Dear Shanell,

Last Wednesday the Holmes family came and picked us up and took us to Flinders Gorge. I started climbing up a cliff of rocks and my companion followed me so that he wouldn't look like a chicken. We got up to the top of the rocks and we had an excellent view. It was so pretty! I loved it! After that we went to another place called Alligator Gorge. We ate lunch on a blanket and it was quite chilly. Then we walked down about 1/4 mile of steep stairs to get down into the canyon and then we hiked around for a while. We saw some pretty neat formations of rock.

I am very excited about this month of missionary work! We have 5 baptisms planned. On Thursday we went to give Jose Lang a birthday card, but she wasn't home. We sent to Sister Stuart's house and found out that Jose went to Adelaide for 2-3 weeks.

Friday was an excellent day!! First we taught Helen and Sister Ernesti was there during the discussion and it went very well. Then, I was able to baptize a little 9 year old girl that the sisters taught. Her name is Linzy Jason Scott Haberle. I was quite nervous because it was by first baptism! The water was very cold! When she came down into the baptismal font, the water came up to her waist and it only came up a little past my knees. My garments didn't even get wet. When I brought her up out of the water, she had lost her breath because of how cold the water was. My legs were numb, but I can easily say it was a high point so far in my mission. I felt so warm inside through the whole baptism.

On Saturday I was sitting in the foyer at our church building and Janice Ernesti and Ruth Baker were driving me nuts! They were climbing all over me, pulling my hair, and scratching and biting me. Finally after fighting them off for about 15 minutes, I got sick of it and kept asking them to quit. I finally stood up and grabbed one of them by the shoulders and told them to calm down in the church house. She ran off crying and told her mom I beat her up. Oh brother! The other girl called me a meanie. I have bite and scratch marks all over me. Kids around here don't know how to treat the church or how to act in it. I love playing with kids, but when 10 year old's can't behave, I'm not amused. Later that day we went to a BBQ and ate lamb chops and sausage. It was great!

We took Cindy to church with us on Sunday. Kylee Shultz went, too. There was lunch served after church, so that was great! The next day there was a testimony meeting and breakfast to celebrate the Whyalla chapel being 20 years old. The testimony meeting was excellent, but I wasn't very impressed with the breakfast. I was hoping for eggs, pancakes, sausage, and juice, but we had cold cereal, muffins and hot milo (like hot cocoa). I keep telling myself that I am not in the USA any more. My companion got another flat tire and when he went to fix it, he put another hole in the tube. He fixed it again and when we went to pump it up, he filled it too full and it blew up! That is 5 or 6 times he has put holes in inner tubes in 2 months. I haven't had a flat tire yet.

On Tuesday we had a great experience! Cindy Shultz has read the Book of Mormon and many other books we have given her such as A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. She loves reading a lot and writes down questions, and when we get there, she asks us the questions and we answer them. She had two questions this week and they blew us away. Her first question was "If there really is a God, why did my baby die?" The day before we had come to her house to take her to the breakfast and she was in bed. When we went in to see her, she looked at us and said she hated us and the church and everything about it. I almost broke down. Then after a few minutes, she said, "No, I'm sorry. I don't hate you." She told us she had a miscarriage. I felt so bad. The other question was "Will you help me find out if there really is a God." The missionaries have been working with Cindy for 4 months, but religion was never really discussed until then. We will be giving her the first and second discussions and she gave us permission for her daughter, Kylee, to be baptized.

I am getting transferred to the Prospect area in Adelaide and my new companion will be Elder Fusselman. I am happy and sad about the change. I won't get to see Kylee or Cindy get baptized.

Thank you for all your support!

Love,
Elder Wallentine