March 31, 2014 - Thank you San Vicente - ZL‏‏

This past week, was my last week here in San Vicente. It is a bitter sweet "hasta la proxima"(goodbye) here in San Vicente, but I am really excited to see what the next chapter of this journey holds. On Saturday President Deere called us to give us our new assignments. Elder Nyland has a great companion from Columbia-Elder Alomia- that is coming here to San Vicente. He is a little bit nervous about the Spanish, but I am not nervous at all. He is such a great Elder and I am confident in leaving San Vicente under his stewardship. As for me, I am heading to.... Murcia! My new companion is Elder Patterson. I am so excited! Interesting story, this is where Elder Ellsworth came from when we both came here to San Vicente, so I feel like I am just headed home.... again. I don´t know a ton about my area, but when I do, I will let you all know:) I do, however, have the address from Elder Ellsworth.

I would love to hear from all of you at my new address:)*side note from mom :  If you would like his new address please contact me at auf4@hotmail.com  

Also, (since he didn’t mention it in this letter) in Dallin’s earlier email to me he wrote - This past week was incredible, and I feel bad that I won’t have time to tell you everything. Things are so so crazy with transfer weeks with packing and saying goodbye to everyone... ahha crazy;) I am doing really good though, and happier than I have ever been out here. Honestly, time is just absolutely flying, I can´t believe that conference is this upcoming week. I cannot wait!! As for the updates!!!:) President Deere called us this Saturday morning with the changes. My new assignment.... I have been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Murcia zone. Funny story, that is where Elder Ellsworth served right before coming here to San Vi with me!! Honestly, I am so excited for the opportunity I will have to serve others, and will definitely learn A TON!!!! I am so grateful for the trust that the Lord and President Deere have placed in me and I pray that I may be able to help the Murcia Zone for the better. From what I heard from my new companion Elder Patterson, there are 12 Elders and 2 Sisters in our zone, so that should be interesting. I am a bit nervous, that is normal but I know that it will all be great! I am really excited for this new adventure and chapter of the mission.)

I am going to apologize that this letter is so short this week, but this Pday has been absolutely crazy with last minute things so we do not have a ton of time today, so I will give you the highlights:

This past week honestly was a blur... it went by so so fast!

This week we were really blessed in finding great new investigators. Like I said, I am confident in leaving them in the hands of Elder Nyland, he will do such a great job. It is funny how it works, but it seems like whenever you are leaving an area, that is when you have the most work. Anyways, Wednesday we were able to visit our menos activos and invite them to church. It was so sweet to see Hermana Marcia and her daughter at church on Sunday. Right when they saw us her daughter came up to me and gave me a "pulsera" bracelet that she had made. Right now that is the trend here in Spain! Everyone is wearing colorful bracelets made from little rubber bands, the missionaries included;) Friday night we were able to watch the Testament with Erick’s family for our weekly noche de hogar (FHE), and the spirit was so so strong. They were able to understand things that they didn´t quite understand before. I would really recommend watching that one if you have never seen it! On Saturday we were able to meet with our sweet Menos Activo Carmen and teach her, the spirit was so strong.  She really has the desire to return. Saturday night and Sunday were days full of goodbyes. Goodbyes sure are tough, but a quote that I have learned from my Dad that I am so grateful for, "Don´t be sad because it is over, smile because it happened." I could not be more grateful for this time the Lord has given me here in San Vicente. I have met some of the most incredible people this world has to offer. I know we crossed paths for a reason, and they will always have a special place in my heart. Until we meet again.

I am so grateful for San Vicente del Raspeig!

Until next week, much love!

Elder Dallin Farrell

March 24, 2014 - Guardian Angels - Week 35

Good morning family and friends. Another FAST week here in Spain has already come and gone - I cannot believe it. To begin I just want to give a heads up about LETTERS and the address for this week! Maybe hold off for this week because transfer calls are this upcoming Saturday and chances are that I am heading out. When I know for sure, I will email my new address. As for this past week, it was a good one for Elder Nyland and I!

Last Monday for Pday Elder Nyland and I played some ball. As we were walking to the court in our ball clothes we passed an older women and just said hola as we passed. We hadn´t walked 10 steps when she called out, "Elders!" It was interesting because people don´t usually call for us here, especially when we are in our ball clothes. We ended up talking to her and it turns out that she is another menos activo that lives here. It is interesting how the Lord works, every menos activo that we are working with has found us. Anyways her name is Carmen and she is such a sweetheart. We ended up meeting with her Thursday and she told us her story. She was baptized as a member in 77 and was one of the pioneers here in Spain. She told us that she participated in building the Capilla, was at the Madrid Temple open house, and a bunch of other things she had been a part of with the church history here in Spain. She continued telling us her story, which was so sweet. It turns out that years ago something happened that caused her to stop coming and since that point she has dropped going, but she is still a strong member and lives all of the standards. As we were talking with her she told us that just last week she was about to give up on God. She told us that she was frustrated with him and that she just prayed to him. She said that running into us this week was an answer to her prayers. She started crying at this point and thanked us for being her guardian angels. It was such a spiritual and humbling experience to hear that from her. We are working with her and trying to get her back involved with the ward so that she can return to the joy, rewards and blessings that come from faithful church attendance. She is such a sweetheart.

As for our other investigators, they are doing well and progressing. This past week the Hermanas in our District had a baptism and asked Elder Nyland if he would baptize their investigator. It was such a great experience to see him baptize. I am so grateful for this time we have shared together; it has been so awesome seeing him progress into a great missionary. Anyways, we were able to invite two of our investigators, Maria Jose and Carmen, to the baptism and they really enjoyed the spirit that was there.

This past Friday we had our Joint Zone Conference with President Deere and Hermana Deere in Murcia. It was such a great conference and the spirit was so strong. President Deere´s focus was on obedience and Hermana Deere focused on faith. I loved what she had to say. This work is so incredible. She described the different things that we can have faith in and concluded that when we have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we have faith that everything else will be just fine. That message really hit me. God knows what is best for us, because of that we need to trust in Him and His Son and trust that their will is always going to lead to happiness even if it is not the way we may have wanted at first. This gospel is true. This gospel is beautiful. I love you all so much and am more grateful for each of you everyday. Keep smiling, serving and going forward with faith. It´s the best way to live. Until next week.

Much Love

Elder Dallin Farrell

Murcia Zone Conference

March 17, 2014

Over the past few weeks we have really been blessed in finding new people that are prepared to receive this message. I have learned so much out here, but another main thing that I have learned is that we can never be comfortable with the work we have out here, we always need to be hungry to find new people to share this message with. This past week we were able to get in with some new and progressing investigators and to teach them the message of the Restoration. On Saturday we had a really neat experience with 2 of our investigators. (A mother and son from Columbia-55 and 28 years old) Anyways, they are really religious and open to hearing about other religions and other beliefs. On Saturday we were able to meet with them and share with them the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; the spirit was so powerful. Reciting the first vision is such a powerful experience because the Spirit testifies of the truthfulness of that event. I know I mentioned it last week, but it is so incredible to feel that exact same spirit in the home of investigators as it is in the Sacred Grove itself. They really were so interested and told us repeatedly how beautiful it was. They were full of great questions about the Book of Mormon. At the end of our lesson we gave the mother her own copy, and it was so sweet to see what she did with it. She thanked us so much and then just hugged the book and took a deep breath. All I could envision was how she felt to finally remember the things she has known all along. It was so touching so see her and how she treated The Book of Mormon. It just seemed like she had found something that she didn´t even know she was looking for. They are so complimentary of us as missionaries. It is the people like this that are prepared that make this work all worth it.

On Friday night we were able to have our weekly Noche de Hogar with La Familia Lechon. I love this family, they are so very special to me! This week we made tacos together and had such a good time!! They were able to invite one of their friends who is also progressing as well. It was so awesome just to have a family night with them and to share our talents with them. That is one of the main things I have learned this week - the importance of sharing the talents the Lord has given us. In Matthew 24 we read the parable of the talents. I love reading this parable and learning from it each time. The Lord has blessed each one of us with our individual talents whatever they may be. Rather than being like the one servant that buried his talents, we need to use and magnify our talents, and use them to bless the lives of others. That is my invitation to all of you this week, magnify your talents whatever it may be, even if it is just sharing your smile with someone else. I am loving this work. I am so grateful for the best family and friends in the world. I love you all and pray that you have the best week!!

Much Love,

Elder Dalllin Farrell

March 10, 2013

Well hello again sweet family and friends. I sure loved all of your emails today, and to hear about all of the fun things that are going on back at home. This past week has been such a great one, always a blur, but a great one!

The mission is a learning experience. I am learning more and more things everyday. One of the main things that I have learned this week is how grateful I am for the beautiful life I have been given, and for all of the blessings that come from the gospel. Sometimes on the mission and in life in general things get hard. But when we take a step back and realize all of the many blessing we have been given, it makes those hard moments disappear. This past week I had many of those moments where I realized how good I really have it and how others pass through things that I could not even imagine. My eyes have really been opened out here on the mission, and I am so grateful for the many experiences I have had to help others out with their own trials as they in return help me out with mine. Honestly, this may be the happiest I have been out here in the mission field because I have learned a priceless principal, when you strive to help others be happy and have what you have, you are bound to be happy. I put it to the test, and of course am definitely not perfect at it, but service is the cure.

On Monday we were able to visit with one of our investigators from Ghana. He is about 35 and never had the opportunity to learn how to read or write. Every time we visit with him we leave him with a gospel message and spend some time with him to help him with reading and writing. This past Monday we were able to help him. Just to see the smile on his face when he sounded out the word Cat made my week. Honestly, he reminded me of a little kid; he was so happy, he couldn´t contain his happiness, he just laughed. He is so awesome and is progressing poco a poco. 

Tuesday we had the privilege of eating cow tongue at sweet hermana Gabi´s house. hahaha. As I was half way through my meat I just had to ask her what I was eating. She replied by telling me, "Elder Farrell, I will tell you as soon as you are done".... haha that is never a good sign. I can´t tell if it was the chewiness or the taste buds that threw me off...;) haha sweet hermana Gabi, she is always looking out for us! I love her!

This was a good week of work for Elder Nyland and I. On Saturday we met a new family from Colombia. We were able to talk to them about The Book of Mormon and to set a return cita with them for this upcoming Saturday. I always love the spirit that is there testifying and the reaction on people´s faces as we tell them about Christ visiting the Americas, this message is perfect.

Yesterday I was able to speak in Sacrament meeting on the message of the Restoration. I am so grateful for this message, and for the spirit that it brings. Before the mission I was blessed with the opportunity to visit the Sacred Grove, and to feel the beautiful spirit there. A spirit in which I cannot deny what happened there, but the sweet thing about this gospel is that it doesn´t matter where you are, that same Spirit can and will testify of the truthfulness of the message of the Restoration. I felt it so strongly yesterday as I was baring my testimony in our little capilla here in Alicante Spain.

Last night we passed by our basketball court again and met some more kids, one of them is from Argentina. We were able to talk to him and get his information. He is such a cool kid and I am really looking forward to meeting with him this week. Of course, we had to finish by playing them in a little game of hoop. I am sure it looks silly to see two white Americans playing ball in white shirt and tie, but hey, I am fine with looking silly;)

This past week was so amazing. I am continually grateful for this gospel and for the opportunity I have to be here. I love you all so much, and pray for you daily. Have the best week!

Much Love,

Elder Dallin Farrell

March 3, 2014

Preparation Day - Bowling

Hello family, and friends. Thank you so much for all of the emails - they were perfect today!  This past week was very very long, but a lot of great things happened. I don´t have a ton of time today so I will include the highlights!

This past Tuesday, President and part of his family came out to Alicante to conduct interviews, wow, I sure love seeing him and the Deere family. In the words of Hermana Deere, "When we see you, we don´t feel like we are too far away from home" They are such an incredible family!

This past week, Elder Nyland and I had some great citas, and were able to find a great new investigator who is from Mexico. Yesterday we went up and knocked on her door as a reference we received. She is in her mid 40s and is religious. She asked us if there was a life after death and we were able to share our testimonies to her about the beautiful Plan of Salvation. We are so blessed to have this knowledge in our lives, and to live with the purpose that this message brings. She was excited to have us back, so we are excited to see how our return cita with her goes this upcoming week, I will keep you updated. 

Friday we were able to go on intercambios with the Zone Leaders, which was so awesome. We were able to learn so much and we are excited to apply everything that we learned to our work here. 

As for our member family, they are still as incredible as ever. They have honestly done so much for me in the past five months. I will always be grateful for their love and example they have extended to me. Last night as Elder Nyland and I were just sitting down to plan, Hermana E called and told us that she was waiting downstairs. We went down and she was waiting there with her kids to give us some cake. "I am always thinking of my sons" She is so incredible. Please keep them in your prayers!

Yesterday we had a really neat experience. Church was so nice, it was such a spiritual testimony meeting. Erick and Milton were both able to bare their testimonies, and the spirit was so very strong. Church was a whirlwind as the classes went on and we were trying to make citas, direct investigators, and clear things up. At the end of the 3 hours Elder Nyland´s and my heads were just spinning. As we were on our way to ward council meeting, a hermana asked us for a blessing. We were able to give her a blessing of health. It was such a spiritual experience for me because as we were in the room with her, everything was just so calm and peaceful. To be able to step back and give her a Priesthood blessing really opened up my eyes. This work is so much greater than we can even imagine. This is the Lord´s work and He will provide a way. All of the crazy things that are passing in our lives happen for a reason. Our Father in Heaven loves us, and will never leave us alone. I am so grateful for this message. I love this gospel with all of my heart. I love you family, have the best week!

Until next week, much love

Elder Dallin Farrell