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