Hola a todos, Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wow. So much to say! First things first, yes Mom, I know the other Hermana Dalton. We were in the same zone here and almost companions!!! No joke. We could have been the Hermana Daltons--how confusing.haha But there ain't no second me, so that didn't go down ;-) (My apologies for the horrific grammar.) Yes, fall is here and it is just starting to get co...oler. You thought I was going to say cold didn't you?! Oh not so. But it is freezing rain today and snow on the mountains, so I guess it is getting close. Feels good to me, though, since the A/C in our building was out most of last week and they have turned the temp up, so it's basically like being back in AZ--ahahaha (juuuuust kidding).
Oh man, General Conference was just SO amazing!!! I was talking about it with Hna Longoria the other day, (we are tight, so we talk a lot! I'm going to lose part of my mind when she goes out into the field next week--Provo, spanish-speaking. Someone find her in the next year and a half and hug her to death for me) and we both were so amazed at just how all-encompassing Conference is at the MTC. I've never gotten so much out of 2 days--so much inspiration and revelation and comfort and love. She is a convert of 3 years and rocks my socks. Her testimony is so strong and has made me want to be a different missionary. I will be. Per usual, I loved Elder Holland's talk...(shhhhh, yes, I watched the Priesthood session online ;-)...and I have a quote for you--Caleb and Chloe and for you, too, Mom. Perhaps I am overstepping my sister/daughter bounds, but, hey, I'm a missionary for la iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias and I am bold....so here you go: Caleb, Chloe, Mom: "In this family, we serve missions" :-) Your turns are all coming.
I loved Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the Relief Society session, Forget-Me-Nots. Now I know the names of 2 flowers--roses and forget-me-nots.ahaha The MTC moms (Presidency wives) gave us a summary of this talk on blue paper with li'l flowers on it...so naturally the next day I got it laminated! It will be forever cherished.
Sunday night devotional was...drumroll please...Chad Lewis. If you are confused, as I'm sure more than one of you are, please talk to Dad. Chad Lewis is a member, football player, RM, NFL, etc. He and his wife spoke--she played v-ball at BYU when they went to the Final Four...Wow! So amazing. He spoke about his mission to Taiwan (Yah Clark, I thought of you the whole time!) and hiking Mt. Kilamanjaro (spelling, sorry no dictionaries here not in spanish!) with some vets who had missing limbs from the war and another football star. Even had a ton of pictures, too. It was exactly what I needed along with conference after a really rough week. Due to circumstances beyond my control that night, my comps and I got stuck in the overflow (very upsetting for me) and after the opening devotional, we sang a special version of...you guessed it..."Called to Serve" where we sing very soft and get louder and interludes and then stand and belt it for the last verse. Well, while they were explaining how we would sing this hymn, Hna L and I looked at each other and we were like "We gotta be in there for this!!!" SO we grabbed Han K and booked it...flat out sprint, yes, in our skirts and shoes, to make it over to the auditorium in time. Wow, the Spirit was so strong and the tears were a-flowin'. Hna L needed this so badly because she goes into the field next week and was getting nervous and Br Lewis' talk about never losing the "greenie spirit" and having the mindset "Hey! I don't have time to lose--I only have 17 months left!" totally boosted our spirits and we were both ready to go invite the world to come unto Christ. (Which we were going to do anyway) New themes for my mission from Bro Lewis. Such an unlifting experience, evening, and whole weekend.
Hmmm, what else? We are teaching an "investigator" named Juan who said he wanted to be baptized during the first lesson after I recited the first vision in spanish and we both cried. This is my weapon of choice. No blinking while reciting this and it does wonders--ahaha. I hope you know the spirit in which I mean that, just picture...:-)...that smile...I love reciting the first vision and bearing testimony. I try to every time we teach. Anyway, he said he'd get off work to check out general conference, but couldn't "find the building" or "the conference online" (this investigator is one of our teachers). Well, the room we were teaching in had a computer, so the wild thought just POPPED into my head to show him on lds.org just how this kind of thing is done...so we did. Mind you, I know ZERO technical or computer spanish!!! And for him to understand it I turned the site into all spanish which was wickety whack trying to figure out what pages to go to and how to get the video feed working, but eventually we did and I could tell that it meant so much to him. I was so taken aback at myself and it was just a great experience of following the Spirit--I need to remember this for the field. I don't need to know what to do/say beforehand...scripture reference anyone?haha Oh, it's snowing outside, no big deal. So exciting--haha.
Oh Dad, I'm in the same zone as an Elder Baker from U of A? He took a class from you. We talk a lot and he is really awesome. I told him I'd say hi to you for him. Oh, and Sister Shaw found me as I was walking out of my building last Thursday night--she had the biggest hug and smile for me! It was great. We see each other all the time and I love it.
Well, I've somehow lost 2 buttons on two different outfits this week, so I need to go spend the rest of my P-day trying to sew them back on...if you get any calls from the hospital here it just means I somehow managed to seriosuly maime myself or someone else with the needle. No worries...OH! Speaking of hospitals and awkward things that happened there this week, I spent 3 hours in the hospital this morning with my comps because Hna K needed a...radiological something procedure that took FOREVER. OH, and she forgot to mention to anyone that she faints at the sight of needles, including the doctor, so as she was squeezing all the feeling and fingerprints off of my hand she suddenly went horizontal!!!!!! ALL OVER ME!!!!!!!!!!! Just slumped onto me and everything. Fainter. So needless to say that the rest of the scan was...interesting...because she had to hold still and lay under the machine with the IV still in her arm for 90 minutes, freaking out. I may never regain full use of either of my hands again in this life. I am typing with my elbows--sorry for any typos ;-) ahahaha. Life is just amazingly crazy isn't it? I love it.
I love being a missionary. The rest of my life and eternity will hinge on these next 17 months and I have never been more sure of "in whom I have trusted." Hermana Dalton is here to stay for a while--here in Provo, stateside, Spain--all on the Lord's time :-) I'll go/stay where he needs me. I love each and every one of you and think of you with a smile on my face. I have the best family in the world and my testimony of that grows every second of every day out here.
Love,
Hermana Dalton
Shout outs:
CALEB!!!!! Thanks for the dearelder :-) It made me really happy and laugh a ton (good one about celica). Glad to hear that v-ball is going so well, rock it man! And sorry about school. Just get through it and enjoy every second of senior year. No regrets :-) Keep on keeping on...Hey, could you email/dearelder me the lyrics to "On My Way" by Boyce Avenue? I meant to print them out before I left, but didn't have time. This song means a lot to me--spiritual experience--and I would love to have a copy of it. I'll print it out here if you can get it to me. Much love li'l guy.
Rahmderson's--a letter should be arriving shortly :-) lactate, lactate, lactate--wow, that has got to be the best story ever. I have no sassy remarks or comments or anything. I think I lost at least 2 lbs this week just from thinking about that story and the laughing that followed. I love you both so much!
No comments:
Post a Comment