It was a short letter this week. Dallon seemed to have a lot on his mind. He feels that his time is becoming short and there is so much more that he would like to do. He is going through a spiritual growth and the work has taken over. What an amazing experience to witness. Our only regret is, where are the pictures?!
"I had a wonderful miracle this week. There are a lot of stubborn husbands here that have investigated the church for years, but have never been baptized. One is a grandpa named Miguel. He studied with the missionaries more than 20 years back, but never got baptized. His daughters however did. The missionary that baptized one of his daughters, came back after his mission and married her. They have been working on Miguel for years. The other week, I was thinking about him and thought that we needed the Bishop to go with us to visit. I felt that I was guided by the spirit. We made an appointment for Tuesday. Miguel's wife was actually baptized about 5 months ago. She had an experience where she almost died and was only saved by the mercy of God. It softened her heart and now she is a wonderful member of the church. At our visit, there were just the five of us. Miguel, his wife, the Bishop, and us. The Bishop started talking about baptism and how we can't have eternal happiness if we don't get baptized. The spirit was really strong and then right in the middle of the lesson, the whole entire family came home. It was all his children and grandchildren and everyone. Miguel is such a private person that I thought that there was no way now to commit him to baptism in front of his whole family. I was able to bring the lesson back and taught the whole family while focusing mainly on Miguel. Then the Bishop asked, "So what is it going to be, Miguel?" Miguel was like, "You know what..? I'll do it!" So the whole family got emotional and were so happy and we planned the date for next Friday! It was really cool because Juan, the missionary that taught him years ago, was there and was really happy. Afterwards Juan came and thanked me for providing the spirit which did the work. The Bishop said that I had received revelation to invite him. It is one of the miracles that I have been praying for."
"Recently, I have been feeling unsatisfied with my mission. I love it and love that I am learning and progressing, but at the same time, there is so much more that I want to accomplish. I've always heard stories about missionaries, and the incredible experiences they had, where they were able to baptize these wonderful families and how cool little miracles happened. I feel like, in my mission, I've had a lot of wonderful converts, but I am still missing something. I want to help a family enter the gospel because I know those are the fruits that never end. haha I guess that is kind of what every missionary wants, but now that time seems to be winding down so fast, I'm afraid that I won't be able to accomplish it. I'm praying for miracles not because I need them to fortify my testimony or faith, but because I know that I have the faith for them to happen. I want them because I know that it will bless the lives of many people. I am trying to prepare myself to be a better vessel for the spirit. I don't want time to go by so fast that I'm not able to help these wonderful people. I really hope that I will be able to do a lot more in the mission before the end gets closer. I know I will never have this time again or enjoy these types of relationships again. I really need some miracles this year. I think that is the Christmas present that I want most."
"I love you all very much. Pray for my investigators, please! Ana, Patrico, Miguel, Rosa, Leticia, Gustavo y Andrea, and Alejandro. What day do you want me to call on? I think Christmas day would be better for me, depending on if cafes are open. A lot of places close on Sundays. I'll start asking around this week for what we can do. Welp, have a great week! Chao!
Elder Dallon Smith