"That blessing that I received healed me in just three days! My companion took three weeks to recover. It was a personal miracle and I feel really fortunate. I didn't have to miss a single day or hour of work. It was really cool for me and the ward to witness."
"This week I went to concilio. It was a new experience for me. I had to share my testimony and it wasn't too bad. They feed us lots of good food. We had french toast and eggs for breakfast and enchiladas for lunch. There was way too much food! I don't know what is wrong with me, but I just can't eat a lot. When I do, I eat really slow. They also gave us chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches that were delicious! haha In concilio, we had to present the numbers and things that we had accomplished in the last month. I'm new, so I didn't really have much to say because I am still getting to know the zone. But I am excited because I think that we will be able to do great things in Talagante. I want to get to work. There are 24 zone leaders and 12 zones. It was cool to see how the meeting worked. I now will be able to contribute more next time. I went to the President's house for the first time and it was really nice and big."
"We are going to have two baptisms this week. Juan David and Catalina. They passed their baptismal interview and are excited. Catalina is the first investigator I found, so I was able to teach her everything. It was really fast and they are going to be strong in the gospel. They both look like gringos. haha We were trying to get the young men of the ward to baptize them, but they wanted us to do it. I'll be baptizing Catalina and Elder Pena will baptize Juan David on Saturday. We also have a few more investigators that are progressing really well. I think that I got here at a good time to harvest. haha There are a lot of great people and we actually had 10 investigators that came to church yesterday. I love it here. It is so chill and the people are really kind."
"We have been getting really close to the branch president. He loves having us over and we cleaned his windows on the ledge of a second story house. I wanted to take pictures for you, but forgot my camera. He shared a lot of cool experiences with us. He had been a convert of 3 years when he was called as branch president. Imagine that! He is really solid and we are working well together. He is awesome!"
"Everything is going good. I am dying of heat, but we have a lot of work. On Friday, I am going back to Santiago for a leadership conference. I have been there every week. I hate traveling. We get packed into little buses and it is a long bus ride standing up with two bags. haha These last couple days, I started busting up laughing because I just found our situation so funny. When I was busting up, a lot of the people around me did too. It's just that I know I will never be in these situations again and, really if you think about it, they are kinda funny. haha"
"I have been trying to be a better and more focused missionary. I want to give all of myself 'til the end, so that I can look back and truly say I gave everything to the mission and not have any regrets. My testimony is growing so much. I feel like I am becoming a different person. For these last six months, my goal is to give all of myself to the Lord and be completely obedient because I want to be, not because I'm suppose to be. I am so tired, but so happy. Elder Pena is going home the same time as me. Every time we see a plane fly over, we just look at eachother and laugh. Six months and then it is all over. I'm not ready for that. The mission has been the best decision of my entire life. It truly is not easy, but it is so filling. I will be sad the day that this sacred mantel is taken from me. Being a missionary is like having the opportunity to follow Christ and know that he accepts you for your faults and knows all that you can be. I don't have to see myself through my own eyes, which sometimes can be negative. I can see myself through the Lord's eyes and that gives me strength to never stop trying. I like the quote by David O. McKay, that says, "It's not whether I won the battle or not that matters. It's the way I kept fighting."
"Anyways, I love you very much. I'm glad that you went to the temple and had a great experience. I love the temple. Stay strong and close to the Lord. I'm proud of my family and I'm happy to be a missionary. It's like the mormon.org videos...I'm a son, brother, missionary, and I'm a mormon! haha What a great blessing it is to have the fulness of the gospel. Les amo muchisimo. Nunca se olviden que su hermano siempre esta pensando en ustedes y desea que tenga felicidad en cada dia de sus vidas. Cuidense mucho mi querida familia. Les hecho de menos.
Elder Dallon Smith
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| The field is ready to harvest in Talagante! |
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| Elder Smith, Catalina, and Elder Pena |
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| Zone leaders March concilio |
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| Elders Lewis, Smith and Ciccio |
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| MTC buddies, Elders Smith, Birch and Cummock |
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| ...with Hermana King |