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| Dylan was excited to see his HEFY - Thailand Group Leader who teaches at the MTC. |
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| Dylan and his companion enjoyed one last trip to the Provo Temple before leaving for Alabama next week. |
August 31, 2019
Last few days in Provo
August 29, 2019
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
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
August 25, 2019
August 22, 2019
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
August 19, 2019
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!
August 16, 2019
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!
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!
August 15, 2019
MTC Day #1
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
August 14, 2019
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.
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.
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