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

Hot, Humid and a Baptism...Written 7/27/2015

Things are still hot and humid here. But things are going well. We are teaching lots of people and found more new investigators. We've been working in particular with three people we have on baptismal date. One is coming up soon so we are trying to get all of the lessons done and help them the best we can. We have a couple people progressing and we are working hard with them.

This P-Day was pretty low key. We sang and played some basketball at the chapel. Then we went and played some ping pong at the YSA center with some missionaries by our house. It was a pretty good time and fun today.

Sunday evening I had the opportunity to go back to the Glenmont ward to go to a baptism of an investigator I taught. It was a great experience being able to go back and see him make a big step in the right direction. It's always such a great joy to see people get baptized. It was a great end of the day.

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl

Happy 4th of July...Written 6/29/2015

Well this week has been fun. Tuesday my companion (Elder O) and I went on splits with the Elder's Quorum President and the Ward Mission Leader to do some Home Teaching since the program kinda died in the ward and we have a new Elder's Quorum President. We were just helping them know what to do so that they can train the Elders in the ward and get the families assigned. I was with the Elder's Quorum President and we were able to visit 2 less-active member families that we are trying to reactivate in the church. We had awesome lessons and 1 of the families came to church this week and a few members of the other family came to church as well.

Thursday we had our Zone Conference which really was mostly explaining our new Tiwi systems. You might ask what a Tiwi is; a Tiwi is a computer installed in every mission vehicle to monitor our speed, location, and driving skills.

It gives alters on aggressive driving, speeding and not wearing seat-belts, etc. They take a bit of getting used to and figuring out logging in and out of the car but overall it's a great program that will help a lot and luckily I'm already a pretty good driver so I'm not getting any violations. It was a good zone conference and I enjoyed learning some new things. 

Anyways, now to the part that will get you jealous; also on Thursday the Mission had the opportunity to go to the Strathmore Music Hall and

attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert. It was their opening concert for the 2015 Atlantic tour. The choir were accompanied by the Orchestra at Temple Square and guest singer Alex Boyé performed two solos during the concert. When we heard that we were going to this concert I was super excited naturally but I thought we'd probably be sitting in the nosebleed section since tickets for this tour range from $15-$200. To my shock when I got my ticket I was sitting in the Orchestra Section second row from the front in front of the 1st Chair Violin. It was awesome being so close to the performance and getting the surround sound feel of the choir and

orchestra. All the music was wonderful and the choir sounds like one voice. The music was wonderful and you could really feel the Holy Spirit testifying throughout the performance. We also were able to briefly talk wit the people sitting behind us who were not of our faith. We explained a little about what we believed in and out purpose as missionaries which was a great missionary experience right before seeing the choir. After the concert we were able to talk to a couple members in the choir and thank them for the performance. 

Not all the missionaries were in the first two rows. Some were on the sides in the back of the orchestra seating, others were on the mezzanine level, and some were in the nosebleeds depending on when you picked up your ticket. But every missionary and senior couple went to the performance. The concert was great and it was cool to be so close to Mack Wilburg and Ryan Murphy conducting. Alex Boyé stood right in front of us and in between songs he whispered hi to all the missionaries in the front. The first chair violin was amazing and it was cool to watch her at times.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir starting their 2015 Atlantic Tour with Alex Boyé

On Sunday, my companion, Elder O and I were able to go to the Young Men's class and talk to the boys about why we chose to serve a mission and what blessings a mission brings. Since this month is about Priesthood and Priesthood Duties the Young Men's President (who is a Returned Missionary of 2 years) asked us to help teach. A lot of the boys in the class have never thought about going on a mission and a couple were unsure. I think it was a great opportunity for us to help them out. There are some great guys in that class and a lot do have desires to serve a mission.

If you want to know what the weather here is like, imagine it getting up to the lower 90's with high humidity and then in the evening have huge clouds come in and dump rain and lightning. The weather here is basically bipolar and you get used to it quick. There is a lot of rain here and there have been a few flash flood warnings but nothing has happened here. Don't worry about me in the weather here because I'm doing just fine. Plus what are you doing anyways watching the weather in Maryland, the capital of Colombia (Washington D.C.) is closer.

As for the 4th of July, sorry I won't be getting any pics of the National Mall. President Cooke has felt impressed that it is too dangerous for us to be at the National Mall this year. We can be in DC until 6:30pm and then we have to start heading home. We found this out last night so we are still working on our plans for the 4th this year. It still should be fun just a bit different than last year. We can't see the fireworks in DC but the zone leaders are working on getting permission to see some around Silver Spring.

The ward here is pretty diverse there is a bit of everything here. Generally in the mission there are a lot of people from El Salvador.

I did get your mid week email and tell Grandpa thank you a ton for me. Tell him I'm working on Family History and have indexed around 300 records in Spanish (per request of my stake indexing coordinator--aka my Mom).

Dad, I'm glad that you had a good week and that everyone enjoyed the classes you taught on Sunday. It sounds like it was a really great Sunday with all the missionary farewells and tell everyone I say Hi back. 

This week has been nice; my companion and I kept pretty busy. We've been working with a lot of people and trying to get them all to come to church (less-actives and investigators)

Dad, I want to wish you a happy early birthday! I hope you have a great birthday this week and a great 4th of July as well. I hope you can have a stress-free week and enjoy yourself.

Tell my oldest brother congratulations on getting his Patriarchal Blessing and to keep working on his Bird (Eagle Project).

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl

News the from Dahl Apartment in DC...Written 2-23-2015

Winter has finally arrived here in DC. We've hit record lows for the weeks and we've had 3 snow days (well 2 and a half). It's cool going out in super cold weather and watching the snow fall but not always the most entertaining thing being inside all day. Saturday it snowed a lot here and then freeze rained in the evening. The Zone leaders and 3 other elders were at our apartment to meet up and go to a temple recommend interview when the storm hit so we had a fun time hanging out together. Three of the Elders ended up staying the night because the amount of snow we had. They cancelled Sacrament Meeting again this week again. It feels super weird not going to church let alone 2 weeks in a row, one more week and all the missionaries here become less-active members. I don't know about thicker skin [from living in a cold area] but I've been keeping warm and haven't been getting cold so far. I'm definitely more used to the cold temperatures now and layering always helps.

It has been a really awesome week despite the wintery weather. My companion and I were able to visit with several investigators and less-active members. One of our progressing investigators accepted a Baptismal Date. He is the caretaker of a less-active member we recently reactivated. He sparked some interest in the church and has been listening in and participating in lessons with us. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted. We have begun teaching him and preparing him for his coming baptism. He is very open about hearing and accepting the gospel. We also were able to visit several other less-active members and a couple of investigators. It's a little hard to stay in communication with all of them due to the weather but my companion and I have been managing.

I'm glad you're finding a lot more in our Family History lines. I've been working a bit on some cousin lines and reserving a ton of names for the temple. Our temple trip is his week and it's always great to do the work there. Also the mission is planning another temple trip where we can do 5 vicarious baptisms for our family files names. It's always great to do family history and further the work of the lord. 

Love,
Elder Braden Dahl

P.S.-The worldwide rollout of the new iPad program is rolling out next week. We'll be getting new iPads that are much more restricted sometime soon (1-3 weeks). We won't be on Facebook for a few months and they'll be some coming changes. We're having a huge meeting tomorrow with 2 General Authorities about it tomorrow but from what we know now I'll probably have to purchase the iPad, no FB for a while, a lot of training, and the U.S. is now all getting iPads.

Today was a fun P-Day today. We went with the Zone Leaders and the Mission Office Elders to Point Lookout in Maryland. It's the southernmost point in our mission. It was fun going out and seeing the Chesapeake Bay and they had a small lighthouse there (which was closed). It was a long drive but a lot of fun to visit but definitely chilly today. We took some photos and enjoyed it a lot. Plus I passed through California and Hollywood today, two of the cities in Maryland you have to pass through.

Today's Adventure-Point Lookout near St. Mary's River State Park & the city of Lexington Park, MD. Point Lookout is at the bottom of the mission. Technically it is the Atlantic Ocean (in the form of the Chesapeake Bay) and where the Potomac River hits the Chesapeake. There was ice in the water and plenty of snow around.

 

It appears it is about 1.5 hours to drive (by car) or a

3-hour Metro ride from Elder Braden Dahl's apartment to this place.

Elder Dahl with Elder Van Wagoner

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

Musical Number-I Believe in Christ (Creo en Cristo; ¡El es mi Rey!)

Written 10/13/2014

This week has been really nice. As always, my companion and I are trying to stay busy and work hard in our area. 

We spent a lot of time in the Stake Center in Kensington this week for music practice for me. Yesterday was "Night of Music and Inspiration" in Spanish at the Visitors' Center. I was in a group singing a 6-part, a cappella version of "I Believe in Christ" (of course in Spanish). All of us performing were from all over the mission and it was a hard time for us practicing together on a rather difficult piece of music. Of course, you have already heard the piece and hopefully it was ok. We had one investigator and four members go to the performance so we were excited for the attendance we brought out.


Wednesday we had the privilege of watching some of the lunar eclipse that happened here at 7am. We all went up on our roof at 6am and played some sports watching as the moon became a vivid red. The sun starting coming up so by peak eclipse time at 7 the moon was nigh impossible to see. It was still a fun morning for us.

Photo Credit: Kevin Ambrose

Photo Credit: Randy Taylor

Wednesday my companion and I also had exchanges and I was with Elder A for the day still in my area. We had a few appointments cancel on us but we still had a good number of lessons from going around finding people. We also were able to take a member out with us for a couple hours of the day; which really helped us have the spirit and teach powerfully.

We also had interviews with President Cooke on Saturday at the Stake Center. The interviews went well and were enjoyable.

Autumn Fields at Capitol Arboretum by Nichole Pretty 

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos that I took. It covers a wider timetable but they were certainly fun to take. Don't worry though because I'm still taking pictures and still enjoying seeing what the area has to offer. We are now approaching fall. Some trees are beginning to loose their vivid green color and start the changing of color. It also is starting to get colder again. I've had to put on a windbreaker a few times this week. It's also starting to rain more but not as hard as the summer thunderstorms.

Nature's Beauty with Sculpture by Patricia Vesey

The area we live in is North West. I'm not sure what area we are exactly in. Mount Pleasant's a little west of us and Columbia Height's is a little south of us. 

We still are teaching a lot and working hard. We are hoping to have another great week. I hope that you have a great week. I love you lots.

Love,Elder Braden Dahl

P.S. I think Dad asked me when transfers are; they're the 29th of October.

Dad,

I'm glad to hear that everything is going well overall. I hope everything continues to go well and that nothing is too crazy.

Our area is going well. We have a few good investigators that are progressing. We are trying to find some more people to teach right now. The city is just a lot of hard work trying to keep members active and to get less-active members to come to church. There never seems to be a dull moment.

This Sunday was the Primary Program which was really nice. The primary here is nothing size wise compared to Roseville 2nd, they fit in about two rows on the side. It was still a really nice program and it was fun hearing them all sing. Our investigator actually was in the program and gave a short one minute talk. It was a good time and the classes afterwards were also great.

I guess you already know and have heard "Creo en Cristo", the song I sang last night at the Visitors' Center. The number was really fun to do but ridiculously difficult. It was the Eclipse version of the song and we translated it out. It wasn't great but it was the first time all of us singing together and we had 2 weeks to put it together. Of course during mike checks they balanced it all out and then during the performance the mike I was on was blaring and turned way up. It was still fun to perform and I enjoyed performing.

One thing I forgot to mention was today we went over to the ghetto Chinese shops on the east side of DC. It's not somewhere I'd ever even think of taking Mom but they have little shops packed with all kinds of stuff from knives to shoes, watches to toys. Everything is straight from China and the shop owners barely speak English. It's all super cheap things but cash only. It's pretty close to a metro stop. Around the metro is pretty nice but suddenly about a block and a half away it's pretty ghetto. I might bring you and maybe my oldest brother over there; just don't have too much on you. It was cool to go and check out. It's always cool seeing all the great diversity around here and seeing some of the interesting things around.

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

General Conference...More Sightseeing in D.C.-Written 10-6-2014

 Written 10/6/2014

Well I must say I was thoroughly surprised when JS said he had a small package for me. It was super nice to receive that package from you with all the Spanish hymns on it. I've already listened to it several times now. Thank you very much for the pleasant surprise.

This was another good week that I had here. My companion and I were trying to visit everyone in our area and invite them to view General Conference. It was tough at the beginning of the week to find anyone but toward the end of the week we were able to visit a ton of the people in our area and invite them to come and listen to General Conference.

On Tuesday we received a couple referrals from the mission office and we went over to try and contact them, unfortunately they weren't home but we then called them in the evening and set up appointments to visit with them this coming week.

Wednesday was our Zone Conference which was really good. We had a lot of great worships on how to better ourselves and how to improve our teaching skills. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun there. After the meeting we went over and taught one of our investigators some of the commandments. He is still doing really well and has a very solid grip on gospel principles.

Friday my companion and I stayed super busy with a lot of appointments, contacting, plus a couple meetings. It was a really good day where we were able to have a lot of success in our area and work hard and fast.

Saturday, of course, was General Conference. My companion and I viewed all three sessions that day in Spanish. I was able to get most of the things said in conference, some analogies like Henry VIII were a little hard to understand or Elder Jörg Klebingat speaking so fast the translator couldn't keep up. Overall it was really enjoyable and one of the fastest sessions of General Conference I've ever listened to. I think the messages were wonderful and very inspired for us. Oh, and don't worry I was able to make out where Elder Jones was in the Missionary Choir. In regards to Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong's talk I really enjoyed it again, I actually heard a longer version of the talk out here in English when he came out with Elder M. Russell Ballard to the mission. So I guess D.C. is just being hipster hearing the talk before it was cool.

Sunday was another wonderful day with the two sessions of General Conference. My companion and I were again able to see both sessions in Spanish. So we ended up seeing all of General Conference in Spanish and nothing in English (except the music). We had two of our investigators come out and each watch one session of conference. We also had lessons with both of them on Sunday. To me, Elder Hugo E. Martinez didn't seem to speak very fast. He was one of the slowest voices during conference. Most likely due to the translators trying to keep up with the other speakers. Elder Richard G. Scott prerecorded his talk in Spanish so I heard him speak in Spanish during his talk. (Also, fyi Jesucristo is one word in Spanish.)

Today (Monday), we went downtown with the North Elders to the White House Visitors' Center. Not a whole lot there, but now we know if we want tickets to the White House we need to contact our senators or representative, put in some info, mention religious group, and probably wait 30 days.

Anyways, we then went to the WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.

We then went to Ford's Theater and saw where Lincoln was shot, the gun that shot him, and the outside of the house where he died. We then went to the National Building Museum which is cool to see once inside but don't take the tour unless you're really interested because it can get a little boring for some.

I still speak a great deal of English (I am in the US) and there are mostly English missionaries and meetings. I do speak a lot of Spanish too though.

We only see the 11-year-old investigator twice a week, on Wednesday's and at church, sometimes at a branch futbol [soccer] activity too. His mom lets him come to church with his grandma and sister who are members. He is involved in the ward but I'm 99% sure they don't have a scouting program here.

Although we do end up playing soccer just about once a week. I've only been to the field by our apartment 4 times. And we didn't play soccer one of those times. I usually play defense and I don't know what foot I'm dominant on, probably right.

We will not be seeing Meet the Mormons in theaters and the closest theater playing it here is in Virginia. However, there is a slight chance they may play it at the Visitors' Center after it comes out on DVD.

Love, Elder Braden Dahl

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

2 Missionaries attempting sophistication at Starbucks...Written 9-15-2014

Written 9-15-2014

My companion and I attempting sophistication at Starbucks
at DuPont circle today

Mom's Caption: Great! 2 Missionaries drinking Starbucks!!
I was told it was a carmel frappé and hot chocolate.

Today was nicknamed "Sophistic P-Day" for my companion and I. Sister Cooke [the Mission President's wife] gave a workshop on seeing God's hand in everything and going and seeing D.C. to see God's hands. Today we biked down to DuPont Circle and went to a cool Starbucks that Sister Cooke recommended we go to. We had the best seats there looking out on the circle. We then went and looked at the upper loft it had and then went downtown. We started at the Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial and then went to the Enid A. Haupt Garden behind the Smithsonian Castle. We then biked down to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial and walked the wall as well as passing  by the Vietnam Women's Memorial. We then biked to the Albert Einstein Monument and then all the way up to the Watergate Complex. We then took a tour of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Let's just say it's a crazy huge place and it's Mom's kind of place. We saw the three main theaters: Concert Hall seating 2400 people, the Opera Theater (where musicals also are performed) seating 2300 people, and the Eisenhower Theater seating 1100 people. As well as the Terrace Theater that seats around 500. They also have a free concert available almost every day at 6pm. It was fun to go and see.

We then headed over and saw the Native American Museum which wasn't that impressive but still very nice to see. The. We headed over and did the bottom floor of the National Gallery of Art and went over to the new East Building for the National Gallery of Art. We then had lunch at Union Station and did a quick stop at the Postal Museum which has a ton of crazy stamps and mailboxes.

On Monday our Zone leaders challenged our district to get 500 contacts this week because the numbers are low for contacts as well as the teaching pool. My companion and I were working hard to do our part. Monday evening mostly consisted of us trying to talk to people. During the rest of the week we also continued to do a lot of contacting,

Tuesday we had 2 great lessons with an active member that we are helping work on family history with. Also with a less-active member who is very nice and we were able to share a message with her about enduring to the end.

Wednesday we had 4 lessons. We helped a recent convert begin their family history. She is excited to start and it's not something she knows a lot about. We shared a short message with a less-active member that afternoon and we also had a short lesson with one of our investigators on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We also had a great lesson with our Branch Mission Leader.

Last Thursday was September 11th and as a precaution (nothing happened that day) the Washington D.C. zone had to go to the Stake Center next to the temple without using any public transportation. It was a large Zone Comference and we had some great workshops from our leaders about never fearing, keep going, and remember who you are. Sister Cooke gave a workshop about seeing the hand of God here and gave us a huge list of the must sees while we are serving in the mission here. Luckily, I've done almost all of them that she mentioned as a must see. My companion and I came up with a list of some of other things she mentioned and things we know about that we'd like to see. We have plans to go and see most of them through this next transfer. Also an expert cyclist came in representing WABA (Washington Area Bicycling Association) to give us some bike safety and information about biking around here. It was very informational and helps a lot putting into practice here. It helped me out on Saturday especially. After the meeting ended (9am-5pm), we went back to our areas and my companion and I had a lesson with one of the members in the evening.

Friday we had five lessons, two of which were on Facebook. We tried to keep busy all day and really enjoyed all the people we were able to be with and share the gospel with.

Saturday was rainy and busy. We had to bike nearly all the way to the Capitol to drop off an ID for someone in Judiciary Square. Luckily, there was also a less-active down there too that we tried to visit with. We ended up seeing a less-active member that hasn't had the missionaries over in years and was very surprised to see us call to set up an appointment. She is very nice and I was glad to meet with her and share some of the gospel a gain with her. We also taught a investigator at the old chapel about the restoration to solidify their understanding of it and the importance of it. It was a great discussion and went very well.

Sunday my companion and I really pushed for completing our 20 lessons for the week. (I bribed him with something he really wants to do and Bam! I've never seen such a hard worker to get 6 lessons in a day.) We ended up getting 23 lessons that week and 174 persons contacted. It was an awesome week for us.

For transfers my companion and I are staying together here. Both elders from the north area are leaving and then one from the east area, so half of the district is leaving.

That's one of the ties you sent me. I wore it today to go see the place you'd die to see in D.C. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

I hope that you have a great week.
Love, Elder Braden Dahl