Letter #14, 5/28/2012

Hi Dallin,

From your last email it looks like you have had a great week.  I know you are having the successes because of your hard work and that you are being watched over.  I think by now, you will know your new assignments.  So, we look forward to hearing about where you are and who you are with. I received the nicest email from Mindy Decker.  It made me cry.  She said you are really working hard and they so enjoy getting to know you.  I would love to meet them someday.  I hope we can meet their son when he is here on his mission :).

We have had an extremely busy two weeks with all of Beau's activities that he has chosen to be in.  Concerts every other night-orchestra, choir and band, plus Mr. Skyview.  We held his Court of Honor at home.  The Light's did this for Tim and it was so nice.  Pete put together a special slide show and we saw pics of all you boys--WOW you all were so little, especially Beau! HA!  I hope you get all the pics I sent.  We are so happy that grandparents and Chelsea could be here.  It's too bad that IT SNOWED this weekend!  It has been cold and rainy the whole time family is visiting.

Everyone says to tell you hi.  Beau will leave for Alaska one week from today.  He and Tim will start work in some other place besides Anchorage.  Clearing brush or something like that. It will be a good experience.

Dad had a good experience in Utah.  We will probably not move until Thanksgiving.  Financially, it's a much better time for us.  He can do two more rotations and do dirt work through the summer.  Dallas has a good business going but it takes awhile to "stuff the pipeline" with accounts and we would rather get that started in the winter months when Dad can't work on his equipment.  The goal is to get him out of Africa ASAP.

Yes, my 4-year mission to the seminary is over.  It doesn't feel quite real yet.  I still want to study the scriptures with the idea that I may be called upon to teach still.  I found this to be very effective in understanding them myself.   I hope all of you get to teach seminary.  Scary, humbling and fun!

Family NEWS: Nathan is getting married in September!  Sydney is getting married in October! Cassidy is pregnant. Travis graduated and was nominated as one of Utah's top students. Ally is moving to Texas. Darin is now a real dentist and is moving to Georgia. 

Well, we are getting ready to say goodbye to the Tall grandparents. They are driving to the cabin this morning and then home. tiner grandparents leave tomorrow. Family is everything!

We love you and miss you.  Time is flying by. Enjoy every moment of your mission! Can't wait until Father's Day so we can talk to you!

Mom

Hey!

All this talk of family business and craziness is all such a comfort to me. The Lord expects a lot out of us because we are his children and we have much work to do, but he blesses us with times of serenity with family that gives us a glimpse of the Celestial Kingdom. 

This week was very different. I would liken myself to a baseball. One moment I have left the pitcher's hand and I am flying nicely and comfortably at high speed...BAM got smacked with a bat when I least expected it. 

One of the rarest things that can happen when it comes to transfers happened. Elder Winchester and I are both being transferred out (whitewashed). This usually happens because two elders do nothing in an area. President Jergensen said that it certainly was not the case with us though, and that he knows how hard we worked in the area. Too many missionaries are going home, and this time of year, not enough are coming in. 

The zone leaders are taking over our area and investigators. This hurt. I was totally expecting to stay here and teach these people I have grown to love. In these short three months I have made life long friends. Particia did not take the news well, she was very emotional. She was like "I don't understand, you are my boys." We could only tearfully read from the scriptures with her, and assure her that we would see her again. I pray that I can be there for her baptism. Her whole family is coming from Wyoming. 

It still amazes me what has happened because of a prompting and four taps on a door.

 I have prayed for strength and guidance as I pack and prepare for a new area and a new companion. I will be in my new area as of Thursday.Its so great to her about my STUD of a brother. Mom I think seminary really was a blessing to our family! You taught me a lot of things from the scriptures, and about life because of your daily study and prayer. I am glad you can relax a bit at night though :). Does Dad have any projects going around town?I can't believe its been snowing there! It has been almost 90 and super humid here.

Time is going so fast, and days feel like minutes! 

Love you guys, Thanks for the prayers!

Elder Tall

Dallin & Ang 5/28/2012

Hi Dal! 

 

I am so excited about my deep thought of the day ( courtesy of Lynnie) I can hardly wait till the end of this letter.  I must've just missed you last week, sorry. Can I just say here and now that I LOVE SUNDAYS?!! I wanna shout it from a mountain top and I don't care who knows it:) But seriously-I love em. I tried to make Grandpa's pancakes this morning from memory because no one would answer their phones and I think it woulda been pretty dang close if the stinkin oil I borrowed from my neighbor hadn't been RANCID. I about died. So I had to start over and the 2nd batch were reaallllllly good. Not quite Jim Tiner, but satisfactory. Anyway, I just love church. I love that the gospel is all about helping others, including others and spreading joy, happiness and anything positive. Who wouldn't want that? Who doesn't want balance in their life? I love it. I love my calling. I love watching youth make good decisions because of something I taught them. It is so fun to watch them grow and mature. 

I updated my blog I think recently : billandangiecarter.blogspot.com if you want to see current pics and Cader's party etc...

Can't wait to hear about your week. what's new here...gearing up for summer. I am planning the 1st ever Tiner reunion!!!!! This year's will be small due to little warning, but next year and the one after when you are back and bound to be epic. Speaking of epic, Ashley Manwill ( Mounteer) had a baby, they named him Peter and are gonna call him Petey I think.

I put on my bathing suit the other day and Cade patted my plump butt and said " big diaper mama".

I am not as homesick, I am just realizing I was spoiled in Utah. I was yet again by both grandparents, my sister, the Manwill girls and cousins. I am so happy here. I love our simple town life and the outdoorsy stuff we have access too. Lovin life.

Do you go to Ward Council? Our missionaries do and I love hearing their report. They live in the apartments next to us and I love them, I wish I had more referrals for them:/ I go once in a while and I seriously love it. I love to find out about where the best places in Ward are to serve and spruce up. 

Anyway, I hope you are happy, healthy and trying your best to be optimistic and spread joy. I love you to the moon. 

Ang

Deep Thought: 

During the Middle Ages, probably one of the biggest mistakes was

not putting on your armor because you were "just going down to the corner."




ANG:
Ohhhhhh that was a well timed deep thought! So helped with this week. I have to leave this area, the hard work, the members, and our investigators. Also Cade's quote. I do love the church so much. We never got into ward council in this area, kinda wierd, but in my next area it will be a priority. Sorry I dont have alot of time today! Its great to hear about everything though, I really appreciate it. I love you angie.


Elder Tall

A letter to Mom, from Mindy Decker a member in Iowa

Hi Shelley,

So, I have had the pleasure of getting to know your son; my family lives in Amana IA.  What a wonderful young man!  He is full of personality and happiness and I am very impressed with what a hard worker he is.  His companion, as you probably already know, is Elder Winchester.  I have always known how dedicated and determined Elder Winchester is; but I think they have rubbed off on each other!  Now they are suuuupppper hard workers!

We saw Elder Tall a couple of times, but then we didn't hear from them for about a month.  When they called we had them over for dinner and they told us about all the work they were doing and success they were having.  I am so proud of those two. I wish I had more friends who were more ready for the gospel discussions because these two are perfect teachers.

Your son has an ability to laugh and enjoy himself like no other - but then out comes a spiritual message as well.  It's kind of child-like; but that is what Christ asked us to be like.  So, he's on the right track.  I just wanted you to know what a great son you have.  He probably could have wished for a fancier place to be than Iowa; but we are so happy he is here.  He gets a new companion in a few days and I can't wait to see how he enjoys being a trainer.  He is very obedient so I am sure he will teach well.

So, our family consists of me, my husband and two sons and two daughters.

My oldest (Austin) leaves on his mission this coming fall and my second oldest (Kenyon) just got his mission call and leaves August 22nd for MONTANA!  We are trading sons!  He is so really excited about this calling.  Right before he opened his papers I said that I thought he would be best suited for Montana or Wyoming and that was my official guess.  We were all shocked because I am never right when it comes to guessing!

I know Montana is giant, but it would be awesome if Kenyon was able to run into you guys. It's such a small world!

We also have 2 daughters, one graduates from hs in two days (Miranda) and the other is finishing her freshman year (Brynn).  The elders are also pretty good at drawing them into conversations and making them feel special as well.  I wish you could see them in action.  It is just so inspiring to see.  Of course, I wish I could see the same in my boys.  We are used to picking up the dirty clothes and helping them find lost items; so it seems impossible that they can be such instruments in God's hands.

If you have facebook it would be nice to keep in touch that way as well.  I'll look for you on there as well.  I am attaching a family photo of us so you can see who we are as well.  I will keep feeding your son!  He is a great eater and I think he's a big fan of the Buffalo Pizzas.  Thank you for sharing him with us.  We really appreciate what a great guy he is.

Love

Mindy Decker

From Aunt Ally

Dallin, 


Hey Pal, I am loving the blog Ang is doing for your mission.  It's awesome!  I love seeing your growth, and you strong testimony.  What a cool experience you are having, and how the spirit can lead you to try to teach in a different way to be able to help someone come to the truth.  It's amazing how Heavenly Father knows how we all need to be taught, and how we will feel the spirit.  I guess sometimes it's all about timing too.  I had this COOL experience with our neighbor across the street.  As you know we are moving, and she was saying she didn't want us to go, and at one point in the talk said she might like to know more about the church sometime.  It was a great feeling!  I'm praying about what step to take next.  Her husband is a GREAT guy, but VERY strongly opinionated about lots of things.  He's very much the man of the house...so, I just want to approach it the right way, with the spirit so I don't ruin the open door.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I sure love you, miss you, and we are very proud.  We are outta her in about 10 days.  YIKES....Texas here we come :)  
Love you. 
 Ally

Dallin & Chels #4

HI! Ok so I know I am the sister that should be in the dog house for not writing for 2 weeks! It has been NUTS but there is no excuse! I think about you all week long, I promise! Anyway, we got home from Angie's last sunday at 11:40 pm. It was quite possibly the worst experience I have ever had as a stand-by passenger. I was the stupid one trying to travel home on a Sunday with Jordan, Vance and Norah on stand-by so it was kind of my fault but lets just say we spent 12 hours total in airports with 2 kids. It all ended with me flying by myself with the kids and Jordan staying in Long Beach. It was the quite the mother's day. But we are all home now... ahhh. BUT we are gearing up to go to mom and dad's. I will be driving up with the Tiner grandparents and Vance and Norah. Jordan has to stay home and work. I am excited to see the fam and Vance has mixed feelings about seeing Chico. He will say he's excited to see him and then the next time you ask him he will say, " Chico not get me." I think he still remembers Chico attacking him a little bit... May or may not be my fault. 

Jordan is now doing freelance animation for a couple companies. He is enjoying it. He is working at home and that is a little challenging. He is torn between playing with Vance and working. Vance struggles when Jordan needs to shut the door to concentrate but we are hoping we only have to keep doing it this way for the summer. Norah is sleeping way better. She is happier too. She was an angel at Angie's while the boys were being little tyrants. She is starting to laugh... can you get videos with noise? Her cheeks are a little selfish. They consume practically the whole picture and they take over her neck. haha. She still has newborn size feet... kinda like Vance did... so none of her cute shoes fit her. You know how I feel about shoes... they make or break an outfit so this is a serious problem. :) Vance is loving her and loves to tell her lots of stories about his trains or Mcqueen. Speaking of Mcqueen, Vance loves him to say the least. So today after church Vance said, " Hey Dad, Jesus loves Mcqueen!!!" hahaha He prays for all the characters of CARS nightly. Oh and the other day he dropped his car on the ground as we were walking in and he promptly said, " OH HOLY CRAP!" and then picks the car up and keeps walking like that was normal for him to say.... haha! I have to watch what I say and do constantly. 

I love reading your stories Dal. They are so inspiring and real. We pray for you guys all the time. I know the prayers are heard and you will have success in finding those people who are searching for the truth. These are trying times but you are being blessed and so is our family because of your efforts. We love you Dal. Vance wants to write you something.....

ruuudttuuiudƒufuiyugiAaAAAASSSSAqqqmrqqqq.... haha little bit inappropriate. See what I mean about watching everything I do or say!  We asked Vance what this meant and he said that it means " Hi". haha :) Anyway, please know that we love you and are always thinking about you! Is there anything you need/want? Your birthday is coming up so let me know what you need! 

Have a great week! Here are some pictures from the past couple weeks. They are from Norah's blessing, Jordan's graduation and that weekend. Angie was a little emotional during the graduation... she was crying and couldn't stop. She said the graduation song was moving... HAHA. Dad got to skype in for Norah's blessing so that was special. Thank goodness for skype! 

 Chels & Fam

Hey Chels! 

Ive been meaning to tell you I like your new hair! Also thank you so much for the emails. Its ok to miss weeks here and there! They really do mean so much to me. Hearing about Vance and Norah really make it easier on the missing home thing. I get to laugh about the family for a few minutes. Slice of heaven. That stinks about the ride home! That reminds me of how much I hated standby sometimes. As for me I am happy, but I can't ever feel satisfied with the effort I put in. I always feel there is more I can do. I will be done being a new missionary as of the 31st. I Hope I train a new one!I heard you guys got Gordo the fam-van or something?

Love you!

Dallin & Jordan

Chapter 1:

Dearest Elder,

I am writing this correspondence to inform you of the plethora of events that have occurred this past week. Firstly, the blessing of the child now known as Norah, and secondy, the convocation of myself, Jordan, on the day of Fri, the twenty seventh day of the Month of April, in the Year of our Lord, two thousand and twelve. 

It all began on a warm, but windy, day. Needless to say, it was a day to write down in the journals for the knowledge of our generations to come. The feelings of joy and happiness overwhelmed those in attendance, and many eyes fought hard to remain dry that day. From there, we celebrated the occasion with a feast to end all feasts. The feelings shared could fill many leather bound books. A beautiful blessing was pronounced upon the she-child, who will now grow to become someone to know.

To end, I would like to impress upon you the importance of following your heart. Though this may seem like a trite expression, because if you decided to take it literally it could end in your untimely, and quite messy, death. Anywho, the triteness is only a fallacy invented by those whom would prefer to remain anonymous. I mean this. I would be overjoyed to see those I love follow their heart and do the things that they would love to do. I have enjoyed my time in school, and have become the man I am today (strong, handsome, manly, hairy, intelligent, ..  I truly could write a thesaurus with all the adjectives that could describe my wonderful being) because of my experiences through my attendance of university.

I must forward my happiness to you. You have chosen a hard path, but one that has endless rewards and blessings. I do so enjoy the many experiences you have had, I feel the powerful spirit in your words and have come close to shedding a few tears in perusing your letters. I do not jest in writing this. You are an inspiration to me everyday, and I thank you for the wonderful example. I truly could write a nobel peace prize winning novel filled with my feelings for you.

I hope this finds you in good health, and forward my feelings to those you may care about. I am waiting on bated breath for your reply, and do so with all the patience I can muster. I have known that you would be the one to got to the country known as "Iowa", and bring the joy to all those you come into contact with. Have fun, be yourself, and always follow the spirit of the law. Know the difference. Stay away from the edge, and pray always. Look up Matthew 10:16, and be a dove.

Yours without fail,

Jordan

By the way, my film, the Lizard and the Ladder, which we finished in January, has gone on to be in the top nine films of the student Academy Awards. The competition had 560 films submitted, so this is a big deal. (Like me. I'm a pretty big deal). Anyway, we will find out in May what place we take. To put it in perspective, previous winners of this competition have been Spike Lee, John Lasseter (head of Pixar) and others. So its pretty cool. I wish I could forward the movie to you, since we can't post it anywhere yet, but the file is too big.

I am working for a game company that is aiming to release their first game, a third person shooter for the iPad, in June. I am also doing some work for a company here in SLC, which could end up on NickJr or The Disney Channel. So who knows.

So when we got Vance ready for church today, Chelsea put on his polo and he looked down at himself, at his shirt, took in his outfit, looked at us and said, "Vance lookin' good!" hahahahahahahahaha needless to say we all peed our pants laughing. 

How are you doing? What has been your favorite meal that you have eaten? Have you had to speak in a ward yet? Or crashed your bike? Or anything crazy? If so, do tell.

We all send our love. Except me. Because thats weird. 

Just kidding

I love you Dallin.

haha

Vance thinks you poop on the potty for some reason. Not sure where he got that idea. We all know you poop in your pants.

Love,

Jordan Chelsea Vance Norah

Dear Jordan and Chels,

Hahaha thanks for the old English epistle! It was actually beautiful. It is so good to hear about the Lizard and the Ladder! I knew there was something special about it. Your just can't help but love that little guy. It is comforting to know little Norah is blessed. She is so stinkin cute. her pictures make my week! Vance knows he dresses in style already, which I believe is a good thing. He has the funniest personality. He had it even when he was born. I love Matt 10 16!! We tell people...hmmm you believe in the trinity when I just read you, out of your bible, the manifestation of THREE BEINGS! I am determined not to die on my mission so I am very careful, and I wear my helmet. I haven't crashed yet.That is seriously nuts though about the competition. Spike Lee? whoah...He will seem like a joke when your material comes on the scene. I haven't spoken yet, but I have borne testimony and confirmed a recent convert. Our ward loves us though. I hope everything continues to progress in the Goulding household Love you too!

Elder Tall

Dallin & Chels #3

Ok so last week I thought it was Friday when really it was Monday. I was a little confused haha. How are things going? Is it getting super hot out there? It is so warm here. It is supposed to be 80's all week! I am white as a ghost so I can't wait to get some sun! Jordan graduates this Friday so Ang, Cade, Mom and Beau are coming on Thursday. We are blessing Norah on Sat. I will send you pictures. I wish you could be here, we will be thinking about you! So do you get warned when you are going to be transferred or is it just last minute notice? How are the investigators? Did any of them follow through this week? How's the bike treating you? I have to tell you that your letters are the highlight of my week. I love reading about the investigators and the awesome experiences. So keep writing.. we love it! 

Vance is being a typical 2 year old. Snotty as ever! We found him trying to put Norah's binky in her mouth and saying, " choo choo, open tunnel please!" haha that's what we do when he won't eat. He is so stubborn. He puts his foot down when he wants something to be a certain way and won't let it go. I think he might get that from me. haha I deserve it. 

Norah is a fat baby. She weighs about 13 lbs. She will be 3 months old on the 2nd of May! Can you believe that! I will attach some pictures for you. 

I love you

Keep working hard!

Love, 

Chelsea

Oh chels, 

you always know how to make me bust a gut in front of the crazy people that reside here at the public library. The choo choo thing..oh my that was funny. The kid is a quote factory. He is so cute with his little teeth in the pictures. Norah is getting big already! I bet she is the light of the family. 

He gives you about a weeks notice if you are being called to leadership or transferred, and he has the voice of a horse race announcer(just imagine it) "Elder Tall, the lord had called you to be a zone leaderrrr". But I wont be transferring for a long time from Iowa City. Tell Jordan congrats, and to bless Norah with patience for her uncles.

Love you

Elder Tall

Dallin & Chels #2

Dal Babe!

Ok so this week I have wanted to read your letters everyday. I wish everyday was Monday so that we could receive a letter from you ha ha. Yes you are loved and missed. But I wanted to text you that quote from Nacho all week because of Easter, ha ha. What did you guys do for Easter? Did somebody make you dinner or anything?  How long do you stay with this companion?  It sounds like you guys get along and that will always help further your work along and make people feel very comfortable. That's rad that your ward is awesome. It's always nice when you get gift cards to go eat and stuff. Does the Subway know you yet? Any new investigators? Are you sending mom paper letters? Also, does your mission have any strict rules or is it pretty laid back?

Let me tell you a little story about what has been going on. Maybe mom told you last week but I don't know because I didn't see it in her letter. Anyway, since Norah was born I think Heavenly Father has been trying to refine and polish my character. It has seriously been one of the hardest times physically/emotionally that I have had. Recovering from having a baby is always rough because of the obvious but then I have had a baby that sleeps 1 1/2 hours throughout the night and wants to eat every time so I get about 3 hours of sleep total every night. (I look hideous, Nacho style). Then because my body was so worn down, I got what's called Mastitis( breast infection from nursing) 3 times in three weeks. This infection literally knocks you out flat. You have the flu and you are so sore that you can't hold the baby and you HAVE to nurse through it.... this sends painful shocks through your whole body. Suck. Then finally when I thought that my body was getting a hold of itself, I went to the Doc and had an IUD (birth control) inserted into my uterus. Well something went wrong of course. Either the doc put it in wrong or too hard and it jammed through my uterus or it jammed through on its own. It lodged itself in the fat above my bladder. This is pretty scary only because if it leaves scaring in the uterus, it can cause infertility. So 10 days ago I had to have surgery to get the IUD taken out. This happens to 1 in a 1000 women who get an IUD. The doctor who did my surgery said that in the 15 years that he has been a doctor, he has only seen then 5 times. I am just a lucky girl I guess. I am now happy to say that I am off pills/antibiotics for the first time in 8 weeks. I am still dizzy(they don't know why) but hopefully that goes away. 

I tell you this because I have learned something. I don't think that Heavenly Father does things to make us in pain or anything because I can't imagine that he would want to watch his sons/daughters hurt but I do think that life happens and he lets it happen. I know that I needed this. I think I was not grateful for Norah or Vance. I was struggling showing Norah love and even attention because I was so in pain, frustrated that she wasn't sleeping or eating, and sleep deprived. I asked Jordan what I was supposed to be polishing or refining and he said, " Your love and patience for the kids." Sad right? But I took that to heart. I knew I wasn't happy with the way life was going or how I felt about life. So now I have more of a positive outlook on the last 8 weeks. I feel like I really really needed them and I better change. I have been working so hard to remind myself of this 'refiners fire' that I have gone through and am striving to do better. 

During one long night, I was struggling spiritually because I was in the 'why me' stage and so I looked up an article on LDS.org about parenthood. All I remember from the article is something that changed parenting and my role as a mother. It said that when we are blessed with children and we are raising them, we are doing God's work. I am lucky to be doing God's work. It makes the expectation higher for me. It makes me want to show compassion and love as God does. I am sorta in place of God, when it comes to teaching and guiding my kids. What an awesome job, right? Anyway, I think that what you are doing is God's work too. You are a servant here and you are bringing in His lost sheep. You are doing the work and bringing people back into the fold. I am so proud of you Dallin. When trials or hard times in the field come, remember that he is polishing you to make you more perfect and that it is necessary to go through so that we can be perfect when we meet Jesus Christ.  

I hope Vance will not let himself admit that you are in Iowa. He says, "No, Dal at Bama's house with Chico." He's in denial. ha ha. He also said something this week that I am kicking myself for. I came to a stop at the stop sign and  apparently  he thought I came to a stop a little too fast and yelled, " Whoa, HOLY CRAP MOM!" HA HA I was busted! Anyway, things are great here, Jordan is animating and doing two small interships and we are still waiting to hear for jobs so keep that in your prayers. I love you and I hope this week is successful. We are always praying for you, your companion and the people you teach. We are proud of you! Keep spreading your sunshine, even if it is stinky! 

Love you, 

Chelsea

Awe chels, I wish I could help you :(. Yes new investigator, no I havent sent her a paper letter, no subway doesnt know me because my companion is lame and doesnt really like it, and yes it is very strict. Only MOTAB, pday ends at five instead of six, and we cant teach muslims without permission haha(tell that to everyone bytheway, its funny, and we taught one the other day). I stay with my companion for twelve weeks. We had easter dinner at the Dawsons and it was that awesome costco ham and a bunch o crap. so good!

 

I am so glad that your afflictions haven't gotten the better of you. Alot of people would wreck their lives over these kinds of things, I see it every day. You have always been strong like mom, and optomistic like dad. Im so proud of you. Sorry I can't write more everyone's waiting for me. I love you! Im praying for you.

Elder Tall

Dallin & Chels #1

Hey brother

SO my email got hacked therefore I didn't get your last e-mail if you wrote one to me... if it is still in your "sent" box, will you send it again. We miss you brother. We are so proud of you. All I could think about during conference, especially the very first session of conference, was Deedle and what his response would be to the talks and testimonies. After watching conference, I do not know how you could say that this isn't the true gospel. I am so proud that you are out in Iowa spreading the message that this is the true gospel and that there is a way to be truly happy! What did Deedle say? How did he respond? 

I CANNOT believe that you have that many baptisms and investigators! That's awesome. It's crazy to think that if you wouldn't have gone a mission, those people that you have already committed to baptism, may not have found the church. They were waiting for you to find them. That is so special and it probably makes you know you were really meant to be there. That is so reassuring and awesome! 

Have you seen Dave yet? How is he doing? Where is your companion from? Are you living in a poor area or what? Mom told me that you bought a bike, how's that treatin' you? 

Little update:

We are doing well. We are still waiting to hear back on jobs for Jordan. He graduates in 4 weeks... crazy how time flies! 

Here are a couple things that Vance said this week:

My in-laws were watching Vance and Norah the other day and Norah was crying. Vance was playing Angry Birds of course. Vance turned to Sandy and said, " Norah crying, Bama." So Sandy said, "ok." Then Norah started to scream and Vance said, " Bama, Norah is an Angry Bird!" ha ha! 

Or the other day we loaded the kids up in the car. Our car is pretty dirty and probably a little smelly. It stunk like poop. So then we let it be for a minute and just figured the smell was coming from all the crap that is in the car but then Vance said, " Mommy, Yance toot!" ha ha ha So funny. He just ratted himself out for farting in the car with the windows rolled up. SICK! ha ha Just a few moments that made me smile and laugh this week. 

Anyway, I miss you and know that you are happy. Make sure that everyone around you feels of your love and your happiness. Spread Sunshine everywhere you go:) haha but seriously. 

LOVE, Chelsea

Chelsea,
My companion/trainer is awesome! We are great friends, even though he is a total utahn. We are on fire! The potential is limitless out here! Oh i wish vance and norah could come see me for one day :(. I miss them so much.
I am getting much more comfortable with talking to people. My roughest approach was "hey were missionaries, have you ever....learned...about Jesus?" The dude looked at me like are you stupid?

I miss you guys so much!!! Keep tellin me stories! I love you

Vance definitely takes after his uncle! haha. So we called Deedle to remind her and she said her pastor convinced her not to take the discussions or come to conference, so there is not much we can do for her. :(. Conference was so awesome! It was all about families.

I do feel like I am meant to be here. The mission is everything I hoped and more.  My companion is pretty funny, but we are both so laid back it gets frustrating when it comes time to make a decision.

I saw Dave my first day in the field (crazy almost a month ago already!!!). It was such an awesome surprise. He was skinnier and his countenance was bright.

Tell Jordan I'm proud of him and I love him for doing what he loves and being a good dad. One thing I see out here is failure at fatherhood. I sincerely appreciate Jordan; I thank God for him. It means alot that my sister is taken care of and treated special.

Im doing my best to spread sunshine, sometimes it smells...:)

Elder Tall

Letter #13, 5/14-21/2012

From Mom:

Hi Dallin,

So good to hear from you. I really appreciate the thoughtful, detailed emails letting us know how you are doing and what you are doing.  Think how great it will feel to your future family to read your letters and know that you had great days and challenging days in your mission.  I think the most important things may be the challenging days because that is where we push ourselves to grow. 

And, that is where we can set the best example and help others in the future.

I know that as I go through some pretty tough challenges lately, I rely greatly upon those who have gone before me,who have  been through the refiners fire and have remained faithful.  Grandparents, brothers, sisters... you name it, we have a totally imperfect family that have overcome some pretty astoundingly difficuly things. 

 Quote for the day:

 "God will place us in the refiners furnace until He can see His image reflected in our thoughts and actions." 

 YIKES.

 I hope Augusta has found a small testimony.  Your testimony is such an important springboard for all those you talk to and, especially your companion.  I think that knowing your comp has a strong testimony can help bridge a lot of humanish annoyances.  Kinda like marriage :) !

  Is this transfer week?  You mentioned you may have companion change and may do some training.

We are getting ready for graduation weekend.  Tiner Gparents and Chels and kids are coming on Wednesday. Tall's are coming on Saturday.  Dad is going down to Utah today. 

 Pretty historic...he's taking the van back to Chelsea :):)

What comes around goes around.  That van will be in our family for a long time.

  It may be your college car when you get home..HAHAHA. 

We have really cleaned up the side of the house.  It looks sooooo good.  No more crap everywhere. The side walk is totallly clean with only the garbage can there.  I'm so bad at taking pics but I will and send them to you.  Also,  I burned the banana bread that I was going to send you.  I'll try again next week, after the week from Hades is over- This is my last week of Seminary. 

 You know how that goes.  Big coffee cake breakfast on Friday.

Well, I have been praying for your am study to improve.  

Keep trying and it will become a great habit!  I love the scriptures! 

President Griffin said to tell you hi. We'll send pics of graduation next week.

Have a great week! We miss you and love you! 

Mom

From Dal:

Hey!

*So I need Caleb Kimballs email and President Griffins email*

Wow this is such an exciting time for the family! I definitely want to see the yard so please send pics! I hope your last monday of seminary went well, and that it will continue to go well, 

and I also hope the kids have to eat burned coffee cake because I am jealous.

So this week went very well. We have started teaching a couple with a young kid about Cade's age. We aren't meeting with them again until June, but it should turn out pretty well. We didn't get to teach Agusta this week, but she is singing in the stake choir when Elder Perry is going to be here! Patricia is SOO solid. She comes to church on her own, comments in Gospel Principles Class, and she is gaining a testimony of The Book of Mormon. The feelings as a missionary to have found and taught somebody like her are indescribable. She has visibly changed, her health has improved, and she got her staunch catholic sister to let us give her a blessing. We also did some gardening for her sister. Everybody gardens here! I get to do some landscaping work for this guy that stopped letting us teach him and his wife, but accepted our help this week. 

I am excited to work in the dirt again!

We found this guy named Rusty. He is inactive. He is a mailman and he works like a dog all week. He served a mission in Argentina, and his mission flag hangs in his garage. More than anybody I have helped on my mission I want to help him. We met him while he was moving dirt into his lawn and we helped him.
 His wife is a member also, and says she wished she wasn't.
They are both mad and the church because of the California gay marriage thing.
The conversation went on and on about that stuff, then finally I remembered a talk from last Conference. I bore my testimony about how the church is just a vessel for the more important Gospel, and that we just need to trust in the Lord and keep his commandments and receive the ordinances at church to do so.
He invited us back to share that talk with him. She wasn't too happy about it.
We made it very clear how much we loved them,
and how as missionaries we do everything we can to obtain eyes like Christ has for people.

So on the transfer thing:
We have a transfer meeting where all the elders meet who are getting transfered. We have a very spiritual meeting, and then President Jergensen reads the transfers. This will take place on the 31st. This saturday he will be calling us and telling us our various assignments. I don't know if I will be training a new missionary yet, but we will see. Alot of people don't train until they are really old missionaries. 

I will be staying in Iowa City 1st ward though I believe.

It is getting sooo hot and sticky here. You sweat coming out of a cold shower.

I love you guys. This is the experience of a lifetime. I thank the Lord for it every day.

Love, 

 Elder Tall

Pics from Nauvoo

Dallin and the Nauvoo Temple

The bullet hole from Joseph Smith's assassination. 

Dallin at Carthage

 The clock stopped at the time of the prophet's assassination.

Ang & Dal

Hi Dal! 

SO sorry we missed emailing you last week, it's been crazy with Chels etc...we drove out to CA from UT with the 3 babies shoved in the back of my Honda and we hit 3 HOURS of traffic before we passed Gma Tall's house. No kidding my car was in park with the kids yelling. Awesome. So, our 13 hour drive took a fresh 16.5. We stopped in Concord at my inlaws which was nice. Ate good food and went to our FIRST GIANTS GAME. It was awesome. I might've cried a little in the 7th inning stretch when the whole stadium sang " When the lights go down on the city..." blubbering idiot. It was a perfect day, we'll definitely do it with you when you RWH:) We then spent the last week here in Monterey. Chels, V & N in the guest room and me, B & C in my room. It was a great week, Chels and I had a lot of fun, but the 2 boys fought NON-STOP.That part was awful.  Jordan flew in on thurs and spent this weekend here and it was fun, especially the night we got a sitter:):):) I cried this whole morning when Chels and the fam left. I am really having a homesick/family sick month, I seriously can't pull myself together! Love this place, but I miss my good friends and our fam. Guess that means cabin time must be soon, I usually get this way when it's summertime finally in the northpole that is Island Park. Cade turned 2 on May 11th. Weird that one year ago that day we were flying to Hawaii. We had a party for him last night. We got a bouncehouse and Vance got to be here! We took tons of pics and I'm going to mail them to you. BTW, I sent you and your companion 2 of the metal head tickle-scratcher things that feel so good, have you gotten it? They were on sale and you're welcome. How are things??????? CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR AN UPDATE> think about ya everyday. Love you.

Ang

deep thought:

To me, boxing is like ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other. T

Ang, 

I am sorry to hear you are so homesick :( In the mission we call that"trunky". Quit being trunky Elder.(used in a sentence there for ya :)) I am hot n ticked just hearing about that highway experience. You know me...When I walk off the plane I would like you to have a boom box with that song playing please. I hope it gets easier to be away from everyone. Vance and Cade just need some boxing gloves for Christmas.

So this week I started with a funny story. I was just Mowing this lady's giant lawn and this mole thing comes out of nowhere. I stopped the lawn mower and it just chills while I scoot it out of my way with my foot. I was like "Self, dont forget about that mole that you just scooted over there...that would be messy." So Im just mowing along dripping sweat while the black lady laughs at me "mang you guys is craaayzay". , When suddenly,BLAM! blood and guts are everywhere. My bad bro...I forgot about you. So I really thought I had saved that mole's life, but really it was just foreshadowing his imminent death. Sad story..Dirty Mower. 

I cant wait to get the Metal Head Tickler in the mail. Thank you in advance! I will definitely be using it because when I am pondering our messages I often catch my lips like Dad's when he thinks, and my head also itches.

Love you!!

Letter #12 5/7-14/2012

Hi Dallin,

Dal,

Yes! I got the mother's day package.  Thank you so much.  The fudge was yummy and I always love a sentimental Christmas ornament.  I love the Sunstone and that it was from Nauvoo!  We had a nice Mother's Day today.  I missed being able to talk to you but can't wait until Father's Day. It would be really fun to be able to Skype.   

Have you had a good week?  You must be getting to know Iowa City pretty well.  Is Elder Christiensen still your comp?  Where did you go for mother's day?  

 

We are winding down to graduation.  Beau tried out for Mr. Skyview!  So funny. He actually made the top 5 contestants and had to go through and "interview."  He didn't win but was nominated as "Mr. Congeniality."  For his talent, he did a whole audience sing-along--You are my Sunshine. He was really cute. He is gearing up for Alaska.  He may stay there as long as possible.

 

Both sets of grandparents will be coming up next week for graduation.  I will try to remember to send you some pics.

 

We are in the midst of fasting and praying about Dad switching from Africa to SLC and working with Dallas.  Dallas is amazing at what he does but we're not sure that Dad would be happy at what he would be doing.  We'll see.  Dad is miserable in Africa and realizes it is not good to be away.  It will sort itself out.  If we go with Dallas' thing, we will try to move as soon as possible.  It's a big step but I think it will be good for a lot of reasons.

 

I had a great experience with a friend of mine.  She came to me and said she is searching for truth and spiritual stability.  We had a long conversation on the deck and I gave her some things to read.  I don't know how she is feeing but I do know that when I expressed my testimony that the Savior loves us and we are here for a purpose, I felt the spirit so strong.  Repentence is the refining and ultimate gift we are given from Him.  She struggles with many of the things that were done to her and that she has done as a consequence.  I hope my explanation of forgivness and repentence helped her.

 

Anyway, I promise to get busy this week and make some banana bread for you.  I hope it gets to you and is still fresh.

 

We love you and can't wait until Father's Day!

 

Love,   Mom

Hey! 

It was a great week! We Worried all week about what we would teach Agusta. After much prayer and searching the answer came to me in direct revelation. We needed to re teach her the Restoration. (Lesson 1 in Preach My Gospel.) We Came up with some awesome scripture chains about how the apostles and Jesus Himself knew there would be an apostasy, and how the church could never function without a prophet and preisthood. The spirit was so powerful. The revelation was so real ads it came to our minds in answering her questions. Never before had she been this receptive. She finally asked after the Stake President and his family bore their testimonies, "how can I receive a testimony like you all?" We were like YESS GOLDEN QUESTION!! We told her about how it all rests on the Book. Without the Book of Mormon nothing about the church and the story of the restoration could be true. She said she knew she would receive her answer, so I invited her to be baptized again, and this time she sincerely accepted! We will be trying to get a date soon!

I'm so glad the package made it ok. What did beau think about his little present? Dad would think that was pretty funny. That fudge was so awesome!

My companion's/trainers name is Elder Winchester. I will be with him until the 30th. My district, the zone leaders, and my companion are all convinced that I will be training a new missionary. We get the calls with our assignments one week before transfer meeting, so I will probably know next week or so if I will be training. I do hope I train, but it is a huge responsibility. I can tell the things that are ingrained in Elder Winchester from his trainer. Whos knows, but I will be taking over this area  regardless of who my next companion is because chances are, he has never been here.

Wow! so how did You Raise Me Up go? Did he sing you are my sunshine with a guitar?

What an awesome experience with your friend! She seems so humble. I think if you pray about it she will change. She might not bring it up again, but she might sub consciously want you to! 

I will pray about the whole move thing, and Ill ask Dad in my email to him about what he would be doing. I hope that it will all work out for the best. I just want Everyone to be happy. If you want to pray for me, pray for me to like studying in the morning please. For some reason it is hard for me sometimes...I have always been a study guy right Mom?

I cannot wait for Father's day, and yes I get to skype!

I love you. 

Elder Tall

Dal & Ang 4/30-5/7/2012

Dal-

hahha! As I write this I am sitting on Gma's couch and lookin and Norah-girl in her pink leopard jammies. That baby is so cute, you are gonna be in love. We had a crazy weekend that I'm sure you will hear about from every angle in other letters but mine matters most, so here you go, I left at 5am on thursday morning and planned to stop in Vegas and meet Whit for lunch and let Cade run around for an hour but he slept through Vegas and no joke we did NOT stop til St. George. 9 hours of driving. He was a champ! We grabbed Rio and ate a park and made it to Highland in 14 hours. I was seeing double by the end and talking to myself in pigeon-english but we made it! Friday Jordan graduated and then we hurried to hear Aunt Lynn speak at BYU and it was awesome. I could hardly contain my sobs. She spoke with a lady who told a story about how she lost her 11 month old in a bath tub drowning when she was a young mom. She had 2 other little boys and couldn't pull herself together and there was a lady in her ward that would come every day for a few months, yes months, and cook and clean and take her laundry back to her house and do it for her and she said she was so depressed that she hardly even noticed this lady coming and going. One day the speaker and her husband were leaving and she noticed this lady from their ward was hopping on her bike to ride all the way home ( uphill for miles...) and they offered to strap her bike to their car and drive her and when they pulled up to what what she called 'home' it was an abandoned insane asylum. She explained they were in between homes and it was temporary. The speaker said that she realized that all these months this sweet lady had biking her laundry to and from her house. Everyday. The subject of their talks was taking care of eachother as sisters in the gospel and I was so moved. Can you imagine? That kind of selflessness is unreal.

So awesome. 

I miss you so much Dal, but I can't express my pride in your selfless service you are dedicating. The next few months are gonna be crazy for Mom and Dad so pray for them...I can see the stress on mom's face already about the move etc...

I am here till thurs then Chels and the kids and I are headed to CA. Can't wait to hear what you've been up to. LOVE YOU. Be happy, sincere and positive. 

AB&C

Deep thought:  

Perhaps one day the Indian will put down his tomahawk and the white man will put down his gun. Then the white man will pick his gun back up because, ha ha, sucker. 

Ang-

Ahhhhh! That sounds like such an amazing trip! That is such a touching story. Wow. She will definitely be getting what she deserves upon leaving this world. So L. Tom Perry is coming for stake conference, and i hope i get to meet him! I'm sorry for the short letter this week, I'm short on time...

Yeah, Im not allowed to look up deep thoughts, and I am certainly not creative enough to think of them, but I will conjure one up this week. haha sucker :)

Letter #11 4/30-5/7/2012

Hi Dallin,

 

How was your week? How was Nauvoo?  Where did you stay?  I can't wait to go there soon! Tell us all the details :)

 

I'm so glad you are busy doing the right things for the right reasons!  There are so many people who want to know truth and don't know how to go about finding it.  There are also those around us who have it sitting right in their laps and don't appreciate it.  I know Heavenly Father is faithful to us.  We are the ones who need to remember our covenants and be faithful to him at all times, in all things and in all places.  Is it hard?  Yes, sometimes it is. But like Daniel and his three friends, they said it best.  They had faith to pray and serve the Lord and that the Lord would preserve them despite the fiery furnace or den of lions.  However, the most important lesson is that their faith was not predicated upon "being preserved."  They said, "...but if not, I will still serve the Lord and NOT bow down to the world." 

 

I hope you always remain faithful despite challenges that the Lord won't remove.  You have the strength of heart and conviction.  You are a great man.

 

We are still negotiating the Utah move.  We have many things to consider.  If we move this year, it will be in September-dad will be home.  I'd hate to move in the winter.  I am apprehensive about the stress of moving and all that it intales; but we'll do what is best and keep you posted.

 

Did you find out about switching mother's day call for father's day call?

 

I have included a cool excerpt from a book that Grampa Tall gave me.  It is regarding Moroni and how he dedicated several sites for latter-day temples. 

 

We love and miss you.  We are so glad you are serving in the DeMoines mission.  I know that's where you should be.  Stay happy, positive and motivated.

 

Love, Mom

 

Moroni in Manti, Utah

Some members of the Church are aware that at the dedication of the site for the temple in Manti, Utah, the following incident took place:

At a conference held in Ephraim, Sanpete County, June 25th, 1875, nearly all the speakers expressed their feelings to have a temple built in Sanpete County, and gave their views as to what point and where to build it, and to show the union that existed, Elder Daniel H. Wells said “Manti,” George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jr., John Taylor, Orson Hyde, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Lorenzo Young, and A.M. Musse said “Manti stone quarry.” I have given the names in the order in which they spoke. At 4 p.m. that day President Brigham Young said: “The Temple should be build on Manti stone quarry.” Early on the morning of April 25, 1877, President Brigham Young asked Brother Warren S. Snow to go with him to the Temple hill. Brother Snow says: “We two were alone: President Young took me to the spot where the Temple was to stand; we went to the southeast corner, and President Young said: “Here is the spot where the prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this piece of land for a Temple site, and that is the reason why the location is made here, and we can’t move it from this spot; and if you and I are the only persons that come here at high noon today, we will dedicate this ground.” (Whitney 436)

That Moroni dedicated the Manti Temple site is one of the few statements the Brethren have made connecting a Book of Mormon figure with a specific current place and action. This aids us in documenting one of Moroni’s travels and priesthood assignments. Another reference happened when William McBride, patriarch from the Richfield Utah Stake, spoke at a prayer meeting in St. George in January 1881. After recalling many experiences from the Nauvoo period and quoting the Prophet Joseph Smith on many issues, Patriarch McBride referred to

the Route the old Nephites took travelling to Cumorah from the south and south west; of having to bury their tr[e]asures as they journeyed and finally burying the Records and precious things in the Hill Cumorah; of Moroni dedicating the Temple site of what we now call St. George, Nauvoo, Jackson Co., Kirtland, and others we know not of as yet. (Walker 2:525–26)

Two Interesting Maps

Several years ago, I came across two copies of a map in the Archives Division of the Historical Department of the Church relative to Moroni’s North American journeys (see Figures 1 and 2). On the back of the map in Figure 1 is written the following:

A chart, and description of Moroni’s travels through this country. Got it from Br. Robert Dickson. He got it from Patriarch Wm. McBride at Richfield in the Sevier and also from Andrew M. Hamilton of same place. And they got it from Joseph Smith the Prophet.

Hey!

This week I have learned alot! I am learning so much about teaching PEOPLE not lessons. I am being softened by the Lord. I lay awake at night pondering about our investigators, and how fragile a persons spirituality can be. I think about how Rachel feels about her cousin causing her to be evicted, which forced her into a shelter with her son; the most mind blowing part being that her eternal life, to the naked eye, is in the hands of two dumb 19 year olds. I think about Agusta, the Indian lady, and how complex her view of the Gospel is, when really it is so simple. I think about Patricia and her faithfulness, and how it prepared her to receive the Restored Gospel. I always am pondering the constant struggle in missionary work of helping people understand that there is something larger than their plate of daily problems with a side of maybe getting a raise. Human perception is so narrow, but with the Holy Ghost, the mysteries of God are truly unfolded. I think it is Mosiah 4 that says "Believe in God, believe that there is a God, and that he created all things. Believe that man cannot comprehend all things which God can comprehend". It is something along those lines, but I have received a lot of revelation reading Mosiah 4. I would have to thank Halie for pointing that chapter out to me. 

So about Nauvoo and such! We went with Brother Mulherin, who is a retired chopper pilot. He flew in Vietnam and all kinds of stuff. He is hilarious. Anyway, so it is about a two hour drive to Nauvoo from Coralville. When we got there it was a torrential downpour, but the temple looked awe inspiring nonetheless. It is definitely a diamond in the rough, considering the rest of Nauvoo. Everything is build directly on the footprint of the original, even the baptismal font. The baptismal font was my favorite part of the whole temple. It is...well you just have to see it. All the glass in the temple is made like they would have in the old days. Its all bubbly and wavy. We got an executive tour from Brother Mulherin, since he works in the temple on thursdays. We went all the way up to the top of the bell tower and looked out over the Mississippi River, and the area where the saints camped with sickness in the swamps. By then the sun had come out and the spirit was powerful. You could feel the struggle and the faith of the saints in the temple. 

After the session we had some lunch, on the way to Carthage. It was the most humid air I have ever felt! As soon as you leave the car or building, all the water in the just gravitates to you. Carthage was so awesome! We watched a little movie at the visitors center outside the jail, and then went on a tour. It was surreal to be in that jail. The sister missionary told about how the jail owner actually lived there with his family, and was really nice to the prophet and his     friends. We stood in the room upstairs where they were initially kept for one night. There are no windows, so it is very dark, and very hot. She said the day the Prophet and his friends were in there it was 105 and humid, which is about like 120 degress. They moved them to the jailer's bedroom because the jailer thought they would be more safe. Joseph prophesied some months earlier that Willard Richardson would never be struck by a ball, but that he would see friends fall to his left and his right. He also prophesied while in the jail that Dan Jones would serve a hugely successful mission in Wales. Both Prophecies have been fulfilled. Willard Richardson watched Hiram Smith be shot in the face, the Prophet shot as he jumped out the window, and saved John Taylor's life. The clock in the room still reads 5:17. The bullet holes in the door are still there and everything. They have turned the floorboards over so that the blood on them cannot be seen or walked on. It was a powerful experience being there.

Love you guys!

Elder Tall