to us with a guy that we talked to on the street. :) We were waiting at a cross walk to cross one of the main roads and we saw this kid riding his skateboard heading right toward us. He quickly said, "Hey do you guys have some time to go over some scripture with me?" So we said, "Yeah sure." So we went over to a little shop that had some chairs and tables outside of it and he began to talk to us. I kind of figured that something was a little bit "Fishy" because not many people usually pull us aside to specifically go over scriptures with them. So then he began to ask us questions and he had scriptures from the bible that he was trying to use against us. It was super crazy that there are people who are seriously out here just to try to prove us wrong. However, one thing I talked with Elder McMichael about after that was all over is the way that he was trying to teach us. I asked Elder McMichael, "What is the difference between the way that he tried to teach us, and how we need to teach others?" The huge difference that I noticed is that we can truly TESTIFY that we know this to be true, because we have actually read the scriptures and prayed about it for ourselves! All that he was trying to do is use the scriptures against others rather than using them to bring them up and closer to our Heavenly Father. We truly need to teach with the spirit, and not with just the knowledge of man that we have! :) It was a good experience for us!

WE FOUND OUT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SKYPE HOME ON SUNDAY FOR MOTHERS DAY!!! So now I am EXTRA excited! I will talk to you all then and thank you so much for all of the support you have for me!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

P.S. We went hiking this morning and I got a few pictures so here they are!

Hello Everyone!

Hey, so this week was a really fun week just because we were able to stay so busy! It seems like when we are crazy busy we are able to have so much FUN out here on the mission! I was thinking a lot this week about missionaries that just get so discouraged to where they don't even get up in the morning on time and they just try to lay around all day rather than GET TO WORK! I do not know how they deal with it. Missions are super hard in every way, shape, and form, but I know that if I just sat around all day long it would only be harder. Part of the reason that we are always able to stay so busy is because of the members and the leaders in our ward. It is so awesome when we go out to a member's home and receive some names to go by! (even it the people are members) Sometimes when we are feeling a little bit discouraged we will go over to a members home and share a little spiritual message with them and it always, without fail, makes me HAPPY again. I LOVE THE WARD THAT I AM IN RIGHT NOW! I am going to be here for at least a few more weeks and then I bet that I will be staying for another 6 weeks as well to finish training Elder McMichael. So it will be awesome.

Another huge blessing that we put to use on our mission is the ability that we have to PLAN AHEAD OF TIME! We take time every night to do some planning for the next day. I never thought that planning would be so important, but it really makes the difference between a GREAT DAY and a BAD DAY. Without a plan of what we are going to to we can for sure go and try to visit people, but if we have a plan written down, then Heavenly Father also has that plan and he can place people in our paths that need to hear our message, or just that we can help! I HAVE GAINED SUCH A STRONG TESTIMONY OF THAT FOR SURE!!!

This week our ward also had a really fun Ward Chili Cook-off that Elder McMichael and myself were able to go to for our dinner. It was super awesome because we got to see a ton of the members of the ward just being themselves and we also got to see some people that we have not seen before (members and non-members). It was AWESOME! We had a ton of different kinds of chili and all of them were super amazing! I don't think that I had 1 that I didn't like which is always a good thing. However, I am really surprised that I really haven't been fed many things that I don't like. That is probably just because I am a 19 year old boy who just loves eating anything and everything! I'm not too picky on what I put in my tank! :) But it was super fun for sure to get to hang out with some of the members.

Oh,  and there is a super cool thing going on two Sundays from now! :) I bet you don't know what that is!!! MOTHERS DAY!!! Which also means that I get to call home! I need to know what time to call you guys during the day on Sunday so that I don't call when you are at church or something. Just let me know in your next email on Monday what time would work for you guys and I will be sure to call during that time! On Sunday church for me starts at 9am and goes until Noon and then we usually will have our dinner appointments at 5pm so really any time for us between those times would work perfect! It is super crazy how fast this has come up and it seems like I just barely saw all of you guys on Skype for Christmas! Time is FLYING!

At church yesterday we had a really good experience because we were able to have some of the people that we are teaching or just getting started to teach show up! It always feels so good to know that people are actually willing to come out to church and then when we get there we all just get such a good feeling inside! I love it! Before sacrament meeting started though, we were going around and talking to some of the members that are in the ward which is always super fun to do! One lady that I started to talk to, also had fed us earlier in the week which was fun, and she pulled me aside and told me how she thought that I was just a solid missionary. She said that she was talking about it to some other ladies in the ward and some of them were wondering why and how I got to be like that. Then she said that someone guessed that I had some older brothers. haha So I told her that I for sure do have 2 older brothers and a dad who all went on missions! I never really realized how much that example helped me to get out on my mission. There are so many things that can distract us from what we need to be doing as a missionary, but having brothers and a dad who went through the exact same thing that I am going through makes it a lot easier for me for sure! Plus I know my EGO would be hurt really bad if I didn't do everything that Jason and Ryan did and BETTER! Just kidding! But I am very happy that she told me that because it made me start thinking about that.

That is super awesome that you and Emily were able to go and attend Wicked. I still remember when we went and saw that play in London! That was probably the coolest thing ever. They had some really cool effects and stuff that went on. :) I didn't even realize that Emily never got to see it. That is crazy! Anyways make sure to tell everybody hi for me and that I love you all tons! GOOD JOB IN BASEBALL TOO CALEB! :) YOU ARE AWESOME! KEEP IT UP IN TRACK TYLER! Emily I don't really know what you are doing with your life right now BUT KEEP DOING AWESOME AT WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING! ;) LOVE YOU MOM, DAD, JASON, KATIE, RYAN, RYAN'S FUTURE WIFE, ASHLEY, BOB (BRANDON), TYLER, EMILY, CALEB, COLLETTE, AND IZZY! :D Bam I still remember all y'all!

Love,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

P.S The picture of the Waffles is from Sunday! I got a brilliant idea to make waffles out of the funfetti cake mix! They were delicious, but I think that will be just a one time thing due to how unhealthy they probably were for me and Elder McMichael! Then the missionary picture is a mission "Family Picture." Elder Forson (my trainer) is on the left side of me in the picture. Then all of the missionaries that I have trained are off to the right side of the picture. The ones on the far left are the ones Elder Forson trained. Then the two below are some of the ones that Elder Erikson (my first trainee) trained. SUPER AWESOME!

Hello Everyone! 

That is super cool how that turned out so well for G & G's anniversary! I am super happy that you guys were all able to go and that I had a picture there to represent me! :) That sounds like it was a blast! Those pictures of the quilt look really cool too. That must have taken quite a bit of time. But looks like it was totally worth it so GOOD JOB mom! I love that picture that is on there of our family because I think that is the picture that I have of us out here on my mission as well! I haven't looked at the pictures that I have in a while but when I do it is really fun to see everyone again for sure! I just recently looked at some of the pictures that the Elwood's have of me the night before I left for the MTC and it is so funny to me because I can remember like everything that we did that night and what I did in the MTC, but I cannot remember what happened like last week. ;) I must be getting old already! haha That is super scary about what happened to Jackson though and I am super happy that he is ok. I remember one time I was out on a camp out for scouts and we were going fishing and trying to catch frogs in a little pond. Under the water there was like a broken barbed wire fence and I just so happened to step on it. That wasn't even fun to feel going into my foot so I can't even imagine how it felt for him running into it. 

This week was pretty fun for me though because it was my first week that I actually did things that a District Leader does. I got to go on exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Wednesday night this week to Thursday night and it was super fun. At the very beginning of my mission I always thought that when you have to go with the Zone Leaders it was always a bad thing and it meant that you are in trouble or something. But it was super fun because I have some really cool Zone Leaders and we went and were able to find a few people. For dinner that night we went out to a members house in the singles ward where the Zone Leaders serve and we had some Macaroni! It was super good just to have some of that since I haven't had it in quite a while! :) I remember when you used to just make some Macaroni and cheese with some hot dogs in it! That stuff was DELICIOUS! I just wish that I would have known how much i really liked it while I was home so that I could have eaten more of it! But the members in the ward that I am serving in are super cool and we get fed about every night here! They make sure to try to get us nice and FAT!

Then on Friday we went on exchanges again with some of the Elders in my district which was super fun. I let my companion take a break and he got to leave the area and go into the other Elders area so he didn't have to worry about knowing directions and stuff. But he is learning his way around really fast which is super awesome! :) But we went out and we were actually able to get into some houses and it was super fun to be able to share messages with some of the people that we have not even ever met before! That was a blast! Then what made the night was when we were heading back on our bikes to the car in the apartment complex we were in we saw some chairs sitting next to the trash can. So we went over and made sure that they were not broken or anything and that they didn't stink or have anything gross on them. They were perfectly good chairs and so we took them and carried them on our bikes to the car and took them home! :) It was a great find! It was pretty funny!

I am still loving the mission even though it is super hard to be away from all of you guys (family & friends). Oh and you will be happy to know that we were well taken care of for Easter dinner and stuff yesterday! We got invited over to a families house in the ward who usually has had us over for the holidays! :) They had a fun little game that they did instead of the Easter egg hunt. The mom hid all of these clues all around the house that led them all over the house and also all the way down the street and then once they find the last clue then they get their Easter baskets! It was super fun and I think that is something that I want to try to do with my kids when I get older and stuff! :) I think the classic Easter egg hunts are for sure best for the little kids and I always loved them when I was little, but this is really cool with the teenagers and stuff! :) Anyways I love you all and I am so happy that I have this chance to come out for 2 years to be able to spread the things that I know to be true! You guys are all awesome and I cant wait to hear back from all of you! :)

Love,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Hello Everyone!!!

I miss you guys SO MUCH, but it is good to be out here doing the Lord’s work for a while so that not only do I get this experience of continuing to work hard, and work with all sorts of people, but it is really nice to also get to know God a little more. It is amazing how much you can tell that God plays such a huge role in our lives. 

This week there was something really cool that happened to us in particular. We had been teaching this really cool investigator back when I was with Elder Watters who was super interested. But then after about 2 lessons we found out that one of the other members of the family doesn't want us coming over anymore and that they are not really interested. That was super sad because the family was super cool and super open, too. 

Then we were out visiting people this week and our investigators name popped into my head randomly. One thing that I have learned so far on my mission is that when someone’s name pops in your head you better go over there as soon as you can. So we rode our bikes right over to their apartment and the door was wide open! :) I knocked on the door and someone said, "Hello?" Then I said, "Hey Hey! It’s the missionaries!" Her reply to that was "Oh come on in!" That was super surprising! So we walked in and found our investigator and the other family members were all there. We asked if there was anything that they needed help with, and they said no like most do. But we said, "Well hey, could we come by another time this week and share another one of the messages with you?" They said, "Yes! Tomorrow." So we went over there yesterday after church and had a really good discussion with them and they said that we could also come back again this next week and talk to them more! It was AWESOME! :D

It is really crazy that Elder Roberts is already over in India and that I am training again. I have only had 1 "normal transfer" my entire mission so far and all of the other ones I have ether been training, or being trained myself! Everybody knows me in the mission basically now because I have already been a trainer for 4 times now and I am only 9 months out. :) It is really cool to be able to have such a good experience so early on in my mission and I hope that I can continue to have good experiences while I am here for the 2 years! It also really helps that I have another pretty cool Trainee! His name is Elder Sean Michael McMichael ;b! Pretty funny because he is also from Idaho and he lives up in a town west of Nampa where it is apparently just complete country and he really enjoys talking about trucks, and basically anything else country! It is pretty funny.

On Wednesday we were able to go to transfer meeting and they called the entire mission there which is really out of the blue and does not happen very often at all. We were all kind of wondering what was going to be so special about this meeting and what was going to make it so different from all of the other ones that we have had so far since I have been on my mission. It was really cool though because President Toone just felt like all of us needed to get together to hear all of the training that he had for the trainers this transfer. It was a giant training meeting by President Toone which are always really good and really enjoyable to listen too! Also, another good thing about the meeting is that I was able to see Elder May, Elder Erikson, Elder Forson, and a ton of my other friends from the MTC and stuff! It is always fun for me to be able to catch up with all of those guys and see how everything is going!

Well, that is about all that I have for now other than THIS WEEK IS GOING TO BE THE BEST WEEK EVER! I have made a goal to make the district that I am serving in right now the closest district in the entire mission! My first area in the mission in Maryvale we always did fun activities whether it was basketball or hiking we always did something. So I am going to try to get an activity set up for every week on P-Day so that we are able to have fun and we are also going to be the MOST OBEDIENT missionaries in the entire mission! It is going to be way cool! We have set our goals high and we are going to hit them! :) I’m super Excited! Well I love all of you guys! 

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Oh and the picture with all of the missionaries in it that is attached is all of the mission "Posterity" (trainees) that Elder Forson and I got going!