We were surprised and concerned to hear that Dallon experienced his first Chilean earthquake. He is fine and said it was a somewhat cool experience. He is working hard and playing hard also. He shares about a new challenge that he's been assigned and tells us about some of his investigators.
"Two nights ago I experienced my first earthquake in Chile! It was crazy! I woke up at four in the morning and everything was shaking. I was half asleep, so I wasn't too scared. I was just thinking... is this a dream?.., for a full 30 seconds. I then thought... Oh shoot, I'm not wearing any socks and what am I going to do if this turns into a really bad one? ha ha It was fun and scary at the same time. Earthquakes are more scary than I thought because they are loud. I forgot that along with the rumbling of the ground, there is a lot of other noise too. Anyways, it was a first time experience for me here in Chile. It's funny that everyone likes to talk about what they were doing when the earthquakes hit. Most of the stories are really entertaining. ha ha It reminds me of when Mom freaked out when she saw a mouse in the pantry. ha ha"
"We are working and playing hard. We went to the beach today and had a blast! We played football and I'm proud to say that I scored two touchdowns! Booya! ha ha It was fun. We had a BBQ that lasted until really late in the day so I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to write. We tried to go last week, but we couldn't get permission from the mission president in time. The beach was beautiful and a little cold this morning, but I loved it!"
"The ward found out that I played the piano and have started to have me play during sacrament meeting. I guess that Elder Stephen Kapp Perry served a mission here and they all tell me about how he used music to reactivate a lot of people in the church. They have also asked me to help organize a Christmas choir. I am a little scared because my piano skills aren't the best. I hope that I'll be able to do all that they want me to. We have been talking to a lot of inactive members and they said that they are excited about participating in a church Christmas choir. Oh man! Pray for me that I'll be able to help these people sing Christmas carols! I'm just going to do my best with what I have. Tell Jacob to start piano lessons again because it will be such a benefit for him when he serves his mission."
"This week was really hard because we had a lot of appointments cancel. We ended up doing a lot of contacts and found 14 new investigators, which lead the zone this week! ha ha I don't think I've ever walked so much in my life and they say that this is a small sector!"
"The big news here this week was a bus traveling to our area from Santiago got in a huge accident. It rocked the community and everyone was upset about it. I think everyone here knew at least one person that passed away. It was really sad. It was a little scary for Elder Opaso and I because we always travel to Santiago on that same bus and route. It was just a freak accident, but it still made us nervous."
"There are two scriptures that have really helped me this past week. They are Alma 17:11 and Alma 56:47-48. These scriptures remind me of what I am here to do and the person that I want to be. I love reading the scriptures. My testimony of the scriptures has grown so much in the past two months. I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES! They have comforted me and made me realize all that I have. The Book of Mormon is amazing! I feel the spirit every time I bear witness of it. I know that it truly is the word of God and I have no doubts. The Book of Mormon is powerful just by reading it. It's like a key that unlocks a place for the spirit to be with you all day."
Dallon answered some of the questions from our letters:
1. "No, I hardly have time to write people back. I can only write on P-days and since we've had activities every P-day, I haven't been able to write."
2. "At night we return to our pension at 10:00 and plan for the next day until 10:30. After that, we are able to cook and write in our journals or whatever else we want. That hour always goes by so fast and it never feels like I have time to do anything. It would be nice to have time to just relax and listen to music."
3. "I have been really tired because we are working ALL DAY! I have never slept so well in my life. It's funny because the days just slip away and all of a sudden it is P-day again. The days seem long but the weeks are super short."
4. "At the pension, I basically eat bread, cereal, milk, eggs, Nutella, juice, cheese, and jam. I eat a lot of toast! I still don't understand all of the money here but I am starting to. I am starting to understand how much I can buy every week. I get hungry at night because we eat a HUGE lunch at 2:00 and then we don't eat for the rest of the day and the whole time we are walking and exercising, so I get hungry at like 6:00 and can't eat until 10:30."
5. "I am never worried about my safety. Except for when crazy dogs are attacking us. ha ha I don't think we are in that bad of a sector, so everythings been fine."
6. "Elder Opaso is great because he wants to work and we get a lot done. He always tries to correct my English! ha ha I'll say, "nothing is impossible" and he says, "Nope that is not correct. It is, impossible is nothing." I'm usually right and he gets mad. We fight over the the dumbest things. We don't really laugh together that much because half the time we're just trying to figure out what the other one is saying. ha ha But we have the spirit with us and have a good time together. I can't believe I'm almost half way through having him as a companion."
7. "Some of the people we are teaching are:
Guillermo and Norka. They are an older couple that have a lot of interest in learning more about the gospel. They have been coming to church for the past couple weeks. I really want to see them both baptized. We have a cita with them this Thursday, so hopefully we can commit them to set a date.
Sandoval Encina. This is a family that we found and are teaching. They are really cool and promised to feed me empanadas! I hope the Lord will be with them and the Holy Ghost will testify to them of the truth.
Diego. He is about 12 years old and has a desire to be baptized. His mom is a member but his dad is not. He has a strong testimony and is learning really fast. I love teaching at his house because they have a big Christmas tree just like ours in their family room. It reminds me of home. He is really cool and an example to me because of his strong young testimony. It's been cool seeing his faith grow."
"Well anyways I have to go. Sorry that I can't finish. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. I am jealous! I am sad to hear about Boise State and am in mourning with you all. Thanks for the examples that you are to me and for all the support that you constantly give. Keep me and the people of Chile in your prayers. I LOVE YOU!"
Elder Dallon Smith