Guten Tag, Familien und Freunde!

I'm going to try and keep this letter shorter and more positive, so here I go!

This has been a better week!  My "reign" as District Leader was kaputt
as of this last Sunday since we're halfway through the MTC, and I
think since then, the heat has been taken off of me from people in the
district.  I'm not as much of a bad-guy anymore, and that is also
attributed greatly to the other Elders' efforts in getting control of
behavior in the class.  So it's been much better in terms of that.

I've been making good progress with German...I think.  My vocabulary
has been increasing quite a bit and there have been several times this
week where I've been able to comfortably carry out discussions and
conversations in German with few trip-ups.  That being said, I've had
my (overly) fair share of trip-ups and really need to work on street
and conversational German, and probably biggest of all, I'm still
trying to learn and struggling a bit with the cases.  When it comes to
writing, I'm okay at them, but with speaking it's going to have to
take a lot of getting used to.  But overall, it's going well...I won't
be thinking this when I get to Germany, though, haha!

My gospel study is going really well, too!  I've been reading a ton of
the Book of Mormon and am about to finish Alma.  I love reading and
studying about the conversion of the people, and how blessed and happy
they consistently become when they come unto Christ, having the
feeling of eternal peace.  One of my favorite chapters is chapter 36,
when Alma is counseling his son, Helaman, and speaks of his own
repentance and conversion and the process that he had in becoming
truly converted.  It's an awesome chapter.  I'd paste it all but I'm
again trying to keep this letter shorter...haha!

I've also heard from some of my teachers that there have been a few
terrorist attacks in Germany in the time that I've been in the MTC.  I
think there have been two in Munich and one in Frankfurt, right?  And
have there been any more in France?

Whatever it may be, this is going to be a crucial time for us to go to
Germany.  I feel that this is going to be a very powerful time for the
faith over there.  People in this world are panicked.  Many live in
fear of the threats that face them, whether it be terrorism, disease,
or any other pain both internal and external.  There are going to be
people who see these attacks and ask why God would allow such
tragedies to happen.  But through this distress, I know that they will
be prepared to hear the glorious and beautiful message that the gospel
has to offer.  This is a gospel of hope and love and peace.  Whether
they be native Germans or refugees coming, the hearts of the people
are going to be softened and opened up to our message.  I know it!  I
can't wait to see the hope and faith and charity that this gospel will
bring to not only Germany, but all of Europe!

In two and a half weeks, I will be departing to be but a small hand in
the great work that is about to unfold there.  I can't wait!  It's
going to be hard and humbling but I know now that people, desperately,
need the blessings of this gospel.  This gospel has given me more hope
and happiness than any other source has or will ever be able to.  I
know that God  and Jesus Christ love us and that they are at the helm
of this work.  I know that we will be protected.

I love you all!  I miss you!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Hello everyone!

It was another hard week, but I think we had some improvements over the one preceding it.  One funny thing is how often the name "Elder Wallentine" gets butchered completely when you're talking with German teachers and missionaries.  For the next two years, I will go by any of the following:

Elder Wallentine

Elder Valentine

Elder Valenteen

Elder Vollenteeen

Elder Walleyworld

At first I tried to correct people but I've accepted my fate.  You know, Elder Vollenteen is actually starting to grow on me.

There have been things that I've found to be easier, and harder, about a mission so far.  Honestly, it hasn't been super hard to be separated from things like TV, video games, movies, blah blah blah.  I'm really glad that I spent the last year reducing the amount of time I spent doing those because I think that's helped me not really care.  Also, I kind of forced myself to because I got super busy with school, but anyways. I do miss movies a bit, though.  On the other hand, while I knew I would be homesick, I didn't really expect it to hit me as hard as it did.  I'm overcoming it but at some points it felt really bad.  And as you probably know, being involved with a district has been a lot harder than I ever expected.

In terms of the language:

German has been coming along.  I haven't felt as much progress as I did through the start, but we've finished going over the cases for German.  (As far as I know, there are four German cases:  Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive).  I'm not used to them yet but I think I'll gradually be able to get better at using them.

People tell me that they're worried because I'm "always studying" but I don't know, I'm not worried.  It helps me to get over homesickness, and it's kind of fun.

My companion and I taught about the Restoration in German this week and that was really cool.  We were able to understand our "investigator" really well and I didn't have a moment where I forgot what to say completely.  We felt the spirit really well, and that was an encouragement for us.  But we also had another lesson that completely fell apart because there's another "investigator" that talks really fast and uses tons of words completely unfamiliar to us.

I lost my German dictionary, too!  That's a bit frustrating.  I left it in my classroom and I think it must've been taken, or something.  I might have to buy a new one.

But I've been working really hard to memorize more vocabulary words and it's coming along.  I've also memorized D&C 84:88, the First Vision, Moroni 10:6, Alma 7:9, our missionary purpose in German, and have started D&C 4.  

District Stuff

Actually, my companionship has been going pretty fantastic  We get along with each other pretty well, not to mention that I've found a compromise with him so I can get my runs in.  Every day this week we've gone to the gym, and while he plays basketball I'm allowed to run on a track in another room.  I've been running 2-4 miles per day, doing 75-100 push-ups and sit-ups, and then lifting some weights in my free time to exercise.  It's been nice, but also out of necessity because they feed us so much, haha!  The food is...generally good.  I had a pretty bad hamburger the other day though.  But yeah, other than that, I don't mind it at all!  Back on track, my companion and I have found our rhythm I think and as of now, it's going well.

Aside from my companionship improvement, there's been a bit of improvement with the other two Elders in my district.  We were having a lot of problems with them making a lot of noise in the class and disrupting the peace and often times spirit last week, enough to where I had to call a district meeting where we made it clear what the purpose of the classroom was.  They like playing games in the classroom, and each game involves making a lot of noise.  They've been told to stop by multiple teachers, and I by myself feel as though I've completely lost respect from them due to my efforts to end rowdiness in the class.  The district meeting helped for a time because the sisters were saying it was hard for them  to concentrate, and when the sisters get on board that's really the only time they listen.  

 

Aside from continued airs of contention, this week was greatly improved from last week because of the support I've received.  I'd like to thank everyone in my family for sending me letters with counsel, and sending the package of food to me!  And I thank all my friends so much for the also-supportive letters they've sent me.  I've honestly felt so embraced by you guys this week and I thank you all so much!

I've also received a lot of support here.  I have two teachers, Sister Ahlm and Brother Alliston, who pulled me aside several times this week to see how I was doing.  I let them know of the situation, and there were many times where I felt I was in the wrong, because I felt as though I could have possibly been too "controlling".  But my teachers were consistently there to encourage me and lift me up, and tell me that what I've been doing has been right.  That eased my conscience and burdens a lot, I think.  And my zone leaders have been checking up on me, and I've met another District Leader, Elder Winder, who feels as though he's been in the same situation as I have been.

Most importantly, I've felt the support of heaven lifting me up as I go about each day.  My mission scripture, D&C 84:88, promises angels to be round about me, to bear me up, and I have continued to feel this throughout my days here.  It's enabled me to have motivation and energy each time I wake up, and not be afraid to stand up for myself.

I'm writing an epistle here, I'm sorry.  GOSPEL STUFF.

I've been studying a lot of the Book of Mormon, of course, as well as have begun re-reading the New Testament, and started Jesus the Christ.  I can feel my testimony and love for Christ increasing as I continue through these and it's really wonderful.  I am praying that I will be able to have an ever-increasing love for the Savior and what He has done for all of us, and I hope to be blessed with it.  

By the way, Elder Bednar came last Sunday and had a Q & A session!  It was awesome!  He taught a ton about the charity and pure love of Christ and I felt the spirit so strongly!

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and I have so much faith in His Atonement.  I know that through Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement, we can be entirely cleansed from sin and become eligible to once more live with Him, Heavenly Father, and those that we love.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I love its simplicity, and its simultaneous complexity. I know that you are being watched out for, both by those who love and surround you even if you may occasionally feel otherwise, as well and those watching over you above.

This concludes my novel.  I'll try to shorten these.

I love you all!

Elder Wallentine

Hello family and friends!

This week was hard.  I felt pretty homesick through a lot of it.  The biggest challenge I'm going through right now is the social aspect of the MTC.  I feel like I'm excluded from the other three Elders in our district, and I think there is some animosity towards me.  There have been times where the other two Elders and my companion will walk just ahead of me and will be talking with each other, and I would hear my name being used, then when I would catch up to them they would all jolt their heads around when I'm in eye sight, and when I asked them what they were talking about they would simply say "nothing."  There are just jabs made to me throughout the whole day, and sometimes it has managed to really wear me down.  Homesickness is always present in some form or another, but it's situations like these that magnify it to be so much worse than it usually feels.  There were a few times this week where I would just struggle through the day and by the end of the night I would go to bed with tears rolling down my face because I felt so lonely.  But it was those moments where I felt the tender companionship of the Comforter, and would get the impression that whatever pain I have now will be so, so worth it in the end.  I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to make it through these next five weeks in the MTC but I know that if I keep praying for patience, and doing my best to respect the other elders in the district, then I will receive the help I need.

In person, I think my companion and I get along well, though.  We've been learning a lot about the errors not to make during discussions and the process is coming along smoothly.  While there is tension I feel at some times because of the issues previously specified, I can still feel the spirit when we're teaching together.

All else considered, the work continues to go on well here.  I've been working my absolute hardest to be able to learn German and I'm constantly carrying around a dictionary and a notebook that I can write down new words in.  This work has definitely helped me to focus on what is important and know why I'm out here.  I'm trying to learn at least 15 new long/difficult words a day, as well as conjunctions, prepositions, and other connecting words as often as I can, and I think I'm generally maintaining that goal.  Some days it's hard to keep priorities straight though because I'm trying to balance my study of the gospel with companionship study and lesson planning, and language study, but we're getting by.

By this weekend we're supposed to know 300 words in German, 30 phrases, 4 scriptures in German memorized, and a few lessons in one of our textbooks completed.  These make up our "core learning", and I've hit the mark!  The memorization has been tiring, but I finally got four scriptures down and now I'm working on memorizing the First Vision in German, and I'm halfway through it...It's great, but sometimes, it's mind-numbing.

Also, the word of the week is "Entsheidungsfreiheit", which means "Agency."  There's also "Wiederherrstellen" for Restoration. I've found that a lot of the church vocabulary words are super long a lot of the time, but it's cool because you can kind of "dissect" them, since they're usually just a ton of simple words combined.  It's pretty cool that way.

I've really gained a testimony this week over the existence, power, and influence of the Holy Ghost in inspiring and comforting all of us when we're pleading in our hearts for it.  I'm studying the New Testament as well as the Book of Mormon, and I found in 2 Nephi chapter 22, verse 2 (A lot of twos) this verse

 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord 

Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

Depending on how these next few weeks go, my MTC experience could be extremely difficult.  But this is time that I am giving to the Lord, and I must do my best to forget myself, and consecrate all my time to helping Him accomplish His purposes.  I know that Jesus cares for us, and that through His strength, we can receive strength to endure to the end.  I have felt such strength succoring me today and I can't wait to share the blessings I have from this church with the people of Germany!

I love you all so much!  Keep the letters coming, because they definitely help!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

Hello everyone!

Well, I've been in the Missionary Training Center for about three days so far.  Honestly, there have been quite a bit of mixed feelings about this entire thing, but overall it has been wonderful--so far, at least!  I was expecting it to be unbelievably stressful and/or overwhelming upon arrival, and although we have been busy, it's better than I expected.

On Thursday we spent about four hours in the classroom studying German, and yesterday we spent over six hours doing the same.  While that sounds long, and probably awful to some, I have loved being able to study German and I hope that I am taking advantage of it to the absolute best of my ability.  I've been doing my best to speak German all the time, but it's hard in the mornings when my mind is barely functioning with speaking English.

I've been practicing praying in German as well as bearing my testimony and although it is coming along a bit slowly, I'm having a lot of fun and it's super satisfying to be able to articulate...kind of...my needs and desires to Heavenly Father before I go to sleep and multiple, multiple times throughout the day.  

I think I've coped with mission life pretty well these last through days (although it has only been three days so I mean, I hope I am able to last this long) but I did have my first little panic attack last night before I went to bed.  We had to do a lesson with an "investigator" in German and I thought I was able to speak decent, considering our time at the MTC, at first, but our lesson plan fell apart and we didn't rely on Preach My Gospel as much as I think we should have, which was probably why we screwed up as badly as I think we did.  I've been praying that I'll have the ability to be humbled to a point where I will have to rely just as much on the Holy Ghost and its teachings, as I would on my work to learn the language, and so I think that this bit of stress is definitely good.  We're going to be teaching another German lesson on Monday morning and we're going to be better prepared, both spiritually and mentally...I hope.

I'm sharing a residence hall/room with my companion, Elder F, and another companionship in our district, Elder H and Elder A.  They're all pretty cool, but I think I'm a bit of an odd-one-out because they all love football, baseball, and basketball...all sports that I can't play nor have paid a whole lot of attention to.  Their interests are more closely aligned, but they also like soccer...er, I mean, "fussball", and I've grown to love playing that in the last year, so that's something.  We're getting along well and at this point none of them seem disgruntled off the bat, so we don't have many concerns in that area.  We're pretty focused in our lessons and when we study German, but I feel bad for Elder H because out of the four of us, he is the only one who hasn't taken German in high school so he's a bit behind our [mediocre] German skills.  But he's actually made great progress and I'm excited for him!

Also, if the pictures get through and you can see them, you will notice that 3/4 of us Elders are wearing conflicting college shirts.  So the tension is rising.  Just kidding.

The sisters in our district are cool as well.  One girl, Sister Griffen, was born in Scotland and grew up in New Zealand, and has what she has named a "dodgy" accent.  I think it's awesome though.  Sister Weiler is going to Utah State after her mission and has already run Cross Country there, and she's one of the only ones in our district who actually likes to run, so we've talked about how much we hate/love running a bit.  That's good.  We also have a Sister Johnson, who also likes running a bit.  She's companions with Sister Moeller, who was born in Germany to a convert family, but her dad has fallen away before she left on her mission.  She and Sister Johnson both have a strong testimony I think and they've helped to bring the spirit to the classroom, along with the other two sisters.  It's good to have sisters because they keep the Elders in line, I think.  Haha!

Oh, and the spirit.  That is one of the first things I've realized upon arrival to the MTC.  We can feel the Holy Ghost here so powerfully and I know, when I look around at the hundreds to thousands of missionaries here, that we're truly doing God's work.  And I am starting to see a bit of the gift of tongues appear in some people, like Elder H.  The spirit facilitates our learning both of the German Language and Gospel so well, and it's really amazing.  At the end of the night, I get a similar feeling that I would get when I worked at the temple.  I'm tired of course, but the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost for these many hours gives me a sense of energy in my exhaustion that keeps me motivated, hopeful, and most importantly, I hope, faithful.  I also think that the spirit is the reason you can cram four eighteen-to-twenty year old guys in a classroom for six or more hours and still be working effectively the whole time.  I've felt it bring focus to all of us.  That's truly a miracle.

While none of us have been able to speak very well, I can tell that we're still getting helped because we're forming our foundation more quickly than I ever anticipated.

I've been called as a District Leader for the eight people in my district for three out of the six weeks we'll be in the MTC.  It's no big deal, but hey, that means I have "mail duty" and basically if my elders and sisters don't get their mail on time, my life is on the line.  Other than that, though, I'm doing my best to make sure all is well with everyone.  So far, all seems to be well!

The zone leaders in our...zone...are super awesome as well.  One of them reminds me of Parker H.  And, if you know Parker H, then what need I say more?

Yeah.  So I'll have plenty more actual experience by next week with the MTC.  I'll let you all know if I'm collapsing by then.  It's awesome right now though.  No place I'd rather be.  While I am homesick, I'm relieved to finally be able to start my mission, and I kind of just have felt through the last month that it was time for me to go...hahaha, so I'm "relieved", but in a weird way.  I hope you know what I'm saying, but if you don't, just keep reading and know that I miss you all.  In summary, the food is good, the schedule is busy but great, and the spirit dwells among us.  It's a great combination.

I love you all and can't wait to hear back from you, friends and family!  Also, I heard I will be getting a new nephew this week!  That's super exciting!

Love,

Elder Wallentine

First Letter from the MTC!!!

Hey Everyone!

They're having us e-mail you guys to notify everyone that we, in fact, did arrive safely to the MTC.  I'm not sure if this is super necessary for me, because you did drop me off, but I probably shouldn't pass up a chance to mail back--right?

Anyways, the MTC is great right now.  I'm loving the language study and the time is actually flying by--even when we're spending three to four hours in class.

I'll be sending out a more detailed letter tomorrow on P-day, which will be every Saturday from now until the time that I leave.

Thanks mom, dad, and everyone!  I love you guys!

Love,

Tyler