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| Smile big, you're a missionary! |
Thanks for the email! How are things?
It's
staring to get cold finally, but not nearly like it should be. Ah, snow!
It is not even cold enough for a long sleeve shirt here, but people are
freaking out! There is no one outside for us to talk to, so we've been
knocking a lot of doors; everyone is inside or heading to Florida! There
was some small baby snowflakes the other day, and everyone was bundled
up; It is funny to see, but I know that when I go back to Utah or
Nebraska I'm gonna die because I'm not used to it. When spring gets
here, the pollen will break out like crazy lol! I'm glad I don't get
that bad of allergies, but still.
Anyway, my week:
Been spending a lot of time knocking
and walking to no avail, so we decided to get a GPS to find our way
around, and to try to focus on Part-Members or Less-Actives, as well as
finding gators. Tuesday night we gave a recent move-in a blessing, then
went out with Bro. LeCheminant to see a referral and some less-actives;
ran into some people who never want to be contacted again; oh well.
Wednesday was Zone Conference, which is always good. We had our
Mission President talk about the Abrahamic Covenant and how it pertains
to missionary work; it was quite interesting. The Old Testament part of
Seminary I may or may not have been awake for lol! We had his wife and
our assistants (my good friend Chugg, who you guys said hi to on Skype,
and his comp) spoke as well, and a testimony meeting of the departing
missionaries; Elder Youd goes home in May! And I go home in July!
Ahhhhh!!
We then had dinner with the bishop and his kind wife, which is
always good; if you are on good terms with the bishop, the work is sooo
much easier lol...
Thursday we had an awesome, very spiritual
lesson with Ian, our top gator; he is in his late 20's or early 30's,
has a fiance, and is very interested in finding a faith in Jesus Christ.
It's weird to meet someone who has lived in the South all their lives
and they haven't been brought up religious... anyway, he is uber-prepared; he answers questions, and asks all the right ones! We felt
impressed to use the Finding Faith in Christ DVD for our lesson; it was
one of the most spiritual lessons I've had in a while! His only hang up
is that he doesn't feel ready to get baptized yet, which is fine,
because that will come. We just have to make sure that he understands
that when he knows this is true, he is judged by that standard, and must
be baptized soon after that realization. It's a tricky thing to know
when people are ready; it's all case by case, and by the spirit. the
criteria in our mission is they have to come to church twice, and
receive all the lessons. Rarely have I seen someone get baptized in two
weeks; most of the time it is a month or more; some take years. It's all
about not giving up on them, and also helping them know what having a
knowledge of the truth means...
Friday we had a referral we set up an appointment with that fell
through; gotta keep trying! We also tried to see a Less-active family
with one of our ward missionaries, Bro. Nichols, but they had something
come up, so we ended up going over to dinner with our team-up and had
some Korean food (it was interesting... I'm glad they also had burritos
lol!). The food, coupled with Elder Schmidt's health issues, just about
did him in that night, and it lasted till today... We had to stay in
mostly Saturday and Sunday so he could rest. It's all good, though; now I
can finish Jesus the Christ and be able to start the Book of Mormon
again with all the extra reading time!
Sunday was still good, though, because Ian came... half an hour
early lol! Most of the members don't show up until 5 minutes in lol...
Elder
Schmidt was dying, but still had enough strength to go up and bear his
testimony, which was powerful, as always; this kid is a trooper!
that's about all that has happened recently; today we are giving
Schmidty some more time to relax so we can tackle this week with all our
heart, might, mind, and strength!
Sorry this isn't super long, we have a limited amount of time of the computers at the library...
I want a change just because this area has been very slow;
things have picked up slightly, though, so maybe staying wouldn't be so
bad. It's just hard to be on a bike in a large area, everything we do
depends on whether we can find a ride or not; shouldn't complain, this
ward is pretty good about rides and dinners. My companion is great, so
we'll see how long the keep me here.
Despite my best efforts, I am about thinking about home lol... the
term in the mission is Bump, Hump, Slump, Dump, referring to 6, 12, 18,
and 24 months; I'm in the slump lol. I'm trying my best to stay strong
and stay focused, and I know I am here and the Lord's time and I need to
use it well. I'm grateful for this chance to serve my God, and I feel
like I have changed a lot; however, one of the most important parts of
the gospel is to endure to the end, and I am trying to live by that
principle. Thanks for being an awesome family, know that I love ya'll
and am grateful for your examples. Take Luck! '
Love,
Elder Casey Guy Dickson
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