Our favorite gift this year was to be able to talk to Dallon on Skype for two hours on Sunday. He called us on Christmas Day to wish us a Merry Christmas and set up the call for Sunday. This is the first time that the missionaries are allowed to use Skype and it worked great. It was awesome to be able to see that he is healthy and happy. We also got to visit with his companion, Elder Opazo, and other missionaries in his District. We laughed a lot and cried a little and it was wonderful. He asked for a USB cable, a SD card converter, and a blanket.
Christmas in Chile is celebrated on Christmas Eve and they open presents at midnight. Dallon says that the only thing that would make his mission better is to have his family there with him. He is having the time of his life. He told us his pension address and we were able to find it on Google Earth. Today we received a short email from Dallon that was just a response to some of our questions. He said he was being rushed because the other Elders wanted to go make pasta for lunch. We'll have to remind him that our emails are more important than pasta!
"About the blanket.., yea, I sleep with three wool blankets right now. They are really skinny and I would rather just have one of my own. I am not cold and I am well taken cared of."
The mission Christmas party was really fun! I like hanging out with all the greenies and meeting a ton of missionaries. I think the older missionaries enjoy it more because they know everyone and a lot of them are good friends. I think next year will be more fun in that respect. It was still great to go to Santiago and stay overnight. We got to all get up and play sports together. Our district is getting really close. They had me play futbol americano with them and I totally made a touchdown! ha ha It was cool. Gatherings are a lot of fun and I really enjoy them."
"They don't have food stands on the street. I wish there were pastry stands on every corner! ha ha There are little neighborhood stores everywhere, so it's not hard to find food when you want it."
"Elder Opazo told me that my family is really awesome and that he gets real nervous when he talks to you. He really loved all the gifts you sent and I think it made him feel special. Just to see how excited and grateful he was for the things he received, was a cool gift for me. Thanks again."
"Elena Salinas, the lady from the red apartments, continues to be so interesting. It turned out that her boyfriend, that she had been living with, left her last Tuesday and she was so sad when we showed up last night. She was celebrating Christmas alone. We shared a bunch of scriptures and celebrated Christmas with her. I definitely think that the Lord sent us there for a reason. I hope we can do for her what the Lord intends. Maybe it is to help her through the hard times and give her the gospel of Jesus Christ. I just know we were sent there. It was cool."
"I'll send Christmas pictures next week. I had a blast staying overnight with all the Elders. It was definitely a Christmas I will never forget! I spent Christmas Eve with an amazing family and it was so humbling to eat with them and experience how others celebrate Christmas. I'll have to tell you about it and send pictures. I'll keep my eyes open for the packages you sent. Thanks for all that you do for me. I am so grateful for the family, blessings, and experiences that I have been given. I hope that you will have a great New Years. You are always in my heart."
Elder Dallon Smith
The following is part of a video that Dallon sent home to us for Christmas. He is showing us around his pension and interviewing Elder Opazo. He also sent a video of the beach and a special Christmas Eve devotional where they read about the birth of Christ from Luke in Spanish and bore their testimonies. It is a treasured gift.