Malakai Sorenson

My Story (Continued)

January 21, 2025

Hey guys hows it going!

Little bit of a weird email on a Tuesday, but they changed our pday to today the this week because we had the opportunity to go to the temple. It was veryy cool, first time in the Santo Domingo Temple for me, and definetly worth the wait. Just reminds me of how important temples are! 

Hightlights:

-Temple in downtown Santo Domingo. Got to see a bunch of people I haven't seen in a while! 

- Found some really cool, really interested, and really smart people this week. It always seems like you find the best people right before transfers. But feel pretty good about the area right now. 

Yea as always exciting and unusual things happen day in and day out, but that's just to be expected on the mission. 

Spiritual Thought:

I've been thinking a lot recently about how to apply and access the joy of the Gospel in our own lives. Often, for me at least, I think of the blessings of the Gospel as something that only come in the next life. But that obviously isn't true, and we are constantly told so in the scriptures and in conference. We can access the joy of the gospel right here right now. But how? Well first, added trust and knowledge that God loves you and has a plan for you can help you immediately, and I've seen that here on my mission change people quickly. But also sometimes those blessings come much later. For example, one decision by my companion's father to embrace the gospel changed his whole family forever, but the blessings maybe didn't show up till much later. 

What do I mean by all this? The gospel works. And that has been made very clear to me. If you change your life to follow Jesus more closely, the blessings might not show up immediately, and it doesn't mean you won't have hard trials. But if you stick with it, it will change you. And it will change your life. People here who follow the gospel are more motivated, work harder, provide better for their kids, have good careers, and are overall just happier. I've also met people who literally tell me they have no goals in life or don't want to improve, and that is honestly the saddest moments as a missionary. 

So anyways, have goals, work hard, and follow Jesus. 

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https://photos.app.goo.gl/KQghA6hpjWpKsn266

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January 6, 2025

What up guys! 

Another quick email because I just sent one out last Wednesday. Not a whole lot has happened in the last 5 days or so. We just keep working. Which is good. A lot of times at home you see pictures of the cool p-days or baptisms or other highlights, which are awesome parts of the mission. But the majority of the mission is putting your head down and working. You learn to deal with a lot of rejection and walking. But that only makes the good times better. The area is doing good right now, I feel like a lot of the members are excited about missionary work,  and we're getting quality people to come to church and learn about the gospel. And by quality I mean people who have the faith to learn and are open to hearing the message. 

Highlights:

-Had interviews with President (passed em) 

-Ordered a whole lot of Christian Pizza

-For some reason met way more English speakers in the past week than I've met my entire mission before. I don't get how people preach the gospel in English, just sounds weird. 

Alright because there's not a whole lot of news I'm gonna finish with the Spiritual Thought:
-First I want to reiterate the importance of temples. Live worthy of them, and then go to them.

-Second I want to share a quote that my dad sent me recently. "The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." - President Benson

I shared this recently with a friend who is going through a hard time right now. I couldn't promise him that God would bless him with more money, or with more days off from work, or things like that. But I could promise him that if he was obedient, and let Jesus change him, God would bless him with the strength to get through whatever trial might be put in his path. 

God doesn't always change our environment, but if we have faith, Jesus will always change us. 

Have a good week! 

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January 1, 2025

Feliz Año Nuevo Everyone! 

A new year full of new opportunities. And man does it seem like 2024 flew by fast. It was a huge year of change for me. Ended a lot of chapters in my life, had a ton of fun, and began one of the biggest experiences that I will ever embark on. As I look forward to 2025, I have the opportunity to spend one full year completely dedicated to building the Kingdom of God. And that is really exciting. But, even if you may not be a missionary, why not take the opportunity of a New Year to rededicate yourself to what really is important in life? See spiritual thought for more. 

Highlights:

-We had the baptisms of three of our friends this past week! First, Dexter. His grandma is a member and he came with her to a baptism one time. That peaked his interest and ever since then we've been teaching him. Second, Ruth. Her story is really cool. She was found by the missionaries before us, and was taught everything but couldn't drop coffee. But she still kept coming to church. Somehow me and Élder Lopez got her to drop coffee and she was really excited to get dunked. Third, Sarai. We found her a couple months back and she just kept progressing without any problems. Now she has a strong testimony and her life has changed. 

-Door contacted some people while they were making out. I don't think they came to church. 

-The only other real highlight was New Years. On Christmas Eve and New Years every missionary in the mission had to be back in house early because many Dominicans like to not keep commandments on these nights. So I went to bed like half and hour early. However I could still tell when it turned 12 because BOOOOOOM fireworks. 

Spiritual Thought:

I've been focusing a lot recently on temples. We have quite a few Recent Converts in the ward I'm currently in, so maybe that's partly why. But hey, everyone can benefit from temples. I've been reading a little bit lately in Saints, and one thing that has stuck out to me throughout all parts of church history is the great sacrifice members have constantly made for temples. In kirtland, in Navoo, in Salt Lake, and now around the world, temples have always been the number one priority. The other day we were sitting in second hour of church and the lesson topic was temples and temple covenants. Later that day we got a text from one of our friends who was in church saying that she was uncomfortable during the lesson. We started freaking out and asked why, when she replied, "I just got sad because everyone was talking about the blessings they've seen from temples and I realized that I don't have that [yet]." It was lowk kind of sad, but also helped me deepen my faith with temples. The fact that we get to make covenants with God is incredible. Those covenants are the most sure, guaranteed deal we can ever make. Money, jobs, houses and whatever else will always go away, but if we do our part and keep our covenants, we have the guarentee that we can live with God and our families forever. 

So my New Years Challenge to everyone is this, go to the Temple more this year. Set a specific goal for amount of time per month(s). And if you don't have a reccomend, live worthy to get one and then get one. And if you're not a member, well, I know some pretty cool people who you can meet with. 

Anyways, later! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KQghA6hpjWpKsn266

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December 26, 2024

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I figured I better write this letter or otherwise my mom would be very mad. I am going to keep it short though. 

Highlights from the past week and a half:

-Two Baptisms: Our friends Miguel and Jacqueline got baptized. Miguel is 18 and a big baseball player, but has been coming to almost every youth activity and church for a while. His mom didn't want him to get baptized and lives far away. So he had to wait till his 18th birthday, the day he got baptized. Jaquelin is the wife a a returning member. Her husband was a member growing up, didn't come for years, but around three years ago they started coming back. However like most people in the DR, they weren't married by law. The process is long, expensive, and well Dominicans sometimes have trouble motivating themselves to actually get married. But baptism was enough motivation for Jacqueline and she is now a member of the church! (and married)

-It rained a ton here, turning many of the dirt roads into literal rivers. But the work goes on, I have water shoes and use them, trying not to think about whatever is in the water.

In this Christmas season I hope we can all remember the true meaning of Christmas, and the light that we can be to others. The light of Christ isnt some mysterious abstract concept, but rather the light that we can bring to others. So be that light! 

Love you guys! 

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December 16, 2024

Hey guys what's up!! 

Another week come and gone but overall it was a good one. Not a whole lot of unusual stuff happened, just the usual knocking doors, teaching lessons, and baptizing people. We did have a fun linger-longer type thing after church so that was good to get some food there.

Highlights:

-We baptized our friend Luchy this week! She comes to church pretty consistently (just not when it rains) and it was good to baptize her.

-We saw a car flipped over into a river, with a bunch of Dominicans standing around watching it. Dominicans are crazy drivers. 

-Transfers are this week so we'll see if anything fun happens there.

Yea I'll be honest I don't really know what else to write... except the Spiritual Thought of course. 

Alright we were in a lesson and my comp made a good point while teaching that made me think. Obviously Satan is necessary in the Plan of Salvation. Without him we wouldn't have the opposition we need to learn in grow. For example, Adam and Eve never would have had the fall without Satan. And as we all know the fall was necessary. Anyways some boring doctrine stuff but it got me thinking. First, kind of a weird side point but wouldnt Satan beore effective if he just did nothing? Like then no one could be tested and grow and stuff. He could more effectively stop the plan of Salvation by just doing nothing right?

Anyways, the real point I was thinking about is how opposition is necessary in our lives. Those times of difficulty are truly where we grow. It might be really hard in the moment, but you end up way better for it in the end. 

In my own life I have seen this played out many times. I'll use the past year in school as an example, but this has been true in all parts of my life. I faced the decision of having a senior full of easy classes or a lot of really hard challenging classes. I think both options would've ended up good either way, and there wasn't really a huge difference in the affect it had on my life. But what it did affect was my personal growth. I chose to make myself more uncomfortable but thus also push myself to grow. Even though those classes maybe didn't really give me more credits or anything like that, they affected who I am as a person and now I can take that growth and apply it to other parts of my life. 

However in a lot of other aspects of myself I took the easier, more comfortable, more familiar option. Usually it ends up really good still, but it makes me wonder how much better it could be if I just had chosen to push myself more for a little bit of time. All the opportunities out there I could've had. One lesson I'm going to take  away from the mission is the mindset of always stretching myself (with a goal in mind), so that I don't miss out on opportunities I maybe don't even know exist yet. 

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December 10, 2024

This email is going to be a quick one because I don't have much time, but hey I've got to keep the streak alive right? 

This week was very long. You have some of those as a missionary. Almost every week it feels like. But just because it's long doesn't mean it was good. 

OK, I'm going to bullet point this to save time. 

-Baptism! : We finally baptized the father of Ronny and Rainel, the kids who we baptized 2 weeks ago. He is very excited and 79 years old. Just reaffirms that no one is ever to old to make a life changing decision. Also I love Dominicans. 

-Service! : Got to wield my first machete here in the DR. Any missionaries in the DR will understand my apprehension when we had some non-member onlookers (shoutout to my boy Elder Zolinger). I've said this before but the mission makes you appreciate the small things, like a weed whacker. 

-Walking

Alright well a lot more happened this week and at the same time, nothing else really that unordinary happened this week, but I'm still alive (Despite the Dominican driving). And I'm doing well, missions are hard in a lot of ways but he best way to enjoy it is to work hard. And not just work hard but throw all your effort into it so that you can work smart and be effective in helping people feel the spirit. There is no better work to be doing.  

Spiritual Thought:

This week I had to see Ronny (who we just baptized) pass the sacrement for the first time. That was one of the coolest experiences in my life spiritually. He was grinning from ear to ear, passed it to his dad who had just been baptized, and then later passed it to me. I don't know if I've ever felt the spirit so strongly during the sacrement before. Since then I've been reflecting on the sacrement a little. So, here's a quote from Holland about the sacrament and the talk I really like, "With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions. As such it should not be rushed. It is not something to “get over” so that the real purpose of a sacrament meeting can be pursued. This is the real purpose of the meeting."https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/this-do-in-remembrance-of-me?lang=eng

Ya tu sabe, 

Kai

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December 2, 2024

How am I this good at getting moms to come to church you may ask? Skill, talent, or just the spirit? I don't know, but it's a blessing and a curse. Blessing because, well, more people that want to come to Christ, curse because the area I'm in currently really needs priesthood. But hey, I build families in the church and I think Moms are the perfect place to start. 

Anyways, we had 18 friends in church yesterday. Mission high for me. Of course it's not me or my comp really, it's the spirit, but it was still really cool to see. It did present some challenges however. Our ward is small, and member participation is lacking. We had about 10 people total in the chapel ten minutes after sacrement meeting was supposed to start. It filled in later (mostly with our friends) , but sometimes the people of the DR are not the most reverent. People getting up and leaving every 2 seconds, people showing up late, kids running around, people talking over the speaker. I only say this because it makes it really hard for our amigos to feel the spirit and want to come back. Also it's a little weird when we have just as many investigators as members in our meetings. Anyways, for those back home I know everyone faces difficulties, it's hard to manage kids during sacrement meeting, it's hard to get a family to church on time, things happen, and just trying is what matters. But more than anything this ward has built my appreciation for joyful reverence, like Elder Kearon talked about. Reverence does not mean being somber, but it also does not mean chatting with your friends during the sacrement. It is showing respect for others, and being happy to have another opportunity to worship God together, which can make a community strong! So if anyone has any ideas or experiences with fostering joyful reverence and respect in a community, hit me up! 

Yea other than that not too much. No baptisms, but we should have one coming up this weekend. Ramon, the father of the two kids baptized last weekend. He's pumped, and he can't change his mind now cause we announced it during sacrement meeting so hah. Nah but really, when we ordained the two boys with the Priesthood, he said "I don't have it yet but I will soon!" 

Highlights:

-Tried coconut straight out of a coconut for the first time that I can remember, solid 7/10

-Walked probably 1000 miles or kilometers or whatever

-Somehow still have not gotten dengue or parasites

Alright spiritual thought:

I've been reading a lot of Holland talks recently and I really liked the talk "Laborers in the Vineyard." https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/04/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard?lang=eng

Two of my favorite quotes from it. 

1) "It underscores the thought I heard many years ago that surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it."

2) "His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there."

It also liked it so much because I was one of the people mentioned in the talk that have always thought that particular parable was unfair, but...well just read the talk to find out more. 

That's all folks, 

Zach Wilson

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November 25, 2024

Another week down!

I can't decide if the weeks seem to fly by or if they are incredibly long. Depends on the day, or even the moment really. I guess I'll chalk it up to good preparation for life after the mission. 

Overall this week was a good one. The 2 big events that I can really think of. First was zone conference, where we learned all about how to work with members. And why I enjoyed it, the best part was definitely seeing everyone from the zone and from the zone next door. You really build a special bond with the other missionaries, espacially the ones the same "age" as you. 

Second was our baptisms! Ronny and Raynel. It was good to get wet again. Usually, I would have some apehension about baptizing niños, but with this ward and the fact that I know we're going to work hard with their dad too, I feel good about their "endure to the end" part.

Other than that it was a busy week full of teaching and finding! Looking forward to getting after it again this next week.

Spiritual Thought:

Like always, the mission continuously brings up things to think about (because we talk to so many people and because I have so much time to think I guess), and so this is just going to be my train of thoughts kinda. As we were walking to Church on Sunday, we saw the Jehovas witness church get out across the street and it made me feel a little bad cause they had a lot of people. Often we are compared to Jehovas Witnesses because we both proselyte. And it made me think, why do they do so well here? I don't know a whole lot about them so if anyone has any answers to that, hit me up. But then it lead me to think about teaching by the spirit. Obviously not everyone we invite to church is gonna come, most don't. So how do you use the spirit more in finding and in teaching so that you increase the likelyhood. I'm usually a very logical, numbers oriented person, but here I've realized that you can't convince someone to put in the effort to come to church, you have to help them feel the spirit. Which is done by the basics, preparation, prayer, and without contention. No idea what the takeaways are from that, so good luck to anyone who actually read it. I would love to hear your thoughts. 

Todo Tranquilito

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November 18, 2024

What's up everyone. I've been watching a few Richard G Scott talks recently, mostly because I can't get over the fact about how much he sounds like Emporer Palpatine. Someone else has got to have noticed this before right? Espacially that part in the 3rd movie where Anakin and Palp are watching that show and Palp gets Anakin to the dark side. He sounds exactly like that. I watched this one talk where he was talking about Priesthood Power, and when he said "Pooower" I thought I was watching star wars. "Immeasurable Power!!" I don't remember the exact quote from the movie, but you could probably watch one of his talks and it would be pretty close. 

Anyways, this week was a very solid one. It's true what they say about missions, the weeks fly by. Or really the days just blend together. A lot of teaching, walking, and more teaching. We didn't have any baptisms this week but that is mostly because we're new to the area and we want to make sure our friends are good to go. If everything goes as planned, we should have a few this week. 

This week has both been one of the hardest and yet most rewarding weeks I've had in terms of Spanish. There are a lot of teenagers who use a lot of slang in this ward, and obviously my comp only speaks spanish, so throughout the week I have been stretched to keep up. There have been moments where I've really felt down, but there always seems to be a timely miracle or moment where I feel like I grow. Élder Bednar talks about that in one of his talks, timely gifts from God. 

Highlights: 

-Ten new friends at church, more than I every had in my last area

-I don't know how some Dominicans don't die more often. For the first time I saw these Dominicans riding their motorcycles lying on their stomachs, kind of in like a plank, with their feet out behind them. Going like 60-70 miles an hour. Incredibly dangerous. Looks a little fun ngl. 

-The variety of the DR is crazy to me. Sometimes I feel like I'm in Florida. Other times I feel like I'm in the middle of Haiti. And that can be just one street apart. 

-I gave my first talk/testimony standing at the pulpit in Spanish. I don't know how much of it was understandable, but my mission has definently made it easier to bear my testimony more sincerely. I wonder if it will still be hard in English though. 

Spiritual Thought:

Before I decided to serve a mission, I got the opportunity to see many people incredibly smart people that I admire serve in church callings. I saw all the good that the church can do for families. I saw returned missionaries who changed for the better. That was enough for me to trust in God and decide to serve a mission. While I had my call I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to waste the next two years of my life. So through careful study of the scriptures, conference talks, and talking with people I respect I got to the point where I could say, "If there really is a God (and I do believe in one), then I want nothing more than for this doctrine to be true, because there is no other message that is more happy, powerful, or loving." As I've been out here, I can confidently say my testimony of the restoration is more concrete than ever. And not because I've talked myself into it like some people would say. Much the opposite. Out here I've encountered every question, and had every opportunity to doubt. But thought prayer, study, and thinking, I have developed a strong testimony of the restoration. So if any of you have any doubts about the restoration, from a small question to straight out believing it's not true, my advice to you would be to study it out with sincere intent. Why not? And if you need, I know just the people to help who can help you do this! 

Hablamos! 

Su Querido Élder Sorenson

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November 11, 2024

Klk everyone!

Lot to cover this week. If you've already read Elder Taylors email you can skip most of this since pretty much all the same thing happened to me. 

I'm just going to do highlights:

-Tuesday I did a full greenie exchange with Elder Taylor. We taught some good lessons and had a fun time. However when we got back we found the door ajar and everything on the floor. Wallets and phones gone, suitcases open, mattresses flipped. We called our comps and they came running. We took a video to film it all and at the end of the video...our comps told us it was all a prank. Funny way to end the transfer but stressful in the moment.

-Thursday was transfers. I knew that my comp Elder Dalton was going yo be the new AP, so I knew I would get a new comp. This transfer I am with Élder López in the zone of Los Alcarrizos. Elder López is from Sinaloa, Mexico (El Chapo) and is known to many in our mission as the crazy mexican. He also has a bag for his book of Mormon that is worn around the leg so it looks like he's always carrying. He also does not speak English so my Spanish is about to mejorar. Also our new house is incredibly nice and has air conditioning in the bedroom. 

 

- Friday we got to go to a meeting in downtown Santo Domingo with all the missionaries from the SD west, east, and north missions. It was with Elder Rasband and was very cool. On Sunday we went back downtown to a devotional in a big stadium with Rasband and... Holland! I was pumped since he is my second favorite apostle. Jk I don't have favorite apostles, but if I did I'd leave it to all of you to guess my favorite. During the devotional he talked directly to the missionaries, and among other things he said "Don't you dare go inactive when you get home." When he said that he pointed directly at me. At least that's my story. Wasn't planning on it sir. 

- Last highlight of the week I got to see Molly and James Davenport (who are here with a Utah State program) for a total of about 7 seconds. It was both weird and super fun to see people from home. 

Alright as always a lot more happened this week that I don't have time for, but I will always have time for a spiritual thought so here we go.

With all the changes this week I've been thinking a lot about how this applies to life. I was pretty comfortable in my old area with my old comp and house and just in general having a ton of fun. Now all of that has changed. New house, new comp, new area, new members that I don't know. On top of that the communication barrier with my comp adds another layer, espacially as I'm writing this while we're at the store buying things. But this is what happens in life. You get comfortable, and then things change. You have to learn to adapt and find joy in news ways. It was the same thing coming fro the MTC to the field. Overall, I know I'm going to learn to love the area, and this transfer is going to provide a whole new set of learning opportunities and cool experiences, like learning Spanish faster.

Anyways, go cougs. 

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November 4, 2024

They don't celebrate Halloween here sadly. However, in the spirit of Halloween, Élder Dalton and I switched name tags for the 31st. Mostly ended up just confusing a lot of our amigos, but it was fun to be Élder Dalton for the day. No Halloween also means it is officially Christmas season here in the DR. Kind of. I keep telling everyone Feliz Navidad when I see them, only to receive some confused looks. You find little things to keep you entertained. 

Alright down to business, this week felt pretty long just because it was pretty busy. Last full week of the transfer. We have a lot of people we're really excited about progressing, so we taught a lot of indepth lessons. Due to the fact that we've been teaching a lot of families, and we're in the DR, I got a lot of great practice about teaching the law of chastity. It sounds weird, but this is one of my favorite lessons, because here in the DR it just means encouraging people to get married by law. If they agree, you have a beautiful moment. If not.....well its just kinda awkward. 

I also had the exciting experience of getting robbed this week. Except robbed feels like too strong a word. If it was a robbery, it was the slowest robbery of all time. The brushed passed me and pinned my comp on a car trying to get the phone out of his pocket. For like a full minute. Eventually we let him take it, but some other Dominicans watching told us to wait and followed him around the corner. Two minutes later he reappeared and gave us the phone back. I was mostly just confused the whole time, but in the end it actually ended up being a cool experience to see that most Dominicans are good people and willing to help us out. 

Other highlights:

- Transfers are this week. While I don't know if I'm staying or going, I do know that I'm getting a new comp. My trainer Élder Dalton is going AP (unconfirmed), so we'll see if the power gets to his head. 

-Baptized for the first time this week. Omar. He's a dog. Don't really know him that well since he moved here last week and was being taught in another area, but he knows a ton about the gospel.

- Got the keys to our new house, so we should move sometime next week (if I stay). In a weird way, I'm gonna miss the mosquito filled cave. Minus the mosquitos I hate mosquitos. At this point it's guaranteed I'm gooing to get Dengue at some point. 

- I love Pina Coladas

Spiritual Thought:

Alright last night we went to Bel's house, who I'm pretty sure I've talked about before, but his story is incredibly cool. He said something I really like. It's harder to stay on the right path than to fall away, and he admires people who do. Hearing that from a guy who's been in some hard places really hit. Most of my life I've always tried to do the right thing and work hard. I'm far from perfect, and there's a lot of things I need to work on, but for the most part I feel like I've done alright. Believe it or not, this has sometimes been hard for me, because I feel like I miss out, or am not as cool, or don't have as cool of a story as other people.  It reminds me of the talk, the Other Prodigal by Holland.  The Other Prodigal

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2002/04/the-other-prodigal?lang=eng

The best way to counter this pride or jealousy, is by service, and here on my mission I have learned to recognize all the blessings I have in life (because my life has been amazing compared to many of the people I'm serving), and have learned to find the joy in bringing people to the gospel. 

Sorry for the long email, I'll get better at shortening them in the future. 

October 28, 2024

What's up everyone! It's getting a little harder each week to write emails but Im going to try and keep it going. This week was really good though, so maybe a slightly more exciting email. 

This week I ran two transfers (lead the area both times, still haven't had the opportunity to leave the cave yet), had interviews, and did a trainer-trainee meeting. It was good to see everyone from the MTC, it still feels weird not seeing all of them every day. 

Although we still didn't have a baptism, we had a ton of people show up to church. Élder Ferguson and Taylor did have a baptism though which was cool, two little boys. The highlight of the week was the mom of one of the little boys who came to church to watch the baptism. I think shes from one of the shaky churchs or something cause the first thing she did was get on her knees and pray with her hands in the air during sacrement meeting. She also did the whole speaking in tongues thing during the hymns as well as during the baptism. This might sound bad but it was really funny. 

Highlights:

- Tongues lady

- Everyone here says my eyes are bonito, in including 18 year old tigueres, which is a little weird

- I know the mission is starting to get to me when new Book of Mormon videos or Youth Music gets dropped (the new youth album is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (try to sound like an Hermana challenge) 

- One really cool thing here is all the kids make kites and fly incredibly high, also apparently they put razor blades on them and fight them

- Rasband is coming to town in 2 weeks

- 8 and 0 baby

- Juice

Spiritual Thought:

Anyone who actually reads this is a dog, so I´ll put my best work here. I was rereading the talk Kingdoms of Glory by Oaks. It might be my favorite talk. There are a lot of fantastic points and ideas brought up in it, but I just want to mention a couple. Number one, we will ultimately end up in the place where we can comfortably abide. If we live the celestial law, we will end up there, but if we don´t live the celestial law, we would not be comfortable there. It is much better explained in the talk, but I like how the plan really is all about agency. The whole reason we´re here on earth is to learn how to have joy. To learn what choices bring us joy. To change and grow so that we can experience that joy. How much are we willing to change to be like Christ? Second point, salvation is a personal matter, exaltation is a family matter. I think this is originally a Nelson quote but it is mentioned again in this talk. I want to finish with this quote, which is wee bit long but good.  

"It is not even enough to be convinced of the gospel; we must act so that we are converted by it. In contrast to other preaching, which teaches us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something. From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is based on the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. We qualify for eternal life through a process of conversion."

Au Revoir! 

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October 21, 2024

Goooooooo VOLS! I'm not a tennesse fan, but one of our Senior couples are huge fans, and so I know more about Tennesse football than I ever have before. Also how about them Cougs. I continue to miss football. 

Alright what's up everyone, another week here in the DR. I don't know how coherent this email is going to be, our power was out last night and thus no fans (I've never sweat so much in my life), so I couldn't fall asleep. We do have pretty good water right now though so that's a plus. 

This week was pretty good overall. We found a lot of people, taught some really good lessons, and tried to help the people of the DR make good choices. Some of them do, some of them don't. Being here has realized emphazied the importance of action regarding our faith. You can believe all that you want, but it doesn't count as faith until you act. 

I'm sure most people reading this are familiar with the chapter Ether 12. If not go read it. To me it emphasizes that miracles don't happen until after the trial of our faith. 

Anyways, I was able to run my first actual transfer this past week. Although I didn't leave the area, I got the opportunity to lead the area, and Élder Vromman was fun to learn from. He goes home after this transfer, so it was cool to talk about our perspectives on opposite side of the mission. 

I also had my first fast out in the field. Whoever decided to name the action of fasting should choose another profession. However, aside from how dehydrated I felt, I know that powerful blessings come from fasting (or at least once less chance to get parasites). We fasted for our friends, and this past week we had some show up that I thought were for sure not going to show up. Definelty a testimony building experience. 

Other Cool Highlights:

- We found a huge snake on the side of the road. It was funny because earlier that day I had been reading in Mark 16: 17 - 18, and now I've heard about or seen all of the things except for the poison one. Hopefully I'm not the missionary that has to experience that sign. 

-I continue to develop my street baseball skills. 

- I got a free Jazz hat. We passed a guy wearing it and asked him about it, and he offered it to me. The people here are incredibly giving. 

- The best part about this country is most definently the juice. 

-I may have slightly slipped into the cancer river we cross as a shortcut. Dominicans need to learn how to pick up trash. Anyways hopefully I don't grow another toe. 

Spiritual Thought:

The main truth I have learned out so far on my mission is faith. It's the first principle of the Gospel for a reason. In my big Bible study that I've been doing, faith is brought up over and over again every time there is a miracle. There's even one part where Jesus says even he can't perform miracles without the faith of those he is blessing. Here on the mission we teach faith has two parts: belief/hope/trust, and then  action. Acting on what you believe in. You can't move the mountain without first picking up the shovel and starting to dig. So that's what I want to leave those who've read this far with, don't doubt your faith and just take that first step, it'll all work out in the end. 

Alright guys I'm gonna end it here. I know missionary emails are all kinda repetive and similar and long, I know this because I was kinda boring myself writing it. The missionary life is much more exciting than I make it seem, but emails.... so if anyone has any ideas on how to spice it up, let me know.

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October 14, 2024

Que paso everyone.

Another email from your favorite missionary in the DR. Well I probably at least make your top 5. Hopefully. Another eventful week here in the Santo Domingo North Mission.

This week was made exciting because we had Zone Conference, which went pretty well. It's fun because my trainers a Zone Leader, so I get to see how those things are planned and all the business that goes on in the Zone. At the Zone conference we talked a lot about the covenant path. 

Other than that it's just missionary work all day every day. There's probably no better way to get to know a country better than being a missionary. You spend all your time talking to people an sitting in their homes. We always meet a lot of cool people, and everyone here is down to talk about the Gospel. It's a little harder to get them to come to church though. 

One funny experience: We were walking along on this street and we passed some tigres (basically the gangsters, have motorcycles, don't follow the gospel and don't make their mother's proud). One of them jokingly offered my comp his vape. In true Elder Dalton style, he took the vape and threw it over his shoulder. Everyone kinda froze because it was so shocking. I thought we might die. Needless to say he did not come to church. 

Other highlights from the week:

- I had ice cream here for the first time to celebrate 2 months down on the mission. 

- Started running in the mornings to try and work of all the rice and chicken

- We don't really have water right now

- I've been chased by a ton of dogs, and eventually I'm gonna have to punt one if it gets too close. 

Spiritual Thought:

This is gonna have to carry my email because it's been pretty boring so far I know. I don't blame you if you didn't make it this far. We've been using Elder Kearon's talk from conference a lot in our conversations. The one called "This is the Church of Joy." This then usually leads to a discussion about what the difference between happiness and Joy is. Happiness is temporary. It comes from parties and food and BYU being 6-0. But joy lasts forever. Because parties end, food gets eaten, and BYU will always disappoint us (not this season I have faith.) Joy is deeper. And joy lasts through good times and bad. When someone dies, you can still have joy through peace and comfort. On this mission so far, I have developed a knowledge that this is the Church of Joy. A lot of other churches can bring you happiness, but only one church will bring you joy in this life and the next. Anyways, go read the talk. 

Feel free to send me emails.

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October 7, 2024

What up everyone!

Are you guys ready for another long email? Just kidding, probably, we’ll see where this one takes us. 

Everything is pretty good here in Santo Domingo. No one died this week so that’s always a win. Although Elder Fergeson (in my house) was kind of close. We think he might’ve had Dengue, either that or a really bad flu. But he’s better now so I think we’re good. At the rate I’m getting bit here, I’m giving myself a pretty high chance of having it at least once on the mission.

There’s not really a good transition from that to missionary work so I’m not going to try. This week was pretty good overall. We had one exchange, kind of. Since my comp Elder Dalton and Elder Fergeson are zone leaders, they often have to do zone leader things. Thus they have to leave Elder Taylor and I every so often. One time this week they made me and him go prosytelyze on our own for like an hour and a half. We did our best, but it was made a little difficult by the fact that we couldn’t really communicate with anyone. Somehow, we ended up teaching two lessons, so I’m calling that a win. And we only had to deal with one crazy person while teaching. She spit a lot. But our real exchange was when they sent us off to El Eden for the day with Elder Flake and Elder Rich. Even though it’s still pretty close to where we are, it was cool to see a different area. We did a lot of finding, and taught some good lessons. 

The other big event of the week was of course the General Conference. I’ve always loved conference, but something about the mission just makes it seem like an even bigger deal. We tried to get as many new people as possible to come watch it at the church, but in most cases when we got excuses just started pulling it up on peoples phones. Lot of good talks too, but I wanna talk about that in a sec.

Other highlights:

Kids here play street baseball with bottle caps and like broom handles, and I hit an absolute bomb the other day.

I’ve learned to love the simple things, like a glass of soda, water pressure, and garbage services.

I hate motorcycles

We have convinced the entire neighborhood that we’re chinese. Obviously people call us american (and other things I can’t mention here - in fact I don’t think it’s possible to be catcalled more than we do) so we just tell everyone we’re chinese. I think this has been going on for at least a couple transfers, so now most of the kids think we’re chinese. I hope we’re not giving them an inaccurate impression of the strength of the church in China.

Ok Spiritual thought time. If you’ve made it this far, it’s too late to quit now. Most of you probably heard Bednar’s talk. I loved it. But I maybe love the talk he referred to more. It’s called Beware of Pride. It’s not an easy talk to summarize so I won’t, but it basically defines what pride is and why pride is the universal sin. There is a quote I really like from it, “The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. ‘What will men think of me?’ weighs heavier than ‘What will God think of me?’” Anyways, food for thought. Read the talk.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng

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September 30, 2024

Klk everyone! Obviously a lot has happened since my last email, so we'll see how long this one goes. 

The end of the CCM was good, I did well enough on the Spanish Exam from them to let me out. The rest of the days were spent with the district. We all became pretty good friends so it was sad, but everyone was excited to get to the field. Our flight for the DR left at 1 in the morning so didn't really get much sleep that day. But at least we got to stay in a nicer hotel (air conditioning) and have good food. Thursday was transfers.
My new companion is Elder Dalton from Arizona. He's a dog. Been out for about a year, really hard worker, and good teacher. I'm excited to learn the ropes from him. It's also fun because there's 4 of us in the house: us, Elder Taylor, and Elder Dalton's old companion Elder Ferguson (Elder Ferguson was Elder Berry's MTC comp for those in my stake). Also, both of them are the zone leaders. So basically they just split the zone leaders and gave them two MTC comps. But yea basically the people make this house fun, other than it… well.
 

The two trainers affectionately refer to our house as the cave. They said it might be the worst house in the mission. It's under a hospital and doesn't really have windows. They've said they've occasionally woken up to people screaming in the middle of the night from the hospital. But hey the water works occasionally. When it doesn't…. bucket showers. I actually don't hate the bucket showers though, the hardest part with the water is just the amount of time it takes to fill up our washer thing. But besides the occasional (regular) power outage, it's not too bad. And as missionaries we don't actually spend a ton of time here anyways.
 

My area is called Guaricanos. It's in the northern part of the capital, Santo Domingo. I kinda envisioned my mission beforehand as being in like a little jungle town in the countryside or like a beach town, but here it is very citylike. At times it feels like a concrete jungle, except some of the roads are dirt. However it means there are a bunch of people to teach all the time. The people here are great. Everyone is super friendly, and almost everyone is willing to hear a message about the gospel, even the kids (who are all really smart, no kids in the US want a lesson about Jesus in the middle of the day). My Spanish is slowly getting better, but I can still barely communicate. I can understand my trainer pretty well, but Dominicans are tougher, especially like older men. The problem here is retention. A lot of people get baptized but for whatever reason stop coming to church. So if anyone's got any ideas hit me up.
 

I'm sure some people on this list have been to the DR, but the streets here are crazy. Elder Ferguson said he got hit by a car a little while ago and it was like in the movie Elf. Every guy here also has motorcycles that they wheelie down the roads, but the annoying part is the noise they make. The houses are packed in tight and on top of each other and stuff, and there's a bunch of little alleyways and little paths in between houses. It makes for a lot of walking but it's cool to explore. And music is constantly playing, everywhere. Not gonna lie it was overwhelming at first. I think I was ready for what to expect with like the poverty and stuff, but for me the surprising part has kinda just been the energy/mayhem of the area. And for me who's quieter, it can be a lot, but I'm learning to love it.

Spiritual Thought:

- I started the New Testament and came across this while studying. In Matthew 6:33 it says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." But if you read the JST translation it says, "Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I thought it was interesting hoy the change in the translation was from seek to build/establish. I like the idea that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a place we seek, but rather a place we need to build.

Sorry for the incredibly long email, I would talk more about individual people we've taught and stuff, cause we met some people with crazy stories, but I'll save that for another time.

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September 18,2024

The final week and probably final email here in the CCM. I am very excited to get to the DR and start working! But I will also miss all the friends I have made here. In many ways the time here has flown by, especially considering I've been here almost a month. In other ways time here has passed very slowly, especially during the long and hot classes. 

Nothing out of the normal has really happened this past week, other than Mexico Independence day. It started Sunday night and went till Monday. For us in the CCM, it just meant that we could hear more fireworks than usual, and ate some more Mexican food than usual. The best part was the Mariachi Band that played during dinner on Sunday. It was a party. Oh and the churros, which were probably the best desert we've had here. We finished celebrating Monday night with a Grito cheer.

The other standout moment from the week was our devotional on Sunday night. Elder Bednar gave a talk on finding the true character of Christ, and reaching outwards when our lives become hard. He gave the example of Christ fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, being tempted, and then praying for John. I was reminded of many people in my life that examplify this greatly, such as grandparents, friends, and especially of one of my moms uncles. I'll always remember one trip to visit my mom's family in Illinois, and y mom pointing out how her uncle was very quiet, but would always look for things to do to help you, like filling up your cup or putting air in your tire. The best part was that he never did seeking attention, and often times you would not realize till much later. Anyways.  The reason the devotional was so powerful was because Elder Bednar used very direct language, and told us straight up that this mission was not about us. Another point I really liked from the devo was that we can't build our testimony on others faith, no matter how much we respect them, but that we have to put in the work to become converted ourselves.

Other highlights from this week:

• One night this week (I can't remember which they all blend together) we had one of the biggest thunderstorms I've seen. The funny part was that some elders went out in the streets and were doing handstands and stuff. 

• Elder Jones in my district and Elder White from another district started a staring/no movement contest that lasted around 2.5 hours. I admire both of them greatly. 

• Mom sent me snacks.

• Our dryers no longer blow hot air and we have hot hot water in our house at the moment. 

Overall, great week in the CCM, and I can't wait to send you guys emails from the DR!

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September 11,2024

What up guys! 2 weeks left in prison. I mean the CCM. Just kidding it's really not all that bad. The only parts that are prisony is the food, the community service, and the jail cells where they keep missionaries in solitary confinement for bad behavior. And the community service is actually pretty fun most of the time. This week we weeded and stuff around trees. According to one hermana, I’m really good at edging the grass around the trees. Not much good I can say about the food though. There are a few good meals throughout the week, like the chicken bake, but the hard part is the monotony of it. But hey, all things considered, if food is my biggest worry in life, it means things are pretty good. 

The CCM is made fun because of the people that are here. My district is all pretty close by now, and we find a good balance between fun and spiritual things. Not that those things are necessarily exclusive either. Some of the best parts of the week is when we meet as a district after a devotional to review and share what we thought. I love learning from everyone and their different perspectives. The classes are a bit repetitive but I feel like especially this past week my spanish has improved somewhat. I know I'm going to miss the people here when I leave.

Other highlights of the week:

• A bunch of friends got here this week such as Elders Stutznegger, Ploeger, Malmrose, Hansen, and Whittaker.

• President Nelson 100th Birthday. My favorite part was the leaders of other faiths sharing what they thought about him. I think it was cool to remember that we have a lot in common with members of other faiths and that our leaders have strong friendships with all different types of people.

• Chicken bake (I really liked it)

• Elders Quorum lesson given by yours truly and Elder Taylor. Quote “A close second to the Sermon on the Mount in the greatest lessons ever given” - Anonymous. Apparently the next lesson we will give will be on humility.

Spiritual Thought:

DC 11:7

“Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then you shall be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.”

Thanks for reading this far.

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September 5, 2024

Hey guys! Another week in the CCM. These emails might be a little repetitive for the next couple of weeks because well, these next couple weeks might be a little repetitive. It's still fun to be here though don’t worry. 

I’ll start my email where I left off on my last email. We won! The basketball game to be clear. It was looking a little close at first but then we pulled ahead and never looked back. Other athletic activities for me this week have included more basketball, beach volleyball, frolf (Frisbee golf) and a couple miles at the track. My goal by the end of the CCM is to break a 5:30 mile. Last time I hit 6 minutes, but I still feel like I'm a little out of shape. Also the track is dirt so maybe that's why I feel slow. Running is one of the ways that I'm trying to keep my mind busy and challenge myself.

The other main area that I'm really trying to push myself in is Spanish. I feel like I'm doing alright but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement. Plus the DR is supposed to have incredibly fast spanish so I really need to learn a lot here before I get there. My district tries to make learning Spanish fun in different ways. We come up with funny phrases to say or give each other nicknames. So far the best one is Elder Aceite (aka Elder Oil aka Elder Smith) because he brought a bunch of essential oils. There are a few others that I probably should not mention here.

Besides classes and athletics, activities at the CCM include two devotionals a week, church, and a variety of meetings. Oh, also food. The food here is uh, well that will be one of the best parts of getting to the field. The tienda is quickly becoming a lifeline with its wide array of snacks and drinks. 

Other interesting things that happened this week:

• I got a buzz cut. I'm not sure if I really have the hair for buzz cuts, but it has been really nice because I don't have to worry about my hair at all. Our district must look extremely cool all walking around with buzz cuts, I'm sure everyone else is jealous. The only people left to get them are the hermanas, but for some reason they seem hesitant.

• Elder Gong gave a devotional… at the Provo MTC. Even though we only had the broadcast it was still a cool experience to have an apostle talking to missionaries specifically. You can tell he's a really smart guy, but also funny and personable.

• The rain. You know my week has been interesting when rain makes the list. But it actually is pretty cool. It rains pretty consistently on the evenings here, and sometimes it comes down really hard. I'm very glad I brought a rain coat even though I'll only use it here in Mexico.

OK I won't bore you guys for too much longer. Overall I really am excited to be here, and I feel like my testimony grows everyday. I've found that my favorite part of the day is personal study, and I am constantly looking forward to it. I didn't realize how strong my love of the scriptures was until I got here. Adios!

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August 28, 2024

Hola everybody! First email so we’re going to see how this goes logistically. I’m not sure yet what all I’m going to include in my emails or how long they’re going to be. We don’t have much time on our p-days in the CCM with the temple trip and all the basketball that I have to play. I might have to cut this email a little short because we challenged another district to a pickup game. Just kidding, I’ll write the full email. But we will be winning the game later today. 

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This week has been both super long and gone by very fast. However it has consistently been very fun. My district gets along pretty well I feel like and we always seem to have a good time, even during the long classes. We have some nice athletic talent too, including my companion Elder Taylor who was a very good basketball player in Idaho. I also played Elder Anderson in highschool basketball (East), so we had fun talking about basketball. There’s a lot of other people in my district I could talk about but I’ll leave that for later time. I already love all of them and feel like each one of them brings something special to the group. 

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The food here is… uh…. alright. I haven’t had anything terrible but I also haven’t had anything amazing. There are some things that are better than others for sure though. Most days consist of a 3 hour Preach my gospel class and a 3 hour Spanish class, along with some sort of devotional or workshop or something. The way I like to view it tho is Breakfast followed by a class break, then lunch, followed by a class break, then Dinner followed by other stuff. It gives me something to look forward to. In all honesty the classes aren’t that bad because my district usually makes it funny, and some of the devotionals were pretty cool. On Sunday we had a recorded devotional of President Nelson, Oaks, and Ballard. It was all about their testimonies of Joseph Smith, which was cool because that can sometimes be a weird subject to talk about. 

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Another cool thing that happens here at the CCM is that after the Devotionals and Devotional Reviews, almost all the missionaries go outside and sing hymns together. I’ll try and put a video of it on my album, but don’t turn up the sound too loud because you can hear me singing. One thing I’ve found in my extensive experience on the mission is that I feel like I learn Spanish best through song. God Be With You till We Meet Again is one of the CCM favorites, and it sounds pretty cool in spanish. 

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Other than that there isn’t much to report. The el pollo rojo thing is a myth, it’s actually not that bad. The only reason I don’t get it is because it’s served the same day as the steak, and that is maybe the best meal here. I sprained my ankle slightly on the very first day, so now I get the no competition thing. Check the album for pictures, I’ll put some on this email but most will be on the album.

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Spiritual Thought: I feel like most missionaries have been putting a spiritual thought on their emails so I’ll do that as well. This week 2 Nephi 4 has been on my mind a lot. I just keep going back and rereading it. Specifically verses 17 to the end. I would recommend reading it, but I know most people won’t (most probably won’t even make it this far in the email so congrats to those who have) (definitely don’t know this from personal experience), anyways so I’ll just sum it up. Nephi is talking about all his sins and temptations and how that bugs him. But he knows who he’s put his trust into. God. I relate to that because I also know I’m far from perfect, but I also know who I’ve decided to put my trust into. So when things get hard as I know they eventually will, hopefully I can rely on that. Or I can rely on knowing that BYU will probably beat Utah in basketball this year. That’s pretty good too. Adios!