Week 7, I think

9/30/2019

Hey there friends! 

Sorry I've been bad about writing emails that past two weeks. I guess that means I have to write this week. 😊

So lots of things have happened the past few weeks! A few examples are a mission conference with Elder Montoya, talking with a crazy person and getting to use sign language!

So I'll start with the spiritual side of things. Last week we had a mission conference that replaced our zone conference. Our guest speaker was Elder Hugo Montoya of the Seventy! He really challenged us to work with members more often because it is one of the most effective ways of teaching people. It was really cool to meet a lot of the other Elders and Sisters in the mission!

Next story! We were riding our bikes to an appointment when a man yelled at us "Hey! I wanna talk to y'all mormons" so we went over because it was a teaching opportunity! Well anyways we pray with him and then after we say amen, he starts telling us how he is a Charles Manson worshipper (cult leader) and loves the devil. Then he started showing us verses in the Bible that reference the devil and started getting mad that we didn't know everything about the bible. It was super wack! Then he demanded our leaders number so that he could report us for not knowing our stuff well enough. We wouldn't give it to him so he threatened to call the cops 😂 we just rode off because we did nothing wrong. But then he yelled and told us to watch our backs. Super weird situation all together!!

Now I saved the best for last. I think it's the best story! So we started a bible study last week and it was a flop. No one showed up so we decided to go out and invite local people that live by the church to come to it the next week! We were knocking on some apartments and invited some people and then we stopped to talk to a man and woman in a car. I noticed the woman was awfully quiet and I felt prompted to go over to the other side and sign to her. Her name is Maryann and she is actually deaf! I was able to invite her to our bible study and she said she will come! It was awesome. About an hour later she ran back up to us with a Book of Mormon that was very used and marked! She told me that she wanted to learn more. I was able to sign to her with signs that I've never used in my life! It was an amazing experience! I don't know what to call it because it's not the gift of tongues so I guess it's the gift of hands! 👐😂

Anyways I just want to invite y'all to watch general conference this weekend and go into it prayerfully with a question and you will receive an answer!

'Til next week folks!

-Elder Swallow

Goats, Puppies and Missionary Work

9/16/2019

No letter from Dylan this week but he did upload some photos to his Google album so I thought I would share a few of those. Oh and he has a Facebook page now to share the gospel so go "friend" him - https://www.facebook.com/benjamin.swallow.14 .

Sweet Home Alabama ft. The Bedbugs

9/9/2019

Okay so I'll start off by saying that I made it to Alabama!!

 I'm serving in a place called Talladega! There is a huge NASCAR track here! Anyway storytime!

I was supposed to leave the MTC on Tuesday morning but plans changed early on Monday. Everyone in our room had packed everything up and we were all ready to go but then an Elder in our room found a... bedbug! Ewwww! It was so gross and then as we searched we found many more. We went and told the front information desk and then had us sit and wait until further info. We waited for 45 minutes and then one of the MTC district leaders came out and told us that our flights plans were going to be canceled until further notice. Ohhh..., we were all so upset and sad because we were so excited to get to the mission field. The rest of the group not in our room and district headed to Alabama but we were quarantined until they could get us cleared to travel.  The front desk proceeded to tell us that they would have call in a pest control company and they would create an “oven” to put all of our stuff into so that any potential bugs would be killed.

Then they said that we would have to sleep in the same room that night until they could get us a new one the next morning. It was so gross but I was just grateful because my bed was one of the only ones without bugs! 

The tender mercy in all of it was that I was able to be there on Wednesday, the day that my close friend Garrett arrived in the MTC. If I’d left as scheduled on Tuesday I wouldn’t have been able to see him. 

 

After all this happened we finally got flight plans and found out we would finally be leaving Thursday morning! I was so excited!!
I left the MTC at 4:30am and left for the airport! The flights all went great and I made it to Birmingham where I was met by the mission president and his wife!! They are both so amazing! 

And finally I got to meet my companion! His name is Elder Daines and he is awesome!! I'm going to learn so much from him! 

I've started to meet everyone here in the Talladega branch and they are all so sweet and kind! Everyone here wants to feed the missionaries so we don't have to cook much. I got my bike but we also have a car since my companion is the district leader. 

I don't have much time to write but we are teaching several people who are really receptive to the gospel and it is great to see the happiness that it is beginning to bring into their lives.

I already love my awesome mission president and his awesome wife, President and Sister Allred!

My trainer, Elder Daines is dope!

Anyway I'll talk to y'all next week!

-Elder Swallow

Last few days in Provo

Dylan was excited to see his HEFY - Thailand Group Leader who teaches at the MTC. 

Dylan and his companion enjoyed one last trip to the Provo Temple before leaving for Alabama next week. 

Week 2 ... so fast, but oh so slow!

Hey everyone, it's me again!:) 

It's crazy how time flies! I've been in the MTC for two weeks already and now I only have five days left before I get to go to ALABAMA!!! I will be there by Tuesday afternoon! I'm so excited to get there and start doing the Lord’s work!

Anyway, this week has been the slowest and the fastest week ever! I don't even know how that's possible but it is. 

We taught a few lessons to "investigators" and a few of them went really well and a few didn't go as planned initially but ended up ok! 
Nothing else really happened this week except for a devotional by the Presiding Bishop Gerald Caussè. It was a really great devotional that gave great insight into repentance. The biggest takeaway for me is that during the 2 years or 18 months that we are on missions we need to be a tool in God's hands because this time is not our time but rather the Lord’s time. 

That's basically all that happened this week ... oh, and attending A LOT of classes! 

Also, a scripture that stuck out to me this week that I want to share is found in the Book of Mormon -  Ether 12:27. I encourage everyone to read it!!

Until next week from my new home for two years ... Sweet Home Alabama!

Email me if you want to! dylan.swallow@missionary.org

-Elder Swallow

Provo Temple & MTC friends

First MTC Letter: “Hey Ya’ll! I’m still alive!”

Hey y'all I'm still alive! 

Bear with me while I learn how I'm going to write my emails. This one may be a quite long so fair warning. 

So I got to the MTC on Wednesday and it was a really exciting and bitter sweet experience. I was really nervous but as soon as I got on the MTC campus, I was immediately calmed. Then I went and met my companion and district!My companions name is Elder Johnson and he is from Oregon. There is so much that I have already learned from him! When the district got together and met we all introduced ourselves and where we are going. The Elders in my district are serving in Alabama, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Ohio, Florida and Washington D.C. They are all so awesome and have so much to offer the people they will be teaching. The best part of the first day was when all the new missionaries got together and sang Called to Serve; I felt the Spirit so incredibly strong during that song. Thursday was really long and a lot of information to take in but it was really awesome! That night we met our branch president and got called into positions of service. My companion and I were called to be the sacrament coordinators. It is a good experience to fulfill this call. On Friday is when I really started learning. We learned that making a connection and building a relationship with your investigator is a key element in conversion. I really am excited for this in the field because I feel like I am a people person and can engage well with anyone!

Elder Johnson and I had the chance to use the church's new program where you teach an investigator who may or may not be a member of the church. We met a man named Caleb who is very nice! We got to know him quite a bit and then set up an appointment for another day. We decided after talking to him that the Plan of Salvation would be the best thing to teach him because of how important families are to him. That's basically all for Friday. On Saturday we had some workshops and learned how to better teach investigators. I learned that you need to learn to love and relate to the people that you are teaching and make sure they know that! I learned a lot today but I'll put all my biggest takeaways at the end. Someone told me that your first Sunday in the MTC is the LONGEST DAY EVER and let me tell you that it is true. There is no time to waste. We go from sacrament straight to more classes where we get to learn more about this wonderful gospel! Every day that I'm here I learn something new and come to love the gospel more and more! I also joined the choir on Sunday! I was a little reluctant at first but I am so grateful that I did. It is such a joyful experience! We had a devotional that night and the speaker was Brother Tad R. Callister. He taught so many great truths and then shared historical evidences that disprove the theories of unbelievers who try to discredit the Book of Mormon. By the end of Sunday night I was so mentally and physically exhausted but I was nearly overfilled spiritually! On Monday my comp and I had our next meeting with Caleb. It went really well and we invited him to read the intro to the Book of Mormon, read the plan of salvation pamphlet and to come prepared with any questions that he had for us the next meeting. On Tuesday there was a devotional and I was able to sing in it with the choir. While we were practicing for it, they announced to us who the guest speaker would be and also told us that it would be broadcast to all the other MTC's in the world! They said that it would be... Elder David A. Bednar!! Everyone was so excited! We sang the special musical number and it was amazing. Music is definitely one of the best ways to bring the Spirit to a meeting. Also it was awesome because the camera panned over me while singing. Elder Bednars message was so great! His main message was to always follow promptings. He said that if you are questioning if the thought/prompting is from the Holy Ghost or just your own mind then if it is good, DO IT, because it is most likely from the Holy Ghost. It was so amazing to hear the testimony he bore!

Yesterday was a little rough in the beginning, we had our follow up appointment with Caleb and it did not go very well. He wouldn't really answer any of our questions and so we didn't have much of an idea on what to go off. He did do the invitations that we extended to him though. The day ended well with practicing teaching lessons with our companion. It is really helpful because now I am getting more and more comfortable teaching!

Ok so here are a few side notes:

•There are 6 Elders in our room and 3/6 snore so it is really hard to sleep at night. 

•The food is good but the lines are really long because they are trying to feed 2000 people at once. 

•My favorite scripture that I read this week was D&C 130:20-21. It talks about the importance of obedience and I invite all of you to read it!

Thanks for reading all of this!! I promise my emails will get better! 

-Elder Dylan Swallow

A Weekend Surprise

Our bishop's daughter teaches Russian at the MTC and saw Dylan! Dylan said he really likes his companion, Elder Johnson. I am sure we will hear more about him on Thursday.

Mauri was so sweet to think to send me not only a picture of Dylan with his companion but a video message, too!  And, yes I might have replayed it a dozen times or more the last couple days!

First pics from the MTC!

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Missing Dylan (by Kim)

From Dylan’s mom (Kim):

It will probably be several more days until we get to hear from Dylan and while we wait I thought I’d share how we are doing.

All of us in his family have commented that it is weird without Dylan here.

When the door opens, we expect it to be Dylan whistling as he walks in from parking his car on the street. That kid is always whistling! 😆 I wonder if it is one of the keys to his happy disposition!?!

Madi said she got home from soccer and thought “I bet Dylan’s downstairs” but he wasn’t.

Aly said, “it’s not the same without Dylan and all his friends here.”

Kate said, “it is so lonely and quiet in the basement without Dylan.”

Ben said, “I heard someone around the corner and immediate assumed it was Dylan, but then I had to remind myself, no it isn’t him.”

As for me, a dozen times a day I go to text him on my phone and ask what’s he up to for the day like we always do but then I realize I can’t text him or use Find My Friends to see where he is.

And then there is Max ... poor Max. For seven years, Max has slept with Dylan in his room. Some of you may know that Dylan struggled with anxiety as a young boy. We got Max as a companion for Dylan to help. And it definitely helped. Look at him now!  Off on a mission! Who could have thought?

Now poor Max has to figure out a “new normal” without his boy. We all smother Max with love so he will be fine but if Max had his way, he would have crawled into Dylan’s suitcase and gone with him.

Me too, Max. Me, too!

MTC Day #1

Hey Everyone!!! 

I made it! 

We just got done eating dinner and so I have a second to write! 

My p-day is going to be on Thursday so that's when I will be able to write you all and hopeful do Google hangout but it won't start until next week. (*Note: You can write Dylan as often as you'd like - within reason - he can read them each day).

I already am starting to enjoy the MTC!! 

I met my companion and he is way cool! We haven't met the rest of the people in our room but I'm excited to! 

I'll email you guys next time they let me!! 

Love you guys!!!

Elder Swallow

Today was the day! (by Kim)

From Dylan’s mom (Kim):

The day has come! Today was the day we have been waiting for. AUGUST 14th!

After months for planning, today finally was the day that Dylan entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo.

Today was bittersweet.

Dylan was excited for this day to come but nervous too.

He was so sure he wouldn't cry, but he was wrong.

He didn't anticipated how difficult it was going to be to say goodbye to friends and family and even his beloved golden retriever, Max. We all cried and hugged a lot but in the end we had to say our goodbyes and let him go.

Now it is time to “pay it forward” and share him with others.

After a short few weeks in the MTC, he will depart Utah for Birmingham to begin his two year mission sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the great state of Alabama!

For those who don't know, as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dylan will devote ALL of his time to serving, teaching, loving and learning from the people in the Alabama Birmingham Mission. Dylan will share his testimony of Jesus Christ and the restored Gospel and invite others to come unto Christ.

Dylan is leaving his family, friends, phone, golden retriever, job, car, and all the comforts of home to pay his own way for two years as he serves a mission. Needless to say, much sacrifice goes into serving a mission and I couldn't be more proud of Dylan’s decision to go and serve.

Our family is so grateful to have the knowledge that we have of the promises found through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We couldn't have endured the last year of losing my parents without the comfort of the Holy Ghost and promise that Families Can Be Together Forever. We will miss Dylan so much but we are proud of Dylan for sharing the gospel message with others.

As Dylan says, it is just a quick two years.

Hi ya'll! I leave for my mission to the Alabama Birmingham mission in just a few days for a quick 2 years! If you want to be on my email list drop me your email in the comments. If you want to talk to me you can email me at dylan.swallow@missionary.org. See you all in TWO!