April 27th, 2015
Hi, it is me again.
It sounds like a lot is going on at home.
Graduation, Finals, Weddings, ETC. ISN'T
LIFE GREAT? It is really cool to see where everyone is taking their lives! I
wish you all the best.
Last week, I was asked to give a Book of Mormon
training class and I was so happy to do so, I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON!
On Monday night I called Felicia, a recent
convert while we were driving,,,,meanwhile Sister Ewell was thinking that we
should call her. We got on the phone
and all she could say was NOOOOOOO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY. She was with a former
investigator and he was trying to call us...but the line was busy because we
were calling her! Jessie got on the
phone and told us he was ready to take the lessons again and to be eventually
baptized on his own time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MIRACLE. We have been teaching him and
he loves God so much it is inspiring. We set a date for him to prepare for May
23rd!
We got everything done and
our day planned on Tuesday, so we went to bed a couple minutes early. We were
so tired. Long story short, The ZLS kept calling us but we thought..... we are
not going to answer..... we are in bed..... then they called again. I decided we should call them back. They told
us some great news. We are having a
mission conference on Saturday and the president of the 70 is coming, bishop
Stevenson, and QUINTON L. COOK is all COMING TO OUR MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hit 7 months this week. I don't have my seven
month picture because everything seems to have been crazy lately.
OH, I ACCIDENTALLY DRANK BUTTERMILK WITH MY
CEREAL INSTEAD OF MILK. I am here to
tell you about it. DEVASTATING!!! I thought I was going to throw up. OOPPPPPSSS
you live and you learn right? hahahahahahaha
We met Miranda a girl working at the food pantry
and she knows so much about Mormons. We gave her the pamphlets and she was the
sweetest girl ever. I WANT TO TEACH HER SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!! She had the greatest
questions.
We had stake conference this week and it was great.
President and Sister Morgan spoke, and I learned lots. Here is a question to
ask. A lot of people love the Cardinals here, right? Well President Morgan
asked the question do we have session tickets to the temple?" I love that.
Sister Morgan told a remarkable story about their son that was involved in an avalanche
and how priesthood power is real. I
learned about the story of David and Goliath, and how we all have Goliaths in
our world that we need to slay. President got to meet the Dambachers and Sammy
our investigator at conference, which was super amazing!!
I had a good talk with Sister Morgan. President
and Sister Morgan are miracles for me.
When we were walking out of stake conference, we
told President and Sister Morgan about my buttermilk incident. They got a laugh about that one. President
was like..... OH NO..... and we all just laughed. He told us that by June/July we are loosing
about 60 missionaries. With this transfer only 3 are coming in. YIKES.
HOPEFULLY WE START GETTING SOME SISTERS AND ELDERS SOON! Hey everyone, come on a mission to St. Louis
(:
Transfers are this week and I am not sure if I
will stay or go. We will get transfer calls on Saturday. I can’t believe
another transfer has come and gone.
I love you and all of your support.
May 4th, 2015
Hello to everyone,
WELL I JUST CHOPPED MY HAIR AND I AM HEADED TO
THE CITY. WEBSTER GROVE (St. Louis) . I AM LEAVING JACKSONVILLE. I am surprised, but I am excited to serve in
the city. I heard my new companion is very sweet. President said that it would
be a good move, just like the others. I didn't really think I was leaving and
then when they said Sister Ewell was getting a new companion and I was like......
WHAT??? WHERE AM I GOING??? But I know that Heavenly Father now needs me
somewhere else to serve his children!!
THIS WEEK. All I want to talk about is mission
conference. We are still recovering from waking up at 4:15 a.m. But it was the most amazing day. BEST DAY
EVER!!! ALL THE MISSIONARIES GOT TO SHAKE THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES HANDS AND
ELDER COOKS!!!!!!!! They wanted to make sure of it. I sat with Sister
Montgomery on one side and my companion was on the other side. WE SAT FRONT ROW, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. I turned to Sister Montgomery giggling telling
her that we needed to be good. hahahaha Fun
fact. Elder Cook and Elder Holland were missionary companions!
I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT. BECAUSE
IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE. There was time to ask questions and then
they all answered, “ How the Spirit inspired them.” We actually received advice
from them!!! Then they all spoke to us. I didn't put my pen down. I want to
share some of the things I learned on our phone call for Mothers Day. I WAS JUST SMILING SO BIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
KNOW THAT WE HAVE A PROPHET AND APSOTLES TO LEAD AND GUIDE US. MY TESTIMONY GREW SO MUCH. TRULY, THE SPIRIT WAS THE STRONGEST I HAVE EVER
FELT IT.
"We wanted to meet with you. You are the
heart of the church." Quinton L. Cook
"The Lord’s work is work, but it is sweet
labor." Bishop Stevenson
"When you get missionaries together, we
will get spiritual impressions." Quinton L. Cook
"You are at the best place you could be
right now."
"You succeed when you invite, regardless of
what happens." Quinton L. Cook
Seriously, I have so many notes I want to share.
Hearing the testimony of Jesus Christ's leaders and apostles was something I
will always remember. The spirit was beaming. I KNOW THIS CHURCH IS TRUE WITH
ALL MY HEART.
"I know The Savior’s voice. I know what He looks like." Quinton L.
Cook
At the end of our conference we all sang, “I
know my Redeemer Lives.” I looked at Elder Cook and he had tears running down
his cheeks. I felt the spirit so strong
and I got a confirmation again that this is THE TRUE CHURCH AND I AM RIGHT WHERE
I NEED TO BE, SERVING OUR SAVIOR AND REDEEMER. Never will I forget the feelings I felt at
mission conference.
Now when I put on my missionary tag every
morning, it means so much more, not saying it didn't mean a lot before. But I
feel like I am growing so much closer to the person I wear on my nametag.
"You are loved by the Savior and you are
loved by the leaders of the church." -Elder Cook
It was so fun to see all my companions. A bunch
of us went to lunch together and it was fun to catch up and to hear about all
the different areas.
This week we have been working out with a recent
convert, to help prepare for her mission, we wake up early and it has been fun.
Illinois sure is getting green! While we were out today running/walking it was
pouring rain.
I still can't believe I am leaving. I just got off the phone with President Morgan
and he said it is going to be fun to have me closer to the city. I AM
EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!! I told him I will be sad to leave Jacksonville, but I know
that Heavenly Father needs me somewhere else.
Saying my goodbyes is so NOT fun. You come to
absolutely love the people and they change your life forever and then you have
to say goodbye. But the best part of it all is that Heavenly Father’s plan is
perfect and I trust him with all of my heart.
The White family emailed me and they want to be
sealed in in the Nauvoo temple. Our mission rule is that we cannot leave our
area. So I told them the news and this
was their reply.
"We will wait until your mission is
completed, a few months won't matter in a 20 year journey." They changed
my life forever. My mission has changed me forever.
Regarding Mother’s Day, I have NO IDEA where I
will be calling from and what time, not a clue, since I will be in a different
area!!!! Please just stay by the phone!! I can't wait to talk to you family!!!
MOM, DON'T OPEN YOUR PACKAGE UNTIL MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL! I REALLY AM SO HAPPY!!!!
I think I forgot to mention this, one night my
companion chopped 8 inches off of her hair with normal scissors!!!!!! I almost
had a panic attack. Before she cut it, I
told her she should sleep on her decision. She had me cut the back
and I tried my best but did it super UNEVEN. YIKES! I am learning so much on my mission. I now
know that I will not have a career in hair cutting. hahaha
May 11, 2015
Hello to the people I
absolutely adore,
I woke up this morning and I was debating if
talking to you yesterday was a dream or not. hahaha It was so great to see your
faces and to hear your voices. My heart was happy. I love you all so much, but
I KNOW that I need to be here. 10 months will come sooner than we can imagine.
I FORGOT TO SHOW YOU MY SIGN LANGUAGE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE
BEEN PRACTICING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I am in the city of St. Louis and I can't
quite seem to believe it. There are people, cars, stores, more stores, Target
and T J Maxx, and I don’t even know what to do with myself. At church yesterday
there were so many people, it was so loud, and I was in shock. It almost felt
like a ward in Utah, but different. We split the area with a set of elders and
the APS are serving next to us. We have been giving them referrals and they are
having some success from our referrals, which has been neat to see. The Lords
work moves forward in every area, GOD CARES ABOUT ALL OF HIS CHILDREN.
Obedience truly brings blessings.
We are doing everything we can to meet people,
to start teaching. We are trying to build up the teaching pool and to prepare
people for baptism. STREET CONTACTING FOR DAYS. BUS CONTACTING FOR DAYS….just talking to
everyone.
My new companion is from Las Vegas and she is a
genius, physics major. SMART GIRL. She is 22 and she is the sweetest human in
the world. She went to BYU for 3 years before her mission. SHE IS A HARD
WORKER. SHE IS DETERMINED. SHE HAS FAITH. SHE IS POSITIVE. SHE LOVES THIS WORK.
SHE IS STRONG. SHE IS OBEDIENT. SHE IS ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE. I LOVE HER. We
laugh.... oh boy do we laugh..... This morning we had to go to the dentist. She was certain she was going to have to get
her teeth pulled out and get a set of dentures.
We found out that she just had some popcorn stuck in her tooth.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. At night before we
go to bed, we just giggle and talk about the day. WE ARE DETERMINED TO SEE THE
MIRACLES EVERY DAY. WE ARE GOING TO LEAVE THIS AREA BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT. WE
ARE DETERMINED.
A lot of people here are going to Medical
school. I have loved being here and getting to know this area.
I am just really grateful for my mission. Oh,
the things I have learned, it is amazing. I couldn't do this without The Lord.
I am so happy I am helping Him in his work. After all he has done for me, I am
happy to give back as much as I can. Here are a few things I have learned. JUST
A FEW.
1. I can do HARD THINGS
2. MAIL IS GOLD
3. GOD IS GOOD
4. It is possible to burn eggs.
5. God loves us. It is pure and simple.
6. Jesus Christ is the light.
6. Jesus Christ is the light.
7. The people you meet on your mission will
change your life forever.
8. If you want to make God laugh, tell him YOUR
plans.
9. Obedience brings blessings, it is simple.
10. If you aren't laughing, you are doing
missionary work wrong.
11. TALK TO EVERYONE.
12. Miracles are everywhere. LOOK FOR THEM.
13. You can never give out too many Book of Mormons,
pass along cards, and pamphlets.
14. Everyone gets as many START OVERS as they
need, the beauty of the Atonement brothers and sisters.
15. It takes over 3 hours for my hair to dry in
this humidity.
16. Wearing my nametag still makes me giddy and
oh so happy.
17. Being tired all the time is normal,
completely normal.
18. Homesickness is normal, but it will go away
the harder you work.
19. God answers prayers. God loves his
missionaries and he carries us through this work.
20. Don't wash whites with blues.
21. TRUST. Walk when you can't see and hold to
the rod.
22. LOVE CHANGES PEOPLE. (Thank you Sister Montgomery)
23. JESUS CHRIST LIVES.
24. I represent the person I love the most, Heavenly
Father and his perfect Son.
25. As I try to save others, GOD SAVES ME.
And the list could go on and on and on. I love
that my name is Sister Dahlberg. I love that I am a missionary here and now.
Have a happy week. I love you all.
SISTER DAHLBERG!!!
May 18, 2015
I just want everyone to know that I love you and I am
grateful for my service as a full time missionary. Best decision I have ever
made.
St. Louis is the city of miracles. I love it
here.
We were teaching a lesson with one of our
investigators, Lulu, and she needed to go somewhere to get her passport, but
was really struggling. We had another appointment with another investigator,
but the spirit told me to not worry and to go with LULU. I looked at my companion and I said, “We need
and should go with her.” We asked LULU if
we could go with her for support and she just started beaming, she couldn't
believe that we would go with her. So we took off and sprinted and I mean
sprinted with Lulu to catch a bus. The
bus stop was far away and we only had 8 minutes to get there. We were running
and Lulu was super tired and we encouraging her to keep going, the whole time I
was praying. Oh boy, was I praying. We
made the bus and we made it to where we needed to go. My companion and I were
reminded that we were here to do the Lord’s work, to be the angel on Lulu's
right and left hand, just as he sends us angels to bare us up.
On Monday, we were at Target and a worker there
told us that we looked fierce and that we were spot on. We started giggling and
then realized the importance of what she said, we felt tired and we didn't look
very cute, but she saw something much more, she saw us as we are,
representatives of JESUS CHRIST. We explained to her what we were doing and who
we represent. She mentioned that she
had seen missionaries teach lessons in Target before, and she had been on lds.org to look up what Mormons believe. JASMINE CAN WE GET YOUR NUMBER AND START
TEACHING YOU? We met back a few days later and let me tell you something, SHE
IS PREPARED TO LEARN ABOUT THE GOSPEL. You know how they say people are lost
because they don't know where to find the truth.... that is her. Her first question was, “I have looked for
the LDS church here and haven't been able to find it...Where is it?” We taught her the message of the restoration
and it was it all made sense to her. Later, we found out that she lives in the
APS area, but works in ours. So the APS
told us to refer her to the YSA missionaries, because she is 21 and we feel they
will help her the most. I would be lying
if I told you I wasn't heartbroken. We
called her last night to explain the situation and she asked if the other
sisters would be as nice as we were. We
told her we would go with her to introduce her to the new sisters and that they
would be great! We told the APS we want to go to her baptism, they better put
in the good word. hahaha
It is a blessing to see that God’s work is TRULY
HIS WORK. We are all on one team, the greatest team of all, trying to
accomplish the same goal, to bring others unto Christ. It is not about the
numbers. I absolutely love and adore Jasmine.
Just in the short time since we met, she has changed my life. God really
does place people in our path. Obedience brings blessings, oh how I love this work.
We shared that story at ZLT with the
missionaries. It is great to see and
realize that everyone is watching us as representatives of Jesus Christ, even
the worker at Target. We went on exchanges and Sister Gadi came here to
Webster. I looked at Lulu during that
lesson and told Lulu that she NEEDED to be baptized and she was just
smiling. She finally let Jesus Christ into
her life. She pulled out a notebook and we set goals for baptism. I LOVE LULU!
SHE IS THE STRONGEST PERSON. She told us that no one has ever cared for her as
much as we do, the love of God is powerful I tell you. I love people, just as
the Savior does. LULU CAME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY AND BROUGHT HER 2 YEAR OLD
SON!!!! Her mom was baptized in Africa and she used to go with her when she was
little, she turned to me in sacrament meeting and whispered, "It is good
to know it is the same all around the world." She also turned to her son
as the young men were passing sacrament and told him that, that would be him
some day. My heart was smiling so big. No
wonder Satan didn't want me to come on a mission, I never have been so happy
that I am able to represent Jesus Christ as a full time missionary.
We met with Daniel and Carolyn and I told Sister
Gadi that we were going to read the BOM with them. But we had 2 members there, so I felt
strongly that we needed to have a testimony meeting. So we did and the spirit was so strong in the
room. They bore their testimonies, it was pure, it was deep. Sister Edgel and I
went back a few days ago and both Carolyn (mom) and Daniel(son) are preparing
for baptism on JUNE 13TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS CHURCH IS
TRUE. I can promise you from the bottom
of my soul.
We were walking to see if we could find a less
actives house, and we had no luck. It was getting late and we were walking back
to the car and we saw a man standing by a barbecue shop smoking. The spirit told us both, turn around and talk
to him. We walked toward him with faith that Heavenly Father would help us know
what to say to help him. He looked at us
and smiled and said, "Mormons."
We talked with him and ended up having an hour lesson about the BOM and
The Restoration. It was amazing to see
his whole demeanor change; he felt the light of Christ. We have another
appointment with him this week. We got in the car and I was like, next gospel
principles teacher? GOD IS THE HEAD OF THIS WORK.
We also went to see an unknown that was on the
records, but couldn't find her name on other records, so we just went to see
her. We knocked on the door and I
honestly didn't think anything was going to happen, probably another door
slammed in our face, but to our surprise she let us in. We started to share a message with her, she
began to open up and she told us that she was excommunicated years ago and
wanted to be baptized again and start coming back. Her husband doesn't like the
idea, but we caught her at the perfect time. Her daughter is getting married in
the St. Louis temple this month!!!! She told us how much she missed church and she
wanted it back. We really have been praying for them, especially for the
husband's heart to soften. GOD LED US TO HER, that I can promise you.
Yesterday Lulu loved church; she had comments in
Relief Society and her son made friends in nursery. I sit here emailing with
tears in my eyes and a happy heart. I hope you all know how much this
experience means to me, it means the world. I am a representative of Jesus
Christ and I couldn't be happier.
I love you all.
My eyes are so tired, you think I would get used
to this by now. MISSIONARY WORK IS WORK that is for sure, but I love it so
much. We are headed to the city to do some shopping! yay!!
May 26, 2015
Hi sweet family and friends,
Sorry we didn't email yesterday, Memorial Day.
But I am happy to email today.
Before I forget, remember the girl from
Target? Jasmine, we had a lesson with
her at the park with the YSA sisters and I felt inspired to tell her that what
she was doing will truly change her life forever. We had a lesson about BOM and
it was just a sweet, spiritual, lesson. SHE COMMITTED TO BEING BAPTIZED!! Wow, I
am excited!
I just heard news that Kenney (an investigator)
from Marceline came to church. And also the sisters in Jacksonville are
teaching the lady we met working at the food pantry and gave her pamphlets and
BOM. They are teaching her, her parents,
and her boyfriend. The lady we met at
transfer meeting that lived in Jacksonville, is now taking the lessons
seriously! THIS IS THE LORDS WORK. WE ARE ALL ON ONE TEAM!
So funny.... yesterday for P. Day, we went to Grants
farm with two other sisters and it was awesome. We almost rode a camel. The sisters called president Morgan to ask if
camels were under the same category as horse riding in the white
handbook..........................We aren’t allowed to ride horses but thought
we should ask about camels…just in case we could. President Morgan just laughed at us. Well, they just might want to add camel
riding to the white handbook. jk But seriously who would have thought in St. Louis
there would be camel riding. lol President Morgan thought we could have our own
journey just like Lehi crossing Jerusalem..... We all giggled. But do not worry, I made a mental note and put
it on my bucket list for after the mission. President Morgan is so great!
Tuesday, we get a call from a lady speaking
Spanish. She wanted to learn, but we
didn't and couldn't understand what she was saying. I remembered CASA was house and that is
all.... oh man, I should have paid more attention in Spanish class. Well, we referred them to the APS and then to
the Spanish-speaking elders.
We were waiting for our bus and we had a few
minutes to spare. We went and knocked on
a door. You see, we have been praying
for a family of 4 to teach. Sure enough,
the lady opens the door and lets us in and there is a picture on the wall of
her family of! 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was a Spanish lady so we referred her to
the Spanish-speaking elders. But what a
miracle, once again we are all on the same team, working together to bring to
pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
We found a potential investigator, Jackie and
she has a lot of great questions.
This week was a little rough, but we kept
plugging away. A lady opened the door for us and said she would go get her dad
and while we weren't looking, she closed the door and locked it right in our
face. "WE AS HIS SERVANTS CAN’T EXPECT ANYTHING LESS THAN THE
MASTER."
We were walking to the bus stop and were
practicing our signing for the song, “ When I am Baptized”. Our goal is to sing at district meeting
someday. It was dark and some guy scared
us. I fell to my knees and sister Edgel
went running of. It was hilarious! Oh my
heck, I was afraid and I considered running but decided not to leave my
companion. And she took off
running....... hahaha Well at least now
I know how she truly feels about me. JK.
He turned out to be a nice guy that was just trying to be funny. He
asked us what song we were singing. We
told him and he asked us to sing it for him, so we did. He said we did fine. We got his information to teach him and we
are pretty sure he lives in the APS area.
Earlier that day we were walking and the
district leader called and asked if we were sitting down. We stopped walking and sat down on the
grass. We both were starting to panic. I thought maybe something terrible had
happened............ Nope. It turns our
ELDER D. TODD CHRISTOFERSON IS COMING TO OUR MISSION ON MONDAY TO TALK TO US.
Yes, we are having another mission conference and another apostle is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Lord really is proud of this mission and
how far we have come. We are all so excited!
We taught primary on Sunday and it was
great. We taught them about missionary
work. We told the kiddos to come and
find us each Sunday and share with us a missionary experience they had during
the week and we would give them a sticker. (: start the little ones early,
preparing them for missions!
We had a lesson with LULU, and we were teaching
the law of chastity. Currently, she
lives with her fiancé. We told her that her
bishop could marry them and that we would be happy to help her plan her
wedding. She asked us to be her
bridesmaids. We are just waiting on her
paper work to come back, so she can get a marriage license. After she is married, hopefully the next step
she wants to take will be baptism!!!!! She came to church again with her little
son Mosi and everyone literally adores her. We have a lesson with her tonight
at a member’s home.
8 months…Say what??? One month from being
halfway. What? I still can't figure out if time is going slow or fast.
I am so excited for mission conference this
week, to see all the missionaries again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love
hearing from my old companions and hearing from the people in the areas where I
have served. GOD IS GOOD. I also love hearing about my friends all
throughout the world.
HOPE ON.
JOURNEY ON. -Jeffery R. Holland
I love you all.
Love, Sister Dahlberg
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