"What a week! We were running all over the place. It started with a zone conference. I was sad because I knew it would be my turn to give my last testimony. That basically marks the end of the mission in a lot of ways. I thought I was going to get all emotional, but it actually wasn't that bad. Luckily, a lot of my friends in my group go to my zone conference, so I was able to hear their last testimonies too. I was eighth and knew what I wanted to say. When I got up I kind of had a mini flashback of my mission. I realized that I had worked hard and had truly given all that I could. I felt proud of myself and felt pure joy as I bore my testimony. I was grateful for every hard time, companion and experience that I had experienced in the mission. I just felt good, like there was nothing I could change, and that I was ready to take the next step in my life."
"Zone conference was fun. I got to talk to Elder Britt, Elder Gomez and Elder Camus. It was good to catch up with them and we had a good time. Elder Gomez got to hear my last testimony and tried to thank me for everything. He said that he is the missionary he is because of me. I thought that was really nice of him to say. I've been so proud of the missionaries that I've been able to train. Elder Holton and I gave a class on talking to everyone. A lot of the missionaries said that they liked our class best. We tried to be as entertaining as possible. President King told me he really liked the stories and experiences that I shared. That was cool."
"We also had concilio. It was fun and Elder Smart was there with me. We stuck around eachother and he had me laughing so hard the whole time. I also got to see Elder Britt and Elder Mackie again. We had some good food and it was a good meeting. We also were lucky because Tity and Andrea took us to concilio way early in the morning, so we didn't have to stay over night the day before. It was a blessing."
"The day before concilio, we went to the wedding of our two little grandparents. It was funny to see two old people getting so nervous to get married. haha We all went together in a van and the wedding went really well. Elder Holton was the testigo or witness because Manuel wanted me to baptize him. It was really fun and I'll definitely always remember it. Then on Saturday, we had Manuel's baptism. He was so excited and got there early. haha The baptism went really well. We did a musical number again and Andrea gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. It was really cool. Then I got to baptize our Tata. He had to kneel in the font because he has back problems. It was a little different, but I got it done in one dunk. When he came up, he gave me a huge hug and told me that he loved me like his own son. It was really cool. Afterwards a bunch of the institute kids came out and started teasing me and saying I was like Juan the baptist. haha They said that everyone can't believe how many baptisms we have had recently. I really feel like the Lord is blessing us a lot. It's insane! Yesterday, Manuel's family made us a huge barbeque. They had tons of meat. I was so stuffed and they just kept it coming. haha"
"There is this kid that is 17 years old that came up to us two weeks ago and said he wanted to be baptized. He has come to church twice and finally we were able to teach him last night. He has already read the Book of Mormon through Jacob and has already developed a testimony. He is basically walking himself to the font. We were able to put a baptismal date with him. It's pretty cool just how prepared he is. He went and found the Branch President and talked to him about the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity and committed himself to have an interview with the President every week. He is so anxious about everything that it kind of freaks me out! I am hoping that everything will work out for him and that it's not too good to be true."
"We also have a little kid who is 10 whose parents are divorced. His Dad is a returned missionary and his Mom isn't a member. Last night, we had a super spiritual lesson and his Dad just broke down and said that the gospel was the best gift he could ever give his son. He felt so heart broken and ashamed. I started getting emotional too because it was such a tender moment that is rare in life. I was amazed when his son said that he wanted to be baptized. We committed him for the end of the month and his Dad will be baptizing him. His Dad isn't inactive, but can't take his son to church because his wife has him on weekends. Now they are making arrangements, so that he can bring his son to church every week. We are going to make sure that he is totally ready for his baptism."
"I renewed my temple recommend with President King at concilio. It was good to talk to him and he was really kind to me. He told me that he was grateful for my leadership and that it was making a big difference in the mission. It made me feel good and was real cool."
"It has been a fun mission. There is still so much work to do and I am going to work my butt off as I sprint to the end. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it just feels right. I won't stop trying to be a desciple of Christ after the mission. I am far from perfect, but I have come to trust so much in the spirit and I know that I won't be starting my life alone. I trust that everything will work out. I know where I've been and I know where I'm going. I'm still a normal person, but I will admit that I'll be changed in other ways. I'm excited for this chapter of my life and I'm excited for the next chapter too. I feel like I will be with you in just a couple weeks. I might try to send some stuff home. It's weird getting ready for all of this. Have a great week! I love you!"
Elder Dallon Smith
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| Elder Smith on the Farm with Manuel |
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| July Concilio |
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| July Zone Conference |
