A Gift to Sign

It is pretty incredible how the Lord prepares us individually for the experiences in our lives.  In this letter, Dallon shares that the Lord has helped him to remember sign language and he is using it to help bless the lives of members in his area.  Other than a slight cold, he is focused and loves serving in the country.

"Well it has been a jam packed week.  We have been working a lot out in the country.  We found a really cool family that went to church yesterday.  It was awesome that the Lord led us to them.  They are a part member family.  It is a mom and her two kids.  One of her kids is baptized.  The mom hasn't listened to the missionaries for like 15 years.  Last week we got a call and we went to her house on a reference.  She said that she couldn't sleep because a dark spirit was haunting her.  We explained the authority of God and the restoration and then blessed her home.  She started crying in the prayer and said that she felt something so distinct.  We went back the next day and she said she had slept so well and the feeling that we left behind had stayed with her.  She said she wanted what we have; to be close to God.  So we taught her the full restoration and she loved it and then came to church.  At church, she participated a lot and said that she wanted to have the Holy Ghost.  She said that we were the Elders that she had been waiting for.  Her friends are members and they started to cry when they found out that she was listening to us.  They said that they had been praying for years for her to have the fullness of the gospel.  It was way cool!"

"We also have two kids that are going to be baptized.  One is 16 and the other 12.  They are both way solid.  Their family was inactive, but a missionary who baptized their family 14 years ago, came back to Chile and visited them.  They have been reactivated to the max and now their kids want to be baptized.  It's awesome!  They go to church and read the Book of Mormon.  They are progressing really well and are participating in everything.  I love getting to teach them and be a part of their full conversion.  It is the best!"

"This week I went back to Santiago.  I was chillin with Elder Smart again.  I also got to eat one of Sister King's special lunches because it was a "greenie" meeting for the newbies and their trainers.  I went because Hermana King invited me.  President King was like, "What are you doing here?" and I told him that his wife invited me. haha  I actually told some of the trainers that they had made a mistake and that I was really suppose to train. haha...darn  Anyways, I had taco salad and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches!  I scored big time!  I also got to talk to the senior missionaries, the Dorious's, that are going home today.  They are going to live in Boise.  It was fun to be with Elder Smart in the office.  I'm glad I'm not an office Elder.  It seems really tiring and they are on the computer all day.  Not fun. haha"

"I just realized how big my sector really is.  It is like the whole city of Salmon and we have more country than I had thought.  We walk so much that it is tiring me out to the point of death! haha  There are some country homes where they have an outhouse instead of a bathroom.  There was one hermana that got really embarrassed when I asked to use her bathroom.  I felt bad.  I love the people here.  I get along with them and feel happy.  It reminds me so much of Salmon, I can't even tell you.  I am enjoying it a lot.  I am also happy because we have a lot of investigators that are progressing.  When there is work that is working.., I love it!"

"Now the coolest thing that happened to me this week.  It's crazy how the Lord can use the smallest of our talents.., even the talents we didn't know we had.  There was an Elder's Quorum activity that we were invited to.  We went bowling and a ton of these country folk have never bowled in their entire life.  It was cool to see how excited they were to experience it for the first time.  I think we take for granted a lot of the small things that we have.  Some people were just happy to throw a big colorful ball at a bunch of pegs and it gave them absolute joy.  If only we could have more experiences like that in this life! haha  Anyways, there is a man in the ward that cannot hear or talk.  He speaks sign language.  I felt bad for him because he is completely normal, but it is super hard for him to communicate.  He is a really good guy and is always laughing and is just really cool.  He has a wife and a little baby.  He is new in the ward and the Elders don't really know what to do for him.  It's like constant awkwardness.  He always tries to communicate, and they do the best they can, but it is tough.  I then remembered a secret.  I remembered how to spell in sign language! haha  I started spelling out things to him with my hands.  We started communicating really well.  He was so happy and grateful.  Whenever someone needed to tell him something, I would just spell out a word and then he would get the rest.  We formed a close bond really fast and he depends on me.  He helped me to understand him and has been teaching me lots of sign language.  Here's the cool part.  After bowling the Elders invited us to go eat pizza, so of course we were forced to go. haha  Anyways, I was feeling really sick with this darn cold.  He signed to me to ask if I wanted to have a blessing.  At first I told him no because I didn't think it was necessary, but then the spirit told me that I needed to say yes.  I turned back to him and told him that yes, I would like a blessing and that I would like him to do it.  He was really excited.  He has been a baptized member for 6 years.  Before going home, I told the Elders that I was going to have a blessing and they all wanted to participate.  I asked Elder Pena to anoint the oil and then everyone was surprised when I picked William to give me the blessing.  Everyone got in a circle around me and William gave the blessing.  Of course it was a little awkward and I didn't hear a word he said, but he was signing some things with his left hand and mumbled some things.  It was a long blessing and then we heard the word amen and the men knew that it was done.  It was such a spiritual experience and I felt the spirit so strong.  The Elders had a new respect for William and everyone congratulated and thanked him.  The awkwardness wasn't there and it was really cool.  Then yesterday at church, he doesn't have any idea what they were talking about during classes, so I would sign to him some key words from across the room of what they were teaching.  I'm grateful that the Lord made me remember how to spell in sign language and that it has helped me on my mission.  The Lord can use even the smallest things to help and bless us."

"My responsibilities as a zone leader is to capacitate the missionaries and motivate them to be the best that they can be.  We also go to concilio at President's house to come up with iniciatives that will help the mission.  We are in charge of working with stake leaders and coordinating the work with them.  We basically are more administrative and make sure that everything is running the way it should be.  Other than that, we just support the district leaders in their responsibilities."

"I want you to read the last couple verses of 3 Nephi 12.  It says that we should put the Lord first and then he will give us everything that we have need of.  I love you and know that you are all doing this.  Have a great week and stay close to the Lord.  He will support us in all things."

Elder Dallon Smith

Elder's Quorum bowling activity

...of course, Pizza afterwards!

Talagante country

Talagante

Dallon's new area is Talagante.  He is in the country and doing really well.  He says that his pension is a condo that he shares with three other missionaries; Elder Pena, Elder McBride, and Elder West.  He is already back to work and taking on the challenge of being a zone leader.

"Yup, I am in Talagante.  My companion is Elder Pena from the Dominican Republic.  We get along great and are going to have a lot of success together.  We already have 6 fechas and only after three days, we have invited someone to be baptized.  The people here are very loving and I already feel at home.  Everything is more chill and the air is clean.  It's not as hot because there is a wind.  I also live in a super nice pension that's actually a condo.  I live with one of my good friends, Elder McBride and it has been a blast.  Elder McBride and Elder Hallstrom are the district leaders.  I am excited to be working with them.  If I am lucky, I think I will be ending my mission here.  It is a country town like Idaho Falls.  There is a small outdoor mall and everyone seems to know eachother to some level.  The only thing to top it off would be some country tunes! haha"

"This week was pretty cool.  I actually wasn't even in my own sector.  I was busy traveling back and forth from Talagante to Santiago.  The first day was kind of embarrassing because I have a ton of stuff.  I think I have more stuff than the sister missionaries.  My bags and suit cases are hhheeeeavy! haha  I just had a lot of people gift me things and I can't just throw them away.  Maybe I'll send a package home, but I'm nervous that it will get lost in the mail.  Aside from that, I had to pack all my winter stuff, which is really bulky, but somehow I managed it.  A man picked us up in an old ghetto van and we just strapped our bags on the top. haha  It was awesome.  Elder McBride and I were freakin' out the whole way there because we were going to live together and we both are country boys.  He is from Thatcher, Arizona.  We also have some friends in common because I met a whole bunch of them at EFY.  I am also living with Elder West, who get this, was JP's companion in the MTC. haha  Small world, right?  My companion, Elder Pena, is cool.  We teach really well together and he reminds me of Russell, who of course, is serving in the Dominican Republic.  Everything's just connecting.  I love it."

"The next day, I had to go back to Santiago because my companion had an appointment.  While I was there at the temple, a missionary from the East mission named Elder Phoenix saw me and was way excited.  I think he was from my zone in the MTC.  It was good to see him again.  The following day the office elders called us and said that Elder Pena had to do his carnet, so we went back to Santiago.  I got to spend the day with Elder Smart and we ordered pizza!  He also got special permission for me to help in the office the next day.  It ended up just being half the day because one of the places for the carnet was closed, so they were done early.  That just means that I'll probably be with Elder Smart again next week.  It's gonna be legit! haha"

"We already have 6 fechas with some really cool people.  I also was able to set up a baptismal date with a little girl named Catalina.  She wants to be baptized with her brother.  It's pretty awesome.  The people here are so kind and love my name, Elder Smith.  I guess they have never known an Elder Smith, so they all freak out about it.  They take really good care of me and I can already tell that I will love it here."

"One embarrassing thing that you guys will secretly enjoy too much is.., yesterday I was walking to a little country hospital because one of our investigators is having a baby.  It was freakin' hot and I was looking at this big empty lot right in the middle of a bunch of houses.  I was thinking about what they were going to put there.., like a chapel or a city building?  Then I lost interest and right when I turned my head forward, I ran into a huge metal sign!  Who puts metal signs in the middle of the sidewalk?!  Chilenos!  It was a big sign so it made a huge sound like wang wang waaaannnnggg!  There were some people behind us that saw the whole thing! haha  My companion just looks at me like did you really just do that? haha  Now I have a huge mark on my forehead and a big bruise and cuts on my knee. haha  It was so stupid!"

"A cool fact about Talagante is that it is a district.  It is the only district in the mission and we are in the paper work for turning it into a stake.  I will most likely be here when it makes the transition.  It will be the first new stake in Chile since President Holland came to reorganize everything.  I think that is pretty cool!  I know the district president and as a zone leader, I am working a lot with the high councilmen in the stake.  We have already had a couple meetings and it is really cool to see the difference that we can make.  The people here are really humble and they have already seen or heard the missionaries, so they are not as receptive.  However, I think that I will do well here."

"Once again we have pulgas!  They are not as bad as the coast, but I found one that jumped onto my fingernail at lunch.  It was nasty and I popped that little pimple pulga fast! haha  I consider myself a pro at pulga popping!  Gross right?  In the morning our pension smells like a pasture.  It's great.  You can see tractors everywhere and everyone is more easy going.  Our sector is pretty big, but we don't have bicycles.  I haven't walked so much in my life!  It is my biggest sector so far."

"Elder Pena was sick yesterday, so we only worked for half the day.  Today, we played soccer in the morning and I sucked it up. haha  Then we went and ate completos.  It was good.  Now I can go buy some food!  Elder McBride shared his food with me because we never had time to go shopping.  It was a really busy week.  I mostly ate my supply of chocolate and jerky that I had been saving."

"Oh, I am teaching an investigator that Elder Cloward taught a long time ago.  Her name is Margarita.  I just thought that you might like to know.  I also hear that I should be getting my trunkie papers next month.  I miss you all a lot.  I am happy here in the country.  Send my love to everyone and tell them that I am doing fine...aside from running into stationary objects in the middle of the sidewalk!  Have a great week!"

Elder Dallon Smith

Rinconada District

Elder Pena and Elder Smith

"Cars" car in Talagante

Sunset in Talagante

Maipu Zone

Zone Leader

Changes are here again and Dallon has been made a Zone Leader.  He finds out tomorrow where his new area will be.  He has some mixed emotions and would like to be training again, but he is going forward with faith.  It is wonderful that he is able to leave Rinconada with another baptism.

"It's crazy that it's almost Valentine's Day.  I didn't even realize it! haha  The mission can really make you lose track of time.  This week went by quickly and for that reason I am grateful."

"Yesterday we had Jacqueline's baptism.  During the week things were a bit sketchy and I was thinking, I don't know how everything is going to work out.  Yet somehow, the Lord just took it from our hands and walked her into the waters of baptism.  She really loved her baptism.  The best part is that she bought a new modest dress to wear and it was really cool to see that the gospel was truly changing her.  She asked me to baptize her and it was awesome."

"I think you are right.  I don't know what is happening with me but I realize that I have gotten skinnier.  I've actually lost weight.  I am eating way more than ever before and I am doing exercises every day.  I weighed myself the other day and I have lost weight since my first area on the coast.  I hope I don't have a worm or something! haha jk!"

"Yes, I have changes.  President called me to be a Zone Leader.  It's cool, but I was really hoping that I would be able to open up a new sector and train again.  The idea of being a Zone Leader doesn't seem too appealing to me.  I know the Lord has a divine purpose in all things and that he will use me where he needs me.  I think it will be a good experience.  I really learned a lot this change.  I'm grateful that the Lord taught me how to get along with someone who is far different from me.  It makes life interesting, right?"

"Anyways, that was basically my week.  The familia Morales Gutierez came to visit.  They wrote me a letter that was awesome and really made me feel good.  I am so grateful for them.  That whole ward has been such a blessing.  They will always be special to me.  I'm glad that I got to know a lot of great people here.  I'm ready for what the Lord has in store for me in a different place.  I hope he will help to guide me in all things and to enjoy these last months while I am here.  I am ready for the next part of my mission.  It's more than likely that I will end my mission in my next sector."

"You are all my greatest blessings.  Thanks for all that you do.  Stay strong, go to the temple, read your scriptures, and pray as a family.  I love you very much!"

Elder Dallon Smith

Elder Smith and Jacqueline

Jacqueline's baptism day

The Morales Gutierez family's visit to Rinconada

Proof that he does eat!

Elders ??, Smith and Mackie at the Buin Zoo

Taking time to ponder?

The three amigos: Elder Silva, ?? and Smith

Strengthening in Faith

We finally were able to get the pictures that Dallon tried to send last week.  He could only do half of them, so we should get some more next week.  How did families survive before modern technology?  We live in great times and it has been wonderful to share in this mission experience every week.

"This week has not been the most entertaining, but I've been happy because things are still going well.  At the beginning of the week, I went on divisions with Elder Camus from Spain.  We had a lot of fun and he kept me laughing the whole time.  We were able to meet a lot of his investigators, as well as pass by Gladys, who is their investigator who loves me. ha ha  I was actually able to do her baptismal interview yesterday and she passed with flying colors.  I'm so excited for her and for Elders Mackie and Camus.  They've been working really hard to get a baptism and Gladys is more than ready.  Elder Camus made me lasagna and completos.  We also talked the whole night.  He is really cool and it was nice to relax a little."

"We have an investigator named Jaqueline who is progressing super fast.  We placed a baptismal date with her after our first lesson.  She had been taught by missionaries a lot in her past.  We found her a month ago and when we knocked on her door, she invited us in like she already knew us.  There wasn't a man in the house so we had to visit her the next day with a member.  We have visited her two to three times a week since then and she has always completed her part of the compromisos.  She went to church and read the Book of Mormon.  She said that she has never received a definite answer, but that it just felt right and she knew that it was true.  It is really cool how things have turned out.  She has made a lot of friends in the ward and has her own testimony of the gospel.  She says that she has felt something in this church that she has never felt anywhere else.  She passed her baptismal interview and has asked me to baptize her.  At first we tried to convince her to be baptized by a member of the ward, but she feels really strongly that I do it.  She is way excited and happy and will be baptized this Sunday."

"The coolest thing that happened was Belen and her mother came to visit me.  It was one of thee coolest experiences ever!  They came to the ward and were just so happy to see me.  They look so different now as members of the church.  There was a light coming from their eyes and their whole demeanor was so different.  The gospel is true.  It was so good to see them and they thanked me for teaching them and bringing the gospel to their lives.  Then during sacrament meeting, Belen bore her testimony and it was so emotional and awesome.  They have come so far.  I am grateful that the Lord lets me be a part of people's conversion.  It is one of the most gratifying things to see your converts strong in the faith and happy.  It was a huge blessing for me.  Belen also told my ward that she is from the Diagonal fan club for Elder Smith. ha ha  My ward thinks it is funny that I get all these visitors.  It makes me feel good.  Diagonal was a hard area, but look at how much I was able to gain from it.  I love the mission."

"My testimony is growing so much and I can feel the spirit comforting and strengthening me.  I know this church is true.  The principles bless us so much.  We truly are happy when we are being obedient.  Things are going well and the Lord has taken really good care of me.  I know that his promises are true.  We're not perfect, but he accepts us as we are and helps us to see how we can become better..,which leads to more happiness.  I am proud to be a part of our family.  You make me want to be better every day."

Elder Dallon Smith

Divisions with Elder Camus

Alexis's baptism day

Elder Salines, Alexis and Elder Smith

Jose's baptism day

Elder Smith, Jose and Elder Salines

Great Friends!

Belen and her mother's visit to Rinconada

Elder Smith and Belen