Dear Shanell,

Last Tuesday we went tracting in the pouring rain. We got drenched! We visited the Whites and they fed us hamburgers. Then we went to visit the Elders Quorum president, but he wasn't home. His wife was babysitting a young boy and the boy's dad came and we gave him some pamphlets and a Book of Mormon. We had a great talk with him about the church. We also visited the Woodums and Cooks.

On Thursday we met with the Elder's Quorum President and discussed which inactive members we can visit. I think we will have plenty to do for a while. Then we visited a man named John Costigan and his wife who are investigators, but they don't seem too interested. After that we wanted to visit Cindy Shultz, but she wasn't home so we went to the bank and post office.

On Friday we visited the Dugans and set up a chess game for later so that we can get to know one of the kids who lives there that is not a member. Then we went to visit Sister Stewart and Jose Lang was there, too, so we set up an appointment with her for later. After dinner we went over to see Ross Reed and he is super cool. He is not a member but we are working with him. We also visited David Mann and his wife. She is a member, but he is not. He would make an excellent member though!

On Saturday we went to see Sister White. Her son, Leslie is going to go tracting with us next week. It should be good. He listens to Iron Maiden, Wasp, Black Sabbath, and other hard rock groups. Today he was being quite nice to me and he was very calm until my companion started bothering him. Even though he was jokingly hitting him, it ruined all the trust I had built up with him. I was kind of upset, but I'll just keep trying. After that we went and invited Cindy Shultz to come to church the next day with her daughter and her daughter's friend. We also went to visit Stuart, but he wasn't home. His sister said he was interested in going so we decided to stop by before church. We had tea at the Ernesties that night. It was fun talking to them!

On Sunday we took Kylee Shultz and two of her friends to church and the girls were not treated nicely. Two of the girls said they would never come back. The member girls and boys ridiculed them and would not quit harassing them! It made me so mad! The members should know better than that! We are going to talk to the branch president and President Wells about it.

My companion showed me what is known as the "Southern Cross". It is a constellation of stars that can only be seen from the southern hemisphere. I also found out what "Whyalla" means. It means windy city. That fits very well right now because the wind is blowing dust and leaves everywhere! I received your package yesterday! It meant so much to me! The cookies were great!  The missionary work here is starting to pick up now. We got 7 new referrals from another investigator and we got an inactive x-Branch President coming to church again, too! He is a super man. There is an investigator we have that is really having a hard time with fighting the devil's temptations, so Monday we asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing. She said yes.  I know that it is helping her. There was such a peaceful feeling there! I love using God's priesthood to help others.

On Monday we visited Eon Clark and met Tony Morrison. He actually attended Ricks College and at a football game against Dixie College, there was a contest to see who could kick a football through the goal posts and win a prize of $5,000. Well, Tony did it and won the prize! Tony is a great guy and we had a nice time talking to him. Eon and his wife are super neat, too.

I am not perfect yet, but I am learning how to love everyone. I am also becoming more patient. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Dear Shanell,

Last Sunday Cindy Shultz came to church and brought her daughter. That was great! We also talked to a friend of hers who is an alcoholic. His name is Doug and he is 43 years old. As he was talking to us today, I almost cried my heart out for him. He wants to return to his wife, but he said he has to quite drinking first. We told him to pray every time he wants to drink. He was crying and he kept saying he wants to come to God. I really think we can help him. He definitely has the desire to change. Later we went to a fireside and President Baker spoke on self esteem and feeling good about yourself. It was very helpful and I loved it. He shared this poem with us:

If you think you are beaten you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win but think you can't.
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
for out in the world we find
success begins with a fellows will.
It's all in the strength of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
you can ever win a prize!

Life's battles don't always go
to the stronger or faster man.
But, sooner or later the man who wins
is the man who thinks he can!

I honestly believe that poem is true! We have to think positive. Positive thoughts can never lead to unhappiness.

On Monday we went and visited Doug and Cindy Shultz. We also visited one other investigator and two other members and went door knocking for a couple of hours.

On Tuesday we tried to visit Jose Lang, Sister Stuart, and Doug, but none of them were home. We were able to visit Ross Reed's wife, however, and we played "footie" with her son and mucked around with the bull terrier named duke. Then we visited Sister Bell who is the sweetest lady. She wears a tubing to help her breathe and could complain if she wanted to, but is always so positive. She is knitting me a "jumper" or sweater. It has a picture of an Aussie flag shaped like Australia on the front and down the sleeve it says "I Love Australia" with a heart for love. She is super nice and enjoys knitting. It only takes her 3 days to knit a whole sweater.

I have learned that nobody here likes Idaho. They think we all grow potatoes. My companion always knocks Idaho. Elder Toi and my companion just walked in with our 2 week supply of drinking water. The tap water here is gross! It comes out looking like dirty mop-water, so we drink rain water.

We get up each day at 6:30. That part is not very enjoyable, but I love teaching! It is a great experience to share the only true gospel with people. I do know honestly that this church is true!

That's all for now.

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Dear Shanell,

Last Wednesday we did our laundry and bought groceries. Then we were planning to go bowling with Elders Harp and Toi, but the league was practicing so we went golfing instead. It was my first time golfing and I loved it. I did not do really well, but I had a great time laughing about it.

On Friday we went tracting and a BIG dog lunged out at us. I never want to own a dog! We also had 4 or 5 doors shut in our faces as soon as we said the words, "From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." I wish they would listen to our message before they chase us off!

On Saturday we went to fill the baptismal font for a convert baptism from Port Augusta. Then we tracted for about an hour and got in a discussion with a man who said that we should not push religion down people's throats. He said that Christianity is not meetings, it is helping others. We explained about the programs the church has in place to help people. He kept arguing with us and about miracles and how they don't exist and how everything can be explained scientifically. After that we talked to him about why we were here and where we came from. He looked puzzled and said, "Do you know where we came from?" We explained to him the Plan of Salvation which is the 2nd discussion. It was kind of funny because he had told us he didn't want to talk about religion, just relief programs the church has for the poor. I love trying to teach people. It is a challenge to feel love for them while they are cutting down the church, but it is fun to watch their reaction when we just smile as they are yelling at us. After the baptism we went to dinner and then saw a recording of General Conference. We got to watch them on Saturday and Sunday. I have always taken for granted that we could watch conference on TV. They only get to listen to it hear or wait for the recordings to come.

On Monday we visited Jose Lang, the sister we baptized on April 27. I love to see her so strong in the church! She is a great asset to the branch. Then we taught Helen, the lady who came to the door last week with face cream on. We are going to visit her on Friday, too. I hope she will pray about these things. After dinner we visited the Skragg family and heard about Brother Skragg's mission. It was fun! Then we visited Sister Waite. She has a son who acts like he worships the devil, but he is a good kid deep down. We also visited the sister missionaries. Sister Grey is still sick and Sister Roper is going crazy.

On Tuesday we visited a family name the Popes. They have an 8 month old baby and he his cute! I loved holding him and playing with him.

The missionary work is going slow here, but we are working hard to change that! I still have not seen any kangaroos or koala bears! Bummer! They have a bird here called a "Gala" and there are millions of them! People hate them here. They are worth hundreds of dollars in the states. I wish it wasn't illegal exporting them. I could be rich!

I would like to share a thought with you that an elderly lady here told me. It made me think because I would often use the phrase "I'm bored". This lady said, "Only stupid people get bored. If you have any sense, you can always find something to occupy yourself." I won't ever say "I'm bored" again.

I honestly feel that you have helped me improve myself into a better person. I could have easily skipped over a mission, but you knew I needed to grow and that a mission would help me. I know that you believe in doing what's right and not what is always just easiest. I love you even more for urging me to go on a mission. I thank Heavenly Father for sending you down when He did to bless my life.

I'm taking lots of pictures to show what Australia is like! The Church is true! Joseph Smith was a prophet of God! Jesus is the Christ! I love this great work!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Dear Shanell,

On Sunday we gave one of the sister missionaries, Sister Grey, a blessing. I was able to anoint her and Elder Dalrymple gave her the blessing. It was really neat to use my priesthood! I am so happy to be worthy to call on the Lord for help! It is a great feeling.

Some days I really struggle with feeling bummed out. My companion seems to cut me down every chance he gets in front of members and that makes the homesickness worse. It seems like all the anxieties of missionaries have hit me all at once. It seems to help when I pray for comfort and those depressive feelings usually go away.

On Monday we knocked about 65 houses. One lady came to the door with white face cream on. It scared me at first! She asked us to come back next week. We also met a lady named Elizabeth and taught her the first discussion and she also asked us to come back next week. She sounds very interested. I hope she is! One embarrassing thing happened to me today. We were tracting and as we entered a front yard of a house, an old man who appeared to be the gardener, said, "I don't think you will do much good here fellows." Then he mumbled something about sisters being there and I thought to myself, "This isn't the sisters area so they wouldn't have come here." Well, we got up to the door and Elder Dalrymple knocked. It was then that we noticed a sign that had a bunch or writing and said "convent" in the middle. I about died! The Catholic Church made that house into a convent. A man came to the door and we said, "We have a message about Jesus Christ." He said, "Yes, He is a nice fellow." We then asked if he would be interested and he said, "No." I wasn't surprised!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Hello Shanell,

There is a couple we are teaching that are not married. The boyfriend is moving to Queensland to find better work so they will be separated. Then they can be baptized. I think that Chris and her little boy will be baptized. It is so neat to teach people the gospel.

Last night we got stoned again. We were riding our bikes and rocks started coming at us all over. We quickly got out of there. People around this area, Whyalla, don't appreciate Mormons very much. We are just going into winter here. The kids here go on summer vacation during December and January. It is about 75 to 85 degrees here and the skies are clear and the sun is bright. I have seen my first orange and banana trees since I have been here. It is neat.

On Saturday my companion went to Adelaide and I was left in a town called Port Perie with Elder Tilton. My companion is a great guy, but he snores. That's okay, though.

Love,
Elder Wallentine