Transfer One - Check!

TRANSFER ONE IS DONE! How crazy is that!? I feel like I've been here my whole life/for three days. We just found out that I will be staying, but Elder Dietrich will be leaving....NOOOO!!!!! haha We were hoping for one more together, but alas, the Lord is in charge of this work and He knows what's best for us. Never forget that! Keep on praying for Elder Dietrich and start praying for my next companion!

Ohio shoutout! First, if you haven't heard one of my best friends in the entire world, Emily Sommers, has been called to the California, Redlands mission!!!! WOOOHOOO! I am so happy that she is choosing to serve, and I'm SUPER happy that she'll be moving the work forward in the awesome state of California. However, someone needs to look out for our moms because they're crazy and are probably already planning a road trip together.. HAHA Second, congrats to the Cloverleaf Marching Band! That's 33 years in a row that they will be competing at the State level of competition! I'm so happy for them!

This week for me has been frustrating, but still awesome. All three of our investigators with dates (Judith, Janet, and Cecilia) have been busy or just not there for our appointments. I've never had a second lesson with someone! At times that can really weigh on you as a missionary, but I know he Lord answers prayers, and I've been praying my little heart out for those three, so I'm sure the miracles are on their way.

I've also had a lot of Mexican food this week! Carne asada, posole, and lots of other things that I can't spell or pronounce. One of our families in the ward cheered me on to eat a chile....I have to stop falling for that. Between that and eating the boiling posole before letting it cool down.....well let's just say I think I lost a layer of my mouth. 

Quick spiritual thought: This week all of the missionaries gave talks in church during sacrament meeting. I talked about the priesthood and how everyone in the church that has a calling has been set apart by someone holding the proper priesthood authority. As missionaries, we have been set apart to preach this gospel. This is MY calling right now, and I'm fulfilling it with all of my heart. So I ask everyone reading this email- What's your calling? Set apart by the priesthood or not, what is your calling in this life? For those that are members of the church I invite you to work a little bit harder on your calling this week because the Lord will bless you WAY MORE than you will think you deserve. For those that are not members of the church I invite you to do something awesome this week. Brighten someone's day and make someone smile. This spiritual thought was really random and crazy, but basically just know that I love you and you're awesome!

Elder Dahl

 One of the most awesomest missionaries went home today. She was awesome! MISSIONARY WORK IS AWESOME! Do I say awesome too much!?

 Shout out to Jacob Dunbar, one of my bestest friends ever for sending me some awesome Spider gear! You're the best!

These are two pictures of me when I totally zonked out at a member's house......my bad :)

Rely on the Lord

First, I just want to bear testimonies of parents. Parents know all things. I told my parents that our apartment had some cockroaches in it, nothing big, just these small little guys. The next P-Day i got a package with cockroach spray, and my first reaction was, "Oh my parents, they are so funny sending me this huge can of bug spray for such a little problem." But almost everyday this past week I have seen these nasty, giant roaches in our apartment, and I now get to whip out my can of roach spray and take them out all ninjalike. So the moral of the story is: parents are the best (especially mine!).

We have another investigator with a baptismal date! Her name is Cecilia and she is really interested in coming closer to Christ, which is our specialty. Please pray for her. I love teaching this gospel so much!

Spanish Update: If we rely on the Lord, he can work miracles through us. This past week has been amazing for my Spanish. I had an hour long conversation with a woman in my branch TOTALLY IN SPANISH! Elder Dietrich was talking to her son, so I was totally on my own, and it was AWESOME! I was definitely freaking out at points because I realized that I was thinking in English, but Spanish was coming out of my mouth. We can do all things through the Lord! Rely on him and watch the miracles flow!

My companion and I are getting along really well! I can honestly say that we work really well together, and the Lord put us together because we need each other. You'll never find a pair of missionaries like us that's for sure.

I'm out of time, but here is what I've been thinking about this week. 

1 Nephi 17:13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments

Christ is our example. As we draw closer to Him, He will work miracles in our life that we did not think would be possible. So what do we need to do? KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS! As we obey the commandments He will prepare the BEST path for us. I don't know about all of you, but I love my life. And I love you too for reading this. I'm praying for ya!

Elder Dahl

My agendas! I like to decorate them with awesome pictures and quotes. If you come across either of the two and you think I would like it, then email it to me!

The second after this sugar fast is over I'm going to go CRAZY!

CALIFORNIA!!!

California has some nice hills! I get to walk those everyday (I'm in a car because we had just finished shopping on P-Day and the Sisters give us their car for that)

I LOVE MY LIFE

This week has been a real winner for me. How do I even start?

I had In&Out for the first time last week. My advice for all things In&Out: never get the fries. However, the burger made up for it because it was DELICIOUS! I don't think it beats Five Guys, but it's still really really good (and their pink lemonade is awesome too).

We have been cooped up in our apartment all week because Elder Dietrich had a procedure done on his ingrown toenail (I got to help the doctor at one point, which was so cool) on Wednesday. He didn't fully recover until about Sunday, so we spent a lot of time studying in our apartment.

But when we did go out we WORKED! We had so many miracles this week- from members giving us rides or giving us bags of food. I feel like our fridge has been blessed by a prophet or something because no matter how much we eat it always seems to fill itself! The Lord certainly does take care of his servants!

Elder Hulet (one of our zone leaders that went out with me since Elder Dietrich couldn't) and I went to visit a remarkable family on Wednesday night. Judith is a single mother of 4- Janet, a young man who we haven't met, Emily, and Charlie. They had been taught by some missionaries a few months ago, but then they said the missionaries stopped coming, and they haven't heard from them until Elder Dietrich and I stopped by to make an appointment with them. This family is just AWESOME! There is so much love in this family, and we could not stop laughing and smiling! We invited Judith and Janet to be baptized and they said yes! We set the date for November 22, so please pray for them, and I'll give you an update on them next week! That night was literally the greatest night of my mission so far. THIS IS WHY I AM HERE! Elder Dahl is inviting others to come unto Christ by receiving the restored gospel and he LOVES BEING A MISSIONARY!

My Spanish has also gotten a lot better. We had coordination meeting (a meeting with the ward mission leader and other members of the auxiliary presidencies where we coordinate our missionary efforts as a branch), and when we stood up Elder Dietrich just looked at me and said, "You got this!" I did ALL the talking, including responding to questions that members asked me, which was a huge milestone for me because I'm pretty sure that the members actually speak to me in Swahili just to throw me off. But it's ok because SPANISH IS AWESOME!

Prayer has been on my mind all week. As a missionary you pray all them time- to open and close your studies, before you leave the apartment, before a lesson, when you eat. It's easy for our prayers to become repetitive- we go through the motions because we have to. BUT this week I have just been loving James 1:5 and the beginning of verse 6.

 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

However, if you read verse 6 in Spanish it says, "Pero pida con fe, no dudando nada"

The direct translation is "But ask with faith, doubting nothing"

I have had a lot of doubts recently. I remember one day just pleading with God in my prayer saying, "Why am I not a more consecrated missionary? Why can I not seem to be a better companion for Elder Dietrich? Why can I not seem to speak Spanish and remember what I already know let alone learn more at the same time?"

But when I prayed my answer came as clear as a bell; I just received a prompting that made me think, "It's because you haven't asked."

How true, how true! In all of these prayers that I say everyday, the Holy Ghost helped me realize that there was another step I needed to take before my righteous desires would be fulfilled. Doubt nothing, trust in God, come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and watch the miracles flow. this week there has been a waterfall of miracles, and I know that this same thing can happen in YOUR LIFE! So try it! I love this Gospel so much, and I love being here in San Diego! There is no place I'd rather be! Love you all so much!

Elder Dahl

Just Keep Swimming (but not really because missionaries can't swim)

What a week it has been! some of these highlights may not seem like a lot, but they make my week awesome.

First, lunch at Hermana Villa's. Hermana Villa is this super nice lady in our branch who we get to eat with sometimes. She made us HUGE sandwiches and then gave us three little orange peppers. She said they were a little spicy. So she went back inside (we have to eat outside because she feeds us during the day, and we can't enter into a home unless there is a man at least 18 year old), and we started to eat. I took a bite out of the pepper..........oh my hot boiling volcano of a mouth. It was terrible. I've never eaten ANYTHING that hot before. It was like a fire because the more you breathed, the more you fueled the flame. I never want to eat anything that hot again. However, the best part was when Elder Dietrich tried it. I've never seen anyone get so red so fast! He was swelling up, crying, wanting to throw it back up, and just quietly screaming at me! We have been cracking up about it all week! haha Hermana Villa later told us that they were habaneros......yeah buddy!

Second, I got to really teach some people! I taught in both English AND Spanish! It was super great, and some of the people we talked to seemed really interested, so we are excited for what the future has in store for us!

Third, CONFERENCE! This past weekend was General Conference weekend, and I loved it! We watch it at our church building for all sessions. they view conference in the chapel in English and in the relief society room in Spanish. We watched it in English because conference is a time to receive personal revelation, and it really helps to not only hear the words of the prophet, but the voice of the prophet. I loved it all SO MUCH!

I'm already out of time. Basically you should also know that I love the other missionaries in our district and zone, and I get really inspired to do my best whenever I'm with them. I got to go to the San Diego temple today, and it was just the best thing ever. I'll talk about it more next week! I love you all so much! I love my life and what I am doing right now! You guys are all amazing, and my challenge for you this week is to seek out an opportunity to serve and help someone out! You will be SO HAPPY that you did!

Elder Dahl

P.S. My dad asked me where I did laundry, so I figured I would put it in here. I do laundry at a laundry mat that is about a 2 minute drive from our house with some English Elders that live in the same apartment complex. It's a little sketchy, but so far the scariest thing has been putting my quarters in the machines and wandering if I'm pressing the right buttons. My clothes smell clean so I think I'm doing it right.

Out of Time.........Again.

I'm kind of out of time.....as usual. But the Cloverleaf Seminary Class gave me a list of 12 questions to answer, so that will be my prompt for this week! Here are the questions!

1.What do you do on p-days?

2. What day of the week is your busiest day?

3. How often do you knock on doors?

4. What are studying about in your personal study right now?

5. What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you so far?

6. What you favorite thing to eat at the mtc.

7. What is your companion like?

8. What is the most spiritual experience you have had so far?

9. What is the hardest thing you have had to deal with so far?

10. Is your apartment gross?

11. What is the weirdest thing you have been asked to eat/served

12. Can you share you testimony with us?

And here are my answers:

1. P-days are like Christmas. Reading emails from you family and friends is like opening presents. We first do laundry, then e-mail, then go shopping (I have $147 each month to spend on laundry, food, and whatever else I need), and then our zone (my zone has 14 missionaries) has an activity. Last week we went to a park and played a game, and today we are playing volleyball. But P-day is over at 6:00 pm an you go out and start working again!

2. So far Thursdays are the busiest. We have studies in the morning, then lunch and weekly planning. By that time it is 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. Then we get to work for about an hour and try to visit people. Then we have to go to the church for a meeting that takes up the rest of our day! It's crazy!

3. Never. We never go door to door because we don't want to be overbearing on others. The Lord is preparing people here to hear our message, and we will be more effective by finding them through other means.

4. My personal study is CRAZY AWESOME! Right now I am going through each of the lessons in Chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. Throughout each lesson there are scriptures to study for different points of the lesson. I read the scripture, and write a few words about it beside it summarizing the scripture. It has helped me to know the scriptures, and I can now easily find a specific scripture that may emphasize a concept better than another scripture in the same section! I highly recommend it.

5. The weirdest thing so far was when that old, drunk, Black guy popped out of nowhere on the street, kissed my cheek and said, "They need you in Christiantown!".........that was weird.

6. So in the Mexico MTC you can almost guarantee that everyday you will be fed what we liked to call "Pile of meat on a plate." The meats varied, but it was a pile of meet nonetheless. So I would throw some beans, rice, lettuce, and if they had salsa or tomatoes I would put that on too, and I would make a mountain of a taco salad. Take some corn tortillas and eat that with you taco salad mountain ~ delicious!

7. Picture me.....and then picture the opposite of me, and that's my companion, haha! He loves guns, hunting, crazy music, motorcycles, and the like. Not that I don't like that stuff, I've just never looked into them. But since we are both on missions we get along pretty well, and it's been an interesting, but rewarding challenge working with him (he told me he doesn't like Disney.....awkward.), but he's great!

8. That's a tough one. I think one of them was when I was in the MTC, and my teacher, Hermana Arno, taught us about how we need to teach like the Savior. In John 3, the Savior is teaching Nicodemus; we would read one verse at a time, and then talk about it. The Spirit was SO STRONG in that room! We talked about how Nicodemus is supposed to be a learned man concerning the teachings of the Gospel, but he just didn't understand the Savior's teachings. Christ tries to explain to Nicodemus the truth about the Gospel, and how we must be born again (through baptism), but Nicodemus just doesn't understand. Now as a missionary, wouldn't that be extremely difficult? You think you explain something with perfect clarity, and your investigator just looks at you like you're some crazy white boy that can't speak Spanish at all. How FRUSTRATING would that be!? It makes me just want to quit, pack up my bags, and say, "some other missionary can handle this one because there is just something wrong with the investigator and with me." But what does the Savior do when Nicodemus doesn't understand? I can imagine the Savior PATIENTLY and with LOVE looking at Nicodemus and saying, "I have taught you what you need to know, but you don't seem to understand quite yet. Let me teach you one more time." This hit me HARD, and I joined the rest of my district as we all cried together in that room because the Spirit touched us in a beautiful way. We didn't have any real investigators at that point, but this lesson applied to me personally because I was Nicodemus in this scenario. Over and over again in my life I have made mistakes, I don't make the best choices, and I feel doubtful and disappointed in myself. I have felt like I will never speak Spanish, and I will never have the knowledge of the Gospel that I need in order to help the people here in San Diego. But every time these thoughts and feelings come, I can turn to the Savior, and he teaches me once again. Elder Dahl is a son of GOD! Elder Dahl knows the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Dahl believes in Jesus Christ, and with this he is able to perform MIRACLES. Sorry, I hope that wasn't too long.

9. The hardest thing that happens on the mission is definitely when you have an appointment with someone, and you are SUPER excited to teach them, and when you knock on the door.....nobody answers. I haven't taught a real, sit-down lesson yet to an investigator because they bale out on us every time.......that's hard. But I need to have faith that the Lord will lead me (or lead others to me) on His time, so I press on with faith in Him.

10. HAHA Uhm to be honest.....a little. I don't think it has been cleaned for a LONG TIME! But luckily I have an amazing mother that made sure I knew how to clean, so little by little our apartment is getting better. We have little cockroaches, so that's been nasty.

11. On Mexican Independence Day we were given a little terracotta pot, filled with the red jelly thing, but there were also fruit pits, seeds, and it definitely looked like twigs and leaves in there two........yeah we didn't eat it. That was weird.

12. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He loves me personally, and he loves each one of us personally. The Atonement is REAL! He didn't only suffer for our sins, but for all of our worries, struggles, and pains. I know that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father, and he sent us here to have SUCCESS! We are not sent here to fail, but to grow and improve! Heavenly Father has a plan of happiness for each one of us, and it is centered around the family. I love my family, and I thank God each day for them. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God, and although it is not made up of perfect people, it is still true. I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true. It is another testament of Jesus Christ, and a person will draw nearer to Christ by reading the Book of Mormon than by any other book! I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, and restored the true Gospel of Jesus Christ through him. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. We are given challenges that will help us grow! We can overcome ANYTHING with Christ by our side. NEVER FORGET THAT! This Gospel is true, and I KNOW that to be true.

Other highlights of the week included:

*Understanding a lot more Spanish!

*Having about half of our appointments fall through.......not quite a highlight but whatever

*I'm a pro at the trolley-riding life

*We had zone conference yesterday and our mission president asked me to recite Our Purpose (Preach My Gospel page 1 I believe) in English.....I only memorized it in Spanish.....that was embarrassing.

*A really nice guy named Tommy (he really likes the missionaries, but forbids us from speaking about religion) served us a buffet of food for breakfast. He gave us leftovers, which is basically a missionaries dream

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Elder Dahl