Week 52 - Contacting, baptism, and my first year.

This week was really good. We contacted until the end of the earth and got almost nothing out of it. On Friday we did splits with two of the priests from the ward. We taught them how to teach and then Elder Helamã and I each took one and started contacting. It was by far the most fun I have had in the mission contacting. The young man I was with received very blunt NO´s during the first couple of contacts but it slowly got better and better and then someone let us in to teach a lesson! It was a way cool experience for the young man. Now both are going to come out with us every week!

The sister scheduled for baptism on Easter Sunday gave us a heart attack yesterday.  Just before church she came up to us and said she wasn’t going be baptized next Sunday and to call her later that evening. Elder Helamã was dying inside during our sacrament meeting. We called her and asked what happened?  She said no elders you don’t understand. I still want to be baptized!  She explained she is dating a member.  Both she and this member are divorced and they both have kids.  The member hadn’t told his kids about our investigator and wanted the kids to be present at her baptism. She wanted some time for things to settle in with the kids first.  She is very elect daughter of God. She has dreams about everything we teach. She even had a dream that she was inside the conference center before she knew what  general conference was! When we showed her a picture of the conference center she almost had a heart attack.  It was the building from her dream.

Thoughts on Easter by an Apostle of the Lord

It’s very hot here. Not as bad as Mogi das Cruzes though.  The "hot days" are supposed to be over as we are moving into autumn, but I sweat like crazy here. All my shirts are yellow.

I found a guy that plays guitar and I’m super excited to teach him.

São José dos Campos

I’ve been on a mission for one year now.  Time just flies.  It doesn't feel like it’s been a year.   I feel I have my best work ahead of me.

Week 51 - Serving in the Jardim Satélite Ward

I’m serving in the Jardim Satélite Ward.  In English that is the Satellite Garden Ward.

Can you find the ward Dallen is serving in?

Check out the church building and neigborhood.

Everything is perfect between my companion, Elder Helemã da Silva and I.  We were talking the other night and we have a lot in common.

My week was fine. We did a TON of contacting this week but we only had five people say we could come back and teach a lesson.  We taught one woman already but she told us she HATES reading and probably won’t read the verse we left her with. We will find out how it went Saturday.  We have another lady who is firm about being baptized. She wasn’t able to go to church this Sunday because of work but she already told her boss that she won’t work on Sundays anymore that this would be the last time. So the baptism probably will not be this Sunday but the next Sunday.

Dallen's book bag.

Week 50 - São José dos Campos, Brazil

I got transferred to São José dos Campos.  My companion is Elder Helemã.  He has been in this area for three transfers so this is his fourth. He is from the same group of missionaries that the rest of my companions have come from.  Teaching with him has been really good. We had an investigator come to church this week and she is excited to be baptized in two weeks!

We live right in front of a mall.

My companion had to buy lunch everyday the week before I came.  I hope this isn't normal.

Rainbow in last area.

There is a family here that is super cool.  We stayed at their house all day yesterday and they made us breakfast today. There was protesting throughout Brazil.  We stayed with the family the entire day but the protesting wasn’t anything bad. It was just a bunch of noise making really.

I don’t know the members in my new area well yet – and am just getting to know my companion.  So I haven’t had as much to talk about and am feeling a little lonely.  I’m really missing the branch and Elder Farias right now.

For p-day, the plan is to play soccer as a zone. But my mission brother is also here (Elder Faustino trained Elder Peterson and me.  They call your trainer your mission father, so Elder Peterson is my mission brother).  If he shows up we will probably talk.

I only have access to the Internet through a LAN café, so I’m back to paying to email.