I am living in Manchester New Hampshire!

Elders Dahlberg and Wadsworth

Hello there fellow San Diegans... and Utahns,

So I got transferred!!! Now whenever you think of me think of me living in New Hampshire in a city setting (crazy to think about huh?) There are more buildings than trees in the part of the city that I'm in. I live in a city comparable to Chula Vista, and then if you drive out of the city for 15 minutes you hit homes that are comparable to Scripps Ranch. I am living in Manchester New Hampshire! Here's my address. (Google earth it! I dare you)
392 Dubuque St Apt 1
Manchester, NH 03102

So with being transferred that means I have a new companion and new apartment and new car and new ward and new everything pretty much! I have been changed around so many times on my mission it's not hard to pack up my bags any more and just leave. My new companion is Elder Nickolas Wadsworth! From Alpine Utah. He is one of 13 kids and he is actually younger than me! he is still 19 and he has been out on his mission for 20 months. He is super funny and we get along SO WELL! This upcoming transfer we are going to do great work and have fun while doing it. NOTHING BETTER THAN THAT!

Elder Wadsworth unloading the car behind their apt.

In our district we have 2 sets of sisters who are both in trios actually, we have us (The Zone Lord's) and we have the APE's and then the District Leader. So our district is full of leadership! Also something interesting about this area, We have the mission home in our boundaries and so we have President and Sister Stoker in our ward. So whenever they are in town on Sundays they will attend our ward.

Since I am now serving in a city setting rather than a boonier setting, life in the mission (in terms of actually going out and proselyting) is much different. We go out and street contact people and people actually talk to you unlike in Maine where they don't want you even looking at them as you walk up to them. We meet all sorts of people and they are not just white people! I love it! We have talked to Mexicans, Guatemalans, Italians, Asians, Indians, Napalee refugees, and Black/ African people. It's awesome and I enjoy doing it so much! It beats tracting anyday!

This week Elder Wadsworth and I found 4 new investigators! All from street contacting and tracting! See how much different the city is compared to the country! Also we are working with an investigator of ours named Sarah V**** (she is our main one and I will mention her the most) She is a single mother of 4 kids all under the age of 7. The kids are terrible! They don't ever listen and they love making messes. Since they have no male to be the discipline side of things they just run around like monkeys all day long. Its crazy at her house. We bring members with us to the lessons to help keep them calm. So far we are working with Sarah on quitting smoking and coffee. She wants to be baptized on April 11th, but I don't think that's going to happen because she won't come to church. And I don't want her to be baptized and than just fall off the face of the earth and never come again. She needs a testimony. Everyone who comes to church or is religious for that matter needs a PERSONAL WITNESS that what they are doing is right. If you don't have that, you should do what it says in the bible, the chapter of James 1:5.

That's how Joseph Smith did it, that's how I did it. But that's all I have for this week!

A member of their ward painted this for the missionaries apartment

I am really enjoying my time here in Manchester even though it's a really dirty city. I want to help clean it up some and make God the center-piece for the city!

Love you all and I got a letter this week wooohooo! Thank you (You know who you are)

All Smiles,Elder Dahlberg

Saying good-bye to the Subway crew that fed them on Mondays

The Verregge family

That's how he fits so much stuff in his suitcases... 

Look what he found by the side of the road... a snowboard??

Study area and strange kitchen layout...

I guess this is the bathroom AND the laundry room...

Since they are located near the mission home, their apartment has extra beds for visiting missionaries to sleep in. Kind of a crazy mess!!

ZONE LEADER HERE I COME!!!

So this week it didn't snow one bit! LET ME TELL YOU HOW AWESOME THAT IS!! WOOOHOOOO!
A cool fact about this past February, is that in Maine it was the worst one they have ever seen. It was the worst winter ever recorded! New records on snowfall and cold temperatures! I totally felt it too. My hands were purple anytime I took one step outside. Even with electric heated gloves, my fingers still became numb. I can't imagine how the pioneers and old settlers of New England lived out here for so long. Maybe that's why they wanted to trek west so much because they were tired of all the cold and they were willing to risk their lives than stay here for it. Who knows..

Tuesday March 3rd,-  We had a couple of set lessons fall through on this day but it was still good. We drove down to Freeport, Maine to get Elder Redford checked because he felt pain in his chest. Turns out he has Costro Constritous. (???)  It's swelling in the chest. So he can't lift anything or workout in the mornings and that kills him because he is one dang hard worker! We also had a wonderful lesson with a person named Kyle. He is 19 and he was just at the Veregee's home (LA Members) when we stopped by. Kyle is their cousin and he was interested in why we were out doing the missionary work when we could be at college getting school "over with" and working... Kyle took a book of mormon and said he would read it as well as the bible, side by side.

Wednesday- We went out with Bishop Abbot and went to Peggy Lane's house where we talked with her about getting a temple recommend and how she has her goal of getting sealed to her husband who passed away a while back. It went great and Peggy told us she will try her very best to make it there. (She wasn't able to make it to church Sunday due to pains in her chest...) As well with Bishop we saw  3 other Less-Active members and it was great being able to go out with the Bishop and getting the work done. He is a very dedicated man and I admire him. This night I went on exchange into Damarriscotta with Elder Liljenquist, he has been out for 11 weeks.

Thursday- Elder Liljenquist is from Utah and loves to play trumpet and bake. If you know me I don't do either of those on my free time, but we got along very well he is a funny elder. My goal on the exchange was to bear testimony of God's Love to someone that we tract into and they say I'm all set! We tracted in the freezing cold weather (That day was around 14 degrees with 25 mph winds) We tracted for a solid hour and 3 people answered the door out of maybe 20+. But i bore testimony and the lady who answered agreed with me and said she believes the same thing. But she wouldn't want us to come back and talk with her. We also did service at a food pantry which I really enjoyed! I love serving others that can't exactly help themselves.

Friday- I am back from exchange and now am with Elder Redford and we went home teaching with Brother Maschino, and none of his people came to the door... Which seems to happen a ton now that I talk about it haha. I have just gotten so used to it I guess... We had dinner with a member family named the Mittons that knows Elder Redford's family personally! They are from Pocatello, Idaho which is where Elder Redford is from so they had a blast at the dinner table talking about good ole Pokey.

Saturday- This was the mission conference day. We drove down to Exeter, New Hampshire and I got to see all my old companions and my friends around the mission. We took a mission picture and I am all the way on the left standing on a chair haha. During the conference I sat next Elder M. Jensen and that was great talking to him. We learned about how to live positive lives and to stay productive. There were 2 General Authorities and one Area Seventy. Bishop Causee, Elder Hallstrom, and Elder Bennett. So those were the ones training us. Something that stuck out to me was that they said when you are willing to repent, you are willing to change your life for the better. It's true. Change is good. It helps each of us grow.




We finished the day at the Brill's where they told us they would never become members of our church but love us as fantastic young men. We may have different religions and beliefs but I will not let that stop me from loving that family. Although we may disagree, it does not mean we should be disagreeable! Be kind to everyone, no matter what. Saturday nights are usually the night we get transfer calls and we never got one so both Elder Redford and I were celebrating because we were going to stay together another 6 weeks. little did we know....

Sunday- We woke up to our normal alarm at 6:30 and elder Redford hopped into the shower and I was just getting up. And the phone rings at 6:32AM... It was assistant 2. I was like what the?!
I answered it and the first thing he said was, "Elders it appears that we forgot to call you last night....(Pause. Looks down at paperwork...more pause...) Yup, we did. Elder Dahlberg you are being transferred and will serve as Zone leader. Do you accept?"  Well that was that. I declined it right then and there! haha just kidding .The Peters family came to church this day! Rusty & Tiffany and their 5 awesome kids!!!!  We sat right behind them and in church they called me from the pulpit to come up and bear my testimony. While I was up speaking to the 100+ people, I felt so comfortable. I could have stood there all day long. I just felt so good. I don't have any fear of speaking in front of people. Why? What's my secret? Well I tell myself that "It's selfish to be nervous" Because I have a message that I need to share and if I'm nervous I wont deliver it as good as I need to!

Thanks for all you do for me Mom and Dad. And those that email me or write me (you know who you are haha)
I will be transferred this upcoming Tuesday the 10th. So if you want to write me a letter send it to the mission office address of 2 Bedford Farms....etc...

I haven't gotten a letter in about 2 weeks and I want to issue a slight challenge to all who see this. Send me a letter. I WILL send you one back. Even if all you write is a tic tac toe game or something. haha. Getting a letter seriously brightens the day. There is just something about it. Well thanks for everything! I am coming home in 7 months!!! ZONE LEADER HERE I COME!!!

P.S.  I don't know for sure where he went, but he did buy something with his personal debit card from Manchester, NH, so I think he may be near the mission home for this transfer...  Either way, you can send him a letter to the mission home address and he will get it eventually...

All Smiles

Elder Dahlberg

 
We bought some banana bread mix from Hawaii and sent it to him since he LOVES banana bread.  He shared pictures of him making it..

He got creative with a scarf and made it into a tie.  (He didn't actually wear it that way...)

Here are some of the families he's worked with in Gardiner, Maine...

The Armstrong family

The Keene family

The Peters family making scripture cases it looks like...

The Dawbin family

Grechen and her family

This week was actually not snowy!

For once we actually got some sunshine and it started to melt the snow! Keyword: started to... It's still a snowy wasteland so don't think it's all green and grassy haha.

Since I emailed last Tuesday it's sort of a short week for emails, so here it is.

Wednesday- We didn't have district meeting but we did get to go out with the bishop of our ward Bishop Abbot. He is going to try and devote one day of the week to come out with us teaching! Isn't that awesome! We took him to see our 83 year old investigator named Fred and Bishop helped us teach about Temples and how he can be with his wife forever thanks to the Priesthood authority. Fred really enjoyed the lesson and we can tell he felt the spirit which was totally in the lesson. But we went back a couple days later and he told us he thinks Bishop is just tooting his trumpet and is speaking flattering words to him to get him to join our Church....  We were also able to take another member out with us to visit a single lady in our ward and we taught her about the Plan of Salvation. With a focus on these 3 questions..
Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?


Thursday- I was on an exchange with the zone leaders in Winthrop, Maine and if you want to know about boon docks, I know the place. There wasn't anything out there. Just trailer houses scattered about the land like they were loaded into a shotgun and sprayed from above. We visited a couple of their investigators where one of them announced to us that he was openly gay and was glad that I was from San Diego because he was too. He lived in Hillcrest. He told us he would never convert but liked to have us over... So that was interesting, he even played a song on the guitar for us as we came into the house and left. But all that aside this man was very smart and if everyone in the world had an attitude like him the world would be in a much better and kinder place. We tracted for 2 hours in the freezing cold and found one person that might be interested in learning! 1 is better than none!!!!

On exchange we made a chili-dog pizza for our lunch hour! 

I like to have fun and keep it interesting okay!!!??

Friday- We went home teaching with a member of our ward named Brother Maschino! No one was home... So we went to our appointment with an investigator of ours named Sherry a little bit early. We taught about family history and the Book of Mormon. Sherry doesn't seem to be all there mentally... So we take it easy on the details, only problem is she loves the details but just cant keep them straight so that makes our lessons interesting. To finish the night we had a lesson with Ed. He is 19 and is going to college down in Bridgeton. His girlfriend is a member of our ward. So we taught him the restoration and he had tons of solid questions that I feel were sincere. We hope he continues to read the scriptures to at least gain faith in God, since he isn't sure about it.

These 2 people are the Maschino family they rock!!! Had breakfast for dinner!!! WOOHOOO

Saturday- We helped Rusty P**** fall a tree at his land in South Gardiner and haul it through 3 feet of snow (up to our belly buttons in some spots) and that was tough work! We loaded it into his truck and brought it to his home and split it. So much work to keep the house warm! It's crazy how much effort is put into heating a home during the freezing winters of Maine.
















We made a scripture case for one of the P***** kids, Cooper. He is turning 13 tomorrow. So we gave him his present the other day and he actually loved it!

Here is Rusty cutting down the ash tree! 

Sunday- I went up and bore my testimony this Sunday and it was such a great feeling to get up and just talk about God's love for each and every one of us. There were multiple members of other faiths in attendance and I know that my testimony rings true for them just as much as it does for me. Because God's Love is something anyone and everyone can feel. It's not singular and it has no restrictions. Everyone has the opportunity to feel it if they want. Keyword: If they want.


Well that's it for this week. This upcoming Saturday we will be heading down to Exeter, New Hampshire for a big mission wide conference that all the missionaries in our mission will be going to. Word on the street is we are learning about iPads, but there is no real info on that. Also transfer calls are this Saturday so stay posted for next Monday to see if I'm leaving Gardiner, Maine or not.

That's all this week folks!

All Smiles 

Elder Dahlberg