Sweden Here I Come!

Sweden Here I Come!

Monday, March 23, 2015

The Ups and Downs of Discipleship

Shocker....  I actually posted on time this week!  I am currently sitting at the front desk of the Dove Center Outreach and I had a few minutes of down time so I decided to update the blog.  I volunteer here once a week for four hours.  It is a non-profit center that provides services for women and children who are victims of physical and sexual abuse.  I enjoy my time here.  Blaine is convinced that I only enjoy doing things where I donate my hours for free - he is probably right.  

Anyhow, another great letter from our favorite missionary! He sounds happy and quite content despite the extra stress of having two companions.  Life is full of fun, exciting, and valuable lessons.  It will be interesting to see how much longer he stays in Kungsbacka.  He has really grown to love it there - especially the ward members.  A million thank yous to the ward members there in Kungsbacka.  You have answered my daily prayers for the well-being and comfort of my son.  May the Lord bless and keep you always!

Blaine's Letter this Week:

Hi Dallin,
 
Well, it is Sunday afternoon and we have returned from church.  Your mom is in taking a nap and your brothers have just returned from the Wilstead's after Kody's farewell.
 
We all talked this morning in sacrament meeting and I felt our talks went well.  Your mom introduced us all and stated that our oldest son Dallin was on his mission in Sweden and had 7 months left when they would get a chance to meet him. 
 
Dallin,  we have so much to be thankful for.  Carter's talk was awesome.  He talked about Father Lehi and how he left his riches in Jerusalem and listened to the Lords voice and took his family in the wilderness.  He mentioned your mission scripture from the Book of Mormon and how Lehi dwelt in a tent.  Carter mentioned how we all dwell in our tents when we understand the true nature of discipleship.  Discipleship gives us the ability to shrug off the world and its enticements and allow ourselves to find peace and comfort in knowing we are following the gospel of Jesus Christ and understanding those things of the world will not bring true happiness and everlasting peace.
 
So,  Dallin, I want to give you big credit for serving a mission and listening to a prophet's voice.  Your example has set such a good impression with your younger brothers and I want to thank you for your fine example.
 
I hope your current missionary endeavors are finding fruit.  I feel that you will make one final push there and touch someone's life with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Zack called yesterday out of the blue and said that Derrick back at Minnetonka had just lost his mother to cancer.   I thought that was very special that Zack thought of you and called your family.  You made some real close friends back there and obviously made an impression on them.   Keep up the good work, Elder Milne.
  
Love,
 
DAD Milne   

My Letter to Dallin this Week:

"The following has been written about discipleship: The word disciple comes from the Latin meaning a learner.  A disciple of Christ is one who is learning to be like Christ - learning to think, to feel, and to act like he does. To be a true disciple, to fulfill that learning task, is the most demanding regiman known to man.  No other discipline compares... in either requirements or rewards. It involves the toatl transformation of a person from the state of the natural man to that of a saint, one who loves the Lord and serves with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength." - Chauncey C. Riddle
 
Dear Dallin,
 
How are things going in Kungsbacka?  I did send you your package and it should be there sometime this week.  I hope that you are doing well and that the work is still progressing there in Kungsbacka.  You sounded great in your last letter.  Your testimony has grown so much.  Very impressive Big "D"!  Today the fam spoke in sacrament meeting in our new ward. It went well.  You would have been extremely proud of your two younger brothers.  They did an amazing job.  Ty spoke on honoring the priesthood, and Carter talked about what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  He used the quote that I included above.  I spoke on the safety, protection, and blessings that we receive from keeping our covenants, and dad spoke on following the prophets.  We are all glad to have that out of the way.  Uncle Kirk came to listen.  Our ward is so much smaller than our other ward.  It reminds me of the wards we were in in Minnesota and other wards in the mission field.  I like it better this way.  It seems much more personable.
 
We had a busy week.  You may have heard that Pine View lost both of their baseball games to Snow Canyon.  This was a great disappointment.  PVHS seems to be lacking something right now - intensity!  Dad will have to light a fire under them.  Carter came in and pitched in the second game and did an excellent job, but his team couldn't put any runs on the board.  Dad's JV team split with Snow Canyon.  Ty played in a baseball and basketball tournament this week.  His baseball team went 2-2 and his basketball team played against Desert Hills for the championship and lost by one point in overtime.  Ty played well in both tournaments.  He is starting to get motivated for next year.  He and I are going to be going to the rec center every morning at 6:00 to run, lift weights, and shoot hoops starting tomorrow.
 
Today was also Kody Wilstead's missionary farewell.  Carter and Ty went to his home after they spoke in our ward.  Kody leaves next week for the MTC.  Yesterday I received a phone call from Zach Amundsen.  He let me know that Derek Branson's mom had passed away after her long battle with cancer.  I thought it was nice of him to call.  If you can, reach out to Derek and offer your condolences.  Zach is not in school this semester.  He is working at Pitch to Pitch helping train future pitchers.  He sounded good and said his family was doing well.
 
Mackenzie was baptized yesterday, and Julie's new baby Levi will be blessed on Sunday, April 12th. Desera and her two younger girls have moved to North Dakota.  Desera remarried a few weeks ago and her new husband is working in the oil fields back there.  Lexi, Carter, and Rance will all be graduating in May.  Jed and Nikki just had their second baby boy.  His name is Hudson.  They both just got pharmacy jobs down here in the hospital and will be moving down here soon. That's about it for family news.
 
We still don't know what we are going to do as far as moving to a different house or building one here.  Dad has talked about putting in a batting cage and pool here, building on, and then eventually building a new home in the back.  However, nothing is set in stone.  I am looking into an online Marriage and Family Therapy program that I will probably start in a couple of months.  Other than that, not too much is happening.
 
Well Dallin, take care of yourself. Continue to work hard and enjoy every minute of it.  I pray the weather is continuing to improve and that the work is progressing.  Keep up the great work.  
 
Hugs, Kisses, and love From Home,
 
Mom

Dallin's Letter Home this Week:

Dear Mom, Dad, Carter, Ty, and whomever else:

Well it sounds like you guys showed out in sacrament meeting today.  Way to go.  I'm impressed about the topics the boys had, I'm sure that they did great.  Cool that there was an Uncle Kirk sighting as well.  And I know what you mean about the smaller wards.  Here in Kungsbacka we are about 80 every Sunday and I think that is perfect.  Like you said, it is a lot more personable than the big 300 wards in the fields haha.  

That is too bad about PV baseball; I saw a while back that they were preseason ranked #1 in either the region or the state I can't remember which one, weird that they are having a tough time.  But that is great that Ty is starting to get some fire going, I can't wait to get home and start to work with him.  Make sure he eats!

That is very sad about Derek's mother.  Derek sure was a good friend and a good kid.  That was very cool of Zach to reach out and give you guys a phone call.  Gosh both of those guys are studs.  We had a lot of good times.  I'll have to figure out a way to contact them without being too "disobedient".  

Well it was another interesting week in the tri-panionship.  And pretty successful but it wouldn't have been a week as a missionary without a disappointment or two.  But hey, God knows whats best.  We have been teaching this really cool 18 year old swede.  He has pretty much zero religious background and started believing in God on his own.  He said he just felt like there was something more to all this and began to pray and noticed a change in his life.  One day he prayed that God would help him find a church and later that day he ran into the Mormon missionaries! :)  He wants to be baptized really bad and he will, just not this Saturday as we had planned, there is a commandment that will require a big change in his life and we are working on that now.  I am sad though because I really wanted to see him get baptized before I transferred.  But who knows, I might stay another 6 weeks.  I would be down to do that.  Every week my love for Kbacka grows more and more.  The members here are unreal and they take such good care of us.  It feels so good to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about you.  I'm going to miss the special treatment and respect that missionaries get here.  But yeah so that was that and we've been teaching some other people as well.  Going pretty well.

Thanks for the family update and the update on the adobe.  Sounds like you guys are enjoying the set up (especially dad) I'd imagine that dad is on a sentimental high over there haha.  And thanks for sending the package, I'll let you know when I get it.

I like the disciple quote you put up there.  Being a true disciple of Christ is what we strive for as missionaries.  And it is super hard haha.  On my personal journey of discipleship I've learned so much about myself and my Heavenly Father.  Striving to be like my Savior highlights my weaknesses and mistakes and then gives me the opportunity to repent.  I still have a long way to go, many ups and downs, but I am absolutely convinced that if anyone wants to improve themselves in any aspect of life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the big ticket.

You guys are too good, thanks for everything

Love
Dallin B. Milne

This Week's Pictures:


I Miss My Handsome Son....


I Love all of the Old Architecture!


Beautiful!


Amazing!

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