Christmas Card

Hi,

If there is any kind of Christmas card that will help you to remember the true meaning of Christmas it is the one I received a couple days ago. I got a card from Ed and Pat. This is when you realize you have been gone awhile. I taught Ed and Pat in Castle Dale about 15 months ago. Ed is older and called the bishop one day asking to be baptized. He is in his 70's. His wife was a less active member. We taught them and they were golden and such wonderful people. What Pat told me is that Her and her husband Ed had gone through the Manti Temple recently and been sealed together for time and all eternity... Insert a massive jump for joy and leaps of excitement and that was me. Wow that was a long time ago and so much has happened for them. That was one of the highlights of my mission. Saying goodbye to them was so hard but Ed was ready for baptism he was committed and Elder Doane and I had a great friendship with them. I really Love Ed and Pat.

Christmas season is in full swing and we have many Christmas parties and activities to attend. This is a great time of year. Mission Christmas is the best i love it!

The Church is True
143 Family can't wait to talk to all of you in 6 days
Elder Ian Dyer

Wave your in the parade

Hey,

This week marked the completion of a long unfulfilled dream. Elder Chadsey and I were able to be part of the annual Christmas Parade in Fredonia. Not a big deal but it was fun. We rode on a truck with lights and wore Santa hats as we waved to all the people. The Bunting family took us around. It was fun. We had to of the kids walk along side and pass out a ton of pass along cards the cool ones that promote Mormon.org. The mission has told us to flood the earth with Mormon.org cards so that is exactly what we did. As Elder Harlan says a very seasoned missionary parade veteran he says "parades bring baptisms." The phone hasn't exactly been ringing off the hook but hey who knows.

This week we had a neat experience with an investigator the other missionaries were teaching. Elder Ware was feeling pretty sick and had to stay in the apartment. We decided it might be nice to help Elder Harlen for a bit cause they had some appointments. We ended up seeing a man they had been teaching from Puerto Rico and about 50 years old. Don't ask me to spell his name Lets call him brother Pico for right now. Brother Pico had been taught everything and was awaiting his answer to joined the Church. We had no lesson plan going in but ended up having an amazing lesson. He felt the spirit so strong as all three of us bore our testimonies to him. We all left with a good feeling and new that Baptism was in his future. He was the funniest and nicest guy. He was Catholic and super spiritual. He knew his stuff. He explained to us he hadn't got the green light yet and was more on the Yellow/red area. He called the other missionaries the next day and said "Elders I've got the green light!" His baptism was the very next day. He was prepared and it was a blessing to be able to teach him. I wish he was ours! We went to the baptism and we were able to recount the last days experience with him and share again our testimonies and how grateful we were to be part of his conversion. His baptism was great. The water was cold but it didn't phase him Elder Ware a little but not Brother Pico. 

I'm a little sick with the cold right now cause after the lesson we didn't have a car. The other missionaries had to put ti in the shop. the only ride we could get was from someone on a Ryno. The Ryno is kind of like a cross between a jeep and a Quad. It has for seats and sound like a ferocious lawnmower. Anyways we didn't have jackets and as fun as it was we were cold. The Ryno was even decorated for a parade in Kanab they had earlier that week. It was a priest who drove us around on it. We must have looked ridiculous 4 guys in shirts and ties riding from appointment to appointment on a decorated Ryno. It was fun but know I have a cold ugh. 

Well that is about the week. Meta's funeral is today so that kind of puts a downer on preparation day. 

The Church is True 
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Sister Meta Lindsley

Hi,

 

Interesting week to say the least. If there was ever a week you wanted to experience the ups and downs of missionary work this was it. It had everything some things better then others.

 

The first and most unfortunate event that occur ed was a friend Sister Meta Lindsley passed away. She was in her 60's and our neighbor. We spent quite a bit of time over at her house visiting with her. She herself was a saint there were always non members at her house and she was one of those do anything for anyone type people. Elder Chadsey and myself grew to Love her very much. It was a sad day we had seen her a few weeks ago and the very next day we stopped by again and learned she was in the hospital. She was in St George and we were not able to see her cause she was so far out of our area. Thankfully this last week the mission had a zone conference and after we were able to go see Sister Meta. We had been so worried these 3 weeks and we were finally able to see her. She was in unconscious when we were there but her daughter assured us she new we were there.. We came with her Daughter and son. She was in the ICU and not looking so good. We had the opportunity to give her a blessing and it was definitely from God. She is in a much better place and I know she is better. Never thought I would have to deal with a death of someone very close on my mission. She was a friend and was so nice. She lent me her guitar so I could learn to play and sing her a song. Hopefully guitars are in Heaven to and I can follow through on my promise one day. I know the Plan of Salvation is real and this was all part of God's plan for us. We loved Sister Meta a lot sad to see her go.

 

We had many Miracles this week as well. Last night our appointment canceled and we got back to Kanab out of things to do. We parked behind the pizza hut to figure out our next move. it was about 8. we were in the deepest thought possible when you are smelling those sweet smells pizza hut has to offer. The phone rang and it was the other missionaries. they were with someone who Elder Harlan and Elder Ware had taught before and told us she was finally ready to be baptized. We had time right then so we rushed over. Her name is Carrie and she is ready. she is in her 30's and after a year and a half is ready finally to be baptized. She only has to quit smoking and we gave her a blessing to help with that. It was a miracle.

 

Another miracle was amazing on happened on our way to zone conference. Elder Harlan had ripped his pants in the back super bad! He was in a desperate situation you might say. Luckily I remembered I had a thread and needle in my backpack. Elder Harlan was relieved and was able to fix his pants on the 1 hour drive down. I didn't know why I still had the needle and thread in my backpack but I kept it there just in case. I guess that is how Nephi felt when the Lord told him to make a separate set of plates because the Lord knew Martin Harris would thousands of years later lose the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript. Nephi didn't know why he needed to make another record but he obeyed so things later in history would work out. Because Nephi kept the other record we the Book of Mormon could be completed. Haha I hope that made sense cause thats how we all felt in the car. It was silly but a miracle none the less.

 

The Church is True

143 Family

Elder Ian Dyer

Ate like kings...

Hey,

I know you are all wondering and yes my belt loop survived! We ate 3 dinners. The next big challenge will be Christmas.

Transfer calls came and Elder Chadsey and me are going to go be the next AP'S! Just kidding we are staying here in the Cane Beds. Haha I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. It's hard enough getting enough sleep as a regular missionary and I know the AP'S get less. That is reason enough to not want to be one. Being just a regular missionary is nice cause you don't have to worry about other missionaries you get focus 100% on your investigators and area. It's nice to be able to put your head down and go to work.

I'm happy I get to stay here it helps with investigator trust when they are not constantly having to spill their soul and life story to a new stranger every 6 weeks. 

This week we found a new investigator named Phillip. He is a former member of the FLDS. He lives in Kanab and his girlfriend called us last week. This was a true blessing cause being the holidays lots of people cancelled on us. His girlfriend just called and said " Hey my Boyfriend wants to be Baptized. When can you come over?" we started teaching them and they are coming along well. When you have an FLDS back round one of the 12 Apostles has to interview you so it's kind of a big deal. He is doing great though.

Today we are going on a hike with our favorite non member Red Bear. He is our neighbor. He isn't one to hear about the Church but he loves to hang out with us on mondays. He is going to take us out hiking today. Red Bear is a funny guy one of a kind for sure. I'm excited for a hike and so is my waistline.

Well thats about all

The Church is true 

143 Family

Elder Ian Dyer

Staying

Hey,

Happy Days I'm staying in Cane Beds for the Holidays. This is the last Thanksgiving and Christmas that I will have as a missionary. These holidays scare me the most cause I only have one belt loop on my belt left... It's not that bad I only had three left to begin with. Hopefully some snow will show up soon. It's still short sleeve shirt weather.

Still not much to report other then the baptisms last week. Victor and Mekyle did great they had flawless baptisms. They are going to be awesome missionaries one day. They are already sharing it with their friends. Elder Chadsey and I are so Proud.

Still same old same old here. We have been tracking a lot and praying for miracles so I'm sure they are on the way.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer 

Kids These Days

Hi,

I'm late to emails so here is just a quick note. 

 Mekyle and Victor are getting baptized on Saturday. They are pretty awesome kids They make me laugh. The are super bright to and are helping their family more then they know.

Work here is slow but I still love it. Transfers are coming up and I'm worried about being sent away again.  

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Burnt Pants Best Friends

Hi,

I burnt my pants! Always check the irons setting before you iron your pants. My Favorite pants are now in the trash sad day. The iron melted them but it is okay cause I found some replacements in the thrift store to day for 1 dollar that should hold me over quite nicely.

Today we decided to spend prep day in Kanab with the other Elders. One of them is Elder Ware who I came out of the mtc with. It nice to be able to hang around him cause we get along good. We all decided to go to the best friends pet sanctuary and go on a free tour. It was kind of cool but its odd to be in a place where most people there believe in putting the needs of animals above our human needs. It was still nice to go and play with some dogs. They brought out this one I can't remember what his name was but he was a cross between a Lab and a Baset Hound. He looked like a giant weiner dog. He was my favorite. It was cool they drove us around and showed us the place its the largest animal sanctuary in the country I think is what the tour guide said. They animals have a pretty nice place some cats have a room bigger then I ever had back home. I like Dogs and everything but some people just go way to far. They have a creepy pet cemetery to that they showed us. I definitely want a Dog one day but I'm not going to be strange about it.

This week was quiet we didn't do to much for halloween. We just hung out with the ward cause we were not allowed to go out and teach that night. Missionaries aren't allowed out on halloween here unless they ask permission for a ward activity. We probably could have just gone to Colorado City cause they don't celebrate it at all there.

The other day we ate at the local Colorado City hot spot the Mary Wives Cafe. Yep no Joke that is the name. The have a sweet menu. One of the sandwiches is named the Shadrack. It led me to wonder where the Meshack and Abendigo Sandwiches were. Its a Bible reference.

This week we have been working our butts of to find new people to teach and we haven't been to successful lately. The people we are teaching right now are pretty solid. One of my Favorites is Mekyle and Victor. They are brothers about 10 and 13 years old. They live with their Grandparents who are less active and they are great to teach. The Grandma doesn't like that the two brothers fight and wrestle alot. They say it's how they show their love. That sounds familiar cause that is the same cause in my family. I clearly remember Alison breaking Dad's rib once and a wrestling match after every family dinner. Anyways it was funny and they are a great family who are great people and progressing in the gospel so well. We are praying a lot to find more people and I know the Lord will provide.

Sounds like everything is going well at home. I can't believe Alison is moving! I'm gonna miss her a lot.

143 Family
The Church is True
Elder Ian Dyer

Raw Milk

Greetings form the Red Planet... I mean Arizona,

For some reason milk transitions have been fun and interesting in my mind. When I came out I was all about the 2% milk then when I was out 6 months Elder Smith and me dropped to skim milk. New harmony with Elder Toropainen We had 1% together. Now in Colorado City Elder Chadsy and I do the Raw Milk!!! Thats milk straight from the cow with all that unpasteurized goodness you expect. It makes frosted flakes even better yum. It's like whole milk from Heaven except its from Colorado City. The dairy they have there is pretty popular people  come from all over to get ice cream, cheese , and milk ect. At one time recently the FLDS Church excommunicated the members running the dairy because they were not paying enough tithing. Its funny cause when the dairy closed down the towns folk got all upset and protested till the members were brought back into the Church and the dairy was opened again. The same thing happened to the produce store but there was less protesting... I guess Colorado City doesn't like it's veggies. Hopefully I'm not the only one interested by this. This place is still odd to me haven't quite got used to it. Love the milk though.

Working with former members of the FLDS Church is difficult. Most have lots of trouble giving up their old beliefs. Our Mission President interviewed one of our current investigators and told us for lack of better terms she has been brainwashed. Most have trouble with the thought of being rebaptized cause they feel their other Baptism was valid. Its hard to get across the the restored Priesthood only exists in the LDS Church. A lot of people have trouble with that. I'm thankful though we have some of Kanab in our area cause it's nice to go back to normal missionary work a few days a week. However I'm very thankful for this learning experience. 

This week was really slow seemed like every door we knocked we were rejected. This transfers motto for Elder Chadsy and me is 'Roll with the punches." We were feeling pretty low this week but that means the only direction to move is up and I'm positive that's where we are heading.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps Grandma we found our snake warren a home so don't worry I don't have one anymore

Onward to Arizona... Huh?

Hello,

 

Yep I have that amazing luck where I got transfered again. I've stopped caring about it. One area that lasts more then three months would be nice but I really don't know how to make that happen.

 

Well This transfer took me to Arizona the Cane Beds area. We cover Colorado City, Moccasin, Fredonia, and south Kanab. My Companion is Elder Chadsy from McAlester  Oklahoma. He has been out 6 months and is a great compainon we already bonded over morning zombies in Cedar City. That was when we played with nerf guns in the morning. He is pretty awesome and I'm happy we are taking on the task that is this area with Elder Chadsy at my side.

 

Our area is unique to say the least. We are the Only missionaries in our mission who live in Arizona! That's awesome because we have the Grand Canyon somewhat close to us. P Day plans to see it are underway. Hopefully our trip will be better then the one Dad and Grandma Dyer took one year.

 

 Another thing is we cover Colorado City. If you don't know the significance of this city its pretty much the head base for the FLDS church. That is the Polygamist break off group of the LDS church in which they have no association with. The work there has increased ever since Warren Jeffs their alleged Prophet has been put away for in prison for life and then some for various crimes that are disgusting. Nothing in my whole experience as a missionary has really prepared me for that city. The time I'm there I feel a lump in my throat that I can't get out it's different. It hurts to be there and gets worse the more I know about it. I'm grateful that I'm there to help people who are lost. This last week I've read alot of material on this place and this religion. I just want to Let you know The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints is the true Church and Thomas S Monson is a true Prophet of God. I can't wait to do more good especially here. This place needs Love and atention. being here to help is a once in a lifetime experience.

 

The Church is true

143 Family Happy Thanksgiving

Elder Ian Dyer

 

PS sorry Grandma but we found a snake yesterday and are keeping him as a pet. He is the best snake ever we named him Warren Jeffs.

FORE!!!

Hi,

Sorry this email is late we went golfing today. Driving golf carts is my new favorite.

Sorry it's been one of those weeks where I really don't know what to write about... umm conference was good we had 2 investigators to priesthood that was awesome.

Oh man I'm sorry this week was just completely normal There is not a whole lot to report on. We have transfers coming up I will let you know what happens. I'm not even going to try and call my transfer cause I'm always wrong.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Checkmate

Hey Everyone,

For those of you who haven't realized it yet life can be pretty complicated sometimes. Since being a missionary it feels like you have a million things on your brain all the time 24/7. Dad knows that I'm terrible at remembering things. when I'm multitasking I'm bound to forget one or two of the said tasks. That's why Missionaries don't come solo lone wolf style they need a companion to help them out and that companion needs you just as much as you need them. It's nice have help. Twice a week the Spanish speaking missionaries stay with us. Elders Vite and Matthews are fun to have around. Together we have got pretty addicted to playing chess. I have realized if I lose a game it's almost always my fault. You have to keep track of so many things and it's easy to make one slip up that can cost you the game. I was playing Elder Vite and I wasn't feeling very confident in that particular game. Elder Schmidt was watching us play and he decided to step in and lend me a hand. The game changed and a few minutes later Elder Vite found himself in Checkmate. I learned again the value of a companion not just in Chess but in life and right know missionary work especially. It's nice when someone has your back and that is why Heavenly Father has allowed us to have the gift of the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us throughout our lives. If we heed it's promptings we will never have a reason to fear or lose our way.

This week was great! There was a Temple trip up to Manti this week. I love that place! Brother Poulson was there and that made my day I love that guy. He says he reads my blog every week so I hope he considers this a shout out.

The other great thing was just the people we are able to teach. Life is good.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Hi Warren Hi Lily

Hi,

 

First of have to say how happy I am for Alison and Ray. Congrats on the new baby boy Warren. He is gonna be a cool kid. Ray and Me will make sure he is an awesome longboarder... Don't worry he will wear his helmet though. It's almost unbelievable that there are some new additions to our family. Being away it could almost just be one elaborate prank that I'm not in on. Haha but I know that's not true.I'm really exctied to meet them one day. Ray and Alison will make awesome parents I'm proud of you guys.

 

My new Companion is pretty good his name is Elder Schmidt from Missouri. He has been out 5 months and his last companion was my old companion Elder Prusse. Let's just say he is happy that's over and umm I don't blame him.

 

Well It was my Year mark the other day... Ugh that is weird. My comp reminded me that I can now say this time next year I'll be home. That isn't the most exciting thing in the world though sorry family. I love being out here and now the countdown has begun so at the moment that is a little unsettling. Better make this year even better then the last.

 

There has seemed to be an even more sense of happiness and fulfillment this week as we have been able to find more people and help them. It's fun making a positive impact on peoples live just by sharing a testimony.

 

The other day we had a neat experience with the Lord leading us to someone to teach. IT was sunday night and we didn't think we had a dinner appointment. We endend up eating somewhere else and shortly after we had a call telling us that we did have one after all. We were not that excited because because we just ate. We went anyways and were not going to stay for long. To our delight though they had made fench toast so it wasn't to bad to eat a little more. Breakfast for dinner is always a good choice. We stayed a little while and shared a scripture then asked if they new any nonmembers we could teach. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at Brad. He is about 30 and from Chicago. His wife is a member and so are his inlaws. His little girl is about to turn 8 and she wants to get baptized. His ittle boy was just blessed in Church to. We asked him if we could start teaching him and he said "You know my family is getting to that point and 'm thinking I should probably be there to." Brad is great. We went Geocaching with him the other day. His family is really into that.

 

The Church is True

143 Family + Warren

Elder Ian Dyer

 

Ps Life is good

 

Elder Curlee... where have you gone?

Hi,

I thought finally just once I would be able to predict a transfer call. I have never been right and that still is the case. Elder Curlee is getting transferred. We thought we were staying together and president said he saw no reason to split us up. We did really good together and I'm really bummed that he is going. My new companion is Elder Schmit. All they told me was he needs to learn to work hard. It would be nice if we got just one more transfer together.

Other then that this week is really dry. I'm just wondering if Alison had her baby yet. Another addition to the family is always awesome to hear about.

We found a couple new investigators to teach and both seem pretty promising. One of them has just moved from Colorado City within the last few months. Colorado City is a mecca for FLDS members that just means they are polygamists. This guy is 19 and says he got out cause the religion is pretty screwed up. He was really nice and has already been going to church. I'm excited to start teaching him he seems pretty ready for the Gospel.

Well just waiting on news about the baby keep me posted.

The Church is True
143 family
Elder Ian Dyer

Q: How are you doing? A: Five by Five

Hello,

 

Do you ever just wake up and jump for absolute joy because you are or were a missionary? Cause that's what I have felt like doing This whole week!

 

This weekend was amazing. Our 4 baptisms turned to 5. Five by Five means everything is okay and it's the number of baptisms we had. These baptism were not just numbers either. Each on was special and the spirit was poured out on all of them and during there confirmations to. The Extra Baptism was for Chris. He is 38 and missionaries heve been seening him for a while. His hang up was smoking, Through some personal revelation he was able to work through it and has been without smoking for the better part of a month. Kelsey, Max, Alicia, Kaysha, and Chris are such special people and it was an amazing experience teaching them. It felt like all of them had been members for a long time and all they needed was to be Baptized.

 

Haha I don't even know what else to write about. I'm Just very Happy and Grateful. Almost at my year mark and that scares me cause that means I only have a year left and there is still so much more to learn and do. 

 

The Church is True

143 Family

Elder Ian Dyer

 

Sorry this one is short

Keep The Font Full

Hi,

 

This week has been pretty good so far. Our Investigators are commiting. We had one baptism on friday for a 12 year old girl named Danielle and next week we should have 4 baptisms... What 4!? Yep really 4!!! The first 2 are Kelsey and Max. They are brother and sister. Kelsey is 16 and has a boyfriend serving a mission right now. Max is 10 amd the only way to explain him as Elder Curlee puts it is he's an walking exlamation point( so one of these !). They are a lot of fun to teach and we went to Church with them yesterday. We went to primary with max to it was a lot of fun. They will be Baptized on saturday. The other 2 are Kaysha and Alicia. They are mother and daughter. They are part of an awesome family. Kaysha is 9 and has a younger brother named Kaygen. There Dad is awesome to his name is Blue. They are an awesome family. We Love all these people a lot Saturday is going to be great! We ran into President yesterday and we told him about the baptisms and he was excited for us. We have been begging him to keep us together and how things have been going that looks pretty good that Elder Curlee and I will stay together. We ask him to keep us together every week in our emails and whenever we see him. It might even be annoying at this point but thats okay as long as dreams come true. 

 

Today is going to be asweome to. Cal Clark who I taught in Loa just got Baptized and the Clarks are coming to visit me today. I can't wait to see them I lvoe them all a lot. We are going out for Denny's and it will be nice to catch up.

 

Sorry such a short message but between the Clarks and the awesome people we teach that's the most exciting thing this week. I love this place and this work.

 

The Church is True

143 Family

Elder Ian Dyer 

Cereal Sale

Hello,

 

Oh man it's hot! I'm not made for this heat. Thankfully Sister Pickette graciously cut the sleeves off my long sleeve shirts so things have cooled down a little. Today Elder Curlee and I are excited for a Cereal sale. We have become avid cupon clippers to save a buck and it's paying off. We have one that's for 10 bucks off cereal when you buy 10 boxes. We did the math and that equals out to 1.50 per box times 10 is 11.50. That 5 boxes for Elder Curlee and 5 for me. happy days. I really hope someone else out there finds this as exciting as me.

 

Exciting this week Clarke's birthday. Happy birthday Big Brother Love you a ton!

 

We had a pretty neat miricle this week. We were walking down main street to go grab a bite to eat and it started raining. after walking a short ways a guy named chris pulled over and said those words every Elder loves to hear "Elders want a ride?" Off course we did cause it was raining and we felt like walking instead of driving that day and it would seem that turned out to be the wrong decision to walk instead of drive. He drives us to our food choice destionation of the day and as we pull up he asks us if we want to come to the private school with him to participate in a class he was teaching. He was teaching a class called Man Skills at this private school. It's not one of those fancy schools from the vibe I got from the students it's for troubled kids or ones that fall behind. He said he would be teaching some kids to make breadsticks and asked if we would like to come. We decided it would be fun and good to be around some new people in a defferent scenario that most missionaries get to go to. We got there and started meeting some of the kids. They are from all over the states and even one kid was from Egypt. For some reason I get extremely relived to meet people who are not from Utah and have never really been around LDS people before. I met a lady from Little Rock Arkansas a couple months back and that made my whole week cause we were able to teach her for a couple minutes. I like the Locals but it's always nice to meet a new type. Anyways we had a great time cooking with them and after we were able to share a short lesson on our missionary purpose. The had lots of questions and were actually interested! We invited them to come play soccer with us today and they seemed pretty excited. Chris said he would give them a ride and so we should see them later on today. We are going to start teaching as many who will listen.

 

That was a fun miracle and one I was thankful for. We have to teach when we find and find when we teach. It's a great life here lots of awesome people to teach kids adults and everything inbetween. Elder Curlee is the man we get along great and we are begging President to keep us together.

 

143 Family + our newest family addition Lily who I really want to meet!

The Church is True

Elder Ian Dyer

From Gunnison

Hi,

 

first of congrats Clarke and Cecilia I'm so proud of both of you and I am so excited to be an Uncle. If you ever need a babysitter when you get back I will drop anything to do that. Late night graveyard shift even I'm there. Kinda sad I won't meet Lily till she is a year old but that's alright I will have two new people to say high to by the time I get home. Mom and Dad sound really happy to be grandparents finally. Yay Family happy days!

 

Life in gunnison is really good so far. It's really refreshing to serve here so far. This area already works really well and it's already growing. We have found and are teaching some golden investigators. It's tough going back to 18 wards though I was getting used to just the 3 and knowing everyone. That's really my only complaint being a Utah missionary covering so many wards its hard to know anyone.

 

Life here is just good right now. Lots of people to teach and talk to who are awesome and more on the way. I like it here already and I was able to so far see brother Poulson again and the clarks. Cal just got baptized and they said they would come visit me soon.

 

The Church is true

143 Family(now including Lily)

Elder Ian Dyer

Freshness A New Fresh Start

Hi,

First off I need to know if I'm an Uncle yet. Cecilia is due today!!!

Second yet again I'm being transferred and released as the District Leader. I'm going to Gunnison. It's a small place I've been there a couple times. There is a jail there and lots of asian exchange students i'm told. I'm serving again with Elder Curlee my MTC companion.

Really I can't wait all this extra responsibility was getting to me and I really wanted a break from leadership calls. I was getting tired and I think being with Elder Curlee is going to make things lots better and will be a good boost that I needed.

I'm going to miss Elder Toropainen a tonne. He is one of my favorite companions and we had a great time. He really liked getting a Finish flag from Canada. If Finland is in my Future I will definitely look him up.

I'm going to miss Elder Wood and Elder Ware to. They came out of the MTC with me to and are my best friends out here. I call them my counselors but really they are great and I love them a lot. It was great being around them this past 3 months.

Someone said yesterday I'm in perilous danger of that halfway point and that's true almost have a year under my belt. I'm tired though and that's why this boost is going to be awesome. Restart and refresh. I will come out of this next transfer better then ever.

The Church is true!
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Don't Get Discouraged

Hey Everyone,

To be honest there is not much to report this week. I have definitely never knocked so many doors on my mission as I did this week. Tracting is fun and you get some great stories but it's so ineffective. The Church stats on tracting is every 1000 doors there is 1 person to teach... I have a testimony of that!

Things in our area have finally got organized though as of yesterday. Elder Toropainen and I have come up with a system to work with the home teachers. We received some revelation and it's working out good now with some help from our handy stake president. He is a great help and I have never met another Stake president on my mission who has been so willing to help and spend time with the missionaries.

This week will be awesome the wards are setting us up with appointments for less active and nonmembers in the wards and we will go with the home teachers. In Utah even non members get home teachers cool eh?

It's going to happen this week it has to. It's been really hard not to get discouraged but when I do that's when I'm most thankful for the Atonement. I need to analyze any discouraging thought that I have and recognize that those kind of thoughts come from somewhere that is not where Heavenly Father is. I know exactly who doesn't want missionaries to succeed and he seems to be working pretty hard right now. When Christ Atoned for all of us he felt everything bad that we feel including discouraging thoughts. I know that he felt exactly as I did this week and if I rely on him everything will be alright.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Stars and Stripes

Happy Fourth of July!!!

First off I'm really grateful to be with a foreign Comp right now so we can enjoys all this patriotism from the other side of the Canadian and Finish fence. We were at a flag raising a couple weeks ago and we started laughing cause neither of us were sure what to do. The last to days were kind of the same.

Sunday was Fast and Testimony Meeting so there was no shortage of America loving patriots bearing there testimony and expressing thanks for this Country. The song were also the USA hymns in the back of the book numbers 338 and 339 and they were fun to sing.

I think I have found my July 4 celebration place to that I will definitely have to come back and see after the mission. Kanarraville had an awesome celebration that lasted the whole day. We decided to hang out there for our preparation day activities. The day started at 10 with a parade that was so amazingly small town. If you blink you might miss it but still so neat to see the town spirit. after the parade was a talent show. we found out about it the night before and I was trying to convince Elder Toropainen to play his guitar in it. He is pretty intense with it and knows how to rock out. I figured it would be like that seen in Back to to the future where Marty plays Johnny be good and goes crazy on the guitar and the crowd has no idea what to do and just stands there silently... Unfortunately he still wouldn't budge. I told him if he wouldn't I will. I called the person in charge and signed up. The town hall was packed and i was on second to last. It was really neat I took a picture of the Crowd and played a couple songs. The talent show was awesome. They had fiddlers, piano players, and dancers. It was really fun and I had a great time playing for the crowd.  I'll send a picture with my next email.

After that there was lunch at the park and we ate some delicious burgers. The day continued at 3 o clock with various games and sports that were amusing and then a waterfight... Needless to say we got soaked head to toe.

the day was really fun and they had a dance at the park later that night. Obviously we couldn't participate but we were teaching a lesson across the street and could hear all the music and saw the people enjoying themselves.

Yesterday I felt so honored to be in The USA. I see why people love it here and I definitely want to visit lots in the years to come.

On Friday we had a Baptism!!! Her name is Michelle she is on her 40's. We met her through some members and she was golden form the start. It was so great teaching her and seeing here progress. We are praying that her family will come along to. Every companionship in the district had a Baptism this week I'm way proud of them. The missionaries in my district are awesome. They are some of the greatest people to teach and help others to come closer to Christ.

I love Utah and love being a missionary.

143 Family
The Church is True
Elder Ian Dyer

If You Could Hie To Kolob

Hello,

Today is going to be a great day because a bunch of us missionaries are going to Kolob! It's a really cool park that is in our area. We are planning on hiking a trail called taylor creek. It should be a good time. It was Elder Toropainen's birthday yesterday so this is going to be his day. It's going to be fun. He turned 23.

This week was just a same old missionary week. Nothing out of the ordinary but that's alright. Our teaching pool is still low and tracting isn't really going anywhere. The houses around here are huge and the community is the type of place where people go to seclude themselves. We haven't been running into the most humble childlike people lately. Stuck in there ways is more the type right now. We are working on ways to get in there doors and that will be through the members. Still a tonne of work to do but we will finally be able to move down to New Harmony tomorrow. The house we got is pretty cool. It's an unfinished log cabin. It's huge! the best part is the full kitchen and jacuzzi tub woot! They have a piano to so i can start practicing again. I'm going to try to pick that up along with spanish. Elder Black gave me some Spanish stuff to help me learn and taught me to pray in Spanish. The mission is short on Spanish missionaries at the moment so if I practice maybe I can make the cut. Praying was hard to do Ii felt like I was in primary or a new investigator learning to pray. It made teaching prayer make more sense and it's easier to relate with people saying a prayer for the first time now.

Elder Toropainen was on exchanges with another Spanish speaking Elder the other night and they found out something cool about his Finish and Spanish. The words are not the same but how the alphabet is pronounced is the same in both languages. During the lessons Elder Johnson would have Elder Toropainen read scriptures for them and it apparently sounded perfect. Whenever I have a question on how to say something in Spanish I can just ask him now. Cool eh? Tthe people they were teaching were pretty blown away that night.

That is about all that happened so far this week.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Manti, Bednar, and the missed wedding

Hi,

This was a really exciting week let's hope I remember everything that was worth mentioning.

First amazing thing is we have two investigators yay and the crowds go wild!!!! We have a 10 year old girl named Macy her family is less active so we are working on the whole family. The other is Michelle she is in her 40's and loves the church. She is from New Mexico. Both of them have a baptism date set and the wards are super excited. Things are turning around and our area is growing. The area has so much potential.

Still no apartment down there though. We live in the same place as last transfer except with 4 Elders this time. We live in a shoebox a cluttered shoebox. But we get to drive a sweet Dodge Caravan with lots of space so that kind of makes up for it. In the morning we sometimes place soccer and when we do I feel like a soccer mom cause i have to drive everyone.

I missed a wedding for a couple in my last area yesterday. I found out we were going to Manti the same day as the wedding. I was excited for Manti but way disappointed i couldn't be at the wedding. Donnie even asked me to give the opening prayer that made it hurt more. Him and his wife were sad I couldn't be there but i will be there for Shawnies baptism so all is not lost. Shawnie and Donnie are awesome.

It was however still really cool to go to Manti for the Pageant. I didn't know what a pageant was before coming to Utah. Last year lots of people asked me if I was able to make it to the pageant and i was thinking beauty pageant or something and i didn't understand why it was such a big deal. It made a ton more sense after someone told me what it actually was though. this one was called the Mormon Miracle Pageant. It's a play about the Book of Mormon and about Joseph Smith and it's done on the side of the Manti Temple on that big hill. It was pretty neat They re created the battle with Captain Moroni and the part where he writes the Title of Liberty. It was epic. They had lots of lights and fire and sound effects. It was corny but still awesome.

We got there early for a turkey dinner and a fireside beforehand. Guess who was there? Elder Bednar one of the 12 Apostles. He shared a thought and then came to meet all us missionaries. We shook his hand it was neat.

Each Zone in our mission had a night to go to the Pageant and most our our Zone went. The point of us going was to work the crowd and ask for referrals. There was 14000 people in attendance so no shortage of people to talk to. It was a lot of fun. We started at about 6:30 and the pageant started at 9:30. so after 3 hours we got to sit and enjoy the production. It was cool to stay up late and then we were allowed to sleep in the next day. We stayed over at a members house who made all of us breakfast it was a happy day. I love pancakes. We were back in our area about noon on Saturday.

That was pretty much my week. Today for P-Day activities we are going to have a nerf gun fight with the many other missionaries. We all being nerds play it as zombies to. some of us are zombies and some are humans and we battle with nerf guns. It's really fun and then we go out and preach the Gospel at 6. Good day ahead.

143 Family
The Church is True
Elder Ian Dyer 

Tract, Tract, Dog! Tract

Hello,

Someone in a meeting with the ward council said yesterday tracting builds character... With that being said Elder Toropainen and I have built lots of character!!! Holy lots of tracting Batman! The new area has been off to a very very slow start but good things things are on the way. We have yet to find our first official investigator but this week it will happen cause we have FAITH! I think the wards are just a little unfamiliar with having missionaries all to themselves and so with that they are not exactly sure what to do. The are more accustomed to us now and are starting to give us a helping hand. The stake president often calls the valley we are serving in a gold mine. Let's hope and pray that it works out. We were studying Faith in comp study the other day and we were reading a couple of the definitions. The one that stuck out to us was faith is having confidence. We thought we had the faith but its more then that. We need to have confidence in the area itself that there are people being prepared to receive the message we bring. Sheesh now this area has to work. It's on us we have 3 months to make it work. I'll keep you posted.

I have to tell you a story that Ii didn't have time to write about last week. I was on splits with one of our ward mission leaders Brother Wise. He was driving me out to New Harmony to teach a lesson to a man named Kevin. He is 58 and got baptized last week. It was awesome cause he called and told us we wanted to be baptized on the 4th but we hadn't taught him past Joseph Smith. After a few 2 hour lessons however he was good to go. He married a lady who is a temple worker so he was bound to join eventually. This was his 3rd baptism into a church. 3rd times the charm right. He has been going to church for the past year and is now finally a member and will get the Priesthood next week Exciting! Anyways while on the way to his lesson with Brother Wise we spotted a Rattle Snake on the dirt road we were driving. Don't worry Grandma Dyer it gets so much better(my Grandma is afraid of snakes). Instead of just driving by Wise stops I was thinking just to take a look which was fine I trusted him. He probably has seen crocodile hunter enough times to know what he was doing. He has a huge handlebar mustache after all. If TV and being around many Rednecks has taught me anything it's that if you have a sweet handlebar mustache you can do anything. He stares down the snake and goes to the back of his truck where he grabs a hammer and a lead pipe... Who even carries a lead pipe in there truck!? He proceeds to have a 20 minute battle with this rattle snake and I'm sure would be a valuable asset if there were ever snakes on a plane... He would have made Samuel L. Jackson proud. If that doesn't make sense to you can ask My big brother Clarke to explain. So after a long fight with this thing hissing and striking at Wise he finds a big stick and traps the snake with it. After the snake's head was securely stuck by a stick I was holding Wise grabbed the pipe and hit it in the head... about 20 times just to make sure. You may ask what the point was of Brother Wise killing this snake and to that he would answer "Cause snake tastes good!" He took it home and ate it!

Also my new Comp Elder Toropainen is pretty awesome and we are having fun figuring this area out together. He is way better at my uke then me to so I have been humbled. He is from the capital of Finland right by the Temple.

That's all i have for this week hope you enjoyed.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps Dutch oven is a big deal here. My tummy is happy

Lucky Number 7

Hello and welcome to my 7th transfer,

Alright so President called me last night to give me my transfer call. I'm leaving Cedar and staying at the same time. I', going to be covering only 3 wards in the south valley. I cover a place called Kannarville, Kolob canyon, and New Harmony. Elder Prusse and me already covered the area this last transfer but know I'm going to just be covering those 3 wards with a new Companion whose name I can't pronounce. He is from Finland and has been out only one transfer. He served 2 years in the Finland army and I'm told looks pretty stiff. I imagine he is like Clarke's Mongolian Companion. We will get along I'm sure  Out of all my transfers this one intimidates me the most. I'm pretty worried but I know it will be fine.

I got distracted with other emails but I just want to say happy birthday Alison and happy anniversary Clarke and Cecilia.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

sorry it was short

Cedar's Got Talent

Hi,

First off if your not American you might be wondering why this email is coming in on tuesday. It was memorial day yesterday and so all the libraries were closed yesterday. President told us we could email today instead. That meant we had an extra hour of P-Day. What did we do with that time you might ask ?... Our District decided to get together and have a talent show. We had pizza provided by our favorite papa murphy's and a plethora of District Missionary Talent. Lets see Elders Cram, Clark, and Me played songs on our Ukuleles. We played a couple songs out of the childrens songbook and some other songs we could remember before we were missionaries and some we learned out here. Sister Box played guitar and we all sang along to tears in heaven, stairway to heaven (we played together on that one), and Freebird. Elder Prusse and Elder Hayden did a puppet show of Charlie the Unicorn. Elder Wood sang. Elder Ware did cowboy roping he attacked Wood and Me with his lasso and was better at it then we thought and successfully got me and pulled me around the gym. Elder Ware also did some pretty sweet magic tricks. Elder Padrones slaped some sweet base and was the MC for the showing of talent. The last act was a song played by Elder Hayden, Padrones, and Me. We played a song called "Dame El Poder." That translates to "Give me the power" in Spanish. To say the least it was an Epic Spanish Rap. Yesterday was a super fun P-Day and our district is so awesome and talented. The outfits everyone wore were pretty funny to. It was a good day.

This week was Great. Our two baptism went through and I was able to confirm Elissa's little brother Manuel in sacrament the next day. He is 8 and was baptized the same day as his big sister. Justine's was amazing as well, We brought an Investigator we had picked up this week to. The spirit bore strong witness to him of how awesome and true the baptism was. His name is Keith. His daughter and grand daughter was just baptized a month or ago. He was curious about what missionaries had to say.  We met with him last week and put him on date to be baptized on June 24. Keith accepted the date and was very excited to take the things he learned from us to the Lord. It's neat to see how prepared some people are for the message. As we explained Joseph Smith Keith said "so he was lost kind of like I am." He and so many others are ready for this message of the Restoration of the Gospel. The Church is so True!!!

Well it's about that time I get on my soapbox and start preaching so i better be off.

143 Family
Again the Church is true
Elder Ian Dyer 

Listen Up

Hi,

 Do you ever have those weeks where it wasn't good but it also wasn't bad it was just completely in the middle? Then at the beginning of next week when you write your family home you don't know what to report? Cause i guess that was my week. It wasn't ordinary but it wasn't quite extraordinary. Hmm I guess those weeks happen sometimes but oh well that just means I have to work extra hard this week to tip the scales to make it an extraordinary week. Next week we are planning for 2 baptisms! One if for a girl named Alyssa who wants to be baptized the same day as her little brother Manuel. They are a cool family and really fun to teach and I'm sure the baptism will be awesome to. The other one we have is for Justine she is 18 and just about to graduate high school. Guess what got her interested in the Church? It was a BOY!!! Haha flirt to convert I guess. This guy is planning on going on a mission and i guess him sharing his testimony with her got Justine interested and now she wants to be Baptized. That is the best result possible for someone dating a nonmember. Saturday is going to be a really good day fro Alyssa and Justine.

This week I was able to go on a couple exchanges. The first one was with Elder Hayden he is one of the Zone Leaders so I have met him before at ZLC. We had a really good time despite that all 4 of our appointments canceled. We had some good trackting experiences. Elder Hayden is from Oregon and has been in St George his whole mission. Yikes my heart is still in the North of the mission but is slowly making it's way southward to Cedar. I can't imagine being in St George the whole time. It was a fun exchange though.

After that exchange I got to do another one with Elder Wood!!! I came out of the MTC with him and it was awesome to spend a day with him. We planned a trip to go to Washington and hang out after our missions. It's awesome to serve around him and Elder Ware to see how much we have grown up since The MTC. We get blown away that we are real missionaries now. Not learning in a classroom anymore but that we are in the real world... Well as real as Utah gets anyways cause there are still a lot of Mormons.

I realized something pretty neat this week. I'm just 20 years old but age doesn't seem to matter when your a missionary. I was thinking about this during our weekly meeting with all the ward mission leaders. I'm only 20 but my view counts for something with these men. They are mostly over 50 except a couple but they really care about what the missionaries have to say. It's weird cause they have so much more experience then me but they still want, listen, and respect my outlook as a missionary. They want to know from us how they can be better at their calling. When is a room of older people ever again going to care what I have to say? I guess they realize it's not ourselves we are trying to represent. We are trying to represent Jesus Christ and who wouldn't want to listen to him? This is an amazing calling. It's humbling.

Well that is about all I have to report on this week. I'm working hard and success is starting to come our way and things are finally turning around.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

No Idea

Hey.... How are you,

Alright so i really don't know what to write this week. Everything kind of fell through except for our baptism.

Let's see if I can recall some of the temporal highlights oh the week then I will fill you in on the spiritual highlights.

First i was able to go to Enterprise on exchanges this week. Apparently that is where Elder Jeffery Holland is from. The place was neat. I thought Loa was small but wow Enterprise smaller. It was pretty funny we taught this 20 year old farmer and is girlfriend. The Guy was wearing short shorts that left very little to the imagination. I will spare everyone the details but Elder Clark and Me were doing everything in our power not to bust out laughing. Never had such a difficult time teaching the Restoration with a straight face and yes he did make the shorts himself.

Also I went to IHOP for the second time in my life. Mom and Dad i charged it to the credit card just so you could see what I ordered. It won't happen again but I just wanted to send you something from Utah. IHOP is the greatest place ever. Totally beats Denny's and Smitty's combined. I know your not supposed to open your heart and find Love on your mission but i couldn't help it... I Love IHOP. Sorry my heart will be locked from here on out.

Today for p-day we are going to go hike kannaraville falls and there is wind to so hopefully some kite flying will happen.

best part of the week though was Heber's baptism.  He has had to wait a long time but he was strong throughout and waited no problem. Waiting Made the baptism even more special. Thinking about waiting for baptism I can't help thinking about Cal Clark. He is almost there! baptisms are great and they bring the spirit so strong.

sorry this was a short email but that was pretty much my week. Still trying to really kickstart this area and get it on fire. Cedar is getting there it just needs some more work is all.

143 Family
The Church is True
Elder Ian Dyer

ps did you know who Elder Prusse's companion was in the MTC? It was Elder Ross Cocks what a coincidence!

The Day After

Hi Family,

I just want to start off by saying I love you family and it was so nice to talk to all of you yesterday cause I sure as heck needed some verbal family time. I didn't expect Grandma and Grandpa Mclennan to be there and Grandma Dyer. It was a nice treat and at at 9:30 a call from Colorado even came through and I was able to talk to ray for a bit. Anyways best family ever!!!

Yesterday we were able to speak in Church and guess what the subject was on Mothers day? It was Eternal Marriage... Just kidding is was about Moms and it was fun to talk about cause my Mom is awesome I Love her. She is fun to talk about. I didn't cry though I couldn't give the ward that satisfaction of seeing a missionary many miles away from home crying while he is talking about his Mom. I felt like the talk went well and even though there were no tears hopefully everyone found it interesting.

This week we have plans to jumpstart and kind of renew the area. We have a lot of people who aren't progressing so we are going to have to let lots go and find new people to teach who will progress and accept the Gospel. Anyways this week is going to be intense and it's nice to have the strength from just speaking with my family to get through and be strong this week.

The weather is weird today it snowed and is raining now. I guess for the second week in a row i can't fly my kite. The only two days that the weather won't allow me to fly my kite has been p-day. No wind Last p-day and it's snowing today. Every other day I have been here has been so nice and WINDY!!! ugh the weather frustrates me 

Anyways not a whole lot to report on this week. We are going to the DI today hopefully we can find some ugly ties.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps pray that there will be some wind next P-Day...

Tales From Cedar

Hello,

 

If your reading this message then it means Cedar has killed me... No it's not to bad I just miss Richfield hopefully give it a week and it will be better.

 

So my comp is Elder Prusse from California and we are doing our best to fix this area. The work in Cedar hasn't exactly been the best in the past but this transfer they gave us a new stake and i'm back to covering 18 wards. There is a lot on my plate this transfer and a ton of responsibility that I'm not exactly sure how to handel it all. The next 5 weeks will be filled with lots of praying and fasting.

 

I know exactly why I was sent here and this last week has made me so grateful for the companions I've already had. I haven't been put in a situation yet where i've actually felt the need to be a leader. With Harlan and Smith they were older and would just naturally kinda take the reigns and i would just support any way I could. With all that experience in Richfeild especially I know why I'm in Cedar. I have a chance to use everything i learned from them and make this area rise. Good things are already happening but there is still something missing from the area. It's gonna get figured out though.

 

We have spent a lot of time finding new people and that has been going really well. We also taught seminary which going back to my youth fireside expeirince was a little weird to. I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP! The universe is still telling me otherwise.

 

The distric is pretty sweet i have to say. Elders Wood and Ware are in it they came out of the MTC with me and Sister Box to. Anyways it was a nice reunion.

 

Hmm I will tell you all about the people when I have met everyone this transfer is gonna be all about finding and building that is the goal.

 

143 Family

The Church is true

Elder Ian Dyer

 

PS only one week till Mothers Day!

Diligent Danny

Hello,

So umm transfers came i got my call and I don't know what to think about it yet but I'm sure it will be good. I'm going to Cedar City and will be the new District Leader there. I was told by one of the AP's that the area was suffering pretty bad and it needs a kick start. I'm going to do my best to be the Diligent Danny that they need right now. It sucks to leave Richfield but I know I will love Cedar just the same. I learned what i needed Here and it's time to take everything i learned to help out the new District. I'm excited to be a DL cause I feel like i missed a step going straight to ZL. Felt like I was being thrown into deep water but it's okay i learned to swim. I can't wait to serve a district and actually be able to get to know them and help them be awesome missionaries. Cedar will be a good place and my new companion has been out about 3 months. This is how i think his name is spelt Elder Perusse.... Umm I think thats it but that might be wrong. I don't know a whole lot about him but he was trained in Castle Dale!!! We already have something to talk about. I'm going to miss Richfield but the Lord needs me elsewhere. They gave Richfield Loa stake this transfer and they are sending me away! I don't quite get it but I know it's where i need to be.

This week was a good week we taught a lot and put some people on date that we didn't think would commit. They surprised us and that made us very excited. We were able to role Easter Eggs on Saturday to and that was a lot of messy egg fun.

Transfers are making this p-day crazy. I just got a haircut and just so everyone knows i have my hair back I probably won't shave it anymore. We are going to go burn some stuff to. Harlan has to burn a shirt Spurlin a tie and I haven't burnt a tie yet so i will do that to. I also bought a kite I can't wait to fly it. Its like the one Dad and me bought when we went to Ocean City. That was a fun trip. I'm gonna miss Elder Spurlin we have been in the same district for 6 months and now we have to part. I've practically been with Harlan the whole time to. Wow I'm going south I never thought this would happen. It's a shock But it will be good. I'm going to miss the people we teach so bad I love serving others. Our list of investigators is more like a list of people we love this is a seriously blessed area. Richfield I will miss you.

Well sorry this one is a little short but I have to run.

143 Family
The Church is true
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps What the heck am I gonna do without Brother Poulson..

Gone Fishin

Ahoy hoy,

Alright week 5 of transfer 5 has brought some good journal entries.

I know one great one will be fishin at fish lake today. I'm liking this country life a little. Everyone here has a mounted head of something in the house. I can't think of anyone who i know in Edmonton that has a deer or elk or something mounted. It's funny cause I feel foreign sometimes. Everyone here shoots guns and the only thing I've ever shot was a little 22 rifle and a BB gun for an afternoon. Airsoft guns don't count either. Yep I didn't feel like a city boy till i met rednecks. I figure Utah is ready for world war 3 to cause everyone has food storage and guns. Guess I'll be in good shape if that happens or for Clarke and impending zombie apocalypse. Haha anyways I'm embracing the county life and am very excited to go fishing today.

That Birthday package made it the other day and as soon as I heard that it would be my Easter/Birthday package I knew what that would mean... Candy tonnes of Candy! I jumped for joy Mars bars and smarties are like gold to me. Instead of eating it really fast though I've decided to ration it out and develop better eating habits. That has been a new goal cause I knew missionaries ate a ton but this is getting to be to much i have to take it easy before someone hurts themselves. I've been pretty tired to lately so i feel like i've been beat up everyday. I wish they had some way of bottling sleep or putting in your food cause i good go for a nice REM cycle 4 Burger right about now. I'm beat. It's all worth it though.

This week I've really noticed that the needs of everyone else have become more important then mine. I was reading my journal and it really starts off all about me me me I I I. The changed was noticed this week in that It's not about me anymore Its about everyone else I meet. The needs of Investigators are far more important then my own and i just want to do everything I can for them.

We had 3 baptisms on Saturday. There names were Jordan, Donna, and Tom. Jordan is 9 and always has a smile on her face. Donna is 9 to and her baptism helped her family become active again. Donna and Jordan got baptized in the same building. The problem was though that the boiler never got turned on so the water was quite frigid but they are tough  girls and will have a funny story to tell for the rest of there life. Tom is 24 from California. He is the man and was so prepared to receive the Gospel. He had Kidney Stones the day of his confirmation so we thought he wouldn't be able to make it. He toughed it out though cause he is the man and new how important the Baptism of Fire is. These 3 people are so amazing and I could never imagine not meeting them and being involved in helping develop their Faith.  I would do anything for them.

I have to say the best thing about being a ZL is I get to do lots of baptism interviews. I get to see who has been taught and how everyone has a different story of how they joined the Church. I interviewed a 17 year old girl named Caitlyn. The whole time I was thinking i wonder if this was anything like moms baptism interview. It was neat and she passed so it all went well.

Well time to go catch a fish
The Church is true 143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps I got to go to Loa yesterday!!! Part of my heart will always be there

Lets Go Teach The Mayor

Hello...HELLO!!! anyone there? It's been 2 weeks since I wrote an email,

This past couple week something monumental happened. That is i turned 20... well it's not a very big deal to tell you the truth but I feel as if the universe wants me to grow up just a little. Last night Elder Harlan and I were asked to speak at a stake youth standards night. It was really fun Elder Harlan gave a great talk about how you need to serve a mission no matter what even if you have a girlfriend. Harlan had a girl when he left and he asked her to wait... In a month she will be getting married in the St George Temple! He swears it's the best thing that ever happened to him though and it had the crowd laughing quite a bit. It was especially funny for us cause we were in St George this week for ZLC. Harlan and I had some time before our ride was picking us up so we went to visit the Visitors Center and the Temple. We sat out on the steps and Harlan points to a spot on the Lawn and says his old girlfriend is going to be taking pictures right there in month... I was like ouch! However we were still able to laugh about it. Anyways his talk was good. I talked about how if we have any shred of Faith we will serve missions and i told girlfriends to be supportive of there boyfriends and let them go. That was certainly a blessing for me. I used the parable of the talents to anyways it was alright. Harlan and I had the crowd going pretty well. After that though was a question and answer period for 3 returned missionaries( one served in Little Rock Alison!!! He said he saw your name on teaching records in the area book) and us the full timers. The questions were great a lot of them were about dating before your mission... yeah they were kind of penetrating and awkward for us at times but I felt like everyone learned something. The strange thing was finally talking to a group of youth not exactly feeling like one of them. It was always other people telling me to do this and do that and then serve a mission. It's was surreal to be on the other side of the fence for a change. I took that as the universe telling me to grow up just a little. Not to much just a little. I look to Clarke for that example of you can still be a grown up kid. I guess that just translates to nerd but I'm okay with that Clarke and I will always be able to relate. Love you a ton Clarke! The youth Fireside was so fun and the stake president here is stellar! He is a seminary teacher to and guess what his name is President Monson... Yep that through me off at first. The other Stake President is President Thomas. I get to work with President Thomas and President Monson. I wonder if that was intentional? They had a show choir at the Fireside to and they were amazing to. They brought the spirit the most.

We also were able to go down to St George this week again to. That meeting is always pretty cool and lunch is always great. President ordered 70 Hot Dogs!!! that turned out to be about 4 each! Let me tell you though they were no childrens hot dogs they were fat franks! It turned into a competition. President ate 4 and a half, I ate 5 Jensen ate 6 and Smith ate 7. President couldn't stand during the rest of the meeting. Anyways that hurt and I need to eat less. Ugh we eat a ton!

The other really neat thing other then General Conference  (which was awesome!!!) Is that we are now teaching the Mayor of the town Sigurd... Yep and on Sunday we will be having dinner with the mayor. Now Dad I know you really don't like mayors but this one is better I promise. Anyone who runs into my Dad should ask how he feels about the mayor of Edmonton.

Things are going good we are hopefully having 2 baptisms this week WOOT!!!

The Church is True
143 family
Elder Ian Dyer

ps I would never recommend eating Five hot dogs... It hurts so bad. How does that Japanese guy do it?

sick or less sick

Hi,

Alright this week was good. Harlan and I have been getting less sick we had colds that have been kicking our trash! Thanks to some OJ and Vitamin C i think we are on the upswing.

Things with Harlan have been really fun so far. we are both trying our best to be super diligent and we have been seeing miracles. We have picked up a lot of investigators and taught a lot of lessens this week. We come home exhausted every night and we never feel rested but hey that's how things are supposed to be right? P-Days are fun to cause we spend a lot of time jamming and plan out songs we are going to sing for people we teach. Guitar and Ukulele... Match made in heaven. We are going to play for some native american kids we teach. They have a family home evening together that we go to. We usually give a lesson there they are mostly non members. It's neat these kids live in a dorm her in Richfield. They come off the reservation during the school year so they can go to school. They are awesome we have lots of fun with them.

We have been teaching Jordan she is a 9 year old girl and her less active family. Harlan and me showed up yesterday and there were two boxes with our names on it. We opened them up to find a tie and a CTR pin each in a custom drawn on cardboard box. Anyways it was stellar we told Jordan we were going to wear the ties to her baptism.

This week has been really good we got to speak yesterday about how a mission strengthens our Families. Harlan talked about his future family and i talked about you guys back home. Both Clarke and Alison serving missions I had lots to talk about. Hooray for great examples! Thanks Family.

 Yesterday was a happy day until we ran into this Satanist guy and his girlfriend. Your in Utah how the heck do you become a Satanist!? I felt really bad for them all night. The used to be members and hopefully they come back one day. It was a interesting conversation for sure... Sheesh just when i thought running into J-Dubs was the hardest. We just bore testimony and left that was all we could do.

Missions have the highest highs and the lowest lows but it's all okay cause I KNOW it's the Lords work.

143 Family
The Church is True
Elder Ian Dyer

PS Cal's Baptism back in Loa has a date. July 19... Cross my fingers I'm here

Zero % Milk

Hi,

Well I just shaved my head again now I just kinda like the feeling haha.

Thing have been good week. Elder Harlan and me get along good I don't think we will have any issues this transfer. I'm trying to get his accent down. It's very very southern cowboy accent. Kind of like Forest Gump without the mental disability.  He doesn't agree but to everyone here I have an accent. I get made fun of when I say Mazda or Lama... pasta things like that. He served 6 months in Monroe which is about 10 minutes away and i'm pretty sure he knows that areas entire population. People always stop and talk to him in walmart. Someone was talking to Harlan and then looks at me and asks me if I'm new to the area... I lovingly corrected her nope I'm not new.

We had a couple baptisms yesterday one was for Justin he is 10 and the other was for Kortney she is 19. Justin's baptism went perfect but Kortney wasn't so lucky. First of all she got pulled over on the way but was left of with only a warning but it made her really late. Second with the actual baptism part the guy said the wrong name when he baptized her... By the time we figured this out the font was almost empty. We had to refill the whole font and re baptize her! two tries latter she was officially baptized. The whole baptism made for a really good journal entry. The next day I got to confirm her which was always scary but a good experience still. Yesterday was the first time i had been to a singles ward on my mission. It was strange and I felt way out of place. It was worth it though for Kortney she was super golden.

Well sorry this email was short but we got to get going we have lots to do today.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps I've jumped on the 0% milk band wagon... Goodbye 2%

A Buzz A Baptism And Goodbye

Hello Everyone interested in my life as a missionary,

First off we received our transfer calls yesterday. I'm going to be staying in Richfield as a ZL. My new companion is Elder Harlan From West Virginia. He was my district leader For two transfers while is was serving in Loa. I'm excited cause he is the man! He is really obedient but not so much like he is a Nazi about it. Elder Harlan still likes to have fun. Also he is a country singer but he is stellar at it. He just does his thing and you want to be like him cause he is an awesome missionary. This is going to be a great transfer. Richfield is already on fire and it's going to get even bigger. Kind of like that time I lit a grass fire on a grade 7 camp and got in lots of trouble... Yep Richfield will be like that except less trouble.

Elder Smith is spending his last transfer traveling the mission helping train other missionaries. He is serving with Elder Jensen. They came out of the MTC together and have been begging to serve together for two years! That dream finally came true he is way excited. We thought he would stay in Richfield but I guess not. We got along really good and had a blast. I'm glad he only lives three hours away. We always say how Smith will be at West Ed or all be at Peter's and we will text each other to come hang out. That will be fun we are going to go snowboarding to. We talk about going to sunshine a lot. That will happen one day.

Well that's the goodbye part now for the buzz part.

I recently got a haircut and I thought it looked weird. Smith always buzzes his head and kept telling me i should just take a number two razor and shave my head... I gave in. This is the shortest my hair has ever been but whatever I'm a missionary hair doesn't matter at all. Smith shaved my head for me and he at first gave me a mohawk. I had a mohawk for about 20 minutes. First time in my life having one and it was on my mission!

Now for the Baptism part!

We had three Baptisms on Saturday. The first one was in the morning for Candace. The week before her older brother Colton was given the Preisthood so he could Baptize her. It was a month ago to the day of his Baptism that his little sister was going to be able to be Baptized by who else other then her brother. Colton is 18 and Candace is almost 16. She works at an ice cream place and we have been there a couple time to get food. Having someone you teach who works at a ice cream place make for a really good excuse to go get milkshakes. The Baptism was amazing!!! They were both some of our favorite people to teach. Smith and me Love them a lot.

The next was for Ross 14 and Logan 13. These guys are awesome. Sometimes we play hacky sack after the lesson it's way fun. They race BMX and have a competition on saturday. We are probably gonna stop and cheer them on and lend our support. we did for a 9 year old who was baptized last week. We went to his wrestling competition on thursday. I didn't know 9 year olds could wrestle it's pretty funny to watch though. Ross and Logan are studs and the Baptism was sweet. Smith Baptized Ross and I baptized Logan it was awesome they were super nervous but they did great.

Well I have to get going we are going golfing today. I suck but it will still be fun.

143 family
The Church is true!
Elder Ian Dyer

Burn a Tie

Hows it going eh?

Today i have been a missionary for exactly 6 MONTHS!!! That means this afternoon there is going to be one crispy tie in Richfield. It's kind of weird i'm a quarter way into my mission. How the heck that happened i have absolutely no clue. Time is passing way faster than i thought.

This week i've had to deal with some disappointment and defeat. The one major defeat is my suit. I have been in denial for some time now and i couldn't fight it any longer. my pants were just not feeling so good lately. They were to tight... I've put a few pounds on around the waist and one side effect of that extra poundage is my pants are at the tailors being let out as we speak... Ugh this bites my jeans don't fit either. Hopefully my family gets a good laugh about this so laugh it up.

Aside from that life is really good. We didn't get to go down to St George last week our meeting got canceled so we are going this week on wednesday. I'm excited the mission home is huge! It looks like it belongs on the O.C. (that's a show Alison and I used to watch ask her it's about rich kids in california). Anyways that will be fun we get to stay with the AP's which is kind of cool.

I don't have a whole lot of stories this week but the highlight of the week was yesterday. We teach a family and Two sons are getting baptized Ross who is 14 and Logan who is 12. They are awesome and Ross asked Smith to baptize him and Logan asked me to baptize him. It's going to be awesome i love that family.

Another awesome neat thing that happened this week was about one of our recent converts. His name is Colton he is 18 and was recently baptized. His sister Candace his baptisim got hit really hard with the spirit and started to wanting to meet with us. These last couple weeks we have been teaching her and she is going to be baptized next week. Colton yesterday was able to receive the Priesthood and is no going to be able to baptize his sister.

Well that is about all for this week Basketball and bowling is the plan for today.

The Church is True
143 Family
Elder Ian Dyer

Ps I love it out here. The people we teach are amazing