La Mesa

Hola everyone! First, I have to apologize because I'm typng on this slow Ipad that I will be using from now on that belongs to a member's business or something. It sometimes doesn't type everything and things are spelt wrong and so yeah sorry. So time to reel my secret location!

I am now serving in the La Mesa 3rd Spanish Branch in La Mesa, California! AKA rich, white people everywhere that don't speak Spanish! Ok maybe not everywhere because there are some nice apartment complexes where we can find some Hispanics waiting for us. My new companion is Elder Clair (Spencer is his first name for those that are prone to creeping on Facebook), and he came out on the mission about a month and a half after me.....that's right, you guessed it- I'm the one that is supposed to speak Spanish and know what on earth we should be doing......oh heavens. Let's just say I've had a humbling week indeed.

So the La Mesa Branch is pretty small, and there are actually a lot of members that speak English, including some white people that serve there because they spoke Spanish on their missions and what not. It's nice, but not nice too. The members are really supportive and want to help, so I'm excited. We cover the cities of La Mesa, Del Cerro, and Tierra Santa. We have a car that we use, and it's.......different. It's not as easy to talk to people with a car, but without the car we would have absolutely no way to get everywhere. Also, we are the only Spanish missionaries in the stake.....which is sad. My old district was my companionship and then 4 sister missionaries, but now it's just 6 elders and each companionship has their own ward or branch. Different.

I'm out of time! I'll tell you more next week! Please send me your prayers because I need them!

Elder Dahl

1. Bye la familia Medina!

2. Oh Elder Welch, he will be missed.

3. Bye la familia Ortiz!

My World Just got Flipped!

First, I just got the phone call that I am getting transferred (meaning I'm leaving my area and going to another)..........what the what? If my entire email seems crazy it's because that's how my mind is.

This week was rather uneventful actually. Things have been.....special here. We kind of feel as if we've started over again, and a lot of our people have been flaky recently. BUT THAT'S OK!!! It's still AWESOME! Elder Welch and I have made the best out of it and I've learned so much while I've been here. Here are some crazy stories that have happened recently.

We were eating with la familia Ortiz, and we were talking about their son, Jesse, who will be going on a mission soon. We were talking about other languages, and I mentioned how I could say "Hello, how are you?" in Finnish because my dad served his mission in Finland. So that asked me to say it, but when I did they all started laughing like hooligans! My companion and I were so confused, and they just kept saying "Do it again, do it again!".....turns out it's actually a swear word in Spanish......awkward. But it was also hilarious.

The next funny story was this super crazy bus contact we had. We started talking to this guy named Mike, and we were having a relatively normal contact, when at the end he said, "OK well I steal, but I steal from everyone equally, and since everyone loses just a little it's ok." I then said something in response and he said, "Well, I write my own book, and since I have to steal it's ok." We unfortunately had to get off the bus, but I just started laughing like crazy after! I know that might be bad, but I just couldn't understand how this man was justifying stealing to my face! The life of a missionary never gets old.

Well I'm sure I'll have a lot to write about next week! I love you all so much! Never stop smiling and sharing the gospel! Love you all!

Elder Dahl

1. My district in front of the entrance to the San Diego Zoo!

 2. We saw an opportunity for a fantastic photo, so we took it it.

 3. Oh you know, just me fixing one of the exhibits :)

4. Yes, I'm still ridiculous.

 5. .......yes I went to the kid's part so I could pet a goat......it felt perfect

6. Homemade mac&cheese- I made that!

San Diego Zoo!!!!

So I'm just going to start off by saying that today I fulfilled one of my life-long dreams because I went to the San Diego Zoo! Long story short- awesome. Baby gorillas, okapis (my favorite animal), pandas, and all that awesome stuff. My mission is complete.

Just kidding absolutely not. This week has been crazy! It's time to give you all a recap! I don't even remember who I've mentioned, but let me see if I can fill you in on current standings:

Judith & Janet- We stopped trying to visit Judith a while ago, and we might stop with Janet soon too. They don't take this Gospel seriously, and they bail on us all the time. It's really hard to drop them, but they just aren't ready.

Cecilia-.......we haven't seen her since December 8......she's definitely avoiding us and it might possibly be the saddest thing of my life....only wish I knew why.

La Familia Tafolla-They are doing great. They have only come to church 2 out of the past 5 Sundays, but in their minds they are already active again, so hopefully we will see more improvement soon.

La Familia Tezo- They are the best :) Seriously, they just want to know if this church is true or not. Talk about a family that has their priorities in order. God first, then family, then the sprinkles on this chocolate cake we call life......sorry that came out of nowhere.

I had a really crazy/weird spiritual moment this week. Background to the story- we have an investigator named Juan who has been REALLY struggling to give up alcohol, but he really wants to because he can see how it has ruined his life. for about 4 years he hasn't gone a day without alcohol, until this week! He went for almost two whole days before he relapsed! Ok here's the story.

As we were finishing up our morning run last Friday, I was thinking, "Wow we've been running a while. What if I couldn't stop running ever? What if I was addicting to running and I could never walk?" And then it was like a huge brick wall it me in the face and I just heard, "What if you were addicted to alcohol and you couldn't stop?" I just started balling right there. I have NO IDEA what Juan feels like! I can't empathize with him at all! How on earth could I, naive and awkward Elder Dahl, help this man give up this serious, horrible addiction? I made a vow right there and then that whenever I am working with someone that has an addiction that I'm giving up something too. As long as I am working with Juan I am giving up all sugar. I know it's not the same at all, but if it helps me be able to help it, then it's worth it.

Sorry this is so long! Transfers are next week! I don't want to leave this area, but only God knows what's in store for me. Pray for me and the people that I'm working with! I love you!

Elder Dahl

P.S. I forgot the SD Card reader, so I'll send LOTS of pictures next week!

Missionary Life = Best Life

Ok so I was going to mention how it was getting pretty cold here in San Diego.....and then yesterday happened and it got up to 80 or something....so nevermind. haha San Diego is turning me into a wimp! I need to go clean some stalls in 3 feet of snow or something.

This week was really amazing actually. Miracles were flowing like crazy. Elder Welch and I have been SUPER united recently....it's a little scary sometimes. We have at least two more weeks together, and then we shall see what shall come to pass (I hope I stay here, haha).

We were able to find this family, los Vasquez, while we were walking to an appointment. They are really confused as to what religion is right, and they just want to follow God.....perfect :) Pray for them! La familia Tafolla is still doing great (they forgot about the time switch for church this week, but we will see them there next week) and la familia Tezo....I can't get enough of them. They keep on praying to know the truth of the Book of Mormon, and every time we go over their questions are answered! The best part is that it's possible for every person!

Also, we were able to take Janet and her two siblings over to the Ortiz family this week to learn how to make tortillas (pictures included, yes I made some, yes they were deliciously awesome). And then Hermana Ortiz invited us over the next day for carne asada! She showed me how to make guacamole.....oh my heavens it was awesome.

The Lord will always help you! This week has been evidence of that! Even though you WILL go through trials (sometimes little speed bumps....sometimes the Wall of China), he will always help you get over that trial. He is real! He loves you! If you haven't already made some goals for this week, then take some time to really ponder and pray to know what 2015 has in store for you! Then partner with God and do it! I'll tell you some of my goals next week! I love you all!

Elder Dahl

1. Does that tortilla not look like a wolf? That's my Cherokee ancestry mixing with my Mexican goodness.

2. Rolling Pin Master

3. The Tezo family! I love them so much!

4. Matching sweatshirts! So comfy!