Querida familia,

"The miracle I want to share with you is from a lesson after an eating visit with a part member family. Carolina and Walter have 4 kids and 2 of them are baptized. Narda was baptized at the beginning of this month. We decided to share a Liahona message we found a few months ago and love. It is called“¿Cuánto valgo?” and talks about how Heavenly Father is the only one who can tell us what we are truly worth. Jesus Christ already decided that we are worth everything and paid the price; we have to choose whether we are going to accept His sacrifice and live accordingly or not. We focused the message on the oldest son, Julio, who is not a member, but is slowly progressing as his heart is softening. He was sitting across from me so I was able to look him in the eye and testify of the blessings that Heavenly Father has waiting for him if He will accept the Gospel in his life. I felt impressed to tell him Heavenly Father is waiting and he will be a leader and a missionary, if he wants to be. He smiled at that part :-) I testified that the time will come when he will need and remember the things that we have taught him. He may not remember our names or faces, but he will remember the power of our words and the things that he has felt. He said the closing prayer and asked that they would never forget what we taught them. I have faith and hope that one day I´ll get to see him dressed in white and then someday with a chapa (nametag) on.

Cristina is ready and on-track to be baptized this Saturday. She has her calendar every visit and the first thing she wants to tell us is that she has read and prayed! Being able to teach her makes my day and week so much better because she has the same ability that Hna Oslund does to change a situation and give energy to everyone.

We were able to visit lots of CRs this week and to work with the ward council to start creating plans for each of them to keep progressing in the Gospel and make their next covenant with Heavenly Father, usually getting to the Temple.

We had some great visits with Elijorson and he needs more time to decide 100% that he is ready to be baptized. But he is progressing and changing. We have decided that members in every visit and member friendships is key. And the members here are doing a great job fellowshipping him! It is wonderful to see. I feel so blessed to be here in Valencia and for all the miracles that we have been able to be a part of and to see. How great is the work of the Lord and how great that we have the privilege to be a part of it."

Wow, what to say...?haha I seem to be at a loss for words. Everyone sounds good and busy. Chloe-way to go on the Spelling Bee and the sports! Can´t wait to play with you and watch you play. I will yell for you extra loud...but in a nice way so I don´t get kicked out...yet.

Clecca-way to go on the Praxis Clark! I´m sure you did great...Sorry baby boy hasn´t come yet (that I know of, you could be at the hospital right now or already done...), but you´ll know why you had to wait some day. We continue praying for you here. Loved the Calissa story. You could always accept the Spanish influence from Connor and I and name the baby Pao Gasol Dalton-sounds like he´s going to be tall enough.haha

We have a full week planned of running around and saying goodbye and getting Cristina baptized. It will be hard, but Im trying to keep that perspective I need to function and focus on the goal. I can´t explain how excited and ready I am to see and hug and talk with everyone!!! It will be here soon enough. Thanks for all the prayers, support and love I am always receiving from you all. I´ll tell you all about it in person real soon :-)

I got my trunky papers today. If the flights are on time and everything, will Pte Polley be able to release me that night or will it be too late? What does he want to do? Whatever works and is the easiest.haha You know I worry about the details and things I can´t actually control! I´ll roll with whatever.

Hugs and kisses coming soon,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

This feels way too soon to be writing you again...but we have seen an amazing miracle since then!

"Our investigator, Elijorson, called and asked for a priesthood blessing because he is going through a difficult time. His daughter received a blessing when she was little and he heard the testimony of a member about the blessing he received that opened his heart to the missionaries and the gospel. The member that shared that experience was able to give him the blessing and he fasted to prepare. It was a sweet blessing and Elijorson stayed afterward for a ward activity and loved it. He called us later that night and asked us what he still needs to be taught in order to be baptized. Before this he kept saying that he wants to be baptized someday when he is 100% convinced. He came to church the next morning and stayed for a baptism afterward. He brought his calendar and wanted to know about the lessons we still have to teach and we scheduled out visits. He is planning to be baptized on Feb 2<sup>nd with another investigator named Cristina. It is always a testimony to me to see the power of the priesthood in action for those who have faith to work miracles.

Cristina is 12 years old and in a part member family. We had a visit with her Friday night and didn´t get there until REALLY late. She told us that her sisters were at sleepovers with friends and that she chose not to go because of how important our lesson was to her. I got choked up seeing the example that this youth is for me. She has an electric personality, but the gospel means so much to her and she takes it seriously. Would I have done that at her age? I love being able to cross paths with Heavenly Father´s chosen and elect.

We are focusing on visiting less actives and recent converts this week. It is an area that we need to improve upon from this past week.

We had a ward missionary activity last Saturday and the ward leaders that came are such examples to me. We had a spiritual thought in the Bishop´s office and then each took turns praying in a circle before we split up to go contact in the street and knock doors. The faith of the members here is incredible to me. They bring miracles to us every week."

CALEB--I am so excited for you!!! Is that the same mission as Brooke Shaw?! I can´t remember. I hope you have pics and videos. Did you freak out?! Ok, we have a month together. Start making plans.haha I already have a few in my head :-) I am so happy for you and proud of you.

Chloe--how is vball going? Are you hurt? I can´t wait to watch you play--vball, bball, anything.

I am going to try to attach some photos so this will be short. We are going rebajas shopping after this-it´s finally time to get all the clothes I want.muahahahaha Could be good or very bad, we all know me and shopping. Pray for Hna Oslund.

I love you all so much! Becca-we are praying for you and baby boy here in Spain!

¡Hasta luego!</sup>

Sorry I´m so late this week, just kind of describes me at the moment.haha Behind. Here are some miracles.

"There are 2 miracles that I want to share with you from this week. The first was Monday night when we were in Hospitalet and we were able to set up 4 visits in less than 5 minutes with an investigator and 3 recent converts, two of which have been having trouble getting to church because of their work and schedules. We had a very powerful lesson with Xavi. We couldn´t land on a lesson for him that felt right, so we decided to ask him what he wanted to learn from us and go from there. He had a question right away and asked how we can know/feel that we have really repented. Hna Oslund had a scripture that she shared and I was able to share another one and a personal experience. It was all what he needed and felt so good. The other 3 visits included a CR (recent convert), Ruby, who is having lots of family/work problems and cried when we called to come over. I felt like it was a boost she needed. Maria Rosa was so happy to see us and I really love her 7 year old son, Julian, who is preparing already to become a great missionary. He bore his testimony to us and made me cry. The last visit we fit in was with CR, Angela, who can no longer attend church because she is working interna and it is so hard for her. We had to talk in her doorway, but she said that she keeps reading and studying the manuals and scriptures and that she has felt a peace in her heart that Heavenly Father knows her and is ok with her situation right now. She was so happy that we haven´t forgotten about her and we set up a way for the Hnas to still be able to call and talk to her if they can´t visit. It was such an incredible night.

The other miracle was yesterday in our last visit. Hna Oslund had set up a visit with some youth in the ward who always come, but we found out that one sister, Cristina, isn´t baptized. We visited the grandmother awhile back, who is an active member and the Bishop asked us to visit the family because all the kids have gone inactive as they have married nonmembers, but the grandkids all like to come. Both sets of Hnas thought that the other set was teaching her!ha But Hna Oslund set up this visit and it was exactly where we needed to be. The family was so excited to have us and to read together and hopefully we can help them come back. The daughter mentioned that she wasn´t baptized, so I asked her if she wanted to and she said yes. So I asked her when and she asked when she could and if that was ok. I was almost at a loss for words at how excited she was and really wants to and has just been waiting for someone to invite her. We helped her set up a calendar for the 2<sup>ndof February and she was beaming all night. When her Dad drove us all home, she told him 3 different times that she was getting baptized :-) Maybe he will be baptized then, too!"

It was so AMAZING to be back in Hospitalet for one night and to visit so many people, especially Xavi. I feel like he is so close to baptism and at a key moment in his life. Jonathan, the ward mission leader´s son who helped us a lot, helped us with Xavi and is getting ready to turn in his mission papers :-) It all made me so happy.

The Hnas Conf was...incredible. There just isn´t time to tell you everything. I had 15 minutes to speak about what I´ve learned on my mission and what has meant the most to me--I shared my thoughts on prayers and how making Heavenly Father my best friend has changed me and missionary work. I also got to translate for the last few hours on Tuesday and it was really fun. I don´t think I did a great job technically speaking, but I put some personality in there and had a lot of laughs.ahaha It was one of those moments that I got to sit back for a second and realize that I was really comfortable with the language.

Ummm, I´ve had a few more health challengs as of late, but that just seems to be my lot at this point in my mission/life. I was doing fine, though and seemed to have things under control for the moment. I got a letter from the Thompson´s that has put a smile on my face and warmed my heart. Can´t wait to talk to them in person!

All the plans sound great. I am praying for Clecca´s baby to come this week. We hit a cold spell here and in Barç and I´m still trying to feel my toes.ahaha Gotta love it. It is finally rebajas and I am looking for a good peacoat...and a lot of other clothing articles.muahahaha Oh dear.

Love you all and thanks for the prayers and emails. Keep smiling!!!

Love,

Hna Clarissa Dalton</sup>

Salutations,

"Before I give you the miracle story, I have to back it up. We are making knocking doors more of a focus, like we get it in whenever possible even there is something else to do or not a lot of time or just normal missionary life things getting in the way. We have gotten one return cita from all of it, but as everyone else seems to be reporting, the blessings from obedience are flowing in from other directions. Oh, I give you permission to read this to Hna Pace if you would like. You´ll see why :-) We had our first Sunday of 9am church which is quite the feat to get 4 Hermanas to church that early with one shower at a time. But we did our best and after the first hour of church we were talking in the hallway when someone called to us and when we turned around, it was Rosalba! She was supposed to be in Colombia until mid-February, but had to come back early for residency issues. We did not get to see her before she left because she fired on us and then cancelled last minute on coming to the multi-stake conference, but she came to church for the first time in YEARS!!!!!!!! She said she felt like she needed to and told her son to drive her and she looked so good and was SO happy, as was everyone who saw her. It warmed my heart and was one of those moments that made me feel like, ok, we are doing something right and have been visiting the right people and the impressions we have been getting aren´t just from our heads. It was a miracle for me.

Also, Narda was baptized this week and she is so happy. Her Mom hugged me after the service and told me in english (she likes to practice with us, or tell us things she doesn´t want other people to hear!haha) “I am so happy right now. We just have two more sons left.” I think Narda´s baptism and strength will be a turning point for her 2 remaining brothers who are not quite ready yet. It is amazing to see how Heavenly Father guides each step and this family is on it´s way to becoming an eternal one. In my head sometimes it seems tooooo slow, but if I can take a step back and think about the incredible, miraculous things that have happened for them suddenly this past year, things are moving right along on the Lord´s time.

 

Elijorson was able to come to Narda´s baptism because the Bishop went and picked him up. He talks about baptism all the time, but just isn´t ready to set a date and we haven´t been able to figure out why yet. He also doesn´t know how he can get to church because he lives so far away and doesn´t have any money or a job. We are trying to find members with cars who can bring him. We, well I, just need to have patience--story of my life."

The 6th is the BIG holiday here, bigger than Christmas--celebrating the 3 Kings who come and give gifts. Lots of members were upet that it fell on a Sunday, AND that it was our first Sunday on the new schedule--9am. Ouch. Rough for us with 4 Hnas. But it is to get ready for the 3rd ward they are creating at the end of the month and the hours of 2-4pm are sacred mediodía time so no church. Ridiculous, but that´s life. So wards will start at 9, 11 and 3.

We just got back from visiting the HUGE castle in a pueblo called Xátiva...but the joke was on us--it was closed. But it was a good hike and we made it fun. Pics attached.

We have interviews with Pte tomorrow and I am excited. Also, we are having an Hnas Conf in Barç on the 14th-15th so that will be new and exciting and crazy. I don´t think Spain can handle all of us in Barç at the same time...

I don´t know what else to say except that it is weird to be here and now in the mission and kind of indescribable...might not be a real word. I didn't expect it to feel like this and days are flying by and so much is happening and I´m here and a part of it, but not, like I´m a 3rd party observer at times and watching a familiar movie on fast forward. But I am enjoying every minute and trying to take it all in.

Happy New Year´s everyone and what a great year it will be!!!!!!!

Connor and Caleb--take it easy with the meds and don´t drive Mom crazy.ahahaha I wish I was there. Keep sending the pics, I love to see what you are up to.

Hey Mom, any chance of the Christmas tree staying up until, oh--you know--Feb. 7?!  hahaha  Love you all so much and thanks for the emails and love.

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

¡feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo!

"We received a wonderful Christmas miracle this week from a referral. We hunted down the referral in a pueblo. His name is Elijorgson and he is from the Dominican Republic. He is catholic, but feels like something is missing. He met the missionaries in Santa Domingo and they invited him to be baptized, but he just didn´t do it at that time and feels like he should have. He got online and looked up the church and asked for the missionaries. It was such a good lesson and the Spirit was strong. As a missionary, you live for moments like that :-)  Our recent converts, Obion and Tony, brought their friend Caroline to church this week and she brought her son. She really liked it and is opening up to us more each time.

Narda is going to baptized this week, but her brother Walter still wants to wait. He talks about receiving the priesthood and knows all the answers, but for some reason is holding back. His father might have scared him a little bit about having to be 100% sure before he should be baptized. We shall see, but I´m sure he will realize he wants to be baptized soon.

Also, we have talked to our bishopric about having missionary-themed firesides once every 3 months and they love it. We want to invite Pte. and Hna Pace to come give the first one. I think it would be really good for the members here, especially because the 3^rd ward will be relatively new and it would be wonderful to have missionary work as a foundation from the beginning.

Obispo Ciriac and the ward leaders here are INCREDIBLE with missionary work. This Sunday, for the first hour of the block, they had everyone together and they read OUR ward mission plan and talked about how to implement it, including one Saturday morning each month for everyone to meet at the church and then go contacting with us. Their attitudes make ALL the difference."

What else to say...oh, not so good. This Sunday was our last Sunday on our 10am schedule. Because of the new ward, next week we start at...9am. I think I may cry. We will have to get up super early to even catch a metro/bus to get there on time. Woof. Oh well, we shoulder on. (Not so excited for grumpy bear Hna Oslund though. She´s such a morning person!)

Connor- I found a scripture for you, I wish I had found it over a year ago, but we can just pretend, right? Romans 15:24. I drew in a Spanish flag :-)

It was SO good to talk to and see everyone. Hna Oslund wants to know how her initial impression went over so please send commentaries.ahahahaha  She cracks me up. And no worries Mom, she gets the voice thing all the time. I would have given ya´ll a heads up, but I have been around her so long I didn´t remember.

I...always blank out when I sit down to write now. Darn.

Tonight the church building is open after 9pm and I think until like 7 or 8 in the morning for New Year´s so we are going there until we have to go back to piso. I want to do the 12 uvas (grapes) at midnight, so excited. Connor can explain. What are your plans? Hey, last year I came up with this idea from Alma 22:18 to follow the example of King Lamoni´s Father and start giving up some weaknesses/sins every year. Starting small, of course. One at a time. I mean, we obsess about what gifts to give our family, friends, significant others, etc...but how much time do we think about what we can give to the Lord? Do we even give Him a gift? He who has given everything for us and continues to do so daily...I wrote the scripture on an envelope and inside what I wanted to change/give up for 2012. We shared this lesson with the members in SanSebastian and we did it again this year. I loved opening that 2011 envelope up again and really seeing the difference in myself. I still have a loooong way to go, but I´m further along than I was then and progress is the real measure of who we are. So the question is...what will you give to your Heavenly Father this year...?

Welp, gotta run. I miss you all and am happy that you are happy.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

Merry Christmas Everybody!

"Miracle:We had to go to do my huellas (fingerprints for residency) this week and here in Valencia you have to go wait in line to get a number and they only hand out 120 numbers each day. People start lining up the night before! We went very early and spent basically the whole day there. I prayed the night before to be able to talk to someone or make the day useful. I was in line behind a woman named Carmen with whom I started a conversation. We chatted and got numbers and were told to come back in a few hours. Before we separated, I gave her a pass-along card and my companion had a Libro de Mormón for her. She said she had to work and would not be able to come back for the afternoon...but when we went back, she was there! She came up and said that she had gotten off work and got there early and started reading. She said that she usually can´t read and pay attention if there are distractions, but it was different with this book. She loved it and had some questions! We talked and she told me that she knew about missionaries in Bolivia and that it was NOT a coincidence that we met and talked and gave her that book. She is excited to come to church and gave us her number and address. I felt Heavenly Father´s love for her and that we were in the right place at the right time doing the right thing to help one of His daughters find what she has always been searching for but never knew.

Tony was baptized this week! Obion´s husband, so now they are both recent converts. Obion could not come this week because she was out of the city, but Tony still came by himself to receive the Holy Ghost. I can see such a change in him and it makes me so happy!

We had a really good visit with a recent convert, Alex, who has gone through a rough couple of months, but we were able to connect with him through the Book of Mormon and help him see that if we are willing to read it every day, it will help us with every other aspect of our lives.

We shared a lesson I came up with last Christmas in SanSe thinking about what we can give to Heavenly Father as a gift every year--through our weaknesses and character flaws--using Alma 22:18. José and Yannina really liked it and are going to take our challenge to give some weakness up this year and every year. They are amazing!"

OK, so we will "see" each other tomorrow!haha I´m so excited. We had dinner today with Yannina and José. I love them so much, it was lots of fun. 

See you tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

Smile! Life is good.

"The biggest miracle is that Tony was baptized even though I was next to useless and stuck in piso/bed most of the week. I guess that is how I am learning over and over again that this work is Heavenly Father´s and it will go forward with or without us-thankfully. We can decide to be a part of it or not. Obion, Tony´s wife, gave a testimony about baptism and especially how it was Hna Oslund who “touched Tony´s heart” and helped him open up to the gospel and it´s true.

I have been reading back through my mission journals and I want to focus more on trying to do the little things-for other people-this makes me feel better and lets them know that I love them.

The magic is back. I hit a rough couple of weeks healthwise and was worried, but that happy-for-no-reason-being-on-the-mission-is-magical feeling is back :-) I was afraid I wouldn´t get it back. Thanks for your help and prayers and not giving up on me or making me feel like I was letting anyone down-I do that pretty well on my own. I love you all and have never been happier to be here."

Thank you all for the prayers, fasting, mental hugs and everything. They made all the difference.

Someday I´ll give you the long version if you´d like, but the reader´s digest version is that after 2 hospital Urgent Care visits, being poked and prodded in BOTH arms so that I look like a heroin addict...I woke up thinking about Nephi. 1 Nephi 3-4, going to get the plates. Plan 1-fail. Plan 2-fail. Opposition, brothers beat him, etc. How can things get worse?! What´s the answer?-"do it my way." The angel says go back and he is led by the Spirit not knowing beforehand what to do. OK, so I had been trying to do things my way and hitting wall after wall and was frustrated. So I decided to pray and then do whatever came. So the crux of the matter was I had been having a back-of-the-mind nagging feeling of just going to a farmacia and asking about birth control pills. It was the option I was not willing to consider....so we remembered that we were in Europe and you can get most anything over the counter. So we pulled some strings, found the ingredients that I recognized and got what I needed. And it was the right answer. It´s not what I wanted, but it is what I need right now. And it has made all the difference and should hold me over until we can figure things out in February when I get home.

Tony was baptized! It was a small affair--he didn´t want a lot of people there, but I almost liked it better than other baptisms I have been a part of. We didn´t get a lot of visits in this week, but we got the essentials done.

Ok, Christmas! When are we going to talk?! The day before is preparation day, so we can get the last minute stuff organized. We really can do whenever, I was thinking in the morning for you...? Like 10am-ish. That would be 6pm for me, right? What do you think? Oh, and is there any way to use a different webcam? The home one is really hard to hear what anyone says unless they are directly in front of it...the ipad maybe? Just thinking.

OHHHHHH! I FORGOT-transfers!...Hna Goodman is training, but Hna Oslund and I aren´t changing :-))))))))) So my mission comps will officially be my trainer, my trainees and Hna Oslund.haha I couldn´t be happier. Heavenly Father knows. He always know exactly what we need.

Back to Christmas, will you sing me a song? A Christmas song as a family? I´d love that :-))) And Hna Oslund wants to talk to and meet everybody (ya i do) .haha should be fun. Let me know! I should be back on email at the end of the week for the informe.

Sorry this is crazy and disorganized. I´m still recovering my brain.

Love you all!

Hna Dalton

Hi :-)

"Miracles: I have struggled a lot this week with how to feel like and be a successful missionary and also slow down to take care of my physical health, especially when I don´t know/understand exactly what I am dealing with at this point. Basically, it boils down to an issue of pride and humility. I am right in the middle of a life lesson about how I react and feel when I can´t be the one leading out or going and doing. I think it is the hardest thing I have faced on my mission so far. But with the greatest struggles come the greatest blessings and learning opportunities. So here´s what I have seen so far...I was discouraged Friday because of how our week had been going so far in terms of numbers and visits, but we had 3 incredible visits that day that were direct and immediate answers to prayers. Every Friday we eat with a part member family and 2 of the kids will be baptized in Dec. But the oldest son has never shown interest past physically being there (sometimes) when we are. We planned to ask the other 2 about why they wanted to be baptized and how to use the Book of Mormon to find answers. I felt so strongly to talk and testify directly to the oldest son and asked him if he´ll ever be baptized. He said he doesn´t know, which was wonderful to hear because it leaves room to find the answer! And it wasn´t an outright “no”--progress. Something changed in him and his eyes during that lesson and he is thinking about being baptized with his siblings.

Next, we met with Obion and Tony, who is still on track to be baptized on the 17^th. He is so happy and has changed so much. The difference is incredible, a 180. He wrote his fecha (baptism date) in on their calendar and came to church. It was one of those moments where you are just so happy that you can´t contain it.

And last but not least, we had a visit with Laura (recent convert, 9 yrs old), where she was supposed to teach us...but she had her cousin over and forgot. So we asked if we could share a scripture with the rest of her family, which are recently reactivated members and menosactivos. Hna Oslund chose to share Alma 7:11-15 about the Atonement. It was guided by the Spirit. We asked them each to think about what Christ´s Atonement means in their lives and the Spirit came and took over. I told them that after a moment of silence I would start. I prayed in that moment to say what someone needed, what would touch their hearts. A sentence from a folleto (pamphlet) came to my mind that says, “All that is unfair in this life will be made up for in the life to come.” So I said it and bore my testimony about it´s truthfulness. As we went around the room, an aunt started to cry and opened up about what I had said and how it was exactly what she was struggling with. We got to know and understand some of her struggles and questions about all the suffering in the world. Now we know how to teach HER.

Heavenly Father knows us. He knows me. He knows how and what I struggle with and He will NEVER say that our best isn´t good enough--even if others, or we ourselves!, try to. If I can remember that every day, the rest doesn´t really matter.

He always finds ways to let me know that I´m doing just fine, even if it doesn´t feel like it every minute--like right now. I wish that I could say that medically speaking things are better or getting better...but I seem to still be in the "patience and humility" stage because things are still the same. I´m waiting. And that´s ok...right?

On a funny note, I´ve gotten really good at making remolacha...I think those are...beets in english? and spinach juice smoothies to up my iron. They are very...purple :-) But seem to be helping. Who knew.

We got to watch the Christmas devotional last night in spanish. SO good. I loved Pte Uchtdorf´s talk--I am going to work on being a "good and grateful receiver" <- that´s my personal translation from my head so I don´t know if that´s what he said in english, but the meaning should be the same I think...I hope.ahaha "With Wondering Awe" was so beautiful...I can´t remember if that´s a real song either. Oh dang, the one with the reed pipe? I need to start english study instead of spanish study!ahaha

I have listened to Elder Richards´ "The Atonement Covers" talk from April 2011. I remember loving it when I heard it at Clark and Becca´s, especially the line "pain is a gauge of the healing process." SO true, especially for me right now. (He is also the seventy who just had a mission tour here.) Check it out.

Life is hard, but that´s what makes it worth it. And I am still loving it, my mission, my companion and being here in Valencia. So smile for me :-) And know that I love you.

Love always,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

Hello, hello,

Highest highs and lowest lows. Let´s focus on the highs.

"Miracle of yesterday--So we weren´t having the best day after Zone Conference because of my health issues. But we talked as friends and companions and got everything out in the open. Then we went to a visit and it was perhaps the best lesson of my mission to date. We taught a recent convert, her husband who has started listening to us and their friend, who told us before the lesson that her father in Africa passed away yesterday. And the lesson that we planned was ...the Plan of Salvation. We have been reading with them from the Book of Mormon and we decided instead of just teaching the plan, we would read 2 Nephi 2 and teach THEM, as we read and they were learning. The Spirit was so strong and we were able to testify to their specific needs and worries. My companion invited Tony to be baptized again and he said that this time, with us, it has been different and that this church has “won his heart.”We testified that it is the Spirit telling him it is true and he wants to get baptized in December. This is such a big miracle considering that a month ago he wouldn´t stay for our visits and wouldn´t listen. Heavenly Father has prepared his heart to open and accept the gospel at this time and it was through reading the Book of Mormon."

Obion´s husband Tony is going to be baptized!!!!!! And a member Carolina´s son and daughter, Walter and Narda, are also going to get baptized in December when their Dad gets back from Suiza. Miracles, miracles.

The multistake conference was the largest gathering of Saints here in Spain at one time, or so they have been telling us. We met in a convention center (looked like an airplane hanger) and was incredible. Elders Teixeira and Kearon were there and now we have the Cartagena Stake. It was such a unique experience and because of extenuating health issues on my part, we got to drive to the conference with the Pace´s :-))))) We went to Benidorm to check the piso before we give it to the Málaga Mission and we saw Gandía :-)-- answered prayers.

At the conference, Elder Fica (my buddy from up in Vitoria district) is serving in Gandía and introduced me to some people Connor will know :-)-- more answered prayers and tender mercies. I can´t remember their names because we just had time to talk for a minute before the conference started and I wasn´t feeling 100%, but I made sure that we got pics. And..Ximena maybe?...with the baby, she grabbed my arm as I was walking away and told me something I will never forget. Elder Monks and Dalton taught and baptized her. After Connor got transferred, she was going through a really rough patch in her life and stopped going to church and began to drift. She told me with tears in her eyes that she received a letter from Connor that changed her heart and helped her go back to church. She said it was because of him and his letter. I can´t think of a better example of a missionary being in tune with the Spirit and being the rock to help a new member with a shaky testimony to grasp the rod once again and now she is a faithful member and will always remember Elder Dalton :-) If that moment was the only reason I needed to serve here after Connor, it is enough for me.

 

The Málaga Pes. and his wife talked to me and we talked about Logan Bailey, he is doing really well. Elder Richard´s conf was amazing, the multistake conf was wonderful, the Zone conf the next day was my last and it was exactly what I needed-lots of things learned. I wish i had time to share but...life as a missionary.

Sorry I don´t have to time comment on your emails, just know that I cherish them.

Sending much love your way,

Hermana Clarissa Dalton

HEY!

"This week´s miracle is about the priesthood and the power of faith. The husband of Obion, our recent convert, had knee surgery this past week and Obion called us crying because Tony needed a lot of medication and they do not have the money to pay for it--they were not able to get him any of the prescriptions that he needed. We went to visit her the next day and had a lesson with them about faith. Tony has listened to us in the past, but wasn´t really interested in wanting to learn and change to accept the gospel in his life. We shared Alma 32 and talked about how to exercise faith. We told them that we would come back that night with the Elders if he wanted a priesthood blessing and we explained what it was. We stressed that it would be according to his faith. We invited them to pray and prepare. We went back with the Elders and the blessing was a sweet experience and then we went to work the rest of the week. We had a visit with Obispo to translate for Obion Saturday morning and she told us that "Tony now has faith." Then she told us that after we left that night, a Spaniard lady who lives on the same street came over randomly to see how they were and offered to give them the money that they needed to buy the prescription. It was an immediate answer to their prayers and the blessing according to their faith. We are working with the ward council and leaders to help them through this difficult time and it is amazing to see the Lord´s hand in the work through the members.

Laura´s baptism was stressful this week because we had to call so many people to get priesthood holders there, but it all worked out--as it always does with baptisms. And I realized how much I need and depend upon the priesthood, especially the Elders, which is interesting considering what we talked about in the Sister´s meeting with Sister Richards. Laura has changed so much since we started teaching her and I know it is because she is doing the right things and has the Holy Ghost to guide her. I also love seeing the changes it is making in her family."

Thanksgiving dinner was SO good with José and Yannina. They made potato and chicken tacos, chicken with mole (chocolate and chili) and dips--chipotle and guacamole-- and we drank zero-zero(ask Connor) with lemon fanta--they have an obsession--and sparkling cider..shots. ahahaha They are crazy and fun.

We just found out that Hna Goodman´s mini-mission companion has to go home tomorrow because of school stuff so we are going to be a trio again indefinitely...but they are reorganizing and making a new ward here, so I figure that the missionaries will shift, too. We may get more here. We´d love to move to the new ward, but we shall see when we travel to...ALICANTE for the multi-stake conference. It is not in our mission, but we have special permission to go! I´m really excited :-) Should be a fun day.

I have pics from Laura´s baptism, but I can´t send them because we are at a different locutorio. Sorry! Next week.

LOVE YOU ALL,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

Hey everybody,

"The miracle I want to share from this week was when we went to teach a friend that another investigator told us about. Her name is Violeta and she is from Poland. She lives in the other hermanas´ area so I wouldn´t have been able to meet her if we weren´t in a trio this week, which I am very grateful for. At the beginning of the visit it sounded like she was just interested in a way to practice and learn more english, but we really tried to listen to her and ask inspired questions. It was a very powerful visit and she understood why we were there and was very excited to read the Book of Mormon we left with her. It was very spiritually powerful for me to feel the Spirit guiding us to know how to connect with her and help her realize the things she is looking for in this life and the questions that she has.

Hna Oslund noticed that I was stressed out at church this week and asked the right questions to help me open up and recognize what was bothering me. Then she wrote me a letter thanking me for all that I do. It was exactly what I needed and changed the rest of my day. That´s why we have companions! Laura decided to be baptized this Friday and the Bishop told us that her father will be able to do it since it has been over a year since he has been coming back. We have seen a change in her attitude and desires this month and she is so excited to baptized now compared to a month ago when she wouldn´t talk to us if we mentioned baptism and refused to accept a plan of conversion calendar. Heavenly Father knows when His children are ready and I love being here when they decide and getting to see the difference in their eyes.

We had a good visit with Obion´s husband, Tony, this week. He is getting surgery on his leg, but we found out that at least one of the reasons he has not come to church is that they do not have the money to pay for metro for both of them so he let´s her have the money to go. I think that poco a poco he is coming around.

We were invited to a special ward council this Sunday to discuss a ward plan for next year. We were all surprised when the Bishopric passed out OUR ward mission plan ideas to everyone. They want to use it as the official plan for next year! They were all so excited and focused on missionary work. It made me so happy to see. The Relief Society President said that she wants to baptized 100 people in the ward this year--and she was serious about it! What incredible faith--I understand why the work is moving forward at such an increasing speed here in Spain."

Today is Hna Oslund´s birthday so we ran around Valencia and had some fun. We bought a yellow cake mix and milk chocolate frosting from the American store...it cost like 10 euro but hopefully it will be worth it. haha We are heading over to Laura´s for a Noche de hogar and birthday celebration. The members here are the best and are treating Hna Oslund so well for her birthday.

The mini-missionary came in Saturday. She is from Matorell and is Spaniard. Doesn´t speak a lick of english. I think Hna Goodman is having a rough time with the transition. It´s always hard, but it should be fun to get to know her.

I don´t think hermana trios are any easier than elder trios. To be honest, they might be worse considering how girls are--especially when there are 3! But we worked it out and I am glad to be back to a normal companion, less stressful for me.

Mom-ok. here´s what I´m thinking for Christmas. The most important thing for me is another roll of kinesio tape so that I can keep working almost pain-free. Could you send one and the receipt, please? Granola, more slip-on dress socks, instant oatmeal packs, drink mixes...I really need some good minty gum. No fruity, please. Well, maybe one fruity pack for Hna Oslund. And if you could put in tootsie rolls for Hna Oslund, that would be fantastically fabulous, too. Um, that´s all I can think of...I think anything else can wait a month until February, don´t you? haha Welp, gotta run, as always.

I´m glad to hear everyone is excited for Thanksgiving. We are too! Yannina and José are cooking a mexican thanksgiving for us on Saturday and I am SOOOO excited. She is from Mexico and he is a CR Spaniard. I LOVE them.

And I love all of you!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

Wow, it´s been so crazy with transfers. I haven´t had a minute to breathe. We are losing 3 areas here in the south to the Málaga mission so we have some surprises...Hna Oslund and I are whitewashing again! In Mataró! They closed it down a fews transfers back and took the elders out. Sorry this isn´t longer, but we have to run to catch a train.

Love you! Bye!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

　
Ok I feel bad-I´m still comps with Hna Oslund here in Valencia. No changes for us this transfer. Just thought I´d spice things up and see if anyone was paying attention. The other Dalton is opening up Mataró though because we are losing Benidorm. So it was kind of true...but Hna Oslund said I can´t lie like that...who knew she´d be keeping me in line!haha Hna Goodman is training a mini-missionary but she isn´t coming yet so we are a trio for now. Best trio ever!

"One of the many miracles we saw this week was with the friend of a part member family that we work with. She is over for lunch every week but has never really been interested in the gospel before now. But Hna Oslund has a special ability to open people up and make them instantly comfortable with us. There is just something in the eyes of a missionary that people notice and can´t deny-that they are drawn to. We connected with Maria and she came with the family to church on Sunday without us even inviting her! We met with just her personally and she is really searching to know and feel the truth. She told us all about her family and showed us pictures, she even took one of them out and gave it to us to keep :-) I am thankful everyday for the opportunity to be companions with Hna Oslund."

I am sad that Hna Maxwell has to go-I have learned so much from her and her example of Christ every day. El faro is an incredible mission because of the quality of missionaries here and their dedication to our Heavenly Father.

We are trying to teach Obion´s husband, but he is hard to get ahold of and to get to stay for a visit. I think that he is scared to change and give up coffee. We shall see..

A lesson on the Plan of Salvation went well with Collins-he seemed to understand it better. Poco a poco.

Laura´s cousin has a fecha for the begin of December so we are going to prepare her to be baptism with him, if she wants. She knows she needs to be baptized-but something is holding her back. We will find out tonight!

We found a snail in the street and carried him around with us. Hna Oslund got attached, but we named him Gary and used him in a lesson. I think it was a hit. bahahaha

Ah, this keyboard doesn´t work-so frustrating. I had a list for Christmas stuff Mom, but I left it in piso. Sorry. I´ll send you some ideas when we do the informe this week. I hope everything went well in Utah, well on the way back. Sounded pretty interesting getting there!

I feel so good every day and just love everything about being a missionary right now!

Love you,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

Happy Halloween and welcome to Nov!

It has been a hard week, but we are pushing through and I think as we continue to grow and work together, Hna Oslund and I will see lots of success here in Valencia.

One miracle story from this week is about Fanny, a woman we met on a bus to corelación meeting. She knew the missionaries is Bolivia. We met with her Tuesday night and it was a very powerful visit. The missionaries found her years ago at a difficult time in her life and she said it´s not by chance that we found her again. She wants to stop drinking coffee, but didn´t think it was possible, but now does and wants to do it. She really opened up to us as we listened and were able to teach and testify about the Plan of Salvation because she has never been able to accept the death of her father. At one point she was talking about how important what we do as missionaries is and she touched my chapa (badge, name tag). It was like an electric shock. Definitely one of those moments I won´t ever forget--just how much it meant to her and really means to me. Neat experience.

Even though we had some rough times this week, I feel like it was successful as I tried to understand and help my companion, and I realized that she is doing the same. I admire how she valued and used fast Sunday as a source of strength.

Obion has been in France, but we are meeting with her tonight and she went to the other ward for church yesterday. She sent the missionaries in France to teach her friends there :-)

Alex now has a triple and is preparing to receive the Priesthood. Collins does not believe that the Book of Mormon is different from any other religious book, but I feel like we are slowly understanding each other...very slowly.haha

Well, for Halloween we decided to have some fun...muahahahaha....and we dressed up as each other. We switched personalities, too. Not going to lie, it might have been my best piece of acting work yet, considering how different our personalities are--it was quite the gem of a day.

Today we traveled to a little city that has a castle with the Elders from Gandía--E´s Fica(who was in my district up north) and E. Buttcane (yes, that´s a real name). It was SO fun.

Connor, don´t worry. Life happens :-) I trust you. Career options, huh? I need to start thinking about that...but I don´t.  ahaha Although, I did decide that I am not going back to Mizzou--Clark, do you need to tell them that for me or do I need to do something?

Mom--way to go with the reactivation and visiting! You´ve always been good at that and I feel like so many people need it. El rescate, the rescue. That is Pte Monson´s theme huh?

Caleb-way to go and get things done with the mission papers/prep. That will help you so much--being active and getting everything done. Heavenly Father will bless you.

Oh man, my foot hurts after the hiking and nonsense today. But it feels so good to be active. Thanks for the love and emails!

MUAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

HEY!

I think we had the hardest, weirdest and most trying week of my mission so far--and I loved it! It didn´t matter how many things went wrong--and quite a few did!--we kept going and laughed almost the whole time and saw miracle after miracle. Obion was able to be baptized, even though almost everything was stacked against it. She told us after the baptism that she had to go to France for the weekend and wouldn´t be at church to receive the Holy Ghost. It was something she couldn´t or wouldn´t change. I invited her to pray that night about what Heavenly Father wanted her to do and then to make her decision. We didn´t hear from her for 3 days and I assumed she had left and we planned for her confirmation the next week. She called us Sunday morning while we were in consejo de barrio to tell us that she was coming to church. To see the smile on Hna Oslund´s face and her squeal of happiness was, oh, so worth it! We still had to scramble to find someone who could do it in English and inconvenienced the Elderes, but it all worked out and she left right after the Sacrament to go to France. That´s a miracle. That´s answered prayer. That´s faith. That´s why I´m here.

Now that Obion is baptized, we are going to focus on her husband, Tony. He wants to be baptized, but doesn´t want to stop drinking coffee and tea. There are lots of members in the ward that we are going to ask to help us teach him.

Alex is a CR and is preparing with us and the Bishop to receive the priesthood. The Bishop asked him to study some things, so we are focusing on that this week.

We have lots of families to visit from the Bishop and ward. One of our goals this week is to visit or contact all of them.

Another miracle from this week--Saturday was insane from an outside perspèctive, possibly the worst day, logistically, of the mission so far--but I loved it because of how it ended. We got fired on, emergency feminine supplies run to the store, late to teach  English class, missed the train to a far away pueblo to visit the Bishop, got there hours late and he had to leave for a meeting, got yelled at during a lesson from the dueño of an investigator and they proceded to yell at each other and we were the go between, got lost and had to ride a whole bus loop, then missed our stop, missed correlation with the ward mission leader...but here´s why--we talked to 2 families on the bus that we needed to meet. Fanny had the missionaries visit her family in Bolivia and begged us to come over and was incredible. Diana helped us with directions and wants us to come by, too. Sometimes all your carefully laid, yet narrowly-minded plans fall through so that you can do Heavenly Father´s will and plan. :-) Incredible!

Hna Oslund is great. One of the best friends I have found on the mission. She´s another miracle of my mission. That´s real.

Kind of scary about all the health issues in the ward back home. Tell Tricia that I´ve heard breaking a leg is the punishment for not writing a certain missionary. ahahahaha (or not? maybe too soon to joke? you can be the filter and decide...) I´ll pray for her and Emy. I´ve actually had the impression to write them both within the last few weeks. I should do that...

Mom, thanks for keeping me going :-) I love your emails. And Clecca, Haley singing is precious :-) everyone loved it. Ok, I have pics! Finally.

ENJOY!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

Alma 37:34

D y C 24:8

Hey!

Fall is in the air! We had a nice rainstorm and it has been pleasantly chilly in the morning and night. However, I think AZ heat next summer might kill me. My body hasn´t been tolerating warm/hot/humid/ heat lately. My pisomates all jokingly tease me it is "menopausia" because they think I go through hot flashes.ahahaha And they call me the viejita o abuelita (old grandmother)...they are hilarious. I´m just slightly nervous it could be true ;-)> It is weird being so much "older" in the mission than everyone else here. Hna Oslund pointed out that I was the oldest in Zone Enfoque...awkward.

Welp, our miracle this week started with District Meeting where we set the goal to teach 20+ lessons this week. We were hitting this consistently in Hospitalet...but considering what we´ve seen here for the past 2 weeks plus all the member visits we are trying to get in, this was a challenging goal. But we were able to reach it! We tried to focus on teaching lessons at every opportunity--even on the metro when Obion, who is getting baptized this week, didn´t have time to stay after church. If you are willing to go the extra mile and do everything you can think of, Heavenly Father makes up the difference. It also helps to have a companion like Hna Oslund :-)

Obion is getting baptized Thursday. We are trying to plan everything ahead, but it is different than I am used to, especially as it will be in English. She is so ready and excited. Her husband wants to be baptized as well, but doesn´t want to keep any commitments or do anything. We are praying that her baptism will help him prepare himself. She also has lots of friends that we want to start teaching as well. We have to find baptismal clothes for her and make some goodies this week for the get-together afterward...hmmmm

Collins is a recent convert who doesn´t like us :-( He won´t meet with us and asked if Hna Maxwell can teach him again. We don´t know what to do, but are going to keep trying. His English is nearly impossible to understand (he´s from Africa) and I think this may be a contributing factor.

José is an incredible and strong CR (recent convert) who is now the 1st counselor in the HHJJ. I loved meeting with him and his wife.We are planning to work through him to help strengthen the youth.

We had a very powerful visit with a strong, but menosactiva (less active) member as well. I did not know she was not attending church--which is probably a good thing because it left the door open for me to listen to the Spirit and be more fuerte (firm). She feels very guilty because of the choices of her son and is punishing herself by keeping herself from taking the Sacrament and being worthy to go to the temple. We invited her to do some specific things and we shall see what happens...

I loved the miracle of the dedication of Alma the Younger in my reading this week. He gives up the judgment seat and everything to serve and teach and be a missionary. You can see the influence of his faith and diligence in his life, the miracles he brings about with his faith, the strength of his recent converts, the growth of the church and the lives of his sons and close associates (Amulek and Zeezrom). I want to be more like him.

This keyboard is driving me insane, half the keys don´t work unless you slam it...so fun...and my camera battery just died so no pics this week :-) sad day, we have some good ones. Welp, next week!

Interviews with Pte Pace were amazing. We talked about a lot of things and I have my marching orders. He gave me a blessing for my foot and it was so...sweet. I got the package with the tape Saturday, same day as the blessing and haven´t had any pains or problems since :-) And we went running this morning! IT FELT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely a miracle!

So I´m happy. I´m NOT hurting. I might be going through menopause heehee. And I have the best companion and piso in the mission. What else could Hna Dalton ask for? Hmmmm, you can guess, but basically I´m doing grrrrrrrrrrrreat!

Love you,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

¡Saludos de Valencia!

It is so fun to be here. We have had a week with a little bit of everything.haha I really love our piso. There is never a dull moment and we are having so much fun and always laughing. It is different here teaching so many Africans. I had my first taste of translating spanish>african english and african english>spanish during testimony meeting Sunday. That was stressful, let me tell you. A RC Collins wanted to bear his testimony so I went up there with him, which was quite the experience since I still don´t understand everything he says...or let´s be real, most of it.haha But Heavenly Father knows I have been wanting to build my translating skills, so here we go.

"As we have been visiting members and the ward leaders, they have each given us the name of a family in the ward that is starting to come back. We set up a visit with them. He is a returned missionary, but has been inactive for the last 8+ years. It was really easy to break the ice and we all felt comfortable. We had planned to teach about the importance of the Santa Cena, but during the prayer I felt like we should share an article I had read that morning from the Liahona. My poor companion didn´t have any notice, but trusts me and we went ahead. The article talks about how much we mean to the Lord “¿Cuanto valgo?” We were able to bear testimony and it was exactly what the wife needed to open up. They looked at each other and then invited us to teach and prepare their daughter for baptism. She is 8 years old, but turns 9 in a month and hasn´t treated past missionaries very nicely. The father looked us in the eyes and said, “Esperamos para vosotras.” It was so amazing. They said that they have been waiting for us to be their missionaries. My companion and I both felt it really strong that we need to teach this family. It was a testimony to me that we are in the right place at the right time doing the right things.

I admire Hna Oslund´s willingness to serve me this week when my foot has really been bothering me. She is constantly worrying about me and trying to make me laugh and take care of me. It´s not easy for either of us--for her to serve me or for me to let her serve me--but it is helping us both develop attributes that we need.

Obion and Tony are a couple from Africa who want to be baptized. Obion has come to church fairly consistently, but Tony has not and did not come this week. Obion is progressing in the gospel and he is not. We are trying to find ways to help them arrive at baptism together. It is very different teaching in english, almost awkward. But I like it. And it is great teaching with Hna Oslund again.

Alex is a recent convert who was baptized here a few weeks ago. He is great! We taught him last week and we were late...lost in the new area...and he didn´t have much time. But after we introduced each other, prayed and sang a hymn, he told us that now he was there in the chapel with us he didn´t want to leave and his other appointment didn´t matter. Instead of moving on with the lesson, I stole a moment to make sure he knew that what he was feeling was the Spirit and how important that is. It changed the whole feel of the lesson. He is working to receive the priesthood."

This week was Hna Oslund and Maxwell´s "hump days," halfway marks. We had some fun :-) I´ll have to "leave you hanging" on the stories ;-) HA! Two can play that game, Connor! Cesar really wants to talk to you...I´ll give him your email when you give me the details...

I am waiting for the package. I expect the Pace´s to bring it down when they come for interviews this week. It has really been bothering me...I had to rest last night because I just couldn´t walk on it anymore...or at all. I am going to ask Hna Pace about inserts or a boot if the taping doesn´t work...or I´ll just proselyte in my adidas.haha We shall see, but I don´t think my body can handle so much ibuprofen for an extended period of time...thanks for the prayers. They help.

love you all, can´t believe October is halfway gone! I still can´t believe that Dianna is engaged-and getting married before I get back! And Caleb might leave before I get home...those are hard to swallow but I´m so happy for them.

Smile.

Love,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

I´m a little excited. ahahaha If you couldn´t tell.

Miracle story...so embarrassing..."I love Valencia and the members and my companion and our pisomates. I am seriously so happy :-) I think I just smile and laugh all day long. But the miracle story is from my last area, Hospitalet, right before I left.

So this is embarrassing to admit, but it makes for a great story, so I guess it is worth it. We were heading back to piso after Singing of the Angels and there were 7 of us. We got in the elevator and there was plenty of room so no one thought to check the capacity or say anything. The elevator made some weird noises, started shaking and then dropped a foot. The emergency light started flashing. We all froze and didn´t know what happened. Then everyone looked at me, which is terrifying because I am claustrophobic and had no idea what to do. So I said "Let´s pray"--always my first answer. Good heavens, I never know what to do--I´d be lost and unable to function without praying all the time. We prayed and then tried calling on the phone,...but there was no service, of course. So I decided to pray again and this time I asked that someone would hear the alarm bell I planned on holding down. We held the bell down and right after the prayer, someone heard us and called the Pres. We were stuck in there for 29ish minutes and I was fighting claustrophobia, but we talked and laughed and it helped. Everything worked out and Heavenly Father answered our prayers immediately, again. He never gets tired of us, thank heavens. From now on I will check the capacity limit of elevators before we get in!"

Oh huckleberry, here´s the rest of the letter too:

"I love Hna Oslund! I love the changes that I see in her since we were companions before, especially how much she loves me :-) She teaches me a lot without knowing it. The other night I was talking and goofing around with Hna Goodman and walked back to the room and Hna Oslund was laying on her bed, reading the Book of Mormon and writing down the miracles she found. It really impacted me. She doesn´t get the credit she deserves from other people who just see the funny, crazy side of her, but she tries and works so hard to be the missionary and person she wants to be. I have lost some focus on that and want to follow her example and be more diligent to improve daily. I also LOVE Hnas Goodman and Maxwell. They are so great and I am learning daily about the kind of person I want to be from their examples.

We met some recent converts here at conference and set up visits for the week to come. There are a few progressing investigators in our area, but they live in a pueblo and were unable to come in. We will visit them tomorrow. We are excited to find those who are prepared here! We know Valencia is full of them!

I love General Conference and just love being a missionary! I received so many answers and much personal revelation this weekend. Heavenly Father loves me so much-- I just can´t comprehend it."

Wow, how am I so blessed? It must be all the prayers from family and friends at home because it´s not me. Miracles:

"There have been too many miracles to count this week. I try to write them down and remember, but I feel like I miss so many! (What a great problem to have, right?) I am so blessed by the Lord. Ok, two simple yet profound examples of my Heavenly Father´s love for me and how he knows me personally. Mom sent me some of my missionary pictures while I was in the MTC to give to people during my mission. I had 6 left yesterday. I cut 3 out to give to 2 recent converts and 1 investigator. I put one in Ruby´s triple combination that we gave her after her baptism and another in Maria Rosa´s Bible that we dedicated for her. Her son Julian wanted one for the back of my superman keychain that I gave to him, but I really wanted our investigator, Xavi, to have the last one for the triple combination that I wrote in for him and marked my favorite scriptures. I said a quick prayer and decided to give the last one that I had to Julian. I felt like it was the right thing to do. Xavi came to the baptism that night and I was writing in his triple and decided to check the empty envelope one more time, even though I knew there was nothing in there…but there was another picture!!! When I got back to the piso I checked and still had 3 pictures left. I don´t know how, but I had enough and Heavenly Father knew how much it meant to me and answered my prayers.

I love and live through my music. I prepared my ipod very carefully and meticulously before the mission with only uplifting, edifying songs, all the scriptures in Spanish and English, and the last 4 years of conference talks. I was adding some more music to my ipod in the locutorio from cd's I found in the piso left by other missionaries. But when I got back to the piso, my ipod was empty. All 14GB of music and talks were gone. Nothing. I had a minor panic attack. I sat on my bed and thought for a long time and realized that I had the chance to choose how I was going to react. I could get mad, cry, freak out…or I could let it go, have some faith and know that God is in control and would take care of me. This is how much my music means to me. But I decided to let it go and moved on. Hna Stephenson and I talked and decided it was my test of faith--if I could live and serve normally without my music. I actually forgot all about it during the week--something I NEVER thought was possible for me to do, but hey, life goes on and is SO much more than music. This morning I decided to put a few cd's on my ipod, just so I have something for when I leave to Valencia. I plugged my ipod in…and ALL my music was there. EVERYTHING! I have NO idea how, there is no way logically--I checked the ipod multiple times during the week and it was empty--zero GB used. There is no explanation other than a miracle. Heavenly Father knows me, so well, so perfectly.

I kind of feel like these are selfish miracles because they are just for me, but they are very specific and personal 'divine signatures' that Heavenly Father has written in my life and I will never forget them."

Those miracles are real, I promise. I couldn´t even make them up if I tried. There are so many more that I don´t have time to write, but I WILL write them in my journal. Haven´t missed a day yet and I am filling up journal #3. haha My future self will thank me...maybe.

So transfers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are crazy! Are you ready? Firsties, I went in and talked to Pte this week. There is a lot going on in the mission, especially with the Hnas and I needed counsel, advice and help. Such a sweet experience. We talked about some transfer possibilities and I have been waiting to see what would happen....are you ready?...some changes I was prepared for and some I was not...are you sure?...haha I´m heading to Valencia tomorrow!!!!!!! With...Hna Oslund!!!!!ahahahaha But really! We are going to whitewash and open an area down there. And my daughter, Hna Maxwell, will be a pisomate! As well as Hna Goodman--who is a hero and really good friend of mine. I still can´t believe it. Hna Pazuengo is taking it really hard...but I´m kind of the "rip the bandaid off and roll with it" kind of person...and she´s not. haha Gotta cut the cord sometime, right? She´ll be fine. And my first comp, Hna Farrell, is coming down from SanSe to take my place here! I´m excited and a wee bit nervous and kind of dazed. We have done lots of running around and visiting CRs (recent converts) and trying to say goodbye to everyone. Singing of the Angels should be good for that tonight. I´ll be thinking of Connor the whole time :-)

I´m just...happy. Tired beyond belief and my body is aging and falling apart right before my eyes, but I am so happy that is doesn´t matter. haha And it´s Conference this week. INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!! Superbowl for the missionaries. We are inviting everyone to bring specific questions to the conference to get specific answers. DO IT! I am for sure. I am so excited. Test the Lord and He ALWAYS comes through. So the real question is...what do you want to know? 90% of the challenge is always asking the right questions. I can´t wait to hear about your questions and answers!

Thank you all so much for the emails this week--there were so many! haha I love it and they will all be read and reread during the week. Love General Conference. I can´t wait to go in April. I´ve already decided :-) Isn´t it about...time?ahahaha I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton

Hey Mom, thanks for the package. The office is on the lookout for it and will send it on to Valencia when it arrives. I´m excited about the blue tape...but you will be shocked to know that I have a sudden love for bright hot pink. Europe has really worked me over, I know. ahahahaha The 2nd Coming should be any day now--Clare Dalton likes pink!!!!

Hey Everybody,

"We had a miracle this week that came from a missionary saying a prayer and because of her faith, it was answered immediately. The Hospitalet 2 Hnas were preparing for their baptism when we realized that no one had a key for the door to get into the changing rooms and font! We all called everyone that we could think of--Bishops, the custodian, counselors, Auxiliaries Presidencies, everyone and no one could come or was close. We prayed. Then one Hna had the idea to put the key they have for the front door in. It isn´t the right key and has never worked before, but she prayed and told Heavenly Father she didn´t know what else to do and that she was going to her put key in the door and it was going to work…and it did!!! There is no way it was a coincidence or anything short of a miracle and an answered prayer. What incredible faith. It really is the key to everything…pun intended.

We met lots of new people this week and will have many Lesson-- 0's and 1's. We are going to invite everyone to be baptized! It will be a week of miracles, I know it!

We had a woman, Anai, come into the chapel Sunday looking for English class and I invited her to stay for the meetings and she did! We gave her a Book of Mormon and will meet with her this week.

Evelyn and Pabel´s friend, Clisset, came to church this week and when we asked to set up a visit with her, she said she was going to ask us to come and teach her! She also wanted to buy a Book of Mormon and participate in the Talent Show we are having! We gave her her own Book of Mormon and feel like she can be ready for baptism in a few weeks!

The miracles abound in Hospitalet!

In the past 2 weeks, investigators that we met and passed on because they didn´t live in our area got baptized!!!! So exciting! And I got news from SanSebastian about a part member family I was teaching there-- the father finally is ready to change his life and is getting baptized! Some of the best news you can receive as a missionary :-) I almost couldn´t believe it. We are so blessed. I am keeping this short again because I want to email some individual people. Mom, that kinesio tape and instructions for my feet sound amazing. I really need it. I`ve tried to find that stuff here and can´t. Tender mercy.

I love you all and it warms my heart every week to hear about you :-) Keep being who you are, it keeps me going here.

Much missionary love,

Hna Clarissa Dalton

Hey everybody!

"We had a man named Aurel walk into church this Sunday from Romania. He found out about the church online and came! He was very interested and stayed for the 3 hours. Our Ward Mission Leader accompanied him everywhere and we gave him a Book of Mormon and introduced it. He listened very carefully, repeated back what he understood and said he wanted to read it! It is a miracle and testament to me that Heavenly Father is always preparing people and sometimes they just walk into the path of the church and we get to be a part of it."

Nayelli´s baptism was great! She is really the anchor for her Mom and has such a desire to follow Christ. I can´t remember if I told you this already, but during a lesson we were teaching HOLA (Hermano, Orar, Leer y Asistir a la capilla)  I asked Nayelli why she reads the scriptures--she is in 2 Nefi. She said simply, "Because I trust in my Heavenly Father." Our ward mission leader talked right along with what he thought was the "real" answer, but I stopped him and went back and made sure she knew that hers was the RIGHT answer. As long as she trusts Heavenly Father and does whatever He and the prophets say, she will be just fine. What an incredible answer from a 9 year old. It really had an effect on me. 

Pte and Hna Pace came with us to a visit with Evelyn and Pabel and it was really spiritual--we all felt like Heavenly Father is watching over them and even though they can´t get married until March, they´ll be ok and are on the right path. ALSO--we found 2 new investigators, cousins of Evelyn. One of them, Clisset, I have a really strong feeling about. I can´t wait to teach her.
Xavi is doing well and in school now. He is like a best friend. I love him so much. We are getting there, he´ll be baptized.

Mom, thanks for your email. It was exactly what I needed to hear and read, so thanks. I´m glad you talked at the Institute and you know I love hearing you sing, especially "Consider the Lilies." I can´t wait to hear you sing again :-)  I haven´t walked barefoot in over a year now and the sandals that I have have good support. I bought a new pair of walking shoes, my most supportive ones are trashed, and a pair of Adidas to run in. I hope they help. I have vitamins now, too. So all is good.

I love you all so much and thank you for the prayers.

MUAH!
SMILE!

-Hna Clarissa Dalton