David sends a condolence message to the victims of the Aurora shooting:

David gửi lời chia buồn tới các nạn nhân của vụ xả súng tại buổi công chiếu bộ phim The Dark Knight Rises ở thành phố Aurora, tiểu bang Colorado, Hoa Kỳ, khiến ít nhất 12 người thiệt mạng và 58 người khác bị thương.

A message from D about the Aurora tragedy. "really sad to hear about the shooting. My condolences go out to the victims of the shooting"(ks)

—
David Archuleta (@DavidArchie) July 27, 2012

My condolences to all those affected by this tragedy, too

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Warning! Following are pix and news of Missionary David.

I’m not sure if the picture below was taken when David’s in Chile, because his hair is not as short as we saw in many recent pix.

“When the sister missionaries are fangirling over @DavidArchie lol. You have fans everywhere huh.”

Source.

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Ngày 15-7, David tham gia hát trong buổi Ca kịch cầu nguyện (Devotional Musical). David hát 5 bài thánh ca bằng tiếng Tây Ban Nha.

Click HERE and HERE for more pics from the event.

Một chàng thanh niên (@slystare) đã viết cảm nhận của mình sau khi nghe David hát ở buổi Ca kịch cầu nguyện như sau:

“DAVID ARCHULETA! <3 One of the most brilliant things that has happened to me in life is to know (ELDER) DAVID ARCHULETA! It is one of my favorite artists and have it in front of me and salute him was incredible! He is very shy and his presence conveys so much tenderness and put me the willies to hear him singing “I Believe in Christ” < 3″

(Thanks to Martha on FOD for the translation)

Các bạn hãy xem thêm phần cuối bài này để đọc bài viết của Gladys (đã bay từ  Argentina sang Chile để xem David hát) với tiêu đề “Chuyến đi của tôi sang Rancagua”

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Snacktime with David Archuleta!

On the bus

David is doing great on his mission!

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bds @FOD đã kể lại 1 câu chuyện thú vị về David khi đi truyền giáo như sau:

David và bạn đồng hành của mình đang tìm cách bắt chuyện với một phụ nữ ở cửa ra vào, bà ấy nói với họ là bà không quan tâm đến Sách Kinh Thánh. David liền hỏi rằng liệu họ có thể hát 1 bài cho bà nghe trước khi họ đi được không. Người phụ nữ trả lời là bà ấy đồng ý. Không rõ là bạn đồng hành của David có hát cùng David hay không, nhưng sau khi nghe xong bài hát, bà ấy đã mời hai chàng thanh niên vào nhà để nói chuyện.

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Gladys from Argentina, wrote her recap of the devotional in Chile

My Visit to Rancagua

All the memories of July 15th are spinning in my head. I want to share the events of that day as best as I can. As the saying goes, the 15th of July was the first day of the rest of my life. That is how important I consider the first time I saw David in all his greatness.

I’m so grateful that two marvelous people sent me the information about the Devotional almost at the same time. (Sending a big kiss to Abrra and Dja.)

I arrived at work and opened my emails to see if there are any pictures or David news. When I saw the flyer I screamed and put my hands over my mouth. When I was finally able to speak, the only thing I said was “I’m going to Chile”. When there is an important thing in my life, the first thing I do is call my sisters. They all work together along with my niece Elaine. I told them I’m going to Chile. They know of my love for David, they put me on speaker phone and I told them all about the devotional, of the Mormons and the religious songs. My sisters know how insane I am when I speak of my favorite subject. I heard my niece in the background saying she’ll go with me!!!!! I’ll go to Chile with you!!!!! My sister Mary volunteered to look into flights, my niece into hotels and that is how this adventure began. I had mentioned before that I had started a savings for seeing David in 2014 at his welcome concert so I was OK with funds. I had to make sure the event was open to me also, so I called the representative in my country. They gave me the Chile contact information. This devotional is an experimental pilot, the first of its kind. My niece made all the arrangements thanks to the blessed internet.

The day of departure arrived! I had never been in an airport; it was my first time flying. It was a cold morning but by the time we boarded the sun was out. On Saturday July 14th at 14:25 hours we took off. We crossed the Andes and I remembered a picture Abrra made me, David with a book in his hand on one side and me on the other, a premonition? Haha

We landed and were taken to the hotel; everything went smoothly, no problems. The hotel room was a complete apartment, very comfortable. There were Brazilians, Peruvians, Colombians and Americans visiting Chile. We had dinner and made arrangements for the trip to Rancagua. I wanted to be there early, by noon. At the hotel they informed us that we needed to go by bus and to let the driver know where we wanted to get off. I had the address memorized, Grecia 319, Centro Jas De Rancagua. I was yet to feel nervous. Sunday I woke up at 9am because I had been at The Voice Unplugged chat the night before pretty late. But I needed to talk to them for emotional support.

A taxi took us to board the bus and I slept the hour long trip and awoke as the driver was telling us we had arrived. We walked through a farmers market and asked if we were on course and we were. We finally arrived and took a picture. It was a very large place with many halls and rooms for events. We entered and an American spoke to us in Spanish with a heavy accent, he said “Make yourself at home”. The devotional was due to start at 6pm and we were there by 3:30pm, pretty early. I saw a large white car with many seats; I jokingly told my niece that David arrived in it. While inside I was looking at the posters and suddenly my niece screamed and covered her mouth. I saw someone walk quickly to the hall and I looked at her (she says she’s not a fan hahaha) and she said, “It was David!!!!!!!” I looked in and saw someone in a black suit wearing a backpack, black hair and glowy skin.  I knew it was him when I saw his profile!  He was looking around; I stood without moving a single muscle. Then an Elder invited us to come in and we sat in the second row. It was us and the Elders. We introduced ourselves and told them we were from Argentina. We said that in Argentina they didn’t have many devotionals and were invited to Chile (I ask God for forgiveness, there was never a devotional, forgive me God) I asked if we could stay there. They said yes, we were welcome to stay. Suddenly David was there again, speaking to the choir, he went to the pulpit and said something in Spanish and they answered in Spanish. He went to the back of the hall and I was dying to watch him but it would be too obvious. It was 4:30pm and we were told we had to step out while the choir practiced. I said we were from Argentina and she spoke with an American and she let her know that we’d been there since early and we were allowed to reserve seats in the third or fourth row. We wrote our names on sheets of paper and reserved seats on the fourth row in front of the pulpit. We were told to be back before 6pm to go to our reserved seats. We stepped out and hung around looking toward the hall. The door had a window and I looked in and saw David, he was setting up chairs. He looked serious. We went to eat and walk around some. I have to say that this wasn’t the nice part of Rancagua, there wasn’t much around. We went back and walked around the gardens. There was a woman there waiting like us. It was cool so we went to wait in the hallway. I stood standing hoping to get a glimpse of David again. As I was standing I realized who were fans, who were Mormons and who were Mormon fans. Some asked me where I was from, some of the Elders said they had served in my country and we started chatting. Almost everyone spoke English. The older Elders were American and only a few spoke Spanish. I recognized some of the Elders that I’ve seen in pictures with David. I didn’t anticipate so many wearing skirts, I was wearing pants but I was wearing my violet blazer.

While waiting I heard stories of the interest in David by those of his faith. For example one of the Mormon girls was there the day before during the choir practice and was told to leave because the practices were private. Another one pretending to need the bathroom was trying to get a glimpse, she was a fan. She was taking pictures through a window. She started fanning herself and said she saw David. Her friend and an Elder took her out for some fresh air so she could calm down. Then the hallways started filling up and there were two lines being formed outside the doors. There were two Elder sitting at the entrance not letting anyone in.

The Wait Was Over

The moment that I waited for 4 years was about to BEGIN. Finally the doors opened and everyone rushed in, luckily they respected the reserved seats. My niece and I went to our seats. I have to say that all the seats filled and many were standing behind the seats. They asked for silence because the show was about to start, it was almost 6:30. There wasn’t much silence. Another Elder explained about the devotional, the theme and development, and asked for no video nor screaming or applause. The girls’ choir wore red blouses. They sat towards the back. The Elders without David came in and all got situated. There were three chairs by the pulpit, two were occupied, and one wasn’t. Then David quietly made his way behind everyone on stage and sat on the empty chair. We could barely see him.

The presenting Elder named all in the choir, one at a time they stood and smiled. When it was David’s turn he stood and looked at everyone and smiled. I could hear someone saying, “There he is! There he is! There is David!” He didn’t notice the signal to sit and stood standing smiling until someone next to him touched his arm signaling him to sit. The presenter spoke of the Rancagua President. I don’t remember if they said he had 10 children or someone else did, this created some laughter. David turned to his neighbor asking and also laughed. The dissertation began and the principal orator commented that it seemed like it was his funeral because of all the nice things that were being said about him. Everyone laughed including David.

The devotional started. There were some history telling, the choir and soloists. They started playing the piano, they continued the performances. I’ll try to focus my mind in that moment. David rose and sat in the empty chair. I could see only part of his face as he kept looking down. Those with better seats could see him. He kept looking down reading from the hymn book and seldom looked up.

The Miracle

Suddenly David was behind the pulpit, with hymnal book in hand and he began to sing….in Spanish…. A very soft and slow song. I could see all his expressions. His eyebrows arched, he closed his eyes. His concentration was such that it seemed like he went to another place and when he opened his eyes he was still away. I was in a trance absorbing every second. At some point I forgot to breathe, everything was quiet. When he finished singing he closed the hymn book and sat down. Then others performed and David returned. The second song was more intense, just as beautiful. When David sang there was absolute silence. Everyone wanted to hear The Voice. I have to honestly say everyone was there to hear David.

During the third song the piano failed. He looked to see if it was fixed and turned to face the audience and sang. His voice in that song gave me the chills. Oh My God!!!! It was a beautiful song with so much emotion. He kept his eyes closed the entire time and when he opened them he smiled and sat down. At one time he dropped his book and was bent down looking for it. The other acts performed. During David’s fourth song he looked at the audience, smiled and began to sing. His voice elevated and he sang with all his soul. When he finished no one was breathing, he closed his book of hymns and stood standing in front of the pulpit, I almost fainted. I thought he was going to speak to us in Spanish. He took a deep breath and looked at the pianist, opened his book and sang the fifth song. The previous songs were beautiful but this last one was worth all my efforts, the expense, the entire trip. If David had only sang this one song I would have been equally satisfied. His voice filled the entire place. David’s face has so many nuances; so many sensations cross his face and you can tell he loves music with all his soul. But I also noticed that he loves his religion and God. He wants to pay tribute as much as he can. I saw him so focused and dedicated.

The Chaos

The devotional lasted about two hours. No sooner than they said the final words, they whisked David out. I stayed seated for a while trying to absorb all that had happened. My niece said we should go. We were leaving when there was a commotion at the back of the hall; there is only one person that could create that. I told my niece take out your camera and start recording. Just like I imagined, the Elders were like soccer players, side by side to say hello. David was at the end of the line. Everyone was all over David; there was an older elder at each of his side. The people had their cameras out and he just smiled, a little nervous because of the situation. I said hello to some of the Elders, gave them thanks. And honestly, I skipped several to get to David. He’s about my height, light skin, dark hair, green eyes and a very special glow. It was unreal to be standing before him and seeing him smile. I was about to speak English to him and say “Hi David, I’m… but I noticed everyone was speaking Spanish to him and no one said David. So I said, Hola, soy Gladys de Argentina, he said, Ohhh gracias por venir. I continued standing there, I didn’t want to leave, so I extended my hand and took his, I put my other hand on top of his and looked him in the eyes and said thank you, he smiled and I left. I think my niece recorded it. She also said hi, I think she’s a fan now, she was so happy to see him in person.

Afterwards everyone was excited, girls screaming “I touched him! I touched him!” He continued saying hello and the cameras continued to roll. He was then taken away. I stayed in the hall breathing the same air David did but it was late.

The Return

There were no buses going to Santiago. We made arrangements for a taxi with another family of four. The ride back was a little tight. We arrived at the hotel and rested for a bit. Went out to dinner and then met up with you all in The Voice Chat to share all about seeing David. I was and am so happy that I wanted to share this with all of you who understand and I would have loved to have you all there with me.

Maybe someone has the events differently, maybe there were 6 songs, maybe it was all a dream, maybe it was a dream that became reality.

It God allows it I’ll be in Chile again on October 13th. Only two Elders will be singing, Archuleta and Coello. I hope it’s a public event, not a private one like rumored. Guess who I want to go see?

I hope you like all that I wrote. Thank you girls.

Source.