Elder Drew Dahlberg Missionary Blog: He's much better this week. Thanks for the letters!

Drew and I were able to email chat a bit today, so that was fun. We also received an actual letter from him telling me he was going to send me the SD card from his camera so I could download the pictures and then mail it back. He has another SD card to use while that one's in transit.

"On Tuesday, our devotional was joined by Elder Dallin H. Oaks (one of the 12 apostles). Pretty powerful stuff. I look forward to Wednesday when I get to teach the fresh meat missionaries. I know they will look up to me as Zone leader and I will be the coolest leader. I will be a leader of 12 missionaries. Big shoes to fill, but as you know, I have some big stinky feet, so it should be all good. Love you guys and I am having a great time here at the MTC :) I look forward to P-day on Friday.
P.S. I love seeing ELDER DAHLBERG on a black name tag when I look into a mirror. Best thing I can be doing at this exact second of time."

Here are excerpts from his emails from today.

"Okay Mom. so here is the big ol fat letter full of info. Ill start off with my dorm room and the elders in it.
Elder Jensen-I love that kid so much. He may be deaf and need a hearing aid to hear me but he really knows how to listen. We talk so much about everything. He isn't my companion but we hang out anytime we get the chance. We eat lunch together and work out together. Pretty much everything. He is from Roseville, California, he loves to wake board, hike and just hang out. Oh and he can give me a run for my money in terms of farting. If i had to compare him to someone it would be a mix of me and Timmy and Dj. (Except without the surfing and blonde hair)
Elder Chilton- He is my companion. We both play water polo and swim. He wrestles and likes to talk. He talks a lot, and he is VERY smart in the Gospel. He knows almost every scripture by heart. He also is great at teaching missionary lessons. He is from Oakland, California. If i had to compare him to someone i know it would be a mix between Logan Oldner and Jonny Sensenbaugh.
Elder Widerburg- He is elder Jensen's companion and he is in a family of 14 with 6 brothers and 7 sisters. he is 3rd. he is from Rexburg Idaho, and he really loves cars. He is a very strict rule follower and he gets uneasy when things don't come to plan. He is also VERY knowlegable about the gospel and its unbelievable how well he knows church history. If i had to compare him to someone i know it would probably be Devin. haha

My favorite experience(s) so far have been teaching investigators by the Spirit. Its a crazy feeling when the Spirit enters the lesson and you can just see it in the investigators eyes that he is feeling it. The brotherhood of our zone is so hard to describe. We all love each other and we all are here to serve Jesus Christ. Ill share something i wrote in my journal. "I cant at this moment think of anything stronger on Earth than humble servants of The Lord kneeling to our father in heaven in prayer. We may all be one as individuals but we are one in purpose."

The food here at the MTC is getting better. I think its getting better because my attitude is getting better. I am starting to eat more food than i previously had when i last emailed. Some examples of dinners ive had are. Chicken Cordon Bleu, Greek Salad with BBQ Chicken, Chicken sandwiches, Hot wings with caeser salad, french toast, yummy greek yogurt . Things like that. The days and meals here all mold together and its hard to remember what you even did 5 hours ago haha.

So about the girls here at the MTC. There are some occasional attractive ones that all the missionaries gauk over. here at the MTC when you see an attractive girl you tell your companion that you just saw a very "Wholesome Daughter of God." The rule when looking at girls is 'its a sin to look twice' I got around that rule by just plainly looking at the girl and just keep staring so that i never break eye contact. We had an Elder who left for home because he was homesick. He was from Colorado Springs. I am so glad when i was all depressed and unhappy during the first couple days that i didnt just give up. I am so proud that I stayed here. I have learned so much about the Gospel and about myself.

On Tuesday there was a special devotional, and Dalin H. Oaks came and spoke to us missionaries! (Im on main campus BTW). Pretty cool to see a General Authority. He spoke about our church and the 3 things that make our church different from all the other ones on earth. 1.) The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ 2.) Proper Priesthood Keys 3.) unique testimonies.

Oh wait. Here is some info you will want to know right now. I will depart for the airport from the MTC on Monday OCT 21 at 330AM. I will then board the plane leaving for Chicago at 7:55AM. From Chicago, which we will land at approximatly 12:01PM we will leave for Manchester NH at 1:06. and arrive there at 4:17.
Mom you i will call the house if its before 7Am your time and if its after 7AM your time i will call your cell. So please be expecting a call haha. :) tell everyone at home about it. IF i dont get to call than that will suck haha.

Okay another topic is recieving letters from you guys. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!! Heres what i wrote in my journal after getting my first letter from you guys. "I came home to residence and to my surprise i had 3 letters waiting for me. It made me happier than when the American forefathers gained independence from the British!. I loved it so much. that is the best way i could describe the feelings i got. thanks for the letters. eveytime you send one i look like this :)

My week has been full of ups and downs and the week has felt like a whole month, but i know that if i dedicate myself to the work, and work hard, time will fly by. I love you guys so much and i miss you, but i am having a great time here and i hope it stays that way. Thanks for the Support uncle Mike. I wasnt able to write a letter in reply but thanks for your letter and I will try my best to stay warm in NEW HAMPSHIRE!! Mom i got your letter with Devin's, Dad's and Tori's letters today. Dad- Thanks for the update on the scores, and i had NO idea that you wrote in cursive. When i first read it i was like what the heck is this? Is this english? Then i remembered that when writing in english you can use cursive haha. Tori- thanks for writing to me, I want to let you know that I actually miss talking to you and hanging out with you on sunday afternoons. I get choked up a little when i think of when you started crying when saying bye to me that day. I love you sis. Feel free to send me random selfies of yourself. Its cool to get pictures. Timmy- The picture of the whole group is awesome and I really really enjoyed seeing all them again. Andres is def. skinnier and he looks like he went through hell hahahahaha. Devin- Thanks for agreeing with me that the time here in the MTC feels like an eternity. I never expected that but thanks to you guys i got strength to continue.

Mom if you can when you post this to the blog let people know that they can send me an email at andrew.dahlberg@myldsmail.net, and that i may not have time to respond but i do have time to read them. So jokes, Funny Stories, pictures of you, stories in general, first impression of me, how much you love Drew. those kinds of emails are encouraged haha :)
Love you Mom. Thanks for being such a big supporter of me, this morning i woke up and looked outside at the moon and it was just like you said in the letter, I was watching over ya and i want you to know that. DEAR WORLD! I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and i am in love with my mom."

They were able to go to the Provo Temple and took pictures of their district. The sisters and the other two Elders are going to Orlando, FL

"The elder on the bottom is going to jacob loebers mission. He had to stay at the MTC for 4 weeks because he had a terrible case of athletes foot where he had huge pussy zit like things that shot out mustard ketchup and relish combined . Yum! Are you getting hungry?"

OK, folks, that's it for this week. We'll see where his first area is sometime next week. I'll keep you posted...

Extra pictures he sent in a later email...