Well, another late post... This is becoming a bad habit! My days just seem to get away from me. It has been a good week - a busy week, but there is no excuse for my procrastination. Dallin sounds really good this week. It sounds like he is working hard, enjoying the Sweden experience, and keeping his wits about him in the tri-companionship. They are having some success and are anticipating a baptism. I will be anxious to hear from him this week. He is still as handsome as ever, and each day that goes by is one day closer to his return.
Today we had the opportunity to speak in our new ward. The boys did an excellent job. Ty talked on honoring the priesthood, Carter spoke on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, I spoke on the safety, power, and blessings that come from keeping our covenants, and Blaine talked about following the prophet. As I listened to my family speak I was reminded of how much I truly miss Dallin. In situations like this it always feels like I am missing an appendage. I was also reminded of how blessed we have truly been over the years. This is our 11th ward that we have attended since we have been married. I am really liking the ward here in Washington; it is a lot smaller than our last ward and reminds me a lot of the small, close knit wards in the mission field. We haven't received any callings yet, but I'm certain they will be forthcoming. Can't wait to see what they are!
My Letter this Week:
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:4,5
"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink -" D&C 19:16-18
I share these two scripture passages with you because they talk about the atonement. I came across them today in church and that is what the last three chapters of the book I am writing is on. Thought you might enjoy them!
Boy this week flew by fast. I hope it did for you as well. How is the tricompanionship treating you? I hope all is well and that you are staying extra busy. How interesting that must be.... When will your transfers be? How much longer do you think you will be in Kungsbacka? How are your investigators this week? Have you been able to make some progress in the atheist capital of the world? I know, too many questions, but most importantly, I want to know how you are doing. I was very happy to read that your test results came back okay. We pray for your health and strength everyday, so I hope you will continue to be well. I sheepishly admit that I have forgotten all about your face prescription. I will get right on that tomorrow and send it priority mail. Email me your current address so that it can come straight to you.
How's the weather been there? It has sure been nice here. I think we hit 80 degrees on Saturday. I am bracing myself for the heat. The good news is is that the adobe central air keeps it nice and cool. Can you believe we have already had to turn it on?
This week was busy. DId you get the pictures I sent of the house? We had a lot of baseball this week between the four JV games and the four Varsity games. The JV had a great tournament but the varsity continues to struggle with errors and stupid mistakes. However, they did manage to beat a team from Vegas that is nationally ranked. Dakota Donavon pitched and shut them down. We also played a close game with 5A #1 ranked pleasant grove. They beat us 9-8 but shouldn't have. So I think it will be an exciting season especially if we can clean things up a bit. Carter pitched and did a great job, but for some reason his team always makes the most errors when he is pitching. They even let him bat a couple of times this tournament, and he laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. PVHS faces Snow Canyon this week on Tusday and Wednesday.
Today was a fun day. We went to church and just after returning home Aunt Kim, Mike, and Keaton stopped by for a visit, and then we went over to the dental office to fix Mike's broken tooth. We had a lot of fun with them (maybe Mike didn't have much fun). Keaton is excited to play baseball this year. This weekend they played against a Vegas team - Bishop Ghorman, and Greg Maddox is their pitching coach. His son is a pitcher on the team, and Keaton got a hit off from him. Even though CV was ten runned they had a lot of fun!
This week I plan on spending a lot of time on the book now that we are finally moved in. We have also been asked to speak in church on Sunday. They wasted no time getting us up there. I will let you know how that goes. We have an awesome BIshop and I am really liking the ward so far. It is much smaller than our Washington FIelds ward. Today in church a returned sister missionary spoke and did a great job. She served a mission in Minnesota, so it was fun to visit with her.
Later this afternoon, Jason, Brandy, and their kids came by to visit. Jason is going to build us a stone wall between our house and grandpa Glen's old house. He will also add some benches to the front porch. His kids are really growing up and are all so cute. Their oldest daughter Chaisee asked about you and is so excited that you only have eight months left. Dad and the boys also planted the garden today. So far they have planted peas, carrots, spinach, beets, lettuce, and onions. Next weekend we will add more according to the planting guide. I will make beet jelly this year. I will make sure we save some for you.
Well Dallin, I am excited to hear about your week. Keep up the great work. Enjoy each day that you have. Take care of yourself. Is there anything else you need besides your face medicine? I put some money in your account last week. I will try to stay on top of that to make sure you don't get too low. Let me know what else you need or what we can do for you.
Love you to the moon and back,
Mom
Aldste Milne's Letter Home this Week:
Hey fam,
I just saw all the adobe pictures. I have to say that I am really impressed. Impressed that you were able to fit all that stuff in there and also impressed that it looks so good! It makes me feel good that all of those hours I spent during that summer, and all those trips to the dump amounted to something haha. Looking back I realize how much I enjoyed working there. So I'm curious about if there are any specific areas that you guys are considering moving to already? Or how long do you guys think you'll be staying in the adobe? I'm really excited about hearing what will go down with you guys. Sounds like you all are really enjoying it though with all the family visitors and stuff. I can't imagine 80 degrees right now though, that is insane. Lately its been around 7-9 degrees celcius (like 45-50) which is plenty warm for me haha. Thanks for sending all the pictures.
Anyways, it has been a really good week here in Kungsbacka. The weather has been gorgeous. Sun has been shining with clear skies and light breezes. Pretty soon it'll be time to drop the sweater and start rolling up the sleeves :) . The tripanionship has been interesting but good. We've had to make some adjustments with the way we contact and teach and stuff but there hasn't been many problems. My time here in Kungsbacka has gone fast. The next transfer is April 2nd and I am anticipating a transfer for me but you never know. I wouldn't mind staying here at all. I absolutely love the members here. Especially the ward mission leader and his family. Such good people here. And the work has been picking up. We are starting to teach more which is nice and we've got a really cool 18 year old bro that we are trying to help progress towards baptism. He has a date, but we are just trying to work with his busy schedule and get all the lessons in. We have planned on meeting him tonight. Personally, I am doing really well too. Health is good and I am enjoying living here in Sweden. I've really fallen in love with the culture and language. It's all growing on me. So grateful to be here right now.
I like the scriptures you put in on the Savior. We had a really good lesson in priesthood yesterday all about Jesus Christ. We talked about how it is so easy to get caught up in other things, even in church, and forget who is the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ. Do we think about the Savior daily? Do we strive to follow his example in all situations? Do we talk about him enough in our homes? If ye love me keep my commandments. That kind of stuff. Even as missionaries, at least for me, sometimes it can be really easy to just go through the motions and forget why I am here and why I do the things I do everyday. It's not just because my family wants me to be here, or that I want the mission president to like me, or whatever, but its because of my good friend Christ and my love for him. I made a personal commitment to try to think of him more often and to ask myself those little kid primary questions more often like "is this what Christ would do?" "Would I be comfortable acting this way around him?" Good stuff. Keep Him in mind everybody. He is the only one who is truly "all world".
Love,
Dallin
Selfie Above Kungsbacka
Spent the Dayin Varberg
On the Boardwalk
An Little Cannon at an Old Fort
Zone Conference
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