New Address in Bethlehem

Rita's...Mike says it is supposed to be good

The gang.

Mike loves cats!

Ok! It is finally official. We have finally moved to Bethlehem. Here
is our new address:

1755 Shimer Avenue Apartment #15
Bethlehem, PA 18018

Y'all only get a couple months left to write Elder Dial on his mission! This should be TONS of motivation to send him a letter. (Megan, I would not be opposed to you putting this on my Facebook page ;) LETTERS GALORE!!!)

Anyway, we are excited about this new apartment. It's kind of a bummer that we don't live in the serious ghetto anymore. Before, our front window was on a major street, and we heard some awesome conversations, most of which were not virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,
but we still loved it anyways. We heard lots of homeless people singing, and parents yelling at their kids for no reason. Now we just get to hear noisy neighbors above and to the side of us. But we live
in a decent part of Bethlehem. We actually live in our area as opposed to living about two miles outside of it! Definitely excited for that. Elder Winegardner and I are super stoked to live closer to our friends that we are finding and teaching, and are excited to be able to hasten the work even more!

On Thursday I found out that Romeris Perez, one of my best friends that I had the opportunity to teach in Norristown got her Patriarchal Blessing. Remember, she got baptized the week after I left.  That made me so happy. I am so happy that she is sticking to the path of discipleship and isn't letting anyone get in the way of her salvation, as some do. She gets it. That's why she got baptized. She was baptized with a determination to be faithful. She still has her own struggles, but her testimony is sure. Super excited to see where she goes. Love her! It was a pay day for me! I am particularly grateful that I have the opportunity to use Facebook and keep in contact with her.

Met with Luis and Aida on Friday. They are both recovering from strokes. That is so sad. Kids, don't drink, smoke, or take anything into your bodies that will harm them. Some times it gives you strokes,
but 100% of the times it deprives you of the blessings of the Lord. We read in Alma 22 wher Aaron is teaching the king of the Lamanites. The king was willing to give all that he had, literally his whole kingdom to gain a testimony of the Gospel. We asked them what was keeping them from gaining a testimony. Luis drinks and Aida smokes. We are working with them to overcome those weaknesses. Luis had quit drinking when the missionaries were teaching him before, but he went to Puerto Rico on vacation for about two months and the temptation was just too strong, and he started the habit again. It is what his caused his stroke, and he wants to change. Aida asked why she needs to be baptized again. I have a sick lesson plan about priesthood authority planned out for when we go and visit them.... Gonna be awesome. The lesson we had with Luis and Aida made me think, what am I am not willing to give up that is inhibiting my testimony from growing into what it could be? What am I unwilling to give up or start doing? I think we all should do a self analysis often with that question in mind.

Here's what happened Saturday. To start out, we had a solid first lesson with a guy named Roberto and his son Sandro. We met Roberto a couple weeks ago on the street as we saw him lowering a couch out of a window into a truck and we concluded that he needed help. We finally got in today, and taught him and his son about the Restoration of the Gospel. Sandro lives in the halfway house so it's gonna be a little tough to coordinate his lessons because he doesn't have a set schedule, but we are gonna see what we can do.

I taught about faith yesterday in Gospel Principles. Our teacher didn't show up, but that's ok. I taught for basically my 6 months in Bridgeton because our Branch Mission Leader, who was supposed to teach that class, went less active, so I was prepared to pull a lesson out of nowhere. You learn to do that as a missionary... That class is usually boring, but I made it good. I felt the Spirit testifying to me
and everyone else in the room that faith is real and that The Lord expects us to have and develop faith in Him so that we can come to be like Him. We went through the process of increasing our faith right
out of Alma 32. That is probably my favorite chapter in the entire Book of Mormon. There is nowhere else in scripture where faith is outlined so clearly and beautifully. Go read it!

FINALLY saw Frances and Teodoro and their daughter Andrea. We have taught Teodoro a few times alone or with his daughter, but we finally got there when all three of them were home. They seem prepared. We taught them about how the Gospel blesses families and about the restoration. They understand. We made sure that they know that reading in the Book of Mormon and praying to God to know if it is true is the way to find out if all that we have taught is true or not. We told them not to believe what we say just because we believe it. They need to do their part and find out for themselves.  Andrea is seven and is the cutest little thing in the world. I love teaching kids. It forces me to teach in the most simple way possible, and that way the adults understand way better too! Just like John Taylor said, "It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it." That is what I strive to do everyday. God is the master of simplicity and Satan is the master of complexity and confusion. The Gospel is simple! We should teach it simply as well. Teodoro, Frances, and Andrea all committed to read and pray. Hopefully they keep doing this as a family! It will bring them a lot closer, which is what they are searching for. The Gospel will bind them together like nothing else will. It will literally "seal" them together, right? ;)

Well that pretty much covers it. Long letter today. Hope you appreciate the hard work and toil it required to make these stories happen! We taught the restoration a TON this week, which is the way it should be. It really did happen. As I learn more and more about it, I come to appreciate and love it more. I hope all of you do to. We have the greatest message in the world! We need to share it. If you have the opportunity to go on a full time mission, put aside your doubts and fears and just DO IT! What can you lose? If you have already done it, don't lose the missionary mentality. I know this Gospel is true. I have heard, seen, and felt too much to think otherwise. I know it. I love all of you!!

 Elder Dial

Blossoms are out. That means pollen....

New Companion - Loved Easter

Mikes new companion...Elder Winegardner

 

Helping out in the rain.  Didn't want to get his new shoes wet.

 

¡Feliz Día de Pascua! Hope everyone had an excellent Easter and that y'all remembered the reason why we celebrate it. It is for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He really was resurrected. The Spirit witnessed to me very strongly yesterday that he did. I was listening to the talk of a bishop from another ward yesterday (I was asked to play the organ in an English ward. I always thought that where there are Mormon white people that piano players automatically come along with that, but apparently I was wrong). Anyway, the bishop was giving a talk about Christ's atonement. He quoted a lot of Elder Bruce R. McConkie's "Purifying Power of Gethsemane", which is one of my favorite talks, so I had already heard most of what was said. But as I paid close attention, it wasn't really what he said, but what I heard and felt inside of me. I felt the Spirit testify in a very real way that what he was saying was true. It was a very sacred experience for me. I haven't felt the marks in the Savior's hands, wrists and feet. I haven't thrust my hand into His side. I haven't personally seen Him, but the Holy Ghost has testified unto my heart that He lives. That He atoned, died, and was resurrected for me. This I know. I may not have a complete and sure witness like Elder Packer testified to a few weeks ago, but to anyone who may be feeling like they don't know enough, or want a sure witness, don't worry. We have all felt that before. I echo the words of Ether, who said "dispute not because you see not, for you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." My testimony grew a lot yesterday, and I am super excited I was able to share that experience with all of you!

Yesterday we did a musical number. Elder Winegardner played and I sang the Michael Hicks arrangement of "I Believe In Christ." Tears were shed. It was a good time. 

Well I got a new companion today! Elder Zach Winegardner from Ridgecrest California. He is cool. He is Elder Fawcett's boy. We are ready to work. We are gonna baptize the crap out of Bethlehem. These Puerto Ricans need the Gospel, and we are gonna bring it to them. 

We saw Dereck Castro this week. He is Carlos Castro's son, who I found and baptized here in Allentown when I was first here. Due to some complications in their relationship, Carlos and Dereck's mom are not together, but Carlos still brings him to church every Sunday. That kid is such an example to me. He is inviting friends, family, and others to church. He is really sharing what he believes because he loves it. I want to be more like him. He is reading, praying, loving, and being an example. I love that kid. I hope and pray that he is able to serve a mission one day. He always says that it is his goal to serve. He would be such an effective missionary. I would love to see him do that. There wouldn't be a much fuller joy for me than to see Dereck fill a mission. He is preparing now. Did you hear that Marcus? He is preparing now. He is only two months older than you! 

Ok, we have been focusing a TON on the temple this week with our less actives and are seeing miracles coming from it. Yesterday we had a less active that hasn't been to church in years come to church! It was awesome to see her there. She has come a long way and is feeling the Spirit and joy that comes from activity in the church, but more importantly, activity in the Gospel. She owns a bakery, and has hired someone to work on Sundays for a few hours, if not the whole day, so that she can come to church at least every other week. She is showing by her works that she is willing to act!

 

We have been showing this video to our less actives. (https://www.lds.org/church/temples/temples-a-conversation-with-a-church-leader?lang=eng). It is Elder Walker explaining the temple and why it is important. Super powerful. We are making sure that our members have the temple as their goal. A less active, Ángel Roca, is coming back after years of activity. This video had a profound effect on him. He is making changes to be able to be active. He wants to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and is reading and praying. He will be able to come to church starting next month. His goal is the temple. Real intent is what he has. We are excited about this. Less actives are returning. We are seeing the fruits of our labors, which sometimes we don't get to see as missionaries, so we are nothing less than stoked!! 

Our Easter Day was filled with the Spirit. Didn't get a huge dinner or anything, but that doesn't matter that much. We were filled spiritually. We also had some delicious chicken that your truly made. This work is true. Christ is at the head. He is laboring alongside us, and we feel His presence. Love you all. Have a great week!

Elder Dial

Staying in Allentown...For now

Don't know what to say here.

Mike made Baclava...Yum  Sister Perilokos made this for us in Virginia.

The shiny suit gang.  Ugh

A different view of Allentown

What up all yous? So transfers are tomorrow! I am sticking around, but Elder Acosta is out of here. He has been here in Bethlehem for 6 months, and we are sad to see him go, but excited to see what the Lord has in store for us coming up next.

Hope you haven't sent anything to the new apartment yet. Haven't moved in quite yet. Probably this week. I did get the package though! It was fantastic, even with all the candy. We just decided to eat it super fast so that it wouldn't be a temptation to eat later.

Ok, get ready for this. Hermana Valdivia, our Relief Society President, for a job looks after these two Greek people. When I heard about that, I asked if she could get us Baclava.. Well today we went
over to make it! This Greek lady is literally 100 years old. She has seen a day or two. She taught us how to make sweet, delicious, Baclava... Super cool. It was delicious! Dad, it reminded me of that
one lady that we home taught in Virginia that was also Greek. Forgot her name, but this Baclava was even better. You know why? Because my hands made it. It was super good and we finished it pretty dang fast, but only after we were able to share it with a bunch of other people.

We met with our investigator Luis. The one that has finished the Book of Mormon. He has done some stupid stuff in his life and has feelings of guilt and has trouble forgiving himself. He is scared of making a covenant  from what I understand. We shared 3 Nephi 27:16 where it talks about those who repent, are baptized, and endure to the end are held guiltless before the Father. We then watched President Uctdorf's talk entitled, "You Can Do It Now." He was crying throughout the whole thing, and we were guided to show that specific talk. But then a couple days ago we passed by, and his whole attitude had completely changed. He was irritated about life, and honestly a little rude, but
that's ok. We talked to Aida, the lady he lives with and she told us that he had a seizure the day before, should rest, but won't. He wants to quit drinking, but can't. He had stopped, but relapsed and is in the thick of his addiction again. We are trying to do all we can to help the guy, but are running out of ideas. He has been given several blessings, members have been involved with his teaching, and all that jazz. Any ideas would be more than welcome. He is so prepared, and we have told him that! He just needs to realize who he is! We are praying so much for him. We are never giving up as long as there is the smallest spark of interest, like President Hinckley said.

That's the hardest and most sucky part of missionary work. To see people who you know and love give up on the Gospel, especially after they have tried the fruit! They know that is most desirable above all other fruits, and is the sweetest as well! But due to addiction, lack of faith, lack of action to keep their testimony, or other things, they let other less worthy ventures overtake them and set aside the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even after we have done all we can do, they sometimes still do it. Agency sometimes sucks, but that's the way it is. Sorry for that long rant, but at least it makes my letter look
super long.

Well I am trying to apply what I learned in conference and studying their words every day. I am so grateful that I have an iPad so that I can study the words of the living prophets every day, and anywhere I want to. Most of you have iPhones, iPads, and the such. Remember, just having a smartphone doesn't make you smart. But if you use it in smart ways, it does!

Super stoked. We are going frolfing today. Look out.

Well, I love you all! Thanks for the support y'all always give me. I know these things are true. I know God lives. I know He sent His Son to pay the price for us! I know that in modern times that He has
called living prophets and apostles, just like in ancient times. It is just the order of things. It makes sense, doesn't it? It does to me.

-Elder Dial

Let Us All Press On!

Ok well that was probably in the top 4 best conferences ever. Who's
excited for Elder Dial's Conference review? I sure am. Here goes.
Wait. First of all let's talk about a few things that went on this
week. We met with our investigator Luis and his "esposa" Aida. Yeah
they aren't married, just have like 4 kids together and have been
living together for like 30 years. Why get married right? Why would we
ever want to do that? BECAUSE GOD SAID SO, OK? So many people have a
huge struggle with that! But that doesn't married the fact that we had
a super spiritual lesson with Luis. Before I got here, he finished the
entire Book of Mormon, including the Guide to Scriptures at the back,
which is the equivalent to the Bible Dictionary. His Book of Mormon is
marked up. So basically, about when I got here, he went to Puerto Rico
on vacation. Due to the crazy snowstorms we had this year, he didn't
get back until a few weeks ago, and had been avoiding us. Apparently
he had been fed some information that had made him feel indifferent
about us. His reading stopped, and his heart hardened. He finally let
us in earlier this week, and then on Friday as well. We had two super
good lessons where the Spirit was there. He recognizes it. He had
fallen into some addictions that he thought were over, but now he has
hope again. He always asks us to pray for him, and I told him that we
were, my family was, and that thousands of people are praying for the
people that are investigating the church. Send some prayers his way.
We are excited for him. Good stuff.

Ok, so Conference was pretty amazing. I took a TON of notes, and I had
all my questions answered. I love Conference. Here are some themes
that I caught. President Monson and Elder Holland both talked about
defending the faith. Elder Anderson also mentioned it. We need to
learn how to tell our story, explain our beliefs and why we believe
them, and be able to defend. Defending doesn't mean contending! It is
standing firm for The Lord, His Gospel, and His Church. Defending
doesn't always consist of convincing the other party. Many times it
doesn't. But it does mean being strong and firm. It has never been
easy to live a Christian life, and so we shouldn't be phased when some
persecution, misunderstanding, and judgments comes our way. It doesn't
mean it isn't true. Look at Christ. How many people believed on Him
during His life? What things were brought upon Him and His followers
personally? We can't call ourselves His followers if we aren't willing
to endure some of that! We can't say we love Jesus if we compromise
what He said should be and what His personal beliefs were. We must
believe what He believes, talk like He talks, and act like He acts. I
love Him and am trying to do these things and defend them. Sorry for
that rant, but that's simply the way it is.

I absolutely loved President Packer's talk. He is a trooper. His
testimony hit me super hard. I won't share specifics of what the
Spirit testified to me, because it is sacred to me. Go listen to the
talk again. Elder Christofferson shared the same message in his talk.
Elder Christofferson literally invited all of us to gain that same
testimony and witness of Christ. That is what I strive to. I am trying
to align my life to look more like the Savior's.

Ok mom, just like you said, Let Us All Press On was amazing. First
time I had heard that arrangement. I fetching loved it.

Stand in holy places. Have courage. The world cannot change GOD'S
views, doctrines, or standards.  Be the example people look to and decide to
change, like Elder Scott said. I ask myself who will say, "I changed
that day when Mike Dial said/did that." I hope to be able to be a tool
in the hands of The Lord that He might be able to accomplish His
purposes.

Well, I could say a ton more, but they are all in my notes. We all
found out things that we need to improve. If you didn't, go watch
conference again and pay better attention. I know that those men and
women were inspired of The Lord to say what they said. I love them,
and am so excited to put in practice the counsel that I received. I
love you all! Can't believe that was my last general conference on my
mission. Crazy to think about.  Love y'all!

Elder Dial

Here and there!

Kissing Dogs

Another Trip to the Liberty Bell

New Shiny Suit.  Hmmmm

We had a pretty good week. Elder Acosta was super sick yesterday from something that he ate while he was on exchanges, so that kind of sucked being in all day, but that's ok. We are excited beyond belief for Conference. It is better than Christmas for missionaries. We are so stoked to have our investigators listen to real apostles and prophets of God! They speak with real power and authority. Their words can sometimes do a better job than ours, and we are excited for it. To prepare for conference, I went through my patriarchal blessing with the idea of making some questions/things that I want to improve on. It was an awesome experience and I highly recommend it for everyone! Great way to get some personal revelation!

We went down to Philly last Monday. There is a man who owns a suit shop down there, not a member, but nonetheless loves the missionaries. He basically gives them half off and sometimes more. Today, I went in to buy a suit. He has these suits that are shiny and super cool looking. I go in, and he charges me $99.99. I only had $45 cash, and was gonna do the rest on my card. After about 4 tries my card doesn't work. He says, "Don't worry about it. Get the $55 to me whenever you can. No rush." Literally completely trusted me. I am thankful that missionaries have developed that trust with him so that he completely trusts us. It made me think a lot about my own actions. Am I doing things that would cause people to trust me completely? I think so. It was a good lesson I learned, plus I got a nice new suit!

So we met with a former investigator a few days back. His name is Teodoro, Theodore in Spanish. His wife (I hope they are married) is Frances. We had tried to contact the guy for forever, but he always blew us off. Finally, we knocked the other day and Frances came to the door, when she instantly set up an appointment for us to come back, and when we went back, they actually kept their appointment!! That's always nice. Teodoro was way nicer to us while his wife was around... Weird. During our lesson, she expressed that she grew up in a church, but she always felt like there was something missing. Hopefully her heart will be open so that she can come to know for herself that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is true! We are super stoked for their progress!

We had a good lesson with Onasi. He is the investigator that is the only one in his family that is not a member. When I was here the first time, we started teaching him a little, but nothing happened after I left. That's one of the reasons why I was sent back here I think. We clarified the Restoration with him. He believes the Gospel is true. He says he has recognized and felt the Spirit, and he says he felt it in the lesson. We both recognized it. He said that it is time for change. He prayed at the end of the lesson too! He literally spoke with God. There was no eloquent wording, no words to please the missionaries, simply speaking with his Father in Heaven. He committed to read, and was super excited to hear about prophets and apostles. He understands why they are important, and the great opportunity that we have to listen to then in General Conference coming up next week. We are super excited and optimistic about Onasi. I think Heavenly Father is even more excited that one of his sons is coming back.

It is FINALLY starting to warm up a little bit. We gotta catch up with Utah. It has been raining for the whole weekend but I think it is stopping and should be pretty dang beautiful coming up here. It's about time. I am so stoked for short sleeve shirt weather. Not sure if my short sleeve shirts are though. They are kind of faded and a little grayish yellow color. They will probably be brown by the end of this summer. That's the goal.

Well, this guy is super stoked about life right now. I'm a missionary, I'm in Allentown, Conference is coming, I have the Gospel, but most importantly, I'm a child of God!! That's the most amazing truth that I know. He wants me to one day be like Him! That is amazing in and of itself. He wants the very same thing for each one of His children, even you! I love you all! It is my prayer that we all listen to conference intently for what we need to hear. What is said isn't as important as what we hear and what we feel. Be in an environment where the Spirit can testify to you of what you need to do. I know that if we invite the Spirit, He will be there. Love you all. Get excited for Conference Review next week. Be excited.

Elder Mike Dial