Dallon said that it was great to be able to watch conference and to know that we were watching the same thing at the same time. He said that the talks were truly inspired and answered many of his and the convert's prayers. He was excited to see Mr. Steenblik sing the solo in the choir. Mr. Steenblik was Dallon's choir teacher at Jordan High School. It wasn't too long ago that Dallon remembered singing at the conference center with the MTC men's choir.
"Conference was awesome right?! I loved it! I realized just how inspired the talks are. This was a tough week and the talks helped me to find peace and relief. I loved all the talks and don't think I could pick a favorite. Each one had either something for me or for one of the investigators that we have been teaching. The best part is that I had been praying that someone would talk about tithing and it was answered. All the missionaries were in another room so that we could listen to conference in English. Holy smokes! Did you see Mr. Steenblik sing the solo in the choir? That was crazy cool! I was like what the heck?! It was fun to see him."
"Something happened to my little church buddy, Claudio. He lives with a family whose kids are all adopted. He ran away this week and Elder Tialavea and I spent a couple hours walking all over the hills and valleys looking for him. It was depressing because we never found him. He ended up running back to Milipilla in the country where his abusive mother lives. He has been away from her for almost 10 years. I have never seen such pain like I saw from Hermana Berta, his adopted mother. She was crying such a deep sorrow like I have never seen before. We gave her a blessing of comfort and it really helped her. The police came and told her to pack Claudio's things because they were going to let him stay with his birth mother. She felt so betrayed and it was like a death for her to pack his things. Elder Tialavea and I wrote letters to Claudio which we will mail today. It was a hard time for all of us."
"Elder Tialavea and I are still doing great together. I absolutely love having him around. He makes just hanging out with the members and investigators so much fun. He makes me laugh and I really like that. He also loves kids. All he wants to do is talk to and play with the kids. There is a little 10 year old boy named Phillipe that always knocks on our door and asks if we can come out to play soccer with him. It's great except that we have to work on getting to appointments on time. ha ha I'm glad Elder Tialavea is my companion. He makes the work easier for me and I feel so much more confident with my Spanish when I am with him. I feel like I add more to the lessons and that my role in teaching is an important one."
"We have a ton of investigators now. A lot of them are actually starting to progress and want to know more. It's exciting! I hope that we're going to have a lot of baptisms soon. We are going to a barbeque with one of the families today. Another family, who will have a baby soon, told me that when the baby is born, they want me to present it. I don't really know what "to present" means, but I guess it is an honor. ha ha It makes me feel good that they would ask me to do that...whatever it is? ha ha"
"I wasn't able to watch the MTC special. All the members were busy trying to feed us. They kept bringing us food and then Guillermo took us to his house and gave us more food again. Guillermo is so strong and is such an example of faith. Elder Tialavea calls him the dream convert. He went from being a non-member to being one of the strongest members we have. It is really humbling to see. He went to all the sessions with us and took us back and forth between every session. He is so cool. The gospel changes people's lives so much. Now Norka always tells me that she is going to die when I leave and won't go to church and therefore not go to the temple. What are we going to do with that woman?! ha ha We are all almost positive that I am going to have changes next."
"I know you are going to be disappointed, but I don't have any pictures to send this week. I am looking for opportunities, but the last couple weeks we were super busy and had a lot of success. We always have something to do. Our English classes have been really great. We have around 10 - 12 people who attend every week. Anyways that's about it. Not much to report other than I love you all. Elder Tialavea and I took a video that I think you are really going to laugh at. Conference made me a little trunkie, but it's alright because I have family here to spend time with. This mission is going by so fast. I love learning about our Savior and his atonement. It is only through him that we find happiness. I know he loves us and wants us to be happy. He encourages me to be the best I can and loves me even when I'm not perfect. I love Jesus Christ so much and am so proud to be a representative of him. I know that his work requires our sacrifice but the blessings will always outweigh the afflictions. Be happy. Go to the temple. Do the best you can. I'll do my best to do the same."
Elder Dallon Smith