"Happy Halloween! Time is going by so fast. Elder Zaballos from the Presiencia area de Chile came to do a mission tour and I guess it was a big deal. Our zone was asked to form a choir and Elder Silva asked me to sing a solo. I sang "Divina Luz" or "Lead Kindly Light". I sang the first part, then Elder Holton joined in and made it a duet. The Hermanas sang the next part and then we all sang the last verse. It sounded pretty good for having only one day to practice. That happened at zone meeting and then Elder Holton and I had divisions. We were able to teach Sujey, the little girl that wanted me to baptize her. The lesson was really good and the mom listened and was so excited to go to church and support Sujey. After that we went to comfort a hermana who's sister had just passed away. We gave her a comfort blessing and she has been calling to thank us ever since."
"The assistants called me to direct all the music at zone conference for President Zaballos. I was happy to do it, but it was a little nerve racking. I was suppose to have the choir begin to sing right when President Zaballos walked in. It worked out pretty well. I was the first Elder to greet the President and we have this thing where when we are asked where we are from, we are suppose to say, "Santiago Mission Best!" It's something that keeps us united instead of dividing us by where we are from. So I am there and it was a little awkward because Hermana Zaballos started telling me that her daughter went to Jordan High School on an exchange program and I was like, "oh really, that's great when?" She said, "A looooong time ago". haha Then I greeted President Zaballos and he asks me where I am from, and I get all nervous because President King is right next to him. My thoughts are flying and I'm thinking what do I say, Mission Best or Sandy, Utah? Now this was like the third conference that they've been to and they were getting tired of all the missionaries saying Mission Best and really wanted to know where we were from. I had a mini panic attack and said, "Santiago Mission Besteee". I don't know why I threw in the "e". It was so weird. haha I started laughing and President Zaballos said, "Are you happy to be here?" I said, "Ya", and he responded, "I can tell". haha Then President King told me thanks and made fun of me for my own version of Mission Best. I think it was because we usually say, "oeste", so I said, "beste". It was so embarrassing!"
"It actually gets even better. We go through the whole morning and I'm thinking that at some point we are going to sing, but the hours pass and then we go to lunch. I hate eating before I sing. Then right after, President King says, "And now we will hear from the Maipu Choir!" I get up there and everything is rearranged so that we are on the side without the microphone. Everyone is still talking and Elder Silva tells me to goooo! I start singing half flabbergasted and luckily I didn't mess up, but it wasn't my best. Then Elder Holton comes in and he messes up! haha The rest of the choir did alright, but overall, it wasn't very good. I did a good job leading the music though. I've come a long way since Seminary graduation. haha"
"Today we threw a really cool birthday party as a district for Hermana Moya. We got together and made german pancakes, french toast, coffee cake, and a weird fried banana thing that tastes like french fries. We decorated a room and had a really good time. Hermana Moya loved it and I could tell that she was really grateful. We have such an awesome district with a lot of unity. While we were there, the office was having a little lunch party, so we grabbed a picture with President King and his family in their Halloween costumes. haha It was a fun morning."
"This week we made brownies for a family, got locked out of our pension and had to climb through a balcony to get our keys, had an investigator find a whole bunch of anti-mormon literature and tried to prove that the Book of Mormon was not true, laid some pavement for service, made tacos with a family for a noche de hogar, reactivated a family, set a baptismal date with Ana for November 13th, and went to Santiago. Halloween is celebrated here but it is not a huge holiday."
"Those handicapped missionaries...I know some of them! I met them in the MTC. One night they did a special musical number. It was really cool. I actually talked about them the other night because an investigator was looking at the church's website. They are all really cool and I love that they are still able to serve missions. Technology is great! They are an inspiration to us all."
"Anyways, I love you all! I will be thinking of you tonight trick-o-treatin. I hope you have a great Halloween! Enjoy your chili! haha I hope you made chili Mom. It's a tradition! Have a great week!"
Elder Dallon Smith
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| Halloween with President King's family |
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| The District cooking up a storm! |
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| Happy Birthday Hermana Moya! |
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| Maipu Zone Conference with President Zaballos |