Estamos Progresando- March 25, 2015

Wow! What a week! I feel really good. The things that happen are just such big blessings that I love it! We had 6 investigators and 6 less actives come to church, which was just a wonderful sight. I feel like the Lord is just doing all the work because so many good things are happening! We are just trying to do all that we can in order to help these people and they are really happy. When people come to church and then tell you, "I am here to stay!" that is good news! 

2 are Papi Payano and Fernando, who had a good time without going to church and they are just really excited now. Payano used to be a strong leader here in Conani but he has been a little bit iffy right now, but we have worked with him and he seemed really really content in his shirt, tie, and his scriptures there for the 3 hours. Fernando is really excited, he asked to go out and do visits with us and also asked if he could serve a mission (he cannot now because he has a son, but we promised him that he can work here in the work and recieve the same blessings). Life is just moving forward.

We are having great mission coorelation meetings that are helping us a lot. Presidente Infante is just changing everything and he just LOVES THE WORK! He goes out with us for 3 or 4 hours 2 times a week every week! And we are working with now 27 less actives that just need to get loved and helped because at some point THEY FELT IT. But being so far for so long, one needs to remember. And sometimes it is hard. 

WELL!! Love you all. THAT WEEK WAS SO FAST!! Once again, the weeks are going by faster and faster and I really feel like it is too crazy. We are going to enter into Semana Santa and easter and everything. I challenge everyone to read about Christ and unnderstand more about him and just try to get the importance of the great and everlasting ATONEMENT!!

Love, 

Elder Dallin Murphy

SEMANA RAPIDÍSIMA!!- March 18, 2015

Wow that week was SO FAST! I felt like last week was really fast, but I am just seeing how these weeks are going like the sand in my hand, you just cannot hold onto it! WOW its just amazing how I am just so happy and loving working in Conani. We are really focusing a lot on less active men, and less active families. This used to be a WARD in a STAKE with 130 to 150 people attending church every week, and now it is a branch in a district with 60ish people attending church every week. SO there is a lot of work to do. There is a man that moved in from Santiago a few months ago that is now the elders quorum president named LORENZO INFANTE. He is awesome! He was branch president out there, and he called as his counselors and secretary 2 former bishops and 1 former branch president. It is just going really well right now.

We taught a lot of lessons to less active this week, but also we tried to focus a little on other investigators. Especially Alfonzo, who is waiting for a new job to get baptized... he is a baseball announcer that supposedly works a lot of Sundays so we will see! He is a man with great faith and we are doing everything. But yeah, we are really excited. I cannot believe that the Lord is so great with us and has helped us so much! we just need to help these people get all that they need in order to get this branch back on its feet.

I don't know what to say... I am just happy family and friends! I love being a missionary! I love everything that we have here. I cannot believe that it is going so fast. WOW I LOVE THIS!!!

Today we went to the firefighters station and got a tour and a class and stuff, it was really fun. Austin was right, those little different things are the best that we can do, I felt really good! THANKS FOR THE TIP!

Dad, happy birthday yesterday. You're just hitting your peak my man, and I love you because YOU ARE THE BEST! I think about how you and Mom helped us so much to become real servants of Christ and how we have testimonies. I know that you were chosen to be a leader in Zion in these last days BEFORE this world was formed, and I know that if I can just try and follow the example that you have set before me, all will be well.

I love this work, I love the Lord. Thanks for everything!

Elder Dallin Murphy

1. Helping someone move! DOMINICAN STYLE!!

2. With Elder Orrellana in the Fire Truck!!

THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR NOTHING!- March 11, 2015

I love the mission! I feel like those last 7 days that past by right now were the fastest 7 days ever! I feel like I was just emailing! But it was a great week. We taught a lot of people and we could see people changing things. Not too many people came to church, but one of them, Reynaldo Cabas, who is a less active 23 year old, is really excited to get back into things. He wants to make things right with the Lord. Also, he brought his friend and gave him to us as a referral so that we can go visit him tomorrow! But in the branch this week like 50 or 60 come weekly, but we are working on that. (Elder Mendez says that things are going well in Bella Vista, and that Roberto is progressing a lot. We will see later how the others are doing)

Also, we have an investigator that has come almost every week for a really long time named Alfonzo Cruz. He has been an investigator for a long time and knows a lot, but says that he wants to get baptized when he understands everything. We have explained to him that AFTER BAPTISM and when he has the gift of the Holy Ghost is when he will understand a lot more, but we will see. He has a date for March 28th, and he is a pretty fast paced guy in the lessons, asking like 40 questions a lesson. So, we have decided to go to his house and answer all the questions he has about everything! He asks really specific and exact questions, and pays a lot of attention to every word. But, we just need to work with him and he said that lately we have been helping him with a lot of doubts he had about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and the Plan of Salvation etc.

Just as I did a lot in Villa Gonzalez, I have been looking for less actives with my companion from the directory, and we have found a few people that are really excited. We found one family named Waldy and Michel, and we are going to see if we can help them with their relationship. We just need to get Christ in their family and things will get better!

Yesterday we had a meeting with A LOT of members in it. It was our weekly mission coorelation meeting, and they were really excited. Seems like the people here are going to work hard, and we are going to plan a few activities next week to be able to help the members know how to work in the Lords vineyard so that it becomes more comfortable for them.

I am just so happy! I have nothing to complain about. We are walking A LOT and thats just good stuff, its the mission. My time is slowly running out and its really really sad, but we just have got to work work work and leave all we got on the table. God is great and we are his instruments in this carnal state, doing all we can to win this life long battle. I feel great!

Love,

Elder Dallin Murphy

1. Elder Bartholomew and I working to clean out a property of one of the sisters of the ward!

Oh Conani, Conani, Conani- March 4, 2015

It has been an interesting week. So here in Conani, in the district La Vega, this used to be a really strong ward, supposedly, and when the stake of La Vega was put in as a district, it seemed to drop down as a branch and now needs ANIMO or encouragement to be able to become a ward once again one day! That is the assignment that President decided to give me, help this branch become a strong enough unit to become a ward soon. That is how I was working in Villa Gonzalez before, so that is what we are going to once again! Not the exact same, but pretty similar.

We have been looking for a lot of less actives and we have contacted a little bit because in arriving here, there werent a great amount of investigators. There are 2 sides of our area, the rich side and the humbler side, which isnt poor but humbler, and President Rosso, the branch president, has asked us to work on the richer side, since it hasnt been worked on as much as the other part. We are going to do it then, because he is the boss out here. We are going to trust on the Lord because all is possible with His help!

Elder Bartholomew is from Fillmore, UT, and I am his 4th companion. He has about 10 months in the mission and is doing really well. We are going to see how long we are together because they are telling me that I may train my last 2 transfers, but we will see what happens. I am loving it and he is great!

I am really excited to be here. I am thankful for all of your prayers and all that you all do for me! This week in my personal studies I read Alma 33 and I just think about how simple things are in this gospel, and how we just need to take a decision! Moses made the brass serpent so that HE THAT LOOKED WOULD BE HEALED, and it is just as simple today. Just take the decision, look upon the Lord, and obey His commandments. If we think too much the natural man tries to let us know that THIS IS NOT WORTH IT or that WE DONT NEED TO DO THOSE LITTLE THINGS, but those little things are the bricks that build our mansion in heaven.

Love you all!

Elder Dallin Murphy

LA VEGA- Rama Conani- February 27, 2014

Yeah, I got transfered. I am now in the city of La Vega, getting to know the good old Conani branch!! I am really excited. My companions name is Elder Bartholomew from Fillmore, UT. He has like 8 or 9 months in the mission, which is awesome! I feel like I havent ever been so excited! I am going to see what happens in this transfer, I am really excited. As you can tell, I am really excited. 

But yeah, THIS IS INCREDIBLE!! I feel like I am here to basically show the Lord and the world what I have really got. All that I have learned in the MTC, in Villa Gonzalez, Hato Mayor and Bella Vista are going to go into CONANI and I just cannot wait to help these people out. We were able to talk to the Branch President and he said that he wants to really work with the priesthood holders and stuff, so that is what we are going to do! Just build the kingdom of God here in La Vega, not just be here to waste time in here doing not the most efficient missionary activites. 

I feel really good! We had our PDAY changed to today for some reason, but we are going to go from today until middle of July to work 100% here in Conani. We have a couple investigators and stuff and we are going to just do some great stuff. 

It was a little bit hard to leave Bella Vista and Elder Mendez, but it was time. I had spent a good 5 transfers there and I have no regrets. Elder Hardy (Madsens good friend) replaced me over there!! So it was great and everything went well. 

Love you all! Thanks for all you do. 

Elder Dallin Murphy

What a fast week!- February 18, 2015

This week was really really fast... I feel like it was just last week that we had Pday and everything... its pretty amazing how we are able to keep up the good work and work really hard (we had the week with most lessons in a long time together), but sometimes I say "if i dont want the time to go by so fast... i just dont need to work so hard!" HAHAHA just kidding, I dont think that would be good at all, if the Lord wants the days to be cut and shortened, thats what they need to do. Roberto, Gabriela, her sister, Gabrielas husband and also a reactivating less active Jorge all came to church!! We were all really excited. I feel like I am going to be leaving a happy area with my companion next week when I leave (or at least I am suspecting that I am going to leave). This is going to be the last week of the transfer, and we are going to do some big big work. 

Edwin didnt come to church, so we are going to postpone for a few week his baptism, which is sad but that is the way that the Lord wanted it. We are going to put dates for March 14th with Edwin, Gabriela, and Roberto... maybe. We want to focus a little bit on Edwin and Robertos families.. Sister Douglas talked pretty directly about that in our Zone Conference yesterday. It was really awesome, she is great. It is too true that we are here to do a few things, and one of those things is fortalecer a las familias!! STRENGTHEN THE FAMILIES!! What is the point in throwing people into a difficult situation with all that. ALL CONVERT would have liked to be baptized with their family. 

Also, yesterday President talked about the importance of using correctly the Book of Mormon. We went verse by verse trying to see what we could learn from 1 Nephi 1, and it was really great to see how much we can learn!! Also, he said that we need to use the testimonies of the 3 and 8 witnesses, and Joseph Smiths that are in the beginning of the book. Even though people have their doubts, there are 12 people that have literal testimonies that the plates are real, not just 1 or 2. Even though a few fell away from the church and apostatized, they never ever ever denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon. WHOEVER READS IT will know, but those who arent hungry normally will not eat. 

The mission is awesome. I feel good. Thanks for your prayers. I took some nice pictures of a hike we went on today as a zone, but my camera cable decided to stay in the house. I hope that all keeps going well and I cannot wait to hear about Northwood Girls Basketball DESTROYING THAT TEAM THAT THEY ARE GOING TO PLAY IN CIF THIS WEEK!!!

ONE TEAM ONE HEARTBEAT-- NORTHWOOD BASKETBALL

Love you all,

Elder Dallin Murphy

ps. elder mendez got the scriptures. i told him to write you thankyou

Animados- February 11, 2015

We are pretty excited here in Bella Vista. We have had an interesting week with a few problems in companionships in our zone, but all of that has been resolved and we are hoping to finish the transfer well. We were excited with Edwin Reyes and his baptism, but we were thinking about postponing it for the 28th. But on Saturday we had a lesson with him where we watched the video of the conversion of Wilford Woodruff, and he said that the 21st was his day. So we were pretty convinced, then in Sacrament Meeting he got up and shared his testimony about how he feels like his life has completely changed. He said that he always wanted to be an example in his life and now he has realized that the "Mormons" that arrived to his door have brought him what he has always needed. So, it looks like we will have a baptism on February 21st!

In sacrament meeting, I was able to share my testimony as well. (Dad challenged me to do it every fast sunday of my mission, and I am good so far) I had studied about Christs trip through Samaria where he goes and is by the well and he asks the woman for water. And he also talks about the water that HE could give HER. It is really interesting how James E Talmage talks about it in Jesus the Christ, and I also put my own twist on it. I feel like a lot of times as members of the church and as human beings we see something who is hungry or thirsty and we are not afraid to go help them. Someone gets hit by a car and the whole world goes and helps them. They dont have anything to feed their children, the whole world gives them food. That is not a bad thing, it is really a great thing. But I have learned that we can compare that to the example of where if we give a man a fish, we feed him for a day and if we teach him to fish we feed him for a life time. We give fish all the time to help them out and to comfort them. But that is a really temporary feeling, and something that doesnt last. When people need the LIVING WATERS and the BREAD OF LIFE, or the fruit of the tree of life in them, we get embarrassed or we get scared. We say that maybe another time we will talk about the blessing that we have recieved and invite them to enjoy the same happiness that we have. But that is what we need more than anything. Satan really wants us to give that out a lot less than food or water. We need to help others, but one thing is that TRUE CHARITY is shown when we give them what is most important to us and what we know that they need more than anything. 

The Gospel is true. God lives and He wants us to be happy. The one and only way to have an everlasting happiness is through His gospel. Thats why he gave it to us. Lets share it with everything else!! Then and only then will they and we be truly happy. 

I love the mission! I am so happy. Thanks for everything!!

Love,

Elder Murphy

1. We helped a family start their house and we had to transport cinderblocks. and help them mix cement and stuff. It was great!