Week 4

Dear Everybody,

hello everybody!! i hope you all had and awesome 24th of July week!! I advise you check out lds.org! my mom, dad and i may or may not be on it!!

Tuesday: after i email on Tuesdays we always have the privilege of going to main campus to listen to a devotional!! i cant remember who spoke but it was so so good!! they gave us this list about missionary work!!

Missionary work!

1. Faith is the power

2. Obedience is the price

3. Love is the motive

4. The spirit is the key

5. Christ is the reason

6. Joy is the reward

It was so so cool to hear!!

Wednesday: we got 10 new elders this day!! they are all fluent so they will leave the week before me! they are very loud but they are so excited to help us with our Spanish!!

Thursday: so today we had an awesome lesson with angel!!! The spirit was so so strong!! he said that he would be baptized!! and that he would go to church!! it was the perfect last lesson!!

Friday:tonight as a district we read the first 15 verses of ether chapter 12 (so amazing!! read it) We had such a long discussion about it!! It was so cool!! Read ether 12:12 and Alma 32:34! they are so so good!!

Saturday: Today was honestly 100% completely normal!! there is nothing to write about except how normal it was!!

Sunday:Today it was the zone leaders turn to teach priesthood meeting!! so elder smith and i got too!! We taught about the atonement!! Watch brad wilcox "his grace is sufficient!" and a Mormon message by president eyring "Mountains to climb" they are both so good!! we had a devotional tonight and it was good! but after the devo is what was really good!! we watched elder bednar's christmas devotional a couple years ago!! it was called character of Christ!! LIFE CHANGING!! 

Monday: Funny story!! so at lunch today one of the other elders was talking to elder Morrill and i as we were taking our trays to the dish return!! He was telling us about when he spilled his drink all over himself once! he then proceed to say "want to know what is even more worst?" right as he said that he ran into the way that divides the cafeteria and the dish return!! He stumbled backward into me and then fell flat on his back spilling his whole tray all over him self!! my tray also fell on him because he backed up into me!! there was food and drink all over him!! i kind of just starred at him because i didn't know what to do... it made such a loud noise that the whole room went quite! he then busted out in laughter!! and then almost in exact unison the whole room of like 100 people busted up as well!! It was so funny!! 

Well i dont have much time here left! 2 weeks!! I should get my travel plans on Friday!! so excited!! have an awesome week!! 

Love, Elder Dalton Groen!

Provo, Utah Temple

Provo, Utah Temple

Happy 24th!!

Well well well!! 

This has been a pretty good week!! Time is really starting to fly by here!! i'm already half way done!! so crazy how fast it goes!! 

Wednesday: Today we got a bunch of new people in our apartments... 4 other elders... How are we ever supposed to get 6 elders through one shower in the morning? We also got 16 new missionaries in our zone!! So we got to leave class early and we got to meet them all!! they are pretty cool i guess!!

Thursday: This day was pretty dull... there was one highlight tho!! elder smith and i taught our best lesson yet!! we were so excited!! we just decided to let the spirit take the lesson where it wanted and it was so good!! we talked about some of the things that Angel was worried about and it was so cool to see how doing the right things can really bless our lives!!

Friday: this day absolutely flew by!! it was another straight learning day!! which are good!! its just kind of hard to write a lot about them...

Saturday: pretty solid day!! to start the day off we learned por y para which is so hard and confusing but i think that i am starting to catch onto the trick! we had another awesome lesson with angel! we got him to promise to read el libro de mormon!! So during gym time i was playing volleyball and accidentally (It really was an accident) dove to try and save a ball... when you dive you have to sit for 5 minutes... so i went and sat down... i waited my 5 minutes. and i went to play with elder perkins because he was leaving in the morning... the dude i charge came over and ask what i was doing... i said im playing volleyball. and he said i didn't say your time was up, your done for the day... are your kidding me... i was so so mad!!

Sunday: In our Sunday night devotional we got to hear from t.c Christensen!! it was so so good!! he told us we always need to be ready for when god calls us to do something! after that we went back to our apartment and the other elders branch 2nd counselor was there so we listened to him talk for a little while. turns out he is president monsons nephew!! and that is the last thing i would have guessed... he was wearing a bow tie! hipster glasses skinny jeans and vans! what?? (picture!) and i'm not so sure that all of the stuff that he told us was true... he told us that kneeling to pray is just a worldly thing and not that we shouldn't do it but that it wasn't something we need to do... yea... needless to say he was a crazy man!

Monday: well this night was probably the highlight of the mtc so far! i love it! we had a lesson for our teacher brother Adlish (angel) teaching us about trials! you should all read "Broken things to mend" by elder holland!! i think it was in a 2006 conference talk but im not sure! it is so so good!!

Thank you all for the love and support!! I love you all!! Happy 24th of July to you all!! have the best week!!

Love, Elder Groen!

Dalton and his cousin, Lincoln Last (headed to WA mission) connect @ Provo

Elder Smith & Elder Groen (1st companions)

President Monson's nephew

That was fast!!!

So this week went by so incredibly fast!! it was Sunday and then all of a sudden it was Sunday again!! It was so crazy! i guess everybody was right when they said the days go by slow but the weeks go by so so fast!! 

So on Wednesday we had a pretty normal day. we taught angle in la noche (night) and we issued the baptismal challenge! he said he wouldn't commit to a time... when elder smith and i were walking back to class from lunch we saw elder tulis just arriving!! so that was cool! i didn't think he was coming to Provo!!

Thursday!! we had to wake up at 6:00 to go do our weekly service which consisted of washing toilets and sweeping so yea! that was good! we taught angel today again but he again wouldn't commit to a time... our lessons aren't going as good as we would hope so we need to figure something out!! so today elder higbee (elder in our zone) was told that he has to go home for medical reasons... it was so sad but he has a good attitude about it!

Friday! Wow! so we were just minding our own bussiness! you know just doing our regular thing when we walked into class! and low and behold angel or should i say brother adlish is standing at the front of our class!! what?? well played mtc well played! he is my favorite teacher!! he knows how we all teach so he can give us all the best advice!!

Saturday! so today was totally normal! nothing special happened! no anything!! just class and studying! Pretty boring!! elder smith and i started to prank each other! i got him with a a bowl of water on the top of his door! so when he opened it the bowl fell on him and he got way wet! haha but then when i was in the shower he dumped a bowl of freezing cold water on me!! NOT COOL MAN!! haha!! 

Sunday! to start off elder smith and i were called to be zone leaders!! the old ones are leaving so elder smith and i are taking over!! every Sunday and Tuesday night we get to go to a devotional up at main campus!! we went up and i got to see elder last!! i was so happy!! not for very long tho so i hope i get to again tonight!! he is also a zone leader!!

Monday! completely normal day! that's it!! 

Tuesday! so today we got to go to the temple early in the morning and it was way cool! i think i like the bountiful temple better tho!!

Well thank you all for tuning into another week with Elder Dalton J Groen!! thanks for all of the love and support!! i love to get letters and Emails!!

Elder Groen!!

July 8

To Everyone!! 

So!! if i had to make an analogy for the MTC it would be throwing a toddle who doesnt know how to swim in the middle of the deep end of a swimming pool!! So my first day was so amazing!! we got here and did some orentation thing and that was pretty good!! Then i met elder smith!! he's pretty cool i guess!! he is from idaho falls! he is just graduated! he absoulty loves cars! as we walk to classes and stuff he says do you know what kind of car that is? over and over again!! 

so to start off i will tell about our apartment!! we are so incredibly blessed!!! we are at west campus and for those of you that don't know what that is, it is where the put all of the Spanish speaking missionaries! its kind of like a complete immersion type of a thing!!! its just in two sets of apartment complexes! the first one is where every stays at night! most of everybody's apartments are 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and 1 kitchen! but since elder smith got a corner one we got three bedrooms and a way bigger bathroom! (oh and the toilet is amazing! it can literally flush down anything you put in it!!) there is just the two of us in the in the apartment and it will stay that way!! so needless to say we have a lot of room!! it is so nice!! 

In the other apartment complex is where we spend 10 hours of our day in class!! so long we also eat in this large building and we play sports and have our gym time in these huge blow up like building!! its crazy!! i think we have it  better then the main campus elder and sister do!! on p-days we get to go to Brighamslanding which is this little strip mall that has a burger place and jamba juice and sub zero!! its awesome!! 

2nd day! the days are so so long!! i didn't sleep very well because elder smith turned the temperature down to 50 degrees!! what a nut!! we had a get to know you devotional that was pretty good and then we went full board Spanish! crazy!! we had a branch meeting and i was named senior companion!

3rd day! i slept awesome!! The days go by so slow here but the weeks fly by!! or so every body says!! and so far it seems right!! so today we taught our first lesson in Spanish! yea!! in Spanish!! it was alot rough!! haha but that's ok! his name was angel! wow i cant believe that i am doing this!! crazy!! Today was the 4th of july!! we got to go to a devotional while carry under wood was singing at the stadium of fire so that we didn't hear it i think!! there were some fun musical numbers and a speaker! after he was done we got to watch the popular Hollywood film 17 miracles!! that was such a good show! i loved it 100% maybe because it was an awesome break but never the less i loved it!! After the movie we go to go out side and watch the fire works until like 10:45! they were so cool!!

4th day! today was totally normal!! lots and lots of study time!! Funny story!! Elder rawson was praying before we went to dinner and he was trying to say por favor, bendice nuestros somos mejor missionarios which means please bless us to be better missionaries but he accidentally said por favor, bendice nuestros somos mujer misionaros which is please bless us to be women missionaries!! haha it was so so funny!! he is a good guy!!

5th day! so today was so incredibly interesting!! it did not feel like a sunday at all... so first off our chapel that we go to church in is the apartments old pool house! its so cool! so our chapel has a pool! i bore my testimony in spanish!! so so cool!! in the night we went to main campus and we got to listen to a famous piano player that is lds (cant remember his name) play the piano and talk to us! the we got to watch the movie called legacy! it was pretty awesome!!

6th day! this day was completely normal so i will explain a normal day for you!! we  wake up at 6:30 (not easy) and elder smith showers then i shower! then we go to breakfast!! the we go to class for 4 hours and learn Gospel stuff for 2 hours and language stuff for 2 hours and once that is finished we go to lunch and then to the gym for an hour which is so fun!! then we go shower!! and then we go back to class for 3 hours more gosple and language study! then to dinner and then back to class for 3 more hours and that last one is spent 1 hour is for personal study 1 hour for companionship study and 1 hour for language study! and after that we go back to our apartment and i write in my journal and get ready for bed!! so yes our days are very long!! but they are good when we have an investigator to teach we spend one of the periods teaching! and today we taught angel again!! it went a little better!! its hard because i know what i want to say but i cant because he doesnt speak english! but we got him to commit to reading the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses! so cool! 

well im running low on time!! so i love you all you are so amazing!! thank you for all the love and support!! your prayers really do help!! thank you!! By the way im praying and bearing my testimony in spanish already!! our class is doing so good the moved us to the intermediate course! my one year of spanish in school helped so so much and im convinced that it was not a coincidence that i took a year of spanish for no reason! if i didnt answer some of your questions please feel free to ask them again there was alot! love you all!!

yo sé que jesucristo es mi salvador y redentor. yo sé que dios es mi padre celistial! en el nombre de jesucristo amen!

Love, Elder Groen

Day 1

Well Hello Family!!! I am here and I am safe! It has been great here so far. the food is really good and my companion and I have a three room apartment to our selfs! It is awesome! oh and by the way my companions name is elder smith! ill write more to you guys on Tuesday because I'm not supposed to be on here for very long! They have us in over our heads in Spanish! Elder smith and i are already praying, bearing our testimonies and even teaching in Spanish!! Crazy!! The gift of tongues is completely real!! 

Love, Elder Groen

P.S  would you tell every one on  the email list that it would be so nice if they would use dear elder.com so that i can read letters through the week. because that is kind of like a boost to me! it will also give me more time to respond to individuals in my one hour of time! Thank you! love you!