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| Fun with bike helmet pads. |
Hey, Family!
Things are all fine and dandy in the land of Conyers... guess what?
Transfer calls were today, and I'm getting transferred to Dawsonville,
Sugar Hill Zone! It's about an hour north of Atlanta. My new companion is Elder Harper, who had to go home because
of an injury but is now back and ready to roll! I haven't met him yet,
but everyone says that he's a good guy. He'll be the senior companion
(thank goodness!); he was out about a year before he got hurt. Oh, and
it's a car area too! Yay! Apparently Dawsonville is a richer and whiter
area than Conyers, which will be interesting.
My trainer, Elder Nielsen, is training again, and is going District Leader. Good for him; he's a good guy as well.
It has been a good experience in Conyers; there are some very different,
but still very good people here. The members are awesome, especially
the youth; they are all about missionary work! I haven't had any
baptisms here, but that's okay; success is not measured by baptisms.
There are some awesome people we are teaching, and they will be in good
hands with Elder Nielsen and his new Greenie. I'm way excited for this
new opportunity to learn and grow.
Good job, T-wolves! I'm glad that you guys did so well; I don't know much
about Salem Hills, but I'm happy that you are happy, Shelby lol. Congrats, little Missy!
I hope you guys all do well in basketball as well; being part of a team
is a special thing. I know y'all will have fun! Good luck, Stinky and
Missy!
The work goes as it goes;
the work has finally started rolling, so now it's up to Elder Nielsen
and his new companion to wrap it up! Just to hear if they get baptized
will be enough for me.
That quote for the letter is from a
less-active lady we go visit every once and awhile. She is probably the
funniest and bluntest person I have met! She has been all around the
world, and has recently recovered from Alcoholism (still working on
smoking). She tells it how it is, and has no reservations about telling
people her opinion. She's a tough ol' Granny who would probably beat up
any thug that bothers her; she's the greatest! She really is sweet deep
down, and loves it when we come visit her; she calls us "her
missionaries". I'm going to miss her.
We continue to teach that one family who needs to get divorced before
they get married and baptized (that is a strange sentence). They love
the church and everything about it, but they can't progress until they
fix up their lives some. Her 16-year-old son's girlfriend is having his
baby at the hospital right now; she is having a minor heart problem, so I
hope everything turns out okay. The not-yet-husband's mother is also in
the hospital; we might go give both of them a blessing before I leave.
My companion, Elder Dowdle (our DL on exchange with us) a member (who
brought a truck) and I helped them move all their stuff into a new,
better looking home they are renting. I'm not sure if they could have
moved all their furniture without us; they had no truck, and the
not-yet-husband is still pretty from his stroke.
The Muslim lady we are teaching is funny; she says one thing, then
something completely different the other day. She says she wants to
believe in Jesus Christ, and also expresses interest in Baptism, yet she
still isn't sure what she wants. She'll call us and tell us not to come
over anymore, and the next day she wants us to visit her. She's a
little flighty, but she is funny, and has really liked a lot of things
about our church; like how we were with God before this life, and those
in this life who never get to hear the gospel can hear and accept it
thanks to baptisms for the dead and temple work. I think she'll come
around.
We met another guy and his wife while we were biking one day; he stopped
us and told us he was a member, and his wife was taking lessons and was
about to get baptized, but then they both lost their jobs and had to
move. They have just moved back and want to come back to church. I'm
excited for them! How nice it is to meet people who actually want to
come to church lol!
We had a pretty neat insight when we were teaching a recent convert
about the sacrament. In 3 Nephi 18, it talks about the Disciples
bringing the bread and wine to the savior, the Savior breaking it, and
the Disciple passing it. Sound familiar? The Disciples bringing the
bread and wine before Jesus our the Teachers preparing the sacrament,
Jesus is the Priests breaking and blessing it, and the Disciple are the
Deacons passing it to the congregation. I never saw that before; I
thought that was pretty cool. We are literally doing as Jesus and his
Disciples themselves they were doing not only in the Book of Mormon, but
the Bible as well.
We hit up some yard sales on Saturday, and I got some pretty sweet ties
for a buck. I love yard sales; missionaries pretty much live off them
lol.
We had another baptism in our zone; the zone leaders just
baptized a kid who has been coming to church for years, but couldn't get
baptized because his parents were so against it. Since he turned 18, we
could finally do it for him! He was so excited and happy! I'll send
some pictures.
It's a little tough getting transferred during the holidays, but I'm
sure they members in Dawsonville are just as awesome and loving; it'll
be a blast, I'm way excited!
I get more and more proof every day that this gospel is true; even when
people throw anti at us, or show us stuff in the Bible and Book of
Mormon I never saw before, and I spend all evening studying about it, I
continually get confirmation that this gospel is true, because no other
church has the answers to all of life's questions like we do. Everything
in this church makes sense, and it makes sense because it is the
absolute truth, and no other church has the understanding of the gospel
like we do. I know for a fact that because God loves us, He has once
again reached out and called a prophet to the earth, and provided him
with the Book of Mormon, to complete the fullness of the gospel. I know
that the authority to act in God's name that was once lost is now found
in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is by that
authority that we can receive the fullness of His blessings. I know that
Jesus Christ is Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Savior and Redeemer
of the New Testament, and the God of the whole earth. I am eternally
grateful for the sacrifice of his atonement that connects the bridge
back to Heavenly Father for us, for we cannot get to Heaven by
ourselves. I know that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the Restoration,
and that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the
earth in our time today. I know that those men are as much Prophets as
Moses or Abraham, and they hold that same authority necessary for
salvation and exaltation in the life to come. I know the Book of Mormon
is the Word of God, as well as the Bible, and that it has the answer's
to life's questions, like no other book in history. I say these things
in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love y'all sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much and can't wait to hear from y'all near Christmas time!
Love,
Elder Casey Guy Dickson
