Monday, June 17th, 2019

 Hello All

Transfers happened this week! I stayed in Germantown in northern Maryland! This will be my 4th transfer here so I will be here for 6 months! Elder Newbold moved on to the city, which was sad because I loved being his companion a

nd it's difficult to move his super large bed. For you that don't know, he is 6 10" so he has a special bed that is long for him. My new companion is Elder Myer. I'm glad I'm staying for one more transfer. I like this ward! They play soccer with us on P-day! I'm getting a lot better, so if anyone wants to play after my mission, let me know. 

This is also a very pretty area as you will be able to see by the pictures. There is an old wheat mill next to the river, and the mill was powered by the river via water wheel and running water. Pretty cool! My new companion and I are planning on going fishing soon! Does anyone know if you need a fishing license in Maryland? 

Elder Myer is a missionary assigned to speak Spanish, so it is really nice to have him so he can talk to everyone that says they can't speak English.  It's usually just a method of trying to get rid of us. It's interesting, sometimes they will use that excuse after we have already talked to them for a while. 

I introduced my new companion to the Amish market this week. He is as intrigued as I am in their lifestyle and Amish ways. I'm just flabbergasted by what they do. I can write this comfortably knowing that no Amish person will read this. 

On Sunday we went to the Ordination of a new member to the Melchizedek priesthood. The story of this man and his family joining the church is a beautiful miracle! It all started with a simple member of the church talking to his Uber driver about how the church has blessed his family, and it ended up leading to his family to joining the church, and all of his kid's families joining as well. I hope we can all learn from this, that we need to open our mouths and share the gospel in normal and natural ways, and it will change people's lives. 

Our elevator is totally broken in our apartment. This means stairs. I don't mind the stairs though. The bad part is that our building lets us leave our trash out in the hall, and they come to pick it up in a huge rolling bin that needs the elevator to get up the different floors.  Everyone is too lazy to take out their garbage, it literally smells as if a family of opossums is living in the hall. 🤢

Last night was "Why I Believe," and President and Sister Johnson spoke because it will be there last time going. They leave on the 28th. The whole mission decided to surprised President Johnson and sang to him at the "Why l Believe" event. It was very nice. I will miss President Johnson more than I have missed most anything back at home. President Johnson and Sister Johnson have taught me more than I thought I could learn. They are 2 of my Heroes. 

That is my update! 

Love you all! 

Elder Dallin Spurgeon 

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

Hello all! 

I'm not sure If I've said this in a previous email, but I love the Amish! They Intrigue me. I would love to sit down and interview them and find out as much as I can about them! Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I will get that opportunity, so going to their local market and buying their food will have to do. It is so scrumptious! We go there every week, and I always get a pretzel log that is full of pork and cheese and yumminess! You get to wait in line and watch them work, and they look legit with their aprons, bonnets, and beards. I know the Amish live in Pennsylvania, and they travel around to sell their goods. So interesting.

There is a lady we are teaching that we wanted to do something special for, so we decided to write a whole bunch of Bible scriptures and on sticky notes and make it into a heart shape on her door. It was very fun to do, but very stressful because we had to be very quiet so she wouldn't hear us, and it took a long while to get all the sticky notes placed right. I was just praying the whole time she wasn't going to open her door to go on a walk or go get the mail because that would have been awkward. She didn't know we were there, so mission accomplished! 

It hailed this week, which was really fun. We were inside for dinner while it hailed and we didn't know it until we walked outside and was like, "What is all this Sonic ice doing in people's front yards?" it took us a while to come to the conclusion that it was hail. It was decently sized as well. 

There is a set of 9-year-old triplets that we are preparing for Baptism, and they are awesome! We gave them a Book of Mormon with pictures and explanations of the stories, and they love it. They were so excited to tell us about the story of the Iron Rod, and the floating building. 

It has been a great week! 

Love you all!!!

Elder Dallin Spurgeon