How many flat tires in 24 hours?...Written 7/7/2014

Now you might be asking yourself, "Elder Dahl do you have a story about your companion or yourself having a broken down bike?" or perhaps, "Elder Dahl did you ever get caught in a rainstorm?" Luckily I have a story that will cover both topics for you. Tuesday night on he way back to the apartment my companion got a flat tire so we walked a short distance back home and it was already late enough to stay home. The next morning my companion fixed his tube with a patch and we headed out. On the way to the library his patch failed and his front tire went flat again. We used the library for a bit and then we walked back to the apartment. It was a really hot day but we finally made it back to the apartment. My companion's hole was more of a slash and he luckily had an extra tube that he put on his front tire. We then went on with our day and we were going to the homes of the new move-in members that we were informed about by the bishop in our area. We were going to one house in the most eastward part of our area when my companion got a flat tire on his rear tire. We did some more walking (or me just riding slowly and in circles around him). That member wasn't home but it was close enough to another member that we went over and asked if they had a pump. They had a little pump but it wasn't that effective so we decided to head out. It got suddenly cloudy, which was nice because that day was one of the hottest days we've had here. As we were heading back a man offered us a ride to a gas station to go use an air pump to fill up my companion's tire. (My companion was convinced he didn't have a hole in his rear tire and it just leaked out somehow). He borrowed 50¢ from me and pumped up his tire. It then started to lightly sprinkle and we decided to head back to the apartment to fix up his tire properly. His tire lasted a little bit but was definitely leaking. About 25% of the way home his tire went flat again. We happened to be in an area with no real close members and it began to rain harder. We biked as fast as we could downhill to the apartment but we were pretty soaked by the time we got back home.

So on the 4th of July, my companion and I went down to the Spanish Mount Pleasant apartment in D.C. and we had a barbecue. That apartment building is one of the nicest and most expensive apartments in the mission. We went to their rooftop where the have some lawn, picnicking areas, tables, and grills. We hung out with around 30-40 other missionaries for a while.

Can you find Braden? What a view...even without the fireworks!

At around 4:30pm we all went over to the National Mall. The whole mall is absolutely packed on the 4th. We walked through the Smithsonian Cultural Festival highlighting Kenya and China this year. We saw some cool exhibits they had around. We then hung out for a bit on the lawn and then went to Union Station for dinner. We went back to the mall for the fireworks. The people there probably doubled from beforehand. We were across from the American History Museum on the lawn watching them go off at the Washington Monument. The fireworks were really amazing and it was cool to see them go off.

Don't worry I took plenty of pictures and I am in some of them. After the fireworks everybody was running to the Metro. We got on after about a half an hour of waiting and then my companion and I stayed at the Mount Pleasant Elder's apartment for the night. The next morning we woke up and headed down to the Metro and rode back to our area where our roommates picked us up. I was pretty tired but I'm recovering.

On Saturday we went to one of our investigator's homes looking to see if he was there. He wasn't there but some other people were there. A lot of people live at this apartment and it wasn't too surprising to us. They let us in and we began talking to the three people there. It was a family; a father, mother, and daughter. We had actually seen the mother and daughter before but they hadn't listened to us before this point. We ended up teaching all of the the Restoration of the Gospel and we committed all of them to be baptized. They all agreed after some reassurance. It is super exciting to have these people interested in the Gospel and how they have already made the commitment to be baptized during our first visit. I am excited to see their progression.

The 1st and 2nd verses for tenor part worked in your emails but the others did not. The attachments on Facebook are working.
Love,
Elder Braden Dahl
P.S. I sent a package home today. I have a note in there explaining everything but for the most part is is some of the stuff I've collected on my missions (letters, books, clothing, etc) that I wantto keep but don't want to carry around with me for the next 17 months.

x

Happy Tuesday 5-13-2014

Mom,
It was so nice to be able to talk to you and all of the family yesterday. I'm sure it was one of the shortest hours of your life. Today was really good. We woke up at 3:30am to go to DC. We went andtook sunrise pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and had some fun doing that. We slowly made it back towards the Washington Monument to try and get tickets for the monument today. It's the first time in three years it has been open. We got to the line at about 7am and we were about 50th in line. The ticket booth was suppose to open at 8:30 but they started handing out tickets just after 8am. Tours started at 1pm and my companion and I got tickets for 2pm. 

We then walked around outside of the National Mall for a while and even passed by the White House and Ford's Theater. At 10am we went to the National Archives and saw some historical documents including one of the original 4 copies of the Magna Carta, the Emancipation Proclamation, The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It was amazing to see these great historical documents. We also stopped by the Natural History Museum and saw the Insect and Egyptian Exhibits. We also went to the Rex Room where the museum is working on cataloging, photographing, and putting together the T-Rex skeleton they just received. They should be done by 2019. Afterwards, we went to the Art Museum and saw some works done by many artists including Vincent Van Gough and Pablo Picasso. 

We went back to the Washington Monument and waited a little until 2pm and then we went right up. The view was amazing and it is so beautiful up there. You can even faintly see the temple from one of the windows up there. It was really cool for my companion and I being the first missionaries up there in 3 years. They also had the original aluminum tip for the Monument and lightning protection rods that were on the monument for some years. As you head down the elevator, the glass in the elevator clears and you can see some of the commemorative stones that were placed in the monument. Some are from states, cities, organizations like the Free Masons, even one from the ancient city of Alexandria in Egypt. It was an amazing experience to be up there. I took lots of pictures so don't worry about there being no photographic evidence.

View from the top of the Washington Monument (Photo Credit: Andy Feliciotti)

Also we taught our investigator last night and had a great lesson with him. It was great and we have a return appointment for today.
Love,Elder Braden Dahl

Week 2 in Germantown, MD

Dad,

I am doing great out here. I am actually in Germantown but my area covers from the eastern boundary of my mission to Germantown and Clarksburg.

Google Map of LDS Washington D.C. North Mission Northwest Section

I'm doing alright in my language I am trying to speak, but it is easier to understand. The people say I don't have an accent but there are so many different Hispanics here. I think I am missing about 4 Spanish speaking countries but I've met people from all over with all their accents.

I'm not allowed to drive for at least my first 2 transfers. We have a set of English speaking Elders in our apartment. My bike is the same as it was. It is ride-able but it doesn't have all the bells and whistles on it.

It is snowing today and we aren't allowed to go out and drive today so we've been inside almost all day. We're supposed to have 12 inches. The DC area is great and I am really happy to be here.

Mom,

It has been a great week in DC. We found some new investigators and are planning to visit with them more and teach them about the gospel. The people here are so loving and are so amazing. They come from all over the world. There are many Salvadorians and Peruvians.

I'm working on pictures but it's hard time is way too short. I have a lot of time to write at night but not a lot of time to email.

This P-day we went to DC  we drove and then rode the metro from the edge of the city into the national mall. We went to the first floor of the Natural history museum and the first floor of the American history museum. I saw the Washington Monument (still being worked on). We went to the Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, MLK Jr., Korea, and WW2 Memorials as well.

Elder Braden Dahl visiting Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on 1/20/2014 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)

The area is so pretty and I took 78 pictures. In the American history museum I saw the Star Spangled Banner (no pics allowed) and a sunstone from the Nauvoo Temple (pics allowed).

Elder Braden Dahl visiting American History Museum in Washington D.C. on 1/20/2014 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day).   This is the Nauvoo Temple Sunstone Display at the museum.

I miss you and hope you're doing well.

Love,
Elder Dahl
P.S. It's snowing today.