Opposition in All Things, Esta Bien

Week #12

You know you're a missionary when you're tired all of the time. Really though. I get way more sleep than I did in the MTC, but it's never enough.

So much has happened this week, but all good things :) well mostly. Opposition in all things. 

The area that I am in right now is growing so quickly. The branch has had 9 baptisms in 3 months and we have 2 more investigators on date for July! It's so amazing to see the change in peoples countenances as they accept the Gospel and grow in their relationships with their Heavenly Father. One of the new converts bore her testimony in church yesterday. It was amazing. She talked about how at first she didn't want anything to do with the missionaries, but she began to read the Book of Mormon every day and praying every day and she wanted to know more. It's so amazing to see her journey and to hear her testimony. She came with us to a couple lessons this week and she was like "there is no excuse, there is always time to read and pray." And "well do you know this is true or not?" Everything we want to say, but we can't because we have to be nice :) Not that she isn't nice, she's just very bold. And it's great. We love her.

We pray every day to be lead to those that are prepared and we are definitely being guided. Yesterday we found someone who said that she is looking for a church that teaches what Christ taught when he lived and that she has been praying for guidance. She said that everything we were saying made so much sense and answered so many of her questions. I love this work.

Not all of the days are easy. Actually none of them are, but like I said, opposition in all things :) Saturday we had a baptism and I'm finding out that those days are the most hectic and stressful. We were making the program and all of the members that were suppose to be coming and were supposed to talk, pray, pick up investigators told us that they either weren't coming for sure or they would see if they could come, so the program had our names on it a lot... We had to do it at a different chapel because there was a different one happening at our building and we went over to start filling up the font, but couldn't find the controls. We finally did, but 30 minutes after turning it on, we realized that we never put the plug in so it was just draining. These fonts usually can take up to a couple of hours to fill and we had 45 minutes until the baptism was suppose to start. We literally prayed that everyone would be late. And they were. Our investigator forgot a towel and a change of clothes and our presiding priesthood holder didn't show up until 45 minutes after we were suppose to start so we improvised with videos (we're getting really good at that). I played piano, Hna Coca lead the music, she said the prayer, we sang a musical number (which we did not practice. I just started singing alto when it sounded good...), and I gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. In Spanish. With little to no preparation. It actually went well and people understood me. #blessingsofbeingamissionary

So pretty much super stressful, but the most important thing is that a daughter of God was able to be baptized by the authority of God. So happy for her.

Funny things this week. I talked to the Book of Mormon. You know when you're watching a scary movie and the girl is walking into the haunted house and you're like "What are you doing? Don't go inside!,"? Well that's how I feel about the people in the Book of Mormon. I was reading about Limhi's people in Mosiah and they are being beaten in war and I literally said out loud "why aren't you praying?!" Now my companion thinks I'm even weirder :) esta bien. 

During one of our lessons this week I felt a tickle on my neck and the member said something to me in Spanish. I didn't understand what she was saying so I just brushed at it. She was trying to tell me that there was a spider crawling on my neck and when I brushed at it, it fell down my shirt and the investigator we were teaching was a man so... I left it there... until I realized that it's weirder for me to not get it out of my shirt. It's all good. I didn't die. One time this week we were street contacting, just going up to everyone we saw and I starting talking to a man and then I didn't know what to say and I started crying. Awkward. My companion just took over. We went and got Hot Cocoa and they gave it to me for free because I was crying. And they wrote "feel better" on my cup with hearts around it. I cried harder.

I had a lot of training this week. I got my iPad and so had a training on how to use it correctly. I have trainings on teaching and studying every week. Before my mission I thought that missionaries knew what they were doing and that they didn't have temptations. Not true. Ask any missionary and they will tell you they have no idea what they are doing. All of this training is helping me become a better missionary, but I'm realizing that I'm always going to be learning and training, even when I'm training others. There is no such thing as a missionary that has it all figured out. I am slowly figuring out the Spanish though. Understanding more everyday. We were talking to one of our recent converts and she said that she and her family pray every day that I will understand Spanish and that every door that we knock on - that Hispanic people answer, so that I HAVE to learn Spanish. I know I've said this before, but I am so thankful for all of your prayers.

Sorry, this email is pretty much full of ramblings...

I love you all,

Hermana Dickson

P.S. I ate ice cream yesterday for the first time in forever. Go eat some ice cream. It'll make you feel better.

P.P.S. Love your dads this week. It's Father's Day on Sunday

P.P.P.S. Well, love them every week, but especially this week

Hermana Coca, me, my STLs Sister Kennelly and Lancaster, and Sister Samuelian (mission president's wife)

Baptism! Her son got to baptize her!