Homecoming

Elder Dylan Paolacci will complete his missionary service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Tuesday, July 24, 2012.

His homecoming will be Sunday, July 29, 2012 at 11:00 am

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Paradise Valley Stake Center 3601 East Shea Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85028 Everyone is invited to attend

Monday, April 30, 2012

4.30.12


my dearest family,
awesome week! Probably my last time going to Lima until I end. Crazy. This week was super sentimental haha. I am trying so hard not to but I keep thinking of how much im gonna hate leaving Peru. But the good thing is that it also makes me wanna work even harder.
This Sunday was amazing!! We had 4 people in sacrament meeting. Two young guys named Kevin and Anthony, they are gonna have their baptism this Sunday. Also two guys around 25 years old. Ones name is Ricardo, he is moving to Lima on the 10th but wants to get baptized with us here before he leaves so we are gonna baptize him the ninth. He's awesome. And guess where he's gonna live in Lima ? VITARTE! I am so excited for him. The ward is gonna love him. And guess who was the other guy that came! Jonathan! Your prayers are working, thank you so much. He's so awesome. He's trying so hard to change and he wants to get baptized the 19th still. Keep praying for him and the two other investigators we have named Rosa and Rosillo. They are two ladies around 25 years old also and are amazing people. I know they will receive a testimony as we continue to teach them and they said when they do they will get baptized. For real this area is amazing, the work Is so awesome and I feel like there are so many people that have been waiting for me and my companion to find them.
Well as you might know by now, there's bad news here in Mantaro. Biliter got changed :(. He's super sad, I am too - but I told him its for the best Even tho I am pretty bummed. There's a good chance that Norris could come as a zone leader but we will just have to see. As far as to what you could send in packages…ha-ha beef jerky is awesome, I love pics like always. Nothing much, just as many snacks as you can shove in there. Licorice would be sick. Well that’s all I got for this week.
I love you guys sooo much but I don’t wanna see you for another 3 months. Tell Logan he needs to be careful. His arm needs to be in tip top shape for when I get home. Tell Coleton I just cant wait to destroy him. Tell Karleigh to keep strong. I know all this work is probably hard but she will be glad she did it afterwards. hang in there kar !
Love you all so much!
Elder Paolacci


Monday, April 23, 2012

4.23.12


Greaaaatttt week! Jauja is so awesome! Me and my comp are having so much success. I am so glad I have been sent to this area. It’s a really different experience not being a zl anymore. Its actually been really weird for me. But the truth is I now have time to study and work. And we are seeing so many miracles. We have about 10 people preparing themselves for baptism in the month of May. I feel like every person I meet here has been prepared especially for me. It is sooo cool. We are also helping the ward out a lot. The missionaries before lost their trust and when we got here they were super cold and barely talked to us. But things have completely changed. 7 of our 8 new investigators this week were references. I am loving it here and I am super excited to finish my mission here and finish baptizing.
Oh so I opened the package!!!! I loved it. Especially the usb and the memory card! That was definitely inspired!
Oh something that I forgot to tell you last week! There's a new north American that entered this change named Elder Chase from Scottsdale North Stake. And we started talking and he didn’t know any of my friends, so I asked him if he knew Don Bluth, and he was like ya I did plays at his house…..hahahah. so I asked him if he knew Coleton. And he said the funniest thing ever. He was like hmmmm is he the kid that everyone called cole train? Oh my goodness, I straight almost died from laughing so hard. So you gotta ask cole train if he remembers him.
Funny huh
Oh ya today I am going to Lima ….again…. 3 times in one month. Just happens that there's a district leader consejo this week. First time in over a year I have been to one. What luck huh
So ya I have a favor. I would like for you guys to pray for one of my investigators. His name is Jonathan. He's about 25 and he has so many desires to change his life. Our lesson with him was soooo powerful and he accepted to prepare for baptism the 19 of may. But his friend that’s a member told us that his friends talked him into getting drunk on Saturday. He called her Sunday morning crying. It is gonna be a hard change for him but we know he can do it. Gracias!
Love you guys sooo much. I loved seeing the pics of you guys and Maggie! Hope you have a great week!
Elder Paolacci
PS - pics from right now. my first release letter :)  


Monday, April 16, 2012

Pictures

You can click on the photos to make them larger
Last P-Day with Elder Van Wagoner
Elder Paolacci traveled to Lima and spent the day Monday with Elder Edwards and the other missionaries who where preparing to go home. I know many of his friends live in South America so I am sure over the course of his life he will make many trips back there. 
If he is anything like his mom, goodbyes are so hard - and he would rather look at as "until we meet again" 
Lucky for him Elder Edwards lives in Queen Creek, AZ 
and so he will be seeing him in 14 weeks

Time for changes
Elder Paolacci has been called to serve as a trainer of a new missionary
 for the next 12 weeks 
(he will have 3 weeks of his mission remaining when the training period is over)
He has loved his time serving as a Zone Leader,
 but is anxious to train a new missionary to serve in the Peru Lima East Mission.



What an amazing WELCOME Elder Paolacci & Elder Janco received
 when they arrived in Jauja (I am sure this is his pension and her family)
When Elder Paolacci arrived in the mission one of the very first things he did was help Cesar Aedo to put up the Circus Tent. Well he sent a picture of this billboard this week. 
Looks like it is circus time again.

I actually found this biography on Cesar Aedo - what an amazing man he is 
César Aedo is a five-foot-five Peruvian native who dedicated his life to learning the art of mime and entertainment, though not before his commitment to God. Raised in Lima, Peru, César attended Sunday school ate age six because after the classes were over, the teachers showed silent films portraying the comedy of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. This provided the first blossoming of César’s interest in the art.
César and his family were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often misnamed the Mormon Church) when César was just nine years old. César was already performing in his LDS branch’s (a small congregation) talent show at age eleven. César’s father was a tailor and did not have a lot of money, but César was determined to have an education and to serve a mission for his church (a two-year commitment to the Lord sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others), both of which dreams he had to fund himself. César did this by washing and polishing cars near his school. His determination and commitment extended to his work while on a mission. After having an appendectomy, he was back to work only five days later, explaining matter-of-factly, “I have work to do. I am a missionary.”
After César returned from his mission, he studied sociology at Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal in Lima, while also continuing to pursue his interest in the arts. He graduated with a B.A. in Sociology, but intended to study political science in Europe. He earned money to put towards this goal by performing as a mime in several South and Central American countries until he earned enough money to cover a flight to Europe. He did not have more money than this, however, and went on faith and talent.
Upon arrival in Europe in 1979, a series of events prevented him (providentially in his opinion) from enrolling right away. In the interim, he visited his sister for several weeks in Geneva, Switzerland. During this visit, he decided he did not want to pursue an education in political science, but instead wanted to study with Marcel Marceau, a man considered by many to be the master of mime.
César’s persistence finally landed him a spot in Monsieur Marceau’s school, Ecole Internationale de Mime, where César studied not only mime, but also dramatic art, classical and modern dance, acrobatics, and fencing. He was once again able to support himself through gaining his education by hard work, though this time it was miming, not washing cars. After studying three years with Marceau, César turned to Marceau’s mentor, Etienne Decroux (recognized around the world as the Father of Modern Mime), in 1983. After that, César also studied clowning with Philippe Gaulier, another famous teacher. In 1987, he travelled to the United States to study at Harvard University and at the Lee Stasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City.
César’s résumé is quite impressive, and he has been both happy and blessed in his career. He has performed throughout Europe, South and Central America, and the United States and has held contracts with many prestigious groups, including Circus Knie and the Big Apple Circus. César found great happiness in his family as well, with his wife, Linda, and their son, Markus.
Though he mostly shares his talents through comedy, César also has a deep testimony of Jesus Christand recognizes God’s hand in his own life. He uses his talent to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he has also used the fruits of his talent to help support his own family members, which he feels very grateful to have been able to do.


This must be one of the many things Elder Paolacci is having crafted in Peru.

4.16.12


Letter time!!!!!
Well kind of a couple new things to word you guys in on. First off, my new area is Jauja in the zone Mantaro. So doing the math that makes Elder Biliter my ZL and luckily enough I am his DL. Way awesome. Also, Capps is now comps with my first kid Elder Parade. Haha they are going to be my favorite companionship In the zone. My area is about an hour outside of Huancayo and is super pretty, but also super cold. It’s a great area to train in. It’s the area Sheridan started in. my new kids name is Elder Janco (like hancock but just hanco). He is awesome, he is from Argentina - so I am gonna try and perfect my Argentinan accent. I tell everyone I meet here that I am from argentina at first and they always believe me (a lot of Italians in Argentina and guess what - I can kinda speak Spanish). So now I will be able to trick them even better - haha.
Well we are actually opening the area in Jauja right now. Huge disadvantage. Joke - it is awesome. We have a lot of people that we found this week that want to prepare for baptism. I am really excited to work here. My goal is starting in May baptize every week until I finish. Like 12 weeks in a row it would be. Wish me luck.
So to answer your questions
No Madsen is not training, he was at our training because he is the new personal secretary.
Yes my package is here but I haven’t opened it yet
So ya the training we had in Lima was awesome. I got to hang with a kid from my group that I haven’t seen my whole time in the field. His name is Elder Quiroga. He was like my first latin buddy in the CCM. We are seriously like twins haha I love that kid. He is in the other zone in Huancayo now so I will get to see him every once in a while.
Well I gotta write President a good letter today and fill him in on everything here.
So thats all I got, love you guys! How is the Book of Mormon reading going ? Time is short.
Enjoy the pictures. Until next week
Elder Paolacci

Monday, April 9, 2012

4.9.12

hey so I don't have a whole lot of time to write today. I have been trying to download pics, but its not working. Sorry !!! I promise a good letter next week. I will have lot's of info to share.
quick sum up of the week. Monday we took off to lima for Consejo. Had a great time chillin with all my buds in the office house.

haha we took about 100 shake your face pics. Rider is gonna make me a cd and I will send it to you. 


Consejo was awesome. It was my last :(. I am seriously going to miss it, but my time as ZL is done and I am soooooo excited to train. We didnt get back to our area until Thursday because there was a strike in La Oroya and none of the buses could make it back to provincia. Then on Friday afternoon we took off to Pampas again to take the stuff out of the room because they closed the area. We came back Saturday with all the stuff. Sunday I went to Huancavelica to do a baptismal interview. got back at like 7:30 pm and I got a call and told that I would be training and had to travel to Lima at 10pm. Things kinda exploded there for a sec because I hadn't packed anything and we where also about to start making BUFFALO WINGS with the pensh. So instead of stressing I decided we should cook and enjoy our time with Patti and her family and I am going be able to go back and pack because apparently I am not gonna be too far from Huancayo. I have no idea exactly where yet but it shouldn't be too far. Maybe I will even be in Biliter's zone and he will be my zl. So I traveled all last night and got to lima at 7am. oh ya, so I just did the math and in the last 2 weeks I have traveled over 50 hours in bus. crazy huh.
Spending my p-day today with Elder Edwards (he goes home Wednesday) We are going to buy jerseys. That is cool you will be at his homecoming.
well thats the summary. hope you all had an awesome Easter.
love you all!
Elder Paolacci


Monday, April 2, 2012

4.2.12


Fam Fam
Great week, haha i feel like i start off all my letters the same way.
But ya Monday for pday we made spaghetti in the pension!!!! Woohoo. We took pics with my comps camera but he didn’t bring it to internet so I will have to send them next week. Tuesday we started a 2 day division with the district leaders in Huancavelica. It was awesome, we had some really cool lessons with the Elder that was with me. I also talked to the assistants and they said I am probably gonna train this next transfer!!!!!! So pumped, not gonna lie, but that’s what I have been praying for. But I also know that it is not my choice and I will do what the Lord calls me to. But I know that it would be amazing to have an opportunity to train before I go home.
So on Thursday I went back to Pampas because President took both the missionaries out on Tuesday and they had a girl that could get baptized Friday. Soooo me and one of the district leaders went to go baptize her. We totally felt like secret missionary agents showing up to a town to baptize someone. But…..when we got there the mom wanted nothing to do with us. We were kinda upset I guess you could say but we kept our calm and talked with her. The lesson ended up being super spiritual and she ended up accepting the baptism of her daughter. So I am not gonna lie, my comp and I seriously felt so awesome afterwards. We taught soooo well together and due to our preparation this girl was baptized. We had the baptism the next day in the house chapel? (in Spanish its casa capilla, sounds so much better) the baptism was in one of the adult size kiddie pools (haha it was kinda funny) but everything turned out sooo cool. I would have pics but….i had no room in my memory card. I have to burn a pic cd today so I can transfer all my pics and have space for consejo.
Well we came back Saturday morning for conference and that pretty much occupied the rest of the weekend. I loved sooo many talks, I didn’t bring my notes with me right now so I cant remember any of the quotes I wrote but I did like a lot the talk from Christofferson, on the doctrine of Christ. Pretty sure all missionaries liked it. Also, loved Holland's and Uchtdorfs. Also Bednars from priesthood sesh. On how we receive the authority of the priesthood first and after we receive the power based on our righteousness. It was an awesome talk. So amazing. BUT the part of conference that impacted me the most was when MOTAB sang "Come Thou Fount", idk why but it hit me hard with the spirit as they sang.
Just to let you guys know, this church is TRUE. Everything about this church is a testimony the truthfullness of it. From the millions of people watching conference, the dedication of the members, all the missionaries there are serving, the Prophet and the Apostles and even the Tabernacle Choir. We have so many blessings in our life from this amazing Gospel. I know it is true. And it saddens me to know that not everyone feels the same way. Even members of the church, that’s why it is sooo important that we work towards receiving a testimony of this Gospel, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph smith. Every time I feel the testifying power of the spirit it is like I fasten another screw that holds my testimony of this church together. We need to try our hardest to keep having spiritual experiences everyday of our lives so we can have an unbreakable testimony. That includes missionary experiences. I promise to all of you that if you don’t have a testimony of this church that it is not too late to receive it. Like we heard sooo many times in conference, our Heavenly Father is waiting for us and due to his sweet mercy we can always change, it is never too late.
Well time is unfortunately running out. Hopefully we have a baptism Saturday, it’s a young boy named Brayan that has more desire to learn about the gospel than anyone I have met. Oh and Selena is doing awesome, she is such a great convert. She took a huge step this Sunday closing her shop so she could go to church. I haven’t seen that from a convert very much in my time here.
Well I hope you all have a great week. Love you all!
Elder Paolacci



so here is the only pic of the week haha. a cool little graffiti monkey thing in our area. sorry that is all I got. I will have a bunch for next week from what I think will be my last consejo :( Bittersweet - I love being a zone leader. But I really am hoping to be able to train before I go home.

Farewell

Dylan's Farewell will be Sunday August 8, 2010 at 11:00 am at

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Paradise Valley Stake Center
3601 East Shea Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85028
Everyone is invited to attend