New Area!: Plano, Texas

The one on the left is my new companion, Sister Greenall! 

NOTE: NEW MAILING ADDRESS:

8708 Clearsky Dr. Plano, Tx 75025 

September 2nd:

Hey Everyone :)

Yes, it was sooo hot this week but we have been working so hard. I think the hardest part for me is having enough energy to do what I need to do at home..like plan, unwind, etc. I didn't think it was possible to yawn while biking like crazy in the middle of the day. I could fall asleep riding that bike. I'm soo happy I've only partially fallen asleep in one lesson- haha. Every time I think I'm working hard, it just gets harder and I realize I never even knew what hard work was. I used to take naps sometimes during lunch, but if I let myself sleep, I go into that super deep sleep and can not get out of it. So! Luckily summer should be cooling down soon. 

Sister Greenall is so great. We have gotten so close this week. She is soo good at guitar! So we jam all the time :) Well..when we can!

We got a lot accomplished this week. We had a super good meeting with the Bishop of 8th ward. The work should move forward very soon! We did a missionary training for combined 3rd hour that went so well. We sang at sacrament too, so the wards just love us! I am loving it here in Plano. The members are the best.

GUESS WHAT? I met some cousins of ours! The Dallings live in our ward. They are so great, we already connected that we are family because of Sugar City, ID. So good to know I have family everywhere I go. 

We met with John Paul this week who is a ysa returning to activity. He is so great! Meeting with him really reminded me that we need to all work on ourselves line upon line. That's how the gospel works! I love the talk by Elder Scott- "I Have Given You an Example." Read it! It's so strange because even though we are in different zones, Elder Munday covers part of my area because of the ysa in Allen. I cover a bit of Allen so he actually found John Paul for us. We had a great fhe with them last night for Labor Day. 

One more new family I have to tell you about!  They are so awesome. The husband is not a member yet but he is so prepared. He recently went to SLC and did the tour there with his family as they dropped their daughter off for college. Even though he has known missionaries for years, he is so prepared now! He said the Spirit worked on him so strongly. So we are teaching him and he came to church to hear us sing! They are such a funny, amazing family. Being with them is just a blessing.

Well I have to go! Hope everyone had a great Labor Day! 

Love you so much,

Sister Dalling

"Remember, heaven is filled with those who have this in common: They are forgiven and they forgive." President Uchtdorf

PS:

The Carrillo family is being baptized on Sept.13!!!!!!!!!! 

It's a miracle! I am so happy for them. That will be such an amazing day.

Also I can't figure out how to do pictures at this library so hold tight!

August 25th:

Hey everyone!!:)

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY, my love :) My goodness, I can't believe you are 8!!! This is such an exciting time in your life, and even though I'm not there physically, I am with you always. You're my little girl! My world would not be the same without you. I will always remember when you were born, and I was the first to hold you in my arms and sing to you [please see previous blog on a letter I wrote about Emily's birth]. A little baby girl stole my heart 8 years ago. I wrote you a birthday card so check the mail this week! 

So I've had an awesome week. Sister Greenall, my new companion is so great! I was nervous about back up training because sometimes trainers don't do the best job. But she is so amazing, she's like a sponge, wanting to learn more and more.  She is one of the best contacters I know now! She loves working hard, which is so great. We definitely get along. We both kind of go insane if we don't work hard, so putting us together is just awesome. I'm excited to see her be one of the best missionaries in this mission!

Plano is really slow right now.. People say when you're in Plano, you 'plan for 0'. Awful, I know!! We're gonna switch that around though. The members are just AMAZING. Member work is really key here, and they are so willing and ready. Covering two wards is a challenge. 6th Ward definitely has more going on then 8th. There's a ton of potential in both wards though, I'm excited.

6th Ward we are going to have a baptism on September 21st!!!! His name is Tyler Chappell. He's adorable. His dad is a returning member. Tyler is turning 9 this Thursday. I love him! He's so ready. Our lessons with him are great. 

I have to tell you about this one AMAZING sister in 6th ward, Sister Walker. She offered to come out with us last night, ended up staying with us for 3 hours. She felt a huge prompting to introduce us to her neighbors, then we visited several part-member, and less active members. We got so much done! She's such an inspiration because she was so nervous, especially with her neighbors but she followed the spirit and said she felt so much calmer after. She's been through so much in life, but you can truly tell that she listens and follows the spirit. And also the Briggmans invited their neighbors to dinner, we taught the restoration! We've been getting so many referrals and so much help from the members.

ALSO. I just got the news that the Lewis boys from The Colony are getting baptized Sept.13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shomari Jr., Ethan, and Jayvin!!!!! I love those boys so much. I'm sooo happy. Miracles do happen! I'm so grateful hearts can soften and change. Wow! Same day as my precious Emily Joy!  Also John and Shirlene are most likely going to make it to the temple in October! John was very sick for a while, they weren't sure if he'd make it but he miraculously recovered. The missionaries there say he still talks about me all the time and reads my letters and shows our pictures to everyone. I will always love The Colony.

I'm looking forward to all the miracles we're going to see this transfer! And I've already been asked to sing at church next Sunday and at Stake Conference in September!! I sang at a baptism on Saturday!:) I love singing :)

I have such a testimony of prayer. Let me tell you! My Father loves me, He listens to me, He blesses me so much. "It is of great significance to me, that I may at any moment and in any circumstance approach through prayer the throne of grace, that my Heavenly Father will hear my petition, that my Advocate, Him who did no sin, whose blood was shed, will plead my cause." -Elder Christofferson

I really love my mission. All I want to do is to be used as a tool in His Hands. I've never felt happier, more at peace, than when I am doing the work of my Father in Heaven.  He knows me, and loves me. And I love Him! I also love my family SO much. "Families are the treasure of heaven." -Elder Anderson

I am a happy missionary! But I could still use a lot of prayers! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Dalling

I'll probably send pics next week! Sorry!

August 18th:

First of all:

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!! I love you so much. I lost track of the years but I know it's over 20! I am so lucky to be your daughter. I love your love story, and I love how I'm a product of it. Thank you for finding each other, following the Spirit, and having an Eternal family. I miss you so much.

So I'm finally being transferred. Sister Reboquio is staying. Now that the time has come, I'm kind of stressed about leaving. God knows I need relationships with people, so He let's me stay in my areas forever, which makes it so hard to leave. Changing never gets easier. Leaving those I love just seems to get harder as I accumulate more people I love. I'm going to Plano 6&8, covering two wards, on a bike, back up training- which means my companion has only been out 6 weeks. This week is supposed to be 100+ all week.. I'm so tired from packing and cleaning and thinking about what's coming. I'm sprinting to the end, giving it all I can. I'm curious to find out what the Lord has in store for me in Plano!! Even though I know it will definitely be challenging, I'm ready and I will answer the call.

I don't have much time today because I still have so much to do! People to say bye to, stuff to pack.

Alisha was soooo sweet! She bought us clothes from Downeast. She even looked in the Book of Mormon and proved we had to accept gifts- haha. She is amazing, so giving. She even cried talking about her family who have passed on, they have their temple work done, and she knows they are just waiting for her. The veil is so thin around her!  So the ward is doing a fast in general for missionary work but I know many will be fasting for her.

All of our lessons this week were really filled with the Spirit. I almost cried in every one, even the dinner thoughts! I usually don't do that. But Sachse is such a sacred place to me. A place where I've really learned to let the Savior carry me.

I have some quotes I wanted to share:

"Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He is the promised Messiah. He lived a perfect life and atoned for our sins. He will ever be at our side. He will fight our battles. He is our hope; He is our salvation; He is the way." -President Uchtdorf

"What an amazing source of power, of strength, and of comfort is available to each of us. He who knows us better than we know ourselves, He who sees the larger picture and who knows the end from the beginning, has assured us that He will be there for us to provide help if we but ask. We have the promise: 'Pray always and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good' D&C 90:24". -President Monson

"Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understanding, and happiness." -President Uchtdorf

I LOVE President Uchtdorf!! He is and always will be my celebrity crush haha in a very appropriate way. Love him.

Wish me luck this week! And please pray for me! Know I will try my best and will realllly try not to complain.

Love y'all!

Sissy Dalling

p.s. pics will be next week probably unless I get back on late! I forgot the memory card.

p.p.s. my address is 8708 Clearsky Dr. Plano, Tx 75025 living with members again!

14 Months :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE! My bestest friend and sister. I love you SO much! You're turning 18!!!!!! Oh my heck. I still feel like I'm 18. I'm so excited to see you again very very soon!:) You're such an amazing young woman. You've always been like a big sister to me and you always will be. Thanks for everything! And Happy Birthday! Expect a package, my love :)

My goodness, I can't believe I'm already at this point. I'm excited for what these last 4 months hold in store though!

Honestly it was kind of a hard week, especially compared to the last 2 weeks. Y'all know by now, that's just how it goes. Up and down, but it's all good! This week we already have 10 LTMPs planned. Last week we only had 3 allll week. And it was hot. We tracted 6 hours almost every day. I think that is mainly because I've just been here so long, I'm simply out of ideas. Transfers will be a good change as hard as it will be to leave.

So sorry there's so much bad news! I'll quickly go through it.

One of our investigators is only common law married and her husband basically believes in having a mistress. She allows it because she loves and needs him so much. It's super complicated and nothing I've ever had to deal with!

Jacob :( We've called a few times this week and he sounds so sad! His wife won't allow us to come over. This week we're planning on having a lesson with him at the Brownings  house so that's good. But still so hard. He's one of my favorite people. Kind of like my younger John Cook.

The Carrillos fed us dinner with the Evans! That was fun. It was super authentic Mexican food. So good! But sadly they didn't come to church. I still have high hopes for them though! It feels pretty lonely in that chapel without our investigators though.

On Thursday we went back to this one family we randomly found last week. They told us they wanted to feed us dinner but we didn't have their phone number or anything. We crossed our fingers, hoping they'd remember and they did! It was so sweet too. They smoked pork, had potatoes and rolls for us. They even made crepes for desert. They are very active in their church but said they were just so touched by what we were out doing all day. It was so touching.

Also Blake is doing pretty well. He's still super intellectual and scared of emotional promptings being the spirit, but  he's taking steps.

Also God is just taking such good care of me. It will be super hot to the point where I don't know if I can knock another house, then He sends just enough rain to cool things down. Not even joking! It happened twice this week.

Our apartment might have been haunted for a night or two... but we got it taken care of!

It will be so hard leaving Sachse, lemme tell you. I love the people SO much. I love having this connection with them. I have been blessed tremendously to have served here. I find out Saturday where I'm going! I really want to go to Heath or out east somewhere!

Have a great birthday Kate, and a wonderful week my awesome family and friends :)

I love you all!

<3Sister Dalling

I love my companion!! She's the best.

Oh and the moon last night was just amazing. Hope yall saw it.

Week 57/58 Best Week Yet!

My sweet companion did this for me for my 13 month mark! She's the best.

This was when we went to the temple with Joakim. I love that place. Gonna miss him!

My district right before transfers. Sister Rust and Ricks, us, Elders Stein and Sasser. Love them!

Sissy R and I :) I love her!! 

Week 58:

Hey Y'all :)

Seriously this was an amazing week. There were multiple miracles every single day. The biggest one- we reached 7 lessons with members present!!! I looked through all the progress records in the area book and within the past 4 years, the highest LTMP week was 5 (we have reached that as well a couple of times). This has never been done here, we could not believe it! Before Elder Munday switched zones, he promised us we would hit 7 LTMP's before I left. Of course, I didn't believe him. Reaching 4 was something of a miracle in itself. But we worked so hard and felt strongly about making 7 our goal. We not only hit that goal but we also had 3 people at church, set 3 baptismal dates, had 4 other lessons, 5 new investigators, talked to 156 people, and  had 2 lessons with less actives. Unbelievable! I still can't believe we did it, and for our reward we watched 17 Miracles last night after planning. Love that movie!

YES, we have baptismal dates!!! Esmirna, and soon we'll count her whole family when we meet with all of them again. Her date is August 23rd, please pray for her because she's still a little unsure. We are taking their family to tour the temple grounds this week. Alisha has a date for August 30th. She is so incredible, love her! And a new investigator, Tristina for August 30th. She's 20 and has a baby. She needs the gospel and she said she had been praying for people like us and we came right away. All of these were complete miracles- all credit to God.

On exchanges with Sister Kerr, we saw a dead dog in the street and watched as it was taken away by animal control. :( That was a bit of a damper. 

We also ran out of money for the month, and I ran out of bug spray..awful I know. I go through a whole can in 2 weeks. So I was getting bit like crazy and I finally said a desperate prayer to God asking for bug spray. The next house we knocked on offered me a HUGE bottle of bug spray randomly. Miracle!! 

We also went to the temple at like 6am, but it was so worth it! I love the temple. Can't wait to go every single week at home.

This week felt so good and it's looking like another great week ahead! I love everyone here so much. I realize my time is soon ending here, but I am loving every second. I've never been more tired in my life but as quoted from 17 Miracles, "It will all be worth it".

Thanks for all your prayers, letters, and support! Sorry I haven't written to individuals in a while, I'll try better this week. ;)

Love you SO much,

Sister Dalling 

ps applying to school sucks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 57: 

You know you've been somewhere too long when you can't 'contact' anyone at the store because you've already talked to them a million times.

Sachse feels like home, especially this past week. It was beautiful weather! Huge tender mercy from God. Felt like I was right back in Oregon. I had to wear a coat tracting one of the days because it was like 70-80 degrees all day, just amazing!! It was truly a great week. I'll start with the bad parts first and then end with the miracles-

I GOT STUNG BY A WASP. TWICE. I was so mad at that wasp. We were out tracting and we were teaching a lesson on someone's porch and it just attacked me out of nowhere and it stung our potential investigator right after me! So you can imagine that lesson didn't last very long. I just keep getting hurt, I don't know what it is! But no worries, I survived.

Also, Joakim left for Norway on Saturday. He won't be back until after I'm gone. It was really sad saying goodbye but we'll stay in contact. He's like a brother to me! He has a lot of work to do up in Norway- the members there would love to hear his conversion story and I pray one day his family up there will accept Christ.

And our phone broke. But the Lord provides! We only had to go for a few hours without a phone. Members let us borrow their phones. One member even gave us their 'go' phone for a few days. The miracle was that the mission office said our phone wouldn't be delivered for another week but 2 days later we got our phone in the mail! The office couldn't believe it. Life without a phone is stressful! But God spoils me :)

Miracles!! So many. Every day!:)

On Tuesday we had Abby come out with us all day. It was so fun having her with us! She is going to be an incredible missionary someday- she was fearless! We went chalking- drew the plan of salvation- and talked to a lady at the park about it. We went to go teach Mary, but she was sick. Her great grandson Jordon was there though and so I asked if he'd be interested. He said yes! Backround- He's amazing! And he sees how much he needs the gospel. It just worked out perfectly that we had Abby with us- they are both 14. He told us he always hears God is real but has never known for himself. We taught him the restoration but ended up focusing mostly on Christ and the Atonement. The spirit was so strong, we all ended up having tears in our eyes. I felt such a strong urgency for him. Like he needs the gospel now, it can change his life forever. He was going down a wrong, dangerous path, but he honestly wants to change. It was such a beautiful lesson. We met with him again that week with Br.Condiff and he accepted the baptismal invitation! His mom and Mary were shocked about everything. He wants to come to church and mutual, it's unbelievable. I love the gospel! I love what I do! The Atonement changed my life, it's so exciting seeing it change another life. The least I can do to show my gratitude to my Savior is to keep working, even after a couple wasp stings. It's all so worth it.

Have I told y'all about Denise? I don't remember if I did. But she is a miracle. We have taught her twice now. We knocked on her door and she invited us right in. She told us E.Merrill knocked on her door a year ago and left a Book of Mormon. Thank you for following the spirit elders!! She still had the book with his name in it. They didn't even teach her anything but felt prompted to leave it with her. She is super active in a Methodist church, but she is so amazing. While teaching her she said "wow, maybe there is a need for a prophet". It will be an incredible journey if she converts, but it is definitely possible.

Jacob's wife finally got back from Jordan this week! We'll meet her later this week. Please pray she will be supportive. Jacob is SO close.

You'll never guess who we taught last night. The Guntas family! If you don't remember, Sis Stephenson and I taught them a while ago. Blake was great friends with the Bishop's sons and investigated the church for a while. We found out it's spelled Giunta..but it was awesome! I felt prompted to stop by their house and they said they had just been talking about us the other day. That had been really busy with a wrestling tournament for a long time but wanted to continue learning. So we taught Blake the restoration again. It was an incredible lesson.

Also we ended up talking to some famous minister for almost an hour! He leads a ministry that travels around the country helping religious leaders 'see the truth' and the wrong in what their teaching. So you can imagine how nervous we were. He only really wanted me to answer because I was 'senior'. Can't tell you how grateful I am for the spirit and for everything I've learned here in Texas! He loved what I had so say and mostly ended up helping us know how to correct false doctrine we run into each day talking with all the faiths we do. He said it was refreshing to see young girls like us who know so much and dedicate so much of ourselves for our beliefs. Nicest minister I've ever talked to! He owns For His Glory if  you're curious.

We had interviews this week with our zone. President and Sister Taylor are so amazing! They talked a lot about foreordination. They were meant to be here with us and we were called to be here in the pre existence. That is an undeniable truth! I have had so many confirmations that I was meant to be here at this exact time to meet specific people. Also I loved how they defined success and how to achieve it. Success comes after all we can do and then is something we choose for ourselves. Being successful means you feel the spirit constantly guide you and are happy! I love it! So grateful for all the success I've had.

There's a lot of excitement about missionary work in our ward. We have some amazing investigators. The Lord is with Sister Reboquio each day. I'm doing everything I can to make my Father proud. I will give til I have nothing, work until he stops me, go until I drop. Please keep us in your prayers. We know we can baptize in August, but it's going to take a lot of faith.  We watched "Legacy" this week and it was just the motivation I needed. My ancestors worked so hard for Zion. Some even died for it. They left a huge legacy of faith. I'm so grateful to feel just a glimpse of hardship for the cause of my Savior. I echo the original apostles of Christ- who in their hour of persecution went "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." Acts 5:41-42

Four more weeks of this transfer! One day at a time. I love my companion! Don't know what I'd do without her.

Thanks for all the support! I love all y'all and each y'all!

Love,

Sister Dalling

36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Week 55 / 56 Staying in Sachse!... Time just flies by

My district right before transfers. Sister Rust and Ricks, us, Elders Stein and Sasser. Love them!

My sweet companion did this for me for my 13 month mark! She's the best.

Week 56

I just hit my 13 month mark! Can not believe how fast everything is going. I feel like my life is just like that huge boulder that almost crushes Indiana Jones during the ride at Disney. I'm hangin in there though!

Yesterday was Sister Reboquio's 20th birthday!! She is SO amazing! There's not much you can do to surprise your companion since we're together all the time. But I did what I could! Cleaned the kitchen, made lunch, wrote a note on the mirror, texted her favorite members at church to wish her a happy bday. Joakim set up the best birthday surprise of course! He is so good at giving gifts. They got her roses and a beautiful music jewelry box. Also really yummy cake and our favorite- Ben&Jerry's! We are both addicted to that stuff.

I'm so lucky to be with her 3 transfers. That is a long time in missionary time! Hardly ever are companions together for that long. But we need each other. It has been so hot this week, we've really had to keep the other going and remembering why we do this. Ohhh and my knee.... So it's just been kind of a rough week overall. I fell and skinned my leg. My knee is disgusting, it's just raw. I've been doing a very good job at cleaning it- which hurts a ton! So it's healing up pretty fast, but it still hurts to walk on and very annoying to deal with. All that just made this week a little hard because we did a lot of walking and working in the sun in 100+ weather. We didn't find any new investigators which was kind of a bummer. We have to remember there are up and down weeks, so it's okay! Of course there are still always miracles. The Carillo family all came to church! Roberto's mother- the member from Mexico- is in town. She had wanted to go to the Spanish branch but Esmirna said "I want to go to our ward, I'll just translate for her." So that's what she did! So happy she considers this her ward family. I love them!

We're trying to think of more creative ways of working so we don't tract so much. So tomorrow we are doing something way fun! For a young women's project, we are going to have a YW in our ward be a 'missionary for a day' with us. She's going to start early morning till almost the end of the night. She's so excited and we are too. I think it will be a great experience for her.

Joakim is going out of town for 6 weeks so I won't see him for a lonnnng time after today! So sad, but he probably needs to see his family in Norway every once in a while. His poor mother- haha.

Well thanks so much for everything! For all the support and prayers. It's so great to be surrounded by so much strength and faith. Jesus Christ keeps me going. I'm not finished yet, but lemme tell you, I will be ready when the time comes.

Week 55

Hey y'all! 

Yep I'm staying in Sachse. I'm excited!! But so tired, not going to lie. I've grown so much these past 6 months, and growing is tiring. Sister Reboquio has been the hugest blessing though. I can't thank the Lord enough for her. She is so patient with me! We are going to see miracles these next 6 weeks, guaranteed. Also I'm working on being more bold, so pray for me!

The big event of this week was meeting the new mission president. President and Sister Taylor are amazing of course! Sister Taylor is so sweet and they have an adorable family. We are focusing on Becoming One around the mission, our wards, as companions, and around the world. Because we need to make God's will our will. 

I really don't know what to say, which is weird because I usually do! It was a great week. We are working hard. The 4th of July was AMAZING, just like it always is. It seriously might be my favorite holiday, possibly tied with Christmas. We mostly helped Joakim clean out the garage. That night we went to go contact at a festival, but we weren't allowed to. So we ended up going home BUT we watched the fireworks from our apartment and they were amazing! It was Sister Reboquio's first real fireworks show, she loved it. 

Don't have much time today because we need to say goodbye to all the missionaries getting transferred! Love you all. Pray for me this transfer! 

Much Love,

Sissy Dalling

Write ME!

Sister Kristina Dalling

6360 Murphy Rd.
#123
Sachse, TX 75048

or email:

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 53 & 54 News from Sachse, Texas!

It was really sad saying goodbye to the Durrants. They are both so amazing! I can't believe how much they have sacrificed for us. I will miss them so much!!

Tj is basically the big brother I never had but always will have now. He's incredible! And I couldn't ask for anyone better than Kaycee to spend forever with him. 

I love these funny pictures! This is just their families. 

Nothing like a trunky, kissing picture at the temple!

Week 54-

Wow everyone, I can't believe it's already the last week of the transfer. This is the first time I'm not really anxious for transfer news. At this point, I really just want to be where Lord wants me to be. Where He thinks I can make a difference. Whether that be here or somewhere else, we'll find out.

It was a great week in Sachse! We taught more lessons this week than we ever have here, I'm pretty sure. It felt great. Of course, we still had time for a ton of tracting. By the way I have like 15 mosquito bites! And yes, I spray bug spray every day! My companion doesn't even have 1. I guess I need more trials in my life or something-haha. I feel like I've been in the refiner's fire for 6 months. It's been hard, but the results are great.

This week has been super 'filipino'. Every where we go we seem to run into Filipinos- it's been so great! Sister Reboquio is going to be able to touch so many lives! One of the members in our ward-Sister Anderson- is like my Sachse mom. She is literally just like my real mom, it's weird. She is good friends with her sons' former teacher who happens to be Filipina. We had dinner with them twice this week! I've been eating so much Asian food. It's all really good though and I know Sister Reboquio loves speaking her language and sharing in their culture.

Jacob is doing just amazing. I love him! He's like an uncle to me. I can't wait to go to the Holy lands with him someday. It's so nice having connections!

Alisha is also doing really well. She is so strong.

Esmirna is feeling a little pressured, so please pray for her.

Speaking of baptisms I sang at TWO on Saturday! One of God's tender mercies to me.. being able to sing nearly every week of my mission. I love it!

Don't have a ton of time today, sorry. But know I'm working hard and loving it! Even the weather hasn't been that bad yet. Just the bugs. Well I sure love yall a lot!

-Sister Dalling

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Week 53-

My wonderful Family and Friends,

I had a great week! Lots of hard work and roller coaster of emotions, but as always it's been amazing.

There's a lot to cover with not much time, so sorry if I don't get everything!

Monday- We found a new investigator who just let us in. He's quite the person. I haven't met anyone like him yet. He grew up Christian but then later on got so confused by all the religions he kind of just set it all aside. He is so much confused by it all now so much that he doesn't even know if he's a Christian. He says there's just so much out there and it's impossible to prove any of it as THE truth because we all claim to have the truth. It's going to be an interesting process teaching him. He doesn't like when we say 'I know these things are true or I know...etc'. But I do know it! So it's impossible not to say those words.

Wednesday- Singing at the Spanish Specialized was fun even though we didn't understand any of it. I still can't believe President Durrant asked me to tour the mission with him for these trainings. It was such a great experience sharing his testimony through the song I sang. We also taught Jacob again. He's doing so great. He says he knows this church is true! He is such a testimony to me..of prophecy being fulfilled, of intellect and faith, of the Book of Mormon, etc. He is studying that book backwards and forwards because he's thirsting for knowledge of the gospel. He's truly feasting upon the words of Christ. We love him!

Thursday- We literally tracted all day. Usually this is our planning day, but we both felt that since we were spending so much time in specialized trainings, we were just going to plan in any of our down time such as lunch/dinner/inthecar. I'm super lucky I have such a great companion who loves to work and have fun. Tracting would be pretty awful otherwise. We always meet really interesting people. I love Texans. I hate mosquitos.

Friday- This was a great day. We got to see everyone at the last Specialized. It was really sad saying goodbye to the Durrants. They are both so amazing! I can't believe how much they have sacrificed for us. I love how anyone can easily see their priorities: God then family. I'll miss them so much! Later that night we went to a 'movie night' our district put together for investigators and members. We watched the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration video. Esmirna and her family came. It was a great experience EXCEPT Satan had to throw in his efforts. The fire alarm was going off the entire time and nobody could turn it off. Everyone still stayed and watched the whole thing though, so it turned out alright.

Saturday- I probably had the best few hours of my entire mission on Saturday. Tj and Kaycee Michalow were sealed June 21 at 1pm. It was such a spiritual experience. It made me really excited to get married someday to be honest! It's such a beautiful thing to know that marriage is eternal. They looked so happy. There were many tears. So many people I didn't even know thanked me for my hand in it. Kaycee thanked me for following the spirit and serving because eternal families is our entire goal as missionaries. Even though I feel I was just lucky to be there at the right time and place, it was so amazing seeing the highest rewards of missionary efforts. It makes every second worth it. Every rejection, every meal skipped, every sleepless night, every tear shed, every sweat drop, every prayer of plea worth it.

Sunday- We had a great lesson with a less active sister, Sister Gonzales. She has a lot of health issues which is mostly why she doesn't come to church. She has a strong testimony. We all ended up crying when she said no matter what she does she knows God loves her because every time she needs someone, we show up at her door within 24 hours. I can't tell you enough about how important it is to follow the spirit. And she committed to come to church next week no matter what.

We also stayed in the zone leader's ward to hear Elder Munday's last testimony before he left for medical testing. I feel so extremely lucky to have spent the last 6 months in this zone with this incredible elder. Anyone else would have gone home long ago. He's an amazing example of serving God to the end. This is a pretty scary trial to go through but he's facing it with faith and confidence that God's plan will prevail. Keep him in your prayers please.

Well that was my week! Quite the roller coaster right? Wow, I love my mission!!

Trying not to think about all the crazy decisions I have to make for after my mission, but there's no avoiding it.

Love all y'all and each y'all!

Sissy Dalling

Write ME!

Sister Kristina Dalling

6360 Murphy Rd.
#123
Sachse, TX 75048

or email:

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Happy Father's Day: Week 52 from Sacshe, Texas

Hey Everyone!!

Happy Father's Day to all those amazing men out there. Especially my daddy. You've done soo much for me I can't even put into words how much I love you. It was so fun singing at the lessons we had. Some of the highlights.. On Tuesday the zone leaders (e.munday&e.meads) came with us to teach Jennifer and Josh. I sang "Come, Thou Fount", one of my favorite songs. The spirit was really strong and it was a great lesson. My other favorite time was at Esmirna and Roberto's lesson. President and Sister Durrant came and to teach about The First Vision I sang "Joseph's First Prayer". The spirit there was undeniable and their family accepted the baptismal invitation! I seriously love that family so much. I also sang at the Specialized Training out east in Tyler, TX. I got to see Sister Nance! It was so much fun being the only sisters in a huge conference. Everyone loved the song. It was really sad seeing the Durrants say goodbye to those missionaries. Pretty soon President and Sister Taylor will be here. This week I'm singing at the Spanish Specialized Training as well as our S.Training on Wednesday and Friday! Singing at every lesson also made me miss my dad! Singing is what our family does. Some of our best memories are gathered around the piano or doing 'concerts' for mom. Even on school nights sometimes staying up until midnight singing while my dad plays piano. I love my dad, couldn't ask for anyone better. I'll always be your little girl!


Click here for Youtube song-->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4rZbfCNTpQ

I have the best parents in the world. I say over and over again, God really spoils me. I feel like God has put me in the most perfect conditions for me. He has the perfect plan and He's held my hand the whole way through. So I'm eternally grateful for my Heavenly Father.

I hit my year mark on Thursday! Cant believe it. Time is a funny thing, sometimes it seems so slow but then you realize a whole year went by in the blink of an eye.

Robert moved to Arizona. It was so hard saying goodbye. We've grown really close, especially through that experience with Judy. 

Jacob is doing pretty well. He's studying the Book of Mormon like crazy, he knows its true! There's just a lot of cultural pressure that is holding him back from baptism. Keep praying!

Going out east we got to ride with the Assistants and Elders Evan and Lee. It was so weird being in a van of elders! It was a lot of fun. Assistant Larsen even got pulled over on the way there. Luckily he just got a warning because he was following the speed on the gps rather than the posted sign..oops! The cop was a true Texas ranger though, it was really funny. Afterward we went to really yummy Texas bbq at this little place called Stanleys. It was sooo good!

Stanley's bbq! That burger was HUGE. and yes all those napkins are from wiping grease off. So yummy though.

On Saturday we did a free lemonade/bible/bookofmormon stand with a few companionships from the Zone. It was really fun. We made posters and got cars to stop by and see what we were all about. It was a great, fun, easy way to introduce the gospel.

This week we get to go to Tj and Kaycee Michalow's wedding!! The timing is just right that I get to go! Again, God spoils me. I'm so excited to see them sealed in the temple! It will be my first sealing. I just love the temple!

Can't believe I'm coming up on 6 months in Sachse! But I love it, it'll be sad when it's over. This transfer is already halfway through!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I couldn't be happier!

Love,

Sister Bina Dalling

Write ME!

Sister Kristina Dalling

6360 Murphy Rd.
#123
Sachse, TX 75048

or email:

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Compared to Oregon this isn't super out of the ordinary, but east Texas is so much prettier than the city. There are so many trees! I really feel deprived.

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