Mission Week 51: 1 Year in Texas!!:)

Aloha! 

Where do I begin? 

While my family is in Hawaii, I get to be in Texas! 

It has been the best year of my whole, entire life. 

And it was a great week! I really do love Sachse. 

This one family we have been teaching is doing so well! That family is so prepared, it's insane. She knows the church is true because she's seen the fruits of it, especially in her husband's family in Mexico. They love the feeling at church and the gospel principles book. She just hasn't gained a testimony of The Book of Mormon yet, but she will in time. Because this family is so close, President Durrant is actually coming to their lesson this week when we teach the whole family for the first time.

Sadly, some other investigators have been reading a lot of anti material so they are struggling right now, especially with Joseph Smith. Pray for us this week! Only pure testimony and faith can overcome this. We've ran into so many people who are engrossed in anti material. It can destroy faith. In reality, you will find whatever you are looking for. If you want anti about anything, you'll find it. But man does not provide truth, only God does. If someone shows me anything that somehow proves the church is wrong, and the source is man, of course I will go to the true source, GOD. And God is my source, strength, and foundation of my life and testimony. 

Our Jewish investigator is also doing really well. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be teaching someone from Israel. He has fig trees in his backyard from seeds from Jerusalem and seriously that fruit is so amazing! He also says he knows the Book of Mormon is true! However it's going to be a hard journey for him because in their culture and the town he's from, if you switch religions, the entire town and family shun you. He needs a lot of prayers and faith. 

We had an amazing meeting with Robert. He had such an inspirational experience with Judy as she was dying. He just felt so close to the veil. He could tell she could see those of their family that have already passed away. We felt really strongly that Judy has accepted the gospel and will help Robert the rest of his journey. He moves to Arizona this next week. 

One of my best friends, Elder Munday, on the mission is really sick and might have to go home. He's been sick for 14 months but has made it this far. Doctors have examined and tested and haven't found the source, but he's going to see one of the top doctors who is a member next week. He could use a lot of prayers though. 

I have to share an experience that happened last night! We had a little bit of time left before we  had to go home, so we went to the parking lot to contact a few more people. The first two people we talked to were Jewish. We talked to them for like an hour, mostly about the Book of Mormon, an atheist joined the conversation for a bit AND a Jehovah's Witness who came to thank us for our work (he thought were jw at first). So that's just a small experience to show you just how much religion is here in Texas. It's crazy.

One more thing.. next Sunday is Father's Day! I love my daddy so much. It's so hard to believe I've been away from my family for a year. It hit me this morning, especially because I haven't seen my precious Emily in so long! Ok anyways, so for Father's Day I decided I'm going to give something to the best dad in the world. Sister Durrant challenged us to do give of our time or talents. So this week, every lesson I am going to sing a song in honor of my daddy. I'll let y'all know how it goes next week! 

And I get to go out East this week for Specialized Training to sing I Love Jesus Christ! I'm so excited to see Sister Nance!! We get to ride with the assistants for 2 hours each way. Such an honor to be able to do this. 

Well I love y'all! 

Love,

Sister Dalling

Week 24 From The Colony: "stayin in The Colony!"

Everyone!!!!! I get to stay in The Colony another 6 weeks! I can't even believe it. I will have been here 8 months by next transfer. This week is my 6 month mark! Crazy, I know. 

Sister Allred is being transferred to Rowlette though :( My new companion will be Sister Erickson, who seems really awesome. Sis Allred will be missed so much though. No one can believe she was the one who was transferred. 

I also hardly have an update because we've had a snow day the past 3 days. Last Wednesday, I kid you not, it was 80 degrees outside. The next day we had a crazy ice storm.. it got down to the 20s. The streets and cars were covered in 2 inches of ice. No one could walk or drive anywhere. It was the first time President Durrant has ever told missionaries to take a day off, let alone 3. Working would have been impossible though. It's gotten a lot better today, but still really dangerous. At first, it wasn't too bad being forced to take a break, but after a while we got SO bored. They even cancelled church.. So nothing has happened this week. At all. This transfer is lookin to be a good one though! Alex and Jeremy's baptisms are coming up! 

Transfers are really the hardest part of a mission. Elder Rowland and Stewart are leaving :( It's so hard to lose your district once you get so close. It'll be good though! It always is.And I get another transfer with John!

Love y'all so much!

Sister Kristina Dalling

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 20 From The Colony, Texas "5 months tomorrow"

I can not believe I've already been out on my mission for 5 months. I absolutely love it though! We have Kayce's baptism coming up this Saturday! Oh and TJ and Kayce are officially engaged! They agreed to name their first child after me ;) I wish! But really, I just love the change I've seen in TJ since I met him.

Happy Veteran's Day! We are going to see our Marine vet, the one and only John Cook, later today. They say everything is bigger in Texas and it's so true! They had a huge carnival over the weekend with fireworks for Veteran's Day. I love the patriotism down here.

It's been another week of miracles, but first I have to say it is hard not to have technology when scary things like the typhoon happen. For anyone that knows me, I have quite the tender heart, so hearing about 80 missionaries who were unaccounted for was so sad to hear. I hope the number has changed, but we have no idea what's happening in the world! Sis Allred and I are just so sad to think about all the people over there right now. How scary.. the people of the Philippines are in our prayers.

Also I have to express my love to the Rennells family. Their son, Chance, whom I babysat a lot in North Carolina recently passed away unexpectedly at age 13. I love you Rennells family! I can't imagine what you're going through at this time, but my companion and I are keeping y'all in our prayers.

So some of my favorite quotes of the week:

"I'm not ashamed of the world knowing what I'm doing." John Cook. He called us today and told us that next week he's getting the priesthood! It's so fun having him at church. He can't even walk, but he loves the gospel so much.

"God has it all planned for me." Kayce. She bore her testimony in one of our lessons this past week and it was just beautiful. She expressed so much sorrow for some things she's thought and said about God, being a former atheist. And then she said that the gospel and message we had to share with her made her realize that God loves her unconditionally, she can be forgiven, and that God has her whole life planned out and that it's filled with so much happiness and joy. She invited her best friend, Kayley, to come to a lesson and to church. Kayley texted us later and said how grateful she was for us because she never dreamed she'd be able to spend time with her best friend at church until now.

"We already are with God." John Cook. John's family was going through some hard things, and I tried to explain having an eternal perspective and telling him that one day when we are with God again, it will all be better, but he corrected me and said we already are with Him. I love him!

"What makes a good love story? When someone takes a leap or step to get the love of their life. How much do you love God or Jesus Christ? What leap of faith would you take?" Debbie Byrne, she's one of my good friends from The Colony ward who just left for her mission to Brazil!

Just read in my mom's email that all the missionaries are safe! God is good.

I love my mission! It's incredible to think about all the lives that have changed, including mine. I just love this gospel.  God be with y'all! ;)

Love,

Sis Dalling

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 19 from The Colony, TX "Transfer 4!"

wasn't about to give up that family tradition! I made everyone carve pumpkins with me :)

Our awesome district

We taught John how to take selfies

He even learned how to take pictures of other things! ..and he learned about the Restoration again. He loved it by the way.

I'm sorry mom but I love this cat! I'm thinking about shipping her home. The animal shelter let us have her for a night because I love her so much. Candy is the sweetest cat ever.

this one is just better of both of us haha

Texas... <3

we did a heart attack on our elders' doors

typical Texas..

FC Dallas service project.. all we did was help out at the tailgate party. Super fun!

and there was a bouncy house. Who said missionaries had to be adults all the time?

Texas barbeque is the best!

FC Dallas :)

Transfers :( that's about as close to a hug as it gets haha everyone always does fake hugs

car trouble...

Elder Rowland drew that for us :)

We had a glasses day for our district

Hey y'all! 

I am just doing great down here in The Colony. The miracles just never seem to cease. I definitely understand how return missionaries feel about how fast their missions went by. By next transfer I'll only have a year left! I love my mission. Halloween has brought on a little bit of homesickness, but being with the people is enough to keep me happy. The holidays might be a little difficult.. BUT we also have so many exciting things coming up. Kayce and Alex are being baptized Nov.16 and Dec.7! I'd rather be nowhere but here through the holidays, it's just weird because I've never not been with family for the parts of the year coming up. 

Updates! Halloween was a lot of fun actually. We aren't allowed to work from 5-9 on that night, so we all had a party with one other district. Oh, I had Tex Mex for the first time with some members. It was SO good. Speaking of food, I made chicken pillows for everyone at the Halloween party! It's one of the meals I miss most from home, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to make it for all the missionaries. Everyone loved it! Mom you'd be proud- it just took me probably an hour longer than it would've taken you!

I LOVE Texans. People always ask me what my favorite thing about being a missionary is. It's not a difficult question at all! The nonmembers, investigators, and members are all just incredible. I love the south. If we do end up tracting, people are generally nice simply because of that good ole southern hospitality. 

Kayce is doing SO good. She's such a solid investigator. She bore her testimony two fast Sundays in a row! She joked about being less active one night, that actually worried us for a little, then, we looked at the facts. She's never going less active. She bore her testimony on faith and hope this past week. Apparently there was an airport shooting I've heard nothing about, but she mentioned it and talked all about how much we need faith and hope in this world. She has come such a long way! 

John Cook is still probably my most favorite person right now. We visit him atleast 3 times a week, during slow hours. He just loves us! Everyone at the facility knows us and is quite jealous John always gets 2 cute girls to come visit him so frequently. We've been singing a lot to him as well and people gather around his room for his visits. He's doing missionary work and he can't even walk! I love it. 

This week I've really loved the New Testament! I read out of the NT, The Book of Mormon, and Jesus the Christ every day. Jesus the Christ is such an incredible book, by the way. It's very deep, but it gives great insight to our Savior and His gospel. One of my favorite scriptures is Matthew  13:45-46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." One of the biggest blessings on my mission is being able to devote SO much time to the gospel and to God. I hope I will always give all that I can for the gospel, because, to me, it is of greater worth than anything.  These versus reminded me of the lyrics to one of my favorite efy songs: "People have told me how to be happy, but I find their remedies empty. These are my pears, God's treasures unfurled, mean more to this girl, more than the world to me". 

God be with Y'all! Or as John Cook says 'byo con Dios'- excuse my horrible spanish but it means Go with God.

Sister Dalling

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 17 from The Colony, Texas

Halloween Costume...this picture is good enough to be blackmail haha

these are my best friends- Elder Rowland and Elder Wells

everyone:)

John Cook and his box (see description below)

Byron :)

Hmm I can't even express how great of a month it's been. But first and foremost:

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dalling!! I absolutely love you. More than a million m&ms. You are such an incredible person. Thank you so much for everything you are to me. I miss you a ton, but we both know I'm where I'm meant to be. When I get back though, I owe you a huge birthday hug. Promise! 

And Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Leatham Grandparents. My goodness, I have the best grandparents with the cutest love stories. You're such an inspiration to me. What a legacy you've created simply by falling in love more than 50 years ago. I love you both so much. 

Byron's baptism was on Saturday! It was pretty amazing. The really special thing about this baptism is I practically lived it a year ago. It's strange being in the role of the missionary now with almost the same story. Byron's girlfriend, Michelle, is just incredible! They both have spoiled us so much. They work at Cheesecake Factory, so yes they definitely took us there a couple weeks ago. Byron is so amazing. I feel so honored I've been able to teach him and be apart of this experience for him. He's also an amazing soccer player, so on Wednesday we are going to one of his games. His baptism was so good! I sang "I Know that my Redeemer Lives" and Michelle and her sister spoke. Michelle's brother in law baptized him. I love them! They took US out to lunch after- they really do spoil us. 

Sunday was a little crazy. We got John and Shirlene to church! It was quite the task though. We had to go pick John up from the rehabilitation center- they dressed him up for church, but Shirlene forgot his black socks and suit jacket from home so we had to drive all the way back to her house because he is super classy and refuses to go to church without them. Anyways it took a really long time and we helped him get ready and we were only 20 minutes late for church. He still got the sacrament so that's the important part! He absolutely loved church. And so did Shirlene! She hadn't been in a church since she was a little girl. Earlier that week we went to spend some time with her and listened to my favorite, Sonatra, on her record player. We also looked through John's box of pictures/letters/keepsakes from the 1940s. There's even a picture of Ray Evans! So many incredible things in that box. I'll have to post pictures next week. I love that man. He's my marine! Speaking of marines, keep my friend Jameson Mead in your prayers. He just got shipped off to Afghanistan. :( John says he'll be fine. ;)

We are so super busy so the mission finally put in some elders in Little Elm! So we are officially only covering The Colony again which is good because we are drowning in work. One more fun thing before I have to go to our district Halloween Party. Trunk or Treat was so fun! So I came up with the ridiculous idea of dressing up as elders! We borrowed suits from our district leader and his companion. Everyone absolutely loved it. I have to give credit to this idea to Elizabeth and I (cantalina's for life).

Anyways I have a ton more to update but it will have to wait til next week! I love you all! I love being a missionary. It's going to be weird not having a baptism this week! ;) 

Forever and Always,

Sister Dalling

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 11 from The Colony, TX

 This was from the day our car overheated and we waited in the nice man's gas station 

 the nice man who tried fixing our car :)

The elders in our district came to the hospital and gave us both a blessing and drove our car home for us. Love the priesthood!  

Thank you daddy for the Imagine Dragons :) My music is the best in the whole mission 

 the fainting incident.. battle scars

Tj's new puppy.. the cutest thing ever. I love dogs.

The week before transfers is so hard! I love my companion and this area SO much. I know for a fact I'm switching houses in The Colony so my address will be different, but we aren't sure yet. It will be sad leaving the Allemans. Megan Alleman is leaving on her mission to South Dakota next week and I have to say I love her so much and know she will be an amazing missionary! We sang for her farewell on Sunday and had a ton of people there! The Allemans are such an amazing family, I feel so lucky to have spent this time with them in their home. 

I don't have much time today but I'll share a few brief thoughts with y'all. I can't express how much I love the people I get to talk to every day! They are so incredible. I'm also so grateful for good parents who want to raise their children in a good church. We are working with all families right now and their children seem to be the biggest motivation. I am slowly realizing how powerful love between a parent and child really is. 

No matter what happens during the week, I always get a strengthened testimony of my Savior each day. I love Him! Sorry if I've shared this quote already, but it is one of my favorites. It's from Bruce R. McConkie in his last talk before he died.

"I am one of His witnesses and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in His hands and in His feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that He is God's Almighty Son, that He is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through His atoning blood and in no other way. God grant that all of us may walk in the light as God our Father is in the light so that, according to the promises, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, will cleanse us from all sin."

Also thank you so much Tom Goins for the letter and articles about how other faiths have recognized LDS members as Christians. It means so much! 

I love you Mom, Dad, Katie, Sara, Jacob, Emily, Quinten, and Prince <3

PS Just in case I'm transferred on Tues 9/17, please start sending any mail to the main mission office, so that your letter doesn't get lost in the mail:

Sister Kristina Dalling

Texas Dallas Mission Office

13747 Montfort Dr. Suite 120

Dallas, TX 75240

Week 10 The Colony, Texas, "Opposition In All Things"

Hey y'all!

The lesson I have learned most on my mission (over and over again) is that there must be opposition in all things. It seems like everything that could go wrong, does. I have tended to forget all the miracles I see because of the hard things. But I am growing every day, and now I can more clearly recognize all of God's tender mercies He has given me. There's no reason to focus on the bad because at the end of the day, I'm left with SO many blessings!

However, there is one crazy story I have to tell just because it turned about to be quite an event. Last Thursday was our planning day. It was a completely normal day, at the end of planning we went out to knock on doors. It was 105 degrees at 6 o'clock.. However Sis Hansen and I are very good at drinking water and we've been in much worse conditions on bike so we didn't think anything of it. We were out maybe half hour and we knocked on a lady named Norma's door. We had a somewhat lengthy doorstep conversation because she had some different ideas about law versus grace. I was sharing my experience with Christ and following His commandments and all of a sudden Sis Hansen collapses! I turned around, she luckily fell onto some short bushes instead of the cement, but she was pale white and unconscious. Jess and I rolled her onto the cement, and as I dialed 911. I was absolutely terrified at the entire situation. The ambulance came right away. I am quite proud of how I kept it together til they got there. I asked the men in Jess's house to get some damp washcloths and a pillow. Sis Hansen was bleeding on her face and her hands from the fall, so I made sure it was controlled. Then, when the paramedics got there and I stepped away, it all of a sudden became very real and terrifying. Sis Hansen has became the best friend I've needed and it was so scary seeing her like that. When she came to, she was hyperventilating, cramped up, and was not very cognizant of anything. They checked her vitals and got her on a stretcher in the ambulance. I got to ride in the passenger seat up front, so that was kind of fun actually. I made a few calls that were necessary to the mission president and his wife as well as a lady in the ward I knew could handle the rest. She followed the ambulance all the way to the hospital and made sure to call the elders to come give Sis Hansen a blessing. She was a huge blessing. I was too overwhelmed to handle much at the time. Basically the rest of the night was spent at the hospital. A lot of oxygen, IV fluid and a blessing brought my companion back to normal. Overall it was 5 hours at the hospital. The mission president even made an appearance. I was so happy to go home that night, I can't even express it with words! We never really found out what problem, but the important thing is, it's all good now. When you have a companionship like Sis Hansen and I, we are basically called on a mission to the doctor's office ;) It's been quite the transfer.

But. After all that craziness came a shower of blessings. We had so many people at church that we invited! It was such a good Sunday. We are working with so many who are progressing with little effort on our part. I absolutely love the people I've met. It's just been incredible being able to share my feelings about the gospel and Jesus Christ and witnessing the outcome of it. The biggest miracle I've seen- which I fasted for- was with a part-memeber family we are working with. The mom has been less active since high school and has a 15 year old daughter and two sons who are 4 and 5. Her husband isn't interested at this time, but he's very nice. They came to church! But that wasn't even the miracle. Her two boys are THE craziest children I have ever met. I absolutely adore them, but every time we go over they throw things at us, hit, and cause huge distractions. They are also the sweetest boys at times. They were absolute angels at church. They behaved so well! The daughter even is good friends with one of the young women. It turned out to be an incredible experience for them. So thankful for the many miracles and blessings I've been a part of.

Til next week!

Love,

Sis Dalling

Week 9 from The Colony, TX

Elder Neil L. Anderson is coming to our mission Sept 11!!!!!!!!!!

It was such an amazing week! I know I say that every week, but it really was great. We got to go to the temple, and it was just the greatest. I love the temple! It was a miracle we were able to get there actually. The temple is about 40 minutes from our house, so we got a ride with our friend Debbie who is leaving for her mission to Brazil in October. About 15 minutes from the temple, I had a prompting that something with the car was going to go wrong so I adjusted my seatbelt so that it wasn't directly on my name tag just in case we got in a crash. I didn't want to freak out my companion and Debbie in case it turned out to be nothing, but surely the car started making really weird noises while we were on the highway. We were going to keep going but Sis Hansen and I both felt we needed to get off the highway. Right when we got off, the car started slowing down and we pulled into a small parking lot right off the exit just in time when Debbie lost control of the car. It was overheated of course and there was smoke everywhere. A really nice man in the gas station close by was able to help us. It still wasn't fixed, because her hose that holds coolant was broken. We should have gone home, but we were all dying to go to the temple. We barely made it there! We were able to escape the craziness of all that and enjoy the temple for two hours. After that we were stranded at a nearby mall until AAA came to the rescue- but it's all good and we made it home safely! 

This week was really humbling. Yes, my body is still giving me a lot of pain and heart ache BUT I have no right to complain- it could be so much worse. I know some incredibly strong people that I love here in The Colony. Belinda is one of my favorites, but trust me I could give yall a whole list of people who will make anyone who has a heart cry because of their trials. Belinda is extraordinary. She was baptized in March. Both of her parents died before she was 18, she smoked all her life before she met the missionaries this year and quit in 2 weeks, she's 40 and on disability because of a really bad knee problem, she hardly has enough money to support herself at all and might not even be able to keep her house by the end of next month. All of this and so many more struggles, and she is unimaginably strong. She feeds us at least once a month because she LOVES missionaries. When the first presidency sent out a letter asking people to donate to the missionary fund, she increased her tithing by 10% even though she can hardly pay for herself. She came to a lesson with us a few days ago, and told the person we were teaching all this and that she has never been happier in her entire life. Because she has the gospel. I love Belinda and her incredible faith and charity. 

I don't have a lot of time for emailing today because this morning, a sister in our ward who has been less active for years called and told us her house was being taken away and there were people throwing her belongings out into her front yard. She is one of the only members in her family, tried all of her friends who were unable to help, and her last resort was to call us. I'm so glad she did! I was so happy to be able to lighten her load a little. We called up all the young men and men we knew would be  home during the day to come help pack all of her things into a moving truck. It was hard work, but this poor family could not have done it on their own. They were so grateful for our help, they couldn't help but cry. I can't believe how lucky I am to have this time to serve so many people. It makes my problems seem like nothing. 

I don't remember if I've shared this before.. but I love it. It is how I feel every day. "I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stores up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for HIs own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear." The Fellowship of the Unashamed

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth." Romans 1:16

I know this gospel is true! Even though this world is absolutely crazy. Even though many people say faith is not enough, there must be solid evidence. Even though some things may not make complete sense because man has distorted the world. Faith is enough. Jesus Christ and the hope that He carries through God is enough for every single soul. We must continue to walk by faith.

I love you Mom, Dad, Katie, Sara, Jacob, Emily, Quinten, and Prince.

Week 8 "Build your foundation upon Christ"

 

Being silly,getting ready to teach an object lesson.. and I'm  so excited to see Despicable Me2

The Sikh temple

 

We had gone to the zoo with Charlie and Sterling. So fun. 

 

These two pics show the beauty of Texas... the sky at least ;)

 

I love Texas with all my heart but, man, the summers are not very pretty. The sky is always beautiful though. Tender mercy from God :)

 

 one of many sunflower fields <3

 really awesome Sikh experience

 

Basically I love my companion!!!!!!!!! 

 

 That cute family is the Petty family.. who unfortunately moved to Utah. She was the one who took us to the zoo. Her kids were the cutest. That was also the night of my first exchange with Sister Heath in Garland. It didn't feel right leaving my companion! I love Sis Hansen.

We were meant to be companions. 

Week 8 "Build your foundation upon Christ"

Happy 22nd Anniversary to the best parents in the world! I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for my parents and their example to me. If they hadn't listened to the spirit when they met and got engaged I definitely wouldn't be here. They have an incredible story and I'm so thankful to be a part of their legacy. My favorite six year old is turning seven this week as well! Again, if my parents weren't who they are, Emily wouldn't be here either. Each birthday of Emily's is a great reminder to me of the importance of a gospel-centered family. Her birth was a miracle, and it was because my parents were worthy of that miracle that we all have a chance of having Emily in our lives. I love that little girl to pieces! I am so grateful that through the gospel of Jesus Christ I get to be with my family forever. Among the abundance of wonderful churches down here, eternal families still stands unique to our church, and it is my favorite thing to share with everyone I meet. Everyone here in The Colony definitely knows of my love for my family!

Something that has remained constant throughout these weeks has been opposition. Even when you are exactly obedient, so many things seem to go wrong. I should say especially when you're exactly obedient, things go wrong. Satan knows how much happiness the gospel can bring to families. He knows how many lives Sis Hansen and I are going to change. He is trying so hard to stop it, but nothing can stop us now! I love being a missionary. I've met so many people who go through such hard things and don't have a foundation on Christ to help them through it. Helaman 5:12 has been my favorite scripture of the week: And now, my sons, remember, remember that is is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his might winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.I know that is true. I have felt it every day as a missionary. The thing is, lots of people have a foundation on Christ here in Texas. They have Christ in their hearts and are such good people because of it. The thing we have to offer them is the fullness of the gospel! We have it all as Latter-Day Saints, nothing missing. We have a prophet who receives direct revelation from God to interpret His word and stand as a witness of Him to lead and guide as back to Him. We ran into a man yesterday who had mentioned he was active in his church and recognized that all the Christian churches interpret the Bible differently. We were able to tell him, we have God's exact interpretation of doctrine in the Bible through a living prophet. He is now a new investigator! It simply makes logical sense that God is greater than all these separate churches with conflicting doctrine. He has His church with the same organization Christ set up with prophets and apostles on the Earth today. I love it. 

Probably my favorite thing about my mission right now is we teaching mainly families. In the past, we have worked with individuals who eventually didn't progress. I believe families have the support system and recognize how the gospel can bless their family. I felt really impressed to look in our area book through the former investigators who had been dropped by previous missionaries. This particular family had been dropped a year ago with no reason why they had stopped taking the lessons. I told my companion we should stop by their house and they turned out to be completely prepared to accept our message. They had stopped simply because last year the mom had been fighting cancer and they were struggling financially so were too stressed and busy to have the missionaries over. As of this week she is 4 weeks cancer free and ready to take the lessons with her husband and son. 

We are also working with a granddaughter of a member whom I love! She is 16 and has had such a hard life. She's pretty much  turned her back on God for reasons not many can blame her for. However we taught her the basic principle of God's love for her and that He desperately wants to love her, she just needs to open her heart. We invited her to pray. The next lesson she said she prayed and kind of got an answer, but she said she knew she wasn't trying hard enough and said she'd keep praying. I know she'll get an answer. She's coming to mutual this Wednesday and is so excited to feel that same love and comfort I have found through God. It's been eye opening to realize that God in reality loves us all equally. If we take the time to recognize that in our lives, we WILL feel it. My testimony of that has grown miles in the past two months.

I'm doing well here. It's hard to believe it's already been 2.5 months. My back, neck, and jaw have been causing a lot of issues so prayers would be much appreciated. God is taking good care of me though. In this one area I know 5 massage therapists very well who are willing to help. One of them just happens to be the best in all of Dallas. The first two times she saw me, there was little progress and she said she's never seen a case so difficult to fix in her entire career.. Then I turned to God and asked some men in my ward to give me a priesthood blessing. She saw me after the blessing and somehow my muscles started doing what she wanted! It's still going to be a long process.. hopefully finished within the next 4 weeks, but I am so grateful I am so well taken care of and blessed. I am not going home til they make me go home at the end of my 18 months.

One last thing I'd like to share that I found. Elaine S. Dalton who used to be the YW general president had a talk called We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father in the last general conference. I loved her closing testimony and I would love to share it. "Today as a daughter of God, I stand as a witness that He lives. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Redeemer. It is through His infinite atoning sacrifice that I will one day return to live with Him- proven, pure, and sealed in an eternal family. I shall ever praise Him for the privilege of being a woman, a wife, and a mother. I testify that we are led by a prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, and I am grateful for righteous men, whose priesthood power blesses my life. And I shall ever be grateful for the strength I receive through the enabling power of the Savior's infinite Atonement as I continue to strive to "act well my part." " I know that with my whole heart. I believe it. I live it. I love it. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share that. 

Happy Birthday my Emily Joy Dalling. I love you forever and always.

Sister Dalling