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