A Beautiful Work

Week #8

You know you're on a mission when you go berry picking in a skirt. 

This week has been super long, but I love it here. Still adjusting. I thought that I was tired in the MTC. Not even close. I actually get more sleep here because I go to sleep earlier than anyone else because I am so tired. I've started waking up 5 minutes before the alarm goes off. . . Every morning. . . No Bueno.

There is so much beauty here. We go to the farmers market and today we just stopped by a random house to buy vegetables and fruit. The food is so yummy and the strawberries don't bother my mouth so I can eat as many as I want. The land is beautiful. There are fields of crops and so many trees. Every house is surrounded by trees and bushes of roses and other flowers. The mountains are beautiful here. They are often covered with fog. Everything grows here. 

The people are beautiful here. The majority of them are very nice here and love to talk to us. The members in our branch are wonderful. They are super patient with me and my Spanish. They help me a lot. All of the elderly Hermanas wrap their arms around me and tell me that I don't have to worry anymore because they are going to teach me Spanish. Spanish. This is hard. Not everyone speaks it and my companion never speaks it to me even though she is a native Bolivian. It's frustrating because I don't know if I will learn it with so much English around me all of the time. I am struggling with talking with strangers. I know its weird to think of me as shy, but I am so scared to talk to people in Spanish. They talk so fast!

So my first Sunday here I was called up to share my testimony (which is normal for a new missionary). My second Sunday the Stake Presidency was supposed to speak, but they cancelled and so who do they ask? The missionaries! Very little time to prepare and in a different language. I was so stressed. Usually in the MTC you give a talk, but I was never asked so this was my first talk in Spanish. It actually went well. I did have to ask the Branch Presidency for help a couple of times, but I didn't say anything too embarrassing. I talked about gratitude and that everything that we have comes from God and that we need to recognize that and do what we can to show our gratitude through serving Heavenly Father's other children. The only time Spanish is easy is when I am bearing my testimony. When I share my testimony it just flows. Once I get past the nerves I don't stop. It feels like I am speaking in English. I definitely feel the Gift of Tongues.

I get to testify to more of Heavenly Father's children every day. Some of those people want to know more and we are given the chance to allow the Holy Ghost testify to them of the truth of our message. The young teenagers here are so wonderful. It is amazing how excited they get about the Gospel. This is a righteous generation growing up. I have had the opportunity to invite many of God's children to be baptized by the proper authority and three of them are getting baptized next week with another one getting baptized the week after. I am so excited for them to begin to make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.

This is beautiful work and there is nothing else I would rather be doing.

I love you all,

Hermana Dickson

P.S. I don't have any pictures this week because I forgot my USB plug in thingy...next week, I promise.