This week hasn't been very interesting, except for the fact that it was my companion's birthday! We went a really expensive restaurant called Rodizio, which is a Brazilian barbecue. I would highly advise going to one, any day! It was super cool! They have a chip system, where you have a little disk that's red on one side and green on the other. When you want more meat, you put the green side up, and when you don't, the red side. So they come around with this massive piece of meat literally on the spit on which it was roasting, and they cut you off a very small piece, and you take it with your tongs. So basically, you get to eat always hot meat, and very nice cuts of it! We also got to eat roasted pineapple covered in cinnamon, which was so good! It was so much fun!
I also noticed a really cool scripture in my study this week:
Jacob 7:26
I conclude this record, declaring that I have written according to the best of my knowledge, by saying that the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream.
This life really is so short! It's so interesting to hear the prophets describe this life as a dream. Vivid, and intense, but seems to end in a split second. It really does put this mortal span in perspective! We do not have a lot of time, and we have a lot to do. And on the other side, our afflictions really will be "but a small moment" and then we'll wake up "unto God" as Alma said. It's going to be awesome, and we'll look back and think, I was so worried about that? It seems so insignificant now. But it does depend on how obedient we are here in this life. How willing we are to continually change in this small moment, before we enter into the eternities. I know we can do it!
Love you all!
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Weak Things Strong
This week has been intense! We had a ton of stuff to do, because we had a training on Tuesday, and zone conferences Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In the midst of all that, I had to go to migrations to take all the newer missionaries to get their identification card done, and also we have a family that we had to finish preparing to be baptized, so we were meeting with them every day of the week. We also started eating dinner with members 3 times a week, so that we can really involve ourselves in the ward. So basically, we've been running like crazy. But it was so awesome!
The first thing that happened was migrations, which was super stressful, because I had to make sure all the packets were put together correctly for everyone and coordinate all of that, and in the midst of that, I lost a very important paper, without which, I wasn't going to be able to do one of the most urgent procedures. So, I realized there was nothing I could do. I was powerless. I had looked all over, and it just wasn't there. But God knew where it was! So I knelt in my room the night before we had to go, and I prayed that God would put the paper in my office for the next morning, because I couldn't do anything else. So when I woke up at 2:30am to go finish the packets for everyone, I looked in my office one last time, and there it was. Just sitting there! It was absolutely incredible! I know that God knows me, and loves me, and wants me to succeed! It felt like a literal fulfillment of Ether 12:27. God showed me my weakness, and I humbled myself, and then he made my weak things strong unto me. Awesome!
Then in the Zone conferences, we had a lesson about trusting in the spirit, and the keys of the priesthood. As a missionary, as long as we are doing what we should be doing, being a good boy as Elder Bednar put it in an MTC devotional a while ago, we will have the power of the spirit with us. This means that when we testify of something, we should then testify that what they are feeling is the spirit, because it is. And as they learn to recognize that spirit, their testimony will grow and grow. It was so cool! We also had a message from President about trusting in the keys of the priesthood. The person who holds the keys for a ward is the bishop, and we happen to work within those boundaries. So President shared the story of Captain Moroni, and how he asked Alma to know where the Lamanites would attack next. We can do the same, and ask the bishop where those who are prepared to receive the gospel are. It happened in one area, and now they are opening up an in-house chapel. I'm so excited!
And then, today, we had 3 baptisms! It was so, so awesome! Cesar and his family are so, so awesome. Nicole said she felt a heat in her chest, and everyone was super happy! It was absolutely the best! I'll send photos soon. I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!
The first thing that happened was migrations, which was super stressful, because I had to make sure all the packets were put together correctly for everyone and coordinate all of that, and in the midst of that, I lost a very important paper, without which, I wasn't going to be able to do one of the most urgent procedures. So, I realized there was nothing I could do. I was powerless. I had looked all over, and it just wasn't there. But God knew where it was! So I knelt in my room the night before we had to go, and I prayed that God would put the paper in my office for the next morning, because I couldn't do anything else. So when I woke up at 2:30am to go finish the packets for everyone, I looked in my office one last time, and there it was. Just sitting there! It was absolutely incredible! I know that God knows me, and loves me, and wants me to succeed! It felt like a literal fulfillment of Ether 12:27. God showed me my weakness, and I humbled myself, and then he made my weak things strong unto me. Awesome!
Then in the Zone conferences, we had a lesson about trusting in the spirit, and the keys of the priesthood. As a missionary, as long as we are doing what we should be doing, being a good boy as Elder Bednar put it in an MTC devotional a while ago, we will have the power of the spirit with us. This means that when we testify of something, we should then testify that what they are feeling is the spirit, because it is. And as they learn to recognize that spirit, their testimony will grow and grow. It was so cool! We also had a message from President about trusting in the keys of the priesthood. The person who holds the keys for a ward is the bishop, and we happen to work within those boundaries. So President shared the story of Captain Moroni, and how he asked Alma to know where the Lamanites would attack next. We can do the same, and ask the bishop where those who are prepared to receive the gospel are. It happened in one area, and now they are opening up an in-house chapel. I'm so excited!
And then, today, we had 3 baptisms! It was so, so awesome! Cesar and his family are so, so awesome. Nicole said she felt a heat in her chest, and everyone was super happy! It was absolutely the best! I'll send photos soon. I love you all, and hope you have a wonderful week!
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Know This, That Every Soul is Free
This week has been pretty busy for us, but some awesome stuff came out of it! President wanted us to set up a slideshow of baptism pictures on a TV in the office, with background music and everything, and he bought an asus vivostick for the job. I was assigned to make it all work, and I wanted it to be flexible and efficient, so as I did research on different technologies I could use, I decided to use the Windows Subsystem for Linux, or in short, Ubuntu inside of Windows. I ended up running syncthing to sync the pictures and music, mpd on windows, with mpc on the linux part to play the music, and VcXsrv with feh on linux to play the slideshow. It runs super fast, and is super dynamic. It's super cool!
We also had P-Day today, and went to the Zoo! It was so much fun! We got there and saw sea otters, a giraffe, an electric eel, camels, sloths, spider monkeys, etc. It was so much fun, and made so much the better because we went with President and his family! They then took us out to lunch and we got a ton of food! It was so cool!
We also had a super cool lesson with some of our investigators this week! We taught the Word of Wisdom, and Cesar had read it, and had no problems with it at all. His daughter hadn't read it, and when we asked her why, she said she got back late from youth camp. It was awesome! They are just the best! They said that in between our visits, they feel an absence, which means they are really feeling the spirit! And then, the Mom, Francia, a recently activating member, asked for a health blessing, and we explained it, and it was so cool to be able to tell Cesar, "You'll be able to do this for your wife in the future!" It was absolutely incredible!
I also have been thinking a lot about a hymn that we never sing at home, "Know This, That Every Soul is Free." It's super interesting, because it talks about how the way our life goes is up to us, and that God will help, persuade, and "in endless ways be good and kind, but never force the human mind." It was so cool to realize how much he trusts us, because he's not going to prevent us from messing up! We are in complete control over how much we let him help us, and he is always willing to do so. But he will never preemptively help us. It's as we begin to practice that and really see his hand changing our lives, to the extent we allow it, that our faith begins to grow "unshaken" as Jacob says, and we will be able to live happy lives here, and have eternal joy in the life to come. I know it's true, and I love it!
I love you all!
--Dallin
We also had P-Day today, and went to the Zoo! It was so much fun! We got there and saw sea otters, a giraffe, an electric eel, camels, sloths, spider monkeys, etc. It was so much fun, and made so much the better because we went with President and his family! They then took us out to lunch and we got a ton of food! It was so cool!
We also had a super cool lesson with some of our investigators this week! We taught the Word of Wisdom, and Cesar had read it, and had no problems with it at all. His daughter hadn't read it, and when we asked her why, she said she got back late from youth camp. It was awesome! They are just the best! They said that in between our visits, they feel an absence, which means they are really feeling the spirit! And then, the Mom, Francia, a recently activating member, asked for a health blessing, and we explained it, and it was so cool to be able to tell Cesar, "You'll be able to do this for your wife in the future!" It was absolutely incredible!
I also have been thinking a lot about a hymn that we never sing at home, "Know This, That Every Soul is Free." It's super interesting, because it talks about how the way our life goes is up to us, and that God will help, persuade, and "in endless ways be good and kind, but never force the human mind." It was so cool to realize how much he trusts us, because he's not going to prevent us from messing up! We are in complete control over how much we let him help us, and he is always willing to do so. But he will never preemptively help us. It's as we begin to practice that and really see his hand changing our lives, to the extent we allow it, that our faith begins to grow "unshaken" as Jacob says, and we will be able to live happy lives here, and have eternal joy in the life to come. I know it's true, and I love it!
I love you all!
--Dallin
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Prayers Answered
This week has been awesome! I have seen a ton of miracles! Being the end of the month, and also the end of transfers, it was absolutely insane!
I don't have a lot of time, but this week, I was able to see the Lord's hand in my life. I had a ton of people to get places, and some of them showed up late, by like an hour. I prayed hard that they would still be able to get on the plane even with all the delays they suffered, and everything always worked out! It was absolutely incredible. I know that the Lord answers our prayers! It was so amazing.
I love you all, and I promise to write more next week!
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