Go To Gethsemane

This week has been......special. La familia Tafolla came to church on Sunday!!!!!! OH MY HEART IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER!!!!! We went over to their house last night and they are excited to come back to church, and now that they have started they are never going to stop again! We also found another less-active family, la familia Tezo, that was baptized a few years ago, moved away, and are now back. They are so sweet and we are going to be working with them and teaching them the lessons again, but they are super committed to come to church and we are super excited to help them! Being a missionary is the best!

And then sometimes you just want to die. HAHA Elder Welch and I hit a low point last week. There were some miscommunications (probably because of my Spanish) and we were both expecting the other to change because we both felt as though the other was wrong. It was HARD! There was no reason why the two of us shouldn't have been along, but I justed wanted to scream! 

Which leads me to my thought of this week. The theme for the month of December for our mission is the Atonement, and we have heard the phrase "Go to Gethsemane" a lot. At first I was kind of puzzled; moreover, I was absolutely perplexed. How can we go to Gethsemane? What does that even mean? Thus, my journey had begun!

We were asked to read two talks by Elder David A. Bednar: "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease" and "The Atonement and the Journey of Mortality". Elder Bednar focuses on the enabling power of the Atonement- how we can change our lives and grow through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. So I decided to put these words to the test- I would go to Gethsemane.

And what a journey it was. It took a lot of humility, which I have never been good at, a lot of patience, and a lot of talking with my companion. And that took me just to the outskirts of the Garden, I hadn't even gotten in yet. I needed to find Christ, and I needed some divine help for that, so I prayed. And oh what a prayer it was.

A lot of things happened for me during that prayer. Prayer really is a two-way communication, and anybody that tells you otherwise sure is missing out. I went to Gethsemane that day. I have felt the enabling power of the Atonement- it's real. I know Christ is there for us, but we are the ones that need to make that journey to Him. But you know what? He's already there right beside you, and that, my friends, is awesome.

Elder Welch and I are doing great :) which is good because we just found out that neither of us are leaving for the next transfer! Woop woop party in San Diego! Thanks for reading this really long post! You are all amazing. Go to Gethsemane- make it part of your life. Check out this video called "He is the Gift" at christmas.mormon.org too! I love you all!

Elder Dahl

P.S. Please pray for Cecilia. She was supposed to be baptized this Saturday, but she has fallen off the face of the planet and we haven't been able to find her since last Monday.