Christmas Day 2010

This was opening Dalan's gift. It was perfect, he did a great job. He gave us his thumb drive full of pictures and a photo keychain that we can download the pictures on. So cool. He also gave Dad a big box of M&M's and Bailey some gummy candy and me he gave Good and Plenty's. I would say he really knows us. It was so fun to talk to him. It made all of our days.

Beautiful Christmas Morning

So glad my big girl still wants to be a little girl. She wanted a magna doodle and was so happy with it. Made her mom and dad smile too!

Pictures Dalan sent home for Christmas

E-Mail 12-28-2010

Hello, so good to hear from you and how things are going there! you are telling me about all this crazy weather there and it is hard for me to believe! we got up this morning and drove up Usery Pass and went on a hike to the top of one of the huge surrounding mountains of the valley! it was awesome! sweet views of the whole valley and wonderful weather! it was about 4 miles round trip so not too bad! steap and lots of shale rock and cactus! :) gotta love it! we got some really kool pics. then we went and ate at JB's breakfast buffet! i feel really fat! haha, i am putting together a package right now with some things in it so hopfully i will be able to get it off today! :)


thats great that there hasnt been much frost in the ground! hopfully it will make for a good up coming year! once the weather makes its change there it will go fast im sure!

I dont have the phone # for my walmart on me right now but it is located on Mckellips and Greenfield if you can look it up?! if not i will let you know next week! but ya i love the moniter! you dont have to deal with all the strips! all you need is the moniter and a poker! :) i could see bailey really liking it! Thanks so much for all you do!

The Butlers came to church on sunday and it was so good! every one came up to them and introduced them selfs and were really friendly! they had a amazing first expirence at church! their kids loved primary and they both loved gospel essentials and relief sociaty and priestood! brother butler made comments in both and partisipated! :) it was so sweet! in opening exercises for priestood he stood up to introduce him self and said "my name is Brother Butler, i am new here, just moved from Chicago, i was a police man for 22 years and thanks to the elders, brother hallows and bishop i am here today with my family and we are looking forward to being baptized!" everyones jaw dropped! it was so sweet! Ryan (Brother Butler) told us afterward that her had no idea what to expect coming for the first time, but that he was really impressed and he even has a stonger desire to get going into it all! he asked us if after he was baptized if he would get a calling. we told him that he would eventually and he was so excited! :) he said that he wants to teach sunday skool! haha so sweet! the sunday skool lesson was on exaltation...we were pretty nervous on where it was going to go and how deep they were going to take it but they did a really good job with it and the deepest we went was we talked about becoming Gods...haha! they loved it all and are still on strong for the 8th! such a miricle! all the circumstances that have lead them to this point have been without a doubt guided by the Lord! such a wonderful expirence it has been to be able to work with them and see the change and desire! :)

thats about all that is new here, last night we took Tim Riley to the christmas light and saw the movie Luke II and the VC and then walked around all the lights and displays! way kool and the spirit was so strong! he has been less active for 40 years and just randomly has decided that he needs to get back into it! sucha amazing individual! i have talken lots of good pics so i will print off some and send them around! :)

for newyears we will be singing at the temple then i think that the mission is going to do a little something till like 10 of so but who knows? we are just waiting to here how it is all going to work out! but all is going really well here! it was so good to talk to you on Christmas and to hear your voices! thanks for all the love and support! thank you to all who sent me things for christmas! i will get around to writing letters soon, but thank you so much! it was a wonderful day and it has been a amaizng month full of miricles! The christmas on the mission is amazing! some amazing memories and wonderfull friendships that cant be found or gained any other way! thanks for making it possible! :)

Hope and wish you all a happy and safe new year! set resolutions everyday, not just on new years and then remember them and then acomplish it! its awesome to be able to look back on your goals and relize all that you acomplish! :)

Have a good one and keep safe, your always in my prayers! keep enjoying your time outa skool and live it up! keep in touch!

Love

Elder Dalan Lerwill

Dalan Christmas Eve

Verna, Amber, Dalan, & Warren

Trevor, Dalan, Garrett

Dalan was so lucky and got to see Uncle Glade and then the Warren Lyons family on Christmas Eve at the temple lights. They both brought goodies for him. What a exciting time for him. Uncle Glade called us and told us that he had gotten a package off to him and he looked great. I said,oh you saw him and he said yes he is standing right by me. He did not want to cheat on his time but wanted to let us know he would call at 9 the next morning. So cool, it made our Christmas Eve great.
Christmas morning Dalan did call around 10. It was so good to talk to him. He is doing so well and is happy and growing so much. It is wonderful. He says time is going by so fast for him. He is loving being a missionary. He had several lunch and dinner appointments and he said that he would call us back again that night. It was so fun to know that we got to talk to him again. He called that night and he was very very full. We talked about his investigators and he told us about different people he had taught. He told us some more about the Butler family and how he had been praying for a family to teach. He has talked about them in his last 2 letters and we just got his new e-mail today and talks more about them. So I am going to post his letter next.

My Cute Sister's Family

So cute!

E-Mail 12-21-2010

Hello how are you all doing? i hope eveything is going well there for youall and you are enjoying the christmas season! to answer a few of your questions: there is no mission party for xmas but we will be doing somthing for new years after the mission sings at the christmas lights! it will be the last performance of the year so that will be a lot of fun! my foot is doing well! lots better alomost 100% so that is going to be nice! we will probley be calling on christmas day anywhere between 9 and noon, what ever works best for the members we will be calling from! we have lots of plans for that day! lots of amazing families that we will be eating wiht and just hanging out with! :) so it will be alot of fun!


the work is going really awesome! we are teaching some amazing people! this week has been so blessed! we found a family of 5 that we started teaching and they are so solid! they have been reading the BoM as a family and have recieved a answer to their prayers! they are going to be baptised on the 3rd saturday in Jan! they have changed so much and absolutly love the church! their names are Ryan, Earmalene, Ryan Jr, India and rajan! they are a african american family and have been so prepared over the past few months! Ryan told me that the next time that i talked with my parents to tell them thank you so much for supporting what i am doing and having a good kid! haha, they feel really indebted to the ward, the missionaries and our families, they appreciate you all back home and all your love and support in making this all possible so ppl can find the happiness that we all enjoy! thanks :)

We still have alot of spanish work going on right now as well! so many miricles and wonderful ppl! Alma and her family have been to church the past 4 weeks and will be getting baptized here soon so that is way exciting as well! we have several teens that have been coming to church and love the gospel but cant get baptized because their parents wont let them! they say " No Bautismo... Catolico" even though they never go to the cathlic church, their cathlic and wont change! so thats really frustrating but the spirit will work on them and they will come around in time! :) we have faith! so lots of good stuff!

Elder hiatt has supportive family and we are doing really well. he has 5 other siblings and he is the oldest so his parents are doing the same first child thing with him as well! haha i have a weird feeling that i will be leaving at the end of this transfer... who knows though! haha

i have been super stressed latly with lots of things that have been going on within our district and just wondering how i can help missionaries get where they need to be. between that and planning district meetings and all the other regular missionary stuff i have been staying busy! :) Which is a good thing! President Ellsworth has been putting so much trust in me with lots of things and at times it seems a little overwhelming, but it is so wonderful to be on this side of the trust rather than having president not trust me! so its really good. it is wonderful to have such a amazing mission pres. he and i have a such a sweet realationship and it is wonderful. President and sis ellsworth are our mission mom and dad and its is wonderful to feel like i can have a personal realtionship and trust with him so i can turn some where for help. some times as a leader missionaries dont like you because you have to draw the line so it can be hard sometimes, to please God and not just man! if that makes any sence! but things are going awesome and i have so much loving support on both sides, home and here! :) thank you so much for all you do!

the weather here is wonderful! :) yesterday it was in the high 70's but today we have got some cloud cover and chances of rain till christmas! so that is going to be a good relief! :)

we are way excited for christmas! i got a package from nathan for christmas, that was way nice! James is still only writing a few pharagraphs!?!? thats crazy, there are so many amazing miricles that need to be remembered, hopfully he is keeping a good jounal! haha, we get to work the lights on christmas eve! we willopen presents and then go make some phone calls! :) we are excited! hope you all have a very merry one and keep everyone contained in your bust houses! :) i love and miss you all so much but am doing really well here. time is going by so fast its insane! have a merry christmas and i will talk to you real soon! :) take care and be safe! enjoy the white fluffy stuff that i dont have! take care!

Love,

Elder Dalan Lerwill

p.s. you said that yousent me a package last monday with a tape in it?! i could have missunderstood what yousaid but i have not recieved any thing? could have possibly got hung up in the mission home!? just letting you know,have a wonderful day! love, me ;)

Elder Lerwill' companions Christmas Card

We got a great letter in the mail today and a Christmas card from Elder Lerwill and Elder Hiatt. So great. Dalan is doing great. He is excited for Christmas. The Elder's (I suspect in his District) will be coming to their apartment Christmas morning and they are having a fiesta and then eating at several special family's places. On the 14th he said it was 83 degrees there and that we were not suppose to envy him. Well I do! Can't wait to talk to him in 1 week!