last email

So this week was pretty awesome. I have been going through fazes of sadness and excitement. The best description is probably bitter sweet. I have been able to influence those that I knew I was here for and I know I will continue to influence them. I know that my mission has been the greatest decision ive ever made and I am thankful I have been diligent to it and made the effort to talk to my Heavenly Father and internalize what I teach. I am excited to go back and apply it in the real world. Ive learned my strengths and weaknesses and know I am not perfect but I am wanting to be the best person I can be. A few families here have really helped me see the importance of the gospel and how happy they are makes me want to be like them. Exciting to be a missionary and have the spirit so close to me. I love you all and am thankful for all the support and prayers you have given me since ive been here and through all the craziness in Liberia. I love this work and I love the Lord. Its fun to have learned how to be a Latter Day Saint. I wont skype but ill call you Christmas morning. Merry Christmas!

See you soon.

Love,
Elder Elias Dahlin

Hey Mom!

I am perfectly fine with not getting presents on Christmas day. Sophia might need surgery?? Thats crazy. I hope you liked the Christmas card... Good stuff.

This week was awesome! First, last pday we went on a hike on the appalachian trail to the falls. That was a hard hike and it showed that I am still out of shape. 

The next day we had our half mission conference. Elder Renlund of the Seventy came and taught us. I probably wont forget but I got to have a personal interview with him and there were a few things he wanted me to tell you. SO dont let me forget! President Griffin is always a great speaker and is always caring in how he acts towards us. Wednesday I stayed in Johnson City with Elder Beard who is from California. It was a good exchange and I saw a few people that had not been seen for a while. Thursday we sung at the VA and then did service for Alan. We also  put up lights for Alan and that was crazy. Probably a 35 foot tree and we were wearing dress clothes! Right after on Saturday we went to Jennie Windhams wedding reception. Way to make me think about marriage! 

Yesterday we had Zone conference. President and the Assistants gave us instruction and then we had lunch, Skits, Dodge ball, and we watched the movie frozen!! Our district did a skit called "Finding Elder Dahlin" Based off of finding Nemo. I was a missionaries straight from the MTC and I got distracted and lost my trainer. It was fun and ironic that im going home soon and I pretended to be new :)

 Pretty much every day has been busy for us. Im realizing for real that I am going home soon. Last night we had an awesome lesson with Sister Anderson. This is a family I love a lot and It was such a powerful lesson that helped her answer some of her doubts. She committed to baptism! So awesome. Its all going really well.

Well I hope seminary is going well for you!
I love you and will see you soon!

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Happy Thanksgiving

This week was really busy and full of teaching. We invited 3 people to baptism and they all committed for a date so we are pretty excited about that. I went on an exchange in bristol Virginia this week with Elder Hoyt. He is being trained so it was a lot of fun to train for a day and to work hard. We ended up teaching 6 lessons and forgot to eat dinner but it was awesome. It reminded me how I need to work hard every minute to teach those that are in need!

This coming week we have Mission Council and are going to have Thanksgiving with Beverly who is a recent convert. Saturday we will be having another Thanksgiving at the Velas. We like to eat..

We will try to take pictures this week and send some to you!

I love you.

Love,
Elder Dahlin

3 am call from Liberia!

EMMENTT TARPEH CALLED!!! That is an amazing thing.. Did Emmentt say he was baptized?? Him and Teta, his wife, mean a lot to me since they were my first family I taught and got to know. Before I left the area he gave me an African Shirt. Didnt get baptized but I know one day he will be baptized.

Its the 5th sunday of this month that I will be giving my presentation and I could really use your help since my camera got stolen 8 months into my mission. The pictures I sent you could really help. Would you be able to send a good amount of those to me so I could use them?? It should be on my email but I dont have the time to look through them all.

Yeah I got all the classes I wanted to and its not a bad schedule. I am good at budgeting my time now so ive got this! 

No baptisms yet but thats ok. We have a few trying to line up for December. 

I got the packages from grandma and I emailed about both of them! They are awesome thank you! We are enjoying the hot chocolate and M&Ms. Also I got the package of cookies from Andrea!! Thank you so much! They are too delicious... which is good and bad since I cant stop eating them! haha

I promise the package you sent to Liberia was not wasted. Everything that we did for the past 5 months lead up to our evacuation so I know even your package helped. The two men we loved and worked with had the jobs at risk since we left so they appreciated it im sure. 

This week was a good week just plugging away at the work. Unfortunately Elder Byron got Strep throat so we had to stay in for two days. And to add on top of that on Friday I signed up for classes! So it was pretty hard to not let my mind wander... haha

This week will be very busy with catching up with our investigators and members. It would be nice to teleport so we dont have to waste time driving but thats ok. We will try to work effectively so we can see everyone!

I love you and hope you have a great week! Dont worry too much about your talk. Just let it be centered on you being a mother.

Love,

Elder Elias Dahlin

Eli's Life

Hey Mom!

Life is good in Johnson City! This week was also great since we were able to just be out and about. We had out Zone Training Meeting and it went really well. There was a section at the end where we were told to ask the question "What do you want to know?" about missionary work and it was really great. We stood up there and answered a lot of good questions and of course a lot of prayer went into that meeting since we had to teach and come up with the answers on the spot!

We went to Brother Velas twice this week and I threw up twice... Its a special feeling haha It was a lot of fun and for some odd reason we had tons and tons of service that we did too!! Lots of days coming home just beat from all the exercise. Then again what are we meant to do in a world that relies on receiving blessings from others. We are just the instruments used to share them and to use ourselves for good. Sunday was awesome since so many people signed up to team up with us and make our days full of teaching. I love it when a member comes with us because they help us teach and find those that are ready. 

I have been asked to give the 3rd hour lesson on the 5th Sunday about my experiences in Liberia. I am excited to do that and especially orient it towards the things I learned from going to a different part of the world. I will be making a slide show and also a power point presentation on it so that will be a fun project.

It sounds like you are staying busy with everything at home. I would like to know what day i should be driving back up to school so I can know my time frame at home. What is it that you want me to get done around the house? I think ill need to go shopping.... haha Good stuff. Ill let you know how signing up for classes goes.

I love you!

love,
Elder Dahlin

Midnight call from a fellow looking for Eli!

Hey Mom!

Well im not sure if I know a Moses Pierce but im excited that you got to hear a Liberian speak on the phone! I hope his letter gets to me in time. 

For us in Tennessee it rained on the first of November which was awesome! We spent part of that day helping the sisters get their car out of a field they had slid into so that was fun and cold. We had Mission Council and Halloween this week. Halloween we had to stay in and just hangout at the church so that was different. No dressing up... haha We are still doing crossfit and today was my first day throwing up! I finally joined the club.

Youre not bad parents for only emailing. Email is just fine. It is a lot of fun getting letters though and I got bombarded with them this week! Tell Andrea and Michael thank you! Also tell Hannah thank you!! I enjoyed them a lot.

A pretty busy week so we enjoyed the work. We will be more busy this week with Zone Meeting and a big list of members the Elders Quorum president gave us to go look for.

My second semester at BYUI I learned how to work a lathe so I should know how to use it and sharpen the tools!

Have a great week!

Love,
Eli

Hi

This week was a lot of fun especially with my new companion. Elder Byron, like Elder Russo, was a "visa waiter" and is now assigned here so he will serve his full time in Tennessee! Did I tell you that the mission covers more than Tennessee already? Every Friday we travel to Bristol Virginia for a district meeting haha. So we have kept ourselves busy just working hard. We had 3 investigators come to church and that was the first time since ive been here! We are expecting miracles and we have seen them in our work. Many testimonies in Priesthood about how great it is to go out with the missionaries. Yay for us! Its just like a fresh start and we both are very similar and have the same goals which makes everything easier.

So just trying to make a difference here and set higher standards for everyone. Love the work. Love you guys and even though youre counting down the days im not getting TRUNKY!! haha :)

Love,
Elder Elias Dahlin

Hey Mom!

Soo when I came back to America they bought me a few things!! I always wear black so I decided to switch it up. I got my grey suit, a few white shirts, and brown shoes! Trying new things haha

Yeah my companion and I have a lot of fun working.

I also got the package you sent me!!! Thank you so much for everything inside! I have been setting higher goals for the end of my mission and the protein will really help :) Also Dad is awesome at making knives already... I hope we will be able to push one out when I get home.

I gave a talk on Sunday and I hope I got across my message well... I tried to teach something but im not sure if it came across the way I wanted it to. I tried teaching about how Doctrine & Principles can effect and govern our lives. Ohh well. We are preparing for another Zone Meeting this Wednesday which should be fun. I love instructing and talking in front of people. The one thing I dont like is doing role play but it is effective and helps us improve.

Next week we also find out transfer news so that will be exciting. Crazy it will be my last full transfer so I have to make the best of it. I want to do the work and teach. Crazy people need to listen haha They will. I just still need to find the right ones.

Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Dahlin

Between Conference Sessions

New Release date

Hey Mom!!

So what was the guys name that brought ebola to Texas? Is he Mormon? Where in Texas? Yeah I had to go into Mahoneys just to see! and teach...

Conference was awesome! Everyone was so direct and straight to the point. Teaching us to follow the prophet and explaining procedures. Conference always answers questions and it was awesome to actually see it this time. I will have to catch up on the rest of them. 

SOOO.... Some sad news for you guys. I got a call from president Friday explaining my release date will not work. So now my release date is the 27th of December so that it is still in the window of 30 days from my original release date. A few more weeks to baptize! No problem :) Sad we wont be able to hang out as long but thats alright. Late nights haha

Not too many crazy things happened this week. We are trying to teach more and more and lately we have had some amazing lessons. Its good to be real with people and tell them truth. Some times we get in the habit of trying to explain we are perfect but its been awesome with Elder Russo as my companion because we are teaching well together and fellowshipping those that need it. Cool beans

I love you all and hope everything is going well.

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Hey Mom,

It sounds like the gym is doing well for you guys! I think working out has been going well for me too... Since its over 15 pounds now hahaha Bass Pros sounds fun. We went to a store called Mahoneys and it is like bass pros!! SO awesome! Tried to contact people there but it didnt work. I was too in shock with the selection of Kimbers and the sight of a 338 Lapua. Also the GoPros look so awesome.

I am a Zone Leader in Knoxville East. Our Zone has 18 missionaries. Missionaries report to the District Leader, District Leaders report to Zone Leaders, then Zone Leaders report to the Assistants. We went on an exchange with the Assistants this week and that was a lot of fun. I was with Elder Mumm and hes a great missionary. It is getting colder here but im learning how to deal with the cold. Thats the reason why its nice to wear a suit to church. We also had our zone meeting on tuesday and that went really well. We are emphasizing finding and how we can improve our finding skills.

Tennessee is a beautiful area and Its nice to talk to other people that have the same views as you. They hope California goes under water too... no offense haha

This week was pretty busy and awesome since the members are really opening up to us. Everyone offers to feed us and help us in any way possible. I am thankful for that and for the people we are trying to teach. We need more people to teach so that is our goal to fill up our time with teaching!

Alright have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Eli Dahlin

In America! How do I rotate this picture?

Hey Mom!

Sounds like a lot is going on but its a lot different with Sophia gone. Im glad she's doing well and working hard! It will be fun to have a little more time at home so im excited for that and to test out the new workout room!! We finished off today with doing ring dips and holds. Ill be very happy to hear what President Kirkham had to say, he has done a lot for me and helped me be a good missionary. I want to shoot a Mountain Lion!

Well this week was full. We did a lot of preparation for Zone Meeting which is tomorrow so we are excited to instruct and see how that goes. Teaching has been fun and its been nice to teach some investigators. The family we are teaching is doing well and we hope to see them at church this Sunday. Teaching is refined here but when we do teach it is very nice. We had Stake Conference this weekend and we also went on an exchange with the Watauga District Leader. It was a lot of fun since I was able to go with Elder Conners who is the only other Elder from Liberia that came to Tennessee. So it was just fun to talk and to work hard in our new white people areas. Bikes are no fun at all. . . So far I have gained 15 pounds since I have been here. Im not sure if thats just the food or im exercising more. . . But its great! I guess I can eat a lot now haha

Its been great learning how to share the gospel with everyone here and being able to get out and do the work. I think there is a lot of potential for everyone here and if we just make the effort there will be miracles. We had a meeting with the Stake President and Mission President yesterday and it was nice to see where they wanted us to focus and how we can work more effectively together to bring people into the Church. There is a lot to think about and I am grateful that the leaders of the Church are inspired and help us see the vision of the Church and vision of the eternities. Its not easy to view a single assignment as progression in the church as a whole but when everyone is being told to make the same action there will be a reaction throughout the world. So when we chose to follow the leadership we are choosing to follow Jesus Christ and his direction.

I love you!!

Love,
Elder Elias Dahlin

Hey Mom,

Hmm I guess I havent really described how its like here in Tennessee! The weather is really nice. Everyone says its a little too humid but I still get cold sometimes and I always wear my sweats around the apartment. I bought the sweats with the money grandma sent me! Thanks Grandma. It does rain here like it did in Liberia, all of the sudden heavy rain fall. Its pretty awesome. So we cook when we dont have a dinner appointment but usually we have members that invite us over for dinner every night, we have an amazing ward that takes care of us. By January of next year this mission will have Ipads and we will be teaching and fellowshipping through facebook and instagram... I think ill leave before it gets to that haha.

So this week has been amazing for teaching. We have been contacting referrals from a fair and we have had so much success with it. Most people dont want to talk to us but when we go to the house and they close the door we just contact around the house. We taught a family for the first time on Sunday and they are great. I feel super welcome and am excited to go back. We also have been talking with more and more people so we have a lot more potential investigators. Its funny how nice some people can be and then the opposite where people try to talk to us through their doors haha but we just laugh about that. Actually I want to kick down doors and throw the gospel at people but im pretty sure thats illegal here so I dont haha.

Anyway, the work is so much more exciting when you have some one to teach and to listen to you. The hardest part of the work here is finding but our fast really helped us out. We are thankful for special blessings when we ask for them.

Its crazy Sophia is at college :( Tell her not to pass me in credits so I can still seem like her big brother!! Its been great talking to members about the military here so I am gaining a base of what I want to get into. Brother Vela had us do a wod called Murphy. Named after a fallen soldier. Its 1 Mile to start, then 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, and 300 air squats. Then another mile to finish it off and we had to do it in under an hour. Pretty awesome workout that will light you up. Its good to get back into working out.

I would love to come home and all but one more week means one more chance to baptize and teach so ill come home the 18th. Ill let President know today. Also, I still have not figured out what I need to do to get my DMV report.

I love you!! Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Dahlin

From: Elias Dahlin <elias.dahlin@myldsmail.net>

Date: September 8, 2014 9:58:21 AM PDT

To: "Stan & Deb Dahlin" <debdahlin@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: Hi

Hello Mom!!

Well this week was awesome. We had Mission Council and learned a lot about finding and teaching so im excited to try and implement that. Will you get my DMV stuff to them? Sorry if its a hassle since we already did that. 

I have been hearing different things about Ebola. Sounds like its in Kenya now? Some people were nervous to touch me when I first came here. A lot of people would try to keep their kids away from me but its gotten a lot better. I asked the Bishopric to let me speak but it will be in October. It is better to send the boxes to the mission office which is the address I gave you. We just got transfer news and my companion and I are staying together! Wooh. 

The work is going forward here. We just fasted as a mission for finding and member missionary work and each one of us bore our testimonies on Sunday. It was a great experience and everyone seemed to talk about missionary work! I love the ward here and everyone is welcoming. Its a different balance but im figuring it out. Thank you for all your prayers and thank you for being so supportive of me! I love you and know that ive changed a lot because of this work.

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Elias Dahlin

Teaching in Tennessee

Hey mom,

Sophia is too small for college! Dont let her go!! haha Just kidding. She will have a lot of fun working hard. 

Well even if I ate everything fried here I would still be more healthy than I was in Liberia. . .

Tomorrow we are going to teach seminary and then drive for a few hours to get to Mission Council. Pretty much thats all we will have time to do tomorrow but im excited to see how we do it here. Yesterday we taught the 3rd hour of church and I thought it went really well. We talked about missionary work and made sure everyone understood their responsibility to preach the gospel. I love instructing. We have been contacting a lot of referrals from the fair and so far we have had a few successful tries. Lots of people say they are not interested and thats ok. We are looking for the ones that are prepared for the gospel!

Well, not too many people taught this week. We dropped our one investigator and so we hope this week we will set some baptismal dates with the referrals we have talked to.

Have a great week!

Love,

Eli

Hey Mom!

America is treating me well. This morning we went to Brother Vela's house who is very into crossfit and knows a lot about the Military and the SEALs so he is helping me out with that. Right now we are dead though because it was a great workout. So not only am I eating good food but im getting back into shape! He also said I look like "Garrett Fisher" who is a famous crossfitter. 

There are 196 missionaries in this mission so its a little bigger than I am used to. The Mission President is great and full of knowledge and fun. Teaching this week went pretty well. I went on an exchange with Elder Swapp and had a great lesson with him and an older lady that has been studying with the missionaries for over 1 year!! She was great and loves us like a grandma and im happy she knew the Bible. Ever since I got here I have been holding back all the scriptures I learned in the Bible but for that lesson I just said and read what came to my mind and it was an amazing lesson. She ended up coming to church! 

So yesterday we ate dinner with the Clark's. They are a really great couple that love to be healthy too. So I have something for you to look up. There is a fungus called Scoby that when you let it grow and put it in water it will make a healthy drink. The drink is called Kombucha. You should look it up! They are giving us a scoby so we can make our own so we are going super healthy!

Well I hope the week goes well and good luck with Seminary! 

Love,

Elder Elias Dahlin

Hello,

Yeah I told Hunter he shouldnt visit but im glad he has shown so much concern for me! I miss that man like crazy. My Address is "11320 Station West Drive, Suite 101  Knoxville TN 37934" It is super cold here so I dont know if you could send me something warm or money so that I can buy the right proselyting clothes to keep warm. My release date is still December 26th and I dont even know how many baptisms I had in Liberia. . . I know it slowed way down when I was in the office thats for sure. 

To be honest when I came back to America I felt really strange and out of place. My companions said I had an accent but I will not lose my Koloqua skills so Im pretty sure Ill still be able to talk like it when I get home. I teach Liberians here anyway. I have enjoyed being able to drink milk since I have been here though! Not too much teaching gets done here but we were able to get a baptismal date this week. He's black and not Liberian. 

Elder Roberts left so now it is just Elder Russo and Me working hard. Im loving the members and learning how to be even more effective with working with the ward. It is very different here but im trying to learn how to work hard and get to know my zone members and their areas. I have a lot of ways stuck in my head about how to go about the work but im learning how to do the work here and incorporate what I know without trying to override whats here is Tennessee. We try to do more service around here to get people involved and let people know that we are normal and willing to talk with everyone. I am used to just going up to someone and saying your life needs to improve but I think here we have to take a different way to find. I will always be firm in teaching the Doctrine but I need to improve on finding so that we can have a bigger teaching pool. The work is awesome everywhere.

 I only have a hard time when I think about Liberia and what they are going through. Or when I take a shower and think of all the Elders I left behind. I always pray for them and their success and I hope that the work will always continue even though we are not in Liberia or Sierra Leone. I love you guys and am healthy and learning the gospel. 

Have a great week.

Love, 

Elder Elias Dahlin

Liberian alligator, evacuation (eli in background) Mission President and Sister Kirkham

Alligator by the mission office

The Kirkham's went with some of the missionaries from Liberia to Brussels to London and back to Ghana ... Ghana wouldn't let them come in from Liberia

Tennessee has tornados .... last week there was one.

New Companions and New Suit

A piece of Eli's heart will always be in Liberia

Evacuation

Ebola and Liberia and ... new area

After watching an interview of the Liberian President and hearing her say "Bodies everywhere" I began to get even more nervous about Eli in Liberia with the Ebola outbreak.  That was on Thursday.  Friday afternoon I called the Missionary Headquarters and was told the Brethren had been in meetings all day concerning this.  So, we were told not to worry if we didn't hear from Eli last week ... Ugh!

On Tuesday we got an evening call from the Mission President in Knoxville Tennessee saying that he was looking at a handsome Elder ..... YAY!  The missionaries got out!  He put Eli on the phone and we all gathered around it just like Christmas!!!   He was exhausted but sounded good.  First thing he said was that there are a lot of white people.  The Mission President knew he was an AP so he showed Eli his charts and things which was great.

Eli was one of 7 missionaries that returned to the U.S.A.  probably because he has less than 6 months to go on his mission.  

We are so thankful that the missionaries were able to get away from the epidemic safely and pray that West Africa will conquer ebola so that they may return.

Here's our first letter from Tennessee:

Hello Mom and Everyone!!

Thank you all for your prayers. They were much needed and its truly been a crazy adventure. I wouldnt know really where to begin with explaining how the past two weeks have been. In Liberia there was a lot going on. We were being held inside for a while to make sure the missionaries were safe and out of the way. It was crazy to have the meeting with all the couples and President to figure out the best way to get us out of there. We left so much behind and I will always pray for the people in Liberia and hope that they will be protected in the Lord. 

When I was told I was going to Tennessee it was pretty shocking. No clue how to communicate or teach with white people. I got here to find out that there are some Liberian communities to teach!! So teaching is really slow here and the missionaries have a different attitude of the work. When I had my interview with President Griffin I thought I was going to be assigned as a junior companion to finish my mission like that. We talked and he told me I was being assigned as a Zone Leader! He said he knows who I am and what influence I can have on others. He also stated that he didnt know who it was but he knew he was receiving an Assistant from Liberia. It was great to feel welcomed and Its great to have the assignment of a Zone Leader. Otherwise I would have been super annoying to my companion. 

I have two companions right now, Elder Roberts and Elder Russo. We also have a car. . . and hot showers. I dont have a bed yet but I get one tomorrow! 

Tomorrow is Zone Conference and we are giving our instruction there. I am trying to give all my knowledge of missionary work to others so it is exciting to give an instruction in a different mission. Because you can get so involved in missionary work in Liberia I did gain a lot of skills in working with the Ward and teaching lessons. 

I also think because I was involved so much I have had a weird time adjusting to America. I feel like im wasting so much water, there are too many things to eat, nothing has mold on it, no mosquito nets, and no Koloqua which is sad. Everyone is saying I have a thick accent. The good thing is that we have one Liberian member in our ward that speaks it! So we are gaining investigators off of him which is nice. I feel as if I have a connection with every black person here so we are gaining a teaching pool of black people. I miss them like crazy so its still hard for me to want to find a white person to teach. I will learn! 

Anyway, I love you and am thankful for the prayers and for the life that I have. A lot less stress on this side of the world but I will try to make missionary work on this side busy. Tell everyone I love them and am safe! Pray for the Liberians and the Church.

Love, 

Elder Elias Dahlin

Goodbye to Elder Finau and to the Hezseltine's

Elder Burr and Elder Dahlin eating a big bowl of rice

I will go where you want me to go ...

Hello! Sounds like you had a pretty sweet weekend ! Any cool pictures taken? Lil and Tom are going so far away!! crazy. I haven't received grandmas box yet but hopefully soon!

Well, to start this week we sat down with Elder Hezseltine to download some of what he knows onto us. The Hezseltines went home on Wednesday so we are missing them like crazy. On Monday we sat down with them for a few hours just learning and hoping we would never have to ask them a question again after Monday. . . We are realizing more and more of how much they contributed to this mission. Elder Hezseltine would always say well if you have any questions ask me Thursday! Haha He won.  So Monday was pretty much a working day which was fine. P-day is to Prepare! Tuesday we stayed in working on a some of the area maps that have changed and did some write ups. It was a good day in the office. At the end of the day we went to the chapel and met up with the Sisters to plan for baptisms on Saturday and talk about the New and Returning Member Progress forms. Wednesday we stayed in the office for the morning time to finish up some reports and also to say goodbye to the Hezseltines. Sad Day. . . Sister Hezseltine was still organizing and making arrangements to the last hour, Elder Hezseltine had a meeting that was also taking up his last hours here in Liberia. It’s safe to say that they are going to be very blessed for their diligence in the work. Maybe when they got on the plane that’s when they realized they were going home, other than that they were always serving the Lord. 

 My companion and I are having an extra drive to work in our areas and find more people to teach. When Elder Finau was here President invited me to pray that families will come up to us and be prepared to hear the gospel. So amazing that the Lord would provide such a blessing if we ask for it. We taught an amazing lesson on Saturday to a man and his date. They also have one small girl together. You could just see how much they cared for each other and also how willing they were to be taught. The woman said she has a church and all but at the end of the lesson we invited them both to be baptized members of Jesus Christ’s church and there was no hesitation. They are very prepared to hear this message. It was also a wonderful lesson because we took the first councilor in the district presidency so he bore a powerful testimony to them. I do love teaching and especially with Elder Burr because he teaches clearly and is full of knowledge. It’s fun because we are similar in a few ways. We like to be straight when speaking to others so it makes it really nice to work with someone that has the same views.

 Anyway, on Friday we went on an exchange with Paynesville which was a lot of fun. Elder Bowring and Elder Tolar are great missionaries. We like to call them the ‘Power House Missionaries’ because they are always on top of their work. They are always emphasizing teaching well and always teaching. So throughout the day we taught some good lessons. I went with Elder Tolar and learned a lot from him. We bring instruction and training to these exchanges but it seems as if we are the ones that learn the most. This mission is full of great missionaries. (That’s because this is the greatest mission in the world. . .) So yeah the week was full. We were on the phones all last night for follow ups which is fun to be busy. I do love having to learn how to use time more wisely and we are changing things up a bit to be better with our time. We want to teach more but we also want to accomplish more in the office. I am really grateful for Elder Burr and for him being so quick to serve and wanting to serve with all his might. Yesterday we were so happy to sit down with Brother Mike, Sam Juwillies friend, because he has really wanted to be baptized. 

We are so blessed because our area has been prepared so much. Our investigators keep their commitments, we sometimes miss them throughout the week, and they find us and ask us to teach them. I think it was last week that we got a call from a woman we had contacted previously who said “How much is it to go to the temple? I want to go there.” So we told her to study with us and be baptized first then she can go there.  The Lord is constantly in Liberia preparing their hearts and minds for the truth. This week was pretty awesome and I look forward to this coming week. We will be having mission council on Friday so it will be fun to see all the zone leaders. Talk to you next week!!

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Hello Mom, 

Elder Finau left soon this morning so that was a crazy thing for me. I will miss Elder Finau because he taught me so much. He was very caring and just an awesome guy. He definitely became one of my good friends so I hope to stay in contact with him! California boys.

Elder Burr is sweet. Im learning a lot more about Utah and how the Mormons there are pretty cool. I had something different in my mind I think... Well, hes awesome! It was a crazy week having 6 going home missionaries with us so we were busy and it was busy to our apartment. Meaning, it was busy on both sides of the building since our apartment is just our room. We also had lots of lessons in our area. Sister Smith cooked a different stew for us every night last week so we really enjoyed all the Liberian dishes. Elder Burr is doing great here and he fits right into the work. He is very willing and ready to take on any task so im excited to have him as my new companion. He is also a great teacher so it will be fun to work hard in all aspects of the work. 

Thursday we hung out all day at Presidents house which was a lot of fun. My companion and I had our weekly planning in the kitchen with Sister Kirkham while the other Elders watched "A Sound of Music" haha Fun times. 

We were just with Elder Hezseltine trying to learn all that we could from him. They are going home Wednesday so we will be losing a great part of this mission. Everyone loves the Hezseltines. Its been an honor to serve next to a couple that wants to serve the Lord with all their heart and energy. They definitely served well and I also hope to see them again one day. 

So yeah our great leaders are leaving the mission so I guess that means we need to train each other to become better! We really need to make sure this mission continues in unity and diligence towards others conversions. Work work work. Too fun.

Love you Mom and hope you have an amazing week! 

Elder Dahlin

Details from Elder Zaugg about the day on splits with Eli

 I went with Elder Dahlin that day which was way fun.  We had a good hard working day where we were able to teach 11 people.  A cool experience Elder Dahlin and I had, was after we got done teaching a Recent Convert who's name is sister F.  This was his first time stepping foot in Harbel, so he wanted to see it and get to know the area.  So, I would show him little roads and tell him where they go and what not.  Well, after this lesson we walked over to a road for Elder Dahlin to know and as we were talking (make note, this all happened under 1 minute) an old lady spoke to us. We turn and see one of our members sitting under her porch, and she calls to us to come in. The two of us go over, greet her and her children, then the daughter and son invite us to sit down. Elder Dahlin and I look at each other, smile, then take the opportunity to teach them the Restored Gospel!   As we introduce ourselves and the church, we came to find out that they know almost nothing about Jesus Christ, but want to be going to church and learn. Elder Dahlin and I were excited! Neither of them knew how to pray, so we taught them in the simplest way we knew how, so that they'd be able to start receiving answers to their prayers. We extended them August 16 to be baptized and they accepted. The daugther is in her 30's and the son is in his 20's. After we had closed and were leaving, thats when we found out that the two of them will be going in Town for a month..... SAD! Just got through with a powerful lesson, and now they're leaving for a month. We told them to keep our number and to call when they get back to Harbel. It was a miracle to the two of us to see how the Lord works. All we were wanting to do was for Elder Dahlin to get a better Idea of how the area was laid out. Not thinking about contacting or teaching anyone in that area, then it led to us meeting two of Gods children who are ready to receive the Gospel. God is truly directing his work on earth.

Hello Family!

Well it sounds like everything is going good there. The knives Dad has made are pretty awesome. The scripture I had put for the plaque is D&C 121:7-9 Im pretty sure. Yeah no ebola there but it sounds like its still pretty hot!! 

Before I talk about last week I think you might know my new companion is Elder Burr! He is an American from Utah!! So right now I have 2 companions since Elder Finau will be leaving next Monday. We also have 5 more missionaries staying with us most of this week that are going home so its a little crazy around here. It is weird to adjust to the life of an Assistant but we are jumping right into it. Im excited to have my new companion and help further the work with him. 

So last week pretty much the most fun we had was when we went out to Harbel for an exchange. We got up soon and traveled in taxi for about an hour and a half. Getting there was not bad. The Zone leaders there are Elder Haas and Elder Zaugg. I went with Elder Zaugg and had an awesome day. Harbel is beautiful!! No wonder why everyone wanted to go out there. Its just full of rubber trees and grass land so its just got an Africa look to it. That day the Lord was really with us because all together we had about 7 hours of teaching and we taught 11 lessons!! Thats the most ive taught in one day. Elder Finau and Elder Haas taught 7 lessons so in total 18 lessons in that area. It was great how we did not have any spare time. 

Elder Zaugg wanted to show me around for a second so he took me to the next road. As soon as we got on the road a member called us over to study with her children. Her children are in their 20s, one muslim and one who doesnt go to church. We taught and they accepted baptismal dates. The Lord is on our side. We just taught some amazing lessons and had the spirit with us all day. It was too much fun. Then at night we came back to the apartment. Elder Skouson and Elder Egbu were also there which was fun. We all talked, ate some eba, and my companion and I slept on the floor. We were excited with them because they just got a water tower so that means they have running water in the apartment now. It was just a lot of fun to be with these missionaries that are so centered on their work. No complaints and always thinking about their people. Im grateful for the hard working missionaries in this mission and for the chance I have to serve along side them.

We were also able to have a few lessons in our area too!! President was conducting interviews with all the missionaries so we had time to be in our area most of the week. Our investigators are truly prepared. They call us and see how we are doing and they also keep to our commitments we extend. Our recent convert will now be teaching the investigators class!! Sam is amazing and is doing so well in the church. Last Sunday him and his friend came in white shirts and ties looking like strong members. His friend will be baptized next month. The work is full of miracles. Life moves like crazy when you keep your thoughts centered on your purpose. 

I hope everyone is doing well and will have a great week!!

Love,
Elder Dahlin

Special dinner and shopping

Letter from Elder Finau

Hi mom, 

I really do consider you mom because of your son. I feel like I have met you all because of how he talks highly about you and the family. I am truly grateful for you baring this strong young man in your stomache for 9 months and caring after him for another 19 years til this point. I will say that I have learnt more with him than from any other companion. He understands the spirit in a way I never did, and he is LOVINGLY BLUNT about the gospel which makes him a bold and profound missionary. He will be someone that I will cherish and love for eternity. As you said, we are MATCHING BROTHERS. I love Elder Dahlin. I will miss him, but its okay because we all live in California. I just live about 6 hours away in San Bernadino so I will make sure to keep in touch. 

Thank you again Sis. Dahlin for your son. He is my Captain Moroni!!!

Love

Elder Finau(your new son......kamatay kamatay lol) 

Hello mother!!

Sounds like life is going on in the world of America. HAPPY 4th of July!! I do love America and what the Lord has instituted there. Such a great privilege to live in the land of the free. Today we are emailing late because we had a very busy Monday. Actually we have had a very busy week!! Its been awesome!! Today President and Sister Kirkham took us to lunch for all the extra work we have been doing. Its been eventful and very rewarding to be a part of this work. I wont tell you where they took us to lunch though ;) haha They are amazing. So we had lunch then went to shop around for some fabric and found some amazing wood and clothe. We didnt buy anything but took some pictures of stuff to show you! Then we went to the Mission home and had dinner with President and Sister Kirkham, Elder and Sister Miles, and Sister Addo! Sister Addo is from my MTC and she is going home tomorrow so that was her farewell dinner. 

I notice that all the work we are doing here is not just for others salvation but it is for our own. I am so grateful for leadership in the church and the perfect "government" we fall under. All of the answers to our questions come from God but we have been given leaders that will teach us those specific answers. I do love the calling I have been asked of to do because it is helping me see what a help I can be to others. I do teach a lot more missionaries than investigators but its been an honor so far to get to know more missionaries and to serve them in ways I was never able to before. Yes sometimes there is correction but if there was no correction there would be no learning. I will just summarize my week with saying we made a few corrections. I cant tell you how much the Lord was with us throughout the week. We traveled a lot and for sure had to put our minds to work but the Lord guided us and helped us resolve many things. I am grateful for the senior couples and for their willingness to serve and to help us in all our works. I am most especially grateful for the keys of the Priesthood President Kirkham holds and for his endless care and devotion. My companion and I were given blessings from him and it was fitted to what I needed to hear and to know. Too cool to have the spirit so strong.

Yes I memorized Doctrine and Covenants 4. Memorize Alma 26:22 its awesome. Alright have a great week mom!!

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Rainy Season in Liberia

short but sweet

Hellloo!

Well sounds like everything is going great there. I cant believe how fast the building is going up. I would love to workout in it one day haha I am not looking too closely at the blocks dont worry........... 

Well I sent you a letter this week so you should get it in about a month. I wrote about one day here and it took up the page. Its so nice to have so much work and to have it be so fulfilling. Its the Lords work so whenever there is work there is the spirit. The spirit will always testify that what you are doing is of God or it is not. Its amazing that the Lord wants us to be guided by the spirit in all that we do. We have a sick companion and so on Sunday we were not able to attend service. President Kirkham came to the mission office so that we were able to partake of the sacrament and have a very short sacrament meeting where each of us bore our testimonies. 

This week was pretty exciting and a lot of travelling back and forth happened. I think I got sun burned today!

Talk to you next week!

Elder Dahlin

AP's welcoming new missionaries and a Baptism

Hello!!

Well this week was a great week. We went on an exchange with the Matadi ZLs which was pretty awesome. It was my first time teaching in that area. We also had a few days of teaching to ourselves!! We didnt know what to do with so much time in our area at first but we taught some great lessons.

We had an Other Lesson (the first in months) with a man who will be a stake president one day!! We sat down with him just to invite him to church and to see how he is doing. He has been sick with Malaria.  He began to question why we would invited him to church when he has a church. Why would he change his plans for the next day. That comment really changed the direction of the conversation into bold statements by us. We then said this is the only true church on the earth and began to explain about the blessing of the atonement. He is so humble and curious and very bold so it was a very interesting conversation. At one point he said "the statement you made earlier about this being the only true church, its just.." our reply "seems kind of strange isnt it?" His response "Not strange. . . Its unbelievable"  Thats when the lesson really started to change because we could see his thoughts running and trying to figure out how this is true. He said maybe ill plan to visit your church next week but I dont see why I should come this week. We said "Well, this is the only true church. If you want to wait to know that then come to church next Sunday. If you want to know sooner come to church tomorrow." His response "I want to know now if possible!" My companion and I looked at eachother and nodded our heads. PRAY NOW... We told him if he wants to know if this is the only true church we invite you to pray right now and ask that same question to God. We got on our knees and he offered an amazing prayer. After the prayer we stayed on our knees and we asked how he was feeling. "I feel good... Peaceful... I feel strong..." We then testified that that is the spirit of God telling him that this is the only true church. We got up and left. Powerful lesson and sweet is the work. He is very smart and very humble so it will take some teaching for him to come to the knowledge of the truth. We have taught him 3 times and we are still teaching the Restoration! Its pretty amazing to see how prepared these men are. We have investigators we have never taught before coming to church every Sunday. The Lord sure makes the work hard in Liberia.

Anyway, we baptized Sam J. on Saturday and he brought a friend to his baptism. He told the friend "lets go look for something to eat" haha Then they showed up at the baptism! Thats one way to get your friend to witness your baptism. Now he has a baptismal date of August 2nd. Cool stuff. 

Well my companion is going to be going home in less than a month. That means I will be receiving a new companion that I will train. Its been great getting to know all my duties and trying to take on more and more responsibility. I love this work because you can put more work on yourself and I am trying to learn as much as possible. We always try to convince President to let us drive but we havent had too much success...

Alright well I hope everything is going great at home! I love you all and know that if you desire to have opportunities to teach the gospel it becomes very simple. Pray for it and you will get it. Easy way to strengthen your testimony is to open your mouth and share what you have. 

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Hello!!

Well seems like you had a great week!! Im surprised at how tall the building is getting already! I love working and it will be too cool to put all the workout equipment inside. I am sad though since you mentioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and Lemon Cake!!!! I saw the welding job on the windows and it looks great! I guess the style we did last time worked out well. Exciting news. The place is looking different!! 

This week was great just dealing with the new missionaries!! They are all so great and im excited to have them here. Its great getting to know all those that are newly coming on mission and feel their willingness to learn. Also to know how scared they are and how I used to be that way! Its amazing to teach those  that are new in Liberia about how we do things. Im sure there are so many different expectations but at orientation we are able to give the overview of how the mission is. Then in two week we have another orientation on what they have learned and what they truly need to be focusing on. That was on Thursday then Friday we trained the new District leaders in the mission which was a very small crowd. Only 4! Its ok we are getting so many new missionaries which will be so great for the mission. We will receive 21 in September and some will be Americans. The last two MTCs that came were all Africans. Im getting the hang of my calling and im excited to really work harder and harder! I always feel like I could do more but im grateful with the work that I have to do now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STANLEY!!! YOURE AN OLD MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you enjoyed the cake. Youll have to send some pictures of your presents! Any cool ones??

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week!! DAD HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Photo from a traveling business man!!!!

He said Eli is healthy and happy!!!

Elders

Families can be together forever

New District in Liberia and Matching Ties for Teaching

Hello Mom!

Well it sounds like everyone is giving speeches or talks! Sounds like what we do a lot here except we teach! And for us we teach missionaries! Happy Birthday Grandma! Remember you will have to be there for my wedding so you have many more years ahead of you! 

I hope Dad is watching out for those spider bites. Dads on a roll of having things happen to him! 

Well mission council was very fun and very full of information. It was all about using Preach My Gospel more in teaching and answering our own questions. Preach My Gospel is full of doctrine that is outlined very simply. It is great to look over what is written and think of how you can answer that with the scriptures. For instance "God has a body of flesh and Bones" What scriptures do you know that conforms with that doctrine. 

Train the Trainers was fun too. Just going over how stress is part of missionary work and how we can train our trainees better! We have 12 trainers this transfer. It was funny talking about stress and I knew it was stressful instructing when I went to tip over some chips on a napkin and missed the napkin completely.. Its alright though they were just the crumbs! 

We gave out transfer news on Saturday and a few were very excited for their news. Its crazy that my sons Elder Morrison and Elder Falemai were trained in Gardnersville and then left right after training. Now both of them are BACK in Gardnersville!! I must have had some unfinished work they have to continue there... 

Sunday Monrovia district was split into Monrovia and Paynesville District which was exciting news. Liberia is growing!! I hope to see more branches open up and work along with everyone to make that possible. We have a baptism this saturday, Sam J will be baptized. He is very prepared and ready to be a member of the true church. I also baptized the M family this last saturday!! It was so nice to see them and see a Ring on Sister M's finger!! So Cool!!

This week we have orientation for the new missionaries so another busy week!! Have a great week! \

Love,

Eli

Hi Mom!!!!

"Sunday I get to speak in the branch with the seminary students and it's also Seminary graduation!!! " You have branches??!?! haha  (Why does he think this is funny?  Ha Ha Head!)

Well I do love teaching even if it is other missionaries. Giving instruction is a lot of fun and i'm learning a lot from it. This week we have Mission Council, and Train the Trainers. That will be pretty exciting. We have 12 new trainers this transfer!! The mission is growing a lot! We are going to be doing a few demonstrations of planning and teaching and just improving on a few things in the mission. The great thing about instructing here is that you always have an idea of what you will be talking about since follow ups with the zone leaders tell you a lot about the mission. I think this one will be very good. Elder Finau and I try to always match for these events. I dont know if you have seen pictures from the Conferences?

This week we put together maps for each proselyting area in the mission. It was pretty fun to learn more about the mission and area boundaries. I learned a lot doing it and it sure took a good amount of time. We have fun here in the office doing that kind of work and really getting to know the mission as a whole. I enjoy doing follow up calls with each zone to find out how everyone is doing. This week we were able to teach for a full day which was awesome! Even when we go out from the office for a break we always start finding and teaching. Our break is usually right outside of the compound to eat some Liberian food so while we eat we talk about the gospel with whoever is there! 

Well It seems like everyone had a great week and is working hard! There are a few new things at the house which is great! I am sure you all are having fun with Marvin and tell him goodbye for me! He is more than welcome to California any time he wants to come.

Love you all!

Elder Dahlin

21st Birthday Party!!

Well it sounds like everything is going wonderful at home! I hope that dad knows he will look great after the scab goes away! I pray for him always! Thank you Lilia and Tom for your hard work around the house. When the Lord talks about diligence he says that one of the blessings is being mighty in works. No works no faith! Just talk haha We tell you thank you! 

Conference!!! Well conference was very exciting and full!!! This week was very busy and we were only able to teach on Sunday. The Lord truly has blessed this area though with those that are prepared for baptism. We havent seen anyone for such a long time but they are still coming to church and preparing by reading The Book of Mormon.  The conference was full of the spirit and learning. We had the missionaries do an activity of switching their area books with another companionship and pretend to white wash the area. It was fun and there was a lot of learning. Of course the learning mainly came from President and his amazing instruction. It makes me see how much we have to have truth set in our mind. Maybe using the word "fixed" in our mind is more appropriate. To know a sentence of truth and firmly believe in it without a doubt. Thats a challenge we can all have. Make a sentence that tells of truth and believe it until it becomes a part of you. Such as "Without partaking the Sacrament, we cannot receive a remission of sins" That is a gospel truth that I know without a doubt. 

The conference was great and stressful organizing and running around setting up. We also had district conference where we helped set up for Priesthood training on saturday morning and on Sunday there was a pretty great announcement. There is going to be a third district in Liberia called the Paynesville district. So cool to see Liberia growing!  The week was great and I had a very nice nap today to catch up with all that was done this last week. Now im prepared to have a full week again! No training or anything but there will be some great teaching. I love teaching and missionary work. It is pretty addicting once you understand it and I will always be involved in it. 

Well I hope everyone is doing amazing and working hard at understanding this work. There is no greater work because nothing else gives salvation. No other way. We work to have eternal friends, if you want eternal friends you have to work for it. I hope Hunter can understand that one day since that is my friend I want to have forever. 

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Dahlin

Assistants get to go to all the conferences and have their picture taken!!