Well, I LOVE it!

Mikes new companion Elder Hidalgo from Chile

Mike is proud to report that he is taller than his companion.

 Dear Family

 This week we did a lot of cleaning. We put an effort into cleaning out the branch records, trying to visit a bunch of less actives, seeing if they live there, and seeing if they have interest in coming back to church. A bunch said no flat out, but a couple let us in. That was always nice.

We also have been looking at a bunch of potential investigators out of our Area Book. This one lady, Griselle, let us in on the spot. She met the missionaries on the street about a year ago and invited them over, but I guess nobody ever went over.... Sad, I know. Well she wasn't there for our appointment on Sunday, but we will continue to work with her. She seemed really interested!

So we didn't baptize Jesus this week because apparently everyone else in the world scheduled something in the church at every conceivable time, so we are doing it next week. He is really prepared and I am excited to see him get baptized! He comes and plays basketball with all the other young men every Thursday, and has a great time every week.

So we do have some bad news. It turns out Carlos has been living with his girlfriend for the past 13 years, haven't been married. They are also having some major relationship issues right now. PLEASE send a prayer their way. He really has a sincere desire to join the true church of Jesus Christ, but his novia (girlfriend) doesn't really want to get married. President Payba (BP) and his wife are going over on Tuesday to talk to them both. PRAY that it goes well. His son, Derek, can still get baptized, but Carlos will have to work things out with his novia. We had no idea about it until yesterday, when he wanted to meet with President Payba and talk about his family situation. He would always call her his "Wife", so we assumed that she was... But that is ok. With the Lord, there is always a way to accomplish His will.

Haven't received you package yet, should probably come in the next few days. I am STOKED to get it though! Have the best family EVER!!!!!

It snowed this morning, now raining, and should be getting into the 50's and 60's in the next couple days, then it is gonna plummet again. Oh the Allentown weather.....

Well right now I don't like it because Matt and I are emailing and he is correcting my Spanish... Who ever thought that would be the case?

Well, I love it! I get to bear my testimony every day, and nothing could be better. I have come to love the writings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. What an amazing man he was. I really do know that he was a chosen prophet of our Heavenly Father. He and His Son, Jesus Christ, really did answer his humble prayer. He really did restore the fullness of the Gospel! I also came to love the Hymn "An Angel From On High." Didn't know it before the mission! Thanks all, and luv u tonz!!!!!!

-Elder Mike Dial

A week of miracles!

Dear Family,

Well, this week has been awesome! It has been a week of many miracles. But first of all, I got a new companion! He is Elder Jimmy Hidalgo, from Santiago, Chile. He has been out for 19 months, and I am taller than he is, a first for everything. He is awesome. He speaks English like a boss, which he learned while serving in Philly. He didn't know it before. He helps me a lot in my Spanish and my Spanish is gonna SKYROCKET now. I am so excited. Elder Wright left for Bridgeton, New Jersey. Sad to see him go, but excited for the future.

Ok, so our mission used to have a capacity of like 150 missionaries or something like that. President announced that our capacity is going up into like the 250's or something like that! Gonna be crazy! This next transfer, I think 5 Spanish missionaries go home and like 14 come out. This is gonna be crazy awesome! We are gonna to some work here!!!

OK here are some awesome miracles!!!

1. We were walking in Bethlehem, for about 4 hours, trying to contact some potentials, less-actives, and talking to people. We got to talking to some people, but nothing looked really promising. When we got in our car, we saw this lady across the street smiling at us. We rolled down the window and started talking to her. She told us she was interested in our message. Come to find out her name is Carmen, an alcoholic, admitted she was a little drunk while she was talking to us, and about a year ago she was told she had two months to live.  She told us that she knows God has kept her alive for a specific reason. She told us she never walks around, but today she just felt like walking down that specific street. Weird how these things work out. We bore testimony of the Atonement, and taught baptism. She told me she knew what I was saying was true. She said that we were angels that God sent to her that day. We will work with her!

2. On Sunday, a member asked us for a blessing. You could see how much pain she was in. She could barely walk without holding her back for support. We went into a quiet room in the chapel, and offered her a blessing by the Priesthood Authority of God. It ended, and about 3 minutes later, she came walking up to us, normally, and said that she felt much better. Amazing stuff.

3. Ok, so a kid was baptized in church yesterday. Now, when someone gets baptized in our branch, we go all out. There was plenty of arroz, habichuelas, carne, papas, and even pizza. Hopefully they bought the pizza on Saturday. Anyways, Carlos, Derek (Carlos' son, 12), and Chachi (Carlos' daughter, 6) were there. Afterwards, we were teaching a lesson at their house, the Plan of Salvation. Thank you for the little puzzle thing. It is awesome. I also used the hand/glove technique for the spirit/body for being born, dying, and being resurrected. I knew that would come in handy one day. Thanks mom. Anyway, we finished, but after we were done, he told us to keep going. So we followed right into the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is faith, repentence, baptism, confirmation, and enduring to the end. We then asked how Carlos and Derek thought about baptism. Derek said he wanted to be baptized as soon as possible. Carlos said that he wants to do it. We have to finish teaching them, but they are set to be baptized the 10th of February. They were on date for the 3rd of March, but they are ready. Chachi says she wants to do it too, and was bummed out when we told her that she has to wait two years!

     Carlos also told us that the day he stopped us outside his house, he was walking the other way, and "something" told him to stop us and talk to us. Now "something" is telling him that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet. Still not much interest from his wife, but we can keep praying for her. She will embrace it one day. I hope she comes to the baptism. It is impossible not to feel the Spirit there.

Well those are the big three miracles that I saw this week, not including the hundreds of little ones that happen to us every day!

Oh P.S. we also have another baptism coming up next week! Jesus Monegro, the nephew of Fulvio. He is 16 years old, and is a boss. We are just finishing up teaching him, and I am so excited for him. He is receiving everything really well, is reading, and keeping commitments. That is how we as missionaries know is someone is repenting. If they keep commitments. And Jesus is doing just that.

Mom, you asked if there was anything I wanted in my package. PLEASE send me my line of authority. I really want that. Dad, Elder Hidalgo has only been to Five Guys like once. Not many of them in Chile. Help him out.

Ok, I guess I will answer some of your questions Mom. Only we live in our apartment. I do play the organ in Sacrament Meeting, and some other members play along on the piano too. I have to use the transpose switch on the organ which DRIVES ME CRAZY! I don't like playing one note and hearing another. I need to learn to transpose in my head, which I can do with some hymns. ok. We get copies of the Ensign and Liahona. I am good on those. Our branch has like 60ish active members, and more on the way. Our boundaries are pretty big, all of Allentown, Whitehall, and Bethlehem. I don't know how big. It takes about 20 minutes to get from Allentown to Bethlehem, and like 10 from Allentown to Whitehall. Do the math or something.

Well you're welcome for that email today. It was a great week. On not-so-great weeks, I need to remember weeks like this. This work is awesome. This branch is awesome. I got to go, but know that I love you! The Church is true, and P.S. I have been out for 5 months tomorrow! Flying by!

-Elder Dial

Getting a new comp...farewell Elder Wright!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Dear Fam,

Yesterday it was like 54 degrees. Sorry for all you Utah folk chillin' in the single digit realms. It is pretty darn warm here. I love it. Well, tomorrow Elder Wright is departing from the truest area in the Church, Allentown PA. I get a new companion tomorrow and I am excited. It is a little bit unknown, but that's missionary life right there. But in other news, I am not as new of a missionary as I used to be! The church has a 12-Week Program, during your first 12 weeks when you are being trained, you have an extra hour of companionship study where you basically relearn everything and how to teach it from your trainer. Well, now I don't have that anymore. That is very nice. Before, we wouldn't get out until noon. We start personal study at 8, companionship study at 9, and now, we start language study at 10, as opposed to 11 as it used to be.

So Carlos Castro and his family are progressing a lot. Carlos, his son Derek, and his daughter, Shadailiz (Sha-day-lees, but they call her Chachi), all came to church yesterday. His wife hasn't been interested at all, but yesterday he told us that she has started asking about us and the church. I hope and pray that she will start participating in lessons with us and come to church. Carlos says that once she sets foot in the church that she will feel it. Send a prayer that way. We taught them how the church is organized and that we have a living prophet today and that he guides the church through direct communication from heaven. I feel that a lot of times we take that for granted. We have a PROPHET!!! He really does guide this church. I knew that before, but in the past 5ish months I can say that with confidence and surety that I did not have before. What a blessing it is that we have a knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Wow, yesterday and the day before I ate a lot of food. Plenty of arroz, avichuelas, papas, mas arroz, etc.... (rice, beans, potatoes and MORE rice!) I haven't had a day where I had to throw up yet. Elder Wright keeps telling me that those will come though. I need to find a balance of eating fast enough that the people know I like their food, but slow enough so that they don't offer me more. It is tough. Eating slow is terrible; I don't know how you do it Devin.... But with enough practice I will be able to get it. I don't want to come home with an extra 100 pounds packed on me.

Well I am excited for the future. It is going to be a little weird having a new companion, I have loved being with Elder Wright, but I can't change it. My testimony has made leaps and bounds in this short period of time. It will continue to grow exponentially. This is the fetching best thing ever man. It is hard, fun, happy, sad, most gratifying thing I have ever done. It is forever true.

Love ya!

-Elder Dial

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

 Mike says Fish Heads are yummy!  I'm not buyin it.

Hello Family,

Well we just had an awesome New Year. Got home at 9:30 and slept wonderfully. We did eat a mess of rice and beans and a whole lot of other stuff too. Probably way more than we should have, but that's ok! First I wanna share what happened last night. So we got in about 9:10, and were counting up our numbers for the week. We realized that we came short of our zone goal of Referrals Asked. We can be out till 9:30 if we have something planned for there, but we wanted to get those last 5 Referrals Asked. So with about 13 minutes left until 9:30, we set out, and asked 5 people if they knew anyone that wants to come closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Surprisingly enough, the first person we asked said that she would. Boom. The other 4 may have been a little stiff-necked but that's ok. We did our part.

Best part about this week. Remember Carlos Castro, who stopped us in the streed literally two months ago and told us he wanted to know more? Well after stopping by his house day after day and missing him, on Tuesday we FINALLY knocked on the door when he was home! We have taught him thrice, he came to church yesterday, and has a date for the 3rd of March with his son. I bet we can move it up even sooner though. He is literally a Golden Investigator. We could have easily given up on trying to contact him. But this work is bigger than our laziness. If we are being lazy as missionaries, we are not only cheating ourselves, but we are keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ out of the lives of those whom are looking for it. When I stand before God one day, I don't want to be held accountable for what I "could have done" on those days when I didn't feel like doing much. He shouldn't have to ask me, "Why didn't you share your testimony with my son there, or my daughter while you walked passed her in the street?" He has expectations for all of us, and we all can meet them! First we have to trust Him and commit to follow Him!

Well that was a nice little rant there. It has been pretty frigid here. Around the 20's to 30's with the humidity making it feel even colder. But that's what a beanie, coat, scarf, and gloves are for right? We don't let it slow us down. I am excited for summer though. All of the Hispanics sit on their porches in the summer, making them a lot easier to talk to.

What? It is my last week of getting trained? That's weird. I still feel like I am really fresh and new (which i kind of am) but the time is going really fast. I hit 6 months next months..... Let that sink into your minds for a little bit... 2 years is really not long at all! especially when you are lost in the service of the Lord! Well, the church is true, the Libro de Mormon too, and Love yall tonzzz.

Peace and Blessings

-Elder Mike Dial