Monday, April 25, 2016

April 25, 2016

So guess what!!! I’m zone leader in my first zone. The cool thing is that I already know my area a little bit and can do divisions in my 1st area! When I got the call saying I was going to La Brigada I was like, “Ooww... this area is the biggest mess ever!” It’s a huge labyrinth, the roads are all curved and don't connect. It looks like the people threw paint on the map and said, “Hey you see all those little spots? Build houses there!” hahaha... 

I literally have no idea how to get anywhere. I did divisions in my 1st area last week! It was awesome!! It turns out a lot of people that I found there ended up getting baptized with my second comp which is super cool. Looks like my fruits went farther than I thought. 

I went and showed the elders there a contact that I made when I was there that I always wanted to visit, but never had a member to help. We had such a cool lesson with her and her family, and even cooler is that she went to church Sunday haha!!! Looks like the Lord has been preparing these people for awhile and wanted me to know the contact.. Man he works in mysterious ways. When I went and talked to the lady she talked to me like she knew me and I was like you remember me!? She was like yeah, you pass by all the time and I saw you like a month or so ago. Why wouldn't I know you? I was like I talked to you like a year ago haha but that’s cool. It was awesome!

Being zone leader is cool, wayyy better than district leader in my opinion. It’s more responsibility, but more laid back too. I only have to make sure the district leaders are doing their job and worry about getting dats to the assistants. My companion and I both are zone leaders so we share the load too.

In my area we have quite a few people progressing that could be baptized here soon. We got a reference from the bishop of a guy that has been attending another ward really far away so we went and looked for him. He is a super awesome guy. He is about ready to get baptized, but we want to get the wife and daughter baptized to. They are Christians that go to a church called Evangelico. 

There are two main religions here, Catholic and Evangelico. You’re catholic when you don't live any law, and evangelico when you take it to the extreme and are basically a pharisee.. They hit people with the bible and scream and have rock bands that scare me! But we had an awesome lesson with the family. Our next visit the wife asked a ton of questions and at the end said she was confused because she felt we taught the truth, but it was all so different and new to her. power of the spirit man..


My new comp is Elder Galicia. He’s from El Salvador. He was in my zone when I was training so I know him a little bit already. He is chill and obedient so this change should be a good one:) I really hope those words don't come back to bite me! haha

Tell everyone I love them!  



Friday, April 22, 2016

April 21, 2016

Dear Dabel Family,

It is with pleasure that we inform you that your son, Elder Dabel, has accepted a call to serve as zone leader here in the Guatemala City South Mission. We have implicit confidence in him and trust the Lord will bless and sustain him in his new assignment.
Our mission is divided into 12 proselyting zones.  As zone leader, your son will supervise the missionaries in two to four districts, each consisting of four to eight missionaries.  He will teach proselyting skills, encourage them in the work, and he will direct zone meetings and participate in interviews of baptism candidates.  In order to train others, he will frequently exchange companions and work with each elder in his zone, helping them to progress and improve.  Through his example, he will lead and motivate others to ''serve with all their heart, might, mind, and strength''  (D&C 4:2).
You have raised an obedient young man.  No doubt he will represent the Lord and his family with dignity, love, and devotion as zone leader in this marvelous work.

Sincerely yours,
 
E.J. Caffaro
Mission President

Monday, April 18, 2016






April 18, 2016

Hollyyyy cowww I’m so excited about OSU and all that!!!! That is sooo cool!!! :)) I love you mom!!! Thank you!!! Blessings from serving the Lord!!

This week was pretty awesome. My comp and I are getting to work with a medical team down here that are from the USA donating time and supplies to the people because no one down here has medical care and the health conditions are horrible. They don't know spanish so we are helping them translate. At 1:00 today we are going to start again. It’s been cool trying to learn the medical terms to explain to the people what they have and to the doctors their symptoms haha..

This week we visited a reference and found a less active guy that has been inactive for like 30 years. He was baptized in mexico and went in the temple. He said that he slowly fell away from the church and later became a pastor and wrote books about his religious beliefs. We asked if he had ever thought about coming back to church and he said no.. I felt that we should read from the Book of Mormon. I read Alma 37:45-47 and talked about my feelings toward it, the spirit was really strong. Then my comp asked him when was the last time you felt the spirit?? There was a super long silence. He looked up after what felt like an eternity and said, “I don’t remember.” It was so strong. I know he felt the spirit. He remembered his testimony. I really hope he starts coming to church again.

We went with another less active family, family Davila. We knew they had retired from the church years ago because of a mistake made by an old leader. We just sang with them and shared a small message about the sacrament and the spirit. The next day they showed up to church all nicely dressed:) it was so awesome! 

We fought all last week to get people to church. we woke up early and ran around literally to try to round up everyone. In the end only 3 showed up. This week we did the same and by a pure miracle 16 came!! We took a picture after sacrament and like half of the little branch were investigators.


So my comp has been in the area for like 5 months so we were like 99 percent positive he had changes. We went around and took a few pictures for him and got the members to write in his journal. Last night they called and said my comp is staying in the area and I have changes haha... I couldn't believe it..This area is super awesome but I am a lil excited to go to my new area. I’m sick of living on bread and top ramen and showering with buckets of water and washing my garments by hand. This area has been a huge learning experience:) i don't find out where I’m going until tonight so I’ll update you guys on monday :P Can you guys believe I’m going home in 8 months... the time is flying.. the last time I think I will be calling home is mothers day. 

April 11, 2016

Thanks dad, 

I’ve learned that every day we are given opportunities to choose to be more or less like the savior. We have to take advantage of them all (:

This week was an awesome week really. My comp and I have been trying hard to complete with a plan that our president received as revelation and said it is what the Lord wanted us to do to see success. We have to do this every day.

obedient and diligent
find to teach (find a sum of 20 new investigators every week)
update the area book
work by sectors
do lists with members every day(fortify our members and ask for references)
contact 10 people with name and address or phone number and return date
have lessons with member (sum total of 20 at end of week)
use D&C 20:37 in all lessons (teach the principals in scripture)
Put baptismal dates every day (at least 1, invite all)
visit at least 1 recent convert every day

We have almost been able to complete this every day. At the end of the week we woke up at 6 to go get people for church, we were expecting like 16 to come but after all was said and done only 3 arrived I was like noooo... I didn’t understand why it was so hard and was feeling down and then I got up to give my testimony and looked out into our lil congregation of 45 and saw a few faces I hadn't ever seen. I went and said hi after sacrament and an old member that was going to a ward far away said she decided she wanted to come to our lil ward cuz it is closer to her house. She brought her son in law that wasn't a member and he said he wanted us to visit him.  Later that day we went by and he explained to us how he is ready to change his life and be baptized in the true church of God. My comp and I were like whooow.. blessings man.. Also this week we went by with a member that has a less active daughter and visited her to see why she never comes. She didn't say exactly why she didn't go so we explained the importance of the sacrament and gave testimonies of the reality and power of it. After she said she wanted to come back and was going to buy a skirt so she could go. Then at the end of our visit she said her son never was baptized and wanted us to teach him so he can; another big blessing this week! :)

This week my comp got sick while we were contacting and said he had to throw up. We sat on the side of a dirt road for like 15 minuets while he tried to do it but couldn't so I said, “Why don't I punch you in the stomach so it comes up faster?” He said sure! So he bent over and I whacked him and then he started throwing up hehe. Afterward he felt a lot better..

This week was a fun. We got a whole bunch of investigators together, the majority were kids because the parents always say I’m Catholic... then they turn around and tell their kids to go with us because they need to learn things of God. Then they tell us, “My kid is a lost, please teach him the difference between good and bad.” It’s hard for me to control my temper when they do things like that haha....but we took all of our investigators and split them into groups and had them draw on a page one part of the plan of salvation; like the pre-mortal life, out life, resurrection, etc. Then we put it all together and had a huge long picture. It was super fun and a good way to teach the kids! haha

Thanks mama, that’s what I have been learning in the 4th missionary talk too. That we aren’t always going to wake up ready and happy to do it all but we do it because it is the most intelligent thing to do. We know doing the Lords will will benefit us way more in the end, so we do it and try to be positive. The talk says this:

“But don't think that this one is always filled with the Spirit and ready to rush headlong into what the Lord would have him do. Don't think that he is always whistling a happy tune, skipping down the road, looking for another door to be slammed in his face. There are times when he doesn't like it either; there are times when he doesn't want to go either. He gets tired and discouraged too. The sun and the rain beat down upon him just like the other three. Don't think that just because you may become discouraged or because you may not want to go either, that you are, therefore, not the Fourth Missionary. Lehi said: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." (2 Ne 2:11.) Life is hard at times, and missions are hard, for the Fourth Missionary as well as for the first three.”

Elder Holland teaches that a great swimmer once said when asked his secret of success: "1 kick when 1 don't want to kick, and I stroke when I don't want to stroke." Like the First, Second and Third Missionaries there are times when the Fourth Missionary doesn't want to kick and doesn't want to stroke either. The difference between the Third and Fourth Missionary is that the Third Missionary will kick and stroke because it is his duty, because that is what is expected of him and he will hate and resent it, while the Fourth Missionary will kick and stroke because he knows that it is the only intelligent thing to do.”

 Even Jesus, the One Perfect One, prayed: "Father let this cup pass from me..." There were things that He too did not want to do. Those desires that He "...even God, the greatest of all...might not drink the bitter cup and shrink..." (DC 19:18) did not diminish Him; in fact, they made Him greater´´

I hope you guys are doing awesome (: I love you!! 

March 14, 2016

Hey MOM! Well this week was awesome!! So my new area is even more rural than the last and hotter than heck!!! It’s super humid out here to. The city is called nueva santa rosa the new holy rose. I love it like crazy. It’s huuuugggeee though.. It’s a whole bunch of little cites near each other and little pueblos or aldeas which are little groups of people that live in shacks in the mountains haha.. The people are really nice and loving, just have problems making commitments haha. I would like to say the church down here is a branch, but it isn’t yet its so small it’s called a unity hehe... My comp is a BEAST... I love him to death.. he is Elder Olson from California. He has 5 months in the mission and is still full of that fire you have right when you get out of the mtc. He is 100 percent obedient. We get up at 6 every morning and wash our cloths and then take our showers with a bucket and a cup hhaha... I can’t complain about there not being hot water cuz it’s so freaking hot.... It is an interesting experience so far... I get out of the shower and just start sweating again.. The food here isn’t so sanitary soo you cant ever trust your farts.. It is hard to get from lesson to lesson fast here because of the size of our area so we are constantly running through the mountain trails :) It makes me really miss swimming.. We have to coordinate with the busses to because apparently they stop coming after 4 at the farthest end of our area.. we had to run a few miles back until by pure miracle God sent a tuk tuk and saved us.

Over all I love it all :)

Oh so the hermanas didn't get sent home cuz they confessed and repented. I’m jealous you’re going to Mexico without me haha. How is Josh doing?? Did he get a new job then?

March 7, 2016

This week was absolutely crazy... These last few weeks have been absolutely crazy... so starting from the beginning.

Every week my comp just got wickeder and wickeder AND LAZIER AND LAZIER. I was suffering to be honest... He didn't want to work just go home and eat and hangout with another elder in our district who is like his best friend. I found out that the president sent my comp and this other elder here to the same district to test them. I guess they have a rep from before and the president didn't want them in the mission... his plan worked. My comp and this other elder got sent home on thursday morning. At night they would text and call each other, other elders, sisters, and girls in our areas too.. one of the sisters felt bad and repented and so they all got sent home. 

So I have been working these last few days with the members and sleeping with at my house with the other elder in my district so I can stay in my area and keep up with my investigators... Which was the best thing that ever happened to me because I was able to get so many references out of them that are so awesome. The sad thing is that I have changes and they are shutting down my area.

The cool thing this week were all the baptismal interviews I got to give. I had to give 9... It took up a lot of my time but it was a good spiritual experience:) now i know a tiny bit how it feels to be the bishop on the other side of the desk.. I hope I don't get called as bishop when Im older haha!

but me and this other elder (Elder Tolson from california) have been saying to each other this whole change, “You want to be happy? You want to be happy elder??? then be obedient!!”  (:  It kept us from following the influence of our comps this change.. haha 

I love you guys..

Pray the Lord sends me to an area with a really good comp please!!! 

Feb 22, 2016

I feel way better, but this week was probably one of my worst weeks in the mission dat wise. I feel as though everything was against us this week. It didn't matter how hard I tried, all the things that could of went bad did. I would like to tell you all about my week but that just waste time. The point is I’m not letting the devil get away with it because I know its all for a reason. Maybe we are on the brink of success. This week we got to go to the temple, always a relief and a good way to restart life and review how you sit in the path. I wish I could go there more often..My only council for any person struggling with a testimony would be this: 1. Repent. 2. read the scriptures 3. keep a list of all spiritual experiences and miracles and review it. 4. prepare yourself spiritual to go to the temple and go there often.

I’ve been thinking lately about what you and grandma have talked about. About how we chose our glory. I found an answer in Mosiah 2:38. It supports it and clarifies a little bit more. Really I have thought a lot about if what I’m doing is worthy for celestial glory. I often am overwhelming myself thinking about how I’m not good enough. The answer that I have found is this: If you are worthy to have the spirit guide you and feel it often then there is nothing to worry about. We should constantly be preparing ourselves spiritually so that we don’t  just run away from him because of the guilt we feel of the things we didn't do and didn't repent of. :) I’ve also learned that an understanding of doctrine changes our behavior and attitude. As we more fully understand the way things work, the way the father works, and our responsibilities we are more confident in our decisions and we are happier. We have to constantly pull all the lies and apostasy that we are born with and the devil puts in us if we want to be happy:)

Happiness isn't cheap, but you still can’t buy it with money;) If it is hard enough to walk in the light, how much harder it is to walk in darkness. be obedient and do hard things so that you don’t have to do harder ones.

I love you mama:) thank you for your love and support.

Elder Dabel

Feb 8, 2016


Thanks mom :) so this week was full of miracles. We found some people Saturday that are soooo pilas or in other words super smart. They came to church Sunday and when we passed by on Sunday they knew the pamphlet of lesson 1 perfectly. It was really cool. We also found a family last week and the wife came to church last week and said she loved it. We will see how it goes with her. Oh, and Raul and Lili moved to the capital to find work, but I’m in contact with them and they say that they are going to church there to :) That was a lil sad for me because I wont be there with them. Also carla moved to a city not to far from here called monjas. I’m talking with her to and trying to get some missionaries to go look for her out there. This week I got a new comp from el salvador he is super awesome I love him. It’s a little weird cuz he reminds me a lot of Emerson which is cool :) This week flew by so fast wow... I love you guys and hope you know i can feel your prayers thank you. I hope Levi’s testicle is better too.. I pray for it .