September 30, 2013 - First Baptism!

Hello Fam and Friends! Another week has come and gone in a blink of an eye, and so much has happened. Once again, it is so good to hear that all is well back at home. Please keep sending me updates on everything that is going on.  I sure love you guys. Here we go for this week:

Mon. Good p day! P days are so nice and necessary to get rested, and caught up for the next week of work. We started the morning by playing soccer with all of the Elders in my Zone. We rented out a turf field and played for a solid hour. My team was solid, not including myself... ha jokes I am getting better every time, just like my Spanish ¨poco a poco¨. After, we went over to some Elder´s piso, made lunch, then played Catan as a District.  After we e-mailed. That night we met with the Segovia family. Their son just returned from his mission in Argentina. They were so happy. We had a great dinner, great lesson, and a great night.

Tue. We started the morning by moving Elder Warburton and Navarro out of their piso. It was a little overwhelming because missionaries have lived there for about 15 years... gross, but we did it. Tuesday night, I went on exchanges with Elder Warburton because we had a few lessons in English set up. We had a very spiritual lesson with one of their investigators named Christian. We taught him a big lesson, because he is preparing for baptism. We taught him the restoration, prophets, obedience, and the word of wisdom. He was so receptive, and the spirit was so strong. After teaching him the word of wisdom, we committed him to live it. He had a little problem with tea but he replied, “I am not going to let something so small stop my progression of coming unto Christ and being baptized”. After, we testified of Prophets, and testified that we have a Prophet today in President Thomas S. Monson, we showed a picture of President Monson to two men who had never seen him before; we are so blessed. They are so excited for conference. Tonight as we were walking back to our piso, the whole city erupted in cheers-¨Malaga must have scored¨; life in Spain.

Wed. Wednesday was a great day, another day of hard work. I was with Elder Warburton on intercambios. As we were walking, we started talking about gifts that the Lord gives us daily. Even the gifts we may over look - those that enable us to continue studying, to grow and progress. We are so blessed. So as I have said in previous e-mails, Elder Cortes always knows how to make me laugh when I need it. When we were heading out of our piso, I smelt something wretched, it turns out I had stepped on some dog poop (which also seems to be everywhere here) Elder Cortes was praying as we were leaving and asked ¨Please help Elder Farrell to get the poop off of his shoe¨haha... bad but funny. For Noche de Hogar we taught a lesson on the Armor of God, played a game, then called it a night. After, we hopped on the bus to pick up some Elders from different zones who were staying the night for zone training. Crazy night with 5 in our piso.

Thurs. - My first zone training. Thursday, Malaga, La Mancha, and Granada zones all went to Babel (central Malaga) for a specialized training. It was so good to see Pres. and Herm. Deere and to be in the presence of so many missionaries. The spirit was so strong. Their son Cameron just returned off of his mission last week, so it was so good to see him and catch up with him. The theme of the meeting was, ¨with the Lord, nothing is impossible.¨ Another topic that I really needed to hear - “Everything will be ok in the end, if it is not ok, it is not the end.¨ It was so fun to visit and meet with so many missionaries. One of my favorite things we do when we get together is we all get in a circle and sing our mission song. I will have to send that to you!

Fri. Day of miracles! So much happened on Friday. I have a hard time deciding where to start. In the morning, E Warburton and I visited an investigator that is going through some serious problems right now. As a missionary, I am seeing problems I have never even heard of before. After the lesson I felt bad that I could not relate to any of his problems, and E Warburton said something that really hit me. ¨Because of Christ´s Atonement, we do not have to¨ That really hit me so hard. It is our responsibility to comfort those who stand in need of comfort, but Christ has already taken upon Himself their pains so that we don´t have to. This is our miracle of the day - E Cortes and I went and visited an old investigator that was given to us as a referral. This was our first time meeting with her. It turns out that she has already taken all of the discussions and has been attending church at a different building. The only thing that had been holding her back from baptism was her job, which she doesn´t have anymore. After our lesson E Cortes asked her to be baptized on the 12th of Oct, and she accepted! Not even a split second later E Cortes changed his mind and said, ¨we actually have a service tomorrow¨. After calling Pres. for permission, finding baptismal clothes, and her interview, she was ready for her baptism. She is going to have me do it, which is one of the most humbling things that has happened on my mission so far. 

Sat. Our first baptism! Saturday was such an incredible day. After the end of a crazy week, it all turned out to be worth it. Saturday night our district held a baptismal service for 7. It was such an amazing site to see everyone dressed in white and enter into the waters of baptism. Before the service, we took a pic with everyone; it is now my favorite photo on the mission. I was blessed with the opportunity to baptize Iliana (Our miracle) It was such a humbling experience, which I will never forget. After the baptismal service, Pres. came up to me, and told me he had never seen anything like this in Spain before. The Lord is truly hastening His work here in Spain, and throughout the world.

Have the best week, and enjoy conference. I love you all!

Con Amor,

Elder Dallin Farrell

Zone Conference in Malaga

September 23, 2013 - Semana 9

Familia! Another week down on this incredible adventure, where is time going? Thank you so much to everybody that has written me letters this week. They have started arriving to my piso, so it is always a tender mercy at the end of the night when I have a letter to read. I am really going to try hard to reply because they truly are a huge blessing, once again THANK YOU! As a side note, letters are great to come to my piso, but if you are to send a package, please send it to the mission office in Fuen. Thank you! As for this week, it has been another great one!

Mon. Great P Day in Fuen. I was able to apply for my residency here in Spain, spend some time at the mission office, and then go have a nice Subway sandwich at the mission home with the Deeres. I love them so much.

Tue. All morning we helped a ward member move Pisos. It was a good/hard day full of work, and they fed us after, which was a blessing. I have really gained a greater appreciation for those who feed the missionaries - they will truly be blessed;) The ward members here in Spain are incredible, they are always looking out for the missionaries. That night, I went on Intercambios with one of the best missionaries in the mission. His name is Elder Hooper, he is from AZ and he finishes up this December. I learned so so much from him. He has been a huge blessing to me, he has really taken me under his wing. We had a neat experience that really stuck out to me. As we were visiting a new investigator named Daniel, he started the conversation, "I don´t have time to waste" without even hesitating, Elder Hooper replied, "We do not waste anybody’s time". It was a simple phrase, but it really hit me. We carry with us the message of salvation. We as members are so blessed, and must do everything in our power to share this message of hope with all of our brothers and sisters.

Wed. Busy day with Elder Hooper. We visited a lot of families and had a lot of great lessons in the morning. In the afternoon, we hopped on a bus and rode to a little pueblo in his area, about an hour away. The name is something like Locala Del Mora (sp?) anyways, it was so beautiful. Probably the most beautiful part of Spain I have seen yet. We had a great lesson with a woman named Vierjella who was actually baptized this past Saturday. That night we had noche de hogar, which is a highlight of my week. We always share a message, play games, and have refreshments with our ward, converts, and investigators. I have become great friends with the Nigerians because we speak English;) After we went to the Santiago´s to celebrate Conchi´s (Their gma/a member) bday. They are so sweet, and of course, sent us home with more cake!

Thurs. Crazy day! I went out with Elder Hooper again because Elder Cortes had to go to Locala Del Mora to do baptismal interviews. Elder Hooper and I were covering both areas, so we had a LOT of walking, and a LOT of teaching. Good problems for missionaries. He told me something that I loved... again: "There is no such thing as a new missionary, you have the same authority as I do". Good day.

Fri. Friday morning, I was able to finish the Book of Mormon for the first time out in the field. I had such an incredible/spiritual experience. Moroni 10:4-5 is a promise from God. I know for myself. Later that day, after District Meeting, our whole district went to Dominos which was incredible! There is something about American food that just hits the spot...  EVERYTIME! haha. After Dominos, I was on my way to Fuen on another split! It was awesome, I was able to serve with one of the APs Elder Keller from Idaho. He has also been a huge blessing to me, and has really been watching out for me. This week I was able to serve with some of the best missionaries in the mission, and I learned a TON! That night, I was also able to call Elder Adamson!! It was SO good to hear from him and hear that he is doing well. As Elder Keller and I were out visiting references, we stopped by a ward members home. She was a cute old grandma, and she treated us to some toast, chocolate milk, and cheese. Cute. haha just like a Grandma.

Sat. Saturday was such a great day! We had a ward mission activity for all of the recent converts, and investigators in Barrio 3 and 4. We drove about 45 minutes away to a members house, and played games, ate paella, and enjoyed each others company. I made a new friend named Uche, a new investigator from Nigeria. We were able to spend a lot of time together, and I really enjoyed getting to know him. We talked a lot about his life, and about why I am here. I love testifying of this gospel, and seeing our investigators countenance completely change when they feel the spirit. At the end of the day, Uche told me, "I have had the best day! It is so nice talking about God and spending time with you guys. I feel so happy, there is something inside of me that I just cannot describe." It was such a spiritual experience for me because I knew the spirit had testified of the truthfulness of this message to him. Later that night we had a baptismal service for two of Elder Hoopers investigators. It was such a sweet experience to participate in, there was great attendance. It is so cool seeing all of our investigators witnessing a baptism. The spirit was so strong. It is always strong on the mission...;) Which I am very grateful for.

Sun. Sunday was my third Sunday in a completely Spanish ward, and I loved it. Haha.. yesterday they asked me to translate to my new friend Uche. I basically just told him stories I liked;) haha. That night we had a zone meeting with Pres. Deere, and the stake mission leaders. It was a great way to start a new week.

Well, sorry that letter was so quick, I just wanted to get it all out! I will try to be a little more organized for next week. I love you all so much and love and appreciate you more everyday. Know you are always in my thoughts and prayers. 

This is the work of the Lord, it is a privilege to be here.

Con Amor,

Elder Farrell

September 16,2013 - First Goal!

Another week here in this beautiful country, and I am loving every minute of it! A LOT has happened this week that I would like to share, but first I want to thank everyone for the prayers, thoughts, letters, and e mails! They really help me out more than you will ever know. It is so good to hear that everything is well back at home. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Anyways, as for this past week:

Mon. My first Pday here in Málaga was incredible. I told you a little about it last week, but we had a joint zone p day in Fuen where we played Softball with a solid group of about 40 missionaries. I know I keep  saying it, but President and Hermana Deere are incredible. They were right there in their athletic clothes playing right along side all of their missionaries. President was first at bat, and he slugged a home run. That´s what´s up. That is my mission President;) My second time at bat, I smacked the ball and ended up getting a home run... haha all of the missionaries were giving me a hard time , haha I was just doing my thing;) Jokes. Anyways, after Softball we all headed up to the mission home and had a nice American BBQ, UNREAL! I talked to the Deere´s, they are amazing. That night after we returned to our area, Elder Cortes and I visited the Santiago family.

Tue. We met with the Santiago family again. We are really focusing on them because they are so ready, and the 13 year old Nerea has a fecha for the 28th of this month. We made pancakes with their family, I taught my first lesson on the Restoration to Tonino. I am sure I messed up a lot, but I tried. Oh and their little 4 year old sister Maria is so dang cute!!  Every time we visit their family, she grins from ear to ear and shakes our hands so much. It is so cute. She always wants to play ¨la pelota juego¨ with me a.k.a soccer.  I roll the ball  and she yells GOAL and just laughs, it is so sweet. She also pulls out the Book of Mormon and pretends to read it everytime we are there. I love their family.

Wed. My first Intercambio (exchange). I went out with Elder Warburton for the day. It was so good to be able to ask him questions in English, I am still just figuring this whole missionary thing out. That night at Noche hogar (Family home evening) I had a very sweet experience. Every Wednesday we have Noche hogar with all of our investigators, recent converts, members, etc at our capilla. Before we started we sang ¨Families can be together forever¨ I looked up and saw all of our investigators with their families in front of me. I could imagine them all entering the Temple to be sealed for all eternity, it was so sweet. 

Thurs. On Thursday a family from Brazil moved in. During medio dia, they called and asked if we could help them move in. We went over to help and it turns out that they lived in England for 8 years before moving here, so they could speak English. They have been a tender mercy to me. They have a son that just returned from his mission, and he is really helping me out. That night, Elder Cortes and I bought a cake and went over to the Santiagos because it was Nerea´s 13th birthday. We were able to celebrate with them and then watch the Legacy and leave a message. 

Fri. Another day of Intercambio´s with Elder Buckway in his area. We had a lot of walking and knocking doors.  Some amazing lessons that day.

1:It doesn´t matter what a person looks like, dresses like, smells like, etc. EVERYONE needs to hear this message.

2: Be bold

3: It is okay to buy chuches (Spanish candy) to help you out through the day.

4: Smile and love every second. It is a privilege to be here.

5: Even when you don´t have anymore energy, put one foot in front of the other. Don´t complain.

Good day.

Sat. Such a good day! Every Saturday morning, we are able to play soccer with our investigators. We played for a few hours. I have realized that it doesn´t matter how old they are, EVERYONE here is good at soccer. Naters, this is for you: I SCORED MY FIRST GOAL IN SPAIN hahah I was so excited, after I scored I turned around, yelled, hugged and picked up an investigator... I don´t even know if that is allowed... haha it was a good time. That night, we had another lesson with the Santiagos. We watched the Joseph Smith movie, and the Spirit was SO strong. After we had a fiesta with the Santiagos and all of their extended family for Nerea´s bday. Some funny stories from that night:

So mom, this is for you. They fed us Paella for dinner which is huge in Spain. Of course... there is fish involved. I have learned to be really tough when it comes to food here in Spain, so I just throw it all down the hatch. Anyways, I have learned that a good way to combat the fishy taste is to eat some bread or drink something after. Anyways, after I thought I had conquered the Paella, I ate the rest of my bread and had the rest of my drink as a reward. Right when I took my last gulp, they brought in a whole platter of some sort of fried fish.... they held the plate in front of my face until I took not one, not two, but three. I didn´t know how to go about this whole fish eating business, until they all said ¨Todo¨which means all.... I threw it all down the hatch. I am still alive, but still picking bones out of my teeth... haha.  

Next story, so I am pretty tall, especially for the people in Spain. After I got out of the bathroom, all of the little kids looked at me in amazement. They had seen a giant. Right when their eyes were wide and jaws dropped, I reached up and touched the ceiling. They made me do it a good 5 or 6 times;)

Last story. We ate so much food at the fiesta. After I had eaten all I could handle, Maria (the mother) scooped another huge piece of cake onto my plate. haha I couldn´t do it. She asked ¨Quien quiere mas¨ (who wants more?) and of course Elder Cortes replied, Elder Farre (that's how they pronounce my name, they drop the end of everything). We ended up taking two plates of food home. They take good care of us.

Sun. Good day and church, overall a good day! Elder Cortes had numbers that night, so I got a lot of good studying in.

Another great week here in Málaga Spain. I am loving every second, and really trying to make the most of it. It is a privilege to be here. I love you all and pray for you daily. This is the work of the Lord. Until next week.

Con Amor,

Élder Farrell

Elder Warburton & Elder Farrell

September 9, 2013 - First Week In the Field!

Well family, you are probably wondering where in the world your son/brother is, I am alive and doing well, I promise!:) So much happened this week, I wish I could tell you everything! First of all, my trainer is Elder Cortes and our area is Malaga 4. I am honestly so blessed to be here. A little about Elder Cortes, he is 25 and he is from Chile. He has lived in Spain for the past eight years, in Mallorca. He speaks very minimal English, and I speak very minimal Spanish, but we manage to get by;) I have honestly learned more Spanish this past week than I have in 6 weeks at the CCM. I love when Elder Cortes speaks English, haha he is so funny. Whenever there is a lot of something, he says ¨very¨. For example, I say: ¨that is a lot of money¨ and he says ¨that is very money¨. I should probably correct it, but it gives me a good laugh everytime. Our Piso is HUGE. It is only the two of us that live there. We have 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, family room, and a porch. We get by;) Now for the highlights of the week. It has been such a great week!

Tue. After interviews, training and dinner, we departed to where we were going to stay for the night. Tuesday night, myself and 4 other Elders stayed with a Senior couple named the Castillos. They are angels, they are from Arizona, and help the missionaries out so much. 

Wednesday was such a crazy day! We woke up grabbed our stuff, and went to Babel (The chapel in Málaga). There we were assigned our companions, had a little training, and then left to our area! My area is about an hour away from the mission office. We take the cercanillas (little train) for about 40 minutes, and then we hop on a bus to our piso that is about 20 minutes. We traveled with Elder Hooper (such a great missionary and help to me) and Elder Querolo to our chapel. Our chapel is so close to our Piso which is so nice, probably about a five minute walk. The first thing we did before we went to the piso was grab some food. We went to a place called Kehbab which I am obsessed with. It is a little ¨burrito¨with some mystery meat... haha so good! Fun experience there, right when we were ordering, there was an old Spaniard man that was yelling at us, and continued to do so for the next 10 to 15 minutes, maybe it is a good thing I don´t speak Spanish yet;) After we went to our Piso and I was able to settle and unpack a little bit which was nice. That night we headed over to the capilla and my companion had ward counsel so he threw me in a room with 4 Nigerians and a woman from Poland and I ¨taught¨them Spanish... yeah. After we had noche lugar (Family home evening) with some investigators and members.

I can´t really remember which days everything happened, but so much happened. Friday I believe, we were able to meet with our investigators Anna (Polish) and Uche. They are boyfriend and girlfriend and they have a little baby who is so cute. They have been attending church, and receiving lessons from the missionaries for a while now, and they really love the church. I was able to ask Anna if she would be baptized and she accepted. We are working on getting them married, but it is very difficult for them to get residency. I love them because they Speak English, kind of. We saw Uche on the street one day and he gave us the biggest smile and came up and gave us the biggest hugs. I love him.

The Santiago Familia-Such an incredible family! Last transfer Elder Cortes was able to baptize Antonio (the son) and Luis (his grandpa). They have a big family and they are incredibe. Antonios parents, Francisco and Maria have some problems, and work every Sunday, but they are so supportive of Tonino, I know their time will come. This week we had about 4 lessons with their family. It is Francisco (Dad) Maria (Mom) Antonio (Son Baptized-16) Narea (sister-14) and Maria. Maria is four years old, and may be the cutest little girl I have ever seen. It is so cute listening to little kids speak spanish and having no idea what they are saying.... haha. This week we were able to ask Narea to be baptized. She accepted, and is so excited. Her date is the 28th of this month. We had a neat experience at church yesterday, we were able to give Tonino the Aaronic Priesthood. He passed the Sacrament for the first time yesterday. So cool! They also had us over for lunch on Friday. I don´t know what we ate, but it was pretty good;)

I have had so many tender mercies this week that have helped me SO much! Here are just a few: Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, Elder Cortes knows exactly what I need. Whenever he tries to speak English I get a good laugh. Friday was kind of a hard day, because it just takes time to adjust to all of the changes. That morning, President Deere called me and talked to me for about 10 minutes, that night Hermana Deere called and talked to me for about 15. They are honestly angels. Mom, don´t worry, they love me, and are taking such great care of me. Throughout the week, I have received other phone calls from missionaries throughout our zone just checking in with me, and telling me how good I am doing. One of my favorite moments of the week was when we met with the Santiago family to teach them about the restoration. When we arrived, they had just finished putting a picture of Christ in a frame, and hanging it up on the wall in the middle of their family room. It was such a spiritual thing to watch. So many things happened this week, but that is a good taste of the life of España for you.

Today is my first Pday in the field, and it is a good one. We traveled to Fuen this morning because later this afternoon we have a joint zone softball game and bbq at the mission home. I am so so excited to see the mission home and spend some time with the Deeres. I know I have said it a lot, but I love them so much. We are in for another good week. I hope all is well back at home, I think about and pray for you everyday. I am so blessed to have all of you. Missionary work is incredible. This is what I love the most. I have never been so hungry and tired in my life, but I have never experienced so much joy and been so happy. This is the work of the Lord.

Have an amazing week, until next Monday.

Con Amor,

Élder Dallin Farrell

September 7, 2013 - Malaga 4!

  Dallin's trainer will be Elder Cortés and they will serve together in Malaga 4

THANK YOU Sister Deere for posting these pictures!

September 3, 2013 - Finally in Malaga!

Sister Deere titled this picture Tsunami - 37 missionaries arrived, and none departed!

I have finally made it to Malaga!! I feel at home:) I woke up this morning at 4 40, got ready, showered, said goodbyes, then the missionaries heading to Malaga loaded onto a bus at 6 15 and we arrived at the train station at about 7. The train station was incredible, but it all seems like a blur. Elders Adamson, Allsop, Rasmussun and I sat by each other on the train ride; I don't know how we scored, but we sat first class with about 4 other missionaries. It was the fastest, funnest train ride I have ever been on. We arrived at the train station around 10 and I FINALLY saw the Deeres!! It is SO hot here, I know it is my first day, but I have sweat so much!! Right now we are just at a stake center near the train station doing a little orientation.  I had my interview with President; I love him so much. I couldn't be more grateful or excited to be serving here. All of the assistants and leaders here are incredible. We just finished Dominos for lunch and Elder Adamson and I are e-mailing real quick. The rest of the day is orientation. Tonight the Elders stay at a hotel, and the Hermanas are at the mission home. Tomorrow we get assigned our areas, and companions then tomorrow night we are eating at the mission home. Sorry this is a very rushed e-mail, but I wanted to let you know that I made it safe, I am alive, and I am so happy to be here. Have an amazing week, talk to you next Monday!

Con Amor,

Elder Farrell