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 

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

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

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

Dear Shanell,

On Thursday we started the program for the new missionaries that just arrived the day before. It went very well. Afterward we had a Thanksgiving lunch with the whole office staff and the new missionaries. It was quite good! We had pumpkin pie and turkey which I really enjoyed. Elder Steed and I then helped take the sister's belongings to their respective flats and had a very busy evening. President Gray talked to me later and told me that he wanted me to work out in the field with the other missionaries as much as I could. I'm excited to do that. Elder Steed and I have a goal to get out and study with at least 3 companionships per week.

On Friday we took President and Sister Gray to the airport to go to Darwin. After that we did some work in the office and had a city zone meeting which went well. Later, Elder Steed and I were on our way to David George's home when I had a feeling we should go see the Davis family. I turned the van around and went to their home. The husband had been in the hospital because of a stroke and his hearing was gone for a short time. Elder Jackson and I had visited him in the hospital a while back. They let us in and welcomed us very well. They expressed thanks for visiting him in the hospital. I was glad to see that his hearing is back and that we will be able to go back and share the gospel with them.

On Saturday Elder Steed and I got up at 5:30 a.m. and left to go open with Elders Zurzolo, Smith, Green, and Vanderhiede. When we got there at 7:30 everyone except Vanderhiede was in their robes and stuff. We told them we'd study our scriptures while they got ready. Everyone got ready except Elder Smith. He came out in his robe and I said, "We'll wait while you got get dressed." He replied, "I don't get dressed until 9:30 and I've already taken my shower." I explained that President Gray expects us to be clothed and ready to open by 7 a.m. He just looked at me and said, "Give me one good reason why I need to be ready to study in my Pros clothes." I said, "Because President Gray said so and that is all the reason we should need. Now go get dressed or I'll carry you in there to do it I have to." He then went and got dressed, but he held it against me for the rest of the morning. Later, we went tracting with Sisters Dulics and Kuhn. We placed a Book of Mormon with a lady who lives in Ceduna.

On Sunday, Mike came to church and we were so happy to see him, but he had alcohol on his breath. It was very sad. We took him home and talked to him more about the Word of Wisdom. I know if he puts forth the effort, he can get baptized. At 2 p.m. we went to the baptism of Karen Horton. Sister Benson had worked very hard with her. It was so neat. Elder Fusselman and I had committed her to baptism before, but then she ran off with a bikey and we didn't hear from her again. She is now back with her husband and they are doing well. He was excommunicated a while back and he looked very solemn throughout the service. I hope he comes around and gets rebaptized so they can go to the temple.

For P-day Elder Steed and I took the van and just looked around the city. We went to a port and saw a Soviet Union cargo ship with the hammer and sickle emblem on it. Very interesting. Then we drove to Glenelg and played video games and had lunch. We ate these Greek things called giros and they are beautiful. They have lamb meat inside a pita bread. I love them.

Later that evening, we picked up President Gray and Elders Smith and Jones from the airport, since they have just come back from Darwin and Elliot. They looked a bit bewildered and like they had been away from the city for so long. Elliot is a little aboriginal camp and Elder Jones had been there for about 5 1/2 months. Elder Smith could not stop talking about Darwin. Elder Call took his place up there. There was a lightning storm tonight and Elder Smith and I sat upon a hill and watched it. It was really neat and the air smelled so fresh. The sky gets bluer here than it does back home and also the water is a very vivid blue. The sky and water have a gorgeous blend. 

Love,

Elder Wallentine