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

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

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