Week 16 from The Colony, Texas "Week of Miracles"

Sister Allred & I at the temple

Zone trip to the Temple

Daysie, Sis Hansen and I :)

Daysie, Aimee, and Jeremy

Our dinner the other night was the best! Four kids that all treated us like celebrities and they made us a cake! I love being a missionary!

Temple trip with my Zone

Wow there's a lot to catch up on! 

We hit standards of excellence two weeks in a row which is super uncommon! Standards are the goals we have as a zone that we all strive to achieve. This was a huge accomplishment, but it was also really hard work. 

John is so incredible. He's like a third grandpa to me. He always says the best things like this past week he randomly said "I'm proud to be a Mormon." He's so awesome! We also sent his wife a card two days ago from John and us. In his part of the card he wrote "Darling, Now we can be expressing our love for each other in a beautiful new way. Sweetheart, for ever and ever, now and always. Love, Johnny" Melts my heart!

It was also Daysie's baptism on Saturday! Her grandparents came in from Pennsylvania and her Grandpa baptized her. Daysie wanted to sing "I am a Child of God" to everyone for her musical number. It was the cutest thing! It was incredible thinking if it weren't for missionary work she wouldn't even know that song let alone be baptized! It was an incredible day. 

We also got to go to the temple because our zone reached our baptismal goal for the month! We went as a zone and it was SO special. I really needed it at that time to help me with some answers I've been looking for. God has been so good to me. I feel so blessed. 

At this time, because of all of our success we are getting a lot of praise, but I want to let everyone know it hardly has anything to do with my companion and I. We are simply the conduits that allowed these miracles to happen. This is the Lord's work, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it firsthand. My favorite scripture this week is Alma 26:11-12 "..I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my Bod, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." 

I just have to say, yesterday was just about the best fast Sunday I've ever had. TJ recently made a deal if I quit chocolate for 2 weeks, he'll quit sweet tea- the last thing he has to quit! He's given up tattoos, coffee, smoking, and sweet tea. None of us can believe it. He has no desire to do any of those things again. He also received a calling yesterday for the first time in 16 years and bore his testimony in front of everyone for the first time in 20 years. Also normally I wouldn't bring up baptisms that are a month or more away because a lot of them drop, but this girl we are teaching is solid. Her name is Kaycee and she is friends with a missionary in our ward who had to come home temporarily for some medical reasons. Her first Sunday visiting, we met her and she claimed to be atheist.  We've met with her a lot since then and she loves and accepts Jesus Christ as her Savior and is getting baptized November 16. Her heart and countenance have completely changed. She knows who she is and knows God loves her. She bore her testimony as well yesterday in front of everyone, announced her baptism via facebook AND the pulpit. One of her friends on facebook even asked if she could come to church with her. I love Kaycee! 

Well that's all I have time for today. 

God bless all ya'll and each ya'll. Stay strong out there!

Thank you for your prayers and letters of support. <3

Sister Dalling

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 15 from The Colony, Texas "Best Week Ever"

Brother John Cook- I sang His Hands at the baptism and John absolutely loved it. He later asked us how many times he could be reborn. We gladly said every single week at sacrament!

Sister Allred & Sister Dalling at the baptism of John Cook

Sister Allred, John Cook, Sister Dalling

P-day trip to Dallas with the district!

The spot where John F Kennedy was assassinated

Trip to Dallas

Daisy gave us a present. Her mom didn't even know she what she was doing. But she drew pictures of The Celestial Kingdom- so cute!

Best Week Ever!

So sorry I have super limited time today because we went to Dallas as a district for Pday. But it was such a great week. John's baptism was amazing. General Conference was incredible. I will write more in detail next week- promise!

But most importantly:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I love you so so much. I miss you tons, but I know I'm making you proud. You make me proud to call you my mom. Elder Christofferson's talk simply nailed who my mom is to me. :) 2 Timothy 4 I believe. I love you. 

I will attach some pics to get yall through til next week.

 My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 14 from The Colony, Texas

So excited it's October tomorrow! Fall is so incredible here! It's weird to me that below the 80s is chilly now. However I really love the crisp air and the colors of fall so I couldn't be happier. This week was great, but it's so hard to wait for the coming weeks ahead full of baptisms!

John's is this Saturday after conference! We are so excited for it. He's probably among the most kind, sincere people I've ever met. He loves the gospel! He loves God so much. This past week he told us another detail that helped with his conversion. In 1946 he served in the Marines. He knew a man named Ray who was an LDS marine serving along with him. He noticed whenever they went out to get drinks, Ray would always just drink milk. Ray was made fun of a lot, but stood for his beliefs. He also never judged anyone else for what they were doing and seemed to love everyone. He remembers that to this day! John, at the age of 83 now, has a somewhat limited memory, but he remembers Ray perfectly. He asked us if there's any way of contacting him all these years later to tell him about the baptism. I've heard miracle stories of this happening, but you have to have a lot of access and all we know is he's from Evansville, Wyoming. That would be quite the phone call though! John also asked if I would sing at his baptism. Of course! I'm so excited for my first baptism.

The Davis family is doing incredible as always. Daisy was in the Primary Program on Sunday- it was SO cute. Now that we are covering both wards, we actually had the pleasure of watching both Primary Programs in one Sunday. Best Sunday ever. It's so touching to see how much those kids know. They know who they are and more importantly they know God and of His love for them. At such a young age! How incredible.. It brought tears to my eyes watching The Colony's primary program because I've grown so close to so many of those kids! The Lewis boys- who WILL get baptized if I have anything to do with it hehe, the Riegal boys- who have never been to church until we started visiting their mother, Daisy of course, and this little girl named Emma who reminds me so much of my Emily! I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives.

The other really fun thing we just started doing a lot is service! Little Elm has so many opportunities. We volunteer at the animal shelter and the Food Bank. The animal shelter is so fun! We literally just play with and socialize all of the animals and give them baths if needed. I am just in love with this husky there. We even include in our prayers now that they will all find good homes soon. Volunteering at the Food Bank is incredible. It's so sad, but it gives me a good perspective. Some people can't even afford the bare minimum of essential food. This is an emergency food bank and it doesn't have a ton of support, but it saves lives! So many people came in the morning we helped out. Lots of families would go hungry without it. It was so humbling to see what others have to endure and what they need are things I've always taken for granted. I made sure to thank the Lord super good that day for the food I had. It felt so good to make a first hand difference.

I better get going, but the Relief Society Broadcast was great! I love this church with my whole heart! I'm so excited for conference.

Love y'all and thank y'all for all your support!

Sister Dalling

P.s this picture was from our first week together so since then I have died and cut my hair haha. I'll post pics next week.

My Address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

kristina.dalling@myldsmail.net

Week 13 from The Colony, Texas: Wake me up when September ends..:)

Hello everyone! First off, the most important part, my new address:

5008 Pemberton Ln. 

The Colony, TX 75056

I'm now living with Sister Garcia, whom I adore! Her daughters are off at college so she's all alone and saved the day by agreeing to house us. She's this tiny ball of energy- everyone who knows her just has to love her. And she's a professional cosmetologist- so of course Sis Allred and I are enjoying that. I honestly feel like God spoils me no matter where I go. He must know I need it. It's an outright miracle I haven't been homesick like I was when I left for college. I will go where He wants me to go of course, but for now I am very happy with where I'm at! Oh and fall is so incredibly nice here in Texas! It is undoubtedly my favorite season. 

I absolutely am in love with The Colony. I'm so excited I get another transfer here. So many miracles are happening. In October we are expecting at least 3 baptisms! John- Oct 5, Daisy- Oct 12, and Byron- Oct 19. We've labored for so long, and now God is blessing us with weekly baptisms. It's one of the best feelings in the world to know that I'm making a difference here. The ward simply can't believe the success we've had. 

John has such a sweet story. He's 84 years old and has been married to a member for over 40 years. He never gave any thought to being baptized his whole life until in January he had a really bad fall and needed heart surgery and a hip replacement. He had a blessing by some elders and he said he could feel the power of God exude from that blessing. He said the church that has that power is the true church on the Earth, and ever since then has been begging to be baptized. Since then he's made a ton of progress health-wise and can finally walk, so we have been teaching him the lessons. He just eats up everything we tell him. He loves it! He ordered a large print Book of Mormon and studies it for hours each day. Every lesson he expresses his deep desire to marry his sweetheart in the temple as soon as he can. His baptism is going to be amazing. 

The Davis family- Daisy, Jeremy, and Aimee- are doing so well! They come to church every week, have family prayer and scripture study, and are such a cute family. We are so excited for Daisy's baptism. She's 9 years old and incredible. When we asked what the spirit felt like, she said it feels like there's love everywhere inside you. Her parents really loved that answer. They are also so excited to be sealed as a family. I can't wait to be at that sealing. 

Byron is also a great story! He's dating this wonderful member in Denton, TX outside of our mission actually, but he lives in The Colony. He's been going to church regularly with her for a month. He's a history major and absolutely loves The Book of Mormon because of it. 

I feel so blessed to have these people in my life! There are so many more miracles to come. The huge challenge we are now facing is working with Little Elm as well. We are so busy in The Colony and Little Elm is kind of far and there's not much work going on. That will change of course, we just have to find the right balance. October is going to be such an amazing month! I'm so excited to be a part of such an important step in these people's lives. Thank y'all so much for your continued prayers, letters, and thoughts. 

God Bless all y'all and each y'all!

Sister Dalling

Week 12 from The Colony, Texas

 Since I thought I was getting transferred, I got pictures with a few awesome people :)

My district!! Elders Walters, Wills, Stewart, Rowland, Briggs

Elders Briggs, Wills, and Walters :)

Bethany- a friend of The Stocks in our ward who will get baptized as soon as she figures work out!

Sis Wilson-  Love her. She accidentally colored her hair purple this week and didn't realize until saw herself in the mirror at work! 

Jared- the triathlon guy

It was a crazy weekend! We couldn't figure out housing for the longest time. Up until yesterday afternoon, I was going to have to be transferred to Allen 4th Ward. Luckily the Bishop was inspired and found someone we could live with. I get to stay here another transfer, but sadly Sis Hansen is going to Plano 6 and 8 wards. Oh another bit of change is now I cover Little Elm as well as The Colony! So my area doubled in size. It's going to be a very busy transfer. We have two baptisms coming up in October for Daisy (hopefully Jeremy) and John. The fruits of the work are finally showing. 

It's been an incredible transfer nonetheless. A mission of miracles- especially with my incredible companion and friend. I'm going to miss her so much! It was so sad thinking I was going to leave everyone in this ward as well. One lady in our ward who's husband is not a member yet came up to me on Sunday crying because we were both leaving at the time and her husband is finally beginning  to open his heart to the gospel! They have 5 boys under the age of 12 and we have stopped by and done fun lessons with them occasionally, but for whatever reason Sis Hansen and I have been the first missionaries to impact him. All it comes down to is loving the people I think. It broke my heart thinking I would have to leave. They were going to have some spanish elders who lived a town away try and cover The Colony until housing could be figured out, but that would not do. Luckily God is on our side, this is His work, so He made it possible for me to stay. My new companions name is Sis Allred. I have no idea who she is, but I'm sure we'll have another great transfer ahead. 

Also it's THE weirdest thing to me that It's still nearly 100 degrees every day and it's the middle of September. Well we have to get everything ready for the next sister. I'll be at this address this week I believe, but I'll have to update my address next week for yall. If a letter is sent here when I'm already gone, it's not too bad because I can just come pick it up. :) 

Letter from Kristina's Mission President Devin Durrant

President Devin Durrant, Sister Kristina Dalling, and Sister Durrant

Kristina's start group (29 strong)

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