Dallin Arrived In Argentina!! July 26, 2011

This is Dallin with his Mission President and his wife.  President and Sister Peterson.  They live in Neuquen, Argentina, but they are from Utah.  After Dallin arrived in Argentina I was waiting and hoping for a call from Sister Peterson it came on Thursday, and as much as I had been waiting for it, and watching over my phone to receive it, I missed her call.  I'm now glad that I did, because now I have her super great message to listen to over and over, and now the rest of the family can listen to it.  She said how much she enjoyed visiting with Elder Evans and how ready and excited he was for his mission.  Dallin has put his whole heart and his whole life into preparing for this mission and so I was so glad that she could see it right off.  He will be a perfect asset to this mission

Here we are, everyone had just talked to Dallin and now it was my turn, but dinner still had to made.

This is Dallin on the phone.

Lillian and Polly had figured out how to watch Dallin's airplane travel from Dallas to Buenos Aries.  This picture is off of Polly's I-Pod touch.  I was truly amazed.  Dallin called us from Dallas, TX where he had a short layover.  We got to talk for about 40 min.  I was so happy, and I held my tears for after word so that I could really talk.  We had been waiting all day on Monday July 25th hoping to receive this call, so everyone was around, and we were all able to talk for just a bit.

Here he is flying over the ocean, and this is about where we all went to bed.

When we woke up it showed that he had arrived.  His travel went something like this......He left the MTC in Provo, UT on Monday July 25, 2011 at 11:30 am.  He flew from the Salt Lake City, UT airport to Dallas, TX.  He arrived in Buenos Aries on Tuesday July 26th.  He traveled with several other missionaries, 3 from his mission.  They were picked up at the Buenos Aries airport and were driven around the city for awhile, so he got to site see a little bit.  He then was put on a nice bus and drove for 13 hours through the night to arrive at Neuquen, his mission, on July 27th.  He said that Pres. Peterson and the assistants greeted them at the bus and gave him a hug.  They took him to the mission home, fed him and sent him out tracting.  He did some training there, and worked out some paperwork for his visa and passport and then on the 28th of July they put him and his new trainer, companion on another bus and he drove for 10 hours to his district, Trelew, and to his first area, Puerto Maydr n.  He says that it is a coastal city and for his first P-day some of the other elders took them to look at the ocean and they saw a lot of whales.  He was amazed.  He also said that he challenged two people to baptism.  Also another set of missionaries invited Dallin and Elder Nelson over to their apartment for a "baby shower", where they ate tacos.   Dallin is considered the baby and Elder Nelson then is the dad, because he is Dallin's first trainer.

I took these whale photos from the internet, a site I found about Puerto Madryn.  Dallin said that he was watching the whales, so I thought it would be cool to show these, that were taken from the same area

Map of Argentina, I think Dallin's town is just above Rawson on the map.  He is in a ocean front town called Puerto Maydr n, and his trainer companion is Elder Nelson from Provo, Utah.

When I saw this cartoon, card at the bookstore I had to get it.  Three things that stood out in Dallin's first letter is that he was tired, cold and hungry.  They ate so  much in MTC and he said that he hadn't received his money allotment yet and his comp had given his food away to a needy member, so when he first got there he was hungry.  He was cold, because even though it is summer here in July, in Argentina it is winter, and they had a freak storm the first day he was there, and he said he nearly died.  Ugh. it's hard not being there and taking care of his every need.

Loved, loved this one for sure.  I know Dallin is truly being watched over.  He said that he has never been so grateful for a sleeping bag, to keep him warm, but he really doesn't know it too well, because as soon as he hits the pillow he is out cold.  They didn't give him any jet lag recovery.  They put him right to work, and he just has to adjust.  If anyone can handle this rutine it would be Dallin.  I am so grateful for his service.  There is no way I could let him do this without my own sure testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love the Lord so much that I want to share my son with him and with the good people of Argentina.