It's Raining Blessings

It was fun to notice in this letter that Dallon is writing differently.  We can tell that he is thinking in Spanish.  He talks about how much rain is falling in Chile, but the work still goes on and they had another baptism.  He also finally got to enjoy proselyting by bike during divisions this week.  He is having a great time and the pictures say it all.

"We had another great week in the service of the Lord.  I am continuing to learn and progress every day.  It has been a good week and I have definitely felt the Lord's love.  It's been seriously pouring rain here.  I think that all your prayers are falling on us.  I'm grateful for the many blessings that I've received."

"On Tuesday, I went on divisions with Elder Tyler in La Islita.  We had a lot of fun together.  We rode bikes the whole day and holy smoly, my butt was sore! haha  We went out into the deep country and had a crazy lesson with a family that lives out in a shack.  They didn't want to go to their ward because of some problems they had with the people.  They were really nice at first, but then got really rude when they realized that we didn't agree with their side.  At one point, I thought they were going to kick us off their farm.  I don't think that the missionaries will be going back there any time soon, but I think the Lord wanted us to tell them the truth.  It was still nice to get away from the pension and get to know Elders Tyler, Mason and Zanartu a lot better.  In the night, they made banana chocolate chip pancakes.  It was soooo good!"

"Elder Holton and I have been able to become really good friends and our companionship unity has grown.  We have been having a lot of fun and have had some great miracles together this week.  We had the baptism of Francisca on Saturday.  It was literally raining so much that there were rivers in the streets.  You almost couldn't cross without going through lakes.  Luckily, my trusty companion and I, made it through with our bravery and flimsy umbrellas. haha  The baptismal service was really good.  We sang, "Nearer My God to Thee," with the Mom.  When I baptized Francisca, the spirit was so strong and everything worked out perfectly.  It seriously was a beautiful service."

"Marina wasn't able to be baptized because she has phnemonia and bronchitis.  She got super sick and the doctors said that she shouldn't bathe herself.  It was sad, but Marina said that whatever happens, she knows that she will be baptized.  She said that she is going to give all her strength and faith towards being baptized next Saturday.  She has great faith and really does know that what we have taught is true.  She has already passed the baptismal interview and now all she needs to do is get better."

"A cool miracle that we had involves a grandma who was really mean the whole time we were teaching her granddaughter.  Last week, she came up to us and started sharing.  The Lord helped us to find all of her doubts and we helped her out a lot.  Now she really loves us.  She looked at me during the last lesson and told me that I have such a special spirit.  The family is so interesting because there are three couples that all live in the same house.  Half of them are members and their partners are not and they are not married.  Now that the grandma loves us, they are all listening to us.  Elder Holton and I were able to teach them about the law of chastity, the temple and eternal marriage.  Each couple said that they wanted that in their lives.  We have started teaching them and they all have plans to get married.  I think that would be the coolest if we really could get them all married and sealed in the temple.  Imagine that!  We are praying for them.  They always want us at their house and will make us yummy food, so that we will go there more often. haha"

"We also found a friend of Tity's, that you might have seen in some of the baptismal pictures.  She has tattoos and everything.  She felt the spirit so strongly at a lesson we had with Tity and Bernadita, that she wants to listen to us.  It is so cool and we are going to start teaching her tomorrow."

"Yesterday we had a district conference and President King came and spoke.  It was really good.  It was funny because the whole time, Tity was passing us cookies and milk. haha  They take too much care of us and everyone thinks that we are way spoiled.  Then we go to a noche de hogar with an inactive family.  While we were there, Hermana Claudia announced that she saw a video of me singing on facebook!  She got out the laptop and everyone had to watch me sing.  Oh gosh, it was so embarrassing!  Anyways it was funny too."

"We've been working hard to find more people to teach.  This week we have concilio again and I will also be leaving on divisions with Elder Mlazgar on Wednesday.  I think everything is going real well with the zone.  We just need to get more baptisms.  We didn't meet our goal of 5 baptisms.  We only had 3, but I know that we will do much better next month.  We just had a few complications with the investigators, but they will still be baptized.  I know that in our sector, we will have a lot of baptisms in June."

"That's crazy that you're all going to enter summer vacation.  Just think that the next time you enter school, I'll be home!  Ahhhhh, I'm not ready yet!  There is still a lot more people here that need to get baptized and or married before I come home.  I hope that time permits me to do all the things that I need to do.  President King's son came home from his mission today.  Hermana King was so stoked.  It's weird to think that I will be following in his footsteps.  I'm doing well and am happy.  I know that the church is true.  I know that the Book of Mormon really does guide us personally as we study it daily and apply its' principles.  I know that we are truly happy when we are free from the world and its' chains.  I know that I am happy when I am in the service of the Lord and that he guides and teaches me every day.  Something really cool is that Elder Holton and I sing in harmony almost every day.  We have had some really cool experiences singing the hymns.  It really is a prayer of the heart and music can touch people in a whole new way.  I love the hymns and the peace that it brings to our lives.  Sing a hymn every day and you will never be alone.  I love you all."

Elder Dallon Smith

Bring on the rain!

Francisca's Baptism Day

Francisca's Family

It's all good!

Biking with Elder Tyler in La Islita

Any food is good food!

Look Mom, we bake!

The faces of determination and confidence

Enduring Trials

Dallon is not feeling well and had a tough week.  He is experiencing that being a leader is not always fun and can often be a lonely place.  This week his letter was mostly self contemplative, but he did share some special experiences.

"It's interesting how the Lord works.  Reading your email was an answer to a lot of my questions and prayers.  Thanks for helping me out so much.  It's funny because this morning I came to the very same conclusion.  It's hard to be a leader.  It's hard to be the bad guy all the time.  It's hard to receive the criticism of those around you and it's even harder not to be hard on yourself about it.  I never thought that I would feel the way that I do right now.  I always wanted to be a leader and now that I am one, it's like I just want to run away from it.  I think I am a bit of a perfectionist.  I think I am the hardest on myself.  President said that I better just get use to it because I'll probably be a leader for life.  It's been a growing experience and I think that it will continue to be one for me.  Thanks for your counsel.  I received the same inspiration this morning in my personal study.  I'll print out your email and read it a lot this week to help remind me of the things that are most important."

"Some positive news is that Estefania got baptized!  It was kind of a crazy experience.  Elder Holton was on divisions and forgot to bring the tunica to Talagante, so after teaching English classes, we had to run over to get it.  We got back to the chapel late and everyone was freaking out about nothing is planned and everything is horrible.  They didn't think that I cared about them.  Everything was ready, we just got there a little late.  Then I get a phone call from the branch president and he goes off on why we don't have anything planned?  I just listened, was patient and endured it.  Everything was ready and everything went great.  Lots of people came, the water was perfect temperature, we had the clothes ready, and it went just perfect.  It was really easy and it was interesting that it went so smoothly.  When Estefania was baptized, she just broke down crying in the font.  The spirit was really strong.  They all thanked me afterwards and were really happy about it all.  The most important thing is that she was baptized and it was really wonderful.  We also have 2 more baptisms this week.  They will be baptized on Saturday and have asked me to baptize them.  It should be cool if I can get through this week without crashing.  I know it will be great."

"Another thing this week was we had divisions.  I went to Santiago with Elder Farias from Argentina.  It was so fun!  I got a member to take us to Santiago in his car so we didn't have to stay overnight with the office elders.  Hermano Torrez took us out to eat and dropped us off right where we needed to go.  He showed us where he worked and it was really cool.  There were like a bajillion people trying to take out their carnets at the same time.  We waited for freaking hours!  It's like the DMV on steroids.  Everyone was speaking different languages.  I talked to a guy from China that couldn't speak Spanish, but could speak English. haha  It was fun getting to know him.  I think he saw my Asian roots, so he came to talk to me instead of anyone else.  He was a Protestant and had moved to Chile to be with his son.  Knowing languages is a great benefit and blessing.  It opens doors for knowing more people and how they think.  I really like it."

"Elder Farias is really cool.  He is just a big humble nice guy.  He really helped me to relax and was so kind when I most needed it.  We had a great time together and luckily for me, was really good at directions. haha  He saved me.  I'm glad I got to know him.  We ended up doing divisions for 2 days because we took so long in the extranjeria and police investigations that the registro civil closed before we could get there and finish.  We had to go to do it on Tuesday morning."

"We also had capacitacion especial with President King and the Elders from Penaflor.  I got to see Elder Wilcox and a few others that I have gotten to know in the mission.  It was fun and I was glad that I got to see Elder Wilcox again.  He is so old now and believe he has like a year in the mission.  He is really fun and it was good to catch up with him."

"Our investigator Francisca also finally had her baby!  It was so weird seeing a brand new baby.  They are so stinking cute!  You can definitely feel the spirit with new born babies.  They are full of the light of Christ.  It's like a chunk of heaven.  It's legit.  Francisca should be getting baptized in June now, so that's exciting."

"Well, life is good.  I really liked this mormon message that I'm sure you've all seen about a member that was in a plane accident and her whole face was burned.  She says a lot of stuff in the video that makes me realize that our trials are so simple and that we should thank God for all of our trials because he is always there.  I know that is true.  I am learning to trust more in God's opinion of me, than my own opinion of me.  I'll be fine.  Pray that I'll be full of charity and that I will have more work than I'll know what to do with.  Keep being you and your best selves.  I know that I have the best family in the world!"

Elder Dallon Smith

Estefania's Baptism Day

Estefania's Family

Just hangin' with Elders Smith and Holton

Zone Conference April 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

Dallon called us on Skype at 5:00 on Mother's Day.  It was a special treat to be able to talk to him and see his face.  He is so happy.  While we were talking he had to take a phone call and we were able to hear him speak fluent Spanish.  It was incredible and we were all amazed.  He says that he thinks in Spanish now and has to work to remember the English words.  We also got to say "hi" to his new companion, Elder Holton, from good ol' Sandy, Utah.  They have worked together and been friends throughout the mission and are now companions.  We talked to Dallon until the power went out in the cafe.  There is never a dull moment.

"Well, there isn't much to say after yesterday.  I would have liked to say my good-byes, but I guess it's better if we start saying our hellos.  It was weird seeing you all and knowing that I would be with you shortly.  I know it will be so good to be with you and have you close, but it also makes me grateful that I'm not there right now.  I don't want to go home.  I guess I like the mission better than the world I came from."

"Do you really think that I talk fast?  I know I talk fast in Spanish, but I don't feel like I talk much faster in English.  When you are talking I feel like the conversation is moving slower.  Here in Chile, we talk fast and often over the top of eachother. haha"

"The Barrueto family came to visit me on Mother's Day.  Hermana Barrueto started talking to the other hermanas in my ward and told them that I looked skinnier and all the sisters were like, "That's it!  We knew he wasn't eating a lot." haha  She also made me promise to start dressing warmer.  There is a family here that knew them from a long time ago and when they saw eachother in the chapel, they just started crying.  The man here in Talagante, hugged me and said, "Thank you so much!  You don't know what you have done."  I guess he was their Bishop 15 years ago when they still were not married.  Anyways the Barrueto's are going to come stay overnight with this family some time later in the month.  They want to do a noche de hogar with me. haha  It's fun."

"This week Estefania is going to be baptized, so that will be cool.  From marriage to baptism.  Ya baby!  I'm excited.  This week I will also have to go do my carnet and have a zone conference with a couple other zones.  I saw Elder Izelo at changes and he was so happy to see me.  He gifted me the pin that he received for graduating from seminary.  It was something he really treasured, so I didn't want to take it, but he said he wanted me to have it.  Elder Izelo made everything worth it for me.  I know for sure that I meant something in his life and that is something I would have never found anywhere else."

"I'm not worried about coming home.  I'll leave my expectations low and continue to be sad to go home. haha  I'll make sure to make every minute count.  I love you all very much.  Have a great week!

Elder Dallon Smith

Elder Smith and Elder Holton

Their apartment building in Talagante.

Living the good life

Bittersweet Changes

It is hard for Dallon not to think about his time getting short.  There is so much still to do and he wants not to waste a moment.  We received his travel plans and there will be four returning together to the Salt Lake airport.  One of them being, Elder Smart, who has been a great friend throughout the mission.  It will be a wonderful reunion and we can't help but be excited.

"A week of changes!  I found out on Saturday that Elder Pena is leaving and I'll be receiving a new companion.  It is bittersweet.  We worked hard together and did well and I am hoping that I will get another good companion.  I'll find out tomorrow."

"The biggest news is we finally got our investigator to get married!  She got married on Friday.  It was really cool to be a part of that and hearing the "I do's" stuff.  The family loves us and says that they will never forget us.  We went to the municipalidad (I don't know how to say that in English), where you go to get married with the government.  They asked me and Elder Pena to be the witnesses, but I couldn't do it because, right now, I am illegal in Chile. haha  My carnet got held up a bit because a grandma missionary accidentally sent me an important form for my carnet, instead of sending it to the office secretary.  This next week I will renew my carnet.  Anyways, they had a big feast with breakfast and a barbeque.  It was really fun and cool to be able to share that with them.  She will be baptized on May 19th, and their sights are set on the temple."

"We also had another concilio.  It is the meeting for zone leaders where we leave the night before, stay with the office elders, and then travel to President's home.  Then afterwards, we take a long journey home.  We lose a lot of proselyting time, but it is fun to be with Elder Smart.  He got us seats next to eachother on the planes home.  There is only 6 or 8 of us going home early.  Concilio was fun.  We ate a delicious breakfast and lunch.  That's the best part.  I was with Elder Mackie the whole time.  He is one of my best buds in the mission.  The zone is doing alright.  We are doing good on baptisms, but we still have some room to improve on our key indicators.  I also went on divisions with Elder McBride.  I love this guy!  We always have a good time together.  I don't get how we can talk everyday and yet on divisions we never run out of things to say. haha"

"Something cool that happened yesterday was, in the middle of sacrament meeting, 8 big white men walked in and came and sat next to me.  They were all United States military and were training down here.  Every one of them was LDS and had all served missions.  A lot of them were studying at BYU.  They were all cool and were giving me tips for after the mission.  I felt like I was back home! haha  Their commander had served his mission in Chile 28 years ago and had baptized our second counselor, so he brought them all over to visit.  It was weird too, because they greeted me with a handshake and here in Chile, the custom is a handshake and a hug.  They were all super awkward about it and I realized that I was the weird one giving them all hugs! haha  That is one thing I am going to miss from Chile.  You can really feel someone's love for you when you hug them."

"As far as cooking.., I don't cook.  Everyone has always taken care of me.  I don't know what I am going to do.  There are a couple things I would like to try to make when I get home, such as; pan amasado, flan, completos, and sopaipillas.  However, the food is almost always the same; rice, potatoes, chicken, corn, etc.  It's pretty much the same stuff all the time unless someone really loves you and makes you what you want.  I'll have to take a cooking class. haha  We eat a lot of fruit for desserts, but I don't really eat them when I'm on my own."

"For Mother's Day, I will be calling on Sunday!  Whoooo hoooo!  We have to use public computers, so I hope Skype will work out.  I have found two places that seem good, so we are going to do the best we can to have a good chat.  It's gonna be a short one because Pres. King keeps making the time shorter and shorter.  He said this time that we only have 40 minutes."

"I love you to death and I am doing well.  I just hope these last changes will be even more wonderful for the rest of my mission.  I love it out here.  Good job for using your talents family.  We are going to have so many opportunities in the future, but the greatest opportunity we have is to open our mouths and share this gospel.  There is nothing like it.  A mission is happiness.  I can look back and see just how far I've come and it is incredible.  I would be frustrated living life as the person that I was.  I know that I can handle so much more now and that the Lord's promises are real.  I'm grateful for you all and for the blessings that we share.  We are so freakin' rich!

Elder Dallon Smith

Marriage at the Municipalidad.

The happy family!

Zone Leader Concilio May 2012

Oh...now we recognize them!

Working hard at President's house.

The favorite, cookie ice cream sandwiches!

Elder McBride and Elder Smith on divisions.

The temptation was just too strong!

Elder Smith sleeps on the right.

Love thy Neighbor

We are so grateful for the blessings of having a missionary.  We learn something new in every letter Dallon sends home.  He inspires us and we share his love for the people of Chile. 

"I am finding that time here is slipping through my fingers.  I think we might actually be closer to the same time now, unless you also switched the daylight savings time.  I love daylight savings time!  I got to sleep an extra hour and let me tell ya, it was an hour in heaven. haha  It's so weird, but those are the only days that I can sleep in and feel no guilt.  It's pure pleasure.  Things are going by so quickly.  I am getting nervous because you love the mission so very much, but then at the same time, I am also excited to be with you all again.  I miss you, but I am definitely enjoying every minute that I have.  I'm sad that it's all going to come to an end.  I am also excited about the new life that I'll be able to lead with all of the lessons I have learned from my mission.  It's weird feeling like the older missionary and having everyone always ask if you miss your family or if you are excited to go home.  Anyone who finds out that I am close to going home, always bring out the trunkie questions.  I guess the good thing is Elder Pena has the same time as me, so we take it together.  This will be my last week with Elder Pena.  We have worked really well together and I love the way we teach.  It is so legit."

"P-days are crazy!  I'll be honest and say that I do and do not look forward to them.  I get so exhausted on p-days.  Usually we wake up, study, and then at 10:30, we clean the pension.  At 11:00, we are playing soccer until 2:00.  Then we go shower and get out around 3:00 and start running all over the place trying to talk with you and shop and do whatever else must be done, such as, cutting our hair or some other random errand.  It's fun because you're with everyone, but it's one of the most stressful days of the week."

"One of the strengths that I have been noticing about myself, for some reason is, people let me say things that they would never let anyone else tell them.  I am able to gain their confidence and tell them the truth, even though it might not be what they want to hear.  I think it is because they know that I'm not doing it to judge them, but that I want them to progress and do what is right.  Last night we went to an inactive members house.  He was saying that all the people in the church are hypocrites and that we couldn't see it because we're inside of it.  Now that he was outside of the church, he saw everything that was so negative about everyone.  So then I said that I didn't want to listen to all of his excuses about why he didn't go to church because he will never have a valid one.  I then shared the story of the woman who committed adultery and the Lord, Jesus Christ, forgave her.  I then asked if he was prepared to cast the first stone against his projimo, or neighbor?  I said that everyone that goes to church doesn't go for the people, but for the ordinances that Jesus established.  We take the sacrament not to say that we are perfect, but that we are trying to be better.  Every person that takes the sacrament is a sinner.  I shared Pres. Uchtdorf's quote, "Don't judge me because I sin differently than you."  It was so powerful and the spirit was very strong.  His countenance changed and he understood.  I told him that I had to be direct because that is how Jesus taught and that is what the Lord wanted him to know.  He thanked me and wasn't offended at all.  Hermano Briones, the mission leader, shared the story about the debtor that was forgiven and invited him to forgive others because one day he also was going to ask for forgiveness from God.  It was a great lesson."

"I went on divisions with Elder Hallstrom in his sector.  The day was pretty slow, but it gave us the opportunity to talk and get to know eachother.  He is the missionary that went to Diagonal right after I left.  We shared some of the same converts, so he told me about all that happened to them.  It was fun to catch up about everyone back there.  I feel like it all happened so long ago.  We had a cool experience.  We were out in the country and there was a house way out in the darkness with one light on it.  We decided to contact it and the guy would not invite us in.  Well, around the corner of this house was another hidden house.  We contacted it and and they let us in.  We found a family! haha  I guess it must be strange to have two gringos come to your house at 9:00 at night in the middle of nowhere, but hey it worked! haha  It was really cool."

"We had another cool miracle that involved the lady that we invited to be baptized last week.  She received a really cool answer.  Her boss at work came up to her and said that he had a dream that she was dressed in pure white and that she was soooo happy.  She told her boss that it was because she had decided to be baptized in the mormon church.  She is feeling the spirit so strongly and it is exciting."

"This week we also went to a special capacitation with the assistants and two other zones.  I got to see a lot of my buds.  Elder Holton was telling me that he wants to be my next companion. haha  That could really happen.  We'll see next Tuesday.  I think that I am going to stay and I really hope I don't get changes.  We have some new families that are taking way too good care of us.  They bring us food, want to drive us everywhere, cook for us, sew for us, wash for us, etc.  They want to do everything for us.  It's insanity!  I think it is safe to say that we will never go without here.  Today they took us to a really nice Chinese restaurant and paid for everything.  They are helping us with all of our investigators and invite them to participate in their family home evenings.  Gosh, they are doing the work for us! haha  It's cool.  Also Paloma and her family treat us like their kids."

"Anywho...that was my week.  I love you all and I have such a great family.  I hope you have a great week and I'll be talking to you on Skype in hopefully two weeks.  Thanks for all that you are.

Elder Dallon Smith

Start of the Frost

This was our shortest letter in a long while.  P-days can be exhausting with so much to do.  Dallon never mentions why he is so tired, but we think that three hours of soccer might be the reason.  Work hard and play hard is the missionaries' lot.  It's a great life!

"The week was really crazy and long.  I am really tired and I can see that it is going to be another long crazy week.  It's better to just take it day by day.  The baptism went really great.  It was a spiritual meeting and they all made it into a big extravaganza.  There was a musical number from the Relief Society and then afterwards a feast.  We had some of our investigators go that really felt the spirit.  Paloma and Tity were both really emotional along with their family members.  Baptisms are always cool, but man is it a lot of work getting people there.  We work so hard to get the baptism ready and then it is over in a half hour. haha  I know it is actually for eternity, but boy it sure is a lot of work to get somebody dunked.  My favorite part of the baptisms is when afterwards the converts share their testimonies.  I think that is when you feel the most joy.  Because of the baptism, we placed another baptismal goal with a lady for May 26th.  I hope that she and her son will reach it."

"It's getting cold here.  We're already starting to feel the beginning of the frost.  Oh boy, here we go!"

"There was a really big temblor in the middle of the night that was like a full minute long.  I guess there was another mini earthquake here.  It was one of the biggest ones I've felt."

"I still don't know what the plans are for Mother's Day.  I can call on the 13th, 14th or 15th.  I'm not really sure where we are going to do it.  The internet places don't really have private web cams, so we will have to see what happens.  I'll start asking around for a good server."

"Hopefully in the next 3 or 4 weeks we will have three more baptisms.  They are all progressing really well and are excited to be baptized." 

"I love you all.  Sorry this email isn't very long, but I am pooped. haha  Have a great week!  Talk to you soon."

Elder Dallon Smith

Tity and Paloma's baptismal day