Tuesday, December 9, 2014

12 Days of Christmas Missionary Style Dec. 8th 2014

On the first day of Christmas my mission gave to me.....a new companion from the MTC.
On the second day of Christmas my mission gave to me...two liahonas.
On the third day of Christmas my mission gave to me....Three used ties.
On the fourth day of Christmas my mission gave to me...four packages.
On the fifth day of Christmas my mission gave to me...Five CTR rings!!!!!!!!!
On the sixth day of Christmas my mission gave to me....Six hour conferences!!!!!!
On the seventh day of Christmas my mission gave to me....Seven days of work!
On the eighth day of Christmas my Mission gave to me....Eight hours of sleep!! :/ 
On the ninth day of Christmas my mission gave to me.....nine Catholics yelling!!!
On the tenth day of Christmas my mission gave to me....ten crappy carolers!!!
On the eleventh day of Christmas my mission gave to me...eleven Books of Mormon.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my mission gave to me.....twelve written letters!!!!

Ok, well, now that that's over, lets get down to business!!! (<-----Anyone? It's pretty easy!!) This week has been a crazy emotional, spiritual, and mental roller coaster!!! It all started Monday.
Monday, I had been enjoying a normal P-day when I got a call from our Zone leaders. They wanted me to bring them something and we would meeting at the Chapel. Well, President Cordova was there and was talking to them and to another Elder in my district. As I got closer I could see that everyone was silent, and that this other Elder had been crying. I fpund out that this Elder had a family member pass away only hours before. The rest of the night I was thinking of what I could do to help this Elder. Well, Tuesday comes and I give my district class. After my class I go and sit by him to see if he was ok and if he needed anything. He got a Little teary eyed and I just put my arm around him to let him know I was there for whatever he needed. Then we go and eat and after lunch I receive a call from this Elders companion. Side note: his companion is from Utah and has only been out for about 4 months and knows Little to nothing in spanish. So I grab a taxi and head over to their house. I send my companion and his companion to go work in my área.  The Zone leaders were in Veracruz on Tuesday so i wasn't able to make contact with them.  I have never prayed more fervently as to know what I should do and say to help this Elder. I got the strong impression to just listen, and when appropriate, talk. So that's what I did. We didn't go out and work, we just talked. Later that night the Zone Leaders called and asked why we didn't go out and work. I told them that he couldn't go and work in this situation. He found out that a member of his family had died just the day before on Monday in the evening. He didn't have enough time to capture everything and felt like it may be best if we didn't go out that day.  I did what I did because He just needed someone to be there for him and dragging him out to work under those circumstances would have been rough. He just needed a little time.  Also, a members father passed away Tuesday evening. So that was Monday and Tuesday and it was emotionally draining.
Wednesday was a normal day. Just checking up on this Elder every now and then but he has been fine and has been working harder and with a new power and ability that very few Elders have. We also went to the funeral service of the brother who died Tuesday evening.
Thursday we had Zone conference. It was suppose to be our Christmas conference. Want to know what we got for Christmas? The FLU SHOT!!!!!!!!!! So Thursday wasn't too great of a day either.
Friday, again, a normal day. Preparing for our baptism Saturday.
Saturday on the other hand was full of surprises!!! We got a call at about 9:30 AM from the Stake Presidents son asking us if we were going to baptize and we told him yea. Then he asks us if we would like another Baptism. Again the answer was the same, yes! What had happened was that there was a girl who is 17 years old who had been attending church with the Stake President and his family for over a year but couldn't get baptized because her parents wouldn't give her permission. Finally the parents gave her the Green light to be baptized. Well the reason why she wanted to be baptized Saturday was so that she could be confirmed Sunday and go to the temple with the Ward this coming Saturday. So to finish the week we had two baptisms and we could go and watch the Christmas Devotional Sundayevening!
As you can see my week has been CRAZY!!!! and now with the news that BSU is going to the Fiesta bowl again makes this week even better!!! By far the craziest week I have had in my 18 months here in Mexico!!! Thanks for everything and I hope you all have a great week! Love you all and the Church is true!!!!
Elder Dial

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Humble Thanksgiving 2014

So esta semana marks the start of the world wide iniciative "He is the Gift" If you haven't heard or seen the video, look it up. On the 7th it will be the only advertisment on Youtube. Or you could look it up at Christmas.mormon.org. Its a great video and I highly encourage you all to watch it and to share it! The best gift anyone can give this year is the gift of Christ!!!
This week we are planning of baptising Alexis's brother. We are going to baptise him saturday so that sunday he can be confirmed and then on the 13th they both can go to the Temple and do baptisms for the dead. Actually we are having all our converts go to the temple on the 13th so I'm excied!!
I'm glad to hear everyone had a great Thanksgiving. My Thanksgiving was very different but one that I wont forget. Instead of Mashed potatoes, turkey, and stuffing, I ate a humble meal of chicken with rice. It was a very humbling experience for me. I had the opportunity to reflect on why we celebrate Thanksgiving and to be truely thankful for all the Many blessings we have in the USA. 
Theres a bunch of uproars here in Mexico to get rid of their President, Peña Nieto. I'm sure you all have heared that the government sent people to kidnap and kill 43 students and there have been a bunch of protests and crazy stuff going on!! 
I hope everyone has a great Christmas. I Love you all and may we all share the true gift, which is Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever should believe on him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Elder Dial




FIRE in the Church! Nov.24th 2014

First off, I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!! I am indeed very thankful for each and everyone of you and all you have done for me! Thank you!!
Secondly, I'm sure you are all very worried about the title of this email, "fire in the Church" Well, rest assured, my father has trained me very well! As they all say, Like father, like son!! Only this son got the better looks and height!! ;) Hahahahaha Anyways, There was a combined mutual activity that we were invited to. We brought a few investigators also. They were making Corn dogs. Well, the weeks prior to the activity, the Bishop decided to change the flooring. So they changed the tile flooring and removed the stove in the kitchen. When the Young Mens' Presidente goes to turn on the stove, a flame shoots out the back of the stove and everyone clears the room! It was shocking because they cleared the room so fast! The good news is, is that it was only a gas fire so all we had to do was shut off the gas. But to my shock, there wasn't even a fire extinguisher in the kitchen!!! In a country were all your firefighters are volunteers and the nearest statino is about 20 minutes away, there should be a fire extinguisher in the room most plausible for a fire to break out!!! Needless to say, We put the fire out and the only damage done was a black mark on the wall where the flame had been. 
Ok, well, now that the fire is out, "let's get down to business!" (name that Movie!) So after A's baptism, we visited with his family. They all loved it and now his two brothers are making the preparations to be baptized the 7th of December!!! Well, Ar for the 7th and An for the 14th. Oh and his mom also for the 14th. They are such a great family and I hope to be able to baptize them all before I leave the area. Also, A had his interview with the Bishop to see if he will receive the Aaronic Priesthood Sunday!! What a treat it would be to see him Baptize his own family!!! There is no greater blessing than the Priesthood!!! The priesthood has blessed my life many times and now I've been able to use the priesthood power to bless the life of a young man who will in turn use the priesthood power to bless his life, his family´s life, and the lives of many others!! 
As I was studying this week, I came across a quote that I really like by President Hinckley. He said, "Theology may be argued over, but personal testimony, coupled with performance, cannot be refuted!" I love this quote because it reminds me of what it says in James; that faith without works is dead in and of itself. I pray that more than anything I have been able to show my testimony through my actions. Another person once said, You can tell a man´s true religion by the way he lives his life. This is my point, more than anything, we need to LIVE the Gospel!! When we live the Gospel, our lives change, the lives of those around us change! When we live the Gospel, we find purpose to our lives, we come to understand the love God has for each and every one of us, and we come to understand the atonement of Christ a little better! I pray that each and every one of us and strive to be a little better in living the Gospel. If you don't know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is or what it entails, ask the missionaries!! They will be more than happy to help you! I love this Gospel with all that I have because all that I have has been a blessing sent from God for living the Gospel!! I know this church to be true! En el nombre de Jesucristo, amen.

Elder Dial

A long awaited baptism!! Nov.17th 2014

This week has been a pretty good week. We were able to baptize A and his family came to the baptism so we will be working with them extra hard to get them to that point also. 
We also had a miracle happen this week. It was Saturday and we were contacting and a lady stops us and asks if we are the Mormon missionaries. I reply with a cheerful "yes we are!" She then proceeds to explain that she had been attending church in Nogales and was suppose to be baptized October 20th, but she moved into our area and didn't know where or what time church started. We told her the time and she told us she would be there. Well, Sunday came and she didn't show up. After church and everything else that I needed to get done, my companion and I started to search for her house. She didn't know her address fully so we show up at the two streets that she told us and began knocking doors. We tried calling her and everything. She answered once and told us that she went to church in nogales, which is an hour away. We tried to get her to tell us her house number but the call got dropped after one minute!! So we will keep trying to call her and set up another appointment.
Right now our tanks are empty. A was our last person we had lined up for baptism. We have hit our slump for now but we will get out of it soon. Just need to keep working harder and harder everyday!!! and I need to to get my companion excited! 
Oh, here is something that you'll like Aunt Samantha! We saved a dog this week! It was in the street and was about being bulled by all the other dogs! So we picked it up and took it home. We bathed it and gave it some food and the next day we found her a really great home!! Its a beautiful dog. I don't know what kind of dog it was but a beautiful color.  It was only for one night and it was for a good cause! And It's my obligation to Duke. Anyways, that's all that happened this week. 
Oh and something that happened a few weeks ago but I kept forgetting to tell you is that my  retainer that I have on my bottom teeth, broke! But not all, only a part. Only on one tooth. I was like "What? How could this happen?" I was picking my teeth with a tooth pick and it broke! But I guess I'll just have to wait until I get home because I'm definitely not going to a dentist here because I'm sure, instead of fixing it, they'll end up pulling the tooth and give me a fake silver one. Silver, not even gold!!! Hahahahahaha But it's not bugging me anymore so I'll be fine! 
Also attached is a photo of many Books of Mormon in other languages!! I'm trying to pick up Italian. We will see how it goes!!
Love you all and have a great week!!!

Elder Dial









I love this family! Nov.10th 2014

Well, first off I want to wish a happy let birthday to Grandma Freeman, and Danese Lothspeich! and a happy birthday to Grandpa Dial also!!!
This past week has been pretty great! Mainly the weekend but the rest of the week was pretty good. Normal, but good. 
Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the baptism of one of my investigators in my last area! (That's the great thing about being in the same zone and having the Zone leaders in your district). It was a really special moment because I got to baptize her grandson a few months ago. While there I got to see the J family!! My favorite family here in Mexico!!!!! They are preparing to go to the temple this April!!! It will be a wonderful experience for them!!! And I also got to see some amazing friends!!! It will be hard to leave this zone and probably even harder to leave the country!! 
Sunday was also pretty great! We had V and her husband attend church for the second time!! They and their kids LOVED it!!!! They don't have a baptismal date because V needs to get divorced and then needs to marry the father of her kids! UNION LIBRES make me crazy!! I will be praying and fasting very hard for them so they can be baptized while I'm here!!! They are a really special family and I've been blessed to see them grow and see their lives change and be a part of this spiritual growth!!! This is the couple that was on the verge of separating!! And now they are working on getting married so they can go to the temple and be sealed for time and all eternity!!!! Don't believe that the Gospel can change your life? Try it!!! like it says in the Bible, "try [the Lord] and see if [he] will no open the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
A is still doing very well! It's been hard to encounter him lately but he has his interview set up for today and if everything goes well he'll be in the water Sunday!!! 
Also the district is doing a lot better!! This week we will be breaking the routine of me giving a class every Tuesday and we will have a zone class Wednesday. So that's about all the exciting things that have happened this past week. Still trying to find new people to teach and its very difficult but this week we are going to try and "encourage" the members a little hard, to leave and do visits with us. This work is a lot easier when EVERYONE is involved and not just the full time missionaries!!!! Love you all and have a great week! The Gospel is true and changes the lives of ALL those who live its teachings!!!! 

Elder Dial






My Mission Family


A picture of my "Mission family" My two sons on the outside and my grandson in the middle behind me. From left to right it's.
Back: Elder Gamboa (Left) Elder Mills (middle) and Elder Pizarro (Right).

Sorry Mom but I kinda don't want to return home. Nov. 3rd 2014

Pues esta semana fue muy buena!! Tuvimos conferencia de Estaca entonces tuvimos viajar una hora para llegar a tiempo! Pero traemos investigadores!!!
Ok there's your weekly Spanish update! Hahaha The investigators that we brought to church were a couple that we had been working with for some time. They were on the verge of separating when we knocked on their door! We started teaching V (the wife) because her husband was working but we started teaching her and she was in tears when we started talking about how the Gospel of Christ can solve all our problems! She said she wanted her husband to listen and so we set up an appointment and started teaching the two of them. It has been great to watch them change!! It has been a HUGE testimony builder for me!! To know that the Gosple of Jesus Christ changes lives is a hope for all men!!! We haven't been able to put a baptismal date yet becuase they have a few things thay have to do in the catholic church. A friend of theirs is baptizing their baby  and asked them to be the "God-Parents." 
Also A came to church again. He is really trying to stop drinking coffee. He's been going strong for a week now! Only 2 more weeks left and on the 16th he is in the water!! :) 
The district is doing better. There are a few problems but we are in the proccess of resolving them. I'm more worried than ever because President set a goal that every companionship baptises this month! Well, 2 companionship's in the district don't have ANYONE lined up. They don't have any people progressing and I'm stressed out of my mind trying to figure out what is it that they need and how I can help them. But I will say they are getting better. We will see how the transfers turn out because next week are transfers. I'll probably be here another 6 weeks and then right before Christmas I'll go to my last area where I will probably be for the rest of my mission. Wierd to think that I'm almost 3/4 of the way done! I LOVE it here!!! Sorry mom but I kinda don't want to return home! Anyways, that has been my week! The church is true. I know it, I love it, and I'll never deny it!!!! 

Elder Dial

Halloween Oct.27th 2014


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!! Y FELIZ DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS (DAY OF THE DEAD)!!!!!!
Well, this week has been interesting and a little crappy to say the least. But the Good news is that the Gospel is ALWAYS true!!!
To start things off, we wont be baptizing this week. A drank coffee Saturday and we have a rule that they have to go 3 weeks without breaking the Word of Wisdom. It frustrates me because we tried to do  so much for him! Every time we visited him we checked and asked him not drink coffee!!! We called him, sent him text messages, even bought him Nesquik so that he wouldn't drink coffee but his mom,( who by-the-way, has been present in our lessons,) gave him coffee!!! We had visited him Friday and he was good then Saturday in the morning he drank coffee! It's even more frustrating because he hadn't drank coffee for 3 weeks! But oh well, that's in the past and he WILL be baptized before the end of November!  He was our only baptism we had planned for November. We have a few others we are teaching but they aren't progressing very quickly. We are hoping and praying for miracles here in Mexico. Not only for me and my companion but for the district as well. Our president has a goal that every companionship baptizes in the month of November and so far, we and the Zone leaders are the only ones in the district who have a baptism planed for November. 
Also, I killed a venomous snake this week!!!
I have to give a back story real quick. We were walking in a part of our area around 4 PM and I saw a bamboo rod and picked it up and started walking with it. I didn't know why until much later. about 7:30 we are walking in another part of our area,still walking with my stick, and we come upon 3 people. 2 of them are inside their house screaming out the window and the 3rd outside in the middle of the road. As we are walking the guy in the street asks me if it was a stick that I was carrying. I told him sí and then he asked me if I could kill a snake. It was dark outside and I couldn't see where it was. The guy pointed it out to me and then I went Piñata on that thing. Lets just say it wasn't candy that was falling out. Then after I had killed the thing, the lady who is inside her house brings out a machete. I'm like, "Where was this before?" I did get some cool pictures though. 
Oh, nobody bothered to tell me about the TIME CHANGE!!!!!! We have ward council at 7:30 AM every other Sunday. So we get there and I'm like, "crap, we're late!" But nobody else is there. The bishop shows up a little bit later and asks us why we are so early. He then proceeds to ask us if we had checked Facebook and had seen the announcement about the time change. I was thinking, "right bishop, let me just pull out my IPhone and check real quick." Hahahahaha I wasn't too upset because I got some time to play the piano but my companion was like, "we could've slept another hour?!?!?!" hahahahahaha 
 Anyways, that's about all the excitement of our week. We've walked alot this week. Have a toe that is bothering me so I'll probably just soak it in warm salt water and massage it so that I won't get an ingrown toe nail. but as long as I have the strength to walk, I'm going to walk. Hope everyone has a great week and a very scarey HALLOWEEN!!!!!! 

Elder Dial 

Turning 20! October 13th 2014

Wow what a week! I think I gained a few pounds from all the cake I ate!!! Yes I did get my face shoved into a cake 3 times!

I was able to celebrate my birthday with some of my converts so it was a great birthday! Again I want to thank all of you for the birthday wishes! And for all the birthday gifts! I was excited to hear all the acts of service you all did.

Although, I hope not to offend anyone but the best birthday present I received was the opportunity I had to baptize the mother of the 2 girls that we had baptized a few weeks earlier. While we didn't baptize her on the 10th, it was just as special on the 11th. The following day on the 12th she was confirmed and received the holy Ghost. Now comes the real trick, her husband! Maybe as a Christmas present ;)

Yesterday was a pretty great day. We had one investigator show up on her own! Her name is A. L. Her husband actually just immigrated to the US and is in LA i think. But we met with her during the week and we were talking and I asked her if she had prayed and asked if it was true and she told me no. I was a little disappointed until she told me that she didn't have to pray to know it was true. She had read the Book of Mormon. With her husband gone, she had been very nervous and stressed, but when she read, she said she felt at peace as if everything was going to be alright. I love it when people read the Book of Mormon because they truly can feel at peace! 
We also had to go search for another investigator who didn't show up on time. He was in his house and was about to go play in a soccer game when we arrived. I started talking with him and told him, your salvation is more important than the quarter finals. It was late and he could only make it to the last hour of church but we brought him. I actually wasn't going to leave unless he came to church. I was close to dragging him there. haha  He's a real great kid! He's expressed his desire to be baptized and is keeping the commandments but Satan, as always has his little tricks. The good thing is that we, as members of this great and true church, know how to avoid and escape these temptations. 
My companion is doing great. He is a little stubborn and timid. He always has to have an explanation of everything. But its good because I can practice patience. He asked me this morning if he could sleep in an extra 15 minutes. I chuckled and told him no. It's hard to adjust to this new life but after awhile it will be come second nature. He's a great missionary but he doesn't trust himself so I'm right now working with his confidence. It's actually grown a lot this past week so I'm hoping I can let off the throttle and let him teach more. It's fun to train again and I love every second of it.
Thanks again for everything and I hope you have a great week!

Elder Dial 


Don't you just love General Conference! Oct 6th 2014

First I want to thank all of you who wished me a happy birthday.  Don't worry about buying me anything that will probably end up rusted or broken. It would be better if you got me something that wouldn't spoil, rot, rust, or decay. I'm not talking about any material possession but rather as Jacob puts it "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye the kingdom of God. And after you have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches. If yea seek them and ye will seek them for the intent to do good, to clothe the naked and to feed the hungry, and administer to the sick and the afflicted." Jacob 2:18-19. "Then wake up and do something more than dream of your mansions above! Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love." One of my favorite conference talks was that of Elder Holland. So for my birthday I want you all to follow his advice and go and serve!
Other than Holland's talk, I was a big fan of President Monson, Elder Lynn G Robbins, Elder Bednar, President Uchtdorf, and Elder Jorg something (can't remember his last name). I also enjoyed listening to the other languages that were spoken. I watched it in English unless the speaker was going to speak in Spanish. A translator can translate from one language to another but they can't translate the emotions of the speaker. I absolutely LOVED conference!!!!
Well besides the excitement of conference, I am training again. My new companion is from Peru and his name is Elder P. He has a twin brother serving in another mission in Mexico. He's actually a cool kid. He is 19 years old and a bit timid so I have my work cut out for me.
This week we also have a baptism set up. It's the mom of the 2 girls we baptized a few weeks ago. She is very excited about it. She's been progressing very quickly. She and her daughters are reading the Book of Mormon everyday and she even is going to send us to the house of a few of her relatives so we can teach them. It's funny because the Gospel isn't only having an effect on her and her kids but on her husband also! Her husband doesn't want anything to do with us. He's nice and treats us well, but he never wants to listen. But Natalia, (his wife that is going to be baptized) told us that he is starting to drink less and is less aggressive too. I love watching the change in peoples lives when they choose to live the gospel. But I love it even more when it changes the lives of those around them too! Moral of the story, Live the gospel and things will change for the better!!!
We had A. come to church yesterday! Finally!! He's been telling us since the second week we taught, him that he wants to be baptized but for one reason or another he hasn't been able to attend. But he reads his scriptures every day and is keeping his commitments. The only thing he wasn't doing was attending church but he went yesterday and brought his brother too! He is really excited about his date for the 2nd of November! That is a very special day too because that's the day I also entered the waters of baptism 12 years ago! Yes I was baptized on November 2, 2002 by my father. I remember it pretty well because I was the first one of all the kids who were getting baptized that day and I had perfectly warm water!!! So I'm really excited for him and hopefully we can baptize his brother the same day too. 
I hope everybody enjoys this week and may the Lord continue to pour out blessings upon you. Love you all! Go BSU!!!!

Elder Dial

Monday, September 29, 2014

Hamburger Challenge! Sept. 29th, 2014


Hamburger Challenge!! Eat 5!!! Epic Fail!!! Stopped at 4 :(
Well, with this week just starting, this transfer is ending. Yes, that's right, transfers!! My dear companion Elder M. is being transferred to Veracruz and I will be training again!!!! Yep, my second son!!!! Oh and news about my first son, Elder G., He is now a district leader!! Like father, like son!! Hahaha I'm very excited to train again! It was a blast last time and I love teaching the Greenies how to become an instrument in the hands of the Lord.
Speaking of instruments in the hands of the Lord, is anyone else as excited as I am about General Conference?!?! I LOVE conference!!!! I love getting to hear the words of the Lord through his servants! The opportunity to receive personal revelation is something no one should EVER miss!!!!!! 
This week we had a few powerful lessons. Especially towards the end of the week when Elder M. was saying good-bye to everyone. One lesson that stood out to me was the Plan of Salvation. I love the Plan of Salvation. Because it gives me something to hope for. It comforts me to know that I can be with my family FOREVER!!!! As we were teaching this lesson, I thought of all my friends and family. Mom, you asked if my friends still write me. Well, not a lot but I really don't mind because I know they are all busy with everything else. But while thinking about that it made me reflect, what am I doing to make sure I will enter in God's Kingdom? I have to trust in my friends and family that they are doing all they can to make it there and if I want to be with them forever, I need to do my part. I hope and pray that all of you are doing what you need to do to enter into God's Kingdom, because I'm going to do everything in my power to get there and I wouldn't be happy if my friends or family weren't there. I would rather live in the Telestial Kingdom than to have one of my friends or family members not make it to the Celestial Kingdom. I told Elder M. this because I only have about 8 months left so my chances of seeing him are very slim to none but I know I will see him again! If not in this life, in the life to come! That's the beauty of the Plan of Salvation!!!
Anyways, my district is going great! We are starting to turn things around! Its taken long enough but we are starting to have success! We have a lot of baptismal dates that are so close to being baptized! They just need to come to church and have their baptismal interview with me and they will be in the water! Our goal for the month of October is 17. I know we can do it!! Anyways, thanks for all your support and love! Love you all!!!

Elder Dial

Monday, September 22, 2014

First Hot Showers In Over A Year! Sept. 22, 2014


Well, this past week was a lot of fun. I haven't had to give a district class in 2 weeks because of Zone classes and Zone conference. It was a great conference!!!
I don't remember if I told you or not but just in case i didn't I'll tell you, and if I did tell you, well....you'll hear it again! This is the first house I've had in 16 months with running hot water!!!! Oh it is just such a joy to shower with hot water!! 
This week we had a couple of great lessons and we found a few new people to teach. It's a family and so I'm super excited to teach them. Their names are F and A L. They are a young couple and have a 4 year old son. It was a funny story how we found them. Actually, he found me. We were in a gas station making a quick stop and he walks in and sees me and waves. I wave back and continue waiting for my companion. He then walks over to me and starts talking to me. He finally realizes that I don't know him but he swears to have seen me from somewhere. So I seized upon the opportunity to write down his address. We went to his house last Saturday but he wasn't there so we passed by again on Saturday and we found him and his wife. They have a lot of doubts but they accepted a baptismal date for the 26th of October. We also have another family of 4 with a baptismal date for the 26th also. I'm excited but if we are hoping to baptize 6 on the 26th!  We need a lot of prayer, fasting, and hard work. We also have a few other baptisms for this upcoming week and a few more at the beginning of October. The work here is great! Loving every minute of it!! Hope all is well and I want to give a quick happy birthday shout out to Carly and Ethan whose birthdays were last week. No i didn't forget, Actually, I have a card I just need to send it. Hahaha :) Love you all.

Elder Dial

PS. We ate at a Brazilian restaurant today. It was exactly like Tucanos!!!! The only difference was the name. The food and everything was the same!! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!!

And some pictures from out mountain trip a few weeks ago. You can see there was a lot of mud. 

Friday, September 19, 2014

Independence Day, Baptism's and Spiders! Sept. 15th, 2014



HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes today is el Día de Independencia here in Mexico!!! 
Short story, I saw a guy wearing a BSU sweatshirt today!!!! I asked if i could take a picture with him but he said no and ran away :( But yes there are BSU fans here in Mexico that aren't Americans!!!
So this past week has been well.....it was very difficult for a few reasons. One in particular but it turned out to be a fantastic week. It was difficult because we had two sisters who were all prepared for baptism. We visited them Tuesday. They are underage (15 and 17) and so we had to have one of their parents sign the "baptismal consent form." To be honest I have no clue what its called in English. But their dad wouldn't give us permission. We ended up fasting a praying a ton so that these girls could be baptized on the 14th. We passed by Wednesday, nothing. Thursday, nothing. Friday, Success!!!!!! We were able to talk with their mom and their mom gave them permission. But we have another speed bump in the way. One of them, was having second thoughts.  We program their baptismal interviews none-the-less hoping that our Zone Leaders could help her. Well, they both passed their interviews. But still, N, was uncertain. We told her to pray about it and we would call her in the evening to see what she wanted to do. Well, she accepted and we were able to baptize them both. The Lord really does answer the prayers of the faithful. 
We also found a few really good investigators. Its a family. The mom, and two sons. A. is 17 years old and A. is 15. They are a really great family. They invited us to eat with them today! They haven't even attended church and A. told us that he wants to serve a mission like us. They couldn't attend church because they went to play soccer. But they told us that they are going to change teams and leagues to a league that plays Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so they can have Sunday free to attend church. I was stunned and am very excited for them. Like I said, they haven't even attend a church service and they are already talking about how great it would be to serve a mission. A told us he went to play soccer at the church last Tuesday. Side note: Every Tuesday the Elders quorum  and whoever else goes and plays soccer at the church. And so A. told us that when he entered he just felt calm and at peace. Even his Mom, told us today that she always feels different when we come and teach and visit. She feels at peace also. What she and A. really feel, is the Holy Ghost!!!!!! The cool thing is, that we as members of the True Church, have the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That means, where ever we go, we have the privilege of his presence. What's even cooler, those not of our faith can feel the difference. When we enter a house, and when we leave. They feel the Holy Ghost but they just don't recognize it. That's where we come in and explain that what they were feeling was the Holy Ghost testifying of the truthfulness of the Gospel. 
Anyways, that about sums up my week. The sister missionaries are progressing and it's actually pretty fun to be able to see and be a part of their progress as missionaries and members. Thanks for all your prayers in my behalf! I love every single one of you! Have a great week and Go BSU!!!!!!!

Elder Dial


P.S. The pictures are pictures of the baptism, and of the giant spiders here. The black dots in the sky are spiders. They are huge and they live as a family so you literally walk by or under anywhere from 50-100 or more!

Rainey Days and Mondays Sept. 8th 2014



This week has been an up and down week. It´s starting to rain everyday now so that doesn't help much because nobody is out on the streets for us to contact and no body wants to let us "Mormons" into their house. But I'm always trying to think on the positive. That's something that has been hard for me but I'm getting better at it. It's a lot easier with my companion because he has a little temper so he gets frustrated and angry when people don't let us in. I just have to keep reminding him to smile because the Gospel is true. If we are doing our part, we will be blessed. 
Tuesday was pretty good. I taught about the Spirit in my district class. It went pretty well. The good thing about only have one other set of Elders in my district is that I don't have to go on splits very often. Once or twice every transfer. I don't really like splits very much. We end up doing them on Tuesdays after our district class and end up wasting half the day. But then again it´s good because I learn a lot from the other Elders. 
We have a few great ideas for some missionary activities. One is to start a Book of Mormon class. Very similar to the class that Brother Sanford Gives and that dad loves. The purpose of this class is to get people to read the Book of Mormon. Elder Johnson, the area president, told us that 95-99% of the members in Mexico are not reading the Book of Mormon. WHAT?!?!?!?! How? Why? I love the Book of Mormon!!! I'm actually reading in 3rd Nephi right now when Christ visits the Americas. I love the part that says that his hands are always extended to those who repent. I think it's in chapter 9 of 3rd Nephi, the last few verses. Dad, I'm also trying to read the old Testament....I just started Deuteronomy. But it's a challenge for me.
Thursday we had a training day for the ward missionaries. Well, it wasn't a day...more like 2 hours. We talked about some of the families that we would like them to visit and about their responsibilities. It reminded me a lot of the responsibilities of members. Like President Monson said, the Gospel is based on love. If we do not love our fellow man then we are not living the Gospel. So we told our ward missionaries to go and actually be their friends. That doesn't mean visit them once or twice a month. It means that you are inviting them to every activity/event and are visiting them regularly. Help them feel loved.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it rained pretty hard. We found a family that's on the verge of separating so my companion and I were like marriage counselors for about an hour. Not something I like to do but they needed to understand how the Gospel can help save their family. As it says in Preach My Gospel, The Gospel of Christ is the only thing that can save this world from its own auto-destruction. Anyways, the church is true and that's why I am out here. Love you all and hope you have a great week! Go BSU!!!

Picture Overload! Sept. 1, 2014

Well, This week was pretty great. My first District class was a little awkward just because they didn't know me but this weeks should go much better. Tuesday after my class, I had splits with the Zone leaders. They are pretty cool and one is going to finish his mission at the end of this transfer. He taught me more about my responsibilities as a district leader. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday were all normal days. We started working and found some new people to teach. Saturday we were contacting and we knocked on a door and a man answered. His name is A. He told us that he had assisted before but for one reason or another he had stopped going. I'm still not sure if he's a less active member or not a member at all but the cool thing is is that we talked to him Saturday but he wouldn't let us enter his house because he was busy, but the next day (Sunday), He came to church. It was a pretty cool sight to see. So this week we will work hard with him. 
Also today, we went and climbed another mountain. Three times the size of the other one we climbed. It wasn't as bad because we started earlier so it wasn't nearly as hot. We woke-up at 5 to start climbing by 6. We got to the top around 10-10:30. WITHOUT A GUIDE!!!!!!! I was frustrated because our Zone Leader is from Utah and is a mountain biking/hiking freak so he thought he knew everything about the mountains. I'm a kid from Idaho and I'm pretty sure I know more about mountains than he does but that's another story. So what happened is that there were a ton of trails to take. A member told him what way to go and we took that route. But we are about an hour from the top and the trail stops and basically we start climbing the face of the mountain. I wanted to go back because I didn't want to get lost. Well, we didn't and we kept hiking. After we got to the top we started heading back down. Did I mention that this trail was all CLAY and ROCKS!!!!! It was nearly impossible to climb up and to hike down was even worse. I got dirtier going down than I did going up. There were times where it was so slick we had to slide down on our butts to make it safely. But that's not all, this "know it all mountaineer" takes off ahead to scout out which path to take but he doesn't come back to tell us, he just waits until we follow him. I didn't say it but I was thinking, "Do you know the definition of a scout" It means that one goes and comes back to inform the group, well he didn't.  Then as we are descending, we get lost and wind up taking up a different trail than the one we started. His words were these "All the Trails connect so it doesn't matter what trail we take." uh....I'm not a big mountaineer but even I know that not all trails reconnect. The good news is, is that after 3 hours we finally made it down safely and covered in mud. 
Anyways, on a more spiritual note, I'm starting to get the hang of this District Leader thing. The sisters are more responsive and have more confidence in me. This week we should have a lot of success. Thanks for everything and have a great week. Love you all.

Elder Dial

PS There is a sister from Alabama in my district and shes a big Auburn fan. At least there's some one else in my district that likes college football.