December 28 2015

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

It’s been a few weeks since I could write all you guys. I was humbled to spend my last Christmas here in Peru and I really enjoyed all the Peruvian tradiciones and all the things that they do here. More than anything I loved testifying to the people of Christ’s birth and his mission here. A mission that would change all of us forever. 

We have been sharing a video with the people. It’s called a savior is born. And it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You should all go watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TEOyhy7Bg

I think the best Christmas present that I could have received was being able to talk to my family on skype! Seeing you guys was the best and made me want to work harder than ever so that people can be with their families forever, just like we will be together forever through temple ordinances. 

I thought I would have more time to write you guys but I’m running out of time already. I am going to include a ton of pictures.

I now that 2000 years ago my hope was born. And I know that we all must have been in heaven singing and rejoicing and crying because we would have the chance to be forgiven. I know that through Christ and his sacrifice, we can be clean and we can be happy. There’s that word again haha- happy. All we do is so that we can be happy. And I’m grateful to have found this gospel because I know that the only true and lasting happiness that I will ever have will come from the true teaching of Jesus Christ. 

I love you guys! Have a good New Years! And keep writing me and sending pictures too :)

Love Elder Dahlin

Papa Noel realmente existe! Le vimos!

We wrapped Books of Mormon in wrapping paper and went out and gave them away to people. It's the best gift they'll ever recieve!!

Fireworks in Lima!!

Talking to the family on Skype :) 

Talking to mi familia!

Paneton and chocolate!

Mission Christmas party

December 7 2015

Hola!

Wow the weeks are flying by. I can’t believe that it’s almost Christmas again! The traditions here are the best haha. Something that I’m going to miss for sure. So here in Peru there are a whole bunch of different districts. Like Cuzco, Iquitos, Tacna. Anyway, there are coins with pictures on them, like there are in the United States. I have been collecting them for a while but I noticed that they were kinda dirty. So I did something really dumb haha. I figured that a little bit of coca cola would do the trick. I put them in coca cola and was going to take them out after like 20 minutes. I forgot about them! For 5 DAYS!! When I found them and took them out of the coca cola they were stained brown and the picture wasn’t even visible anymore. And I couldn’t get it off. I tried everything, thinner, gasolina, Clorox. They were pretty much trashed, and I even started to spend some of them haha cause I figured it was pointless to keep them when I could buy like chocolate or some crazy fruit that doesn’t exist in the states. I was pretty bummed haha. I was talking to a guy in my ward and he told me that he had a cream that would help with taking away the stains! I was super excited and was anxious to receive the cream to try it out. One day he called us and told us that he was outside out house. I ran downstairs and got the cream and went back inside. After putting the cream on the coins and rubbing it in and scrubbing it, I removed the coin from the cloth and it was super super shiny. And the picture on the coin was so detailed and perfect. It was much cleaner and much much better than it was before the accident with the coca cola. Now my collection is looking good :) but there more to the story than that. I think of this story and it makes me remember our savior Jesus Christ. We are all imperfect and we do things that sometimes we wish we wouldn’t have. Sometimes we do everything we can to take away the stain, or the memory, but nothing seems to work. When we discover the gospel of Jesus Christ and the redeeming power of his atonement, we get excited and want to learn more. And when we finally understand how to repent and understand that it’s a change of heart, we can be clean. Not just clean. But better and stronger than we were before. Just like my coins. If they never would have gotten stained, I wouldn’t have seen the need to clean them. And it turns out that after cleaning them, they were much better than before. Every experience that we have it to make us better. We all do things that we need to change, and when we apply the atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives, we can turn our weaknesses into strengths and be better than we were people. I know that the Atonement is real. And I love this time of year because it helps me reflect the hope that was born into the world more than 2000 years ago. I’m running out of time but I’m going to put in some pictures here. I love you all and I’m grateful for your support. We should always remember that this time of the year isn’t about gifts and presents. It’s about the birth of Christ. The only person that can cleanse of imperfection and help us live with God again. Next week I’ll tell some crazy stories :)

Love Elder Dahlin

My best friends here!

This bug bit me!! but I'm okay :) #doterra saved my life

Cool Nativity at the temple