Monday, January 19, 2015

Surprise Transfer Jan. 19th 2015

Wow! That's crazy to hear that Ryan and Rebecca have finished their missions! 
Well, I've got good news, bad news, great news, and worse news!! Which do you want first? I honestly don't know why I asked you which you want to hear first because it really doesn't matter but here it goes. Good news; E is progressing wonderfully! Bad news; I wont be here for her baptism :( But the great news is that I'm returning to the land of my inheritance!!! Worse News; I'm leaving tomorrow!! President called me yesterday and told me that I am having "special transfers." I will be returning to my first zone! That's right, if you can remember almost 2 years ago, I started my mission in Tres Valles in the Tierra Blanca stake. Well, now I will finish my mission where I started. I will be a zone leader in the Teirra Blanca zone. I'm excited and a little sad to leave the area I'm in right now. I will be excited because I will be able to sweat off a few LBs before I return home and I'll be able to see a few of my converts from Tres Valles. 
I haven't even been in this area a full transfer but the Lord has other things in store for me. As I told you last week my mission President told me that I had more potential than I knew, well I guess this is the call I've been waiting for. It's hard to leave an area. You would think that it would be easier than all my other areas but its not. I've only been in this area for about a month and all my other areas I've been in  for 4.5 months. Well, more people have cried at the news of my leaving in this area than in all my other areas! Its funny how I've spent so little time here but I feel like I've been here forever with all the relationships I've been able to create. First off with N and his family! In every area there will always be a family that takes you in as their own child and that's exactly what N and his family did! I felt right at home with them! They are an amazing family and N will be a great missionary.
Speaking of missionary, J, a member here, got set apart yesterday to serve as a full time missionary!! I LOVE this work!!! Today as I was saying goodbye to E, she started crying which almost made me cry. She told me thanks for helping her see clearly. That's one of the greatest compliments a missionary could receive!! I love teaching the Restored Gospel for that very reason! I've said it a million times but I'll keep saying it; When we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our lives change for the better! All I'm asking is that you experiment on my words and try it! I promise that the Lord will bless you and you will find peace and happiness in a world full of danger and sin. I know this church is true! Live the Gospel and not just listen to it! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a "Spectators sport!" We are in the game and we must PLAY in order to win! And always remember who our Coach is. Now go play your hearts out! 

Elder Dial









Monday, January 12, 2015

Ward Party Prep Jan.12, 2015

First I would like to wish Madison a very Happy Birthday!! I know it was on the 10th but I didn't forget!!!
This past week was a pretty great week. We had a few of our investigators attend church yesterday so that really made my day. E (Hope) came and stayed for all 3 hours. E is a very special investigator. She is very skeptical of EVERYONE!!! She works in her mom's store. She is roughly 40 years old. She has a lot of what we would say are street smarts. She's really funny though. It's been fun to see her progress. At first she was a little skeptical of us but as we passed by more, she has started to open up more and it's been a lot of fun teaching her. 
The other one that came to church was A. K. She has attended a lot of times with other missionaries but hasn't attended for about a month or two. She's married to a member who is a little less active so we are trying to kill two birds with one stone by activating her husband and baptizing her. It's going to be a little tough but with the spirit we can do it. 
Wednesday we had interviews with President Cordova. Long story short he told me that I'm good, but that I have even more potential than I know and that I need to find this hidden potential and explore it.  Just when I thought I was giving it 100% on my mission, President tells me I have more to give! Don't know quite where to start looking but I can't waste time! I need to look for it and find it soon or my fear will become a reality! The fear that I still have more to give to the Lord. I pray I can find it soon!!!!
This week and the next week we will be preparing for our ward mission activity. We are going to have a Hawaiian Luau!! :) We made a few Hawaiian necklaces (Don't remember what their actually called, Perdon mi español esta tomando control de mi mente). We have a lot of things to do and only 2 weeks to do it. I pray I have a little portion of the creativity from the Freeman Genes. I'll keep you updated on everything.

Oh and today we had an intense workout!! I say intense because after 19 months on the mission, the body has changed drastically! Haha It actually wasn't that hard but I haven't had an intense workout in almost 20 months. A young woman in the ward needed help with a school project. Her project was to try and give the missionaries a heart attack! Hahaha not really! I'm only joking! But it was hard! The hot humid weather of Veracruz did not help! So we helped her out a bit and we did her workout routine and it was brutal. Not brutal in the sense that it was impossible, brutal in the sense that a fat, double chinned missionary is going to pass out because it's a routine of constant movement! No breaks to catch your breath ni nada!! I have a lot of work to do if I'm going to get rid of this double chin!
(this picture was taken from Sister Jones' blog)
Anyways, hope everyone has a great week! The Church is true and God and his son Jesus Christ both live. We must be prepared and prepare others for that glorious day when the Lord shall come and every head shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. May we all find our hidden potential and magnify it so we may stand blameless before God and he can welcome us with out stretched arms as he tells each and every one of us, well done my true and faithful servant. May we all echo Paul's exclamation when he said, "I have fought the good fight and have kept the faith." 

Elder Dial


Monday, January 5, 2015

Happy New Year! Jan. 5th 2015

Wow! How time flies! Well, I know i'm a little late but I would like to welcome you all to the year 2015!!!! I'm glad things started off well for the Bronco Nation!! Things here are finally getting back to normal..well, almost. Here in Mexico they celebrate when the 3 wise men arrived to worship Christ. so we still have one more night of fiestas! Hahahaha
Well, this year has started off pretty well. I'm going and running everyday or at least I do some sort of cardio excercise. The effects are slow and almost non-apparent but it's coming. My companion and I are starting to get in the right rhythm. This is by far my hardest area. The people here are very stubborn and prideful to hear our message. We have a few people we are teaching but we should be teaching a lot more. Hopefully this week is a lot better.
We finally cleaned the house and the bathroom! And even though we profoundly cleaned the bathroom, it still smells like a family of animals died! I'm pretty sure it's something in the pipes. 
My new years celebration was just about as exciting as my Christmas celebration, only with more fireworks, or "quetes" is what their called down here. They are basically fire crackers ranging from all sizes. Small as a pin to as large as my thumb! and bigger. Honestly I'm pretty sure they would be classified as bombs. We went and ate dinner with the same family and we had a little devotional because it would be N´s  last new years because he is going to serve his mission in Little Rock Arkansas mission. He'll be speaking Spanish. After dinner we headed home to sleep. Only to be awoken at 3 AM by a phone call from N, wishing us a happy new year. I was to tired to say anything so I thanked him and hung up. the next day wasn't too eventful. Only the usual drunks passed out in the street. Today we continued our celebration as we had a little Ward missionary party. Only like 4 people showed up. We played volleyball and broke a piñata. Funny story about the piñata.


I was putting up the piñata and it took me about 20 minutes to put it up because I couldn't get the rope over the light post. And after I finally got it up, the first person to go, hits the rope and the thin cord that is holding the piñata to the rope breaks. So I climbed the ladder with the piñata in my hands and pour out the candy for everyone to grab. As I'm climbing down I see a snickers bar that no one was going for. I hurry down the ladder just in time because one of the people there hit the ladder and it fell. I guess it didn't help that I jumped off the ladder about 2 feet from the ground. Anyways, the ladder fell with a big crash. Nobody was injured badly but there was a bump on a persons head. 
It was a fun time that made many memories.
To finish things off, I want to give a shout out to any and every one who reads my blog. I've had a couple of missionaries come up to me and tell me that they read my blog before they left on their missions. So to anyone who reads this I want you to know that the mission, especially the Veracruz Mexico Mission, is the best thing you can do. There are many things to be learned and many more things to be taught. If you have doubts about serving a mission, I echo the voices of the prophets, "You have been called to serve!" Just do it! It will be difficult, but it will be worth every cent spent, every tear shed, every drop of sweat...... every second! The Gospel is true and the Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is my privileged to serve the Lord. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church of God that was restored to the earth by the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord has called each and every one of us to serve. May we all answer that call! May we answer it sooner than later is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Dial


Sunday, January 4, 2015

My last Christmas in Mexico Dec. 29,2014





Well, The last email of the year. Don't know where to begin....As I reflect on this past year and how I've been here in Mexico the entire year, I've been able to see how I've grown and how much more I have to learn. I want to thank you all for all the support you've given me while I've been here in Mexico serving the Lord. I wish I could give you something to show my appreciation but there's nothing on Earth that I could buy or give that would appropriately express my love for each and every one of you. I pray that God may bless you and your families today and for all eternity.
Christmas was pretty great. I'll start with Christmas eve. Christmas eve day was a normal day of work until about 7:30 PM. At 7:30 PM we went to a members house and celebrated Christmas the Mexican way! :) We sang and danced a little and then stuffed out faces. What made it special was that I was once again reminded of the pure love of Christ. Love is the essense of the Gosple as President Monson has said. I was a little sad as my companion and I sang "The Last Noel". Upon returning home, I opened my traditional Christmas gift of PJs. It really did bring a smile. :) Then I retired to my bed. 
Christmas day and the celebration continues. Thank you for all the wonderful gifts. After the opening of presents, we went back to work but it was a crappy day to work because nobody was home!
Hahaha But we then went and ate lunch and broke some piñatas! :) A fun Mexican tradition that I will be bringing home with me for the next Christmas! :D 

Christmas in Mexico is something special and very humbling. I think I received more presents than most children here in Mexico did. A tradition Mexican Christmas consists of receiving one single gift. It's very humbling to see; especially in the past few weeks as I've been "Sharing the Gift". I've been able to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about gifts, toys, parties, or the food, the true reason why we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. It's amazing to not just watch and see the diference but also feel the diference. The month of December is different from every other month because it's the only month that most people actually take the time and remember Jesus Christ. To be honest, that's really sad. All that He's done for us and so many of us only remember him 1 month of the year? My dear friends, we can do better than that! As the year comes to a close, I hope each and everyone of us can reflect on how much we've changed and set goals to get better. Spiritual goals as well as temperal goals. May we all try to be a little better this year, 2015, and may we all try and remember He who gave his life for all. Happy New Years and I'll see you all next year!!! 

Elder Dial

                     Christmas Photo's

Check out my room!

Traditional Christmas Eve P.J.s


Christmas Morning (check out the pillowcase Sister Hobson!)

MTC should have a class on cleaning! Dec. 22nd 2014

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Not a lot has happened this week and I don't really know what to tell you since I'll be calling home on the 25th, so I guess I'll describe my companion and the house I am currently living in.

First of, In my 18 months, I've had 9 companions. Out of these 9 companions 9/9 of them are latinos. 4/9 of them are Mexicans and the other 5 are from farther south. I've had companions from Guatemala, Peru, Argentina, and now my current companion is from Bolivia!!!! I don't know what the Lord is trying to teach me or show me. I would like to think He´s foreshadowing a future calling that I might have in the church or something...who knows. He's pretty cool. He is 20 years old and his birthday is the 5th of October!!!! He's got me by 5 days. He's been out a little over a year now with 14 months under his belt. 

Now, I don't have any pictures of the house because IT'S A PIG STY as dad would put it. There's garbage outside and when I walked in the door for the first time, there was a pile of trash by the door!! We didn't even have any trash bags!!! The fridge is horrible and the bathroom...don't even get me started!!!! I gag every time I step into that room. I would prefer to use a port-a-potty rather than our own bathroom. I remember dad's stories of how he had to suit up in his turnouts to go lift a lady that had fallen. Well, If I had turnouts, I wouldn't enter the bathroom without them!! I have no idea what the other Elders were doing when they lived here but they didn't do jack squat to clean!!!!! So today when I'm done writing, I will try to clean the bathroom. I just hope I don't catch some kind of disease!!! Hahahaha But I will say the other missionaries who lived here before us were very lazy!!!

Anyways, Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and may Santa bring you lots of presents!! ;)

Elder Dial


Time to Burn Something December 15,2014

Well the time has come for me to say goodbye to the lovely cold weather of Orizaba and say hello to the blazing heat of Veracruz!! That's right folks, TRANSFERS!!!!!!!!! And I'm returning to Veracruz!!! My stake will be the Mocambo Stake and my ward will be 1 de Mayo. The Temple is in my area!!!!! Lastima que no podemos ir!!! But I'm excited! I've finished training Elder P. and I'm moving on. I will still be district leader which I'm fine with because Zone leaders are under a lot more stress and I feel like I can help and be more involved with the missionaries in my district. Don't know much about my new companion. His name is Elder G. and that's all I know.
As many of you know, last week I completed 18 months on the mission and as tradition I burned a pair of pants!



It was kind of anti-clamatic but anything...mixed with fire...can be fun!!! Don't worry Dad, I had the fire under control.  :)
This week was a normal week. Nothing too exciting happened other than that a contact that we, well...contacted came to church. We were knocking doors and were about to leave this one house when the door opened and a 17 year old girl was standing there. We talked for a little while and then invited her to church. She was the only one home so obviously we couldn't enter the hosue but we invited her to church and she came!!! 
Speaking of weight, I had a sad realization today; I'M FAT!!!!!

I was getting my hair cut and the lady asked me to look down so she could cut the back of my head and thats when I saw the true reality of the situation!! My double chin almost dropped to the floor I was so stunned by what I saw!!!! Let's just say I hope my other companion likes to excercise and will help motivate me because having a companion that is lazy, well....doesn't exactly help me motivate myself.
Anyways, I'm hoping with the new area, new comp, and new climate, I'll be able to lose some weight before I return home in 6 months. I'm on my last 4 transfers! If you really want to get crazy, I'm probably headed to my last area! Wow how time flies! Hope everyone has a great week! Love you all and have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Elder Dial