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
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
A New Companion!
It was exciting to hear from Dallon today. He has a new companion named Elder Tialavea. He is a Samoan from California and played as a defensive lineman for BYU. They have already begun to work hard making new contacts. Our only question is how have Dallon's morning exercises improved since having Elder Tialavea as a companion?
"First off, my companion is a stud! His name is Elder Tialavea. He is from California, Samoan, 24 years old, huge, super chill, and was a defensive lineman for BYU. He is the guy that tries to take out the other teams quarterback! He is really funny and we've been having fun together. I was a little nervous at first and was thinking that this guy is going to be too freakin cool for me. ha ha But, he is actually a really loving guy and we've been getting along great. I introduced him to everyone in the ward this week and we also basically contacted every drunk in Barrancas. He loves contacting people and we have found a lot of new people. Elder Opazo is a zone leader now in Santiago. He taught me a lot and I'm sad to see him go, but I am glad that I have the opportunity to serve with Elder Tialavea. He speaks Spanish about as well as I do, so it has been forcing me to get better with my Spanish. I am finding that without relying on someone, like Elder Opazo, I can say a lot more than I thought I could. ha ha However, there is still a lot of room for improvement!"
"This week I went on divisions with Elder Fearnley to Santiago. He had to do his carnet. When you do carnet, you have to go to Santiago and wait in lines all day. It is like the DMV on steroids! While we were there we ran into some Elders from the East Mission. It was cool because a few of the Elders remembered me as their Zone Leader from the MTC and were excited to meet up again. I also met Elder Bryce Miller, a friend I met before my mission. ha ha It was weird seeing him again. I also got to hang out with Elder Rubert from Idaho. He is so cool and really funny. He kept me laughing the whole day. He seems like a fun person and hopefully, I'll get to serve with him in the future. We had to stay the night with the Assistants again and it just makes me so grateful that I am not suffering in the hot Santiago heat this change!"
"I had a really cool miracle happen to me this week. On Saturday, the brother of Hermano Leon passed away. We had his funeral in our chapel yesterday. We were asked to go to the funeral to hand out pamphlets about the plan of salvation and offer comfort. I love that the Leon family is always passionate about sharing the gospel. When we arrived at the funeral, Hermana Leon asked me if I could play the piano and right away, Elder Tialavea answered yes! I was nervous that they were going to ask me to play hymns that I didn't know, but by some miracle, they asked me to play, "Nearer My God to Thee" and "God Be With You til We Meet Again". There was a lot of people there and I didn't want to mess up playing at something important like a funeral. I used to get so nervous playing at just piano recitals and now here I was about to play in front of 200 or more people in a chapel! I said a little prayer in my heart and then went to play. I played both hymns almost perfectly! Thank heavens that prayer is real! ha ha Afterwards the Leon family came and thanked me. They were truly grateful and I wasn't expecting how much. Maybe this is part of the reason why the Lord kept me here this change."
"We are still working with Margarita and we have a few more people, but no one is close to baptism. We are going to be working hard to see some baptisms this change. The Young Women made a goal to help Maria get baptized next month, so I hope that we can do it. I know her being baptized will help her the rest of her life."
"A cool thing we did was help move a house onto a semi for service on Saturday. Oh my, it was a lot of hard work! We had to carry big walls and floor boards and put them on a semi. It was fun because the ward members like to joke around with me. It was like I was back in Young Mens with Dad again. ha ha Hermano Benavides is always teasing me. We have fun together. Elder Tialavea was funny too because he could do what took three of us to do! ha ha You wouldn't believe it! He is so strong! I think we are going to rebuild the house next Saturday. Talk about work.., shoot, I'm going to die of exhaustion! The ward is really loving and always calls me Hermanito. They are really kind to me. Elder Tialavea said it was cool to see how much they trust me because it helps him out a lot too. He says sometimes it can be hard to earn trust from the members and that a lot of the Elders never really do. That made me feel a little cool."
"Happy Birthday Dad! You're the best Dad in the entire world! Thanks for all you do for me and for the example you set for me. I hope that I will become more like you. I hope you know how grateful I am to have you as my Dad. You will never know how much respect and love I have for you. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve a mission. I hope you enjoy your birthday. Love you, Dad!"
Elder Dallon Smith
"First off, my companion is a stud! His name is Elder Tialavea. He is from California, Samoan, 24 years old, huge, super chill, and was a defensive lineman for BYU. He is the guy that tries to take out the other teams quarterback! He is really funny and we've been having fun together. I was a little nervous at first and was thinking that this guy is going to be too freakin cool for me. ha ha But, he is actually a really loving guy and we've been getting along great. I introduced him to everyone in the ward this week and we also basically contacted every drunk in Barrancas. He loves contacting people and we have found a lot of new people. Elder Opazo is a zone leader now in Santiago. He taught me a lot and I'm sad to see him go, but I am glad that I have the opportunity to serve with Elder Tialavea. He speaks Spanish about as well as I do, so it has been forcing me to get better with my Spanish. I am finding that without relying on someone, like Elder Opazo, I can say a lot more than I thought I could. ha ha However, there is still a lot of room for improvement!"
"This week I went on divisions with Elder Fearnley to Santiago. He had to do his carnet. When you do carnet, you have to go to Santiago and wait in lines all day. It is like the DMV on steroids! While we were there we ran into some Elders from the East Mission. It was cool because a few of the Elders remembered me as their Zone Leader from the MTC and were excited to meet up again. I also met Elder Bryce Miller, a friend I met before my mission. ha ha It was weird seeing him again. I also got to hang out with Elder Rubert from Idaho. He is so cool and really funny. He kept me laughing the whole day. He seems like a fun person and hopefully, I'll get to serve with him in the future. We had to stay the night with the Assistants again and it just makes me so grateful that I am not suffering in the hot Santiago heat this change!"
"I had a really cool miracle happen to me this week. On Saturday, the brother of Hermano Leon passed away. We had his funeral in our chapel yesterday. We were asked to go to the funeral to hand out pamphlets about the plan of salvation and offer comfort. I love that the Leon family is always passionate about sharing the gospel. When we arrived at the funeral, Hermana Leon asked me if I could play the piano and right away, Elder Tialavea answered yes! I was nervous that they were going to ask me to play hymns that I didn't know, but by some miracle, they asked me to play, "Nearer My God to Thee" and "God Be With You til We Meet Again". There was a lot of people there and I didn't want to mess up playing at something important like a funeral. I used to get so nervous playing at just piano recitals and now here I was about to play in front of 200 or more people in a chapel! I said a little prayer in my heart and then went to play. I played both hymns almost perfectly! Thank heavens that prayer is real! ha ha Afterwards the Leon family came and thanked me. They were truly grateful and I wasn't expecting how much. Maybe this is part of the reason why the Lord kept me here this change."
"We are still working with Margarita and we have a few more people, but no one is close to baptism. We are going to be working hard to see some baptisms this change. The Young Women made a goal to help Maria get baptized next month, so I hope that we can do it. I know her being baptized will help her the rest of her life."
"A cool thing we did was help move a house onto a semi for service on Saturday. Oh my, it was a lot of hard work! We had to carry big walls and floor boards and put them on a semi. It was fun because the ward members like to joke around with me. It was like I was back in Young Mens with Dad again. ha ha Hermano Benavides is always teasing me. We have fun together. Elder Tialavea was funny too because he could do what took three of us to do! ha ha You wouldn't believe it! He is so strong! I think we are going to rebuild the house next Saturday. Talk about work.., shoot, I'm going to die of exhaustion! The ward is really loving and always calls me Hermanito. They are really kind to me. Elder Tialavea said it was cool to see how much they trust me because it helps him out a lot too. He says sometimes it can be hard to earn trust from the members and that a lot of the Elders never really do. That made me feel a little cool."
"Happy Birthday Dad! You're the best Dad in the entire world! Thanks for all you do for me and for the example you set for me. I hope that I will become more like you. I hope you know how grateful I am to have you as my Dad. You will never know how much respect and love I have for you. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to serve a mission. I hope you enjoy your birthday. Love you, Dad!"
Elder Dallon Smith
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| Elder Smith and Elder Tialavea |
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| The Undaunted! |
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| Elder Smith is somewhere in this picture. |
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| The new Zone on P-day |
Monday, March 14, 2011
Surviving a Tsunami!
Dallon was in high spirits this week. He said that it was an eventful and fun week. He will be staying in Barrancas, but will get a new companion tomorrow. Elder Opazo is being transferred to a new area. Dallon is excited to be able to stay on the coast and is anxious to meet his new companion. He says that his Spanish is getting really good and he has become more confident in himself. Although he will miss Elder Opazo, he is grateful for having been blessed with such a great trainer and friend. They have shared many good memories together.
"My ward was evacuated because of a Tsunami! That was crazy about what was happening in Japan. I was thinking about the Hanni family back home when I heard about it. I had divisions with Elder Perusguia and we had a blast together. I felt really good with my Spanish after having him for a companion, so I'm not nervous about having a Latin companion this next change. We stayed up a little later and ordered pizza. Elder Perusguia is from Mexico and totally chill. He would have been a great companion and we had a good time together. Anyways, the next day we reunited with Elder Opazo and Thomas. That's when we heard about the earthquake in Japan and kind of blew it off as being so far away. The four of us went to do service for the Araya family who we celebrated Christmas with. I love them even though they are not in my ward. When we got to their house they were watching the news and freaking out about the Tsunami that was going to come. It didn't really scare us and we went outside to paint a fence. After that, we went to eat with another family in our ward who really had to sacrifice to feed us all. It was cool that they would do that for us. Finally, we went proselyting and everyone just wanted to watch the news. We were informed that there was a warning alarm to watch the progress of the Tsunami. We taught a lesson to an investigator while following the news updates. At about 7:00 pm, the alarm changed to alert and people began packing and heading towards the hills. Elder Opazo and I had to go to all the members and investigators homes, who lived next to the ocean, to see if they needed any help getting out of there. Our pension was also part of the evacuation area, so we had to get our emergency kits and backpacks and head to the zone leaders pension. They live in a skyscraper apartment building, so we had our whole district slammed into a small apartment awaiting the arrival of a Tsunami. Not gonna lie, it was exciting! ha ha The Tsunami was suppose to arrive at 1:00 am, so Elder Thomas and I stayed up to watch for it...however...the Tsunami never came. I spent a freezing night, on the cement floor of the zone leaders pension, with only one blanket, for nothing! ha ha Although, the Tsunami didn't do that much damage, it was fun to have the experience. How many people can say that they were Tsunami evacuated? ha ha We felt cool.
"It turns out I will be on the coast for another change! ha ha cool right?! I'm excited and a little anxious to see who my next companion will be. Tomorrow we will be going to Santiago to have the changes. Elder Opazo is a little sad that he doesn't get to stay on the coast, but I am sure he is going to be a leader somewhere else in the mission. I will be here for another month and a half! Whoooo-hoooo!!! Elder Opazo and I had a pizza night to celebrate the time that we had together. He is a great trainer and I am so grateful for all that he taught me. I know he is going to do great wherever he serves. This past week the members were trying to guess who was staying and who was going. Almost everyone said that I was going to stay. Elder Opazo wouldn't accept it and kept telling me to pack my bags. ha ha We had such a good time together. I am excited to have the new experiences that are coming. I just pray that my next companion will be one of my buds in the mission. Today we were with Elder Perea because his companion ended his mission. Elder Perea is the bomb! He is from Colombia and was a part of the whole civil conflict war over there. I love that about missions. You get to meet really cool people. Almost our whole zone had changes, so we're going to have a completely different zone. I'm excited to see what happens."
"It was a fun week. Yesterday a man in the stake, that is in charge of all the music, came up to me and said that I better not have changes. He is planning a musical program and needs me to be a part of it. He said that he has been waiting three months to be able to sing with me. That was really nice of him to say and I'm glad that I don't have changes. I hope that I'll be able to do something fun. I think it is a choir thing. Also I made two goals in soccer this morning! Everyone was so impressed. ha ha I'm going to get really good at this soccer thing, so bring it on!"
"I hope you know I love you. Talk to you soon!"
Elder Dallon Smith
"My ward was evacuated because of a Tsunami! That was crazy about what was happening in Japan. I was thinking about the Hanni family back home when I heard about it. I had divisions with Elder Perusguia and we had a blast together. I felt really good with my Spanish after having him for a companion, so I'm not nervous about having a Latin companion this next change. We stayed up a little later and ordered pizza. Elder Perusguia is from Mexico and totally chill. He would have been a great companion and we had a good time together. Anyways, the next day we reunited with Elder Opazo and Thomas. That's when we heard about the earthquake in Japan and kind of blew it off as being so far away. The four of us went to do service for the Araya family who we celebrated Christmas with. I love them even though they are not in my ward. When we got to their house they were watching the news and freaking out about the Tsunami that was going to come. It didn't really scare us and we went outside to paint a fence. After that, we went to eat with another family in our ward who really had to sacrifice to feed us all. It was cool that they would do that for us. Finally, we went proselyting and everyone just wanted to watch the news. We were informed that there was a warning alarm to watch the progress of the Tsunami. We taught a lesson to an investigator while following the news updates. At about 7:00 pm, the alarm changed to alert and people began packing and heading towards the hills. Elder Opazo and I had to go to all the members and investigators homes, who lived next to the ocean, to see if they needed any help getting out of there. Our pension was also part of the evacuation area, so we had to get our emergency kits and backpacks and head to the zone leaders pension. They live in a skyscraper apartment building, so we had our whole district slammed into a small apartment awaiting the arrival of a Tsunami. Not gonna lie, it was exciting! ha ha The Tsunami was suppose to arrive at 1:00 am, so Elder Thomas and I stayed up to watch for it...however...the Tsunami never came. I spent a freezing night, on the cement floor of the zone leaders pension, with only one blanket, for nothing! ha ha Although, the Tsunami didn't do that much damage, it was fun to have the experience. How many people can say that they were Tsunami evacuated? ha ha We felt cool.
"It turns out I will be on the coast for another change! ha ha cool right?! I'm excited and a little anxious to see who my next companion will be. Tomorrow we will be going to Santiago to have the changes. Elder Opazo is a little sad that he doesn't get to stay on the coast, but I am sure he is going to be a leader somewhere else in the mission. I will be here for another month and a half! Whoooo-hoooo!!! Elder Opazo and I had a pizza night to celebrate the time that we had together. He is a great trainer and I am so grateful for all that he taught me. I know he is going to do great wherever he serves. This past week the members were trying to guess who was staying and who was going. Almost everyone said that I was going to stay. Elder Opazo wouldn't accept it and kept telling me to pack my bags. ha ha We had such a good time together. I am excited to have the new experiences that are coming. I just pray that my next companion will be one of my buds in the mission. Today we were with Elder Perea because his companion ended his mission. Elder Perea is the bomb! He is from Colombia and was a part of the whole civil conflict war over there. I love that about missions. You get to meet really cool people. Almost our whole zone had changes, so we're going to have a completely different zone. I'm excited to see what happens."
"It was a fun week. Yesterday a man in the stake, that is in charge of all the music, came up to me and said that I better not have changes. He is planning a musical program and needs me to be a part of it. He said that he has been waiting three months to be able to sing with me. That was really nice of him to say and I'm glad that I don't have changes. I hope that I'll be able to do something fun. I think it is a choir thing. Also I made two goals in soccer this morning! Everyone was so impressed. ha ha I'm going to get really good at this soccer thing, so bring it on!"
"I hope you know I love you. Talk to you soon!"
Elder Dallon Smith
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| All together again! |
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| A statue to honor the founder of Barrancas. |
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| Elders Opazo and Smith having a pizza party! |
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| Chileans dancing the Cheuca. |
Monday, March 7, 2011
Just a Pile of Rocks
We had a little trouble with our emails this week. The server was having a hard time sending them with attached pictures. Dallon was only able to send one out of four pictures. He is looking so tan! Right before he signed off, he sent a quick note that said Elder Kenison had just walked in the cafe. They had met last week on divisions in Santiago. He was visiting his past sectors prior to returning home in one week. Dallon was surprised and excited to see him again and expressed his appreciation for having the opportunity to meet and get to know Elder Kenison.
"This week I realized just how much we have to be grateful for. We were teaching a family and the Mom just straight up told us that she didn't believe in God anymore and that the Lord had forgotten them. It was truly hard because there was really nothing more that we could say or do to help them. We did our best and said what the Lord would have us say, which is that we must first obey the commandments to receive the blessings. We taught a lot about faith. I actually ended up teaching myself more about faith. All the kids were crying and it was so sad that they were in the situation that they were because of the decisions of their parents. In the middle of the lesson, the Mom got up and blatantly smoked right in front of us, even though she had been trying to work on the Word of Wisdom. They are the poorest people I know and yet have a lot of pride. They complain that they have no food and get mad at the Bishop when he suggests they sell something, so that they could have money to buy food. They won't do it and will waste money on things like cigarettes. I saw their son sitting on the bed just looking up at the ceiling. He had already suggested to his Mom that they sell some things, but she just got mad at him and said it was stupid. She said, "Don't you know how much those things cost me!" As I was watching the boy, I couldn't help but think about what he must have been thinking about. He couldn't change his situation and he was just looking up at the ceiling full of holes and flies. I wish I could have saved him. I wish I could have helped him in some way, but there was truly nothing I could do except leave them with a prayer. I prayed in the home and the spirit was strong. It made me think of all the blessings that I have. I shouldn't doubt or feel insecure about myself. I have been given every blessing and opportunity in the world. How could I possibly think that anything in my life is hard?"
"We have started to teach a family that we helped build their home. They are really nice and super poor but they are really fun and I like them a lot. The other day we were teaching and Elder Opazo tried to kill a huge spider. It fell down, so he was trying to find it and the mother was like, "There it is!", and Elder Opazo jumped so high! ha ha It was so funny, especially since he is always putting on the "nothing scares me" attitude. When Elder Opazo was trying to be spiritual and invite the family to read the Book of Mormon to know that it was true; they just couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't stop laughing either. It was great. I am praying that they will progress and accept the gospel."
"We are also teaching a really old Grandma. She came to church with us yesterday and I love her! She is so funny and says everything like how it is. She has my sense of humor and is the most loving Grandma ever! I think I might adopt her as my Spanish Grandma! ha ha She basically told us after Sacrament meeting that this might be the church she has been looking for. She lives by herself and has to walk with a cane. She works all day until nine except on Sundays. We always have to teach her really late, but I think she is really grateful that we are always there to greet her, give her company, and teach her. Now all she has to do is read the Book of Mormon. I hope that she joins the church. She already has the countenance of a member. When I am with her I miss all my Grandmas. Tell them that I love them."
"What was absolutely incredible this week was Guillermo came and taught lessons with us! He bore his testimony and I was sitting there thinking...Wow, what a pay day. One month ago we were teaching Guillermo the same things and now here he is testifying of the truth along side us. With Guillermo, we also taught another lady who doesn't believe that there is a God and is really hard. We have been trying to get in her house for the last three changes and finally we have! Guillermo thought it was sad that she didn't believe, but she is starting to progress."
"We had our first English class and unfortunately only one person showed up. ha ha It was actually really good and we got to show her the chapel and everything, so it all worked out. It was definitely a full week and it was good. I loved being here and learning so much this past week. I have been so grateful to the Lord. He has taught me so much and shown me his love and my faith is definitely getting stronger. I was reading through some of my past notes to help inspire and remind me, and I came across a talk by Sister Breinholt at the MTC. She was one of my favorite speakers. She gave a talk about missionaries and their connection to the Brother of Jared. The Lord commanded him to first find a way to solve his problem or at least do his best to try to find a way, and then the Lord would help him and make up for the rest. This is the part that I love. The Brother of Jared's best was just a pile of rocks. Sometimes we feel like our best is just a pile of rocks, but when the Lord touches those rocks, they become something truly remarkable. This changed everything for me. I felt like my best was just a pile of rocks and that the Lord would compare my best against the best of someone else. However, that is not how the Lord works. Even when we feel that we are just a pile of rocks, he can make us shine and make us all that he wants us to be. I let myself accept my best. I was able to teach a lesson all by myself for district meeting and I have been communicating a lot more. I just realize that I should be more grateful for just how much I can say and understand. I almost understand everything and I can basically express everything that I want to. I'll get more fluent with time, but WOW, what an answer to my prayer. The ward then asked me, on the spot, to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting. I know the Lord is building me. He takes care of me. I love the story called, "The Living Cottage", by C.S. Lewis. It talks about how the Lord comes in to us and starts to rebuild us. He first starts with fixing the leaks and drains. Then he starts to really get to work and throws down walls and builds towers and makes courtyards. We think we are going to be a cottage, but the Lord is building a palace. This story is so true. The Lord makes us remarkable."
"I got a letter from my "Aunt Debbie (Richards)" ha ha It was so sweet and she is such a nice lady. I am so grateful for such a supportive ward family. Transfers are next week, so I think I will be leaving Elder Opazo. Pray for me that I will get a good companion. I'll miss it here, but I am ready to go and find more people to love. We'll see what happens and I should be able to tell you everything next Monday about where I will be and all that jazz. Elder Opazo has been a great companion and we are a good team."
"Anyways I love you all and am grateful for the examples that you are to me. I wouldn't be me without you."
Elder Dallon Smith
"This week I realized just how much we have to be grateful for. We were teaching a family and the Mom just straight up told us that she didn't believe in God anymore and that the Lord had forgotten them. It was truly hard because there was really nothing more that we could say or do to help them. We did our best and said what the Lord would have us say, which is that we must first obey the commandments to receive the blessings. We taught a lot about faith. I actually ended up teaching myself more about faith. All the kids were crying and it was so sad that they were in the situation that they were because of the decisions of their parents. In the middle of the lesson, the Mom got up and blatantly smoked right in front of us, even though she had been trying to work on the Word of Wisdom. They are the poorest people I know and yet have a lot of pride. They complain that they have no food and get mad at the Bishop when he suggests they sell something, so that they could have money to buy food. They won't do it and will waste money on things like cigarettes. I saw their son sitting on the bed just looking up at the ceiling. He had already suggested to his Mom that they sell some things, but she just got mad at him and said it was stupid. She said, "Don't you know how much those things cost me!" As I was watching the boy, I couldn't help but think about what he must have been thinking about. He couldn't change his situation and he was just looking up at the ceiling full of holes and flies. I wish I could have saved him. I wish I could have helped him in some way, but there was truly nothing I could do except leave them with a prayer. I prayed in the home and the spirit was strong. It made me think of all the blessings that I have. I shouldn't doubt or feel insecure about myself. I have been given every blessing and opportunity in the world. How could I possibly think that anything in my life is hard?"
"We have started to teach a family that we helped build their home. They are really nice and super poor but they are really fun and I like them a lot. The other day we were teaching and Elder Opazo tried to kill a huge spider. It fell down, so he was trying to find it and the mother was like, "There it is!", and Elder Opazo jumped so high! ha ha It was so funny, especially since he is always putting on the "nothing scares me" attitude. When Elder Opazo was trying to be spiritual and invite the family to read the Book of Mormon to know that it was true; they just couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't stop laughing either. It was great. I am praying that they will progress and accept the gospel."
"We are also teaching a really old Grandma. She came to church with us yesterday and I love her! She is so funny and says everything like how it is. She has my sense of humor and is the most loving Grandma ever! I think I might adopt her as my Spanish Grandma! ha ha She basically told us after Sacrament meeting that this might be the church she has been looking for. She lives by herself and has to walk with a cane. She works all day until nine except on Sundays. We always have to teach her really late, but I think she is really grateful that we are always there to greet her, give her company, and teach her. Now all she has to do is read the Book of Mormon. I hope that she joins the church. She already has the countenance of a member. When I am with her I miss all my Grandmas. Tell them that I love them."
"What was absolutely incredible this week was Guillermo came and taught lessons with us! He bore his testimony and I was sitting there thinking...Wow, what a pay day. One month ago we were teaching Guillermo the same things and now here he is testifying of the truth along side us. With Guillermo, we also taught another lady who doesn't believe that there is a God and is really hard. We have been trying to get in her house for the last three changes and finally we have! Guillermo thought it was sad that she didn't believe, but she is starting to progress."
"We had our first English class and unfortunately only one person showed up. ha ha It was actually really good and we got to show her the chapel and everything, so it all worked out. It was definitely a full week and it was good. I loved being here and learning so much this past week. I have been so grateful to the Lord. He has taught me so much and shown me his love and my faith is definitely getting stronger. I was reading through some of my past notes to help inspire and remind me, and I came across a talk by Sister Breinholt at the MTC. She was one of my favorite speakers. She gave a talk about missionaries and their connection to the Brother of Jared. The Lord commanded him to first find a way to solve his problem or at least do his best to try to find a way, and then the Lord would help him and make up for the rest. This is the part that I love. The Brother of Jared's best was just a pile of rocks. Sometimes we feel like our best is just a pile of rocks, but when the Lord touches those rocks, they become something truly remarkable. This changed everything for me. I felt like my best was just a pile of rocks and that the Lord would compare my best against the best of someone else. However, that is not how the Lord works. Even when we feel that we are just a pile of rocks, he can make us shine and make us all that he wants us to be. I let myself accept my best. I was able to teach a lesson all by myself for district meeting and I have been communicating a lot more. I just realize that I should be more grateful for just how much I can say and understand. I almost understand everything and I can basically express everything that I want to. I'll get more fluent with time, but WOW, what an answer to my prayer. The ward then asked me, on the spot, to give the opening prayer in sacrament meeting. I know the Lord is building me. He takes care of me. I love the story called, "The Living Cottage", by C.S. Lewis. It talks about how the Lord comes in to us and starts to rebuild us. He first starts with fixing the leaks and drains. Then he starts to really get to work and throws down walls and builds towers and makes courtyards. We think we are going to be a cottage, but the Lord is building a palace. This story is so true. The Lord makes us remarkable."
"I got a letter from my "Aunt Debbie (Richards)" ha ha It was so sweet and she is such a nice lady. I am so grateful for such a supportive ward family. Transfers are next week, so I think I will be leaving Elder Opazo. Pray for me that I will get a good companion. I'll miss it here, but I am ready to go and find more people to love. We'll see what happens and I should be able to tell you everything next Monday about where I will be and all that jazz. Elder Opazo has been a great companion and we are a good team."
"Anyways I love you all and am grateful for the examples that you are to me. I wouldn't be me without you."
Elder Dallon Smith
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| Elders Kenison & Smith |
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| Carlos & Rosa's Family |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Growing in Faith
Dallon wrote to us right after a picnic and kick ball p-day activity. He said he was hot and exhausted from the sun. He still seemed in good spirits and was eager to express his confidence and love to his Dad for being called as a new Bishop. It's interesting how roles have exchanged. Dallon councils and comforts his Dad.
"That is cool about Dad being Bishop! I thought about him a lot yesterday. I think you will see a whole new side of people, Dad. Be prepared, but don't let anything get you down. Just do the best you can and say what the Lord would have you say. Remember that you are called by the Lord. Everyone loves you and I know that you are going to be an exceptional Bishop."
"My week was really long. We have been working so hard and fasting and praying. We haven't really had a lot of success this change. We have found a lot of people but most of them are not progressing. At this point, we don't have any baptism dates, but I am hoping for the best. I think this just might be a trial of our faith. We're going to stay optimistic and help those that are ready to receive and progress in the gospel."
"I went to Santiago again this week. Elder Opazo went to the temple to see two of his converts sealed in the temple. I went on divisions with Elder Fuhriman and it was a blast! I got to also hang out with Elders Smith, Kenison, and Van Dyke. We did an activity where all the missionaries worked in one sector. It was so fun and I got to know the other missionaries really well. Elder Opazo and Callis got back from the temple really late, so we ended up staying the night there. We stayed up a little later and made pizza. The Elders live right in the middle of Santiago in a huge apartment building. When you look out the window, you can see a huge catholic cathedral! ha ha I didn't get much sleep that night because I ended up sleeping on the floor, under a bed, with suitcases. It's funny thinking about it now. Elder Opazo woke me up at 6:30 and told me to leave with him to catch the bus to make it back to our sector before church started. I seriously felt so tired, but it was fun to go work with the other Elders. Elder Kenison was absolutely hilarious! I am sad that he is going home. It would have been cool to get to know him better. Elder Van Dyke is really cool and is from my group. For some reason we keep seeing each other every time I go to Santiago. He is from Utah too. Elder Smith is a mission favorite missionary and is pretty funny. We had a good time talking about our names. He is getting ready to go home too."
"Elder Opazo and I still get along great. About two weeks back we got into our first real argument, but it only lasted about 5 minutes and then we ended with prayer. ha ha I don't think we are sick of each other yet. I have never been around one person so much in my entire life! Everyone in the mission says the same thing.., "The hardest part of a mission is not conversion, but companions." You are with this person all the time and constantly have to bend to make sure that you are working as a team. I love Elder Opazo, but it doesn't matter who you are with; you're bound to get a little tired of them. Heck, if I had to be with myself all the time every day, I would get sick of myself too! ha ha There really isn't too much to report about us. We work really well as a team. Just last night a member told us how good of a team we were. She said that she didn't think we knew how well we compliment each other. She said that even though we may not be seeing the fruits of our labor, we are truly exceptional missionaries and that we have done a great job here. I am trying to help Elder Opazo with his leadership responsibilities. He assigned me a class tomorrow on teaching people and resolving their doubts. I am nervous! I know I shouldn't be nervous, because I should have faith! Speaking Spanish brings me anxiety. I wish I could just be confident with all things, but it is hard for me. I am worrying myself too much about the future. I feel like I am never going to progress fast enough. I want to be more confident with what I have and not worry about anything any more. I have been working really hard developing faith. Faith in the Lord and in his promises. I know everything is going to work out when it is suppose to."
"Well that's about it. I am exhausted and my time is running out! ha ha Now that Elder Opazo is District Leader, we have to be really obedient with the rules, so I only have exactly one hour to do everything. Please keep me in your prayers and I know that you will be beside me every step of the way. Have a great week! Love you!!"
Elder Dallon Smith
Dallon didn't have any pictures to send this week, but he did forward an email conversation he had with President King. The first paragraph is part of Dallon's report to President King and the rest is President King's response to him. We thought it was wonderful and interesting to share.
"I have set goals to learn more about faith and hope and the relationship that they share. I love all the scriptures that say that faith brings about the miracles of God. I know that I don't have perfect faith, but I have been working hard to trust more and more in the Lord. Sometimes, I let my lack of knowledge scare me, but I know that with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, I'll be able to teach the things the Lord wants. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can, so that I can be a part of more peoples' lives and be a part of their first steps to salvation." ~ Elder Dallon Smith
"That is cool about Dad being Bishop! I thought about him a lot yesterday. I think you will see a whole new side of people, Dad. Be prepared, but don't let anything get you down. Just do the best you can and say what the Lord would have you say. Remember that you are called by the Lord. Everyone loves you and I know that you are going to be an exceptional Bishop."
"My week was really long. We have been working so hard and fasting and praying. We haven't really had a lot of success this change. We have found a lot of people but most of them are not progressing. At this point, we don't have any baptism dates, but I am hoping for the best. I think this just might be a trial of our faith. We're going to stay optimistic and help those that are ready to receive and progress in the gospel."
"I went to Santiago again this week. Elder Opazo went to the temple to see two of his converts sealed in the temple. I went on divisions with Elder Fuhriman and it was a blast! I got to also hang out with Elders Smith, Kenison, and Van Dyke. We did an activity where all the missionaries worked in one sector. It was so fun and I got to know the other missionaries really well. Elder Opazo and Callis got back from the temple really late, so we ended up staying the night there. We stayed up a little later and made pizza. The Elders live right in the middle of Santiago in a huge apartment building. When you look out the window, you can see a huge catholic cathedral! ha ha I didn't get much sleep that night because I ended up sleeping on the floor, under a bed, with suitcases. It's funny thinking about it now. Elder Opazo woke me up at 6:30 and told me to leave with him to catch the bus to make it back to our sector before church started. I seriously felt so tired, but it was fun to go work with the other Elders. Elder Kenison was absolutely hilarious! I am sad that he is going home. It would have been cool to get to know him better. Elder Van Dyke is really cool and is from my group. For some reason we keep seeing each other every time I go to Santiago. He is from Utah too. Elder Smith is a mission favorite missionary and is pretty funny. We had a good time talking about our names. He is getting ready to go home too."
"Elder Opazo and I still get along great. About two weeks back we got into our first real argument, but it only lasted about 5 minutes and then we ended with prayer. ha ha I don't think we are sick of each other yet. I have never been around one person so much in my entire life! Everyone in the mission says the same thing.., "The hardest part of a mission is not conversion, but companions." You are with this person all the time and constantly have to bend to make sure that you are working as a team. I love Elder Opazo, but it doesn't matter who you are with; you're bound to get a little tired of them. Heck, if I had to be with myself all the time every day, I would get sick of myself too! ha ha There really isn't too much to report about us. We work really well as a team. Just last night a member told us how good of a team we were. She said that she didn't think we knew how well we compliment each other. She said that even though we may not be seeing the fruits of our labor, we are truly exceptional missionaries and that we have done a great job here. I am trying to help Elder Opazo with his leadership responsibilities. He assigned me a class tomorrow on teaching people and resolving their doubts. I am nervous! I know I shouldn't be nervous, because I should have faith! Speaking Spanish brings me anxiety. I wish I could just be confident with all things, but it is hard for me. I am worrying myself too much about the future. I feel like I am never going to progress fast enough. I want to be more confident with what I have and not worry about anything any more. I have been working really hard developing faith. Faith in the Lord and in his promises. I know everything is going to work out when it is suppose to."
"Well that's about it. I am exhausted and my time is running out! ha ha Now that Elder Opazo is District Leader, we have to be really obedient with the rules, so I only have exactly one hour to do everything. Please keep me in your prayers and I know that you will be beside me every step of the way. Have a great week! Love you!!"
Elder Dallon Smith
Dallon didn't have any pictures to send this week, but he did forward an email conversation he had with President King. The first paragraph is part of Dallon's report to President King and the rest is President King's response to him. We thought it was wonderful and interesting to share.
"I have set goals to learn more about faith and hope and the relationship that they share. I love all the scriptures that say that faith brings about the miracles of God. I know that I don't have perfect faith, but I have been working hard to trust more and more in the Lord. Sometimes, I let my lack of knowledge scare me, but I know that with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, I'll be able to teach the things the Lord wants. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can, so that I can be a part of more peoples' lives and be a part of their first steps to salvation." ~ Elder Dallon Smith
"Faith is an interesting thing. If we doubt, we know we can’t have faith at the same time.
Our faith can be in a variety of things. In the mission field however, there are really only two things that matter: 1) confidence in our own ability to accomplish something; 2) confidence in the Lord / HG to do something for us that we can’t do for ourselves.
1 – This faith is important. It has to do with our ability to speak the language, to contact people with confidence in our ability to be successful, to teach the material in a powerful way – in essence it is the confidence we need in our self to be successful. It is constantly growing as we are learning and applying new knowledge.
2 – This faith is super important, but hard to develop and maintain. First, it requires understanding the will of the Lord – what he will and won’t do for us. For example, he will never force anyone to accept the Gospel; agency is a divine gift which cannot be taken away. He will send his Spirit to testify, he will put people in situations where they will be more humble and hopefully look to God. He says ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you, seek and ye shall find. BUT, it must be according to his will."
Helaman 10: 5 "And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will."
Love,
Pres. King
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