Transfer to a bike area/Moreno Valley

July 30, 2012

Hola mis carnalitos,

This week was super great; started off with P-Day. I had to pack and holy cow I threw away a TON of stuff. Even as missionaries it’s hard not to accumulate a ton. Oh well. A member who used to live in De anza came back and took me and Elder Santos to our new areas. He's super cool and I love him. I'll send pics next week cuz I forgot the cord. Elder Santos went to my first ward......the one I was in a year ago.....not cool.

I'm in Moreno Valley and on bike and it's great. My legs are always in pain, and I'm ALWAYS dripping with sweat. LITERALLY. It's not too bad while going to lessons but you know when you like play a full game of hardcore ball and you finish then sit down then a wall of sweat just hits you as you stop for a while. I get that about 8 times a day in lessons....and it doesn’t stop within the lesson because these people don't use fans AC or anything. It's just hot stagnant air in their apartment…literally drops of sweat off my chin for an hour. My legs are super sore because i haven’t' ridden a bike for a year or more and I love it. Our apartment sucks, but the work goes on.

Tues, we went to DDM and taught a couple lessons and picked up a new investigator named Mike. He's like 26 and pretty cool. I don't know how solid he is but he's on date for the 25th. We met a less-active family named la familia Nuñez. They're super tight. They got baptized like 4-5 years ago, moved and lost the church. Now they want to come back, Hermano wants the Melchizedek Priesthood to bless his month old baby, and they want to get sealed in the temple. I love them. We have an investigator named Claudia. She's like 18-19 and needs some help. She has desire to know but isn't really dispuesta )(ready) to work for it. She progresses, but very slowly. We then taught two investigadoras, named Araceli and Ari. Araceli is like 54 and Ari is 25. Not related. They need some help too. They like us to come over but they don't read. Probably a drop here soon,

Elder Rytting and Christensen have been teaching these people who don't progress, so we'll be moving a lot of teaching records to the FORMER section and be finding a lot more. That's basically what we did best all week. We got 194 OYM's (Open Your Mouths) and it's all thanks to bike. On bike you can talk to everyone and they can't run away from you. So we peddle on up and testify with the power of God. My opinion is it's WAY more effective than tracting. Tracting sucks big ol monkey toes. I hate it. But, street contacting is way better.

haha I love how I start out these emails day by day and then get distracted and just ramble. OH well. Read it. Love it. There's a guy right next to me and he's been kneeling down NEXT to his computer chair and talking to himself and surfin the web looking at inappropriate things. I think I'll share the Gospel with him because THAT'S WHAT I DO! All day, with authority given to me from a worthy priesthood holder. This work is the best. The gospel is pure and true. Life is good....if you make it that way. I really wish people would wake up and realize how sucky their life is when they don't go to church and partake of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The scriptures are the guide we have in this life and they were written for US! There are so many things that we look over and we don't even realize it in the scriptures. READ THEM!

 Love you bye,     -Elder Dial

YO VOY A BAJAR LA PANSA! ( I will lower the belly)

Monday July 23, 2012

Hello,

So interesting news with not a lot of time. Big News: I got transferred to Moval, Cal/Moreno Valley about 10 miles south of Riverside…on bike. YEAH!!! I here (hear…he used to be a GREAT speller!) there are a lot of problems in this next ward. Lots of chisme (??? Translation says “gadget”)  and a lot of missionaries have had problems with girls. Not me! Because Satan can't touch me!

I get to go replace a guy named Elder Rytting, who was basically the highest baptizing missionary this mission has ever seen!! Don't worry, same thing is going to happen that happened in the Bible. (No ego here…) Remember? John the Baptist comes first, converts a ton of people, baptizes a couple....then Christ comes fulfills the law....Rytting in this situation...is my boy Johnny (just kidding I don't want to put down Rytting). I can't wait to get a smaller area, and KNOW it as in conocer (knows)  it! I am going to tear it APART!!! I'm going to get a missionary, my new companion, named Elder Christensen. He's been out for 3 months...that means I'll be doing all the teaching because he doesn't speak Spanish yet.

Another tidbit… I got bit by a Great Dane! It bit me on the wrist and you could see all my veins and arteries and it was super cool. It bled a lot but all is well. I should've gotten stitches but I didn't cause kids with stitches end up in ditches.

 I've never had a companion younger than me, and I'm not really excited to have one. I think this one will be good because tengo confianza (I have confidence) en el elder Rytting y su hijo. (and his son…they call their younger comp their son…).

 I love this. I'll be coming back to Riverside, for at least two baptisms for sure, but hopefully some more. Adriana is solid, Daniel is solid. Daniel will get baptized the 28th and Adriana the 4th of August.

I just inherited a ton of weights too. haha I didn’t realize how much basura (junk) one accumulates in a year (I've been in the city of Riverside for a year btw). TONS! I have to throw lots of crap away. This area is the best, I will miss it. I'll miss everyone calling me BEBESOTE. That's what all the Hermanas call me here. Cause I eat tons. I've never eaten like I have here. They make food for the fetchin stripling warriors every dinner and the other three missionaries in the ward are like 150 and under.....so Dial (great…) has to clean up. I've only gained like 10 lbs though. so that’s cool. Oh well.

I love you all and I have to go pack! pictures next week!

-Elder Dial

Monday July 16, 2012

Hello mi gente (my people),

This week was fantastic! Wanna know how you can be as happy as me? Serve God with all your heart, might, mind and strength! Ya it was good.

We taught a lot of lessons this week and found a good amount of potential investigators. Daniel is an investigator from Guatemala, and he is prepared by the Lord. All he has to do is overcome a couple commandments and he can have his sins washed away by the authority of God.

 Luis, the tattoo guy, hasn't been doing so well. We had a lesson at the capilla (chapel/church) and did a church tour after. He's really into art so he would stop at every painting and look at it and examine it. We got to the Seminary room and....things went downhill. Totally unexpected. He saw a picture of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, and asked who they were (understandable). We told him and he didn't like it. One, he didn't like the fact that there isn't a glimpse of brown skin in either of the photos. Two, he thinks Thomas S. Monson is from The Sopranos and is an Italian Mobster. REEEAAAAAL dumb concern. But I've heard worse. He went to Mexico to visit his wife so we haven't been able to teach him until he comes back. We have a lesson tonight. Hope it goes well. I love Luis so much I talk to him in tu form! haha spanish speakers.

We're bringing Hno Ruiz who just moved here from West Jordan. Super cool family. Hopefully he can bring it home for us.

Adriana is tight. She is lista para bautisarse (ready for baptism) but she wants to wait for her best friend to come home from Mexico. She's been there for like a month and we don't know when she's going to return. Her husband with talk to her tonight and give us some information and we'll talk about if we should baptize without the hermana (sister).

I'm having a hard time with my companion. I love the guy with all my heart and soul but he has some anger issues. I'm a happy go lucky guy and don't really know how to deal with it. I've been praying and asking God for patience and guidance, I hope it comes soon.

 I LOVE THE MISSION. It's the best thing in the world. It's the hardest thing in the world. It's the most fulfilling thing in the world. I love feeling each drop of sweat drip down my back in this smoggy, hot, disgusting, but absolutely beautiful place. I love sharing the gospel. I live in a crammed apartment with three other 20 year old men. We do a couple things different than other 20 year olds in this world. We talk to everyone. We declare people to repentance every day. We study missionary library three hours a day. We are bilingual. We dress in shirts and ties all day every day. We bring souls to Christ. I love it.

Love you all too!

Elder Matt

The photos

1. Where I live (don't misinterpret the beautifulness of the picture, it was probably 97 when I took that) and like 106 during the day

2. Elder Santos from Uruguay and Me. I've been with him in the same ward or apparment his whole mission. I also just realized that I've been in the city of Riverside for a year o_0

3. Elder Johnson from Michigan on Mt. Rubidoux. I've done this little mountain like 12 times as a Zone activity because I've been in this city for a year

1. 6 months you burn a tie, year, shirt, 18months pants, 24 suit

2. found that in the church parking lot

3. District

4. Elder Turley and I

5. Mormon helping hands project with ward. we painted
6. Erics baptism

7. Ricardos baptism (he doesnt have a tie)

8. Elder Watson one of my best buds in the mish. hes from honolulu

Happy 4th of July!

Monday June 9, 2012

Hello,

This week was slow but still good. On the 4th of July all we did was play Basketball from 6-9pm and went home and went to bed… good day.

 On Friday we had the awesome opportunity to go to the temple and do a session. I love the temple. The feeling one feels in the temple are so incredible, I could stay in the Celestial room for hours. We then went to Cafe Rio right after and I've decided the steak burrito is better than the pork. I sat on the fence for a long time but now I know the truth.

 This transfer I've been a little more dry than I like, but we'll get Adriana baptized before the end of the transfer. All we're waiting on is for Hermana Oteo (fellowshipper/best friend) to get back home from Mexico then she can finally enter the holy waters of baptism. We are working with a lot of people with issues with the WoW. Nothing really super exciting to report this week.

 I love this gospel. I Love the scriptures. I'm doing the work of the Lord and am so grateful for the opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. Don't have tons of time sorry again.

Love you all!

Elder Matt

Every week is a good one when wearing the black tag!

Hey everyone,

This week was a goood one...well every week is a good one as long as you have a black tag on. The mission is great. The gospel is the best. We taught a good amount of lessons, and contacted a lot of people but we both got deathly sick. Started out with a sinus infection, went to a gnarly cough and sore throat, and ended with a worse sinus infection. But, we didn't take a second to rest. There is so much to do in this work, there isn't time to get sick, or to even think about getting sick. Wednesday, I was the sickest and we taught 5 lessons and talked to 30 people. I popped 800mg of tylenol, chugged some tussin, and went out with a box of tissues (which was out by 5), and cough drops in hand....and I felt awful. Today being pday, I'm going to take a long gnarly nap. But ya I was an awesome week.

On Saturday, we had to go on splits. Elder Forster and I have kinda just been teaching the same people for a while and it's time to refresh the pool. So he took Hno (Brother) Robledo out and I took Julio Cabral. Hno Robledo is sick. He's like a fetchin Samoan on steroids but he's Mexican. Love it. Julio is 17 yr old who didn't have anything to do, or any idea what he was getting himself into:) hehe. Elder Forster and Brother Robledo dropped us off and we walked for 5 hrs straight talking to people, while they taught 4 lessons. Julio was exhausted and said he was never going to come out with me ever again. Lies. He bore his testimony in Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, and talked about the experience he had. For missionaries, it's normal to approach cholos and homeless people and testify of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. We do it all day ervery day. For a junior in high school...not so much. So we were walking and we went to the nearest park. First group of people we talk to, all straight up gang bangers bro. They all had their fortys and it reaked of weed, and Julio after told me that 4 of the 7 guys all had guns on them. hahahahahaha ME RIO DE PELIGRO!!!!!!! Spanish. Translate it, (direct translation…I river in danger…????go Elder Dial!)  think Lion King!  Went and talked to them and Julio was silent, didn't say a word. He's a big dude too. About as tall as me, 205, Started varsity football as a sophomore, he's a pretty strong kid. But just stood there. Hilarious. I love missionary work. I love my mission. I love my call. I love the gospel. I'm gonna kill myself in 10 months when I have to take this tag off.

 Luis Sanchez is progressing. This week we had a great couple lessons with him, but, the one yesterday was the best. He was in tears the whole time. He told us he wants to change. He wants to change. He smokes tobacco and marijuana daily, has a tattoo shop in his garage, and his wife is in Mexico trying to get papers sorted out, so it's hard for him to keep other commandments as well. He told us straight up I want to change. So I told him to give me his weed prescription (not telling him what I was going to do), and ripped it up, we destroyed his cigarettes and threw away his weed and anything that would even come close to tempting him to break any commandment. We told him he needed to shut down the tattoo shop....that's going to be a hard one. It's his only way of income, and he supports himself and 3 three kids and his wife (kids and wife in Mexico). We felt prompted to promise that God will give him another job IF he shuts it down and keeps the commandments. I still think he's shaky on that one. But, we are going to start visiting him daily.

Man this is the best thing in the world. I love it. Love you all and tell the Ward family they will be in my prayers. dueces!

-Elder Dial