June 29 2015

Well friends and family, there isn’t a whole lot to write about this week. We have been really busy getting all of our baptism forms ready for the month of July. We have truly met some awesome people that are going to get baptized in July. It’s so awesome to know that I’m here in this exact place for a specific reason: to meet some of these people personally and give them the message that will change their eternity. I seriously love it here, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. If you’re thinking about going on a mission, I promise you with all my heart that you will never regret it.

This week we went to go visit a hermana that has a huge huge dog. It’s a mix between a Saint Bernard and a lab I think. but it’s really really big haha. Like 5 feet tall when it stands up. Anyway we were visiting the hermana and when it came time to leave, we stood up and I guess we scared the dog haha. It comes running full speed at me and my life flashed before my eyes. I thought I was gonna be man down haha. But it just bit me on the hand. It wasn’t bad though. Number of times I’ve been bit by dogs here on the mission: 4. haha so many funny things happen on the mission.

This week a member in our ward had a baby. My companion and I were the first ones to hold him. It’s seriously such a weird feeling to hold a baby so new. Some people think we are born with sins, but there is no way that’s true. Babies are born pure, and they’re alive in Christ. This Sunday I’m going to be giving the baby the blessing in sacrament meeting. That will be new haha. I’ve never done that before, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. 

Not too much to write about this week. Thanks for all the prayers and support! Please keep praying for me and my companion, for our safety and success.

Love Elder Dahlin

Ps. Happy 4th of July! 

June 22 2015

This week we had our last reunion with Presidente Borg and his wife. They’re going to finish the mission on June 30th. So they got the whole mission together for one last time to bear their testimonies and to say goodbye. It’s hard to describe the relationship between the missionaries and a mission president. You know them and care for them in a way that’s different than anyone else. They’re like our parents here in the mission and they care for us and love us so much. Presidente Larson and his wife will be coming soon and July 5th we are going to get to know them and have interviews. Wow is time flying or what?

This week we have been taking really good care of the 7 people that we have with baptismal dates for July. As missionaries we grow to love the people. I care so much for each of them. Way more than I ever thought I would. It’s kind of the same feeling that I got when I opened my mission call. It’s just a feeling of overwhelming love for the people, even though you don’t know them yet. Here I feel that same thing every day. These people are awesome and I know why I’ve been called here at this time to this specific place.

This week I have been reading in the missionary library. You know like 'Jesus the Christ', 'Our heritage', 'True to the Faith', and 'Our Search for Happiness'. I finished 'Our Search for Happiness' and I’m almost done with 'Our Heritage' already. If you haven’t read these books you gotta read them, especially if you aren’t a member of the church. They talk about who we are and why we do the things we do. After reading 'Our Search for Happiness', I realized that seriously everything we do is so that we can be happy.

This week a new temple in Trujillo Peru was dedicado! Saturday we went to the stake center to watch the cultural celebration and then we saw the dedication yesterday. It was seriously so cool to see the youth from Trujillo and other cities celebrating the new temple. They have no idea the blessings that await them there haha. The temple is an amazing place. And we should all have as a goal to arrive there, and then visit often.

Weeks ago we planted seeds here that in July we are going to harvest. July is going to be an amazing month to say the least.

Have a good week and keep praying for us!

Elder Dahlin

Hermana Lawrence!! I think her sister just moved into our ward or something?

I love these people

Helping our investigator Sando paint his house :) They don't call me Paintin Peter for nothing, let me tell ya'.

 

Mision Peru Lima Central
Av. Juan de Aliaga 520
Magdalena del Mar, Lima
Lima 17, Peru

June 15 2015

Well I had to start another email because the other one was so big and it took forever to open it haha.

Wow where to begin. This week was amazing. Probably the best in all of my mission. My companion and I have honestly had some disappointment these last couple of weeks. There had been hardly anyone to teach. We prayed, fasted, promised, and obeyed. But nothing. We were getting frustrated because there were no investigators that were progressing. This week we have taught more people, invited more people to baptism, and laughed and been happier than in my entire mission. In June we won’t have any baptisms, but July will be amazing. There are 5 or 6 people that we just met that are sooo amazing. And so willing. They have dates set in July to be baptized and they’re so excited. 

Let me tell you about one of them. His name is Sandro. He’s 29. He is the boyfriend of a member and they’re planning on getting married soon. Thankfully they don’t live together, so they can get baptized before their marriage. He was talking to us and telling us about his life. His mom died when he was 15. He has had a rough time getting over the death of his mom. He said that he has always felt like he’s been empty inside since the death of his mom. And then he turned to us and was like `I guess this message is all that I’ve been missing out on right?’ We were able to testify to him the truthfulness of the gospel and how it would help him in his life. Not to mention he would be able to see his mom again. He was super excited and happily accepted a baptismal date. It was so awesome to see how excited he was when his future mother in law came home and walked in the door. He jumped up and was like hey I’m getting baptized!! With a huge smile on his face. That’s what this message is about. Happiness and family unity. This family is so awesome. And I’m excited to see how the lord blesses them :)

I was taught from these last few weeks that patience is so important. We were doing everything we could to find people to teach and we didn’t receive them. Why? Because it wasn’t time to receive them just yet. God knows the plan more than we could ever imagine. He knows what’s best and when it’s best. So we just have to continue with faith and we will be blessed.

I love the work! And I love this opportunity to share the gospel with people that don’t know true happiness.

Have a good week and please keep praying for me and my companion and his family.

Love Elder Dahlin

Me, my President, and Hermana Borg. They're finishing the mission in 2 weeks and then we get another president. I love them both.

This week we had multizonas! These are my best friends here.

June 8 2015

Family and Friends,

This week we saw some pretty big miracles in our sector. First off, in our ward there aren’t many people to teach. We spend a lot of time searching for people when we could be teaching, so it gets a little frustrating. But we aren’t losing hope or excitement. We love every minute of every day. This week we were blessed with the opportunity to fast and pray. We began the 24 hour fast on Saturday and on Sunday we went to church like we normally do. We got there and not many people had showed up yet. We were like ahh its going to be another one of those Sundays. As the meetings went on more and more people began to show up. And by the end of sacrament meeting, more less actives and investigators showed up than on any other Sunday that I’ve been here for. We talked to each of them and we could feel and see their strong desire to be baptized. We needed this boost and we fasted and prayed for it. And we got it. June will be spent teaching them and in July I think we will be getting wet in the waters of baptism :) I’m so grateful for the blessings that come to us as we fast and pray with faith.

This week I’m also especially grateful for the plan of salvation. As missionaries we teach that there’s more than just this life. We teach that God loves us and he has sent us here to have this body and to be tested. We are born, we learn as we grow up, we have our own familias, we face problems, we are tempted and tested, we get sick and we have pain. And at the end of this earthly life we die. After this life we enter into a state where we wait. We have no body in this state, just our spirit. In this state called the spirit world we either wait in a state of paradise or a state of guilt and sadness. It all depends on how we live in this life. But what do we wait for in this state? We wait for the day when our savior Jesus Christ will come again in unimaginable power and glory. In this day, we will all rise from the dead just as Jesus did when He broke the bands of death 3 days after the crucifixion. We will once again take upon ourselves our bodies, but this time we will be out of reach death, pain, sickness, physical stress and any incapability or deformation. We will be resurrected and glorified beings. We will be judged and receive a reward based on our actions in this life. And depending on how we lived, we will receive a degree of glory.

           

        I know this plan is perfect. I know death is hard to face, but it’s an essential part of this perfect plan.

This week I was informed of the passing away of my grandpa. I know with all my heart that he no longer has pain. He no longer is sick and he no longer feels earthly pain. He is waiting in the paradise of the spirit world for me and the rest of my family to also arrive there. And then there we will wait together for the second coming of the Redeemer of the world. I know He will come again. It’s prophesied in the scriptures soo many times. 

I’m grateful for this plan and for this testimony that I have of its truthfulness. Without this knowledge death would be much much harder to face, especially that of a family member.

I know all of this to be true. And I’m so grateful for it. In the name of Jesus Christ amen. 

Please keep my family in your prayers. Have a good week and be safe!

Love Elder Dahlin

lds.org

June 1 2015

Is it already June? A year ago I was graduating. Crazy how the time flies.

I don’t have a ton of time but I wanted to tell you guys a story that happened this week that was pretty great! My companion and I were on the hunt for new people to teach cause right now there aren’t many progressing investigators. We had been walking for like 2 hours and we had knocked on every single door that was on this list that we have. We knocked like 30 or 40 doors and nobody let us in. Nobody. To say the least we were discouraged. We didn’t see how this was effective. We came to the last name on the list and walked to their house. When we got there, there were 2 huge dogs on leashes outside of the house. They were big. Like as big as champ. I was dang scared and I told my companion that I was not going to die. I jokingly told him we could throw a rock at the door instead and maybe the people would hear it and come and answer it haha. Don’t worry. We didn’t throw a rock at the door. I carefully crept and knocked on the door and the dogs were sound asleep. No harm done :) we waited a few minutes and decided they weren’t home. We turned away from the house to start walking down the street when something caught my eye in the second story of a building just across the street. There was an old man signaling for us to come. I looked around me to see if he was maybe talking to a friend or someone. But he kept signaling to us! We walked to his door and right as we got there he opened the door and just said `come on in!`. For you guys that have seen Saratov approach, this was going through my mind at this point haha. I was a little worried. And had my handy dandy ball point pen in my hand just in case any shenanigans went down. We sat down and started teaching him and he was really cool! He explained to us that other elders had taught him about baptism and that he isn’t really sure what to do to follow God. Haha I was thinking to myself. That’s alright brother, we know :) We’re teaching him now and I’m more than sure that my companion will still be here to see his baptism. It was an answer to my prayers that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how many times doors are slammed in our faces, there is someone out there that NEEDS us. Their salvation depends on it. And by teaching them and helping them find this salvation, we also receive blessings. I’m glad we kept working. I’m glad we didn’t give up. We never give up, and that’s what makes the difference in this work.

I love you guys and I’ll have more to write about next week! Keep praying for me and my companion please.

Oh by the way! The mission offices changed! Here’s the address.

Misión Perú Lima Central 
Av. Juan de Aliaga 520 
Magdalena del Mar, Lima 
Lima 17, Peru

Love Elder Dahlin

Ps. here’s a picture out the window of my apartment