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