In the summer of 2000, our family moved from our native homeland of central Texas to the very unknown area of southeast Michigan. It was a wild adventure for our family, and one that we thought would be brief. Just over a year later, Alexander Williams Dyal was born, and now 18 years later, we are still here in Michigan! Alex has lived his entire life in Canton, Michigan. As the third child of four, he may have had middle child syndrome, but countered that with his determination, sense of humor, compassion, faithfulness, loyalty, keen mind and leadership skills. In June 2019, he graduated from Canton Preparatory High School, a charter school that focuses on preparing students for college. But rather than going to college right away, he elected to serve the Lord on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this, he follows the example of his father, who served in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1991-1993), and his older brother Spencer, who served in Quito, Ecuador (2014-2016). (Check out Spencer's missionary blog here =>
http://elderdyal.blogspot.com) His younger brother, Logan, also plans to follow in his footsteps when he turns 18 years old in a few years.
Alex has prepared to serve a mission his entire life. He was baptized when he was eight years old in the church. As a teenager, he participated in a pioneer trek reenactment with the youth in our stake, and he attended several EFY Conferences (Especially For Youth) in both Tiffin, Ohio and Palmyra, New York. He also spent three weeks in Suva, Fiji for HEFY (Humanitarian Experience For Youth) helping residents in a remote village to build much needed neighborhood bathrooms. Alex spent four years in early morning seminary (beginning at 5:45 am) studying the gospel and doctrine of the Lord's church before going to high school every single morning, and he also enrolled in several Spanish classes in high school that would unknowingly be the foundation for his knowledge of this language. Alex has not always had everything easy, but his ability to deal with and handle challenges and still come out spiritually on top has been his best preparation for service to the Lord.
On June 18, 2019, Alex opened his mission call which stated that he was called to serve in the Peru Chiclayo Mission. He would study first at the Mexico City MTC (Missionary Training Center), learning how to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spanish language. He was a little stunned at first since he never expected to serve in South America. And was nervous about being expected to learn another language. But after it sunk in, his faith helped him know it was the area the Lord wanted him to serve, teach and love the people.
He left on October 23, 2019, and will return on November 9, 2021. But there were challenges... With only a few days before he was to leave, he still didn't have his Peru visa or passport (since it was sent to obtain his visa), so the church adjusted his schedule to train at the Provo, Utah MTC instead of the one in Mexico City. He used the opportunity, however, to see an uncle and aunt (and young cousin) as they were willing to pick him up at the Salt Lake City airport and drop him off at the Provo MTC.
We are excited about having another missionary in our family. I couldn't be prouder of Alex in his decision to serve a mission. I will miss him, but I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else right now! We would like to share his journey with you! I will be posting his weekly letters, experiences and photos on this blog each week. Come back often (bookmark this page!) to watch his progress over the next few years.
Alex gave an amazing farewell talk in church on 10/20/19. The topic was "Why I Decided to Serve a Mission."
READ IT HERE BELOW =>
“Before I was technically called last summer, I was still a
missionary. We all can be missionaries every single day. This is one of the
most important works we can do. As Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:
19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.” Jesus commanded his disciples to spread the
message of the gospel in his name, and to bring others towards him to feel the
joy that comes from the spirit of God. Since I've been called I've felt so much
joy and I've felt the spirit so strongly that it changed the way I perceived
others around me. I'm a relatively reserved guy and I don't like people. Like
at all. And throughout my life I've been frustrated about what other people are
doing around me and I never stopped to think for a second that most people in
life are like the lost sheep, and they just need us to show them love and
kindness. Now I genuinely believe most people are good. I try to see people as
Christ does, as he is the perfect example for us. And Christ sees everyone as a
Child of God, and I've only felt a fraction of God's love towards me through
the spirit and through this church. Since I've felt this, I'm yearning for the
children of God all around me to feel it as well, and now I have a chance to
fulfill that sacred responsibility.
Recently, I was in Ohio
where Elder Bednar held a sort of youth Q and A at a local church building. One
of the questions asked was from a young man who said he was leaving on his
mission in a month, and wanted to know how he could fully prepare for a mission.
Elder Bednar said to not worry, because there is no possible way you can
one-hundred percent prepare mentally and spiritually, for this calling. It is
an overwhelming responsibility. But by continually increasing your testimony,
reading preach my gospel and the scriptures, and with faith you will adjust
quickly to the missionary life. This isn't to say don't prepare for a mission.
But rather don't let feelings of worry overtake you and continue enduring and
growing spiritually so you can be ready to do the work at the best of your
ability. This is true for everyone that we must go forward in faith and keep
the commandments to receive the blessings of the lord.
I have a few select things I've done to prepare that I'll
talk about today, and they're not quite as complex as you would think. Besides
what Elder Bednar advised, there are numerous ways to prepare but I'll talk
about the ones I personally focused on the most.
Way before I was called last summer, I was preparing, and
one of the biggest motivations for me serving a mission was the example set by
my older brother Spencer. He went to Quito, Ecuador
which is in fact suspiciously close to my mission. But he was a great example
to me and I've seen how missionary work changes people through him. Ever since
he sacrificed two years of his life in the service of the lord, I told myself I
was going to do the same thing even though it can be incredibly difficult. The
blessings outweigh the sacrifices I'm making and I hope I can be even more
converted to the gospel when I return. Since I've been called, I like to look
for examples found in the scriptures of complete faith in the lord when making
sacrifices. Lehi's faith in the lord when he and his family were commanded to
leave Jerusalem. Abinadi's faith in
the teachings of God when he was preaching to King Noah and the false priests.
And even Joseph Smith and all the afflictions he experienced in his efforts to
restore the gospel and his continual faith to keep enduring. Now I know two
years of my life is no where near the sacrifices so many people before me made
in service of the lord. But it's still a big thing to ask of, and it's
important to prepare for this life changing experience and looking to examples
is a great start.
But looking towards others as an example will only get us so
far, we have to put forth our own faith by studying the scriptures everyday,
prayer, and do everything with the influence of the spirit. President Russell
M. Nelson stressed this importance when he said: “In coming days, it will not
be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting,
and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” This is true, as I've learned for
myself recently, when we are preparing to serve a mission. The adversary is
making huge efforts to attempt to sway our minds away from things that are
good, especially when we are making decisions such as serving a mission. He
will feed us lies and doubtful feelings. Specifically for me, I haven't quite
decided what school I'm going to, and I've been feeling a lot of worry about
what I'm going to do when I get home from my mission. I remember President
Nelson's words and I have to continually read the scriptures, pray, and try to
live my life in a more holy manner in order to avoid these feelings of worry.
This brings me back to faith. Faith is the most important aspect as I've been
preparing to serve my mission. I have faith that if I do the things the lord
has asked of me, then I will have no reason to worry while I'm on my mission,
and after because I know I'm doing the right thing.
Another important part of preparing to serve a mission is
reading the scriptures everyday to try to gain a thorough knowledge of the
doctrines and principles of the gospel. There is power in the scriptures, it
can help anyone who is struggling so they can feel Christ's love. The
scriptures teaches powerful truths about the gospel. It's important to know the
doctrines and principles when you're preparing for a mission because it makes
it that much easier when you're out doing the work. When an investigator has a
sincere question, you may know the answer and teach them with love and with the
spirit. There is a reason all the prophets and apostles tell us to read the
scriptures everyday, and it's to help us when we may be struggling, and for us
to feel the spirit to comfort and guide us. Having the spirit all the time when
preparing and while serving as a missionary and living your everyday life is
essential, and a great way of feeling the spirit is like I said before: read the
scriptures everyday, everyday, everyday.
Prayer is another way to feel the spirit, and to communicate
with our Heavenly Father. Much like living our everyday lives, prayer is
essential when preparing for a mission. It is a very special time in our day that
we may take for granted because we are physically speaking to God. I've made a
goal to pray at least three times a day, and I'm sure I'll be doing more than
that while I'm serving. There is no such thing as praying too much especially
when we are struggling. When we are struggling, or need an answer, or are
preparing for a mission, Jesus gave this divine counsel to the Nephites that
sticks with me. “And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the
Father in my name shall be given unto you. Therefore, ask, and ye shall
receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth;
and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” This is huge. Prayer is a
thing that not only I have done to help prep myself to serve, but it's something
I've done in many cases and it's something I know I'll continue to do the rest
of my life. Like Jesus said, if we pray sincerely in our hearts in his name, we
will receive the answer, the comfort, or the guidance we are looking for.
Now spiritual things are definitely the most important
preparation, but I've found other things leading up to my mission that are
helpful as well. There is obviously personal worthiness. This means I have to
live my life in a way that is worthy for me to receive the spirit while I'm on
my mission. Keeping the word of wisdom, the law of chastity, or anything else
that might hinder my ability to succeed while I'm serving. This is something
I've had to do my whole life in order to prepare, and I must uphold to these
principles in the future to continue to succeed in my future callings and
responsibilities. Luckily if we fail in one of these aspects, we have resources
to bring us back such as repentance. But when we repent we have to strive to
never make that mistake again and that means we have to put in the work. Which
leads me to my next way to prepare.
Hard work is another extremely important aspect that we all
must learn in this life at some point. It's extremely helpful to learn this
lesson before you go on a mission because the mission, well there's no other
way to say it, it's a lot of hard work. I've tried to show this principle in
school, at work, and any other opportunity I have. About a year ago, I took a
trip to Fiji
with a church affiliated group where we did humanitarian work for people in a
village. For two consecutive weeks straight, we built bathrooms from the ground
up with the resources we had, and I'll tell you now it was not an easy task.
Each day we would get up around six, have personal scripture study time, eat
breakfast, then take a forty-five minute drive out to village where we would
build the bathrooms for six to seven hours before we return back to our living
quarters. And the hot Fijian weather wasn't exactly a paradise on this trip.
But despite the struggles, I really enjoyed the humanitarian work even though
it was really hard at times, and it was a great taste of preparation for my
mission and it taught me to work hard.
The last method I'll be talking about today is financial
preparation, everyone's favorite topic. President Boyd K. Packer said this
about missionary financial preparation in August 1983: “I speak to that young
man who doesn't have any idea how to finance a mission. I do not know either.
But I do know this: if you have faith and determine that you will go, there
will be a way. Opportunities will come to you as manna from heaven. Do not let
that deter you from your duty.” What I personally did, was for the last two and
a half years I've been working at multiple different jobs in order to receive
the proper finance to serve my mission. No matter how much I didn't want to
walk in the door to work (I know a lot of you know that feeling), I did it
anyways because serving a mission was important for me to prepare to do. And as
President Packer said, if we have faith and determination to serve, the lord
will give us opportunities to be able to provide.
I would like to close today by bearing my testimony that I
know without a doubt that this is the true church
of Jesus Christ, and that he sacrificed
himself selflessly for our salvation. I have felt the power of the Atonement
personally and I know we can repent of our sins and feel the everlasting love
of Jesus Christ when we do. I also bear my testimony that I know what I'm doing
is right and it will lead to further blessings as long as I go forward in
faith, just like the rest of us can know, no matter what we're doing when we
live righteously. I know President Nelson is a prophet of God and he is truly
inspired to lead the church as well as the apostles and other general
authorities and local leaders. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.”
