Mommy!!!

Hey, that was super fun talking to all of you on Christmas day! :) It is so awesome how the members here are all so amazing and so willing to have us in their homes. Our ward mission leader is the one that let us use his home to Skype with all of you, and rather than just going up stairs he said, " Hey, lets all go outside and play with some of our new toys to give the missionaries a little bit of privacy." It was super funny! He is one of the best people that I have met on my mission so far! Anyways, I am super happy that I got to see all of you on Christmas. That was for sure by far the best part of the day. We had the whole zone together to play sports that night, but it did not even compare to Skyping.

The past couple of days have been super weird... Tons of people have been getting sick so we have not had many people that we taught, but the past couple of days I have not felt sick but I have not felt totally normal either. It has been really weird. But I am feeling good today! :) So I am super happy about that!!! Oh and don't worry, as much as I love all of you guys I am not homesick or anything! It is such a great blessing that I have not been super homesick yet on my mission. That would just make  everything super hard haha! :D

Yesterday a little miracle happened! :) Someone that I taught in one of my past areas was having a hard time for the past couple of months, and hasn't been seen by any of the members in the area for a while. It was super scary because I wanted to know what was going on, and I wanted to help in any way that I could... But as I have been thinking and praying for him it finally payed off! :) Yesterday on Facebook I got a message from Sister Hickman in Ahwatukee and she said that he was at church today!!! :) That was the best news that I have gotten all week! It was just such a relief to know that he is doing alright! :D

I think that is super cool about the lesson with that teacher. I know that if I were to be recorded all day every day I would act, and speak differently. It isn't even that I use bad language, or am a bad person or anything but I just know that I could always do better! :) That would be a super fun thing to do one of these days for sure! Thank you so much for telling me about that little story!

I have been stressing out like crazy for the past couple of days!!! :O We have Zone Meeting on Tuesday so Elder May and I need to prepare a big training for the entire zone which is already a little bit stressful. Then we found out that we were going to be teaching Gospel Principles on Saturday night before church which was crazy, and now we just found out that the Assistants want us to have the entire transfers training plan to them by tonight. :O IT IS GOING TO BE A CRAZY DAY! But at least I know that when this is all done I can go back to feeling normal again! But even though I am stressed out of my mind, I am still having a BLAST on my mission!!! :)

Love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

MOMMY!!!

Hey so I got both of those packages by the way! Thanks so much! I am having a hard time fighting the urge to open them though! ;) It is just so exciting to get mail on your mission that you always want to open it immediately! :) haha But I am waiting til CHRISTMAS!!! I love you tons and that's about all I have to say right now since I will see y'all TOMORROW!!! If we can skype at like 1:30-2ish that would be perfect!!! I am super stoked for it! Also thanks for the awesome letter again! It is always nice to get letters from home! ;)

Love,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Mommy!!!

That is super cool that the moms got up and told some of their missionary’s stories! :) That is a ton of missionaries out from our ward. I did not even realize that there were that many!!! 

You will also be happy to know that both of those people in Gila Bend that got interviewed for baptism got baptized this past Saturday!!! It sounded like it was an awesome experience and now those same Sister Missionaries have someone else that should be getting baptized very soon also! It is going to be an amazing next transfer! There is another area in this Zone that has always had the reputation of not teaching a ton called Ajo (Pronounced Ah-ho). The Sisters that are down there right now are doing such an amazing job at staying motivated! They just recently put the first person in a while on date for baptism for this month! It is going to be super awesome to see this guy as he is preparing for baptism! Elder May and I are taking a 2 hour drive down there to interview him on Wednesday! I am super stoked!!! Amazing things are going to be happening this transfer and I am super excited to see what all the Lord has in store for us!

Last night was transfer calls........................................... And..................................... Elder May and I are staying together for at least 6 MORE WEEKS!!! :) When President Toone called last night to let us know who all was getting transferred he only said that one person was leaving the zone. So the zone basically stayed the same! :) We were so excited and I am sure that President and Sister Toone were able to tell how excited we were due to all of the cheering in the background! :D It was super funny because when they told us that we yelled, "That is DELICIOUS!!!" Then when the phone call was about to end President Toone said, "Elder's, you are delicious as well." It was probably one of the funniest things that I have ever heard President Toone say since I have been on my mission! :) It was way funnier in the moment though since it was like 11:00pm when they ended up calling us! haha

I am super excited for this upcoming week because we have some good people that we are going to go and see! The teaching in this area has really picked up lately. Especially within the past week! Last night we had a super fun time because we are teaching 2 kids in separate households that have ADD/ADHD. They are super hard to keep focused, and they never want to sit still just like any other 10 year old kid. But we made these super fun little games that we can teach the lessons to them in a fun way that gets them moving around. We made like that fun little carnival game that you try to throw the bean bags through the holes in the board! We wrote numbers of principals for the Restoration of the Gospel on each one of the little holes and when they made one of the balls through the hole we went over one of the principals with them! It was really fun and it worked even better than what we expected!!! Then the second time we went over and taught the Plan of Salvation, but we did it using play dough! It was super fun because we got the whole family involved and we were all making little things with the play dough that resembled something in the Plan of Salvation! It was a really good experience! :D

I know that no matter what I do while I am here on my mission, nothing is going to happen without the Spirit. If I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing then it will be impossible for me to have the Spirit and to testify in the powerful way that a worthy priesthood holder could! :) I love seeing how when we do what we can, people just seem to come up and want what we have! What we have is so great, and it is the greatest gift that we could possibly give anybody this Christmas Season! I love you all tons and can’t wait to Skype with you NEXT WEEK!!! Oh and BT-Dubs... You won’t be getting an email from me until Tuesday next week because we are going to be having our Christmas Mission Conference going on! :) So don’t worry. . . I am just fine, and I am still alive!

Love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Mommy!!!

It was really cool with how smoothly the Thanksgiving dinner went though. The family worked super hard all day to prepare the meal since they were not originally planning on 4 missionaries coming over too. They pulled it off super nicely! Elder May and I had a blast because we were able to keep the little boy entertained while the parents were finishing up dinner (btw we did offer to help with the food)!!! :D The little boy is about 2 years old and he kept on playing with dinosaurs with us! One super funny thing that he did is he took like this little toy temple, and he put it on his head and yelled, "I'M THE TEMPLE!!!" Totally would not have been nearly as funny if I had done it, but he pulled it off!

That's super funny that the missionaries there are in a triple companionship! I always hate when I am put in those!!! It is super fun depending on who you are with, but it is always a little bit more awkward when you go up to a door, or someone on the street with 3 missionaries. I feel like people find it super intimidating! haha But I am sure that they are all great missionaries and they will do just fine in that companionship!

This past week was a pretty good week! We are teaching some really cool people this week, but are also kind of struggling with finding people in our area... Our area is still the best in the entire world though!!! :) I love the ward that we are in, and all of the members are super supportive of the missionary work that is going on here! I really appreciate that! I can’t wait for this next week and all of the miracles that are going to happen! Tuesday was a super rough day though for sure! We had like 7 appointments set up with some people, and only 1 of them actually happened... :( But I told Elder May, "Its a good thing that we are the HAPPIEST MISSIONARIES in the MISSION!" President Toone sure knew what he was doing when he put us here together! 

One thing that is super cool though about this past transfer is that although we are struggling with finding some new people to teach and all, the zone is doing amazing things!!! There is a place here called Gila Bend that is a super small town where everybody knows everybody! The missionaries there have not baptized in a super long time. But everybody has been so excited this past month, and they have 2 people getting baptized this next weekend!!! I am so excited for them!!! Oh and no big deal... I INTERVIEWED SANTA FOR BAPTISM!!! The guy that I interviewed down in Gila Bend plays Santa at all of the schools and old folks homes down there, and also up here in Maricopa! It was super funny!!! :) Thanks for all that you do and I love you so much!!!

Love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!!!

Yeah, I thought that was super cool how that lady called and asked our moms what we wanted for thanksgiving! :) That lady actually ended up getting sick which was a bummer... But she was so awesome and passed down the information to the family that fed us! :) It was amazing!!! They made the sweet potato stuff with the brown sugar and marsh mallows on it! It was so good and I really enjoyed being there with that family! In the morning it was super cool because we got permission to go to our wards Turkey Bowl!!! As soon as we got the OK to go, Elder May and I thought it would be funny to go in our missionary clothes!!! We showed up in our white shirts, ties, slacks, and running shoes! :) It was the best idea that we could have possibly had for sure!!! But it got even better when we found out that the field that we were going to be playing on had been flooded by the sprinklers that morning! We were running up and down the field, falling down, and getting tagged in the mud! Our clothes got pretty dirty, but not nearly as dirty as I thought that they would! You will be happy to know that I do still know how to do laundry though, so all of the clothes are just fine, and I bleached my white shirt! :) It was so much fun! Even though I know that it would have been a ton of fun back home for thanksgiving, I think that this was the best thanksgiving that could have possibly happened on my mission. I love it!

That is super cool that you all got to get together and see each other a few times this past week! I remember when we would always have a bunch of big feasts, and a huge one with the whole family at Uncle Ben’s house! That is always one of the best parts of Thanksgiving, getting over there and hanging out with the family! I love that!!! :) 

It is really funny because we are going to a place today that reminds me so much of their house! They have a barn with pool tables and stuff in it, and then they have a volley ball court right next to it! The only difference is that they have a golf course too, so we are going to have a super fun P day today! :) I am super excited!  Oh, and also for the movie that we got to watch! We watched...... FROZEN!!! It was such a good movie! Elder May and I set up a projector in the relief society room and put the movie on in there with popcorn and stuff! It turned out super well, and it was really cool/weird to be able to watch a movie like that on my mission! The end message that we got from it though is not to get engaged right after your mission. Otherwise your fiance might just end up being the one that locks you in a room when you have just gotten hit in the heart with a thing of ice... That would for sure be no fun! :D haha It was way fun though and I love the part when the snowman is talking and he says, "Hey, I'm not sure if this helps... but, I found a staircase that goes exactly where we need to go..." It was so funny! I think he is for sure my favorite character in that movie!!! :)

That is way cool about Brenden's talk!!! He is going to be such an amazing missionary and I am so happy that he is getting out there to do work! :) I cannot wait to hear about the experiences that he has in Argentina! :) It seems like it was just yesterday that I was over at their house saying goodbye to them... but now I am more then half way done... CRAZY!!! Make sure to tell the Elwood's that I love them, and wish Brenden GOOD LUCK on his mission!!! 

Thank you for keeping me up to date on everything that is going on back home! I am really loving my missionary life out here in Maricopa right now! :) This is the place to be, and we are all so excited about the work here!!! Since Elder May and I got here we have seen such great miracles in this area! :) When we came into the area we did not even have 1 investigator, but now it is really cool because this next week we are meeting with so many awesome families! Keep me in your prayers, and specifically those families that we will be seeing this week!!! I am really excited for the miracles to come this next week!!! :)

I love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Mommy!!!

Thank you for that awesome letter once again even though I seem to say that every time that I write to you! :) I think that game sounds super fun where you have to use a word from the Bible Dictionary in a door approach! We will have to try that for sure some time! But as for the whole Punching game, we are not hurt yet, so it is still all fun and games! I am having a blast here in Maricopa still with Elder May! Most of the time when you are together with a companion it gets to the point where you just get completely sick of each other, but it is really cool because we are super good friends! It is going to be a super fun rest of the transfer, and hopefully we stay for a couple of transfers! :)

This past week was a little bit less busy then what we would prefer but we were able to go and talk to a ton of the members, and get to know the area a little bit better! It was an amazing week in that way! We also had ANOTHER zone meeting where Elder May and I trained and we had some of the sisters put together a "Title of Liberty" for the Maricopa zone that has all of our goals written down on it! It turned out super cool! Now the same sisters have a member in their ward that works at like a screen printing store and we are all going and getting shirts to get some stuff printed on them today! I will be sure to take a picture in it so that you know what they say! :) They will be super Legit!!! I am super excited for Thanksgiving this week because this morning we got off the phone with President Toone and he said that we can watch a MOVIE!!! :) I have not been able to watch a movie my entire mission so far, so it is going to be really cool, and super fun for sure! We are debating on weather we want to watch like "Secondhand Lions" or "Frozen" so we will see what everyone wants to do!

I promised that I would send you a ton of the pictures that Elder May and I have taken so I will sent those to you now!!! We have taken TONS of pictures for sure!!! Love you so much Mom!!!

Love you tons,

Elder Brandon Wallentine

Mommy!!!

I am so grateful for little things and big things that help our testimonies of the gospel have a chance to grow! It is impossible to not believe that God loves us!!! I use the story about the missionaries coming to our hotel in Belgium a ton when we are teaching with members, and investigators both. It is so amazing!!! I also told the story that dad told to us about when he was in the Branch Presidency and was asked to make a comment in the branch meeting. I love that story because obviously the Spirit whispered to dad what he needed to say! It is so amazing how such little things take such high priority in God's eyes, just because he knows that it would mean the world to us! :D

One amazing thing that I have learned on my mission is how important preparation really is! When we get up in the morning we have a strict schedule!!! We get up at 6:30 to exercise, then we have to be all ready for the day by 8:00. Right at 8:00 we have personal study time where we get to spiritually prepare ourselves for the day, and all of our lessons that are going to be happening that day. It is such an amazing time, and it is so important to not only have our bodies ready for what is going to be happening that day, but we NEED to be spiritually ready as well! As we study and prepare for our lessons, not all of the lessons will go exactly the way that we studied for. But it is really cool because when we prepare something, God will help us and tell us what exactly needs to be said, and he will tell us when exactly we need to say it!!!

This week has been pretty eventful for me as well! :) We had a great P Day on last Monday! We all got together as a Zone and played some capture the flag, and soccer. That was super fun because all of us in this zone are just super happy to be here! I have really noticed since I have been here in this area how much attitude really affects people. Elder May and myself have really been trying to keep the HYPE up about missionary work, and it has worked miracles so far! :) We are focusing on asking everyone that we come in contact with for referrals!!! This morning when we talked with President Toone on the phone our zone got called out for having a ton of referrals! It was really cool because that is one of the biggest things that we are focusing on right now! We are already seeing miracles happen in the zone because of our focus!!!

On Wednesday we had something super crazy happen! So our bishop gave us some lists of some people to go by. So naturally we are going to go by anybody that the Bishop tells us too, since he is basically awesome!!! But when we stopped by one of the houses the people didn't answer... SHOCKER... however, Elder May introduced me to a game called "Prius Punch" and so we have been playing that game ever since we have been companions for the past week and a half!!! There was a Prius in the driveway across the street from the house that we had just knocked on. So needless to say, I saw it first and yelled, "PRIUS PUNCH!!!" and hit Elder May in the arm. But then is when the cool thing happened. After I did that I turned to Elder May and said, "Hey, lets go by that house with the Prius in the driveway!" He agreed and we walked up and knocked on the door! A guy came to the door, and before he could say anything NOT 1 BUT 2, Great Danes came out of the house and we started to pet them! They were super cool and of course they were super HUGE... I guess that is why they are called GREAT Danes haha... But after the dogs went back inside we introduced ourselves and he LET US IN!!! We started talking to him a little bit and found out that his wife's' family are members, and they actually have some cousins that are out on missions right now! It was a really cool experience and we are really trying to meet up with them again soon! He told us that for the next visit he is going to have his wife there too! I am super stoked!!! 

You're the best and I am so glad that I know that I have your support!!! :) SEE YOU ON CHRISTMAS!!! 

Love you tons!!

Elder Brandon Wallentine