What a week!!- June 25, 2014

This week was pretty good! First of all though, enjoy Austin tomorrow. He may be a little white and kind of chubby, but his belly isnt the only thing that has gotten bigger. He is definately a new man! It is pretty insane that is already home, but hey, time flies when one is having fun. 

But anyways, this week was pretty good! The Polanco family didnt go to church this week... so I was a little worried, but then the mom told us yesterday that she accidentally slept in until 9:30! But they were going to go. They are so cool! These types of families are what missionaries dream of and always want. I think to myself every time I am with them ¨wow, the Lord is too good to me, letting me participate in their spiritual progress¨ AND ITS TOO TRUE!! I love it. THe whole family of 6 reads every thing we leave, from the mom to the 9 year old girl, and they all pay good attention and just it is so fun. My companion is really funny, he says ¨Whenever we are with this family, I just get so excited to work!!¨ HAHA saw cayute! He is really funny. (that was a spanish to english translation). 

Also, there is a man who (I may have already said this) that has almost read the entire Book of Mormon in 5 weeks or so, and he is 74 years old with a lot of health problems. He was totally a bad man in his past, but now he says ¨I have searched everywhere for the truth, and this is the first time I have recieved the answer to WHY AM I HERE and the purpose of Baptism.¨ and he has a fecha but we are just waiting because he has a hard time going to church. His name is Pedro Julio, but we are going to hope that he gets out there to get more blessings!!

The work here continues!! We are working hard and taking advantage of EVERYTHING WE CAN!! I love the work and I am getting close to a year which is INSANE but it is soooo funn!! Congrats on finishing school, Bethany and Cole, and work hard and do work this summer!!

Have fun with my big brother!! 

Elder Murphy (the one and only)

1. Mosquito Nets from zone conference that sister douglas gave us!! 

Mission Work!!- June 18, 2014

Man, it was a pretty good week. The family, that went to church last week, came again! And also 2 other investigators. How great!! But yeah this family is named the Polanco Family. But yesterday we had a lesson with them and there was something interesting that the mom said. She said that she had a few questions, and we were thinking  ¨oh man...¨ but then she just asked why people werent paying attention at church. She said ¨I understand the little kids... thats normal for them to be a little loud and uncontrolable. No one expects them to pay attention! But it was a little hard to focus when ADULTS were talking and making sounds and just not focusing. They were talking about important things, but it seemed like they just didnt care.¨ She opened my eyes on that one. WHY DO WE GO TO CHURCH IF WE DO NOT WANT TO GET ANYTHING OUT OF IT?!?! It is pretty interesting. She said that if people dont want to be there, they shouldnt go. I explained a little bit about the sacrement, and also we talked a little bit about sometimes it becomes just a habit to go to church, like whatever happens doesnt really matter. We know we should go, but we dont take advantage. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING!! If you dont want to pay attention, at least act like it because you dont know what kind of influence that will have on someone else.

Also, i got a few emails about Chickenguya or whatever its called, and yeah I am trying to remember my bug repellant. Actually, I wrote about the hard life that our Ward Mission Leader is living, and he got this sickness. We went to his house and he could barely move. Dont you all worry about me, I am doing all I can to avoid it. Our house doesnt have too many mosquitos, which is pretty lucky, but youve got to be careful!!

It has been a pretty good time this week. IT is pretty crazy that this is the last email that Austin will read from the mission, if he even reads it, I would just like to publicly thank him for his good example and the fun times that I had being on the mission with him. Even though we were in different parts of the world, we were a lot closer in this last year than when he was at BYU or when I was at school and he was on the mission. He is a great man and I cannot wait to hear about his future successes. He might have lost his hops and his ripped muscles, but he has grown and toned himself down spiritually. WHAT A BOSS!! Love you Austin!! NOTHINGS TO EXHAUSTIN FOR AUSTIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all!!

Elder Murphy

We Work!- June 11, 2014

Happy Birthday Grandma Murphy!! You are so great. I love you so much and I am so happy for all the advice and all the wonderful memories I have recieived from you. Keep it up, you are one of my heroes!!

What a week! Not anything too insane, but it was a really awesome experience to be a missionary for YET ANOTHER WEEK!! The mission is moving by way too fast, I feel like yesterday I was here writing. I am too blessed!

This Sunday we had 7 investigators in Church, one of them being a family of 5. (Or actually, the dad is less active but he was working. he got baptized a LONG TIME AGO so he wasnt able to come. but his wife and 4 kids came to Sacrament Meeting) and a guy named Anthony and another guy named Alfredo. It was a really cool thing to see how much the Lord blesses us, and I really just hope that we recieve the strength and the ability to help these people as much as we can. Also, last week in Ward Council, we went and it was a super long talk about the mission work. We explained about how we need more help from the members (even though it may have been the nicest, it went really well.) but we have seen real fruits come about from that meeting. We have really high goals this month, and we are hoping to get them done AS A WARD!! 

Our ward mission leader is named Edwin Arthur, a super awesome, humble man that is really trusting a lot in the Lord. He is super excited about the work, he is just going through a lot of trials. He got fired from his job a good while ago, and after getting fired he has decided to not accept any job that requires that he works on Sundays. Now he is really struggling and working hard to just get the food on the table every night for his family. But I try to talk to him and assure him that he is doing what he needs to do and as far as he trusts in God and also goes out and searches for work, he will find one and he will be able to provide for his family. He is a man of great faith, and we are really thankful for all of his help. Actually, he is going to go out with us in an hour or so!!

These people are such good people, and I really want to help them a lot. They have a lot of trials, but miracles are real and they come in the Lord´s time. I am super thankful for the opportunity to help them. THE WORK IS REAL!!

Love you all, have fun finishing high school and take advantage of the time you have because soon THE MAN OF THE HOUSE IS GETTING HOME!! HAHA 

Elder Murphy 2.0

1. We helped with these dentists from utah, and it was pretty fun translating. But now I dont know if I want to be a dentist. It is fine when the work on my mouth but to see them work on other peoples mouths is kind of hard to see and seems pretty sketchy. But they were funny, they asked stuff like ¨whats the weirdest thing you have eaten???¨ and ¨how many times have you gotten held up?¨ then I had to explain that I hadnt eaten anything all that weird... just a BUNCH of rice. and then I told them I had just gotten held up like 8 times or something so they weren't  disappointed HAHA.  no I haven't been held up. They fear me here. 

A pretty good week- June 4, 2014

Man, it has been a pretty good week. Today we went to Puerto Plata (since the zone did well on baptisms this last month) and spent a nice day at the beach. I saw my good friend ELDER RINCON for the first time in forever, so I was super thankful for that. We got to look at the beach and really enjoy the sand, but couldnt go in, since, as most of you know, missionaries arent permitted to swim. But it was a good view!

In church this week we had a good amount of people, but the most exciting (not the best but the most exciting) was a man named AUGUSTO NUÑEZ! This guy is a less active member that I have had the great chance to help in that point in which they have the desire to come back. There have been many that have taught him and it is an honor to be here in the time that he has taken the step to return to the church. He is so cool! And he will help a lot. He came with his whole family and it was just so fun. Also, another man named Joselito came, a less active man who was a little bit into the scrums spiritually and now he is animated to come back as well. We are hoping that they come back this week and more for the time to come!!!

We are really being super blessed, which is always a humbling experience. The Lord wants us to be successful in the mission, and thats why he gives us guidelines, or also called COMMANDMENTS. I love talking about obedience, and sometimes I talk about it too much. It is pretty weird being with a companion that is as stoked to have a great mission as I am, so I am getting used to not having to be like ¨leggo leggo leggo!!!!¨ To my companion. But it is so cool, I am so content with the work we are doing. 

Training is a new experience. I want to be a lot better, cooler, nicer, and more open, but everything is a process. As the dominicans say ¨todo es un proceso... a paso! a paso.¨ But I am really trying to improve because as smart and experienced as I am, I am 100 times more dumb and new at all this stuff. I just need to realize it and be willing to help Elder Simonis and accept help from him as well.

WAY TO GO BETHANY IN SCRIPTURE MASTERY!! I remember when I did scripture mastery with the Book of Mormon... I tied for 2nd too!! I was 1 page away from Jacob 2:18-19 (because Connor McCombs and Charlie Bollard told me the answer from the stands) but then I had to take a victorious fall for 2nd place. That was the peak of my career, maybe someday I will be able to get that crown back. NEXT YEAR DO WORK GIRLFRIEND!!!!

I hope all is well, and I am always excited when I come on wednesdays, sweaty and surrounded in Spanish speaking tigres, and all is well. You all rock! Keep it real!! Haha!

¨Its not who you are on the inside, but its what you do that defines you¨

Elder Dallin Murphy

1. Elder Simonis and I on the coasts of the country of my heart and soul