Dallon says that they are having less and less time to write. Their days have been full and the weeks are flying by. He loves having Elder Tialavea as a companion. He says his Spanish is improving every day and he was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. His letters are getting shorter which tells us that he loves being a missionary and is getting lost in the work. He tells us a story about getting really sick this week.
"This past week has been a blast! Elder Tialavea is so funny and I love having him as a companion. This week we did a lot of work. We found a lot of cool families and I am excited because some of the people are starting to progress. Unfortunately for the past few days I have been sooooo sick. I legit ate myself to death. ha ha Some members fed us and I never thought I could even muster to eat as much as I did. They gave us so much! When I couldn't finish, I was told that I had to finish or else I was going to get punished! I did finish...however, I was sick for the next three days and couldn't sleep and threw up and oh man...not fun. Then later that same day, another member family called us over to their house at like 9 at night and made us a huge barbeque! Oooh...I was so sick, but I feel better now. I think that having Elder Tialavea as a companion, makes people give me more and more food. Sometimes during lunches, when the Hermanas would leave the room, I hurry and put some of my food onto Elder Tialavea's plate. ha ha It's so funny."
"I had to give a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday. I was a little nervous because they called to ask us the night before. I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost and how he is the most important gift that God can give us in this life. I told two stories. The first was about how before I would do any performances, I would pray for the Lord to help me not be nervous and the Holy Ghost would help comfort me. Then I told the story about Dad giving his last $20 to someone who was stranded on the side of the street. I told this story because I wanted them to know that Dad was guided to do what he did and that it really had a better return because the Lord took care of our family. If we follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we will become better people. I got a little emotional during my talk and the ward members came up and babied me after the meeting. ha ha Anyways, I am becoming more surprised at just how much I've been able to do here. Elder Tialavea told me that he couldn't do anything when he had my time in the mission and is really surprised by me."
"Elder Tialavea is always doing things to help others. He buys poor people food and talks to all the gangster kids. He is everyone's friend. The other day we were talking to 3 of his little punk friends and when we were leaving, one of the kids threw a rock that hit me right in the back. They were throwing rocks at us to be funny. Elder Tialavea ran after them and they got scared. He is introducing me to a whole different group of people. It is like he is looking for all the drunks and gangsters. I think he sees a light in them. He's teaching me to love everyone and see them for their potential. I like that."
"The work is starting to pay off here. These last two weeks have gone by so fast. Elder Tialavea has already finished off all of my boxes of treats! ha ha It's alright though. It is also starting to get really cold. I might have to start asking for the warm stuff soon. All of the Elders in my zone are really cool! I love them all. We always have fun together. Usually me, Elder Tialavea, Elder Packer, and Elder Call all hang out after soccer. Elder Mann is my zone leader. He is super funny. I can tell that he is really humble and has a big heart."
"We have been working with a blind lady. We read the Book of Mormon with her in braile. A blind man that Elder Opazo and I reactivated has been helping us. The family who we helped build their house are taking lessons and have actually been keeping their commitments! It's really cool and I am excited because they say they want to go to church. Next p-day they have invited us to do an asado or barbeque with them. Service helps in finding people and gaining their trust. We also found a couple new families this week that I will tell you about if they start progressing. One investigator has dreadlocks and believes in Rasta Fari, or what Bob Marley believed in. He is really funny and is fun to teach. He wants us to help him paint his fence green, yellow and red. ha ha It's been fun."
"Well, that's about it. I'm glad that you are all having fun and progressing too. Thanks for your love and support."
Elder Dallon Smith