Guess what I saw for the first time in my entire life...

Family! :)

How are you all doing?! I hope all is well! This week here in Jersey… it rained… and rained and rained and then rained some more! And not just a little rain, it rained hard!!!! One day we were driving and I finally told my companions that we have to pull over because I couldn't see a thing and I was just going on faith hoping that we wouldn't crash!!!! hahah Faith of a missionary! :) But don't worry! We were safe and sound! :)

Well since I just talked to you on Wednesday I only have a little to report on... but it was still the best week ever! :) WE HAVE INVESTIGATORS! 3 of them right now! It is great!

1: We have a 19 year old who has been taking the lessons for a while and nothing has really come out of it... His dad is a member but isn't active... however we were able to meet him this week! He has been reading the Book of Mormon like crazy wanting to know what it all means! So we read it with him and explained it more and the spirit was so strong! He is so cool and just wants to learn more! Well then it was my turn to ask him if he would commit to being baptized... I was nervous! So as missionaries we have a line to say and we say... "As you come to find out that this is true, would you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" So that is what we are supposed to say... however I was so nervous this is what I said... haha "As you find out this is true would you be baptized by someone holding authority into our religion?" hahahahahah seriously Sister Dahl?!?! I couldn't believe I messed it up that bad, however, it’s all good because he said YES, Of COURSE! :) haha so we are really hoping to meet with him more and get him baptized!!!! YAY!

2. Heather- She is the most incredible lady ever!! She is our neighbor and we walked passed her house one day and she was doing yard work so we just stopped and talked with her! We have been over a couple times since as well! She calls us her "Mormon girlfriends!" hahah. She is single, works 4 jobs and has brain cancer! She is really just trying to live... :( however she is amazing and so receptive. Last night we taught her the restoration! It was so great! :) She listens soo good! We also played horseshoes with her in her back yard! She said she really appreciated us coming over because she doesn't have any friends so she really feels the love from us and the messages we bring! We feel really good to be able to teach her and her willingness to listen to what we say! It is great!!! :)

3. Our crossing guard across the street from us! She is there every morning and she is as sweet as can be! We talk to her all the time and we have given her a Book of Mormon! She is so close with God... She is a Born Again ... but she loves the way we have the sacrament every week... YES! God wants us to do that!!! :) So we feel super strong about her!!

GUESS WHAT I SAW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE LIFE THIS WEEK... NEW YORK CITY!!!!! We went on exchanges with a sister from West New York (which is in NJ just across the Hudson from New York) but, oh my goodness, I saw the Skyline! Coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life!!!! There are so many buildings everywhere!!!!!! I was so overwhelmed!!! It was great!! :) haha I can't wait to be able to go to the temple over there in June! It will be amazing! :) We went on exchanges with Sister Simpson... she is from Layton! She is such a sweet heart! She is best friends with my makeup instructor at beauty school! It was sooo fun to talk with her! :) But other than that… that is my week! I love my two companions! We are seriously best friends! We get along sooo great and work together sooo good! This week is going to be awesome! We hopefully have appt. with the other people I told you about last week and then an appt. with the ones for this week! I really don't know what else to say other then I LOVE IT HERE! :) I hope all is well at home... and always remember to bear your testimony! No one can deny your testimony! So do it! :) haha! Love you all so much! And Holy Moly... I have been out for 1 month and 2 weeks... TIME IS going WAY TOO FAST! HA! Well Love you! :) Have a great Memorial Day!!!

 One of our favorite ward members!

A cool bridge!

 

View from West New York which is in NJ

 

THE NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE!

The importance of being exactly obedient!

Dearest Family:

How are ya doing?!?! :) SO glad I finally get to email you! :) Can you believe I have been out for 1 month now! You know that went by super fast...

Well this week went so great! :) Another great week being a missionary... things don't get much better than that! :) But this week I learned the importance of being exactly obedient! YOU RECIEVE MIRACLES! Last week Sister Nelson and I decided we needed to be getting up a little earlier than 6:30 so that we have time to say our prayers then get right to exercising.. yay... ha ha but we did it! We got our full 30 min of exercising in this day then went to work. We had a day fulllllll of great things! First we went to see this lady an Elder mentioned to us to go see. Her teaching record said that they saw her once, but then sisters came back a little while later and they denied ever meeting with the missionaries...?? So we were a little hesitant. So we decided to pray about it... Well we both got the feeling that we needed to just go and see her. We knock on her door and she lets us right in! :) We talk for a while and she finally said, "Oh yeah I remember your church. One day I was talking on the phone with a doctor and they just told me that my daughter might be really sick. It was the worst day of my life! I hung up the phone and was balling and I heard a knock on the door... I went to go get it and it was two men and they looked right at me and said that everything was going to be okay." She then went on to tell us she knew they were sent from God!!! The Spirit was so strong when she was telling us this it was incredible! :) However, she went on saying that she was Catholic and that she didn't believe in having one religion and that was that... so we left... Well we got out in the car and we looked at each other and we had the worst feeling EVER! We didn't testify to her!!!! So we said another prayer and asked Heavenly Father what we should do... We knew we had to walk back up the door tell her what we believe... So we did! We told her that if we didn't tell her our testimony we would be failing those Elders that came to her door that day... and we would mostly be failing our Father in Heaven who we knew sent us to her that day! It was great! We asked her if we can see her again and talk more about our religion! So we have an appt. next week! :) I am so excited! Revelation to prayer!! It was a great feeling to know that we did all we could do... I know our Father in Heaven was proud! So pray for her to listen to us with an open mind and heart! :)

Then for the next great thing! Right after we met with her we decided to go over to a Less-Active Members house and see him. Well a Korean lady answered the door and was like "oh oh oh I am studying the bible, I am studying!!" We were like okay??? She asks us to come in and tells us she doesn't know if she is praying right. So we told her that we can help her with that! :) She ended up telling us her story… She goes to the Korean branch but is in our area and she is investigating the church. She has been reading the Book of Mormon and taking the discussions with Elders and the Korean Branch every Sunday. She says she knows she is going to get baptized… she has to do it!! She is like the Golden Investigator!!! :) It was so neat to see the Lord place us right there... AGAIN! :) We called the Elders she is meeting with and they asked us to check up with her during the week because they can only teach her Sunday! So we said we will and I really hope we can be a part of her conversion and getting baptized! :) It is amazing! :)

So this week we also were able to have a member of the 70 Elder Koelliker and his sweet wife come and talked to us! It was amazing and it is so cool to be able to shake his hand because you can feel the connection and power that he has! The spirit there was sooo strong and my testimony grew so much in the couple hours! It was great!!! So lucky to be a part of that!!! :) After the ward cooked us dinner… (there were three zones... about 70 people there) we went home. Well the next day texts were going everywhere and everyone was sick! My two comps were and most of our zone... it was crazy! However, I wasn't! haha The only thing we could think of was that they served pasta with some chicken sauce on it... so of course I didn't eat it... I think that is what made everyone sick! BLESSINGS OF BEING A GLUTEN GEEK! :) Everyone is feeling better now though! :)

But YES! Like I was telling you, we got a new companion!! Her name is Sister Webb! She is from Texas! Apparently the apartment she was in before could only have 2 people (and she was in a threesome) so they had to kick her out and she got to come up here! :) She is actually waiting for her Visa to go to Brazil! Even though we want her to stay here… I really hope she gets her Visa so she can go there! She wants to sooo bad! She speaks Portuguese to us all the time and she is sooo good at it! It is fun! But the three of us get along great! :) Another huge blessing! :)

But we have another great week ahead of us! :) I really hope that we will be able to email Monday... I didn't even think of it being a holiday : / I guess we will try! Because I know our P-day hasn't changed!

But know that I love you all so much and can feel your prayers! :) Thank you all! Keep up being a missionary at home!!!

Our New Companion

 Raining pink petals

 Our group from the MTC at Zone Conference

 Rainy Weather

 



 A lilac bush...just for you mom! :)

The bear cave in one of our members backyards

Ate at a restaruant named "Cluck-U Chicken"

 



I will just have to volunteer to take care of you when you are old... maybe...

Well yesterday was such an amazing day... wow! I loved talking to you all! I was really glad that everyone was able to be there and I got to see everyone! It was just so much fun! It was also so great to see that the Lord is protecting my family while I am gone! :) I love you guys so much!!!! Mom, I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Like I said, being out on your own really makes you appreciate all that you have done for me! Makes me realize all the small things you have done for me over the years and I don't know how or when I will ever be able to repay you! (maybe I will just have to volunteer to take care of you when you are old... maybe...) haha But I do love you so much!! :) Never forget that! :) I am glad to know that the Lord gives you peace! He gives me peace and strength as well… every day! I know I couldn't do it on my own! He is amazing! :) Yeah today we are playing games with our zone and going shopping then to a member’s house for dinner tonight! Should be a good day! :) Next p-day will be Wednesday! A member of the 70's is coming next Monday so we have a conference with him! The people in my zone are awesome! It’s nice, we are all kinda like a big family!! It is fun!

So I pretty much covered everything yesterday but there are just a few things I forgot to tell you so here they are:

1. Don't be rushed on sending the package... whenever you get a chance will be just fine! I know you are busy with State so you can do it after that too! Know that I am praying for you for that and everything will work out perfectly I promise! :)

2. Random Fact about New Jersey: YOU AREN'T ALOUD TO PUMP YOUR OWN GAS!! Seriously?? It is against the Law… They have people at every gas station who get paid to do it... it is weird for me... but oh well! haha :)

3. GIVE LAYNEE THE BIGGEST KISS EVER FOR ME TOMORROW! I can't believe she is 1?!?!? Really? Where did that year go?? But please take pictures of her eating her cake and send them to me!! :) Thank you!

4. Sister Eskander (the ladies house we were at yesterday) does the most amazing things on photoshop... she has a blog you should look up… stefstyleblog.blogspot.com She was showing us stuff yesterday and it is just amazing! I told her you would think it's so cool! So look it up! :) For her job, she is a toy doll designer for Toys R Us! Cool huh?

5. Never FORGET I love you!!! :)

I think that is it! Have a fantastic week!
Sister Dahl

*Some random things Sister Dahl told us in the family Skype session yesterday:

1.    They visited a family with a bear cave in their back yard. Yes a real one. Black bears live there and they see them often.

2.    They met an old man sitting in a car in a parking lot who was asking them questions about the gospel, when they looked down the man had no pants on! His shirt was long enough to cover but they saw plenty of his skinny old legs.

3.    They have one day a week for walking and the rest driving because their area is so large. On their car there is a monitor that reports if they go over the speed limit so the crazy NJ drivers get quite annoyed with them for staying at the right speed. Also the device records aggression marks when you drive. She already has one for going over a speed bump and one for accelerating too fast! Freeways are difficult. She knows the Lord has saved her life a few times J

4.    One lady they visited showed them a parasite she keeps in a jar in her fridge. She claims it was living inside her for a while.

5.   For service they helped a hoarder clean out part of her house.

6.    They ate dinner in a house with several cats. Her eyes swelled up and were itchy. Maybe allergic to cats!

7.    She has met people from several different countries in the 2 weeks she has been there.

8.    Loves her area...loves the ward members a lot...looks great (claimed she gained 8 pounds since the MTC!!).

9.    She has been surprised by some of the things that come out of her mouth when teaching…knows it is by the spirit and that the Lord helps her daily.

10. She is happy and healthy and still thinks her area is absolutely beautiful!

It is BEAUTIFUL HERE!

HEY HEY HEY!! :)

It is P-day! Which means I finally have the chance to email you and tell you all about my amazing week! :) I have so much to tell you but first things first! :)

 

We live in the cutest old house! We live in the upstairs and a guy named Rich lives downstairs haha it is so cute and old and reminds me of Great Grandma Stark’s house ALL OVER AGAIN! haha  joy... but really it is just fine and I am just glad to have a place that I can live! Minus the shower... we have plenty of water pressure... it is just SUPER moody.. you will be sitting there then all of the sudden it will go burning hot and almost kill you!!!!! haha then 4 seconds later it will freeze you! That is a lot of fun! But we have figured out if you don't flush the toilet before you shower... it is less moody... so yeah! :)

COMPANION:

Sister Nelson- Probably the coolest sister I have ever met. She is great! We get along so awesome! (Huge blessing) We are so much alike! We both want to be obedient and know when to work but also know when we have time to just talk. She is from Idaho and did rodeo in Jr. High! She goat tied! haha then she just played sports! Her dad is a farmer! Just way cool! So she has been out for 3 months! We got our calls a week apart from each other... crazy huh? She left in January! But there is timing in everything! :)

AREA:

We serve in the FARDALE area! It is huge! But soooo pretty! It is up by the North East part of New Jersey and is soooooooo pretty!!!! :) I love it here! The people are so kind and it reminds me of a little small town feel... everything here is so old! Like the buildings are 100's of years old! It is weird! But it is a really nice area with quite a few members!! :) It is really rich! Queen Latifa lives somewhere in our area.. and the Jonas Brothers parents!!!!!

MOTHERS DAY:

YAY! We get to talk so soon! So I will be able to Skype you for an hour on Sunday! I am not sure the exact time. We will be able to call you Saturday around 5 to tell you all the details of how to do things and what time for sure on Sunday. Anyways, that’s the deal though! BE READY! :)

OKAY FOR MY WEEK:

Monday!

We flew in! They shipped us over to NEWARK-scariest place of my life! haha and told us to start contacting people! I totally know why your mouth dropped when you read my call! Mine did when I went there! But don't worry…night and day difference there to where I am now! :) And I know that is the plan!  Some guy started arguing and yeah it wasn't good... (Luckily sisters don't get sent there to serve!) We were able to stay at the Mission President’s house that night... such a nice place! They fixed us dinner and everything! Guess what I did?? When I went to fix my plate of food I dropped one of their super nice plates and it shattered everywhere!!!!!! I was so embarrassed! haha great first impression! I told them sorry and that my mom doesn't let me eat on the good china at home... haha oh well! :) But we stayed there then the next morning was full of meetings! My Mission President and his wife are amazing! They love each other so much! They have sooo much fun! :) But they also know when it is time to be serious! (look up Alex Boye... that is our mission presidents Son-in-law!!!)

They shipped us to a church where we would get with our companions and go to our new areas. At this time we didn't know who they would be yet so we ate lunch first and I sat with a bunch of sisters! I told all of them I was scared to drive... haha and one sister says, I feel so bad for whoever my comp is because I can't drive.. so that means they have to! Well guess who that was?? haha My companion!!! So yes! I am the one that has to drive out of the two of us!!!! AHHH!!! People here drive like crazy!! But I am getting the hang of it slowly! I need to get a GPS... luckily sister nelson has one.... but it is the only way to get around!!! But yes so we jumped in the car and headed off to our area. We were supposed to teach an investigator for the first time Monday night… but my comp had a feeling that we needed to meet with the bishop instead! So she set up a dinner with them and off we went! Well we get there and it turns out that their two kids are gluten free!!! So my first meal was completely gluten free! :) Such a huge blessing! The Lord seriously watches out for us! :) They sent me home with a whole lot of food! :) So don't worry mom! I am all set! :)

Tuesday:

First day of missionary work! It was great! We met with the ward mission leader.. haha different little man… had dinner with them and then went shopping for food! The stores here have loads of gluten free food! WAY More than Wal-Mart... what is up with that grandma?? hah but I was able to find lots of good things for me to eat! :) HEALTHY TOO! And don't worry I am taking my vitamins!! :)

Wednesday:

Highlight of this day… we were teaching a recent convert in a dunkin dounuts and this guy walks in and listens to our conversation... (my comp and the guy have seen him before and tried to talk to him but nothing ever came out of it..) so I just said hi to the guy and introduced myself and it turned into a 1 and a half hour conversation about our church! It was so great! He loved how things worked in our church! We gave him a book of Mormon and he said he was going to study more and so hopefully we seen him at the coffee shop next time! :) By the way… cooked myself dinner this night! Tilapia, baked potato, and spinach salad! I am quite the cook! :)

Thursday:

Highlight of this day... we were going to start walking around and tracted around our neighborhood because we didn't have anything else to do and we ran into the sweetest lady outside and she invited us in and we talked with her for a good 30 min! She said we can come back and tell her more! :)

Friday and Saturday... we just worked with less active people! HUGE IN OUR MISSION! We met with them at tried to get them to come back to church! :)

Sunday:

Great day! Got to go to church! It is so cool how no matter where you are, the church is organized the same! :) I felt right at home there! It was overwhelming meeting all the people! haha One lady had brought me a cracker for the sacrament, had them bless it and the deacons brought it to me. It was a nice thought! ;) Two less actives that we met with were at church!!! :)

They were low on help in primary so guess what we got to do?? HELP WITH THE SUNBEAMS!! :) It was so much fun!! :) After we were able to go to the Relief Society President’s house and meet her… guess what? Her son is gluten free too so she gave me a loaf of UDI bread!!! They are taking care of me here mom so don't worry!!! :) But we also were able to meet with a kid who is somewhat interested in the church and have a good conversation with him about reading the BOM!

That is my week though!! :) I am so happy here and I really wouldn't want to be anywhere else! The weather is sooo perfect! The members are soooo nice and so willing to accommodate to my diet! :) It is BEAUTIFUL HERE!!! :) I just love it! Thanks for everything you do to support me! I hope all is well at home and know that I pray for you a whole lot!!!! :)

Can't wait till Sunday!!! :)

 

Love you forever!
Sister Dahl

 At the Airport

 

 Driving to Jersey

 Our group from the MTC

 

The Mision Home

 



 My New Comp Sister Nelson

 

What... Elder Dahl???

 

 Our house :)

 

 Our room

 

 Our kitchen

 

 My first cooked meal!

 

A view up our street