3rd Dietzphi: A record of Elder Dietz and the encounters of the third week of the Lord's Mission.

Hey Everyone! This week has been a very exciting week! I love and miss you all!

General Conference:

What’s the Best thing that happens every first weekend of April and October? General Conference of course! Was this conference great or what?! I have a confession to make. This was the first general conference that I was able to watch all five sessions and really pay attention. I am so grateful for the opportunity to watch all five sessions on Temple Square. For the Saturday morning and afternoon sessions I was able to watch them at the Legacy Theater inside the JSMB. That is the next best option next to the conference center that the Young Elders have on the Mission. In both the morning and afternoon sessions I knew NINE people that sang in Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The Missionary Choir. Shout out to my Quail Hollow Ward buddy Josh Gray for being the main camera focus around five times in the afternoon session! The Young Elders of the Mission had the awesome opportunity of attending the Priesthood session at the Conference Center. Our tickets said Plaza One on them. Plaza one is the closest Plaza to where the General Authorities walk out. For some reason they moved the Elders to Plaza two. So me, my companion, and two other Elders were obedient and moved. The rest of the Elders snuck back over to plaza one. I was glad that we stayed at plaza two for a number of reasons. First, we had a better view of the pulpit and we were thirteen rows back from the First Presidency. Second, I met some cool brothers from Australia and The Netherlands. My favorite reason of all is that I had a cool moment with Dieter F. Uchdorf. He must have seen me smiling because we made eye contact; he smiled back, nodded his head, and gave me thumbs up! So be obedient because you never know when you might get thumbs up from a General Authority. On Sunday my companion and I went back to the JSMB to watch the two sessions in the Legacy Theater. In between sessions we walked back to our apartment for lunch. On the way there and back I ran into the Ika Family! It was great to see them! My favorite sessions in this conference were both the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions. Personally this was the best conference yet!

Monday:

            So anyone who knows me well enough, knows that I tend to sleep walk and talk. At some point you could probably have conversation with me and I would never know it even happened. On Sunday night my companion was lucky enough to experience this. I remember waking up with suit in hand I guess I thought that it was morning. The only reason I woke up is because my companion asked me to turn off the light. I was confused until I looked at the clock. Only then did I Realize that it was 10:45PM. Don’t worry it gets better. When I woke up on Monday morning I couldn’t find my top sheet. I didn’t have time to find it so I just made my bed without it. Later that day Elder Young and I were talking about the funny story that had happened the night before. I told him that I do funny things in my sleep all the time. He told me that I did it twice. It didn’t surprise me. He said I was trying to get ready again. [Well I mean I love the work that I’m doing, but missionaries need sleep.] He said he saw me putting my white shirt in my laundry bag. Then it dawned on me. It wasn’t a white shirt at all; it was a white bed sheet. Sure enough there it was in my bag. 

Tuesday:

            Tuesday was all in all a good day. It started off by seeing my sister Sarah (Sarah works at the JSMB). I gave her the “I’m doing well” Sign. She gave me the “Family is doing well” Sign. At one point during the day I went to the Missionary clinic to get some Advil. I saw the scale and was curious, so I weighed myself. Well I’ll tell ya folks, if you stop eating when you’re bored you may just loose around ten lbs in two weeks! It sure did work for me. Yeah that made me pretty dang happy. [BIG Crew Reference: “Heeeeeey Thaaat’ss Preettty Gooood!”] That night I asked my companion if I had said anything in my sleep. Well here are some quotes:

1)      “I need a shirt.”[Stands up and lays back down.]

2)      “I like this place, they have all the nickels.”(This one sounds like something they would say in Bad Lip Reading)

3)      “I like this one for Name Work.”

4)      “I just don’t want to spill.”

Wednesday: 

            I woke up Wednesday morning and I started my morning routine when a song popped into my head. It was a good ol’ country song called “You’re gonna miss this.” I first heard this song about a week before leaving on the mission. It talks about the hard parts of life that you grow to love, and end up missing. I thought to myself “I need to think of this when I’m having a rough day.” [Sorry for that random intro.] Wednesday went well. I worked hard in the Family Search Center all day. At one point I even got a package from Mom and Dad! I was so excited to open it but I had to wait because I had my first Elijah choir practice. The Elijah choir is our very own Mission Choir that sings in every Monday morning devotional. During my first practice I sang with the basses. After practice I talked to the choir director Elder Bear because I could not hit some of the lower notes. He tested my voice, and as it turns out I am not a bass at all. Believe it or not I’m a tenor! Who knew? It was definitely not where I thought I’d be. One of the songs we are singing in a few weeks is “If You Could Hie to Kolob.”  It is one of my favorite hymns because it is so beautiful. When choir practice ended I went back to my apartment to open the package from my parents. I was so excited. I was extremely grateful to find some of my favorite food items and recipes from home. Some of these items were a little out of my missionary budget for now so it was great to receive them. My parents are the best!

Scripture of the Week:  

2 Nephi 31:13

 13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

Contact Information:

If you want to hand write me letters, my address is:

Elder Christian Dietz

JSMB Third Floor East Wing

15 East South Temple Street

Salt Lake City, Utah 84150

If you wish to Email me my Email is:

            Elder.ctbdd.Dietz@gmail.com [DON’T FORGET THE D! ctbdD.dietz.]

General Conference Picture: I personally think you can tell that I’ve lost some weight if you look at my face. To me it looks thinner.

My Companion Elder Young and I at Priesthood Session.

The Organ from 13 rows back.

I saw a familiar face!

The adventures of Elder "BIG Daddy" Dietz - Volume 2(1 of 2)

Hey there homies! It's me Elder Dietz!

Well Week one was a success. Wasn't easy, but it was rewarding! I got a little Homesick, but I'm doing much better! One thing that I have to brag about is that I'm in the Coolest mission there is. There is no arguing with me, you'll lose. 

> There's one really good way to combat homesickness and other hard times missionaries have. I learned the secret Saturday night. I read this quote by Gordon B. Hinkley: "The Best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired." I have seen similar quotes and scriptures a lot in the past two weeks. I can promise you that it is true. I cant' tell how much it helps get rid of homesickness. If you lose yourself in the work, you will begin to forget yourself and your problems. You then will feel the need to help others with theirs. One of the things I have had a lot of cool experiences with so far is prayer. The most powerful one happened Saturday night. I was feeling pretty discouraged so I decided to go to bed. As I was saying my prayers, I got a prompting to open my nightstand drawer. There was a book that I was given. That book was at my open house for people to write in. There are a lot of loving and encouraging messages in there, but one of them caught my eye immediately. It was the first one and it really stood out to me because it was long and written in red. I was written by one of my siblings. It was their testimony of prayer. It was perhaps one of the strongest testimonies on prayer that I have read. They have no idea that their testimony of prayer has blessed my life on the Mission so far. 

Sunday Morning I had the great opportunity to attend Music and the Spoken Word. It was my second time ever. It was a neat experience. The music was beautiful, and the spirit was definitely there. I can't wait to go again Next Sunday!  [Not this week because of General Conference.] Sunday was also my time to my new branch. It was crazy having my records read into a new ward. Our chapel is Located in JSMB. It is very beautiful! Probably the coolest looking chapel I've been in. So it fast Sunday and I got that Feeling. Yes the feeling that I needed to bear my testimony. So I did it, and it felt really cool to bear it people that I had never born it to before.


Monday Morning devotional is an awesome way to start off the week. It marked the beginning of week two. The spirit there is so strong. I just love it! One of the Best things about the Mission is the fact that we get to do our own  Family History work when we have free time. I have worked on one line a lot and it has paid off. I found Four family names to take to the Temple! It's so cool when that happens. [FOR MY FRIENDS THAT ARE LOVELY DAUGHTERS OF GOD: I need help with doing female names. I was wondering if some of you were willing to do some of the names for me? I will send them to you. Just email me your address!] Later that day I got to tour the Church Office Building (COB). Part of that tour includes going to the observation deck. It's way cool up there! You can see some of the most beautiful sights and buildings in Downtown Salt Lake City. Before the tour at the COB, I was walking up some stairs at the Family History Library and felt a pop in my knee. About 2 hours later my knee was killing me. Well in case you didn't know, I tore my meniscus last football season and the pop was in the same knee. 

Tuesday I  went with on of the senior missionaries Elder Musgrave,to get X-Rays on my knee. So that was quite the adventure. Later that day I was with another Elder who offered to take me to City Creek for lunch. While we were waiting in line for Chick-Fil-a, a very nice gentleman asked if he could by our lunch. I think I mentioned last week that as a Missionary you don't turn down free food. It was awesome! We sat and talked to him and then he had to go back to work. Then I noticed that he Left his Briefcase! So we waited for him until he came back we were all grateful for that. Tuesday ended on a great note! We had transfer conference. I got assigned to my First companion/Trainer Elder Spencer Young. I also got assigned to the Family Search Center Zone. The FSC is located in the basement of the JSMB. It's an awesome zone especially for starting off. If you ever want a way cool Family History experience, come To the Family Discovery Center! It is the coolest thing ever! It Involves iPads and learning about you and your ancestors. COME TRY IT OUT!!!! So when I moved into our new apartment, I came to one realization. My Mom's cleanliness standards rubbed off on me. I AM A CLEAN FREAK! The apartment was nasty! But my companion and I are changing that for sure. 

I'm running out of time, but another two awesome blessings happened. First, I Found out that my knee did not tear again. Instead I have to do four weeks of Physical Therapy. The second is that I found another Six Names for the Temple that's TEN this week!

I am so grateful for this mission! I am blessed every day because of my decision to serve. It is truly where the Lord needs me. I love this church. It is true. I can never deny that. I love and miss all of you! Thank you for your prayers on my behalf and all the other Missionaries around the world. Keep 'em coming because we need them! See you in roughly 102 weeks!

Love you all, 

Elder Christian Thomas "Shaunk BIG Daddy" Dietz

P.S. I found out I can email and write anyone! Here is my Email address:[  Elder.ctbdD.Dietz@gmail.com ] Please email me! :D i want to see how you are!

Who am I sir?

 I Miss all of U!

My Companion!

Just a BIG Crew inside Joke;) 

First Letter Home!

Heeeeey Jerrrry!!! It's Me Elder Dietz!

Well everybody! I can't believe my first week as a missionary is almost over! I am doing great and I am very excited! Okay let's start off by talking about Monday. When my parents and I arrived at the JSMB(Joseph Smith Memorial Building) we were greeted by President Tate, Sister Tate, and the rest of the Mission presidency. I knew immediately that I was in good hands. We all went inside to the lobby of the JSMB and took pictures. Then came the hard part. I had to say goodbye to Mom and Dad. Tears were shed, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because I am doing the right thing by Serving a mission.

 After we said our goodbyes, I met my companions Elder Ransom and Elder McLewaine. I'm in a tri-companionship because I am the only Elder entering the Mission. The mission has Monday morning devotional every Monday in the Chapel at the JSMB. I had no idea that there was a chapel inside the JSMB. That's where we have sacrament meeting on Sundays. I was Introduced by President Tate as Elder Thomas Dietz. Uh..... Yeah I found out later that they switched my middle name and my first name on the sheet they gave him. I'm not going to lie. I was shocked when I got to the mission. I found out that most of the missionaries are senior missionaries. I then found out that not only am I the newest Elder on the mission, I'm also the Youngest. By 10 months. I didn't realize how many of the Young Elders on the mission are struggling with a lot worse problems than the level of my depression and anxiety. I am extremely humbled because of them. Well after Devotional I dove headfirst into the mission and began orientation. I got my missionary badge. It was an awesome experience! I had orientation pretty much the rest of the day. Twice I saw my sister Sarah(She works at the JSMB) which was way cool. 

   Well the next day we had more orientation. Holy heck there's a lot of that. So That day I got to do a few tours. One of the coolest ones was the Book of Mormon display at the Church History Library. I got to see Hyrum Smith's Book of Mormon from Carthage Jail. A few years ago in General Conference Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Held that exact Book of Mormon when he gave one of the most powerful testimonies I have heard. So on the Mission we obviously get to spend a lot of time doing our own family history work. I found that someone made a duplicate of my Grandma Stears. I had to fix that haha. Oh Boy... two words..... Grocery Shopping. Let's just say that I am extremely grateful for my parents providing food for me while growing up. I got everything I thought I needed. I went to Check out at the City Creek Harmons. SLAP IN THE FACE. I had no idea how expensive food was if you don't shop smart. So I get the total. "$123.45 please." I felt horrible because the lady had to take stuff off until I got to $70. Never making that mistake again. I think the biggest two reasons I spent so much was because 1) I had never shopped on my own before and 2) I had to get a lot of new stuff that I won't have to buy again for awhile. Well That night was a little rough because I was so stressed out about Money. Yeah I get it now Dad;) 

     The next morning went a lot better. Why you ask? TEMPLE TRIP!!!!! I arrived at a great time because we go to a different Temple besides the Salt Lake Temple every three months. We drove down to the Mount Timpinogis Temple. I had a really cool experience in the Temple. So each Time I go to the temple i say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help me find a scripture that I can apply or relate to myself. I opened to a Random scripture. That Scripture was: D&C 127:4. It reads: "And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the works of my temple and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the Prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven." That was a awesome answer to a prayer! 

   So Wednesday night was really hard for me. I felt a little homesick, but I felt just drained physically. I didn't know how I would work the next day. So I said my prayers and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning I felt the same way until I said my morning prayer. An overwhelming feeling of peace and joy overcame me. I felt like I could take on anything the Lord asked me to do! Now if you know me, you know that especially when I'm in a good mood I like to sing Hymns. So I played the Hymn "There is Sunshine In My Soul Today!" I promise you that the Lord loves His children and He does answer their prayers if the are sincere. So something I'll admit is that Grandpa Stears is right. The thing I miss the most IS the storage room! Man I think I'll have dropped 15lbs by the end of the mission! as a Missionary you DO NOT pass up free food. You eat all the food you can get! If you make too much food, make room because food is money!

   Well Friday was a great day! It was raining. Love rain! Except when I don't have a coat....  At lunch, my companions and I were Invited by some other elders over to have lunch! Man that was awesome!!! During training I got so tiered that the my senior missionary couple let me go take a 30 minute power nap on the couch! That was very much needed!

   Today I got to go Grocery shopping again. This time I shopped smart and got the cheapest things I could find that were still good. I got my laundry stuff as well. Hey Mom guess what! I can do laundry too! Anyways, I only spent $55/$80 this time. Today is my P-Day and I get to hang out with the AP's who are awesome. I almost forgot! While I was at Walmart I saw the Deseret News newspaper headline. So Utah be USC in a thriller eh? Cool beans! Anyways It's been a great first week on the Mission! 

   So I want to say that the Church is true! And that the Lord put me in the best and coolest Mission he has to offer! I Love and Miss all of you! If you want to write physical letters or emails you can! I'll but both addresses below! See you in Two!

   With Much Love, 

Elder CTBD Dietz

(Correction: Only immediate family is able to email Christian. But anyone can write him a physical letter) 

My Companions and I at the Temple!

                 

The End of Day 1!

Hey there stranger! It's Brother/Elder Caloway!

Elder Dietz surprised us with this photo this week. It showed up in his mom's inbox this week.

Saying Goodbye

Elder Dietz's parents dropped him off early this morning at Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Elder Dietz was very excited to get out of the car and get to work! 

Here is Elder Dietz with Mom and Dad and President and Sister Tate. When Elder Dietz was a toddler he lived in Las Vegas with his family for about a year. During this time the Dietz family spent a lot of time with the missionaries as Elder Dietz's dad was the ward mission leader. The Dietz family grew close to a couple of the missionaries and still keep in touch with a few of them. President Tate happened to be the mission President of that mission during the time the Dietz family lived there. It was just one of many tender mercies that have taken place over the last few months. 

Another tender mercy is that Elder Dietz has a brother and sister who work at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  As a matter of fact his sister saw him twice today. She saw him once this morning as he was getting breakfast with the mission presidency and then at the end of the day as she was leaving work. She said that she has never seen Elder Dietz happier. He was beaming and looked so happy. She got a little emotional seeing him walking in a group of Elders with his name tag on.

Farewell and Setting Apart

Thank you to everyone who came out to support Christian and say goodbye. Christian spoke in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and he did a great job. He was set apart as a full-time missionary by his Stake President yesterday afternoon. It was a very special experience. All of Christian's siblings, his parents, 2 grandparents and his best friend were all able to say a few words to Christian before the Stake President set him apart. Following the setting apart there was a get together at the Dietz Home. There were so many of Christian's friends and family that stopped by. There were plenty of treats and laughs. It was great for everyone to have an opportunity to come and say goodbye for 2 years.

This was Christian's last Facebook post: "Today at 1:00pm I will be set apart as a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord and be an instrument in His hands to bless the lives of others. This is His work, and His church. I know that this is the true church. I thank all of you for being a part of my life and helping me become who I am today. I love you all! See you in 2!"

The Call and Farewell

Christian has been called to serve in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission in Salt Lake City, Utah. He will live downtown for the duration of his mission. He will report to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Monday September 19th.

Christian will be speaking in his ward on Sunday, September 18th at 9:00 AM. The address is 9245 S. Quail Run Dr, Sandy UT 84093.

There will also be an open house that afternoon from 3:00-6:00 pm at the Dietz home. 2405 Woodthrush Dr., Sandy UT 84093

Welcome

Welcome to Elder Dietz's blog! This blog will be updated with emails, pictures and other information to update Elder Dietz's friends and family while he is away for 2 years.