Blessings

Like I mentioned last week, Dallin is in a very dangerous area. He mentioned two specific occurrences that happened this week where he and his companion were protected from dangerous and sad situations. He is very grateful for those people who as he said "are worthy enough of the spirit to help out the dumb elders." We are grateful as well that Dallin continues to be safe. It's comforting to know that he feels ok with the situations and knows he'll be safe.
Their stake a talent show and the missionaries got permission to go. He really enjoyed it. Each ward did a talent. He sent a picture of the little girls in his ward doing a dance. (the picture is pretty blurry, sorry.) We are always so happy to hear from Dallin even if it's telling us how scary his area is!

 

Happy Mother's Day

It was so good to talk to Dallin on Mother's Day! He is doing really well and looks good and happy. He Skyped us from a member's home. She is his cocinera which is basically their chef. He said she makes them really good food! Dallin's companion is from the Dominican Republic and asked us to speak to him in English so he can learn it better! Dallin really enjoys his companion. They get along really well. The work is progressing in El Salvador and Dallin is so grateful for that. He did say they are in a dangerous area but feels blessed that they haven't had any problems. Dallin's Spanish is coming along so great! He has a slight Hispanic accent :) He doesn't think he does but its cool to see him working so hard to speak the language so fluently. His mission is getting a new mission president in July. He is from Guatemala. Dallin said the new president and his wife are actually moving to El Salvador very soon so he can "learn the ropes" a little sooner and see how things  have been going. Dallin bore his testimony to us in Spanish. He speaks the language so quickly, just like a native! It was awesome to hear his testimony even though most of us didn't understand a lot of it. We are so grateful for Dallin and his example.

Zone Pictures

Dallin didn't say too much this week since he'll be calling home on Mother's Day. He sent a few pictures of his zone and said he is doing well! I'll update on Sunday after we talk to him.

Family Baptism

Elder Hazelgren had a great week! He and his companion Elder Martinez baptized a family; a mother and her two children. The father isn't a part of the family but Dallin said this family is very humble. They have several more baptisms coming up soon which Dallin is excited about!
He was able to play soccer again this week! He's happy to keep his skills up.
There was a national service project that people all over participated in. They helped clean up a river. Unfortunately the Elders weren't able to participate very much in the service project; they were asked to get referrals in that area. He and his companion were successful but he was a little bummed they weren't able to help clean up the river.

Soccer!

Dallin's companion planned an activity with another zone for P-day. They played soccer and ate at the place famous for pupusas. He enjoyed every minute! He said he's not used to playing in dirt so he said he couldn't control the ball real well. Looks like he needs to brush up on his skills!
In El Salvador, they don't celebrate Easter. Instead the celebrate Semana Santa. This is a week celebration and it means holy week. It's a week where they remember Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection. They celebrate by usually going to the beach and eat foods that are special for Semana Santa. Dallin said this week is one of the hardest for missionaries because most people are celebrating and because they are mostly at the beach. BUT, Dallin said this was actually his most successful week in the mission! He has several baptisms coming up which he is very excited about.

The guy in the middle is an investigator who has stopped drinking and smoking and

has a baptism in June.

Good week

Dallin had another week where he was able to email chat back and forth. No pictures this week though :(  He said things are going really good. He loves his new companion; they get along really well. He had a pretty interesting experience this past week. They did a surprise visit to two elders and were shocked to learn what they did and have been doing. Unfortunately those elders were asked not to go and teach until given the ok by the mission president and had an emergency transfer. It's always interesting to hear about Dallin's experiences but this was by far the most interesting so far. He sounds really happy from the emails back and forth.

Exciting week

Dallin didn't send a "formal" email per say. He IM'ed my mom and both mom and dad happened to be online at the same time so they were all able to chat. He did send some pics though! 
He had a great week. He was made Zone Leader. He is still in the same area but his new companion is from the Dominican Republic. His name is Elder Martinez and he has been in the mission field for about a year. Dallin said he lives like 5 minutes from Walmart and a mall!
Elder Hazelgren is really enjoying himself. He was able to do some service (he didn't elaborate) but he loves doing service. 

                         Elder Hazelgren and Elder Martinez

                       The Zone eating lunch (notice it's KFC!)

                         Service time!

                    The Castro Family