Post-Christmas, Pre-New Years

Heyooo!

It was good to see some of your faces on Sunday, it was super weird, but good!!

This picture is the weather we had for Christmas Day.  IT WAS SOOO COLD. ;)

Yes, I look tired with this picture, but I was slightly fed up with my companion when he took the picture.

Gary's baptism was epic, the spirit was super strong!!  To start off, we have a piano that we use that is computerized, so it can play some of the songs if you just push the right buttons.  We sang "Angels We Have Heard on High"  and "My Country Tis of Thee"... but the piano didn't have "My Country Tis of Thee"...  So... let's just say I put the laughter into slaughtered when I played the top hand... XD

Along with the baptism though, Gary took about 10 seconds to actually enter the water.  Elder Dunn was waiting in the water for him, and I knew that Gary was feeling the Spirit.  To make it even better, his 8 year old son, (by the way, that was Gary's second time seeing Marcelo in a year, so he was super pumped) was sitting right where Gary could see him.  Then the actual baptism happened, and Gary hugged Elder Dunn.  Then they walked up to go and change.  But NOBODY ELSE MOVED.  Not even the primary kids!!  Everyone sat there, looking at the water, and enjoying the Spirit!  It was awesome, some of the sister's took one of their investigators who wasn't interested in baptism before, now he wants t be baptized!  *cue the mic drop*

We met with Jaylynn's family on Christmas day, (she's our 10 year old recent convert) but Jaylynn wasn't there, so we shared a message with her grandma, mom, aunt, and their dedicated Catholic friend.  We shared John 3:16-17 with them and bore testimony of Christ and His Atonement being the best gift we have been given and that we need to remember Him throughout the whole year, not just at Christmas time, and the friend, Anita, started crying!!  She's a walking miracle (she had back surgery that was supposed to keep her from walking ever again, but she's up and walking, it's awesome!)  and she asked us to leave a prayer specifically for her before we left-  which we did, and now she wants us to give her a blessing sometime!  She also wants to move into our area, close to Jaylynn's family, and it'll be awesome!! She's an awesome lady, and she's super prepared!!  

That's all for this week, keep Pressing Forward through 2017! 

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!!  :)

Elder Eli James Dial

''Twas the P-day before Christmas

Everyone keeps saying that Christmas is this next Sunday, but I'm just chilling in El Paso thinking "nah, there isn't any snow on the ground, it's still mid-October"  But that's what the weather is like down here-- mid-October for Idaho!  It's hilarious!

I did not get the most mail at zone conference (in fact, I didn't get any at zone conference), but I had a flippin CRAP TON last Monday.  At zone sports they had the two packages- the cereal one and the Christmas tree one, and like 3 letters for me, but due to the change in mail policy in the mission, I got the rest of it all in our mailbox later that day, including the ward one.  I'm still not sure if I read through all the letters!! 

But as for the main events this week, I got kissed on the cheek by a dude from Lebanon while I was on exchanges- so Elder Palomino also got one, but Elder Dunn managed to dodge his when we met with the guy again, so I got two.  I guess it's a sign of respect and love- something they would do to show others that they think of that person as a son.  I guess he thinks of me as his son or something.  XD  (and he's probably gonna be baptized, he already had a Book of Mormon in Arabic)

Gary's a solid beast!  He quit smoking and started chewing gum instead, but that only lasted a week.  That's right- he no longer needs the gum!!  He's inviting nonmember friends to his baptism, and he's just epic!!

It's halfway through the transfer, and it's super weird to think of!!  And after the last week, I know that God is a God of Order (and miracles)- check this out:

So we got a media referral, so someone had gone online and order a BoM or a Bible, we got to go deliver it and try to share our message with them.  The lady that it was for is named Ivette (or Hilda) and she had been taught before and was on date to be baptized, but she had to move from her old place because of a bad situation.  Guess where she moved from?  Better yet, which mission??  None other than the Nebraska Omaha mission, where Elders Westenskow, Ohlsen and Adams, from my district in the MTC are serving, and Elder Winward from back home is serving!!  If any of those 4 know Sisters Milne and Atkins, tell them that we are doing our best to meet with her, but she's super busy!!

Don't ever forget that God loves you, and that we need to leave the 99 and go after the one- that's our brother or sister we need to help!!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

Texas

Texas is leaving it's mark on me.

So, this picture is me and my comp, Elder Dunn, is in the middle, and Elder Hill, one of the Fort Bliss Elders when Elder Dunn and I went to try and help them unlock their car, because they had locked the keys in the trunk of their car.  Elder Hancey, Elder Hill's companion, was standing next to Elder Hill, but the way I took the picture accidentally cut him out...  oops.  We got a good laugh out of that.  That was Saturday night, and it was pretty great.   

Another El Paso sunrise, except I think this one is better than the other one, so enjoy!!

As for the week, it started off with Elder Pearson of the Seventy, throwing down on us as missionaries.  When I say that he threw down on us, I mean within the first 10 minutes he basically told us that Laman and Lemuel had more things to complain about than we did, so we need to buck up and be grateful for what we have.  It was a glorious throw down.

Our investigator, Gary, is SUPER pumped to be baptized on Christmas Eve (if I forgot to mention this last week, Surprise!!!)   He's told more people than we have that he's going to be baptized on Christmas Eve at noon.  This ward has already stepped up and has a couple friends in the ward for him, they've invited him to Christmas parties (which he's gone to) the Elder's Quorum goes out as a quorum to movies and such (cough cough... Star Wars, so I've heard will be happening soon... :( ) and he's basically already in the ward.  It's fantastic.  :)

A couple more people offered us drugs or something, but you know... The Spirit is my drug!! ;)

Not much to say this week, if you have any questions, just ask me!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!   :)

Elder Eli James Dial

It's DECEMBER?!?!?!?!?!?!

So, this week a lot has happened!

Elder Dunn and I got a new investigator, who is on date to be baptized!  Neither of us had met him, he was a referral from the Montwood hermanas (they're in El Paso zone, the zone that I was in for a week) and we hadn't even talked about putting him on date.  But the Spirit was strong there, and suddenly we invite him to be baptized on Christmas Eve, to which he responds, "What do I got to do??"  :)  :)

Oh, Elder Dunn is from Elko Nevada, he's been on his mission for 16 months and he's awesome!  He quotes movies all the time, so it's glorious. 

As for the pictures, that first one is what I bought on Thanksgiving when I was on the East side of El Paso, that was my binge buy so we could stay awake during weekly planning (for our two separate areas).

Thanks fam for the massive Thanksgiving note/sign/thingy!  I hung it up over my bed, as you can see.  It was awesome!

Along with that, the mail thing is changing.  The mission office where I had you send all your letters, is now going to be forwarding the mail to my apartment- except for the week before transfers, and packages.  So I won't get packages till the Zone Conferences, but I'll get your mail in my mailbox, now.

The third picture is a picture that Elders Hill and Hancey have hanging in their apartment, I had to take a picture cause it was so epic.  Even if you don't like Spongebob, it's pretty hilarious. XD

I know this is a short one, but hey! There's work to be done, so I'll just leave with a little poem that was said at sacrament meeting by our young men's president;

"There are two kinds of people on earth today,

Two kinds of people no more I say.

Not the good or the bad, for it's well understood,

The good are half bad, the bad are half good.

Not the happy or sad, for in the swift-flying years, 

Bring each man his laughter, each man his tears.

Not the rich or the poor, for to count a man's wealth, 

You must know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life's busy span, 

Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.

No! the two kinds of people on earth I mean,

Are the people who lift, the people who lean.

Wherever you go you'll find the world's masses

Are ever divided into these two classes.

And, strangely enough, you will find, too, I mean,

There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load

Of the overtaxed lifters who toiled down the road?

Or are you a leaner who lets others bear, 

Your portion of worry and labor and care?"

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

Elder Eli James Dial

Transfer 2

This week has been crazy!!  I've been with Elder Carruth since Tuesday, and since he's the only zone leader in this zone, he's been stressin SO MUCH.  Tuesday and Wednesday his phone was going off non-stop-- and half of it was about transfer stuff for this week.  He's got a full plate this next 6 weeks- but he can do it!!

So I'm going back to 1st ward, my new comp will be Elder Dunn, I'll be junior comp (cue the sigh of relief) and I'll meet him tomorrow, and it's going to be great!  We're gonna burn downtown El Paso with the Spirit!!

I've learned a ton this last week, having been in two different areas for the majority of it, and having three different comps in that same time period, but it's been awesome!!  This area here is utterly and completely NOT downtown El Paso, like I've gotten used to (we would even joke that there was enough gum on the streets that it was like a foot massage [the sad part was, is that I actually thought that for a while] ;).  This area is the rich area, and we've actually been able to knock some doors and see some epic Christmas lights and have some hilarious stories.  For example, on Friday we were fed dinner (left over Thanksgiving, no surprise there) and were given plastic utensils to use.  Why is that significant??  Because in the middle of eating I broke my fork into a trident about 1/4 of the way done eating.  The best part- the family didn't even notice, so I just kept eating.  When I was done, I even organized my plate and fork so that from a distance it didn't look like my fork was broken.  XD  Way too much fun.

This is the second time that I've come into a new area and been able to see someone be baptized.  And there's another one this Saturday, where the lady is getting married and right after the wedding is her own baptism- which I'm kinda mad that I won't be here for.  That's ok, I've got 1st ward's area to go find people to baptize and bring closer to God!!  

Thanksgiving was weekly planning day, and I was still in training, so we got to spend 6 hours inside studying, practicing and planning.  It was good, and fun, and we went to the gas station, and I caved and bought something to keep me awake, it wasn't expensive, but I'll send a picture next week (I don't have my camera cord to send pictures, it's back in the 1st ward apartment still).  We did get fed a full Thanksgiving dinner, but they didn't have pumpkin pie, so it was incomplete till the next night, where I broke my fork and got to have pumpkin pie with a trident.

This year the Christmas initiative that the Church is putting on is #LightTheWorld    It's a great video, and I would encourage all of you to do those 25 days of service. Some of you are just thinking, "25 days of service?? Ain't nobody got time for that." or "I don't want to do 25 days of service."    Well.  Put your big boy boots on and just do it.  

D&C 128:22

Alma 5:26 (this is the Throw-down Scripture of the month)

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

Thanksgiving

This is the most epic story of my life!!

To start off, those baptism picks were of the 10 year old that wanted to be baptized (sent from her mom's phone).  Her name is Jaylynn.  We found her when Elder Proctor was having a bad day- he wasn't sure if something he did was right, (no details, for now) and we were walking to our dinner appointment, (we were only slightly lost- we didn't know how to get to the street they lived on) but then Bishop pulls up and says, "Hey, Elders!  You won't believe who I just talked to!"  He had just visited a family who just moved in-- Rosie, with her daughter, Erika, and Erika's daughter, Jaylynn.  They were less active in their old ward- didn't like the people, or the ward wasn't welcoming or something- and came to 1st ward and loved it!!  So they started coming back to church, and Jaylynn wanted to be baptized!  So we teach her the first lesson put her on date for the 19th, and they start becoming active again- Those three, Jaylynn's younger brother, Ryan, who's 5; Sonya, Erika's sister, who also went less active and married a non-member.  Now, the primary program was last Sunday, the 13th right?  Before that, Erika told us that she had been having dreams of Jaylynn being surrounded by snakes, that she (Erika) was trying to keep away from her, while Ryan was sitting safely in a car a short distance away.  DO YOU SEE THAT SYMBOLISM???  We found out why (or, more specifically, why I think so) at the primary program-- So, those people (the family) went to it, including the non-member husband, I think.  Not only that, Erika's only brother went to it also.  You're probably saying, "Elder Dial, that's not a miracle."  but get this-- the guy is anti. He doesn't want anything to do with the church; he even said that he'd never step foot in a mormon church ever again.  But we found out that he went to it for Jaylynn. He said that he felt he needed to because of Jaylynn.  We haven't seen anything else come out of it, but it was awesome!!  :)  :)  :)

I did get Grandma D's email, and her letter/ picture of Christ this last week, so we're good! (and mom's halloween package with the two books and the journal [which is so epic, thanks!])

I have no idea what my Thanksgiving plans are, as I am going to a different area for the week-  there's an elder on the East side who's companion is also going home this week, and I get to go over there for the week because he's a zone leader (and has to be there for zone training), but he's in Albuquerque till tomorrow, so that's when I go over there.  So as of right now I'm chillin with the Fort Bliss Elders, Elder Hill and Elder Hancey, who will be taking over this area until transfers next week.  (we found all this out last Monday at 7pm, that's why I couldn't tell you until then :)

Zone conference was awesome, there were 4 zones there, so about 50-60 missionaries, and no, I did not have to give another talk, but the Chamizal zone (that's my zone)  sang a musical number-  ukulele version of "Called to Serve"  that's pretty epic, I'll send a video of it if/when I get a copy of it (I didn't think of recording it myself till we were in the middle of singing it, sorry).  But yeah, it was awesomely epic.

If I haven't embraced the fact that I'm awkward, I sure have now.  Enough said.

I'm just going to end this with a quote or two, (I don't know who they're by) "Wherever you are, BE THERE."

"Where e're thou art, act well thy part"

"... see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength..." (D&C 4:2)

That last one, you think you know what it means, but you don't.  You won't know what it means till you've tried it, and only in hindsight will you realize what it really means, and that you did it for a time.  Be highly motivated and truly dedicated to the work- whatever that work is for you, delve into it! (unless it's stupid, then don't)  

Throw yourself into the work because "Life's not a spectator sport.  If watching is all you're gonna do, you're gonna watch your life go by without you!"  

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves"

You're not alone-- just like agents have resources and someone who knows what we're up against, we do too!! Christ knows what we're up against, and he gave us these resources (the scriptures, priesthood leaders, even music) to help us "withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."  

Keep the faith, Press forward, never give up, never surrender!!  :)

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

Everything's bigger in Texas

Happy Birthday, Nate!!  

(No, Sarah, I did not need that reminder, I already knew :)

So, after the election and all that, the work has been a little harder- people accusing us of voting for this person, people just all out ignoring us (more than usual) or giving us death glares when we say hi, and we've heard/seen a couple protests about it-- surprise, surprise.  As I've heard it said in the last couple days, "From the land of the free and the home of the brave to the land of the entitled and home of the offended."  

Anyways, you know the guy from last week, the "Reverend Veteran"?  HE FOUND ME AGAIN.  This time I (Elder Proctor was 3 seats in front of me on the bus) only got 20 minutes of being told that Joseph Smith didn't see an angel, and how he saw the devil disguised as an angel of light.  He told me how Republican means "repentant sinner" and how back in 2000 God told him to only vote Republican.  He tried to teach me the law of chastity, told me to get married, and then proceeded to try and hook me up ON THE SPOT.  He literally turned to the girl in front of him, started talking in rapid Spanish, and all I understood was "Hermano Dial" and I'm pretty sure that he forced her to say hi to me.  Let's just say that I'm glad I didn't have anything lethal on me.  XD

Transfers happen the week after Thanksgiving, but Elder Proctor is going up to Albuquerque on Sunday, (we think, we still have no idea and we'll probably find out Friday)  so I don't know what's gonna happen to me during that week and a half, but everything will work out.

So in the last week the weather has dropped down to 75 being the high, and I'm loving it. Elder Proctor is freezing some days, and I just wish I could lay down on the only grass El Paso has, and chill.  But no, the work must go on, so I'll just have to wait till 2018 for that to happen.  

Along with that weather change, I've got my seasonal cough that I get. And I'm beginning to think that my body was meant for Texas-it just goes big or it goes home-  because I woke up yesterday with what we think is flipping pink-eye.  FLIPPING PINK EYE.  Last time I had pink eye I had bronchitis, too, so... I'm only slightly worried.  A senior couple that's serving in the ward bought us cough drops on Saturday, (which helped a TON)- and as for the pink eye- I got a blessing yesterday, and 15 minutes later we were at our dinner appointment, where they gave me some cold medicine, soup, and crackers to take home.  We go to our next appointment with Jaylynn, and her grandma lives with them, and she pulls out eye drops- one kind for pain, and the other for pink eye- and boom! Everything is going better!  If I get sick while here, there's no worries, cause there's like 6 people in the medical field here, including and ER doctor- Bro Root, so I'm set. XD

This is kinda random, but there's a burrito place here in El Paso, where the burrito is about... 18 inches long... you think I'm joking, but it's flipping MASSIVE.  I'll send a pic next time we get it. As far as food goes, I've had what Elder Proctor and I have been calling "man salad" or discada-- where there's a mosh pit between hamburger, hot dog, bacon, and sausage-- with chips.  

The primary program was yesterday, and it was awesome!!  There's a deaf sister in the ward, so the primary learned a song with sign language for her, and even though it was rough, it was sweet to feel the spirit that the children have, and the love the ward has for them!!

Remember-- "Be-e-e yourself"

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

It's been a BASH-- I mean DASHING week XD

Happy Birthday Tyrell!

"Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles..."

So, first off, before I get going, Halloween was rough.  It was just another P-day, and just another proselyting day, except that we weren't allowed to knock doors at all that day-it was supposed to be appointments, but nobody wanted us over because it was Halloween and trick-or-treaters and all that.  So we had basically nothing to do, so it was about 730 when we text a recent convert of ours, Will, if we can go for a visit at 8.  We end up meeting with him, they (him and his wife) decide to feed us dinner (because we hadn't had a member sign up, and we hadn't had it yet) and it's time to share a message with them.  But he has this friend there who moved in with them and is starting to make them less-active (no bueno), who's kinda a bum about religion-- he mentioned mountain meadows massacre to us and that should tell you enough about him.  He would sit in with us with the lessons we had with Will, so he would listen and all that, but wasn't really actively participating or anything.  During that visit we had with them, he had actually left to go buy alcohol, and he brought it back (while we were still there).  Anyways, so Elder Proctor has a tendency to throw me under the bus, so we're sitting in that awkward silence after dinner, and Elder Proctor just says, "Well, Elder Dial has a message for you."  I'm used to this happening, and usually I'm good at whipping out a scripture and applying it to their needs, but I was completely lost on this one.  So, I grab my scriptures, and I say a prayer that I could share the scripture that they needed, then I open my scriptures without opening my eyes, and it opens to Enos.  I think to myself, "nah, my thumb was just on the tab" or even, "that's just where it always opens up in my quad" (both of which were true) so I close my eyes and my quad and I move my thumb up and down and around, and I do it again-- still Enos. Then I was staring down verse 6.  I knew this was no coincidence so I just jump in and share it.  And while I'm sharing it, I realize, that the friend that was there (don't know his name), I was basically calling him to repentance, but it was not directly.  So I feel like I'm dying inside, that he's not going to like what I'm saying, but after I was done, he comes over, sits at the table, and opens right on up.  This stubborn man just starts asking questions, and confessing sins (basically) and we just start teaching him the Plan of Salvation- which answered all of his questions.  It was awesome- but we haven't been able to meet with them since.

Now for the actual bashing part--  so I went on exchanges twice this week- one with the Fort Bliss Elders, and the other with the Zone Leaders, so I had 2 whole days of being in charge of the area- first with Elder Hancey, then with Elder Jones (Spanish missionary).  So, one guy when I was with Elder Jones, in Spanish told us that he used to be a member of the church but that he started to doubt when Spencer W Kimball did a stake thing and everyone was told not to record anything.  We compared that to Christ, and how after a miracle was performed He told people not to tell anyone, and the guy stopped talking about that.  He then tried to tell us that Melchizedek (the guy who Abraham paid his tithing to) was Jesus, because Melchizedek was king of Salem, and Salem means peace, and how in Hebrews 7:1-3 Melchizedek didn't have a father or mother, but was like unto the Son of God, so that means that they're the same person so on and so forth.  So we moved on.

 The next day we met a guy who asked meaningless questions, so when we couldn't answer them he told us that we should talk to the "Jehovah's Witnesses, cause they know what they're talking about"  XD

Later that day was the third guy- who called himself the "Reverend Veteran" and was on the bus with us-- so I got a whole 30 minutes of being told I (I say I because Elder Proctor wasn't going to take any of that so he started acting asleep) was wrong, how every church is hypocritical, there won't be a World War III but there will be an American Civil War, and that Christ won't come till after 3000 AD.  He tried to trick us into saying a Catholic Prayer, but when we didn't he said that we worship Satan, and we just didn't say anything because he was talking THE WHOLE TIME. The only 2 times he was silent were when he stopped mid-sentence to say a prayer for all the people on the bus, and when he had me read Exodus 19- (I didn't actually read it, I stared at the page for as long as I could before he started talking again [I managed to get 5 minutes]).  I started to think that God was giving him power or something, cause someone's gotta have God's power in order to say that many words without taking a breath and keep it going for that long. I mean, JEEZ.  ;)

Anyways, we got 3 new investigators this week, 2 of them on date to be baptized, (they came to church yesterday and they're going to a family home evening tonight, woot woot!!)

This video is the rainstorm/hailstorm that hit us- it was raining like this for about 30 minutes, and we were at the bus station so we had to run to our car... let's just say that if you think the streets flood there, you're wrong.  I didn't get a video or a picture of how bad it was, but that was nothing.  We were driving up a hill (when we say hill, we mean that last mile of hiking to Table Rock, the hills by Grandpa D's house, or the hills to get to Jameston (by the South Stake Center in Shelley)  and it was flooding so bad that streams going down the hill were reaching about halfway across the road-- whole intersections vanished.  Needless to say, IT WAS AWESOME.

This week has been super eventful, and there is work to be done!  I've never hated the first 20 minutes of the day more than I do now, it's never been harder to stay awake when I'm riding the bus, but I've never loved talking to people... until now!-ish. It's still a work in progress. ;)

The gospel's true, study it like it's your last day on earth and like you've never studied it before!  Take time to understand what you're reading, otherwise it's just like schoolwork-- in one ear and out the other!!
Actually take time to prepare for the sacrament, and leave church each week with something you're going to improve on!

Christmas is just around the corner, so you'd best be getting ready to go CAROLING, cause that's what I'm gonna be doing (with just my companion, so I actually have to sing)!  So just remember, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear!"  So start practicing now!! ;)

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!

Elder Eli James Dial

Halloween Edition

Happy birthday yesterday Sarah!  Hope it wasn't as stressful as it sounds this week was!

Pictures--  that's me, going all out Kronk (I didn't do the theme music, I was in a bit of a sketchy neighborhood) from "The Emperor's New Groove"  on the Mexican border.  Sorry it's not that good of quality, Elder Proctor didn't feel like zooming in or anything, so that's how it was.

That second one is from the bus.  I got on, I sit down in a seat, and that's what I was staring at.  So what did I do?  I took that sticker off and it now resides in my journal, cause I couldn't stop laughing.  Besides, it probably shouldn't have been there and I was saving people from the temptation. ;)

This week- Stephanie is still gone, we have no idea where she is, the family that we had been meeting with had cancelled every lesson that we were supposed to have with them last week, and we have a new 10 year-old investigator that is on date to be baptized November 19.  We're gonna see if we can move it to the 12th, cause she's super ready, loves primary (been to church multiple times already) and wants to be baptized, so we'll find out if she wants to.   But yeah, there's been good and bad this week, but we just gotta keep on keepin on. ;)

Happy Halloween!  It doesn't feel like Halloween to me, as it's still around 90 degrees- the ward parties this ward has are outside, and are planned to be outside for all of November, I think, so I don't know if it'll ever feel like Christmas or anything to me so time just goes on, I guess.

Someone tell Levi that Elder Hancey is in my district and is one of the elders who opened up the Fort Bliss ward, and that he's doing awesome!

Thanks Aunt Janice for the package- the M&M's are basically all gone already... I think there are 3 packets left...  (don't worry I shared)

Zone training was last Friday, where we found out that zone conferences, which used to be held every quarter- once every three months- is now going to happen every transfer, along with personal interviews with President, which are this week.  

I've been learning some Spanish so that I can talk to more people- cause most of them try to act like they don't speak English, but that's not gonna work no more!

Quote for the week:  "The world works from the outside in.  The Lord works from the inside out.  The world would take people out of the slums.  The Lord takes the slums out of people and they take themselves out of the slums.... Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world."                                       

-(don't know who, I can let you know next week)

  

Alma 60:23

Matthew 7:3-5

Keep the faith, don't forget who you are, and don't stop applying the Atonement in your lives!  Use it every day, and encourage others to do the same!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!

Elder Eli James Dial

New Experiences

So, the other Stephanie, the one we've been teaching, should be called Carmen Sandeigo or Waldo or something.  We've met with her 5 times, and none of them have been in the same place.  1) the bus  2) the church  3) hospital/ER  4) the mentalpsychiatric hospital  5) a motel that she was staying at (that was paid for by abundant living [a different religion]).  We're not sure what to do with her, as she doesn't really have anywhere to go and she can't really charge her phone, we try to call her and set stuff up, but it doesn't really work very well.  That last lesson we had with her was not good, because of the abundant living and all that, it almost sounded like she didn't want to meet with us anymore, (which made us both want to cry right then and there)  but I guess the only thing we can do is to keep trying to call her and wait.

We've also been teaching a family that was taught by missionaries before, but they weren't keeping commitments so we started teaching them again!  The first lesson was no bueno, they were distracted, they were just cracking jokes the whole time, and they were in complete shock when we wanted to leave after 30 minutes of being there- we had shared the message already, taught, and left a commitment (they were used to other missionaries staying for an hour or more just talking and such like that).   The next lesson, we were on splits, so it was me and a member called Brother Root.  (He didn't say the words, "I am Root" but there's still hope.)  The family, the Calderone's, paid so much more attention!! They hadn't done their reading, so we did it with them-it was just Moroni 10:3-5 and we left them to read the introduction to the BOM.  The 3rd lesson, 2 days later, they had done the reading and had questions about it!  4th lesson- splits again, so I went with the ward mission leader, Brother Tecuapetla and his wife (they don't speak very good English, and their in an English ward because they want to learn English better/more [and the Calderone's speak Spanish too, so it was perfect!) and it was a very productive visit!!  So, Jimmy and Laura, the parents are married through common law- so they basically told people they were married and it was binding (and it's legal here in Texas so it is binding but not to the church so if they want to join, they'll have to actually get married) they drink coffee, and they want to be "800% sure" before committing to baptism.  The reason they were so attentive at the 2nd lesson was because Jimmy was jobless, and the next day after that 1st lesson, he had people coming to him offering him jobs!  He knows something is up with this religion (well yeah, IT'S THE TRUTH) so he wants to learn more, and he was the main hindrance from before, so now the kids and the wife are willing to listen too!

So from transfers, half of my zone is now training new missionaries- last transfer there were only two of us that were fresh outta the MTC, and now, without the two of us, there are 5.  Yeah, I'm still a greenie, but those 5 are grass greenies. 

Hey Sarah, how was talking to Sister Butler??  She told me that she called, that mom wasn't home, and that she talked to you instead! 

Zone training is this week, so I'll be getting your mail on Friday!

The posse that's living at home right now, I sent that letter/collection of letters last P-day, just so you know how long it takes to get from El Paso to Shelley!  (and yes, some of those letters were written while I was in the MTC, so.... yeah. I still don't know when I'll be sending that package, but when I do, I'll probably forget to tell ya, so it'll probably just show up.) XD

Keep the faith, be humble, and don't stop being yourself- no matter what people try to tell you! God doesn't need robots who just go through the motions- he needs children who serve Him with love! Think about that for a second-- with love. What is associated with love? The heart.  

Then why does Moroni say that we need to pray with a sincere heart??  (Moroni 10:4)

 Why does he spend so much time of his last days talking about love, about charity?

  

"You have a divine future and destiny ahead of you and you cannot avoid fulfilling it"

If it's important to you, you'll find a way, if it's not, you'll find an excuse.

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

(Great is my LOVE for you all!)

--

Elder Eli James Dial

I don't know what to title this one

IT'S A MONDAY  :)

The pictures-- the star is the Star of El Paso, it's on the mountain side facing east, and it's on every single night. :)

X marks the Mexico!  Yeah, that's Juarez, the Mexican equivalent to El Paso.  I don't think that I zoomed in at all for that picture-it's that close!!

Anyways, we had/are having an epic miracle happen to us!

We're at the downtown transfer station, and we decide to go outside (they had a TV inside, watching the news, and we didn't want to hear about how "huge it was going to be"  to sit by the bus stop that we wanted.  We walked outside, and we hear this lady just yelling cuss words and wanted everyone there to see how her language was all the colors of the rainbow- but she was sitting at the same bus stop we wanted.  So we sat at the other end of the 20 foot bench.  She sees us and yells, "You waiting for the 36?"  "Yeah."  "Come here."  

We were prepared to feel that rainbow, but instead, she shows us a picture on her phone of a positive pregnancy test (that we obviously needed to see).  We find out that her name is Stephanie (weird, right??)  she's 25, pregnant with her 3rd kid (we think the other 2 went to foster care), unmarried, getting kicked out of her apartment, and is basically just wallowing in the "life-sucks" attitude.  So what do we do? We kept talking to her.  The next day, we had a lesson with her- the Restoration, at the church, and Elder Proctor says it was one of the most spiritual lessons he's had his whole mission. We committed her to baptism on October 29, to which she said yes, and that she'd read the BOM.  At the end of the lesson, she said one of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard.  We set up another appointment for the next day, during exchanges, so it would be up to me and Elder Calvillo (a zone leader) to talk to her.  About 2 hours before the appointment, she calls us and tells us she's in the hospital-- so we decided that we're gonna go to the hospital.  Well, she was in the ER- we don't know why, not our business, and we got there while the doctor was asking her questions.  The one we remember is him asking what religion she is and she replied, "Mormon"  (Made our whole day!).  Found out that she had done the reading we left her, and that she had started the BOM from the beginning- and was just starting Lehi's dream.  We read that with her, (that's not what we had planned, but she was super distracted and just started reading it out loud to us before we could say anything)  and we told her that we'd be back tomorrow.  Tomorrow came, we went to visit her, and she had been released to go to a psychiatric hospital, that WE HAVE NO IDEA WHICH ONE SHE GOT SENT TO.  We called her and called her, but no response.  We couldn't go by her house because she no longer had one.  So, to sum up, she literally dropped off the face of the planet.

Until today. 

She calls us during personal study, tells us which hospital she's at, and that she wants us to come teach her, but that we can only do that on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 7:30.  So, she can't get baptized the 29th, because in this mission you have to go to sacrament meeting twice in order to be baptized, and we don't know when she can get out of that place, but yeah, she's super prepared to be baptized, and we are not letting her drop off the face of the planet again!

It's been awesome, and, as it's been said before, "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say, 'The work is done.'"          -Joseph Smith

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"  D&C 128:15

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

-- 

Elder Eli James Dial

PS- my mission motto- "Everything is hard until it becomes easy.  We just have to know what to do and how to do it."

The work is staring us all in the face- what's keeping you from doing it?

Tons of changes!!

Happy birthday yesterday, Steph!! (sorry it's late, time just goes by way fast :)

So, next week is transfer week, and we find out who in the zone is being transferred on Saturday- which is kinda sad, but good.  

Funny(est) story for the week: We met a drunk guy (who we think was homeless) who had met missionaries before.  So he started joking around with us...... by telling us that if we ever left the church he could "hook us up with a prostitute and a beer"...  Once he got off the bus, I promise, I HAVE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE.  He did tell us that he was just kidding, but I really don't think he was.

I don't have any pictures for ya this week, but I'll try to get some soon!

News flash- this is my last pre-hump day P-day!  It's now going to be pre-pre-hump day (or post-post-post-post-post hump day, if you prefer).  Yep, as on next week....  IT'S A MONDAY.  So, for those of you who don't know (or didn't get that reference), there is going to be tons of whales-giving-birth-to-a-roaring-Trex-uppercutting-plato-cans references for the rest of the mission. XD

The best part about it?  Halloween falls on a Monday!!  So, we, as a zone, are getting together and having a Halloween party- and we're allowed to dress up!  It's going to be sweet! (and Christmas is on a Monday next year- woot!!)

Yes, Dad, I would like a copy of the conference edition of the Ensign, it was just THAT EPIC that I need to have one. ;)  and my comp is from Washington, and I'm probably gonna kill him (in missionary terms, "kill" means "going home"- he goes home the Wednesday before Thanksgiving)

Elder Proctor and I set a goal this month to get 4 baptisms- you think it's easy-ish, but this area has only had 4 baptisms this year so far, so we've been working around the clock to find people.  As of today, we are teaching a family of four, and have two or three more others lined up to officially begin teaching either today or tomorrow.  I'll keep you all posted on that!

We have zone training sometime during the first week of every month, so that's when I'll be getting all the snail mail you send, so just a heads up to plan better! 

Well, I can officially say that I understand what the Lord wants me to become over these next 2 years. I'm not going to tell all of you- because I'm just that rude l:)- but I am sending a letter home to Madre y Padre sometime soon (that I wrote on September 14, or something like that) that will probably give them a clue as to what it is, and it's up to them to share that information with the rest of you (if they actually get the hint [I did write that letter before I knew, so it's not blunt about it or anything])

I'm here for all of you, but Christ is all the time!  Turn to him and everything will be alright!!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu! :)

--

Elder Eli James Dial

Funky Foods and Terrific Talks

Well, the Land of Desolation is doing great!  In the last week we've been focused on finding people to teach in our area- you'd think that'd be easy, but the last ten people we've found who want the lessons either want them in Spanish, or they're not technically in our area, so we've given all the missionaries serving around us like 2 people each (which is good for them, but bad for us).

That package I am going to send with stuff for Adi? Yeah, with the way everything's going, you might as well expect it around... March. I'm not joking, as P-day only goes from 10am-5pm, and the zone gets together from 2-5 to go hiking and such, emails from 10-12, lunch and shopping, I don't have much time to actually write stuff in that time. I'll do my best, but as for hand-written letters, don't get too hopeful. 

This picture (and video) is of the sunrise from my apartment- I finally got a good picture or two of it!  (If you don't get these, let me know, I'll try again later)

(Sorry guys, the video wouldn't load so you just get the picture!) 

As for the title of this email, in the past week I've had masubi- which is spam sushi, wrapped in the seaweed and everything.  We had it with a Samoan family, where the oldest is 18 and preparing to go on a mission, and the youngest boy is 15 and looks like he's the oldest (he's 6' 2" and weighs 270, he's the biggest [height and weight] out of the three boys that are between the ages of 15-18 and his name is Monhonrimoriancumer (the actual name of the brother of Jared, in Ether).  I also had lengua, which is spanish for "cow tongue".  (I can see some of you gagging already XD)  It was strange but pretty good.

Yes, I did get to watch all of conference, and I did see Elder Jaynes in the choir, the lucky duck. Yes, Pres. Eyring did mention my mission, (#NMAMrepresent!!) and that Albuquerque does have 4 stakes (that's 4 different zones for us missionaries down here).  You all should live by Elder Oaks' talk, cause that made all full time missionaries' dreams come true!!  Dad, we do get the Ensign, but you should still send me my own copy of the conference editions, cause I want to have my own copy where I can read it. :)  

So, I'm a representative of Jesus Christ, and because He chastens who He loves (D&C somewhere) I'm doing this out of love for you all.  After General Conference most people have the mentality that they were good talks, and then we go about our normal business.  So here's a quote or two that I found before the mission,  

          "... a message given by a General Authority at a general conference- a message prepared under the influence of the Spirit to further the work of the Lord- is not given to be enjoyed.  It is given to inspire, to edify, to challenge, or to correct.  It is given to be heard under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, with the intended result that the listener learns from the talk and from the Spirit what he or she should do about it."                      -Dallin H. Oaks

           "When we put off obedience or delay following the prophet, we bring more serious consequences upon ourselves."                                              -(I have no idea where or who)

I don't know about you, but from what I understood, the "theme" of conference was the Book of Mormon and/or the Atonement.  I don't know about you, but that's kinda freaky to me- the two most basic, important, taught things in this gospel, and the leaders of the church talked about them- for the purpose of having us become better.  Those two things provide hope- one of them even provides hope in the other-but it seems to me, that if they think we need to be taught on probably 8 hours of the 10 on those things, something is going to happen where it is absolutely needed.  So be changed by what you heard (and felt) at conference!  Don't just change your behavior-- change your nature.  Those two things, the Book of Mormon and the Atonement, are the ways that that can happen!

Anyways, keep going, and don't forget- Christ said, "I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." 

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

(Sorry guys, the video wouldn't load so you get another picture!) 

Elder Eli James Dial

The No Subject Email

Well, I don't have much to say, so I'll just tell you what I can and answer some questions and such that have come up to me that I've basically ignored/looked over.

Someone tell Grandpa D to stop driving, cause if this pattern continues, when Jackson goes on his mission in a couple months a third car will be wrecked, and he might not be as lucky. And I'm pretty I speak for both (and soon, all three) of us Elders Dial that we want a grandpa when we get back. :)

Sarah, good luck with your new calling, but if it makes you feel better, there isn't even a choir here, so yeah.  The ward has 94 or so active people, and to tell you how much work needs to be done, there were only 6 in Elders Quorum on Sunday- there are supposed to be 46. And there's 109 prospective elders- so at least 50 inactive families we need to play hide and seek with.  They have 3 or 4 active young men- and for mutual, every week is combined because they only have a max of 10 active youth-- and that's with the football players who can't go cause of practice.

Dad, no, we weren't near UTEP, as there are 3 zones/stakes just for the city of El Paso, and we have downtown/we're the central zone.  (That's code for I have no idea where UTEP even is, so I'm gonna say no.) And no, I have no idea what movie that is, but the quote from last week was meant to be from "Forever Strong".

Merinda, of course the minions are driving you nuts.  It's cause I'm not there so someone's got to do it!  They are just fulfilling their calling. ;)  And you better actually paint the rooms- we've been saying that we would for like 6 years, but we never did- so you'd best follow up on the word. 

I lied last week when I said that I'd be sending a package to Adi soon. I'm just actually going to send a package to my parents, and some of the stuff inside will be for her and Emera, meant to be delivered to her sometime. I haven't sent it yet, so you probably won't get it in time for this weekend.  The package will have letters for most of the fam back there, so that's why you haven't really gotten any.

So Elder Proctor and I had a genius idea to go contacting some people downtown--at night... on a Friday... yeah... needless to say that was pretty ineffective...  We found out later that a guy had been stabbed to death that same night- the only consolation is that we don't know where downtown it happened but that it was apparently around midnight (I think the guy was lying to us when he said that, but it did help, a little bit).

Now it's picture time. The first two pictures are from the hike we did as a zone last P-day.  The first picture should be one side of El Paso, and the other picture should be the other side.  Yes, the mountains we hiked are in the middle of the city- and it literally is city.  At night, all I can see on the horizon is city. Literally. 

The next two are from temple day, yesterday.  I am not actually the tallest, I just wanted to be seen over the Elder who is the tallest, who is standing in front of me.  That's my zone here in the Chamizal zone.  The next one, is me and my comp, Elder Proctor.  This picture doesn't accurately describe his personality, but it does describe the differences in his personality and mine.  

I almost forgot to talk about Missionary Monday (temple Monday)-  President and Sister Guffey gave short talks before each session (there were 4) and we were the last session, cause we're the farthest away from the temple.  So they came into the session with us!  I actually ended up sitting by President Guffey the whole time-which was slightly intimidating but epic.

I'm doing good, my body's getting used to the weather- 60 degrees is starting to be cold (I don't like that at all) but it's only been that way since yesterday- and we were in Albuquerque yesterday, where it was 70 degrees and that was perfect.

Also, about my Christmas present- I have no preference of the size of the picture or anything like that.  Just send them when you can. :)

Anyways, I got to go! There is work for us all to do!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

Espanol is no Bueno

First things first (I'm the realest #fancy ;)  happy birthday Adi! I know you can't read this, and that your birthday's actually tomorrow, but have a great 5th birthday! I'll send a package there soon!  :)

A lot has happened this week, and it started last Wednesday with exchanges!  So I got to spend a full 24 hours away from my companion and my area, with the only other Elders in our District--the Zone Leaders.  And naturally, they're the Spanish Elders.  So basically, I got to spend a whole day listening and acting like I knew what was going on, as most of it was in Spanish.  Twas a dream come true. ;)

Next, Juan.  He was gone Monday through Thursday last week, picking up his brother from California, and so we go and try to meet with him for our appointment and boom-- his brother's atheist, and we couldn't get in with Juan, because it's the brother answering the door.  We'll keep trying and doing our best, but this brother is "always trying to kill my vibes" (name that movie). 

So we met another Juan, Juan 2.0.  We had met him before, but we met him again on the bus, and that's when he looks at us and (without us asking) gives us his address and asks us to go meet with him- every missionaries' dream!  His story though, is epic, and typically, he's the guy you would think is super intimidating just by his looks.  He's been shot at least 6 times (maybe 8, we're not sure), is an amputee (he's got an artificial leg from the knee down on his left leg), and a couple months ago, he broke his other leg, when a car fell on it.  He wasn't supposed to walk for 5 more months, but he's on a cane now, and he's doing work.  He's been in prison for drug abuse, his wife is still in and out of prison for it, but 10 years ago, his 2 kids were almost put up for adoption.  That's when he changed his life around.  He cleaned up, stopped using drugs, and is now working as best he can to support those two kids, who have been living with him for about 9 years now.  He knows he's alive for a reason, and he believes that that reason is his kids.  Literally, the epitome of what a missionary wants from an investigator.  Unfortunately, after we met with him, we found out from him that he would prefer to receive the lessons IN SPANISH.  WE DON'T EVEN GET TO TEACH THE GUY.  So Elder Proctor and I are really upset about that.

Yesterday was Zone Conference.  So, a little background. What they do, is about 3 days in advance, they give you a topic and you prepare a 5 minute talk on it, but you don't know who's talking until they announce your name over the pulpit.  The biggest catch to it- you're not allowed to take anything up there with you.  Your scriptures, notes, nothing.  It's just you and the congregation.

So Elder Proctor needs to go to the bathroom.  And when he needs to go, HE NEEDS TO GO.  So we wait till the end of the Stake President's talk, get up and go.  When we walk back in, while Sister Ashton (one of the missionaries) is giving her talk, one Elder looks me in the eye as I'm walking to my seat and mouths the words "you're talking".  I sit down, and I have four missionaries look at me, with either worry, sadness, or maybe a little joking.  I look at Elder Larkin, one of the AP's and point to myself, to which he nods slightly.  When Sister Ashton finishes, I look to the conducting AP, Elder McGarry, and he just looks at me and nods.  This whole time, I'm thinking "ah crap. I have nothing prepared for this"  And I didn't.  The topic was the scripture of the month that we had to memorize, Moroni 8:25 (or something like that)- "The firstfruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins" So what did I do? I got up and gave a 5 minute talk on it.  I have no idea what I said, but it was cool.  I basically tied it in to the missionary purpose, to "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End"  It was sweet.

I'm growing closer to the members and it's awesome!  I have had some spicy food now, and after two weeks of waiting, I can finally say that the food here makes me want El Paso El Gas-o. (I've literally been waiting for 2 weeks to say that). It's still tasty, though, and as far as I know, I haven't gained any weight since the MTC, so I'm still going to eat more and more. ;)

Now, on to more serious matters: my Christmas wish list.  What I want from all of you, is your favorite picture of Christ and your testimony (hard copies of both) and you better sign your name at the bottom of your testimony.  I don't care if I get the same picture 30 times, if it's wallet size or what, but just send it to me.  I know this is 3 months in advance, but I figured I'd let you know so you can start preparing.  You can put your testimony on the back of the picture, you can send them as two separate items, but either way, I want them both.  If you don't want to send them yourself, you can give them to my parents and they will send them for you, or get together with a group of friends and do it, I don't care, just do it! (As for the missionaries who are out serving, just send me your testimony, however long you want it to be, and I can print it off here.)

My address is: 

Elder Eli James Dial

New Mexico Albuquerque Mission

4400 Presidential Dr. NE, Suite E

Albuquerque, NM 87109

(This is the mission office address, that's where they want the mail sent, and I don't know where/when I'm going to be transferred, so just send it here so it won't get lost in the mail)

(Mom, I don't know how long it takes the mail to get here because it gets to the mission office and I get it whenever someone goes up there or they come down here [it's a 4 hour drive], so I got your package and all that yesterday, if that helps)

Sorry this is a long one, but there was a lot that I wanted to tell you all!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

PS I challenge you all to study in depth (the interpretations as contained in 1 Nephi 13, the grammar, the placement of what he says and where he says it, stuff like that) Lehi's vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 8), cause I have been since I've restarted the BOM back in the MTC, and there's a ton of perspectives that can be added to make it cooler, and I'd love to hear what you all come up with. :)

El Paso

Week 1 in a nutshell:  I've been chased down by a prostitute, sworn at by a drunk old man and a sweet-looking old lady (who yelled obscenities at us while we walked away), helped a different drunk guy lay on the ground while we waited for the EMT's to get there, cause he had passed out while in his wheelchair (or he fell down or something, I don't even know), got to baptize an investigator named David, have walked through the most ghetto part of town (called the Devil's Triangle, where we met the prostitute), and walked to the Mexican border.

So, from what I've been told, this is just another week in El Paso. XD

This next part, Merinda, you'll love. The ward that I go to, just so happens to be in the OLDEST chapel in Texas. Literally.  It has a plaque and everything about how it's the oldest church building in Texas.   And, in the ward I'm in, I met our fourth cousin- on the Dial side!  We're related through Samuel Dial, (Grandpa's grandpa) and her grandpa's grandpa is Samuel's brother!  Her name is Gabrielle Cheney (Hey yo, Chris, you related to her??) and she's also big into family history!

So the ward is great here, we get fed every night (that's something my companion makes sure of) and last night we had BAKED POTATOES. It was fantastic that I had the opportunity to have a taste of home, but I didn't get to bring up Spud Day, so that was a little sad, but I'm over it. 

Holly, you would love the apartment I live in because A) the hot water doesn't run out. Ever. The cold water runs out.  If I wash my hands in cold water, then I have to brush my teeth with warm water, and that is not something that I like to do, but whatever.  The longer you're in the shower, the hotter it gets. I came out of the shower today, and I was steaming for 5 minutes.  It's like I was Captain America or something. XD  B) it has the best view of the sunrise. OF. MY. LIFE. We live on a little bit of a mountain, and most of El Paso is east of us, so the sunrise (which happens at around 6:45, 7 ish) has most of the city in it.  It's sweet.  I'll take a picture when I get the SD card.

My Spanish is very limited, I can now say that "We're the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" and that's it.  That's all my companion knows, so that's all he's taught me. XD

Sarah, Nate, congrats on the house and the job, that's awesome! Have fun moving everything before Christmas!! l:) ;)

So, a couple more details, my area is a driving mission, but in order to talk to more people, my comp and I ride the bus and walk most everywhere, depending on where we're going.  David, the guy who I baptized, was super prepared (I guess that he had read the Book of Mormon multiple times prior to meeting the missionaries) and I got to baptize him because the guy that he wanted found out the night before that he couldn't make it, so Elder Proctor told me that I could do it!  

We've met some people who are absolutely prepared to accept the gospel, one who's name is Juan (haha, stop laughing, "one Juan") and he doesn't believe in Christ, but he really wants to change his life around, so he's taking the lessons!  He even said that he would be baptized- and we're going to teach an actual lesson for the first time on Thursday, when he gets back from California.

The work goes on, even though I want to rest sometimes (it's really hard for me to stay awake during personal study but hey, I'm getting better).  And even though I miss you people, I know this is where I'm supposed to be, working and (believe it or not) talking to people!  Keep the faith!!

Te whanaunga mo ake tonu!!

--

Elder Eli James Dial

PS If you want to send snail mail, send it to the mission office, I don't know the address, but it's on the blog that my sisters made for me.  If you don't know what or where it is, someone send it to me and I'll include it in the next email next week. :)