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Montana Billings Mission 

1848 Rimrock RD

Billings, Montana 59102

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Welcome To Billings!

It felt really weird leaving the MTC, seeing people and houses. haha. 

Airport security line was CRAZY long! I talked to this lady who was next to me, because that's what missionaries do. She is a member, from AFRICA, returning to there after visiting her mom in Bountiful. Way cool. We got off the plane and I've had a great first day. 

We went and played basketball since it is P-day. Elder Walch is going to be my companion, but he's doing other things tonight. I'm with Elder Neilson, (met Elder Peterson from Vernal!). We went to the Brother and Sister Rehers and they fed us dinner and we talked with them about the first vision and a bunch of other things. Brother Reher is originally from Germany, but he's lived in Canada and Visited China. He was hilarious. I can see how missionaries gain weight. Despite his protests, Elder Neilson ended up taking half a lasagna, some salad and pop with us. He kept trying to say no. haha.

Anyway It's been great so far, I hear Elder Walch is really great. 

It's not that cold, only when the wind blows. 

I grabbed another suit from the mission home, I can easily get another coat too, but it's not that cold.

I'm staying here in Billings, which meant I got to have a P-day while the rest of my MTC district drove to wherever they are going. 

President and Sister Mecham are very nice, very cool. 

Anyway, I called Gma and Gpa and Jess and I love you all very much.

Eu amo Voces!

Love

Elder Wallace.

BILLINGS

Soooo. hahaha. After 8 hours of in-field Orientation, we were all really anxious to get to the travel office to find out if we got our Visas or not. Probably the fastest our district has ever walked, according to Sister Workman. We got there and they didn't have our travel information, BUT they did know where we were going. Elders Myers and Neibaur are going to Utica, New York. Elder Singleton Dobberfuhl and Sister Workman are going to Birmingham, E. Parker to Nashville (Rolltide!), Elders Dahl, Hansen and My companion and I are going to BILLINGS MONTANA! haha. ah man.

I'll admit I was a little let down that night, I really want to get to Brazil. Everything is o.k. though, I'll work hard in Montana and I'm sooo ready to get to work. It's a great opportunity for me to bring others to the Gospel here and there. 

So I'm fine with the thought of going there now. My only other thoughts are:

It'll be cold!

I hope I meet some weird mountain men types. 

Part of the mission is about 2 1/2 hours from Roosevelt. haha.

Yeah BABY!

Alright. So M. Russel Ballard talked to us last Tuesday! That was really cool. My favorite part of his talk was when he promised us that if we work diligently on our missions we can grow our love for Christ to an extent greater than we would have ever dreamed possible. When an apostle promises you something, you write it down. He also paused for a bit and then decided to just read part of 3 Nephi 11 with us (when Christ comes) I wish I could read scriptures with Elder Ballard every day.

I hosted Wednesday, which was awesome! It was great to change up our schedule and I felt like I could actually help other people; the missionaries, the families, ESPECIALLY the moms. I did see the Willards! I was so excited I yelled to them, "What's up Willard family?!?" To which they paused from their special moment to give me a smile and say hello. I hope that didn't ruin their farewell moment, haha. It was great to see Brother Willard, who was pulling luggage out of the trunk as everyone else cried. I LOVE THOSE GUYS! I haven't seen Sister Willard since, and I didn't stop to chat because I was hosting my first sister and she was already sobbing. Dang it, that made me a little sad during the next class.

(pause while I switch my laundry)

Hosting was fun though. 

I'm still hopeful for getting my visa, one of the districts that left three weeks ago had a couple Elders go to Billings, and he got his visa this last week. If I get it while I'm there I would leave pretty quickly. So estimated time is 3-6 weeks, and I've only heard two stories about people that served their whole mission without getting it. Sooooo. I'm hopeful.

Cameron is going to GHANA??? To tell you the truth it was his letter that cheered me up that night, I couldn't stop laughing. Kris and him will be awesome missionaries because they will work! Mason better hurry and get his papers in so I can see where he's going! I'm betting Kentucky or Madagascar...

I got a phone card, no Battery charger yet though. So No pictures for y'all. you want me to text you the number in the airport? Like the number of a pay phone so you can call me? So it must be cheaper if you call me instead of me calling you. I have the number of the phone though, thanks.

I hope it snows like crazy when we go to Montana. I thought of Mr. Hanke who was always saying how great Montana is.

Also it has come to my attention that some of my letters were not received. Sorry! I found this out when I got some letters from seminary kids. 

Writing letters is over-rated right now anyway, I like to do it to let people know I care about them. I do miss you, I like to hear from you, but I'm having less and less desire to write. I will try to respond to everybody who sends me one though, thanks so much.

Much love,

I love studying CH3 in PMG. and Portuguese, and about the sons of Mosiah.

Love,

Elder Wallace

Dois Mais Semanas!!!

Dear family,

What??? My visa is approved? Great! Let's hope they get it sent out soon, hopefully the church knows about it. I'm sure they do. Whatever happens though, I'll be fine with.

So why did I hear about that secondhand? haha.

This week I got a packet of Envelopes from the Roosevelt Seminary students. I love those people! The best part was hearing about the mission calls that they've gotten or are expecting. Even hearing people say they want to serve a mission made me really excited for them.

I spent the bulk of today writing letters to a couple of them that were not sure whether they were going to serve. I really hope they do. Sometimes our minds will doubt ourselves, and our testimonies. But I know with all my HEART that  these things are right and good and true. Sometimes our minds doubt the testimonies we have, I really enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa Wallace's letter about the 4 sons!

Let's see... Then I played some soccer (with a little nerf ball indoors) and I watched my companion do a "shasta shoot"?... Don't ask, it involves chugging soda and then running and doing jumping jacks until something exciting happens. 

I really love where I'm at in the Book of Mormon right now. When I read chronologically I'm in the first half of Alma, reading about all the cool things the sons of mosiah are doing. Can you imagine going to the Lamanites, who will probably kill you or throw you in jail rather than listen to your message? I'll try to remember that when I get rejected in the field. "Well Elder, at least they didn't tie us up!"

Then again, they always did make the best of those situations.

Hmm... Oh, the language is coming. I feel like I'm doing well, so I'll be ready to be brought low when I get to Brazil. I think of 'The Best Two Years' "That isn't the language they taught me in the MTC." haha.

The good thing is we have access to the gifts of discernment and the gift of tongues. I intend to not live below my priveleges like that talk by President Uchtdorf says.

Sometimes the Lord brings us low, before he can lift us high. -Joseph Smith movie.

Thanks for all your love and letters and emails. I think of you guys.

Two Elders in our district, Elders Perkes and Allen, got their visas! They leave Tuesday so they had like 6 days notice. Elder Allen speaks very well, and cheats of his semi-fluent spanish when he needs to. Elder Perkes is our district leader, and I know the Lord will be able to work through him very well. He already showed us the look he is going to give people when he doesn't understand them. I love those guys!

Much love

Eu os Amo

Elder Aaron Wallace

Can't Wait Until D&C 31:3

Oooooooooola minha familia!!!

Alright. Now my mind is blank and I don't know what to write...

It's hard to believe I've been here 3 and half weeks, 2 and a half to go. My departure date is March 5. If I get reassigned I'll probably know the thursday before. 1 Elder of the last 25 got a Visa. There's still hope. Haha, I'm fine with wherever.

I really do love it here. Today we went to the temple and ate the AMAZING omletes and waffles there. I love doing initiatories too, even though it's more crowded than the mailroom on Valentines day. Speaking of V-day (not the WW2 kind) I had a great one! Thanks for the package, it was really awesome and I almost made myself sick eating all the skittles. I took the bag around today trying to rid of them, but I still have a ton! The cookies are delish, and I definitely needed that jerky.

Thanks for the sweater! I'm wearing it today.

Jess might get a letter from Elder Allen???

Speaking of girls and packages, (this is just a sidenote to mom) it would be really cool if you guys sent something to Sister Workman without a return address. It's the same address as mine but just her name. She's the only sister in our district and we love her. She's only gotten mail like twice.

Nate I'm glad to hear you are playing that Bass and honing your skills! Sounds like you will have some pretty cool songs we can jam to together when I get back.

Tanner good luck with the pentathlon thing! I'm sure you guys will rock it. Today we had a mini soccer tourney in the hall. I think the other districts are jealous of how much fun we have.

Oh I saw sister Enman the other day. She is awesome. So pumped to be here. I think her companion is from Samoa, and that maybe she doesn't speak English.

Tomorrow is a Language fast. No english until dinner. I'm actually really excited because I think it will be a big help. Also because I want to be able to talk normal in Portuguese sooo bad. I love learning it but at times it's tough trying to just learn during study time on my own. Mostly I read from PMG in portuguese or ask someone if I can try to teach them one of the lessons during language study time. I feel like a lot of the time isn't for studying the language. I'm getting a lot of good studies in though (scripture, gospel).

Even though this place is pretty great, most of us can't wait to get out in the real world!!! I believe Elder Singleton said it best during a break, "I can't wait until I'm out there changing lives, instead of just changing the position of my butt in my chair." haha, some of these study times are pretty long.

Eu sei que vive meu Senhor! I've had a lot of prayers answered so quickly through scripture study. I want to share some scriptures really quick.

Hopefully they are correct off the top of my head:

John 14:27 Peace, I give unto you

John 15:13-16 I love this one. I think of how I want to serve my mission, and also what Cristo has done for us.

DC 11. Comforting and helps me get along with my companion.

I really like teaching in Portuguese, especially to our Brazilian Teacher, Irmao Villanova. He's a really cool guy. My favorite conversation was when I was talking to him as an investigator (all our investigators are fake mom) (Though I heard Kiana tought a non-member in TRC and she's getting baptised!!!) Anyway "Daniel" was talking to me about how he heard that we just brainwash our kids into being Mormons. I told him I had awesome parents that helped me learn, but that my conversion is my own. I also told him he is a very smart guy, so we don't brainwash you, you will get an answer on your own, we're just here to help you any way we can to do it on your own. Queu testimonies.

I was glad I could say it in portuguese!

I want you all to know I love you! I hardly miss you guys, because I kinda feel like you are here with me.

Eu amo Voces!

Eu sei que vive meu Senhor!

Elder Aaron Wallace

D&C 31:3

An Excellent Week!

Oi! Ola! Bom Tarde! Como Vai? Tudo bem?

This next paragraph is for Mom.

Mom, you are the BEST! Thanks for the photo book, I love it! All the elders saw the picture of me and Jess at prom and were saying, "Wow, she's georgeous" I was like, "yep..... That's my sister...." oh... haha. So, she has offers of people to write to if she wants.

I also got the camera today, muitos gracas! And, you will be pleased to know I already took pictures, but it's darn near impossible to get them on the computers here. You have to have an sd reader (I know an Elder) and the only computers that can do it are in the Laundry room.

Today was P-day! of course. I love eating breakfast at the temple. Our whole district and another district in our zone go every week together. Sooo good.

Then I wrote letters forever. Then we took some pictures. Since it was snowing outside, some elders started playing mini golf in the halls. That was pretty fun.

I wish every day was a tuesday. We have epic firesides that just get me fired up and ready to go. This Week Elder Clarke of the Seventy talked about conversion.

Meu professor told me that I'm doing really well with the language, which made me happy since I've been working really hard this week. I still talk really slow and broken, but I can usually say what I want when talking about the Gospel. Other topics, eh, not so much.

Yeah for Kris going to Wisconsin and Morgan going to Denmark! right? I wish Kris would report before I leave. Those guys said they would write me about their ice fishing trip.. Cameron's papers are in right? Yeah! Tell him I said to bring some good snacks to the MTC. I mean, I can usually get what I need from the vending machines, but $6 a week may not sustain him.

Oh! if possible, could you send me a pocket sized "Hino"? (Hymns). They don't have them here. Muitos Obrigados. Oh, and maybe a crappy watch. Irmao Villanova said we would all get robbed if we wore our watches we have.

Well, I guess I'll share a study I had.

I was reading about using time wisely, and accountability in PMG. Then I was thinking about Opportunity, and I read in DC 81 about how Fredrick Williams had his calling to help Joseph Smith, and do the MOST GOOD for his fellow beings. I am so lucky to have this opportunity, my mission. The best chance to do the most good in my life so far! Everything is set up, taken care of, all I have to do is come and work super hard.

Thanks to all my friends who wrote, it really is a ray of sunshine in this dungeon when you get a letter. Kidding! kidding! I love it here. Seriously. I really like how willing our Father in Heaven is to give his missionaries answers to their questions. It's much easier to access the Spirit here. I don't know how else to say it. When I'm focused on finding answers to a question our "investigator" had, He answers.

Ha, this week we were in a lesson with Irmao Villanova, a Brasileiro, and we taught him the connotation, "I'm down!" As in, want to go get some tabasco sauce for this MTC chicken? Yeah! I'm down.

After 5 minutes, we helped him understand that "I'm down" pretty much means, "I'm up for it."

Love you all.

Eu amo Voces.

Thanks for all your love and support and help and prayers.

Oi!

 Ola! Tudo Bem!

Hey!!! Sorry it has taken so long to get you an email. I can only email and write letters on fridays, and this is the first one we've had. It was a stretch to make my laundry last until now also. I'm not sure how I feel about the probability of wearing my one suit for the next 5 weeks. (Don't worry I think I can get it dry-cleaned every now and again).

Gah! I'm so excited to finally be talking to you! Thanks for all the DearElders, they print them out daily which is very nice.

So the First 2 days were an adjustment, but after Sunday the time just flies. It feels like forever while you're sitting in class studying, but then you get back to the residence hall and wonder where all the time went. We get from 9:30 to 10:15 to unwind.

    My district is pretty great. 13 Elders and one Sister Workman. :) 3 of them are going to Goiania also, My companion Elder Moffitt is one of them. We're still getting to know each other but I like him. Ha, the other day he taught our new Instructor to say "swag me out".... Whatever that means.

   Ha we're a pretty tight knit group, the other districts are a little jealous of that. Elder KENNINGTON lives just down the hall. That is just the best thing ever. I've also Seen Sister Eddington, Elder Robby Wood... and I feel like there was one more.... Sister Allred! (Jetson's sister).

   When I first got here all I wanted to do was language study! I wanted to learn so bad! But DC 11:21... Seek first to obtain my word. I've had some really good personal studies since then. Personal studies are always aimed toward our 'investigator' Gabriella, who doesn't speak English and we invited her to be baptised yesterday. Maybe the day before?

I have to say I love the spirit here. This place changes people. My prayers are a lot longer, I feel the spirit and it just flows. I love, LOVE bearing my testimony in portuguese. We taught our first lesson in Portuguese after just 2 days. That shows just how much help we have from the spirit here. While teaching, my favorite moments were when I could understand what Gabriella was asking and could struggle through an answer and bear my testimony of it.

K, I guess I better talk about the food. haha. Spencer pretty much pegged it. The food is really quite good, because you usually have 2-3 options, and you learn pretty quick what NOT to get. For example, if you are walking in and you see the words "Beef enchilada Cassorole" you can already tell that's going to be like a freight train derailing off the metaphorical digestive tracks. You also pray that your companion and roomates avoid it.

Nobody has a visa. hahaha. Maybe 3 elders out of the 20 that are leaving got one. I'm curious where I'll get reassigned if I do!

While it's on my mind, Can I jot down some things I need.

  Mom, I'm so sorry. don't kill me. I broke my camera the second day.... I may or may not have been trying to take a picture hanging upside down from the ironing board... It turns on but won't turn off and won't show the screen or take pictures or zoom...

  A picture of the family for the field.

 Email addresses for Tanner, Nate, Jess, and maybe Spencer and Brooke. I think I know spencers.\

DearElder is honestly the best way to go with talking to me. Then I can already know what's going on before I check my email!

Random thoughts.

The MTC has free haircuts. I thought it would be funny to go in and get one daily...

Why did they give us these stretchy exercise bands? It's pretty much a stretchy rubber inner tube, but flat. I feel like they are only good for injuring yourself or others. They make me a little afraid to excersise. (They make fantastic slingshots though!)

We made a duct tape soccer ball for the residence. I wish we had the MTC field to play on! (snow)

Gym! I run or play basketball. Foursquare gets a little intense if people have been playing it for 8 weeks. I never thought that game we played in 3rd grade could reach an olympic level of play.

Congrats to Caulene! Also I'm pumped for Kaitlyn Rockwood and Morgan Parry!!! That's great.

Eu amo Voces,

Ciao!

Elder Aaron Wallace.