We wuz robbed!!!

We wuz robbed!

Hey Dickson clan,

Things couldn't be greater in the land of giant bugs and super allergies! Not kidding... the bugs are huge! Since we had a warm winter, they didn't all die like they were supposed to; it's going to be a rough summer. Also, the pollen has arrived much sooner than usual; it'll probably last till April. We woke up the other day, and our car was YELLOW! There is seriously that much pollen; it gets everywhere! 

Oh, and mom might have told you; I got robbed Thursday! It stunk! We were tracting, and saw some kids playing ball they challenged us, so, of course, we had to go represent! We took off our ties and the things in our pockets (which was dumb, I realize now; it's always the one time you assume it will be alright that something happens), set them by what we thought was a secure place, and schooled them! There were lots of kids who came outside to watch us; we played for maybe 20 minutes, then got our stuff to head home, only to find my JP card, my Wells Fargo card, and my Driver's Licence was missing, along with Elder Youd's JP card. Needless to say, we weren't too happy; we got the cards cancelled, talked to their parents, and exchanged information. The culprit was not found, but they know who they are, and so does God. I was certainly angry at first; still kind of am, but getting angry didn't solve the problem, and it won't; I know that this is a test of our patience and charity, a chance to keep us humble, and I take it graciously. I hope that whoever did steal our stuff so can find repentance and forgiveness someday; I have forgiven him/her and know the Lord will make things work out for us if we keep striving for the things that our righteous. Anyway, ranting again.

Anyway, I sent you a card, Grandpa, I hope you have it by now. I hope y'all are both doing well. 75? I thought you were only like 70; where did the time go? Happy Birthday/St. Patrick's Day!

Go Cougars! I miss watching basketball; the other day we were invited in to a home and they had a big screen showing a b-ball game; it took all I could not to watch it lol! I usually do pretty well around t.v.'s by not looking, but for sports it is difficult.
I have almost been out 8 months.. that's nuts! It's been great, but there are times where it is far more than simple; we are still having trouble with our recent converts we sent to the other ward; they don't feel welcome, so they aren't going. We go over there as often as we can (we are the only ones; the people in the other ward haven't even swung by) and try to talk to them, but they feel betrayed. We try to explain this is a test of their commitment the Lord has given them, but they are still struggling. To make things a little more frustrating, there was a kid the missionaries in other ward was teaching (who is a young single adult, and he lives in Kennesaw boundaries, so we should have been teaching him from the start) who got baptized into that ward, where he was fellowshipped; I wouldn't have a problem with that, we are all on the same team, and what matters is that he is baptized, but they got permission for him to stay in the ward, while they refused to give permission to have our converts stay in our ward, where they were heavily fellowshipped. Again, it shouldn't matter since we are all on the same team, but it seems a little inconsistent. Of course, we sustain our leaders, and are doing our best to be humble and to try to keep the peace; it has just been a little stressful.

Anyway, I'm done ranting; God will have things work out.

I'm glad you got those pictures; that was a lot of hard work, but it was a blast! Sister Gruener is super funny, and, as she said, she's coming back to church; she has been coming the past 2 weeks, and we are way happy for her! We'll see where it goes with her husband.  

Oh, the other night, some awesome members took us out to Texas Roadhouse! AHH! IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! They have dang good rolls, and everything else was pretty tasty too; it's too expensive, and we tried to dissuade her from spending so much on us by taking us there; she asked "So... you're going to deny me blessings?" What can you say to that? We had to say yes! I'm not going to lie, I'm glad we agreed; it was sooooooooooooo good! I'll say that one more time: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODD!!

I believe those were my thoughts; I hope I crystallized them for you (Brian Regan... anyone...Bueller?).

Last noteworthy thing; we had our top investigator come to church! He seems pretty sincere; he will probably be our next baptism; he soaks everything in like a sponge, and I'm excited for him!

In response to the email:

Shelby! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!! that you had a good time at Disneyland! Sounds like it was way awesome! I'm just a tiny bit jealous; we need to go again together sometime, I need someone to go on rides with me lol! I'm glad y'all preformed well, it always makes the trip worthwhile... and so does the food and rides and junk lol.

Nine guys in your Disneyland group?!?!?!?!?!? I'm not sure if I'm OK with that lol. I already told you, you can't date till you are 30... or at least till I can get back and keep an eye on those little punks.

I'm sad I'll miss the Hunger Games, but I'm having too much fun out here to stop lol! I am kinda mad y'all are seeing Avengers without me lol! I love you too, Missy! Don't give Mom too much trouble (but just enough to keep life interesting... lol jk), and give her a hug for me!

Hey, Mom! Keep up the good work, it is much appreciated! Thanks for all you've done and continue to do. Stay awesome! Love you!

Hey Stinker, glad that BYU is the bomb.com lol! That is a good thing, right? ... right? Why doesn't anyone answer me?!?! lol Help Mom out the best you can, and give her a hug as well; if fact, you can both do it at the same time, like we used to lol.

I knew from an early age I was going to go on a mission, and nothing was going to stop me. I'm having the time of my life, but still can't wait to see y'all! Thanks for being awesome! Take luck!

 

Hi, everyone else! Hi Aunt Nina! Did you get my letter yet? Love y'all!

 

Love, your [insert proper term of affection here] 

Elder Casey Guy Dickson