Perspective and Your "Finest Hour"

Dear Dad, (and Mom and Taylor and Cami - but mostly Dad)

Happy Father's day! I felt so terrible yesterday that I couldn't email home. Not fair that moms get a video call, and poor dad doesn't even get an email. I really don't know how yesterday could have gone any logistically worse. Email was down, power was down, the telecom store where we buy phone credit was closed and we happened to be out of credit of  course. Wow. So instead of emailing and games, President Anderson drafted us missionaries into a landscaping crew to clean the chapel for President Weir and Elder Hamula's arrival tomorrow. Ouch. Not a very fun p day, and I still haven't had a chance to do my laundry, but finally power is back on.

It was nice to read all the emails from this week, I really needed a boost. Terrible news: remember my arm infection? Well it left a nice ugly scar on my right forearm. And unfortunately I'm going to have a matching one on my left forearm. Exact same place, exact same symptoms and pain, just on my left arm this time around. It started Sunday afternoon, and it's swollen and red again already by now on Tuesday morning. I guess I did not properly learn what I needed to learn from last time, so here goes arm infection round two. Yikes. I'm back on the ciproflaxin for the next ten days. I'd probably say my attitude is worse than my arm, but I'm trying to be grateful like Elder Uchtdorf asked us to be in conference. Much easier said than done!

Other than that, I am doing alright. Coolest news on the island, there is now a restaurant open to the public! I've been there about 5 times since it opened last week. Its not even that great, but its so cool just because it exists. I ate French toast, and one piece only cost 6 dollars. I'm still convinced it was worth it.

Last week was an extremely busy work week. We had Elder Raffi from the Marshalls' Service Center here to look at our chapel. Its about to become a stake center (or whatever the equivalent is called for a district - district center?) on Wednesday, so some updates are really in order. He's really cool, and he has been spending a lot of time with us missionaries. We also had 30 lessons, another marriage (4 so far, one more on the way), and we had a baptism for 8 people! Lots of good accomplished in one week, and it was very fulfilling. All of our people bore great testimonies after the baptism, and I was very proud.

News for this week: tomorrow is my 6 month mark (!), I will finally meet my mission President, I will get to spend some time with Elder Hamula of the Seventy, our branch will be split into 3 branches, and a district presidency instated. On top of that, we will still have the usual lessons, we'll have baptismal interviews on Saturday and if we're lucky we might find time to sleep. Lots of busyness!

I recently restarted the Book of Mormon, and I've come to 2nd Nephi now. I just had the opportunity to read Lehi's advice about "opposition in all things." It has new meaning as a missionary. I think that when things are going the best they can also seem like they're going the worst. It's more a matter of perspective than fact, because it is a fact that when you're on the verge of doing something magnificent, something really important with real meaning and value, there's going to be some bumps along the way. How big those bumps are is proportional to how much potential good your actions have, and so times of greatness are often also times of strife. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "For the faithful, sometimes our finest hours are hidden in or just after what we perceive as our darkest hours." So in reality, when you think you're having the worst day ever, its because you've got an opportunity for a "finest hour." So take it as a heads-up and make the hard times worth it.

I'm grateful to be a missionary. I'm so glad I get to work hard every day for people who need my help. I know I'm involved in an amazing work and that "no unhallowed hand" can stop or even slow it down. I'm grateful for trials, and for the opportunity to find the finest hour hidden therein. I love my family, especially my dad and mom on this (day after) Father's day. I also love my girlfriend, my siblings, my friends back home, my companion Elder Raika, the people I'm privlieged to work with on Christmas Island, and my Heavenly Father. Thank you all so much for your support, your thoughts and your prayers. I'll hopefully get to contact you all again next week!

See you all in 18 months and 1 day :)

Love Dal

(Note from Mom: I'm grateful that the Mission President is coming tomorrow and they are supposed to have more antibiotics since the nurse came last time.  I can only pray that they are in tune with the needs of all the missionaries on the island.  I just never imagined that Dallin would have to deal with being sick all the time.  I guess challenges are never the ones we expect... or would choose.  I'm so proud of his attitude and have faith that he is learning and growing in the ways he needs.)