Elder Dawson Update

We have received many letters from Elder Dawson since he arrived in Spain. Traditionally the new elders spend 6 weeks in the Spain MTC (Missionary Training Center), but because he already spoke the language so well he was assigned a companion and let loose on the city after just a few weeks. He had his first baptism last weekend and another baptism set for this weekend.

It's great to read his stories about meeting people in the city and following the promptings to teach them the gospel...then going after them and teaching them some more. He wrote about a man that he and his companion felt prompted to talk to on a train. They gave him a Book of Mormon then they all got off at the same stop. LD wrote: "Just as we hit the escalator to go up and switch trains I was prompted to go after the man. I grabbed my companion and started running after him. As we came closer I could see he was reading the Book of Mormon and walking. We caught up to him, but he did not want to talk to us. I asked for five minutes so he said yes. We taught him for about 15 minutes and he cried the whole time. We learned he was looking for forgiveness so I asked if we could send the missionaries and he said yes. I explained they could help him then I bore testimony that God loves us and through the sacrifice of Christ we can be clean and forgiven. I told him God wanted to forgive him but it would not be easy and he would need faith. (This is the way cool part.) The man immediately told us he had been praying for forgiveness for quite some time. He told us today he felt like he should walk, didn't know why. After walking over three miles he got on the metro one stop before ours, didn't know why, then we talked to him and he knew why he had done all of what he did."

He also wrote: "It is amazing how in a matter of weeks the gospel has changed these peoples lives. There is now a feeling about them and a light in there eyes that was not there before. The gospel could not do that if it was not true. I am grateful for the atonement and that we are, as Moroni taught us, perfect through the grace of Christ." We are so proud of him!