Hello friends and family! It has been forever since I've updated Jason's blog!
He has been out in the field for about two and a half months and is doing really well! The thing he consistently says he's struggling with is is Spanish. Those who know Jason know he is a superstar student. He excels at everything he does. So the fact that he isn't fluent in Spanish yet really gets to him. The thing is, is Jason could very well be fluent! He's just too hard on himself. I think once he conquers Spanish in the way he would like to, he will feel so much better about himself and the work he is doing. He's been transferred a couple of times, once half-way through his transfer with his trainer, and once at the normal transfer date. He is currently in Popayan, Colombia. It is right here:
I've only seen pictures on Google of Popayan, but it looks absolutely beautiful. Jason says there are really pretty mountains and the buildings are really cool. He says the food is actually pretty good. They eat a lot of chicken, rice, beans, and soup. I'm happy he's actually eating!
Here are his last two emails:
November 5, 2012
Hola Familia!!!
How is everyone doing? How are things going at home whats new? So this week was a little crazy. I have 3 stories to tell. First someone tried to rob me of my watch. He tried to take it off my wrist which didnt work. Then he asked for it but we just brushed passed him and at this point people started to notice and he left. Second story was that I saw an armed robbery right outside of the church. A couple was driving on a motorcycle, in colombia atleast 5 people can fit in a motorcycle its crazy, and 3 other motos with 6 robbers on them pulled up and cut them off. They threw the couple off and pointed a gun at them. One of the robbers hopped on and they all left. Right outside the church at 7 at night...The lady was crying and terrified so we helped them into the church. The police never showed up which is typical here I guess. The last is that we hiked a volcano today! 15,000 feet up....haha we had to walk a road for about 2 hours to reach the mountain. then we had another 2 hours to get to the top. The weather turned bad and the temperature dropped below 0 at about 14000 feet and the wind was blowing like crazy and it was raining. We were in 3 different groups. We were the last. The first was at the top and we called them to see where they were. They anwsered the phone yelling saying that they had just been robbed and that they were in trouble. So we turned around to get help. We had heard that the volcano was dangerous at times. We came to find out that it was a lie and they were just joking. The zone leaders took that really hard because they were responsible for the group. Everything turned out to be ok and now everyone is sick haha...This week we were supposed to have 3 baptisms but they got pushed to next saturday. we didnt have many lessons because we were focusing on the baptisms so we have alot of work to do here. The food is good. Its usually soup, a plate of rice beans a piece of meat and salad. Missions are tough thats for sure but I love it. I love and miss you guys so much let me know how things are!!
Con amor
Elder Dahlin
How is everyone doing? How are things going at home whats new? So this week was a little crazy. I have 3 stories to tell. First someone tried to rob me of my watch. He tried to take it off my wrist which didnt work. Then he asked for it but we just brushed passed him and at this point people started to notice and he left. Second story was that I saw an armed robbery right outside of the church. A couple was driving on a motorcycle, in colombia atleast 5 people can fit in a motorcycle its crazy, and 3 other motos with 6 robbers on them pulled up and cut them off. They threw the couple off and pointed a gun at them. One of the robbers hopped on and they all left. Right outside the church at 7 at night...The lady was crying and terrified so we helped them into the church. The police never showed up which is typical here I guess. The last is that we hiked a volcano today! 15,000 feet up....haha we had to walk a road for about 2 hours to reach the mountain. then we had another 2 hours to get to the top. The weather turned bad and the temperature dropped below 0 at about 14000 feet and the wind was blowing like crazy and it was raining. We were in 3 different groups. We were the last. The first was at the top and we called them to see where they were. They anwsered the phone yelling saying that they had just been robbed and that they were in trouble. So we turned around to get help. We had heard that the volcano was dangerous at times. We came to find out that it was a lie and they were just joking. The zone leaders took that really hard because they were responsible for the group. Everything turned out to be ok and now everyone is sick haha...This week we were supposed to have 3 baptisms but they got pushed to next saturday. we didnt have many lessons because we were focusing on the baptisms so we have alot of work to do here. The food is good. Its usually soup, a plate of rice beans a piece of meat and salad. Missions are tough thats for sure but I love it. I love and miss you guys so much let me know how things are!!
Con amor
Elder Dahlin
November 12, 2012
Hola familia!!!!
How are you doing!! How was the week whats new? We
have freaking Obama for another 4 years that sucks. Everyone here loves
him and I hate it haha I was on divisions with another North American
when we found out and we about cried. This
week was good, we had a couple cools
things happen. The church donated 298 pairs of glasses and 40
wheelchairs to the elderly here in Popayan and it was awesome to be a
part of it. The people were so humble and so happy to
see us. We are trying to get it in the Liahona so look for us! We met
the mayor of the city and a bunch of other leaders it was cool. Then we
had a special reunion with Pres Prince. We learned how to teach lesson 1
in 5 min which is crazy haha and we learned
more about how to work with members. Help the missionaries they need it
haha Then we had 3 baptisms on saturday which were amazing. Planning
one is so hard there are so many things that you have to do but it
always works out. The confirmations were really
powerful too. I have the best job ever haha Things with my comp are
good. When you are with someone always it sucks but we work it out. The
food is good im getting fat. I eat everything though suprise suprise.
Ive never eaten more rice in my life haha each
dish has a pound of it. It rains alot everything gets wet. I have a
dentist appointment this week which is good. All is well on my end how
are you guys!! I love and miss you sooooo much!! Tell Brother Housely
that I got his letter also!!
Con amor
He sounds great, huh? Sometimes I get really upset thinking that Jason is in any kind of danger, but I know that he is in the Lord's hands, and I trust in Him. Jason will be a trainer in his next transfer which will be a really good experience for him!
Well, keep e-mailing him and writing him! He loves it. Message me if you need his e-mail or mailing address.
Love,
Megan
This is Jason's mission president, President Prince.
