Missionary work is the best!!! :)

Wow! What a week here on the East Coast! Christmas was great! I GOT SPOILED! Thank you all so much! Now that the New Year is coming... I can't believe how much has happened this year.. .who would of ever thought I'd be on a mission right?? ha! But I am so grateful for the way this year went and I am super excited to see what comes about in 2014! (I have been graduated from high school for 3 years.. that’s gross… I am getting old!)

Well this week went great... slow in terms of missionary work... but we had some great memorable things this week! :)

TUESDAY: Christmas Eve! You know, it is weird having Christmas on the mission... it didn't even feel the same! But it was still a great day! We were able to have our studies, then we had a meeting with Elder Kay (he is our ward mission leader) to go over plans because were in charge of the 5th Sunday lesson! So we went over that! Then that night we were able to go caroling! :) We went to visit some of the Elder’s Investigators and then some of ours! It was great to be able to bring that Christmas cheer! Then that night we all went back to the Kays and we played Five Crowns and ate food! Funny... we were so excited to open our Christmas Eve packages! Well we got in bed and at 10:47 we remembered that we didn't even open them!!! Soooo I woke up Sister Legg and we ran out there and opened them up and changed in the living room then went right back to bed! haha But I couldn't still couldn't sleep... only thing that is the same about Christmas! I am still like a little kid!!!

WEDNESDAY: CHRISTMAS!!! YAY! Such a great day! We woke up and went straight to our presents! It took us forever to open them all!  (packages are a lot harder to open then regular boxes) but I got spoiled and thank you all so much! Then we got ready and went to Emerson for district meeting! That was really great! And after that we hung out as a Zone for a little bit and had a big present exchange! ha that was really fun! :) We all brought a $5 gift! Then we went back and visited our baptismal candidate and the new investigator we just met! It was great! THEN WE GOT TO CALL HOME! :) That was the fastest hour of my life but so worth it! :) I loved it so much! Thank you for being there! :) After the hard hang up… we went to make dinner. We made gluten free pancakes! After that we went back to the Kays and played 5 Crowns and I got the amazing score of 15! It was pretty great! Then after that the Fardale Sisters came up, and we had a sleep over with them! So that was our Christmas night! It was the greatest! :)

Thursday: Well we didn't just have a sleep over with the other sisters for no reason... haha they came over so that we could go to the temple together cause we got to go into the CITY on Thursday and do that! :) That really was a great Christmas present! :) We met up with our whole zone in West New York, NJ in the morning and rode a bus through the Lincoln Tunnel and then we were in the city! We walked like 30 blocks and through central park and all that (all I could think about was home alone...hah that movie!) but the temple was amazing though! I am so grateful we had the chance to go to that! The peace you feel there is so incredible and it was just amazing! After that we walked on back and it was cool to see the city cause it was almost dark and it was so light! Then all we had time for was coming home and going to bed! hah long day but sooooooo worth it! :)

Friday: Guess what? We finally got to work on Friday! It is crazy how much I missed it! haha! But on Friday we were able to see our baptismal candidate and we had this great lesson with her but at the last minute I had this feeling we needed to change it and ask her the baptismal interview questions... so we did! And it was really great because we found out how much she really knows! :) And we also found out that she needed to be interviewed by President Jeppson! So it was really great that we switched that because we needed to schedule that in because she is on date for next Sunday! So I love those promptings! We also were able to see our recent convert! Who we haven't seen in forever but we had a great meeting with her and talked about her reading! :) So that was fun!

Saturday: We spent the morning getting ready for our Member Missionary thing again then we were able to go and see our baptismal candidate again! :) She is super prepared to get baptized! But that was really our day...

Sunday: We had church which was great! :) Then we had got to teach the 3rd hour of church! We taught all the members HOW to be a missionary and for them to have a plan! It went really well and we hope this will get them super excited to share the gospel with their friends! :) After that we had studies then we went to get our baptismal candidate with the Kays and bring her to the church because President came up to Interview her! President is the most amazing man! He interviewed her then after he gave her a STRONG blessing... Her shoulder has really been giving her problems and so he offered that and it was so amazing because after he was done she looked at us and said... "Wow! I feel great!" She had no more pain! It was so amazing to witness a miracle with the Priesthood! Oh yeah AND SHE PASSED HER INTERVIEW! :) So this week we will be preparing for that and next Sunday she will be able to be baptized! :) Pray for her! :)

That was our exciting week! So much happened! But I am excited and honored to be a part of this sweet sister’s experience! She is an amazing lady and it's so cool to just be the women in the middle. Because I know that it wasn't my teaching... it was ALL the Spirit! I was just that person the Lord used to put the words in my mouth that could touch her heart! :) Missionary work is the best!!! :)

Well hope you all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! :) As you are watching the ball drop in times square... just remember.. I AM LIKE 20 MIN AWAY FROM THAT! :) how cool is that? haha wellll hope you have a great week! I love you all very much! :) Until next week...

Sister Dahl

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! :) :) :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! :) :) :) Can you even believe it!??!?! We get a whole day to celebrate our Lord and Saviors birth! Cool thought... We wouldn't even be celebrating His birth if it wasn't for His Atonement! Everything is so centered around His Atonement! I am so grateful to be able to celebrate the fact that we CAN live with our Father again because of Jesus Christ! Because HE came into the world! Because HE was born!

Well let’s just say this week was a little rough... it was supposed to be the best week of the mission! :) But guess who was a sick little duck? :( Of course. But all is well! I made it out alive! :) And I am ready for Christmas! :)

Well I already told you how Tuesday went right?? So I think we need to start back up with...

Wednesday! Well Wednesday we had the opportunity to go to Morristown in the morning for a meeting with all the new missionaries and the trainers. They get them all back together and we all talk and see how we are doing... it was great! :) I have a really great trainee... ha! Sister Legg is the best and so easy going! I am very grateful! :) We had a full day of that! Oh this day I also told President that if he put me in a place with horses that I would knock on all the doors... He just laughed... I think I might have to bring this up to the man upstairs... But after that we were able to go on exchange with the Sister Training Leaders! Sister Ward came with me in New City and Sister Legg went with another Sister in Emerson. So it was great! We had a busy night! Sister Ward has already served in New City so it was fun because she got to see people again! :) We went to see our LA and had a great lesson with him about recognizing the Spirit then we were able to see our baptismal candidate and talked with her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and about repenting every day! It's so amazing to be able to get people into that habit! Something that is so important! :) And that was our night! But it was good! :) p.s. this night I started to have a sore throat... :(

Thursday: We exchanged back with our companions and then were able to do weekly planning! Needless to say I did not feel good at all this day... :( We also helped set up for the ward Christmas party this night at the church!

FRIDAY: Well today was the day were we had an ALL mission conference in Morristown! Every missionary was going to be there ALONG with the famous singer... ALEX BOYE!!!!!! :) Greatest day ever right?? Well guess who wakes up Friday morning with a 102 degree fever?!?!?!? Thats right... I do! Joy to the world... I was delusional! haha I couldn't even walk straight! haha But I was not going to miss this day!!! Sooo we called the nurse and she said take some pills and I could come if I was anti-social and didn't talk to anyone... (that's super hard for me.. but I agreed!) But the greatest part was that I was able to receive a Priesthood blessing and I went on! :) I kind of slept during the first half of it so I don't really know what was going on... ha but by lunch I was feeling much better! :) Then during lunch ALEX BOYE (who is Presidents son-in-law) he sang Christmas songs for all of us! So funny... he is a great performer! Had us all laughing! :) Then after that he talked to us about setting expectations! He is a great speaker too! :) After that we were able to get pictures with him and then we were able to go into a room where alll our packages were!!!! There were sooo many! So we grabbed all of them and put them in our car and went on home! :) So I was super glad I went and didn't miss out... I tried my hardest not to talk to people... haha but all is well! I went home that night and my sweet comp cooked me chicken noodle soup (gluten free) and then I went to bed!

Saturday: I woke up without a fever! WOO! :) hah but we were able to go get everything ready for the Christmas party again then we went out and worked for a little bit, we were able to see our recent convert! :) We hadn't seen her in a while so that was a great chance to meet with her! :) She is doing good! :) Then we were able to have the ward Christmas party that night! :) We had a great turn out!!! There were so many non-members there it was hard to talk to them all! But it was great! :) The ward came out with presents for us missionaries! It was so sweet of them! :) I really do love this ward so much!

Sunday: Well we woke up and went to church! :) We had a Christmas program in Sacrament full of music! We did a song as missionaries and it went great… minus I couldn't sing! haha I mouthed the words and everyone else sounded wonderful :) then after church we were able to go and teach a family who has been coming to church! They are kids and their grandma is already a member so we talked to them! :) It was super great! They are confused about what church to join so going over Joseph Smith was awesome! :) Then we were able to go to Morristown AGAIN and have a missionary fireside where all the English missionaries sang songs for people about the Christmas story! It was great again! Minus the singing part for me haha but he Spirit was super strong! :) And there were members from all over...even FARDALE that came! :) So it was fun seeing them again! But then we drove home and went to bed! :) That was our Sunday!

That was really our week! :) I am feeling much better... it was just scary at first! :) But hopefully I will be alllll better for Christmas! :) I can't wait to talk to you this week! That will be the best present I could get! I really love you all and am so grateful to have you in my life!
I am also so grateful for my Lord and Savior coming into this Earth to suffer and die for me! I know HE lives! I know that He is what Christmas is all about!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goooooood night! :)

XOXOXO

Sister Dahl

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Us and ALEX BOYE!! (don't mind my ugly hair...hah didn't get ready)

 A sweet Sister and I at church!

 

The 4 girls i came out with! :) Love them!

Amazing how much you appreciate working...

Welll. well well. So sorry I am a day late emailing... this week has been nuts!!!! All I can say is this...

We were on lock down because of the snow for 2 days, church was cancelled, AND we got in a wreck... But don't worry, it wasn't even my fault!

So I don't have very long... but I will give you the quick run down version of my week! Know that I love you all and that I love the Savior too! :)

Tuesday: We were supposed to have an activity with the Jeppsons at the mission home this day but it got cancelled because of all the snow... :( Well pretty much it snowed all morning long so we got a text this day that said that we weren't allowed to use the car for the morning... So we sat inside and waited for the snow to stop... then that night we went outside and finally worked! Amazing how much you appreciate working when you get told that you need to stay out of the snow... :( We were able to see a less active and our new baptismal candidate! :) She is doing soo good and is sooo prepared to be baptized! I don't know if I said anything but her date is on Jan 5 and so we will be having a baptism right after Christmas! :)

Wednesday: Noo SNOW! WOOT! :) We were able to go out and work! We had district meeting in the morning then we were able to go and see a less active and our baptismal candidate again. Since she lost her job she told us to come over whenever we want! :) So we are! :) She is amazing!

Thursday: Weekly Planning and our walking day! YAY... ha! But it was great because we were able to walk to a members work and have dinner with her... (minus the herbal life shake again..) but we walked there and after we had Elder and Sister Kay pick us up and we looked at the temp and it read 18 degrees... ha! We walked in that! But we survived! :)

Friday: This was a great day and we were able to see some great people! We saw a new investigator! He LOVED the Restoration and he totally understood Priesthood power. It was soo cool to see it click in his mind! So we were able to commit him to praying to know if it's true! He is a great kid that really wants to do the right things!! Then we were able to see another sister! She is so sweet! Had a lesson with her then we went back to see our baptismal candidate again! We had a lesson about the Plan of Salvation and out of nowhere she looks at us and says... "Of course we have a prophet!!! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!!!" :) haah we weren't even talking about prophets but we were so happy to see that it clicked in her mind! She is gaining such a strong testimony! :) Then we had the opportunity to go to Emerson, NJ and sing carols for a big ward thing they were doing! That was fun! :)

Saturday! BIG SNOW STORM!! It snowed from 6:30 until 9:00 at night… all day! :( so guess what that means? We had to stay inside again... :( So sad! But we got some studying done and then we decided to have a snow ball fight then the Kay’s had us come over and we talked with them for a while! :) It was sad because we had a ward Christmas party and it got cancelled...

Sunday: Well here is the day... We were still on lock down that morning... AND our Bishop decided to cancel church... :( But the roads were fine around the afternoon (people just don't know how to drive here... it's sad... haha) so we went out to work! We saw a member then on the way back we were sitting at a stop light and minding our own business when suddenly I looked in the rear view mirror and a see 2 cars behind us not stopping and slamming into the car right behind us then all I remember is the car behind us coming towards us!!! Then BAM!! We got hit too! It wasn't bad we were totally fine! Just a little whiplash... and the car just had a baby scratch on it... We got realllly lucky (angles were protecting us that's for sure!) The car behind us was pretty bad... but all is well! The girl that caused it said that the light was green... however we were two cars in front of her and we hadn't gone yet! hah it was sad... so we spent the rest of the night getting all the paper work filled out and so that was fun... not! :) But I am grateful we were okay and that it wasn't my fault... hahah!

MONDAY: Well now to why I didn't email you... Our Jingle with the Jeppsons got re-scheduled to Monday so we woke up and went straight to the mission home and had a fun morning with them! Our whole zone went and it was a blast! :) They cooked us breakfast and we sang and then had a real spiritual moment reading the Christmas story with president! He is amazing! (p.s. they even cooked me GLUTEN FREE waffles! :) ) I love them so much :) Then after that we had to go to a singing practice because next Sunday the missionaries put on a missionary fireside where we sing Christmas songs! So we had to practice up for that! Then by the time we got home, we had family home even that night and that was that! So it was a long day! :( But still sooo fun! :)

TODAY: Then today we wake up and it snowed ALL morning again but luckily I don't think President knew it was snowing in New City cause we still drove! :) ha! We had district meeting then we were able to go to Costco with Sister Kay cause we didn't shop yet... ha! Oh…she made a cake and saved ME some frosting!!! After that we were able to see a new lady we met the other day and she is such a sweet heart and just wants to learn more! So we told her about the Book of Mormon and we will see her again next week! :) Then we saw our baptismal candidate again today and we showed her how to use LDS.org and she loved it! We watched the Nativity with her! Such a great tool! :) so then that brings us to now! :) wow...

So sorry this is the crazy run down version... but know I am safe and that I love you all! :) Also thank you soo much for all those that have already sent me things! You are all so sweet and I love you so much! :) Well all is well and know that I am being protected by angles!!!! D&C 84:88! He really is on our left and on our right and not just during those scary moments but in the times when we need His support! I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ! Love you and have a great week! :)

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 Playin in the snow!

Me n the Jeppsens! Love them!! NJMM!!!

always REMEMBER your Savior!

Holy Smokes! It's almost Christmas! :) Ah I love this time of year! :) I love the Spirit of Christmas! If any of you got to watch the fireside last night I loved what they focused on... Christ’s role in our life! To start of my email I wanted to share my favorite line from Russell M Nelsen... He said: "Christ made mortality a reality and eternal life possible!" That is so true! He made our life have purpose! And that purpose is to make it back to God, something we couldn't do without Christ!! I love being able to stand as a Shepard, or a Witness, during this Christmas! To be a witness of Jesus Christ during this time is the best thing I could ever be doing! :) I love it so much! Oh... and I miss all of you too... :) We had a really rough week... but the Christmas devotional made it all better... thinking about the fact that what I am doing is still important! :)

Wellll to start of the week (this was really our last normal week this month! ha starting this coming week... we will have so many Christmas things to do... it’s crazy! ha)

Tuesday: We had zone meeting clear in West New York, New Jersey (that is quite the mouth full to say...) but it was a great little drive down there! It was Sister Legs first time seeing the city and she loved it! :) And guess what, I didn't even drive on the bridge this time! haha But we had a fun Zone meeting! We got there and our Zone Leaders gave us Santa hats so the pictures below will show that! But it was a lot of fun and the message was great! This month we are all working on Remembering Christ! That is one of the most important things... if we but Remember Him, we won't ever have to worry! :) It's just the remembering that becomes the hard part! But I am grateful to work on that, along with helping our investigators as well! After that, our young investigator called us! She had been having some family problems so we hadn't seen her in a while, but she called us and told us she was available and to come over! :) It was a great lesson and she is still wanting to be baptized and come to church! She is an amazing girl! Keep praying for her!

Wednesday: Now this is where the sad day comes in... ha! But it was just because we had back to back appts. and all but 2 juked us! But it was okay because we were led by the Spirit to be exactly where we needed to be at that moment! It was amazing! So we spent all day getting juked then that night after our last lesson juked us, we had a Zone goal to ask to people to be baptized this day! ha so I told Sister Legg, since all our appts. had fallen through we had to go and ask someone!! So I had this feeling to go to Spring Valley, which was really far away from where we were... but we decided to go anyways! So we get there and we were going to go to this main street that had lots of people on it we could talk to when suddenly we saw a Recent Convert (his mom is one of our investigators who is going to be baptized soon and also juked us that day...) so we saw him walking and he looked lost so we yelled out to him! We told him to follow us! We went and parked and he said that he didn't know where his mom was and he was locked out of his apt! So we said okay, let’s go try again and if not, you can come out and be a missionary with us! :) haha so we just kind of made sure he was okay... so we went to see one of his friends and invited him to be baptized! That was great! But then we went back to try to see if his mom was home yet and we were ringing the door and finally she came up and answered and she was a wreck!!! She said she had come home and pretty much passed out and didn't hear anything! She was soo grateful her son was with us... she was just getting ready to go out and look for him! It was so amazing to be driving in the right place at the right time to see him! I felt like a little angel watching over him! But this is the sad but really cool part! She really wants to be baptized but she hasn't been able to come to church because she works on Sundays... Well she told us on Wednesday night the reason she was sleeping was because she lost her job that morning and she came home and just cried herself to sleep... she was really struggling.. It was really good for us to be there at that time to comfort her as well! But one last cool thing... We have been praying for months now that she would be able to somehow get Sundays off so that she could come to church... As sad as it is that she lost her job, we saw that this is the way the Lord was preparing her to be able to follow the commandments and get baptized! It was an amazing thing to see the Lords hand in this whole entire day! :) So hopefully she will be baptized on Jan 5! She was even at church on Sunday! :)

Thursday: We actually had a great day! We did weekly planning and then we were able to see a new lady! She was really sweet... she told us she was almost baptized once, she was a former investigator and so we will hopefully be able to set up another time to see her! :) After that, we were able to see our young investigator again! We just read with her then she came to Young Womens that night and had a lot of fun as well! :) But that was really all that we did... still a good day! We also came home to a package... from my awesome grandma! A CHRISTMAS TREE! :) Our apt looks soo cute now! :) Love you! :)

Friday: We had appointments all day... and everyone juked us! :( Sad... but for dinner Sister Legg and I cooked up some really good chicken and rice... we got all creative and that helped us feel better! :) Plus we were able to find lots of Potentials! :)

Saturday: Full of service day! We spent the morning helping the youth clean up garbage off the road... ya know what those troubled youth do when they pick up stuff off the high way? Yes... that was us! haha but it was for a good cause! Our ward adopted a highway so we have a sign up that says the name of the church so it's good for them to see then all we have to do is clean up the road 4 times a year! So that was fun! :) haha After that we were able to go to Super Saturday for Relief Society and we did some more service there by making stockings! :) Then we were able to go and see a family in the ward and ask them to help us get an investigator to church! We have a plan to get him there next week! :) That way he will have a friend!

Sunday: What a great Sunday, after a roughish week, we were able to be blessed and have two investigators at church! :) One was a guy that we met on the street one day! He is actually a mailman and he is from the Philippians and he said he talked with missionaries there... so he said that he would come to church! Sooo he did! And he loved it! :) So hopefully we will be able to start teaching him soon! He is super prepared! :)! We also visited a member that night then we were able to watch the Christmas Devotional! :) That was super good! I loved it! :) But that was our night!

It was still a good week! :) And even when things don't go the way we want, I have realized that the Lord always has a better way! And if we are listening HE will place us right where we need to be! :) Wellll Hope everyone has a great week! Remember that I love you! :) And always REMEMBER your Savior! :)

Love, Sister Dahl

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 Zone Meeting and our Christmas Hats!

 Crafting snowmen from our 25 days of Christmas

package from Mom!

 

 Our beautiful Christmas Tree from Grandma!
 

 

BOY oh BOY did I eat WAY too much!

Goooooood Morning! Can you even believe that it is December? Wow... WHERE DOES THE TIME EVEN GO?? Well I am so excited to email this week and tell you about my week... It has been one of the CRAZIEST weeks on my mission so far!!! But first things first, we will start off with...

Tuesday: Sister Gaihe and I woke up and got her allll packed and headed out the door at 9:30 and headed to Short Hills, NJ. She was super sad to leave… she had been in New City for 6 months... so that was hard. But she was excited for the new adventure! :) We got there and President had all the Trainers and the Trainees meet in a room together and we just talked... (so much anxiety just to find out who our comp is!) then we talked some more... then we had lunch... then we came back and talked so more! I was about to die! haha But finally after all that we line up across the room. Trainers on one side and Trainees on the other and he will call us and we go in the middle and meet our comp! (all about the drama! haha) But anyways, my companion and I met together and her name is Sister Legg! But wanna know her first name??? KAYLA!!!!!! ahhh!! Right? How cool is that? I still call her Sister, don't worry... but it is tempting to just call her Kayla! Ha! :) But she is actually a Visa Waiter, waiting to go to Brazil! So she was assigned here while she waits! She is so sweet! She is from Idaho and has 3 horses! haha She doesn't rodeo... but we are sooo much alike it's insane! She is so much fun! :) Well after we got over the fact that we both have the same name, hah we had transfer conference with the rest of the mission and they all found out where they are going! So that was long... but then we headed back to our area after being there all day! Then I took her to see our recently baptized convert that night (Pres told us he wanted them to teach a lesson their first night! So we did!) So that was a great lesson and she was able to meet someone! :) Then we came home! p.s. Sister Legg is only 19... yes I feel so old...

Wednesday: Well we woke up and studied then we had to go to District meeting! So that was fun to get together with all the Zone again and have that! We learned a lot! Then we came back and had to finish studies and Sister Legg had her Lang Study cause yes, she is practicing Portugues! (or however you spell it..) Needless to say, I have had Lang. Study hour my entire mission! I am going to be speaking all sorts of languages when I get home! :) But then we were able to go and see an investigator that night! That was great! Then we went to introduce Sister Legg to Bishop... that was good... just to share a little thought with them! :) And that was pretty much our day.

Thursday: Ah! Thanksgiving! Craziest day of my mission so far. ha but so fun! :) So we woke up and Sister Kay said she needed help cooking so we went over there and helped her chop stuff up then we had to leave because two of our Zones were getting together to have a TURKEY BOWL! haha so we went to NJ and played Soccer and Football with some other Elders and Sisters! IT WAS FREEZING COLD cause we played outside but we bundled up and it was sooo fun! :) Then after that we were able to go back and go over to the Kays and have dinner! :) The Elders and our investigator were there and BOY oh BOY did I eat WAY too much! :) Then we kinda played a game of 5 crowns... ha then we ate more and ate desert! Then we decided since we didn't do anything all day and no one was going to let us come over on a holiday that we should go home and study! :) So we did! :) But... turkey makes you tired... ha! p.s. we made peanut butter cookies and jello for the thanksgiving feast! haha soo creative right?

Friday: Since this week so far has been the most unsuccessful week ever... :/ We decided we really needed to work today! ha! However, we had weekly planning to do... but we were able to see one investigator and have a great lesson with her! Then we had a dinner appt that night with a sweet family in our ward! They fed us leftover turkey! But it was great because we were able to talk to them about the temple! So that was a good lesson! Then we went over and introduced Sister Legg to another member of our ward. She is the sweetest lady ever and so that was really great! :) Shared a little short message with her! Then the Bishop called and had us come over and get more leftover turkey! AHH! So we have had lots of turkey since then! :)

Saturday: Well, Saturday was an okay day… ha we started out by a member calling us and telling us that she didn't get to cook a turkey and she wanted us to come over for lunch! So she had us come over and so that was fun! :) Yet another turkey meal! Good thing I like turkey! :) And it's crazy how many different kinds of turkey dinners there are! Everyone does it different! Then we were able to go to a Less Active member that we saw last week. It was her son’s birthday so we didn't get to do much… but after that we were able to go to another members for dinner! But don't worry, they didn't cook us turkey! haha but we sure were stuffed that day! :)

Sunday: Sunday was a great day! :) It always is! We were able to go to church, then after we went to see a Head Quarter referral that we got... however he didn't live there anymore but we both had a feeling that there was someone on that street that was there and ready for us! So we tracted the whole street and found a man and set an appt with him for next week! So that was fun! :) Then we brought a treat to another investigator cause he was sick... :/ then we went home and did our studies then we went back out to go and see our sister investigator that night! Awe she is so funny! But we sit down... and she looks at me and says, "When are you going to baptize me?" haha she just says, I'm ready!!! So I was like wow! haha but I backed it up a little and asked her why she wanted to be baptized and asked her how her Book of Mormon reading is going and she said great! She is already on page 35! I don't know what has changed with her the last couple of weeks but something has! She has such a strong desire to learn and be a member of the church! It's incredible! So we set a date of Jan 5! (she told me she wanted to make sure I am there.. ha) but the Sisters before taught her so she has pretty much all the lessons, all we have to do is review them with her and she will be ready for baptism that day! Pray that all goes well! :) Sister Legg was excited to see that on her first week! :) haha

But that was our week! It's been... different... and slow... ha but still great! Still so amazing to see our Brothers and Sisters want to come closer to our Father in Heaven! Still another week where I have become more and more converted to this amazing gospel! Still another week where I get to be a missionary! :) I love it! This coming up week will be great because we will get to see more of our investigators! Then starting this month we get to go to the temple! I don't know when yet, but I can't wait... I sure have missed that place! But all is going great! :) I love my Father in Heaven so much and my Savior Jesus Christ! I am so grateful for them in my life! :) And since its Thanksgiving weekend, I was especially grateful for my family for raising me the way they have! For giving me the gospel in my life, so that I can share it with others! I love you all so much and hope you have a great week! :) :)

Sister Dahl

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 Kayla and Kayla or you can say Sister and Sister...haha but my new comp! :)

 Us chopping up some things for Thanksgiving

Me, my comp and two other sisters at the turkey bowl FREEZING! :)

 

It's absolutely FREEZING!

Mom. I am starting out this letter to you, I am sorry to hear that it has been cold in St. George. But I must say... I will take Utah Cold any day over this! hahah (I’m really trying hard not to complain..) but it hasn't gotten up above 30 degrees for two days in a row! It's absolutely FREEZING! That's all! But it was a good week! :) I have some exciting news...

Tuesday! Well Tuesday was our usual day, District Meeting in the morning then we had appointments that day and they ALL ditched out on us :( nooo fun! ha so we had to resort to being a missionary and trying to find people! We went around to different Less Actives and formers and old referrals and we found one way cool guy who is interested in Family History work! He had a Book of Mormon... but wasn't interested in lessons, but our ward has a family history library that should be opening soon so we told him we will be in touch with that! :) Then we will teach him that way! :) But it was a good day still! :) We still have the Gospel of Jesus Christ with us! Why not be happy?!

Wednesday: For some reason, Wednesdays are our busy days! But I am totally okay with that! :) It was a great day! We first saw a new investigator. He is from Haiti and his uncle is a member and he just wanted to learn more! We found him by trying to find his uncle who is Less Active! That was cool! But he is awesome and he really is interested so we had a great first lesson with him and scheduled another appt for this next week! Then we did service for someone the Elders met, we raked their leaves and so that was really great! Then we ran to pick up Sister Kay and we went to see an investigator. Goodness. He needs to be baptized already! ha he is just so great! We taught him the plan of salvation and it was really good! I think it answered a lot of his questions! Then we went to see our older investigator... we don't really know what to do with him. We had a great lesson, we just don't know if he will really progress. So we have been praying about him. Then we went to see a Less Active. She is struggling right now, so it was a good visit. Then we went to see another Less Active. He is so cool. We taught him how to study the scriptures! So that was fun! Then we met with our new investigator! He is the one that has loads of questions. We tried to help him and told him that we could answer every question he has with the Book of Mormon so we ended with that and we will try to study out his questions. We just hope he accepts them. However, he told us he had a friend that is interested in learning more too! So hopefully that will happen! :) Then that was our night! Phew! Needless to say, we were sure tired! I love busy days because you are able to fall asleep FAST! :)

Thursday: Well we woke up and started to study and all that and right during the middle of my studies we get a call from President! He asked to talk to me and extended a call to me to be a trainer for a new missionary coming in this week! AH! Of course I accepted and but I am super nervous! The rest of the day was us getting ready for the transfer. We did weekly planning, cleaned, and then headed to young womens! And that was it!

Friday: We had to wake up and start driving because there was a trainers meeting at the mission home that morning! So I dropped Sister Gaihe off in Passiac, NJ and picked up another Sister and went there! President is so amazing and it was a great experience. Really humbling to know that I have been called to train a new missionary! We had lunch and Sister Jeppson even had Gluten-Free Bread for me! :) She is the best! Then we went back to our area! That night Sister Gaihe and I were able to teach our investigator who is thinking about baptism! We had a great lesson with her and she said she is going to pray for a date to be baptized... she said when she chooses one, she will move it! But if the Lord chooses it, she will keep it! :) She is doing really awesome! She tells us stories about how she defends the church at work all the time! :) Then we met with her son, a recent convert and had a great lesson with him about the Book of Mormon! So that was really great! :) Then that was all we had time for that night.

Saturday: This was a great day! We were able to first teach a member who is really great! Then we taught a lesson with a less active who is really trying to change! She is so sweet! We had a great lesson with her about the Holy Ghost and how to feel it!

Then we had the great opportunity to meet with another Less Active that we haven't met before and she is going through a really rough time and she is really sweet! It was a good, get to know you lesson, and she said we could come back whenever! :) THEN we had a dinner with a member, Herbal Life again. Woot. She is just so sweet though. But while we were eating... I mean drinking.. IT STARTED TO SNOW! So Sister Gaihe got so excited so we went outside and took pictures! It snowed for like 5 mintues haha but it was still fun! :) and that was pretty much our night! :)

Sunday: Great day at church... only sad thing was no investigators were there! But a couple of Less Actives came so that was great! :) AH! Cool thing was one of our 3 members that really speak French gave a talk! It had to be translated for us but it was fun to try and catch some of the French words i have been trying to learn :) We took lots of pictures for Sister Gaihe with all the members and that was that! After church we had a busy day. Our sister investigator called us and said she was in the hospital, she has heart problems... :/ She is fine... but we went to see her! :) It made her day! We also were able to go and pick up food from a member who had a whole lot of stuff for us! :) That was fun! Then we were able to go see our recently baptized sister! She is still doing good! :) We love her so much! But that was our Sunday! Then we got the text to confirm that Sister Gaihe will be leaving and that was that!

I am sad to leave Sister Gaihe, I love her so much! She is so sweet and has taught me so much! So tomorrow we will have transfer conference all day in Short Hill, NJ and there I will find out who my new companion is! I am so excited but so nervous! It's crazy how much of an effect trainers have on new missionaries and I hope to live up to what the Lord expects!

But oh yeah, it's thanksgiving this week! AH! I think the Kay’s are having us over so that will be fun! Plus the mission is getting together in the morning for a TURKEY BOWL... I guess just to play games... our mission is out of control! haha :) I love it! But over all this Thanksgiving I am so grateful for my Lord and Savior for allowing me the chance to be a missionary! The things that I have learned, the people I have met, and the experiences I have had, I will never forget! I love my Savior more than anything and will always be indebted to him! Well Happy Holidays to everyone and know that I love you! :)

Sister Dahl!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

 Friends at Family Home Evening

Welcome to New York...and the Snow!

 A good friend!

...this work that I am doing is the best work that I will ever do!

Welllll Good morning!!! And in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening and gooooodnight! :) haha how is everyone?? Things are going great in the BIG NY!! (as usual. I'm a missionary. That's how things roll... but even if they weren't great, I'm pretty sure I would still be happy just because I have the amazing opportunity to invite people to come unto Christ! What greater thing can there be?) Wanna know one thing that a mission has REALLY done to change me?? I LOVE getting up at 6:30 and having the opportunity to STUDY. I know for those of you that REALLY know me, I did not like to study... anything.. before! But something has seriously changed and I LOVE LEARNING! :) (probably just because it's about my personal salvation and not about art or something I don't care about hah but still it's great!)

I am rambling again... but one last thing before I tell you about my week. New York is as weird as Utah in terms of the weather... One second it is freezing then the next second is it hot! It's crazy! But the beginning of this week was insane. It was soo cold! There was one day that it didn't get above 35 degrees. And all those people that told me that it was such a different cold over here... you are right! No matter how nice my coat is, it still cuts to the bone! Thank heavens we have a car that has a nice warm heater... :) (I am sorry Cade... Heavenly Father only sends the tough ones to France to make them walk...) BUT there is a positive! Today we get alllll bundled up and go outside and it is about 60 degrees!! No joke! I have a feeling we are going to sweat today! haha anyways it's weird... (p.s. when I email, my mind is going 1 million miles an hour. I can't wait till Christmas when I can just talk to you cause I will be able to tell you sooo much more!)
Okay now to my week!

Tuesday: We had district meeting in the morning then we all went to Wendy's for Lunch! It was great, I treated myself to an ultimate grilled chicken without the bun! Haven't had that in a while! :) Then we were off to work! We decided that we wanted to stop by this former investigator. We have tried before and he wasn't home but we go there today and he answered the door! :) Coolest guy I have ever met! He talks about as much as me... which you know is a lot... and he is soo funny! Somewhere in our crazy conversation he said that he watched BYU TV all the time, he has watched conference and he has a BOM by his night stand and he reads it sometimes!!! :) He also said this.... "If we had prophets in the olden days, why couldn't a guy like Joseph Smith be a Prophet now????" hahah uhhh HELLO! He is soo right! :) We ended the conversation with him going to follow up this coming week because he was going hunting this weekend... I told him to shoot me a 6 point!! :) Ha he said deal! So we will hopefully meet back up with this guy this week! Pray for that!
Then we were able to meet with our investigator! We had a great lesson with her and she decided that she wants to be baptized on Jan 12. She set the date so we willl shoot for that! :) She is soo cool and really prepared! Then we had a meeting with a recent convert and he is super funny... ha but it was good. We met with his mom too, who is another inv and we shared a little scripture with her because she was sick... :/ But that was our Tuesday! :)

Wednesday! It was a pretty busy day! :) I love those times! We started off the day picking up a member to go out with us for the day! She is awesome! She is the one that teaches me French! Anyways, our first appointment was with the miracle guy! We called him the other day and he said he wasn't feeling very well sooo we asked if there was anything we could do and he said.. HEAL ME!! haha sooooooo we offered him a priesthood blessing from the Elders and so we did that on Wednesday! They came with us and gave the blessing and the Spirit was soo strong! It was incredible! I know he felt it and it was a special experience! After that, we talked with him about the Spirit and how to recognize it. After that we had a meeting with our older investigator, and that went well... He seems to be understanding more and more! Slow process! But good! Then our other appts canceled so we dropped off the sister member then we went to a Less Active home and we had a great lesson about improving our prayers. I love when I learn more than the person I am teaching! :) Then the rest of the night was slow but spent trying to find new inv! :)

Thursday: Weekly Planning all day and we had our apartment check! The Kays do that and they said our apt was SPOTLESS! :) (another shocker right? I am clean too! Sometimes... haha) Then we spent the night with the Ward Clerk updating the ward list! That’s one thing that I never realized missionaries have such a huge part in cleaning up people that have moved, or address changes and such! So this ward was SUPER behind on it so we have spent a lot of time doing that so it was nice to get the efforts recorded! :)

Friday: Was another good day! We had a meeting with our 13 year old investigator and that was good! Then we had a meeting with a less Active. She is really progressing! She comes to church all the time and she just needs a lot of learning! :) So that has been good! Then we had a lunch apt with a member! Who is Spanish! So that was an interesting lunch... haha we only talked a little bit! :) But oh well! Then the rest of our apt cancelled on us so we spent the night again, looking for new investigators! :)

Saturday: We were first able to see one of our investigators! He really opened up to us about his past this day! It was cool! He had some past alcohol problems, lost everything, his family, his house, food! Everything! But he cleaned himself up and hasn't drank in 27 years! It was really amazing to see that side of him! Then we spent the day going to formers! We found one New Investigator! He was an old Head Quarter Referral and when we knocked on his door, he let us right in! He has lots of questions about the bible and how there are contradictions! So we will see how open he is to the truth! :)

Sunday: Great day at church, like always! :) One of our investigators came and that was really great! :) But it was soo great to be able to partake of the sacrament! Then we didn't have any plans that night, so we were once again out finding people!  :) It was so foggy last night! Driving was scary! haha I have never seen it quite like that! But it was still a good night! :)
But that was pretty much our week :) Last week of the transfer will be this week! Crazy how fast time flies! :) p.s. I have been out for 7 months already! Can you believe it? Well all is well... I know that this work that I am doing is the best work that I will ever do! It truly is amazing how it is the most rewarding work I have ever done... even when we have days where it seems like nothing good happened... at the end of the day I know that I am still happy because I was able to represent my Lord and Savior!

Well have an awesome week! I love you all! :) p.s. don't forget to read your scriptures! :)
Sister Dahl!

Pray for me to not drive over the bridge again

Well, I have told of some pretty funny/embarrassing/crazy things I have done on my mission so far but I think this week I topped them all..... haha! But over all it was a really great... fun week! :) Love when missionary work is work and fun at the same time... it's good to have a balance! :)

Monday: Well after emails, I think we just went to do some laundry and then we had family home evening that night! So that was great! :)

Tuesday! Okay! Now here is the adventure... So we woke up and we had Zone meeting and they decided to do it in West New York, NJ... (which is really far away from us…) sooo this place in Jersey boarders the Hudson river and on the other side of the river you can see the city! Soooo here I am driving down the freeway and all of the sudden... I missed the turn to go to where we needed to go... (this is what happens when your comp is from a different country and you have noooo help guiding yourself around these crazy roads!!!! ahh!!) Wellll next thing we know we are pulling up to a toll both... ah! So we ask the guy where we were and he is like you are going on the George Washington Bridge!!! So we were like ohhh no! Can we turn around?? And he said nope! So he made us pay $13 and here we are driving across the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge to New York City. Now let me just mention... THIS IS OUT OF OUR MISSION! We were literally driving into the CITY!!! AHH! I was just a little scared cause I thought we were going to get in major trouble! So then we get across the bridge and miss like 9 turns to try to turn around and get back... so we end up going to Fort Lee... haha Then that turned us around and we drove back as fast as we could and we got to Zone Meeting on time! :) But needless to say... I was a little scared! But afterwards, Sister Gaihe and I were like... man! Why didn't we take a picture?!? hahah but it was still an adventure I won't forget and hopefully won't have happen again! :) However, after that, Zone meeting was great, then I was able to go on exchange with Sister Varble! She lives literally 1 min away from Kristi... I don't know how we never met before! But she is awesome! We worked up in New City and we saw an investigator we have had for a while that really wants to learn but she works on Sundays... :/ Well we had a really powerful lesson with her and we got to ask her to pray about the Book of Mormon with us right there and she did and when she was done she said... "I feel like my heart was just opening up!!" It was amazing! The Lord has truly blessed us and it is so great to be able to see people receive the same witness that you do! :) But Sister Varble and I had a great night talking till... late... :) ha! It was fun!

Wednesday: So we woke up really early cause Sister Varble remembered that her and her comp had to be in Morristown at 10:00 in the morning so we had to hurry and exchange back and that was great haha but Sister Gaihe and I had a great day full of lessons! We were able to teach another investigator and we committed her to a baptismal date of Nov 24th! She is praying about it right now, but she would totally be ready by then! :) Then we met with the miracle man, and we had a great lesson with him and we committed him to pray so we will follow up with that this week! And our elderly investigator is doing great! We just have to teach him over and over again! Then we got two new investigators that night! Two young girls that are just awesome! They have been coming to church so hopefully something comes out of this! :)

Thursday: We did weekly planning then we had our apt not show up so then we just went to young women’s that night! :) We had some new people there so that was fun! :)

Friday: We had a great day planned... but nothing really went the way we wanted it.. man :/ haha but that's okay! :) We were able to teach two less actives that really just need someone to be bold with them and we were! :) We also were able to do service with an investigator’s grandma… this lady has a million Halloween decorations and she needed help putting them away so we helped her with that! :) That was fun! :) But that is really all the excitement we had Friday.

Saturday: We were able to wake up and have interviews with President! This man is incredible! Have I ever told you that he is a Patriarch? Yes! Only Patriarch that has ever been a mission president! That may give you some idea of how spiritual this man is! I am in the same room with him and the spirit is just so strong it brings me to tears every time! I love him and Sister Jeppson so much! But after that we were able to have lunch, we went and bought Sushi! :) Sister Gaihe and I needed a treat! (please pray for her family from the Philippines...) We were able to have a great day! We saw our elderly investigator again! We taught him the restoration and asked him to teach it back to us and he did! Really well! :) So we know he is understanding a little better! :) Then we met with our recently baptized convert!!! Her record number came in so there is a ward temple trip this week and she can go!! And we can go with her if she gets a family name! So that's what we are working on now! Oh I hope we can go! :) Then we went to a member’s house for dinner and they said... eh... we are too lazy to cook! So they took us to Outback Steak House! :) Lucky huh? Of course I had a little stake and a sweet potato! Man it was great! :) Then we were able to see a lady that is in the hospital and we brought her cookies so that was nice! :) But that was our Saturday!

Sunday: Crazy day at church! But there was a missionary who came home and so he gave his talk then after we had a huge Linger Longer for him... (I have never done so many linger longers in my life since I have been on my mission.. they have them all the time over here) but after that we were able to go home and do some studies then our appt wasn't there that night so it was kind of a slow night! But all is well! :)

Then today we had a zone activity so that was really fun! :) But that is our week! I love doing this work! It is incredible! I am so happy to be a part of it! I know that the gospel works! I have seen it in people’s life and in my own! I know that by living the Gospel, we will truly get back to our Father in Heaven! I Love you all and hope you have a great week! :) Pray for me to not drive over the bridge again… and if I do.. I will at least take pictures while I am!! haha! Love you! :) 

Sister Dahl!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

 

I know that the Lord is preparing people...for us to see!

Good Afternooooooon! :) How is everyone? I am doing great minus the fact that when we went outside at 10:00AM today it was 37 degrees! INSANE! You look outside and it looks so nice and sunny.. FALSE ALARM! It's cold!!! :/ but all is well! The leaves are so pretty here I feel like I am looking at a picture every day! It's really cool! But other than that, we had a pretty good week!! Pretty calm… but we survived Halloween.

Monday: Well after P-day, we were able to have Family Home Even at the church again, then after that we decided to go to a Less Actives house who hasn't been answering our calls... So we just dropped by and she was sort of sick... but her Boyfriend was there and he made us sit down and they just started to pull stuff out of the fridge and making us eat! haha It was insane, steak, chicken, potato salad, fruit, veggies!! SOO MUCH FOOD! haha it was great! We decided we will be stopping by more often now ;) not to mention they sent all that food home with us! SCORE! Oh yeah, our LA is doing great! :) haha

Tuesday: It was kind of a slow day, we had district meeting in the morning then we were able to go see a Less Active! She has actually been coming to church a lot lately! So it was great to meet with her! Then we were able to go to dinner at a members and she fed me gluten free cheese rolls... man they were good! :) But we didn't do really anything else... we saw lots of people and got appts with them but no other lessons!

Wednesday: We did our studies, then we were able to see an investigator... We had a good lesson with him! We told him about recognizing the Spirit and how he can get an answer to know if the Book of Mormon is true, sooo he said that he would pray that night to know... so he called us later and he said that he said his prayers and a "warm feeling" came over him!!!! He said he knew that was the Spirit telling him that it is true! It was amazing! :) He is learning... just slow... so it will take some time with him but he will come around! :) We also saw another Less Active! She is doing great! She reminds me soo much of Grandma and Grandpa Stark! She said she puts out a bowl of candy out for her husband... then she has to hide the good stuff in the other room! :) hahah I just had to laugh at that one! :) After that, and I don't really know why... Since it was the day before Halloween, we had to be inside at 6:00. President didn't want us out on the streets, so we went home! Well... President said we could do whatever we wanted as long as we were inside and we didn't tell him... haha sooooo we went to the Kay’s apartment, which is right by ours! We were going to eat and play games! Well guess what game they pulled out... FIVE CROWNS!!! :) I was so happy! So we spent the night playing that! :) It was fun! Then we were back in our apt on time and went to bed! :)

Thursday: Was it really Halloween? Didn't even feel like it... but we didn't do much that day either... we had our weekly planning which took a while then we had to be in by 6:00 again... then we ran over to the Kay’s and did the same thing as the night before! :) It was great! :) We had fun! It must be pretty scary outside around here for us to have to be inside two nights in a row... that’s all I can think of... but all is well! I am still here! :)

Friday: This was a great day!!!!!!! :) We were back at work (don't worry... we do work I promise!) We were able to first see this guy who we met a couple weeks ago. He was a former investigator and had been dropped a couple times. But we went to just see if we could give it a try... So he agreed and we made an appt! We met him and asked him some questions! He is the nicest guy and he said some cool stuff! He had to retire from his job because of some health issues... and he was having a really hard time... he kept asking God for help and he wasn't getting anything... (or so he thought) but what kept happening is the missionaries kept knocking on his door and he was getting so annoyed! Well one day he was thinking and it finally clicked with him that maybe that was who God was sending into his life!!! So he let them in... and loved hearing what they were saying... welll things with his health got really bad and he kinda lost touch with the missionaries and that is where we came in! He told us that he let us in because he always wanted to know what is the true church. He has always been looking and just can't seem to find it... soooo we told him if he will listen to us he will find out! :) It was so spiritual! This guy is incredible and soo prepared! There were lots of other little things that led him to this as well... We were really excited and have another appt with him this week! :) We also met with a recent convert and our other investigator! She is doing great! :) She fixed us dinner that night... she is soo sweet! :) She always has lots of questions and she is really smart! :) but that was our great day :)

Saturday: We were able to have a ward cleaning the church day so we did that in the morning! Then we were able to go and serve a member’s husband (who is jewish) and help with his yard work! I blew leaves all day! hahah but then we had an appt with our first investigator! We taught him more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! That was great! :) Then we had an Herbal Life Shake... AGAIN! (ahh!) then we went to see the girl who was baptized last week! :) We had a great lesson with her and we challenged her to bare her testimony! She is still doing great! :)

Sunday: I love Sunday’s soo much! :) We were able to go to church and our new member was able to receive the Holy Ghost! That was an amazing thing for her! :) She did bare her testimony after... she was super nervous but she did great :) Her mom and two sisters and her friend actually came to church too! They seemed to really like it! :) Keep your fingers crossed for them! :) or actually... just pray! After church we were able to have dinner with a member and they are always so fun! :) There are a couple members here that I just love to death! :)

But that was our great week! :) I just love being a missionary! I know that the Lord is preparing people all the time for us to see! I know that the Spirit guides us to find those people! It's the most amazing experience I have ever seen! I love my Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ more than anything! I am so grateful to be serving them!! I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week! p.s. stay warm! Heard it's snowing... ahh!

Love ya!