San Juan is Great!!

 Hola!!

  This week was great! I've really been enjoying my time in this area with my companions! Both of them are great and I've never worked so hard in my life. Its funny to return to my greenie area now that I can speak Spanish! I can actually talk to people and understand them! Its great! 

The work in this area is really progressing! We set a goal for 3 baptisms during the month of September, and we are constantly praying to the Lord to help us achieve our goal. I know that if it's HIS will, we can do it. We already have 2 set baptisms, and we've picked up about 5 or 6 new investigators in the past 2 weeks! Its so great!

Being a Zone Leader is pretty weird.. I'm still the youngest in the Spanish zone, and everyone treats me like I know how to fix problems or something! hahah Its crazy! Good thing Elder Wilkerson really does know how to fix problems! Or else we'd be in a big mess. One thing I have liked though is how close I get to work with President Orgill! He is soo cool. You can just tell that he lives in a way that The Spirit is his constant companion. I love his advice, and he's a great leader.

We got to go to a meeting for all the zone leaders and the AP's, Which one of the ap's is Elder Corcus!! haha, and talk about questions we have and share miracle stories, basically it was a time for all the people who had been ZL's for a while to share what they've learned and help the people who were just made ZLs. 

One of the Elders name is Elder Fetuani. He got made a zone leader the same time I did, and he is from Tonga. During the meeting, he shared how he has been fasting 2 times a week for his whole mission so far, so that his Dad, that lives back in the Islands, will choose to get baptized. He has been out for a little more then a year now, and he said his dad still wasn't getting baptized and so he prayed to Heavenly Father, and he felt he needed to fast 3 times a week.. so he started to fast 3 times a week, and that week, He got a letter from his Dad, and it said he was getting baptized! He started crying and told us how grateful he was for the gospel and how he was excited to go and get sealed to his family when he gets back to Tonga. It was one of the purest testimonies I've ever heard. It strengthened my testimony to hear that from someone like this Elder, he really is a great example to me.

Also, I had a great Birthday! Thanks for the package! And the cookies! They were great! (we already ate them all hahah), they were so good. Well, thanks for everything! I hope you all have a great week this week!

Con muchisimo amor,

Elder Dallin Fuell

Back to San Juan!!

 Hola!

Well, this transfer was a big surprise! I had a feeling that I was going to be going English Work, but instead I got called back to San Juan as the New Spanish zone, zone leader. It was pretty crazy.

We've been so busy doing tons and tons of training and stuff. Its been hard. But I really like my new companions! One of them is Elder Joshua Wilkerson! We've been really good friends from day 1. He is from Pennsylvania! but right now, his family lives in Herriman Utah!  jaja like 15 minutes away from you guys! And He's great! He's the other zone leader in the companionship.

My other companions name is Elder Bryce Halling! And guess where he's from?? Riverton Utah!!

jajaja He went to Herriman High school, but he lives in Riverton. He doesn't want to claim he's from Riverton... but he is. He lives probably 10 minutes away from you! He's been called as the District Leader of the San Juan District, but he's companions with us, which normally doesn't happen. They have both been out on their missions 1 transfer more then me. So, They left for Irvine from Mexico City, the day I arrived in Mexico City. Pretty crazy. But they speak great Spanish.. much better then mine. 

 The First day back in La Zanja was great! I got to see all the people that I've been missing and all the people that I got to see get baptized! Like Kevin, Jaime, and Vicente. Vicente has been having a hard time, and he just got his papers moved over to a YSA ward, and I hope all goes well there. Kevin and Jaime, and their younger 2 brothers, Marco and Alan, are great! Marco turned 8 in July and we have a baptismal date set for him on the 27th of September, and their Mom, Fransisca, told us that she'd like to be baptized as well, but she cant get work off to come to church yet, so that might hold her up for a while, but we've still been teaching them. They are great!

Everything is great! In fact, I got to see Kevin, Jaime, and their friend Michael, (who got baptized like a month or 2 months ago) pass the sacrament yesterday! It was one of the coolest things I've seen on my mission. To be able to return to the area and see how much they have grown since I left. I'm super excited, and we've been seeing miracles happen everyday! In fact, we found 4 new people to teach, and set another baptismal date with a man named Alfonso, in the past 4 days! The work is moving forward!

I'm so excited to be in this area again with these companions!Seriously, they are some of the hardest working missionaries in the whole mission, and every where they go, success follows. I'm so blessed to be apart of that with them. This week has been wonderful and great! I hope we can keep our momentum rolling! Love you all!

Con muchisimo amor,

Elder Dallin Fuell!

Bikes. Transfers. Wut.

Hola!

This week was great! First of, I'm getting transferred tomorrow!! It was a complete surprise this time! I thought I was going to stay in this area for a while, but We got a call on Saturday night telling me to pack my stuff because I'm getting transferred. I don't have any idea where I'm going. President Orgill has been sending Spanish missionaries to English work lately, so the rumor is, is that I'm going to be going English work. So, I'm either headed back to San Clemente, or English work! I'm okay with either! I know I'm needed where ever the Lord sends me. This area has been really good! Elder Sorensen and I got along really well! And we saw lots of success and lots of miracles. It was a good two transfers here.

 Something else that happened this week, I went on an Exchange with Elder Halling, (who, after doing some family history work, turns out to be my 4th cousin) down in San Clemente. And They don't have a car, so they ride bikes. -___-  It was a crazy, crazy day. San Clemente isn't the kindest city to missionaries, All day we were getting yelled at, and cussed at from people in cars, and stuff. It was crazy. AND San Clemente has so many hills. Some that I would classify as small mountains. And we rode up and down those hills all day, talking to people, and visiting people. It was great. We ended the Day at a Resturante named EL Jefe, with some Tacos de Lengua! Elder Halling, (I just call him Primo), had never tried them before, so I insisted that we go get some, and they were great! I love tacos de lengua. Anyways, at the end of the day, I went back with Elder Sorensen, and he was asking me how it was, and I was telling him how tired I was, and I realized how much I enjoyed it! In the moment, I can't say I was the happiest guy, but being completely exhausted for doing something good, is probably one of the best feeling in the world. I think that s what makes missionary work so rewarding. Its great!

 Also! We set a Baptismal date with Maria for this next Sunday! Sadly, I wont be here to see it happen, but it was great teaching her, and being able to see the changes in her life. Missionary work is the best!

I hope everything is going well back home! Love you all!

Con amor,

Elder Fuell

Christ Died to Make Men Holy, Let us Live to Make Men Free

Hola!

 I hope you are all having a great day today! Today has been great! We took a hike up into the mountains in Rancho Santa Margarita to a Monk Monastery to buy some honey! We here about the coolest stuff when we contact people, and one of my friends, Elder Gerrard, Heard about a monk monastery that sells honey in the mountains, so we went!

And It was great! The monks are really nice, and they love Mormon Missionaries! Haha

   This week was great! We decided to get a little more bold while we contact, So we've been going into the Laundromats in Hispanic areas and preaching to them about the Book of Mormon and other things like that! It is so much fun! And its way more fun then it used to be because of how bad my Spanish was, but since my Spanish is getting better, and my testimony is getting stronger, its easier, and actually kind of fun, to get up in front of large groups of people and testify like that! Also, our investigator, Rodrigo came to church yesterday!

That was great! He still hasn't been able to get work off consistently, so we cant baptize him until he will be able to come to church more frequently, but man, he's great! The other day, we were reading the story of Nephi on the boat when his Brothers tied him up, and the Liahona stopped working, and they loved it. All of them are members except for Rodrigo, but Rodrigo loved the story, and probably participated more then anyone else!

   Well, the reason for this title of the email is because the other day we were listening to The Battle Hymn of the Republic in our car when we were driving around, and that line stood out to me. It says, "As He died to make men Holy, let us live to make men free, as God is marching on!". It got me super fired up! This is the best work that has ever taken place on the earth, and its so much fun to be apart of it! We do everything that we can, and The Lord takes care of us and the people we're teaching. I was reading a talk by President Monson about how we need to enjoy the journey! I remember during a hard part of my mission, It felt like Happiness was just out of my reach, I felt like I wouldn't be happy until something happened or something changed, but I realized that happiness isn't a destination. Its something you decide to be and make it happen. I'm extremely happy with my Mission. Its great! Serving the Lord is such a blessing!

Serving others 100% of the time is the best way to feel happiness and joy. In fact, that's why Heavenly Father is so happy, He serves and loves perfectly. I hope I can someday feel like He does. I love you all! And I hope you have a great week!

Con amor,

Elder Fuell