Wednesday, January 21, 1987

Dear Shanell,

We took my parents to Rundle Mall and did some shopping on Wednesday. Then we went to Cleland and got to hold some koalas and feed kangaroos. It was very fun!



Afterward we went to our tea for our farewell at President Gray's. We had lamb, vegetables, roast potatoes, and for dessert--Pavlova. After tea, we bore our testimonies and mentioned the gifts we've acquired on our missions. I mentioned testimony, tolerance, and appreciation for my family. 

The next morning we drove down to the beach in Genelg, Adelaide. Then we went to a leather shop and got some seamless coin purses. They are made from part of a kangaroo. They cost $9 each Australian, $6 USA. Then we went to a horseman's supply shop and my dad bought a "Snowy River" hat. At 11 a.m. we went back to the mission home and packed our stuff into the car and president's van. We went to the airport and Maureen and Daryl Pierce, Peter Hollow, President and Sister Gray, and the Assistants, Elders Bleyl and Jones, were all there. We said good-bye and boarded that wonderful airplane. We flew to Sydney! It was huge!! There were people everywhere! 

On Friday we went to the Sydney Temple and did a session. I learned a lot in the temple and did a bit of asking Heavenly Father about Shanell and I getting married and I felt really good about it! I love her! After the temple, we went to the Sydney Opera House for a tour and it was interesting. It has over 1 million tiles on the roof. We then went to the Botanical Gardens and it was really pretty. We had pizza for tea in the apartment. Being almost off a mission is really weird. It will be fun to get home, but weird to get back into work, school, dating, etc.

On Saturday we went to Canberra. It is the capital of Australia and very pretty. We saw the new Parliament house under construction and the old one. We saw a war memorial and got to go up in the Telecom lookout on Black Mountain in Canberra to overlook the city. It was pretty!

On Sunday we went to church and then met the assistants for the Sydney mission and also the mission president, President Hingy. They showed us the mission home and office. It was interesting. Bruce R. McKonkie was the mission president in that home. We went to the Blue Mountains and saw a formation called the 3 Sisters. We saw a canyon that looked like the Grand Canyon without the rocky bottom. We could have gotten a ride on a air-cable car, but it closed right before we got there. We ate at a place called "Tom's Restaurant" and it had excellent pizza, but lousy spaghetti. 

On Monday we checked out of our motel in Sydney and sat in the airport from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. At 3:30 we flew to Auckland, New Zealand. We went to our motel--after going to the wrong one and getting called "bloody Americans"--and Adams and I got permission to take a dip in the swimming pool . It was fun!

On Tuesday, we packed up (again) and drove to Hamilton, New Zealand where we met ex-Elder Alby White after doing a session in the temple. It was neat! The temple is so pretty! I loved it! Each time I go to the temple, I can't help getting homesick for Shanell.  Later White showed us around Hamilton and also a few sheepskin and souvenir shops. Afterward, we went to the house where he lives and a lady he called "Gran" fed us all tea. She was super nice! We got permission to stay and watch some movies, but they were crap so I tried to sleep. Finally, at midnight we left. Alby cut my hair and it is short! I think it looks okay. I'm getting ready to be home. Elder Adams is cool, but he gets on my nerves sometimes.

On Wednesday we drove to a place called Rotorua and saw some boiling mud pits and a Maori village. It was neat. As we walked over a bridge, Maori kids would say, "I'll jump off the bridge for 20 cents." When I told them I was broke, they lost interest in me. After, we went to a place called Agrodome where we saw an incredible exhibition of sheep-shearing and how well the sheep dogs are trained. It was fantastic! After the demo, we got to have a BBQ and it was great! The staff cooked it for us. On our way back to Hamilton, we saw deer grazing in pastures just like sheep and some other beautiful sights. New Zealand is gorgeous! 

Tomorrow is the big day and I am so excited to see you!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Wednesday, January 14, 1987

Dear Shanell,

On Wednesday I forced my body to go out knocking! After 2 1/2 hours, however, I wished I hadn't. My feet would not go further. Both of my ankles are swollen up like balloons and my feet hurt! Elder Adams and I tracted together today. On the last door we knocked, no one answered so I asked if we could sit down. We sat down on the front patio of the house. After 5 minutes, a lady named Linda finally came out and we set a return appointment for tomorrow at 2!! It was neat!

Elder Adams tried out a new approach. We took a tape player and played an excerpt from "Our Heavenly Father's Plan" and it really caught some people's attention. I think some people are just afraid they might learn something! If only they would understand that God loves them and that he does have a plan for them! I know He does! I wish everyone would just listen to us.

On Thursday Elder Steed and I knocked together and Elders Adams and Angst knocked together on the opposite side of the street. Well, I heard a song by Abba coming from a house on their side and I liked the song, so I turned to Elder Steed and said, "Let's do that house!" We cut across the street and much to our surprise, we got in the house!! It was cool! While we were in there, Elder Adams and Angst knocked on the door and when I answered, they flipped out! They were a bit lost why we were there. It was funny!

On Friday I went to the doctor about my sunburn and he told me to rest and not walk too much. At about 4 Sisters Dulics and Kuhn picked us up in downtown Adelaide after us taking a train there, and took us to a family's home named Klasowski. They fixed Elder Adams and I tea. We went to see Peter Hollow for a while and then the sisters dropped us off at the train station. It took forever for us to get home because it stopped for 45 minutes while the police arrested some Aborigines for fighting. Elder Adams and I met a few people and got 3-5 golden questions asked. I explained about Mormon and our nickname to 3 teenagers and it was neat! We finally arrived back at our flat after a guy and his wife offered us a ride from the train stop. They were very nice people.

On Saturday we went tracting and then had lunch and studied while Elders Adams and Steed taught. Later we went to Inatio Ben's for tea and it was a buffet. It was great! Inatio and his wife, Lynn, brought us home and we said good-bye to them. They are neat people and I love them!

On Sunday we got up, got dressed, went to correlation meeting and then to church. Brother Pilkington is now the Elder's Quorum President and he'll be a good one. We arranged for a young boy, Carl Gooley, to get a ride to church and he arrived with Chris Maude. He really enjoyed church. He is 14 years old and very nice. Later Elder Adams and I went to tea at Maureen Pierce's home. Then we went to the Bowey's. They showed us the movie "Man From Snowy River". It was fun to compare it to the poem by "Banjo" Paterson. It is 3 pages long and I have it memorized. It's neat!

I found out that Carl's parents told Elder Maile that he didn't enjoy church. I know that is a lie and it made me a little upset. It's hard to believe my mission has come to an end. I am scared to go home, but the excitement overpowers the fear.

Monday was one of the most exciting days! My mom and dad got here at 6 pm and Elder Adams and I were officially released into the custody of my parents. We all went to Waterfall Gully. They were excited to be here. I am really going to miss Elders Steed and Angst. In my interview with President Gray today, it hit kind of hard that I am going home. I feel kind of excited and lost already.

On Tuesday Peter Hollow picked us up and we went to the Flinders Range. We got lost and drove for 12 hours. We did see a lot of the outback from Adelaide to almost Leigh Creek above Port Augusta. We never really saw the gorges, though. We rented a Ford Meteor at the airport and dropped my parents off at the hotel, and then Adams and I went back to the mission home where we are staying.

Love,
Elder Wallentine


Wednesday, January 7, 1987

Dear Shanell,

Happy New Year!! I can't believe it is 1987!!

On Wednesday Brother Liakim-Atomgi picked Elder Adams and I up and took us to visit a firl who really is "elderized" over Elder Wooley who was in this area. She has no confidence in working out problems with her parents so she can get baptized. After we came home and ate, we went tracting. It felt good to go out again! We didn't get a lot out of it though. One guy said he didn't believe in God and when he was asked why, he said, "Why would someone so perfect and wise create something as stupid as me?" What a response! I conclude that atheists have no self-images.

Elders Angst and Steed dropped Elder Adams and I off at Sister Dulic's flat and we took some photos. Then Sister Thomas and Roberts went with us to visit and inactive investigator. They weren't home, so they took us to the office so we could pick up the van to go up to Christie's Beach. We want to visit the Haumens to say good-bye before they left for Perth. They are Maori. Before we visited them, we visited a cool family that Elder Adams knew that fed us tea.

On New Year's Day we did goal setting packs that President Gray made up for the mission's 1987 goals. Then we had a zone meeting and shared our goals with each other followed by a potluck dinner. When we returned to our flat, Chris and Diane Lee were there and took Elder Adams and I to a Christmas and New Year exhibition display. It was cool! They also ordered a pizza for us to have when they dropped us off.

On Friday Sisters Thomas, Roberts, Whitfield, and Kellogg stopped in and talked for a bit on their way to Berri and Mildura. We got some photos with them before they left. Chris, Diane, Amy, and Zack Lee came by later and visited us. It was fun!  We said good-bye to them, too. Later on we went tracting and were able to place 2 Book of Mormons. It was fun to tract again!

On Saturday Elder Angst and I tracted from 10:30 am to 1 pm and then visited Lynette Asher for a bit. Then we met the other elders (Adams and Steed) at our flat and set some goals for next week.

On Sunday we went to our meetings and then made call-backs. We were able to teach one discussion, but we didn't get any return appointments. On Monday for P-day, we did our laundry and then went to the beach. I got baked! I am as red as a lobster! Elder Angst and I were doing call backs to an inactive member named Mike. I started feeling very sick and passed out several times. We came to the conclusion that I had heatstroke. It felt miserable.

I was still feeling sick on Tuesday, so I was forced to stay in the flat all day. I hope I start feeling better soon.

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Wednesday, December 31, 1986

Dear Shanell,

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!

On Christmas Eve I helped President Gray do transfers. I get to go out to Elizabeth the end of December, and I'm excited! Then we went caroling with 5 of the office Elders and Sisters Dulics, Kuhn, Hoffman, and Fawcett.

On Christmas day we went to the Barossa Valley and arrived at the Charltons at about 10:30 am. Elders Chapman, Steed, and I got some letter-writing sets from them. They are neat! Then Elder Chapman got dressed up like Santa and the kids got little stockings and even the adults sat on his lap. He got very hot!







We ate dinner with Peter Hollow and visited with his friend, Joseph, whom he baptized on his mission in Melbourne. Then we went up to the Snell's home and it was fun! They gave us boxes of candy! 

On Friday we had a Book of Mormon marathon. Elders Bleyl and Webb started at 5:30 am and finished at midnight. A grand total of 18 hours! Pretty good! Since I had already done a marathon, I decided to study the Old Testament. I gained a better understanding of the book of Ruth and how it fits in with the Bible. 

On Saturday we drove President and Sister Gray to the airport to go to Port Lincoln. Then the whole office staff watched "It's a Miracle" at the President's home. 

On Sunday a man by the name of Brad Pierce called and asked to come to church. He is a member from Provo, Utah, and we found out he is a world class tennis player. He played Boris Becker, Jimmy Conners, and Pat Cash (Australian). He is in Australia to play again. Elders Bleyl and Webb brought him to our ward and he was called to bear his testimony. It is neat to say I've rubbed shoulders with him. 

On Monday I spent $200 on souvenirs. Elder Steed and I went to Rundle Mall and I bought 2 cuddly koala bears, a book on South Australia, 7 postcards, and a big Red Kangaroo skin. Afterward we called everyone about transfers and I packed up to leave the office flat the next morning. I hope I can be a good follower to my zone leaders. It will be humbling.

On Tuesday I loaded my stuff in a car and Elders Angst, Steed, and I drove to our new flat. It is the nicest flat in the mission. It is beautiful! It was a very hot and humid day and we had stayed up so late talking the night before that I crashed on my new bed. At 6 pm we went to a zone meeting. Elder Norris told me to be quiet twice and Elder Zurzolo just jokingly leaned over to me and said, "Eating humble pie, huh?" It was funny.

At 7:45 Elders Steed, Angst, and I picked up Elder Adams from the airport. He came back from Alice Springs and it was so great to see him again! He is cool! We took him to visit with President Gray and then went back to our flat to get to know each other better. It was great to see him again!

Love,
Elder Wallentine 




Wednesday, December 24, 1986

Dear Shanell,

On Saturday we had a great zone meeting with the city zone. Elder Steed spoke on selfishness and it was quite good. Before the zone meeting, we saw Elder Nielsen off. President Gray took him to the airport and we just waved good-bye. It was rather sad because he was cutting his mission early for football. He does not receive an honorable release and he requested to go home. He caused a lot of problems.

Later than afternoon I was working on a presentation for the Schley family about the Bible and the Book of Mormon at at 6:20 we got a call from Sue Schley canceling the appointment and letting us know that Gunther and her are separated. That stinks! We will just have to pray for them so they can be baptized as a family. Later on Elders Chapman, Bleyl, Webb, Steed, and I went to Waterfall Gully and Hungry Jacks.

On Sunday Elders Chapman, Steed, and I went to church and Mike was there. I about gagged on the smell of smoke on his breath! He said he hadn't smoked! Oh boy!! We've still got a lot of work to do!

On Monday Chris and Diane Lee came and picked up Elder Chapman and I and took us to the Adelaide Zoo. It was pretty fun! The animals were really neat to see. Afterward we went to K-Mart and bought some "Rambo" gifts for the Christmas Party tomorrow. We also went to "Northside Souvenirs" and I bought 2 seamless coin pouches.

We had our mission Christmas party on Tuesday. It was very good! There was a devotional at 9 am and then everyone divided by zones and had workshops with all 3 sets of city zone leaders running them. They were quite good, too. At 12:15 we ate lunch and had the gift exchange. I got a Pavlova kit. Then each zone put on a skit. They were funny! The office staff also put on a skit, and although it was a bit unorganized, it was fun. We had a great time doing it! We spent most of the night cleaning up the cultural hall and when we got back to our flat, it was almost midnight--Christmas Eve. We called Sisters Dulics, Kuhn, Hoffman, Fawcett, Allen, Thomas, Clough, and Tan and sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to them. The sisters from Mildura and Wyalla zones are staying with Sisters Dulics and Hoffman.

Merry Christmas!

Love,
Elder Wallentine


Wednesday, December 17, 1986

Dear Shanell,

Last Wednesday we help the Marion Zone's conference and it went pretty great! The missionaries needed a fire lit underneath them though. I wondered if they were ever going to wake up because some of them acted like zombies. Elder Bleyl, President Gray, and myself put on a program suggested by the missionary committee on the commitment pattern and it was quite excellent. We didn't get all the excitement that we were looking for, but the excitement grew as the meeting continued. At noon we had a great lunch prepared by the Relief Societies from different wards.We appreciate them for doing all that work and always give them a thank you note. After lunch we had a testimony meeting and Sister Benson and Elder James shared theirs first since they are leaving in 4 days. It will be sad to see them go. Sister Benson is one of my favorite sister missionaries and I have grown to love her like a sister. I love to hear others bear their testimonies and feel the Holy Ghost.

We visited Mike again and taught him about the Word of Wisdom. He is doing pretty well on his smoking. We went to the Goings for tea. They are the couple missionaries that work in the office and they are pretty funny. It was a great meal!

On Saturday I was in the office working on the transfer list and Elders Casillas and Young came in and said there was an emergency. Apparently, they were mucking around and Elders de Lannoy and Urry locked Elders Young and Casillas out of the flat. They tried to get through the window and Elder de Lannoy tried to hold the window shut by putting a little pressure on the window. Obviously, he pushed too hard and put his hand through the window. His hand was cut badly and glass went flying out at Elders Young and Casillas. It's a miracle neither were hurt. Elder de Lannoy was admitted into the hospital and will have to have surgery and maybe a skin graft on his thumb. I called President Gray, who was in Port Augusta for a zone conference. He called the missionary department and de Lannoy's parents and let them know what happened and that he would be okay. We went to visit him in the hospital and he was able to joke around even though his hand was bandaged like a boxing glove. Seeing the blood made me weak.

We left the hospital and taught the first discussion to Gunther, Sue, Kylee, and Andrew (the baby) Schley. This was a referral we got out in Modbury last week. It was probably the best discussion I have ever taught and the Spirit was stronger than I ever felt when we bore our testimonies to them. Sue is excommunicated and had tears in her eyes while we were teaching her. When we went to leave, we asked the father if we could have a prayer and he said we could, but that he was not going to stick around for it. During the prayer, I heard him walk quietly back in the room and stand in the corner. We blessed each family member individually and I know that they really felt the Spirit. After the prayer it was neat to see the changed look on Gunther's face. He keeps telling us that we can't convert him, but then he insists in clever ways that we come back when he is there. I already love this family heaps!

On Sunday we attended the Torrens Ward where President and Sister Gray spoke. It was a great meeting. Then we went to a baptism in Marion. Her name is Elizabeth and when she was 12 years old (7 years ago) the missionaries knocked on her door and the father let them in. On the second visit, the father got in an argument with the missionaries, but there was an I-care member there and he looked at the little girl and said, "You don't understand a lot of this now but when you get older, give the missionaries a listen because this is all true." She remembered that advice and asked the missionaries to come teach her. She is 19 now. The amazing thing is that the missionary who originally taught her was from Queensland originally and moved to Adelaide. There were some arrangements made and he was able to baptize her! Also the member who bore testimony to her called her from Pt. Pirie and his name is Coz Russo. That truly was a miracle and something you might read in a church book. It was sure neat to see all the things that came out of that baptism and though her parents took her car away and are being very stupid about it, she continues to be an example!

Thanks for all your support!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Wednesday, December 10, 1986

Dear Shanell,

On Thursday we had some good experiences with missionary work. We got ready by 6:45 a.m. and opened with Elders Grover and Platero. It went quite well and we studied with them and had breakfast. It was a good experience and I think they enjoyed it as well.  At 1 p.m. we went to the baptism of Mike's sister's best friend. It was sad that we got there after the baptism, but we made it in time for the confirmation. Mike was there and so was Peter Hollow's mother who is getting baptized this Sunday. She was the pianist for the baptism. Eddy Grzybowycz is now the ward mission leader in Torrens Ward and Brother Kelmesz is in the bishopric. They also have a new bishop and his first priority is missionary work. It is exciting! 

Elder Webb is in the office now since Elder Humphries is in the mission home with a broken leg. Elder Steed and I worked at finding some investigators. One man who had committed to baptism got in a car accident and ended up in a nursing home. We have to find out which one and then we will baptize him. We showed Mike "Man's Search for Happiness" which is the most outdated filmstrip in the whole church, but it has great meaning. We talked to him about giving up booze and smokes so he could be baptized on December 14. We will continue to fast and pray for him. We are going to help him pain his back room that was damaged from smoke and fire. He is a great man!

We also set an appointment with David Eglington for next Tuesday. He is a busy man, but we'll teach him and baptize his whole family. Then we took a drive in the hills to a place called Water Fall Gully and we saw the prettiest waterfall. We hiked a bit and then came home.

On Friday Elder Steed and I went to help Mike paint his back room that had caught fire. It had smoke damage all over and after the first coat, it already looked better.




On Monday we had to drive a half hour just to tell a lady we wouldn't be able to come dig up her lawn today. That night we got our handouts ready for a training meeting with the DL and ZL. Then we wrestled and beat up Elders Steed and Webb and we all had a great time. I got 2 bruises and a sore arm.

On Tuesday I bought "A Man From Snowy River" hat. It cost $57. It is a nice hat. Elder Steed and I went and visited Mike and he hadn't had a smoke all day. We set his baptism for Sunday. It will be great! 

Love,
Elder Wallentine