One and Done...Written 8-17-2015

Well I'm glad to hear things are still normal at home. I don't think there is ever a dull moment at a Dahl house. There always has to be something going on. I'm glad your e-prep project went well and that everything is up to date now. I'm sure it was a pretty daunting task to take on but worth it in the end.

The Taylor Swift Concert sounds like it was really fun. Although it seems like it was a bit of an excursion overall between what you and Mom said it sounds like it was a fun night. I'm glad you got to enjoy her concert. It must have been a really fun night.

I'm glad everyone's getting into the swing of school again. Hopefully Mom is not stressing out too much over the crazy school schedules and my oldest brother heading off [to college].

This week was really good. We had two investigators attend sacrament meeting and we had the confirmation of AM. We were out teaching a lot and it was a fun week. Transfers are this Wednesday and I will be leaving my current area in Mount Pleasant East. We'll see where I end up but it should be a fun new adventure.

It has been a busy and good week. In the evening on Monday Elder H and I went to a member's home nearby and had a great Family Home Evening with them and our recently baptized friend-AM. It was a really fun night and a great lesson.

We kept busy throughout the week. Teaching a lot of people, particularly investigators. We've been focusing on a part-member/less-active family a lot lately. They even came to church in Sunday and stayed for all 3 hours. They were a bit nervous at first but ended up really enjoying it at the end. Their kids all loved primary and wanted to tell them all about it.

On Friday I was on exchanges with the DC 3rd Ward East area. I was with Elder B, an English elder that came out this transfer. It was a really good time and we saw a lot of awesome miracles. We found a less-active member whose records aren't in DC. A referral that Elder H and I sent them the day before (just a phone number) found us and gave us their address. We also moved a member. Plus we were able to teach a lot of people that day. It was a really fun day and I got to know Elder B a lot better.

Saturday we went to a dinner at a buffet for one of the members in the branch. She was having her 80-somethingth birthday and invited the missionaries over to celebrate. It also happened to be Elder Hz's birthday and it was a fun big celebration.

Sunday was a great day! AM was confirmed in Sacrament Meeting. So it was amazing to see that. We had some really good classes as well. Also in the evening we had "Why I Believe" at the Visitors' Center. Jason Hinds, a track and field athlete spoke there. I also sang with a group singing "I Believe in Christ." Unfortunately, they are no longer recording performances for some reason so only pictures from now on. Sorry about that. It wasn't that good of a performance but it was mediocre.

So transfers are this Wednesday and I'll be leaving Mount Pleasant East. It was a quick transfer and now I'm gone. It was really fun being able to be back in Mount Pleasant again even if it was for a short while. I really enjoyed being the east area and it was a great adventure. I won't know where I'll be until Wednesday at the Transfer Meeting. I could go anywhere and I'm not really sure where I'll end up. I'm excited to see where I'll go and serve in my next area. It will be another great transfer. It's crazy how fast the time is flying by. It was great serving with Elder H and I learned a lot from him. It was fun being with him and serving with all the other missionaries in the city.

I hope you have another great week and that things don't get too crazy over at the Dahl house and I loved the update from you. I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well and getting into the swing of school. Don't stress out too much with my older borther and school and eagle; it will all work out.

"Because I Have Been Given Much" - Accompanied by Sister Oliver

Left to Right: Elders Dahl, Fisher, Hartzog and Tutu'u

Uploaded 8-11-2015

Navy Football Coach & Physically and Spiritually Fit...written 3-23-2015

I'm going to go back and forth between Dad & Mom's questions and Braden's answers. His letter makes more sense when you know what Dad & Mom asked him...

Dad: I have a stomach bug outbreak and work with about 30 residents and 9 staff members. We are hoping to get a handle on it. It should be a busy week.

Dad, I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. I hope the stomach bug problem gets handled and over with quickly at work. 

Dad: The ward is going to start a missionary training class for the adults. It is a program initiated by the Stake Sunday School. The ward Sunday School has asked that I attend the adult class and then teach the youth of our ward the information. I am actually excited about it. I think it will be fun.

It also sounds like the new missionary class should be really fun. I hope it all goes well. This week has been nice for me. It's been great getting to know everyone and finally starting to get the area all down.

Dad: It was also nice to get the picture the family sent mom. We assume that is from a family in your ward? 

Oh, and that photo that was sent to Mom on Thursday, March 19th at 11:52am... It was from a senior sister missionary. I don't think you guys have seen Meet the Mormons as many times as I have because they have a certain Navy Football Coach and his wife from Annapolis, MD featured. Yeah it's them from Meet the Mormons because they went to the temple (DC being he closest to Annapolis) and we caught a pic with them when we were at the temple the same day.

Barbara & Ken Niumatalolo with Elder Mayta and Elder Braden Dahl. Ken is the Head Football Coach of the
U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and was featured in the movie, "Meet the Mormons"

NCAAF head coach Ken Niumatalolo believes in teamwork on and off the field. 










Mom: Wow Braden! I can't believe you lost 6-8 suit sizes!! I was teasing with Dad saying that you are going to come home the 'crazy' missionary who will be whipping us into better spiritual shape and the 'crazy-exercising' missionary that will also be whipping us into better physical shape! I told Dad that you'll get home and have us up at 6am jogging -- in matching jogging suits for the whole family -- while reading our scriptures as we go! I hope you get the joke, it's a women/mom thing always trying to keep up with all those other perfect Mormon Moms thus the matching jogging suits, jogging & scripture reading all at once.

I'm not sure about matching jogging suits; I'm still not a huge jogging fan. I could get you all on bike though and I can get some matching reflective vests. Roseville isn't too-too bad so we could probably read scriptures while on bike, or Dad will just have everyone download the audio for the scriptures and play it on their iPod at the same time.

This past week has been great. Monday evening we started doing A Family Home Evening with a less-active member who is also a recent convert. She has gone through a lot of hard times but is super nice. We also having her home teachers come over and help us share a message.

My companion and I also helped move a less-active member in the other Elders' area. She used to be a member in an area I previously served in. It was a little short notice but we were glad to help and finish moving everything. It was a great opportunity to serve and they really appreciated it. This week we also went over to a member's home to fill up bike tires with the two small bike pumps I have so they could give it to another member for transportation. It's fun to see all the little things you can do to help. (Don't worry I still always offer to wash the dishes at everyone's home-they just never let us do it.)

We have the goal to meet all the members in our new area to better know them and help them. We started doing that this week and have been going around looking for the members. We have had good success already and have found and met with a lot of the active and less-active members. They all seem great and we are getting a better grasp on how to help each of them. So far we're probably about a third of the way through visiting all the members but we are hoping to visit with a lot of them this week.

We also are trying to visit all the investigators the Sisters and Elders gave to us when the area was created. We've been able to visit with a couple of them now but not as many as we'd like. However, in our searches for members and investigators we've found a lot of new and potential investigators that we are really excited about. The area has so much potential and the members in the ward are super willing to help with missionary work.

On Thursday, our Zone (Silver Spring) went to the temple to do baptisms, confirmations, and initiatories for our ancestors. I brought my 5 names and performed the ordinances for them. It was a great time at the temple and super fun. The senior missionary couple in charge told us that the mission had completed over 900 family file names!

On Sunday I got to quickly go back to the Mount Pleasant Branch in DC for the baptism of one the investigators I taught. We set his baptismal date a little after the transfer when I left and he was able to complete it. We arrived just before he was baptized and we had to leave shortly after because the member that brought us down was helping at the baptism of one of the primary kids in our ward the same day. It was great being there for a few minutes and congratulating him. It was awesome feeling seeing him be baptized and knowing that he is coming closer to Christ.

It snowed here for the first day of Spring. It's still cold here but it is supposed to warm up this week so we can finally have some real springtime weather.

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl

PS-Just so you know, on Saturday we all received our new iPad minis. So I have it now and it's all good.

Hello Transfer Week...Written 3-2-2015

I'm going to go back and forth between my questions to Braden's answers. His letter makes more sense when you know what Mom asked him...

Mom: So did you have church cancelled today? Are you and all you fellow missionaries less actives now?
So church wasn't cancelled yesterday and a lot of people showed up yesterday. It was nice to have church again especially since it was the last Sunday of the Transfer.

Mom: Did you actually get to go to the temple last week or was that a snow day too?We did go to the temple last Wednesday and we haven't been totally locked inside. Yesterday it freeze rained pretty good and we could go out only on foot to appointments. Luckily we had three appointments so we were out most of the day but it was rather slippery when walking. They are trying to have us out as much as possible but this week wasn't nearly as bad as the previous one.


Mom: Can you guys play games like charades, zoo, Sticks, Soduku, checkers, chess, board games, etc.? Sister Cooke should plan the next training on...what to do when you're stuck inside!When we stay inside we can play board games so it's not too bad. Today is actually pretty nice.


Mom: I officially have paid for your new iPad. Its not cheap! And you'll get to keep it. Maybe if I'm lucky it can be the Dahl Family iPad and go around the world with our family's missionaries...but most likely it will just be yours for college I guess.We'll see about the Dahl Family iPad. They claimed at the meeting that they had Apple add additional filters built into the iPad, so it work great. I haven't been on Facebook lately so I haven't seen anything on here but from the way Matthew wrote about [the Gatsby Dance], it sounded like a lot of fun.

It's been a good week here despite the weather. We were able to visit some of people and visit with them. We picked up a former investigator again that called us asking to come to church and visit with us again. It was super cool and ice to see them again. They are very nice and want to learn more again and already know a lot about the gospel. Another investigator was a caretaker of a member family and we had shared messages with him before but he hadn't really payed much attention. We were at this member's home and invited him to listen to our message but he declined. However, later on in our visit he came out again and asked us how we can know which church is true. It was an awesome moment and we were able to teach him about the Restoration of the Gospel and how he can know for himself the truth of all things. He really liked that he can pray to God and receive an answer. We had a lot of awesome lessons and a great opportunities teaching some of our less-actives and investigators.

So I'm pretty sure that you know when transfers are better than I do. Transfers are this Wednesday and everyone finds out where they are going on Wednesday morning. All we know is if we're staying or leaving and I am leaving my current area. So next week you get to see where I end up.

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl

Salutations del Distrito...Written 11-24-2014

Written 11-24-2014
I hope that you had a good week. This last Friday we, as a mission went to the White House. Two ID checks, a dog sniff, and a metal detector later we were in the White House. It was cool being able to go in and say that I've been inside now. It's interesting and very pretty inside. It's also cool seeing the grounds from the inside. It was a fun morning and I'm glad that I could go inside. They have all the normal furniture inside and a couple gifts to the White House on display. [Can you find Elder Braden Dahl in the photo below...if not, answer is revealed at the bottom of this post.]

11/21/2014 Washington D.C. North Mission visits the White House

Don't jump the gun on me yet I haven't been out a year till Thursday (but I guess I will be home in less than a year but it's too far out to be thinking about that). I'm glad that you have been having a fun and busy week. Hopefully you are feeling a lot better and that everyone enjoys Thanksgiving Break.

Monday evening my companion and I went over to our Elder's Quorum President's home and visited with him for a while and had a late dinner. He is an awesome guy and he has a pretty heavy load here in the [Mount Pleasant] branch. It was nice being able to visit with him.

Tuesday we had a lesson with one of our investigators that went well. She only had a short amount of time but she appreciated our visit. We also visited with one of our less-active members and invited them to attend the stake conference on Sunday.

Wednesday one of the members called us and said be here in an hour I have an investigator for you. We went over and taught a lady the Restoration. She was interested but is a more reserved towards the church. It was a nice lesson and hopefully we'll see her more often. We met with one of our members and had a nice lesson with him as well. My companion and I went over to a less-active member's home and invited to them to the coming Festival of Lights this December.

Friday we visited a lot of people. We first went over to a less-active's house and invited them to come to church and Festival of Lights. We then went over to our recently baptized member's home and visited with him and his mother. We shared with them a nice message and started all the lessons again. We went by another less-active home and invited them to the Festival of Lights. We also met with a member that is about to go on his mission and visited with him for a while. My companion and I played soccer in the evening for mutual.

Saturday we visited with a less-active older lady and she fell recently and hurt her arm. She was glad we came by to visit and we set up a return appointment this week. We also visited our investigator with a baptismal date and we were planning out some of the logistics of their baptism.

Sunday was Stake conference which was really nice. After the conference we had a member come out with us for he rest of the night. We visited a investigator and a few members and it went really well. I'm the evening we had a great lesson with another of our investigators of the Book of Mormon.

I'm glad to hear you are doing well and I hope you have a great week. I hope that you have a fun week and Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

Elder Braden Dahl is just to the left of the girl in the green. He is 3rd row.

Busy, Busy, Busy!...Written 11/10/2014

Written 11/10/2014
This week was really great and really busy. Monday we were packed before, during, and after P-Day. I had a practice at the Visitors' Center, we had to give a blessing, teach an English Class, visit the Elder's Quorum President, and visit a less active. Plus we had one of our roommates with us until the evening. It was a little stressful but a rather successful day.

Practicing our song at the Washington D.C. Visitors' Center

This last Tuesday, my companion and I met a less-active member that we had not previously known. We shared a short message with her and we hope that we will be able to visit with her more in the future. We also were able to meet with another less-active in the evening along with an investigator.

Wednesday we had our Zone Training Meeting which took up our morning. It was a really good meeting and I learned a lot of things and we had a ton of announcements as we are approaching Festival of Lights here which will be at the Washington D.C. Temple and Visitors' Center. We met with the 11-year old boy we've been teaching in the afternoon and worked on the final touches of the baptism with him. We invited his mother to attend the service and explained to the boy what was going to happen.

On Thursday we had another English Class we taught to one of our investigators and it went really well. He is from Peru but has lived in Spain for many years now.

Friday we had lunch as a district from some food a member gave us. After we had lunch together, my companion and I went out to go visit some of the people in our area. We visited a couple members and less-active members and then we had a lesson with one of our progressing investigators.

Saturday we went out 'finding' to try and find some more investigators. We found a few potentials and we hope that they will make the decision to progress in the gospel. We also had a lesson with a progressing investigator about the Book of Mormon. The lesson went really well and we helped them understand more about the Book of Mormon but now it is up to them to ask if the book is true.

Sunday was the Baptism.
As a baptism always is, it was a little stressful. But by the time the service started everything was in order. We had the program put together and most of the members branch attended the baptismal service. My companion baptized him and I will be confirming him next week. It was super great and a wonderful service. We were so excited that he made the decision to be baptized and is trying to live a good life. We are excited to see and hear about his further progress in the church. It is super awesome to have a baptism here and we are hoping that we can have a few more baptisms coming soon. Right after the baptismal service however, we had to bolt to the Visitors' Center so I could perform in the Night of Music and Inspiration. That also was a fun event with many wonderful performances. It was hard singing because they forgot to turn on the feedback mic, so we couldn't hear each other. We only sound good if we can hear each other but 'es la vida.' I think we're performing that song again next Sunday again at the Why I Believe Fireside, but I'm not sure. I'll send the music home in a send stuff home package I'm planning on getting out some time this month. [Mom asked how much we practiced before that night...] We practiced every Friday for a month and once on a Monday. We kinda practice on our own during our free time throughout the week. We also had a member bring his friend to church yesterday and we were able to meet with him and he was able to attend the baptism!

"Nearer My God to Thee" Night of Music & Inspiration Nov. 9, 2014 

Elders Ortega, Dahl, Rushforth, Hansen, Peterson, Fuller, Jamias,Sorensen, Fisher

I'm glad to hear that you had a good week. It seems like you've been really busy lately. I'm pretty sure I forgot to mention to you but last week during our transfer meeting we had the opportunity to watch Meet the Mormons at the Visitors' Center. It was a really good movie and I really liked it.

Today we went downtown. Our roommates and us biked around Jefferson Island (where the Jefferson Memorial is) and saw the nice fall colors along with the Potomac River. We also passed by the George Mason Memorial on the island. Then we went over to the Holocaust museum again. Afterwards, we went over to the Air and Space Museum. It was a nice day and fun to go see some of the fall sights.

Love,

Elder Braden Dahl

Capture the Vision

We are all in this together. With fellow ward members and missionaries, we plan and pray and help one another. Please keep the full-time missionaries in your thoughts and prayers. Trust them with your family and friends. The Lord trusts them and has called them to teach and bless those who seek Him.

Elder Neil L. Andersen

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance…

John 14:26

The Lord invites us to discover, ponder, search, and evaluate, and thereby come to a personal knowledge of the truth.

Fall is Here...Written 11-3-2014

Written 11/3/2014

I hope that you've had a great week. Everything here has been going well but it's getting a lot colder here now. Autumn is in full swing and all the leaves have changed color and it's getting windy around here. I love you lots and have a great coming week.

This week has been quite the awesome one.

And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness. (2 Nephi 5:27) Find out what makes us so happy we jump for joy and happiness! Visit www.mormon.org or give me a message!

Y aconteció que vivimos de una manera feliz. (2 Nefi 5:27) Averiguar de porque nos saltamos de gozo y felicidad! Vaya a www.mormon.org/spa o mandarme un mensaje!

*Elder Braden Dahl is 4th from the right with the windbreaker jacket on.*

On Wednesday we had a lesson with our 11 year old investigator and his mother. My companion and I went in after a lot of prayers and a fast. We explained to her that he has already received all the lessons and that he already knows the principles of the gospel. We asked her to let him be baptized sooner than his 12th birthday in April and she agreed to our request. She told us that he can be baptized on the 9th of November. He was more than excited and so was his grandma who is a member. Since then we have began working on his baptismal program. We also had another lesson with one of our other investigators about coming to church that went really well.

Thursday was also an awesome day. A member gave us a referral and said of we had some extra time we could go and pass by that day. We had a little extra time and we decided to go over. We met two people there both are older ladies from Él Salvador. They are interested in learning about our church. We taught them the message of the Restoration and invited them to come to church. They were both great and one of the ladies came to church this last Sunday!

On Saturday we met a referral from one of our members who was born in Peru but lived for many years in Spain. He was interested in English Classes but also has a lot of interest in the Church and what our beliefs are. He is a nice guy who has a ton of potential. We also had a lesson with one of our long-time investigators and made a lot of progress figuring out what doe, of her doubts are.

Sunday we had 4 investigators attend church with us. It was an awesome time seeing all of them their for fast and testimony meeting. After Sacrament meeting our 11 year old investigator had his baptismal interview and passed! We are very hopeful and prayerful that his baptism will go off without a hitch.

Christmas? I'm not thinking about Christmas right now. I'm having a hard time thinking of anything I need or want. Some things I came up with after my 30 minutes of meditation are light gloves (I have a heavy deep winter pair and I have bike gloves without fingertips, it gets cold here but it's not always dawn the deep winter but you still want something covering all your hand), and I still can't think of anything...I can't just think of anything off the top of my head. I don't do well with these kind of questions. Give me a week and I'll try to think of something else.

To answer your other question; I get money each month for all our expenses (ie not for rent, utilities, public transportation fees, etc that are handled by the Mission Office)

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

Fall at the LDS Washington D.C. Temple

Elder Braden Dahl and his companion having fun taking pictures at the Washington D.C. Temple

Written 10-27-2014

I'm glad to hear from you this week. This P-Day we went to the Museum of Natural history and explored around it again seeing all the things they have there from mummies to diamonds and everything in between.


It was fun to go and see again. We also stopped by the Smithsonian Castle and saw the few things they have there again.

Being on bike isn't bad right now weather wise. It's getting cooler now but it's just light jacket weather some days. It's starting to rain a lot more again. The few trees in DC are changing colors now but it's easier to see autumn by the temple where it's less concrete jungle. Winter is supposed to be coming soon and rumor has it that it's supposed to be a really hard winter.

Smithsonian Castle

Hola mi querido madre (Hello my dear mother),

Tuesday was our Temple Trip. It was a great time there and I am continuing to bring some of the names of the people I have found.

We are still working with Family History for our members and we hope to see more success. Most Hispanics here don't find ancestors or records but instead put it stories and pictures for future generations due to the lack of records.

Wednesday we went to a less-active member's home for dinner with my district [see Q&A #2] and we seemed to eat our hearts out. It was also cool because we ate with real silver silver wear. It was a great time visiting her and we had a wonderful lesson with her about church attendance. We had a wonderful time seeing her.

This week we were able to give some service. On Friday we helped set up for another wedding reception for a couple hours at the end of the day. We only went for about 20 minutes of the reception because we were so busy Saturday though. Saturday, Elder Crosswhite and I changed a tire for a lady on the side of the road with a flat tire [see Q&A #1]. It was a cool little service to give and it definitely made her day.

Also, Saturday and Sunday we went with some members to the Hispanic Heritage Nights [see Q&A #3] and saw some dances and heard songs and talks from people form all over Latin America. Every single country in Latin America that speaks Spanish (+Brazil) was represented by at least one person there in the audience. They were some really fun nights to go and see the things performed. The first thing everyone from Gaithersburg asked me, and I quote "Are they feeding you in your area?!" (I wish I could say I was joking but no seriously, it wasn't hello, or a handshake, or whatever other salutation). I guess biking around the city has paid off. It's still lots of fun and I enjoy doing it.

End of Transfer Photo of Our District...Elder A at the podium and the rest of us pretending to be asleep or bored
at his dissertation...Mount Pleasant West District - October 2014
Braden is "asleep" 3rd from the left

As for transfers, I will be staying with Elder Crosswhite in Mount Pleasant West. So at least 6 more weeks or being here! I'm excited to see what the next transfer has in store for me.

Love,

Elder Braden Dahl

P.S. So we're going to the White House as a mission. [Mom had to send some info so he can apply to go. They have to supply their social security number and some info to the Secret Service to be able to go. Public tour requests must be submitted through each individual's Member of Congress. The approval process takes between 21 days to 6 months. So it's kind of a big deal!]

Since we know that Braden writes us on Mondays, sometimes, I can get right on when he writes us. I quickly shot him 3 questions to which he quickly replied...

Q & A:
#1 Mom: Have you ever changed a tire before? Did you come out clean like Jamie Hyneman or dirty like Adam Savage?

Elder Braden Dahl: No I haven't, I was like Jaime Hyneman. Elder Crosswhite more like Adam Savage.

 

#2 Mom: I can't believe the whole district went to eat at 1 persons home! Spanish food? Or what did you eat?

Elder Braden Dahl: Chilean food-some, beef, pork, lots of fruits, cheese and crackers, Jello, ice cream and a ton of other food. We were stuffed.


#3 Mom: What is Hispanic Heritage Night? Was it in Gaithersburg? And you saw members from your old area there?

Elder Braden Dahl: at the VC [Washington D.C. Temple Visitor's Center]

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Virtual Tour...

Select Desktop or Mobile Tour on Far Left

Sightseeing-The National Cathedral, Zoo, Holocaust Museum & Dept of the Treasury...Written 9-29-2014

Written 9/29/2014
This week was another really fun one. My companion and I have really been working hard to teach the 20 lessons (to members, less-actives, investigators, etc.) each week. President Cooke has really been stressing this goal lately. Luckily we've been keeping pace these last few weeks. This week we were able to have 25 lessons. It was a great and busy week.

My companion and I are visiting with a lot of less-active members right now trying hard to get them to come back to church. We are seeing some miracles with less-active members who haven't opened there doors in years or who people have completely forgotten about, begin opening their doors to us and letting us come and teach them.

With our investigators we have one on baptismal date. We are working very hard to keep her on date and make sure she feels comfortable with baptism. She is doing well and really progressing. We also have another investigator that would be baptized now but his parents said we have to wait until his birthday in April. He's a rock solid guy and we are just waiting and working on his parents. Another investigator we have is super close to baptism and we are trying to put on date but she just needs a little more time and she'll be golden.

There is so much excitement here and I love serving in this area. My companion and I are working hard and trying our best. The members here are great and we have a lot of potential here in the area.

Thursday night the branch had a small activity where we played futbol, sorry, soccer. It was a really fun time and we brought one of our investigators to it and he really enjoyed playing. It was fun night and we were able to connect more with the branch.

Saturday morning we helped with a food drive at the church building and we helped pack up all the donations that were collected.

Today my companion and I passed by the National Cathedral. We didn't go in because it's a $10 admission of $25 for the behind the scenes tour. We took some pictures and it was fun to go and see.

We then headed down to the zoo and checked it out. It was nice to go and see again and it was my companion's first time so he appreciated it. Then we thought, well we can keep doing more so we went down the National Mall and went to go see the Holocaust Museum. My companion was dying to see that museum. Thankfully it was fairly empty today, so we went through pretty quick. We still had a little time left so we went to the Department of the Treasury and saw the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It was a cool little tour and we saw millions of dollars being printed. Today was mostly focused on $5 bills but they did have some of the first coloration printing for some $20 bills. I also got to see $1,000,000 in $10 bills. It was cool to go and see.It doesn't really feel like I've been out 10 months. I'm starting to lose track of dates and months are starting to fly by. I find it hard to believe September is almost over, it feels like it just began. I'm not sure what language I'll be watching Conference in but English is more likely than Spanish, but who knows. Notes for me are will probably be in Spanglish depending on how fast they speak; the slower they speak the more Spanish I write. 

In regards to directing music, yes I have directed music several times on my mission (just not in a Sacrament Meeting) in several meetings. Teach the basics first and stress the importance of just hitting the downbeat if nothing else. Practice directing some hymns and then some hymns with some tricky things-double down beat, time change, fermata, etc.

I'm glad to hear that everything is going well for you and the family and I hope you have a great week.

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

A lot of teaching & a lot of family history...Written 9-22-2014

Written 9/22/2014
Youngest Brother,
I'm excited that you got your 3DS XL and a Pokemon game. It sounds like you are certainly enjoying it and are doing really well on the game right now. Today I had fun in DC and I went and bought some delicious chocolate at a fun store to enjoy for National White Chocolate Day. I miss you too. Have fun this week.

Family,
I wouldn't be thinking of picking me up too soon now but I am starting to figure out all the city. It's funny now when people are asking me for directions and I can show them where to go. I hope that all the fires in California will start to calm down and get under control but by the sounds of it, they are a little ways from that.

Today was another fun P-Day. My companion and I went down to Historic Georgetown and went down some of the cobblestone roads. We also went to Dean and Deluca, a cool little deli, candy, stuff store and got some nice little chocolates. We then headed down to the Capitol Building and took a tour there which was really fun. Yes, we saw the Brigham Young Statue in there. I only found one of the two California Statues in there of Ronald Reagan in the Main Dome. We also went and passed by the Supreme Court Building and went into the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Afterwards, we went to the American History Museum and saw all the things there. Finally, we stopped by the National Archives and checked out all the important documents there. It was a really fun time down there but it's starting to get a little chilly here now.

This week was a really fun week. On Monday my companion and I taught a Family Hostory lesson to a recent convert in our area. She now has begun to put in her family into familysearch.org. By Wednesday she had all of her grandparents in.

Tuesday morning we did some service at a nearby food bank where the missionaries there packed 10,000 lbs of food to be distributed. In the afternoon we had a lesson with 2 of our investigators about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also taught 2 less-active families about enduring to the end.

Wednesday was our transfer meeting. Elder A is now my roommate serving in the area next to us. Also we have a brand new missionary that just came out into the field in our district with his trainer who just came back to the city. Wednesday we were able to have 5 lessons; which was super awesome. We taught 1 investigator about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This investigator is ready for baptism but we have to get permission from his parents and they say we have to wait until April when he turns 12. He is super solid and awesome to hang around. We taught a recent convert and a less-active member about Family History and how to begin using FamilySearch.org.

On Thursday, my companion and I taught three people on Facebook which was super great. Who new that Facebook could be such an awesome tool. We also taught a member about temples and her preparation for entering the temple. My companion and I also went with the Branch President to the old home of a member to pick up some of his personal belongings due to some issues he had. In the evening, my companion and I went to a member's home with the East Elders to a less-active member to celebrate Chile's Independence Day. We are so much food and then some. It was super good but I would not be surprised if each of us ate more than 2,000 calories in just that meal. We had a great discussion on prayer with her and one of her friends from Panama that isn't a member.

Friday we taught another member about Family History. (If you can't tell there is a pattern here.) The mission is really stressing family history and we are more than willing to try and teach everyone here how to start and get going.

Saturday, my companion and I visited a less-active member and shared a short message with her about Faith in Jesus Christ. In the afternoon, we taught our investigator with a baptismal date and we showed her the baptismal font at the chapel and finished practicing the baptismal interview questions with her. It was a great lesson and we are excited to continue to work with her. In the evening we taught another investigator about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. She is very close to baptism but she said she was already baptized. We then spoke about authority with her and she started to wonder if she was baptized with authority. She said she would study it until our next appointment and come with some questions.

On Sunday we went to "Why I Believe" with 4 of our members and had a great night. My companion and I are teaching a lot out here and really enjoying it. All in all, we are teaching a lot over here always trying to hit the 20 lessons each week. This last week we hit 23 lessons. It can be a little tough but it's fun.

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

My New Area in... Written 8/11/2014

D.C.! Inside the Beltway, In the City, My area includes the Monuments, Zoo, White House, etc.

Mom, I haven't really been on Facebook that much so I haven't really had time to post anything. We did have transfers on Wednesday, the transition was smooth. I'm still on bike and the Zone Leaders brought me to my new apartment. I actually am already friends with my new companions. Yes, you read that right, companions. I'm in a trio now and we actually all know each other from when we were all in the same district 3 transfers ago.

I can forward you the Excellence Newsletter but there aren't really opportunities at a zone meeting before my birthday. However, I am now in the zone where the Secretary of the Mission Presidency, Brother A, watches over the missionaries and fairly regularly goes to the mission office to bring things down to the missionaries here in this zone. Please don't worry about it if it comes late to me. There is no rush or pressure and I can get it the following week at Zone Training.

On Tuesday we had our last district meeting and we all took a photo together. Afterwards, we went back to the apartment and had lunch. For most of the day Elder G was with us because his companion was called to be an Assistant to the President and had to leave a day early from his area. Tuesday was an awesome day for us. We found 3 new investigators, had a member present lesson. Taught a less-active member, and had 4 other lessons. It was a great last day in the area of Montgomery Village South. Tuesday night I finished packing up and was ready for the transfer meeting next morning.

Elder Dahl's new apartment building in Mount Pleasant West area

Wednesday was transfers and unlike before we didn't find out who our new companions were or where our new areas were until during the transfer meeting. This was the older way of doing apparently that some of the older missionaries remember doing. So I had no idea where I was going or who my new companion would be when I arrived at the Visitors' Center on Wednesday morning. They announced the companionships and areas by zones. 15 new missionaries came out but none were Spanish missionaries so they actually ended up closing the Germantown area. I am now serving in the Mount Pleasant West area with my two companions. After the meeting I arrived in my new area and I unpacked a little (one of my companions stayed at the Visitors' Center for the departing lunch for a little bit and my other companion went on exchanges to an appointment with one of our roommates. I stayed with the other roommate for a bit and helped him in his area). We then had a quick lunch and headed out to an appointment. After the appointment we went down to Columbia Heights and General Questioned (GQ'd) people there for a while and found a few potential investigators.

You might be wondering where exactly Mount Pleasant is and what area I am exactly covering. I am no longer in Maryland and I don't cover anything in Maryland. I am in DC and cover everything south of Quincy St. and west of Georgia Ave. to Florida Ave. to North Capital St. in DC. My area includes the Monuments, Zoo, White House, etc. However, almost all of the work is in the vicinity of Quincy and Georgia.

Anyways, Thursday we had our weekly planning session and it mostly consisted of getting to know the area, members, and investigators. It also was my companion's birthday and we had a little hang out dinner up on our apartment's rooftop terrace with some pizza, lemonade and cake with an investigator and some of the missionaries in our district. After dinner we went out again and went to try and find some of the less-active members in the branch.

On Saturday we General Questioned (GQ'd) some more at Columbia Heights and found a few more potential investigators. We also visited a couple members and less-actives from the ward. We went down 16th street to visit some people and GQ and we passed by scores of churches. Including a former LDS church building built in the '30s. It is really tall and the exterior is made entirely of Utah quarried stone.

    

The building also used to have an Angel Moroni atop the steeple. It was a cool thing to see. We also passed by several Embassies and Consulates. While we were down there we GQ'd at one of the parks and met an awesome guy from Ecuador.

Mount Pleasant Branch Building

Mount Pleasant Branch Building

Sunday one of my roommates and I went to the Branch Council meeting and attended it before church. President and Sister Cooke spoke during Sacrament Meeting in the Mount Pleasant Branch. We had a good but very lively Gospel Principles class and then our District Leader and I taught the Young Men's class.

We also went to the Visitors' Center and brought a family in the branch with us to the Night of Music and Inspiration event. It was a really good event and fun to be there.

I'm doing great biking around and the heat hasn't been bad, or I'm used to it now. I don't have any complaints. I hope you do well this week with the crazy schedule and the transition back to school.

Dad, I'm glad that you're feeling better and I hope that things at work can go smoothly with the temporary change.

Last week was Transfers and I am now serving in the Mount Pleasant West area. That means I am serving in The District of Columbia now! It's quite the adrenaline rush riding around in the city on bike dodging cars, people, opening car doors, buses, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Though sometimes it feels like we just spend forever locking or unlocking our bikes; It's really fun to be serving here and there are a lot of good people here. It's fun being in a branch now and I'll get to know the people a lot quicker.

We have a really nice apartment here (one of the most expensive in the mission) right above a metro station on Quincy St. and Georgia Ave. There is a nice lobby, rooftop terrace, and gym here. Tell Mom that there are no bed bugs here.

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl