The Missionary Work Is Moving Along

Hello friends and family,

As I think about what I want to share this week, the lyrics to a hymn keep coming to my mind, “I Need Thee Every Hour”.  This week was full of ups and downs, but I am reminded time and time again that this work CANNOT be done alone. I need the Savior by my side every hour of every day. Yesterday, in sacrament meeting, we sang the hymn.  As I looked at the investigators that came to church, I got emotional. The Lord is the head of this work. I need him with me EVERY HOUR. I cannot do this without him by my side, none of us can. WE ALL NEED HIM EVERY HOUR.

"I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord.

No tender voice like thine can peace afford.

I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need thee.

Oh, bless me now my Savior I come unto thee.

I need thee every hour stay thou near by.

Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.

I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need thee.

Oh bless me now my Savior I come to thee.

I need thee every hour in joy or pain.

Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need thee.

Oh bless me now my Savior I come unto thee.

I need thee every hour, most holy one.

Oh, make me thine in-deed, thou blessed son.

I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour I need thee.

Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to thee."

This week the baptism of the girls will be exciting, 3 of them are scheduled to be baptized, but only 2 may be getting baptized on Saturday. I keep reminding myself that this isn't my plan, it is HIS and everything will work out just the way it is supposed to. Our ward mission leader drove all of us in a big van to Macon.  We met the Elders and the girls got a tour and saw the baptism font.  Our district leader interviewed the girls. BEST DAY EVER. Saturday will be a happy happy day! I told the girls that Heavenly Father is having a celebration in heaven and being able to feel the love He has for them is the greatest thing in the whole world.

We returned home from Macon, and their mom looked right at us and said, "Sister Montgomery and Sister Dahlberg you may not know why you came on your missions, I know you came for my family."  My heart wanted to burst… and I wanted to cry. I know I came here to teach these girls. Heavenly Father knows what he is doing and I am reminded again and again that he is the head of this work. I am just an instrument in his hands. I love being able to help him bring his children back to him.

Funny thing----- we were going through the baptism program with the girls and THEY ASKED ME TO SING WITH SISTER MONTGOMERY AT THEIR BAPTISM............................................Whoa Girls, I am tone deaf. I can't stay on tune and my singing voice is terrible................................ you see my companion, Sister Montgomery is a really, really, really, good singer.  She has songs on iTunes and YouTube. I am convinced she is a famous singer. Well everyone at the branch thinks she is famous because her singing voice is PERFECT.  So you see....... I told the sweet girls that I would practice really hard if they really wanted me to sing.  They started laughing and told me I could do something else, so phewwwwwwwww. I am reading a beautiful letter entitled, “Letter from Heavenly Father To His Daughters.” IT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING. Sister Montgomery gave it to me when I struggled my first couple days. They also asked Sister Montgomery and I to speak on The Holy Ghost. WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR SATURDAY!!!!

White washing the area, which means we are both new to the area, has been fun. Sister Montgomery and I have been able to get to know the people and the area together.  Transfers are at the end of this week, but Sister Montgomery and I will be here for the next 6 weeks or maybe even longer.

This week our branch president wanted so badly experience for us to experience a real Missouri auction, so we went with him and his wife for a little bit......................HAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH MAN................. 

We all need to come back after I return home and visit this area.......I want everyone to experience it. IT IS THE BEST!!! A man in sacrament meeting apologized for not pronouncing a word and he explained that he couldn't say it because he didn't have teeth. THESE PEOPLE ARE THE BOMB!

We had 8 investigators at church on Sunday so that was super amazing!!!!! Lessons went well this week. Sister Montgomery and I made board games to teach lessons for the families we are teaching.  We used them again this week in lessons and they worked very well. It is a fun way to teach.

 President and Sister Morgan called us this week and it is always good to hear from them! THEY ARE MY HERO'S. I love President and his wife SO MUCH! 

We hear it is supposed to SNOW THIS WEEK. AHHH!

 OH HEY-----the mission office can NO LONGER FORWARD LETTERS OR PACKAGES TO APARTMENTS----- SO PLEASE SEND LETTERS AND THINGS TO MY APARTMENT ADDRESS.

UMMMMM--- something I learned this week. Last night, as I wrote in my journal, I reflected back on my experience so far.  I like to think of this life as a track and we are the track runners. Heavenly Father is our coach and Jesus Christ is a fan cheering for us on our race. Satan is the hurdle in front of us.  Are you will me still? I hope so.

We are running this race of life, and sometimes hurdles are put in our path.  Sometimes we clear the hurdles, but sometimes we try to clear the hurdles but end up falling. Heavenly Father is watching and he is cheering us on.  He is our coach he runs over to us and picks us up encouraging us to continue running the race. The Savior makes it possible for us to be able to keep running because of what he did for us.  You see, Jesus and Heavenly Father are our number one fans. There are going to be hurdles in our way. Just as in life, Satan will try to attack us and try to attack this work.  We have people cheering us on and we have the ability to JUMP FAR PAST the hurdle and keep running. Just because we fall sometimes, doesn't mean we can't get back up and SPRINT to finish the race. Yes, sprint, not run, not walk. SPRINT. In the end, we know who wins the race. Heavenly Father wins, he ALWAYS wins. We have a team and we want to make them proud. Together we make up a team and we are all working together, to help each other win the race as a TEAM. We are God's army and we must all stick together. The trophy is far greater than we can comprehend, that I promise you.

Just because Satan tries to put hurdles in our way, just as he did this week with our investigators.  He is trying to stop this work. We all have to keep SPRINTING and work hard to become more like our Savior every day in every way. After all, WE NEED HIM WITH US EVERY HOUR AS WE SPRINT THIS RACE.

This week went by super fast. I can't even believe it is P DAY AGAIN!!!! A new week brings more opportunities to see God's miracles and his hand in our lives and in this missionary work.

Please be happy.

Be good.

Be grateful.

Jesus Christ helps us become more than we ever could become by ourselves.  PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER WHO WILL WIN THE RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I love you all.

very.

very.

very.

much.

HAPPIEST DAY TO ALL OF YOU. Marceline and I send our love and wishes to Utah.

Love, 

Sister Dahlberg 

P.S. the pictures are of when we went with the girls to Macon to give them a tour of the baptism font and where they had their interviews. The next picture is a branch member who is HILARIOUS. She tells us she is beautiful, but then tells us that she isn't positive because she can't see.................hahahahahahahah She is the best!