Happy New Year

How are you all doing? I am so very glad that I could talk to you all last week and SEE you all :).

On Wednesday night we went over to the Arnold house, and we wore our pajamas over there that Sister Arnold gave us. But it turns out when we got there, that us and Brother and Sister Arnold and their son were the only ones dressed in pjs! ;) No one else had gotten the message, oh well.

We also went and washed the car and filled it up on gas because we drove up to Kirtland on Thursday morning for district council. The zone leaders called us and needed a ride and so we stopped in Perry and picked them up, too. We visited with the Flamm family and also Bob White in the afternoon. The Flamms have a baptism of their 8 yr old son, Josh, this Thursday at 630. Me and Elder Stephen's are in charge of filling the font for it. So that'll be fun! I haven't filled a font before :).

Friday was a great day! We went to the Hartman's in the morning and gave Sister Hartman a blessing, She wasn't feeling too good after the holidays were over. Next we went and visited with Edna Davis and Carol Bradshaw, but both of them were quick visits. We went to Brother Walter's house next and we sat down with him and told him that we need to change the missionary efforts of this area. And he completely agrees!

On Friday night, we went to the Chabot house for dinner, but they had just gotten home from work, so they didn't have dinner ready. We played with their 2 babies and hung out with Bethany and Avon while the parents (Sarah and Loren) made dinner. And then we ate dinner which was super good. We had the activity night with recent converts on Friday night.That was a ton of fun! We had so many people there because the Juker family was there, and they had their extended family there because of Christmas, so it was a win win for us!! :) A super great day!

Saturday we sat down at the church and wrote out 3 ideas that we can do for the Chardon branch to help build a stronger branch family. We came up with doing: Preach My Gospel class, a Branch activity night, and a Hubb family night. So we sat down and wrote it out and finished the details and sent them off to the Branch mission leader (Brother Walter), and he is going to send it off to President Nelson and then we can get the branch council to approve this stuff on Jan 12th when the next mtg is and then we can start it!! We are very passionate about this and I hope everyone accepts it on the 12th. This branch is so awesome, they just need to have a stronger branch family.

Sunday I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Ministering and Missionary Work. It went super good! I used High School Musicals song "Gitcha Head in the Game" in my talk, and started how important it is to work together as members and reach out to those people who need us in our lives, especially the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I got told I could be a motivational speaker after my talk, so that made me feel good! I'm so glad I get to have the blessings of speaking and talking to people, and helping them to know what I know. We gave Brother Heracovic a blessing and gave him the sacrament after church so that was super good.

So overall, it was a really great week! I learned the importance of doing your best everyday and working hard everyday, no matter what. It's so cool how we can wake up everyday and learn more and more everyday, and strengthen our testimony of the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Doctrine and Covenants it says, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

One person, that's all Heavenly Father asks of us. And I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, our joy will be like nothing we have ever felt before in our life. We are all called to this work, and He wants us to help in it . . . everyday, everyday, everyday! Be the one who is bringing the one person to Jesus Christ everyday. He has called us from the locker room, and He needs us in this game called life.

Pray for missionary experiences, and pray to have your faith strengthened to be able to teach and share the Gospel to everyone everyday. I know it will bless our lives.

The challenge I have for this week is going to be a great one I think :). I have been reading the book that Parker and Khristin gave me for Christmas. It's called "The Witness for His Names." I have learned the high value of Jesus Christ and His names and what they mean to us. Jesus Christ is the Great Mediator, the Great I Am. So I invite and challenge us to come to learn and know all that we can about Jesus Christ this next week. To study His name and what all the names He has means to us. I promise He lives, I know He lives. I know He blesses us to be all that we can be, in every way possible.

Transfers are next week on January 9th, and I will most likely be getting transferred. So we would be driving 3 hrs south to the Dublin church bldg and getting our new companions. We will find out for sure on Tuesday next week. So p-day is Wednesday the 8th next week because of it being transfer week.

I know Jesus Christ is our Savior, and I know this work is the only true work upon the whole face of the earth. Go and be missionaries in 2020, help to hasten the work of salvation. It is scary, but the Lord blesses us after all we can do. Be brave, be bold, BE YOU :). He knows where you belong :)

I miss you all so very much everyday, and I'm continually praying for you guys everyday!

I love YOU Forever and Always!
Elder Dylan :)

2020 Youth Theme music -- " Reaching Out". It is so powerful and I encourage us to listen to it and feel from the Spirit how we can reach out to pull in the Lords lost sheep.

Making Our Beds

I heard a talk that Elder Stephen's showed me, and it was from a marine who was giving a graduation speech at a college (I can't remember the name). He talks about how in order to be successful and find true happiness, we must start EVERYDAY by making our beds tightly and firmly.

It got my thinking, how often do WE start our days without making our beds, either figuratively or literally ;). The importance of it is so awesome! We must start our day doing the small things in order to complete our goals that we have each day and week.

I thought that was pretty cool!

I love you forever and always!
Elder Dylan

Find the One

I hope everyone has been having a fantastic and amazing Christmas season! I had a great week!

Tuesday we had training visits with the Zone Leaders down here in Chardon, and so I went with Elder Bishop all day. We started the day out by vacuuming at Brother Hartman's and taking his garbage out to the burn pile and burning it (I'm getting quite good at it) ;). We then went and visited with 7 or 8 less actives in the branch, and we are super hoping to get them re-activated here very soon! Let me just say, that if every less active were to be re activated in this area, it would be a ward, no doubt about it. We had pizza from the Senters later that night and it was so so good!

Wednesday was a cold one, it snowed all day, and because of the lake effect from Lake Erie, we get wind chills too 😂. So we actually ended up shoveling snow out of people's driveways all over the area and also at the church, periodically taking warmth breaks because our hands were starting to look like ice cubes 🥶🥶. We were able to meet with Dieter Grimm this week since he got back from his trip to Georgia and so it was very great to be able to sit down and talk with him about questions he has about the Gospel. Please keep praying for him. I know he wants to accept the truth of the Gospel, he just needs a little extra something.

On Wednesday afternoon, we went over to Bob White's house. He loves loves to play the piano and he has a keyboard in his house. When we got there, he sat me down and taught me the whole process of playing the basic notes on a piano or a keyboard, and what note did what thing. He then proceeded to tell me that I was going to sing on his keyboard downstairs, haha so that's exactly what I did :). The recording is on the google drive. It was so much fun and while I was singing, it made me really start thinking about my talents and I made the decision that I really want to begin to sing again more frequently and learn the piano. So I'm going to be thinking about that and furthering my singing talent especially, because I have really missed singing in a choir I've realized, since I stopped after junior year. Overall, the time at Bob's this week helped me to see the importance of developing talents, even if they lay dormant.

Thursday was a kind of slower day. We met with Brother Hartman in the morning and were able to have a really good lesson on the importance of faith, and how we can build our faith when we do as the Lord commands. We then went out in the afternoon and knocked on a lot of people's houses in Burton that have been talked to by missionaries in the past, and so we wanted to follow up with them. We were able to talk to a less active, her name is Dora Juker. She is Hispanic and a super nice lady! A couple of the other people we tried to stop by weren't home so we just left them pass a long cards with our name and phone number to call us.

Friday was a great and amazing day! :) We had district council and interviews up in Kirtland at 11 am, so we left Middlefield at 10. I decided we should stop at Carol Bradshawss and see how she is doing since she got put on hospice a few weeks ago. She was awake when we went, but not too coherent. I felt prompted to ask her if we could give her a priesthood blessing. All of a sudden, it's like the heavens opened and she shook her head yes that she understood what I asked her. As I placed my hands on Carol's head to give her the blessing, I felt God placing His hands upon her head with me. I spoke the blessing and I felt such peace for Carol. As I closed the blessing and opened my eyes, I realized I was crying, and I looked into Carols eyes and she was crying too. I know she felt something, and she told me thank you as we left the room.

I have a testimony of the power of priesthood blessings. I know God gives us power to use His power, and we must do so worthily and with the love of our Heavenly Father in our hearts.

Saturday was a learning day for me in a few different ways. We went to a trailer park in Chardon to talk to 6 people who are potentials and as we were walking down the streets in the trailer park, a guy pulls up to us and asks who we are. I tell him we are missionaries and he immediately tells us to leave and that we can't be there. I ask him if he is the manager, and he says he is. He says no one wants to listen to us and to leave before he gets back. So we got in the car and drove away.

This is the 3rd trailer park I've been kicked out of in this area since I've been here. These experiences are hard, because there are about 18 or 19 people in these 3 parks and 3 or 4 in two apt complexes we have been kicked out of, that really need the Gospel in their lives. But it strengthens my testimony to know that God is aware of the situation and He just wants me to do my best. The gospel will roll forth to all nations, and we as His children are preparing His flocks for the day of His coming.

So after we got kicked out we went out to Chesterland which is about 25 miles west of Chardon. It's actually the border of the area and Solon area. We met with a couple out there who are members and it was super good! They have 2 dogs and one of them gave me a big fat kiss on the mouth with his slobbery face. We also had an amazing member support visit with the Wheatley family. They are a cool family! We shared the light the world video that invited people to invite someone to church for the Christmas Sunday.

Sunday was so amazing and spiritual and festive. The sacrament mtg was incredible! The primary kids and relief society sang a song. And we had 2 speakers speak on the light of Christ. And then President Nelson finished with a few of his own remarks. Also, I found out after church that it is tradition for the Chardon branch to buy gifts for the missionaries in this area and give them to the missionaries on Christmas Sunday. So they bought 5 or 6 gifts for each of us and gave them to us at church. This branch knows how to take care of the missionaries:) They are great people!

We went out with Maryana and Brother Hartman on Sunday afternoon and talked with the Stowe family, Brother Lavin, and the Johnson family. I have loved being able to go out on Sundays and see the members of the branch in a one-on-one encounter. I encourage and invite all of us to make it of high importance to see the members of our wards more often. They need US. They need people to come and minister to them. Ministering means to help and serve, as the Savior himself did. We ALL need each other.

I'm speaking in Sacrament Meeting next Sunday on that topic, of ministering. It is so important and I hope we will all take advantage of being able to go out to THE ONE who needs us.

It's Christmas this week! It's a weird feeling, with it being my first Christmas away from Salem, Utah, away from home. I'm so grateful for each of you, and for everything you do for me. And I'm so grateful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He died so that we could live.

This week, I challenge us to live even as He lived. To minister to the one, and to help those in need. Christ said and continues to say, "Come follow me." Will we take the step in the direction of Christ? The answer should be always, YES! I know he will bless us as we do all that we can. Continue to pray and read your scriptures everyday. Continue to Make Gospel study a part of your everyday life. He needs us on His team. ALL OF US!

I know this Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I feel it and it burns in my heart more and more every day. I had a rough couple days this week, because I'm just so discouraged and sad that no one in this area seems to want to talk with us and we constantly get kicked out of places for doing what we are called to do. And then I stop and think . . . Christ was denied 3 times by Peter, and He was despised by His friends. It's never easy in the path of discipleship. These people of Ohio are very very firm in their beliefs and boy oh boy, they will let you know it too. But I know that I'm going to do all I can to bring the Ohio, His truth, which is life eternal. Christ set the example. He has already paid the price for all of our suffering. He only asks that we follow him, and help others to do the same.

"Come follow Me" - Hymn :) I invite us to listen to this song this week.

We are wanting to start teaching a Book of Mormon/Preach My Gospel class in the branch during the week. Probably on like a Thursday night, and we as the missionaries would teach it. We are just crossing our fingers that the Branch Presidency and branch council approves it. I love being able to give trainings and teach classes and so I'm so super hoping this gets approved so we can continue to strengthen the branch as a whole.

Is everyone ready for Christmas?! I am! :) I got all of your packages and they are sitting here right next to me on the couch as I am writing this, and I haven't even opened one of them yet (except I have used the creatine but it wasn't wrapped so I figured that was ok :)). I'm excited to open them on Christmas morning. I told Elder Stephens we should wake up at 4:30 am to open presents, but he didn't sound too excited. It'll probably be 6-ish ;).

I pray for you guys everyday and I miss you so much. This Christmas season is unlike any before, and I have come to feel my Savior's love as I'm out here in the Great Ohio Columbus Mission.

I'm so excited to talk to you all this week!! I have been telling the members here that it's weird and different that I'm on the end of the missionary skyping because I'm the youngest and so I'm always used to skyping my brothers on their missions hahaha :):) I can't wait for Wednesday! :)

I love you forever and always!
Elder Dylan :)

P.S. "Go and Do" - 2020 youth theme song.
Go and listen to this a lot of times. I invite us to make the committment right now, that though the world may shut Him out, I will make Him room :) Because, I know it will bless each of our lives :)

It's Super Cold and Super Worth It

Hey guys! :) How was your week? How is school and work going?  I saw Rylen and her pictures from her dance recital, tell her good job for me please!

So it is super cold here, like really cold. It snows almost everyday, I guess that's what happens when Chardon is the snow belt, which means it's the highest point in northeast Ohio and high point in general til you reach Buffalo, New York. It's an adventure! "Up hill both ways in the snow" has become a very common and routine saying for me :) and I even bundle up every single day with gloves, coat, beanie, and my boots . . . We went walking every single day this week to people's houses and on Saturday it was snowing when we were out, but I do have to say, you really learn to love the very small moments when people actually answer the door and it isn't the warmth of being in the house but of being able to share the gospel with people that warms my heart.

Tuesday: We went up to the Hartman's and talked with him for about an hour about the sacrament and the importance of the priesthood, he is super passionate about making sure everyone has the chance for the sacrament. We had a super good lesson with Joey on Tuesday night. We read with him in this last week's come follow me. He works at Georginos and so he brought us some pizza from there, so that made me very happy! :)

Wednesday: We went over to the Middlefield library and cleaned out the area book and made it so we have a better idea of where everyone is and who everyone is. We then went to go talk to about 9 or 10 people in the Chardon side of the area who are less active, and about 7 of them said they are no longer interested in the church. But, we do our best and help out where we can, and most importantly, we have faith and trust in the Lord. We also were able to meet with Griffen, who is one of the recent converts from this last summer, he is 12 yrs old. We taught him the points in lesson 3 and had a really good time talking with him about the importance of staying true and faithful to our role as members of the church. We had dinner at the Nelson's later that night. I don't know if I told you guys this, but the Nelson's are moving to St. George in May, so the branch will be getting a new branch president soon.

Thursday was so much fun! We had zone conference in Kirtland. We had the Warren Elders come and pick us up in Middlefield and we all rode up to the stake center in Kirtland. I met Elder Whitefield, and he is a super cool guy! Zone conference was amazing: It started off with making fleece blankets for children in the hospitals around here, and sending them off to them. We then played about 4 or 5 games with all 60-ish missionaries from the 3 northern zones. They were games like being able to balance chocolate Rolos on a stick in your mouth and walk towards your partner, or unwrapping chocolate kisses with oven mitts, etc. It was super fun! Next we went into the chapel and had President Stratford discuss with us the new guidelines for the new missionary handbook. District activities have come back! So we will be starting those up soon. We are allowed 2 district activities a transfer. We also had the Kirtland stake patriarch, Carl Anderson, come and speak to us about his relationship with the Savior. He did a super great job! We finished off with departing testimonies from missionaries leaving this transfer, about 14, and then went and had a great Christmas dinner! (Cheesy potatoes, pulled pork sandwiches, and great dessert

Got to see my "old" comp again!

Elder Guzman, Elder Stephens,
Elder Henshaw, Elder McEwan

i.e. pie ;). We got a Book of Mormon to start reading as a mission on Jan 1 and finish in 90 days before April General Conference, and a few gifts as well as a picture of the OCM with Elder Uchtdorf. It was some great Christmas presents.

Friday, ah what a day! So we get out to car in the garage at 10 am ready to start the day, and the car won't start . . . We called the Driving Coordinator and he said he needed to do stuff in Columbus and we should call members to see if anyone could jump start the car. After 30 min of calling around and no one really being available to help, I said a silent prayer and imagined my amazing mom standing on the front porch and helping my white car back home to start on days it didn't want to :). So I said a prayer and turned the key, and . . . It started! Ah Heavenly Father is aware of us, and wants to strengthen us, we just have to take a deep breath, relax, and reassess our situation. So after that little faith building experience, we went to the Jukers and helped Brother Juker tear up his bathroom he is remodeling. All I can say is, I'm glad I have a little background knowledge from working on our basement at home :) :) .

We had a game night with Joey and Mitch and the Broadbent family on Friday night. We want to have the recent converts and less actives in the branch show up so we can get them back to activity in going to church and activities, but only Mitch and joey showed up. Broadbents were cleaning the church so they started to hangout with us. We played basketball and football in the gym. Everyone was telling me I could be a quarterback because I threw super good . . . ;) I smiled and said, "I was a quarterback for about 7 yrs growing up." It was fun to reminisce about the good ol' days ;).

Saturday we went to the Kiwanis Club Christmas pancake breakfast that Middlefield was doing. Brother and Sister Jartman are on the Kiwanis Club and they invited us, so that was great. I had green pancakes, and boy oh boy were they good. We then went and helped Brother Hartman fix his counter and back splash in his kitchen, that was exciting. And we helped Broadbents move a grand piano from Chardon to their house in Hamden, it was quite the lifting, but a good workout for us.

Sunday was a great day! Sundays are always the busiest I feel like, because if you don't meet with members on Sundays, it's about 10 times harder to meet with them during the week. So we meet with about 5 families a Sunday. We had 2 dinners, one from Hartmans and one from Chatbots. And I helped Sister Hartman set up her dad's Roku account and device to be ready for him. Good thing I was the technology specialist in the MTC ;).

I got the 12 days of Christmas package you guys sent me! Thank you so much. They have been so much fun to open! I gave out my candy canes to people in the area. And we have been doing the secret nativity that Cherish sent for the Hertna family this week. It's been fun to do that and know we are helping brighten a family and their Christmas this year. Elder Stephen's says thank you for the 12 days presents :) :).

My invitation this week is for us to truly remember the meaning of the Christmas season and why it's so important to remember who Christ is and what he did for us. Not just that He died for us, but that He died so that we would be able to overcome our trials and challenges in our lives.

I have really been able to see the benefit of staying healthy and strong. We have been doing a lot of moving and lifting for people in the area and everyone who helps is always like, "Elder McEwan, how are you not out of breath, or how can you lift that?". Staying in good shape is so important.

Keep doing your very best everyday! I know every day brings challenges, but I know that when one challenge arises, 2 blessings follow. Keep having faith in Jesus Christ, He is there for us. I have seen that on my mission. We got rejected quite a lot this last week, and people just don't want the Gospel in their lives right now and say they aren't interested, and it makes me so sad that they don't want that happiness and peace. Always stay true to who you are, because Heavenly Father wants to bless you and all of us with His blessings. Strive to become better today than you were yesterday; and make good one degree choices.

Also, could you send some tei fu or deep blue please in the next package you send? My neck is hurting pretty bad from lifting and moving all the shelves and pianos we have lately, and from working out, and my bed just really isn't the comfiest. Definitely not my queen size bed I'm used to ;).

I am so excited to talk to all of you and to hear how you all are doing! I miss you so so much, and I pray for you all everyday :) Have courage and be kind.

I love you forever and always!
Elder Dylan :) ♡

Isaiah 9:6

Getting the Cops Called

Hi Everyone,

How are you all doing? How did your week go? :) It looks like the temple square trip was a ton of fun this last week! And that you all had a great time at Pond Town Christmas. It makes me so happy to know that everyone is doing great back home.

So on Monday night we had empty nester's group with the older couples in the branch and that was a ton of fun. They do it the last Monday of each month, except for last week cuz 2 weeks ago was Thanskgiving, so they didn't want to have it then. We had chili and rolls and really good pasta. We finished up Elder Holland's book that he wrote (I forget the name). Awesome night though!

Lights in the Middlefield Apartment

Tuesday was service day! We went over to the Hartman's and helped set up the Christmas tree, stockings, and the little decor pieces around the house, and it was so much fun. Then we went over to the Hertna house in Chardon and helped stack a cord of wood for them to make it through February for winter. I'm realizing that a lot of people here have wood burning stoves. Next, we went over to Sister Egings house and picked up tree branches around her house and made sure her garbage was out. Her fridge also went out and so all the food was bad. She is a 92 yr old lady who lives alone, so we try and help her out a lot. We got fed by the Flamms for dinner, it was spaghetti and so yummy! Oh yeah, we also watched "Fighting Preacher" at the church while we ate dinner. It is hands down one of the best church movies I've ever seen! You guys should watch it too. It should be out on DVD because it was in theaters when I left. Tuesday night, we set up the Christmas lights in the apt and made it look all festive. It gets pretty dark during the day at the apt, so it is nice to have lights for Christmas.

Wednesday we had district council in Kirtland. I gave a training on receiving personal revelation and why it's important for that. I think it went pretty good and hope that everyone was able to take something from it. I know it is important to receive personal revelation and that we must be continually training our minds to receive it and have it. We must have some meaningful time alone with our Heavenly Father to know what He wants from us and what He needs us to become. We drove up to Perry to the Zone leaders apt and had training visits up there. I went with Elder Rawson, and we went to visit 4 or 5 people that night, and got hot chocolate from one of the less active in the Perry ward, so that was nice of them. We were driving back to the apt at like 8:50 on the freeway from Ashtabula to Perry, which is like a 45 min drive. It was snowing and Rawson was driving. We literally couldn't see the yellow lines so we stayed behind a diesel the whole time and had him guide us to safety. It made me think of the Savior and how He is our guide to safety on the stormy road of life, and how when just like Peter, we start to doubt, he reaches out and pulls us towards Him.

Thursday we drove back to Middlefield and gave Sister Edna Davis a blessing. She is 91 yrs old and not doing well. Her hip has been hurting for about 6 months. She went and had an x-ray and the doctor said she just has too much arthritis that she is going to have to live with it the rest of her life. She wasn't too happy about that . . . I was telling her that my mom went through a similar thing with 2 surgeries on her hip, and that seemed to make Sister Davis more calm and realize she will be okay.

Friday we had a great phone call with Mitch. He is back in Ohio from his month long trip to North Carolina to visit his parents. So we were able to finish up the new member lessons with him, so that is nice that those are now down and we can keep helping him stay strong in the church. Today was a great day too because we finally went down south to the south part of the area and talked to the Amish people! When we first got to that part of the area and I pulled into a parking spot, my nose started bleeding, but I told myself that we were doing this today and so I went and got toilet paper from the bathroom and stuck it in my nose, then proceeded to walk for 45 min to Amish houses looking like I had just been in a fight. We got 3 Amish to answer their doors, 2 of them took the Light the world pass a long card we had for them, one of them said she already had religion. But it was still super fun to do that! We also finished up the new member lessons with Bethany today too! Just need to get with Sarah to finish hers, she is always just so busy with school and work. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Miracle time! We were out walking on Friday night and we currently don't have any investigators to teach, so we went knocking this night, and Elder Stephen's turns to me and says we should go to downtown Middlefield by the square, so we went down there not really knowing where to go, and lo and behold 2 guys come walking towards us. It was Scott and Charlie! Elder Henshaw had met them back in August and we haven't been able to get a hold of them since, and then they found us! Ah we were so happy :). We told them our number and said to call us (they will be out of town and busy the next few days), but man, Heavenly Father works in very mysterious ways.

Saturday was a very adventurous day, just like the title says. We went and tried talking to Carol Bradshaw, she actually just got put on hospice so I don't think she has much longer to live, which is super sad but also good because she won't have to be in pain anymore. We tried stopping by Adam Day's house, but he wasn't home even though he told us he would be ... We called Elder Henshaw and Elder Guzman in Lisbon. That's Elder Stephen's old area and so he had 2 girls who he had taught and they were getting baptized this weekend, so we face-timed them and he got to see them before they were baptized. It was so much fun! We went up to Sister Botorf's house to try and do service, but it ended up not working out because we were supposed to wrap her pipes for winter with heat tape, but her pipes are inside of her floors because she lives in a trailer house, so we couldn't do that. We ran through options of what we could do the rest of the day til dinner, and we decided to go visit some less actives.

So I park down one street in Chardon and we go from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock knocking on these peoples doors and then went to the Juker house at 6 for dinner. Well, we made it to the Jukers and got the dinner and left there about 6:10, and now it is pitch black outside. We start in the direction of the car and this Geauga County Sheriff drives by us, in the direction where our car is parked, so I was a little freaking out. We get to the car and he gets out and tells us they received a complaint saying there was a car there that shouldn't be (we were in a roundabout by the woods), and asked us where we were from and how we got an Ohio car with Utah licenses (this guy thought we had stolen the car!), he ran our background checks and I turned to Stephen's and told him that if I get a ticket for parking in a public wooded area, I am going to not be a happy camper. The sheriff steps out and says our background checks are clean (well that was good to know :)) and to enjoy the rest of our missions and let us on our way. I was not too happy that the residents of that neighborhood would do that, especially when one of the guys saw us walk out of the car and saw our badges, ah it was a night that's for sure, but all is well! :)

Sunday, we had early morning mtgs at 7:15, church at 9, and then we went back and had lunch at the Hartmans and Mitch came too, so it was fun to catch up with him and visit. We went out with Brother Hartman and Maryana Walter (Bro Walter's adopted daughter), and went to 4 houses in the branch til about 5:30. We got back to the Hartmans and he had said we could watch the Christmas devotional there so we ate dinner there and hung out with them for a few hrs til the devotional started. We all kind of fell asleep for part of it and I felt super bad, so I made my eyes stay awake for the last half. But it was super good and I'm grateful we got to watch it. We also got asked by Brother Walter to speak in sacrament mtg on December 29th. It is 5th Sunday and the branch usually has the missionaries and mission leader speak, so it'll be fun. This will be my 3rd time speaking in this branch, but hey, I'm super grateful for it and it will be a ton of fun!

We have zone conference on Thursday in Kirtland. Elder Whitehead, from Maddie's school, and his comp are picking us up and then we are going to the conference. So it'll be good to finally meet him. Interviews are next week on the 20th, it's crazy how fast this transfer is going.

How are you all doing in school and work? Momma, good luck on your finals the next 2 weeks, I know you will do so great. And good luck in work all of you, Heaveny Father is blessing you and I'm so grateful for it.

My challenge for today is to do Mr. Peery's 10/ 5 rule he does at the high school. When you're within 10 feet of someone, smile at them, and when you're within 5 feet of them, say hi to them. It may seem simple, but I know it is so worth it. It makes people's day when they know someone noticed them, and if you're able to call them by name, they know someone knows them personally. Heavenly Father knows each of us by name and heart, I invite us to know the people around us by name and heart, and do the best we can to fellowship and help them in anyway we can.

I miss all of you so very much. I pray for you all everyday and I'm so excited to hear from all of you this week! Keep being strong, keep being brave, Have courage and Be kind :):) .

I love you ALL Forever and Always,
Elder Dylan :)

Baseball Bat and a Car . . . Not a good mix!

So as you can see from the title, it was an interesting week with transfers and Thanksgiving, and all the great stuff that comes with the holidays, so let me tell you all about how it went . . .

Tuesday night we got to the apt and Henshaw packed and also made me a pineapple tie (our companionship tie) and also gave me a pink unicorn tie which he got from his trainer and then passed it to me (a posterity tie) and we went to sleep at like 11:45 because he had to pack everything and didn't realize how much stuff he had accumulated over 18 months.

Departing . . . For now

Wednesday was a great and sad day. Me and Elder Henshaw got picked up at 8 am by brother Walter and went to Talmadge to the church bldg. We got his stuff out of the car and took some pictures so we can always remember our time together, and at that point, we parted ways. Needless to say, it was quite hard because I once again felt a little lost as I was on August 14th and so I took a deep breath, and carried on. I got put into a trio while I waited for Elder Stephens to arrive from Dublin. One of those missionaries is a Nepali speaking missionary and so we got to go to a lesson with him and we listened to an amazing language of Nepali be spoken for the lesson. Wow! The Gospel is everywhere!

Now let me tell you about why the title is the title it is . . . So I was driving in the trio in Tallmadge on Wednesday. We were heading to that Nepali lesson, and a guy all of a sudden steps into the road with a baseball bat and takes a huge swing at the car. Thankfully I paid enough attention in drivers ed to realize to swerve put of the way, and then he kind of started after our car, so I just floored the gas a little and left him in the dust. I'm pretty sure he was high on drugs, but thankfully the car is still in good shape since it was the Akron zone leaders car I was driving :).

So I got my new comp, Elder Stephens. He hit his one year mark 4 days ago on Thanksgiving. He is

My new companion, Elder Stephens

from South Weber, Utah and graduated in 2018 from Northridge High School. He is a super cool guy and so so funny. He reminds me a bit of Aaron Koyle, so super cool guy! And he has some great teaching methods to use.

Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner at Hartman's and then we had pie at the Chabot's on Thursday night, Loren is a professional chef in his past life, so he made us peppermint pie and man was it so good! A great holiday, and a little weird to not have it be at home. Also, ALMOST had to go to the Geauga Hospital for stitches in my finger on Thursday . . . I was peeling potatoes and I finished that, and then proceeded to cut them to put into a bowl. Well, I guess the knife was pretty sharp because it cut clean through the potato and didn't want to stop there and went right into my finger. It was quite impressive how quickly my finger became red with blood. Thankfully Hartman's had band aids and triple antibiotic. It is still trying to heal, but hopefully it will be better soon. What's a holiday without a little adventure right? ;)

Friday was tree chopping day at Hartman's. We got to his house and the wind had knocked one of his trees down the day before, so I took his saw and started cutting the branches and trunk apart. We also called Mitch and had a great lesson with him! He will finish the new member lessons this week if we can meet with him. Same with Chabot's, so super proud of all of them for staying strong on their covenant path.

Saturday was a great day! We went to Kirtland Sake Center and had a mtg with all of the missionaries in the Kirtland zone and the Stake President,  who is President Johnson. He talked about how important it is to do ministering and that we must absolutely have a desire as members to go out and find the one, and bring them to church. It was so cool to learn and hear that.

Guess what?!?!? We met Adam day for the first time! He got baptized 6 months ago and has been to church one time since. I had never met him since I got here 3 months ago. We finally caught him at home on Saturday, and talked to him for 5 seconds because he was leaving for work. He said to text him and we can set something up because he hasn't started new member lessons yet since he doesn't answer his door and doesn't respond to messages so we will do our best right.

Sunday was fabulous. Church was so great as always! Me and Stephens got up to bear our testimonies in sacrament. He is a great guy. We went with Hartman's to Sister Gould after church and watched the Christchild with her. And then we went to the Arnold house for the Break the Fast meal at 4 pm, with a whole ton of members so that was even better. We then went up to Kirtland with the Hartman's to the visitors center where they have a huge light and nativity display every year. I sent some pictures in the drive. Momma, I may have to pack them home with me because they were from almost every country and would look great in your collection you have from different countries :) So that was so fun!

I am the designated driver for this transfer, and so I have been able to drive now and it's been so fun, although as I said last week, Ohio drivers do not drive as good as Utah drivers, and we always get stuck behind Amish buggies, so it's an adventure :).

It rained a lot this week. We went 7 whole days without seeing the sun. It finally came out this weekend and we actually jumped in the air for joy! You count the small victories ;).

I would like to invite us to be watching the Light the World videos starting now, and watch them this month. And also encourage everyone around us to watch them. Show them to everyone. And go forth and serve and truly Light the world. It doesn't have to be big, a simple "Hello, have a great day", goes a long way. This is something I tried to do in high school and am still trying to do everyday. It is a blessing in my life and know it can be a blessing in anyone's life as they do that and serve everyday. #lighttheworld

I miss all of you so much and I'm so glad you had a great Thanksgiving! I'm so excited to talk with everyone. Please be safe this week with the cold and icy weather, and know I am thinking of you everyday. Keep up the great work everyday! You're all doing great.

I love you forever and always :)♡♡
♡ Elder Dylan :)

Nativities from Many Lands

We went to the Kirtland Visitor's Center for this amazing event. So many beautiful nativities from all over the world . . .