GETAUFT

Hey folks!

This week has been ausgezeichnet! Our cool, recently-made friend Norman got baptized this past Saturday, and things went pretty smoothly with the whole thing. Well, that is, if you don't consider
the heating breaking with the font-filling mechanism, filling the font ridiculously slowly with cold water, and us frantically carrying buckets of hot water the kitchen to and fro.  That also is true if you
fail to acknowledge the fact that he had to be baptized five times before both his name was said right and he was going fully under the water.  All in all, it went great though!  Many family members and
friends were there to celebrate the memorable, saving occasion, and I could see that Norman was truly happy to take part in the step. It was a great blessing to be able to pick him up as an investigator
shortly prior to this and help in the little way we did to get this man in the water.  Not only that, however, but after the baptism we received word that he proposed to his girlfriend shortly following!
What a guy!

Three things we experienced from the baptism:
1.  Missionary work is a team effort where all people can rejoice over the salvation of one or more souls together, regardless of if they had a role in conversion or the size of that role if so.  The ability to play any role is a major blessing and privilege God gives us.
2.  When you're working with a baptismal font that can hold anywhere between 4 to 6 cubic meters of water, trying to fill it up with individual buckets of water is somewhat a behemoth of a job.
3.  Water does not have that great of insulation.

In other news, we have hit a rut with some of our baptismal investigators.  We have lost contact with one and have been told by two that they are no longer interested in pursuing the church.  The others are struggling to make progress.  I would like to ask for your prayers in their behalf so that we can properly help them.  Thank you for your help already!

Today, I mistakenly carried out a more in-depth study about trials and their purpose in our life.  I didn't mean to at first, but I've realized that many of the things I have looked over and read have
pointed towards strength to endure and challenges to face.

I think that one of the greatest gifts and treasures we can gain from the gospel of Jesus Christ is the knowledge of God's plan for us and the path we need to take to achieve happiness throughout it.  One of my favorite talks from President Eyring, "Mountains to Climb", given in the April 2012 general conference, poignantly touches on this topic:

"If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing. In all conditions, we can choose the right with the guidance of the Spirit. We have the gospel of Jesus
Christ to shape and guide our lives if we choose it. And with prophets revealing to us our place in the plan of salvation, we can live with perfect hope and a feeling of peace. We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are. We can feel the love of God. The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word."

We may feel at times that the trials we face are bigger than ourselves.  We may feel as though we could at any moment be squashed under their immense pressure and pain that they work upon it.  The
fact of the matter is that even if our trials are bigger than ourselves alone, there was a Man much greater than anyone or anything who has already endured the same, yet more and all.  A decision to
trust the Lord and act in a way that will make us able to access His Atonement will grant us strength to endure and gratitude to praise. We may then be, hopefully, in a position such as Job, whom I studied this week, and who declared: "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23).

Thank you for the love and support that has been sent!  I hope all is well and that the world is getting better everyday, because I can't see the news anymore and I might as well assume the best!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

Operation: Baptism

Hey folks!

This week has been good!  Operation: Baptism has been underway and we are on course for this Saturday. It is fun to see him progressing up to baptism, even though we just picked up teaching for the last little leg of the process. We got told by two separate investigators this week that they no longer had interest in meeting, which was a bummer, but we intend to move on by finding twice the new investigators. The branch is good, weather has been better (rainy), and the zone is coming along well out of the start of the transfer.

I don't actually have a whole lot of updates.  This email is going to be lame.

However, I have been studying this week!  What is new, you ask?  I was able to finish Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage.  I have enjoyed reading it greatly!  The final chapters of the book, combined with the corresponding records of scripture, bear powerful testimony of the reality of the Savior's Atonement.  I don't know if we will ever fully be able to grasp the true and full gravity of the Savior's Atonement, but I can say more than ever that we can surely develop our faith in it and realize the true power it can have in our life.  It is in vain to pursue eternal, lasting happiness and security if we seek to circumvent the only true way to it, which is Jesus Christ Himself. The First Presidency declared in 2000 that "His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." (The Living Christ).  I know that He stands at the head of this church and He will come again.  I know we can be ready for that day where we will be able to stand before Him, and I know that through the power of Him and our obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel as He established before, during, and after His Earthly ministry we can all be cleansed by Him.  For that, I am eternally grateful and will continue focusing my study on coming closer to him and helping others do so as well.

I love you all, and I ask that you as well seek today to know what you can do to help yourself and others come closer to Christ, whether or not they already believe!

Love,
Elder Wallentine

DIE TAUFE

Hey folks!

It has been a good week!  We have been able to get a few new baptismal dates set, and we now have six people who have accepted invitations to prepare, which has been exciting!  We have set a goal to get seven by the end of this week.  One of the ones we received, actually, is an investigator with plans to be baptized on the 22nd of July, who has been taught by Elders in Darmstadt.  He got transferred to us because he lives in our area, and so we should be having him be baptized within the next few days!  That is exciting and we are happy to be playing a role in the process.  

Transfers have occurred and generated some change!  Actually, nothing is happening in our companionship.  Elder Crossley and I are staying together.  Our zone has been downsized a little, which means we aren't AS big as before but still sort of a monster-zone.  It's not too bad, though.  

Our week has consisted of us going to the university repeatedly and doing some work there.  There are a lot of really open people there and two of our baptismal candidates have been found while dooring or contacting on campus, so that is definitely something!  I also got to go on an exchange to Ramstein, and helped with a move for a family.  At the end, we asked them if they would have interest in meeting with us in the future.  They said that, although not too religious, they would like to hear the message and see what we were all about.  Whether or not the simple curiosity will develop into desire and intent is the question, and our prayer.  

"oh dear here he comes again with some long rant about the scriptures."

BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS FOLKS, WE ARE GOING FOR PLAINNESS THIS WEEK:

A scripture that stuck out to me this week is found in Alma 37.  

35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.

36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Our former Mission President told us that one of the best uses of time is prayer.  I hope that we all are able to freely feel that we can always speak openly with our Father in Heaven, and if we don't right now that we will grow in faith and love to start.  God doesn't get sick of our prayers and neither should we!  Making an effort to pray often and sincerely, and eliminating any robotic recitations in our speaking will enable us to strengthen our relationship with God and Jesus Christ, develop our faith, and understand His will for us.  Even if it is not on your knees, you can pray to him throughout the day every day by communications from your heart.  May we all make an effort to do this!

That is my update!  My heart is still beating and the apartment is still heating!  Our fan broke but we will be getting new ones soon and it has been raining a lot so it is tolerable.

Love you guys,

Elder Wallentine

Mission Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

Hey jungs, family, and friends!

WE HIT A BENCHMARK FOLKS.

WE DID IT.

TWELVE MONTHS AGO TODAY, I WOKE UP IN A SALT LAKE CITY HOTEL TO HEAD TO A LITTLE OLD PLACE CALLED THE M.T.C..

It is crazy that I hit my year mark of being a missionary today.  But, at the same time, I feel pretty normal.  I did not wake up today with some sort of supernatural power running through my veins that will never make me trunky again, or make me twice so much.  So yeah.  It is crazy to think that twelve months from now I will be back in Idaho: Das Land der Grumbeeren.

Oh man.  Time to stop thinking about home until Christmas Skype calls.

This week was crazy, though.  We went to Heidelberg for a stake missionary council with the other ward Mission Leaders and some other stake authorities to discuss how we can better work with our branches and wards here on out.  We went to Offenbach for the day on Tuesday to meet our new mission President.  He is a great man and his family is here with him, which is awesome and also a slightly different dynamic than before.  He seems to be a great man who will keep things going in the same direction upwards and I have a feeling it will be great to serve with him.  We've been teaching lots of people and, essentially, our schedule is booked out.  We have been working with our baptismal investigators and they are seeming to open up more and more.  That is neat!  We also got to talk with a baptismal candidate who will be getting baptized later this month in the Offenbach Ward, and he was stopping through Kaiserslautern and wanted to speak with us.  Actually, he lives here, so we may be working closing following his baptism to get the new convert lessons in and so forth!  

All this reminds me of the good old saying that follows: "You can lead a person to the font, but you can't make them go under and be baptized."  Our success is based on our effort to lead and guide people to it.  

Today, we are going to Heidelberg.  We came a few weeks ago but we will be returning.  Should be exciting.  Trying to save my money though, and I get the impression that it gives a lot of opportunity to spend money.  I'll have a nice look-see today.

Well, I am busy today as we travel drawing pictures for people in the zone.  I promised that if people got their numbers in on time last Sunday, they would receive a picture from me.  I'll send a picture of the results next week.  And no, no proselyting time will be put into this :)

If you guys would like to read an awesome chapter on prayer in the Book of Mormon, read Alma 31!  It provides a great contrast between set, repetitive prayers and sincere prayers from the heart.  I think we can each learn a lot each time we read!

Thanks for your support and love!  Love you!

Elder Wallentine 

The gang is all here now :,) (MTC GROUP):