Another baptism :) Jennifer was baptized by Dallin this past Saturday. She is 14 and a great girl. There was a family who was supposed to bring her to her confirmation on Sunday but forgot so she will be confirmed soon.
So there is a new rule for missionaries in Dallin's area. They only get 30 min to email now. We're guessing there were some missionaries who were exceeding their time limit and now the Mission President has shortened everyone's time. So Dallin apologizes if he's unable to respond to everyone's emails now.
Dallin's mission president said if he doesn't return home exhausted each night then he's not doing his job as a missionary. Dallin said he's exhausted every night so the Lord is happy :)
He's turning into a money hoarder! Which can be a good thing. The exchange rate makes things super cheap in El Salvador. He's able to buy quite a bit with just 10 cents. Dallin said he tried the "pupusa loca" and it was HUGE! Most pupusas are 2-3 inches in size and he said this one was 11-12 inches! He's practically living off of pupusas and said he's going to get fat ;)
Elder Hazelgren and Elder Gallegos have several more families they are helping and are hoping to teach the gospel to. It's so great to see Dallin's enthusiasm towards teaching the gospel to everyone.
Dallin and Jennifer...
It's good to see the elders and their sense of humor!
Dallin got a new companion this week, Elder Gallegos. He is from Peru and speaks NO English. Luckily Dallin is so fluent in Spanish now, they are able to communicate ;) His companion is the senior companion but Dallin is the leader of the area which he said has been hard because his previous companion "ran" the area. We know those missionaries will be blessed for their hard work.
It sounds like Elder Hazelgren is eating quite well in El Salvador. Dallin's zone is the most successful zone thus far and they had dinner at President Glazier's home on p-day. He ate tons of food there and even more at appointments throughout the day. He felt like vomiting from being over-stuffed. Good to know our Elder isn't going hungry!
He has some more baptisms coming up this week. Two of the baptisms are from a family of four. It sounds like the other two of that family will be baptized later.
Elder Hazelgren has a new nickname..."Amazelgren." Apparently he's a really good tree chopper! He is learning the definition of hard work through all his service and missionary work.
This last Friday, our family all received individual letters from Dallin. He also wrote a family letter and at the end of it he bore his testimony in Spanish. It was so neat to read that and see how far he has come already in learning the language. Some of us speak a little Spanish so we were able to understand and translate for the others.
Elder Haze in action....
First baptismal font
Elder Hazelgren and Elder Vasquez had three baptisms on Saturday! Dallin was very excited to share this news. He shared about Hermana Garcia (hermana is sister in Spanish) and said she has had the missionaries visiting her for four years now and always turned them down and refused to change. Dallin said he and his companion even invited her to be baptized several times and she said no. After General Conference, the Elders shared their thoughts with her and she asked "When is my baptism date?" She had a mighty change of heart. She even asked Dallin to baptize her. Hermana Garcia was very emotional the day of her baptism and Dallin said it was the most spiritual experience of his life. Hermana Garcia said "I don't know how to describe it, but this is the best day of my life."
Elder Hazelgren was asked by another sister to baptize her as well (he didn't mention her name). He said all three of the baptisms were miracles. Hermana Garcia is helping Dallin with his Spanish and he said they are developing a good friendship.
I shared a quote with Dallin from President Lorenzo Snow on missionary work. "There is a way to reach every human heart, and it is your business to find the way to the hearts of those to whom you are called." I thought that quote was very fitting and I'm glad Dallin appreciated it as much as I did.
In April of this year, I was able to go to El Salvador on a dental humanitarian trip. Dallin said that the church building we had our clinic in is where he attends church and plays basketball every week. It was cool to hear that.
Ally and Emmy asked Dallin how the showering conditions were there and he said he showers by dumping buckets of ice cold water on himself daily :/ Yikes!
We are proud of Dallin and loving hearing about the great experiences he is having. It was great to hear about his baptisms and pray daily that he and his companion will find those people who are searching for the gospel in their lives.
Here are some pictures from the baptisms...
Hermana Garcia (Bety Garcia)
Elders with the 3 ladies who were baptized (Left to Right: Delmy, Milagros, Bety)
Elder Hazelgren, Milagros, Elder Vasquez
Dallin was sick this past week but despite that, he still has a positive attitude. He said it was a great week! We were wondering if he'd be able to watch General Conference and if it'd be in English or not. He said all the "gringos" were able to watch it in their own room and it was in English. He really enjoyed the talks on Saturday.
The investigators that watched Conference are already changing for the better. He said several of them have set baptismal dates and he is very excited about that! One of his investigators, Eliseo, was very emotional sharing his experience of learning of Christ and said he wants to get baptized. It's great to see Elder Hazelgren's excitement about this work.
Dallin challenged us all to pick one talk from Conference and apply it in our lives. "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."
